TITLE: Running CHAPTER 15 of many chapters
AUTHOR: Daaasl
RATING: R for violence and sex
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dominic, Leon, Vincent, Mia,
Brian, Jessie and Letty belong the film company. All the
other characters are mine all mine, though. Any copyright
infringement is unintended.
ARCHIVE: You can find previous chapters at:
http://www.realmofvindiesel.homestead.com Anyone else
wanting to post my fanfic on their site, please check with me.
FEEDBACK: Please. I like to know what you think. But be
gentle with me.
We got to the mall, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get Mia off my case.
"So just tell me Sarah, because the way Vince made it sound..."
"Yeah. Well, I'm sure Vince embellished the truth."
Mia just laughed and shook her head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Mia shrugged with a sweet smile. "It's a girl's right not to kiss and tell."
"Thank you!" I said, in relief.
As we talked about the shops we wanted to hit first and walked through the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of a brand-new, completely 'loaded' black Escalade. Mia was a few steps ahead of me, and hadn't noticed it. I slowed my pace to check it out. As I was walking past the spot where it was parked, I tried to glance inside. Unfortunately the mirror tint on the windows made it next to impossible to see if anyone was in it or not. It wasn't like I'd never seen a Escalade before. It was the only car Pops and his crew ever used to drive. I think it was my nostalgia for Pops, more than anything, that made me gravitate towards it. I slowly walked up, and was about 5 feet away from it when Mia grabbed my arm.
"Hello? Earth to Sarah! Where are you going girl?" she asked.
I looked at Mia, and back at the Escalade before I smiled.
"Aw nothing. Just looking at that big black Caddy SUV. It's really a fine looking car" I said nonchalantly.
With a last look and a shrug, I turned and said "C'mon Mia, I need a whole new wardrobe!" and with that I took her hand and we made a dash to the entrance. We went crazy. All of the old bruises on me had faded and healed. I was ready to have a great time wearing some great clothes. Letty was right. It was about time I started to enjoy what I had and show to advantage.
Since the morning's soul-baring session with Leon, I felt a new sense of freedom, and was ready to show the world what I had been hiding all those years.
Mia was so great. She helped me pick out a whole wardrobe of wonderful clothing -- like she knew how important it was to me to feel pretty, free, and alive. I got a few sun dresses, and mini skirts, hot pants, and Capri's, and every style of top imaginable. Many of them were low cut and tie-back, which left me showing more of my skin then I was used to, but Mia assured me I looked great. I trusted her and was happy to accept her judgment. I still bought myself a few oversized tee's to lounge around in. Some habits die hard.
By the time we got out of the mall 3 hours later, I was loaded down with 8 overstuffed shopping bags full of new clothes, shoes, and accessories. Mia was struggling to help me with my load and still carry her 4 bags of clothes at the same time! We stumbled over ourselves a bit as we headed back to the car, laughing hysterically at the scene we were causing.
"Mia, your gonna drop my shoes!"
"Girl, please! I would NEVER drop these beautiful shoes!" she laughed at me.
I tried to collect myself as I giggled, when I looked up and saw the same Escalade I had seen before, parked a few spots over from my car. I slowed my pace and stared, but decided against investigating the situation any further. For all I knew, the owner would flip out if he or she walked up and found me checking out the Escalade.
Mia and I loaded all 12 of the shopping bags into my car and made our way out of the mall. It was close to lunchtime and I knew we were picking up food for the guys and Letty. As happy as I was that I would be seeing Leon again, I was nervous about any "knowing" looks I might get from the rest of the group. Mia picked up on my uneasiness right away.
"Don't stress it Sarah." Mia assured me. "The team won't say anything to you. I'm sure Leon has ripped into V. for his stunt this morning, by now." she said with an evil grin.
