A/N - Hello all! Great to know you all are enjoying it. For all who have asked, "When is she gonna find out?", the answer is soon. I surprised myself the other day. I actually worked on a chapter for this story. Willingly! Anyway, here is the next chapter. So, go read and review. Please? **looks at the readers with puppy dog eyes**
Chapter 11: The Date
Leon parked his Skyline in front of Jennifer's place and looked at his watch. It read, "6:50 P.M." Perfect timing, he thought. Leon smiled and stepped out of his car. He was dressed in a white beater, a blue short sleeve button up shirt left open, and a pair of baggy blue jeans. And around his neck he wore his silver chain. He went up the back stairs and knocked on the door.
"Chanda, he's here." Jennifer shouted as she opened the door. "Hey Leon, come on in. Chanda will be out in a sec."
"Thanks, Jen." Leon said as he walked in. He headed for the couch and sat down.
"Can I get ya anything?" She asked.
"Nah, that's okay." He told her.
"Suit yourself." Jennifer replied.
"I'm ready." Chanda announced.
Leon turned toward the hallway to look at Chanda. She was standing there wearing the outfit she had bought earlier that day with a pair of white Keds. She had her hair pulled into a loose ponytail with a few strands hanging down in front to frame her face. The only makeup she wore was eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. She looked great. Leon's mouth dropped as he looked her up and down.
"Wow, girl, you look great." Leon told her.
"Thank you. Are you ready?" She smiled.
"Definitely." Leon grinned. He held out his hand and nodded toward the door.
Chanda took his hand and they left. At Leon's car, he held the door open for her as she got in. Closing the door, he ran around and slipped in behind the wheel.
"So, where are we going?" Chanda asked.
"Well, do you like seafood? 'Cuz I was thinkin' of this small place called Neptune's Net. It's just off the Pacific Coast Hwy right across from the beach." Leon said as he pulled away from the curb.
"Sounds great." Chanda replied.
Forty-five minutes later Leon pulled up at the small diner. They got out and took a booth near the front. From there, they could see a good view of the ocean. Chanda ordered shrimp and a Barq's. Leon ordered fish and a Coke. Their drinks arrived and Chanda looked out to see the last of the sunset.
"It's beautiful." Chanda said.
"Yeah, it is." Leon said looking at Chanda and not the sunset.
Chanda turned her head and smiled when she realized he was talking about her.
"So, tell me about yourself." Leon said as he took a drink of his Coke.
Chanda sighed. "Well, I'm twenty-three years old. I grew up in San Francisco. I had two loving parents that gave me everything they could. I lived in a two story home in a great neighborhood. Jennifer lived across the street from me. We've been best friends since we were old enough to talk. If you ask her, she would tell you I was the miss priss type. I played with dolls and always wanted to play dress up or house. Ya know, the girly thing. Jennifer on the other hand was the tomboy. She has always been into cars, and playing basketball. Hell, she had more guy friends than her brother Chris."
Chanda smiled and Leon laughed.
"While Jennifer had her siblings, I grew up an only child. Or at least that's what I thought until I was fourteen. That's when I found out about Brian. One night, I woke up to my parents arguing. Something that rarely happened. Anyway, I went downstairs and overheard them yelling in the kitchen.
~~~~~ Flashback - O'Connor residence nine years ago ~~~~~
"Damn it, Devin! Brian needs you!" Her mother cried.
"He's done fine without me."
"He's in juvenile detention and his mother just died. I really don't think he's fine. You are the only family he has left!"
"Janet, he'll be eighteen years old when he gets out. I really don't think he'll come live here. I'm pretty sure he hates me." Her father said, his voice cracking.
"You won't know unless you go and see him." Her mother said as she laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Daddy, who's Brian?" Chanda asked, making her presence in the kitchen known.
Startled, her parents looked up at her. Her father looked to her mother as if asking for help.
"Devin, she's fourteen. I think she's old enough to understand. Just tell her." Her mother said.
Her father looked at her, then pulled out the chair next to him and motioned for her to sit. After Chanda had taken a seat, her mother came and sat on her other side.
Her father gently took her hand and then quietly said, "Sweetheart, Brian is your brother. Your half-brother. He's three years older than you."
Chanda's mouth dropped open. "But,... how?" She managed to say.
"Before I met your mother, I was married to another woman. Brian's mother. When Brian was two, I met your mother and fell in love with her. When Brian's mother found out, she divorced me and took Brian to Arizona. She told me that she would never let me near Brian again. I loved Brian. So, I tried calling her. I tried to reason with her but she would hang up every time. When she threatened to file harassment charges, I gave up. I haven't had any contact with her or Brian since. Then the other day, I received a phone call from a law firm in Arizona. An attorney informed me that Brian's mother recently died of cancer leaving me Brian's guardian. But Brian has gotten into trouble and is now serving a two year sentence. When Brian is released, he'll be eighteen, of legal age to make up his own mind. Now your mother wants me to ask him to come live with us. But considering my non-existent past with him, I really don't believe he'll want to."
Chanda sat in silence for a few minutes. Letting all of what her father had just told her sink in. Finally she asked, "Does he know about us? About me?"
"No, sweetheart, I don't think he knows about you."
"Are you going to see him?"
"I'm going to try. But it will be up to him, if he'll let me."
~~~~~ End Flashback ~~~~~
"Whoa. So, what happened?" Leon asked.
