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“Who was that?” Tripp asked.
“Seamus. He was just seeing how everything was going.”
“Oh, okay. Well, are you ready to go?”
“Yep. Let’s go.”
They headed out, getting transportation from the hotel to the docks where the tour shipped out from. Once on the boat, they had to wait for a few more people before it took off. They found an open spot on one of the two bench seats at the back of the catamaran. There wasn’t a lot of space, Jayme sat close and put his arm around Tripp. He glanced across the aisle from them and saw another young couple. The woman was looking at them with a huge smile on her face.
Before he could say anything, Tripp gave her a little wave. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi!” She chirped. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to stare, but are you two a couple?”
Tripp gave her a nod. “We are.”
“Oh my god. You guys are the cutest. Babe, aren’t they cute?” She gushed and smacked her significant other’s thigh.
He rolled his eyes. “So cute,” he muttered.
Jayme rolled his lips in to try and hide his laugh, but Tripp did no such thing. He barked out a laugh. “Thanks, man. That means a lot coming from you.”
The guy chuckled.
“Oooh, you have a southern accent. Where are you from?” the girl asked.
“Austin, Texas,” Tripp answered.
“Awesome! We’re from New York City.”
“Let me guess. Honeymoon?” Tripp asked.
“Yeah!” she exclaimed. “I’m Mandy, and this is Derrick.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tripp, and this is Jayme.”
He held his hand up in greeting as did Derrick. Mandy was a cute, petite brunette in a string bikini. Derrick was a good-looking guy, with a decent body. He wasn’t as built as Jayme and Tripp, but he had some toning.
“What do you guys do for a living?” Mandy asked.
“We’re both Texas Game Wardens.”
“So you guys are cops?” Derrick chimed in.
“Pretty much,” Jayme answered.
“How about you two?”
“I’m a nanny, and Derrick works on Wall Street.”
“Oh nice,” Tripp said, sounding impressed.
The captain then interrupted their conversation to go over safety regulations and rules. He explained what would happen at each stop, and how much time they had to explore. He went over a few other things before starting the boat and shoving off.
Tripp and Mandy chatted for most of the ride out to the first stop. Jayme and Derrick only chimed in here and there. When they anchored, they were all given masks and snorkels. They were given a little history about the area, then were set free to go explore.
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.
