Chapter 24: Ivanna...

Tuesday March 28
Taking care of the condo in Monaco had eaten up most of the day. I’d arrived late in Mykonos to find a party going on around the pool. One of the three units housed women who were shipped in by a matchmaking service. Half the girls were from the Philippines, and the other half were Russian. They were looking for rich husbands.

The service had arranged for several men to fly in from different parts of the world to meet the girls. They were all older—in some cases much older—than the hot young women they were there to meet. From the looks of them, the men desperately needed this service to find a life mate. I saw the logic in it. If they had money, why not have a trophy wife?

I’d gone out to see if any of my travel-mates were around. It looked like they’d all found something else to do. I planned to turn around and go back inside my condo when a striking Russian girl approached me. Five minutes later, we were in my bed, having wild monkey sex.

I woke up this morning to the sight of her magnificent derrière. Dawn softly glowed through the window, and I could just make out all the little hairs on her behind, glistening in the light. She looked like a piece of art. I reached over to my bag, pulled out my camera, and snapped a picture, which woke her up. She gave me a dirty look until I showed her the image.

“Yes. Very nice,” she said and pulled me down for a kiss.

She remembered where I stored my box of condoms and pulled one out of the box, which I quickly put on.

“I want to be on top this time.”

Who was I to argue? The girl grabbed Mr. Happy and sank down on him.

“Oh, God, you feel so good,” she howled as she crushed her hips against mine, riding me like a champ.

“Yes,” I sighed. “You do, too...”

“David,” she panted my name as she bounced on top of me.

Her long auburn hair hung down over her bouncy tits that jiggled in the best possible ways as she went harder. I let out a low grunt as I took it all in. She’d been an easy catch, maybe too easy, which was something I didn’t usually go for. Did I mention she was hot? That made up for not getting to know her before we jumped into bed. Maybe this hooking-up business was everything Lexi made it out to be.

She had a lot to offer. Like her picture-perfect butt or those flawless boobs. How nipples could rest so high up on a young woman’s breasts was one of those delightful mysteries of life.

I also remembered last night as she’d sucked my dick, teasing the tip of it with her tongue. That had been the highlight of the evening. I wondered if she would be up to doing that again once she came.

“David!” she cried out as she shuddered from her release.

She rolled off me, panting from her vigorous exertion, and looked down at Mr. Happy.

“I made the right choice last night,” Ivanna said.

“Your English is very good.”

“I trained for a long time,” she said and then looked pointedly at Mr. Happy. “We’re not done yet.”

“I was hoping not,” I said as I smiled.

She leaned over me, removed the condom, and took me into her mouth. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and closed my eyes. She seemed to know what I needed and sucked harder.

I had planned on dialing back on my sexual activities when I reached Greece. There had already been too much drama because I’d been thinking with my little head instead of the big one. I kept worrying that I should’ve at least looked up Princess Erika on the Internet before I bedded her. One Google search would have uncovered that she was engaged. With Ivanna, though, all thoughts of immediately dialing back on sex had flown out the window.

Ivanna tried to take all of me, which broke my train of thought. My pleasure quickly came to a head, and I erupted in her mouth. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed what had happened. I opened my eyes and looked at her as she grinned and wiped something off her lips. My stomach churned. I suddenly wanted this to be over with because it didn’t feel right.

I was about to tell her to leave when my door swung open.

“Some woman is claiming you stole one of ... oh, shit,” Kevin said when he realized I had company.

Ivanna jumped up, giving poor Kevin a show.

“I must go,” she said, looking worried.

Kevin just stood there and watched.

“Get out,” I told him.

He chuckled as he shook his head and left. Ivanna got dressed and made a quick exit. I’d made it a new policy to at least get a girl’s name before I bedded her after the whole Princess Erika debacle. The funny thing was that when I learned her name, I thought Ivanna Fuck-A-Lot would be a good nickname because she certainly did.

After a quick shower, I came out of the bedroom to the smell of food cooking. Someone had apparently decided that eating at restaurants for every meal wouldn’t work. It was either that or the fact that when I was dropped off, I hadn’t seen any restaurants within walking distance.

