Things couldn't be better around here. It's been over two months since I last saw Johnny and the whole motorcycle incident. Mrs. Salvatore moved closer to her family, Vince helped the movers with the stuff a few days after the accident, I never got to say goodbye to her but Mr. Salvatore came to say goodbye which was nice. Vince promised we would go visit her sometime soon and I was counting on that. Things between Dom and me are amazing her treats me better than any other guy I have been with; he even convinced Vince to let me race… which I los but it was bound to happen. I am now officially on the pay roll and work at the garage handling all the paper work which definitely needed to be handled by a woman because the guys made a mess of everything. Brian and Mia are really happy was well but I think I'm happier. It was 11 when I walked into the garage to start work.
"Where have you been?" Dom asked walking over to give me a kiss.
"Out and about," I replied with a grin.
"Are you coming to the race tonight?" he asked. I didn't always go with the team to the races mostly because I wasn't super into the whole staying out late, drinking and partying scene as much as everyone else.
"I haven't decided yet," I answered.
"Can I persuade you?" he asked leaning down to kiss me lightly.
"Alright fine I will go," I agreed.
"You act like I'm pulling teeth," he teased.
"Dom I need your help with this," Vince yelled over to us. I automatically took a step back so there was a little more space between the two of us. Vince had become surprisingly tolerable of Dom and me but he still didn't like PDA. I haven't gotten him to admit it yet but I'm pretty sure he is happy I ended up with Dom.
"I think I'm going to head over and help Mia out today, I just came to drop off some paper work," I said holding up the papers.
"You are the best little assistant ever," Dom replied.
"I'm not your assistant," I said punching him in the arm. He chuckled and nodded his head.
"You're the best little girlfriend then," he said wrapping his arms around me.
"Oh I know," I said pushing free from him so Vince wouldn't get worked up. "Stop by for lunch otherwise I will see you tonight," I said kissing him and heading over to the small office to drop the paper work off. I noticed Jesse was working on the same car for the past few weeks and today was no exception.
"Hey what's the deal with this car?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Jesse asked popping his head out of the hood.
You've been working on it nonstop all by yourself for the past few weeks, is it yours or what?"
"It was my dad's before he got locked up, I need to make sure it perfect for tonight. I'm racing Tran to get my Jetta back. It's going to be car for car," he explained.
"Tran's going to be at the race tonight?" I asked not liking the sound of that.
"Yeah, Dom didn't tell you?" he asked looking guilty.
"No, no he didn't," I answered looking over to Dom who was working with Vince. "You really think it's a good idea racing him again. I mean what if you lose your father's car?" I asked looking back over to Jesse.
"I'm not going to lose," he replied simply.
"Well I hope that's the case."
"You going to be there?" he asked.
"Yeah of course I am. You're going to need all the support you can get. I got you don't worry," I said giving him a since smile. "I'm going to be working with Mia so stop by for some lunch or I will see you tonight," I said walking over to Dom and Vince.
"Hey Vince I brought you a yellow Gatorade from home," I said tossing it to him.
"Where's mine?" Dom asked almost offended.
"I told you I'm not your assistant. I brought Vince one because he asked me to. If you wanted one you should have asked me to bring you one," I replied.
"Well I would like one," he said.
"Too bad, I'm not just going to drive out and get it. Plus Vince is family and I kinda like him more than you," I teased. Dom faked being offended so I walked over to Vince and gave him a hug before leaving.
"Bye V," I waved.
"Bye Ash, thanks for the Gatorade," he said. I smiled to myself as I got into my car to head over to the diner. Things between Vince and me had never been so good, we haven't had a real fight and the small things we did argue about only lasted a few hours.
"Hey girl," I said hoping over the counter and giving Mia a hug.
"Not working in the shop today?" she asked.
"Naw all that paper work is giving me a headache. I thought you could use some help with the lunch rush today," I joked. This place was never really that crowded but having extra help always made Mia smile.
"You going to the race tonight?" she asked.
"Yeah Dom asked me to," I replied.