"My father went to Tucson to talk to him only to be turned away. The guards at the facility told my father that Brian claimed his father was dead. When my father returned, he received a package from the law firm in Arizona. It contained two letters written by Brian's mother. One addressed to my father. The other to Brian. My father's letter explained that Brian's mother had told him his father was dead. She said that she regretted not letting my father be a part of his life. She also explained that the second letter, the one to Brian, would explain to him what she had done. She had wrote these letters in hopes that Brian would understand and someday forgive her for not letting him know his father. My father gave me Brian's letter before I left. He told to give it to Brian so he will finally know the truth."
"Do you think he'll believe you?" Leon asked taking her hand.
"I hope so. My father really wants to know him. But, I have to find him first."
"You'll find him." Leon assured her giving her hand a squeeze.
"I sure hope so." Chanda said quietly. Then looking up, she said, "So, enough about me. Tell me something about you."
"There's really not that much to tell." Leon said looking away.
"Come on, give." Chanda smiled. That did it. Leon smiled back and shook his head in defeat.
"Okay, Okay. I'm twenty-four. I grew up in Chicago. My parents didn't pay much attention to me so I pretty much did what ever I wanted to. I lived in an apartment complex downtown. That's where I met Jess. His parents lived in an apartment on next floor up. One day after school, I came home and found a group of kids gangin' up on him because of his ADD. So I ran over and kicked their asses. We've been best buds ever since. My mom up and left me and my dad when I was sixteen. When she left, dad took up drinking. So when I was eighteen, I packed up and left Chicago and since Jess's parents were druggies he came with me. They didn't even bother to come after him. So, we made our way across the country to L.A. Luckily, we ran into Dominic. He gave us a job and a place to stay. We became part of the team and the rest is history."
"Okay, so who is Dominic? I know Jennifer said he's Mia's brother, but?" Chanda asked.
Leon smiled. "Dom? Yeah, he's Mi's older brother. He's the top of the racing scene, L.A.'s King of the Streets. I don't think I've ever seen anyone beat him. D's the leader of the team. Everybody looks up to him like a big brother."
"So where is he?"
Leon's smile faded as his thoughts turned to what happened. "He's takin' a break."
"A break from what?" Chanda asked confused.
"Everything. Everything that happened." Leon said slowly as he stared at the table.
"What happened?" Chanda said slowly taking Leon's hand across the table. "Come on, you can tell me."
Leon wasn't sure he should be telling her all of this but somehow he felt like he could trust her. Slowly, he looked up at her. "It all happened about three or four months ago. Dom had gotten us into some deep shit. Illegal shit." Leon paused. Then after a moment he continued, "We were highjacking semi trucks and selling the cargo on the black market."
Chanda's mouth dropped. Oh my God!, she thought.
"Something I regret doing. But Dom was our leader and we trusted him. Anyway, the day after Race Wars we were doing a hit and everything went wrong. Jesse had left us one short and the trucker was ready for us. If it hadn't been for Brian, we would've gotten caught. He saved our asses. Dom felt guilty for everything and said he wanted to take a break and clear his head. So he disappeared. We haven't seen him in months. Mia keeps saying he'll be home soon. I hope you get to meet him. He really is a great guy."
"Okay, so now who's Brian? I heard you mention his name when you were talking to Jesse earlier today."
"Brian?" Leon chuckled. "Everyone knows him as Brian Spilner, the Snowman who lost his car."
"I don't understand." She looked confused.
"When Brian first showed up on the racing scene, he 'thought' he was a racer. His very first race, he raced Dom and bet the pink slip for his Eclipse. A very expensive, very sweet car. Of course, Dom won. So obviously, everyone knew him as the guy who lost his car."
As Chanda smiled with understanding, Leon continued. "Anyway, later that night, Johnny Tran and his goons destroyed Brian's Eclipse just for the fun of it. Because he still owed Dom a ten-second car, he ended up bringing in a bombed out Supra to DT and started working on it. That's how he became part of the team for awhile. Anyway, he and Mia got real close. As close as you can get. You could tell they had something. Which totally pissed V off, cuz he was into her."
"So where is he?" Chanda smiled. "Brian, I mean."
"Disappeared. No one knows where. Not even Mia."
"Wow. How is she taking it?"
"Okay, considering."
"Considering what?" Chanda asked curiously.
"She's pregnant with his kid."
"Oh my god! That's gotta be hard, her doing this on her own. No Brian. No Dom."
"Yeah, but she's not really alone. Ya see, she has the rest of us."
"Yeah, she's lucky to have you guys." Chanda smiled at him.
The rest of the evening was great. They finished their food and Leon suggested that they take a walk on the beach. As they walked, they talked about everything. Their hopes and dreams, their pasts and even told each other secrets. At around three in the morning, Leon finally pulled into Jennifer's drive. Taking her hand, Leon helped her out of the car and walked her to the door. At the door, she turned and looked up at him smiling.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening."
"Thanks for going. I had fun." He smiled back.
"So did I."
"Great. So, I'll see ya again?"
"I'm gonna be working for Mia starting Monday until I get news of my brother, so yeah."
"Cool." He smiled. "Maybe I'll see you then?"
"Okay." She replied looking into his eyes.
They stood there, looking into each other's eyes again as time seemed to stand still. Then ever so gently, Leon cupped her face in his hands. Smiling at her he leaned in and laid a kiss on her forehead. Chanda closed her eyes and smiled.
"Good night, Chanda." Leon said as he pulled away.
"Good night." She whispered.
Chanda stood there and watched as Leon turned and walked down the stairs. Just before turning the corner of the house, he looked up and smiled at her one last time.
After Leon had left, Chanda quietly let herself inside and went to her room. She changed into her purple kitty cat lounge pants with matching top and crawled into bed. She curled up with her favorite teddy bear and smiled as she drifted off to sleep thinking of Leon.