Cucked in the Tropics Ch. 09

After several long tense minutes, Jake had to admit defeat. The Jeep was stuck.

"Maybe try reverse again?" Callie was nervous, glancing around.

"I-- I don't think that's going to work," Jake was agitated. He stepped out, careful to avoid the deep loose mud. He inspected the wheels. The Jeep was nearly sunk up to its undercarriage. "I think we're going to have to walk," Jake said.

"Seriously?" Callie folded her arms, genuinely annoyed. She sighed.

"Once we get back, we'll have to tell someone at the resort to bring out a tow truck." Jake didn't relish that idea. He was already fearing that the resort was under cartel ownership, and the last thing he wanted was to piss them off by messing up one of their rentals. But he had to remind himself that this was a rugged country. It probably wasn't the first time a Jeep had gotten stuck in the mud.

Jake walked around the Jeep, finishing his inspection of how bad it was. When he returned to the driver's seat, he found Callie putting her phone away.

"I messaged Andre," Callie said.

"You what?" Jake was suddenly alarmed.

"He'll be here shortly to help us," Callie said, folding her arms and regarding the jungle around them.

"Why?" Jake was terrified.

"What's the big deal? We needed to get unstuck, and clearly your idea wasn't working. So he'll help us," Callie said, dismissively.

"You know, it's possible we can have a day without Andre in it," Jake's worry was letting words just slip through his normal filters.

"What's your problem?" Callie asked defensively.

Jake held his tongue, not wanting to tell her, but he didn't know what to do. Andre was coming, and Jake was terrified of what might happen now. The dark penetrating stare of their once friendly guide was burned into Jake's mind. He'd never forget that look that Andre had given him in that dark alley. A daring and powerful "Don't mess with me" look that rattled Jake to his core. He desperately wanted to be home, safe and sound in the United States, where police weren't corrupt, people didn't just disappear, and family and friends were all within shouting distance.

They didn't have to wait long. It was almost like Andre had been expecting Callie's call. To the surprise of both Jake and Callie, Andre came on foot, not by vehicle. Was this guy supernatural or something?

Callie was the first one out of the Jeep to greet Andre. She was careful to avoid the mud as she hurried over to him, nearly prancing on the balls of her feet. Her flip flops making wet sucking sounds in the ground. Her perky juicy butt jiggled as she moved and Jake marveled at how skimpy her swim suit was-- the black material of her bottoms halfway between the pale globes of her ass cheeks.

"Hi Andre!" Callie said, "Thanks for coming so quickly!" And to Jake's surprise, she nearly jumped into his arms and hugged him. Jake was shocked that Callie had gotten so friendly with... anyone. She wasn't a hugger. Her leg came up and Jake caught the glint of her anklet dangling and sparkly.

Andre hugged her back, not at all caught off guard by her sudden burst of affection. Then, to Jake's surprise, Andre's big hands roamed down her back and cupped her full perky ass, his big black fingers digging into the flesh of her pale butt.

What the hell were they doing?

Jake's jaw dropped. Then Andre's cool hard gaze peered over Callie's head and stared right through the windshield at Jake's shocked expression. Their eyes met, even with Andre's big hands still on her ass. Jake sensed the danger in Andre's expression. He was daring Jake to say anything-- to stop him from cupping Callie's rump. Jake shrank away from those eyes. They were burning holes right through him. He squirmed, uncomfortably beneath that murderous expression, watching as this man helped himself to a feel of his wife.

Then his hands came away and Callie released him. Her expression was also one of surprise. She glanced from Andre, back over to Jake, then back again. Her eyes were big, and her cheeks were red. She must have also been surprised that Andre had done something so brazen. Was she expecting Andre to say something? Was she expecting Jake to come to her rescue.

Andre's commanding stare had been replaced with one of cool confidence and indifference-- as though it had never happened at all. Callie continued to look back and forth, and Jake had the urge to come to her rescue... to assert himself... to reaffirm that she was his and that no other man should be touching her like that. He felt like his manhood was at stake. But then that little flicker returned to Andre's eyes. That burning intensity, and Jake eye's fled from it. He busied himself in the Jeep, pretending he hadn't see it at all, although they all knew.

