Chapter 17: The Barbeque

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Vince decided not to tell anyone about what he had done. He really didn't want Mia mad at him. He and everyone else were standing around outside, except Dom, who was at the grill with Brian. Mia had left a couple minutes ago to get the girl. At the sound of the back door opening, everyone looked over.

The door opened with a creak and all eyes were on July. She felt a little insecure under their scrutiny. Following Mia's lead, she set the food on the table and stood back with her hands in her back pockets, allowing everyone to get their eye full.

"July, this is Dom, my brother," Mia introduced gesturing to a large, tan, well built man. He looked like he was in his early twenties. He was bald and his chocolate brown eyes were studying the new girl. His white wife beater outlined his muscles well and his pants hung loosely on his hips. He gave July a small nod and continued to study her. July could tell he was the leader; the way he stood there with his arms crossed and the persona he gave off.

"This is Jesse." Mia looked at a skinny blonde guy who had blue eyes. He was standing there as if he wasn't sure what to do. He looked a little older than July. She could see the ends of his blonde hair sticking out from underneath his beanie, and she gave him a smile that he returned timidly.

"This is Leon and Letty."

July took note that Mia said their names together. She looked over and saw a guy and a girl holding onto each other. Leon had brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a good build and was chewing on a toothpick. Next to him was his presumed girlfriend. She looked tough in that 'don't mess with me' way. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her brown eyes were regarded July carefully. July nodded her head understanding that they were together and Letty seemed to relax a bit.

"This is Brian, my boyfriend." Mia grabbed the hand of a guy that was standing next to Dom. He had the surfer look down: tan, blonde wavy hair, and blue eyes. He gave July a small smile and she returned it.

"Last but not least, we have Vince."

July breath hitched as she took in the last guy. It was the guy that had come by the day before, asking her if she was a cop. She glared at him and he sheepishly looked away. If anyone noticed the exchange between them, no one said anything. She studied him again and noticed something she hadn't before: the scars on his arm. They stood out on his arms and chiseled their way through the tattoos.

"Guys, this is July," Mia said, standing next to her. Everyone murmured a hello and she waved back. She watched as Vince went over to Dom. They talked quietly for a sec, and then Dom looked over at July. She smiled at him but he turned back toward Vince continued to talk to him.

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"Vince, what do you think of this girl?" Dom asked looking over at July, turning back to Vince when she smiled at him.

"I don't sense anything is off about her," Vince answered, looking down, feeling ashamed for the way he acted. Damn if he didn't know how to be a real jerk sometimes. It didn't help that she hadn't ratted him out and told Mia what he'd done. She didn't owe him anything but yet she'd kept her mouth shut.

"Vince, what's up? You won't even look me in the eye."

"Dom, I might have done something."

"What did you do?" Dom asked in that voice that sounded calm but was anything but that.

"I might have gone over yesterday and asked if she was a cop?"

"Vince, what the hell did you do that for?" Dom growled.

Vince didn't say anything; he just stood there.

"Does Mia know?" Dom asked, running a hand over his head.

"No, if she knew she would be mad as hell."

"But you don't think she's a cop?"

Vince looked over at July, who was talking to Brian. "No, she ain't a cop. I just get the feeling that something is going on in that head of hers."

"What do you mean something's going on?" Dom questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't know, guess we will find out at dinner," Vince said, walking away. He needed a beer if he was going to make it through the night.

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"So you're July?" Brian asked.

"Yup, that's me, the one and only," July replied, rocking back on her heels.

"Unusual name," he commented, in a way that made her think he didn't believe it was her real name.

"It's my real name if you're wondering. My parents named me after the month I was suppose to be born in. We can't all have typical names, you know," she teased with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," Brian said chuckling. "Come on, let's go see if Mia need help," he suggested, trying to be friendly.

"Sure."

July followed Brian over to where Mia was setting the food around the table.

"Bri, can you go in and get the drinks? They are on the table," Mia asked.

"Sure thing." Brian kissed her on the check and disappeared back into the house.

"So what do you think of everybody?" Mia asked as soon as Brian left and continued to set out the food.

"Well, I've only talked to Brian so far," July replied, lying, for what reason, she didn't know. It wasn't like she knew Vince, but she didn't want to make waves in the water. "But everyone seems okay," she finished answering and then began to help Mia set the food along the table.

"Dom, is the chicken done yet?" Mia called towards her brother.

"Yeah, I am taking it off the grill now."

And sure enough a few seconds later, Dom appeared with a plate piled high with chicken. As Dom sat down at the head of the table, everyone started to come over and sit. Brian came back out loaded with a handful of Coronas and two Snapples, one of which he handed to July and the other to Mia.

July told him thanks and watched as he passed out the beer and set the extra on the table. Mia sat down on Dom's right and Brian sat next to her. Mia looked up at July to see her unease and then looked over to Brian.

"Brian, scoot over so July can sit next to me."

Brian moved over and so did Mia. She grabbed July's arm and pulled her down on to the bench. She was grateful and embarrassed that Mia had picked up on her awkwardness, but gave her a smile anyways.

Everyone else sat down, Vince just happening to sit across from July. Jesse sat next to Vince, and then Letty, and finally Leon at the other end of the table. Vince started to grab food and growled when Dom stopped him.

"Vince, you know the rules."

"Fine." Vince mumbled out some half intelligent blessing and then everyone dug in.

"So, is July your real name?" Dom asked, taking a bite of chicken.

"Yeah, but my old friends called me JJ and-" she stopped in mid sentence, not sure if she should reveal what her parents use to call her.

"And?" Dom prompted.

"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. "My friends call me JJ."

