Chapter 2
Dom walked into the garage when he heard voices. "Oh, you must be Hector's friend? Emily is it?" asked Dom, oblivious of the situation he had just walked in on. "Yeah. Emily Garcia", she answered as she quickly composed herself and stuck her hand out towards Dom who shook it. "Um, the guy who was askin' about you is runnin' a little late", Dom smiled sheepishly, "And I gotta go to Harry's and pick up some stuff so if you just wanna hang around here for a coupla minutes, I'm sure Leon will look after you", Dom grinned at Leon. "Uh, sure if that's okay with Leon?" Emily asked shyly as she turned to the man she hadn't stopped thinking about for the past three days. "It's fine with me", he shrugged. As he did this Emily took the chance to look him over, he was wearing dark blue, grease-covered overalls that were tied loosely round his waist and a white tank top that clung to his chest. 'No toothpick today', she noticed.
Leon could have killed Dom on the spot for leaving him alone with Emily. She didn't exactly look ecstatic at the thought of being abandoned with him. As Dom peeled out of the garage the pair looked everywhere but at each other. "So, the Merc out there yours?" Leon asked trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Emily let out the breath she realised she had been holding. "Yeah, you wanna come take a look?" "Sure", Leon answered, thankful to be talking about something where he knew it would be very hard for him to say something stupid.
Emily walked back out towards her car, closely followed by Leon. "Here's my baby", Emily shrugged toward her gleaming car. "No shit. Did you do these yourself?" Leon asked, not bothering to hide that he was impressed. "Yeah, the angel on the hood is the tattoo on my back", she informed him as she turned around and lifted her shirt slightly revealing an angel, with it's head bowed and hands clasped in prayer with rosary beads wrapped around them, at the base of her back. The feathery wings spread from the angel's back to almost at Emily's hips, all in black ink. "Damn, how long did that take?" Leon asked, he knew from experience how painful tattoos could be and this one looked like a sore one. "A little over five hours. I couldn't lie on my back or bend down properly for weeks!" Emily laughed. Leon laughed with her and it felt good. There was suddenly no tension between them. "Look I wanna apologise for my friend at the races the other night. He's kinda paranoid about cops and shit", Leon said when he sobered up. "It's okay. I kinda over-reacted too. I don't usually have such a short fuse but I kinda get in my own zone when I'm working and when someone interrupts me I guess I kinda lose it", Emily smiled sheepishly. "I was wonderin' if that invite to your show is still open? I wouldn't mind havin' a look at some of your work" "Sure. In fact I've got some sketches and pictures of other cars I've painted in here", Emily smiled as she opened the folder in her hand.
Almost half an hour later and a car could he heard roaring up the quiet street. "Looks like Dom's back", Leon smirked. "Sounds like don't you mean?!" Emily laughed. "That's a little more accurate I guess!" "God, I hope this guy's gonna turn up soon", Emily pouted as she leaned against the hood of her car. "Hey, I'm sure he will. If he knew what amazing designs he could get on his car I'm sure he'd be here in two seconds flat. I know I would", Leon said truthfully as he stood beside Emily. "Thanks that means a lot from a racer", Emily smiled at Leon and their eyes locked.
"This guy still not showed up?" asked Dom as he approached the pair, again oblivious to the moment he was disturbing. "Nope", replied Emily. "I'll go and give him a call see where he's at", Dom said before turning back into the garage. "So is it just you and Dom at the garage?" Emily asked. "Nah, Vince, the guy from the races, Letty, Dom's girlfriend and Jesse, my best friend from back home, work here too. They'll be along later", Leon told her. "Oh. So where's back home?" Emily asked. This guy intrigued her and she felt that she could be herself around him and not have to worry about if he thought she was an idiot or not.
