She lolled back on the deck chair, moaning and arching her back. She came, twisting her legs over me, her thighs hugging my face, trembling with her whole body like a terrific Siamese cat.
Then at once, she pushed my face away with a foot and swung her legs away. She used my head as support to stand and put her panties back on. I watched them curve up her thighs and smooth butt-cheeks. I waited for any command to stop kneeling, but instead she simply turned into the house. I watched the perfect ass bobbing until it disappeared behind the walls.
I breathed. Certainly my emotions about succumbing to this life were mixed. But I would be given no time to process them.
"Michael!" Arwa's voice barked.
I turned, realising suddenly that I was still on my knees. Arwa was walking out beside Khadija, both girls in small bikinis. They had long cocktail glasses in their hands, almost drained. Arwa sipped through a straw. At a respectful distance, two stone-faced servants shadowed them.
"Get out," Arwa said. "It's girl time."
She swung out on a deck chair, allowing her long, imperious, soft body to grow comfortable in the sun. Khadija was watching me, but I was too scared to meet her eyes.
I turned to flee. "Wait!" Yelled Arwa, as I was right at the house. "We need a refreshment of our refreshments here." She swung her glass at me, letting the ice-cubes jingle.
I hesitated. There were clearly two servants there. There was no need for her to humiliate me like this. Or maybe there was.
In any case all I could do was obey. I would try to talk Samira out of the madness when the time was right. I came back for Arwa's glass.
And then I turned to Khadija. Her glass was lying on the table beside her. She made no move or indication of what to do.
I picked up her glass. Right at the last second she barked "sunscreen."
So she did speak English. It did not make me fear her less.
When I came back into the house, the servants were unpacking our goods into the new home. What did they think about all this, I wondered? Their faces remained impassive yet they left no doubt about who they served. But surely, there must be an opinion about such unconventional domestic behaviour? Where, for that matter, had they even come from?
I hoped to find Samira in the kitchen to question her. But she had gone. I fixed both girls a drink. Someone - perhaps a servant - had placed sunscreen on the kitchen table.
The girls were sitting at their deck chairs, as if dozing. Both had sunglasses on and neither, I noticed, had hijabs. Their servants fanned them with giant fan palm leaves from a short distance. I placed Arwa's drink down at her table and turned to Khadija's, but Arwa said, too softly, "Michael."
I turned. Arwa made a circle with her thumb and forefinger and gave emphasis to each syllable of her word. "Pre-sen-ta-tion."
"Yes," I said. But she was still staring. "I'm sorry," I continued. But she sighed, as if beyond exasperation.
"So pick it up, and try again."
I bent over, feeling myself flushing with shame and picked her glass up.
"Here you go, Ma'am," I said as deferentially as possible and placed the glass back down.
Arwa smirked a little. "Mmm..." She mused. "Okay, try again. Ma'am is nice, but maybe Mistress, or Your Highness is better."
I shivered. But obeyed. "Here's your drink, Your Highness," I said, bowing a little and placing her drink down a third time.
She waved me away with a regal flick of her long fingers.
I turned to Khadija.
"Here's your drink, Your High-"
"What took you so long?" Khadija said without looking at me.
I grimaced. Was she serious? She had just seen what Arwa had put me through.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," I said. I heard Arwa giggling behind me. Khadija smirked. I burned red. It had just come out of me.
"Well, little peasant," Khadija said. "You'll make it up to me."
I swallowed.
"Put down my drink, little peasant."
I did so.
Khadija's dark, beautiful eyes looked over me from the sunglasses. "Give me the sunscreen," she said.
I did so.
"I bet you think I'm going to ask you to wipe the sunscreen into me, mmm, little peasant?"
I tried to hold her gaze but couldn't.
Arwa joined in. "Oh please mister big Western guy! Please massage me."
"Oh get right in there!" Khadija joined.
"Oh lower, lower."
I was at a loss. I knew denying it would only worsen the situation. So I merely stood, hoping they would let me go.