Ping had no doubt about her future. She worked on Soi 6. The Chic bar was better than many of the other short-time bars on the street, but she did not lie to herself by saying that she was only working at a bar. She had sex with men. Some days none. Other days as many as she could can handle. The most she ever fucked in one day was seven. The record for the Chic Bar belong to Pai. She once did ten men in one day.

Pai wasn’t beautiful. She wasn’t young. Her selling point was her cost. 500 baht. And she will do anything for that much money. Farang men on Soi 6 were kee-nio. They liked cheap sex and dirty. Sokapok same as a salaam, but then Pai was born in Klong Toey, Bangkok’s most notorious slum. She wasn’t a friend and Ping made sure that Pai didn’t befriend her little cousin.

Over the last two weeks Pai had asked Oom if she wanted to go short-time with her.

Pai liked girls.

She was a tom boy at heart and Ping’s lithe cousin was lonely.

This afternoon Pai was plying Oom with whiskey. The older woman was braiding her hair. Her fingertips were caressing the teenager’s shoulder. Ping got up from her stool.

“Oom not like girl.” Ping stood between them.

“Oom big girl. She can make her mind.” Pai outweighed Ping by 20 kilos. She was the msot savage fighter on Soi 6 and had knocked out more than one farang who decided 500 baht was too much after the happy ending. Her favorite weapon was a high heel shoe to the head.

“Oom, have man come want two lady. I get 500. You get 1000. Good idea?” Pai had a wicked smile. Same as if she had sold her soul to Saitan. “Get good money two lady. One man. Your ‘sister’ she go with me many time.”

“Go for show. Never for real.” Ping was repulsed by Pai’s touch and kiss. She wanted to hit the fat sopenee, but curbed her temper, because the farang who rode a motorcycle with his dog in the basket was across the street two bars down.

“Never is long time on Soi 6.” Pai flicked her hair at Ping and walked to the end of the terrace. She had been at the Chic Bar longer than any other girl. Almost 5 years andd her seniority earned her the first shot at any farang.

No argument too, but the afternoon rains fell hard and few farangs wandered the gauntlet of bars lining the small soi. Finally one old man approached Pai. The way they spoke Ping could tell they were long-time friends. The old man was more than old. He was ancient. Ping pushed Oom back into the bar. The movement caught the old man’s eyes. He whispered to Pai, who took his hand and came over to Ping with the old man in tow.

“He like you. Give you 1000 baht for me to make love you.” Pai said this in Thai. The old man smiled as if he understood, but no westerner could understand the dialect of the distant Isaan plateau. “Give you 1000 too.”

‘No boom-si?” Ping needed money. Her boyfriend owed the mafia 2000 baht for ja-bah. Nothing worked out good for Nai.

“No boom-si. He only jag-wow.” Pai made a masturbatory motion and the old man nodded with eagerness.

“Okay, but he give 1000 baht first.”

“No problem. He no cheap Charlie.” Pai grabbed her bag and the trio went upstairs to a short-time room after paying the barfines. They took a shower. The old man had skin like a plucked chicken. He was hard. Ping was sure he had taken a Viagra. She hated Viagra. The pill made old men hard as a young boy but for a long time.

Back in the bedroom Ping lay on the bed.

“You want 1000 baht more.” Pai was rummaging through her bag.

“For what?” Ping was getting a bad feeling.

“You play with this while I smoke you.” Pai held up an electric vibrator. “Old man watch same we dirty movie. 10 minutes and he finish. You have 2000 baht.

“Okay.” It was too late to back out. Pai’s cousin was the mama-san. She hated girls that didn’t do what a man wanted from them. “You do what you do. I play same I finish.”

The two girls pretended to be lovers for the benefit of the old man. Ping didn’t looked at him, but she heard his hand sliding over his ‘ham’. She fought off a shiver of disgust. The old man was older than her grandfather. Ping waited for him to join the two girls on the bed, except he started crying.

Pai lifted her head and winked to Ping.

“Old man, you no good.” Pai pulled back his head by the hair.

“I no good.” The old man went to his knees. “I bad man.”

“I make you good.” Pai waved for Ping to leave the room. Ping did as she was told, although she worried whether Pai would give her the promised extra 1000. Downstairs Ping asked the mama-san about the money.

“Stupid girl. Pai crazy, but she no thief.” The mama-san was angry. She didn’t like anyone speaking bad about her family. Nah-sia or loss of face was no joke for Thais no matter what the class level.

“Okay.” Ping walked outside. The rain had stopped and puddles flooded the street. Oom was talking with a young man. he was handsome for a farang. Oom was getting all the good-looking ones. 18 was better than 20. Ping wondered what would happen if she said Oom would go with her for a show. She already knew the answer. Nothing. The two girls were family and that is more important than money. At least as long as Ping got here extra 1000 baht. if not than Oom would have to do whatever Ping told her to do, because they were family and that blood link was more important than money especially when money was on the line.

Ping spotted the farang with the dog. He was talking to a ladyboy. The skinny ka-toey was promising him heaven. Ping had a better sah-wan to offer the Thai-speaking westerner, but he had no eyes for Ping. He drove off toward the beach and the ka-toey smirked at Ping.

Ping stuck out her tongue.

The farang hadn’t gone with the slender ladyboy, but Ping knew that he wouldn’t short-time with her.

Everyone said he was a good man. His wife had left him for a Thai boyfriend. She had taken his daughter up north. No one knew where. He had to want someone new and at 21 Ping was almost new and that almost was good enough for most farangs. This man belonged to her. Not yet but soon.