Tristan Trilogy- Story 3

CHAPTER 69

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck as he watched Tristan with the kids. He was in the deep end of the pool, hanging onto the ladder as Tristan played with Ben and Mallory near the steps in the shallow water. It was a heartwarming sight, the three of them laughing and giggling as Tristan pushed the tiny inner tubes and their occupants across the sparkling water. The only note of discord came when Ben slapped his little hands onto the water's surface, causing the chlorinated liquid to splash into Mallory's eyes. She screamed bloody murder and after a moment of shock at her outburst, Ben squealed and repeated his act of baby-aggression, causing Mallory to cry out for assistance.

"Da-deeee, Da-deeee, Da-deeee!"

That was his cue. Kevin pushed himself off the side of the pool and swam underwater towards his family. His mission: To rescue his baby girl from cruel acts of male combativeness. When he popped up from under the water, Mallory shrieked with delight, her chubby legs paddling and her arms outstretched, reaching for the protective embrace of her hero.

"Ben bad!" she pouted.

"Now, sweetie-pie, he's just playin'..." Kevin said soothingly, wiping her wet lashes with his thumb.

"Prayin'..." Ben sort-of repeated with a scowl.

Ben didn't like the fact that Mallory had gained their father's undivided attention. Tristan gave him a little push and he paddled over to his Daddy and sister, aiming to work his way into the cuddle-fest. Mallory saw him coming and splayed her arms across Kevin's chest as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. You could hardly tell where Kevin's goatee ended and Mallory's dark hair began. She didn't want to share.

"No!" she whined, kicking at Ben's inner tube.

"Now, Mallory... I have an arm for each of you. See?"

Kevin pulled Ben close for a double-dose of baby love as Tristan laughed and lowered herself into the water.

"What's Daddy got for me?" she asked slyly, as her shoulders disappeared under the surface. Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

A small smile formed on Kevin's lips as her innuendo caressed his libido. "Oh, I'll think of somethin'. Later..."

Tristan rose up out of the water and laughed at their private joke. Her nipples had hardened and Kevin preferred to think that it was because of his sexual implication rather than the coolness of the water. He watched her wade over to the steps and climb up onto the cement where she took a towel and spread it by the edge of the pool. She adjusted her long wet ponytail before lying down on her stomach.

Kevin didn't think life could get much better than this - two children he adored and a beautiful wife who about to kill him in that rose-colored bikini. He loved it when she flirted with him. After a few minutes, Tristan rolled to her back and Kevin's eyes covered her from her pick polished toes, past her calf to her thigh. He paused there for a moment before continuing upwards to her hipbones which seemed to cradle and protect her flat abdomen. There, Kevin stopped as his thoughts swerved down another path. Her stomach is so flat... How come she hasn't gotten pregnant again yet? I'm not trying to rush or anything but Mallory and Ben will be two years old soon. Damn, it's not like we never have sex or anything, but nothin's happening... That isn't normal... Kevin hadn't wanted to have a formal discussion with Tristan about this but it had been on his mind a bit. He had enough of the romantic in him to want some things to 'just happen'. We should have some happy surprises once in a while... Still, he had been concerned enough to call Dr. Malone a few days ago when Tristan had taken the kids out. If something was wrong, he wanted to know. Kevin frowned as he recalled the conversation.

"Well, well, Kevin... It's been a while. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call? Tris pregnant again?"

"No. That's why I'm calling."

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said," Kevin sighed impatiently into the receiver. "She isn't pregnant. I want to know what's wrong with her."

The good doctor didn't fully realize until then just how much he had missed Kevin Richardson. He hadn't had a good 'eye-roll' in some time and had a feeling that by the time this conversation was over, he would have made up for lost time - or eye-rolls - as the case may be. Time to stick it to him a little... Make him squirm... Kevin brought out the sadist in everybody.

"Well, I don't know that anything's 'wrong', Kevin. You and Tristan been having sex?"

Dr. Malone bit his lip, vividly imagining Kevin's reaction to his question on the other end of the line. He could almost hear Kevin growling.

