Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight

'Would all passengers for flight TA621 for Dalaman please make their way to gate 22? This flight will be departing in thirty minutes.'

I heard the announcement over the PA system so finished my coffee and dropped the disposable cup into the nearest trash can, and then looked for the signs to gate 22. I had picked up a late booking for a week's B & B in a hotel in this small resort on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

I'm Michael Hunt and hadn't taken a holiday for a couple of years having taken on a car rental franchise. I was in a partnership with the brother of my last girlfriend and, although she and I had parted company over a year ago, he and I got on well together.

As the crowd made its way along a short corridor to the gate it became obvious that the plane was likely to be full. Still the boarding went quite smoothly and we were in a cabin with rows of three seats each side of the central aisle.

I checked my ticket and found my way to the aisle seat I had been allocated and found the other two seats were occupied by a couple who were fiftyish I would have guessed. I said 'Hi' and they nodded in acknowledgement as I placed my cabin bag in the overhead locker.

I sat down with my book and locked my seat belt while the crew carried out their pre-flight checks. Everything was fine and we had a smooth take-off on time. Once we reached cruising height I unclipped my belt and set my seat back a little so I could stretch my legs.

The flight from Bristol, my closest airport, to Dalaman was about four hours so it meant there was no meal provided but the hostess's were soon coming around offering drinks and snacks.

The woman who was sat next to me said 'excuse me, my daughter is in the seat across the aisle, do you mind if I lean in front of you and ask what she wants to drink?'

'No problem' I replied.

I waited for her to sort things out with her daughter before asking 'why isn't she sitting with you?'

'She wasn't sure that she could get time off so we booked at different times and these were the closest seats we could get.'

'Look' I said 'I'm quite happy to swap so you can all sit together, it's no skin off my nose I'll still be in an aisle seat.'

The young lady smiled at me and said 'thank you'.

I got to my feet and stood out of the way so she could swap over. I did a quick appraisal. She was tall.....possibly 5' 10''......long straight dark hair. I guess some would say she looked a bit 'geeky'. She was wearing long baggy cotton trousers loosely fitted and a loose blouse on top. I thought she was about twenty and probably just finished her second year at college.

'Thank you' she said as she took her seat.

'You're welcome' I replied and received a nice smile. I took my new seat and continued reading my book and the rest of the flight was uneventful and we landed in Dalaman on time.

Passport control was very efficient and having picked up my luggage I made my way outside of the building and looked around for the resort transfer vehicle.

I eventually saw a guide waving a sign saying 'Dalyan transfers'. I wandered over and was pointed in the direction of a large minibus. The driver loaded my luggage and I climbed aboard. I was glad the air-con was running as it was very hot in the parking area.

There were a handful of people already onboard, and as I sat waiting a bigger group arrived and climbed in out of the heat. I noticed the family from the plane was part of the group. We nodded at each other as they moved to seats farther back.

The rep from the holiday company checked we were all on board and we left the airport for our resort which was about an hour's drive away. The driver had the radio on low and the music made it clear we were in a foreign country.

I closed my eyes and relaxed on the journey and must have dozed for a bit as we seemed to get there very quickly. People were being dropped off at different hotels until there was just the family and I left. The bus made its way to the outskirts of the small town and then pulled into the entrance of our hotel.

I was surprised how big the grounds were and noticed that all the buildings were just two stories high and well spread out. I joined the family as we picked up our luggage and walked over to reception.

There were several receptionists available and they all spoke very good English. I was quickly booked in and was given a map of the grounds showing the numerous buildings. My room was marked on the map only about 100 yards away next to the biggest of the three swimming pools.

I made my way over and although I had to climb a flight of stairs the room was immaculately clean and well presented. It was a twin bedded corner room so I had views over the pool from one side and out over the countryside from the other.

It was now late afternoon so I unpacked and phoned the restaurant and booked an evening meal on site so I wouldn't have to search the resort for somewhere else to eat.

