Wow! I can't believe we're at chapter 10! I love this story so much and I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed, or favorited this story! You guys are the reason I continue to write Toretto's Anatomy. Hope you like this chapter! xoxo
Dom's POV
"So, about this barbecue thing that your dad invited me to..."
"Yeah, what about it?" I ask as I pull her closer to me. It's 1:47 in the morning and we had just finished having some hot, passionate sex.
"Is this like a huge family gathering where your cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, etcetera are all going to be there? I mean, we just got together and I'm already going to meet your entire family? It's a bit too soon don'tcha think?"
I chuckle at her nervousness and press a kiss to her forehead. "We actually don't have any family here in L.A. My mom's side either lives in Cuba or in Florida and my dad's side lives in Italy or somewhere around New York and New Jersey. I've only met some of them a few times but we haven't seen them recently. But don't worry, the only person you're going to meet is my little sister Mia and some friends from the neighborhood."
"Oh, okay. It's just that I haven't really had a family until I moved here and started working at the hospital. The whole thing with my parents not only ruined our relationship, but also ruined my relationship with the rest of the family. They all think I'm some selfish brat who left home to get away from them all because my parents lied and told them that. They never let me tell them the truth. The only family I have now isn't even by blood, yet they feel more like family than my parents ever were. I know that's a bad thing to say, but it's the truth. You have such a beautiful relationship with your family and I haven't had one in years. I guess you can say it's a really touchy subject for me." She whispers the last part and I look down at her. I see her staring into space, her mind completely elsewhere. I gently grab he chin and pull it upwards, so she can look at me.
"Hey, none of that is your fault. You have family here that support you and people who love you. You got Maria, Pedro, people at the hospital, and now you got me. We're all your family."
"Yeah, I know. I just can't help but think about how they're doing, ya know?"
"Then why don't you give them a call? Or go to Jersey and visit them?"
She takes a deep breathe and shakes her head. "I can't do that. The things I said to them were unforgivable and I'll never forget the horrible things they said to me. It's just one of those things."
"I see where you get your stubbornness from." We both laugh.
"You're not wrong there." We lie in bed in a comfortable silence before she says, "Your sister isn't one of those girls who hates every girl her brother brings home, is she?"
I let out a throaty laugh because Mia has never been one of those girls. "No she's actually the opposite of that. She's jealous that my dad has met you and she hasn't."
"I met your dad before I even met you."
"That's what I said but she's still jealous."
A smile appears on Letty's face. "I've always wanted a sister."
"So does she."
"Well, let's get some sleep. You wore me out."
"Yes ma'am."
She gives me a quick kiss and looks me right in the eyes. "Thanks for listening."
"Anytime." I kiss her once more before I wrap my arms around her and let sleep take over us.
Sunday
"Mia!"
"Yes, daddy?" Mia yells from the kitchen.
"Can you get the door? I'm at the grill."
"I'm making the salad. Tell Dom to do it."
"Dominic!"
"Yeah?" I yell from upstairs.
"Door please!"
"Yes, sir."
I open the door to the Robinsons, who've been our neighbors since I was a young boy. They are an older couple in their 50's who were never able to have their own children, so my parents let them watch over Mia and I. They are family to us.
"Dominic! It's so good to see you!" The older woman says as she gives me a long hug.
"Jeff, Linda, please come in." I give Jeff a firm handshake and then step aside to let them enter the house.
"My oh my, it's been so long! Look at you! So handsome and all grown up. With manners like that, I still can't believe that you don't got yourself a nice little lady."
I smile shyly before saying, "Actually, I do have a lady. You'll meet her today."
"It's about time, son. None of us are getting any younger!" Jeff jokes. "We can't wait to meet this lucky young lady."
"Head out back, Dad's at the grill and some of the other neighbors are here."
"Alright Sweetie. Now where is little Mia?"
They disappear into the kitchen as I stay in the living room, taking a seat on the couch.
Outside, we set up a couple of tables for all of our guests. It's been a few years since we had a barbecue, so dad wanted to go all out and invite all of our old friends.
As I'm about to head outside, my phone starts to ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, just letting you know that I just got out, so I'm gonna head home, shower, and then drive on over." Says the raspy voice on the phone that belongs to my girlfriend.
"My dad didn't give you the day off?"
"No, he did. I just didn't take it."
"Of course you didn't." I say with a smile.
"Okay well I'll see you soon, Papa."
"New nickname?"
"Yeah, you like?"
"Makes me feel old." I joke.
"You are old."
"You're younger than me by two years."
"So? You're still older!"
"Not by much."
"We'll finish this discussion later, grandpa." We both laugh.
"Alright, see ya baby."
I end the call and walk outside to a backyard full of people laughing, drinking and socializing. I see Brian, Jesse, and Suki hanging out while sipping on some coronas and I head towards them.
"Hey guys."
"Hey, Man."
"Sup."
