Be All

by Marie Wathen

  Shifting my eyes around the immediate area, I’m surprised that Morgan isn’t out here looking for her. I’m not sure how he’s going to react when he sees Breesan with me, but honestly I really don’t give a damn. He wants her but she’s made her choice. We’re together now and if he tries to come between us, I’ll fucking beat his ass. Having major issues already looming between us, it was made worse with his betrayal of me with Elise. This most likely will just add to it – a fact that I’m fine with. I just hope Breesan can deal with his selfish issues. Together we will handle anything that comes our way, including my greedy twin.

  Lacing my fingers through hers, I glance over at her as we intrude on their conversations. She smiles in acceptance of my forwardness in front of everyone. Knowing she really is okay with them finding out about us, I smile like a fucking idiot.

  “Hey! It’s Marcus and the birthday girl. Happy birthday B-cup.” Squeezes his eye shut, Tristan doubles over laughing at his lame joke. He stops abruptly when Breesan launches out of my arm and punches him repeatedly in the arm.

  “You big ass! That’s not funny!” she growls.

  Throwing his hands up, he swiftly imprisons her fists. Using her arms as leverage, he twists her around facing away, wrapping his over her effectively trapping her in an embrace. He places a kiss on her hair at the top of her ear. I actually hear her growl and shriek as she wiggles from his grip. He laughs louder and so does the rest of the group.

  “Hey Brees, happy birthday,” Tristan’s friend, Bates says, interrupting their playful exchange by pulling Tristan away. “You gonna let little Breesan hand you your ass Tristan?” He teases. Tristan nods while rubbing his arm dramatically.

  “Aw, my little B loves me and she knows it,” he responds. Oddly, he chooses this moment to whip out his phone and send a text.

  I see her body tense for a millisecond. Shifting her eyes to me, the fear suddenly recedes and her body relaxes. Not realizing it, I was holding my breath in anticipation of what she might do upon hearing his words, but she did well. Moving swiftly I’m on her in three strides. Reaching her, I pull her close hoping to ease her anxiety. But truthfully, having her away from me for a second is just too long now, even if it’s only to play with Tristan; my favorite person in the world. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she tucks her tiny body under my arm.

  Mine

  Kissing her lightly on the forehead, I am pleased we can be this close so soon after admitting our feelings. She rises up on her toes and stretches her face, offering her sweet lips to me and I gladly take them. It’s a short kiss but the value it holds means more than any amount of money in the world. She’s claiming me and allowing me to claim her in front of the very people she cares for - even if she doesn’t like to admit it.

  “Hey Sweetheart, don’t you have something to give her?” Tristan grins at Anna. Looking between him and Breesan, Anna nods eagerly.

  “I was going to wait for Morgan but apparently he’s missing,” Anna says, concerned she scans the backyard for any sign of Morgan.

  Feeling the nervous energy rolling of Breesan in waves, after pushing a wisp of hair behind her ears I lean in and place my mouth lightly against it.

  “Is something wrong baby?” I ask comfortingly.

  Nodding she turns her face toward me, the action causes her cheek to brush my nose arousing a fierce desire in me. I pull away some, but not entirely, in order to regain control.

  “She’s up to something. She’s been gone all day and she told me she had to meet someone. She’s already given me gifts but I just have a bad feeling something else is happening.”

  Despair lacing her voice, she shivers in my arms and I give her a comforting squeeze. I search around the perimeter. Nothing about the whole evening is normal, but I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Spotting Rhys sitting on the patio talking with a cute young girl, I make eye contact with him and nod once. He immediately walks over to join us. Upon his approach, I feel Breesan tense then clear her throat nervously.

  “Hey Breesan, friend of Tristan, we meet again.” Smirking, Rhys arches an eyebrow up at her, which is too suggestive in my opinion. She places her hands on her hips, watching him as he stops right in front of us.

  “Rhys, isn’t it?” She asks him.

  Spying my arm encasing her, his eyebrows drop and draw in tight as his eyes lift up to mine. He glares suspiciously. Simply shrugging off his problem, I tighten my hold, refusing to let her go. A twinkle in his eyes tells me that he is fully aware of what’s between us. Proving himself a real gentleman, he keeps his mouth shut about it.

  Turning his attention back to Breesan, he nods his head at her. “Yup, that’s me Doll. Looks like you got your birthday wish.” He laughs vigorously.

