Chapter 19

Garrett felt nicely buzzed on the strong cocktails. The food was perfect, fresh, with delightful spices and honey sweetness. All around them couples seemed to be enjoying the sights and sounds of this tropical paradise.

Yes, they were the only male couple in view, but Garrett never worried about being labeled gay. Would he allow Aaron to show him affection in public? No.

His life, his sex life in particular, was private. So his behavior would be too. He didn’t need the stereotyping, the sneering, or the grief.

After the meal, which for him was prime rib and lobster tail, and for Aaron was prawns in a sweet pineapple sauce, they passed on dessert and he paid the tab, which considering the meal, was reasonable.

Garrett placed cash on the table and the two of them left the patio and returned to the beach.

Evening brought cooler winds from the Pacific Ocean and the bathers were mostly just sunworshippers now.

He and Aaron sat on the warm soft sand and stared at the waves. Soothing, tranquil. Yes. Yes, he could live in a place like this.

Beside him, Aaron cupped the silky sand and let it slip through his fingers, mesmerized by it. They’d had three strong cocktails each, and since he was not driving, Garrett did indulge.

He had orders, well, not orders, requests, to contact Sandra Ginsberg every day. Sure, she could call, but if he and Aaron were out, like this, then she couldn’t leave any type of message.

Nothing detailed anyway, other than for him to contact her.

Out in the distance dolphins swam by in a group, their arced bodies and pointy fins appearing while their spraying blowholes obviously revealed they were not sharks.

He elbowed Aaron. “Look. Dolphins.”

Aaron immediately spotted them and made a noise of awe. “That’s amazing.”

“Bet the snorkeling here is epic.”

“Wow. I never imagined ever coming to a place like this. Thank you.”

Garrett stared at his lover, his blond spikey hair and black roots, his dark five o’clock shadow showing after not shaving. I love you.

There it was again.

Say it.

“I…” Garrett ended up saying, “I’m glad we did.”

Aaron gave him a sweet smile and they watched the waves until the dolphins swam out of sight.

~

Aaron walked along the edge of the water on the wet sand, alone while Garrett stayed seated on the dry sand where they’d found a nice viewing spot. He picked up shells, beautiful spirals, colorful fan shells, and even a sand dollar.

As he pocketed the treasures into his shorts, he saw kids digging in the sand, making castles with molds, couples necking, and even dads using the barbecue grills near picnic tables to cook meals.

He’d missed out.

Missed out on so much.

It would be easy to be bitter seeing kids growing up with loving families; brothers, sisters, cousins, grandmas and grandpas…

Pausing, the sand under his feet escaping with the lapping tide, Aaron turned back to see Garrett seated, his knees bent, staring at the water. The sun was beginning to set and soon it would kiss the horizon and vanish below it.

Aaron lowered his head as he returned to Garrett, trying to be grateful. Trying not to have expectations. Because those had already been exceeded. I mean, look where we are .

Envisioning that evening in Baltimore, meeting Henderson in an alley so vile and filled with trash, needles, human feces, and vermin, to hiding in his apartment vent, to being the target of an assassination, to…

Maui.

It was inconceivable.

What if? What if Garrett wasn’t gay?

Well, the implications of what a straight operator would have done to him… he shuddered to think.

The love he felt for Garrett was partly for being his savior, his hero. But there was so much more to Garrett than the military side of him.

He sat next to the new love of his life and held out his palm of treasures. “Look at these.”

Garrett seemed to snap into focus and smiled. “Nice. Oh, a sand dollar. Cool.” He picked it up to inspect. “And not broken.”

“I like this one.” Aaron held up a spiral shell.

“It’s a beaut.” Garrett gave him back the sand dollar. “Ready to go back?”

“Sure.” Aaron nodded and slid the shells into his pocket.

“I’ll take the car and head to the market. That way I can pick up stuff for breakfast. Since there’s a full kitchen.”

“Okay.” He and Garrett crossed the main road and walked to the villa they had rented. Kids were splashing in the built-in pool and families were relaxing on padded chairs, sipping drinks.

Garrett used a key to enter the spacious unit. He then made his way to the bathroom, shutting the door.

Aaron placed his little treasures on the kitchen counter and noticed a tiny outdoor space with a round table and two chairs on a patio right outside the kitchen’s sliding doors.

Behind it was shrubs and a fence, no view since it faced the opposite side as the ocean.

He saw the TV set and had no interest in it. But there was a radio. He tried to tune it to a music station.

Garrett emerged, kissed him, and left the apartment.

Aaron heard the door shut and the convertible car start. The second Garrett was away from him his emotions sank.

Since he was struggling to find any songs he liked on the radio, he shut it and turned on the TV. He located a news channel, since it was around ten pm.

‘… word is indictments have been filed against several senators and the director of the CIA …’

Aaron gasped and turned up the volume.

‘… a ring of corruption has been uncovered. A grand jury is considering charges of graft, espionage, and illegal arms dealing, among other crimes. We were unable to contact the director of the CIA, and his attorney declined to comment.’

A video of the men in question being brought to the court was shown, and David Jordon looked mean, and held his hand up to hide from the media cameras as he was escorted into a black sedan.

“Holy fuck!” Aaron looked towards the doorway and wished Garrett was here to see this.

