Chapter 2: Going Private

Now – Thursday, 6:59pm

“Fuck! Case!” Alison called into the kitchen. She scuffed her mouse, jabbed at the Escape key repeatedly, tried Ctrl-Alt-Delete, then smacked her keyboard with an open palm. Nothing. Her desktop monitor remained frozen. “Of all the ... goddamnit! Casey!”

“Hang on!” her roommate yelled back. “Muffins! Two minutes!”
Alison let out a long exhale and reclined in her gamer chair, placing a hand over her heart. She swiveled back and forth, studying the minuscule cracks that crisscrossed the ceiling. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to find calm. A knock at the door.

“Come in,” Alison said, sitting forward. “I told you, Case, you don’t have to knock.”

“Kinda do, Ali,” Casey said. She wiped her floury hands on her apron. “I mean...” She gestured with an open palm, up and down, indicating Alison’s ... everything. “Look at you.”

“What’re you ... oh.” Alison looked down. Her hoodie was unzipped past her navel, and one hand had wandered inside, absently massaging a bare breast. From the waist down, she had nothing on but a pair of boy shorts and a single green sock. “Right. Sorry,” Alison said, turning pink. She hastily withdrew her hand and zipped the hoodie up to her chin, pulling the hem to mid-thigh. “Sorry, Cici.”

“It’s fine, Adie,” Casey said. “I’ve walked in on worse. What’d you need?”

“It’s this fucking ... thing.” She waved a hand at her streaming rig. “My VPN’s acting up again, or it’s got a virus or something. Always something, as usual. Could you...?”

Casey sighed. “I’ll have Cal look into it. What time do you go live?”

“I’m thinking maybe nine? Ish?”

“Until?”

“‘Question mark!” Alison smiled wide. “Gotta make that rent. I’m so glad you’re cool with it still, I mean, I know it sometimes can be awkward–”

“Ali.” Casey gave her a small, resigned smile in return. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be home late, and if you’re still at it I’ve got my headphones charging, and my Nothing-Is-Happening-Everything-Is-Fine playlist already cued up.”

“Oh come on, I don’t make that much noise when I’m on stream.” Alison said. “I mean, at most all I’m doing is–”

“Noooope! Nopenopenope. Don’t need to know, Ali.”

“Okay, okay. Got it. Shutting up. Thanks, Case.” Alison paused. “You know, sometime when I’m camming, if you ever wanted to...”

“Ugh. I’m not going to join in, Ali.” Casey pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “For the millionth ... I might be a lowly adjunct, but I don’t need extra money that badly.”

“Ha! I just meant you could watch the show sometime, Case, see what it is I do. VIP access, on the house, I wouldn’t even have to know you were signed on. But now you mention it, with those tits...” Alison’s gaze drifted downward. Under the floral apron, Casey’s breasts strained against a tight sweater. She imagined Casey in the apron and nothing else, busy at the counter making a quiche or whatever. “We could...” Imagined kissing down the hard knots of Casey’s spine to her tailbone, nudging the taller girl’s legs apart before lowering...

Casey watched her, one eyebrow raised, waiting.

“We’d, uh, we’d make money faster than we could spend it,” Alison said at last, her daydream evaporating.

“Yeah, thanks, no, sorry, it’s still a no. To both. Not watching, definitely not going on camera.” Casey crossed her arms. “It’s been years, Ali. When are you going to stop asking?”

“When you say yes, Caseygirl.” Alison smirked. “I’ll change your mind someday. You’ll see. Show you what you’ve been missing.”

“Sure, you do that. So long as it’s after finals. Did you need anything else? Muffins are cooling, and I still have to put the lasagna in the oven and get back to grading.”

“Nope, that’s it, thanks,” said Alison. “Get outta here. Gotta get busy dyeing.”

“Oh right! What color did they pick?”

Alison ran a hand through her short, freshly-bleached hair. “Blue this time. By fourteen percent. But shhh! It’s a secret! You can’t tell, anyone, not even–”

“I’ll call him right now, and I promise not to tell.”

“Love you, Cici,” Alison said, distracted, tapping away at her phone. “I owe you one.”

