Letty sighed in relief when she gently closed her front door and turned the lock. Her mom wasn't home, and if Letty was lucky, she wouldn't come home tonight. The younger girl managed to squeeze enough money out of her mother the last time she saw her to pay their rent and utilities. Between the little bit of money her mother was willing to give up and the money she earns working for the Toretto's after school, Letty's able to keep a roof over her head.
The petite girl made her way through the dark house to her bathroom where she stripped off her clothes and stepped under the hot spray, remembering the words Dom said to her just a few hours ago. She remembered the way his hand rested on her side, and she wished more than anything that she could feel Dom's lips against hers. She smiled, remembering Dom's promise that this wouldn't be the last time. She belongs to him. And she wouldn't let him forget it.
The following morning Letty tried to push all thoughts of what happened out of her mind. But as she stood at the bus stop waiting for Mia, she couldn't help but wonder if she were a bad kisser or had done something wrong.
What if I'm too shy and he doesn't like that? What if he didn't actually like it? What if he lied just to keep me from being embarrassed? What if he doesn't like inexperienced girls? Letty scoffed, Of course he doesn't like inexperienced girls. He's always screwing racer sluts. I'm way beyond inexperienced. God I hope I didn't fuck everything up yesterday.
At the sight of Mia hurrying down the street towards her, Letty double checked that her hair was covering the marks Dom left on her neck. They had changed from bright red to dark blue overnight. A part of her loved the idea of having a secret, something only Dom knows, but another part of her wished the bruises would go away so she didn't have to worry about somebody else finding them. She didn't like lying to Mia, and if Mia asked, that's exactly what she would have to do.
"Why are we meeting here today instead of at my house?" Mia huffed.
Letty shrugged, "I thought it would be a good idea to avoid your brother after yesterday."
It's not a lie, Letty told herself. She just didn't specify which part of yesterday. Letty hated that she couldn't talk about her feelings with Mia. With anyone for that matter. She had to sort through them herself, and honestly it was giving her whiplash. One second she's on cloud nine and then the next second she's second guessing everything that happened and wondering if she misinterpreted everything Dom said.
At one point last night she convinced herself that she made the entire kiss up, but one look in the mirror at the hickey told her that it had definitely happened. She didn't want to see Dom yet. There's no way she could act like nothing happened, and she wasn't sure how Dom would act around her. Before her thoughts could spiral out of control again the bus stopped and the group of kids stepped on, finding their usual seats and getting comfortable for the long ride to school.
"Well, what do you think?" Mia asked.
"About?"
"You didn't hear anything I said, did you?"
"Sorry." Letty whispered.
Mia laughed, "It's fine. I was wondering if you'd like to sleep over tonight. I know Dom won't be home, and I was planning on ordering a pizza. Maybe we can have a movie marathon and study together?"
"You're sure he won't be home?" Letty asked.
"Well, it is Friday. He's never home on Friday nights. He's always with some skank."
The idea of Dom spending his night with another woman made her stomach twist from jealousy. It won't be forever, Letty reminded herself.
"Alright. But next week we're getting Chinese."
"Ooooo let's have Chinese tonight! I'm craving some crab rangoon."
Letty grinned, "Deal."
The rest of the ride to school the girls kept talking about how amazing it was to steal Dom's car and that Mia didn't even care that their punishment would be working every day after school at the market until Dom thought that the girls learned their lesson. Of course, this was news to Letty. She thought she got off scot-free.
When Letty walked into her first period class she took a seat in the back and pulled her phone out, creating a new message. After several minutes of writing and re-writing the message, she finally settled on:
Letty: Hey
God how stupid am I? Letty asked herself. I'm turning into one of those primadonna girls that obsess over everything. I'm just asking him about my new work schedule. It's not that weird.
But as the minutes ticked by without a response from Dom, she regretted her decision to send him the one worded text. I should have just sent him the one that said "Am I supposed to work extra hours at the market as punishment?" Jesus Christ I'm starting to wish the kiss never happened. Now everything between us is gonna be awkward.
Ten minutes after her text, though, her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out.
