Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Ch. 4 : Bridging the unknown

---

I was on my way back to Delhi from London on one of my frequent work trips, after Poonam had returned from Cairo. Emirates took me to Dubai, as usual, for a change to a Delhi flight. I had four hours to kill in Dubai airport with nothing much to do, so I wandered around for a while and then sat myself down in a cafe that I knew served good coffee. I found myself sitting next to a man who turned out to be an Italian after we introduced ourselves.

There's something about an airport that causes people to let down their guard. Our conversation moved quickly beyond the usual social niceties, and in a surprisingly short period of time we were talking about women. He had led quite an adventurous life with many an escapade and openness of experience. He told me that the swinger clubs in the Netherlands were the best by far, a titbit of information I filed away for future reference without knowing why. He said both he and wife were swingers (I was actually a little embarrassed by how frank he had become) and that they had a fantastic sex life still, in spite of being in their mid forties. He asked me about mine, and I told him, perhaps a little primly, that we were doing fine. But, I added, we were both open minded so the good times would probably continue. He seemed very pleased that I had visited Cairo on many occasions, and we compared notes on Nile cruises we had taken. The time had passed pleasantly enough by the time his flight was called and he was getting up to leave.

Just then, my mobile phone rang. It was Poonam, just checking to see if everything was okay. As I was talking, I happened to move the phone a little and the Italian got a look at Poonam's photograph, which I had placed as the wallpaper on the phone. His face lit up.

"Is that your wife? I recognize her. She was on the same Nile cruise as me."

I was stunned. As far I as I was aware, Poonam had gone on a Nile cruise only once, and that too with me.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He didn't seem to notice anything was amiss.

"Of course. She was there with a German woman. Both such beauties. And, my friend, they had a wonderful time, I can tell you."

And with that, he was gone.

I sat there for a while, my thoughts racing. I felt completely confused. Somehow I didn't feel like calling Poonam back and asking her. I must have sat there for at least half an hour wondering what to do.

And then I remembered that I still had Erika's number. I pulled out my phone and called her.

"Hi Ashok. What a surprise. Lucky you caught me during my lunch hour."

"Just staying in touch, Erika. Are you visiting India any time soon?"

Something in my voice must have alerted her.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Next week in fact."

"Where will you be staying?'

"At the India International Centre this time. Lots of work with your bureaucrats and politicians."

"Would you have the time to meet me?"

"I don't know, Ashok. This trip has been planned quite carefully. Why? Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Nothing much, really. I thought you could tell me a little more about that Nile cruise that you and Poonam went on."

There was silence for a while. Then at last she spoke.

"Did Poonam tell you?"

"No. I got to know by pure coincidence. Just before I called you. Before you ask, Poonam doesn't know that I know."

Silence again. Then she spoke.

"Okay. I'm more or less free after lunch on the day of my departure. I was planning on a little shopping, but I can easily skip that. Let's meet at 2.00 PM at IIC and we can spend the whole afternoon together.

"Sounds good." I replied. "I'll be there. Look forward to seeing you."

"Don't call or tell Poonam about this until we've talked" she said. "And remember, Ashok, she loves you very much. Never be wrong about that."

"I won't." I said, and added. "And Erika."

"Yes, Ashok."

"It's wonderful to once again hear the voice of my old and dear friend."

"Thank you, Ashok. I love both of you very much. When we meet you'll understand everything."

Speaking with Erika had really calmed me down. I had plenty of time to reflect on the flight to Delhi. And when I entered our home, everything was so familiar, loving and comfortable. My misgivings pushed themselves to the back of my mind as I enveloped myself in my family.

Lying awake that night, with Poonam asleep next to me after some absolutely typical married sex, I thought about the day that had passed. Did I really need to know anything? Here was the dearest person in my life, my own loving wife next to me. Of one thing I was certain. She would never have taken the cynical view that "what he doesn't know can't hurt him" as a justification for keeping something secret from me. If Poonam had chosen not to tell me, it would have been for the best of reasons and with both of us in mind. Why on earth should I be judgmental? If she had had a fling of some kind, it was clearly behind her and she had moved on. Our life together was only better because of it, whatever it was. Why should I hurt her by trying to find out and confronting her and opening the Pandora's box? Would it not simply destroy everything? Shouldn't there be private space for a person even in marriage? Was it really necessary for a couple to know everything? Would it not be better to let bygones be bygones and move on in life with her? Why obsess about the past when such a seemingly lovely future lay before us?

With the clock ticking down to my meeting with Erika the next week, I made my decision. I would not open up the past with Poonam, no matter what Erika told me about the Nile cruise. Once I had made my decision, I felt completely relaxed and happy. It was literally as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I was suddenly free. And, I realized, with no little amusement, that the ol' testosterone had bestirred itself to remind me of its presence in the form of, yes, there was no doubt about it, a definite erection, come unbidden. Was it because I was about to see Erika in the flesh once again, I wondered? Or because of what she might tell me?

Erika greeted me with her usual hug and kiss on both cheeks. She suggested we sit out on the lawn for privacy. On an autumn afternoon, the lawns in the IIC are beautiful and restful in the golden sunlight. Erika was dressed in a sleeveless floral print shift dress, ending a couple of inches above the knee. We found two two cane garden chairs in a corner of the lawn. Erika sat with her back to the hedge, so that she could look out onto the lawn if she wanted to. I sat opposite her, so that I could look at Erika. The chairs were quite low, and when she sat down and crossed her legs I was rewarded with a quick flash of white panty.