"So... ummm..." Callie swept her hair behind her ear and started to talk sweetly but quickly, trying to diffuse the awkwardness that had settled around them, "Where's your tow truck to get us unstuck?" She asked, glancing around, heading back toward the Jeep. Andre followed closely. Dangerously close.

"I don't have one," he said casually.

Jake barely heard. He could hardly hear anything over the pounding of his heart in his ears, and the self defeating barrage of insults that he was hurling at himself. 'You let him touch her. You let this monster cup your wife's ass. You just sat there and did nothing. You're not a man. You're a wimp.' At the same time, another voice was insisting 'There was nothing I could do.' But that voice sounded very quiet and pathetic.

Jake remained in the Jeep, behind the wheel, chewing nervously on the inside corner of his mouth.

"You don't have one?" Callie laughed lightly. "So how'd you get here so fast?"

Andre just shrugged. "I got dropped off." He strode toward the Jeep and Jake felt a sudden moment of panic. Then Andre gave him a disinterested glance, regarding him as no threat, before he leaned over to inspect the state of the Jeep. Callie stayed close by, glancing over his shoulder.

"Do you think we'll need a tow truck?" Callie asked, biting her lip.

Andre stood and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

Jake dismounted the Jeep, his feet squishing in the muddy patches. He frowned. He remained cautiously silent, avoiding the penetrating stare of Andre-- like two search lights.

"So what do we do now?" Callie asked, sounding almost deliberately helpless.

"We'll have to walk back and get one," Andre said, leaning into the Jeep to collect their valuables. He handed the beach bag to Jake, thrusting it powerfully into Jake's chest, almost knocking him over.

"How far of a walk is it?" Callie looked worried. "I only wore flip flops."

"A couple of miles," Andre said, looking at her feet with doubt in his eyes. His gaze settled on her anklet and he gave her an approving stare that pleased Callie's concerned expression.

"That's a long walk in flip flops," Jake said uncomfortably. "Maybe we can wait here, and you can send someone with a truck back when you find someone."

For one terrified moment, Jake was sure that Andre would suggest that he and Callie wait in the Jeep while Jake walked back to get a truck. That thought scared him deeply, because he wasn't sure what he'd say or do if that was the case.

It was a momentary relief when Andre shook his head. "No, we'll all go together. Take your things with you, and I'll send someone back for the Jeep, later," Andre insisted.

Callie glanced doubtfully at her flip flops, and the muddy rocky road ahead.

"If you're worried, I'll carry you," Andre said with a smirk.

Callie looked quizzical. "Carry me? I don't really think that's--"

Before she could finish her sentence, Andre reached down and scooped up Callie easily in his arms. She yelped in surprise. Even Jake was surprised, considering how easily he'd done it. Callie wasn't overweight, by any means, but her curvy figure definitely added some weight to her body. Andre held Callie like a fireman rescuing a woman from a burning building... or a groom bringing his new bride over the threshold.

Callie giggled nervously, looking like she wasn't sure if Andre was serious, or if he was just kidding and would let her down at any moment. He didn't. Andre was very serious. He glanced at Jake and nodded his head. "Let's go," he said. As much as Jake wanted to protest, to recover his bruised manhood from the incident with the butt-grab, there was enough force to Andre's words to spur Jake into moving.

Jake was not a confrontational man by nature, but he always assumed that he would be able to stand up for himself and his wife if the opportunity arouse. But as they trudged along the jungle road, Jake realized that was an illusion that most men tell themselves. Very few people stood up for themselves verbally, and even less did it physically. Jake had done neither. The non-verbal cues of a bigger and stronger man had rendered him utterly complacent. Jake hated himself for that.

As Andre carried Callie easily for those several miles through the jungle, Jake learned a few things about himself. One was that he was not as brave as he once thought himself to be. Two was that he was willing to take abuse if it was in regards to his own self preservation. He was terrified of Andre-- enough to not object that his wife was nestled comfortably in the arms of another man.

Callie had seemed unsettled at first, but the more they walked, the more comfortable she became being carried by this colossal dark-skinned giant. Her legs dangled freely, kicked playfully. She settled one arm around Andre's shoulders as his dark hands held her firmly. It bothered Jake... the contrast between their skin color struck him first, and really solidified that Callie was being held by someone so far removed from Jake that it was impossible to unsee it. Why was she okay with all of this? They'd say it was so she didn't have to walk over mud and rough terrain for very long in flip flops, but the terrain wasn't that rough. It felt like a ruse. An insult to Jake's intelligence that they thought he'd believe that.