  Looking up at me through her thick lashes, her cheeks turning pink. What is this all about? Surrounded by all of her friends I won’t embarrass her by asking now.

  “Uh, no I didn’t make a wish. He just happens to…” Rhys cuts her off.

  “No need to explain it to me.” Winking at us, he turns, directing his attention to the rest of the group. “I’ve got a weird ass question for y’all.”

  Talking to the group, who is now giving him their full attention, he asks. “Can someone tell me what the fuck could make someone’s feet turn green?” Laughing again, he looks absolutely dumbfounded. Everyone busts into a loud laugh while I toss him a confused look.

  “It could be a medical problem.” Breesan answers confidently.

  “Yeah, some kind of gnarly foot fungus where you lose a toe,” Tristan adds. Everybody’s face distorts in disgust, while roaring with a unified “Eeeewww.”

  “Nah, it’s probably from Jell-O wrestling,” Bates adds his theory into the mix, making us laugh harder. “What? Dammit, it’s true. I dated a girl that wrestled,” he defends good-humoredly.

  “Ahhhh, that would explain it” Bobbing his head, Rhys grins proudly. “The little hottie I met here tonight works at the strip club off Stingray Avenue.”

  Laughing, he nods in the direction of the woman left sitting on the patio when he came over. In unison everyone looks her direction. She waves and the group erupts in another round of delirious laughter. Tristan and Bates fist bump Rhys, offering their congratulations. Smiling proudly, Rhys’ eyes land on Breesan again, she returns the gesture.

  “Okay guys! I hate to interrupt. Well, actually no I don’t. I need to do something and it must be done right now,” Anna snaps. Taking the microphone, she begins yelling at the crowd. “Hey ya’ll, shut up.”

  “First, I want to say thank you to Mr. And Mrs. Walker for hosting this kickass party for us.” Whooping and hollering fills the air as Breesan and I clap, smiling at each other, knowing that if not for this party we may not have made our feeling known. Taking her hand, I kiss the back of it then lace our fingers together.

  “And I want to thank you all for coming. This grad party was planned months ago. For those of you who don’t know, today is a monumental occasion. Not only do we celebrate our freedom, but we are celebrating Breesan’s birthday too.” The screams grow louder now and Breesan frowns. Her eyes are daggers at Anna. Squeezing her hand, I rub my thumb along her knuckles in attempt to soothe her.

  “What the hell Anna?” Breesan growls angrily.

  “It’s cool Breeze. You are going to love this.” Tristan draws out his words, defending his girlfriend’s actions and Breesan steadily shakes her head.

  “No, whatever you are doing stop it now, please. Anna, please don’t do this.” Voice trembling, Breesan’s stress continues building, but Anna just smiles back at her.

  “Breesan we have a surprise for you. Come on out!” Anna yells into the microphone. Breesan’s body goes stiff and I’m on full alert. We watch as five young guys dressed in skinny jeans and t-shirts walk from behind the tall DJ booth. Recognizing the men, the crowd begins screaming and whistling. Getting a good look at the guy lingering in the back of the group, I recognize him.

  “Happy B
irthday, Breesan! Everyone welcome to the stage Zane Brody and the band.” Anna smile’s is brilliant with joy.

  Again the crowd goes crazy as the guys walk over to the small stage, previously being used as a dance floor, it suddenly clears. Hopping up, they grab their instruments, and Zane grips the microphone.

  “Dammit,” Breesan spits through clenched teeth.

  “What’s up Willow?” Zane bellows igniting more screams from his fans. “We have a birthday girl in the house. I’m going to need everyone’s help singing to her. So on three. Let me hear you, one, two, and three.”

  The volume is deafening as the drunken crowd croons out the words. Breesan, still slightly shock, plasters a smile. Perhaps she’s relieved they didn’t drag her onto the stage. Finishing the song, the band begins playing one of their own songs that everyone here is familiar with. Our small group begins dancing around. Raising Breesan’s hand over her head, I twirl her around. She smiles and I ask yelling over the music if she’s okay. Nodding enthusiastically, she rewards me with a real smile breaking across her face. I feel relief that this wasn’t too much for her. I just don’t want her running away ever again. We dance like this for the next half hour. Jumping onto the stage with Zane, Anna whispers something in his ear then hops off and strides over again.

