Caramel

I could never have imagined my life taking such an exciting turn to monotony. It all started when I first boarded a plane in New Delhi and landed in Los Angeles. From there it was another plane ride to Austin Texas where I would begin my university education. I studied economics with the utmost diligence and graduated within the top 10% of my class. From there I quickly got a job offer in Houston which saw me working for one of the largest banks in America. At first coming to America was as much of a shock as it was a wonderful surprise. No longer did I have to choke on polluted air and crowded streets. But now that I had a chance to settle into my new way of life, homesickness and the busy demands of a career had begun to weigh me down.

Today however brought a brief reprise to my routine. An unexpected vacancy on the floor above mine led Lakshmi to guide my supervisor's hand in promoting me. I traded my business casual suit for a professional charcoal blazer and a business skirt which led me to vigorously wax my legs the night before. For good measure I wore black pantyhose that I cautiously made sure matched my shoes. I even wore my hair back to accompany my confident stride. I had to make a good impression for my co workers and ultimately the company. I stepped into the elevator, pressed my new floor button, and stepped out into what seemed to be a radically new building.

My old floor was as typical as any office space could be. I quickly became use to the term "cubical farm." My new floor was much more spacious. Although there were charcoal grey cubical walls, they were spread out amongst black carpet, black computers, black desks, and an array of plants that gave the floor an earthly fragrance that reminded me of my rare excursions to the dense Indian jungles back home. I strode to my new desk with gleeful pride that Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, was smiling upon me. I sat down in my high tech office chair and was pleasantly greeted by another gift from my goddess. A new coffee mug sat by my keyboard with a proud sheen that begged to be filled with bitter caffeine.

"Hi you must be Ms. Singh."

I nearly jumped out of my seat. It wasn't out of fear however but more of hearing a familiar accent. I spun around and was greeted by a stranger I thought would never come. She appeared to be as tall as me and she was wearing a business casual suit with black slacks and black heels. Her warm smile reminded me of the hospitality I left half way around the world. Her face was slimmer than mine, as her figure but only slightly. I was after all coached in belly dancing which I practiced daily to fit some form of exercise in my daily routine. On instinct I reached my hand out to shake hers and say "Yes but you can call me Deepeka."

I tried not to show it but I was blushing like crazy. I had only just met this woman and I was already flirting with her like some cute guy in a study group. She giggled as if she didn't notice the obvious flirt and replied "That's ok. You can call me Aishi. Mind if I call you Deep?"

I replied "Not at all" and quickly got orientated to my new responsibilities. I suppose being the only two Indians on our floor dictated an unwritten law that we were almost required to become the best of friends. We made sure we never missed a lunch together. It seemed like we could endlessly chat about the contrasts between America and India. There were things we didn't miss about our old country like the crowds and the goats being herded down the streets. There were things however we couldn't deny we missed. India had such a rich cultural history that we took for granted before we immigrated. We even began to joke about missing the elephants which were unmistakably interwoven into our cultural identities.

She was truly my best friend until one day in which I unintentionally stumbled upon two of her secrets. The first of her secrets came to me when I asked her to hand me a folder that was sitting on her desk. As she extended her arm to me, her sleeve slipped up just enough for me to make out rectangular tattoo that I quickly recognized as the symbol for the gay community. The second secret came to me when she had asked me to look at something on her computer. It was a simple logy rhythm that I was able to deduce but her web browser had a curiosity I couldn't ignore. She unexpectedly left to refill her coffee which allowed me a peek at the tab. The webpage said "Quicksand Lagoon: The swamp of your secret desires." I quickly switched back to the original document before she returned.

I didn't let those two revelations bother me at first but as soon as I got home, I powered on my computer and did a search. First I quickly confirmed that the tattoo I saw was the symbol for the gay and lesbian community. Then I searched for Quicksand Lagoon. As soon as I clicked on the link my fingers went to work scouring the site's contents. I clicked on the tab labeled "Fiction" and found an array of stories that sparked no interest in me. When I clicked on "Artwork" however my jaw dropped. I saw pictures ranged from crudely drawn sketches to wonderful masterpieces depicting the female form standing at various depths in deep mud and quicksand. Some of them were wrapped in panic as they descended like an actress in a Bollywood horror flick. Others however were drowning in lust as they descended into their earthly graves.

