As the sleek Middle Eastern Airways Boeing 707 jetliner, with its Cedar Tree logo emblazoned on its tail, descended through 10 thousand feet, I saw from my window seat the city of Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East, engulfed in pillars of black smoke. The giant bird continued to circle as it descended, first passing over the Palestinian enclaves near Beirut airport, then the Hotel district which was now a moonscape of rubble and acrid black smoke, and then Jouni, the resort playground across the bay from the city itself. 

Jouni, with its fine low rise hotels, noisy bazaars and night clubs, and its miles of pure yellow soft yielding white beaches, covered in sun beds and umbrellas, was a two fingered gesture at the war across the bay. I always marvelled at the pure hypocrisy of a people at war a mere 15 miles across the water, which at night and at weekends could play so hard in this haven of pure excitement.

But, I had played there too. When Beirut itself was too much for me, I played in Jouni, and while I played I listened to the boom of cannon fire and watched the tracer light up the night sky over Beirut like the 4^th of July.

Yes I had played, I had loved, and I had lost too.  My mind wound back almost six months to an evening which will forever be indelible in my being.

The sun was almost over the horizon of a darkening azure sky reflecting off the clear crystal sea, which softly kissed the endless white sands.

My hands held the ice cream Leah had asked for 5 minutes before, Strawberry, one scoop.

“I have to look after my body for you.” Leah had said as I walked away over the dunes to find what she desired. I turned and smiled. She was always teasing me and I enjoyed the anticipation of knowing that soon she would yield up her virginity to me.

Now returning to her I saw her lying on her back, arms akimbo, embracing the warm touch of the suns rays on her bronzed body. As I drew closer I noticed the beads of sweat gathering below her throat and running down between her breasts in rhythm with the rise and fall of her breathing.

I drew still closer and gazed down at her seemingly sleeping form. My eyes slowly travelled from her serene face, down over her perfect breasts, down over her flat belly, downward to the slight rise between her open thighs.

I stopped and stood in front of her, not daring to breath, my heart raced, and I felt the familiar stirring in my loins as I gazed at the mound beneath her bikini bottom. I put the ice cream down on the sand by her small well formed feet and knelt down between her slightly open legs. She must have felt my presence, because she raised her knees slightly and her thighs opened like a blooming flower, as if inviting me between them or inviting me to enjoy her musky fragrance. I understood the game now, Leah’s cultural background could never allow her to openly invite me to touch parts of her body that no man had seen or touched before. So she had to pretend that she was asleep and at the same time entice me to her. For a moment I froze, the anticipation of the last weeks’ held suspended in seconds of pure amazement that someone as young and inexperienced as her could make me understand what she wanted without a word, or a look, but simply by the setting, a feast on a tablecloth of white sand, just waiting to be savoured.

Was it my imagination, no, her nipples were hardening, reaching for the blue sky above her. I unfroze and leaned forward noticing that her bikini bottoms were tied to the side by a thin cord. I resisted no longer, my fingers deftly undid the cord and slowly pulled down the front of the bikini.

My head bent towards her flower and as the tip of my tongue contacted her petals, Leah gave out a low moan, and opened a little more. My tongue penetrated her, tasting her for the first time; she began to moan. Softly at first then a little louder as my tongue traced a line towards her clitoris. I slid my hands up her flat belly and surrounded her breasts, squeezing gently. My mouth now engulfs her engorged petals, drinking her wine, drinking her dry. Getting intoxicated as each second passed, with emotion, with passion, and desire.

Her moans grew louder as she pressed her lower body against my mouth as if inviting me deep within her. My own manhood, was now rock hard, and crying to be released from my trunks. I comply. Then, as my trunks fell away and I knelt before her, she reached for me, and I realize she was very much awake.

I gazed at her and her eyes locked onto mine, moist with tears, moist with her desire. She smiled, her tongue slowly licking her top lip.

Leah whispered. “It’s mine to do anything I want with it.”

“What do you want to do with it?” I breathed.

“Everything, everything you have done in past and more.”

“Now?” I whispered. “Yes my darling.” She smiled. “Now I want you to make love to me, take away my virginity. I want to feel you deep inside me, I want to feel........”

Then she locked her half closed eyes on mine and in her most alluring French accented voice, she whispered. “Take me.” Then she rolled me over onto my side and slide up my body until her still erect nipples were close to my mouth, her right leg slid underneath my body and she splayed her left leg outwards, opening her flower for me. She took my manhood and placed it at the entrance of her wet warmth. Then she pulled her left leg over my waist and in one motion pulled me deep inside her. I gasped; I saw tears on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes, which until we finished never left mine at all. We lay motionless for a minute to let the pain of her lost virginity subside, and then she slowly started to gyrate her hips, grinding against my pelvis…………

After we had made love that first time and I had taken Leah’s virginity, we swam a little in the sea and then found the same quiet corner of the beach where we had made love before and lay side by side looking at the sinking sun.

“What are you thinking about darling?” I asked.

