I did know girls who had found success in acting, straight from Felicity’s to the silver screen. We would sit around together and cheer her on from our little ladies’ lounge. They would all do the same for me when one of my music videos came on. It was no different when one of the girls passed an exam—we viewed it as one step closer to a life beyond the red door.
It was expected that you would have ambition outside of sex work. In fact, girls that whiled away their free time doing crosswords and reading Cleo were really frowned upon, unless of course they had children. The belief was that if you had no outside purpose you were working to feed a habit. In the era of HIV, girls with habits were pariahs. For this very reason girls would commonly talk about what they spent their money on. Because girls that didn’t accumulate or pay off debt were assumed to be spending their cash on drugs.
These quiet hours also gave us time to compare notes on Felicity’s regulars and their various proclivities. Who liked to try and slip the condom off when we were in doggy style position? Who liked to try and slip it in your ass without asking? Who liked to bite, or give your arse a big whack and say ‘You’ve been a naughty girl and Daddy has to smack you’? Or better still—who was a maestro between the sheets?
All the world’s problems could be solved on quiet days. Who were the greatest lovers? Hands down the French and the Portuguese. Or who were the worst, the biggest, the smallest, the weirdest?
Our favourite pastime was to hold the Mattress Actress Awards with categories like Best Fake Compliment or Best Bullshit Story to Get a Big Tip, but my personal favourite—Best Fake Orgasm. Nominees included Lola for her ability to climax with Daryl, who suffers from premature ejaculation. Martha for her ability to climax with a dick in her mouth and one in her puss. And the Giant Dildo Award this week goes to . . . Gina, who managed to fake an orgasm while being fucked by Harry Mc Sweatsalot! A massive round of applause would follow, with echoes of ‘Speech, speech, speech!’ ‘Can I just say thank you to the academy for this honour. Secondly I would like to thank my parents for really screwing me up. My voice coach, for being able to squeal through the six-inch fur coat that is Harry. Thank you all.’
20
White Slavery
I had a number of regulars but my favourite was a man whose name was Sam. He reminded me a lot of Ben, probably because he was Eurasian and because he was so well-mannered. Sam spoke Japanese, Greek and English. He told me that he ran a translation and chauffeur company, but was very cagey about the details. He always gave me huge tips. He didn’t like talking about himself but seemed very interested in my goals, family, pastimes, friends—basically everything about me.
He told me that he lived in Point Piper, an exclusive suburb on the harbour. He also boasted that he owned a large boat that he had moored off the jetty at the back of his mansion. I found this slightly hard to swallow because he was no more than thirty. Like many clients, he eventually asked me to see him outside of work, but he asked me in a way that seemed really odd. He told me that he was good friends with the owner of Felicity’s, and that I should never mention to anyone that he had invited me out. He even told me to keep it a secret from the other girls, indicating that some of them were not as trustworthy as they appeared.
I had to admit I was intrigued. The idea of spending a day with a handsome, wealthy, well-travelled man excited me, but after my last episode with Paul I was cautious. We made a plan to meet in a café in Paddington for lunch. I couldn’t wait but something in my gut told me to be alert.
After the first half-hour I started to relax. He was so interesting. We talked for hours, once again mainly about myself and my family. He showed what appeared to be a genuine concern about the fact that I had come to Sydney with little to no support.
Every time I tried to steer the conversation back in his direction, he would simply say, ‘No, no, no, I want to know everything about you even if it takes twenty years.’
I told him how I didn’t really have any contact with my parents and that I hadn’t seen my brothers in some time. I didn’t think my life was at all interesting but he seemed enthralled. At the end of the lunch I told him that I had to go and get ready for work.
He said, ‘You won’t tell anyone of our little rendezvous will you?’
I assured him that I wouldn’t, then left on a bus just in case he decided to follow me like Paul had.
That evening I was busting to share the news about my exciting date with Sam with the other girls, but instead I kept my silence as I had promised.
At about one am Sam walked in the door, and within minutes I was called to his room, where he was sitting with three Japanese businessmen.
They were speaking among themselves and then Sam said, ‘I’m just here tonight to accompany my associates. I recommended you, he finds you very attractive, I think we both have impeccable taste.’