by AJ Alexander
He puts Bristol down, then crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not putting on a tutu.”
“You will if you want to get a blowy for the next month.” With a sweet smile on her face, she cocks her head and holds out the tutu. Grumbling, he takes it and ties it around his hips.
“There. Happy?”
“Wings and crown too,” Avery holds them out to him.
“You two are going to pay for this,” he says, the girls smirking at him.
“We know,” they say in unison.
Without a word, Jimmy holds his hand out, waiting for his tutu. The shocked look on Charlie’s face is priceless. “Are you shitting me, Old Man? You’re not going to argue about this?”
With a knowing smile, Jimmy gives him a nod. “You gotta pick your battles, man. I know I’m not going to win this one. I’m not putting on those pussy ass wings and crown though.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Emma says, kissing Jimmy’s cheek. Turning quickly, he lays a kiss on her lips, making her moan.
“You better get that over with before Justin gets here and shoots your ass. It’s one thing to know you’re fucking his baby sister, it's entirely different to see proof of it,” Logan interjects, putting on his tutu, wings, and crown.
With a huff, Charlie looks at Logan. “Am I really the only one that’s going to put up a fight over these damn things?”
“Yup,” all the guys in the room say. Logan laughs and slaps Charlie on the shoulder, “You know as well as we do that you were going to put it on anyway. You should have just accepted your fate.”
Tying my own tutu, I can’t help but laugh at these big tough men wearing tutus.
JUSTIN
I’m on my way to pick up the birthday girl, I can’t help but think about all the differences they’ve made in my life. When I left for deployment three years ago, I was lonely, I knew I wanted someone to spend my life with, but it wasn’t until I started talking to Becca that I realized just how lonely I really was. And Olivia? That little girl is my world. I couldn’t love her more if she were born of my blood, she’s mine in every sense that matters.
Parking in front of Katie’s, I don’t knock when I get to the door. I’m beyond the point of knocking, the team along with the girls and the kids, are family. You don’t knock on family’s door, at least not where I come from.
“Where’s my birthday girl?” I holler as I close the door.
“Batman!” My second favorite girl squeals, appearing out of a cloud of tulle and glitter. Running at me full force, I brace myself to catch her and swing her around.
“Hey pretty girl, you ready to party?”
Throwing her head back, she rolls her eyes so hard I think she saw her brain. “Of course! I just need to get dressed.”
“Well, get to it, time is a wasting.” Setting her down, she runs up the stairs and a door slams.
“Hey there big man, ready to get your tutu on?” Turning to face Katie, one of the women responsible for this mess.
“Uh, no. But hey, thanks for asking. Everything is just about set up.” Katie and Emerson do that shake and high pitch scream thing that girls do to show they’re excited.
“Alright, time to get all this in the cars. Hop to it.” Katie claps her hands, and the kids start moving. It’s the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.
Livie comes down the stairs, looking the part of the princess. In a puffy pink dress with a Robin symbol in purple on the chest, made of glitter. Sparkly shoes and a tiara in her pretty golden curls. She stands on the last stair, beaming when the girls coo and aww over her.
“You look beautiful, Livie.” Extending my elbow to her, she lays her small hand on my arm, and we make our way to the car. Opening the door for her, I lift her up, so she doesn’t have to crawl and risk getting her dress dirty. “Alright big girl, buckle up.”
Getting behind the wheel, I see her making funny faces at me in the rearview mirror. What else can I do, but reciprocate?
“Batman?”
“What’s up, Robin?”
“Can we go to Starbucks? I bet Mommy would really like a coffee.” A sly smile covers her face.
“Oh yeah? Mommy wants a coffee? That’s why you want to go there?” Pulling out into traffic, I make my way toward the closest Starbucks. I’m a sucker, and she knows it, there isn’t anything I won’t give her today.
“Well…since we’ll be there, I could get a birthday cake pop. Since it’s my birthday,” she tells me very matter-of-factly.