Leon smiled and told her all about San Francisco, his mom and how his dad had ran out on them when he was two and his mother had still managed to provide for him all his life, though it was hard most of the time. "Damn, you've been through a lot, huh?" Emily asked with raised eyebrows. "My life's been one big long sob story until I showed up here", Leon shrugged, "So what about you? Where's home at?" "Well, I lived in a little town 'bout three hours outside LA with my mom, dad and three big brothers. I moved to the city four years ago, when I was eighteen. But I moved back home when I was nineteen cause my mom died and I guess the family kinda fell apart. My dad owns a big garage back home and I helped out there, cleaned the house, made sure him and my brothers ate everyday. My dad's never been the same since my mom passed away. My oldest brother, Ryan, moved away to Vegas with his wife two months later, he said he couldn't cope with dad being the way he was. My second oldest brother, Jamie, was incredibly strong he arranged the funeral and kept the garage going, I don't know what we would've done without him. Then there's my other brother, Billy, he just totally went into himself, wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks. Then six months ago I moved back here and started gettin' some work. Then my friend told me about this gallery space that had become available so I immediately told them I could fill it, so I've got this damn show next month that I need to prepare for", Emily told him. "What was wrong with your mom?" Leon asked, the more he talked to Emily the more he liked her. "She had cancer. By the time the doctors found it there was nothing they could do to stop it spreading", Emily explained. "That must of been ha-", Leon was interrupted by three cars pulling up.
Emily glanced at the three supped up cars that parked outside the garage. "Yo Leon who's the girl?" Vince asked from behind Emily. She slowly turned round, "The bitch photographer", Vince growled. "Oh, so I have a title now?" Emily asked, hand on her hip, all attitude. Leon smirked behind his hand. 'You gotta love this girl!... Did I just say love?!' "What? You got a problem with it?" Vince asked walking over to her. "How about you just call me Emily, seein' as how it's my name an' all", Emily said, tilting her head to the side. "Uh, someone gonna introduce us?" Letty asked as she raised her eyebrows from behind her sunglasses. "Letty, Jesse this is Emily Garcia. Emily this is Letty and Jesse", Leon said, pointing to the right person at the right time. "Dom's girlfriend right?" Emily asked as she shook Letty's hand, "And Leon's best friend?" she asked as she shook Jesse's hand. "So what're you doin' here?" Vince asked. "I'm waitin' for some guy to show up so I can spray his car", Emily informed him a little icily. "This yours?" Letty asked, pointing to the Mercedes. "Yeah" "Can I take a look under the hood?" Jesse asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a car engine. "Sure", Emily laughed as she opened the door and pulled the lever to open the hood.
Fifteen minutes later and Dom came out of the garage and joined the group. "Hey Emily, I called the guy who wanted to meet you and it turns out that he can't make it today. Can you come meet him tomorrow?" Dom asked as he put his arm around Letty's shoulders. "Well that was a waste of a mornin'. What time tomorrow?" Emily asked with a sigh. "9:30?" Dom asked. "Sure. I'll see you guys tomorrow", Emily said as she moved towards the hood to shut it. "You could stick around here. If you've not got anywhere else to go", Leon suggested, quickly. "Yeah, I wanna check out the rest of this machine!" Jesse smiled. "Um, sure if I'm not gonna get in the way?" Emily asked and smiled at Leon, she was beginning to think that he liked her back. "You have to stay girl. I need someone to help me handle V over here!" Letty smiled. "Whatever", Vince grunted, then turned and walked into the garage.
At 1:30 Mia showed up with sandwiches for the team and she was introduced to Emily whom she immediately liked when Letty told her how she had stood up to Vince earlier. "I'd better go guys, I have to meet some people about this gallery show" Emily sighed when she looked at her watch. "See ya!" called the team as she made to leave. "I'll walk you to your car", Leon told her as he slid off the workbench he had been sitting on.
"So uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Leon asked rubbing the back of his neck when they reached Emily's car. "Sure. Oh, here", she said slipping her card into Leon's hand, "My cell number's on the back. Call me sometime", she said unlocking her car and slipping into the driver's seat. "Definitely. See ya later", Leon smiled as he shut Emily's door for her and waved her off.
Leon returned to the garage with a huge grin on his face. "Leon and Emily sitting in a tree", Jesse sang. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G", Mia finished with a smile. "Shut up", Leon said as he walked past them to the SUV he was working on but the grin was still plastered on his face.
