The inspiration for this very short story is the image that
WhiteWave48
displays on her Biography.
I don't know about you, but to me it certainly appears that she is affectionately holding some lucky guy's erection - but then maybe it is either my always over-active imagination at work, or perhaps just another of the pieces of pottery that are beside her, on the table...
*
Michael and I had spent the best part of a year in the planning of our trip; an overseas adventure holiday which had been prompted by some friends' enthusiastic recounting of their trip to India.
We had of course sought brochures, searched the Web, and checked prices with various agents - then spent many, many hours poring over the information we had accumulated, before deciding on the rough outline of an itinerary.
In addition to many of the more usual tourist icons, our mutual interest - both physical and intellectual - in things sexual, meant that high on our list were visits to at least some of the multitude of temples bearing the well publicised erotic carvings. Unlike our western cultures, the 'lingam' (the phallus, the erect penis, the cock) has always been a much venerated part of some Hindu practices - and that, and the 'yoni' (the vagina, the pussy, the cunt) - were eulogised and glorified in both paintings and statues in many extremely holy places.
Although we knew there was a gigantic - reputedly over seven feet high - lingam in one temple in Ranbireshwar, as this was north of our starting point, in Delhi, and our proposed route would actually take us south, we agreed to miss a visit to that one. We also knew that that particular carving was a purely symbolic one, not depicting the actual reality of the subject, so, in addition to the awkwardness of its location, it also held very much less personal appeal for me in particular!
I have always found the male's erection quite fascinating - and of course, in the right circumstances, sexually exciting, especially when believing that it was something about me that had given rise to it! It's lovely knowing that the man I am with finds some aspect of me - whether some physical attribute, or some especially stirring activity - so stimulating that he gets that powerfully turned on. But even just seeing one - whether a photograph or a simulation - so long as it is a nice, well shaped and proportioned one - I have often felt myself getting warm and wet.
But I am digressing!
So, given all that rising expectation, and just when my anticipation of the long awaited trip was at its highest - and we had each paid the full amount of our share of the bookings - Michael dumped me! He coldly informed me he had been seeing someone else for the last couple of months - she turned out to be the bubble-headed, blue-eyed, but admittedly big-titted, Cynthia - who I knew would drive him positively nuts in little more than the time he had already spent with her. But it was clear that he was absolutely determined to go to her, so what could I do? He obviously thought he was being generous when he told me he would only seek his portion of the air fare back from the agent, meaning that I would still be able to go on the trip - on my own?
I spent a week or two in deep depression, nursing both my loneliness and my much wounded pride, and seriously considered seeking a refund of whatever portion of the cost of the trip I would be entitled to. But then a few friends cajoled and persuaded me that with my holiday from work already firmly booked, as well as probably most of the money spent, why not go! They told me that the trip would not only give me a chance to clear my head of all thoughts of Michael - at least for the time being - it might also be an opportunity for some grand adventure.
During that time I also thought back on the four or so years Michael and I had been together; there had certainly been very many very good times, and our overall sexual compatibility had played no small part in creating many of those. But, if I was to be brutally honest with myself, there had always been something - something I found totally indefinable - but nonetheless there had undoubtedly been something missing. Whether that had been a lacking in Michael's technique or vigour, or my own failure to be able to unlock something within me, our love-making, though more times than not, totally enjoyable, still often left me with the feeling that there might, in other circumstances, have been something that could have been even more deeply satisfying. I was sometimes reminded of the song I occasionally heard played on the station devoted to the hits and ballads of the '60s and '70s, a song - no, it was more of a lament really - sung by Peggy Lee, entitled 'Is that all there is?'. The words of that song seemed to define so well the feelings I sometimes had immediately after it was clear that Michael had done all he either wanted, or was capable of doing with me.
Anyway, somewhat against my better judgement, I took my friends' advice and , a few increasingly apprehensive weeks later, finally set off on my own.
The long flight to Delhi was exhausting and the time lag meant my first night's sleep did not prove as refreshing as I'd hoped it would be, so I'm afraid a found myself occasionally dozing off during the next day's tour of the city, so I failed to fully appreciate the visit to the Red Fort, and even the undoubtedly tantalising bargains displayed in the much vaunted Delhi markets, left me singularly unimpressed.
However, by the time I arrived in Agra, for the trip to the even more famous Taj Mahal, I was happy to find that I had picked myself up enough to fully appreciate its beauty. Then, on my return to the hotel for a snack and an intended early night, I was persuaded by the admittedly extremely handsome room-service waiter that I should not leave until I had seen that building by moonlight - when it to all intents and purposes actually seemed to float above the ground beneath it. He was sufficiently persuasive, and had such an immediate physical appeal, that I allowed myself to agree to let him be my guide.
He later admitted, with a wickedly cheeky grin, that he well knew that that night would be moonless - but even so, and regardless of what followed, the sight of it lit by skilfully placed floodlights, is one I'll always treasure.