One Night In Amsterdam (2 page)

I was sitting idly and getting bored.  I noticed multiple rooms with closed curtains and lit red lights. It meant the girls were busy performing the oldest profession in the world. I didn’t want to think about the things going on behind those curtains but a part of me was curious – our guide told us that some of these girls made 30,000 Euros a month, averaging up to 300 Euros an hour. I was staring blankly at the window and calculating how many hours she had to work to make that kind of money in my mind when a tall guy with stylish jet black hair, broad shoulders and well-built physique came out of the door. He was ruggedly handsome, dressed in complete black: trousers, shirt, and shoes.  He looked like he was in his twenties, however the Armani logo on his shirt told me he wasn’t a college student backpacking across Europe. He was different. He oozed confidence, money and something else that I didn’t want to think about.

When he caught me staring at him, he took his Raybans off, narrowed his sky blue eyes and studied me for a long minute.  His eyes pulled me in for some unknown reason. I was having hard time breaking eye contact with him. He walked slowly towards the church and suddenly stopped. His gaze was unfettered and feral. His eyes trailed down my body and up again to my face. He approached me further and then abruptly sat next to me.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” He asked nonchalantly as if he hadn’t just come out of a brothel. He moved my backpack aside and scooted over. He crossed his arms and looked deeply into my eyes. The contours of his muscles and a part of his tattoo were visible underneath his shirt.

I felt compelled under his gaze and couldn’t utter a word. My face was on fire. I blushed inevitably and felt frustrated about his effect on me. “I don’t think I know or want to know anyone coming out of that door,” I said harshly, pointing at the now open glass door and the blonde girl waving in her next customer. I wanted him to go away and leave me alone so I could go back to feeling normal again.

He followed my gaze slowly and smiled warmly, showing no intentions of leaving. “You don’t mince words, do you? Are you always this frank?”  He asked, raising his eyebrow.

His proximity made me feel edgy, my breathing got faster.  I sipped my water and took a deep breath. “Yes, generally I am!” I replied without looking at his piercing blue eyes.

“If these rooms bother you that much, what are you doing in the Red Light District?”

“I didn’t say they bother me.”

“You have a look on your face tells me that they do.”

“I think you are saying that because you got caught.”

“I don’t care if I got caught. But I think you do. Why else would you be all red and upset?”

“Because, it is so damn hot.” I replied tersely. I wasn’t upset. I didn’t like being around brothels, but that wasn’t the reason of my disquietude. His closeness and boldness bothered me more than anything else, but of course I wasn’t going to admit that to him. “I don’t like the sex trade.”

“Well, I don’t like it either.”

“Then, what the hell were you doing in there?” I asked. I was curious now.

He smiled beguilingly, “You wouldn’t believe me, even if I told you.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?” I asked sarcastically.

“It looks … you know how it looks, but I wasn’t in there doing what you think.” He paused, waiting to see my reaction.

“Go ahead! Share, by all means!”

“Okay. Well… you see that guy standing there, quite handsome...”

The guy he was pointing at was nothing compared to him. Yes, he would be considered good-looking by Sydney’s standard: tall, blonde, well-built but he wasn’t my type. To me, the handsome and charming one was him, staring intently at me and obviously, he knew it too.

“Yes, I see him.” I said coyly, and agreed to play his game. At least for now.

“He is my best friend. We’ve known each other for ever and we do everything together.  Unfortunately, sometimes he can be a bit too much. He parties like crazy and forces me to join him. Anyway, yesterday, he came back to the hotel and talked all night about this one girl behind that door. He insisted that I should meet her and experience her magic too.”

“Uh-huh … stop now! What makes you think I’ll listen to your sexual fantasies?” I got up slowly and moved towards our group.

“No, no wait. It’s not like that,” he objected and followed me.

“Not like what …”

“Well, yes, I admit I went in there to do you know what. Max convinced me to try it. We’re in Amsterdam. You know… nothing is off limits. I got inside and everything looked so disgusting. I thought about all the other men in there before me, and suddenly I got grossed out. So, I didn’t do it.”

“How honorable of you!” I taunted him, fake clapping my hands.  “What did you do in there for ten minutes then?” I asked.

“How do you know I was in there for ten minutes?” he smirked. “Were you watching me?”

I sighed deeply. I should have known this would be coming before I asked.  He was too presumptuous. His conceit was not earning him any points with me. But then why did I bother talking to this guy?

“Of course not! Don’t flatter yourself,” I replied.  “I didn’t even notice you until you came over and sat next to me.”

“Oh, then you weren’t staring at me. You were looking at ...” He glanced around to find something interesting.  He pointed at an old building, now turned into a cannabis coffee shop with ‘Hi-life Coffee House’ sign. “At that?”

“You know what…you are an arrogant son of a bitch! You are too presumptuous. Too full of yourself.” I chided him. “I was bored and just looking around. I noticed that those doors were closed for a while. I assumed it was ten minutes, maybe it was less.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. I was just teasing. I didn’t mean to offend you,” he responded with a modest grin. He sounded sincere. “I paid the girl up front, then I thought that if I am not getting what she offered, it wouldn’t hurt to sit down and talk until my time is up.”

“Really!  You stayed because you didn’t want your money to go to waste,” I shook my head showing my obvious disbelief. “Then, what did you talk about?” I asked brusquely, glaring into his eyes and waiting for another smart-ass answer.   He fidgeted as if he was uncomfortable. Or somehow my snide remarks were finally getting to him.

“We talked about life in general. She has a son. She is doing what she is doing to make a living, like many others here. There is no need to be contemptuous or condescending towards them.”

