For the rest of the week, I felt a surge of nervous energy each time a customer chose Baby out of a lineup. Because the women debriefed each other in the parlor about their sessions with customers, I had some sense of what a typical party entailed. The most frequently requested party, fellatio plus intercourse, they called a "half and half." The second most popular, simply fellatio, they called a "total French." And one of the most expensive parties women sold, a "kitty licker" session, was one in which they let men perform oral sex on them.

One night, Baby and I were chatting together in the parlor when Farrah, a working girl who looked eerily like Farrah Fawcett, crept up and whispered something into Baby's ear. Baby nodded and Farrah melted away as quickly as she had appeared. Baby turned to me and said, "Farrah has a guy who wants a dominance party. She doesn't know how to do the party so she's pulled me in." In brothel-speak, to be pulled into a party is to be included in a date with another woman's customer. It wasn't uncommon for less experienced women to try to pull in more experienced prostitutes like Baby, especially for specialty sessions like dominance.

Baby hesitated for a moment. "So, I was thinking, maybe I can pull you in, too." As she said the words, I felt a rush of exhilaration and terror that almost nauseated me. Who knew when I'd have another chance to watch paid sex between a brothel prostitute and a customer? And this was no standard party. Dominance was one of the kinkiest activities sold. I nodded my assent. I'd come this far. Baby stood up and pulled down her tight spandex dress. She told me to stay in the parlor until she had arranged everything. Under no circumstances should I mention the plan to anyone -- particularly Shelley the floor maid, who happened to be on duty and might fire Baby if she got wind of this.

Shelley was the ex-sadist who had bullied me my first day at Mustang No. 1. Although I'd made several visits to the brothel, I had yet to win her over. By now I had gotten used to her icy, suspicious stares. She had pulled Baby aside one day and told her to "be careful" around me; she accused Baby of divulging too many "industry secrets." The other women speculated that Shelley had a crush on Baby and was simply jealous of all the time I was spending with her. And in fact, when I finally confronted Shelley and asked her what she thought about me, she snarled, "I just think you're in love with Baby."

It was remarkable how often relationships became sexualized in the brothels. It was therefore no coincidence that both Shelley and I had been accused of lusting after Baby. While most of the relationships between women did have an unusual air of sexualized energy, very few of the prostitutes identified themselves as bisexual or lesbian. Although some women did have sex with other women in the brothel, almost all of them thought of themselves as heterosexuals who had merely been experimenting. "We are so isolated and lonely," said one women. "I think we start looking for comfort and affection anywhere we can find it." Frankly, I was surprised that liaisons between women didn't occur more frequently, especially given the intense, concentrated time they spent pent up together. Anyway, whatever Shelley's true motives, I had no intention of telling anyone that I might get to be a voyeur.

While Baby was gone, I sat on the couch, my mind racing. Maybe this party would take place in Mustang's dungeon, a windowless, closet-sized room at the back of the brothel equipped with metal D-rings where women could attach various restraints like harnesses, chains, and cuffs. Would the man go all-out for whipping and beating? I had heard the women talk about a customer who wanted to be shocked with a cattle prod and another who asked to be locked in a doghouse for over twenty-four hours. One day while sitting in the parlor, I had seen a man brought out naked, leashed, and on all fours, like a dog. As I mulled over the stories I had heard about dominance parties, it suddenly struck me that Baby had used the expression "pull you in" rather vaguely. I hoped she didn't intend that I participate. But Baby had also said they would probably blindfold the man, I tried to reassure myself, in which case he probably wouldn't even know I was in the room.

Private Life Romance, relationships, and the personal side of Table Talk