Moreover, why was Jake not speaking up? With each passing step he felt himself losing a little more and a little more. He was losing his patience, growing angry. He could feel it welling in his stomach and chest, in the rush of blood to his face, and the burning humiliation that was taking over. His hands shook. Yet he said nothing, and that was why he was losing his self respect, his self confidence. He felt like he didn't know his role in his own marriage anymore. He was certain that this trudge through the jungle would take the rest of his life.

It was hell. Andre was carrying his bride while he'd reduced Jake to barely more than a pack mule. The beach bag was draped over one shoulder like he was wearing an oversized purse, and the cooler in his arms, that he'd packed with such care and deliberate thought for the day he'd spend in the company of his wife, felt dangerously heavy now.

"Can we stop and rest?" He asked at one point, out of breath, his arms straining. Andre had turned slightly, lost in the conversation with Callie. Not even a single bead of sweat stood out on Andre's face. Andre was diamonds. Andre would last forever.

That was when Callie had looked at Jake. Not with regret or self reflection over what they were putting him through, but rather with pity-- as though he was a struggling child. He hated that glance.

"Would you rather trade?" Andre smirked. And Jake almost blurted out "Yes, get your hands off my wife!" But he didn't, and the look in Andre's eyes told him absolutely not to.

"Jake, it's just a little further," Callie insisted. "Can't you make it until we get back?"

And the matter was settled. Jake trudged on with his cheeks red, his arms shaking beneath their burden, his heart thundering with pent up resentment, and his wife in the arms of another man.

And what if they didn't get back any time soon? By not standing up to Andre from the very beginning of this trek, that he'd basically given Andre the green light to do whatever he wanted. As Jake fell behind from exhaustion, and watched Callie's arm draped across Andre's big broad shoulders, he realized that if Andre decided to simply carry Callie into the trees, Jake wouldn't have the stones to stop him. Andre was strong, powerful, and dangerous. The only way to stop Andre was to get away from him.

For the briefest moment, staggering along behind them, Jake imagined them in the jungle-- not the resort, but a real jungle in Africa. Callie dressed in khaki shorts and a vest, like a sexy explorer, and Andre as the big tribal warrior-- black and powerful, dressed in nothing but a loin cloth. Jake had the sudden, horrifying image of Andre carrying Callie into the trees to mate. Jake wouldn't see it... he'd be too afraid to follow, but he'd hear Callie's screams and cries and moans as the bushes shook. And once it was all over, she'd be his, and Jake's head would be on a pike, like a warning to any other white man who dared to stand up for his woman.

Ahead of them, the trees parted, and they could hear the distant music being played by one of the resort swimming pools. "Almost there," Callie glanced over Andre's shoulder, back at Jake. "Hurry up."

Andre half turned. A grin on his face. "Yes, hurry up Jake." He said. And Jake saw that Andre's hand was firmly on Callie's ass.

***

They didn't broach the topic until they were back at their hotel suite. Jake's cheeks were still flushed with humiliation, shame, and barely restrained anger.

Callie looked guilty and like she was desperately trying to make light of the whole incident. "Okay, I understand how that looked..."

"Callie, he had his hands on your ass," Jake insisted, his voice was quivering and shaky.

"He didn't mean anything by it. He's just an overly friendly guy," Callie put her hand on her hip as she lectured Jake.

"Overly friendly? No. Overly friendly guys hug too much. Or they're closer talkers. Or they insist on paying for everything."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed lately, but Andre does pay for everything." Callie said.

"Yeah, *and* he puts his hands on your ass. That's not being friendly. That's paying money for access to touch your body," Jake insisted.

Callie folded her arms, and her eyebrows rose daringly. "Be careful where you're going with that."

"Look, I'm not going to argue with you over the guy's intentions, which clearly you're using to distract the real meaning to this conversation," Jake said.

Callie glared at him.

"The fact is, another man put his hands on you in a way that made *me* uncomfortable, and as your husband, I want you to stay away from that guy."

