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Fringe (pt 1)
Jessie always found himself on the fringe of his family. It made sense considering he was the youngest. Not to be misunderstood, he enjoyed being on the fringe. He got to hear and see more of the other's lives play out.
He was thirteen when he first thought girls were worth looking at. Up until then he never understood why Casche, Ryan, Tony, and Junior even bothered to talk to girls that weren't in his family. But he got a taste of what the fuss was all about one random day in March.
Jessie was starving by the time he, Junior, Ryan got to the café for lunch. They ordered sandwiches and just started to tear in when a SUV with Nevada plates pulled up. Jessie expected that they'd have two more random people in the café but was surprised when the passenger door opened and one of the sexiest girls he'd ever seen slipped out. His mouth gaped open as she tugged on the top of her jeans though it barely reached the hem of her shirt. She started to walk towards the counter and he stupidly began to tug on Junior's shirt. Jessie couldn't speak but he wanted to get Junior's attention. Her inky black hair, sharp nose, and small but full lips were both faintly familiar and extremely different from his female cousins. He heard Junior huff quietly in appreciation and Ryan straightened up to look more attentive.
Tori, the waitress, welcomed the newcomer and an unprepared look crossed her face. Her voice was husky, "Uh, what's good here?"
The question was clearly posed for the waitress but before Tori could open her mouth, Jessie stupidly answered "Everything's good." He could have slapped myself. Way to play it cool.
"Even the tuna?" she followed up, eyeing him through her sunglasses which covered her eye color.
Junior's low grumbling voice immediately broke Jessie's embarrassment, "Shit no. No one like the tuna here." Ryan laughed and Jessie felt himself smiling on the inside. It was good that she wouldn't get tricked into eating Aunt Mia's tuna, though it was usually his way of hazing newcomers. The girl laughed too and he felt my insides tighten up, the feeling new but not unwelcome. Jessie watched her turn as the familiar sound of tuned engines filled the air. He suddenly felt that even though he enjoyed these 'man lunches' at the café that today would have been happier if the setting had remained more intimate. The girl was clearly uneasy but he was glad she placed herself on a stool and ordered.
Uncle Dom, Uncle Brian, his dad Leon, and Tony waltzed in. Tony ruffled his hair which normally didn't bother him but today it made him uncomfortable. He couldn't stop staring at the girl who was letting her eyes flutter over the group. At once he wished painfully that he was a few years older; old enough to be considered by her if that's what she was looking for. He heard Tony ask who the newcomer was and the lack of an answer had him nudging Junior who smiled and tapped Ryan.
"You from around here?" Ryan asked her. Shit, they were going to tag team her, "You need help finding something? I give a great tour of L.A." Correction, Ryan was going to try and undercut Tony and Junior to get to her first.
She swallowed her soda then looked at him, "Actually you wouldn't happen to know a good mechanic would you?" Jessie couldn't help it, and neither could the rest of the guys. They had to laugh at the irony since every guy at the counter had put in wrench time at his Uncle Dom's garage.
Ryan grinned, "We might. You have a problem with that truck?" He motioned to the SUV with the guy still sitting in the driver's seat.
The girl shrugged, "I might," she told them noncommittally. Jessie thought she was getting nervous with all the attention and then he heard the rumble of another tuned engine. Within seconds his cousin Gigi was traipsing into the café, supermodel worthy looks encased in clothes and expensive heels that were flawlessly put together. While her looks did a lot for other guys, they never really appealed to Jessie. And he never looked at her and felt what was being stirred up inside by the raven haired girl.
Tony teased, "Jeez, it must be model day at the café." The girl turned to look at the new arrival and for a wild moment he prayed that she wasn't into girls too.
Gigi must have caught on that they were trying to pick up the girl because she responded, "Cute," before pushed her sunglasses artfully onto her hair and letting her eyes rove over the raven haired girl. Tori asked if she could help Gigi but Jessie thought she was as interested in what would happen next too. Apparently the girl was uncomfortable with all of the scrutiny because she started reaching in her pockets for money and mumbling about the tab.
Uncle Dom sensed that maybe they'd taken things to far because he called out, "You still need a mechanic honey?"
Before the girl could open her mouth to respond a short haired man hopped out of the SUV, "Trix, let's go." Jessie thought that he must have heard it wrong because it sounded like the guy had called her the name of a kid's cereal. She gave a small smile then walked away, her shirt riding up a bit to show a flash of color on her back. And that was when he realized that he had his first crush on a stranger.