"Get up!" I dragged the blanket off my best friend, because I knew as long as she was cocooned in the hotel sheets she would not be going anywhere.
"Oh my God Rome!" she moaned trying to snatch the sheet back. "Can we not sleep in this one night?"
"No, we did not come all the way to Dubai to sleep!"
Sofia sat up with an annoyed look on her face but that didn't dissuade me. I pulled out two tickets I had in my fanny pack and held them out to her.
"What's that?" She asked with the least bit of curiosity. I loved my best friend but we were not travel compatible at all. I wanted a jam-packed itinerary, she wanted to sleep in half the trip. I wanted to try new foods, she wanted to stick to what she knew best - McD's. I wanted to Dora explore, she wanted to rest. I wanted to live in the moment, she wanted to have her picture constantly taken. But I love her and I wouldn't want to spend my summer vacation with anybody else.
"We're going camel riding!" She gave out a groan and dramatically flopped back onto the bed.
"Get ready, we ride at dawn bitch!" I slowly removed my clothes, unaffected by her death stare. Her room had the better shower so for the past four days days I've opted to use hers.
"Can't I stay in and you go?" she whined.
"And leave me to fend for myself in a foreign country? I think not..." I stepped in the shower butt naked and flipped the tap up. A sturdy stream of hot water hit me and I couldn't help but moan in satisfaction. The water pressure was messaging aches in my body, I didn't know I had. The luxurious shower was directly opposite the bed and was surrounded by glass. If Sofia wasn't my best friend, I'd feel extremely self-conscience using this shower.
"Bestie," She called out affectionately and propped her head in her hand. "The body is bodying!"
I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile that broke out. I was so lucky to have a best friend who made me feel good about myself, even when I didn't always believe it. Especially because she was the beauty standard.
With thick dark brown hair, that was amazing against her olive complexion. Green, almond-shaped eyes and a 'life of the party' personality, she was the reason I received countless, "Hey, who's your friend?" questions on a night out from a slew of strangers.
Her being a classical beauty also meant she had a more impressive dating history than I did. Impressive in the quantitative sense. The quality of some of the men she attracted was questionable...
"Flattery will get you nowhere, get your ass up!" I threatened like a preschool teacher. She began stripping off the clothes from last night that she slept in.
"Ok, but if you want me to come on this stupid ride, you should hurry up."
We were on our way to the desert at about three in the afternoon. Sofia looked like she was going to a SKIMS photoshoot with a dark brown sports bra and matching leggings. I, on the other hand, wore an oversized 'I love Dubai' top, black shorts, a leather fanny back wrapped around my waist and a bright pink visor. I looked like a typical tourist.
One of the very few reasons why I loved travelling with Sofia was that she always had a handbag.
"Can you put this in your bag for me?" I handed her my bottle of water.
"Oh, did you bring the camera? My phone is running low." She replied as she took the bottle from me.
"That's dangerous Sof, you should always have your phone fully charged." I scolded. Even though I was a few months younger, her reckless personality meant I was usually the 'designated mom'.
"Yeah, yeah. That's why I have you." She pointed her perfectly manicured index finger down and swirled it, indicating that I should turn around. When I did, she grabbed one of my Dutch braids that I hadn't realized was beginning to unravel and redid it.
When we arrived, I expected a small group of tourists to be gathered outside the establishment but instead the front of the building was surrounded by black SUVs. Sofia and I politely thanked our driver and hopped out of the car, before we could take any more steps a small Arab man in a white garment ran up to us. When he got closer I recognized him as Karim, the camel instructor.
"May I help you, ladies?" He said, looking directly at Sofia. I rolled my eyes. Of course, he assumed Sofia organised this. When you travel as a black girl, there's no way you can avoid microaggressions, and it's more noticeable when your travel companion is white.
"Yes," I confirmed with authority and ignored his microaggression, he probably didn't even realise he was doing it. "I booked us a sunset camel ride for today." I dug into my fanny pack to pull out proof but the gentleman was already shaking his head.
"No. No, we cancel all rides today. You can come back tomorrow."
"What? Why?!" I exclaimed, ready to blow a casket if he was cancelling for racial reasons.
"Do we have a problem?" Sofia sensed my irritation and stood beside me, giving the impression we were a unified front. Which we were. She may be a rockstar hippie sometimes but she was always an ally. "My friend booked and paid for these tickets and you better have a good reason for not letting us in..."
Karim looked flustered like he couldn't find the right words. His eyes kept shifting past us.
What was so important that he couldn't give us his undivided attention? I mean if you're going to be a bigot, at least do it with your chest!
Irritated, I followed his eye line and looked behind us, only to see a man step out of one of the SUVs.
From where I was standing I could see he was well over 6 feet. He was casually dressed in dark grey sweats but had a cloth wrapped around his head. The man who had opened the door for him was smartly dressed in a black tuxedo and shades.
Karim was shoving Sofia and me in the opposite direction, mumbling about re-booking for us.
"You racist piece of shit!" Sofia exclaimed, "Get your hands off us! Wait till we put this on Twitter, your reviews will plummet!"
He now had a tight grip on my arm and was dragging me away. I ripped my arm away and stood my ground. When he couldn't move Sofia and me, Karim released a frustrated breath. "Please, I book for you another day. We are close, close today. Close." he said as if he was trying to hush us.
Well, he is in for a scene!
"Since when?! Are all Arab people this horrible!" I fired back. I know generalising was wrong but I couldn't help how upset I was. I was looking forward to camel riding and didn't expect to be denied because of my skin colour.
"Not all of us." A deep voice came from behind us, making Sofia and I spin around. From my periphery, I saw Karim bow so quickly I thought he was going to fall and hit his head.
Karim said something in Arabic but I was too ensnared by this stranger's amused glare to try and figure out what he said.
Was he backup? Did Karim seriously call some six-foot, wide-shouldered man to drag us out?
The movement of the four men behind him caught my eye. All of them were dressed in the same tuxedo. Who the hell wore a tuxedo in this heat?
"We're not going anywhere." I crossed my arms and lifted my chin to face off with the tall man. "And if you touch me, I'm going to sue the hell out of all of you."
He looked down at me and cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow. His eyes bounced between Sofia and me, as if he was waiting for us to move. And when his smokey eyes landed on me again, he...smirked? Did he think this was funny?
"What? Bad with English?" I mocked, slightly irritated that he was amused by me. Everyone but Sofia took in a sharp breath of disbelief. But Grey eyes held out one hand, instantly silencing everyone.
"On the contrary habibti," He flashed me a charming smile. "For someone who speaks it as a fourth language, I think I'm quite good at it."
YOU ARE READING
The Things I Lost In The Desert
Romance"No because that is in violation of my next condition." I folded my arms in defiance to show him I was not going to compromise. He rolled his eyes and expelled a breath. "What's the next condition Rome?" "This marriage will remain a marriage in name...
