There are other rules too, centring on respect and consent – basic good manners, I guess. You don’t strip people naked and whip them unless they want you to. You take turns. You play nicely. I find myself watching Mal’s lips as he enunciates. He has blue lipstick on and his false vampire teeth are fascinating to follow. Perhaps they aren’t even false. Perhaps he’s had them filed that way. I come to with a slight jerk of the neck when O asks us a direct question. What do we do for a living? ‘I’m in advertising,’ I tell her. ‘Oh.’ Not impressed, I gather. ‘And you, Dimitri?’ ‘I have plan to be professional dominant person.’ ‘You’ve come here looking for work?’ She is taken aback. ‘Well, we do have some members who work on the scene. I’m sure you’d benefit from meeting them. It’s funny, but you really don’t look or dress like the stereotype. I like that though.’ ‘I have no leather pants,’ says Dimitri regretfully. ‘Too expensive. But I have other job too.
