Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 16:05:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Orrin Rush <orrinrush@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Lifeguard #59
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are
offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go
somewhere else.
Copyright c 2001 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.
Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed
electronically or in any other manner without the express,
written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters
to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not
intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.
--------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIFEGUARD
Chapter 59
"Is this what a honeymoon is supposed to be?" I asked groggily
as I tried to wake up.
"Sure is," he answered, too damned chipper for that early
in the morning. "That was some night, wasn't it?"
"I've never felt so horny in my life. That hash is really
mean stuff! I think I'm still horny!"
"Me too," he giggled, poking my leg. "But, you know, that
was just pure unadulterated sex. Sure, it was great, but I
think I get more real satisfaction when we 'Make Love' only
once a night."
"I see what you mean," I agreed, "but I still need to get
that itch scratched that's way up inside of me. Get over
here and make love to me!"
"Yes Sir! Gladly Sir!" he said grinning.
- - - - -
Gamal took us to the Camel Market and then dropped us at the
Bazaar. To be honest, we were both exhausted but neither
would admit it. That didn't slow down our haggling and
buying, though.
After taking an afternoon nap, I was hungry for some beef,
something we hadn't eaten in over a week. "But where?" Eric
asked.
"There used to be a restaurant over at the Ramses Hilton that
had beef," I told him, "let's see if it's still there."
The Ramses was next door so we walked, having dressed in long
pants for the occasion. It was still there, right off the
lobby. We checked the displayed menu, they had beef, and
waited to be seated. The Maitre 'd came up, stopped to look
at me, then cried out "Mr. David!" then rushed forward to
pump my hand. Miraculously, I remembered his name, Hassan,
and introduced him to Eric. They shook hands then Hassan
stepped back and looked Eric over from head to toe. He
looked back at me with a big smile and nodded his approval.
He seated us and recommended the Prime Rib.
"Why do I feel like I'm under a microscope?" Eric asked.
"Everybody seems to be inspecting me to see if I'm 'worthy'
of you."
"My friends are protective," I told him. "I guess they don't
trust MY judgment, which kind of pisses me off, but I know
they care."
"I don't really care, just so long as I pass muster. So far,
I guess I have."
"And how!" I said. "Have you noticed the drooling?"
"Let 'em drool, just don't touch."
"Did my antics last night bother you?" I asked.
"Hell no! You gave those two boys the thrill of a lifetime.
You were just showing off," he chuckled.
- - - - -
The wakeup call came before dawn. It was our day to climb
the Pyramid. Gamal was waiting and we headed for Giza,
driving right up to the base of the Pyramid. Gamal jumped
out and we followed. Very subtly, wads of Pound notes found
their way from Gamal to the Arab "guards" standing around.
When he had concluded his business, he led us over to the
corner of the Pyramid.
"It usually takes about an hour to get to the top," he told
us. "It'll be daylight by then so you can see everything.
Please don't stay up there too long so you can get back down
before all the tourists arrive."
We took a long look, then started climbing. The layers of
stone were about chest high, so you had to reach up then pull
yourself up each course. It was hard work!
We were not the only ones doing the climb. Others were ahead
of us and some following. A pack of American teenagers
zipped past us. "Goddam kids," I muttered, getting Eric
giggling.
As it got lighter, we stopped to take pictures, then
continued. When we reached the top, it was light and a mob
scene. Everybody was taking pictures of everybody else. We
helped out, and had our pictures taken with our own cameras
individually and together with Chefren's Pyramid in the
background.
The scenery was spectacular from this height, the equivalent
of a 54 story building. We looked and took pictures. The
crowd was starting to go down, and when we found a spot
between groups, started back down ourselves. It was a
helluva lot easier going down than the climb up.
Back on the ground, looking back up, we were both awed.
After being up to the top, we were able to appreciate the
size of it, which made me kind of tingle.
Gamal, knowing of our previous bad experience, offered to
take us on a short tour. His commentary was a vast
improvement over Ali's spiel.
We hadn't taken a camel ride, something that was a must.
"Here's the drill," I told Eric. "These guys will agree on a
price, then, when you've had your ride and still up on the
camel, they'll ask for a lot more before the'll let you down.
My solution to that is to flip one leg over and just slide
down, then pay them the original price."
Gamal had been listening. "You've been here before!" he
chuckled.
