by Andria Large
He followed Tripp down the ladder, and into the water. They saw all sorts of fish and sea life. He had a sea turtle swim right by him. It was incredible. He lost sight of Tripp for a couple minutes, and when he finally found him; he was swimming under the water, taking a closer look at the reef.
The next two stops went pretty much the same. The last stop was in much deeper water, which made him uncomfortable; he stayed close to the boat while Tripp ventured out farther.
He heard a cry for help and turned to see Derrick waving frantically several feet away. He instinctively jumped into action. He swam as fast as he could over to Derrick, who he saw was barely keeping an unconscious Mandy afloat.
“What the hell happened?” he asked as he slid his arm around Mandy’s chest from behind and put her head on his shoulder.
“I think she had a panic attack and passed out. I saw her go under and grabbed her before she hit the bottom.” Derrick panted.
“Let’s get to the boat. If you see Tripp, call for him.”
“Okay.”
Thank God he was a strong swimmer, because carrying dead weight while trying to swim was no easy feat. Derrick was lucky he didn’t drown trying to hold her up. When they got to the ladder, he put Mandy in a fireman’s carry; and climbed one handed up the ladder. When he got to the deck, other people saw what was happening; and started to panic. He ignored them and focused on Mandy. He laid her down and assessed her vitals. He could hear Derrick screaming for Tripp over the side of the catamaran.
Mandy had a pulse but wasn’t breathing. Jayme tilted her head back, pinched her nose, and sealed his mouth over hers; giving her two breaths. He waited for a moment, before repeating. He kept going until Tripp dropped to his knees on the other side of her.
“You okay? Want me to take over?” Tripp asked.
“I’m good. Check her pulse again.”
Tripp placed two fingers to her neck. “It’s strong.”
“Good. Now if she would just breath.”
He gave her two more breaths. That did it. She sputtered and started coughing up water. He rolled her onto her side, so she didn’t swallow it back down. He heard Derrick’s relieved, “Oh, thank God.” from over his shoulder.
Slowly Mandy got the coughing under control, and they helped her sit up. She was a little disoriented at first, not really knowing where she was, or what happened. When she realized what happened, she started crying. That was his cue to get out of the way, and let Derrick take care of her. He got her seated on a bench and wrapped his arms around her.
Jayme and Tripp stayed close to make sure she was okay. Once everyone was on the boat, they headed back to the dock. It took a good half hour to get there. Mandy calmed down and was just resting against Derrick by the time they got back.
Once the boat docked, Jayme and Tripp stood. They stopped in front of Mandy and Derrick to say goodbye.
“I would go get checked out if I were you,” he told Mandy.
Mandy nodded. “I will. Thank you for saving me.”
“I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Let me get your number. Maybe we can meet up for dinner one night before we all go home,” Derrick said.
“Yeah, sure. That sounds good.”
He and Derrick exchanged numbers, then Derrick shook both their hands. “I owe you guys one. Anytime, anywhere. Thank you again.”
“We'll hold you to that.” Tripp grinned. “Take care, okay?”
“Enjoy the rest of your trip,” Jayme added.
With one last goodbye, he and Tripp left the boat. They walked to the van that would take them back to their hotel.
“Well, that was exciting,” he murmured.
“Never a dull moment for us, huh?”
“Nope.”
“I’m starving. Let’s go back to the hotel and get some lunch, then maybe we can chill on the beach for a while.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
~~~
Tripp
Before they knew it, their week was almost over. It was their last night there, and they had just gone to a Luau. Tripp was guessing it was an awesome show, he wouldn’t know; he barely saw any of it because he had been watching Jayme the whole time. The awe, and wonder, and sheer delight on Jayme’s face kept his attention.
They were walking along the edge of the water on the beach just outside their hotel. Jayme was talking excitedly about the Luau, and everything he loved about it. It was dark, but the moon was bright and shimmering off the water.
They did everything they could during their week there. They took a helicopter ride to see a volcano, they zip lined, they took a tour of different waterfalls, they snorkeled, they took a sunset cruise on a catamaran, went horseback riding, and they went to see Pearl Harbor. They also met up with Mandy and Derrick for dinner the night before. Their week had been jammed packed with activities, and they’d had the best time. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he got there.
He also got to see a whole different side of Jayme. The non-stressed side. Jayme had been laid back and relaxed. He joked a lot more and smiled a hell of a lot more. The Jayme from home wasn’t there at all. He disappeared, and Tripp wondered if there was a way to keep this Jayme on the surface when they got home. He doubted it though. There was too much stress at home between work and the baby shit with Mallory. He was glad he got to see this side of Jayme though. It just made him love Jayme that much more.
Jayme brought him out of his thoughts by stopping their walk. Jayme turned to face him. He noticed that Jayme looked nervous, and he thought he knew what was coming. Jayme stepped closer and brought a hand up to cup him face, Jayme’s thumb brushing over his cheek. Jayme searched his eyes for a moment. The love and affection just poured out of them, and he definitely knew what was coming.
“Tripp...I...” Jayme started, but it seemed like the words got caught.
