Page 31 of Margo's Got Money Troubles

“I don’t see why Mark really gets a vote here,” Margo said.

“Mark,” Jinx echoed. Margo had never told him who Bodhi’s father was. He’d never asked directly. “Mark the mark.” Jinx smiled. That’s what they called the fans in wrestling: “marks.” A hangover from wrestling’s carnival beginnings. “I’m guessing Mark wouldn’t want his son being brought up in all that, and if it’s an issue of money, maybe he would—”

“He made me sign an NDA,” Margo said. “I’ve already been paid off, so there’s no squeezing more money out of him, if that’s what you mean.”

“An NDA? Jesus, what is he, famous?”

“No, he was my teacher.”

“He was your teacher?!” Jinx was so livid it looked like he was about to cut a promo. Margo had never seen him that mad in real life before.

“Yes. English 121. Fall of my freshman year. A tremendous educational experience.”

Jinx coughed, reached for his tea. Breathed in, then out. “Yeah, I don’t think that guy gets a say. But as your father, I think I do get a say, Margo, and I don’t want you doing this. And that’s final.”

Margo could see that even he heard how ridiculous he sounded. “Oh yeah, as my father? You forbid it?”

“Margo,” Jinx said.

“Give me the baby,” Margo said, holding out her arms for Bodhi.

Reluctantly, Jinx handed Bodhi over, looking as weirdly hostile and sad as a renaissance painting.

The whole day sucked. It should have been a day of joyous celebration. Instead, Jinx stayed locked in his room, and Margo pretty much remained in hers. She had not been entirely aware of how many small moments in the day Jinx had begun taking Bodhi, freeing up her hands, and she missed his help sorely as she tried to load puke-soaked sheets into an industrial washing machine with a baby strapped to her front. The only real upside was that the anger gave her energy, and the sudden influx of new fans was unexpectedly thrilling. All day her phone buzzed in her pocket, money and dicks pouring in. She knew she was too haggard to make new content, but starting tomorrow she’d need to shoot better pictures and fast. She decided to broker a deal with Suzie. Clothes, and in particular costumes, seemed the easiest way out of the finite number of possible butt and boob configurations.

It was dusk. Bodhi was down for a nap in his crib in Margo’s room, and she brought the baby monitor with her when she knocked on Suzie’s door.

“Margo!” Suzie cried from her bed. “Come cuddle me!” She held open the blanket, and Margo climbed in beside her.

“Oh, it’s warm under here,” Margo said.

“Are you and Jinx fighting?” Suzie asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m sorry,” Suzie said. “What was it about? Like, I mean, I heard some of it, but I still didn’t understand what triggered it.”

“Okay, so you know how I lost my job? I started doing this website,” Margo said, and launched into a brief description of OnlyFans and how it worked.

“Why would anyone pay that much, though?” Suzie asked. “I mean, it’s the internet, you can see naked girls for free.”

“Because, like, it’s more candid and intimate. It’s the difference between anonymous vagina and a specific girl’s vagina. Like, a real girl who you feel like you get to know and who will message you back.”

“When I was little, I would masturbate to SpongeBob,” Suzie said. The abruptness of this gave Margo a little zing. She always kind of liked that, when things suddenly went sideways with another person.

“How little?” she asked.

“Like nine? I was precocious,” Suzie said. “My family was super religious, so I thought thinking about naked people was sinful, but if I masturbated to something everyone agreed was okay...”

“Like SpongeBob.” Although which character on SpongeBob could it possibly have been? Margo didn’t even want to ask. She was afraid it was Patrick. In fact, she felt it almost had to be Patrick.

“Exactly. Biblical loophole. Tiny Suzie Sex Genius.”

Margo had never considered Suzie’s sex life before. While Suzie never seemed to have a boyfriend, there were always boys hanging around, and Margo suddenly realized Suzie might be sleeping with them. Dressed as orcs.

“Anyway,” Margo said, “I was thinking that cosplay could help me with the taking pictures stuff because it gets dull real quick. Like, how many pictures of your boobs can you take?”

“Oh, right,” Suzie said, nodding. “I mean, I guess that’s okay. As long as you don’t, like, masturbate in the garment. Or if you do, you know, have it dry-cleaned.”

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