Chapter 7
Their tour guide began to call out their names one by one as he ticked off their names to make sure they were there. Most of the people there were couples except for Esmeralda, Christina, Daniel and another guy by the name of Jack.
Christina discreetly ogled him as she elbowed Esmeralda. Esmeralda grinned as Christina stretched out her tank top to show off her figure. The weather had gotten better by nine o’clock, so they had changed into a pair of shorts and t-shirts.
Christina was wearing a pair of cut off shorts that showed off her long tan legs, and a tank top that showed off the rest of her slender figure. Jack, the single guy she was checking out, was checking her out, although Christina hadn’t noticed yet because she was trying to pretend like she didn’t care.
“He’s checking you out, Chris,” Esmeralda whispered in her ear as she patted her head.
“Really?” Christina’s eyes widened as her hands came up to pat her hair. “How does my hair look?”
“You look great, Chris. Really, don’t worry. He can’t take his eyes off of you,” Esmeralda reassured her.
“Well, then why hasn’t he come over, yet?”
“Maybe he just needs a little motivation?” Esmeralda shrugged, as baffled by the male brain as Christina.
“What, like make him jealous?” Christina made a noise in the back of her throat.
“I don’t think that’s a viable option because they’re all couples except for Daniel.”
“And you,” Christina pointed out.
Esmeralda laughed. “And me, but I won’t work.”
A half smile began to form at the corner of Christina’s lips, and Esmeralda could see the wheels spinning furiously in that head of hers.
The smile faded from Esmeralda’s face. “You can’t be serious.”
“You haven’t even heard me out.”
“If you think I’m transparent when I have something on my mind, you’re like a hallmark card.”
Christina pouted. “Come on, Esme, please. It’s just a small thing.”
Esmeralda snorted. “It is so far from a small thing. You want me to pretend to be hitting on you, that’s a big deal. I can’t even hit on a straight guy I like. You want me to hit on my straight best girl friend?”
“Exactly.” Christina wrapped her arm around her. “You don’t have to kiss me or anything because that’s a bit too much. No offense or anything, but you’re not my type.”
A choked laugh escaped from her lips. “I’m not offended because you’re not my type either. I mean I tend to like them hairy, and sometimes a little rugged.”
Christina elbowed her. “Well, I like them with buff and with a big hard —”
“Okay,” Esmeralda hastened to interrupt her. “We’ve both made our points.”
“Yes, but here’s the thing, I’ve seen the way Daniel keeps glancing over at you, and the way you steal glances at him when you think I’m not looking, I’m not going to push you into telling me if something happened this morning or not because when you found me, your cheeks were flushed, your hair was messed up, and even though you zipped up your hoodie, I saw the hickey.”
Esmeralda sighed. “Nothing happened.”
Christina gave her a look. “Well, nothing much,” Esmeralda added. “It’s complicated, I guess. Nothing can happen anyway. The reasons he left still exist, I suppose, and we have to be civil while we’re here, so it’s better to just move past it. We just got caught up in the moment.”
“It’s okay to forget for a minute, Esme, but the way you two kept glancing at each other just now, it’s clearly not over, so you guys need to figure out what you’re going to do about it. You can’t keep ignoring it, or you’ll both explode. Anyway, my point is, we can make Daniel jealous too, and maybe that’ll help him figure out that what he wants is you.”
“I thought you hated his guts?” Esmeralda questioned.
“I do, but he made you happy once, and after your string of bad luck with guys, he was the first decent one in a while. He treated you well, so I hate that he broke your heart, but I think that if he got past his reasons, you could both be very happy again.”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
Christina leaned in to whisper. “Don’t overthink it. Now, can you please help me?”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just put your arms around me like this.” She lifted up her arms and wrapped them around her shoulders. “And pretend you’re whispering something funny in my ear.”
“How does one pretend they’re whispering something funny?” Esmeralda asked in hushed tones.
“Like this.” Christina threw her head back and laughed, that deep flirty laugh that all guys were immediately drawn to.
“I feel silly,” Esmeralda said under her breath as she checked to make sure that Jack was watching them. He was watching them discreetly out of the corner of his eye. He looked a little confused, and Esmeralda couldn’t blame him.
“Chris, what if he thinks we’re lesbians?”