Yatter post from @AliCat19 - 7:06pm: The votes are in! New bra, new hair! Showtime in T-minus 2 hrs! xoxo #hairreveal #tangerinedream #yellowfever #ijustbluemyself #notezbngreen #redscare #youreturningvioletviolet #silverfox #goldengirl #cutenomatterwhatcolor

Casey closed her bedroom door and leaned her weight against it. She and Alison had been friends since first grade, and had seen each other naked plenty of times, but still. It was the way Alison looked at her recently, that longing, that hunger. It was ... different.

No. Focus up. Call Cal.

“Aria?” Casey called out. Her phone chirruped. “Call Cal. Put it on speaker.”
“Calling Cal,” the phone said in a metallic voice.

Two rings, then Cal picked up. “Yeah?” He sounded busy, impatient.

“Heeey, little brother.”

“This again. We’re six minutes apart, Case. Six. What’s up?”

“Hang on, putting you on speaker.” She untied her apron and hung it on a hook. “I need to get ready for class while we talk.”

“What’s on the bill tonight?”

“Double feature,” Casey said, shrugging out of her sweater. “Atanarjuat and The Thing, eighty-two. Carpenter’s their reward for making it to the end of term and handing in their essays on time.”

“Sounds snowy.”

“It felt appropriate. You looked outside?” she asked, peeking through her curtains. The falling snow showed no signs of slowing.

“Yeah, it’s still coming down pretty hard. You going to be alright getting to campus?”

“Should be. I think I’ll walk it. Love the snow, hate driving in it. I’m heading out now, gotta set up the projector and maybe get some grading in. Talk soon!”
“Um, Casey...? Big sister? You called me...?”

“Oh! Duh! Right! It’s Ali, she needs–”

“Fuck me, it’s Thursday, isn’t it? Tech support?”

“Got it in one. She’s going live at nine. Do you think you can come over?”

“What time is ... shit. I’m supposed to meet Jeff for coffee in half an hour.” The sound of typing in the background. “Give me ... just a sec...”
“It’s okay, I’ll tell her you’re busy. Maybe she can use her phone or something...”
“No no, it’s fine, I can take care of it from here.”
“Thanks, Cal. I’ll owe you. I made a batch of those cranberry orange muffins you like. Ali knows – she sniffed them out – but I’ll try and save you some.” Casey, down to her utilitarian bra and panties, went over to her closet. She selected a bulky cardigan and a gray button-up blouse. “You still coming over on Sunday? I’m doing carbonara.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. I’ll bring that wine you like.”

“Can’t wait! Bring extra, I’ll be finished grading by then and we can all celebrate. Ali says she misses you, whatever that means. Listen, I really need to get going. You sure you can...?”

“Tell Ali I’ll call her in a few. Need to sort out a few things on my end first.”

“Thanks, little brother.” Casey stood before a full-length mirror, studying herself. She ran a hand down her stomach. Thank god Cal can’t seem me like this. Unconsciously, she removed her bra tossed it away. She lifted her naked breasts and pressed them together, creating a deep cleft. “Hey, uh, before you go? Ask you something?”

“Mm-hm?” He kept typing.

“Ali’s cam shows.” With those tits... Casey turned to the side. “You’ve never watched them, have you?”

“Jesus, Case! No! She’s like a sister to me, you know? Besides, it’s not like she ever goes past the underwear stage on cam, and I’ve seen that much at your apartment.” More clacking, then a pause. Cal laughed. “Waitasec, why? Have you?!”

Lost in her own reflection now, breasts full, hair untamed, Casey barely recognized herself. It took her a moment to process her brother’s question. “What?! No, I’ve ... I’d never. She’s like a sister. Like, uh, like you said. Anyway. I’ll tell her you’ll call. Um. Yeah. Bye. Thanks. Bye. Aria, hang up.” Her phone bleeped.

Casey shook her head, trying to clear it, then checked the clock: twelve after seven. Less than two hours until Ali would be on camera, gliding her hands over her body, and then that familiar moan through the wall...

Casey briefly considered Ali’s offer, that lust, that want she’d seen in her roommate’s eyes. How easy it would be to blow off tonight’s screening, to take those five steps across the hall and join her roommate, showing themselves off in front of ... what was it? Dozens of strangers? Hundreds? She rubbed herself through her panties, feeling the first pricklings of arousal. Anyone could be watching them ... her professors ... her students ... her brother...

Casey let out a soft, involuntary moan, breaking her reverie. No. Don’t think about that. You have work to do. She pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and reached for her blouse, her bra forgotten in the corner.

Alison heard the knock and lowered her headphones “Yeah?” she said, swiveling in her chair.

Casey stood in the doorway, done up in her charcoal overcoat and red pompom hat. “Cal said he can help,” she said. “He’s gonna call you in a few.”

“Ugh,” Alison grumbled. “Who even calls anymore?”

“Hey, be nice! He’s doing you a favor. I’m headed out, dinner’s in the oven, timer’s set, needs another forty-five minutes. Got that? Forty. Five. Minutes. Listen for it this time. Oh, and don’t touch the muffins.”

“Promise.” Alison gave a mock salute.

“I’ll probably be back late. And Adie?”

“Cici?”

“Answer your phone!”

Alison grumbled again and put her headphones back on.

Yatter post from @AliCat19 - 7:21pm: Less than 2 hours! Time to dye! Get your Credits ready! #remotevibes #buzzmein #demtittays #hairreveal #fuckyoupayme

Alison was just stepping out of the shower when her phone buzzed, playing ‘Cat Party’ and vibrating off the counter. The screen lit up with a blurry photo of a dark-haired man, overlaid with the words ‘Tech Support.’

“Goddamnit,” Alison muttered. “Your timing sucks, dude.” She scooped the phone off the bathmat and tapped the screen.

“Igor! How’s my loyal servant?”

“Hey, Ali. Are you there? You sound like you’re in a cave.”

“Got you on speaker. I’m in the bathroom, getting ready for tonight’s show.” Alison draped a frayed bath towel over her shoulders and headed for her bedroom, naked and dripping. “You know, you could’ve just texted like a normal person.”

“Look, do you want my help or not? It’s faster this way, trust me.”

“Sure, fine, whatever. So Case filled you in?”

“Sort of, she said your computer was locked up. Did you try–”

Alison huffed. “Yes, Calvin, I tried–”

“Just Cal.”

“Yes, Cal, of course I tried rebooting it. Like nine times. It’s good for a minute or two, then bam, it’s fucked. Frozen solid. What time do you think you can get here?”

“No need. I put in a backdoor last time I was there, just a few lines of code I wrote that give me remote access to your system.”

“Remote access? A backdoor?” Alison wrinkled her nose. “Sounds kinda shady, my dude.”

“Look, it’s not ... nevermind. It only works if you give me permission. Now, I need you to hold down the question mark and tilde keys – tilde’s the little squiggle thing, top left–”

“I know what the fuck a tilde is, Cal. Done. Now what?”

“Hit Enter, the one on the numpad, and that’ll–”

“Give me a minute, my hands are too small.” Alison bent forward and pressed the Enter key with tip of her nose. The screen flashed to life, then displayed a dark green background with white text.

“Perfect,” Cal said over the faint clatter of his keyboard. “I can see you on my end.”

Alison squeaked, panicking, reaching out to cover her webcam with one hand and her breasts with the other.

“Um, not literally, Ali.”

“I knew that. Shut up.” Alison dropped her arms, briefly wondering if she’d have minded that. Or liked it, even.

“Now, you should see a popup asking if you want to allow me to take over your desktop. Click ‘Yes’.”
“Aaaand ... clicked.”

“Okay, so you see the mouse cursor?” The small black arrow flitted back and forth across the screen. “How it’s moving on its own? That means we’re linked up. I see what you see. I’ve got a diagnostic running now that should take care of any viruses, malware, whatever you’ve ... contracted. That little box up in the corner there? That’s its progress, so we’re looking at about forty-five, fifty minutes for a surface scan-and-scrub. You’re live at nine, right?”

“Ish, yeah. There’s some wiggle room.”

“I’ll need to run a deeper scan at some point, maybe next time I’m over, but this’ll get you to where you need to be in time for your stream. I’ve gotta go in a minute, but the program’ll take care of itself, so you can go blue yourself or whatever you need to do. In the meantime, do me a favor, going forward?”