“Dude!” Kevin said and wanted a high five. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

I planned to do just that, but when I saw the hurt look in his eyes, I couldn’t do that to him. He brightened as soon as I slapped his offered hand.

“I’m making Greek omelets,” Ashley called. “Do you want one?”

“You know he does, after all the calories he burned up last night,” Kevin said.

I looked over at Cindy, and she nodded. She would rein him in.

“I could eat.”

“So how was she ... ow!” Kevin complained when Cindy smacked him in the back of the head.

“This isn’t some locker room. There are ladies present,” Cindy reminded her overexcited boyfriend.

“Sorry. We’ll talk later,” Kevin said.

Somehow, I doubted that.

I had no idea that Ashley was such a good cook. The omelet had fresh spinach, a local sausage, garlic, green onions, and herbs. It was topped with feta cheese.

“Why are you single?” I asked Ashley between bites. “You can cook, have a full-time job, love children.”

I listed some of her positive attributes. She flipped me off as her answer.

“No, seriously. This is good.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you get your condo taken care of?” Scarlet asked.

“Yep. All taken care of.”

“You don’t need my help with anything?”

“No. Just enjoy your vacation.”

“You sure? I feel like I should have helped,” Scarlet said.

“Like I said, you’re on vacation. Enjoy yourself.”

When I was done eating, I got up and gathered everyone’s plates.

“You cooked, I’ll clean up,” I told Ashley.

As I rinsed off the plates and put them in the dishwasher, they all packed up to leave. I guess I was getting used to the idea of not being included, so it didn’t bother me when they all left.

I wasn’t going to spend the day inside, so I walked out to the pool area. Mykonos was very different from Monte Carlo. Instead of each house being almost on top of the next, they were spread out. They also looked virtually identical. They were made with white stucco, the corners were rounded, and each had a flat roof. Our condo was atop a hill that overlooked the Mediterranean. I suspected they spread out each building so that there were unobstructed views of the water.

A warm front had come through last night, and it was supposed to be in the mid-70s today. The skies were cloudless, and I leaned my head back to feel the sun on my face. It was idyllic. I could see why it was the new hot destination for the rich and famous, and why Zander had purchased a condo here.

My contemplations were interrupted when I heard someone come out of the third condo. The three units formed a U-shape with an open patio and a pool in the middle.

What were the odds? I actually recognized him. He was the Colombian playboy that Lexi had the hots for. Alex something. He’d gone to her high school but left his senior year to go home and play soccer for his junior national team.

He looked at me, and there was a moment of uncertainty, but then he recognized me.

“You’re that movie star.”

I don’t know when I became ‘that movie star,’ but if people didn’t remember my name, it was their go-to phrase when addressing me.

“David. And you must be Alex,” I said.

He blinked as he tried to figure out how I knew his name.

“Do you remember Lexi Andon from high school in California?” I asked.

Alex threw a face.

“She’s the daughter of one of my dad’s business partners,” he said.

“She works for one of my businesses.”

“You need to be careful with her. We nicknamed her ‘The Chameleon’ because she would change to be whatever she needed to get her way. She can be a venomous bitch when she wants to be,” Alex said.

I just chuckled because that had been my first impression of her, too. In the back of my mind, I realized I’d also noticed what Alex was talking about. My mom called it ‘mirroring.’ It was a sales technique where you tried to match another person’s mannerisms and attitudes to make the other person feel at ease with you. Uncle John would call it a ‘winning strategy,’ like being the class clown or teacher’s pet. We all had our go-to ways of making people like us.

The little worry in the back of my mind was his characterization of her being a ‘venomous bitch.’ It made me wonder if she was just putting on an act to make me like her. Then I thought that couldn’t be true because we’d seemed to connect when I was in LA.

“What are you doing today?” Alex asked.

“I planned to play tourist and check out the island.”

“Do you SCUBA dive?”

“I do.”

“Want to go cave diving? My dad is here doing his archeological stuff, and he thinks he has a lead on where some ancient pirates may have hidden their treasure.”