"Thanks for having us today." Suki smiles at me.
"You guys are the closest friends I've got, of course."
That was true. Ever since I started my internship at the hospital a few months ago, I haven't really talked to my old friends because of my busy schedule. But the 48 hour shifts helped me grow a lot closer to the other interns especially Brian, Jesse, and Suki.
"When do we grub?" Brian asks.
"Probably in an hour."
"Good because I'm starving!"
"Anybody want another corona?" Mia asks from behind me, carrying a handful of beers in her hand.
"Please."
"Here you go, folks. I'll take the empty bottles."
"Mia, have you met Jesse and Suki?"
"I met Suki when I answered the door, but I have not met Jesse. Nice to meet you, I'm Dom's sister." She says with a smile.
"You look familiar."
"You've probably seen me at the hospital. I volunteer there on my free time."
"Yeah! I've seen you around. Good to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine! Dom, you should take over the grill and let dad socialize a little bit."
"Yeah, okay." I turn back to my friends and say, "Help yourselves to all the booze you'd like! Mi casa es su casa!"
I head over to the grill, stopping to say hello to some of the other people I haven't seen yet.
"I'll take it over from here, Pops."
"You sure? I can finish up."
"Yeah I'm sure. Go catch up with some of your old friends."
"Alright. Thanks, son." I smile at him and then continue on with the cooking.
Mia's POV
I go inside to throw away the empty corona bottles. I glance at the sink and see some dirty dishes and decide to wash them so I wouldn't have to wash that much later. As I turn on the sink, I see a familiar face come to stand next to me.
"Hey." He says almost shyly.
I smile up at Brian. "Hi."
"Want some help?"
"No I've got it covered. Go outside and have fun."
"You Torettos sure are stubborn." He jokes as he grabs a towel and starts to dry the dishes. There's a comfortable science as we continue our routine, I wash and he dries. "I had fun the other day."
"Did you?"
"I did. And the time before that, and the other few times before that."
"That's good to hear."
"Did you?"
"Did I..."
"Have a good time?"
"I did." I admit, looking down as I feel myself start to blush. "I like spending time with you."
"Me too." We smile at each other as we finish up the dishes.
Brian and I went out to eat a few weeks back. It went really well that we decided to hang out again, and then again, and then again. I'm not going to lie, he's very good looking, but he's also so sweet and caring. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to develop feelings for him. We've kept our relationship a secret because we were afraid of what Dom might do or say. He'd probably beat the crap out of Brian if I'm being completely honest.
I turn off the faucet and wipe my hands dry, then turn to face him to see him already looking at me.
"What?" I aks shyly.
"Nothing. You're just really beautiful."
I giggle as I look away. "Thanks. You wanna go find a seat before we get stuck sitting at the table farthest from the food?"
"Lead the way Madam."
Dom's POV
I'm about to finish up on the grill when I feel a familiar pair of arms wrap around my torso.
"Hey baby." I hear the familiar voice and instantly smile.
"Hey you're here! Who let you in?" I ask after I give her a quick peck.
"Myself. I knocked on the door a few times and no one answered. I heard laughter coming from back here, so I walked around the house and snuck my way over to you."
"Well the food's just about done. Wanna be my sous-chef?"
"Just tell me what to do captain!" She says grabbing the tongs from my hand and stepping in between me and the grill.
We finish 15 minutes later and set the food buffet style by the grill. I take Letty's hand and introduce her to everyone that came.
"Oh she's a pretty one Dominic." Linda says.
"I know." I smile, looking over at Letty as she blushes a little.
"Thank you." Letty replies politely.
"He treating you alright?" Jeff asks.
"I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't."
"Good answer." He sad and we all laugh.
"Excuse us. She still hasn't met Mia yet."
"You two go right on ahead."
"Nice meeting you both."
"Likewise, sweetheart."
We walk over to Mia, who's sitting at a table with Brian, Jesse, and Suki.
"Mia, I want to introduce you to someone."
Mia stands up and her eyes light up as she realizes who I'm talking about.
"So this is the famous Letty Ortiz."
"In the flesh."
"I've heard a lot about you."
"Good things I hope."
"Coming out of Dom and my dad, they make it sound like you're Wonder Woman." They both laugh as I smile at their interaction.
"What a relief."
I look over at the others and see them looking over.
"Hey guys. You remember Letty, right?"
"Hey Dr. Ortiz!"
"How are you doing ma'am?"
"Woah guys, what's with the formalities? We're not at the hospital, please call me Letty!"
"How you doing, Letty?" Brian asks.
"Hungry. I'm ready to stuff my face." We all laugh as she takes a seat between Mia and Jesse. I sit across from her.
"You're Jesse right?"
"Yeah!" He says, surprised that she knew his name.
"I was talking to Gisele the other day and she was telling me that you're really good at sketching cars."
"Yeah I am."