“Skoden.”

“Don’t click on every weird link these guys send you.”
“Hey, all part of the job. Can’t promise anything. No risk, no reward. Speaking of, I owe you big for this. You want me to chuck you a VIP pass, let you watch all the naughty bits for free?”

“Alison. Ali. I’ve told you, I don’t watch you cam. Like I said to Casey, you’re basically family. It’d just feel ... wrong.”

“Okay, liar, if you say so. I see you checking me out, that little crush you have on me. It’s cute. I really wouldn’t mind, you know, if you did want to watch me. In fact, Cal?”

“Hm.”

Alison’s voice went husky, conspiratorial. “It turns me on a little bit, thinking about it...”
“Aaaand that’s my cue. I’ll see you guys on Sunday.”

“Your loss,” Alison said. Cal had already hung up.

Alison ran a last-minute equipment check as the onscreen countdown clock reached three minutes. She tested her headphones, her ring light, her mouse and keyboard. She toggled between her desktop, her webcam feed, and the tripod-mounted handheld pointed at the bed behind her. The color-coded buttons of her stream deck twinkled – mute, BRB, banhammer, kill switch. She was ready.

Two minutes. Whatever Cal’s program had done seemed to have worked. Everything was running without a hiccup – if anything, running even more smoothly than it had when he’d first helped her with her setup. A box in the corner of her screen blinked: ‘Remote Link Active - Scan Progress 100%.’ Alison minimized it.

One minute. Alison flipped to the webcam feed, and her image filled the screen. She wore her trademark purple hoodie, unzipped over a partially-buttoned white dress shirt over a low-cut black tank top over a translucent baby blue half-cup bra. She’d learned on day one that the more clothes you started with, the more you got to take off. The key was finding the right balance – show just enough to keep them interested, while teasing that the privilege of seeing what was hidden was worth paying for.

Forty-five seconds. She brought her legs up into the chair with her and hugged her knees. Her winter-pale thighs were hidden under a pair of tearaway track pants – one of her signature moves was to face away from the camera and then rip the pants off in one go, revealing her pink-and white knee socks and matching thong.

Thirty seconds. She ruffled her still-damp hair and tucked an errant strand behind her ear. The dye job had left it a vibrant, almost neon blue. It made her already luminous cobalt eyes seem even brighter.

Fifteen seconds. She tucked her hair under a plain black beanie, hiding it for the big reveal.

Five seconds. She hovered the cursor over the ‘Go Live!’ button.

Zero. Go.

9:00 PM: Alicat19 has logged on!

Viewer count: 51

Tonight’s Topic: Hair reveal @ 10pm Eastern! Bra reveal @11!! Tip right now!!! READ THE RULES!!!!

Trigger vibe (fast) – 5 seconds: 1 Credit. Trigger vibe (slow) – 5 seconds: 1 Credit. Butt Flash: 3 Credits. Breast Flash: 5 Credits. Foot show: 10 Credits. Spank show: 20 Credits. Tit Play: 25 Credits. Rub Over Panties: 30 Credits. Rub Over Panties: 50 Credits. Current Room Goal: 500 Credits, strip down to Bra & Panties. Private Chat: 10 Credits/minute.

“They’re a thirty-four C, PigShoes,” Alison said, pulling her tank top and bra back down after flashing the camera. She had already lost her hoodie and dress shirt, and she wasn’t even an hour into her stream. “Sometimes a D, depending on the bra. Or what time of the month it is. Thanks for the five.”

YouCantFaxGlitter: They seem bigger 2nite

“Full confession? I just housed a couple muffins and like, a third of a lasagna before the stream. So yes, I’ve put on a little weight lately. Upside? It always goes straight to my tits.” She stood, sticking her ass out. She gave it a playful slap. “And to my butt. I’m lucky that way. Complaints?”

ButBlackDynamite: Daayum!

PigShoes: zero complaints here

YouCantFaxGlitter: Good genes. U shud thank ur mum

P3nny-Dr3@dful: Jealous on this end, Alicat.

OnlyJoking tipped 2 Credits - Vibe

“I’ll do that, Glitter.” Alison sat back down. Her remote vibe pulsed in her pussy. “Ungh! Th-thanks, OJ.”