I laughed it off as we picked up a few pizzas and made our way to the garage. Still, I found I was still a little tense and had some very mixed emotions by the time we made it to the garage. Mia and I got out of the car with the pizzas and began walking up to the guys. A movement on the street, to my left, caught my attention. When I turned my head and looked back, I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I saw the same Escalade turning the corner of the street. My heart stopped.
"Sarah, come on." Mia called to me, snapping me back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm coming." I replied, and walked faster to catch up.
When we made it into the darkness of the garage, I couldn't see anyone at clearly at first.
"Hey Mia where's everybod-" I began. Before I could finish my sentence the pizza box I held was out of my hands and Jesse and Vince were ripping wedges out of it. I burst out laughing at the scene. They acted as if they hadn't eaten in years! Without warning, the rest of the team appeared and began attacking the other pies.
"You're welcome!" Mia exclaimed, only to hear muffled thank- yous from everyone. I walked a short way from the feeding frenzy, hiked myself up onto a clear spot on a workbench and watched them eat. Although I couldn't help smiling at the ravenous team, I also couldn't get the Escalade out of my head. I tried to stay rational and not get paranoid. I knew I hadn't told Pops where I was going. I had been pretty sure he didn't really want to know; but the coincidence was making me nervous. I sat on the bench, swinging my legs nervously and chewed on my finger -- something I always did when I got nervous. Dom walked over to me on the workbench and leaned back against it, to my right.
"You want a slice Sarah?"
"Huh? ..oh..no thanks" I muttered, still chewing on my finger.
"Hey. You know, if you're nervous about this morning-"
"No! I interrupted Dom. "I'm not, I mean, I'm sure Leon straightened it all out anyway, but - it really wasn't what Vince thought."
"Then why are you eating your finger Sarah?" he asked gently, as he pulled my hand down, and looked me in the eye.
"Hmm? Oh, just a bad habit." I smiled and tried to will him away. Letty came up and rescued me. At least I thought she was going to rescue me.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she said sternly looking back and forth between me and Dom.
"Letty don't start with this!" Dom spoke in a low rumble, pushing away from the bench and shaking his head with a frown. He looked into Letty's eyes intensely for what seemed like forever, until she finally shrugged her shoulders abruptly and looked down at her shoes. Dom watched Letty closely for another moment more; and then quietly walked over to his office, leaving us alone. After another minute, Letty looked up stared hard at me with a bitter and angry look on her face.
"Letty wha-?"
"Save it Sarah. I like you personally, but you need to stay the fuck away from Dom."
Before I could tell her that I wasn't interested in Dom at all, Mia appeared and did it for me.
Gently putting her hand on Letty's shoulder, Mia asked, "Letty. What is your problem girl?"
"Mia, don't tell me you didn't see Dom-" Letty growled angrily as she turned to look at Mia.
"Letty stop it." Mia said firmly. "Sarah's not interested in him, and Dom is always going to be friendly to people, especially women. God girl, you got to stop this shit. You will make yourself crazy! The two have been together so long that I thought you knew by now you always come first in Dom's heart and soul."
Just then Brian walked inside from the back of the garage and stopped in confusion when he saw the three of us women deep in conversation. Everyone was silent and focused on our conversation. I felt my face burning with embarrassment and then I saw Leon walk over to us.
"Letty, will you stop with the jealousy already? Dayum, woman. You have got to relax!" he said as he joined Mia, Letty and me.
"So what's going on?" Brian asked the group aloud in curiosity. One look from Vince stopped any more questions Brian might have wanted to ask.
Everyone watched Letty, waiting for her to say something. Finally she slowly turned her attention back to me. The glare in her eyes was gone, replaced by something that might have been something a little bit like hurt. Letty looked at me carefully.
"Sorry Sarah." she said thoughtfully. "Old reflexes create problems, I guess." Letty turned and walked slowly into the back of the garage, toward the Nissan. I just looked at Leon who shook his head sadly.
"Letty has always had a bit of a jealous streak as long as I've known her. Dom didn't make it any better when he and Letty had a major fight one night a year or so ago. Dom left in a rage and ended up in bed with Johnny Tran's sister later that evening. And Johnny Tran's sister made sure the world knew about it too."