"I see," Eric said, "They try to hold you hostage."
"Doesn't work on me," I told him.
We picked out camels with the most tassels and other
adornment to ride on. They knelt and we climbed aboard, they
stood up and the owners led us off. We took a pretty long
ride, snapping pictures of each other, hamming it up.
As predicted, when we returned to the starting point, the
price went up. I threw my leg over and slid down, and paid
the original asking price. I watched Eric doing the same.
Since we were already in Giza, where, in my opinion, some of
the better shops were, we went shopping. We went to a
Papyrus "Institute" and a perfume bottle store, buying a few
items at each, then on to a jewelry shop. Gamal advised us
that at these stores one didn't haggle, particularly the
jewelry shop.
I bought enameled wing gold Scarabs for all the ladies on my
list and Eric bought pendants and chains for all his buddies.
- - - - -
It was time to pack up and head for Luxor. We packed all our
dirty clothes and "Treasures" in one of the empty suitcases
we'd brought and left it at the hotel.
We flew to Luxor, Gamal with us, and got settled in the
hotel. That afternoon we went to see Luxor Temple, then
checked out the Bazaar.
The next day was the 12th, the big night! Gamal assured us
that everything had been "taken care of" and I gave him the
baksheesh money. At that point, I was pretty sure that Gamal
had figured out that Eric and I were lovers, but I wasn't
sure if he knew WHY we wanted to get into the Ark chamber,
and I didn't think it necessary to tell him.
We spent the whole day at Karnak Temple, the largest
religious structure in the world. A lot of time was spent in
the Great Hypostyle Hall with its forest of enormous
columns, sitting and absorbing the grandeur.
Next was the Great Temple of Amun, an enormous structure, and
in it's depths, the Chamber of the Ark.
The chamber itself wasn't very impressive, just a square room
with a stone pedestal in the center. A modern wooden replica
of the "Ark" that had held the golden Statue of Amun was on
the pedestal, otherwise the room was bare. The blackened
ceiling showed evidence of the torches that had burned in
there over the millenia. Looking around, and knowing what
we'd be doing that night gave me goosebumps and a roaring
hardon.
The entire complex was too much to see in one day, so we only
hit the high spots. We'd come back and spend another day
there.
Gamal ate dinner with us and explained how things would work
that evening. There was a "Sound and Light" show at the
Temple. It was a "walk-through" of the entire temple complex
which we'd join. He had our tickets.
We would follow the crowd until we got to the Temple of Amun,
then hang back until they moved on. He, Gamal, would confirm
with the guards that everything was OK, then lead us to the
chamber and leave us there. Just to make absolutely sure
that we wouldn't be disturbed, he would wait for us outside
the passageway leading to the chamber.
He assured us that there wouldn't be any problems.
We had an hour to get ready.
We both wore shorts, T-shirts and sandals. We put the
battery powered lantern in a small back pack along with the
"Aromatic Oils" Eric had brought, and a small towel for
cleanup.
Instead of a taxi, Gamal had gotten a horse-drawn carriage.
I guessed that he knew more than I thought!
The ride to the Temple was romantic. The wait amidst the
crowd to get through the Hypostyle Hall and the main part of
the Temple of Amun was excruciatingly slow.
While we were listening to the descriptive lecture over
loudspeakers, in German, Gamal was scurrying around making
final arrangements.
Finally, finally, the crowd started moving on. Gamal led us
over to the Sanctuary, and we followed him through the other
chambers until we reached the Ark. "Take your time," he
said, chuckling, "We're paid up for the whole night."
I got the lantern out and put it on the floor pointing
upward. It gave the whole room a dim glow. Eric watched me,
then took me in his arms and kissed me lightly. "This is an
experience of a lifetime," he said quietly, then took off all
of my clothes and stood me next to the pedestal.
He stood directly in front of me oiling up his hands. I
smelled Sandalwood. He reached forward and enveloped my
half-hard dick with his warm hands. I rose quickly and he
stroked me slowly with both hands.
I looked into his eyes and saw the love there, then thought
about what was happening, and, more importantly, where. All
of these thoughts magnified the pleasure he was giving me. I
felt it coming and involuntarily tensed and started
shooting. It was intense, and there were so many things
going through my mind that my ejaculation continued and
continued.
