Search Salon

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Recently in Salon Health & Body

Using up too much too soon
Pushing the body to athletic extremes may be harmful to your health.
By Andrew Taber
[07/26/99]

Sexpert Opinion
Topanga Canyon dreaming
A visit to L.A. brings back memories of losing my virginity and the tag-team seductions of my teen years.
By Susie Bright
[07/24/99]

Up in the air
Can a 20-minute oxygen session counteract the effects of living in L.A.?
By Debra Ollivier
[07/23/99]

Urge
Great bad sex
Yes, "Eyes Wide Shut" is wooden and static. And wooden and static never looked so good.
By Chris Colin
[07/23/99]

Risky business
Albert Einstein and Evel Knievel were both looking for the same high.
By Michael Alvear
[07/22/99]

Complete archives for Health & Body

- - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Tracy Quan

July 26, 1999 | Tuesday, July 13 (Full moon)

Joe's driver picked me up in a dark green town car at noon sharp, envelope in hand. When he asked if I would need a lift home, I politely declined. (I do not want some smart-alecky chauffeur idling curbside while I turn a trick ... ) When I arrived at the M_____ offices, I was quickly shown to Spooky's ice-cold sanctuary ...

If air conditioning is a status thing, these indoor climes are impressively frigid. My outfit almost matches. In a slim, pale skirt and high-necked silk shell, I look calm -- almost too proper for the task at hand. But my bare arms are feeling the AC and I'm anxious to get started -- so I can warm up!

An owlish-looking, superannuated hipster -- yes, just like the pictures in Rolling Stone -- Spooky is sitting behind his desk talking to a speaker phone. I'm supposed to be a surprise but I have a feeling Spooky has been "surprised" in this fashion many times before. He's about my dad's age and I realize, after a moment, that his twin daughters are almost my age. They were on the Sunday Times society page last weekend -- some charity 'do for a famous rehab clinic. Spooky ends his call abruptly -- "Gotta go, man" -- and gives me his full attention. "Would you care for a drink? ... Some of this?" he adds, waving a little coke vial at me.

Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl appears in Health & Body every Monday and Thursday. + About Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl -- with links to all chapters to date. + Read the Diary from the start.

"No thanks," I chirp, politely. "I'm naturally high. May I visit the ladies' room?" I stopped doing real drugs -- even small amounts -- when I turned 30 but I'm always positive and supportive when it comes to a customer's drug use. Still: I'm leery of these elder druggies -- so far, nobody's ever died on me, but: What if? Oh, well.

I nip into the huge, marble-covered bathroom and find monogrammed paper napkins and framed posters from the early days of vinyl: Max Roach, Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield. Oversized, ornate faucets. Early '60s meets the mid-'80s ... And not a washcloth in sight!

Jasmine taught me a neat trick the other day which I really should thank her for. In my micro-fiber tote are two Ziploc TM bags -- one for dry cotton face cloths, another for stashing them after they're used. This is so much classier than carrying a package of towelettes but also a bit more complicated. Quickly, I pop an unwrapped condom inside my cleavage and put the wrapper in my purse. (No telltale littering -- we wouldn't want to get this summer-of-love graduate in trouble or anything.) Then, off with my sensible Guccis.

When I emerge, in bra and panties and a pair of over-the-top Prada mules -- all heels and teensy little straps exposing my freshly painted toes -- Spooky's eyes temporarily lose their droopy cool.

"I love it," he announces. "Joe is a genius. You're ... hmmm ... the hot towel treatment!"

I unfold my steaming washcloth with a cocky smile.

Next page | Protecting herself while protecting his ego