Archie grasped for something to say, some way to get out of this without compromising Leo. The dancer was still between his legs, a hand on each of his thighs. “I’m a little drunk,” he said.

“Maybe he wants some privacy,” Leo said. “Turn off the camera.”

Cooper’s eyes went to the corner of the ceiling. Then back to Archie. The room refracted all of their faces. Cooper. Leo. Archie. The dancer. It made Archie dizzy.

Cooper studied Archie for another minute and then seemed to make a decision about him. He reached into his pants pocket, got out a clip of cash, peeled off three hundred-dollar bills and laid them on the bench between Archie and Leo.

“It’s on me,” Cooper said. Then he pointed at Leo. “Walk with me,” he said. “We need to talk.”

Leo gave Archie a weary look. “Have fun,” he said.

The dancer climbed back to her feet, tucked herself between Archie’s open legs, and began rocking back and forth against his groin. Archie was going to kill Leo for this. “Thanks,” Archie said.

The door closed behind Cooper and Leo, and Archie was left in the mirrored room with the girl. The rocking turned into slow circles. Archie could feel his face flush.

“What’s your name?” Archie asked.

“Star,” she said.

“Will we know when the camera’s off?”

“You’ll see the red light go out,” she said.

“Okay,” Archie said. He kept his eyes fixed on the camera. “We’ll just play along a little longer.”

She had lifted herself off of him now, but only by centimeters. Her elbows were above her head, her hands holding her dark hair up. He could see the sides of her breasts as they swung while she writhed. The edges of his vision were going black. He tried to think of something else besides the nearly nude girl with her ass in his lap. But he couldn’t avoid it. He saw her in every surface, every angle of her.

“Touch me,” she said.

A trickle of sweat crawled down Archie’s neck. “I’m okay, thanks,” he said.

“Guys don’t just sit there,” she said. “Put your hands on my hips.”

Archie studied the camera. He had no doubt they were being watched. Probably by Cooper. Archie lifted his hands from where he had been gripping the bench and placed them on the curve of Star’s hips. His palms were damp. His fingers grazed the waist of her thong.

“You haven’t done this before, have you?” she asked.

Her shoulder blades seemed to crawl under her skin; her spine undulated. Strands of her loose hair feathered against his face. “Not really,” Archie said.

The camera’s light went off. Archie exhaled and lifted his hands from her body. “It’s off,” he said.