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My skin and hair feel crunchy from the salt water, so after we park I grab my bag and make a beeline for my room, hoping that a shower will clear my mind as well as clean my body. I throw the lever on and let the hot water steam up the room as I undress, tugging a brush through my hair to make it easier for the shampoo to do its work. As I do so, I hear my phone vibrate in my bag, the familiar sound of a new message, and I scramble to grab it, hoping that it’s the boys.
Instead, I’m surprised, and feeling sort of guilty, to see that it’s my dad instead. I have done less than nothing to split Andries and Roxanne on this trip, and at this point, I’m not even sure that it’s in my plans anymore… even though that was the entire reason Dad was okay with me going to Capri instead of the on a family trip in Lake Como. No doubt he wants an update since I’ve been radio silent for days.
As I check his text, though, I realize I couldn’t be more wrong about his reason for reaching out.
Dad:Have you seen this?
Following his question is a link, but the preview cut off the headline at “Bar Rouge”, but that’s more than enough to make my heart rate kick up. I can’t click the link fast enough, and once the page loads, it’s even more shocking than I could have ever imagined.
It reads, “Bar Rouge Under Investigation: Video Shows Dancer Sucking Off Client on Stage”
Right below the headline for the seedy online tabloid is a link to the video itself, and after a quick deliberation about how much I really want to see, I click the link and wait for the video to load.
It’s shaky camera phone footage, and there is so much loud talking and yelling in the background that it seems like it must have been taken at a normal strip club or bar and not the subtly seductive Bar Rouge, but the decor gives it away. It really is at Roxanne’s cabaret. On the stage, there isn’t a burlesque show or anything of the sort going on. Instead, there is just a single dancer in a black g-string and matching thigh-high leather boots. She has a mic in her hand, and with a wild look on her face, she holds it to her mouth and asks the raucous crowd, “Who wants a blowjob!?”
Cheers and whistles of excitement follow her query, and it makes my jaw drop. I’m more than familiar with Amsterdam, but the pure audacity of this dancer is astounding! I remember talking to Roxanne about how some of her escorts were given jobs at the cabaret when she took over Bar Rouge, and I can’t help but wonder if this girl is just trying to drum up new clients, not satisfied with the more steady if less lucrative pay of the cabaret.
A man, cheered on by his friends, approaches the stage, already undoing the button on his pants. He climbs onto the stage to applause and lays on the floor when the escort asks him to. My lip curls up, wondering about all the unpleasant things that must have been on that floor in the past, and how comfortable this man seems to lay in it just in the hopes of getting his dick sucked. The dancer straddles him, her back a perfect arch as she leans her head down, her nearly bare ass in the air. All that can be seen on the video is her back, but after a second she holds up her hand with her thumb and forefinger only a few inches apart, apparently telling the crowd that the poor man wasn’t very well endowed. The entire club laughs, and after about thirty seconds more and some enthusiastic movement by the dancer, the man’s feet can be seen jerking right before the dancer jumps to her feet, ridiculously nimble in her high heels, with his seed clearly present on her chin and lips before she wipes it off. The dancer takes an exaggerated bow as the crowd erupts in cheer and the satisfied man makes his way back to his seat. It all happens in a matter of minutes, but I know that the repercussions of this video are going to echo far and wide and that her cabaret’s reputation is over.
My mouth dry, I close the video and scan the article as quickly as I can. It’s only a few hours old, so there’s no way Roxanne could have known about it during our trip to the Blue Grotto. I barely saw her with her phone anyway, which means she’s probably receiving texts and voicemails about the incident right this second. At the end of the article, a line reads, “Reporters tried to reach out to the owner, the infamous ex-madame Roxanne Feng, for comment but have been unsuccessful in their attempts.”
Oh man. This was bad news for Roxanne. Andries is going to lose his mind when he finds out she still owns the cabaret. Had she told him when everything was still above board and functioning just as a normal cabaret, he would have been pissed, but I’m sure he would have gotten over it with time. This, though… it looks like Bar Rouge is selling sex work, even if this is a one-time incident, and that’s exactly what Roxanne had promised Andries she was done doing. This could be the end of them, if she doesn’t handle it correctly.
I switch off the shower, grab the silk robe off the hook on the back of the bathroom door, throw it on, and go to sit on my bed. My phone feels like it weighs a million pounds in my hand. My mind is racing, and I just can’t figure out how I feel about all of this. Just months ago I would have been over the moon about getting such good dirt on Roxanne, but now things have changed drastically between us. My brother’s fiancée has such a wellspring of forgiveness in her that it has completely changed everything. Not only did she forgive me, I’m sure now that she cares about me, too. I think of her hand taking mine this afternoon as thoughts about Dan threaten to overwhelm me, and curse everything about what I’ve done to her in the past. And, maybe, what I’m about to do now.
Maybe Dan is right about the things he said a long time ago. Maybe I am a terrible person.
Knowing that I can’t avoid it, I call Dad. He answers immediately, which tells me that he was waiting for my call.
“Looks like fate has just dropped a golden opportunity into your lap,” he chuckles, and I roll my eyes.
“When did this all go down?” I ask, ignoring his smug greeting.
I can hear some jazzy music in the background of the call as he speaks and that makes me wonder if he’s really alone. “To the best of my knowledge it was last night, but the video only really started going viral when they made the connection between the scandal and Roxanne being the owner.”
I cross my legs, pursing my lips. “How did you see it?”
“Karl sent it to me a few hours ago. It’s viral everywhere you go now.” His voice is gleeful, as if he can’t get enough of this unfortunate situation, but Karl’s name makes my skin crawl. It figures that he’d have something to do with all of this. “Looks like that girl just wanted her moment of fame and she definitely got it. I just read that she's even going to go on national TV to try and explain herself.”
“Explain herself how?” I say incredulously. “It’s all on video, and I highly doubt that’s the only angle! Everyone has phones, so who knows how many recordings there are.”
“According to her it was staged and fake, but who knows? The establishment doesn’t have a license to offer such services to clients so they might even shut down if it turns out there was really sex involved.”
“Does Andries know?” After all, they are out later than I expected them to be. What are the chances it’s because Andries is avoiding facing his soon-to-be bride will all of this new drama? I can’t imagine how it would feel to him to see the video on television or from some acquaintance and not hear it from his fiancée herself. If she hasn’t told him, she has to as soon as possible. Otherwise, the fallout is going to be astronomically worse.
“Not yet, from what I understand,” he sounds almost giddy at the prospect. “I’m hoping you’ll be the one to deliver the news.”
His words sink down into my gut like a stone. “Dad, I um…” I don’t want to do any of this anymore. I want Roxanne and Andries to be happy, but alas, that isn’t what I say. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Why not?” he demands.
“I know you want to split them up but this is his bachelor's party and everyone is here. Even Johan came! I don’t want to ruin everyone’s vacation or humiliate my brother in front of all his friends. That isn’t fair and it’s not the goal here, anyway.”
“Either you share the news, or I will.” His tone is stern now, and I wince.
Dammit, what am I going to do now? Of course, Dad would want to pile this on me now while I’m already dealing with so much in my own personal life. “Just… give me a few days, okay?”
“Fine. But just so you know, I really expected you to have accomplished more at this point… Did you say Johan is there?”