"DUH! What in the hell do you think?"

"Oral doesn't count, you know..." Malone grinned. He had to put his hand over the receiver for fear that Kevin would hear him chuckling. He was sooooo easy....

"Jesus Christ, Malone! I know how it works! We do the...uhh...other kind plenty!"

"Other kind?" Malone goaded.

"You know what the hell I'm talking about!" Kevin hissed back.

"Oh! The other kind..."

"Yeah."

Malone wiped his eyes and made a pretense of getting serious.

"Well, Kevin, as you know I deal in difficult pregnancies and fertility problems. I'm not Tristan's regular GYN."

"Don't you think she should be tested or something?"

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"Hell, no!" Kevin was growing more agitated. He hated talking about this stuff. "I don't want her feel like I'm putting any pressure on her or anything. If there's a problem with - you know - her female parts, I just think we should know about it - that's all. I mean, wouldn't you want to know?"

Here came an eye-roll. Why is that that men always assume that any problems in realizing conception lay at the feet - or in the uterus - of the woman? Nine times out of ten, a failure to conceive was, in fact, due to a low sperm count. He doubted that this was the problem but he might as well have a little statistical fun while he had Kevin on the phone. It might be a while before he got the chance to needle him again.

"Of course I'd want to know, but I can tell you this, Kevin. Most fertility problems have to do with sperm counts."

target sighted...

"What?"

"You know. There's a lot of men out there shooting blanks."

bombs away...

"What the hell are you tryin' to say? I can tell you one goddamn thing right now! I'm carryin' plenty of ammunition and it's all 'live'! I ain't shootin' no damn 'blanks'!"

bullseye!

The doctor cleared his throat and tried, with great difficulty, to maintain a straight face.

"I'm not saying that you are. I'm just saying that before a woman is subjected to a battery of fertility tests, many of which are invasive, the potential father of her child has be tested first in order to rule out the possibility. That's a very simple procedure, of course"

Silence.

"Kevin? You there?"

"Uh...yeah..."

"You understand what I'm talking about?"

"Uh...yeah... I think so."

"You can come in any time. We'll give you a cup..."

"Jesus..."

"We have magazines..."

"Wonderful..."

"...and tapes..."

"What? No hookers?" Kevin bristled.

"Tristan can come, too, if you like... You know - if you need some help."

"Yeah, right! That's what we're gonna do! Come into your office and.. and.. Shit! You know..."

"You can have all the time you need..."

"Christ! It doesn't take me any time!" Another pause and an audible sigh came through the phone. "I don't mean it like that, exactly. You know what I mean. I mean that..."

"I understand... " Dr. Malone had to wipe his eyes again. "Look, come in if you want. I promise to take down the hidden cameras."

Silence.

"Kevin?"

"Ha. Ha. You got an agent yet?" Kevin grumbled. "Damn, nothing worse than a funny doctor!"

"Just let me know."

"Don't hold your breath!" Click.

Now, as he stared at his wife, Kevin found himself in somewhat of a quandary. Should he go ahead and bring the subject up with Tristan or not? Maybe he should go on in and get tested first, even though the thought of doing so was unpalatable, to say the least. Shit, everyone in there will know what I'm doing. Nothing quite as thrilling as a pre-scheduled jerk off... Those nurses and receptionists in there probably have stop-watches. Too fast and you're a 'minute-man'. Too slow and you can't get it up... Maybe he should wait for her to mention it. He could probably ease into the conversation sometime. He didn't just want to blurt it out but he did want to be around for awhile if they had another child. He still carried regrets about missing those first weeks of Ben and Mallory's life.

*****

Kevin had a craving for Chinese. In fact, he was starving. Ben and Mallory were still asleep after a tiring morning in the pool. After they had been put down for their naps, Tristan had practically attacked him - not that he was complaining. He was just glad that they hadn't awakened the kids. This had not been sleepy-time, cuddle sex. Tristan had been vocal and, although Kevin had been worn out by their coupling, Tristan had seemed energized and after a minute or two of tender post-orgasm kisses, she had jumped out of bed and headed to the shower, leaving Kevin to wonder what had hit him. Damn...