Christina paused clearly not having thought this through. “Okay, I can fix that, you have to go flirt with Daniel now, and I’ll go flirt with him.”
“Won’t that just make him think we’re bi?”
Christina waved her protest away as she shoved her towards the direction Daniel was in. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, I’ve got his attention, now time to take the next step.”
Esmeralda shook her head as she stared after her. She saw Daniel pause in his tracks as he looked at her, a confused smile playing on the corner of his lips. He was wearing a pair of shorts, and a loose t-shirt, and Esmeralda couldn’t help but flash back to his bare chest and boxer clad legs. She blushed as Daniel walked towards her. “Need any help?”
“I think I just got ditched by my best friend.”
Daniel shaded his eyes as he took a look. “Yeah, I can see that. Ditched for a guy, huh?”
“So it would seem.”
Daniel looked back at her as they fell into step together, and began to move in sync. “Well, I know I’m not as edgy as Christina, but I could keep you company.”
“You’ll have to do as long as you don’t ditch me for a guy, too.” Esmeralda jumped over a rock and paused to take out her aviator sunglasses. She slipped them on and gave Daniel a smile.
“There goes my master plan.”
“You were going to do ditch me for a guy too? Did you discover guys since we last dated?”
Daniel choked on his laughter. “No, no, I don’t mean it like that, not that I mind people who are, it’s totally their choice. I’m just not into guys.”
“Right, sure, so what’s with the pink socks?”
“My sister stuffed them into my bag as a joke.” He grumbled as he stared at the socks in dismay.
“How is Noela?”
“She’s good, you know, working hard.” Daniel slipped on his shades.
“That’s good, I miss her, and now that I think about it, maybe those socks do suit you.” She pursed her lips as she pretended to check out his legs. “I mean, they really do highlight the color of your skin, and they really show off your ankles, I mean they’re just clinging to them like that.”
Daniel made a face at her. “Oh, a regular comedian, aren’t you?”
“It’s my night job.”
“Well, if you don’t stop, you’re going to regret it,” Daniel said, casually as they continued to trail along, the last two people in the group. Esmeralda took a peek at Christina up ahead who was laughing as she spoke to Jack animatedly.
“Oh, really? And just what are you planning on doing?”
“Just this.” He reached out and poked her.
Esmeralda shrieked, and the rest of the group turned back to look at her. She offered them an apologetic grin. “I thought I saw a snake.”
They turned back around and continued to walk. “That’s not fair. That’s cheating,” she hissed as he grinned wickedly and tried to tickle her again. She jumped to the side to dodge his hand. “Stop that.”
“Stop that,” he mimicked her high-pitched voice.
Esmeralda glowered at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, real mature. What are you? Five?”
“Five and a half actually.”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes as she poked him in the side. “Hey now, you’re starting to play dirty.”
“Well, you started it.”
“Now who’s being a five-year-old?”
Esmeralda stuck her tongue out at him. “Still you.”
Daniel snorted. “Says the woman who just stuck her tongue out at me.”
“It’s a very mature move, by the way. It means I’m in touch with my inner child.”
“Yeah, way too much,” Daniel muttered.
Esmeralda gave him a sweet smile before she shoved him. He laughed. “Be careful what you get yourself into, Dunbey.”
“You be careful, Austin.”
“You think you can play with fire?” Daniel casually draped his arm over her shoulders.
“Do you?” she challenged as she leaned into him like she used to. She stood on the tips of her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and gave him a coy smile.
“I missed this, I miss you, Esme,” Daniel said quietly, all hint of earlier playfulness gone, his tone taking on a sad melancholy form that Esmeralda didn’t like.
“Me too, Dan,” Esmeralda said quietly as she kept her eyes trained forward, afraid that if she looked at him now, she might beg him to change his mind again, and she couldn’t. She laid her pride at his feet once before, and he didn’t even bother to take a second look, she couldn’t do it again.
“I don’t want to hurt you. I never meant to you, you have to know that.”
“I know. Let’s not talk about it, okay? I know you think that breaking up with me was the right thing to do because you were busy and felt like you wouldn’t be able to make enough time for me.”
“And I know that you think my reasons are crap, and that I should’ve fought them, but I just couldn’t risk you resenting me in time. You deserve so much better than that.”