I opened my eyes to find that Eric had moved to my side
because he wasn't covered with my cum as I'd feared. His arm
was around me, holding me up, thankfully, because I was
definitely sagging.
When I could stand unassisted, he got out the towel and
cleaned me up.
Still nude I took him in my arms and just held him. I pulled
his T-shirt up and started working on his shorts. "What are
you doing?" he asked.
"You're going to prove that you're fit to rule, too," I told
him.
His smile spread and he relaxed.
I finished undressing him and got the oil.
Standing in front of him, I enveloped him in my hands. He
was throbbing. I stroked slowly but firmly, the way I knew
he liked it.
Our eyes were locked, he had a slight grin, and when those
blue eyes started to glaze over, I moved slightly to the side
and sped up. He grimaced, stiffened and groaned as the white
ropes flew across the room and hit the floor with a splat.
I put an arm around his waist to steady him and we came
together with his arms around me, his head on my shoulder. I
felt a couple of aftershocks wrack his body.
When he was fully recovered and could stand on his own, I
wiped off the oil and the last "dribbles". Silently, we
dressed and he took the towel and wiped up the pools of cum.
We loaded up our stuff and "felt" our way back through the
passage.
Gamal was waiting for us, a smile on his face. "Everybody
pass the test?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"With 'flying' colors!" Eric answered. Gamal knew everything.
We reeked of Sandalwood. It smelled good but was a bit
overpowering.
"Why'd you do that?" Eric asked as we were stripping for the
shower.
"That was MY plan from the beginning," I told him. "It was
easier not to say anything so I didn't have to argue with
you."
"Asshole! But I love you for doing it. I guess we'll have
to share the throne."
In bed, we discussed the feelings we'd experienced during our
little "ceremony". The love, the profound feelings about
history, and the awe that being in that particular place had
produced. Sex really wasn't a conscious part of the whole
experience.
- - - - -
Over the next four days, we toured the Valley of the Kings,
the Valley of the Queens, saw the Colossus of Memnon, the
Ramesseum, the tombs at Deir el Bahri, and spent another half
day at Karnak.
Near the Ramesseum, we were approached by some local
villagers who had "Ancient Relics" to sell. The terra cotta
Ushabtis (Tomb figures) that they had "looked" authentic, and
the price was certainly reasonable, so, after a little
haggling, we bought all they had.
"I doubt that any of these are 'real'," I told Eric, "but you
never can tell. Hell, they're about the same price as the
reproductions I bought in Cairo."
"Why do you want so many?" he asked.
"I'll stop when I have 365. They're going to be my servants
in the 'Other World', one for every day of the year."
- - - - -
"Disk full!" Eric announced one evening. "My brain's getting
overloaded with everything we've seen in the last few days."
"Save it on the Hard Drive," I kidded.
"Wish I could. I just need a little time to 'process'
everything."
"Things will slow down quite a bit when we get on the boat
tomorrow," I assured him.
- - - - -
Riverboats that ply the Nile between Luxor and Aswan are all
pretty much the same. Big, flat bottom boats that usually
have four decks. The accomodations were much the same, some
a little nicer than others. The big difference, however, was
in the food they served. I had been on one many years before
that expected us to live on sliced cucumbers. I hated the
damned things and had damned near starved to death.
The one we were on had been highly touted for its "cuisine".
I was hopeful.
Our cabin was tolerable. Certainly not spacious, and
horrors! twin beds. We laughed about that and agreed to
"visit" each other.
We met Gamal on the upper deck. Eric went over to lean on
the rail. "Get away from there," I warned him.
"Why?" he asked.
"One of the Roman Emperors took his boyfriend for a boat ride
here on the Nile. I don't remember which Emperor, but the
boyfriend somehow ended up in the water and was never heard
from again. I don't want to take any chances!"
Gamal was laughing. "My Roman History is pretty weak," he
said, "but I remember the story," he said.
Most of the passengers had boarded several days ago and had
been using the boat as a hotel. Touring the Luxor area had
been a part of the cruise package. They were now coming back
from the day's touring. Mostly, they were students, with a
few prim and proper Englishmen thrown in.
We were lying on the deck lounges beside the tiny, tiny pool
when the horde descended, made up mostly of college girls.
Since we were the new "kids on the block" they came over and
introduced themselves, eyeballing us like a bunch of
Piranhas. It blew me away to be getting almost as much
attention as Eric.