He smiled gently and nodded. “Say it.”
Jayme swallowed hard. “I love you.”
His smile widened. “I love you too, Jayme.”
Jayme let out a relieved laugh, before crushing their lips together. Their kiss was slow and heartfelt. The emotions between them were high, and right on the surface. He pulled back from the kiss only enough to talk.
“Let’s get to the room, I want to show you just how much I love you,” he whispered against Jayme’s lips.
“Yeah. Yeah, let’s go do that.”
He chuckled, and let Jayme go. He did take his hand though and led him back to their hotel room. They had barely made it in the door, before they were tearing each other’s clothes off. He took control, because Jayme seemed a bit vulnerable and submissive at the moment. They had plenty of sex throughout the week, and they took turns topping. Tonight though, it looked like Jayme needed him to top.
They didn’t bother too much with foreplay. He tried to go down on Jayme, but Jayme said he didn’t want it; he just wanted Tripp. He lubed up, and got between Jayme’s spread legs. He slowly pushed forward, breaching the tight ring of muscle. Jayme gasped and clawed at his hips, urging him closer.
Jayme let out a deep guttural cry once he was fully sheathed. He smoothed his hand up Jayme’s chest to his neck, a possessive move that he couldn’t help. He pulled back slowly, letting Jayme feel every inch of him; before just as slowly pushing back in. He continued this slow pace until Jayme lost his damn mind.
“Tripp! I can’t. I need more. Oh, God. Please!” Jayme begged.
He grinned. Jayme had never begged like that before. Never. It was sexy as fuck.
“What do you want, baby? Tell me,” he cooed.
“Harder, faster. Please. More. I need more.”
He snapped his hip, and Jayme gasped. “Like that?”
Jayme nodded fervently, his hands grasping and clutching at Tripp’s arms and sides. He gave in and gave Jayme what he wanted. Hard and fast. The noises coming out of Jayme were going to throw him over the edge sooner than he wanted.
He shifted and gathered Jayme into his
arms, tucking his face into his boyfriend’s neck. “I love you so fucking much,” he whispered.
Jayme moaned. “Fuck. I love you too.” He gasped. “Oh fuck. Just like that, Tripp. You’re gonna make me come.”
“Do it, baby. Come for me.”
Jayme cried out, and he could feel the warm jets of cum between their bodies and the way Jayme’s hole clenched around him. He followed, coming hard inside Jayme. They laid there wrapped in each other arms, panting, neither of them willing to move.
Eventually, he rolled off Jayme; and went to get a rag to clean up. He cleaned himself off in the bathroom, then took the rag into the bedroom and cleaned Jayme off.
“Thanks,” Jayme said with a lazy smile.
“You’re welcome, Love.”
He went into the bathroom to toss the rag on the floor. When he came back out, Jayme was already asleep. He climbed into bed next to him and pulled the covers up over both of them. He turned out the light and settled down to get some sleep himself. They had a long day of travel tomorrow. He wasn’t ready to go home, but he didn’t have a choice. They had a wonderful vacation, and it was time to get back to reality; even if reality sucked.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jayme
HE'D BEEN home for a week already, and Jayme was desperate to go back. Instead, he was sitting in a doctor’s office with Mallory; waiting to get an ultrasound. He took a half day at work to make the appointment. Tripp had dropped him off at home at lunchtime so he could get changed, then meet Mallory at the doctor’s office.
They finally got called back and taken into a room where the ultrasound was going to be done. The tech got Mallory situated on the bed and got her machine ready. She then put gel on the wand and put it to Mallory’s little baby belly.
The baby appeared on the screen. He couldn’t make out too much, but he could see that it had a head and arms. The tech went about measuring the baby and checking whatever else she needed to check.
“Do you want to know the sex?” She asked.
Mallory looked at him. He shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
“Yes. I want to know.”
“Okay.” She clicked a couple things and moved the wand around for a moment; before freezing the screen. “It’s a boy!”
He couldn’t help the smile that split his face. He didn’t think he had a preference, but he was happy that it was a boy.
“Oh my god! It’s a boy, Jayme. It’s a boy,” Mallory cried.
The tech finished up, cleaned off Mallory’s belly; and printed out pictures before sending them on their way. Mallory gave him a couple of the pictures of the baby before giving him a hug, then getting in her car and driving off.
He got in his truck and started it up. He sat there for a moment and looked at the picture of his baby boy. He thought about all the things he was going to teach him, like how to fish and hunt. He was going to teach him how to be a good person, and a decent human being. Man, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever come around to the idea of having a kid, but he kinda was.
He went home and put the pictures on the fridge next to the first one of the little bean that now actually looked like a baby. He then passed the time by cleaning up the house and doing some laundry before it was time to start dinner.
Tripp got home at around six and came right into the kitchen. “Well?”
He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. “It’s a boy.”
Tripp whooped, and gave him a hug. “Did you get ultrasound pictures?”
“They’re on the fridge.”
Tripp went over to the fridge and looked at the pictures. “Aw man, that’s awesome. Congrats.”