  “Hey Breesan, I’ve got one more gift for you.” Anna points to the back patio.

  Only our small group hears Anna but it’s obvious the band knows - their volume lowers drastically. Looking, I see a girl standing on the patio walking toward us, and then notice Breesan nervously look between the girl and Anna. The girl is in her mid-twenties. Approaching us, I can see she has the same color and eye color as Breesan. I look at Anna who stares at the girl expectantly. Searching the girls face, she appears not surprised by their similarities.

  “Do you know her, baby?” I ask Breesan. She slowly shakes her head. The girl stops walking about four feet away from Breesan. They diligently observe each other in an exaggerated silence. Stepping up to the girl, Anna wraps an arm around her.

  “Breesan, I want you to meet a very special person. Wren, this is Breesan.” Wren holds her hand out to Breesan. Sighing heavily, Breesan accepts it, shaking it slowly. “Breesan, when I was visiting Aunt Faith in Paris during spring break I met Wren. We got talking, and well, Wren is your cousin.” Dropping the girl’s hand, Breesan takes several steps back bumping into me. I hold her securely, offering comfort. Covering her hand over her mouth, her eyes widen and are wildly roaming the area. She wants to run. “Breesan, this is a good thing honey. You have a cousin and an aunt - your dad’s sister.”

  “Anna, can you give her a minute?” Trying to stifle my anger and disappointment, I demand a few minutes to help her process all this bullshit thrust upon her.

  “Yes, of course, whatever she needs,” Anna responds, turns away escorting Wren to the stage where the band begins playing loud again.

  “Hey.” Lifting her chin with a finger to face me, I notice her eyes are glistening. I hold her gaze for a moment trying to read her expression, “Are you alright baby?”

  “I don’t believe it. How is this possible? I can’t believe that I have a cousin alive and an aunt. Where have they been? Why didn’t Julia tell me?” Julia. Pausing, she looks suspiciously over at Wren. “Is this what Julia meant this morning when she said, ‘you’ll be there’? No, that doesn’t make sense. I’m so fucking confused. Ugh, nothing makes sense anymore.” Rubbing her hands nervously over her arms, she argues with herself.

  I don’t know what Julia has to do with this, but if that evil bitch is involved this won’t end well. Looking around for Rhys again, I scan the area for anyone that may look suspicious or if I see anyone on Julia’s payroll. Rhys, who was dancing with green feet girl, makes his way over from the stage. Moving over to him, I leave some distance between us and Breesan.

  “Keep your eyes open. I don’t know what the hell is going on but Breesan just mentioned that Julia said someone is supposed to be here. If she meant the girl dancing with Bates it might be okay, but Breesan doesn’t seem convinced. Is anyone else from the team here?”

  Shaking his head no, he quickly pulls out his cell. Shifting into our law enforcement roles, our training rapidly kicks in. “Rhys, the young girl with Anna, she’s Breesan’s cousin. Keep an eye on her too. I don’t think she’s threat. Just watch her.” Walking away, he dials Kole and Sam.

  Rejoining Breesan, I observe s she moves her eyes along the crowd searching for someone. Man my fucking alarms are going ballistic. I need all the information she’ll give me to get down to the bottom of Julia’s bullshit.

  “What were you saying about your stepmother, baby?” I coax. Drawing her hands to me, she stares perplexed at me.

  “It really didn’t make sense. She said someone was supposed to be at the party tonight. But it was what she said afterward that sticks out now. She said ‘don’t let Marcus see you do it. He’s developing a bit of a crush on our bug.’ And she calls me bug.” Her expression changes to worry. “How do you know Julia?”

  “That’s something that I was trying to tell you earlier. We really need to discuss this at length. Right now just is not the best place or time, but I promise I will tell you every damn detail. You just have to trust me first. Can you trust me Breesan?” Hesitating, she scans my face. I’ve seen her do this before; she is watching for signs of lies. Lowering her guard, she nods slowly.

