Episode 2: Basheer Ahmad -- Tryst with Lust Abroad
Part : 1
Soon after Murtaza left Delhi, I started my third year in college. Not finding relief for my newly awakened senses, I was out of sorts all the time. Even my mother noticed and asked me if I was ill. Unable to confess, knowing what I was missing, I sought relief in squash and horse riding. I also had two separate brief encounters with two Hindu boys during this period of restlessness. The fumbled groping which ended in " lusts labor lost" was a testament to my own poor judgement and the inadequacies of these callow men. But a 21-year old's young mind is resilient and soon I was caught up in the excitement of going to study in the US at a prestigious Midwestern University.
By September I was in a university town, settling in, rushing from class to class, making new friends and looking forward to the exhilarating freedom and intellectual stimulation of school life at an American university in the Mid-West. I was sharing an apartment with a white girl Janet, who was at the university too and became one of my best friend and remains so even today. The first 8 to 10 weeks were hectic. I had no time to think about anything. After things had settled down a bit and I was becoming familiar with the town, I was one day at Zingerman's Deli with Janet and another girl.
We were waiting in a queue, to order our lunch. As I was standing there chatting with my friends, I felt someone behind me getting a bit too close for comfort. When I turned back, a bit annoyed, I saw a Desi guy (a South Asian) behind me. Our eyes met and he smiled, a bit mockingly I thought, and said "Hello. New around campus?" I could not help asking a bit archly, "Does it show?" To which he replied laughing, "Yes. A great deal and more. And what I see is gorgeous." I was not annoyed anymore. Just a bit confused by the 'double entendre'.
As I paused, my mind searching for a smart reply, I saw before me a tall, well-built but, slim man in his late twenties, who had about him an air of lithe lazy elegance. He had a very strong face, with sharp magnetic eyes and a long hook nose which made him look predatory like an eagle. I could see his eyes going over my body taking it all in, the curves, the hollows. Unable to say anything clever in reply, I fell back on my smile, which some say is delightful.
His eyes warmed and his face broke into a smile so sunny that I was bowled over. He said "Basheer Ahmad, from Pakistan. How do you do?" I could only mumble, "Aarati from Delhi, Hello". By then we had reached the counter to order our food. So, we did not get to talk any more. I was very caught up by the lithe grace of Basheer. He was like a sleek panther in his movements.
That night in bed I felt hot and restless. I felt the familiar ache between my thighs as I remembered his eyes roaming all over my body as we had waited to be served. His glances had evoked a reawakening of my desires which had remained repressed for quite a while. After that we saw each other sometimes on campus. We chatted briefly a few times. I learnt he was a post-doc in engineering. He had been at the university for a year. Every time we met, I could feel his eyes slide over my body with barely concealed lust.