"You know Tran's going to be there right?"
"Jesse told me, I figure Dom wants to have eyes on me with Johnny around. You think Jesse will be able to win his Jetta back?" I asked.
"I hope so, if he loses his dad's car he's going to freak especially to Tran," Mia answered putting a beer in front of a customer.
"I'm worried Mia, Tran's better than Jesse and you know it with all his money he tricked out the Jetta so he won't lose. The only reason he is racing Jesse for pinks is because he knows he can win."
"When Jesse decides on something there is no talking him out of it. Dom's looked over the car and says it has everything it needs to beat Tran so all we can do is hope for the best," she said sounding unconvinced. I nodded and started clearing some tables. The team came for lunch and I went out back with Dom. He sat in a lawn chair and I sat on his lap.
"You look tired," I commented.
"I'm not," he assured me.
"Well that means you're worried," I concluded.
"I do have something on my mind," he said putting his hands on my legs.
"Is it Jesse?" I asked leaning into him.
"No, it's this girl I know," he said smiling at me.
"Yeah what about her?"
"I want to tell her something but I'm worried she won't take it well," he said becoming serious. I sat up straighter so I could focus on him. It sounded like he had bad news for me and I needed to prepare myself.
"Dom what are you talking about?" I asked. "Is everything alright?"
"Ash I love you."
Talk about the opposite of bad news, I looked at him unsure of how to respond. Part of me thought I was hearing things and part of me hoped I had misunderstood. A few guys told me they loved me that's for sure just because they wanted to sleep with me or because I was beautiful. This was the first guy that might actually mean it, I was sleeping with him already and although I knew he thought I was beautiful I also knew there were so many more important reasons why he cared for me. Most importantly this might be the first guy I loved but I don't know. How am I supposed to know what love is if I've never loved anyone before?
"Dom I… I'm so sorry," I said running inside the diner brushing away tears as I tried to get to my car. I was having trouble getting the key to unlock the door and when I finally turned it the right way I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped; luckily it was Vince.
"What's wrong Ash?" he asked instinctively looking me over for a bruise or a cut as though Dom would ever hurt me.
"It's Dom," I said brushing away more tears.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked becoming angry.
"No it's what he said," I replied calming down.
"Did he break up with you?"
"No, he didn't… he told me that he loved me," I answered. Vince's features changed almost immediately becoming confused.
"Why are you crying isn't that good news?" he asked. I slid down and sat on the pavement leaning against the car for support. Vince sat down next to me unsure of how to proceed.
"Have you ever loved someone Vince?" I asked.
"I have told a lot of girls I love them," he replied.
"That's not the same thing as actually being in love with them," I said with a laugh.
"No, I haven't loved anyone besides you yet," he said nudging me slightly.
"Well same goes for me," I replied.
"You don't love Dom then?" he asked.
It sounded like a simple question but why couldn't I answer it. "I don't know what love is, so how can I say something so important when I don't even understand the meaning?" I asked.
"I can't really help you with this problem baby sister, I know even less about love than you do," he admitted.
"I don't want to lose Dom over this but what am I supposed to do?" I asked. Mia walked out and sat on the other side of me.
"I can handle this," she said looking over to Vince, he nodded and stood up walking back inside. "So you don't love my brother?" she asked with a laugh.
"Mia I don't even understand what that means," I told her.
"Why are you scared of this?" she asked.
"Do you love Brian?"
"Yes I do," she replied proudly.
"Have you told him?" I asked.
"Not yet," she admitted.
"Why not?"
"Well Brian is very careful about his emotions and the speed at which he moves," she explained.
"So you don't think he loves you yet?"
"I know he loves me and that's all that matters," she replied glowing.
"How do you know you love him? How am I supposed to know if I love Dom?" I asked.
"It's different for every person but I love Brian for a lot of reasons. Love to me means that I miss the person when they're gone and I get lonely when he's gone. I smile when he smiles and no matter who ended up in front of me I would only ever want Brian. I love his looks, his laugh, and the way he always knows how to make me smile. Basically he is perfect for me," she answered happily.
