Ahmed... A Love Story

Our world can be so full of hate, misunderstanding and distrust. Countries that are very similar in their core beliefs can be so blinded by a few cultural differences. Wars can be started over simple ignorance. In these times love can blossom like a fragile flower in the most arid of circumstances.

I was supposed to hate Ahmed, but how can you hate someone who has the kindest, softest brown eyes you had ever seen? How can you hate a man who makes you feel loved, and cherished? How can you hate a man who has the capability to hold you, make you feel safe and secure with a single phrase. "Don’t cry Jenni.", simple words, but they say so much. They say, "I care." They say, "You are special." Simple words that warm the heart and nurture the spirit. Simple words that can bring me to my knees, crying, wanting a man I can not have.

It was a beautiful early spring morning. The wildflowers Texas is famous for were in full bloom. I walked through the paths at the arboretum alone, but not lonely. I was enjoying a day off work. The quiet, the solitude was exactly what I needed after the past few months. Work was crazy. My boss too demanding. I was tired.

A patch of pink tulips caught my eye. They had always been my favorite flower. I walked over and sat on the concrete bench in front of the colorful display. My head tossed back and I breathed a deep breath of fresh air.

"Hello." His voice was soft, warm, thickly accented, and very comforting. I opened my eyes and looked up to see this man smiling down at me.

"Hi." I said shyly. Immediately I wondered where he was from.

"May I sit with you?"

"Sure."

A smile lit up his face as he sat next to me, and I knew instantly that he was genuine. Reaching for my hand he said, "My name is Ahmed, it is nice to meet you."

"Hi Ahmed, I’m Jennifer."

"Hello, Jenni." I let very few people call me Jenni. It’s not a name that I particularly liked, but when he said it, it was so natural, and seemed right.

We sat there in the arboretum talking for hours. It was like we were long lost friends. We laughed. We teased each other. I found out he was Syrian, and in the country on business. I teased him about being a terrorist. He teased me about wanting to dominate the world. I learned so much about the world and politics in those few hours. I grew as a person. I understood the truth about people like I never had before. I learned we are all the same inside.

"Would you like to get some lunch Jenni?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered, smiling.

We talked and flirted all through lunch and into the middle of the afternoon. Glancing down at my watch I exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, it is 4:00pm. We’ve been talking all day. I am not keeping you from something am I?"

"No, my Jenni, you are not. I could talk to you forever."

We decided to leave the restaurant and go for a walk through the West End, a trendy area of Dallas. "Do you want me to drive since I know the area better?" I asked.

"OK, Jenni." Again, there was that smile and tenderness. We got to my car and before I knew it he was opening my door and helping me in.

The drive to the West End took about 15 minutes. When we got there and parked, Ahmed jumped from the car and raced around to my side to open the door before I even had my seat belt off. "Such manners?"

"Yes Jenni, in my country manners are very important, especially between a man and woman." I knew then that I wanted him to kiss me, but he had been the perfect gentleman up to that point and I didn’t think the thought had crossed his mind. "You are very pretty." His hand went to my face and he traced a finger down the side of my cheek.

"Thank you." I said.

"Shukran." Was his reply.

"What does that mean?"

"It is thank you in Arabic. Come Jenni, show me this West End."

Ahmed took my hand and we walked side by side peering into windows, watching people, and enjoying each other. Finally we stopped at a small patio restaurant and ordered sandwiches and ice cream.

"What are you doing? He looked at me suspiciously.

"Nothing." I said as I twirled my finger through the whipped cream topping on my dessert. Then with a mischievous giggle, I dotted his nose with the creamy froth.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" The laughter in his voice told me he was not angry. "Shall I walk around like this, or are you going to clean me?" Our eyes met, the smiles faded from our faces and electricity flowed through the air. Leaning across the table I licked the stickiness from the tip of his nose.

