Signing time: Playmates Juliette Frette (left), Miss June 2008, and A.J. Alexander, Miss May 2008, autograph cigar boxes at Nicky Blaine's. (Robert Scheer/The Indianapolis Star)

Playboy Playmates Juliette FrettŽ, Miss June, 2008, and AJ Alexander, Miss May 2008, talk with Konrad. (Robert Scheer / The Indianapolis Star)

Cigar smoke scents the downstairs bar. Burly men in leather chairs puff the stogies responsible for the haze and sip top-shelf liquor.

In a far corner sit A.J. Alexander and Juliette Frette, the star attractions at this recent Nicky Blaine's cigars, spirits and autographs event.

Alexander, 24, a mother of two from Evansville, and Frette, 28, an artist and writer with a women's studies degree from UCLA, are Playboy Playmates -- Miss May 2008 and Miss June 2008 respectively.

Guests -- mostly male -- have paid $95 to join the pair of models on a Thursday evening, to have their magazines signed, and perhaps flirt a little with the 5-foot-7, 115-pound brunette, or the blonde with the 25-inch waist and 34D bust.

But before the guests' turn, we grabbed 10 minutes with the girls for a little Q&A:

Tell me a little about yourself.

A.J. Alexander: I've done a lot of modeling, and I am in a movie that's coming out later this year called "American Summer," and that's kinda how I was discovered to be a Playmate. A dental assistant is what I was prior to being a Playmate.

Juliette Frette: I've worked with Playboy a number of times for the past three years. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in women's studies in 2006, and I wrote my Playmate feminist article, and I'm a writer and an artist.

How did you end up being a centerfold in Playboy?

AA: Just like Juliette, the last three years I've done special editions, so that's kind of how I got into the Playboy family. But while filming "American Summer" last May, a former Playmate, Miss August 2001, Jennifer Walcott, she was like "Oh, you need to be a Playmate," and that's what I'd been trying to do for three years. So she told me what to do. I did my test shoot and ..... here I am.

JF: I started with the "Girls of Pac 10" issue at UCLA. At the time I was writing my honors thesis on posing for Playboy from a feminist's perspective, and I used my experiences as material ..... I'm now converting that into a book. Since then I have worked on some special editions, and I've been also a coed of the month.

What was your first nude shoot like?

JF: It was a lot of fun. I was very comfortable with myself, my body. I wasn't shy in that way.

AA: They make you feel comfortable, and I am comfortable in my own skin.

Do you have any concerns about Playboy exploiting women?

JF: My honors thesis is about 87 pages. I analyze all kinds of different issues, like objectification, body image, judgment, choice, fear, things like that. And there's two sides to those things. On one hand a lot of people have said that Playboy objectifies women. I kind of come from the place that I've never felt objectified by Playboy. They've always treated me with respect and professionalism. But also, I don't necessarily think that being shown in a way that is glamorized is necessarily disempowering. Objectification is really relative. If you come into it by choice, then you can't be anything but empowered. It's your choice. I think it's fun.

AA: It's a little bit tougher for me, being from Indiana and the Bible Belt. There's some negativity, but I also think what has really helped with Playboy is the airing of "The Girls Next Door." I mean, there's so much more of a female fan base than male, it seems, because of the show.

What is Hugh Hefner like?

AA: Classy is the first word that comes to my mind. He's a gentleman, and just very sweet and charming.

JF: He actually has more energy and charisma than I would expect from an 82-year-old. And he kind of seems like a grandfatherly figure. That's the vibe I get.

So how much of what the magazine writes to accompany your pictures is true?

JF: I wrote my own article. My original article was a lot longer, but because page space is a commodity, it had to be chopped a little bit, but the basic ideas have definitely been kept in there. And my data sheet is essentially correct.

AA: My centerfold was shot with a Playboy race car, with me being from Indiana and the Indy 500. So they really kind of emphasized my liking racing, (when) ..... really I liked racing more on video games like Pole Position. It's mostly the truth, but some things may be a little exaggerated.

How do you feel about other men's magazines, like Penthouse or Hustler?

JF: Never would touch them, not with a 10-foot pole.

AA: Yeah, shows too much. It's not classy, at all.

How do your family and friends feel about you posing nude?

AA: I haven't gotten any bad responses. Family is always supportive in anything you do, if it's a good family. A lot of people, like family friends and stuff, have been congratulating me, because it is such an honor. There's only 12 women in the world -- not just in the United States, in the world -- that are chosen to be a Playmate in any given year.

JF: Some family members will not look at my pictures to this day, because they just don't want to think of me that way. Other people think it's great. Other people think, ehhh. Some feminists might think what I'm doing is kind of cool, and others might not agree. I was put on national probation in my sorority in college when I first posed for the magazine. I've encountered a lot of resistance, which has made my path more interesting, and given me a lot more material to write about and analyze in the context of social taboos and things.

Has being a Playmate changed anything about you or the way you see yourself?

AA: I can be honest, it's made me a little more materialistic. But that's also because I did live in Orange County for two years. ....

JF: I'm still evolving my perspective on everything. But, you know, if you're in a magazine that is very glamorous, of course you get more vigilant about your appearance. That's a reality, and women are already self-conscious as it is.

What does the word naked mean to you?

AA: Being in your own skin. Not that you have to show everything. There's implied nudity. You can be naked and not show anything.

JF: I think there's definitely a difference between nakedness and nudity. In the magazine, I was nude, meaning I was without clothes, glamorized. Naked is without camouflage, without protection, without additions, without help, without airbrushing, without makeup. So was I naked? I don't think so. I was nude. Naked is how I wake up in the morning. No one sees that.

Playmate advice for looking good nude

A.J. Alexander: Posing. Every woman is different -- there are certain angles. It's knowing your body and what you rock. Some people have the booty, or the stomach. Smiling is always good.

Juliette Frette: Knowing what your best angles are. Practicing in front of the mirror is actually really important. It seems obnoxious, but you kind of have to do it. Also, the tanner you are, the slimmer you look, the more cut you look.

AA: I used to do tanning booths. I don't anymore. I will go with the whole spray thing, or there are some great lotions out there, like Nivea.

JF: I used to tan in booths a lot for photo shoots, which is incredibly bad for your skin. I am not so dark, so if I let myself go without a tan I will get as white as Scarlett Johansson. Even with tanning lotions, I will be pretty fair. I've got tanning lotion on right now, and I still look white.

AA: And then also it's the photographer and the makeup artist. The location. The girl has to feel it. You have to be into what you're doing, and that comes across in your expressions.

JF: Yeah, if there's an outfit I really hated I would say 'I really don't like this outfit. I reeeally don't want to wear this.' If it emphasized a certain feature that I hated, or covered a certain feature that I loved, I would say something.

AA: Yeah, that's how to look good naked.