"That sounds exactly like the way I feel about Dom," I said.
"Then what's the problem?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"How do you feel right now?" she asked.
"Terrible," I replied.
"Why?"
"I'm worried, I don't want to lose Dom and I don't want him to be mad at me. I'm confused and just want to have him tell me everything's alright," I answered.
"We need to get you home so you can think about this, I doubt you will reach any real conclusion sitting in this parking lot," she said standing up. I nodded and got in the passenger's seat. Mia drove me home and dropped me in my living room.
"I will pick you up at 10 make sure you are all pretty for tonight," she said before walking out. I nodded and walked up stairs for a nap. Sleep never came though, all I could do was think and think about what it meant to love someone. I even looked up the definition online. I was going crazy reading stupid articles and teen magazines that were supposed to have the answer. After a few hours I jumped into the shower and began distracting myself getting ready. I got ready so fast that it was only 6 by the time I was done with things to do.
"Ash I'm home," I heard Vince yell from the door.
I stomped down stairs and walked right up to Vince. "This is your entire fault! If you had been a normal person and had real relationships then I wouldn't be so screwed up about this love crap. Now you caused this fight between Dom and I and I have to fix it," I said becoming agitated.
He seemed amused by my outburst. "What do you plan on doing?" he asked trying not to laugh.
"Well clearly I have to tell Dom," I said as though it were obvious.
"Tell him what?"
"That I love him." The second I said it things become much clearer to me. All the agitation I had for Vince was gone almost all emotions but happiness were gone. Saying it took the weight off my shoulders and I knew that it was absolutely the way I felt.
"You sure about that?" he asked going into big brother mode.
"Yes, yes I am Vince. I love Dominic Torreto," I said again. It felt amazing to say out loud.
"Well why don't you go and tell him that," he said giving me a hug. I smiled and headed out the door before realizing Mia had my car.
"I need you to drive me, Mia has my car," I said turning around.
"Can I at least shower first?" he asked.
"You're kidding right?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yes, yes I am," he replied pushing me out the door. No matter how much of a tough guy Vince played I knew he was happy to see me happy with his best friend. He drove me over to the Torreto house and I practically jumped out of the car but the short walk to the door gave me nerves. What if he didn't feel the same way now that I rejected him?
"You're kidding me right?" Vince asked as he saw my hesitation. I rolled my eyes and walked in with Vince behind me.
"You're ready a little early don't you think?" Mia asked as I walked in. "And you need a shower," she said looking over to Vince.
"Where's Dom?" I asked.
"Upstairs, probably in the shower by now," she said. I nodded and ran up the stairs. I heard Mia offer the guest shower to Vince but I didn't stay to hear his answer.
Dom was just stepping out of the shower when I barged in. he had a towel wrapped around his waist and smiled at me when he caught me checking him out. I wasn't sure what to do but Dom was. He walked over and gave me a kiss.
"Hey girlfriend," he said.
"I'm sorry about before Dom, I just wasn't ready for what you said and I have never loved anyone so I wasn't sure what to do," I explained.
"It's fine Ash I just want you to know that I love you and I can wait until your ready to respond with the same words," he said satisfied.
"So you are going to wait till I love you then?" I asked trying not to smile.
"Yes of course," he replied. I watched as he changed into his normal black shirt and pants before sitting on his bed.
"Well I have good news for you," I said pulling him over to me.
"Yeah and what's that?" he asked.
"I love you too," I responded with full confidence and Dom didn't seem to be surprised.
"I know," he said kissing me.
"What do you mean you know?" I asked pulling away.
"I knew you were going to love me the day we met. I was willing to wait until you realized it I'm happy you did it today though," he said kissing me again.
"Well it's true I love you Dominic Torreto," I repeated.
"I love you too Anastasia."
A/N
Sorry it took so long to update but I had a bit of writers block which is now gone! SO leave me a review with all your wonderful thoughts, and thank you to all my readers you guys are actually amazing!