  Eyes focused on the ground, she sighs. “I’ll trust you completely Marcus, but I am so damn confused right now. I don’t like the strange feelings I’m getting.” Slowly lifting her eyes again, she watches Wren on the stage dancing with her friends. “If Wren really is my cousin then I want to get to know her, but something is so off about this whole damn day. Fuck, it is so out of character for Julia to do a damn thing for me. She’s never even told me happy birthday in nineteen years, until today. Then she offered to take me to dinner at the castle. Not once has she allowed me to go there. Do you understand how fucked up this is? I’m sorry for freaking out on you like this, but what the hell is she doing?” Breesan asks, shaking her head wildly.

  Julia has been fucking awful to her. Noticing Anna standing only a few feet away from us with concern covering her face, Breesan lets out a ragged breath, but before I can respond to everything she said she walks over to Anna.

  “If you’re upset by this I’m really sorry. I thought I was doing something amazing for you. I would never do anything to hurt you.” Anna’s voice is melancholy, but her sincerity shines through. Reaching a hand out, Breesan fully accepts her explanation. I know Breesan is upset but being angry with Anna isn’t the issue, Julia is.

  “I know that Anna. I really do. It’s just that something is weird about all of this adding to what Julia said this morning. I’m not mad at you. I am totally shocked but thank you for this, for bringing Wren here. It’s okay, really.” The worry marring Anna’s features switches to happiness and she hugs Breesan tightly. Anxiously scanning the area, I notice Rhys raise his hand and throw up two fingers, indicating Kole and Sam are en route. Having backup fills me with relief, but I keep getting a strange awareness that something bad is going on. If in fact something bad does happen, and it is Julia’s doing, then I’ll make sure she fucking pays.

  “I’ll be back in two minutes. I need to run inside for something. I promise it will only be two minutes okay? Just go over to the stage with our friends and I’ll meet you there.” Watching her face for any signs of fear, she hides it well if she is scared.

  “Yeah of course. Don’t worry about me please. I’m really fine but I’ll go over there and wait for you.” She smiles and I kiss her sweet lips hard.

  Panic begins to build in the pit of my stomach and my nerves are jittery. Needing more comfort from her, I gently grab the sides of her, deepening our kiss and she moans. That’s all the encouragement I need. Sliding my tongue into her mouth, she opens easily for me. Mygod I love kissing this beautiful woman. I pull away and she smiles at me. I
place one smaller kiss on her lips and release her. Jogging off toward the house, I make my way through the unruly crowd. Once inside, I run to my bedroom. Quickly unlocking my gun safe, I retrieve my duty weapon, locking the clip in place and slipping it in my front waistband. Noticing my badge and cell phone lying on the nightstand, I snag them and head back outside. Stepping onto the patio, someone suddenly grabs my arm. It’s the woman who bumped into me and Breesan earlier. Clearly drunk, she has a wicked grin fixed on her face as she scans me from head to foot. She is a beautiful woman, a little older than me with dark brown medium length hair.

  “Hey sexy, looks like you might be lonely, if so, I’m available,” she says, chewing her bottom lip. Placing her hands on both of my hips, she tries rocking them into hers but I halt her movement shaking my head. She smiles up at me. Apparently she finds this reaction to be teasing. Now left with absolutely no choice, I am forced to be rude.

  “So you’re available huh? Looks like you’re going to stay that way.” Pulling out of her embrace, I turn walking toward my friends and my baby. I love calling her my baby.

  “Fuck you Morgan,” the beauty screams at me.

  Realizing she confused me with Morgan, I smile while glancing over my shoulder. “Wrong twin, Morgan’s gone.”

  Perplexed, her eyes widen. “Mother fucker!” Quickly turning around, she runs toward the front of the house. Chuckling to myself, I turn around and search for Breesan.

  She’s dancing with Tristan as I make my way to the front of the stage. They are all dancing on the front edge. Anna and Tristan blissfully laugh while doing a twirl boomerang dance move where he twirls her then she twirls him. Bates dances suggestively with Wren. She may be Breesan’s lookalike, but their personalities are far from similar. Wren is totally uninhibited. Locating Rhys near the patio again, I have accounted for them all. I don’t think being center stage is a good idea for Breesan. Maybe if she’s on the ground level my nerves would settle just a little.

  Looking up to Tristan, after several attempts, I finally catch his attention. I point to the ground and mouth for him to get down. Laughing wildly, he shakes his head while continuing to dance with Anna and Breesan. Disappointed, I walk around toward the stairs on the side of the stage. Just as I put my foot on the first step, I hear a familiar sound. Pop