Leon raised one eyebrow in question and looked over at Mia who nodded quietly in agreement.
"That's been a really hard thing for Letty to forgive. said Mia. "Even though Dom regrets what he did and has never done anything like it since, Letty is still working hard on the trust situation." Mia nodded towards the Nissan where Letty had returned to work and then she walked over to talk to her, leaving Leon and I to ourselves.
Try not to pay Letty any mind." Leon said, kissing my forehead. I looked at him and smiled. Everything that had just happened, was forgotten. How could Letty think I wanted Dom? That was ridiculous. Sure Dom was a handsome and commanding guy, but to me Dom didn't compare to Leon with his emerald green eyes and tender ways towards me. The team relaxed and we all went back to finishing the pizzas that Mia and I had brought in. Dom came back out of the office after another 10 or 15 minutes and spoke up.
"OK. Break is over guys. Let's get back on it." he rumbled.
Dom was answered with good-natured groans, while Vince and Jesse got up slowly, to return to their respective jobs on the cars. As Mia walked back up towards the office, Brian snagged her hand and pulled her into his arms. Mia laughed and wriggled out of his grasp, still holding onto his hand and leading him over to Dom, where the three of them began to talk.
Leon turned and lifted me down from the tool bench, calling out to Dom at the same time. "I'll be right there Dawg, I'm going to walk Sarah out to her car."
Dom just nodded and turned back to continue the conversation he was having with Mia and Brian.
When Leon and I got out to my car, his eyes went wide.
"I see you and Mia were extra busy this morning!"
"Yeah well, I really needed new clothes. Besides, I think the saggy jeans and baggy tee look is out this season." I smiled.
Leon gave a half-smile but didn't say anything more. He looked at me and then down at the car. It felt like he was looking past me, or through me. He seemed to be thinking of something else. Somehow, something wasn't right.
"Leon? What's wrong?" I tipped my head to catch his gaze. He looked up and shook off whatever was bothering him.
"Nothing baby. So, what else are you gonna do today?"
God, he called me baby again. My heart melted.
"Well, I want to drop all this stuff off at the house. Then I will probably just vedge out until you guys get home. You won't be that long will you?"
"Naw, Dom usually closes up shop at 3 on Saturday's." Leon said, as he moved closer to me. I felt my body respond to his closeness. I leaned back against my car and reached up to slowly pull Leon towards me by the front of his shirt. Leon's green eyes glowed as he smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. He tipped his head down to look me in the face.
"So, there's another race tonight, you want to go?"
"Sure. We can do that."
"Good. I'll see you back at the house" he said, and then he leaned in and kissed me softly.
My arms wrapped around his neck and we lost ourselves in the warmth and melting of our kisses, until I heard Mia clear her throat. I reluctantly broke away from Leon's mouth and looked over his shoulder to see her smiling at us.
"Sarah, can you drop me off at the store please?" Mia asked with a teasing smile.
"Yeah. Sure Mia. I gave Leon a brief last kiss and said, I'll see you later Leon". He nodded and smiled as we untangled ourselves reluctantly. Leon's hands and mine stayed together until the distance was too great and both our arms fell to our sides. Then he gave me another beautiful smile and turned back to the garage.
I got into my car and looked over at Mia with a sheepish grin.
"Awww, you two are so cute." she teased.
I laughed softly with happiness, in reply. I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had finally found a man who was everything I ever thought I wanted and I was accepted by his people, who liked me and brought me into their family too. It was like God had finally smiled on me. I was happier, safer and freer than I had been for years, all because I'd finally found the courage to make my escape from hell and had the blessed good fortune to meet Leon.
