by Angela Blake
“Screw you, Esmeralda! I don’t have to listen to this.”
“You’re the one who called, and by the way up yours, jackass.” She cut off the connection before he could say another word, and she began to pace the room and curse under her breath.
She felt the anger simmer there beneath the surface at his audacity. The nerve of him calling and saying those things when he was the one who broke her heart!
She picked up the picture she had of them that she had turned upside down, and she hurled it across the wall where it hit the wall with a loud thud and fell to the floor in pieces.
Still feeling like she needed to get a handle on her anger, she picked up the pillow and wrenched it off of her bed. She eventually hurled it across the room, and it hit the mirror with a resounding crack causing glass small pieces of glass to shatter and break. She stood there fuming.
She growled as she felt a scream tear its way through her chest. She let out an ear-piercing scream when she heard the phone ring, and she yanked the chord out of its socket viciously.
She picked up the necklace he got her and was about to hurl it across the room when Christina rushed in, and the door banged open.
Confused, she took in the state of the room, and she gingerly stepped across the broken glass as she made her way towards Esmeralda cautiously as if she was approaching a deer caught in the headlights.
“Esmeralda, what happened?”
Esmeralda shook with barely contained fury and sadness. “That jackass! He called to say he didn’t want to lose me, didn’t want to lose the connection we had. Can you believe the nerve of that guy?”
“It’s because he knows he made a mistake, but his pride won’t let him come back.”
“I don’t frigging care!” she yelled. “I’m trying to move on with my life. I’ve finally stopped dreaming about him, and now he decides to waltz back in simply because it’s convenient.”
Christina stood in front of her and eyed her warily. “Esmeralda, I think you want to let go of that necklace now.”
With wild and unfocused eyes, she stared down at her hand and realized that she had been gripping the necklace so tight, it had dug into her flesh, and little droplets of blood began to make their way down her hand. She blinked as the metallic smell of blood hit her nostrils, and she immediately released the necklace.
Christina stepped forward and gathered Esmeralda in her arms. “Shh. It’s okay.” She patted her hair, softly and consolingly.
Esmeralda took a deep shuddering breath, and she felt it vibrate throughout every inch of her body. “It’s not fair,” she mumbled. “I was in love with him. I pictured a future with him.”
Christina continued to pat her hair in slow, soothing gestures. “I know, honey. I know, but you don’t deserve this torture you keep putting yourself through over him. He isn’t worth it. He’s not worth one single tear.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “He was supposed to be, Chris. He was everything I ever wanted.” Her voice grew shaky towards the end. “But he still didn’t stay.”
“That isn’t your fault. It’s his loss. You deserve someone who will stay and fight even when things get hard, and I know you know this. Somewhere deep down inside of you, you know this as well as I do, and you will get through this because you are strong, so much stronger than you think you are. You have gotten through things you never thought you’d survive, and you’re still standing here, still kicking.”
Esmeralda hiccoughed. “I don’t know, Chris. I mean, I know I did everything I could, but I can’t help but feel like I lost the man I was supposed to end up with. We were so good together, and for the first time in my life, it was a normal relationship. No drama. No exes. No lying or cheating or manipulating. I mean, you were there. You saw him. You saw us together.”
Christina pulled back to look at her. “I know I did, and I know it’s hard for you to accept. I couldn’t believe it when you told me especially when I saw the way he looked at you, but you can’t make someone stay. You can’t make them want to fight, and you definitely can’t save them from themselves.”
A sob tore itself from her throat. “I wish I could.”
Esmeralda slid to the floor, and the tears poured down her face as Christina sat next to her and let her cry on her shoulder. She patted her back every few minutes and ran her hands through her hair in soothing gestures that made Esmeralda feel less sad.
She let her cry until finally the sound of Esmeralda’s sobs were reduced to nothing more than quiet hiccoughs every few minutes, and quiet sniffling.
