She hadn't told the others at the house that he was gay, and she'd let Deke know that she probably wouldn't at first. While they had accepted Teena, and even joked around with her now, Shea wanted them to know Deke without the added stigma. She wanted to see if they liked him for him. They stopped for lunch on their way to Shea's new home, and while they ate she told Deke all about Spider and Vince. Her relationship with Deke was so much more open than what she had with everyone else, and he was the only one she told about both experiences with Vince. Where Teena was effeminate; Deke was very masculine and his reaction was one of violence aimed towards the abusive biker.
They got back to the house in the early evening, and she led him in. They were already laughing, and Shea felt so good having her friend with her. Letty and Leon were playing video games while Vince watched. Dom and Jesse were across the room talking about car parts, and Mia was cooking something while Brian kept her company. Everyone looked up as they entered. She introduced him to everyone, and everyone shook hands.
Deke gave them a smile, "I just can't tell you how grateful I am for everything you all have done for Lane here."
"Oh, stop D." she told him and punched his arm lightly. He pinched her side causing her to giggle. "Let's take your stuff up, and I'll show you my room."
Once they were upstairs, Vince turned to Dom. "Where's that guy staying?"
"With Shea." he said and went back to his conversation with Jesse.
They grilled out that night, and the way the two were always touching each other started grating on Vince's nerves. "So you're Vince?" the guy asked looking at him.
"That I am." he said taking a swig of his beer.
"Yeah, Shea's told me a lot about you." he said, and Vince couldn't tell if he knew about him and Shea. "Thanks for handling that Spider freak."
Vince shrugged, "No one messes with one of us."
"Lane likes to pretend she can do everything, and handle everything." Deke said, staring at his friend who was currently talking to Mia. "But she can't. I've seen her hurt too often by guys that she put too much faith in. But now I'm worried that she won't put any faith in any guy. That would be a loss for some guy out there I think."
Vince found himself looking at Shea too. "You knew that Rick guy?" He saw distaste run across the other man's face.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, he started keeping her away from us. I haven't been able to spend as much time with Lane as I'd like to. We'll change that now though." Deke smiled. "Lane!" he bellowed. "I need a beer and a kiss." Vince laughed when she flipped him off. Then she brought another beer over to the man and leaned over giving him a smack on the lips.
"You're so lucky I love your ass, you bitch." she teased. She turned to walk away and he slapped her butt. She laughed and kept going.
"So Shea, what's up with you and Deke?" Letty asked.
"Nothing." she said.
"But yall are so all over each other."
This made Shea laugh. "We aren't like that Let. We're very comfortable in our relationship. We've always been touchy, and affectionate. If you promise not to tell, I'll tell ya a secret." Letty swore and Shea leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Deke is more Teena's type." Letty made an 'Oh' with her mouth. "Deke is someone I can cuddle with and who tells me I'm beautiful, and he loves me." Shea looked at her hands. "Everything with guys gets messed up for me. I need some Deke time."
"So Deke, you like cars?" Leon asked. "What kind of car you got?"
"They're ok. I own a red Eclipse. I've had like three DUI's, so probably best I don't like fast cars that much. I'm more into music myself. We used to go to karaoke quite a bit, pre-dick." Deke grinned. "We'd get Shea completely cranked on liquor, and make her sing. She's a lot of fun. Gives me an idea for what to do while I'm in town."
"We'll take you to the races too." Jesse said enthusiastically. Lil had shown up and snuck up behind Jesse, causing him to jump.
Someone put music on, and the couples started dancing. Deke excused himself from talking to Leon and Vince, and pulled Shea out where the others were. Shea cuddled into him, and laid her head on his shoulder. It sucked, Vince thought. He liked her friend, but seeing the two of them together caused a bitter taste in his mouth, and his stomach hurt. How could he like the guy and want to kill him at the same time? If he seriously cared about Shea, and seriously wanted her to choose him over Deke, Vince knew he had to figure out a way to show her. He had to figure out a way to win her. Vince swallowed past a lump in his throat. He wasn't an emotional guy, and he didn't like these feelings, but seeing a tear fall from her eye onto the man's shoulder made him want to fight the world for her.
Shea danced with Deke and wished it was someone a little taller; someone a little wider. When had she started looking at Vince as more than a friend? Was it before they had sex the first time? Before the second time? She didn't know, but what she did know is that they called him Ol' Coyote for a reason. She couldn't forget that.
Deke had a great time at the races, and an even better time at the after party. Team Toretto cleaned up, as usual. Everyone seemed to like him, even Vince, which was a miracle. People were dancing in the living room, and Deke pulled her out. It was bump and grind music, and the two had plenty of practice from their years of partying together. They had good rhythm together, and due to their closeness in height looked good. A small circle had started to form around the two. Teena had come as Kyle that night, and he moved up on her to where Deke and Kyle were sandwiching her.
He couldn't take it anymore. Vince strode in, grabbed Shea, and threw his over his shoulder. Then he stormed out of the house with her shrieking on his back. He didn't see the smile on Deke's face, or the shock on his friends. He put her down once he got to the picnic table.
"Vince! What the hell do you--" she started furiously, until his mouth covered hers his hands on either side of her face.
"I can't keep fighting this." he ground out. "I don't know what the hell is going on Shea, but I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose whatever this is to Deke. He's a great guy and all, which means I'd hate to kill him, but.."
Shea covered his mouth with her hand. "Deke is just my friend Vince. He's gay. I wanted yall to like him for himself, that's the only reason I didn't tell anyone. He's just one of my closest friends."
Vince breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god, so I don't have to kill him for sleeping with you every night while I lay in my bedroom alone."
Shea gave him a smile. "No, the most exciting thing that happened in my bed these past few days was he painted my toenails." Shea kissed him again, liking the rough feel of him against her.
"We aren't messing around anymore Shea. While you're here, we're together. No other guys, unless they're like Deke, and Kyle, Teena, whatever."
"What about you and your chasers?"
"I haven't been with a chaser since that first night with you." he could tell that shocked her. "How could I follow up what we did with anyone else?" Her eyes lit up at this.
"You say the sweetest things." she whispered.