Dom walked into the garage when he heard voices. "Oh, you must be Hector's friend? Emily is it?" asked Dom, oblivious of the situation he had just walked in on. "Yeah. Emily Garcia", she answered as she quickly composed herself and stuck her hand out towards Dom who shook it. "Um, the guy who was askin' about you is runnin' a little late", Dom smiled sheepishly, "And I gotta go to Harry's and pick up some stuff so if you just wanna hang around here for a coupla minutes, I'm sure Leon will look after you", Dom grinned at Leon. "Uh, sure if that's okay with Leon?" Emily asked shyly as she turned to the man she hadn't stopped thinking about for the past three days. "It's fine with me", he shrugged. As he did this Emily took the chance to look him over, he was wearing dark blue, grease-covered overalls that were tied loosely round his waist and a white tank top that clung to his chest. 'No toothpick today', she noticed.
Leon could have killed Dom on the spot for leaving him alone with Emily. She didn't exactly look ecstatic at the thought of being abandoned with him. As Dom peeled out of the garage the pair looked everywhere but at each other. "So, the Merc out there yours?" Leon asked trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Emily let out the breath she realised she had been holding. "Yeah, you wanna come take a look?" "Sure", Leon answered, thankful to be talking about something where he knew it would be very hard for him to say something stupid.
Emily walked back out towards her car, closely followed by Leon. "Here's my baby", Emily shrugged toward her gleaming car. "No shit. Did you do these yourself?" Leon asked, not bothering to hide that he was impressed. "Yeah, the angel on the hood is the tattoo on my back", she informed him as she turned around and lifted her shirt slightly revealing an angel, with it's head bowed and hands clasped in prayer with rosary beads wrapped around them, at the base of her back. The feathery wings spread from the angel's back to almost at Emily's hips, all in black ink. "Damn, how long did that take?" Leon asked, he knew from experience how painful tattoos could be and this one looked like a sore one. "A little over five hours. I couldn't lie on my back or bend down properly for weeks!" Emily laughed. Leon laughed with her and it felt good. There was suddenly no tension between them. "Look I wanna apologise for my friend at the races the other night. He's kinda paranoid about cops and shit", Leon said when he sobered up. "It's okay. I kinda over-reacted too. I don't usually have such a short fuse but I kinda get in my own zone when I'm working and when someone interrupts me I guess I kinda lose it", Emily smiled sheepishly. "I was wonderin' if that invite to your show is still open? I wouldn't mind havin' a look at some of your work" "Sure. In fact I've got some sketches and pictures of other cars I've painted in here", Emily smiled as she opened the folder in her hand.
Almost half an hour later and a car could he heard roaring up the quiet street. "Looks like Dom's back", Leon smirked. "Sounds like don't you mean?!" Emily laughed. "That's a little more accurate I guess!" "God, I hope this guy's gonna turn up soon", Emily pouted as she leaned against the hood of her car. "Hey, I'm sure he will. If he knew what amazing designs he could get on his car I'm sure he'd be here in two seconds flat. I know I would", Leon said truthfully as he stood beside Emily. "Thanks that means a lot from a racer", Emily smiled at Leon and their eyes locked.
"This guy still not showed up?" asked Dom as he approached the pair, again oblivious to the moment he was disturbing. "Nope", replied Emily. "I'll go and give him a call see where he's at", Dom said before turning back into the garage. "So is it just you and Dom at the garage?" Emily asked. "Nah, Vince, the guy from the races, Letty, Dom's girlfriend and Jesse, my best friend from back home, work here too. They'll be along later", Leon told her. "Oh. So where's back home?" Emily asked. This guy intrigued her and she felt that she could be herself around him and not have to worry about if he thought she was an idiot or not.
