Radical

by Sijal Aziz

  Alexander reluctantly let her go, “Of course I understand. I am sorry”.

  Jasmine saw the serious look on Alexander’s face and added lightly, “Didn’t you hear what I just said. I cannot do it in my house”

  It took some moments for Alexander to realize what Jasmine was saying and he let little laugh out when he understood her meaning.

  “Oh, I thought you never wanted to do it”

  “Now that, that is understood, let me show you the rest of the art collection”, Jasmine said tucking her hand in Alexander’s arm. Alexander put his other hand on Jasmine protectively.

  Alexander never knew he was capable of so much love. He wanted to give all his love to Jasmine every day for the rest of his life.

  He wanted to have kids with her. Kids who will have a loving mother and a loving father. They will not live a loveless life like him. He will make sure that every moment he spent with them will be full of love.

  When Jasmine showed him the last picture in the art collection, Alexander knew it was time to leave. He didn’t want to leave, and Jasmine did not want him to leave. But knowing that the Jasmine’s father would be back any moment, Alexander said reluctantly, “I better be on way now, as it is pretty late, and your father must be on his way back and will be here any minute”

  Jasmine looked into his eyes and saw all the love and passion that Alexander felt for her, she held his hand in her hand, took a deep breath and said, “Yes, but I hate to see you go”

  This time Jasmine came closer to Alexander and kissed him. The kiss started slowly and then turned into a passionate kiss. Alexander held Jasmine face in his hands tenderly with his fingers spread through her hair. Jasmine came closer to him until her body touched him, she wrapped her arms around him, and they were one for a few minutes.

  They reluctantly let go off each other when they heard dishes falling in the dining room. With both of them breathing hard, they automatically walked over to the front door. The butler was there, and he opened the door for Alexander. Alexander turned around one last time and said, “I will see you soon?”

  Jasmine mind was working, she did not want to see Alexander soon. Soon had too many uncertainties in it.

  “How about I show you the history of Iraq? Can you pick me up tomorrow at 11?”

  Alexander’s face lit up, “I would love to do that. Good night and good bye”

  Jasmine stood outside watching Alexander’s car disappear into the drive way then headed to her room.

  Jasmine was shocked by the way she was feeling. It was as if, when Alexander left for his hotel, he took a part of her with him.

  She felt sad. It was as if she was alive and vibrant when Alexander was there with her and now, she was miserable. She went straight to her bed and lied down and started thinking about Alexander.

  Alexander drove back to the hotel in a state of complete euphoria. There was a love song playing on radio and he understood it. For the first time in his life the love songs were making sense to him.

  He was missing Jasmine, but it was with a bitter sweet pleasure. Bitter because she was not with him and sweet because he knew she felt the same way.

  As soon as he reached his hotel, he called Jasmine. She picked up on the first ring, “Alexander?”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Well the only friends I have here are my cousins and they don’t call me at midnight. I don’t have any boyfriend either who would call me and that leaves you. So, I knew it was you. In fact, I was waiting for your call”

  “I have just reached”

  “You better get some sleep if you want to be awake during our tour tomorrow”

  Instead of sleeping they talked for the next three hours about their childhood, schools and colleges. Neither wanted to hang up the phone but they finally did when they could not keep their eyes open any more.

  Jasmine could not keep her eyes open after they hung up the phone, but she could not sleep as well.

  Her mind kept drifting back to their kiss. It wasn’t just a kiss. it was an exquisite pleasure.

  She had kissed men before but somehow with Alexander it felt different. She was falling for him and she did not want to be the one to get hurt. From what she could see in Alexander’s eyes he was falling for her too.

  She almost drifted to sleep when she remembered her father. How would she explain why she was meeting Alexander tomorrow? There was no way she could do that, so she wished that her father would have gone to work before she woke up in the morning.

  Finally, when Jasmine went to sleep it was 5. She woke up at 8 in the morning. Her first thought was to go back to sleep again but then she remembered something that made her smile and it was Alexander.

  She picked up the phone to dial his number but then changed her mind. She did not want to seem too needy or too clingy. Men hated women who were clingy.

  She took a shower and prayed that her father had left for office.

  When she went to the dining hall to have breakfast, she found out that her father had left early for office. Her wish had been granted.

  She went to her cupboard and started going through her dresses. She had plenty of dresses and shoes, but she wanted to look her best for Alexander.

  She carefully selected a Givenchy mid length dress in black wool crepe with sheer sleeves and a V-shaped velvet inset.

  Underneath she put on her most seductive lingerie. She did not plan on sleeping with him today but who knew, maybe one thing could lead to another and they will end up making love. If that did happen, she wanted to be prepared.

  Jasmine’s father still thought that his daughter was a virgin. But Jasmine lost her virginity to the captain of the ice hockey team from an all-boys boarding school when she was 16 years old.

  Jasmine did not want to do it, but she wanted to know what the hype was all about. With girls chattering around her all day and most nights long about sex and boys, Jasmine wanted to do it to feel like she was part of the group.

