Chapter Three

 

Matt didn’t hesitate, throwing himself into the water to rescue the woman, scraping his knees painfully on the jagged reef deceptively close to the break. Thomas was right beside him, but the woman’s small body kept rolling away as they tried to reach her.

Thomas got to her first, grabbing her arms. Matt grabbed her feet and they brought her out as the shark—a massive tiger shark, Matt realized now—with scary, blank, hungry eyes, missed the woman’s foot by mere inches. The shark moved forward, and the two men threw the woman into the first pool. The shark slowly retreated, circling the break as they picked the lifeless woman up again, dragging her to the second pool and to safety on a ledge.

“Turn her over…start mouth to mouth.” Matt’s breathing was ragged.

Thomas followed his instructions.

The husband stood numb, camera in hand, staring at them as if he couldn’t believe what had happened.

“You idiot!” Matt raged at him. “You almost killed her!” Matt rushed past the guy, snatched his cell phone from under his towel and called nine one one, thankful when he got a signal. Thomas was doing a fine job of counting and breathing into the woman. The phone operator told Matt she would stay on the line with him.

“My husband’s giving her mouth to mouth,” Matt told her.

“Let me talk to him.”

“Can I put you on loudspeaker?” he asked.

“Perfect.”

She was a fantastic operator who kept calm and realized Thomas and Matt were doing an excellent job of the CPR.

“I’m right here with you, Thomas,” she said every twenty or thirty seconds. Within a few short minutes, the police helicopter was flying over them and oh, great…a news chopper right behind it.

Thomas and Matt rolled the woman over as instructed. She started to wake up, and seawater spewed out of her mouth. She coughed and spluttered, and cried when she realized she was alive.

“Great job, Thomas and Matt! Your emergency crew is on scene now,” their operator said, sounding overjoyed.

“Thank you,” Matt told her and ended the call.

The two-man rescue response team that came down via a ladder from the chopper that was evidently used for emergencies here.

“People have been eaten,” one of the guys shrugged nonchalantly. “We try and warn them…”

The young woman was strapped into a portable gurney and raised above their heads.

“She’s going to be okay, thanks to you,” the second rescue response officer told Thomas, whose teeth still chattered from the shock of the whole ordeal.

The husband was in shock himself, and went with the lone uniformed officer who showed up. Matt gave him his card in case the officer wanted to talk to them.

“Nice job,” the officer said to them.

The news crew that taped the incident kept asking questions, but Matt waved them away.

“Anybody would have helped,” he said, still feeling shaky himself when he thought about how close and determined the shark had been.

“If you two hadn’t been here and seen it for yourselves, people might have thought he tried to kill her,” the reporter said.

Neither Matt nor Thomas responded. Matt still wasn’t convinced the man wasn’t trying to bump her off. He kept his arm around Thomas, pushing past the small crew. He picked up both their towels, wrapping them around Thomas, who kept staring into space. He took the plastic sack and Thomas’ cell phone, tossing the sack into the almost overflowing garbage bin on their way back to the car.

Once they reached it, Matt leaned against it, holding Thomas in his arms. For long moments after the ambulance, the cops and the news crew finally went away, the two men stood like this, wrapped in each other’s thoughts.

“You know what I thought of?” Thomas asked, his voice raspy from the exertion of his lifesaving efforts, his head on Matt’s chest.

“What, baby?” Matt kissed his face tenderly, adoring the tiny specks of lava sand on those long eyelashes.

“Daphne. I thought of Baby Daphne, and how much I would miss her if I never got to see her again.”

Thomas’ hold on him tightened. “We’re going to see her first thing in the morning, right after we get back.”

“I want to go back now. I want to go home to her.”

Thomas huddled in his arms. “No can do. You’re my hero. I need to reward you with dinner, remember. Besides, this is the only place in the whole of America where I can get you yuzu cheesecake.”

“Really?” Thomas raised his face and looked at him, the lust for life back in his eyes.

“No, I am probably lying, but I want you to myself. We can call her, and in the morning we can buy her some cool stuff and hurry back to Kailua.”

Thomas’ smile was faint. “I’d love that.” His voice faltered. “Matty…I keep seeing that shark…”

“I know, baby…me, too.”

“He was so close to your foot.” Thomas’ eyes pooled with tears. “I would die without you, do you know that?”

Matt kissed him for long, lovely minutes and put him in the passenger seat. Thomas took the cell phone Matt had retrieved, and his fingers shook as he pressed the buttons.

“Elise?” His face creased in a smile finally. “It was on television? Are you serious?” He looked worried again. “Daphne didn’t see it, did she?” He broke into laughter. “Ah…the coconut wireless. Does that mean somebody else saw the report and called you?”