‘… word is, the corruption is so widespread, there have been at least a dozen officials implicated in the scheme, which we were told includes murder…’

Aaron held his gut and dropped to sit on the rattan and cushioned sofa. “Oh, no. Oh, my God.”

‘… our reporters were informed that a double-agent, one that ranked high in the US government system, has been selling Top Secret information to our enemies and supplying them with illegal arms… his identity has been shielded for now, but once the court papers are filed and made public, we’ll know who the informant is… ’

“Steinmetz!” Aaron shouted at the TV set, like he could tell the reporter the truth, “The director is Steinmetz!!”

‘… not since the Nixon administration has a corruption scandal this big rocked our government. Investigators and the Attorney General have declined comment until the perpetrators have been formally indicted and brought in for questioning.’

“Oh, my God! Garrett, where are you?” Aaron stood from the sofa and looked out of the front window into the parking lot. “What a time for you to go shopping!”

~

Garrett carried a bag of groceries to the car. He loaded it into the backseat and drove the few minutes back to the hotel. After the sun set, the horizon was a glorious deep mauve and yellow. He paused to enjoy it, and then shut off the engine and brought the grocery bags into the rental.

“Garrett!” Aaron yelled loudly, startling him.

“What.” He set the groceries on the counter and began unloading the bags to refrigerate the eggs, milk, and other items that needed it.

“The news! The corruption scandal made the news! They showed video of the director of the CIA being brought into custody!”

“Questioning. Not custody.” Garrett already knew since he’d heard it from Sandra Ginsberg. He placed the bread into a cupboard.

“You know about this?”

“Yes. So? We have food for breakfast and lunch. We’re all set.” Garrett folded the brown bags and washed his hands at the kitchen sink. When he dried them on a small dishtowel he found Aaron gawking at him.

Garrett patted his cheek. “Chill. It’s all going as planned.” Garrett paused and said, “Oh. We have an outside deck. It’s going to be nice to have breakfast there.” He headed to the bedroom and took off his Hawaiian shirt and shorts, washing his feet since he’d been wearing flipflops.

Aaron was still gaping at him from the bathroom doorway.

“Aaron? Calm down. Okay?” Garrett dried his feet and then flopped down on his back on the bed under the spinning ceiling fan.

Aaron undressed and shut the bathroom door behind him.

Garrett hopped up, then made sure the unit door was locked and the lights were off. He’d raised the top on the car in case it rained, but there was no rain predicted for tomorrow.

While Aaron was occupied, Garrett called Sandra.

His call was immediately transferred to her.

“I’m glad you called,” she said, “We’ve just handed down indictments and convened a grand jury. The AG has set up a special counsel and we are ready to roll.”

“When do you need me?” He stared at the bathroom door.

“Well, if this pans out as quickly as I think it is, I’d say by next Monday.”

“Got it.”

“Garrett? Your case is solid. No doubt most of them will plea for lesser charges. With the files, the bank statements, and Aaron’s eyewitness testimony you provided, I doubt any of them will want to go to trial.”

“What about the director?”

“You want him the most, don’t you?”

“I do. He framed an innocent man for a murder he committed.”

“On Monday, when you return, why don’t we ask him in for a statement, and you can be there. Confront him.”

“I owe you.”

“On the contrary, Sergeant Major, your country owes you. You uncovered a covert operation that damaged national security. I am indebted to you.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be in your office at o-eight-hundred hours on Monday.”

“Until then, enjoy your break.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be in touch again tomorrow.” Garrett hung up just as Aaron emerged from the bathroom.

Aaron asked, “All okay?”

Garrett stalked him hungrily. He picked Aaron up and threw him on the bed.

Aaron laughed and spread his legs wide. “Ready for ya, lover.”

Garrett growled playfully and nuzzled between Aaron’s legs, getting closer to victory, and knowing it was assured. He had no doubt.

No doubt whatsoever.

~

Aaron wasn’t sure what happened in the five minutes he was washing up for bed and preparing for sex in the bathroom, but whatever it was, it had set his lover on fire. His cock was drawn into Garrett’s sucking mouth, his balls were massaged, and his ass stimulated.

As the blowjob made him buck his body off the bed it was so intense, Aaron gripped the bedding in white knuckles and prepared for a rocket launch. “Oh, fuck!” He threw his head back and came, his ass clenched, his back muscles tensed.

Garrett hummed as he swallowed and then he knelt up, jerked his dick as he gazed down at him, and spattered his jizz all over Aaron’s pubic hair and low abdomen.

“Holy fuck!” Aaron panted and held his chest.

Garrett shot a wicked grin at him, like he was a bad boy, and then he laughed and hopped off the bed, entering the bathroom.

Aaron recovered and glanced at the phone, wondering if Sandra Ginsberg was keeping Garrett in the loop, or better, ahead of it, because his lover was high from something, and it sure wasn’t grocery shopping.

Garrett returned with a wet cloth, wiped the jizz off Aaron, and tossed the cloth into the bathroom sink. Then, he dropped down on the bed and shut the table lamp, pulling Aaron into an embrace and quickly falling asleep.

Aaron relaxed with Garrett’s soft breathing comforting him and his powerful arms holding him close.

Something good was going on behind the scenes. Garrett wouldn’t be this confident unless he knew more than the media did.

And the idea that the men that had framed him would actually see justice? Well, that was peachy keen.

He laughed and snuggled with his big ole teddy bear, once more floating into the dreamworld.