They lapsed into silence as their hands found each other and intertwined. “Let’s just enjoy our time here, okay? For now, we can pretend like the outside world doesn’t exist.”
“Okay.”
They made their way towards the front of the line where people had already gathered in a circle as they listened to instructions for how they should behave in the place they were visiting. They were simple rules like don’t touch, don’t vandalize, etc.
The women were handed plastic bags to wrap around their legs because in Egypt, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to show off her bare legs in certain places particularly if these places are considered holy.
She shot Christina an amused look as they both tied the plastic bags around their waist.
‘Are you ok?’ Christina mouthed as she gestured to Daniel who was bent over, tying his shoe laces.
Esmeralda nodded, and mouthed the same. Christina grinned as she gave her a thumbs up, ‘so hot.’ She mouthed as Esmeralda laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Daniel asked as he straightened up.
“Oh, Christian was just telling me something funny.”
They formed a line of two’s and began to walk into the building, their guide up ahead explaining about the importance of the place they were in, and its majesty.
***
After hours of wandering, the guide told them that they could take a break and sit underneath some shade. He made sure everyone had water before he wandered off to talk to the other tour guides.
Esmeralda caught Christina’s eye, and Christina came bouncing over. “Did you enjoy the sights?”
“Yeah, it’s really something, I can see you were doing some sightseeing of your own.”
Christina was staring at Jack’s behind. “Oh, yeah, I saw some things that caught my eye, very toned and muscular.”
Esmeralda made a fake gagging noise. “I’m pretty sure you’re talking about someone not something.”
Christina gave a start as she turned to face Esmeralda. “Oh, you mean the citadel? Yeah, that was nice too.”
One eyebrow shut up. “Yeah, that was nice too?” Esmeralda used air quotes. “Only you would think to say that about a place of this magnitude.” She crossed her arms over her chest in amusement. “Do you even know who built it?”
Christina had gone back to staring at Jack who was pouring water doing his neck and over his hair. He shook his hair and little rivulets of water splashed around him. Some of the other guests moved away in annoyance as he gave them an apologetic smile and mumbled sorry.
Esmeralda could practically feel Christina drooling next to her. She elbowed her in the side. “Chris?”
“What?” she responded dreamily.
“The citadel?”
Christina’s eyes snapped to Esmeralda’s. “The what?”
“You know that big building we were just in. The one that’s of historical significance?”
“Oh, yeah, right. The citadel.”
“Whose citadel is it?”
“Some guy.” Christina waved her away. “God, he’s got a great butt.”
Esmeralda began to laugh. “I sure hope you’re not talking about the guy who built this because I’m pretty sure he’d want to be remembered for something other than having a great butt.” Christina continued to stare at Jack’s assets, clearly not having heard a word Esmeralda said. “Chris, why don’t you go talk to him?”
“Well, I spent the whole tour talking to him, I don’t want him to get bored of me, or think I’m clingy or anything.”
“I’m sure he won’t think that. Besides, he’s been staring at you pretty much since you came over to start talking to me.”
They both turned to look, and sure enough he was staring at the both of them. He gave Christina a little wave, and she waved back. He smiled and made his way a smattering of rocks to get to them.
“Hi,” he said as he gave Christina a bright smile.
“Hi,” Christina responded with an equally bright smile.
Esmeralda coughed as they both continued to make googly eyes at each other. “Oh, this is my friend, Esmeralda.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jack held out his hand, and Esmeralda gripped it firmly in his. “Likewise.”
“So how are you liking Egypt, Jack?”
“It’s very interesting, I like it a lot so far.” He was looking at Christina as he said this, and she actually ducked her head and blushed. Esmeralda was sure she had never seen Christina blush before in her life. She was definitely going to tease her about it later.
“Really? What do you like about it so far?” she pressed, deciding to tease him about it.
“Oh, the sights definitely. They’re very beautiful.”
Esmeralda grinned. “I happen to think so too.”
They might as well have been in their own bubble as far as Esmeralda was concerned. They seemed to be having a silent conversation with their eyes as Christina giggled and continued to blush.
“So, Esmeralda,” Jack turned to face her. “Christina told me that you’re also into women.”
Esmeralda nearly choked. “She what?”