Dom: Hey, what's up?
He replied! Letty thought, grinning ear to ear. And he asked me a question! He was probably busy working on a car and that's why it took so long to reply. Maybe I should wait a while before I reply? I don't want to sound too desperate. Letty rolled her eyes at herself, No, don't be one of those girls. Just ask your fucking question.
Letty: Mia mentioned we have to work extra hours until you decide we've paid our debt to society?
Dom: I was going to tell you this morning, but you didn't come over.
Letty: I needed some space to think.
Dom: Well you can tell me what you were thinking about after school at the garage.
Letty: Why the garage?
Dom: Because that's where I want you to be.
Letty: What if I don't want to be there?
Dom: You've been begging me for months to let you work in the garage.
Letty: That was before. Things have changed now.
Dom: Call me. Now.
Letty read the text again. She's in the middle of class. How the hell is she supposed to call him? While she was trying to find an answer to her question her phone started vibrating in her hand. He was calling her.
Un-be-fucking-lievable, She thought to herself.
Letty raised her hand and asked for a bathroom pass. She hurried down the hall and locked herself in the stall, pulling her phone out and reading the latest text from Dom.
Dom: I'm serious. Call me or I'll have Leon find you and drag that beautiful ass of yours out of school and to the shop.
Letty smiled and hit the call button.
"You wouldn't dare." Letty said, her voice echoing off of the tiles of the bathroom.
"Oh yes, I would." Dom promised. The two of them were silent, listening to each other breathe and letting the weight of Dom's words hang between them.
"What did you want to talk about?" Letty finally asked.
"Don't overthink this, Letty."
"I don't know what that means."
"It means that I know you. And you need to fucking hear me when I tell you that every word I said yesterday was true. And if you have doubts you need to talk to me about them, not avoid me."
"I'm just… confused."
"About what?"
"My… feelings."
"Jesus Letty, they're your feelings. Feel them."
Letty scoffed, "Easy for you to say."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Letty didn't answer Dom's question so he pressed, "Talk to me, Letty. Don't keep shit from me."
"It means that I don't know how to act around you anymore. I don't know what to expect."
"Act… however you want, Letty. Do what feels right. That's what I'm gonna do."
"We shouldn't be talking about this. We need to pretend like nothing happened."
"Is that what you want?"
"No! Of course it's not what I want. But if we don't then I'm going to somehow convince myself that this is real and that we're together and that every time you're in someone else's bed that you're… cheating on me. And that's just not reality!"
Letty waited patiently for Dom to say something, but the other end of the phone was eerily quiet. Finally, Letty whispered, "You told me to talk to you about my feelings. Well, here they are."
"It's not wrong to feel that way, Letty."
"It's not right, either."
The two of them sat in silence, letting their words sink in. Finally Dom drew a deep breath and said, "Leon will give you and Mia a ride after school."
"Thanks."
"And Letty, this is hard for me too. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing either."
"Well that's comforting," Letty murmured sarcastically. "I need to get going, Dom. I'll see you after school."
"Bye, Beautiful." Dom replied before ending the call and pocketing his phone. What the hell am I doing?
He was making all of the wrong decisions, not thinking things through. It didn't matter what he told himself or the others, the truth is he wants Letty working in the garage because that's where he's working. Hell, he wants her waiting for him tonight when he crosses the finish line. He wants to take her home after and feel her mouth wrapped around his cock.
Jesus. This has to stop.
Letty was a bundle of nerves as she sat on the hood of Leon's car waiting for her friends to hurry up so she could get to the shop. She decided that despite her nerves, she does want to see Dom and learn all she can about cars. She could do this. He's the same Dom he's always been.
"Well if it isn't Miss Fast and Furious." Leon teased, pulling on a strand of Letty's hair. "I hear you'll be working at the garage today."
Letty stuck her tongue out at the older boy. "Just unlock the car."
"You're uh - you're workin' with us?" Jesse asked her.
"You aren't going to be at the market with me?" Mia asked, her smile replaced with a frown.