"That's pretty fucking cool. I use to sketch myself."
"Oh yeah? You're into cars too?"
And like that, everyone seemed to forget that she was an attending.
"Attention! Attention, please!"
Everyone stops talking and turns their attention to my dad.
"I'd like to thank you all for being here today, whether you are old friends, or new. Family has always been an important part of the Toretto household. They don't have to be blood related to be considered family. They are the people who you trust, love, and support. I consider you all family, my family. I'd like to thank God for bringing us all together on this day and in life. Father, let us forever cherish the loved ones who are no longer with us and may you bless our food, which we are so thankful for. To family." Dad raises his Corona and everyone follows as they say 'amen'.
"Dig in!"
Everyone cheers as we start to eat and enjoy each other's company.
"Plymouth Road Runner or a Skyline?"
"Are you serious Jesse? American muscle all the way, the Plymouth!"
"Boo!" Brians says to Letty as he throws a crumbled up napkin at her.
"Brian, I think you're the only person here who would chose an import over american muscle." Everyone laughs while Brian shoots me the middle finger. Everyone else left except for Brian, Letty, Jesse, and Suki.
"Then I'm the only one with taste!"
"Ha! In your dreams." Letty teases.
"Whats going on over here?" My dad walks over to us and smiles.
"Nothing much, Tony. We're all just laughing at Brian because he likes imports."
"What? Why?"
"See Brian? You're crazy." We all laugh once again at Brian and he just smiles as he shakes his head at us.
"Well thank you all for coming! Mia wrapped some leftovers, so be sure to take some home before you leave. I'm headed to bed because some of us have work in the morning. Good night everyone!"
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mr. T."
"Thank you for having us!"
"I think I'm going to head out." Jesse says as he stands up.
"Me too."
"I'll walk you guys out." I say as I follow Jesse and Suki into the house.
Brian's POV
"I'm gonna go grab some leftovers and head on home." I say to Letty as I get up from my seat and head towards the house.
"Hey Brian."
"Yeah?"
"Besides the fact that you like Imports, you're a pretty cool person."
"Thanks, you are too." I smile over at Letty. "I'm glad Dom has you in his life."
"Did I just get the best friend approval?"
I laugh. "You can say that."
"I'll see you around, Buster."
"Goodnight to you too, Let."
I close the door behind me as I enter the kitchen and see Mia cleaning up.
"Need help with anything?"
"No, it's okay. I just finished."
"Oh, sorry I couldn't help you."
"I don't mind doing it on my own. You all seemed to be having a nice time. I didn't want to ruin it because that's all that matters."
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"How can you be so selfless, so kind, and so genuine? Yet so beautiful and graceful, all at the same time." She looks down, but I catch her blushing. "It's amazing. You amaze me."
"Brian, I-"
"Hey, you leaving?" Dom walks into the kitchen and looks at me.
"Uh.. yeah, just grabbing some leftovers."
"Here you go." Mias says as she hands my three plates of leftovers. "We have plenty so come back for more!"
"I will definitely do that." I wink at her and then look over at Dom, thankful that he didn't catch that. "See you at the house, man."
"See ya, bro." I respond as I walk out of the house. 'I think I'm falling in love'.
Dom's POV
I step back outside and find Letty cleaning up the trash.
"You don't have to do that, Let."
"How about you grab a trash bag so we can cut Mia some slack and finish cleaning up this mess quicker?"
"You sure are smart, woman."
"I know."
Once we finish, we tie a knot on each trash bag and lean it up against the house.
"Ready to go?" I ask.
"Yeah. Let me say bye to your sister."
We head back inside and find Mia still in the kitchen.
"Hey Mi, we're leaving." I say as I kiss her head and give her a hug.
"Okay, here are some leftovers to take home." She hands us plastic bags each filled with several plates of leftovers.
"Thanks, girl. It was nice to meet you." Letty and Mia hug each other and I can't help but smile at the sight before me.
"Please come by anytime! With or without Dom, I don't care. Just don't be a stranger." She smiles at Letty as they separate.
"I won't. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight you guys!"
We head outside and walk over to her car that just so happens to be parked next to mine.
"I had a great time today."
"I'm glad you did."
"You have amazing people in your life."
"Yeah, they're pretty awesome. But you're my favorite." I say as I pull her closer to me by her belt loop.
"Am I?"
"Yup." I kiss her neck, all the way up to her lips.
"You're pretty awesome too."
"Just pretty awesome?"
"Yeah." She jokes.
"What can I do to go from pretty awesome to fucking awesome?"
"I can think of a few things."
"Yeah?" I slowly lean my face towards her's.
"Yeah." She leans in to meet my lips before pulling away and running to her car.
"I'll race you to your place."
"Cheater!" I yell as she backs out. She winks at me then speeds off toward my house. 'I think I'm falling in love'
Sorry for the late update! But I hope you enjoyed this long chapter and please leave me a review(: