Not that it matters but this is based on a true story narrated to the author by the main character, a man who casually mentioned the rather unusual way he lost his virginity. The author then coaxed him to deliver his entire story, which he did over a lazy weekend in a farmhouse in upstate New York.
The Greyhound driver swung towards highway I90W and began the two hour drive to the town of Huntslow, Ohio. Ryan Dole checked out a young brunette across the aisle. She buried her nose in her Kindle eReader as soon as she took her seat at Cleveland. Her deep green T shirt matched the early summer foliage rolling by but what attracted Ryan from his vantage point was her bouncy, shapely left breast.
Girls!
He hadn't had too much luck with them but this trip was going to make amends. He looked back to his younger days of boyhood and slipped into an unhappy day dream.
THREE ZERO
There was Sharon Gabriel from high school who was actually two years his senior. Living in the neighborhood, they often walked down the block to the school bus. Or he walked behind wide eyed with boyish excitement as she swayed her awesome behind. She being slightly older, he never went out with her though he carried a big secret crush throughout high school. She was a blond bombshell. A cute face dressed with dimples, with a longish chin, a sharp nose and sea blue eyes caught your attention before her smashing figure did. She also had shoulder length golden hair that had a careless shock hanging over her left eyebrow. She was simply gorgeous but in a different league, Ryan concluded. She hung out with the footballers and other heroes in school.
Then there was his classmate Gina Polanski. She was the only girl he dated in high school or even after and he was turning 24 next month! Gina literally forced herself on Ryan. He wouldn't have minded that if she was as hot as some others. She was a nerdy, gawky, and thin but an oddly round faced girl with hardly any curves. Her near flat chest and small butt contributed to her non glamorous straight lined torso. To top it all she was strong willed, and possessive and gave the unhappy impression to all that Ryan was hers! He convinced himself that this was the only reason for his unenviable virginal state. That would change with this trip and his heart skipped a beat.
Ryan had to dig deep into his soul to understand what opportunities he lost. He had had one intimate session with Gina though, at a wild ranch house party towards school graduation. Everybody was high on either booze or grass and all eight bed rooms and shadowy hallways were occupied with couples making out. Gina and Ryan were in the back seat of his father's Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in the ample yard. Ryan recalled the scene where Gina sat on his lap, topless smooching and even through the murkiness of a half-moon sky the odd conical projections of her pink nipples on flat chest was awkwardly un-sexy. Her smooth skin was a relief but even as Ryan reached behind to feel her tiny butt, he didn't feel aroused enough for sex. He guessed it was because there were so many other girls that were immeasurably more attractive than Gina at that party. It ended there.
Later he heard she turned very religious and was now in Harvard Medical School! Good for her, he thought.
Soon after graduating from high school and after a few months of Pizza delivery, Ryan's uncle Graham got him an offer to work as a truck driver in a US logistics company in the Middle East. The pay packet and benefits were mind boggling and that's why he decided to go and stayed there for 48 months. The small worry was that he was driving from Kuwait to Iraq during a rather sensitive period.
The camp in Doha in Kuwait was where all the supplies to the staff in Iraq were shipped to and were transported from to a nodal distribution center in Basra, a southern Iraqi city. Ryan drove one of the many trucks that traveled in a convoy carrying everything from food and office supplies to medical stuff and some unlabeled packages that could have been anything.
In Doha he shared a barracks style air conditioned hut with three other guys. Only one of them was there at most times, though. Across a group of shacks and behind the mess was a small room where a seamstress sat with an archaic Singer sewing machine. Her name was Salima, a Lebanese woman in her thirties. The more he talked to her the more he liked her cute accent and even though she wore traditional head scarfs and was covered from wrist to ankle, she had that Mediterranean charm that interested Ryan. He found himself visiting her to get unnecessary repairs done and even plucked a button off his shirt to get it fixed by her. Gradually she was warming up to him and chatted long as she spent hours alone cooped up in her little space. He heard that she was married to an Egyptian electrician and had two children aged 5 and 3. His mother, who was a Kuwaiti looked after them while both worked.
It was on one of his visits to her room on a hot, dusty and lazy afternoon that he had brought one of his shorts that required a waist to be adjusted. She gave him the tape to measure his waist himself but when his clumsy, inexperienced hands fumbled she resigned to her fate and helped him. Salima stood up from her stool behind the machine came over ever so close to him and took the measurement herself. Ryan was intoxicated with her nearness, her Arabic perfume and became acutely aware of her body.
She was well endowed! She had big shapely breasts pushing her thin top and a rounded rump on wide hips. Her waist may have been narrow but that was not quite evident. Presently her long fingers with painted nails handled the tape expertly round Ryan's waist carefully avoiding touch. Ryan asked Salima to proceed with the repairs and left.
Back in the hut, he thought, wow, that woman's something. How did he miss that? He even had a peek at that awesome cleavage under her blouse. Desire gripped him like some uncontrollable monster. Why was he still unable to sleep with a woman? He slipped into bed with his favorite box of tissues and masturbated thinking of her voluptuous body and how it would feel to peel off those layers of clothing and feast on every inch of her and finally enter her and pump her with blissful strokes and dump a load of his hot semen into her.
A few days later Ryan had just arrived from Basra and in the shower when the doorbell rang. He quickly wiped himself and stepped into a pair of black satin shorts and headed to the door.
It was a shocking surprise when he found Salima at the door with a plastic bag.
"Your shorts" she said almost looking away and turning to go.
"Just a moment. I'll get the money. Five Dinars, right?"
She hesitated and then nodded with no eye contact. "Come on in. I won't be a minute. It's hot outside"
Ryan didn't expect her to come in but to his surprise she gingerly stepped in looking around the room and carefully avoiding looking at his bare chest.
"Sit down!" Ryan could hardly believe what was happening. Why did she come to the hut? She usually called on his cell.
As if reading his mind she said: "I have to leave early today. I forgot my cell at home so I couldn't call. I thought I'll give this before the weekend."
"Thanks" Ryan grinned lecherously. She wore a petal green scarf and a brown top with brown jeans. Her brilliant complexion had a thin film of summer sweat accentuating her smoothness. "Sit down, won't you. You can have some fruits. I got some lovely oranges from Basra"
"Basra is not known for oranges." She managed a giggle.
"Just got them at the Souk. I'll get some"
From the kitchen area in the corner of the living room, Ryan noticed that Salima had sat herself down. He picked out some oranges and pineapple from the fridge crisper and offered them to her. She picked an orange, thanking Ryan.
"You are very beautiful" he mumbled, meaning every word and looking right into her eyes.
She blushed, looked down and thanked him again and peeled the orange.
Ryan sat in the chair next to her and said: "Tell me something. When did you start wearing that head scarf?"
"I was born a Christian. I married a Muslim and converted. I thought it was only appropriate to wear it. So it's been about 6 years."
"I have always wondered about your hair" Ryan was doubting if he was going too far but was glad he asked.
Salima went into a long discourse on the use of the '
hijab'
with Ryan's interceding questions. The discussion touched on conservatism, sexual attraction and interaction and Ryan jumped at the opportunity provided.