Letty shook her head, "Apparently we aren't doing our time together. At least not today."
The ride to work was never quiet for Leon and Jesse when they had to take the girls with them. Leon loved the girls like his own sisters, but they never shut up. Especially Mia. The girl is always going on about school and books, and what boy she had to turn down a date for. If Dom knew she was asked out even half the number of times she was he'd have her homeschooled.
"I'm going to be so bored without you!" Mia whined.
"You'll be fine. You can get a head start on homework."
"But I was going to paint your nails."
Letty laughed, "No, you weren't."
"Well I was going to try to paint your nails!"
"Ya know," Letty giggled, "I'm actually a little glad Dom is making me work in the garage today."
"I, uh, I think it'll be nice to have you working with us." Jesse mumbled from the front. Leon rolled his eyes. Could he be any more obvious?
"Thanks, Jesse!"
By the time Leon came to a stop in front of the garage Mia had convinced herself she could talk Dom into letting Mia work at the market that afternoon. After all, they had homework to do! And he wouldn't want Letty's grades to suffer, would he?
"Good luck with that argument." Leon laughed, heading to his locker to change clothes.
But Mia didn't need luck. Dom would see it her way. He always did. He wasn't even that mad that they stole the car. When he got home last night he just told her that she was going to be helping out more at work. That was it. No long lecture. Nothing about how what they did was reckless or dangerous. Mia was grateful for the punishment. She was glad she didn't have to listen to a long lecture about how their dad would have been disappointed in her. She didn't want to push her luck so she just agreed and ran upstairs to bed.
"Dom!" Mia yelled through the garage to be heard over the music. Letty trailed behind her, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she watched her bestfriend try to convince her… friend to let her spend the day with her. Vince turned the music off, a similar look on his face. Watching the two siblings argue could be the best entertainment sometimes.
"Don't start, Mia." Dom walked around the hood of a car, wiping his hands on a dirty rag and sporting a look that screamed don't-fucking-mess-with-me. Either Mia missed the warning or chose to ignore it because she continued on as if he hadn't said a word.
"You can't make Letty work here! She won't be able to get any of her homework done if she's working at the garage. At least when we are at the market we have time between customers to study. Do you really want her to fail? What about college, Dom? What about our future?"
Letty covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh. As Mia laid out her argument, her voice got louder and her arms started flailing about, as if they had a life of their own.
"And!" Mia said before Dom could answer, "What if something happens at the market? I'll be by myself! What if somebody tries to kidnap me, huh? You'll feel really bad when your fourteen year old sister is kidnapped, raped, and killed all because you wanted to teach us a lesson!"
"That's enough." Dom snapped. "There is literally a door between the garage and the market. Do you really think nobody would hear you if you were kidnapped? Jesus Christ, we have to have the music in here turned all the way up just to drown out your constant gossip from school."
"That's not true!" Mia argued, stomping her foot.
"Really? Then tell me, is Mandy pregnant?"
"YOU CAN HEAR US?!" Mia screeched at finding out that Dom could actually hear their conversations, referencing a piece of juicy gossip from a couple weeks ago. Mia theorized that Mandy was pregnant - she was out for a couple of weeks with the flu, and then she started gaining weight like crazy.
"Did you really think I'd leave you two up there by yourselves?"
Letty chewed on her bottom lip trying to think if there was anything she had said that she didn't want Dom to hear, but nothing came to mind. She had discussed her period, her love of cookie dough ice cream, how much hates rom-coms, how all the boys in her class were immature….
Well, shit, I didn't really want him to know that. But-
"C'mon, I'll show you where you can change." Dom grabbed Letty by the upper arm and pulled her to the lockers in the back room. When did Mia leave? Letty wondered. She really had to stop zoning out. It's been happening way too often. When Dom let go of her arm and stepped away from her she immediately missed his touch and Dom smirked.
"What?" She asked him.
He shook his head, "Nothing. I can just read you like a damn book."
Letty scowled, "No you can't."
