<iframe width="460" height="259" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pIedFojF1Wk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><img align=left src= "http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/CMFrank04/hotel-longchamps_zps57b85ff3.jpg" height=287 width=350>
Hotel Longchamps
Don't you hate it when someone goes into a relatively long winded description of the setting of their respective promotional material? Hm? You do? Well, that's too bad really, because we're in sort of the same boat in this situation here with one, Jamie Dean. Oh not to worry. We promise to make this as relatively painless as possible and move on to the heart of the matter, that being Jamie Dean himself in the heart of Cairo, and the impending match against two of SCW's best young superstars.
But for now, we find ourselves in one of the top ranked hotels for extended stays while here in Cairo, the Hotel Longchamps. Located in the Zamalek district of Cairo, a quiet island in the middle of the Nile, an oasis if you will but a short trip to the famed Cairo bazaar and surrounded by old villas from the 1800's and of like aged gardens that are still lush with local foliage. It is a most safe and upscale district to stay in, and in this case, was chosen wisely by a certain Sin City Wrestling occupant. It would be but a walk to the famed Egyptian Museum and a hop on a bus or hailing a cab would take an interested party to Geza, not that far a distance away, to tour the last remaining of the world's Seven Wonders.
Many say the surrounding scenery can make or break a vacation spot where one chooses to stay, and for the Hotel Longchamps, it certainly 'makes' it to the delightful content of those staying within its walls. This hotel in particular stays entirely true to Egypt's heritage, in keeping with a bit of a modern touch and relics and antiques scattered throughout, including vases, paintings and the like.
Inside of this particular room, it is of modest size with just the minimal decor desired or deserved. There is a large four posted bed with ruby red sheets and four lush pillows, set against the far wall with the posts and head board carved in a fine polished wood. Four posted beds were a favorite of Jamie, and if you ask him why, he might slip a hint for a certain fetish involving silken ties and a gag -- but you didn't hear that from me! Yet he wouldn't try risking such an endeavor here in Cairo, especially after that little incident in California where the hotel's maid had to locate a key to a set of handcuffs. (Long story, and if you're good, we might explore that at a later time!) On each side of the bed was a small table with a bedside lamp for nighttime reading and perhaps atmosphere. A television was stationed on the wall directly across, atop a dresser, and a small table set beside the door that led out to the patio.
If you listened closely, you might hear the tell-tale sound of a shower in its final stages. After the water had been turned off, moments passed before the door to the bathroom slid open and steam emanated from inside and none other than the 'Excellence of Sexecution' himself, Jamie Dean, emerged, draped in a bathrobe that was (thankfully) tied closed and reached just below his knee. His preference for nudity in his room notwithstanding, he knew it was risky, even if he was housed on the top floor of the hotel.
He cast a sidelong glance at the small clock on the dresser and shook his head, a soft sigh escaping. Like many of the other Superstars and Bombshells scheduled on this tour of the African continent, he was having more trouble than the norm adjusting his sleep schedule. Try as he might, he could not force his body to yield to the temptations of sleep, especially in a strange bed (and with nobody to play with in order to wear him out to boot!). One of his colleagues had offered him some of her sleeping pills, swearing by them, but he had so far resisted as he hated putting any form of drug into his body, even if it were something as simple as a sleep aid.
So go and try to explain his next action that we see, as he opened the mini fridge in his room and removed a bottle of a local red wine (his personal favorite) and taking hold of a chilled glass, he poured himself a full sampling. Perhaps he figured so long as he was up, he might as well get a buzz -- and perhaps said buzz would help him succumb to the night as the next day he wanted to get in a workout before he was scheduled to take part in a Meet and Greet session somewhere in downtown Cairo.
<img align=right src= "http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/10/74/98/an-evening-view-of-a.jpg" height=306 width=325>
As he was on the top floor, Jamie had little qualms at leaving his patio door slightly ajar to let in some of the cool night air. How such a scorching hot desert could get so chilly at night never made much sense to him, but then again, he never was the most dedicated of students. Thank goodness he was pretty! He kicked the wooden pole that kept the door from being opened wide enough to let a person through (he wasn't stupid, you know), and he slid the door completely open and stepped outside onto the terrace.
This small space had three wicker chairs surrounding a small wicker center table, and all over the enclosed walls were wines and ivy stretched and woven about. When he gazed over the fencing, he could see far enough that the lights against the desert were breath taking enough unto themselves. If he had the choice, he could sit there all night just watching this small miracle of nature, but he resisted. Idle curiosity instead compelled Jamie to pop open the laptop he had left on the patio open and then brought it out of its sleep mode. (Ironic?) No sooner did he log onto the local wi-fi than he saw one of his Skype contacts was logged in. Missing a bit of home, Jamie signed in and before long, the face of his friend, co-worker at AKBAR, and sometimes 'friend with benefits' back in California, Justin (you remember him from last time, don't you?), popped up on the web cam.
"Damn, sweet cheeks!" Justin said with a frown, looking closely into his side of the camera from across the world. "You look exhausted."
"I happen to look my usual spectacular self." Jamie answered back with good natured indignity behind his tone. "But I get what you mean. This time difference is hard as hell to adjust to."
"What time is it there anyway?"
Jamie answered, "Just after one am."
"Jesus. That's a twelve hour difference between there and California!" Justin shook his head. "No wonder you're tired."
"Tired is putting it mildly." Jamie said. "I've never been out of the country before. I thought the first time I traveled it'd be somewhere I could adjust relatively easy. Like Canada or Mexico, but no. My first working vacation turns out to be in Africa where not only can't sleep, but I can't get any..."
"I get your point." Justin laughed, waving his hand toward the camera in good humor. After he composed himself, a slight frown creased his young brow and he cocked (no jokes!) his head slightly to the side. "Wait. Why can't you get a piece of ass while you're over there? Don't they have ... what did you call them again?"
"Ring rats?" Jamie questioned.
"That's the word, er, words."
Jamie shook his head and took a sip from his glass of wine. After choosing his words carefully, he explained, "Are you kidding? It was a big enough risk accepting the bookings for the tour in the first place. They put men like me to death over in this place. Mark and Christian asked me first if I'd be okay during this tour given the views on gays here."</color>
And it was true. Unlike the vast majority of the rest of the world, the continent of Africa still had quite the negative outlook on the homosexual lifestyle and any who lived it openly. To put it in the simplest of terms, homosexuality was not just frowned upon in the nations of Africa, it was flat out illegal in thirty eight African countries. Many African leaders felt that gay rights are against their cultural and religious value systems and they believed that they had a sovereign right to reject what they see as an imposition by Western nations.
In countries such as Mauritania, the Sudan, and northern Nigeria, homosexuality was punishable by death. In Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone, offenders could receive life imprisonment for homosexual acts. In addition to criminalizing homosexuality, Nigeria had enacted legislation that would make it illegal for heterosexual family members, allies and friends of the gay person in question to be supportive.</color>
"Christ sakes!" Jamie muttered. "In Egypt alone the penalties for homosexual acts can be stiff. Pun not intended."
"What do you mean?"
"Well for starters, there are fines, cases of torture, up to seventeen years in jail with or without hard labor, and in extreme cases, vigilante executions."
"And you went there!?" Justin asked, aghast and suddenly quite fearful for someone he had grown close to. "Are you insane!?"
Jamie chuckled, touched by this display of concern by one of the fair few he could genuinely call a friend.
Jamie asked, "Well what else was I supposed to do?"
"You could have said no!" Justin answered indignantly.
"Yeah but where would that have left me? Home in California, waiting for the tour to end so I can get another booking. I'm not exactly going to get anywhere just by sitting at home on my ass." Jamie shrugged and leaned back in his chosen chair, kicking an ankle up over his knee. He continued, "besides, I'm not the only one on the tour. Just the best looking." He smirked. "Synn. Jessie Salco. Couple others. They bend the way the wind blows on a particular night, and if they're willing to take the chance, why shouldn't I?"
"Because you're different." Justin stated matter-of-factly.
"I always liked to think of myself as being unique." Jamie agreed. "But I'll be careful, Justin. Promise. Besides, if I get that desperate for a piece, I'll just sample a piece of 'pie' instead of tube steak."
"Bite your tongue!" Justin screeched indignantly. "Nobody can get that damn desperate! Just use your right hand and play it safe!"
Jamie could not help but erupt in a fit of laughter. He quickly covered his mouth, realizing the lateness of the hour and, after composing himself, he went on with his chat.
"So, are you going to watch, Sunday?" Jamie asked.
"Oh come on." Justin answered. "You know I don't go in for that stuff."
"What? A couple of hot, buff guys, rolling around on the ground with each other?" Jamie smirked, knowing his friend all too well. "Bullshit! I've seen your DVD collection!"
"That's different!" Justin protested. "Those guys are hot! I've seen some of those guys in professional wrestling. Not so much.
Jamie cleared his throat and Justin quickly corrected himself and said, "Present company excluded!"
"Thank you." Jamie nodded, taking another drink. "Besides, you haven't seen the one guy I'm wrestling. Ben Jordan? Jesus!"
"That good, huh?"
Jamie puckered his lips and drew in a breath. He said, "The man is smokin'! Like the Greek God of Bow-flex commercials."
"Yeah but aren't you wrestling two guys? What's the other one look like?"
"Something akin to a gorilla who had a Brazilian bikini wax."
"Sick."
"Yeah that was my general reaction." Jamie agreed. "But you have to take the good with the bad."
"So you'll be careful?"
"Promise." Justin sat forward and smiled at his friend. "You'll be watching?"
"Don't I always?" Justin smiled.
"Well, you always did have good taste." Jamie said, then paused and reflected back to his choice of words. "Or was that you always tasted good?"
"Well, you would know." Justin winked. "Try and get some sleep. And be careful."
"Yes, ma." Jamie kidded, and Justin knew it well. Jamie slid the laptop closed again and drained the last of his wine before he turned his head to again look at the night time scenery laid out before him.
</color>
"I suppose this is where I'm supposed to puff out my chest and boast and brag about what I'm going to do to put Andrew Garcia and Ben Jordan down for the count so that I can walk out of Cairo the winner of our Triple Threat. Well, I'll make the attempt, but I can't promise anything. You know how I hate to talk about myself."
("Yeah even I knew that wasn't all that convincing.")
"This is going to be the second time that I've met Ben Jordan in the ring, the first time being our first round match in the Blast From the Past II tournament. True, it didn't go exactly the way that I had hoped, but I hope everyone out there remembers that it wasn't me who dropped that match, but my tag team partner at the time. So Ben, if you're watching and I'll go out on a limb here and guess that you are, let's try not to let that tag team win give you any false impressions of how this match is going to go, hm? It's going to be a lot different without either of us having a partner to rely on, or to let us down. I just hope that Andrew has the common courtesy to mind his own business, at least for awhile, because there is nothing more that I want than to have some 'alone time' with you, Mister Jordan. Things against you Ben are never going to be easy, but will always be... hard?"
"And when push comes to shove, don't you worry Andrew. I'm sure you'll get what's coming for you after that stunt you pulled with Ben, and I'll be more than happy to lend him a hand if he needs it. For someone who calls himself the 'Honorable' Warrior, you don't seem to be able to grasp the meaning of your own personalized nickname. You have about as much chance walking out of this match the winner as I do leaving Ben's hotel room with a funny walk. Yeah, even I know about how futile that shot is, which should give you an idea of your chances, Garcia. So why not just play it smart and keep your nose out of things, Garcia?"
"It's time for the men to play."
</color>