Shaking my head, I agree. We need to do something to take up some time anyway, so Katie has some time to get to the party before us. We really want her to be able to see it all done, with everyone there.
She’s such an amazing kid. When we asked who she wanted to invite, she insisted that her aunts and uncles had to come, but she also invited a few kids from day care. In her words, she wanted to invite the ‘kids that don’t have very many friends’ because everyone should have friends. I hope she never changes.
A text from Katie lets me know that they are headed toward the bar, and we are safe to head that way too. As we pull into the parking lot, there’s a few cars that I recognize and a huge banner hanging on the front of the building that reads, “Happy Birthday Olivia!” Seeing the banner, Livie’s face splits with a beaming smile and starts squirming in her seat, ready to get out.
Once we’re parked, she unbuckles, jumps from the car, and takes off toward the door. Sprinting to get to the door before her, I barely make it, that kid is fast!
“Hang on! A princess doesn’t open her own doors!” Giggling and out of breath, she smiles up at me. I get the door open, and she steps inside a wonderland, made just for her. It’s not until I hear her laugh that I notice everyone standing off to one side, wearing tutus. Everyone. Charlie, Jimmy, Logan, and Danny included. Logan and Charlie have fucking wings and crowns on! There’s a sign next to them that says, ‘Everyone must wear a tutu. Wings and crowns are optional.’ I can’t contain my laughter, I’m doubled over, holding my stomach, laughing at my team of Navy SEAL’s wearing fucking tutus.
“We make this look good,” Charlie says, arms crossed over his chest next to Logan.
“Of course, you do, Trixie Mattel.” Avery placates him, patting him on the cheek.
Lowering his voice, so the kids don’t hear him, leans into Avery. “Just watch, Sugar. I’m gonna rock your fucking world wearing only this getup. You’ll be calling me the Fairy King of your pussy.”
Thankfully, Olivia has run off to check everything out, completely in love with the decorations. Becca comes to me with a black and yellow tutu, and a gorgeous smile on her lips.
Drying my tears of laughter, I smile at my number one girl, my heart, and bring her lips to mine for a kiss.
The door opens behind me, turning to see who it is, Danny is holding the door open for Layla to come in. Dressed in a black tulle skirt and red corset, with huge wings behind her. She looks amazing, to be honest, scary but amazing. Her hair is up and wound around a black crown, she reminds me of something that would come from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Her normal black Louboutin’s with the red sole on her feet and a beautifully wrapped gift in her hand.
Stopping once she’s inside, Danny beside her, she looks around to see everyone staring at her. “Problem?”
“Layla, you look amazing!” Katie calls from behind the rest of the group. Danny whispers something in her ear that has her smirking, that smirk makes my balls want to shrivel up into my body.
“Thank you, Katie,” she says as the women embrace.
“Layla, thank you for coming. Olivia will be so glad that you made it.” Becca steps away from me to greet her. She’s right, Olivia will be glad she came. She seems to have a soft spot for the people that don’t quite fit in, so of course, Olivia invited Layla.
“Miss Layla!” Livie calls from across the room and comes running toward her, slowing down and calmly giving Layla a gentle, quick hug. Now that she is a bit older and n
ot so sticky all the time, Layla has let her get an occasional, quick hug. Stepping back, Layla hands the package to Livie. “I hope you enjoy it.”
“Thank you so much! I’m really glad you made it. Would you like to take a picture with me?”
Surprised, she says, “Oh, um, sure.”
Livie grabs her hand and pulls her toward the Gotham City backdrop, pointing out all the props that she can choose from. Layla, of course, doesn’t use one, just stands with her hand on Livie’s shoulder, a tight-lipped smile at the camera while Becca snaps a picture. First picture of the party and Livie takes it with Layla, this is going to be an interesting day.