Matt drove quickly back the way they came. It was now three o’clock in the afternoon. They might just make their dinner reservations after all…

* * * * * *

Thomas was dazzled by the bright lights and luxury of the Grand Wailea Hotel. Matt let Thomas run through the selection of rooms with the desk staff, ecstatic when he chose an ocean guestroom that had a combination of oceanfront and garden view. He already knew Thomas was in love with Maui. Their room was wonderful; huge, spacious and not a glimpse out of any window of another human being or building.

“I think I love it almost as much as Black Point,” Thomas said, rushing around the huge rooms, admiring their lavish digs.

They had minutes to spare before dinner, so they took a quick, hot shower together, slipping into their jeans and fresh T-shirts. Matt could hardly wait to check out the restaurant Humuhumunukunukuapa’a, named for Hawaii’s state fish. Table 70 turned out to be under its own thatched roof, right over the ocean. They walked on a wooden bridge over a calm, turquoise lagoon. Matt brushed the memory of the shark from his mind as he held Thomas’ chair for him.

Their attentive waiter brought them a bottle of free champagne, compliments of the hotel, when he recognized them from the TV coverage of their sea rescue.

Thomas looked like a little kid, his happy gaze darting over the menu. “I love the idea of the ahi tuna traps. Hmmm, but then again, the pan-seared scallops sound so good…maybe we should get the sampler and try a little of everything?”

“Good idea.” Matt slid his hand onto his husband’s thigh, liking the impish smile that greeted him when his hand touched Thomas’ cock.

“And for the main course…oh…we’re dying to know. What’s yuzu cheesecake?” Thomas asked the waiter.

“That’s not even on the menu,” the waiter said. “How do you know about it?”

“A reliable tip.”

“Well, it’s a rare, bitter Japanese citrus fruit. I would suggest ordering that right now.”

“Is that your best dessert?” Matt asked.

“My favorite is the chocolate soufflé, and you should definitely order that now. It takes an hour to prepare.”

“We’ll take one of each.”

For their main courses, the waiter suggested Tasmanian salmon. It came with fried rice cooked in vanilla brandy cream.

“I think I’m drooling.” Thomas handed the menu back to the waiter who left them alone at last.

Thomas and Matt held hands, smiling at the collection of candles and wooden tikis on their table.

“We did a good thing today,” Thomas whispered.

“A very good thing.”

“We’re good for each other.”

Matt looked into Thomas’ eyes. “Yes we are.”

“It took me a long time to find another story to write…something I loved as much as the one I sold to Hollywood, and I thought that was the biggest drama of my life.” Thomas took one of his hands away to sip at his champagne. “But I realized today that losing you…losing my new family would be worse than never being able to tell a story again.”

Matt’s fingers tugged Thomas’ face toward him. “Oh, baby…our lives together are just beginning.”

Thomas nodded. “You’ve given me so much…” The waiter returned, and Thomas looked up at him. “Is there any chance in the world we can have our dinner delivered to our room?”

“Sir, you two are heroes…on this island, you can have whatever you want.”

* * * * * *

Matt couldn’t wait to undress Thomas, who seemed torn between the champagne, the fried rice and the hot naked man pushing him to the vast, sprawling bed overlooking the ocean.

“Look at that.” Thomas pointed and Matt turned. Directly in front of them, the stars shone right on the water and into their room.

Not close enough for sharks, thank God. “It’s beautiful…but I like the view I have right here in my bed.”

Thomas laughed. “You do have a one-track mind, don’t you?”

“You bet I do.”

Thomas lay underneath Matt, smiling up at him. “Now you’ve got me exactly where you want me, what are you going to do to me?”

“I haven’t yet decided.” Matt lowered his mouth to Thomas’.

“Umm…before we get too involved, the waiter’s going to show up in about forty-five minutes with our desserts.”

Matt’s cool look made Thomas laugh. “Jeez…I’m just saying.”

“Speaking of dessert…how do you feel about fun with cheesecake?”

“I’ll think about it when it gets here. In the meantime, on your back, buddy.”

Matt laughed.

Thomas pushed him back. “Mmmm…I see we have a Mr. Happy…no, no…a Mr. Ecstatically Happy here, and I haven’t even gotten started yet.” Thomas’ dark head shot to his cock.

Oh….bliss. Finally. Thomas was licking his thighs and balls and, oh mercy, his cock with serious intent.

