“We’re going to the beach,” Gabriella smiled.
“Ahhh… perfect. I’m going to go get ready. See you downstairs,” the blonde said and dragged herself off the couch. She gave Ben and Gabriella a kiss on the cheek and left.
“Ben, I’ll see you downstairs in 45 minutes, alright?” Gabriella said pulling his attention from the laptop.
“Sure,” he smiled and gave her a kiss as she left.
He saw there was only two seats left in first class but he didn’t have travel documentation for the two yet so he picked up his cell and called to make the reservation. Twenty minutes later he hung up feeling a little worn out from the hoops he’d had to leap through. He had the seats though so that was what mattered. The ladies came out of the bedroom in their bikinis with gossamer sarong wraps around them. Ben shut down his laptop and made his way into the bedroom to get ready.
His shower was quick and he dressed in the bathroom. When he came out in black board shorts, a tight white tank top, and black sandals he was greeted with whistles and cat calls. Surprised, he looked up and saw Sophia, Rachel, Megan, and Miriam, who was grinning with the others but blushing fiercely, sitting in the living room with Karen and Penny. He gave them a grin and they giggled.
“Let’s go eat!” he said.
The concierge arranged for them to have a selection of lounge chairs reserved on the beach out in front of the hotel so after they’d enjoyed their breakfast and grabbed their beach stuff they made their way down to the beach. They had five of the ten sets of lounge chairs roped off. Ben and Daniel took the middle set and the ladies divided up the remaining ones.
Out came the lotion and everyone applied some as no one wanted to go home red as a lobster. Ben pulled his tank top off and applied sunblock to protect his scars. Gabriella and Catherine applied it to his back. The bandages had been removed and they were gentle as they applied the lotion to his sides. He pulled the tank top back on gratefully as his large scarred torso was starting to attract attention.
Daniel, Miriam, and Megan immediately headed for the water with Karen and Penny fast on their heels. Ben tilted his lounge chair up to keep an eye on them.
“Bennnnnn?”
He looked over at Catherine who was wiggling a bottle of sunscreen between her fingers as she smiled at him. He grinned and moved over to her. He squeezed lotion into his hands and made his way up her body from her toes, rubbing and massaging the lotion into her skin. By the time he reached her face she had relaxed completely and was sleeping peacefully. He swore he could hear her purring.
He turned and Gabriella was holding up her own bottle. He saw Sophia and Rachel also waiting for him with smiles on their faces. He sighed and smiled.
He dropped himself down on his chair once he’d finished massaging the four women into a blissful state. He watched the kids play in the water as the shore wasn’t far from the chairs. They were laughing happily and he allowed himself to relax. He’d periodically crack an eyelid open to check on them.
He felt cold droplets of water splashing on him and he realized he’d dozed off. He looked over at Daniel who had his back to him and was vigorously drying himself off.
“Don’t forget to put more lotion on,” he said and Daniel nodded. Ben looked down at the shoreline and saw Karen and Penny talking with four young men who were blocking their way back to the chairs. Penny nervously glanced at him and he rolled to his feet. He saw the immediate relief in her eyes as he walked down the beach towards them. For added effect he pulled off his tank top and draped it over his shoulder.
“Something I can help you fellows with?” Ben rumbled.
The leader of the group turned and Ben saw the large gold watch on his wrist. An image of a black SUV with four well-dressed punks popped in his mind.
The man’s annoyed expression was quickly replaced with an ‘oh shit!’ grimace as he took in Ben’s size and the visible signs of intense violence. Then recognition. “You!”
His friends turned and each mirrored his expression.
“Don’t you have enough women?” one of the men complained.
“These are my daughters. Do you think you could pass my dating suitability test?” Ben growled and stared each in the eye. None could hold his gaze for more than a second. “Didn’t think so. Enjoy your day gentlemen,” he said as an obvious dismissal. They moved away down the beach looking deflated. Karen and Penny rushed up and kissed Ben’s cheeks.
“Thanks Papa!” they said in unison.
He snorted and followed them back to the chairs.
They had lunch on the beach and once more Ben was asked to apply lotion to their backs. Penny and Karen pouted until he finally gave in and did their backs as well. He noticed their muscles were knotted and wondered if that was due to the extra weight of their implants. He massaged the knots away and both sighed happily and thanked him when he was done.
The afternoon was relaxing and Ben spent hours playing in the water with Miriam, Daniel, Penny and Karen. Once they had dried themselves by basking in the late afternoon sun they made their way back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.
As a treat Gabriella had made reservations at an Italian restaurant which was famous for their pizza. There were other Italian dishes of course but she was sure the pizza was going to be a hit.
They were seated at a long table five to a side. They placed their orders then Gabriella got everyone’s attention.
“As some of our party weren’t with us in Paris I will explain what we are about to do. We have a little family tradition where we list our three favorite experiences from a vacation. We shared our top three experiences in Paris so tonight we are going to share our favorite three after Paris to today. As we did in Paris, Catherine, would you like to lead us off?”
Cat’s eyes went dreamy as she recalled her night with Ben and Gabriella and her night with Chanel but she caught Gabriella’s raised eyebrow so she tucked those memories away and selected some less steamy ones. “OK, well, number three was our shopping day in St. Paul de Vence, and number two was our shopping day in Nice!” She grinned as her daughters rolled their eyes. “Number one was singing with Gabriella on the cable car’s return trip in Chamonix.”
Sophia was obviously considering that day as well as a blush appeared on her cheeks. She was next and didn’t realize it. When her mother poked her shoulder she jumped and looked around the table. “Oh! Sorry, uh, well, number three was the fun we had with the actors in Avignon. Number two was the cable car’s ascent.” Her face blushed a deep red and Ben blushed as well. Penny watched the interchange with interest. “Number one…” her eyes flicked to Ben once more then returned to the table surface. “There are too many good memories. Some frightening ones too but mostly they’re good!”
“Rachel?” Catherine asked as the young woman looked distracted. She jumped. “Yes? Oh, the shopping in Nice, St. Paul de Vence, and Lyon,” she mumbled. She looked at Ben then Sophia and shared a small smile with her sister.
“My list starts with dancing at the club last night. That was so much fun! Did anyone see who the celebrity was? We could barely get out of the club because of all the paparazzi!” Megan gushed as she looked over at her sisters who shook their heads. Ben scowled and Gabriella snorted. Megan continued. “Shopping in Nice was exciting and playing on the beach today with Ben was my number one!” She grinned at him and he smiled back.
Karen saw she was next. “Ben rescuing us from the house. Ben rescuing us from the police and bringing us to his hotel. Ben adopting us.” She blinked at the gasps from Catherine’s daughters. Miriam looked confused and a little worried so Gabriella whispered something in her ear and it calmed the girl.
Penny nodded and pointed to Karen. “That’s my list too!”