Evidently none of them had given a thought to the fact that
two men who were traveling together might be "together" in
another sense.
"Should we duck and run?" Eric giggled.
"Why? I'm enjoying the attention!"
He sat up and looked at me seriously. "Don't I give you
enough attention?"
I grinned at him. "It'll never be enough, unless it's 24/7.
Be serious babe, 24 hours with them would be like 5 minutes
with you. Relax, I'm only teasing you."
"Dammit, I wish you'd tell me when you were."
"That wouldn't be any fun."
- - - - -
Gamal joined us for dinner. We had three choices of entrees,
meat, chicken or fish. Our waiter didn't know what kind of
"meat" or what kind of "fish". At least I knew what chicken
was. Eric was daring and had the meat. At least there was
something other than those goddamned Cucumbers!
After dinner, everyone migrated into the "lounge". It had a
small bar, a dance floor and a DJ playing Disco music. They
evidently catered to the young crowd. We took a look around,
got soft drinks from the bar, and became wallflowers.
That wasn't to last. One of the gals we'd met by the pool
dragged Eric to the dance floor, and a couple of minutes
later this tall statuesque blond came over and brazenly
plopped down on my lap. She spoke perfect English with a
German accent. Her name was Gretchen.
"Left your wife at home, I see," she said, pointing at my
wedding ring. I just smiled. "Dance?"
"Too fast for me," I told her.
"We wait for a slow one," she said, squirming her butt into
my crotch. "I'll show you a good time," she continued,
winking.
This was getting out of control way too fast for me, so I
decided to level with her. "Gretchen," I said, "I'm gay.
That's my lover," I pointed at Eric.
"Oh!" she said, scooting off my lap to Eric's chair. "That's
OK, I love gay men. They have the most fun and are by far
the best looking! Do you mind if I stick around?"
"Not at all," I told her. The conversation turned to the
wonders of Egypt and how awful the guide the ship provided
was. "We figured that might happen, so we brought our own."
I watched Eric. The gal he was dancing with was coming on so
strong that it was comical. He saw me looking and winked.
He came over, sweaty and out of breath. I introduced him to
Gretchen and told him she was cool about "us".
He pulled up another chair and talked for a minute, then
excused himself saying he had to get something from our cabin.
Gretchen and I continued talking. She was very interesting
and knew her Egyptian history well.
Eric came back and danced a few more times. When he gave it
up, his last partner followed him to his seat and jumped on
his lap. "I don't even know your name," he said to her.
"Denise," she said in a whiney voice.
"Maybe I'd better clue you in," he said. "I'm gay and this
is my lover," he continued, patting my thigh.
"EEEEEK!" she screeched, jumping up like he had a contagious
disease. "Can't stand you fucking fags," and thankfully ran
off.
"That's disgusting," Gretchen said.
We talked a little more then decided to turn in.
Eric unlocked our cabin door and waved me in. The place had
been rearranged, matresses from the two twin beds were on the
floor, wedged between the nailed-down beds, all made up. I
turned to Eric who had a huge grin. "You do this?" I asked.
"Sure did. I can't stand to sleep in the same room and not
be able to touch you."
- - - - -
In the early afternoon, we docked at Esna, then went to the
temple of Khnum in a fleet of taxis. After seeing Karnak, it
wasn't much. We spent an hour buying more T-shirts, then went
back to the boat.
The evening was a repeat of the previous night, but before
looking in on the Disco, Eric and I went up to the top deck
to look at the scenery we were passing. As the sun went
down, it was cooling off fast, so we went inside to warm up.
Gretchen and a few of her girlfriends came over and joined us.
We chit-chatted for a few minutes then Eric asked one of them
to dance.
"Aren't you a little bit jealous?" Gretchen asked.
"Not at all," I told her "I know where I stand. The thing
that makes me mad is that we can't dance together."
"No," she chuckled, "that'd raise even a few more eyebrows."
"I guess two men traveling together is suspicious," I laughed.
"Particularly when they're the two best looking men on
board," she said. "You two ARE a stunning couple, you know."
Then she launched into an interrogation about "us", all the
usual questions - how long we'd been together, how we met,
what kind of work we did, and so on.