Thomas reached up and took a mouthful of champagne and Matt held his breath, watching Thomas’ mouth go back over his hard cock again. Man, that felt so good. His cock competed with the bubbles in Thomas’ mouth and he felt a wonderfully warm sensation spread through him as Thomas kept up a blistering pace sucking his cock. Matt marveled that Thomas was able to keep him and the champagne in his mouth, but then a different sensation started. Thomas allowed the now-warm champagne to flow over his cockhead and licked it up.

Matt twisted around on the crisp, white, expensive hotel bedsheets, sighing into the open night air, the windows flung open to the scent of tropical flowers and the ocean breeze. Thomas took another gulp of champagne, pressing his mouth over Matt’s cock again. Matt tossed and turned…oh man, he’d never felt anything like this…aw, he was gonna come…and within seconds, he did, the champagne doing amazing things to his cock head as he came, gasping for breath, his husband holding the base of his cock to his hungry lips.

“Better than cheesecake, baby.”

Matt’s heart still pounded as Thomas crawled between his legs. “Open your fucking legs,” Thomas growled, pouring the rest of the champagne over Matt’s open thighs. He felt the liquid trickle down to his ass and Thomas leaned down to lick it up.

“Keep your legs open, my little American whore,” Thomas grunted, taking his mouth off him for a moment. His tongue went back to licking him, preparing Matt for the fucking he’d wanted…needed all day.

“You ready for your cock?” Thomas asked, not even waiting for a response before plunging straight into him.

Thomas picked up the second glass, tossing the contents over Matt’s chest, crazily licking at the liquid, sucking in Matt’s nipples and moving up to his mouth. Oh God, Thomas was a firecracker in the sheets.

He fucked Matt relentlessly, pulling out all the way, then sticking his cock all the way back in, calling Matt his whore and Matt responding by calling Thomas his slut until they rode each other to a frenzy.

“That’s it, come for me,” Thomas grunted in his ear. “Show me what a little whore you are.” He held Matt’s cock in his possessive fist, slamming into his ass. When the two men stopped coming, Matt rolled on top of his husband.

There was a knock at the door. “Your dessert is here,” the waiter said from outside.

“Leave it at the door, please.” Matt looked down at the man whose cock was still imbedded in his ass.

“I want to try that cheesecake…right out of your ass. I bet it tastes great. A little Japanese cheesecake mixed with a little French Canadian slut.”

Thomas pulled his head down to him…”Come here, my American whore, and show me who owns my French ass.”

* * * * * *

Matt awoke with the sun warming his skin, his husband running around the room like a lunatic.

“Thomas…baby…wha…” He grabbed his cell phone, squinting at the time. Six o’clock in the morning. “What’s wrong?”

“Your parents aren’t answering the phone. None of the lines. Not their cell phones…not the landline. Something’s happened to Baby Daphne. She’s been eaten by a shark. I just know it.”

Matt stared at him. “Sweetheart, please…they’re probably still sleeping.”

“Rubbish! Your dad is up before the sunrise, dragging her down to the beach for a swim. I had bad dreams, Matty. That shark ate you.” He pointed at Matt. “Then he went for the baby.”

Matt stared helplessly as his husband ran from room to room. He knew from the experience of Thomas losing his lucky suit on their wedding day that when he got into this state, he didn’t listen. He couldn’t listen. And then the swearing in French would start.

As if on cue, Thomas hurled a string of expletives…yep…there it was. Matt picked up his cell phone and sent a text to his mom. Urgent. Please call.

Aloud, he said, “Thomas, my parents would never allow anything to happen to Daphne. They love her as much as we do.”

“I’m telling you, this dream was real, Matty. I saw that shark…”

The phone rang. “Is that them?” Thomas lunged for it, but Matt got to it first. It was Ryan, Matt’s twin brother and Daphne’s father.

“Say, you guys, I’ve been trying to reach you since last night. How’s my little girl this morning? Cole and I miss her so much. We were starting to get worried.”

Matt’s heart did a painful backflip on his chest. “Ryan, hey, bro. Actually, Thomas and I are in Maui.” Thomas was staring at him wide-eyed. There was no use pretending. “I’m sure everything’s fine, Ryan.”

“You mean you haven’t spoken to them either?” Ryan sounded panicked.

“No, we spoke to them yesterday afternoon, and everything was fine.” Thomas was now holding his hand to his forehead, fingers up, in the classic shark fin pose kids use when they’re swimming. Matt ignored him.

“They haven’t returned any of our calls, and Cole is worried. She’s our baby, Matt. You do understand that, right?”

“Of course I understand that. Thomas and I are on our way back to Oahu right now. I’ll call you as soon as we have some news.” There was a beat.

“Cole and I are flying there tonight. I can’t believe Mom isn’t returning our calls. My husband is in a terrible state.” Ryan hung up on him and Matt dropped the cell phone on the nightstand.

