Chapter 10

Leon had been lounging around his apartment all afternoon, wandering from one room to another and back again when he'd run out of rooms. Chachi had shadowed him for a while, popping his head in and out of the rooms and trailing after Leon, but the dog had eventually tired of the strange "game" and had trotted over to a sunlight-warmed patch of rug to wait out his friend's restless behaviour.

Settling himself down in front of the TV for the fifth time that day, Leon stretched his legs out before him and sat watching his dog who lay conked out on top of the Playstation controllers, effectively ruling out that option.

He didn't normally have Fridays off, but it had been a busy week for everyone, what with helping Vince and Mia move into their new home and trying to find any time in-between to work on the jobs they'd already taken on for the week. Dom and Letty had been up to their eyeballs in last-minute shopping and party preparations, so although the garage was closed, Leon had offered to go in today to get some work done. The throaty chuckle that sounded over the line assured him that while his willingness was appreciated, it really wasn't necessary. "Edwin can stand to wait a few days," Dom had told him, "And you and Jess deserve a day off, so don't worry about it." He'd been offering to help them run some errands, not looking forward to a day of boredom, when the sounds of rustling and scuffling abruptly cut him off as the phone switched hands and Letty's voice filled his ear, ordering him stop whining and take the damned day off, already!

So here he was sitting on his couch, again, and slowly nodding off when the door knob rattled.

Sitting up as a thump echoed in the hallway outside his door, Leon lazily pushed himself up and off the couch, ignoring Chachi's sudden alertness and the way his ears perked up, lips curling into a snarl.

Scratching his chest and yawning sleepily as he moved towards the door, Leon sighed, figuring Jesse had forgotten his keys again, and swung the door open to let his friend in. Only it wasn't Jesse who'd been trying to open the door.

Startled at having the door yanked open before her, almost causing her to fall face-forward, Tori Phillips jumped up from her half-crouched position, wide, guilt-filled hazel eyes locking with his angry glare.

"Oh! Leon--you're home!" Tori shouted happily as a wide, ecstatic smile replaced the look of guilt she'd worn.

Crossing his arms over his chest and gritting his teeth to reign in his anger, Leon glared down at the obnoxious woman as she straightened to full height. She was a full foot shorter than him with curly red hair and a slim body. She was attractive enough. Leon simply wished she'd find someone else to stalk, someone who might actually appreciate her efforts.

"What do you want, Tori?" Leon asked, feeling more than a little harassed at having this petite woman filling his doorway and trying to look beyond him into his apartment.

"Uhhh...nothing, nothing. I was just-- in the area? Yeah, and I thought I'd come and see if you weren't busy and wanted to do something with me?" she asked hopefully.

Leon sighed. Truthfully, from what he could remember of that drunken night five months ago, he'd liked Tori well enough and had found her an attractive alternative to the multitude of brunettes he'd met, who'd just reminded him of a certain brown-haired girl he'd once loved. Thinking back on that night, Leon wished he'd just taken his chances with one of the brunettes there that night, or better yet, that he hadn't slept with anyone at all...

"Leon?"

Snapping back to the present, Leon shook his head dismissively, backing into his apartment to keep an eye on her to make sure she wouldn't try to sidle past him, and starting to close the door in her face. "Look Tori, you're a nice girl, a'ight? But I already told you--I ain't interested, ok?" Seeing the shorter woman open her mouth to protest, Leon held up his hand while simultaneously pushing his dog away from the door so Tori wouldn't try to kidnap him again. "And even if I wanted to chill witchu, which I don't, I gotta go meet up with my girlfriend anyways, so kindly--" Leon dropped his hand to make shooing motions he hoped Tori would understand.

"Y--you don't have a girlfriend," she accused, hazel eyes beginning to well with tears and narrowing as she regarded Leon steadily.

Hoping he'd found a loophole out of this whole mess, Leon crossed his arms again and met the girl's steady gaze with a glare of his own, "Actually, I do. And she don't take too kindly to other broads hanging around me and trying to lure me into bed with 'em, so I think it's a good idea for everyone if you just forget about me and find someone else, ok? Alright. G'bye."

Closing the door in the distraught-looking redhead's face, Leon locked the door and went to go take a shower, hoping that was the last he'd be seeing of Tori Phillips...

---

"Baaabe..."

"Whaaat?" Mia called back, distractedly.

Pulling a picture frame out of a box, she dusted it off before gently setting it down on the shelf in front of her. It was a picture that had been taken the day Ava was born. An exhausted-looking Letty was laying back against her pillows and cradling a tiny, scrunched-up, red-faced, little baby girl, all bundled up in pink and looking about ready to let loose an ear-piercing howl. And yet there stood her brother--one large hand splayed gently over baby Ava's stomach and grinning, face glowing with pride as he admired his new-born daughter. Tomorrow she'd be turning five years old and Mia couldn't believe how quickly she'd grown.

Abandoning her unpacking job, Mia waddled over to the sofa and slowly lowered herself onto it, propping her feet up on the coffee table as she rubbed her swollen belly. Feeling the baby kick, Mia felt a warm, fuzzy feeling envelope her and sat wondering and daydreaming about the day she'd finally get to hold her baby in her arms.

