Chapter Two

With a turn of the wrist, Jazz started her car up and pulled away from the man. She pointed her car in the direction of the Toretto household and sped off.

When she pulled up to the house, the party was in full swing. Jazz scanned the cars in the parking lot and smiled as she saw the man's car.

Jazz stepped out of her car and shut the door softly. Her stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies. She, however, was able to keep a calm expression on her face. The only sign of what a wreck she was on the inside was the fact that her left hand began to shake.

The bass from the music inside could be heard from outside and people's shadows danced across the blinds. Jazz could already tell that the place was packed and she wondered if she should go in.

"You're here," a voice came from the backyard.

Jazz looked over at the owner of the voice and smiled.

"Hey Leon," Jazz said with a laugh.

Leon motioned his head toward the picnic table and Jazz followed him toward it.

"So what's up? I haven't seen you around in a while. You stopped coming by the shop," Jazz said as she sat next to Leon.

Leon handed Jazz a beer and shrugged his shoulders. "Decided to take a vacation," he answered vaguely.

Jazz nodded and took a sip of her beer. She had heard what happened about a month after the team had left.

"Is the shop still open?" Leon asked, changing subjects quickly.

Jazz shook her head no. "The shop closed down about a year ago. After y'all left there just wasn't any business. It's like the city just died. There was no spark, no excitement."

Leon nodded. "It's hard running a restaurant, but I figured that Neptune's would have stayed open a hell of a lot longer than it did. How long was it open?"

"Two years. I sold the place to some guy who turned it into a fishing shop."

Leon nodded. "It's good to see you again, Jazz."

Jazz could tell that he really meant it. She wrapped an arm around Leon, her best friend of nearly 10 years, and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Le."

Leon kissed the top part of Jazz's head before getting up from the table. "If you'll excuse me," he said with a smile. "I have some lady friends waiting on my return."

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Player through and through."

Leon lifted up his hands and said, "I must keep 'em happy. Supply and demand, baby."

Jazz laughed. "Well go make 'em happy, Le."

Leon smiled and walked back inside. It was a good reunion between two friends. Albeit a short one, it was a good one nonetheless. Jazz sighed and began to pick at the bottle in her hand. Leon had been her best friend since she was thirteen. Their mom's were beauticians at the same place and had introduced them. Immediately, they became fast friends. Many people speculated that Jazz and Leon would end up dating, but that wasn't how they wanted it. Friends forever, they vowed, and that's how it would stay.

Jazz sat the Corona bottle on the picnic table and stood up. She took a deep breath and walked around the front, so she could enter through the front door. Her heart beat widely with each step she took. The closer she got, the farther away she wanted to be.

'What if this was a mistake?' she asked herself as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

'Come on, Jazz,' she said to herself. 'This is your one chance to get close to him. You don't want to spend the rest of your life knowing that something could of happen, but you never pursued it.'

Jazz took another deep breath and opened the door. The loud music hit her first. She looked around the room for him, and once she didn't see him, she walked inside and shut the door. Part of her was disappointed that she didn't see him. That either meant he wasn't here or that he was with someone else.

'Probably the latter,' she told herself. As she was mentally debating whether or not to leave, she spotted a familiar figure.

"What the hell are you doing here?" a voice sneered from in front of her.

Jazz smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Well I heard that some skank was back in town and I wanted to see if it was true."

"And if it was?" the voice asked.

"I'd give her a big ass hug and ask her what the hell took her so long to come back."

Jazz smiled and crushed the girl in front of her with a hug. The girl returned the hug.

"Girl, I have missed you so much."

"I know, Letty, I missed you too," Jazz replied.

Letty let go of Jazz and backed up.

"Look at you, all jazzed up. Who's the lucky guy?" she asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Oh, sweetheart, I did this for you," Jazz said with a smile.

"Well, I'll be," Letty said laughing.

Letty and Jazz had known each other since Jazz opened up Neptune's. Letty had been a regular customer up until the accident.

"So where's this man of yours that you kept telling me about?" Jazz asked.

Letty's smile dropped a little. "Uh, he's around here somewhere," she said, looking around the room.

Jazz could tell that Letty was avoiding her eye and immediately decided to drop the subject.

"Hey, who needs him when you've got your home girl here?" she asked with a smile.

Letty smiled softly. "Thanks."

"No problem, now point me in the nearest direction of a beer," Jazz said laughing.

"Right through that door," Letty said pointing at what Jazz assumed was the kitchen. "But if you'll excuse me I have to go upstairs for a second."

Jazz nodded and walked over to the kitchen. Before she reached the door, however, he walked into the kitchen.