World Tour

Maldives: hammock

The sky was clear blue, a different colour from any sky he had ever seen before. It was like some giant had mixed all the light blue hues in his paint kit together, and splashed them onto the largest canvas in the world. The sound of the waves, a bit choppier today, whispered in his ears and his whole body was relaxed as he swayed softly in the multi-coloured hammock between the two palm trees. 
The fronds of the palms above him provided a natural canopy, their shade a welcome reprieve from the sun, already blazing. 

He heard Brett's footsteps falling through the soft sand before he could see him approaching. 
Eddy turned his head slowly, and smiled. 
¨Good morning, sleepy head!¨ he said. 
¨Good morning, my love¨, Brett replied with a grin. 
He saw that Brett was holding the brochure in his hand that had come with the cabin. 
¨So,¨ Brett said, opening up the brochure for Eddy to see, ¨I saw that you can snorkel here and see the reef. Would you like to do that today? After we have some breakfast?¨
¨Absolutely!¨ Eddy enthused. ¨That sounds awesome!¨
¨It says here we can go on a boat to get to the nearby reef. I'll just head to reception, okay, and see if I can book it?¨

Eddy loved how well Brett could arrange things. It was just something that seemed to come naturally to him. He'd want something, he'd look up how to get it, and then he'd take the steps to get it in a calm and pleasant way. 
¨What?¨ Brett asked, seeing Eddy stare at him.
¨Nothing, I just admire how good you are at handling things. I wish I could do that with so little stress.¨
Brett smiled and kissed him sweetly on the lips. ¨Well, I wish I could be as strong as you and as good of a leader. This is why we're such a good team.¨
Eddy would have told him he was wrong, he wasn't strong at all. But he bit his tongue. Instead he smiled, as Brett walked off to go to the reception. 

The swaying of the hammock and the soft crashing of the waves had actually lulled him back to sleep again, so when Brett came back he woke up with a bit of a start. When he opened his eyes he saw Brett beaming, though. 
¨We're very lucky¨, he said. ¨Usually these things are booked for ages in advance, but a group cancelled the tour that starts in an hour, so if we can get ourselves there straight away we can go!¨
Eddy sat up straight away, smiling happily. ¨You're awesome!!¨ he said, getting out of the hammock. 
He'd forgotten how awkward it actually was to get out of one of these bloody things. His foot caught in the fabric, and when he pulled to get it out he lost his balance and unceremoniously face planted on the sand, his foot still in the hammock. 
Brett was a great help as well, standing there doubled over in laughter, while Eddy flailed about like a fish on dry land, trying to get his foot loose.
¨Fuck! Brett! A little help?¨ he pleaded desperately, laughing so hard himself that tears sprang to his eyes. 
Brett tugged on his foot, and finally he was free. Then he plopped down next to him on the sand, holding his belly, trying to catch his breath. 
¨Well.¨ Eddy said, sitting up and wiping his eyes, still sniggering, ¨If this is a sign of things to come today maybe we should just go back to bed.¨
¨Nope!¨ Brett said in a squeaky voice, which made Eddy laugh again. ¨We're going!¨
He got up, and pulled Eddy to his feet. 
¨Come on, let's grab something to eat on the way out.¨
¨Okay¨, Eddy said, leaning in for a quick kiss. ¨Let's go see some fish!¨