Whether he knew it or not, Leon's patience, strength, and caring ways, helped me break out of my fears and defensiveness so I could appreciate life again. My heart filled with happiness and gratitude. Everything was so different now. I didn't have to live a life of lies and fear anymore. I really felt like a new lamb must feel, just getting on its feet after being born. The feelings were scary, thrilling, and new, all at once! It might still be a little bit too soon to be positive, but it sure felt like I was falling very deeply in love.
We got to the mall, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get Mia off my case.
"So just tell me Sarah, because the way Vince made it sound..."
"Yeah. Well, I'm sure Vince embellished the truth."
Mia just laughed and shook her head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Mia shrugged with a sweet smile. "It's a girl's right not to kiss and tell."
"Thank you!" I said, in relief.
As we talked about the shops we wanted to hit first and walked through the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of a brand-new, completely 'loaded' black Escalade. Mia was a few steps ahead of me, and hadn't noticed it. I slowed my pace to check it out. As I was walking past the spot where it was parked, I tried to glance inside. Unfortunately the mirror tint on the windows made it next to impossible to see if anyone was in it or not. It wasn't like I'd never seen a Escalade before. It was the only car Pops and his crew ever used to drive. I think it was my nostalgia for Pops, more than anything, that made me gravitate towards it. I slowly walked up, and was about 5 feet away from it when Mia grabbed my arm.
"Hello? Earth to Sarah! Where are you going girl?" she asked.
I looked at Mia, and back at the Escalade before I smiled.
"Aw nothing. Just looking at that big black Caddy SUV. It's really a fine looking car" I said nonchalantly.
With a last look and a shrug, I turned and said "C'mon Mia, I need a whole new wardrobe!" and with that I took her hand and we made a dash to the entrance. We went crazy. All of the old bruises on me had faded and healed. I was ready to have a great time wearing some great clothes. Letty was right. It was about time I started to enjoy what I had and show to advantage.
Since the morning's soul-baring session with Leon, I felt a new sense of freedom, and was ready to show the world what I had been hiding all those years.
Mia was so great. She helped me pick out a whole wardrobe of wonderful clothing -- like she knew how important it was to me to feel pretty, free, and alive. I got a few sun dresses, and mini skirts, hot pants, and Capri's, and every style of top imaginable. Many of them were low cut and tie-back, which left me showing more of my skin then I was used to, but Mia assured me I looked great. I trusted her and was happy to accept her judgment. I still bought myself a few oversized tee's to lounge around in. Some habits die hard.
By the time we got out of the mall 3 hours later, I was loaded down with 8 overstuffed shopping bags full of new clothes, shoes, and accessories. Mia was struggling to help me with my load and still carry her 4 bags of clothes at the same time! We stumbled over ourselves a bit as we headed back to the car, laughing hysterically at the scene we were causing.
"Mia, your gonna drop my shoes!"
"Girl, please! I would NEVER drop these beautiful shoes!" she laughed at me.
I tried to collect myself as I giggled, when I looked up and saw the same Escalade I had seen before, parked a few spots over from my car. I slowed my pace and stared, but decided against investigating the situation any further. For all I knew, the owner would flip out if he or she walked up and found me checking out the Escalade.
Mia and I loaded all 12 of the shopping bags into my car and made our way out of the mall. It was close to lunchtime and I knew we were picking up food for the guys and Letty. As happy as I was that I would be seeing Leon again, I was nervous about any "knowing" looks I might get from the rest of the group. Mia picked up on my uneasiness right away.
"Don't stress it Sarah." Mia assured me. "The team won't say anything to you. I'm sure Leon has ripped into V. for his stunt this morning, by now." she said with an evil grin.
I laughed it off as we picked up a few pizzas and made our way to the garage. Still, I found I was still a little tense and had some very mixed emotions by the time we made it to the garage. Mia and I got out of the car with the pizzas and began walking up to the guys. A movement on the street, to my left, caught my attention. When I turned my head and looked back, I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I saw the same Escalade turning the corner of the street. My heart stopped.
"Sarah, come on." Mia called to me, snapping me back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm coming." I replied, and walked faster to catch up.