She looked at me pensively for a couple of seconds, and then her face broke into a wide smile.

"I am so happy to see you looking so relaxed. So you haven't told Poonam."

"No." I replied. " And I have decided not to."

"That's lovely, Ashok. I am so proud and happy for you. You're the loveliest of men."

"I'm just curious that's all." I smiled.

To my amazement, she burst out laughing.

"Sorry." she managed to get out in between. "you'll understand why this is so funny in a short time."

Then she became more serious.

"So are you ready to listen, Ashok? Think carefully. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely certain." I replied without hesitation. " I've thought this through very very carefully over the past week."

"So shall I give it to you hard?" she arched her eyebrows.

"The harder the better." I replied in what I thought was a calm voice, but I could feel an immediate stirring in my groin.

"But I want to first go to the end of the story." said Erika seriously. "At the end of the cruise, there was a completely unspoken agreement between us. We both knew we could not continue to meet as friends, at least not for some time. She knew she could trust me to never speak of our experiences. However, when Poonam and I were leaving the cruise, I asked her a final question. What would happen if Ashok found out?"

"She was silent for a long time. Then she said,

"I hope he remembers my favourite Wordsworth poem."

"Do you understand what she meant?"

"Yes, I do." I replied after a moment. "I understand exactly what she meant. And I'm very glad you told me this first. Because now I can really listen to your story."

So Erika started on her story:

-

"The Egypt trip started with an idea I got during my vacation in Turkey. You remember that? I thought you would. Anyway, on that trip I noticed a number of European women, in their fifties or forties or thirties at the youngest, in the company of much younger Turkish men. What piqued my curiosity was that I soon found out that many of them were married.

When I got back to Germany, I asked around, and discovered that this was a phenomenon called Female Sex Tourism or more often Female Romance Tourism. Basically a lot of women, mainly from Europe, are hooking up with younger men on their vacation trips. They're not into gigolos as such, it's more of an intense sexual fling with a virile younger man. I found this fascinating, and after some time managed to get funding for a documentary film. Egypt was suggested as one of the destinations. And that's how I came to visit Egypt. I contacted Poonam immediately, of course. We met in my hotel.

It was really great to see her again, and we spent some time catching up. Then I told her of my new documentary project which had brought me to Egypt. She burst out laughing.

"You can't be serious, Erika. Of course I've seen some women in Cairo now and then, but surely they're few and far between."

"You'd be amazed." I told her." Every year the numbers run into tens of thousands. But no one likes to talk about it because it means that people will start to understand that women are looking for new ways to enjoy themselves. Girls just want to have fun, like you always say."

"Tell you what." I continued. " Do you see those three women over there? They've agreed to a preliminary interview. Why don't you join me?"

So we spoke to those women. It was hilarious and yet so interesting, what they had to say. The conversation went something like this:

"Q. How do you describe the young Egyptian men you met in the resorts?"

"A. Quite well to do, with time on their hands, looking for good times with European women because they cannot get it from their own women, due to social restrictions."

"Q. Why do you find them attractive?"

"A. They are so exotic and different. Especially the ones from the desert areas, they are really real men, if you know what I mean. And of course they are young and fit (laughter). And they are available. She (pointing to one woman) had a different partner every night for seven days."

"Q. How would you compare them to the men in your own country?" Loud laughter.

"A. Five minutes compared to five hours." (again loud laughter). "Level 0 to Level 5."

"Q. What is Level 0 and level 5 etc?"

"A. That's our secret code for how many orgasms for me from one erection. If I have one orgasm, that is level 1, if two orgasms level 2 and so on. These young Egyptian men can manage level 3 to 5 every time. In my own country, Level 0 mostly (loud laughter) and maybe level 1 if I'm lucky."

As we moved away after the interview, Poonam was beside herself with giggles.

"What rubbish. Five minutes to five hours, level zero to level 5 indeed. They're obviously drunk or lying or both".

"Don't be too sure." I said. "And you know me. I always confirm my facts."

"Really? And how do you propose to do that?"

"I'm going on a Nile cruise from day after." I said smugly. "It's a five day four nights deal. And you know what? I have an extra ticket because a colleague dropped out at the last moment. So you can come along if you wish. Anyway, it's over a weekend, and your kids and Ashok are in India, so you're footloose and fancy free."

"And you're planning to try and hook up with a young Egyptian man on the cruise." grinned Poonam. "Maybe I will come along. But I can only stay for two nights. I'll have to fly back from Luxor on day three. You'll need someone to look after you in case things go wrong. And I can always be your wingman."

"Don't be so complacent." I said in turn. "It was you who claimed you had a real Romantic imagination and were always open to - what was it you called it - 'wild ecstasies'. You might meet a hunk who'll make you try a little sex tourism of your own."

"Rubbish." said Poonam. But she had a smile on her face.

"You've got a full day to pack." I told her. "We're going to have a lot of fun."

"You know what?" Poonam said mischievously. "I'm really quite curious now."

"Curiosity killed the cat." I reminded her,

"But not the pussy." said Poonam with a wicked grin.

And we both burst out laughing.

---