“You had me at SCUBA diving. The pirate angle just makes it better,” I admitted.

What kid hasn’t dreamed of finding buried treasure? Of course I wanted to go.

“Go put your swimsuit on, and we’ll go rent you the gear you’ll need. Meet us out front in ten minutes,” Alex said.

I walked to the parking area and found Alex and his family waiting for me. They were a good-looking bunch. It was uncanny how much Alex, his sister, and his father all looked alike. Alex was six feet tall and had the build of a soccer player, long and athletic. He was about my age, but he hadn’t hit the gym yet to develop his upper body. His sister was maybe an inch shorter than him, but also had a seriously athletic build. It made me wonder if she also played soccer. His father was the same height as Alex but had about forty pounds of muscle on his son.

They all had light-brown complexions that either came naturally or from being out in the sun. In Colombia, since they were near the equator, they got a lot of sunlight. All three had sandy-blond hair and large dark eyebrows that drew you to their deep, soulfully dark brown eyes.

Next to them was a woman who could only be two to five years older than me. I’d heard that Alex liked to run through the beautiful women in Colombia. Other than her face, this woman looked a lot like Zoe; I would bet she lived on a horse. When you knew what to look for, women that rode typically had outstanding butts and excellent thighs. It was either that or volleyball. I picked horseback riding because she was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt. I mentally congratulated Alex on his pick of women.

“David, this is my father, Umberto; sister, Natalia; and future stepmother, Camilla.”

I hid my surprise that Umberto was the one who was with Camilla, and not Alex. Thankfully, Natalia caught my attention.

“Nat,” Natalia said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Call me Nat, not Natalia.”

“Better yet, call her Squeak,” Alex said.

That would leave a mark. Alex bent over in pain. I gave Nat high marks for hitting her brother in the ‘nads before he could dodge it. He was a high-level soccer player and should be quicker than that.

“You two settle down,” Umberto said and then turned to me. “David, Alejandro tells me that you SCUBA dive. I just want to check before we go.”

Nat smirked when Alex grimaced at his dad using his full name.

“I learned last year and did it on vacation in the Caribbean. I’m not super experienced, though,” I admitted.

“For what we have planned, you should be fine. Let’s get going.”

Our first stop was a storage facility where they kept a trailer with their gear. Umberto towed the trailer to a local dive shop where they had their tanks topped off, and I rented my equipment. Alex told me that the water would be cold, so I got a wetsuit.

“Tell David what we’re doing,” Nat said to her dad once we got back on the road.

Alex glared at his sister, who looked at him with a satisfied smile. I soon found out that Umberto loved to give history lessons. I was sure the two of them had heard this a thousand times by the looks they gave each other when their dad got started.

“We’re in search of pirates.”

“Of the Caribbean?” I joked, which caused the two siblings to choke back a laugh.

“Of the Mediterranean, actually: Barbary pirates. The Ottoman Empire was a significant world power for, oh, almost six hundred years. What you may not know is that the Ottoman corsairs were referred to as Barbary pirates. They ranged throughout the Mediterranean Sea, all the way from Turkey to the coast of Portugal, through the Strait of Gibraltar. Most of the Greek coast and all the Greek islands were a part of their hunting grounds.

“They were a real problem for European merchants. The pirates were feared more for what they did with the crews than the loss of cargo when they captured a ship. They were slavers. During the mid-1500s to mid-1700s, they enslaved nearly two million people. The Europeans got tired of losing merchant ships, all their goods, and crews. Guess what they did? What do you think they were after? Anyone?” Umberto asked.

Alex and his sister looked at me. I guess they’d played this game one too many times, so I was up.

“Sent their navies to stop them,” I guessed.

“Yes, there was some of that. What finally worked was paying the Ottomans to leave their shipping alone. The Ottomans figured out it was more profitable to take the payments than to risk their ships and lives chasing merchants.

“You think these pirates hid treasure here?” I asked.

