It had been a few days since Letty had walked out. There were lots of good things in living alone. Not when you're turning sixteen. To wake up alone in your birthday morning wasn't really exciting.
Although she had been welcomed in the neighborhood, she was never much of a talker. She was quiet. A loner, some could dare to say. But not today. Mrs. Jones knocked on her door. She was holding a cake.
"Oh, hello, my dear" Mrs. Jones smiled. She was the old lady living next door. She had been sweet to Letty when she had moved in, now she was standing there "I had no clue if you had woken up already, so I hope I didn't".
"No, Mrs. Jones, you didn't"
"Great! I made this for you last night. I chose chocolate, I hope you like it".
"Thank you, but there was no need for you to bother, Mrs. Jones"
"Oh, stop, give this old woman something to be excited about!"
Mrs. Jones always made Letty laugh. Kind of embarrassed, Letty took the cake, lifting her eyes at the smiling old lady in front of her.
"Would you like to come in, Mrs. Jones? Eat with me?"
"May i?"
"Please."
The two of them sat down in the kitchen, with a little bit of orange juice and the cake. It was simply delicious. They both stood in silence and, for the first time, Letty felt completely relaxed around somebody.
"Have you spoken to your family, sweetheart?" Mrs. Jones asked, taking the icing off of her face. Letty sighed "that can't be a good sign. What's wrong?"
"My mom said she was going to call today, but she hasn't."
"Oh, I'm sure she will"
"I'm not that sure" Letty took everything, throwing the dishes in the sink.
"And why's that?"
"You know her situation, Mrs. Jones, if she doesn't behave, she won't get her phone call. She was saving it for today. They're done before mid-day."
"Let's hope she has a good reason, then"
Mrs. Jones kept talking to Letty, making her feel better. She was not alone, after all.
"So, did you win the race last night?" the question made Letty smile.
"Nah, some guy lost control and hit me"
"Oh, that sucks!"
Letty laughed. She wanted to ask a question, and she decided to make it. She had nothing to lose in case Mrs. Jones didn't have an answer for it.
"Do you know who Dominic Toretto is, Mrs. Jones?"
"He was the one to hit your car, wasn't him?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Well, it actually surprises me that he did. He is really good at races, usually."
"You know him?"
"Oh, I was there when he was born" those discoveries blown Letty's mind.
"Really?"
"I was friends with his father. Things changed when Tony passed away back in January. The kid has been holding up."
"His father died?"
"And so did his mother. His sister and Dominic are living alone now, a couple blocks away from here."
"How did it happen?"
"His father? We all thought he was going to crash someday, driving that Charger of his, but actually he died of a heart attack. His mother had cancer, passed a few years ago."
It all made Letty very sad. Suddenly, she realized how good her life was. She had both parents, although she was alone in the USA. The big, tough guy she had met a few days ago… didn't. He was alone, even though he has a sister.
"You said he lived a couple of blocks away?" Mrs. Jones nodded. "Do you know where, exactly?"
Hugging Letty tightly, Mrs. Jones told Letty to come over any time, no matter what. Although she knew she wouldn't, Letty just smiled, thanking Mrs. Jones for the cake and the company. This time, she really was grateful.
Stepping inside her beat up car, Letty took one last glance at the paper in her hand. She found the house she was looking for. There was music coming from it. Later she found out there was a garage right beside the house. The music came from there.
Working on an engine, she saw Dominic Toretto, in a white tank top, worn out jeans. He seemed to be where he belonged. He didn't seem to see her, until she slammed the car door shut.
There were no words to describe how surprised Dom was to see the brunette standing at the garage door. Letty had shades on, but she smiled at Dom. He probably was drooling, still shocked. Just when he decided to forget about her, there Letty was, wearing those short shorts that raveled just enough to make his mind go blank.
Cleaning the grease from his hands, Dom watched Letty walk inside, not being intimidated by the four guys in front of her.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here" Dom found himself speaking what was running through his mind. He wondered if this was part of the effect Letty was having on him.
"Well, someone has to fix what has been done to my car, right Toretto?"
Dom could hear the noises and jokes from the guys. Dom smiled, nodding.
"Would you bring it inside? We'll figure something out, I'm sure"
Flirting was everywhere between the two, that was one of the topics Vince was joking about. Letty didn't seem to even listen as she brought the car inside, parking where Dom had told her to.
She popped the hood open, letting him take a look. Leon, Jesse and Vince were working on their own projects, leaving them to theirs. Dom knew he was going to hear a lot when she left, but, for the time being, he focused on not to stare at the flash of skin he'd occasionally see whenever she moved, her flat stomach getting his attention.
"What happened after I hit you?"
"The NOS tank is out of place, and it is heating the oil up"
"Looks like something you could fix" Dom gave her a look of tease, but she just smiled up at him.
"Oh, I could… but you were the one to hit me… so there's nothing more fairly than you being to one to fix it"
"Good point, Letty"
Dom laughed, focusing on what he was doing. He saw with the corner of his eyes that Letty was taking a look around. It meant she was sticking around. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. There was just a few times where women had bare the idea of being in a car shop with four teenage boys.
But Letty didn't seem to be bored by it. She seemed just at home, to say the truth.