  In the beginning she had resisted the urge to have sex but four years of constant tortures of stories from girls sleeping with the boys took its toll on Jasmine. She went on dates with a few boys and finally selected Jason Clarke as the lucky guy who will take her virginity away. The whole episode with Jason was a disappointment to Jasmine. Once he was finally inside of her, she did not feel any explosive pleasures nor any stirrings. It was quick and painful, and she never wanted to do it again.

  The only positive she could take from the whole episode was that now she was part of the club. She could talk to other girls about sex and she was not an outcast anymore. She started reading novels and talked about the sexual scenes from the novels as if it were her own.

  CHAPTER 15

  Jasmine put on her make-up and put on her most delicate shoes. She was ready by 10:55. Alexander rang the bell promptly at 11:00. She half walked and half ran to the door. But to her disappointment the butler had already opened it. She wanted to open it for Alexander herself.

  “That will be all Karim. I am going out on a meeting with Mr. Cooper. Please let my father know if he gets back before me”

  Alexander looked at Jasmine and his heart skipped a beat.

  She was looking absolutely stunning. Alexander stared at her for a few moments unable to get any words out.

  Jasmine was glad to see Alexander’s reaction to her and teased him by saying, “Based on that look, I think I should change?”

  “I am at a complete loss of words. You are so beautiful”, Alexander said in a shaky voice.

  Jasmine held his arm and they walked over to the car.

  Alexander opened the car door for Jasmine. Jasmine liked chivalrous men, she loved that Alexander opened doors for her, gave her his hand when they climbed up or down the stairs, pulled the chairs for her to sit down on and some other little odds and ends. It made Alexander much more desirable to her.

  Once they were seated Alexander turned towards her and said, “Oh my God, Jasmine, you are the most bea
utiful woman I have ever seen. Where have you been all my life. I wish I had met you earlier”

  “It’s not too late now. We can still be together”

  Alexander took a deep breath to try to control his emotions, he wanted to kiss Jasmine right there and then, but he knew she would not approve of being kissed in front of her own house in view of the servants.

  Alexander reluctantly took his gaze away from Jasmine, put his hand on the gear and looked at the road ahead and said, “So where are we going today?”

  Jasmine put her hand on Alexander’s hand and said, “I am going to show you the Baghdadi Museum today and then who knows we can have dinner at your place and stuff”

  Alexander looked at her to see if she was serious and he asked, “When you say stuff?”

  “I mean we will see where the dinner leads us”

  Alexander cleared his throat and set the GPS to Baghdadi Museum and started off.

  After driving for about 40 minutes they reached a secluded spot. Alexander stopped the car on the side of the road and kissed Jasmine.

  First it was a tender and loving kiss and then it became more demanding, Alexander held her face with both hands and while kissing, his hands moved down to her nape and he started kissing Jasmine’s neck. Jasmine was swept away by the passionate kisses Alexander was showering her with. They abruptly stopped when they heard an ambulance. The driver and the attendant in the front seat were giving Alexander and Jasmine a smiling look. One of them had his cellphone out and looked as if he was taking pictures.

  Alexander reluctantly started the car and started driving to the destination. They talked all the way to the museum.

  As soon as they reached the museum, Jasmine said with an overly emotional voice, “Now I can finally show you how we have been living for the past centuries. I can show you my culture, traditions and way of living. Let me know when you start getting bored”

  Alexander looked at Jasmine long and hard and said, “I don’t think I will ever be bored with you”

  Jasmine liked the word ‘ever’ used by Alexander. She was enjoying her time with Alexander and she was also looking forward to their future together.

  The entrance ticket to the museum cost less than one dollar.

  “This museum was established in 1970 to depict the culture and traditions of Iraq. The museum was destroyed badly during the Gulf war and was opened to public again in August 2008. You can get a glimpse of our life from here. There are over 80 scenes depicting different events and situations in Iraq. The scenes are shown through wax figures. There are over 480 was figures here. You can call it the Madame Tussaud’s of Iraq”

  They were standing in front of Oum Ibrahim, “This scene shows a mother longing for her son after the son got married. The son is here shown lying in his wife’s lap and the mother is sad that he is not with her. The mothers in Iraq as in many Asian and Middle Eastern cultures don’t like sharing their male off springs. They want them to get married, but they want their sons to only love their mothers not their wives. Things have changed now, but this still exists”

  “Well it’s the same in United States but since kids move away from parents as soon as they can, so mothers don’t have that much sway over their actions”, Alexander added.

  They moved to another scene where an Iraqi marriage was taking place.

  “This is a traditional Iraqi marriage. Instead of bride and groom showing up in a particular venue, the groom travels to the bride’s home with friends and family members.

  All the family and friends rejoice the occasion and there is a lot of dancing and music lasting until after the bride and groom tie the knot.

  Women like to dress up in shiny traditional clothes for a marriage. The festivities continue for three or sometimes four days.