“We know they were active in Greece. Information was recently found in North Africa, where the Barbary pirates were based, which mentioned the use of caves as hubs of operation. We found a cave that was closed off from the sea and that we think was once used by the pirates. Last week, we uncovered an underwater tunnel that leads to another chamber. We plan to investigate it today,” Umberto shared.

I leaned over to Alex.

“It looks like we have a tail,” I said.

I’d noticed that a black SUV followed us to the storage place. And then thought I spotted it again when we got the tanks filled up, and I rented my gear. Without Paul with me as security, I made it a point to be aware of my surroundings. As we’d turned onto this street, the same black SUV had turned as well. Alex looked back.

“Black SUV?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, Dad. Is that black SUV one of ours? David says it has been following us.”

Umberto’s whole demeanor changed in an instant. He got on his phone and called his security. He reverted to Spanish as he talked rapidly, asking about the car behind us. I relaxed when he glanced back and winked at me.

“They’re one of ours,” Umberto assured us.

I leaned close to Alex.

“You have more than one?”

He shrugged like it was no big deal.

“Usually, we don’t even know they’re there. Dad wants us to live as normal a life as we can, but we receive threats on a regular basis and have to be careful. Kidnapping is the biggest concern. Colombia used to be the kidnapping capital of the world. The guerillas and cartels used it to intimidate their enemies and as a source of funding. It was one of the reasons we moved to the States when it was time for Squeak and me to attend high school,” Alex shared.

The rest of the ride, I was quiet as I tried to absorb how different Alex’s life had been from mine. My hope for my children was that they could lead normal lives without the need for people to keep them safe 24/7.

I’d thought we were going to the coast, so I was surprised when we drove to a remote area that was about a quarter-mile from the water’s edge. We found a van and several tents that turned out to be the base for their little expedition. The van had Greek lettering on it and a crest that looked to be from a university. There were three young people in one of the tents looking intently at something on a long foldout table.

Umberto and Camilla went to the main tent while Alex pointed to another one.

“Let’s get suited up and get the gear we’ll need to dive to the new cave,” he said.

“I want to go first. I want to be the one who discovers the treasure,” Nat begged her brother.

“But I’m the oldest and the man of the family,” he shot back.

“By three minutes,” she huffed.

Somehow, I knew this argument had been going on in one form or another for years. It also confirmed what I suspected: they were fraternal twins. They bickered back and forth as we got undressed. We all wore swimsuits underneath our clothes. We then put on our wetsuits. I’d gone for the full-body suit because Alex had warned me that the water would be cold.

Once we had our suits on, Alex went to a chest and opened it. Inside, there was assorted gear. He grabbed a waterproof bag and stuffed a camera and walkie-talkie into it. He also pulled out three large waterproof flashlights.

We left the gear tent and walked over to the tent where their dad was. He was all business and looked a little excited. Umberto pointed to a hand-drawn map that showed the site. It appeared to be a pretty detailed representation of the cave system. You could see where it started at the edge of the island and worked its way to where we were.

“We’ve been able to map the path from the sea to this point. I thought we were at a dead-end, but Alex spotted rocks piled up here,” Umberto said as he pointed at the map. “After some careful investigation, we determined that someone had put the rocks there; it wasn’t a natural phenomenon. For the last two days, we worked to remove the rocks, and discovered a tunnel that we hope will lead us to the artifacts.”

“We’ll be the first people in there in hundreds of years,” Nat said excitedly.

Alex seemed to be just as enthused, and their excitement was contagious. I looked forward to seeing history rediscovered. Personally, I doubted we would find any hidden treasure, but who knew?

“Let’s get this started then,” Alex said.

Umberto pulled the SUV close to where there was a taped-off area. I followed everyone to the site. What I found was a hole in the ground. The twins and I stepped over to the edge and looked in. You could see the sunlight reflect off water that had to be at least ten feet down, if not more.

I discovered why Umberto had pulled the SUV over: it had a winch on the front. His helpers pulled the cable out. They put a loop in it for a foothold so they could lower us into the water.

“Squeak!” Alex yelled, followed by a splash.

Alex and I looked at each other and nodded. If a girl could jump in, we weren’t standing around with our thumbs up our butts.