The sun sets at about 19:00 this far south and darkness arrives quickly. The nice thing is that the air remains lovely and warm so you don't need to wear much other than shorts and a short sleeved shirt.

I showered and then went to the restaurant at 19:15 for my meal. Afterwards I wandered to the bar and chatted with a group of English guests before retiring to my room after a tiring days travelling.

I was woken just after 8:00 the following morning by the noise of a few early risers who were already in the pool. I pulled the curtains to see some youngsters playing with a ball and making the noise and realized I had slept soundly though the whole night.

I had a shower and went down for a leisurely breakfast. I thought I would take the morning easily, relaxing by the pool. I'm in my mid thirties now and easily distracted from my reading by all the skimpily clad females around the pool area. For some reason they all seemed to exit the pool very close to me slowly climbing up the steps with water running off their bodies. I'm sure they also all deliberately stopped close to me and adjusted their bikini's.....or was it that I hadn't been on holiday for so long that my mind was playing tricks on me.

After the large breakfast I didn't need any lunch but I did wander over to the pool bar for a coffee. The view was just as good from this vantage point as well. I concluded that it was probably the heat that just relaxed everybody and we all just accepted near nudity as the norm.

I returned to my room and changed into shorts and a t-shirt to wander into the town and see what it was like during the afternoon. The route was along a footpath that followed the banks of a river. I noticed that there were quite a few restaurants next to the path some with decks hanging over the river.

There were staff placed at the entrances trying to persuade passers-by to book tables for the evening. I spoke to one lovely Nepalese guy and told him I would think about it after I had got a good look at the town.

I continued until the path widened into a road and soon was in the town centre. It was actually quite small, mainly made up of cafes and touristy shops. The river bank was now clear of trees and had numerous boats offering tours. The odd think was I could not see the beach.

I spoke to one of the boat guys and asked the quickest way to get there. He laughed.......'your first day here?'

'Yes' I replied puzzled.

'Easiest if you look at the map on the tourist board over there.....it will be obvious why you need one of these taxis.'

I walked over to the information board and looked at the map of the area. The town was about a mile inland behind a lagoon and the beach was a long sand spit on the opposite side. The river entered the lagoon at this end of the bay and exited into the sea between the end of the spit and some small cliffs opposite.

It dawned on me that when he said taxis he meant boat taxis. I turned back to him and said 'thanks.....I understand now.'

'You wanna taxi now?' he asked.

'Maybe tomorrow' I said.......'I will look out for you.'

I returned to the hotel and met up with a few of the English folk, we chatted at the bar and then agreed to go out as a group to the restaurants in town for dinner. The footpath was well lit at night and it was easy to get booked in for a meal.

I did find out that the hotel ran its own boat to the beach, hourly, and free of charge. It started running at 10:00am with the last return at 17:00pm. A useful piece of info.

I had another good night's sleep and after breakfast the next morning I caught the first boat to the beach. It took about fifteen minutes to get down the river and we were dropped at a pontoon on the inside of the sand spit. It was just a short walk over the dunes until the shoreline.

I hired a bed that was under a fixed sunshade made of brush. There were plenty of them and not so many people around so it was pleasantly peaceful. The beach was a brilliant place to swim. It was completely made of sand and dropped about two feet deep as the waves broke but then only gradually deepened and didn't get up to your chest until you were about 100 yards out.

There was a little kiosk that sold drinks and snacks and I had a really relaxing day before returning to the hotel.

The next day I thought I would be more energetic so I walked into town and caught a rowing boat ferry across the river. After a short walk on a path through the reed beds I arrived at the cliffs. There were some stunning Roman remains that had been carved out of the sandstone cliff. I returned to the hotel mid afternoon and stayed at the pool before I booked a meal at the hotel.

After dinner I sat at a bar and listened to some music, a duo singing in several languages. The family from the plane came and sat nearby and we had a little chat. They had remained in the hotel for the first two days so I told them about the beach and the Roman remains.