When I mentioned that I had two daughters, she became
immensely curious, even moreso when I told her that one of
them would soon be marrying a German boy. She demanded to
know who.
"Germany's a big country," I told her, "I doubt you'd know
him," but she wouldn't give up.
"Hans Koenigsberg," I finally told her.
"Not Prince Hans Koenigsberg?" she said, awed.
"That's the one," I told her.
"Did you hear that?" she said to her friends. "Dave's
daughter is going to marry Prince Hans!"
"Aww darn," one of them said. "I've been in love with him
since I was a teenager. He's the country's heartthrob, you
know."
"They're not going to announce their engagement until June or
July, so it isn't official yet," I told them.
Eric came back. "I'm all sweaty," he announced. "Think I'm
gonna go take a shower."
"I'll be there in a few minutes," I told him.
I talked a few minutes with the girls then went down to our
cabin. Eric was just emerging from the tiny bathroom. I
shucked my clothes and stepped in. When I came out, he was
sprawled out on our lovenest on the floor, naked, and soft!
Lying next to him were the two little hash pipes, a lighter
and a bottle of lube. I reached back into the bathroom and
grabbed a towel.
"We're on our honeymoon, remember?" he chuckled. "We're
supposed to make love every chance we have!"
"Looks like you're ready to make a night of it," I commented.
"That's why I left early, I wanted to make a WHOLE night of
it."
I got into bed next to him and took him in my arms. Our
kisses were soft and gentle as we tried to hold back our
eagerness to make love. "I don't think we need these," I
said, pointing at the pipes and playing with his pulsing dick.
"After tonight, I'm throwing them overboard," he promised.
"I intend to get you off three or four times tonight, so,
think about it."
"Why not?" I grinned at him.
He lit up, took a couple of puffs then handed the pipe to me.
The stuff hit me hard, like before, and I couldn't wait to
start. He tried to push me on my back, but I wanted him
first. He sighed and rolled on his back in resignation, but
with a big grin on his face.
I rolled on top of him, kissing him really deeply. When we
broke for air, we were both already panting. I moved down
his body, kissing his chin and neck, detouring up to his ears
then down to his magnificent chest. I licked his nipples
then gently chewed on them, eliciting a moan.
On down to his hard stomach with my tongue, being careful not
to tickle him and break the mood.
I passed his dripping cock and went for his balls, tonguing
first one then the other, then got both in my mouth, rolling
them gently with my tongue. By now his moaning was
continuous.
I released his balls and worked upwards, lapping at the
underside of his dick until I reached the head. I forced
myself to go slowly because I wanted him in my mouth very,
very badly.
I took the head in. His precum was sweeter than usual,
goading me on. I took him in gradually until he was buried
in my throat. No tricks, no fancy stuff. I just wanted to
enjoy the feeling of consuming him and I wanted it to last.
My own dick was twitching and drooling from the oral
sensations I was feeling, and he approached the edge
quickly. I wasn't far behind. I backed off completely,
moving up to give him another kiss. He held me so tight I
felt like my ribs would crack.
I went back to his dick. I wanted a LOT more of that. It
was hard not to be overzealous. I loved his dick so much, I
couldn't get enough of it.
I finally let him cum. He just seemed to dissolve, twitching
and groaning and shooting and shooting.
I cuddled him while he came down. We kissed and shared his
generous load.
He looked at me and grinned. "I enjoyed that so much I
almost came, too," I told him.
"Don't you dare!" he said. "I want every drop."
He moved between my legs and traced my body with
feather-light touches with his fingers. Good thing, too. If
he'd used his tongue, I would have been long gone by the time
he got to my dick.
When he reached it, it was long and slow, taking me all the
way for the first time ever. I just laid back and enjoyed.
He took me to the edge just once, backed off, then let me
go. It was dreamy, I felt it begin at my toes, then envelop
me.
I awoke with his lips on mine, our bodies entwined, his hard
dick against my leg. "Want some more?" I teased, grasping
him.
"Lots," he laughed, "we've just gotten started."
I got us cokes out of the little refrigerator while Eric
fired up the pipe and we each took a few puffs. "Let's give
it a couple minutes to take effect," he suggested, snuggling
up to me.
I was soon back to full staff and eager for more. Eric
rolled onto his back, his legs hiked up. It was an
invitation I couldn't refuse.