Esmeralda turned to face her friend whose eyes were wide. Christina was looking anywhere but at Esmeralda which was good because Esmeralda was glaring daggers at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry, is that not the right term for it? It’s called Bisexual, right? I didn’t want to offend you or anything.”
Esmeralda turned to him with a Cheshire smile. “Oh, I’m not offended at all. We don’t really have a term for it, do we, Chris?” Her voice dripped with saccharine sweetness as she pinched Christina.
Christina muttered. “Oh, no, no there isn’t.”
“Christina doesn’t believe in stereotyping you see, so she doesn’t think we should name it.”
Jack’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, you’re bi too?”
“Um, I -” Christina began to stammer as she sent Esmeralda a pleading look.
“Yeah, but don’t worry, she mostly likes men not women. She’s like ten percent bi, and the rest is heterosexual.”
“I don’t mind that at all. I think sexuality can be fluid. It doesn’t have to be set in stone. I was with a woman who was bi once.”
Christina gave him a weak smile. “Is that so?”
“Oh, yes. It was a difference experience, two women at once, I mean.” Jack seemed very at ease talking about threesomes.
“That sounds, er -” Esmeralda paused. “interesting.”
Esmeralda was making weird noises next to Christina as she attempted to choke back the laughter.
“I don’t suppose you ladies would be interested in something like that with me?”
Esmeralda burst out laughing as she clutched her side. Christina excused the both of them and dragged Esmeralda off to the side as she continued to laugh as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Christina complained as she looked at Jack over her shoulder. “Why did you go and tell him that I’m bi? You know I’m not.”
Esmeralda coughed as her laughter subsided, and she straightened up. “Why did you tell him I’m bi when I’m not?”
“I panicked okay. When I first walked up to him and started a conversation, he wasn’t very receptive, and then he said I should probably be getting back to you ‘my girlfriend’.” She used air quotes for this. “I told him that you were just my best friend, and that you are bi, and that’s why we seemed flirty.”
Esmeralda shook her head. “So in order to save your hide, you throw me under the bus.”
Christina held her hand up. “I didn’t know what else to say. Besides, it’s not like I thought he was going to ask you about it point black.”
“Or proposition the both of us,” Esmeralda pointed out with a rueful grin.
“That’s only because you let him think that I’m bi too.”
“Well, I figured I’d have a little fun with it. I had no idea he’d go and ask us to be part of a threesome.”
“Neither did I,” Christina commented as she placed her hands on her hips and sighed. “What am I supposed to do now? I don’t like threesomes, and I definitely don’t want to have one with you.”
“No offense,” Christina added.
“None taken.” Amusement colored Esmeralda’s tone.
“So what am I supposed to do? I think he’s waiting for an answer.”
Esmeralda sighed as she placed her hands on either of Christina’s shoulders. “Chris, just tell him the truth. Tell him you were just joking, that neither of us are bi, and if he still wants to do a threesome then tell him no, and see what he says. If he only likes you because of that then he isn’t worth it, okay?”
Christina nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Well, here goes nothing.”
Christina straightened up, squared her shoulders and made her way back to Jack with a determined gleam in her eye.
She saw Daniel walk up to her, and she gave him a small wave.
“What’s got you all giddy?”
“Not giddy, per say, more like not sure if I’m flattered or bemused.”
Daniel stood next to her as he dusted off his shorts. “Oh, why is that?”
“I just got propositioned by the guy that Christina likes.”
Daniel’s head swiveled to hers. “He what?”
“Not like that,” Esmeralda hurried to add. Daniel visibly relaxed. “He thought that I’m bi because Christina told him that I was to explain away our earlier moments when we were mock flirting to get his attention, so to get back at Christina, I told him that she’s also bi, so he wanted to have a threesome with the two of us.”
Daniel snorted. “That’s one heck of a proposition. I see I’m not the only one who’s been exploring their sexuality.”
“Aha, so you admit that you’ve been exploring other aspects, eh?” Esmeralda waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.
“I’ll admit to that if you’ll admit that you want to be in a threesome.”
“I can’t admit that because it isn’t true.”
“Then I can’t admit that either.” Daniel winked at her.