Now he sat in his boxers, hair disheveled and still a little weak in the knees as he looked over a carryout menu. He had picked up the phone and was about to dial when the doorbell rang. Not that many people had the entry code to the gate, so he didn't worry too much about who was there. Still, he peeked through the window before answering and rolled his eyes when he saw their guest - impeccable, as usual and carrying a Neiman-Marcus bag. Kevin groaned as he pulled the door open.

"Well, here I am!"

"Yep. Here you are alright..."

"Well, are you going to let me in?"

Kevin sighed and stepped back as Mason strutted through the foyer and straight into the kitchen. Kevin shook his head and padded along behind.

"Where's Precious?" Mason asked absently as he spotted the carryout menu on the counter.

"Shower..."

"Oh..." Mason picked up the menu and studied it carefully. "I'll have the Ming Ling Duck..." he announced.

"Really?" Kevin's arms crossed over his chest. "You invitin' yourself to dinner?" he scowled.

"Well! I would hope that you would have the common courtesy to feed me, Kevin! After all, I'm going to be here for a while!"

"What?"

"And, at the risk of sounding presumptuous...."

"You, Mason? Never..." Kevin hissed sarcastically.

"As I was saying... You could have the good manners to put some clothes on for dinner. I'm not used to sitting across the dinner table from naked men."

"And I'll bet that's not true." Kevin shot back.

Mason stood back, put his hands on his hips and stared.

"What the hell are you lookin' at?" Kevin hissed.

Mason looked momentarily startled. "Oh.. sorry. I seemed to have developed an obsessive-compulsive behavior. I can't help counting ribs..."

Kevin uncrossed his arms and looked down at his chest. "Ribs? What do you mean?"

"You've gotten a little skinny..."

"I have not! You're full of it!"

"Even your boxers are hanging..."

Kevin bristled. "I thought you were counting ribs! There ain't no ribs in my boxers!"

"No shit!" Mason laughed. "That's the damn truth..."

Kevin's arms flew to his sides as he stepped up into Mason's face. "Now you listen to me..."

Thankfully they were interrupted.

"Now, you two! Stop that fussing! You're gonna wake the babies!"

"Your husband..." Mason paused here to cast an accusing glance towards Kevin, "...is mean rude and mean!"

"Me?" Kevin said increduously. "You're standing there invitin' yourself to dinner, calling me skinny and making insinuations about my... my... manhood!"

"Well, you said I liked to eat naked men!"

"I did not!"

"And you called me presumptuous..."

Kevin didn't deny that one.

"Okay, okay..." Tristan said soothingly. "Let's start over. I swear, you two are like gasoline and a match. I love you both and it's upsetting for me to see you squabble."

"Yeah, okay..."

"Sorry..."

"S'okay. Me, too..."

"Okay.."

The two men called a temporary peace before Kevin called in their order, making sure to order extra almond cookies for the kids. That's when Tristan noticed the Neiman-Marcus bag and asked Mason about it. His face brightened as he dug around in the tissue and pulled out some kind of garment. It looked like some kind of spandex panties.

"Look what I bought!" Mason beamed.

Kevin tried to check himself but wasn't entirely successful. "Looks a little small for you, Mason, but the butterflies are a nice touch..."

Mason also tried to curb the acid, for Tristan's sake. "You're very droll Kevin, but this is for Precious." he smiled.

"What is it?" Kevin grinned back.

"It's a bathing suit." Mason answered, still smiling.

"Where's the rest of it?" Kevin's mouth was starting to hurt from this forced congeniality.

"There is no 'rest of it'."

Kevin's forced grin inched downwards, although he managed to stop it before it reached full scowl stage.

"What do you mean?"

Mason sighed. "I meeeeeean," he sing-songed with a note of irritability, "that this suit is specifically designed for topless sunbathing! And where you're going, there are lots of topless beaches."