"JJ? Why did they call you that if your name is July?" Brian asked.

"My full name is July Jones and that got turned into JJ."

"I see. So where are you from?" Dom asked, trying to get more information, even though he would have Jesse run a profile search on her later now that he had her full name.

"Around," July answered, playing with her food, not really wanting to talk about it.

"Around where? At least give us a vague location."

"Around Texas, but I don't really want to talk about where I am from. It's kind of a sore subject right now," she added looking down at her plate and missing Mia sending Dom a glare over her head.

"Okay…how about telling us something about yourself?"

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"I like cheese," she answered, dead serious. Everyone got quiet and July let out a laugh, everyone else joining in, Dom shaking his head. "Well, despite what others might believe," she gave Vince a pointed look, "I'm a mechanic and a painter. I also like to draw paint designs," she added, and then felt everyone's eyes on her. "What do I got something on my face?" she asked, running her hand over her face.

"No," Dom said chuckling. It was a deep rumble and it sent tingles down her spine.

"Then what?"

"They are just all impressed because you pull your own wrench time," Letty said smirking, and July could see something akin to respect in her eyes.

"Yeah, it's not often we get a girl mechanic around here," Brian explained.

"So you're a painter too?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, I know how to paint a car. I had some wicked designs drawn, too bad they're still in Texas," she trailed off. "Well, no worries, I can always draw more."

"So what car do you have?" Jesse asked and everyone laughed.

"What's funny?" July asked, looking around at everyone.

"Nothing, it's just Jesse, he's our mad scientist. He knows an engine better than any mechanic ever will. This boy is a genius," Dom answered, pride in his voice.

"Oh, well right now I am driving a Honda Accord, but I am going to be working on a Nova and a Toyota Soarer."

"No way!" Leon exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat.

"Yeah, but they have been sitting in the garage for like ten years, so I gots me some work to do."

"Well, if you need any room to work, I own a garage," Dom said.

"Really?" she asked, turning back to him.

"Yeah, I own DT Automotive and the store that you met Mia in. So if you need room to fix the cars, we have some."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, but the garage has more than enough room and tons of equipment, but if I ever do need room, I'll take you up on that offer." She paused, taking a drink. "Only thing that sucks is I'm going to have to learn to drive opposite though."

"Hey, maybe I could teach you once you get the car fixed," Leon suggested. July didn't fail to notice the way Letty tensed up the slightest.

"I'll think about it, but speaking of cars, do you guys know where I could get good parts?" she asked, looking at Jesse but he looked like he was in a far away place.

"Don't worry about Jesse, he's probably just envisioning all that he could do to a car like yours. But if you're looking for parts, try The Racer's Edge. Tell Harry that Dom sent you. He'll fix you up with everything you need, and if doesn't have it, he'll ship them overnight from Japan."

"Awesome. Can you tell me where it is?"

"If you want, I could take you so you don't get lost?" Dom said. Internally, he really was curious about this girl. There was something about her. He wanted to know about her past and what she didn't want them all to know.

"Sure," she agreed. "What time tomorrow?"

"How about around two? I've got some things to do tomorrow in the morning."

"That sounds good," July said smiling. "So what about you guys, what cars do you have?"

"I've got a Skyline, that's how I know how to drive opposite," Leon said and July gave him an acknowledging nod.

"Toyota Supra," Brian said.

"Acura Integra," Mia said next.

"Nissan 240sx," came from Letty.

Mentally, July was putting everyone's face with the cars that she'd seen in the driveway.

"Mine's the Seven," Dom said grinning. When Vince didn't say anything Dom looked over at him.

"Nissan Maxima," he mumbled out. Dom gave him a weird look, trying to figure out what's his problem was. If he didn't pick up his act soon, Mia was going to get curious. But then again, Vince was notorious for his 'moods'.

"And that leaves the Jetta to Jesse," she concluded, looking at Jesse but he still looked lost in thought. All the sudden he got up and disappeared into the house.

Mia bumped shoulder with her, giving her a smile. "Yeah, that's right and that's typical Jesse for you. He probably went in to get on the computer to start getting the parts down."

July laughed and so did everyone else at Jesse's behavior.

"So do you race?" Dom asked.

"No. I've wanted to though. Sounds like a great adrenaline rush to me."

"Well you're already half way, being a mechanic and having that Soarer. It would make a good ride. You'd just need to learn how to really drive your car."

"Yeah, and where am I going to learn to do that?" she shot back, and everyone laughed.

"I guess you really aren't from around here," Letty commented, making July frown.

"Dom is pretty much the top of street racing in LA. No one has every beat him, they've come close but no one has," Leon said giving a glance at Brian and July raised an eyebrow at him.

"First time I raced, I almost beat Dom," Brian explained with a grin and Dom laughed.

"There's no almost Brian, remember that," Dom said good-naturedly.

"So you could teach me, maybe?" July asked, pushing her luck. She really didn't know these people but it never hurt to ask. They seemed like a nice group so far.

"Maybe, we'll see what you've got," Dom answered with a smirk.

Mia frowned at his answer. She really hoped July wouldn't get sucked into the vortex that was Dom, because once it started, there was no stopping it. She was really hoping July would hit it off with Vince instead. She felt bad about the way things had panned out, but if she could get him interested into someone else, maybe he'd be happier. She'd just have to wait and see.

The evening continued on. July got to know everyone a little better. Everyone was laughing and joking by the time it got dark, everyone except Vince that was.

Vince was quiet and didn't say anything even if someone said something to him. As Mia and Brian began to clean up, everyone headed into the living room to watch a movie. July started up the back stairs, but Vince grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. He dragged her over to the picnic table and stood still for a second.

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tbc…