AFTER MY FAKE PREGNANCY, I had money and I decided to try to live clean again – I was still taking drugs, but I had no sex with anyone for about a year.
Instead, I worked as a waitress at Harry’s Pancakes at the V&A Waterfront. My friend Lindiwe also found work there, and we did some stripping on and off, while working at Harry’s Pancakes in the day. Eventually Lindiwe left for Joburg to follow her dreams.
After work, my fellow girl co-workers and I used to go out to town for some fun. I wasn’t interested in picking up any guy or hustling because of my strict no-sex diet. But one evening, we girls decided to see what we could ‘catch’. The clubs on Long Street did not have entrance fees, so you just went in, showed yourself and met whoever you met.
That’s when I met Charles from DRC. This tall, handsome black guy with bright eyes, pronounced lips and broad shoulders seemed so different from other men I had known. He came over to me with his good English and started chatting, telling me he worked as a barman at another bar.
‘I don’t chat with guys unless they buy me a drink,’ I told him, flippantly.
He left.
I sat at the bar and watched my friends dancing. About half an hour later, Charles reappeared with a drink in his hand.
We chatted. He kept buying drinks, but I didn’t want to drink much since I was smoking weed. We ended up dancing and having a lot of fun. That night we went to his place in town, where he slept on a mattress on the floor.
I hadn’t had sex for a whole year, but sex was fun with him. Charles could act manly and arrogant, but he was also sweet.
We saw more of each other.
Within three months, we had developed a liking for each other. I wasn’t interested in a serious relationship, but it was nice having a boyfriend, like my friends did, and having sex for fun. We never discussed love or our feelings towards each other, even though I eventually left Khayelitsha and moved in with him at his place.
At first I was careful to always use a condom.
But gradually, we went off it.