Page 106 of Fire & Ice

Entirely pleased with his work, Tripp grins down at a stunned Lee and tips his chin. “Squats are doing their job,” he declares, referring to the ones Lee has been making him do to build back muscle in his legs and core. Tough but effective, the exercises Lee comes up with would probably make Tripp’s quiet, mousy physical therapist stroke on the spot. But even she can’t argue with results like these.

Considering that Lee is a fucking sadist towards his own body when it comes to working out, it probably should have occurred to Tripp that given even half the chance, he’d be one withTripp’sregimen, too. He likely should have considered that a bit more before inviting Lee to help him build strength, but Tripp wasn’t thinking with his upstairs brain when he imagined them training together.

The thing is, Lee went into this knowing that unlike regular people, Trippcan’treturn to work with a half-healed leg. He has to pass the physical agility and endurance testing for the City all over again. It’s no secret that getting back on that level after acting the part of a couch potato for monthsandsuffering muscle wasting in his left leg has beenhard.

Lucky for Tripp, Lee has been more than willing to get creative, both with workouts and the motivation to complete them. Lee was smart—giving himotherthings to focus on while strength training, and it’s because of that creativity Tripp’s come as far as he has. After all, no physical therapist worth their certification was ever going to suggest augmenting squats by doing them with his ass over a dildo.Lee, on the other hand...

In fact, Lee built an entire attachment for the spanking bench he already owned, one that allowed a dildo of choice to be placed vertically on the adjustable kneeler,rightwhere Tripp’sass should end up in a properly-done squat. Hours of fun-slash-misery ensued, but Tripp’s thighs are almost as thick as Lee's these days, and he’s got the endurance of an actual cowboy for riding cock, sotake that, Lee.

...alright, so maybe Lee stood to gain a few things from all of that, too.

Regardless, there were plenty of other ingenious exercises working alongside the pegging squat, all of which helped Tripp along in his journey back to being ripped. That includes Tripp’s favorite, which is Lee himself lying with his mouth open beneath Tripp’s hips while he does push-ups, anddude—Tripp’s never been more motivated to feel the burn.

In retrospect, Lee’s had alotto do with Tripp’s current state, both mental and physical, and maybe he should be a little less hard on the guy for trying to look out for his well-being.

It’s just that Tripp hasplans, and this night is important to him for more than one reason. Tripp’snervesare acting up for more than one reason. Really, it’s got a lot less to do with the way he’s about to get publicly flogged and railed, and a lotmoreto do with what hehopesLee will be wearing when he does all of that to him.

The ring sits heavy inside the little box in Tripp’s pocket.

About a month ago, Tripp nervously confessed his intentions to Beau, and both he and Bri (once everyone calmed down) pretty much instantly volunteered to help Tripp shop. It was a quick trip—they were inside the mall jewelry store for all of two whole minutes before the winner was spotted. There it was, perched on a blue velvet display inside a glass case, and the three of them excitedly freaked out about howperfectthis particular band happened to be. Ironically, Beau and Bri didn’tknowwhy,exactly,the ring was perfect, but even so, theywereright.

White gold with a line of sapphire running through the middle, the stones are a blue that Tripp will forever associate with his Dom, his friend, his—hopefully—future husband. The ring reminds Tripp very much of his emerald collar and the way it matches his own eyes. Imagining the band on Lee's finger, he very suddenly understood what Lee's undying affection for the collar itself was based upon, way back when.

Tripp wants Lee in this ring, wants him tonevertake it off. And he’s in no way promising that he won’t slobber all over it like a lovestruck idiot, exactly the way he hated Lee doing to him when they first got together. In fairness, Tripp didn’tget itthen.He does now. Wearing this ring, Lee ishis.

If all goes as planned, Lee is going to have it on his finger tonight.

Even before he swiped his credit card at the store, Tripp had been wracking his brain trying to plan the perfect proposal, but nothing seemed right. What hereallywanted was to make up for the shitty love confession that never should have been—to give Leander all the romance and emotional crap both of them secretly enjoy (sometimes), and that Leander deserves.

But the ‘right time’ never seemed to present itself, and any scenario Tripp tried to concoct felt forced, felt like it wasn’tthem.In fact, as recently as a couple of days prior, Tripp had gone so far as toalmostpull the trigger.