“Wait!” Umberto called as Alex and I jumped.

For a terrifying second, I worried I’d made a colossal mistake. Luckily, the water was deep. It was also cold; I was glad I’d rented the wetsuit. When I reached the surface, I found the twins grinning like they’d just snuck a bottle of their father’s best whiskey from his private stash.

“You kids are going to be the death of me,” Umberto complained once he was sure everyone was okay. “Your job is to dive through the tunnel and confirm there’s a room on the other side. Take pictures and come back. Radio us with what you find. And make damned sure you use the guidelines!”

“We know the drill,” Alex called up to his clearly pissed-off father.

While we had been talking, I’d noticed Nat had donned her gear and set up a bright yellow guideline. She then dove for the opening, trailing the line. I watch her light disappear.

“Where’s Nat?” Alex asked me, looking concerned.

I pointed, and he rolled his eyes.

“That little brat never listens to me.”

“Isn’t that true of women in general?” I asked with a straight face.

“You’re probably right, but we dive together for safety. It’s especially important to always use guidelines when you’re cave diving. If you get disoriented or lost in a cave, you very likely will die.”

That gave me pause. What I’d initially thought of as a lark had a very real element of danger to it, so I resolved to be careful.

“We’d better get going,” Alex said.

The two of us put on our fins and masks, tested our regulators, and turned on our lights. We followed the guideline to the tunnel opening, and I was glad to see it was big enough for someone to walk through. I’d been afraid that it would be tight like the tunnel Brook and I dove through in the Caribbean.

It was dark in the cave, but fortunately, the water was crystal clear, so our flashlights lit up the tunnel for a good distance in front of us. I was really bothered that it would be pitch black if our lights went out. Up ahead, I saw a light point toward us. I knew it was Nat, but the old saying about it possibly being an oncoming train ran through my head.

When we came to the end of the tunnel, we found steps cut into the stone that led upwards. Nat had anchored the line on a rock a couple of feet under the water and had paused until we were all together before going on.

“You brat, why didn’t you wait for me? You know better than to dive alone,” Alex scolded her.

She gave him a cute pout. I shook my head when the mad in Alex seemed to drain out of him.

“Be more careful next time,” was his last comment about it.

We took off our fins, mask, tanks, and other equipment, and left them on the stairs. When we were just in our wetsuits, we went up to see what we would find. There was a tall ceiling that I would estimate to be about twenty feet high. The room itself looked to be about twelve by twenty.

Alex spotted something on the wall and was brushing it off.

“Alex! You know better,” Nat chastised her brother.

“I just wanted to confirm this symbol is from Barbary pirates.”

“Let me see,” Nat said.

I looked over their shoulders. Engraved in the wall was what looked like a knife that had been split in the middle and curved outward like an exaggerated snake’s split tongue.

“Take pictures of that,” Alex told his sister.

I pointed my flashlight up and saw three holes about twelve feet up that could lead to something else.

“What do you think that is?” I asked Alex as his sister got the camera.

“I don’t know, but it’s too high to reach. We’ll have to get a ladder and see.”

“Or I could look,” I suggested.

“How do...” Alex started as I ran to the wall, planted a foot into it, and launched myself upward.

My fingers caught the ledge, and I pulled myself up.

“Toss me a flashlight,” I said.

I caught it and found another alcove. I called to them over my shoulder.

“What’s the Holy Grail supposed to look like? There’s an altar with some ancient-looking cup on it. Do you think your dad would be interested in that?” I asked.

“No way!” Nat said.

“He’s pulling your leg,” Alex told his sister. “What did you find?”

“Nothing much. Want me to check the other two?” I asked.

“We better not. We need to get back and show Dad the pictures of what we found,” Alex said.

I jumped down, and we got organized and geared up to head back.

We spent the morning working with the grad students to swim gear into the room we’d found so Umberto and his team could inspect our find. The smartest thing they did was run a waterproof cable to the room so that a generator could feed electricity, and they could have reliable lights and run their equipment. They even managed to bring a computer through the underwater passage so it could be set up on-site. We weren’t deep under the water’s surface, so water pressure wasn’t an issue. They had several watertight containers they could weigh down to make neutrally buoyant. Those containers then allowed them to swim the more sensitive equipment in.

