Music floated throughout the lavish mansion accompanied by random chatter and the clinking of glasses. Meanwhile upstairs, the only thing that could be heard was childlike laughter. Tori, all dressed up in her party wear was currently cuddled next to Cameron reading him his favorite story, Goodnight Moon. As Tori laid next to him she peeped over at the toddler every so often to see if sleep had taken him yet. By the time she got to the last two pages, she had noticed that her page turner's eyes were shut. Tori closed the book and sat it on her bedside table. She then eased off the mattress and leaned down to pick up a sleeping Cameron. Cradling him in her arms, she made her way to his bedroom and gently laid him down in his new big boy bed. Just as she was about to leave, a little hand tugged at the sleeve of her dress.
"Nooo mommy." Cameron's groggy voice called out catching Tori in the midst of her escape. Sleeping in his new bed was still a strange feeling, so for the past two nights he's slept with his mother and father in their bed.
Tori sighed looking down at her son who has yet to release his hold on her dress. "Cam I'm not going far. Mommy's just going to be right downstairs with daddy okay?" she assured him and clicked on a nightlight.
Cameron was not sold. He crossed his arms over his chest poking his lip out to pout. "No, I wanna go with you." He babbled.
A smirk came to her face seeing him with his lip poked out and wild hair covering his eyes. There was one trait of hers that she knew he had for sure, and that was her tendency to be stubborn. Tori sat down on the tiny bed and pulled the tot onto her lap. "What if I promise to come back up here to check on you? Do you know what a promise is?" Tori asked, and he shook his head from side to side. "Well a promise is when someone says they're going to do something, and they do it. Like when I say that if you promise to go to sleep, I promise that you can spend the whole day with mommy tomorrow."
Cameron's face lit up hearing that. "I promise."
"Great, now can I have kisses?" Tori asked.
He sat there with his hand on his chin causing Tori to laugh. "Hmm, otay." He decided, and his little hands grabbed her face and placed a loud kiss on her cheek. "Night, night mama." He said as he climbed off her lap and under his blanket.
Tori tucked the blanket around him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Goodnight baby."
When Tori finally descended down the stairs, she was greeted by a bunch of unfamiliar faces. Most of them were "associates" of Carter's, people who worked for him and the usual crowd from the races. Whenever Carter had something big going down, he threw party's to get a feel for his potential employee's. He needed to know if he could trust them, and if he couldn't trust them in his home then he definitely couldn't trust them with his drugs or money. A server zoomed by with a tray of champagne catching Tori's eye. With Carter nowhere in sight, she headed in his direction to sneak in a glass before she could get caught, but a hand on her wrist stopped her pursuit. Tori turned around to see Carter standing there in his perfectly tailored white dress pants and black silk shirt.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Carter wrapped his arm around Tori's waist pulling her closer to him.
Tori tried to relax into his embrace when what she really wanted to do was chase down that tray of champagne. "I was putting Cameron to bed." She replied.
"In his bed right, because I can't deal with that another night." He tried to kiss her but she turned her face away.
"You can't deal with your son? Gee Carter, that's top notch parenting."
"You know I didn't mean it like that." Carter caressed her cheek, seeing that he had struck a nerve.
"You never do." Tori replied sarcastically.
"Don't you fucking start-" Carter turned around to see Roberto standing there.
"Mr. Verone you have a call." Roberto stated. When Carter didn't move he leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "It's important."
Carter spoke no words. He just walked away leaving Tori with the lingering feeling of his strong hold. As soon as he was out of sight her eyes scanned the room for alcohol of any kind. Her eyes found their way to the front door just as a group of people were entering. The pursuit of inebriation was gone when her sights were set on the muscular figure heading the pack. He looked different all dressed up. More mature even. Enrique was there to greet them when they entered. Tori watched them from a distance keeping her eyes trained. Some sort of commotion was starting to break out involving some shoving. Pretty soon other heads were turning in their direction and Tori decided it was time to intervene. She pushed through the crowded room and over to the entrance, just as Enrique pulled his gun on the group.
Tori stepped in front of Enrique laying her hand on his arm instructing him to lower the gun. "Hey, what's going on here?" she asked looking back and forth between the causes of the friction.