"Oh really?" Dom asked. "Then tell me you weren't just trying to think if there's anything you may have said that you didn't want me to know?" Letty scowled again. "And tell me," he lowered his voice and took a step closer to her, "that you weren't wanting me to drag you back here and kiss the shit out of you."
Letty put her hands on his chest and pushed him back a step, "Well at least I know what you were thinking."
Dom shrugged, "I'm not gonna deny it."
Changing the subject, Letty informed Dom that she didn't bring any clothes, but he had already thought of that. He opened his own locker and pulled out a white T-shirt that was already covered in grease and oil stains.
"You can wear this for now. Your jeans will probably get ruined, but I'll buy you a new pair."
"Everyone else is wearing-"
"I know what everyone else is wearing." Dom cut her off, "But I don't have a pair of coveralls small enough to fit you."
"And you think this will?" She held up his shirt.
Dom smirked, "Maybe I just wanna see what you look like wearing my clothes."
Letty pursed her lips, a blush coloring her cheeks, "Fine, I'll wear it today. But I want a pair of my own coveralls. And I want my name on it."
Dom rolled his eyes, "Do you want them in a certain color, too? Pink maybe?"
"Where can I change?" Letty asked, looking around the locker room.
"We usually just change in here, but I don't think you giving the guys a show is a great idea. You can change in the bathroom or the office. Up to you. When you're done meet me at my car."
Letty did as she was told and put Dom's white shirt on. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head. I look ridiculous. While Dom's shirt was snug on him and accentuated his muscles well, it looked more like a knee-length flour sack on her. With a huff Letty grabbed the end of his shirt and used one of the hair ties she always keeps on her wrist to tie the extra fabric behind her. She rolled the tail of the shirt under and inspected her handiwork. A small patch of skin at her back was visible and you could see her black bra through the thin material, but it would have to do.
When Letty walked out of the bathroom and crossed the garage to where Dom stood next to his car, Jesse stopped her and quietly said, "Wow, Letty, you look really pretty."
"Oh. Um. Thanks." Letty stumbled over the words, a blush coloring her skin from the collar of Dom's shirt to her hairline. She quickly walked to Dom, trying to hide her face with her long hair.
"What did he say to you?" Dom asked, his jaw set sternly.
"Nothing. He just embarrassed me." Letty answered.
"I can see that. What did he say?"
"Can we not?"
"I can go ask him what he said to you if you want."
Letty crossed her arms, turned her head and closed her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze, "He said I look really pretty."
"Anything else?" Dom prodded.
"Nope."
"Well, the kid has balls." Dom muttered. "I can't blame him for being honest."
Letty smiled and her blush faded. She faced Dom again and dropped her arms. "Alright, what am I supposed to do?"
"Well first you're going to learn how to check all the fluids. Then you're going to change the oil, top off any of the other fluids that are low, replace the air filter, and then wash it."
Letty raised her eyebrows, "And why are you teaching me all of this on your car?"
Dom grinned, "Because, if I'm remembering correctly, not only did you steal my car yesterday, but you also raced it. You can't just drive a car like that and expect her to keep running good without doing any maintenance."
Letty nodded and the two of them got started. He was next to her the entire time, showing her what to do and then letting her try it herself. He explained why he put oil in the new oil filter first instead of just putting it on the car, he told her why it was important to make sure you had enough transmission fluid, and what would happen if the car ran out of antifreeze. When Dom finished identifying the different parts on his car to Letty, he finally handed her the keys and told her to wash it.
"And is there a reason I don't know of for washing it?"
"Yes," Dom answered, lowering his voice, "I'm hoping to catch a one woman wet T-shirt contest."
Letty didn't have a comeback. She silently slid into the driver's seat of Dom's car and pulled it out of the garage. Dom showed her where the bucket, soap, and scrub brushes were and left her to it. Truthfully, he did want to watch Letty bend over and wash his car, stretch across the hood, and maybe even make his already see-through shirt more transparent. But he was also aware that the other guys would be watching her unintentional show as well.
"Alright, Jesse, what do we have left on the Taurus?" He asked, trying to keep the 17 year olds eyes off of Letty. He didn't want Jesse looking at Letty's ass as bad as Dom wanted to stare at it.