I went in easily and smoothly. It felt so good, I guess to
both of us, that we groaned in unison, then started
laughing. "God, you feel soooo good," he groaned.
"So do you," I said, and started moving in and out. Moving
wasn't really necessary because his internal muscles were
doing a number on my dick.
His legs were locked around me, pulling me deeply into him,
my lips locked on his. I could feel he was getting close so
I sped up, pounding him hard. He spasmed and took me with
him.
I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling him still spasming
between us. He pushed me up so I could look into his eyes.
"I love you so much," he whispered. I shut him up with a
kiss.
I was temporarily sated, but I still wanted more. We sipped
our cokes and talked, then, when he saw I was hard again,
wanted to know what I wanted to do. I threw my legs in the
air. He got the hint.
When he entered me, it was in one slow stroke, all the way.
It actually took my breath away, leaving me gasping for air.
It felt so incredibly good. It got even better, though, and
it wasn't long before we were both bucking and shooting.
Eric recovered first, I looked up to see his smile and
sparkling blue eyes. I also felt that he wasn't softening
inside me. "More?" he asked.
I pulled him to me, "Oh God yesssss!" I groaned.
- - - - -
Our next stop was Edfu. The Temple of Horus was the best
preserved Temple in Egypt. The soaring Pylon at the entrance
was spectacular. Too bad the Christians had defaced the
carvings on it.
We spent most of the day climbing all over the Temple, poking
into every nook and cranny as well as sitting and
contemplating the splendor of the place. It had gotten
warmer as we'd traveled south, and that day it was probably
well over 110 degrees, and our water bottles came in handy.
We got fresh, cold bottles of water and found a little shade
on deck and talked undisturbed. "About last night..." Eric
said apologetically, "I didn't mean to force that stuff on
you."
"I was a more than willing participant," I smiled at him.
"I just don't ever want you to think that I need some
stimulant to make love to you." He put his elbows on his
knees and leaned forward earnestly. "You, just you, is all
it takes for me. I don't think I've ever told you that I
love your body, your face, and the fact that I love your dick
goes without saying."
I leaned forward so I could look directly into his eyes.
"Your eyes tell me everything I need to know, even last night
when we were both buzzed. I see the love there, and have no
doubts. I've never felt more confident about 'us' or safer."
"I love you David," he said softly. I couldn't help myself,
leaning a little further to brush his lips with mine.
"Aha! The Lovebirds," Gretchen roared, making us both jump.
"Don't mind me!"
"We won't," Eric assured her. "Actually, we're on our long
delayed honeymoon."
The three of us talked for a while, all complaining about the
total lack of anything to do in the evenings. In reality,
there were three groups aboard - The giggly college kids,
mostly female, the Britishers who wouldn't deign to talk to
anyone but each other, and us, the outcasts.
"At least there'll be a little excitement tomorrow night,"
Gretchen said, "It's the Masquerade Party."
"Where's Jacques when we need him?" Eric moaned.
Gretchen looked at him questioningly, not understanding, so
Eric explained how he had dressed us on our Caribbean Cruise
and for the Masquerade Ball in France last Fall.
"And who is this Jacques?" she asked.
"He's our Butler and Valet all rolled into one," I
explained. "He runs our lives," I laughed, "but we left him
home on this trip, which he wasn't very happy about."
"We could wear our galabayas," Eric suggested. I quickly
agreed.
- - - - -
Our stop the next day was at Kom Ombo to see the Temple
dedicated to the Crocodile Headed God Sobek. We were only
docked there for a couple of hours, then had the rest of the
day to kill.
We didn't need any more sun, we were both deeply tanned, and
it was too hot to just sit out in it, so we wandered the
ship. We ran into Gretchen in the lounge and she asked us if
we played bridge. "I used to, but it's been years," I told
her, then looked at Eric. He nodded sheepishly, "Yeah, I've
played a little."
"One of my girlfriends plays. We challenge you guys!"
Gretchen said.
I looked at Eric, he nodded, so we accepted.
Like so many other things about Eric, he totally surprised
me. Not only was he good, he was excellent. We played all
afternoon, slaughtering Gretchen and Elsa.
"You never told me you played," he said on our way to get
dressed for dinner.
"It never came up. You surprised me, too. Not many of the
younger generation know the game."
"Mom and Dad insisted that Ryan and I learn how to play, and
taught us," he said.
