Jayme & Tripp (Game Wardens 1)

A swift elbow to the gut woke Tripp. He grunted in pain and rolled onto his back as he held his stomach. He noticed sun peeking through the curtains, so it had to be morning. A second later, Jayme’s hulking weight straddled his waist and his hands wrapped around Tripp’s throat. His stomach lurched as he looked up and saw that Jayme’s eyes were open, but unseeing. Shit, the guy was technically still asleep. He tried to stay calm as his airway slowly got cut off. He grabbed Jayme’s wrists and dug his nails in, hoping that maybe some pain would wake him up. When that didn’t work, he tried kneeing him in the back, but he didn’t have great leverage for it and his knee barely connected.

Tripp gasped for air as spots dotted his vision. “Jayme!” he wheezed. “Jayme, wake up!”

Jayme blinked and his eyes came into focus. It took him a moment to realize what was going on, but he eventually yanked his hands away from Tripp’s throat as if burned and rolled away. He noisily sucked in air before coughing roughly. Jayme was pacing at the side of the bed, his hands covering his mouth and nose.

Tripp sat up. He pressed a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. Fuck, that was close. When he opened his eyes, Jayme had stopped pacing and was standing there staring at him; his fingers laced on top of his head. The tortured expression on his face broke Tripp’s heart.

“I could have killed you,” Jayme rasped.

“But you didn’t,” he said carefully, his voice rough from being strangled.

He crawled over to Jayme’s side of the bed, while Jayme shook his head and backed away. He climbed off the bed and went to Jayme who was backed against the window. He pulled Jayme into his arms and hugged him tight.

“It’s okay,” he whispered.

“No, it’s not,” Jayme croaked as he slipped his arms around Tripp’s waist and tucked his face in his neck.

They stood like that for a few minutes before he pulled back enough to cup Jayme’s face and give him a soft kiss on the lips, before pressing their foreheads together. “Okay?”

Jayme shrugged helplessly as he let him go. His gaze dropped to Tripp’s neck, and his lip lifted in a snarl. “How are we supposed to explain the fingerprint bruises on your neck?”

“I have a choking kink?” he replied with a lopsided grin.

Jayme’s gaze shot up and nailed him with a hard stare. “That’s not funny.”

“Come on. It was a little funny.”

Jayme shook his head and stepped away from him so he could pace at the end of the bed.

“We’ll have to explain the nail marks in your wrists too.”

Jayme frowned and looked down at the little crescent shaped nicks on his wrists. “Damn.” He hissed. “I can’t believe I did this.”

“Shit happens, Jayme. It’s okay.”

“No! This is not okay! Nothing about this is okay, Tripp!” Jayme yelled, pacing furiously. “First, I find out I’m gonna be a dad when I don’t want to be, then I almost strangle my best friend to death. I don’t see anything okay with any of that.”

He smirked. “I’m your best friend now?”

Jayme paused in his pacing and gave Tripp a confused look. “What?”

“You called me your best friend. I didn’t know you thought of me like that.”

“Well, yeah...I mean...how could you not be?”

He shrugged. “I guess. I just thought Brendan was your best friend.”

“A person can have more than one best friend, Tripp.”

He nodded. “True.”

A ghost of a smile curled Jayme’s lips. “Am I not your best friend?”

He grinned. “I never really thought about it, but yeah. I guess you are.”

“Good.”

“Now that we got that all figured out, can we lay back down for the hour we have left; before we have to get up and get ready for work?”

“You go ahead. I’m going to hop in the shower.”

“Fine. Be that way,” Tripp huffed.

“I’m too awake to lay back down.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Jayme rolled his eyes then left the room. He laid back down and pulled the covers up to his chin. At least Jayme was in a better mood now. He’d take that over upset Jayme any day.

~~~

Jayme

“Ho-ly shit, dude! What the fuck happened to your neck?!” Brendan gawked as Jayme and Tripp sat down at the table behind them the next day. “Did Jayme get a little too rough while he was fucking that ass?”

Tripp cocking an eyebrow was his only reaction. Jayme clenched his jaw. Brendan just loved fucking with them about sleeping together, even though he didn’t know for sure. He was sure Brendan had high suspicions. Usually they laughed it off, but he wasn’t feeling it today. It pissed him off.

“Jesus, Jayme. I had no idea you liked it that rough,” Brendan continued.

“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled.

Brendan cocked his head and gave Jayme a questioning look. “What? Did I tread too close to the truth?”