I woke nicely refreshed the next morning and after breakfast I headed to the river to catch the hotels ferry service. I was surprised to see the family already in the queue, and we all managed to squeeze on board for the first run.

I selected a bed at the end of the second row and sat reading my book. This position afforded me an unobstructed view of the beach and also of anyone in the front row.

I was pleased to see the family had taken beds in the front row to my right. I watched them settle in from behind my sunglasses. I was surprised when the daughter removed her shorts and t-shirt that she had a full costume on. I was hoping to see her in a bikini.

Nevertheless she had a lovely slim body and it was her long legs that gave her such height. She was looking around as she wrapped her long dark hair into a pony tail and I notice she held her glance when she looked my way. I'm not sure if she knew I was looking back from behind the dark lenses.

She turned away from me and bent forward to get a magazine from her bag. I smiled to myself at the lovely view it gave me. I am a guy who has a preference for bottoms, but I had to make a fuss of turning pages when she quickly turned and looked back my way before lying down.

I read for about an hour occasionally looking around to see if there were any interesting sights. Just the odd skimpy bikini passing by.

I had noticed there was a guy by the kiosk who was renting out paddle boards so I thought I would have a go. It's not so bad falling off in a warm sea. I booked a board for four hours and pulled it down the beach and into the water. I was the only person doing it so knew I would have an audience.

I carefully knelt on the board and paddled with my hands into slightly deeper water, where I very slowly tried to stand up balancing the paddle in my hands. I was feeling pleased with myself when a slightly bigger wave caught me unawares and I flew off with a large splash. I could hear the laughter from behind.

I tried again and managed to get my legs better spaced and there was a ripple of applause as I slowly paddled away. It was a pleasant experience and with the clear water I saw plenty of fish......some quite large.

After about an hour I needed a rest so headed back to shore. There were a few people swimming or cooling off so I was careful as I came in. I saw the girl standing waist deep and watching me return. I sat down on the board as I got closer.

'Hello' she said in a quiet voice as I pulled alongside.

'Hi' I said 'I'm Mike. I know we have spoken but haven't exchanged names.'

'I'm Ruth' she replied 'are they expensive to hire? I wondered about having a go but I've never done anything like it before.'

'That's no problem' I said 'I've hired this one for four hours but I've come back to rest my arms. You're welcome to have a go.'

'I'll just let Mum and Dad know what I'm doing.'

I thought it a bit odd that a young lady of her age needed to do that but each to their own.

Ruth ran back down the beach to where I was holding the board in the shallows. She seemed to have a different look about her that had changed in those few moments she was speaking to her parents.

'I'll help you get going' I said. 'The trick is not to rush or you'll forever keep falling off, trust me, I'm an expert at it. I'll hold the board still while you kneel up onto it.'

She placed an arm on my shoulder to balance and gingerly slipped onto the board. I let go and allowed her to get used to balancing on the board.

'Just get used to it for a moment and when you're ready just try to slowly stand up and then place your feet apart to help you balance.'

She did just that and managed to get up first time with just a few wobbles.

She opened her mouth. 'It's quite easyyyyyyyyyyy' she screamed as she fell sideways and I tried to catch her. My hand ended up between her legs as she grabbed hold of my trunks and nearly pulled them down.

'I'm so sorry' she said and then giggled as she stood back up dripping with water and with a grin on her face. 'I didn't mean to grab you there, it was completely unintentional.'

I smiled back 'don't worry, the pleasure was all mine' and then we both ended up giggling.

'Let's try again and see if we can do better.' After a couple more attempts she managed to balance. I handed her the paddle and left her to practice in the shallows. I wandered back up to the beds to get a drink and her father came up to me.

'Hello... I'm John and my wife is Jane. Thanks for letting Ruth have a go it will do her the world of good' he said as we shook hands. 'We live in a remote part of the country so there are few opportunities for her to do something exciting.'

'Not a problem' I replied 'I needed a rest anyway.'

'Well....thanks again anyway.' He went back and rejoined his wife.