"They did a good job. You're damned good."
- - - - -
After dinner, we got into our galabayas - the whole costume,
with the white head scarf and the golden "rings" to hold it
on.
It was the same as the other nights in the lounge. Nobody's
costumes showed any imagination, and the English were in
their usual attire, too goddam prissy to even try to
participate. I'd never been an Anglophobe, but this bunch
could change that.
A really, really ugly girl came over and asked me to dance.
I wasn't even polite, just roared "NO!" and headed for the
deck. The place was closing in on me.
I found the rail and leaned against it. "You OK?" Eric
said, his arm circling my waist.
"No," I admitted. "I'm in one of those moods where
everything pisses me off. Must be having my period."
"Lets grab a couple of chairs and talk," he suggested.
"No, please," I begged. "Just leave me alone, I'll get over
it. Go on back, I'll be OK, I promise," I pleaded.
Reluctantly he went back in.
I knew what was happening because it'd happened before. Out
of thin air and for no reason whatsoever, I'd get into one of
these moods. Anything and everything made me mad. All I
could see was the negative side of things and that irritated
me, and, all too often, I'd say something. That was the bad
part. In the past, I'd spent days or weeks apologising for
things I'd said that I really didn't mean.
The only solution I'd found was to isolate myself until
whatever it was went away. Sometimes a few hours,
occasionally days. Doing that kept me from making an ass of
myself and hurting those I truly loved.
I tried to relax and think positive thoughts. Unconsciously,
I started repeating my Transcendental Mantra.
I don't know whether it was ten minutes or an hour later when
I started surfacing. It was a slow process, yawning,
stretching and shaking myself back to full consciousness. I
felt immensely better, energized and totally rested. I took
my time, but was anxious to find Eric and explain. I didn't
want him to think I was a nutcase.
I walked back in, a smile on my face. Eric was talking with
the "girls" and when he saw me, jumped up, a look of
bewilderment on his face. I turned and he followed me back
outside, catching up and putting his arm around me.
"Let's talk," I suggested, leading him to a couple of deck
chairs.
"I'm really not nuts," I smiled at him, then told him about
what'd happened in the past and what happened earlier that
evening. He didn't interrupt.
He heard me out then knelt in front of me, taking my face in
his hands. "I've gotta admit you scared the hell out of me,"
he said. "I fully understand, but why didn't you tell me
about this before?"
"Since I haven't had one of these 'attacks' since I met you,
I forgot about them myself. It's also not easy to admit that
you have a weakness to anyone, particularly you, my love."
"Why? I wouldn't love you any less. In fact, I think I love
you more now, knowing that you're not perfect."
He scooted me over and sat beside me, his arms going around
me and pulling me to him. I put my head on his shoulder.
"Now I feel safe again," I told him.
- - - - -
We awoke to bedlam in the hall outside our room. "What the
hell's going on?" Eric asked.
"Everybody's leaving today," I said. "The ones on the
'Package Tour' have to have their luggage ready to go early
so they'll have all day to 'see' Aswan, then catch a plane
back to Cairo tonight."
"What about us?"
"We'll wait til things quiet down, then move to the hotel," I
told him. "Gamal's taking care of everything."
"How do you feel this morning, really?" he asked, concern
showing on his face.
"I'm just fine," I told him, giving him a quick peck. "It
won't happen again for at least 28 days," I laughed.
"That your cycle?" he giggled.
"I know it's heresy, but I do believe that men have cycles
too. Certainly not as severe as women, but they may develop
slight hormonal imbalances on a regular basis - usually too
slight to even be noticed," I told him seriously.
"I'll mark the calendar," smartass said.
"Well," I said, "I went for over 3 years without it
happening, so maybe I've gone through menopause and it won't
happen any more! Last night, by the way, was the shortest one
ever. It usually lasts at least a day."
"Does that mean we can't have any kids?" smartass continued.
"Who knows? I think we should keep on trying, though."
- - - - -
We went up to the bar for a cup of coffee and watched the
others filing out and into a line of waiting busses. Gamal
came in, asked if we were packed and ready, and told us to
meet him on shore, he'd be along in a few minutes with our
luggage.
We went directly to the Old Cataract Hotel and checked in.