  The bride moves into the house of the groom, full of in-laws, after marriage and they live together. In one Iraqi household you can often find four generations living together”

  “What about privacy? Don’t the wife and groom want privacy?”, Alexander asked trying the grasp the idea of living with 10 of people in one house.

  Jasmine laughed, “Well they prefer living with the family to public show of emotions. Public show of emotions between a man and a woman is not considered very civil in Iraq.

  So, whatever the bride and groom are feeling towards each other will have to wait until night when they can finally close their bedroom doors. I know it is difficult for you to understand but this is how things have been for centuries and how things will be in the coming decades if not centuries”

  Alexander shrugged at the thought of it. He never wanted to live with Jasmine in a house with ten of her relatives.

  They stayed at the museum for another couple of hours and then walked over to the car.

  “I still cannot understand how so many people can live in the same house”

  Jasmine laughed and replied, “Its normal for us therefore it’s not a problem. Now more and more people are moving away from their parents and living on their own once they get married”, Jasmine said and then continued, “There is a very nice restaurant right here at the bank of river Tigris that serves excellent Masgouf. Let’s go there for lunch”

  But it seemed that Alexander was still terrified by the thought of living in a house full of relatives, “When we live together, I don’t want anyone else living in the house with us”

  “You don’t have to. I don’t have that many relatives and I only want to spend my time with you and no one else”, Jasmine said with a smile. She was toying with the thought of living with Alexander already.

  They drove to the restaurant and ordered Masgouf.

  “Masgouf is a traditional dish of Iraq and is cooked until all the fat in the fish is burnt. I hope you will like it”

  Alexander loved the fish especially the garnishing. Alexander was enjoying himself. He had not thought about business even once. He was much too happy with Jasmine to think about anything else. Alexander loved everything when he was with Jasmine.

  After lunch they walked along the river and finally headed to the Alexander’s hotel at around 7. Once they reached Alexander’s hotel, Jasmine heart started pounding so hard, she thought Alexander would hear it.

  Alexander was looking forward to taking Jasmine to his room. They walked over to the elevator quietly. Both of them were aware of the sexual tension between them. Once they were in the elevator, Alexander pressed his floor. Finally, as soon as the elevator door closed. They both turned to each other and started kissing each other hungrily. Alexander pulled Jasmine close to him and she could feel that he was already aroused.

  Alexander kissed her neck and then moved over to her cleavage. Jasmine was enjoying his exquisite love making when the elevator door opened. Alexander let go off Jasmine reluctantly. Jasmine looked flushed. She patted her hair to put them in some order and took a deep breath to steady her breathing. They both made their way over to Alexander’s room. Alexander had taken the key out already before they had reached the door. They were in each other’s arms again as soon as they were in the room.

  Jasmine never went home that night. They made sweet and wild love until dawn. Once they were finally done, they laid in each other’s arms and saw the sun come up. Jasmine said quietly, “I had never known that sex could be so amazing. Thank you! You are an amazing lover”

  Alexander leaned on his elbow and stared into Jasmine’s eyes, “You bring out the best in me. Jasmine I have never felt this way about anyone. I want to spend the rest of my life with you”

  “I also want to spend the rest of my life with you, I cannot stand being away from you now”

  Alexander kissed her and replied, “Then don’t, stay with me”

  “I still have to talk to my father”

  Alexander lied down on the bed again, “Yes, you need to tell him”

  “But I don’t want to do that now. There is something more important I want to do now”, she got on top of Alexander and started kissing him until he wa
s moaning with pleasure. They made love one more time and then took a shower together and ordered breakfast in the room.

  After breakfast, Jasmine reluctantly informed Alexander that she needed to go home. Alexander did not want Jasmine to leave but he did not object. Her father deserved to know where his daughter was. If it was his daughter, he would want to know.

  Alexander was surprised at the way his thinking was changing. Where once he would not have given a shit about things like that, he was already thinking of himself as a father.

  When they reached Jasmine’s home. Jasmine gave him a kiss on the cheek, put her hand on his and said, “I will tell my father that I cannot live without you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I do not know what his reaction will be, but whatever it will be, please understand one thing. I will always choose you over anyone else”

  “Me too. Do you want me to wait here?”

  “No, please go back to the hotel. I will call you once I deal with this”

  Alexander stayed outside the house for five more minutes and then headed back to his hotel.

  Jasmine took out her key and opened the door. As soon as she did her father said in a booming voice, “Where the hell have you been? I have tried calling you many times but your phone was switched off. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I could not sleep throughout the night”

  Jasmine did not want to lie to her father. So, she decided that she needed to come straight to the point, “I was with Alexander father. I cannot live my life without him”

  Out of nowhere her father slapped her hard across the face, “How dare you? You have turned into a whore. How could you do that?”

  Jasmine had never seen her father so angry, but she was adamant, “I love Alexander, father, and I will spend every night with him for the rest of my life. I wanted you to know, because you are my father. But if you cannot understand this, then I better leave”