By the time we were done, it was after one o’clock.

“Umberto will be busy for the next few days. Let’s go grab lunch and then go shopping,” Camilla suggested.

The three of us agreed. Not that Alex and I were excited about shopping, but the excuse did give us a chance to explore the town. I found out that Alex and Nat had been stuck ‘working’ with their dad for the past three weeks. They were Umberto’s dive team. Not that they were complaining because it got them out of school and allowed them to spend time with their father. But I could tell they were ready for something new to do.

After a quick lunch and some shopping, Alex and I decided to go on a bike tour. After the first half-hour, we took a break. We’d mostly climbed uphill, and Alex looked like he was about to drop.

“How’re you doing?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” he said as he took a big swig of his water.

We were both perspiring freely. It felt good to do something physical. I’d been a slug since I left home.

“What’s the deal with the matchmaking girls?” I asked.

Alex gave me a sheepish look.

“I don’t know. We’ve seen three different groups come through. The newest bunch has been the best. You should talk to some of the Filipino girls. They are super nice and completely different from the Russians, who are more interested in the size of your wallet than anything else. But Ivanna might be worth it.”

“Ivanna Fuck-A-Lot?” I asked.

Alex burst out laughing.

“Have you met her?”

“I was here all of ten minutes, and she lured me into bed,” I admitted.

“I finally had to tell her that my dad didn’t believe in giving his kids money, and I would have to get a job once I graduated from college. If Camilla wasn’t here, it’s possible Ivanna might be my new stepmother,” Alex shared.

“So, that made her leave you alone?” I asked.

“Yeah. That might have been a miscalculation on my part. She knew things...” Alex said and then blushed.

I could probably guess. I had no plans to be married by the time I got home. My mother had been through enough; she didn’t need me showing up with a mail-order bride. I would have to follow Alex’s lead on this one.

We were a sweaty mess when we finished our ride. Alex sent a text to Nat to let her know we planned to go back to the condo. She replied that they were done shopping and to meet them at the parking lot. We spotted them chatting by the car. When they saw our condition, Nat got a faraway look, but Camilla smirked.

“Those men were checking you out,” Camilla said.

I knew that Mykonos had an LGBTQ community. Well, I guessed everywhere did. I also knew that there was a nude beach that catered to them. I remember Fritz teasing me that the beach close to our condo wasn’t too far from that one.

Alex showed his gullibility by whipping his head around to see who she was talking about.

“He thinks you’re cute,” Nat teased her brother.

“I’m out,” Alex said to tell me he didn’t have a good comeback.

“I’ll protect you,” I said as I put my arm around Alex.

He got the shivers and twisted away from me. Both Camilla and Nat were enjoying his discomfort, so I upped the ante by taking off my shirt and striking a model pose.

“You know you want this,” I said.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and a squeak. I’d forgotten the damned bike shorts hid nothing. At least with my t-shirt on, it had hung down far enough not to be obscene. Camilla saved the day.

“Put your shirt back on before Alex really does switch teams. Besides, it’s hot. I need to get you boys back home and into the shower.”

Alex and I just glanced at each other, as if to ask if she meant that literally, before getting into the car.

After showering and changing, I walked over to Alex and Nat’s and knocked on their door. Alex let me into their condo. I loved the décor. In the living room, the end wall had two bookcases that bracketed a seventy-inch TV that hung in the center. Behind it, they’d used reclaimed wood from shipping pallets to mimic wood flooring. The wood was sun-bleached, giving it an aged appearance. At a ninety-degree angle were two loveseats with a twelve-foot couch facing the TV to form a seating area. I needed to find where you could buy a sofa that big. The whole family could sit on it and enjoy the TV.

Around the room, there were large colorful prints of vintage posters from Colombia. They ranged in subject matter from coffee to a street scene of colorful houses that reminded me of my time in Cuba.

“Where are the girls?” I asked as Alex joined me in the living room.