Another goal met?

"NO FREAKING WAY!!!!" Anita squealed, "Oh my God! I'm so jealous!" Tilly had just told her about her modelling job. To say she was enthused was definitively an understatement, "To get tied up by a professional...and they pay you? Wow. So tell me everything. What was it like? What did she do? When can I see the photos?"

Tilly blushed, "Well...I don't know. It all happened so fast. There was so much going on, and then I was naked in front of stranger, and they were taking my photo, I just couldn't really focus. It wasn't sexy the way you are thinking, it was stressful."

Tilly caught a twinkle in Anita's eye, "Well if you want to try again in a less stressful way..." She reached into her purse and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs, "What do you think? Want to cuff ourselves?"

Wow, Tilly thought, this girl is eager. She stared at the handcuffs and felt butterflies in her stomach. Maybe...did she actually want to try? What's the harm, right? "Uh...sure."

"Excellent. Let's cuff our hands in front of us so we can still drink our tea, here." Anita passed her one pair. Tilly took them and held them in her hands for a moment. Anita didn't hesitate, click-click, she was cuffed. Well, she felt bad leaving her hanging. She clicked one hand, and then the other. She was trapped too.

Tilly experimentally grabbed her cup and took a sip. It was weird having to use both hands at once, "This is weird." She said.

"I know right?" Anita said smiling, "Before we talk further I just wanted to apologize again for running off on you. My brother...well...he's a bit of a fuckup. And that's being polite. If you can think of a vice...well he probably has it. ****, ****, gambling, even sex, he's addicted to them all. He's been to rehab," She shrugged, "He's been to jail. Nothing works. He's currently sober. Nearly a month. He texted me that he was thinking of using and well..." She trailed off.

Tilly put her hands over Anita's, "It's ok. I don't have any experience to relate to what you're going through, but I'm here for you if you want to talk. I totally understand you leaving, so don't apologize. Just share as much or as little as you want."

Anita smiled at her, "Tilly...wow. We've only just met and already you are such a good friend. Thank you."

At those words Tilly heard a ding from her phone, but she decided to ignore it for now. Anita was clearly suffering emotionally, and that was more important than whatever was happening elsewhere. It turns out that Anita did want to unload. She'd let her brother take up so much space in her life that she hadn't really made good friends to share the burden with. Since Tilly was offering, it just poured out of her. As Tilly listened to Anita she started to realize that her own life had not been so bad. She'd been unmotivated, maybe depressed even, but she had never hit rock bottom. She felt good about herself for the first time in forever, she had a friend, she had money coming in finally. She could do this.