Kevin was bewildered and peeved that Mason seemed to think that Kevin should know what in the hell he was talking about. He was about to say as much when Mason continued.

"I got one for Holly, too, so when y'all vacation together, the girls will have the latest in swimwear!"

Kevin turned to Tristan for explanation, but she seemed baffled as well.

"Let me get this straight..." Kevin snorted. "Tristan and me and Nick and Holly on a topless beach on vacation?"

Mason's head was bobbing.

"Tristan at the beach with Nick and no top?" Kevin repeated.

Mason bobbed away.

"Are you out of your fuckin' mind?" Blood was rushing to Kevin's face.

"Jesus, Kevin..." Mason looked hurt. "I told you I got one for Holly, too."

"I don't give a God damn what you got Holly!" Kevin yelled. "Nick Carter isn't gonna be oogling Tristan's tits!"

"Kevin!" Tristan whispered, embarrassed.

"I don't give a shit, Tristan! I don't want to see Holly's tits and I'm sure Nick doesn't want to see yours!"

"I'll bet that's not necessarily, true." Mason argued.

Kevin turned back to Mason. "It had better be fuckin' true!" he snarled. "What is wrong with you, anyway? What are you talking about? Vacation, Nick, Holly?"

"Belize!" Mason yelled back.

Mason screeched to a halt when he realized by the looks on Kevin's and Tristan's face that they had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh shit..." he mumbled. The messenger hasn't come yet..."

As if on cue, the buzzer rang from the gate. Kevin stomped over to the intercom, annoyed and frustrated and let the visitor through unconcerned about his attire, or lack thereof. It was the messenger that Mason thought had already come and gone. The young man had an envelope for Kevin, which he took into the kitchen and ripped open while still grumbling under his breath. A sheet of paper and two airline tickets floated down to the countertop. The message was from Nick.

Hey Kev!

I know you're not doing a damn thing so I'm giving you something to do. Holly and me are already here and expect to see you tomorrow afternoon. My treat. No excuses. Mason has volunteered to watch the kids and you and Tris could use a few days to yourself - right? I promise not to bug you too much but I know you must be missing me by now - right? Holly wants to see Tris, too. She said something about 'girl talk'.

So pack up and come on. I already took care of everything. Aren't you proud?

Nick

"He must be up to somethin'..." Kevin muttered as he handed the note to Tristan.

CHAPTER 70

When Kevin and Tristan arrived in Belize, a car was waiting for them. Kevin was already impressed. It wasn't like Nick to consider the big picture and concern himself with peripheral needs like transportation. When the car pulled up in front of a private resort, Kevin was impressed again. He lowered his sunglasses as he looked through the car window. This was definitely five-star. They were shown to a semi-private bungalow - semi-private in the sense that Nick and Holly were staying there, too. Yet the bungalow afforded abundant privacy for both couples. It occurred to Kevin that he and Tristan had only been totally alone when they were at home together. Any travels that they had shared in the past were part of a Backstreet package. The group was always together whether in a hotel or private estate. The closest they had ever come to separation from the rest of the group was when they had traveled in individual tour busses and even then, there was the driver and Carlos. Kevin felt a stab of guilt when he remembered promising her a trip for just the two of them. That had been a long, long time ago and he still hadn't made good on his promise.

Nick and Holly had been outside when Kevin and Tristan arrived but had seen them coming. Nick was relieved to have them here. He needed someone here right now and it had to be Kevin. He wasn't sure if he would come or not. Ambushing his anal 'brother' with tickets was spontaneous and fun but it also took away Kevin's control over the situation. It had to be Kevin and Tristan, though. Holly had agreed. There was going to be a wedding tomorrow - an elopement of sorts. No one knew about it and Nick and Holly had decided that they didn't want anyone to know. Support for their engagement had been less than stellar and they didn't want this turning into a media circus. They had been engaged for many months now and the time was right for them, just as it has been right for Kevin and Tristan.