“I am not being condescending. There are other ways to make a living, but, anyways! So, what else did she tell you?” I questioned him further, then, I wondered inwardly… Why was I still asking him questions? Did I not want this conversation to end?

“She told me how much she made in general and what she did with her money. I work in investment business. I asked if she was investing her money wisely, so she could quit working before she got old.”

“I could have told you that. Thanks to our tour guide over there, I learned more about Amsterdam’s sex trade than I ever wanted to know.”

“Ah-ha, is that why you are here? Taking a tour of the famous ‘De Wallen’?” He asked.  “I wondered what a girl like you was doing in the Red Light District.” There was a hint of bewilderment in his voice.

“My crazy friend, who also happens to be my cousin, forced me to come to Amsterdam and take this tour with her. I couldn’t say no.”

“Actually it’s great that you are here. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You don’t know Sydney. God knows what other crazy things she’s planned for us.”

“I’d like to meet her.” He said abruptly.

“Sydney? “Why?” I asked.

“Because…” He paused. His intense eyes pierced through me. “I’d like to thank her for convincing you to come. Otherwise, how would I have met such an attractive and beautiful girl like you?” He grinned mischievously.

“Aside from being presumptuous, are you always this flirtatious?” I asked, but couldn’t hide my smile.

“No I am not. I don’t flirt. Usually, it’s the other way around. Girls flirt with me. You are a very intriguing exception.”

“I’m glad to be an exception.” I shook my head still smiling and got up. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but my tour is leaving and I need to go now.” I said curtly.

“Oh, come on. You cannot get rid of me that easily.” He frowned and studied me for several long seconds while thinking. “I wonder if I could join your tour as well.”

I hesitated to answer. Something about him made me perplexed. Part of me wanted him to leave but the other part wanted him to join us. He sounded like an interesting person and my gut told me that he was honest. He would be a better companion than the raucous college kids, that’s for sure.  “I don’t see why not. It is a free tour. You’ve got to tip the guide at the end. I think the more the merrier for her.” I finally answered.

“Awesome!” He exclaimed happily.  I couldn’t suppress my chuckle over his childish reaction. He was indeed sweet when he wasn’t so arrogant.

“Since we are going to be together for a while, would you mind telling me your name?” He asked.

“I’m Emma.” I said.

“It’s really nice to meet you Emma. I am Dylan.” He replied with a broad smile.

CHAPTER 2

DYLAN

I waved at Max, hollered and then whistled through my fingers, yet he still didn’t hear me. He was only up for a couple of hours but he was already rolling his third cigarette of the day. It frustrated me that all he wanted from this trip was to party and get high. I was so mad at him that I thought about leaving his miserable ass there to let him figure out his way back to hotel alone. Then, out of the blue, I heard Mrs. Donavon’s voice echoing in my head. “Take care of him Dylan. You are the only one he listens to.  Don’t let him do anything too stupid,” she said.  Well, that was some wishful thinking Mrs. Donavon had. I could only look after him so much. In the end, Max did whatever he wanted. Even I couldn’t stop him.

Maximilian Donavon and I were inseparable friends… for what felt like forever. The only heir of the billion dollar corporation, Max was the richest man under thirty in Manhattan. His net worth was estimated to be more than one billion dollars, increasing more every day. How did it feel to be the best friend and the business partner of the wealthiest, bad-ass bachelor in Manhattan? It was cool, but it also sucked.  He was the classic definition of a bad friend. He was errant and irresponsible. Like any typical spoiled rich kid with a lot of money, he didn’t care much about anything, neither the rules nor the people around him. Despite his infamous notoriety, I knew Max was more than what people thought of him. He had a tough childhood and bad teenage years. I was the only one he trusted and didn’t push out of his life. There had been times when I was tired of him but regardless of his problems and troubles, he was still my best friend. He stood up for me when I needed it the most. I trusted Max with my life and he trusted me. I knew I had to take care of him.

“Will you wait here for me a minute?” I asked Emma. “I need to go and get Max.” I explained. Emma’s eyebrows went up and her face turned into a frown. Obviously she didn’t like the idea of Max joining us too. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about him earlier but it was impossible to resist her judging eyes. They made me obliged to tell her the truth, at least some of it.

Honestly, I was exasperated and furious with Max for making me smoke that cigarette and go in there after him.  He enticed me to do some reckless stuff before, but this last one was too much. Whatever weed he rolled this morning for us made me delusional.  I was totally out of it when the girl unzipped my pants. Then suddenly, things became clear, and I felt nauseated. I stopped and told her I didn’t want it. She didn’t understand me at first and thought I wanted my money back. I assured her that she could keep the money. I just wanted to stay there, and do nothing. I wasn’t feeling good. Either I was going to vomit on the street or shake it off in there. Luckily, she was nice and understanding. While I held my head between my hands to stop the world from spinning, she tried to help me.  She gave me some water, wiped my face, and then we talked. I didn’t know how long I stayed in that room. I was doing okay, until I got out of there and saw those two green eyes on me. They were intimidating. Judging. They spoke the unspoken words, accusing me furtively.  I wanted to escape from her ‘I knew what you did in there’ looks.  However, I stood there completely hypnotized as she continued glaring at me, her eyes gleaming wickedly. I felt as if the air was sucked out of my lungs. It was that intense.

I had to get Max but I didn’t want to leave Emma out of my sight, even if it was for a few minutes. I had this uncanny feeling that she was hesitating about her decision. I didn’t want her to change her mind while I was trying to find my idiot friend. In a hurry, I grabbed Emma’s backpack off the ground and put it on my shoulder. I wasn’t trying to act chivalrously. It was more for me than her.  I just wanted to make sure she didn’t leave without me. “It won’t take long, I promise.” I said and left in a hurry to find Max.