The guys were starting to close the garage doors just as Letty finished rinsing Dom's car. Leon was standing next to her when she stood up from turning the valve for the hose off.
"Here," Leon said, handing her a microfiber towel. "I'll help you finish up."
"Thanks."
The two of them worked in comfortable silence as they dried off Dom's car, the others finishing up their own tasks while Mia closed down the market for the night.
"Was that the first time you raced?" Leon asked her, deciding that the conversation wouldn't be so awkward if the two of them were working - not looking at one another.
"Yes." Letty answered, not wanting to rub it in his face that she had beat him. She knew that he felt bad enough for losing to her.
"How many times had you driven before yesterday?"
"Once. A year ago."
Leon shook his head, "We need to get you in a car. You can make a lot of money at the races."
Letty paused, "I'm not old enough to drive."
"And none of us are supposed to be out there racing. What's your point?"
"Dom would never let me."
Leon shrugged, "Maybe."
"Dom would never let her do what?" Vince asked, walking over to the two of them with Dom at his side.
"I was saying she should come to the races. She could win."
"No." Dom crossed his arms, "she's not going to the races."
Leon shrugged and took the towel from Letty, "It was just an idea."
Letty never considered going to the races. She knew that if she ever found a way to the desert Dom would find out and be pissed at her. She always told herself that when she was sixteen and had her own car she'd go, but at Leon's suggestion hope bubbled up inside her. Maybe she'd find a way to get to the races before then. Maybe she could convince Leon to take her.
"Don't even think about it, Miss Fast and Furious." Leon remarked.
"Think about what?"
"Trying to talk me into taking you. Dom said no."
Letty stuck her tongue out at Leon for the second time that day and walked back to the bathroom. She used the Gojo soap to get as much of the grease and oil off of her hands, arms, and even face as she could, before finding the locker assigned to her. She took the rubber band off of Dom's shirt and pulled the stained cotton over her head, replacing it with the T-shirt she wore to school. She wasn't worried about any of the guys trying to spy on her.
She stepped out of the room and tossed the shirt at Dom as she walked into the market, the wheels in her mind spinning.
Dom doesn't decide what I can and can't do. And if I want to go to the races then I'll go. A small voice in the back of her head reminded her that he was keeping her from the races for a reason. It was dangerous there. And that's where he found all of his skanks. I'm a big girl. I can handle seeing him with another girl. He doesn't belong to me, and we aren't an… item or whatever.
Dom caught the shirt and watched Letty stalk into the market, looking for Mia.
"What's with the new nickname?" Vince asked.
"Race her and you'll understand." Leon went back to the lockers and changed clothes, all of this thoughts on the races.
"Dude-" Vince started, but Dom cut him off.
"Don't even think about it."
"Why not?"
"Because I want better for her."
Vince laughed, "You know she's going to be out there the day she has her own car, right?"
"That doesn't mean I can't keep her from it as long as I can. Besides, if she's out there then I have to worry about someone trying to get in her pants."
"That's what Jesse's for."
"He's one of the assholes I have to protect her from."
Three hours later Letty and Mia were sitting on the floor in front of the Toretto's TV trying to decide which movies they were going to watch tonight. Both of them had finished their homework and took turns in the shower. The girls had quickly shaved their legs and donned their usual Friday night outfits: old, too big T-shirts that used to belong to Mia's brother, and a pair of cotton shorts. Mia had picked out a color to paint Letty's toes - the only nails she let Mia paint, and decided to repaint her own nails the same shade of red as last week.
"Hey girls," Leon said, closing the door behind him and plopping down on the couch. All of the guys had showered and changed into a clean set of clothes. Leon's cologne wafted down to where the girls sat and they rolled their eyes at each other.
"You're trying too hard," Mia said in reply.
"What do you mean?" Leon asked.
"Your cologne."
"Ladies like cologne!"
Letty grunted, "Mia, you forget the type of girls the guys like to attract."
"And what kind is that?" Vince asked her.