The party is going amazingly well, a few kids from day care showed up, and none of the kids had an issue putting tutus on since all the grownups had them on too. I have to admit that it surprised me, I expected the two boys that came to balk at it, but once they saw the guys all wearing them, they put them on without complaint. The Gotham City backdrop has been a huge hit, there are lots of props that everyone can use to take pictures with. We even got a picture of the team, plus Jimmy, in all of our tutus. Pizza has been demolished, tropical punch is only staining half of the tablecloths, but everyone is having an amazing time.
I have no idea how Jimmy is going to get all the glitter out of this place, I doubt anything short of fire will get rid of it all. But even the grumpy old man smiles and laughs and turns into a big pile of goo for Livie. He loves being her Grampa, and it looks good on him.
Small hands wrap around my chest and the familiar curves of Becca press against my back. “Hey, hero.”
“Hey, beautiful.” Pulling her around to face me, I kiss her forehead before laying mine against hers. “How about a dance?” She smiles up at me, quickening my pulse. I lead her to the dance floor, surrounded by balloons. It’s a temporary reprieve from the prying eyes of children.
Not paying any attention to the music, I pull her into my arms and sway with her. “I love you, Becca.”
“I love you too, Justin, so very much.” I’m getting nervous, it’s almost time for my act. I kiss her gently, a soft meeting of lips that has her melting against me.
Livie runs up to us. “It’s time for cake!!”
“Okay! Let’s go!” Becca says, stepping out of my embrace. I follow along behind them as everyone takes their seats. Olivia at the head of the table, with her day care friends on either side of her. She says that she wants to hand out the cupcakes to everyone, how is Becca going to argue with that? It takes a few minutes, and there is almost a few dropped cupcakes, but she finally gets back to her seat.
“Livie, can you stand for a minute? I want to ask you a question.” I take her hands in mine and drop down to one knee. Becca gasps behind her, but I make sure to keep my eyes on the girl directly in front of me. I can only imagine how ridiculous I look in a tutu, but this is the second most important question of my life.
“Olivia, I love you so much, baby girl. I know that I was put on this earth to be your daddy. To help you, to teach you, to love you. You’re my buddy, my sidekick, and I would be honored if you agreed to be my daughter, officially.”
Tears fill her eyes as she looks at me. I can hear the sniffling around us, my heart is on the line here, and I am terrified that she’s going to tell me no. I don’t just want to be Batman, I want to be her daddy, I want her to be my little girl.
“Like forever? I could tell people that you’re my daddy?” her voice is soft and shaky, and it breaks my heart.
“Yeah, forever. You can tell the entire world.” Pulling her hands from mine, she jumps into my arms and hugs my neck tight, crying into my T-shirt. I hold her to me, a tear running down my cheek too as I look up at Becca. Tears streaming down her face, a smile on her lips, and her hand over her heart.
“Yes,” Livie cries, the room erupts in cheers. I squeeze her tight as my heart just about bursts. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” I tell her, kissing her hair and rubbing her back. “I have something for you.” Having her step back, I pull a small velvet box from my pocket. Opening it up, there’s a small silver ring inside. Reaching for it, I slip it onto her hand and smile at her. “Do you mind if I ask your Mommy a question now?”
“Does she get a pretty ring too?” Everyone in the room laughs.
With a smile on my face, I tell her, “Only if she says yes.”
Turning around to face her mom, she tells her, “Say yes.” Everyone laughs again as I reach for Becca’s hand.
Still down on one knee, I look up into her green eyes, swimming with emotion and tears. “Becca, I love you more than I ever thought was possible. I need you, both of you, in my life. You came to me, a ready-made family that I desperately wanted, the more I got to know you both, the more I knew I needed you. I will do whatever I have to to keep you and Livie happy for the rest of our lives. So, Becca, will you marry me?”
Nodding her head rapidly, I stand and wrap her in my arms. She cries as I lift her up and spin her around as everyone in the room cheers. Setting her on her feet, I kiss her with everything I have, and she matches me breath for breath.
“I love you, Justin. I never thought I would find someone who loved me as much as Trent did, but I’m pretty sure he brought you to me. I know he’s looking down on us right now, and he’s happy that we found you.”