“I told you something was wrong. We’re leaving right now.” Thomas raced around, throwing their few possessions into the overnight bag.

Matt’s thoughts tumbled with images of crashing waves and a shark’s eye. He shook the image from his mind. “We can’t get on the ferry until nine-thirty.” Matt tried to keep his voice even.

“Nine-thirty? Are you crazy? We’re flying back right now.”

“We can’t fly back. We have the car.”

Thomas opened his mouth.

Matt cut him off. “Look, we need the car in Oahu. We’ll be stuck at the pier with no way to get home. We will also pay stiff penalties for abandoning the car here. They may ban us from ever renting another car again.”

Thomas seemed at war with this, even though it made sense. “Okay, but I’m calling the police in Kailua. I want them to go and check the house.”

Matt decided it wasn’t a bad idea, and made the call himself. The officer he spoke to was very kind and said he’d send a uniform patrol past the house to check on the family.

“No huhu, no worries…give me your number.”

Easy for him to say no huhu. If anything had happened to Daphne or his family…Matt brushed the eye of the shark away from him. Nothing had happened to her. She was safe.

He and Thomas went down to the lobby and checked out of the hotel. They asked for coffee on the back lanai and it arrived in a French press, small pastries decorating the tray. It was a small, comforting salve to a strange start of their day. As they sipped the coffee, small children darted from one glorious, grand pool to another and Matt’s heart almost broke. Daphne…

“I can’t stand this,” Thomas whispered, apparently in the same pain.

Matt paid the check and his cell phone rang. It was a police officer from Kailua. Nobody was at the house.

“The house looks like it’s okay…front door is unlocked…we didn’t see any…you know, bodies. We left a note for the family to call us. Mebbe they’re all at the beach? You call us if you need us, you no worry, yeah?”

Yeah, no worry.

“Try the numbers again.” Thomas drained his cup.

Still no answer. Now Matt was worried, too. He and Thomas sat numbly in the car once they retrieved it from the valets. What a strange couple of days it had been.

Thomas turned and looked over his shoulder. “Matty…we’re holding up traffic.”

“Oh…sorry.”

Thomas kept his hand on Matt’s thigh, reassuring him as they drove out of the hotel’s sweeping entrance. Matt turned north heading toward Lahaina, neither of them saying anything for the longest time.

“Where are we going?” Thomas asked finally.

“The airport. You know…back to the ferry dock. It’s right next to it.”

Thomas nodded. “Do you mind if I try calling them again?”

“Go ahead.”

For the next two hours, they tortured themselves and each other…they couldn’t imagine what had happened to the family and Matt, who intuitively felt they were fine, raged at them, wondering how he would respond once he spoke to them.

It was a relief when they could board the ferry and head back to Oahu.

“You still think they’re okay?” Thomas asked him again.

“Yes, I do. I don’t know why…they…I just feel they’re fine.”

They huddled together on the long trip back to Oahu, almost knocking people out of the way at the pier to retrieve their car. They were on the Pali half way home when Matt’s cell phone rang.

Elise.

“Mom?”

“Hi, honey!” her voice sounded breezy.

“Where the fuck are you?”

“What kind of language is that?” she chided.

“We’ve been trying to call you all morning. We even called the police.”

“The police?”

Matt could hear voices in the background. Aloud, he said, “Thomas, I can hear the baby…thank God, she’s fine.

“Of course she’s fine.” Elise sounded indignant. “We’ve been out for a walk. We watched the sunrise. Good Lord, you really did call the cops. There’s a note on the screen door. What’s wrong with you, Matty? We’ve been organizing a surprise for you and Thomas.”

“What sort of a surprise? You know Ryan and Cole are frantic. They’re flying out today. You’d better call them and apologize.”

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man,” Elise huffed and hung up on him.

“Can you believe her? A surprise, if you please.”

“What surprise?” Thomas asked.

“Who knows? I am so mad at her scaring the crap out of us like that…”

“I am so glad they’re okay.”

“Yeah…you’re right. Call her back, will you please, sweetheart?”

Thomas took the phone and pressed the numbers. “She’s not answering. I think she’s pissed.”

Matt sighed. At last they were on the street where they were staying. In the driveway as they pulled up, Thomas stared.

“Oh, shit.”

“What is it?” Matt asked.

“Oh no…I don’t believe it. I cannot believe she did this to me.”

“Sweetheart, tell me what it is…” Seeing how white his husband’s face was, Matt followed Thomas’ gaze. He stared at the woman, who turned and stared back at them.

“Not a what,” Thomas mumbled. “But who…” Before Matt could ask, he said, “It’s my mother.”