Kicking himself mentally, Dom focused on the engine, getting surprised for the third time today. This engine was different than he expected. It was clear from the night she had driven it against him, but was still different.
"Who built this engine?" Dom asked, bringing Letty's dark eyes back to him.
"I did" she said, looking back to the walls filled with tools and wheels.
"Hold up!" Leon said, standing up "I think I misunderstood something" he walked up to Dom, checking the engine himself "you did this?" Leon asked Letty, who didn't seem to understand why they were so surprised.
"Yeah, I did" she shrugged, seeing everyone's eyes on her, even Dom was surprised, she noticed.
"Girl, where are you from? Because I'm moving there today" Leon took Letty's small hand, making her laugh.
"Mexico, actually"
It did not surprise anyone, now that Leon's joke had made everyone laugh and snap out of it. It was clear that she wasn't American, although she spoke perfect English. There were never girls like her around. Letty was special. The thought made Dom smile. He started to work on the engine, it wouldn't take long.
Until Jesse jumped.
"Bye guys, I've got to pack!" Leon ran inside, making Letty laugh harder. These guys were cool. She could feel Dom eyes on her, but she ignored him.
"Jesse, you fuck! Get your ass back here!" Both Letty and Dom laughed and Vince got up.
"I'm gonna grab a few beers" Dom nodded, not taking his eyes from the engine in front of him. The work done in it was impressive for a girl. He was getting more and more blown away "can I offer you one, …?"
"Name's Letty and… no, I'm good"
Letty watched as Dom kept working. His big shoulders were the victims, the way the muscles would move. Letty liked it. Dominic was so much bigger than her, but it did not intimidate Letty. Ten minutes passed by until her eyes felt on the engine Dom was working before she had walked in. she saw what was meant to be done as soon as she looked.
She stood up, taking a closer look. Dom was watching her. His eyes were aching to check her ass again, but he stopped himself when she grabbed a wrench, blowing him even more.
"Who the hell is this girl?" he thought to himself. He just snorted to himself, finishing the job. He closed the hood, cleaning a little grease that was in it.
"You're good to go, Let…" He looked at her, realizing that suddenly her hair was up and that she was completely lost in what she was doing. She was caught off guard, laughing.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away"
"That's okay" Dom neared her, seeing she was almost done "seems like this one is good to go, too" Dom hit the engine she working on slightly with the wrench he was holding, smiling down at her.
"Hope you don't mind"
"No, he doesn't" Vince said, approaching them with the beers "I'm Vince, this is Leon and Jesse. Seems like you already know Dom"
"We met the other night, when he hit me" she teased him, making him shrug guiltily.
The four guys started to talk to her, asking about her life as she finished the engine. Dom handed her a piece of cloth where she could get her hands cleaned from the grease. And then she met Mia, Dom's little sister.
"Hey, I just wanted to know what you y'all wanted for… dinner?" Mia stopped talking as soon as she caught sight of Letty. Dom introduced them to each other. Mia seemed happy to have another girl around, Dom noticed. Letty was polite. Very polite, nothing he ever imagined in a girl who knew so much about cars. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"
Letty was about to deny, but Dom answered for her.
"Actually… she is" Dom's big hands were on her small shoulders, although she didn't feel any kind of pain. Dom was very aware of his strength. She gave him the look, and he smiled "it's the least I could do".
Mia jumped happily. They made some space in the dining table, and Letty found herself welcome and comfortable in the Toretto's home. They kept talking and cursing at each other like she wasn't there and It made her very happy. There was no way in hell she would mention that it was her birthday, but it had been the best lately.
Letty didn't know the house rules, so she was surprised to find out the first to get on the table was meant to say grace. Vince was the one to do it, and he added Letty to it, making her smile.
"And thank You, Lord, for bringing Letty to us, the only girl we could actually talk about cars with. She's awesome".
Everybody laughed and they ate. Dom tried not to stare too much. There has never been somebody who would fit so well in his family. Letty could make everyone laugh, and would find something to laugh about in Jesse's pointless jokes. Her laugh was natural, spontaneous. It made him want to laugh.
The sun was setting out side and Letty had to go. She had things to do before school tomorrow. Letty found out she would attempt the same school as Mia, so it made the idea sound a little better. For her and for Dom. He wouldn't be able to watch over her, but he was relieved she would be with Mia.
Dom didn't know what the fuck was wrong with him. He had just met Letty and she was all over his mind already. When she left, Dom took a deep breath. This girl was going to be the death of him, even if she didn't know it. Letty was… perfect.
In the shower, Dom didn't turn on the hot water. He needed to come back to reality. She was simply too young. She was naïve and… beautiful. Letty was catchy… he wanted her. Even though things changed after what he saw today, she was off limits. That's what he kept telling himself.
But his thoughts remained with her until he fell asleep. He kept thinking about her lips. Those were what would catch his eyes the most. He wanted to taste them. Fuck, he did. He just couldn't believe he admitted that fact. He wanted to push her against a wall and just make out with her.
"She's too young, Dominic" he spoke aloud, trying to believe those words "she just met you, you're gonna freak her out. Everybody liked her, just… don't"