Chapter 24

I puttered around the deck of the Princess, tidying up the sails and making sure the instruments all were working. Now and then I checked to see if Judith was swimming back from the beach and waited for Audrey to wake up and join me.

The sky was dotted with big puffy clouds and the breeze was steady out of the west. Presently, Audrey poked her head out and asked if there was anything I wanted from below.

"Just you." I replied, smiling.

She brought a bottle of wine up with her, and joined me near the helm. She had her skimpy black bikini on and looked a little tousled, but absolutely beautiful.

"What are you up to?" she asked, sidling up next to me and smiling sweetly.

"I was just straightening up." I said.

"Is Judith still wandering around on the island?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I hope we don't have to send out a search party."

"Well, it won't be much of a search. I can see her near the beach." Audrey said, pointing towards the island.

"That's good," I said, "I'm too worn out to do much searching."

Audrey moved closer and looked up at me. "Did we wear you out?" She asked, smiling and running a finger up and down my chest.

"Almost!" I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to me. I shouldn't have, but she was so close and smelled so good, and once in my arms, she just melted against me. She was so soft and warm, and wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace. She looked up and we kissed deeply.

Audrey pulled back a little and said, "You know Dave, you're a really good kisser."

"Thanks," I said, "you're pretty good yourself."

We heard the splash from the direction of the island, and turned to see Judith swimming back to the boat. Audrey went back down below and reappeared shortly with three wine glasses (polycarbonate, of course).

When Judith climbed up the ladder, I handed her a towel so she could dry herself off.

"Did you have a good swim?" Audrey asked as she lined up all three glasses and filled them up.

"That was great!" Judith said, toweling her blonde hair and fluffing it to dry in the warm sun. "This is turning out to be a really excellent day!"

Audrey handed Judith a glass of wine and then handed one to me. "Here's to a really excellent day!" she said, and we all clinked glasses.

"Well", I said, "do you guys want to hang out here some more, or would you like to do a little more sailing?"

"Sailing!" they both said in unison.

"OK, then," I said, "you guys get the sails up and I'll pull up the anchor.

Not only did they get the sails up, but before I got the anchor on board and stowed, Judith had the Princess under way, taking us out into the main part of the lake and heading further north.

The breeze was steady, but wasn't strong enough to make the sailing terribly exciting, so Audrey and I just relaxed with our wine and watched Judith sail the Princess. Judith had her yellow bikini on, which showed off her tight abs and her long slender legs. Audrey's bikini was much skimpier and bordered on just plain naughty. I watched Audrey pull a bottle from her bag and begin to smooth baby oil on her long tan legs. It truly was a really excellent day.

We sailed for a couple of more hours, arriving back at the marina about mid-afternoon. Judith and Audrey had changed back into modest shorts and tops before we arrived, and after docking the Princess, Audrey and Judith decided to go up to Audrey's cabin and take a nap. We were all pretty worn out from the sun and the wind, and yes, the little romp below deck back at the bay.

After making sure everything was secure on the Princess, I headed up to the lodge. I was going to use the phone in Fred's office to call Louise in Germany. She was expecting me to call this afternoon. Fred was nowhere to be found, so I let myself into his office and closed the door.

I dialed the number in Germany, and let it ring. On the fourth ring a female voice at the other end answered: "Bonjour." It was definitely not Louise.

"Hello," I said, wondering if I had gotten a wrong number, "is Louise there?"

"Hello!" the voice came back with a French accent. I could hear music in the background. "I'll get her for you." she said. "You must be Dave."

I heard her call for Louise, and heard laughter in the background. In a minute, Louise picked up the phone and with a smile in her voice said, "Hi Dave! How are you?"

"Hi Louise! I'm doing great. How are you?" I said.