The Lifeguard

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