Chapter 4
Esmeralda groaned as she twisted and writhed in the throes of a passionate dream.
Daniel and Esmeralda lay side by side on the bed facing each other. Esmeralda was tracing his face reverently, and he was watching her carefully as if he was afraid that if he blinked she would somehow disappear.
He ran his hands up and down her back as she sighed and pushed herself even closer. Daniel kissed the tip of her nose. “How did I get so lucky?”
Esmeralda gave him a sweet smile. “Well, you know, you’re lucky I decided to slum it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
A sardonic smile graced his lips. “Oh, is that so? Well, how generous of you.”
Her shoulders moved up then down. “All in a day’s work.”
Daniel grinned at her as he poked her side. Esmeralda shrieked as she began to move away from him. “Dan, keep your hands where I can see them.”
Daniel grinned wickedly. “Or what? You’ll arrest me?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Esmeralda kept inching closer to the edge of the bed, so that if she needed to do, she could throw herself of the bed and run before he began to tickle her.
One eyebrow went up. “I’m not doing anything, Esme. I mean really, don’t you trust your boyfriend at all?”
“At this particular moment? Not really.” She yelped as her hands shot out in front of her and pinned his hands. “There, now you can’t do anything.”
“Or I could do this.” Daniel’s hands snaked out of her grasp and began to mercilessly tickle her. Esmeralda began to laugh until her legs began to flail. Daniel rolled on top of her and pinned her legs beneath his as he gazed down at her.
Soon, his tickling stopped, and he began to lightly caress her body. A quiet gasp escaped Esmeralda’s lips as she wrapped one leg around his waist, and the other was wide open.
She wrapped her arms around his hair and began to lightly run her hands up and down his back. Daniel inhaled sharply as her hands snaked under his shirt and began running up and down his back. Esmeralda wriggled her hips a little, and Daniel’s eyes fluttered closed as he groaned. His hips moved against hers before his lips crashed against hers. They kissed slowly at first, tentatively as if they were testing the waters. Soon, the kiss deepened, and Daniel took Esmeralda’s bottom lip between his and bit it softly. Esmeralda gasped as her eyes flew open, and his tongue began to dance with hers.
Esmeralda wrenched her lips away from Daniel’s and chucked her shirt off. She helped Daniel out of his, and they both continued to kiss as they were half naked. Esmeralda pushed Daniel backwards, and Daniel moved, so he was at the bottom, and Esmeralda was on top.
She straddled him and began to undo the buttons of his jeans until they were halfway around his knees. Daniel growled impatiently as he tore his lips away and kicked off his jeans. He began to fumble with Esmeralda’s drawstrings as he helped her push down her sweatpants.
Esmeralda breathed heavily as he tossed them aside, and she was left in nothing but her bra and underwear. She grinded against Daniel whose bulge was straining against his boxers. He pulled his mouth away and began to nuzzle against her neck, peppering it with soft kisses as he kneaded her breasts. His lips moved from her neck to her breasts, and he reached around and undid the clasp of her bra. Esmeralda arched her back as he began sucking and biting on her breasts. Esmeralda chucked off his boxers and slowly eased herself onto him. They both gasped at the contact. They rocked back and forth slowly at first then faster and faster until both reached their climax.
***
Esmeralda and Christina stood next to the door two hours later going over their things, and making sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. They had their passports, tickets, and two huge camping bags that would hopefully get them though the camping trip successfully.
They hailed a cab, and made their way towards the airport during a sunny, cloud free day. Once they got to the airport, they checked in and went to sit in the waiting area.
“Did you know that Egypt is one of the few countries in the world that has been heavily affected by the presence of outsiders?”
“Really?” Christina leaned over and picked up a magazine to flip it through aimlessly. “How so?”
“Well, they were invaded by the French as you know, so French is a very dominant language. In most private schools, it’s taught as a second language. There are even some schools that are entirely French. There’s also German though that’s far more recent, and did you know that Spanish is very similar to Arabic?”
“I actually didn’t know that.”
Esmeralda leaned back in her seat as her hands moved wildly, an indication of how excited she was. “Yeah, apparently, they share a lot of the same words, it’s just that some of them are pronounced differently.”
“Interesting. I guess that should make Spanish easier to learn if you’re an Egyptian,” Christina commented as she began to finger brush through her hair to sort out the tangles.
“In theory, I suppose,” Esmeralda mused. “I wonder if that is actually true in life. We’ll have to ask them, Chris.”
“Well, why not? I don’t think it’s the typical tourist question, but it’s sure to strike up an interesting conversation at the very least.”
“Did you also know that Egypt is susceptible to invasion from foreign countries because of its excellent geographical location? It’s one of the few countries in the world with good weather almost all year around. Even its winters are not that cold comparatively.”
“Is that why a lot of people invaded it in the past?”
“Most likely, and did you know--?”
“All passengers on flight 567 heading to Cairo, Egypt now boarding. All passengers on flight 567 now boarding to Cairo, Egypt.”
“Saved by the bell,” Christina muttered under her breath as she gave Esmeralda a sweet smile.
“I heard that!” Esmeralda called as she hoisted her tote bag up her shoulder.
Christina snickered. “I know you did. You know I love you anyway.”
***
They arrived in Egypt a while later, and other than it being humid and dusty, they were both vibrating with barely concealed excitement at the prospect of the adventure that lay ahead of them.
“There he is,” Esmeralda announced as she spotted the driver the camp had sent to pick them up. They settled into the minivan and made their way through the crowded streets of Dahab, a province in Cairo which was in fact close to the south of Sinai where their camping ground lay.
“Are you excited?” Christina asked as they pulled up to camp a while later.
“Very,” Esmeralda responded as they took out their bags and thanked the driver. They made their way towards the group where a tour guide welcomed them.
“Welcome to Egypt! Glad you could join us. The rest of the group just arrived as well. I’m sure you can’t wait to get to your tents to rest after that jet lag, so I’ll keep the introductions short.”
As their tour guide, Ahmed, began to make the rounds, Esmeralda started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when she noticed that the tour guide kept checking the list and frowning.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, ladies and gentleman, but we seem to be missing one more guest on our list, but as soon as he comes, we can all be on our merry way. Today you’re not going to do anything. The real journey starts tomorrow with a visit to the monastery of Saint Catherine followed by a light lunch, and a Bedouin dinner under the stars. The day after that you will be climbing Mount Sinai, and at night you will be riding beach buggies under a starry night.”
“Ah, there you are. We’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Austin,” the tour guide announced warmly as everyone turned around to face the new addition. Everyone except for Christina and Esmeralda who were hoping they weren’t right.
Esmeralda’s blood froze in her body as Christina sucked in a breath next to her and tensed up.
“You don’t think it’s —” Christina trailed off, under her breath as her hand sought out Esmeralda’s.
Esmeralda squeezed Christina’s hand. “What are the odds, right?” She swallowed audibly as she feared turning around.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
Both women wheeled around, and there stood Daniel Austin. Esmeralda’s ex.