While Lee was at work, Tripp went shopping. When he returned home, he pushed all of the furniture in the living room up against the walls. Space cleared, he built a pillow and blanket nest around a disgustingly adorable picnic set-up on the floor. He lit candles, strung fairy lights, put champagne on ice, andcooked Lee's favorite meal: the whole enchilada (not literally, he made burgers). Tripp even busted out his old boombox to curate a mixtape for Lee—thirteen of his most treasured classic rock songs, whicheveryoneknows is as romantic a gesture as they come.

When it came down to the wire, though, Tripp just couldn’t spit the words out. There was nothing wrong with his setup—hell, Lee was thrilled with it. Tipsy on champagne and elated to have a hot meal in his belly after a long day on the rig with virtually zero downtime, Lee had been handsy all throughout dinner. Notjustby feeding Tripp, which he insisted on, but in general. In fact, they’ve both been uncharacteristically soft and affectionate with each other, laughing and exchanging kisses, murmuring sweet, gentle words like a couple of irredeemable saps.

Absolutelynothingwas out of place, and no scene Tripp’s able to imagine or dream up could have possibly set a more perfect tone. Despite all that, the moment just didn’t feel right. Not that Tripp could give voice towhy,it just didn’t.

So the ring stayed heavy in his pocket, heavier on his mind. Ever since, Tripp’s slowly starting to realize that if he keeps waiting for the ‘perfect moment,’ he and Lee are going to die of old age before they ever make it to the altar. And hereallywants Lee to go into the club tonightmarked. Possessive, maybe, but Lee was right when he said that they aren’tjustDom and sub anymore, and Tripp—Tripp wants everyone else to know that, too.

So fuck romance, that’s never really been their thing, anyway. It’s fucking time.

“So, I’m gonna—” Tripp cuts himself off, swallows hard, and gestures towards the doorway. The reason they’re in the playroom to begin with was practical—to gather supplies fortonight and then get Tripp ready, but his collar is still in its box out in the foyer. Tripp left it there intentionally, wanted the excuse to gather himself for a minute, to come back and get down on one knee for an entirely different reason. It’s cliche, it’s symbolic, it feels likethem—as much as anything is ever going to.

“Of course,” Leander acknowledges, failing to notice that anything is strange with Tripp’s demeanor as he slides backward off of his lap. Lee stands, stretches, and then takes himself over to the middle armoire to continue rifling through it. Tripp lets his gaze linger on the way Leander’s too-small t-shirt stretches taut across his upper back for a prolonged moment, eventually heaving a deep breath and turning to walk out of the room. His nervous left hand is flexing at his side, right next to the pocket with the ring.

This is it.

Contrary to his outward calm, Tripp’s mind is racing a mile a minute. All manner of thoughts are tearing through it, barely staying long enough to terrorize him before being bumped away by the next horrifying thing. From second(third, fourth)-guessing his instincts on whether this isreallythe right moment, to imagining all the ways a proposal could go terribly wrong for him, Tripp wishes he could press pause and have a drink. Unfortunately, the club they’re going to has a strict ‘no alcohol / no intoxication’ rule if you’re playing, and come Hell or highwater tonight, Tripp isfucking playing.

When he makes it to the foyer and picks up the box with his collar inside, Tripp stops to take another deep breath. He closes his eyes and forcibly clears his mind, shoving all of those intrusive thoughtswaythe fuck to the back where they won’t have a shot at derailing his plans. Once he’s cool and composedagain, Tripp jams the collar into his free pocket and pulls the other, smaller box free.

One more deep breath, and he’s ready.

With a decisive nod to no one but himself, Tripp pivots on the balls of his feet back towards the bedroom, instantly yelping and recoiling, nearly falling on his ass when he turns to find Lee standingrightbehind him.

“Jesus—Lee,what the fuck?” Tripp slaps a hand over his chest. “I didn’t survive being trapped in a burning building and recover fromtwobroken limbs just for your creepy ass to give me a heart attack in my own damn house.”

Leander squints in apparent confusion, eyes darting down to Tripp’s chest like he can’t tell if he’s definitely joking, so Tripp exhales roughly and rolls his eyes. This isn’t exactly the setup he was hoping for, but—

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