The rest of the afternoon had been relaxing and fun. Nick and Kevin had popped open beers while Tristan and Holly caught each other up on their lives and gossip. After a late supper, Nick and Holly had decided to retire. That surprised Kevin. He still wondered what Nick was up to, but the respite gave him and Tristan some time alone together which they used to full advantage both on the private beach and again back in the bungalow. The change of scene was proving to be a good thing - until five o' clock the next morning when there came a light rap on their bedroom door.

"Hola! Hola!"

Kevin slowly opened one sleepy eye. Am I dreaming? He raised his head slightly, trying to get some bearings. The sky was still dark. The bedside clock read 5:02AM. Tristan, who was practically sleeping on top of him, murmured in her sleep, protesting his movement.

Nothing.

Kevin was about to drift off again when his ears were assailed by a more urgent knock.

"Senor Richardson? Room service! I have your breakfast!"

This time, both eyes popped open. What the fuck?. Now Tristan raised her head and looked into his face.

"What did you say?" she yawned.

"It's not me." Kevin groaned. "There's someone at the door."

"What time is it?"

"It's too fuckin' early for company... Christ..."

They battled for the sheet for a moment or two as Kevin pulled himself out of bed, each of them trying to hide their nakedness. Kevin won the prize and wrapped the sheet around his waist before pulling the spread up and over Tristan.

"Senor Richardson!" the voice sounded both impatient and apologetic.

"Jesus Christ! I'm coming!"

Kevin stumbled and tripped his way across the room in a sleepy haze, hair falling down in his face and mumbling curses all the way. The gentle rapping had evolved into loud knocking before he made it to the door and he grabbed the handle and jerked the door open in frustration just as the young server was about to bang at the door again. There he stood, fist in the air and ready to strike when the bedroom door flew open and he found himself face to face with a pissed off Backstreet Boy. Juan had let himself into the bungalow with a pass-key. Neither spoke for several seconds and finally Juan, the bell-boy server, swallowed and began talking.

"Breakfast, Senor..." He smiled tentatively, pointing to the food cart behind him.

"We didn't order any goddamn breakfast. It's still night time." Kevin growled.

"Oh, si..." Juan nodded. "I unnerstan. Senor Carter ordered for you."

Juan rose up on his tiptoes and looked past Kevin into the bedroom where Tristan lay sprawled on her stomach, unconcerned with the interruption and already falling back into a deep sleep. Kevin followed Juan's gaze and deliberately stepped into his line of vision, peeved at Juan's curiosity.

"I said..." Kevin repeated impatiently, "...we don't want this right now..."

"Oh?" Juan's face gleamed with a sudden understanding. "I unnerstan. I break up the sex, eh? You finish the sex very fast and then you eat."

Kevin sighed irritably, trying to be patient but failing miserably. He closed his eyes, counted to five and tried again.

"No. You didn't break up the sex. You broke up the sleep. It's too early for breakfast. We don't want it. Do you understand?"

"No, senor. Senor Carter say to bring this to you now. Early."

Kevin glanced across the larger common area towards Nick and Holly's bedroom door Nick and one of his fuckin' jokes...

"Senor Carter say that, huh?"

"Si..."

Kevin paused for a moment and then smiled grimly. "Okay. Thanks. I'll take it..."

Kevin held the sheet in place with one hand and grabbed the edge of the cart with the other which resulted in a mini-tug of war with Juan who seemed to be insistent about wheeling the cart into the bedroom. Finally, Juan backed off and backed out, leaving the food cart under Kevin's control and making a hasty retreat. Kevin managed to catch a couple of his mumbled words. Loco Americano...

Now it was payback time. Kevin pushed the cart over to Nick and Holly's room and began banging loudly on the wood.

"Nicky!", he sing-songed. "The breakfast you ordered is here!"

Silence. Kevin tried again. If anyone hated to be awakened as much as he did, it was Nick Carter.

"Oh Niiiiiiick! Better come and get it! If you don't come out, I'll have to come in! You know this is the most important meal of the day..."