“I’m thinking that I’m glad we did what we did before it was too late.”

“Why will it become too late?” I questioned.

“One day soon you will be evacuated or I will be executed for falling in love with a Christian.”

“Don’t be morbid. We have a long time left to us. Anyway if I am evacuated you will come with me won’t you?”

“My family would be in danger if I left Beirut.” Leah said. “They would be executed one by one.” “You must be realistic. There is not a future for us here or anywhere. If it were not for the war there would be, but as it stands we have a short time left. So let’s make the best of it. Make love to me again.”

Leah rolled on top of me and I became lost in her kisses and musky sexual fragrance, as we made love with such an urgent rhythm that it left me with a knot of fear in my gut.

Later, we dressed in the hotel room we had rented for the day and then I had the hotel reception call my driver to bring the company car to front entrance. I always hated the Journey from Jouni to West Beirut. East Beirut was a mess and West Beirut was even worse. I always felt nervous when we crossed the Green Line; the Palestinian crossing guards looked so menacing.

As the black Mercedes approached the Green Line between West and East Beirut, the driver turned to me and went over what we had talked about earlier. I nodded my head vigorously, not really listening, as I could see four PLO Militiamen at the checkpoint. This was unusual, as on previous trips across the Green Line, there had been at most two checkpoint guards. These four were all heavily armed, their Russian made AK-47 automatic rifles, trained steadily on the car.

Having been married to the daughter of a Greek Army Major for a short time, I knew all about the AK-47.

It was the standard weapon of the Soviet Armed forces and exists in greater numbers than any other type of automatic rifle.  Many third-world nations now use the AK-47 and US, Israeli, and other special operations forces use the AK-47 on missions where it is important to blend in with the local forces. I knew it was Gas-operated and highly reliable, but accuracy beyond 300 metres is poor. Despite this, the AK-47 is one of the most widely used weapons in the world today.  Weighing only just over 9lbs, it could fire on fully automatic, 100 rounds a minute, at a speed of 600 metres a second. 

Now my heart suddenly appeared to be somewhere at the back of my throat, and I found myself gasping for air as my mind took in a kaleidoscope of images, none of which had a happy ending. What was a banker like me doing here? This was the domain of the James Bonds of this world.

The car slowed to a stop, and while one of the Palestinians stood in front of the car, the others spread out around it. One of them approached the drivers’ door.  He motioned for the window to be wound down.

As the driver wound down his window, the Palestinian pushed the end of the AK-47 through the gap.

“Papers?” He scowled.

The driver fumbled in his inside jacket pocket, before producing a rather crumpled set of identity papers, which were immediately snatched from his grasp. Then waving the papers in the direction of the Palestinian who had positioned himself at the right rear of the car, next to the right rear door where I was sitting, he said something in Arabic. All I understood, and for all the Arabic that Leah had tried to teach me, was the name Hassan.

Hassan moved forward, took the papers, and started to read them every now and again glancing at Leah. I looked at Leah and her hand covered mine discreetly so as the check point guards couldn’t see that we were holding hands. She looked terrified. The driver half turned to me and whispered.

“They haven’t told me to turn the engine off yet. Remember what I said. When they do I’m going to hit the accelerator and try to get across the green line into east Beirut before they can start firing. You and Leah get down onto the floor quickly”

I nodded my agreement into the driving mirror.

The guard on Leah’s side of the car slouched over to the driver and told him to switch off the cars engine. I braced myself and held Leah’s hand even tighter.

Even to this day I can’t remember clearly what happened. It was all so fast. The Mercedes jumped forward as the driver hit the gas pedal. The acceleration was so unexpected and so strong that as I tried to pull Leah down to the floor she was jerked back upright against the back seat of the car and I was still halfway between the seat and the floor.

Two PLO guards opened fire and at first their bullets were hitting the road around the car but as the car increased its distance, their aim became surer and as I managed to hit the floor and pull Leah down with me I heard the thud of bullets hitting the back of the car and shards of glass from the back and side windows began to shower down on us.

After what seemed a few minutes but in reality was only seconds the driver turned sharply right putting a building between us and the rain of bullets. The car stopped and the driver turned around and inspected the damage.

“You and Leah okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine I think. Leah, are you okay?” I said.

As I said it I knew she wasn’t. Her hand felt lifeless in mine and I felt warm blood on the hand that was holding hers. I gently lifted her off me and there it was, a small entry wound in her back. I sat her upright and saw that the bullet had exited her body through her left breast. It had passed through her heart. I looked into her eyes hoping to see some life there but they were vacant. She saw nothing. She would never see or feel anything again.

I closed her eyes with my hand and kissed her one last time on her lips.....

My revere was broken by the sound of the Boeings flaps being lowered and the judder that comes with the air breaks being applied, as the giant airliner swooped towards the concrete ribbon that was its final destination and perhaps like Leah’s, my final resting place.

Hotel Lebanon

Mani

Making Money Online in the Bedroom