After a while I went back into the water and swam out to where Ruth was paddling back and forwards. I stood with the water almost to my shoulders as she paddled over close to me. 'How are you getting on? ' I asked.

'Ok' she said 'I think I've got the hang of it now with a bit of practice.....at least in these calm waters anyway.' She sat down carefully with her feet hanging over the side and we started to chat about her life.

She told me she was an only child and they lived in a remote area of countryside on the border of England and Wales. I was right about her being a student and she was about to start her final year studying Classics. A bit high brow I thought but didn't say it. I was slightly distracted as I was basically looking up between her long legs as she was sat with them parted on the board. There was just a hint of camel toe and my mind was following two trains of thought. One was what she was like under that costume and the other trying to have a normal conversation.

She was telling me that her parents were a bit over protective because of their lifestyle and that life at college was a change to a mundane home life.

'Well' I said 'one more year and you will be able to be out in the wide world and a life of your choosing.'

'Perhaps 'she replied 'anyway I'll let you have your board back' and she slid forwards towards me and our bodies brushed together as she entered the water.

For a fleeting moment I felt her nipples pressed against my chest and, although small, they felt hard under her costume. She must have been aware of my view between her legs and was at least partially aroused by the situation.

'Thanks again' she said before swimming back to shore. I climbed on the board and paddled a long way out before it was time for me to return it. A quick half hour of drying in the sun and it was time to catch the boat back to the hotel.

After showering and changing I decided to eat out. I wandered down the river path and bumped into the Nepalese guy I met before. I decided I would eat at the restaurant where he worked. I had walked in the Himalayas when younger and it turned out he came from Pokara a town at the bottom of the Annapurna valley where I had visited.

We were chatting about his life when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was John who wanted a quick word. He asked if I was going back to the beach the next day.

'Almost certainly' I replied.

'Could you do me a favour and keep an eye out on Ruth. Jane and I want to visit the Roman remains but she doesn't want to come with us, she will be going to the beach alone.'

'That's absolutely no problem for me as long as she is happy with the situation' I answered.

'Thank you so much' John said and he returned to a table on the other side of the restaurant. I hadn't noticed they were there when I came in.

I continued my conversation with the waiter and explained to him what had happened.

'Good luck with being a chaperone' he said as he returned to work. I hadn't really thought of it in those terms.

I slept really well that night, must have been the wine I had with dinner. It was noise from outside that woke me and I dashed down for breakfast hoping to make sure I caught the first beach ferry. I did it just in time and saw that Ruth was already sat aboard. I apologized for being late and got a gruff 'it's not a problem' in reply.

I was a bit taken aback by her response so took a seat on the other side of the boat. Perhaps she was happy with being alone and didn't want company, or was it watchful company. I decided to play things by ear so didn't speak again. When we arrived at the pontoon I was last off and as Ruth was making her own way down the beach I did the same and walked to my usual bed.

I was just settling down when I noticed a large cruise ship coming slowly around the headland and watched it drop anchor about a mile offshore. I thought perhaps they were visiting the Roman remains and so I lay down to read.

After about ten minutes I heard a noise beside me and glanced up to see Ruth putting her belongings on the next bed. She turned towards me and said 'I'm sorry; I was childish on the ferry. Dad only told me at breakfast that you would be looking after me. Or at least those were the words he used. They seem to still think I'm a child and can't look after myself.'

I thought for a moment before replying. 'Thank you for the courtesy of letting me know.' I paused again before continuing, 'he actually said would I keep an eye out for you. Your view of being grown up and his of you still being a child aren't mutually compatible are they? He's not disrespecting you; I think it's still a matter of love and care.'

She thought for a moment then said 'you may be correct about that, but I didn't set a good example of being an adult did I? Are you happy if I take the bed next to you?'

'I'd love your company today.' I replied.

'Mike, is it ok to call you Mike?' I nodded and smiled at her as she slipped her summer dress over her head. She was wearing another one piece costume underneath. 'Would you be able to help me for a moment?'