Esmeralda plopped down onto the ground, and reached for her water. She gulped the contents and used the remaining water to pour down her neck.
“Deserts are very strange. They’re dusty, there’s too much sand, and it’s hot during the day, and cold during the night.”
“How very observant, Sherlock.”
“No, I’m serious. How can one place be so paradoxical?”
Daniel stretched his legs and craned his neck to catch some sun. “I suppose that’s the beauty of our Earth. There’s beauty to be found in contradictions, you know. If everything was consistent, it wouldn’t be as beautiful as something that’s ever changing.”
“Well, that’s arguable, I think.”
Daniel tilted his head to look at her. “How so?”
“Well, take the sun for example. Sunsets and sunrises are contradictory, but also complimentary. They aren’t paradoxical however because they both serve different purposes at different times, and yet they are just as beautiful as something that is erratic.”
“Like the ocean or the sea.” Daniel stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I mean think about. What could be more volatile than the water? One minute it’s beautiful and steady, and you could see yourself floating along its surface, happy to be surrounded by its endlessness, and the way it transports you to this state of complete oblivion. The next minute, it’s suffocating you, threatening to drench you in its cosmic infinity, trying to drag you down into its depths.”
“The water can be both a source of solace and a harsh and unforgiving perpetrator of punishment,” Daniel commented as he studied Esmeralda carefully, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips.
“I think humans are a lot like water.”
“Really?” Daniel swiveled to face her and gestured for her to continue. “Do tell.”
“Well, humans can be unpredictable too. A lot of people think we don’t change, or can’t change, but that isn’t entirely true, is it? I mean, sure some things remain the same. Some core inherent characteristics, but people change whether they want to or not. It is one of the few inevitabilities in life, and just like change is inescapable, so is changeability. Humans are a mass of contradictions. They just don’t realize it. There are layers to each and every person. Some people go years without realizing it, some people know it, and you can see it reflected in the way they deal with different people. Here’s the thing though, our beauty lies in our irregularity as much as in our regularity. They are both sides of the same beautifully flawed coin.”
Daniel paused. “Like the yin and yang theory. There is no absolute darkness, nor is there absolute light. One cannot exist without the other, so based on that, we can say that not everyone who is evil is completely evil, and not everyone who is good, is completely good.”
“Exactly.”
They lapsed into silence as they both pondered what they had just said. Daniel was one of the few people in the world that Esmeralda was able to have conversations like that with. If she tried with anyone else, they’d either get too complex for her, or they’d think she was trying to be pretentious, and she wasn’t. She just wondered a lot about the world, and the nature of humans, and their relationships with each other, and the outside world.
The sound of their tour guide calling out to them made them stand up. “Okay, I’m glad I have your attention. You’re all going to pair up, and each pair is going to take a beach buggy, and you’re going to follow me into the mountains where we will watch the sunset, ok?”
Esmeralda looked around for Christina who was standing next to Jack. She pointed at him and gave her a thumbs up to let her know it was all good.
She felt Daniel come stand next to her. “I guess you’re stuck with me again.”
“Your company isn’t that bad, you know,” she teased.
“How nice of you,” he commented, very dryly as he made his way towards a beach buggy. “I think I’d better drive because we both know how clumsy you are.”
Esmeralda opened her mouth to protest before she shut it again. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Daniel swung his legs over the beach buggy and sat down. He patted the space behind him, and Esmeralda swallowed as she realized that she would have to hold onto his waist to keep from falling off. It was exactly the kind of intimacy they had both been avoiding for fear of consequences, but it was just a beach buggy ride. They could handle this.
She gave him a reassuring smile and climbed up behind him. She nestled behind him and made sure her legs were adjusted on each side of him. She pressed her face to his back when a gust of wind blew their way.
“Cold?” he asked.
She nodded against his shirt. She was a little cold, so she slipped her sweater on, but that wasn’t the only reason, she had buried her face in his back. It was also because she wanted to smell him. That heady intoxicating smell she loved so much.
The tour guide made sure they were all settled and began to move. The beach buggy revved to life beneath them, and Esmeralda wrapped her arms around Daniel’s waist as they began to slowly trudge forward. She felt her hair flying behind her back, and with the feeling of her body pressed up against his back, for a moment, it was like they were here together, just like they always said they would be.