The best thing about the twelve-hour flight from Heathrow into Hong Kong was being able to pass the crowded immigration area and head straight for International Departures and the Cathay Pacific flight to Bangkok.
There was going to a wait of a couple of hours so I turned into the first bar I saw, dumped my shoulder bag and climbed onto a stool.
The barman wiped the surface in front of me: "Yes, miss?"
"Vodka, tonic, ice, please. Not too much ice."
"Vodka, tonic," he nodded.
I retrieved a duty-free pack of Marlborough from my bag and lit one, hauling the smoke down into my neglected lungs. I took a quick look at my make-up. The few hours' sleep I'd had on Richard Branson's Virgin A-340 made things a little easier but, basically, I felt like shit. However, things could only get better from now on.
As the drink arrived, I switched on my GSM cell-phone and placed it next to the glass. After shuffling the counterfoils I slipped them back into my ticket folder and slipped it back into the bag with my passport.
I slipped the cold vodka and glanced around the bar. The place was half-full; mostly businessmen, some couples who were dressed like tourists. Some of the men tried to make eye contact. I turned back and saw myself in the mirror behind the coloured bottles. My new super-short hair-cut was still looking good, as was the touch-up to my lipstick. I straightened the collar of the blue waistcoat I was wearing over a white t-shirt and wriggled my bum on the bar-stool to ease up the ultra-sensible tan light-weight Rohan slacks.
The cell-phone rang and I almost dropped it in my eagerness to thumb the green button.
"Hello?"
Then I heard her sweet voice: "Isabel?"
"Yes. You are early."
"Mmm. Where are you?" I looked at the coaster under the glass and gave her the name of the bar. "OK. I'll be with you soon." Before I could say any more, she was gone.
The terminal was huge. She would take ages to get here. But when I looked into the mirror again there she was, smiling, just behind me. I turned and reached for her, kissing her cheek. I wanted more⦠but not here.
Ming climbed up onto the stool next to me, flicked her waist-length jet-black hair to one side and looked at me.
"How was the flight?" we both asked at the same time, and laughed.
"Boring," I said.
"Crowded!" she said.
The first-class ticket I'd arranged for her was for a Dragonair flight from Beijing; they were always crowded. "Any visa problems?" I asked. Travelling is relatively easy if you are British. She was Chinese but I'd made things easier by giving her a card for my Amex Platinum account. Now she couldn't be accused of being an economic migrant. Having a well-connected family in Beijing also helped. So did being a new employee of my commercial photography company.
Ming was thirty years old but her sweet face and her five-foot, teenage figure made her look much younger. I was five-eleven and towered over her β something she always found hilariously funny for some reason.
The barman arrived and started wiping again. I ordered another vodka, Ming asked for a Coke. We chatted. I wanted to touch her. I was becoming aroused just being near her. I even considered dragging her off to the nearest Ladies' toilets.
Eventually, I just looked at her and told her I'd missed her. She smiled again as she leaned towards me and whispered: "Want me to lick your pussy, darling?" The minx!
I looked at my watch and told her we should go.
"You checked in OK?" I asked as we walked towards the gate.
"Yes."
"Did you get the seat next to me?"
"Yes, Miss! Not too many in First Class."
"OK." That was another trick: Calling me "Miss" in public.
The food on the flight was excellent. Ming tried the wine and it had the usual effect on her. Finally, when the trays had been cleared away, I took her hand and lead her to the toilet. Two pretty Filipina flight attendants were chatting near the door. They smiled.
"Can I help you, Ms Cavafy?" asked one of them.
I thought for a moment, smiled back, and whispered in her ear: "If you can, I'll press the 'Call' button." She covered her mouth as she giggled. Her colleague looked concerned. I gave her a smile too and said: "Don't worry, we promise not to smoke!" As they watched, I held the door open and stroked Ming's bum as she passed me. I bolted the door and turned to take Ming in my arms. We kissed passionately, her tongue probing eagerly between my lips. As her hands moved to fondle my breasts through my silk t-shirt, reached under her short skirt and tugged at her panties. She broke breathlessly from the kiss and gasped as I explored her wet pussy. Suitably soaked, my social finger found her clitoris and started the brisk sideways stroke that was always so effective with her. From that point I didn't stop. I rubbed and she moaned noisily. Soon, her body shook, her head went back, her mouth opened: "Isabel!"
I let her lick my fingers before opening the door. As I left the toilet, one of the flight attendants was still there. I smiled again, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could see Ming pulling her panties up, and returned to my seat.
Ming came back about fifteen minutes later, her face still lit up. She melted into her seat and scribbled a note on a napkin. Want to taste Filipina puss? it read. I nodded and she leaned across and kissed me slowly on the mouth. Later, when the flight attendant collected the trays β and the unfolded napkin β we curled up, giggling.
About ten hours later I woke up suddenly and, as usual, had no idea where I was for a few seconds. Then everything fell into place. The Royal Thai Hotel, a modest suite on the top floor; I am lying on my side on one of the two king-sized beds. My arms are around Ming, my nipples touching her back, my pelvis against her bum. The sheets have been pulled back and the air conditioner is blowing cool air across our naked bodies.
Now I was wide awake and my brain in gear. I had met Ming by chance at Glasgow University a few years ago. Her husband was there studying for a post-graduate degree and she had joined him. Her name β Ming β means "bright" and she certainly was. Soon bored with looking after her rather dull husband, she studied for a master's degree in some obscure aspect of Internet technology, something to do with the way search engines read pages in oriental scripts.
I met her at a party and was instantly attracted to her; I'd never made love to a doll-like Chinese woman before. I needed an excuse to see her again and offered to help her improve her English. The ploy worked. A couple of times a week she would come around to the studio or to my apartment and I would teach her English grammar. I took my time.
The break-through came late one afternoon after a long shoot for a mail order catalogue. The models were leaving as she arrived. I gave her a magazine and told her to start translating an article. The last girl, Fiona, was busy chatting to someone on her cell-phone. Eventually, she switched the damn thing off and came over to us. I stood up.