Holstering the gun on his hip, Enrique's eyes shifted from Dom to Tori. "I told him, that nobody enters past this point without getting searched."
When her eyes landed Dom's, she could spot the stubborn aggression on his face. She stepped closer to him challenging his defiance with a smirk. "Well I'm sure Mr. Toretto doesn't have a problem with a harmless pat down. You have nothing to hide, right?"
Looking down at Tori, Dom's features immediately softened. He appraised her slowly in her fancy get up and sparkling jewelry. This was a side of her that he wasn't used to seeing. "Nothing at all." He replied.
"Great, then you don't mind me checking for myself now do you?"
"Be my guest, I'm all yours." Dom replied teasingly as he raised his arms causing her to shake her head.
Tori stepped closer to Dom, allowing her hands to run across his sculpted muscle. Although a part of her enjoyed it, she couldn't allow it to show. After a brief pat down she stepped back. "He's clean." She stated and he lowered his arms. Tori turned to Enrique who was still waiting with a scowl. "See… it's all in how you ask." She stated causing him to turn on his heels and walk away. Tori then turned her focus back to the awaiting group. "So, the gang's all here."
Mia was in shock. After begging Dom and Brian to bring her along so she could see Tori for herself, she wasn't quite sure how to handle it. "It's really you." Her shaky voice spoke in awe.
"Excuse me?" Tori asked slightly confused.
Seeing her was more emotional than she thought it would be. Being brought out of her gaze by Letty's elbow, Mia quickly recuperated. "I'm sorry, where's your bathroom?"
After giving Mia and the suddenly quiet group a quizzical look, she turned to point in the direction of the bathroom. "Walk straight down this hall, and make a left. It's the third door."
Letty looped her arm with Mia's pulling her down the hall. "I'll go with you."
After watching the two women disappear, Tori set her attention back on the men. "You all can follow me." said Tori as she ushered them through the house and out to the patio to wait for Carter.
Once they sat down one of the servers came over with a tray holding several glasses of champagne passing one to Leon, Vince, Rome, Brian, and Dom. When she got to Tori she paused in mid extension of the glass and placed it back on the tray. "Oh I'm so sorry Mrs. Verone, I'll be right back with your water."
There was a brief disappointment on Tori's face that Dom caught. She was so close to getting her drink, but from the looks of it Carter had spoken to the staff. Tori nodded and the server walked away. Her fingers tapped on the table looking at the four men sitting across from her while trying to avoid the one sitting beside her. "So… are you guys from here and there as well?" she asked and could feel Dom's eyes on her.
They all looked at her confused, all except for one. "It's an inside joke." Dom spoke watching the smile play across her lips.
"So how are you guys adapting to Miami life so far. I hope you're finding it up to your standards."
"Sunny skies, beautiful women, what more can a man ask for." said Rome as his eyes followed a tall brunette passing by. Letty and Mia approached the table shaking their heads as they sat down.
Now Tori had already known that Letty was with Vince from their meeting at the races, and judging from the open display of affection between Brian and Mia she figured that those two were paired off as well. Tori eyed the happy couples with a ping of jealously. She wondered if she had ever known that happiness, and if she ever will. Noticing that she had a certain someone watching her every move she found a smile to place on her face. "Did you ladies find the bathroom okay?" she asked getting their attention.
Mia smiled and nodded trying to act as normal as possible. "Yes, and you have a beautiful home."
"How long have you lived here?" Letty asked.
Her eyes went vacant as she tried to force herself to think back, but her brain couldn't recollect anything past the birth of her son. "I'm not too sure, my memory escapes me at this moment." There was a somber feeling she felt every time she thought about not knowing where she came from.
Tori chatted with them some more, picking up whatever little information about this mysterious team of racers who appeared over night. As they talked and laughed, she couldn't help feeling at ease with everyone. While watching them laugh and joke she felt a certain fondness towards them, and that baffled her completely. When Tori looked up from their conversation she saw Roberto coming towards them with a small entourage.
"Compliments of Mr. Verone." Roberto stepped aside bringing the five beautiful women he was escorting into view.
The guy's jaws nearly dropped as the women sashayed over to them. Mia and Letty did a double take seeing the stuck looks on Brian and Vince's faces. When their death glares wasn't enough to alert their gawking men, they both received elbows to the ribs.