"Oh Jenni, kiss me." He pleaded. Warmth surged through my veins as I gently placed my lips to his. Never before had I experienced a kiss as gentle and tender as this one. It ended with a smile on his face and mine covered with a red blush. We moved apart and the conversation once again flowed freely.

We talked of our jobs, he was an editor for a computer magazine and had just arrived here in Dallas. He wasn’t sure how long his assignment would take here, but so far he thought America was a very pretty country. "It is different from Syria. Sexuality is much more open here. Your movies, billboards, everywhere I look I see sex. In my country we remain virgins until marriage. Sex is a very private thing between a man and wife."

"So, you are still a virgin?" I asked with awe.

"Yes." The look on my face must have spoken volumes, because he quickly changed the subject. "Come, Jenni, let’s walk some more."

The sidewalks were filling with people in happy moods. The night took on a festive air.. We walked side by side, once again holding hands, lost in our own thoughts. "Do you want to go and watch the sunset from over there?" He asked, pointing to a bench set in a grassy area.

"Sure." We sat down and Ahmed looked at me expectantly. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I knew it was silly, but for some reason I felt a little uncomfortable knowing he was a virgin. He must have sensed my feelings. Leaning forward he kissed my forehead, put his arm around me and pulled me close.

"Pretty, isn’t it?" I looked to the sky and was caught up in the colors I saw there. Red and orange and pink, mixed in with graying swirls.

"Yeah, it’s beautiful." I said. A peddler came by selling roses and Ahmed bought one for me.

"I wish I could give you all the roses in the arboretum." My heart flooded with warmth once more for this man. He was sweet, kind, funny. There was something in his eyes that intrigued me. "Jenni, I should be going. I have to catch a bus back to my hotel, and I am sure you are getting tired. It is so late."

"You don’t need to get a bus, I will take you. Unless you don’t want me to."

"That would be nice, thank you."

We rode to the hotel in silence. I pulled into the parking lot, stopped close to the door, and turned off the engine. Ahmed took my hand in his, kissed the palm, looked into my eyes and said. "I really enjoyed today. Can I see you again?"

"I’d like that." I reached into my purse for a piece of paper and a pen. Jotting down my number I handed it to him. "Here, call me?"

"I will Jenni. Thank you." With a smile he turned opened the door, and was gone. Feeling very lonely, I started the car and headed home.

"Good-bye Ahmed." I whispered into the darkness. My heart felt very heavy as I thought....... He won’t call.

The next day was Saturday, and I was feeling very lazy. I had slept late, much later than usual. When I woke it was nearly 1:00pm. I showered, put on a pair of very old jeans and a sweatshirt. I made myself a turkey sandwich. Grabbed a diet Pepsi from the frig and plopped myself down in front of the TV to watch an old movie.

Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda were falling in love, and combining huge families. "Yours Mine and Ours," had always been a personal favorite. Tear of laughter flowed down my cheeks as I watched Lucille Ball become unknowingly intoxicated by Henry’s sons. I was totally caught up in the movie and almost didn’t hear the phone ringing. Jumping up from the couch I dashed into the kitchen and picked up the phone . "Hello?" I breathlessly answered.

"Jenni? Jenni? Is that you?"

"Ahmed?" I asked.

"Yes. How are you? You sound funny, out of breath."

"I am fine... the phone just surprised me I was watching a movie and had to jump over some furniture and run to answer it."

"Oh, OK. Jenni, would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight? I had such a nice time with you yesterday, and I am all alone here. I thought, well, <pause> maybe you are busy."

"No. I am not busy. I would love to have dinner with you."

My doorbell rang at exactly 7:00pm. I was ready. I had dressed in a black lace ankle length dress. It was on sale a few weeks earlier at the mall. I bought it right away, even though I didn’t think I would ever have any place to wear it. Tonight was the perfect excuse to try it on. Ahmed stood in the doorway holding a bouquet of pink tulips in his arms. "These are your favorites. Am I right?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"By the way you were looking at them yesterday morning."

