Her Brother, Her Mate

Mitch looks outside, his stormy eyes lost in the surf for a moment. He looks so deep in thought, I almost think he didn’t hear me.

“Almost 7 years ago, while working for the security detail I mentioned earlier, the one my brother still works for, we had a suspect we were holding, and I had the job of drilling her for information for my alpha, uh, boss,” he offers me a nervous smile, “Alpha was like a nickname. Anyway, Parker and my friend, Vincent, needed information from her. After hearing her story, it kind of brought back trauma from my past.

“I ask for a lesser punishment for her, since she was a victim herself, suffering because of a f*****g jerk that used her for his own agenda. The woman in charge of her called me to her, uh, house and offered me the job afterward. Suzie had an addiction and the man who used her used her addiction to get her to do his dirty work.

“Delilah, my boss now, liked my compassion, and uses me to help others that come into the clinic that may be suffering the way Suzie was,” he shrugs like it’s not a big deal, but I’m kind of in awe of him. Confused, because half of what he said was a little confusing, but still in awe. Alpha is kind of a weird nickname for someone to have, but if it’s some high-class security detail where they have code names, then I can picture it.

“What trauma did it bring up for you?” I couldn’t help but ask, seeing the storm brewing in his eyes.

He runs his hands through his messy hair, anxiety coming off him in waves.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I offered, feeling guilty for prying.

“No, no. I don’t mind. I’m just scared you might think badly of me after I tell you,” he offered me a sad smile.

“Try me,” I told him, smiling back. I’ve already heard horrible things about him and I still can’t bring myself to not like him. I don’t think anything he could tell me would get me to change my unexplainable protective feelings toward him.

“Well, this is going to make me sound horrible,” he sighs, “I’ve always been kind of wild. I liked messing around, and didn’t think much about others’ feelings. There was a girl right after I graduated high school who had a crush on me. She would always show up wherever I went, trying to get my attention. If I had no one else I was chasing after, I’d entertain her, but never slept with her, or did more than light make-out sessions and s**t like that.

“Well, this girl I liked all through high school who I was hoping would be my, uh, girlfriend when we graduated ended up with someone else. They’re married now and have just celebrated 10 years together, and I love them both as friends, but at the time I was heart broken. I thought me and her would be perfect together. I kind of convinced myself of it, then that idea came crashing down.

“Carli’s now husband handed my a*s to me when I still tried getting with her back then. When I was depressed and licking my wounds, I crossed that line with Sophia. I used her to try to boost my ego and get over my heartbreak.

“I thought she knew it was just s*x. I didn’t have the best reputation and was well known for playing around. I guess she thought since I finally slept with her we would be together. She got clingy and I ignored her, even going as far as blocking her number.

“She showed up at this place called The Cove I used to party at every weekend, walking in the cabin of my boat when I was with another girl. I didn’t even stop. I told her to either join in or get out. She ran out of there, then I saw on the news a few days later that her body drifted up onto the shore. She has a gunshot wound to her temple.

“They found her boat later, and her phone with the rest of her belongings were still on board. She sent me several messages begging for me to come to her or she was going to kill herself. I blocked her number so I didn’t get any of the messages. My parents put me in counseling with Amanda, their friend you’ve been living with, for a few sessions, but it still haunted me. It haunts me to this day.

“Suzie reminded me a lot of Sophia. I didn’t save Sophia because of my selfishness, but I didn’t want to see Suzie destroy herself like Sophia did and I didn’t want her to face harsh punishments because she was used.”

Wow. I don’t know how to respond to any of that. Mitch is staring back out the window at the waves crashing on the shore, lost in his memories. I wonder what he’s seeing out there?

I didn’t expect him to be that honest with me about his past, but I’m glad he was. I would have thought worse of him for lying to me, or trying to downplay what really happened to save face. I can feel his regret. What happened with that girl changed him.

I reach my hand across the table, taking his and gripping it firmly, trying to ignore the weird shocky feelings grazing my skin. When his stormy eyes met mine, I offered him a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sorry that happened, Mitchel. I can’t imagine the trauma you’ve had to deal with. Thank you for sharing your story with me.”

A small smile lifts the corners of his mouth as he rests his other hand over mine.

“Sorry to unload on you. You make me feel….comfortable. Safe. It’s easy talking to you.”

That warms my heart, making it flutter in my chest as a blush spreads on my cheeks.

Lunch was delicious. I let Mitchel order for me since I couldn’t decide what to get. The ceviche was refreshing, and the shrimp enchiladas were so creamy and melted in my mouth. Mitchel even ordered a local beer for us that had a citrus twist to it called Tripping Animals, which was amazing. He said that the brewery was local and he would take me there soon if I wanted.

Of course I did. I’m actually having fun with Mitchel. A lot of fun. He isn’t being forward or making me feel uncomfortable at all.

He pays and leads me from the restaurant with a wave of his hand, not touching me or being forceful in any way. We decide to take a walk along the beach, the salty air feeling nice with its balmy breeze.

I already love Miami. I thought I would miss New York, but I didn’t. Not that much, anyway. I miss my mama at times. I miss real pizza and bagels. I don’t miss much else.

We get snow cones before walking back towards his car, Mitchel teasing me about my red lips from my tiger’s b***d flavoring. He got coconut with a drizzle of honey. Honey on a snow cone sounded gross to me until he let me try it. It was unexpectedly delicious.

Mitchel tells me more stories of growing up here, pointing out places that hold special memories for him. He asks me plenty of questions, but I never had a strong friend base like he clearly does. I’m excited about meeting all his friends one day. I feel like I know many of them already from his stories.

I’m not sure about that girl Carli he said he was obsessed with, though. Hearing that makes me feel uneasy for some reason. Apparently, she is the head of the security company where he used to work, along with Mitchel’s brother, Matt. She sounds kind of scary.

Mitchel drives me to some of his favorite spots around the city, making a mental checklist of the places I want to come back to and explore.

When we are rounding a marsh filled with gators, I’m embarrassing myself by acting a little too excited, it being my first time seeing them in real life. Mitch gets a call on his car’s Bluetooth. Simone’s name and picture popped up on the screen.

“Mind if I take this?” he asks me sheepishly.

“Not at all,” I told him, hanging my head out his window to get a better look at the water lizards.

“Simone, hey,” he answered.

“What are you up to?” her cheery voice flints through the speakers.

“Showing Hadley around Miami. You’re on speaker phone. Say hi.” he smiles at me.

She squeals loudly, “Hadley! This is perfect! You can come too! Vince and I need taste testers for his new restaurant he just purchased and so far everyone is busy.”

“Was I not your first choice?” Mitchel teased her.

“Of course not, silly. You are number 4. Carli and Parker were….preoccupied. Laura and Simon had something for the council. Lilly was screaming too loudly at Cole and Carl to hear me, and Hillary had guard duty.”

“That makes me the 5th choice, Sim,” Mitchel tells her, shaking his head.

“Oh. Well, I guess you’re really 6th. I called Trevor and Carlos too. They said yes.”

“So I came after all your girlfriends and gay friends?”

“Yep! So in a way, that makes you number one, since you are the first guy friend I called,” Simone giggles on the line. “Are you coming or not?”

“Do you want to go?” Mitchel turned, looking at me.

“Say yes! Say yes!” Simone chants on the line, making us both laugh.

I shrugged, smiling at him, “Why not?”

“YAYYYY!!!” Simone squeals so loudly on the phone that we both had to plug our ears. “I love new friends.”