Leon smiled and told her all about San Francisco, his mom and how his dad had ran out on them when he was two and his mother had still managed to provide for him all his life, though it was hard most of the time. "Damn, you've been through a lot, huh?" Emily asked with raised eyebrows. "My life's been one big long sob story until I showed up here", Leon shrugged, "So what about you? Where's home at?" "Well, I lived in a little town 'bout three hours outside LA with my mom, dad and three big brothers. I moved to the city four years ago, when I was eighteen. But I moved back home when I was nineteen cause my mom died and I guess the family kinda fell apart. My dad owns a big garage back home and I helped out there, cleaned the house, made sure him and my brothers ate everyday. My dad's never been the same since my mom passed away. My oldest brother, Ryan, moved away to Vegas with his wife two months later, he said he couldn't cope with dad being the way he was. My second oldest brother, Jamie, was incredibly strong he arranged the funeral and kept the garage going, I don't know what we would've done without him. Then there's my other brother, Billy, he just totally went into himself, wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks. Then six months ago I moved back here and started gettin' some work. Then my friend told me about this gallery space that had become available so I immediately told them I could fill it, so I've got this damn show next month that I need to prepare for", Emily told him. "What was wrong with your mom?" Leon asked, the more he talked to Emily the more he liked her. "She had cancer. By the time the doctors found it there was nothing they could do to stop it spreading", Emily explained. "That must of been ha-", Leon was interrupted by three cars pulling up.
Emily glanced at the three supped up cars that parked outside the garage. "Yo Leon who's the girl?" Vince asked from behind Emily. She slowly turned round, "The bitch photographer", Vince growled. "Oh, so I have a title now?" Emily asked, hand on her hip, all attitude. Leon smirked behind his hand. 'You gotta love this girl!... Did I just say love?!' "What? You got a problem with it?" Vince asked walking over to her. "How about you just call me Emily, seein' as how it's my name an' all", Emily said, tilting her head to the side. "Uh, someone gonna introduce us?" Letty asked as she raised her eyebrows from behind her sunglasses. "Letty, Jesse this is Emily Garcia. Emily this is Letty and Jesse", Leon said, pointing to the right person at the right time. "Dom's girlfriend right?" Emily asked as she shook Letty's hand, "And Leon's best friend?" she asked as she shook Jesse's hand. "So what're you doin' here?" Vince asked. "I'm waitin' for some guy to show up so I can spray his car", Emily informed him a little icily. "This yours?" Letty asked, pointing to the Mercedes. "Yeah" "Can I take a look under the hood?" Jesse asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a car engine. "Sure", Emily laughed as she opened the door and pulled the lever to open the hood.
Fifteen minutes later and Dom came out of the garage and joined the group. "Hey Emily, I called the guy who wanted to meet you and it turns out that he can't make it today. Can you come meet him tomorrow?" Dom asked as he put his arm around Letty's shoulders. "Well that was a waste of a mornin'. What time tomorrow?" Emily asked with a sigh. "9:30?" Dom asked. "Sure. I'll see you guys tomorrow", Emily said as she moved towards the hood to shut it. "You could stick around here. If you've not got anywhere else to go", Leon suggested, quickly. "Yeah, I wanna check out the rest of this machine!" Jesse smiled. "Um, sure if I'm not gonna get in the way?" Emily asked and smiled at Leon, she was beginning to think that he liked her back. "You have to stay girl. I need someone to help me handle V over here!" Letty smiled. "Whatever", Vince grunted, then turned and walked into the garage.
At 1:30 Mia showed up with sandwiches for the team and she was introduced to Emily whom she immediately liked when Letty told her how she had stood up to Vince earlier. "I'd better go guys, I have to meet some people about this gallery show" Emily sighed when she looked at her watch. "See ya!" called the team as she made to leave. "I'll walk you to your car", Leon told her as he slid off the workbench he had been sitting on.
"So uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Leon asked rubbing the back of his neck when they reached Emily's car. "Sure. Oh, here", she said slipping her card into Leon's hand, "My cell number's on the back. Call me sometime", she said unlocking her car and slipping into the driver's seat. "Definitely. See ya later", Leon smiled as he shut Emily's door for her and waved her off.
Leon returned to the garage with a huge grin on his face. "Leon and Emily sitting in a tree", Jesse sang. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G", Mia finished with a smile. "Shut up", Leon said as he walked past them to the SUV he was working on but the grin was still plastered on his face.