"Babe!"

"What!?!" Mia snapped back, angry at being yanked out of her daydream.

"Have you seen my Motor Chicks video?!" Vince shouted down to her from upstairs.

Mia rolled her eyes. Honestly, men and their cars and their women.

"What do you need chicks for?!" She shouted back, playfully. "I thought I was all the chick you needed?"

What sounded like an elephant tumbling down the stairs was actually Vince barreling down the steps and rushing into the room. "What did you do to it, woman?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mia stated, very matter-of-factly.

Suddenly Vince cracked a smile and reached for one of Mia's aching feet, really digging into the sole with his fingers and kneading it deeply.

"Ooooh that feels so good," she moaned, sinking back into the couch.

Vince smirked triumphantly. "Good enough to tell me where my video is?" he all but sing-songed.

"Never," Mia muttered sleepily, eyes closing in pleasurable delight.

Ceasing his ministrations and poking her foot in annoyance, Vince growled at her and left the room.

A sudden knock at the door had Mia groaning. "V? Would you get that, hunny bunch?" she called just as she heard the back door slam shut. Crap.

The impatient visitor knocked again and had Mia cussing all the way to the door.

"Oh, Lara. Hey--what's up?" Mia asked, surprised to see her cousin on the other side of her door. Wasn't she supposed to be at work today? "Come in, come in!"

---

The two women had been sitting together in the kitchen for the past ten minutes, sipping tall glasses of lemonade and chit-chatting about any random topic under the sun.

"So you just said 'yes'?" Lara asked curiously, fingers drumming an irregular pattern against the tabletop.

"Uh huh. Pretty much, yeah," Mia nodded, swirling her straw around in her glass. "I'd told him 'no' probably about a zillion times. I'd date these guys I always thought were perfect for me--"

"Like Brian," Lara provided.

Mia nodded her agreement, pausing to take a sip of her drink. "Like Brian. And then, when he and Jesse got better and things kind of returned to normal, he asked me out again and I thought, ya know, what the heck, right? What's one date gonna hurt? And maybe he'd get it out of his system."

The sound of loud hammering outside caught the girls' attention and they both glanced out the window seeing Vince putting something together.

"Um...where was I?" Mia asked, trailing off distractedly at the sight of her gruffly, handsome husband hard at work. "Oh yeah. So I thought, one date. No biggie. He'd been through hell and it was the least I could do. Plus, I felt like a real bitch 'cause he'd never been anything but nice to me...a little lewd, but nice, nevertheless.

"So we went out to this little restaurant--not the one he was gonna take me to originally, 'cause I went there with Brian.." Mia recalled, a faint flush of embarrassment colouring her cheeks as she thought back on the way she'd acted in her desperation to get Vince off her back. She was glad, now, that he hadn't given up on her.

"I remember getting home that night and feeling really surprised that we'd had such a good time. He'd told me jokes to get me to lighten up and we talked and laughed and when we pulled into the driveway at the end of the night, I actually felt nervous around him for the first time, but he didn't even try anything. When I looked at him, I could tell that he wanted to, but he just sat there, staring back at me. And then before I knew what was happening, I kissed him... And then I hopped out of the car and ran into the house and up to my room."

Lara laughed mockingly, "Chicken shit."

"Haha, yeah..." Mia murmured, smiling fondly at the memory. "But come on, cuz. I know we're interesting and all, but I know you didn't come here just to listen to me ramble on and on about Vince and myself, so spill."

"You know, I always told you that you and Vince would be good together..."

"Yeah, yeah," Mia huffed, scowling at Lara and wondering why she was avoiding the subject when she could tell something was definitely on her mind. "Spill."

Lara went still and stayed silent for a moment before meeting Mia's dark eyes and blurting out: "I'm gonna tell him!"

Chewing her lip thoughtfully, Mia motioned for her cousin to elaborate. "Tell who what?"

"I'm gonna tell Leon--everything! I'm decided. If I want him back, I'm gonna have to fight for him, right?"

"Right," Mia agreed, dutifully.

"So he wanted to know why I go by a different name and what's been going on, why I stayed away...and I'm gonna tell him.

"I've seen him around a few times since the day he walked into the bakery. I don't know if he saw me at all, but every time I see him my heart just literally stops beating. I still remember everything about us. But I don't want to live in the past, Mi. I still love him so, so much and I wanna be with him again."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Mia wondered aloud.

"You got me into this by sending Leon over to my work, so in a way, I feel that it's pretty much your responsibility to see me through 'til the end," Lara responded matter-of-factly, flashing her cousin a cheeky grin.

"Point taken," Mia laughed. "So, when are you gonna tell him? Are you just gonna show up at his house?"

Lara shook her head, suddenly very determined. "No, I'll tell him after the party on Saturday. I'll ask him to go out for a coffee or something and then I'll tell him everything. And if he doesn't care or doesn't wanna try again, then at least I tried and I won't have to wonder about what could've been...again."

Mia simply nodded.

"I'm gonna tell him..." Lara reaffirmed. "Tomorrow..."