When we made it into the darkness of the garage, I couldn't see anyone at clearly at first.
"Hey Mia where's everybod-" I began. Before I could finish my sentence the pizza box I held was out of my hands and Jesse and Vince were ripping wedges out of it. I burst out laughing at the scene. They acted as if they hadn't eaten in years! Without warning, the rest of the team appeared and began attacking the other pies.
"You're welcome!" Mia exclaimed, only to hear muffled thank- yous from everyone. I walked a short way from the feeding frenzy, hiked myself up onto a clear spot on a workbench and watched them eat. Although I couldn't help smiling at the ravenous team, I also couldn't get the Escalade out of my head. I tried to stay rational and not get paranoid. I knew I hadn't told Pops where I was going. I had been pretty sure he didn't really want to know; but the coincidence was making me nervous. I sat on the bench, swinging my legs nervously and chewed on my finger -- something I always did when I got nervous. Dom walked over to me on the workbench and leaned back against it, to my right.
"You want a slice Sarah?"
"Huh? ..oh..no thanks" I muttered, still chewing on my finger.
"Hey. You know, if you're nervous about this morning-"
"No! I interrupted Dom. "I'm not, I mean, I'm sure Leon straightened it all out anyway, but - it really wasn't what Vince thought."
"Then why are you eating your finger Sarah?" he asked gently, as he pulled my hand down, and looked me in the eye.
"Hmm? Oh, just a bad habit." I smiled and tried to will him away. Letty came up and rescued me. At least I thought she was going to rescue me.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she said sternly looking back and forth between me and Dom.
"Letty don't start with this!" Dom spoke in a low rumble, pushing away from the bench and shaking his head with a frown. He looked into Letty's eyes intensely for what seemed like forever, until she finally shrugged her shoulders abruptly and looked down at her shoes. Dom watched Letty closely for another moment more; and then quietly walked over to his office, leaving us alone. After another minute, Letty looked up stared hard at me with a bitter and angry look on her face.
"Letty wha-?"
"Save it Sarah. I like you personally, but you need to stay the fuck away from Dom."
Before I could tell her that I wasn't interested in Dom at all, Mia appeared and did it for me.
Gently putting her hand on Letty's shoulder, Mia asked, "Letty. What is your problem girl?"
"Mia, don't tell me you didn't see Dom-" Letty growled angrily as she turned to look at Mia.
"Letty stop it." Mia said firmly. "Sarah's not interested in him, and Dom is always going to be friendly to people, especially women. God girl, you got to stop this shit. You will make yourself crazy! The two have been together so long that I thought you knew by now you always come first in Dom's heart and soul."
Just then Brian walked inside from the back of the garage and stopped in confusion when he saw the three of us women deep in conversation. Everyone was silent and focused on our conversation. I felt my face burning with embarrassment and then I saw Leon walk over to us.
"Letty, will you stop with the jealousy already? Dayum, woman. You have got to relax!" he said as he joined Mia, Letty and me.
"So what's going on?" Brian asked the group aloud in curiosity. One look from Vince stopped any more questions Brian might have wanted to ask.
Everyone watched Letty, waiting for her to say something. Finally she slowly turned her attention back to me. The glare in her eyes was gone, replaced by something that might have been something a little bit like hurt. Letty looked at me carefully.
"Sorry Sarah." she said thoughtfully. "Old reflexes create problems, I guess." Letty turned and walked slowly into the back of the garage, toward the Nissan. I just looked at Leon who shook his head sadly.
"Letty has always had a bit of a jealous streak as long as I've known her. Dom didn't make it any better when he and Letty had a major fight one night a year or so ago. Dom left in a rage and ended up in bed with Johnny Tran's sister later that evening. And Johnny Tran's sister made sure the world knew about it too."
Leon raised one eyebrow in question and looked over at Mia who nodded quietly in agreement.