My curiosity was proving to be insatiable. I didn't know what to think of quicksand or the fact that people seemed to be turned on by it, but I couldn't quit thinking of Aishi and the effects it had on her. I shook these thoughts from my mind and clicked on the "Photos" section. Any astonishment I felt from seeing the artwork was nothing compared to the name associated to the newest set of photos that were posted. The username read "indianmudgoddess" which led me think "No...it can't be." Curiosity however demanded that I click on the pictures. There I saw what people in this country call a bombshell. It was a bikini clad Aishi smiling seductively at the camera. She had her hands running through her thick black hair which prominently displayed her tattoo. I immediately switched back to stories, denying to myself that I ever saw those photos. Here I thought that reading plain old text would take my mind off of seeing my coworker. But after stumbling on an erotic story, I couldn't help but replacing the tragic heroine's name with Aishi's. I imagined her body sinking in ecstasy below a bottomless pool of mud. As soon as I shut off the computer, I was forced to re-evaluate my friendship with her and how we communicated. The more I thought about it, the more I could pick up the subtle flirts she tossed my way. I didn't notice at first but now I needed a cold shower. I never thought any less of Aishi or her friendship but this was awakening thoughts in me I never knew I had. I never had any serious boyfriends outside of college and I certainly hadn't had any attention since leaving India.

America was ready to celebrate Memorial Day when I went back to work the next day. It was the Friday before and my floor was abuzz with holiday plans. I of course warmly greeted Aishi but part of me didn't know what to think of her now. There was no prejudice involved but I couldn't help but think I wasn't ready to learn these things about her. Images of her sinking and playing out the roles of those stories played out in my mind despite my best efforts to suppress them. The conversation that was about to come only made ignoring my confusion harder to bear.

"Hey everyone's has holiday plans. How about you?"

I replied naturally with "Oh I was thinking of tidying up this weekend. Maybe hitting a singles mixer...Do you have any plans?"

"Oh I was thinking. I haven't had a picnic since I came to this country years ago. I did drive by a river that has plenty of sun and shade. Would you care to join me?"

"Sure I'd love to. Can you come pick me up?"

I bit my cheeks before she could respond. She had spent months subtly flirting with me and without thinking about it, I had practically invited her to my place. She replied with "Ok then. Bring something to swim in."

Before I knew it, Memorial Day was upon me and I found myself strapping on a bikini underneath my shorts and blouse. By the time Aishi called me to say she was outside, I was just bagging up my change of clothes. I slipped on a pair of Mary Janes and bolted out the door. The car ride went normally enough with Aishi wearing a similar outfit to mine. I of course ignored the tattoo on her left arm. I had a good reason to ignore it since it was between her body and the driver's side door and I'd have to strain to see it. We did find ourselves by the riverside carrying picnic baskets filled with our favorite vegetarian dishes. We basked under a shady tree as we enjoyed the fruits we brought along. However as I had suspected, this picnic would be more than a pleasant outing.

It started when our conversation turned to belly dancing. I was of course a practiced belly dancer and I could keep pace with our outfits and our favorite musicians. But then she mentioned a new dance she created. She referred to it as mud dancing and I immediately thought back to the pictures I saw online. I quickly mentioned that I practiced the more traditional dances. But when she offered to show me a demonstration, I found it hard to refuse.

She stripped away her blouse and her shorts leaving only her blue bikini. It clashed with her complexion and the professional attitude that she wore with pride. She walked towards the river swaying her hips just slightly as she did. She stopped just short of a mud flat to turn and face me. Her sweet hospitable smile flashed at me as she began to dance to imaginary music. For me I couldn't stop blushing. I couldn't focus on the dance but rather I could only imagine how deep that mud flat was. My breath was quickening and my heart was fluttering. Was she trying to seduce me? How would she seduce me? How would I react?

After displaying her skill on dry terra firma, she stepped into the mud and began her dance with death. The creamy mud swallowed her up to her thighs but her experience had shown through by fluidly keeping her rhythm. My perception began to change as I watched her sink. The mud was the same but her semi nude body was changing. I no longer saw human flesh but I instead saw a sculpture of caramel. I loved caramel sweets and seeing her this way further clouded my mind with confusion. Jealousy for the mud grew inside me. If our months of friendship was an effort to put me under her spell, she had won. A woman who had hailed form a country in which such preferences were best kept hidden had so boldly blossomed into her true intellectual self. She was not only winning my libido, but my heart as well.

She called out to me when she was up to her hips. "Why don't you come here and show me your moves?" She was gasping between her words. I knew it was partially from exerting her moves through the mud but I had to wonder if there was another element taking her breath away. I had no doubt that the mud was playing its part on her but I had to wonder if I could do more. Now the thought of being dominating in my newfound affections for her danced through my head. After all, I was on terra firma and she was sinking in front of my eyes.

I walked up to the edge of the pit and swayed my hips to the sound of the squelching mud. I looked down at her and saw her eyeing me hungrily. I raised my arms over my head before bringing them down to drape my body. I grabbed the corners of my blouse and said "Nice tattoo. I never noticed it before."

She began swaying her hips through the mud. She was already flushed but it took a more sheepish tone. She replied "Do you know what it is?"

I tugged at the corners of my blouse. I replied "Yes I do. It must have been hard back home keeping these feelings to yourself."

"It was but here I'm so...free"

I tugged my blouse away and revealed my black business like bikini. This time I slid my fingers into the waistband of my shorts. I saw the fire light up in her eyes. I playfully smirked "You picked out a nice place. It's almost like a quicksand lagoon."

The mud rocked up Aishi's caramel midriff as she purred "So you did notice. What did you think?"

This time my attentions turned towards the snap on my shorts. "I loved the photos. The models can be quite exotic."

Hearing the snap on my shorts sent chills up her spine. I unzipped them but held them from dropping. She purred "I agree. Especially when you add some Indian spice."

I dropped my shorts and kicked them away. This time my hands moved to my top. My fingers were poised to pop the clasp. This time there was only one question to ask. "How's the mud my caramel goddess?"

The only reply was quick, simple, and set my inner goddess upon her. Her soft lips parted to say "Why don't you come in and find out?"

I popped the clasp and let my breasts fall free. My dark nipples were kissed by the warm Texas breeze. Aishi brought her muddy hands up to pop her clasp as well. She tossed her blue bikini top towards mine just in time to have the mud tenderly kiss the bottoms of her caramel breasts. I had never seen a pair of breasts so delicious or so tempting before. Again I had to be jealous of the mud for worshiping them before my tongue could.

Knowing that the mud would be quick to steal my prize, I jumped in. I splattered her with mud which caused her to squeal with joy. She wasted little time in kissing my midriff as I sank. My momentum and the churned mud around her sank me up to my hips. Instantly the portal to my sexual haven was kissed by the mud. I tried to dance for her in the mud but it still proved too thick to move in. She laughed and offered to help. Before I could object, her hands were pulling aside my bikini bottoms. She rubbed my wet pussy under the mud which brought out pent up frustrations. Primal sounds played like music from my throat which found an appreciative audience sinking below me. I was quickly lubricated enough to allow her entry which she mercilessly took advantage of. Before I knew it I was seeing the cosmos unfold in front of my eyes. It was nothing short of incredible.

My eyes lulled around in my head. By the time my vision came back into focus, the mud was greedily swallowing her breasts. The mud was only beginning to kiss mine and for me that wasn't enough. I struggled to get down to her level. I barely gave her time to kiss my breasts. Although her lips felt heavenly against my skin, I thought it would only be polite to feel them on mine first. I purred and moaned as the agitated mud rolled up my breasts. My struggles were tiring but they paid off when I was finally lever with Aishi. My eyes locked with her and our silence spoke volumes. Her eyes spelled out her patient seductions as well as the nights she spent thinking about me. My eyes painted the growing love I had for her intellect and her courage. No other man or woman would do as she was the only one for me. I closed my eyes and puckered my lips, knowing that she would do the same.

Our lips met for the first time in a fiery clash. Her lips were softer than I could imagine. Her breath was sweet with the fruit we ate earlier. We embraced each other under the mud like it was our last day alive. Our tongues wrapped around the other like courting cobras. Our symphony of moans reverberated through our entwined lips. Our hands moved from their embrace to worship each other's bodies. My hand had pushed past Aishi's bikini bottoms and she had pushed past mine. My fingers wasted no time in fucking her with the aid of mother earth. Just the thought of fucking my caramel goddess as well as making passionate love to her was sending pure ecstasy coursing through my veins. I could feel through our kiss that she was having the same thought. The intensity of her movements matched mine. Our moans were getting more intense by the breath. The building waves within our bodies beat away at our shores with the intensity of a gale. Our resistances were slipping. Our necks were framed by the mud. Something had to give and our passions were at stake. We parted our lips only to scream in mutual climax. Our screams echoed throughout the river bed. The mud quaked and pulled us deeper.

The mud cupped our chins as we caught our breaths. We dared not to move an inch or else the mud would surely make a meal of us both. We stayed like this, basking in our afterglows for several minutes as we regained our strength. I should have been nervous when I asked her the only question I could. But instead I felt content in doing so, as if I could drown with her right now. "How are we going to escape?"

She once again gave her hospitable smile which calmed my non existent fear. She moaned "Calmly raise your hands out from the mud. You may sink under but you can swim out. Of course we can just let the mud take us..."

I smiled at that delicious thought. I replied "But I'll have to taste you again and again."

It was a tiring struggle, but we both escaped. We were covered from head to toe but our exhaustion was worth it. We frolicked as we bathed in the river. Eventually we dried ourselves off and drove back home. However our professional relationship was never quite the same. Even though we kept things the same in the office, our two homes became one. We bought each other rings and had a quiet ceremony honoring the Hindu gods for bringing us together. Our next holiday saw us at a tattoo parlor. Although the fresh tattoo prevented me from frolicking in the mud, a quiet night home with my caramel goddess made sure that we would always be inseparable.