"Oh, because you're my husband, you think that gives you ownership over me?" Callie fired back, in a classic way that made Jake inwardly groan. "You forbid me from having contact with the man. Because that's not going to work, Jake. I'm a grown woman and can choose whoever I damn well want to spend time around. And lately, you're not exactly winning any awards for being most fun. All you're doing is being pouty and jealous, all the time. And for some stupid reason, you just direct it at Andre."

Yesterday, such shots against him would have made Jake cry. But today, he barely heard them, too busy thinking about the violent way Andre had worked that man over during the drug deal gone wrong.

"You know, for once my concern isn't based on what you do or don't do. Andre is dangerous," Jake said. "And for both of our safety, I'd like to avoid him as much as possible."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Dangerous, how?"

"He's tied in with the cartel," Jake insisted.

Callie paused for a moment. She remembered the encounter while she'd been out shopping with Andre-- Andre had told her much the same thing. But Andre had come clean with her, explaining how he was merely a protector, not working on the side of bad. Perhaps Jake figured out the partial truth, but he was way off base if he thought Andre was dangerous.

"So?" She asked. "We figured the resort might be owned by them."

Jake was shocked that this revelation neither surprised her, nor troubled her. "Callie, he's a drug dealer and an enforcer."

"Stop being racist. What could possibly make you think that, other than the color of his skin?"

"Because I saw him try to negotiate a drug deal last night, and when it didn't go down well, he beat the shit out of another guy, and broke the man's bones."

Callie folded her arms again, defensive, closing herself off to this new information. "When?"

"Last night," Jake said. "I went looking for you, and I stumbled across them in a dark alley. It was fuckin' scary and brutal."

Callie's eyes widened. "An alley?"

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

Jake told her. And much to his surprise, she sort of looked relieved.

"Why aren't you more worried about this?"

Callie shrugged. "Jake, it was probably just a misunderstanding. You saw something and took it out of context."

"Callie, he beat the living crap out of the guy with the gold tooth. I thought he was dead."

Callie simply shook her head. "I had a long talk with Andre when we went shopping. I know he works for the cartel, but you just don't understand. He's not a violent criminal. He's changed."

Jake blew out a breath of air. "Changed? Why do all women use that word when they talk about douche bags who are still very clearly douche bags?"

"Why do all guys insist they know what they're talking about, when they only know a fraction of the story?" Callie's voice was rising now. "You just make these assumptions because he's black? And because you think you saw something? Let me tell you something, Jake, not everywhere in the world is sunshine and rainbows. Places are dangerous, with dangerous people. And in Andre's world, you have to be strong and fight. You wouldn't know anything about that. But he does. And I'm telling you, I know way more about him than you think you do. He's not dangerous."

"If he's so safe, why'd he abandon me above an underwater grave yard?"

Callie rolled her eyes again. "Grave yard?"

"I found a dead body underwater in that sunken wreck that you guys left me at."

Callie cocked her eyebrow. Her expression was one that said she believed he was just making that up to be dramatic. "A body? Really?"

"There was a dead body in that sunken wreck."

"If that's even remotely true, why didn't you go to the police about it?"

Jake was growing red with frustration. He was flustered. "Because in this country, the police are all corrupt and on the payroll of the cartel. If I called them, I'd paint a target on myself."

Callie shook her head and sighed. She turned to the bathroom to change, walking away in mid conversation.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked. "I just told you that--"

Callie rounded on him. "I don't want to hear another word about this. I'm going to go change, and I'm going to ask Andre about this, myself."

"Andre? Callie, please don't!" Jake was nearly shouting with hysterics.

"Don't follow me!" She barked at him.

***

Callie didn't return immediately to the room and Jake was nearing full blown panic. That sinking feeling in his gut was back. Why was Callie making excuses for a man who'd publicly groped her? For a man who left Jake in open water? For a man who was clearly tied in with shady business? And for a man who she literally knew nothing about?

Jake was terrified something happened. What if Callie had pressed Andre too hard, and now Andre had kidnapped her, because she knew too much? What if he was holding her for ransom? What if she was now another statistic of a white tourist forever disappeared into the criminal underbelly of a dangerous and underdeveloped nation?

There was another possibility as to why she was gone for so long. A possibility he didn't want to consider, but the way Callie had hugged Andre while he squeezed her butt. The way she'd allowed his big black hands free roam of her body...