"Thank you Ahmed, that was very sweet." I put all but one in a vase of fresh water. The one I left out, I took with me.

Dinner was wonderful. We talked. We laughed. I begged and pleaded, and finally talked Ahmed into dancing with me. He said he didn’t know how. I told him I would teach him. We had an amazing time, but it all ended too soon. Once again I found myself saying, "Good-bye Ahmed." I knew I would see him again though. We had made plans for the following afternoon. A picnic lunch at the park. Ahmed said he was a veteran at flying a kite and promised to teach me, just as I had taught him to dance.

Before I knew it, days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. We became inseparable. I showed him so many things our country had to offer. We went everywhere. Museums, restaurants, movies, silly places. One of our favorites was a children’s pizza restaurant. I had fallen deeply, passionately, in love with Ahmed. Never before had I felt such complete closeness to a man. He remained true to his beliefs. We kissed. We hugged. We even fell asleep in each others arms watching TV., but we never made love. I wanted to. God knew how I wanted that man. It was so hard, for both of us. There were many times when we just walked away from each other. Times when we would be sitting on the floor or on the couch and we would start kissing. Soon the passion, the tension would get to be too much, and Ahmed would break away from me. I felt like a high school girl making out when her parents were away for the evening. Instead of being caught by parents though, I was "caught" by the very same person I was experiencing the passion with.

It was early August. The heat was unbearable. I was on my way home from work. My thoughts filled like always, with Ahmed. The air conditioned house and a cool bubble bath sounded heavenly. I pulled into the garage, tuned off the car and walked into my home. Immediately I screamed. He scared me. I wasn’t expecting him to be there.

"Ahmed! You scared me!"

"I am sorry Jenni." Something was wrong. He looked sad. Tears were running like rivers down his face.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, worried.

"My boss called today. I am leaving at the end of the week. I am going home, to Syria."

"NO! NO! NO!" I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I felt a crushing pain to my chest, and knew it was my heart breaking. Ahmed stood, and I flew into his arms. "I won’t let you go. I can’t let you go."

"I must go Jenni. I can’t stay here. Your government won’t let me. We have talked of this."

"Oh God, NO!" I cried out, sinking to my knees. I couldn’t let go of him. He was everything to me.

"Jenni, please don’t cry." He knelt down beside me, wrapped me in his arms. I am not sure how long we stayed there, crying together. Finally when our tears were spent, we began to talk, to make plans. He had three more days, before he left. He was spending them with me. He had already checked out of the hotel and had his things with him, there, at my house. He wasn’t leaving again until he had to.

The next two days we did all of our favorite things together. We went to all of our favorite places again. We took pictures, we laughed, we teased, we tried desperately not to cry, but that wasn’t possible. Tears almost became comforting. They got a little of the pain out. Not much, but a little. We stayed up most nights talking, only to fall into an exhausted sleep in each others arms.

The morning of our last day together we awoke to a brilliant sunshiny day. A walk in the arboretum was the only thing we had planned. We wanted to go back to the place we had met. The flowers were different this time. It was late summer and the wildflowers had been replaced with those of equal beauty. We sat on the grass looking out over White Rock Lake, holding hands, my head on his shoulder, the tears again flowing freely.

"Jenni, please don’t cry."

"I can’t help it, I am loosing you. You are slipping away from me and I can’t do anything to stop it. I love you Ahmed."

He jumped to his feet, pulling me to stand with him. Then before I knew it, he was on one knee, the brilliant sun setting behind him, casting diamonds across the lake.

"Marry me Jenni? Please marry me."

"Ahmed." I wanted more than anything to be able to say yes to him. I also knew that he couldn’t stay here and I would never belong in his country, his world.

"Please, Jenni, I know. "Just say yes. For tonight let me think of you as my wife."

"Yes. Yes. Tonight, I will be your wife."

We stood there on the hillside watching the sun set on our love, pledging ourselves to each other. With our arms wrapped around each other, we walked back to my car. During the drive home, we talked of the children we could have, the joy, the happiness. That night we stood in my bedroom and Ahmed asked if he could love me.

"Jenni? Please? Teach me how to love you."

He sat on the edge of the bed, and watched. Slowly I started to remove my clothes. His eyes never left my body. My eyes never left his face. I wanted to remember every line, every wrinkle, every sparkle that he held in the brown depths of his eyes. When I was naked, he held out his arms to me and I walked into them. His head rested on my breasts. His hands on my back, caressing. I lifted his face and kissed his lips. Softly at first, but soon the urgency of the moment made the kiss deeper and passionate. I sank to my knees in front of him. My hands worked their way under his shirt, guiding it over his head and off his body.

My breath caught in my throat. Ahmed had the most incredible shoulders I had ever seen. He was beautiful. Before I knew what I was doing I had my lips on his neck, tasting. I moved to his magnificent shoulders and devoured them as well. Kissing my way down his chest and stomach I found the button that held his pants closed.

Quickly I opened it and slid the pants down his legs. When I had removed all of Ahmed’s clothing, I again kissed his lips, and worked my way down. My hands covered his hardness and I felt it growing. As I knelt before him I looked into his eyes and whispered, "I love you."

His eyes closed and he breathed deeply. "I love you too, Jenni."

I flicked my tongue out and over the head of his penis. I felt him shiver from pleasure as I closed my mouth over him. I sucked and licked, moving him in and out of my mouth. My hands cradled his balls. "Jenni, please. I want to see you, I want to taste your sweetness too."

Ahmed moved back onto the bed and motioned for me to join him. I lay down beside him. He turned to me, wrapped me in the warmth of his arms, kissed me and shyly whispered. "Jenni? Can we do the 69?"

I giggled, and said, "You are curious aren’t you?"

"I want to try everything with you. Please?"

He laid back and I moved over him. "Let me see you, please." Kneeling over his face, I spread the lips of my sex. "Oh, Jenni. You are so beautiful and your scent is driving me mad." He moved his hands to each side of my waist and pulled me down to his face. Instinctive Ahmed moved his tongue over me as well as any experienced lover could. I felt as if I were on fire. Driven by a need I could no longer contain, I lowered my body onto his and reached once again for his hardness. My mouth closed over it and my tongue danced across the swelling head. Waves of intense pleasure spiraled through my body and carried me off. I screamed out his name as my orgasm overtook me.

When I finally drifted back I could hear Ahmed crooning my name. "Jenni, Jenni, I want to be inside you." There was nothing I wanted more in the world at that time, than to be one with him. I moved to straddle him. Taking his cock in my hand I rubbed it against the wetness of my slit. Slowly I lowered myself onto him. Deeper and deeper he moved inside me, until I had buried the entire length of his hardness in my heat. We moved together as if we had been lovers for eternity. Slowly the hunger grew until it drained our souls and we lay exhausted, but sated in each others arms.

The rest of the night and early morning hours were filled with lovemaking and tears. As the sun rose so did our anxiety. We made love one last time. As our hearts joined, I cried out his name, and tears of sorrow fell from my eyes, onto his shoulders.

The trip to the airport sped by much to quickly. We stood at the gate, looking at the plane that would separate us, probably for eternity. He held my trembling hands, kissed away my tears, and whispered words of unending love to me. The flight attendant announced boarding and I wanted to scream, but the sound was caught in my throat, and my heart was breaking as my soul began dying.

Ahmed grabbed me. Squeezed me tightly, looked into my eyes and promised. "I will come back for you my Jenni. I love you."

Then he was gone.

I couldn’t leave. I stayed and watched until the plane soared off into the sky taking my spirit with it. I knew I would never see him again. He was going home, back where he belonged. He was going home, back to a place that was so different from what I knew. He was going home, and would never return.

I placed my fingers against my lips and touched the cool glass of the window and for the last time I said, "Good-bye, Ahmed."

Jennifer 8/5/98