'My premium rate lover'
Thursday 24th September 2009
Candlelight, soft music, nice wine… I'd been with my boyfriend, Arthur Dambis, for two months, and he'd pushed the boat out, cooking me a posh three-course meal.
'This is the most romantic night of my life,' I smiled. Or it would be if my blinking mobile would stop ringing.
'I'll ignore it,' I said as I fumbled to cancel the call.
My phone had been going off all through dinner and I could see it was winding him up.
'Who is it?' Arthur, 21, asked.
'No one,' I insisted as the screen lit up again.
I should have just turned it off. But then…
'I'll get rid of them,' he said, snatching my phone and answering it.
Oh no. Arthur didn't say a word, but I watched the colour drain from his face.
'It's someone asking
for Sexy Nessa,' he said. 'That's the name you used on the dating site.'
My mouth went dry.
'Are you seeing someone else?' he asked.
Frantic, I couldn't think of an excuse. I'll have to tell him the truth…
It had started three months before when I was about to start my second year at University of East London and was up to my ears in debt.
I'd read about a girl who earned £1,000 a month working on a sex chatline. Normally I had trouble talking dirty to boyfriends but I'd swallowed my embarrassment and signed up.
'Join lots of dating sites and give this number,' my contact had explained.
It looked like a mobile number, but really it was a premium line, charging £1.50 a minute. Of that, I'd get 20p. I'd signed up to every dating site I could think of, calling myself Sexy Nessa and posting pictures of me pouting. The calls had flooded in.
'Sexy Nessa speaking,' I'd say, stifling a giggle. 'How can I turn you on?'
To start with it was embarrassing. But then it had become a laugh.
'I'm dressed in sexy red knickers,' I'd purr, curled up on the settee in my comfy checked pyjamas and fluffy slippers.
Did these blokes realise they were on a premium rate line? Definitely. It was clear from their sleazy questions that they knew.
Those 20ps were really adding up. Then one day, three weeks in, Arthur had called.
'You look so pretty in your picture,' he'd said shyly. 'Fancy a chat?'
I'd braced myself for the pervy questions. But they hadn't come.
'What's your favourite food?' he'd asked instead.
We'd ended up talking for hours. He'd called again the next night, and the next and the next, but he never talked about sex. He was kind and sweet.
Then I realised. He didn't know he was calling a sex line. He thought
I was looking for love.
'My fiancé dumped me for my best friend,' he'd admitted.
Poor bloke. But what could I do? It was against the rules to tell men about the number. Anyway, I loved speaking to him.
After a month he'd got a stonking £1,500 bill.
'Why is it costing so much to call you?' he'd asked, confused.
I'd told him I was on a special phone because I was an on-call nurse.
Instead of telling me to get lost, he'd asked to meet me. We'd seen each other every day since and I'd fallen in love. I'd always meant to tell the truth but now he'd found out in the worst possible way.
'What's going on?' he demanded.
As the story came out, I couldn't meet his eye. When I finally did, he looked devastated.
'So you've been scamming me?' he spat. 'You made me fall in love with you for money?'
'No,' I insisted tearfully. 'I loved talking to you. I didn't know how to tell you the truth.'
I went to hug him but he pushed me away.
'Just leave!' he shouted.
'I love you,' I cried, as the door slammed in my face.
For the next few days I sobbed and sobbed. I'd never felt so ashamed. My latest pay cheque was a whopping £1,200 but it didn't cheer me up.
A month passed and I thought about Arthur constantly. I stopped working for the chatline but every time my phone rang, I hoped it was him.
One night, I couldn't stand it any longer and stormed over to his flat. I rang the bell but he didn't answer so I sat on his doorstep and cried.
My head in my hands, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
It was Arthur.
'One question,' he said. 'When you said I was the only man you've ever loved, was that the truth?'
'It's true,' I said. 'You were more to me than just 20p per minute, I swear.'
'Let's give it another go then,' he said.
Seven months on, we're so happy and are getting married next summer. I'll always regret deceiving him but I can't regret joining the chatline. This relationship started when Arthur rang, and now, well, we're both engaged!
Arthur said: 'Vanessa's a great girl but I was hurt when
I found out about the chatline. I felt angry, but I couldn't stop thinking about her.'