There was still no response. Frustrated, Kevin grabbed the doorknob. It turned easily in his hand. The room was dark but he continued to shout for Nick. He was met with silence. Nick and Holly were not here.

"Godammit..." he cursed as he tried to push the cart back away from the door with one hand while hanging onto the sheet with the other.

One wheel had decided to go squee-squaw like a bum grocery cart and by the time Kevin had managed to get the cart back to the eating area, half the silverware had toppled to the floor and one glass of juice had spilled across the white cloth.

"TRIS! Tristan, come out here and help me with this motherfuckin' cart!"

Kevin impulsively kicked the wayward cart with his foot, which sent it careening across the tile where it crashed into a cabinet, knocking over the second juice glass and a carafe filled with hot coffee. Son of a bitch...

"TRISTAN!"

"Jesus, Kevin! I'm here! What's wrong!"

Kevin whirled around and glared at Tristan standing in their bedroom doorway, adjusting the tie on her robe with one hand and pushing her hair back out of her face with the other. When he tried to step forward, he tripped on the sheet which had wrapped itself around one ankle and his body tumbled to the hard floor and onto the upturned tines of a fallen fork.

"GOD DAMN MUTHAFUCKER!!!"

Tristan ran over and grabbed his arm, trying to help him up.

"Oh, Kevin... Are you alright, sweetie?"

His black look spoke volumes but Kevin decided to add audio to the picture.

"What the fuck do you think? Sure, Tris! I'm fuckin' great! It's five fuckin' o' clock in the fuckin' morning and some asshole is bangin' on the fuckin' door and I'm practically scalded to death with hot fuckin' coffee! I have a goddamn fork stickin' in my shin and I've broken both fuckin' kneecaps on this goddamn floor!" he screamed.

"Do you want me to make some more coffee, Kevin?"

Kevin's black look turned into a full-blown glower.

"Did you hear one goddamn word I said? I'm gonna kill Nick! That cocksucker isn't even here!"

"Where is he?" Tristan asked, glancing towards the other bedroom. "I hope everything's all right..."

"I don't really give a shit right now, Tris! I'm dyin' here! I guess it's a good goddamn thing he didn't fly us to Japan or I'd have a chopstick stickin' outta my ass right now and you still be worryin' about where poor Nicky could be! Jesus..."

"God... you're such a grump!" Tristan scolded.

Kevin hung his head in defeat. He was not getting the sympathetic indignation he expected.

"Never mind..." Kevin mumbled as he pulled himself up from the floor and hobbled over to the cart.

Tristan was blotting the spilled coffee with the napkins when she spotted the folded paper that had been placed under one of the covered plates.

"Look, Kevin..." she said nodding towards the far plate.

"What?"

"That paper. What is it?"

"I don't know." Kevin grumbled as he bent over to check out his injury. "Look and see."

"I can't..."

Kevin raised his head and Tristan held up both of her hands which carried sopping wet napkins.

"For Christ's sake..."

Kevin reached out and snatched the paper loose. He read silently for a few seconds and then rolled his eyes.

"He's got to be kidding..."

"What?"

"He wants us to meet them on the beach, just past the lagoon to the east and he 'expects' us both there at 5:45." Kevin slapped the page down onto the coffee stained cloth. "Well, he can just keep 'expectin''. Nick Carter sure as shit doesn't want to see me right now. My ass is going back to bed."

Tristan put the wet napkins down and wiped her hands on the edge of the cloth before picking up the paper and reading Nick's words. Kevin was already limping back towards the bedroom.

"I think we should go..."

Kevin froze mid-step. "What?" he bristled. "Are you nuts? It's still dark!"

"The sun's coming up." Tristan argued. "You can sleep later. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"No."

"Pleeeeease?"

Kevin sighed. He didn't have the energy to fight this one and knew that if he refused, Tristan might not let him sleep anyway. Fuck... He yanked open a dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of sweats, all the while mumbling a litany of curses under his breath.

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