This was the scene of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile",
an elegant old place that had recently been restored and
modernized. Our suite overlooked the Nile and all the islands,
but we weren't much interested at the minute. We were both
in "Sightseeing Mode" after all the inactivity aboard the
boat.
Gamal was ready. We grabbed fresh bottles of water and were
off.
We were hot and tired when we got back. There was good
reason, the temperature that day had gotten up to 47 Celsius,
117 Fahrenheit. Gamal told us that from then on, we'd be
getting an early start and quit around noon to beat the heat.
A cool shower and we were ready to roll again. We had dinner
in the main dining room, a huge place with a soaring ceiling.
Following dinner there was a show. Belly dancers, whirling
dervishes and great music. "The cleaned-up version of what
we saw in Cairo," I chuckled to Eric.
After this, we walked to the Bazaar. It was substantially
cooler, but nevertheless hot. We each bought a couple more
galabayas to wear while we were there, and a few more
reproductions. Eric kept looking for a statue of Amun, but
there just weren't any to be found.
We settled into a rather grueling schedule: up early,
leaving the hotel by 7:00AM, sightseeing until early
afternoon, a dip in the pool until late afternoon, then
another sightseeing jaunt. There was a lot to see.
On our third night in Aswan, we took a felucca to the Oberoi
Hotel on Elephantine Island for dinner. These ancient
sailboats were everywhere on this part of the Nile. On the
trip back, we snuggled and looked at the stars. By the time
we got back to the hotel dock, we couldn't wait to get to our
room to finish what we'd started.
We were both excited about the trip to Abu Simbel. We left
Aswan early on the half-hour flight, arriving at the airport
in the middle of the desert soon after daylight. Busses
shuttled us directly from the airport to the Temple.
We walked around a couple of little hills, and there were the
Colossal seated figures of Ramses the Great's Temple, and
beside it, cut into a smaller hill was the Small Temple with
more Colossal figures of Ramses and his favorite wife
Nefertari.
Gamal led us inside, giving us information about the huge
interior chambers carved into the hill as we went along.
Everything, particularly the seated figures, were enormous,
but the remarkable thing was that both temples had been moved
from another location. When the Aswan High Dam was built,
Lake Nasser would have completely covered the Temple, so it
was chopped up and moved to higher ground. The "hills" were
hollow, actually a concrete dome that covered the interior
chambers.
When we had seen everything, we took the bus back to the
airport and flew back to Aswan.
- - - - -
The flight to Cairo didn't take as long as going through
airport procedures. Gamal escorted us back to the hotel, and
we invited him up to our room. This was goodbye and we both
wanted to thank him and give him a well deserved tip. I got
an envelope out of the desk and stuffed some bills in it,
Eric did the same then we gave them to him.
"The next time we're here, I definitely want you to be our
guide again," I told him and got his business card as well
as his home address and phone.
He insisted upon coming back the next morning to take us to
the airport, but allowed us to use the car to go to the
Bazaar that afternoon and to Nasr's that evening unescorted.
We still had one suitcase that was only half full, so, at the
Bazaar that afternoon, Eric was determined to fill it.
Nasr's bash that night was a lot different from the last
one. Instead of a "family" get-together, all of the tycoons
in Egypt were there and we were the guests of honor.
Many business opportunities for us were discussed that I'd
definitely think about. I wasn't aware of the rapid
development of a middle class in Egypt that was hungry for
consumer goods - appliances and computers particularly.
This was, however, the first "business" that'd been discussed
on our entire trip, and, as usual, I relied on Eric to
remember names.
I pulled Nasr aside to thank him for all of his favors. He
wanted to know how our "night" at Karnak went. Evidently he
didn't know our real purpose for wanting to get in there, and
bluntly asked. I bluntly told him exactly why and what we'd
done. He was delighted that he'd been able to arrange it for
us.
"I lied," Eric admitted with a grin when we got back to our
room. "There was too much of that hash to throw out, and I
figured you wouldn't object to one more night of fun. Don't
worry," he held up his hand, "I'm not taking it home."
"OK," I told him, "only in Egypt, though, never at home. I
like that stuff just too damned much. It scares me."
"I agree," he said, "let's fuck."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I appreciate hearing your comments on the
story, my writing, and anything you would like to offer -
good or not so good. Send me a message at
orrinrush@yahoo.com Plot suggestions particularly appreciated