I saw a lovely man for an escort booking a couple of weeks ago who asked me to tell him more about my everyday life. I had some resistance to this idea – why would anyone find my day-to-day like interesting? But he was insistent. “Just tell me what you do all day’” he said, “I would love to hear about it.”

So, without further ado, here is a typical day in the life of me. I wouldn’t call it a ‘typical day in the life of an escort’ because we’re all so different. Nevertheless, I hope it’s enlightening!

7:00am - I’m woken up partly by the sun coming through the bedroom window of my North Melbourne apartment, and partly by my alarm, which luckily has a ‘snooze’ button. My partner of four years starts work at 5am so it’s up to me to get myself out of bed on weekdays. It’s not one of my greatest skills. After several ‘snoozes’, the only thing that gets me up is the realisation that I’m going to be late for my gym session.

8:00am - I have a personal training session scheduled at my local gym. I try to train daily because it’s good for me (and also because my personal trainer, who looks like a miniature MMA fighter, scowls at me if she thinks I’m taking too many days off.) We do a few rounds of deadlifts, sit-ups and push-ups. We finish with a run around the block - which I would hate if it weren’t such a beautiful autumn morning.

9:30am - I’m having ‘second breakfast’ at Heart Attack and Vine in Carlton; my favourite café. It’s a great place to sip tea while I check my emails and text messages. I have a couple of messages on my work phone: a “hey r u free” and a “hi”, neither of which I respond to. I don’t generally take bookings over the phone, as I prefer a more detailed email in which someone introduces themselves politely. It’s really hard to work out if someone will be fun to be around when they only use one-word messages. I do have some emails though – a visiting businessman from interstate is interested in meeting up later in the week. We make plans to talk over the phone later.

11:00am - It’s time to get behind the desk! I take care of all my own web design, photography and advertising. I’m always adjusting things. As I have recently changed my working name, there is a lot to do to bring my website up to date.

11:15am - I’m distracted by Facebook; what are my hooker friends up to? One dear friend of mine has just had a baby – she left the industry when she got married last year. Another is working hard to save up for bond on a new apartment, because she isn’t getting along with her flatmate and wants to move. It reminds me how lucky I am, and also how easy I have it – some people put in massive hours to cover their bills, look after their kids or pay off their mortgages. Sex work can be a great job but it still often demands long hours and hard work.

1:30pm - I’m having lunch at home with a mistress friend of mine. She is thinking of having new photos taken to we talk about her ideas and I show her some of my past photography work. We talk about the practicalities – would it be easier to shoot in her dungeon so that she doesn’t have to lug all her props to the studio? Outdoors photos could be fun, but how much (or little) latex can she get away with in a North Melbourne laneway in the cold?

3:00pm - I receive a whole lot of cute puppy GIFs from my partner via Facebook. He always teases me about being lazy around the house all day: “Are you working on your website or are you just watching Game of Thrones?” I decline to answer.

3:15pm – It’s time to call the Travelling Businessman for a chat. I ask what sort of experience he is hoping to have if we meet up; he says he needs to relax, but prefers to spend time with someone he can talk to. It’s actually very rare for me to come across guys who are only interested in sex; the ‘connection’ aspect of an encounter is just as important for men as it is for women. I think we both feel that a connection is there, and he’s very enthusiastic about meeting up later in the week.

5:10pm - Shower time. Makeup – nothing too flashy, just something subtle for my dinner date. I pack my bag for the booking. I choose all sorts of exciting lady items such as lipstick, condoms, massage oil and sex toys. It’s amazing how much you can fit in a handbag. I bet all the nice people at the restaurant will never even notice.

7:00pm – Arriving at the hotel just in time (thanks Uber!) I find myself knocking on the client’s door right at seven o’clock. I prefer to be exactly on time to save the client any worry. This is a regular of mine and he greets me like an old friend. We have so much to catch up on that we almost miss our dinner reservation.

7:30pm  - Dinner at Coda on Little Collins Street. I love the ambiance of this place; it’s a basement-level restaurant with an exceptional bar. We sit at the bar and much conversation and laughter ensues. None of the waiters notice the contents of my handbag. Apart from the laughs, my highlight of dinner is a shot of Ron Zacapa XO rum - it’s costly but worth every penny.

10:00pm – We’re back at the hotel for a satisfying post-dinner drink and some more fun, the nature of which I can’t divulge for privacy reasons! I will say though, it makes me really happy to be able to be a part of someone’s memorable evening. When everything is right – the time, the location, the food and the company, an intimate evening can make me forget all of the worries and busy-ness of the day. I feel really lucky when this happens, because I feel like I’m being paid to relax and be myself. That’s the best part of the job.

12:20am – I’m arriving home. My partner hugs me in his sleep when I get into bed. The alarm is set for 7am. Time to rest and repeat!