A breeze of cool northern air flowed down over the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, nipping and darting along the coast of southern France. Past fishing villages and holiday resorts, locals and tourists on land and sea the wind blew, carrying the chilly bite of the autumn soon to come.
The sun was fairly blistering down on the deck of The May Princess when the wind finally arrived, and Julia Lakeland felt its gentle cooling caress with a sigh of regret. Lying in her lounger on the deck of the Princess Julia opened her eyes and watched the sail tentatively stirring.
"A breeze!" came a voice, excitedly shattering Julia's peaceful daze. Julia's brother, Kieran scrambled into view, hauling lines and securing booms and such. Julia never really got the hang of all of that nonsense. She was right where she wanted to be. All that rushing about
sailing
and whatnot? Ugh!
Certainly
not!
Julia sat up slightly and studied her brother over her sunglasses. Her
little
brother had certainly grown up in the last year or so. He had just finished his A-levels, his results were due in a week or so and he was starting to get nervous (bless). Julia had just finished her first year of uni at Northumbria ex-poly'. She was studying film and sociology.
Kieran was struggling to keep his wayward wavy brown hair out of his eyes whilst securing some rope or other in place. A three week sailing trip had done him good - he was certainly looking toned for it and he had a killer tan. Julia's full lips curved into a little smile as she glanced down at herself. Her own tan was looking pretty damn hot too,
if
she might say so her
self
.
"
Da-vid
" called Julia's mum from her own recliner on Julia's left hand side. There was the sound of some pans and plates clattering about in the tiny kitchen beneath them and then the signature stride that announced Mr. Lakeland's approach. Julia's dad hauled himself up the ladder from below decks and up by the tiller.
"Give Kieran a hand honey" said Mrs. Lakeland; her voice seemed to drip with unspoken promises. Julia grinned to herself; she
had
to learn how her mum
did
that. Men were putty in her hands when she did that voice.
"Of course" he said and scrambled round to help Kieran secure all the lines. Julia shot a sidelong glance at her mother and almost gasped at the predatory look in her eyes as she watched her husband work.
Julia was struck by the sudden knowledge that her parents can't have... well...
done
it all through this holiday. They'd all been sharing a single large cabin and there'd been no time to... Julia bit her lip to stop herself laughing. Dad must be about to explode!
She'd always known her parents had an active love life, ever since she learned what those noises in the night meant. When she'd been living at home it had been almost like clockwork some weeks. You just knew what night of the week it was cos mum would suddenly decide she wanted an early night and before you knew it dad would be feeling tired too and then there'd be the sound of squeaking bed springs throughout the house.
Julia shook her head in wonder. Did they really think that she and Kieran didn't know what they were doing? Perhaps they didn't really care. It was kinda sweet that they were still hot for each other after all these years.
Julia looked at her dad. Old faded swimming shorts and prescription sunglasses aside, he
was
in good nick. No belly there, still had all his hair too though she had the suspicion that it would be grey if mum didn't make him dye it. He kept himself in shape by going to the local JJB three times a week. The whole family were members - dad had got them all to join to get the introduce-a-friend bonus. Julia's gaze flitted back to her brother. Her old school friends had always raved about both of them. They'd teased her mercilessly.
"How can you live in the same house as those two hotties and not want to jump them?" her best friend Katie had said once. She'd had that crooked smile on her face that always made Julia uncertain as to whether she was being serious or not. They had a bit of a falling out over that and Katie had never mentioned it again, but it had stuck in Julia's head.
Mrs. Lakeland, Anna to her friends, watched her husband moving about the deck. He had the grace of a tiger the way he moved so full of confidence and purpose. She loved seeing him in his element on these little cruises they took every year - he was so sexy when he took control. She turned to grab her juice and gave Julia a smile. She didn't seem to notice and Anna turned to see what was captivating her daughter's attention so. As she sat back and took a sip of her juice, Anna followed Julia's line of sight to where Kieran was bent over a stack of knotted rope, trying to untangle the snarls. Anna raised her eyebrows and glanced back at Julia trying to be subtle. Yes, she was still staring. Anna looked at her son again, worriedly. Was something going on between them?
No
that's just paranoid she chided herself irritably. Just because
you're
horny doesn't mean you have to project your own thoughts on to everyone else.
It took her a moment to realize she was still looking at her son's behind and she looked away hurriedly, trying not to seem flustered. A treacherous voice rose in the back of her head. He
is
kinda hot, though - said the voice, he looks like David did at that age. Anna squashed that murmur ruthlessly and took a sip of orange juice. Her mouth twisted. Ugh, it was
warm
.
The May Princess scudded along the coastline easily now that the wind was back in her sails. They were maybe two days from port. Two days from the final flight home to England. Kieran sighed and eased the tiller in his hand. The sun was hiding behind the clouds now and mum and dad had slipped below to get the food ready - they'd have to find a sheltered cove along here somewhere soon. They couldn't be caught without a birth for the night on this treacherous part of the coastline. Kieran's beach blond sister finally relinquished her sun lounger with an irritated grumble and padded down to where he stood, her towel draped over her shoulder. She was wearing a two piece bikini which was red, tight and
small
. He'd nearly choked when he'd seen her come out on deck wearing that the first time. She looked great. He'd had to sit down when their mum came out in a two piece of the same design but in black. Kieran had noticed his dad's eyes widen when they trooped out on deck like that but that had been his only reaction. He wished he had his dad's reserve.
"Hey there fish-face" he said as Julia hopped down into the small cockpit. She stuck her tongue out then grinned.
"Hey yourself" she said. They'd always got on pretty well - probably more well now she'd left home. He hadn't thought he would miss her so much when she went away, but he found himself thinking about her at the oddest occasions. He was trying desperately to keep his eyes on her face now though. She didn't seem to realize but the cool breeze had had a rather noticeable effect on her.
Julia's eyes narrowed as she saw his eyes unconsciously flick down and his cheeks flushed. She put her hands on her hips and frowned at him thoughtfully, then glanced at her chest and noticed. Her nipples were standing out like little bullets under the tight material. Her cheeks flushed too. Kieran thought his face might burn off.
"Jesus!" she muttered moving to cover herself with her towel then glancing at him she let it drop with a defiant glare. "Pervert" she muttered and Kieran raised his hands innocently.
"Hey, it's hard not to look when you put yourself on open display" he pointed out.
Julia opened her mouth to snap back then seemed to think better of it and turned away. Kieran felt his eyes move down before he could even think about it. It's an automatic thing with nearly every straight man alive, a woman turns her back to you, the eyes just naturally go down.
"
Kieran
!" hissed Julia and he gave a start, realizing he'd been caught looking at her bum. He winced but the expression on her face wasn't as outraged as he'd expected, it was kind of half annoyed half pleased. She shook her head and climbed down below. Kieran rolled his eyes heavenwards with a groan.
Great
! Now his sister thought he was a pervert. Just...
perfect
!!
David sighed and stood back from the small table with a satisfied smile. There really was little that could beat the flavor of freshly caught fish. It had gone perfectly on that bed of couscous and sundried tomato's. He offered a small prayer of thanks for having found that little village to stock up in four days back.