“Thanks.”
“I can see you’re finally getting excited,” Tripp said with a smirk.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“That’s great. I’m excited too.”
“I honestly never thought I’d be excited about having a baby.”
“Hey, babies change everything, in a good way. For the most part anyway. There are sleepless nights, and dirty diapers.”
He chuckled.
After they ate and were relaxing on the couch, his phone rang. He looked at the screen to see that it was Mallory.
“Hey Mal, everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you about something. Do you think you could come over?”
“You can’t say whatever you have to say over the phone?”
“I’d rather not.”
He sighed. “All right. I’ll be over in a few.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He hung up and looked at Tripp. “I’ll be back. Mal wants to talk to me about something.”
“Okay,” Tripp drawled. “Wonder what she wants?”
“That’s what I’m gonna find out. I’ll be back soon.”
He gave Tripp a quick kiss on the lips, before heading out to his truck. It only took about fifteen minutes to get to Mallory’s. He parked in her driveway and walked up to the door. It took her a few seconds to answer after he rang the bell. She let him in, and he followed her into the kitchen where they sat at the table.
“Do you want something to drink?” Mallory asked.
“No, I’m fine. What’s going on?”
Mallory took a deep breath and blew it out. “I want us to be a family, Jayme. I think we should get back together and give this another go. We could be really happy.”
He immediately started shaking his head. “No Mal. That ship has sailed. We can be a family without us being together.”
“This is because of Tripp isn’t it? I think you’ve had enough fun with him. It’s time to come home to me, and we can be a family like we’re supposed to be.”
“Enough fun? You think I’m just fucking around with him for the hell of it?”
“Well, yeah. Why else would you still be with him?”
“I’m in love with him. I plan to spend the rest of my life with him.”
Mallory blinked at him in shock. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No. I’m not. I’m dead serious.”
Mallory’s jaw worked back and forth, and she seemed to be getting angrier and angrier by the second. “You’re going to regret this, Jayme. I will make you regret it.”
“Okay, Mallory. I get it. You’re hurt and upset now, but you’ll see this is for the best. We were never meant to stay together. We would have divorced sooner or later.”
“No! We could have worked things out. We could have gone to therapy.”
He shook his head. “No amount of therapy was going to make me trust you again.”
“Well, trust this, you’re going to regret divorcing me, and not giving us another chance.”
“Okay.” He stood. “I’m gonna go.”
“You know where the door is.”
He rolled his eyes and left. By the time he walked in his front door, he was aggravated. Tripp looked over at him and frowned.
“I guess that didn’t go well.”
“She wanted to get back together. She freaked out when I told her I loved you, and there was no chance of us ever getting back together.”
Tripp shook his head. “What a whacko.”
“She said I’ll regret it.”
“Mmm hmm. So much regret.”
“I know, right.” He went and flopped down on the couch next to Tripp. “I regret not leaving her sooner.”
“I believe everything happens for a reason. It was the right time. Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten together had you left sooner.”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t let her get to you.”
He nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“Now come cuddle with me and watch the rest of this movie.”
He smirked and maneuvered around so that they were spooning on the couch, with him as the big spoon. He wrapped one arm around Tripp’s chest, while the other propped his head up so he could see the TV.
~~~
Tripp
It had taken
Tripp a couple months to plan it, and it was finally here. He flitted around the bar, making sure everything and everyone was in place. He rented out the bar for the night, and with Will and Matt’s help; they decorated the entire place. It was completely covered in everything blue.
A bunch of guys from work were there, and also Jayme’s dad and brother’s, Ian and Seamus, and of course, Mitch. They were just waiting on Jayme to get there. He thought he was coming to hang out, have a couple beers, and relax. Tripp had other plans.
They had gotten through Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now they were only a few weeks away from the baby being born. He figured Jayme was in need of some baby things, and he was sure Mallory was getting a baby shower. He decided to throw Jayme his own baby shower with all men, a man shower. Jayme was going to die.
He stood by the front window, watching for Jayme’s truck to pull in. He should be there any minute. He told Jayme that he was going out with his sister, so Matt invited Jayme out to the bar.
Jayme’s truck pulled in, and he hushed everyone as they waited for Jayme to walk in. A minute later the door opened, and everyone yelled surprise. Tripp took video and thank God he did; because the look on Jayme’s face was priceless. He was shocked at first, but then a huge smile spread across his handsome face.
“What the fuck is this?” Jayme asked.
“It’s a man-baby shower!” he exclaimed.
Jayme laughed. It was a genuine laugh that he hadn’t heard out of him since they were in Hawaii. “Oh my God. Look at this place. You guys are ridiculous.”
He laughed, stopped the video; and put away his phone. He went to Jayme and gave him a hug. The guys at work speculated about him and Jayme being together. They of course didn’t know for sure. He wasn’t about to tell anyone either. It could change things at work if word got to the wrong people. They might get split up as partners, and they didn’t want that to happen. A hug would have to do for now.
“I can’t believe you did this,” Jayme said when they separated.
“Hey, you’re gonna need baby stuff too.”