OnlyJoking: Don’t call me OJ

OnlyJoking: J/K

OnlyJoking::p

BourgeoisDimwit: LOL OJ LOLOL

Butthead_AstronomerCS: haha OJ pwned

TheMongus: What about your hot roommate?

“What about her, Mongus?” Alison took a drag on her vape pen. “Whatcha wanna know?”
TheMongus: how big is she?

“Dunno,” Alison said, exhaling a plume of vapor. “I don’t like to go snooping. I’d guess an F or G. Heh. That sounds weird. Eff-or-gee. Effigy. Eff Orgy.”

ButBlackDynamite: DAAAAYUMMM!

PrayDater: you seen em?

“Her tits? Only once or twice, sadly.”

P3nny-Dr3@dful: Any chance she’ll make an appearance 2nite?

“Guys, Penny, I’ve asked, believe me. I don’t think there are enough Credits in the world to get her to say yes.”

P3nny-Dr3@dful: We should start a fundraiser.

P3nny-Dr3@dful tipped 20 Credits: – ‘Getting the ball rolling’

“Penny! Thanks, but no.”

PigShoes tipped 10 Credits: – ‘I’m in’

YouCantFaxGlitter tipped 10 Credits: – ‘Samesies’

BourgeoisDimwit tipped 15 Credits: – ‘stoodis’

“Guys, that’s really sweet, but she’s pretty uptight. You’re lucky she even puts up with me doing this.”

OnlyJoking tipped 20 Credits for a Spank Show: – ‘I bet you can convince her.’

Alison sighed. She stood and bent at the waist, pulling her pants down below her cheeks and pointing her thong-covered ass at the camera. She braced herself on her desk and gave her left asscheek a quick, hard slap. THWAP! “Ungh! One!”

OnlyJoking tipped 50 Credits – ‘Keep going. Is she home right now?’

THWAP! “Two! N-no. She’s not.” THWAP! “Ohhh ... three...”

OnlyJoking tipped 50 Credits – ‘Shame. More where that came from if you can get her on.’

“Guys,” Alison said. THWAP! “F-four. Guys. Ladies. You’re being really generous tonight. My bank account thanks you, truly. But seriously, she’s a hard, hard no.” THWAP! “Ffffffuck! Five!”

Alpine_Stranger: look at that handprint

PrayDater: think she’s cummin me boys

“N-not quite, Pray.” Alison pulled her pants up and collapsed into her chair. “Got me close, though.”

OnlyJoking: I can help with that.

“Oh fuckingfuck! Ohhmygodshitfuckingshit!” Alison’s hips rose as she came, her pussy contracting around her vibrator. As her orgasm faded, she sank gingerly back into her chair, savoring the sweet, lingering soreness of her ass.

OnlyJoking tipped 2 Credits – Vibe (slow)

OnlyJoking tipped 2 Credits – Vibe (fast)

OnlyJoking tipped 2 Credits – Vibe (slow)

Alison’s pussy, still twitching with the aftershocks of her last orgasm, rose again. “Ohfuck!” she cried, cumming again. Her hands moved with a mind of their own, setting her aching breasts free and squeezing them roughly as she came. Her world went white, her body wracked with bliss, and a strange, stray thought came unbidden to her mind: What if it was Cal watching me right now?

ButBlackDynamite: dayum

P3nny-Dr3@dful: Gorgeous.

YouCantFaxGlitter: Perfection

OnlyJoking: You’re welcome.

“OJ, you...” Alison took another drag from her vape. She slumped in her chair, smiling weakly. “Only, sorry. Gonna need a minute or five. BRB. Talk amongst yourselves.”

Alison came back in from the cold, still feeling rattled. She was about to click back into the stream when she noticed a private message notification from OnlyJoking. She clicked it.

OnlyJoking: Want to go private? Double rate, 20 minutes?

The fuck? The guy had been one of her earliest followers, and while he wasn’t as regular as, say, Penny or Glitter, he was fairly consistent. Tonight, though, he seemed different, almost ... aggressive. She typed back:

AliCat19: Don’t think so. Still pretty worn out. Maybe next time.