"The kind with STD's," Letty said sweetly.
"Bitch." Vince growled, yanking her off the floor by her arm. "Take that back."
"No."
There was a knock on the door before Vince could tickle her into submission and Mia shouted to the room that their dinner had arrived.
"Obviously. You don't have to tell the whole world." Leon grumbled.
"Let go of me so I can give Mia my half of the money," Letty said, struggling to get her arms free from Vince.
"I'm not letting go of you until you take back what you said."
"I'm not taking it back. Every time you fuck one of those girls you risk getting crabs or syphilis or ghonorrhea… hey Mia, what are some of the other STD's?"
"Chlamydia, genital warts. Gross. I couldn't even imagine." Mia said with the door open. "Oh," she said, acknowledging the college kid standing there with their food, "sorry, what do we owe you?"
"Thirty-five seventy-two." He mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other.
"Letty, I need a $20 from you," Mia said as she dug into her own purse for her wallet.
"I'd love to get it for you, but Vince won't let me go."
"Tell me where the money is and I'll get it for you." Vince offered, a knowing smile on his face.
"Mia, it's in my shorts, on my right hip."
Vince loosened his grip, "You sure you don't want me to get it for you?"
"Touch my fucking shirt and I'll kick you in your balls so fucking hard you won't have the opportunity to catch an STD."
Mia pulled up Letty's shirt and stuck her fingers inside of the waistband, retrieving the money. She paid the delivery driver, telling him to keep the change, and put the bags on the coffee table.
"I see what you mean about furious." Vince smirked at Leon.
"Get your fucking hands off of her, Vince." Dom growled.
"She's the one who started it. Ain't my fault she can't finish it."
"You're just mad because you actually got chlamydia."
"You what?!" Letty screeched, "ew. Don't fucking touch me."
"Let her go," Dom repeated to Vince.
"I can't believe you told them," he turned back to the room, "I was treated for it. I don't have it anymore. And I learned my lesson."
"What was the lesson? Not to screw the skanks that throw themselves at boys with fast cars?" Mia asked.
"No. To always use a condom," Vince said. "Something the two of you should remember."
"Are you gonna stand there with your hands on Letty the entire night?"
Vince let go of the younger girl and stalked to the door muttering, "I'll see you there."
"Remind me, Letty, exactly how many guys have we fucked without using a condom?"
Letty rolled her eyes, "Be nice."
The girls pulled their dinner out, opening each of the cartons and arranging them systematically on the coffee table.
"I'll grab the plates," Letty stood up and walked into the kitchen, Dom close behind her. "What's up?" She asked him. "Shouldn't you be leaving?"
Dom leaned against the counter, "I didn't like it when Vince grabbed you."
"He does shit like that all the time."
"I know… I just didn't like it."
Letty turned to face Dom, taking a step closer to him and whispered, "Are you jealous?"
Dom shrugged, "So what if I am?"
"I'd say that… maybe you should take me with you tonight."
"Mmm, you'd fit right in wearing that."
"Oh would I?"
"Mmhmm, it doesn't look like you're wearing anything under my shirt. You kind of have a just been fucked look going on."
"Well, I assure you, that's not the case."
"Oh I'm well aware."
"Yo, Dom, when are we leavin'?" Leon asked, poking his head into the kitchen. Letty smiled and grabbed the plates off of the counter, heading back to Mia.
"Alright, the movie is in. Let's get this party started." Mia shouted as she dimmed the lights and poured an unhealthy amount of shrimp lo mean on her plate. "When are you guys leaving? You're kind of ruining this whole girls night thing we have going on!"
"We're leaving now. Don't stay up too late."
"What do you care? It's not like you'll be back until the sun's back up anyway. For all you know we're gonna throw a raging party as soon as you're out of the house."
"Hmm I doubt that." Dom answered as he grabbed his jacket and headed outside, Leon at his heels. "Lock the door behind me, Mia."
"Okay!" She shouted, leaping over the back of the couch and all but pushing her older brother out of the door. She turned the lock and came back to the couch just as the beginning credits ended and the movie began.