Kimberley Cohen didn't take it seriously when a woman asked her if she'd ever modeled before while bartending at Slugger's last Christmas. That is, until she heard the magic words.
"She said she was from Playboy and handed me a card, and then I was like, 'OK, I'll definitely call you,'" Cohen says.
It's a good thing she did. A few test shots later and Cohen was tapped to appear in the magazine's June issue as the featured Barmate, a monthly spotlight on the country's sexiest bartenders.
"I really didn't think I'd make it. I didn't think at the age of 28 I'd be taking my clothes off for a magazine, so it's an honor to be in there," Cohen says.
Cohen was born in Australia, but has been State-side long enough to lose her Aussie accent and learn to root for the Cubs.
She's done some fitness and lingerie modeling before, but the strangest part of the Playboy experience was the location of the shoot.
"We did it right here at the bar, so having to be nude in my place of work was a little unnerving and very frightening," she says.
And now that the magazine is out, she'll have deal with fans recognizing her at work.
"I'm nervous about the reaction that I'll get from people," she says. "I'm getting text messages and calls left and right, but I'm living a dream by being in Playboy. I'm honored and blown away."
The magazine is on newsstands now.
Get Breaking SMS Alerts: Be the first to know when news breaks, and when weather changes dramatically.
News: Text CHIBREAKING to 622669
Weather: Text CHIWEATHER to 622669
