It's briskly cool but wonderful after the hot sun. I come up treading water and see Ben standing on the small cliff struggling to remove his jeans over his shoes.
"You're supposed to take your shoes off first!" I laugh at him.
"You think?" he calls back still struggling on one foot.
He finally removes the shoe and his pants fall off. The water hides my body's reaction to seeing him fully nude for the first time in years. Last time I'd seen him he'd been fit, now he's an Adonis. Male models would kill for a body like his. Hard in all the right places but lithe, active. You can feel he's ready to move and able. I can't tear my eyes away.
I'm no expert. In fact I'm still a virgin though I've come close a couple of times. I know though, instinctively, that Ben's very well hung. He dives off the cliff and disappears under the water with barely a splash. I look around for him to surface but he doesn't come up.
I spin in the water looking for him or at least for his air bubbles but there's nothing. I'm sure he's going to come up and surprise me but as the seconds tick by my joy turns to worry. Where is he? I keep spinning around as I tread water trying to find him. He's been down well over a minute. Then two.
"Ben!" I yell.
I start swimming for where he went under, maybe he hit his head? There are no currents here but he could be stuck under a rock. Three minutes.
"Ben!"
I dive down where he went in trying to see under the murky water. I go as deep as I can until my lungs are burning with need for air and I have to surface. I look around but still no sign of him. It's been at least five minutes.
Something touches my foot and I pull back quickly looking down. The water in front of me bubbles and he explodes out of it directly in front of me splashing water up into my eyes.
"Ben!" I yell and throw my arms around him my heart pounding from fear.
"Hey," he says half laughing.
He wraps his arms around me and I cling to him. All the past forgotten. He's here, he's safe.
"I thought you were hurt!" I push back from him and punch him in the arm.
"I was just swimming under the water."
"It was over five minutes!"
"Was it? Sorry was just playing around."
I shake my head, relief offsets my anger. He's fine. I'm fine.
"By the way," he says reaching out and touching my shoulder lightly. "You're it."
I see him smiling as he jumps up in the water then dives under it.
"Oh yeah?"
I take off after him. The chase takes a while but at last I tag him then he's after me again. I dive under and swim away then surface. When I turn towards where he was he's gone. I spin around and then he's right in front of me. Water streams down as he breaks the surface, his perfect chest rising up out of the water inches away from me. Wet sprays into my eyes and I lean away from it.
Ben laughs and then I'm laughing. He rests his hands on my shoulders. "You're it ... again."
He smiles and his face lights up. The mask cracks and I see my brother again for the first time in years. The face I know, not the facade he shows the world. I touch his face like I did as kids. When it was he and I against the world. Ben was my savior, my protector, my knight in shining armor.
"I've missed you," I say.
He starts to say something then stops his face growing serious again. He blinks water from his eyes then he nods.
"I've missed you too Vic," he says.
I lean in towards him. I want to keep this closeness, to feel his arms wrap around me protecting me from the world. I kick my legs to close the small distance but he moves back to keep an arms length between us.
"The sun's setting, we should get back for dinner. You know how Ezz gets," he says.
He swims for the shore. I watch him go feeling lost again.
Chapter six
Esmeralda is an amazing cook and the house is filled with the smells of dinner. I finish dressing quickly my stomach growling in anticipation. Dinner is a semi-formal affair most nights here at the villa. That's the way we were raised. A time for family and for friends, but also training for proper society. I check myself in the mirror one last time before heading to the dining room.
It's brightly lit with fresh flowers down the middle of the table and along the walls. Food is set up at one end as there's only the two of us dining tonight. Ben stands behind the chair at the head of the table dressed immaculately in a dark gray tuxedo. As I walk in the room he looks over and then he smiles. My heart skips a beat. I pause in the doorway both for effect and to recover my composure as a rush of blood makes me feel faint.
"Vic ..." he says.
I smile as he looks me up and down. I walk over to my seat to the right of his and he moves to pull my chair out helping me and pushing it in. Then he takes a seat himself. The food is amazing and we talk sparingly as we east.
"Would my young masters like dessert?" Esmeralda asks.
"Yes, please. The food was wonderful as always Ezz, thank you," Ben says.
I had intended to pass on dessert but Ben takes charge. He smiles at me and I know he's aware I would have passed. His finger traces the rim of his coffee cup and he stares into the dark liquid.
"How have you been Ben?" I ask.
He looks up at me with a half smile. "I find I miss her," he says chuckling.
"I do too," I say reaching out to rest my hand on his arm.
He stares at my hand but doesn't move away. I feel that connection between us and somehow it finally seems to bridge the chasm of years that sits between us.
"Remember when you broke your arm?" he asks.
"Yeah, that kind of stands out in my memory," I say a phantom pain flashing where it broke.
"I told you not to do it."
"You told me not to do it in such a way you knew damn well I would!"
"Me?"