He eyed Tripp suspiciously as he took the bottle. “Are you even old enough to drink?” He teased.
“Shut the fuck up. I’m thirty.”
“Really? Shit, I thought you were in your early twenties with that baby face and those dimples.”
Tripp gave him a bored look that had him laughing.
“To new roommates,” he said and clinked it against Tripp’s bottle before they both took a long swig of the cold beer.
~~~
Tripp
Tripp was startled awake by a scream. He darted into a sitting position in his bed. Maybe it was a dream? He scrubbed his hand over his face to try and wake up some more. Another anguished cry met his ears. It sounded like Jayme. Tripp tossed his covers and ran to his door. He pulled it open, then stopped in front of Jayme’s door across the hall. He debated on knocking, but another cry came from beyond and Tripp didn’t hesitate another second. He shoved open the door and rushed to the bed.
In the dark, he could see Jayme thrashing around. He must be having a nightmare. It was a hell of a nightmare though to be thrashing and screaming. Tripp pressed a knee to the bed and put his hand to Jayme’s bare chest.
“Jayme?” he called, raising his voice a bit.
Jayme gasped loudly. The next thing he knew, the hand that was on Jayme’s chest was wrenched around, making him turn his body while Jayme’s other arm came around his neck. He was practically lying on Jayme, his back to Jayme’s front, with his arm twisted behind his back, Jayme’s muscled arm squeezed at his throat.
He used his free hand to grip the arm around his throat. “Jayme! Jayme! It’s me! It’s Tripp!”
“Tripp?” Jayme breathed.
“Yeah, Tripp. Your partner and roommate,” Tripp said as calmly as possible while in a choke hold.
The arm around his neck loosened and fell away. “Shit.” Jayme hissed.
Tripp rolled, putting himself on his stomach next to Jayme. He pushed up to his elbows and looked over at his partner. Jayme’s hands covered his face and he was breathing heavily.
“Wanna tell me why you put me in a choke hold?” he asked gently.
Jayme dropped his hands and looked over at him, his eyes filled with sorrow and anguish. His heart broke. Whatever it was, it was bad.
“I... uh... I was a Marine for ten years before I became a game warden,” Jayme explained. “I was overseas for five of those years. Saw some horrific stuff. I haven’t had a nightmare like that in a while. I think being in new surroundings set it off. I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, you didn’t. Just caught me off guard. You moved fast,” he replied with a slight smile.
Jayme huffed out a laugh. “You shouldn’t wake me when I’m having a nightmare.”
“Good to know.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like it came up in conversation. Are you okay, though?”
Jayme nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.”
He pushed to his knees and patted Jayme’s chest. “All right. I’ll let you go back to sleep and I’ll ignore your screaming.”
Jayme sighed and rubbed his face. “Okay.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked softly. He hated that Jayme was struggling with this.
Jayme shook his head. “No. No, I’m okay. Go ahead back to bed. I’m just gonna watch TV for a little while or something.”
“Okay.” He got up and headed for the door. He heard Jayme gasp and then groan behind him. A grin curled Tripp's lips. “That’s right, I’m gonna be telling everyone you put a naked gay guy in a choke hold in your bed.”
“Oh, my fucking God.” Jayme groaned but then burst out laughing.
He laughed too. He opened the door, gave his own ass a smack, then walked out of Jayme’s room. Jayme was howling with laughter as Tripp shut his door. Smile still on his face, he crawled back into his bed and settled down to get some sleep. It was only their first night as roommates, but it’d been an exciting one. He laughed to himself. Jayme’s reaction was perfect. He wasn’t sure how Jayme would feel once he noticed that Tripp was naked, but he’s glad that Jayme took it so well.
The next morning, he yawned loudly as he walked into the kitchen. He’d put on a pair of plaid pajama pants, remembering that he couldn’t walk around the house naked anymore now that he had a roommate.
Jayme was sitting at the table with a coffee and a plate of eggs. The man’s lips twitched as he took a sip of his coffee. Tripp grinned wide. Jayme set his coffee mug down and lifted his eyes to meet Tripp’s. He then quick looked away and shook his head.
“Nope. I can’t do it. I can’t even look at you right now.” Jayme laughed.