"That's been a really hard thing for Letty to forgive. said Mia. "Even though Dom regrets what he did and has never done anything like it since, Letty is still working hard on the trust situation." Mia nodded towards the Nissan where Letty had returned to work and then she walked over to talk to her, leaving Leon and I to ourselves.
Try not to pay Letty any mind." Leon said, kissing my forehead. I looked at him and smiled. Everything that had just happened, was forgotten. How could Letty think I wanted Dom? That was ridiculous. Sure Dom was a handsome and commanding guy, but to me Dom didn't compare to Leon with his emerald green eyes and tender ways towards me. The team relaxed and we all went back to finishing the pizzas that Mia and I had brought in. Dom came back out of the office after another 10 or 15 minutes and spoke up.
"OK. Break is over guys. Let's get back on it." he rumbled.
Dom was answered with good-natured groans, while Vince and Jesse got up slowly, to return to their respective jobs on the cars. As Mia walked back up towards the office, Brian snagged her hand and pulled her into his arms. Mia laughed and wriggled out of his grasp, still holding onto his hand and leading him over to Dom, where the three of them began to talk.
Leon turned and lifted me down from the tool bench, calling out to Dom at the same time. "I'll be right there Dawg, I'm going to walk Sarah out to her car."
Dom just nodded and turned back to continue the conversation he was having with Mia and Brian.
When Leon and I got out to my car, his eyes went wide.
"I see you and Mia were extra busy this morning!"
"Yeah well, I really needed new clothes. Besides, I think the saggy jeans and baggy tee look is out this season." I smiled.
Leon gave a half-smile but didn't say anything more. He looked at me and then down at the car. It felt like he was looking past me, or through me. He seemed to be thinking of something else. Somehow, something wasn't right.
"Leon? What's wrong?" I tipped my head to catch his gaze. He looked up and shook off whatever was bothering him.
"Nothing baby. So, what else are you gonna do today?"
God, he called me baby again. My heart melted.
"Well, I want to drop all this stuff off at the house. Then I will probably just vedge out until you guys get home. You won't be that long will you?"
"Naw, Dom usually closes up shop at 3 on Saturday's." Leon said, as he moved closer to me. I felt my body respond to his closeness. I leaned back against my car and reached up to slowly pull Leon towards me by the front of his shirt. Leon's green eyes glowed as he smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. He tipped his head down to look me in the face.
"So, there's another race tonight, you want to go?"
"Sure. We can do that."
"Good. I'll see you back at the house" he said, and then he leaned in and kissed me softly.
My arms wrapped around his neck and we lost ourselves in the warmth and melting of our kisses, until I heard Mia clear her throat. I reluctantly broke away from Leon's mouth and looked over his shoulder to see her smiling at us.
"Sarah, can you drop me off at the store please?" Mia asked with a teasing smile.
"Yeah. Sure Mia. I gave Leon a brief last kiss and said, I'll see you later Leon". He nodded and smiled as we untangled ourselves reluctantly. Leon's hands and mine stayed together until the distance was too great and both our arms fell to our sides. Then he gave me another beautiful smile and turned back to the garage.
I got into my car and looked over at Mia with a sheepish grin.
"Awww, you two are so cute." she teased.
I laughed softly with happiness, in reply. I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had finally found a man who was everything I ever thought I wanted and I was accepted by his people, who liked me and brought me into their family too. It was like God had finally smiled on me. I was happier, safer and freer than I had been for years, all because I'd finally found the courage to make my escape from hell and had the blessed good fortune to meet Leon.
Whether he knew it or not, Leon's patience, strength, and caring ways, helped me break out of my fears and defensiveness so I could appreciate life again. My heart filled with happiness and gratitude. Everything was so different now. I didn't have to live a life of lies and fear anymore. I really felt like a new lamb must feel, just getting on its feet after being born. The feelings were scary, thrilling, and new, all at once! It might still be a little bit too soon to be positive, but it sure felt like I was falling very deeply in love.