My heart is pounding, excitement, relief, adrenaline all coursing through me. Pulling a second box out of my pocket, I open it to reveal a large rectangular ruby surrounded by diamonds. “Ruby, for the month we found each other.” Sliding it onto her finger, I finally feel at peace. I’ve finally found a place to call home, with my Catwoman and Robin.
Exclusive Content
Excerpt from HONOR (SEAL’ed #1)
LOGAN
Have you ever been chased by a ghost? Well, I have been running from one for the last four years. However, unlike most ghosts, this one has been chasing me toward something, or should I say someone, not away from them.
Undisclosed location 0115 15MAR10
“Corpsman! We need the Corpsman!”
That’s my queue. I go running from behind the brush. This isn’t my first brush with death this tour, and I’m sure it won't be my last.
I finally reach my team, yes team. I am not just any Corpsman, I belong to the Naval SWCC Team 5. I thought I was tough shit, but little did I know, I didn’t know shit.
“Cowboy, It’s Cruise. He’s been hit pretty bad.”
Fuck, anyone but Cruise. You see, Cruise is my best friend and the husband to the love of my life. I don't have time for that story right now, I’ve gotta save this fucker's life. Not just for him, but for our girl.
“What the fuck, Cruise?! Your call sign wasn’t enough to make the ladies drop their panties? You had to go and get shot up, so you have some badass scars to add to the package?”
I try to make jokes, but man, there is a lot of fucking blood. I hear all the guys in the background trying to reassure him, telling him that he’s going to be alright and make it home to Katie.
“Make room, assholes! I need to work. Hot Hands, grab that tourniquet and wrap it around the top of his leg, we need to stop the bleeding. Stop staring at him like he’s gonna die. We’re all gonna get out of here and share a beer. Get your lazy ass over here and put some pressure on the wound. Someone find a fucking ETA on our EVAC. We should have been out of here already. What the fuck are they waiting for?”
I keep working on Cruise with the team’s help when Kasper grabs my shoulder to get my attention.
“I don’t want to hear a fucking thing unless it’s good news.”
Kasper gives me one of his shit-eating grins, “Well then, listen up, ETA is 2 minutes or less.”
“It’s about goddamn time! Let's prep Cruise for transport.”
I keep shouting orders to all the guys and eventually, we get him all strapped in and ready for transport. As the transport is landing, Cruise grabs my hand.
“Cowboy…” Cruise whispers.
“Cruise, I n
eed to get your dumb ass onto this chopper and back to Katie. Save your strength.”
“Logan. Listen to me.”
Fuck, I hate when he uses my name. He thinks he’s going to die, I WILL NOT let that happen.
“Ryan, whatever you’re going to say, save it. You are not going to die, I won't let it happen. You will be back with Katie, showing all the ladies your scars in no time.” I try to chuckle, but I know he sees right through me.
“Alright, you win, but if for some reason I don’t. You better go and get our girl, you hear me? I would never trust her with anyone but you.”
They say you’ll know when it’s your time to go, well Ryan knew. He didn’t even make it off the chopper. I want to say I got off that chopper and did exactly what my best friend asked, but I did the exact opposite. I walked right into the CO’s office and asked for a transfer. I've been running from Ryan’s last wish, and the love of my life, ever since.
Now you’re all probably thinking ‘what asshole falls in love with his best friend’s wife’? Before you decide to tar and feather me, listen to the story. Ryan and I met when we entered BUDs training to become Navy SEALs. We both knew we wanted to join the Navy, so we joined right out of high school. We also happened to have the aptitude for the SEALs, so of course, we wanted to have the prestige that goes with it, not to mention the ladies.
We’re all given call signs at some point, mine was Cowboy given my southern twang, the need to call every female Darlin, and I wear a cowboy hat. Ol’ Ryan was called Cruise because he was a smooth operator with the ladies. In all honesty, all he had to do was smile, and they were begging him. Sometimes fighting to let him get into their pants, that is, except Katie.