"Well folks, it would appear that you are in good hands." Once the newly invited guest arrived, Tori stood from the lounge smoothing out the front of her dress. "Oh and ladies… these two are off limits." said Tori, pointing to Brian and Vince.
"That's okay, more for us." Leon chimed in with a cheshire grin on his face throwing an arm around two women.
Dom's eyes followed Tori's fleeting body completely oblivious to the perfectly manicured hand creeping up his thigh. He was starting to lose her in the mass of people. Giving a quick look and seeing no signs of Carter, Dom decided it was time to make his move. "Will you excuse me." said Dom as he brushed off the stranger leaving her mystified after being rebuffed.
Making his way through the crowd, Dom found Tori standing at the bar with a frustrated look on her face. He walked up to the bar, standing at her side. Tori looked to her left watching him stand there pretending that he didn't notice her. She cleared her throat and in turn Dom looked at her with a feigned surprise. "And why aren't you basking in the ambiance with your friends?" Tori asked.
Tilting his head to the side Dom shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I like the view here much better." He gave her a blatant once over before bringing his eyes to connect with hers.
"Don't like it too much. That could get you killed." She warned. Seeing Dom standing there with his bedroom eyes, and all dressed up in a tux at that was very tempting… but, he was playing with fire, especially with Carter lurking about.
Dom took a step closer sealing the space between them, "some things are worth dying for." He replied. When she looked up at him there wasn't a hint of playfulness anywhere. Before she could say anything, Dom turned to the bartender who finally made his way over to them. "I'll have two shots of tequila." He ordered and the man nodded. Once the drinks were poured, he slid one over to Tori who looked at it, and back at him.
"How did you know I wanted tequila?" she asked.
Once again, he shrugged. "Everyone's entitled to a lucky day."
The way he said that stuck something in Tori. It was déjà vu. She'd heard those exact words spoken before. Tori downed her drink before she could be spotted by Carter's snitches. It was much needed. She then sat the glass on the bar turning to face Dom. "Do you dance Mr. Toretto?"
"I don't know, are you asking?" he replied. Not bothering with an answer, Tori dragged him away from the bar to blend in with the other swaying bodies, and away from prying eyes.
Keeping a safe distance between them, Tori placed one hand on Dom's shoulder, and interlocked the other with his as he planted his free hand on her hip. The two of them moved in silence, but their minds were running rapid. Being so close to him probably wasn't a good idea. The smell of his cologne was so intoxicating that she wanted nothing more than to just bury her face in his chest. Meanwhile Dom was fighting the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of there. He had his life back, it was right in his hands for the taking, but he couldn't compromise Hobbs plans, because the only thing he wanted more than Tori was seeing Carter brought to justice.
"You clean up nice." Tori spoke ending their silence and snatching Dom from his thoughts.
"Are you complimenting me right now?" Dom asked looking down at her with a teasing smirk.
"Yes I am, now don't let it go to your head… it's big enough." She joked.
Dom tried to keep a straight face attempting to look offend, but fail miserably. "Ouch, that hurt. I think you get a kick out of that. First it was my car, then my jaw, now self-esteem. What's next?"
Tori thought about it, tilting her head to the side for effect. "I haven't decided yet, but give me time." She mused. She and Dom shared a laugh. It felt good to just joke around freely without being so serious all the time. "How's your jaw by the way?" she asked seeing that there were no traces of a bruise.
"It's fine, no thanks to you." Dom replied unsmiling thinking back to having to ice his jaw for a day.
Tori shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you shouldn't have kissed me."
"You kissed me back, so what doesn't that say about you?" Dom asked.
"It says that I had a brief lack of judgment… a moment of weakness if you will." She explained. The funny part about it was she didn't know if she was trying to convince him, or herself.
"So you're saying that I'm your weakness?" Dom's grip tightened on Tori's hip pulling her flush against his chest.
Before Dom could respond, Tori felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Enrique and Roberto, or thing one and thing two as she liked to call them, standing behind her. "Carter will see you now." Enrique pointed to Carter who stood behind the French doors just watching her.
Tori stepped out of Dom's grasp brushing her hands out her sides. "Lead the way." said Tori, although she was slightly unnerved wondering how long Carter had been watching her.