Aftermath

Chapter 13-Lucky

Chapter 13

The water taxi picked Voss up at six, plenty of time to get settled into the cottage his mother had built for him last year at the fair end of the island. He might even have time for a cocktail with his mother and to take a swim before dinner, the sun not setting till well past nine this time of year. Maybe he'd have to wait and have a midnight swim, which suited him fine. Nothing helped him sleep better than a cleansing, cold water swim.

His mother would be obnoxiously thrilled to see him. He was almost looking forward to the shock and surprise that she would work to suppress under her sedate decorum. He would be granted a stiff, awkward, charitable hug and kiss for traveling all that way to pay her a visit and there no doubt would be the honorary dinner to follow.

The idea of a midnight swim seemed about perfect, some of his brothers were probably visiting, Paul at least would be there and would probably join him. They'd first all have a sauna together, challenging each other who could take the most heat and then jump off the dock next to the sauna. It was tradition of sorts, one he hadn't realized how much he'd missed until this very second. More excited and eager to get to the island, the water taxi seemed to be taking twice as long.

It was going to feel so good to jump into that ice-cold water, finally cleansing him of the scorching heat of France and the muddy heart he felt over Lou.

The high peeked roofline, and grand, white wrap around porch of his mother's house was visible from miles away. As the small boat taxi approached the secondary dock of his mother's island, he saw a few kids running and diving off the long, primary boat dock that was built to accommodate over a dozen sailboats of Sophia's circle of friends, who would frequently attend the afternoon salon cocktail parties that his mother was a legend for hosting. Only the most elitist, snobby and influential of his mother's acquaintances were ever invited to the island, making it a bit of a social coup if a person was invited. They were still a long way off but he was already curious as to who the guest were.

He could pick out Paul running the length of the dock, launching himself into the water with a double back flip. Cheers and yelling could be heard, carried over the surface of the water, and then a smaller kid followed Paul, and after, more cheering and yelling as an even smaller kid launched off the diving board.

The diving competition that was well underway was a long-standing summer tradition for his family. Still, he was too far a distance out to make out the faces of the adults who were watching over and cheering the competitors on. He imagined his mother and Paul and had invited some local kids over to play. Or maybe his mother was feeling generous for a change and offered the house staff's children to swim off the dock with Paul to keep him company. She used to do that for him when he was bored as a kid.

Two men were running down the dock, one did back flips and one dove. He instantly could tell who two of them were. Ivor and Ander were here, probably on a short filming break for a long weekend to keep Paul company. Voss breathed deeply and smiled. This was going to be a fun visit.

His brothers were probably trying to impress some girls and that was the reason for Paul's display. Ivor and Ander were known for having a wide, diverse group of female friends that they invited up for long weekend house parties. They usually took over a few of the more modern cottages at the far end of the island, away from the main house.

His brothers were probably entertaining some women and he hoped for their sake that a few extra came along. Voss had an unfair advantage with his celebrity profile which he usually never took advantage of...but Voss needed to get laid.

Ever since he was fifteen, and figured out how things worked, he'd had female friends-with-benefits, and he made sure a good time was had by all. He hadn't been with anyone since Veronica, probably the longest he'd ever gone without sex and he was getting harder the closer the water taxi drew.