“There you go, hon. Just cry. Let it all out, don’t hold it back. You need to let it out of your system because if you keep holding it in, it’ll eat you up on the inside.”
“Can we get ice cream and order sushi?” Esmeralda asked quietly, her tear strained voice sounding hopeful.
“Of course, we can. We can even watch one of your favorite movies.”
“The notebook?”
“Not that chick flick again.” Christina pretended to groan as Esmeralda elbowed her. “Hey, for a girl who’s supposed to be sad, you sure can pack a mean jabbing.”
“Upset or not, I can still kick your ass when you make fun of Ryan Gosling.”
Christina stood up and held out her hand for Esmeralda, who took it and yanked herself up “I never complained about Ryan Gosling. That man is so fine. No, I was talking about the plot of the movie.”
“What’s wrong with the plot?” Esmeralda picked up the sushi menu and began to scan it as her stomach began to grumble.
“It’s just not realistic, in my opinion. The things we do for the people we love.” She sighed melodramatically as a pillow hit her square in the face.
“You know you love it. Now, what do you want to get?”
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, te
ntatively 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.
Chapter 5
Esmeralda was dimly aware of sounds swirling around her, a cacophony of sorts, of high and low altos, she knew she should be able to understand what they were saying, but she couldn’t make sense of it.
All that she was aware of was the sound of the blood pounding in her ears, barely keeping up with her racing heart that felt like it was about to burst straight out of her chest.
She swallowed audibly as she watched Daniel talk to one of the other tourists, his brown eyes hidden behind shades, his jet-black hair carelessly swept to the side, his charming smile in place.
She was dimly aware that the voices in the background were getting higher, the buzzing sound becoming incessant.
She felt a hand somewhere, and somewhere in her brain, she registered that it was probably her arm, so she blinked as she turned her head to stare at the hand that touched her, confused that it seemed to be merely an outline, she couldn’t place. She yelped as a hand pinched hers, rather forcefully. “What was that for?”
She blinked as the world swam back into focus, and she noticed Christina standing there, hands on her hips looking worried, and a little angry.
“You were just standing there, like a zombie, staring. I was worried, and frankly it was just a little bit creepy.”
Esmeralda rubbed her arm, making a mental note to start taking MMA classes with Christina because that pinch sure did hurt. “If you were worried, why do you look like you want to kill someone?”
Christina’s expression immediately softened. “Well, I was debating marching over there and dragging his sorry ass over here till he broke whatever kind of voodoo curse he had placed on you.”
Esmeralda shot her a wry grin. “And what stopped you?”
“I didn’t want to get blood on my new shoes.”
“How efficient of you,” Esmeralda commented, very dryly. She shook her head and shoved her hands in her pockets.
“Well, in any case, it’s not some kind of voodoo curse. I was just shocked that’s all.”
Christian crossed her arms over her chest. “Shocked is an understatement. You looked like you saw a ghost.”
“He kind of felt like one before today.”
Christina pivoted slightly, so she could take a look at him over her shoulder. “That clearly isn’t a ghost, sadly. The problem remains however, he’s still here.”
Esmeralda ran her hands through her hair. “I know, right? I mean, out of all the places in the world he could’ve gone to, and out of all the camps, why this one?”
“Didn’t you two plan on coming here to take in the sights and go camping?”
Esmeralda frowned. “Yeah, it was right before we broke up. He talked about coming out here a couple of times to visit friends, and he wanted me to go with him the next time.”
“Well, you’re here, all right.” Christina uncrossed her arms and gave Esmeralda a sympathetic smile. “You know, I really don’t want to get these new shoes dirty, but for your sake, I could just mess him up just a little.” She held up her thumb and index finger to show how much.
Esmeralda laughed in spite of the tension radiating all over her body. “Something tells me my definition of a little isn’t the same as yours.”
Christina gave her a quick grin. “You’re right. Probably not, but still, just a little?”
Esmeralda shook her head. “No, it’s better to just avoid him when possible.”
“But—”
“Chris, come on. I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle it.”