Chapter 33: The Date and Finding Leon

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Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw Vince. He was wearing some black slacks with a blue button up shirt. His hair was still everywhere but he had shaved and trimmed his beard so that it wasn't as scruffy as usual. He was holding a bouquet of flower in his hand and was staring at her.

"Hi," she said once she regained her ability to speak.

"Hey, uh, these are for you," he said handing her the bouquet.

"Tiger lilies, they're my favorite. How did you know?" she asked smelling them.

"I have my ways," Vince said with a smirk.

"Right," she said sarcastically and stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.

"Let's go," he said holding his arm out so she could loop hers into his.

They walked to his car, got in, and he began to drive. They stopped in an unfamiliar area to July and Vince ushered her out of the car. It was rather dark and only a few of the street lamps gave off any light. He guided her to what looked like a run down, abandoned building.

"V, are you sure this is the place?" she asked as Vince opened the door and moved her inside.

"Yes. Just trust me," he said and she reluctantly nodded okay. He grabbed her hand and led her further into the building and into a room where a lone table sat with a lit candle. There were several candles around and she could dimly see that they were in a large room. Vince pulled out the chair and she sat down.

"Okay. You wait here," Vince said and disappeared before she could say anything. She heard some movements and then a light turned on. The pale light showed Vince sitting on a stool in the middle a stage that was in front of her. He was holding a guitar and looking slightly nervous.

"I've never done this before, so don't laugh."

When she didn't say anything, Vince began to pluck at the strings and a melody she didn't know began to fill the room. After a few beats, his began to sing; it was a low, mellow voice that was quiet but at the same time passionate. He sang her a song of a man who done wrong and was sorry for his actions and hoped he still had the chance to make it right. It was a little corny but heartfelt.

July sat with her heart in her throat; she was dumbfounded. No one had ever written her a song; sure Mike had sung to her, but he hadn't ever written a song for her. The fact that he'd written her a song kept repeating in her head. She didn't know what to say. She watched as Vince began to fidget under her gaze once the last note fell away to silence.

Vince set the guitar down and hopped off the stage to stand in front of her. He was nervous; he wasn't exactly sure how she was going to react. He didn't know what it was about July but there was something about her. There was something that clicked with him about her. Something that had him practically baring his soul and being more open than he ever remembered.

"No one has ever written me a song. It was beautiful. Thank you," she said and caressed his cheek with her hand and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"So does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Yeah," she said staring into his eyes.

"Good," he mumbled and as he leaned in to give her a kiss, her tummy rumbled.

"Guess I'm hungry," she laughed, flushing lightly in embarrassment.

"Food, that's right," Vince said and disappeared again. He came back pushing a cart. He unloaded the two plates onto the table and lifted the covers. "Dinner is served."

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It was after ten when Vince was walking her up to her door, her flowers swinging idly in her hand that wasn't clasped in Vince's and both of them walking slower as they approached her door.

"So I have a question," July said as she opened the door and let it hang open.

"What?"

"How did you get an empty place with a stage?"

"I know some people. I have my connections," Vince answered with a wink.

"And the flowers?" she asked lightly waving the bouquet in her hands.

"Hey, a man's gotta keep some of his secrets."

"Yeah, sure. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

There was a pause and slowly they leaned towards each other. Their lips meet for a brief kiss that left both of them smiling.

"Night V."

"Night," he said and watched as she went inside and closed the door. He then turned and walked the short distance to his house, humming underneath his breath.

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Earlier that night:

Letty kept true to her word and cleaned the kitchen, making sure to leave it how it had first been. July had just left a half hour ago. She hoped everything was going okay and that Vince hadn't screwed up, well, at least not too badly. She left the kitchen; she still had her job to do.

Grabbing her keys, she headed out to her car and started it up, taking comfort in the steady purr of the engine. Where would Leon be? She doubled checked to make sure his car wasn't over at Dom's and found it still missing. She pulled out and began to drive, hoping that something would pull her in the right direction.

Luck was on her side that night because about an hour after driving around, when she was on the verge of giving up, she spotted his car in a hotel parking lot and parked next to it. There was no way of finding Leon by knocking on the doors, but she was half tempted to just start yelling his name until he popped his head out a door; but then again, not having to deal with the cops tonight would be a plus. With a sigh, she hitched up her pants to resettle on her hips and headed towards the hotel's office.

"Can I help you?" the young woman behind the desk asked as Letty stepped through the door.

"Yeah, my friend is staying here and I forgot what room he was in. It's his birthday and I want to surprise him by showing up early. We haven't seen each other in a year," she said laying it on thick, hoping the girl would buy the excuse.

"Oh, that's sweet. Can I get his name? I could look him up."

"Leon Thompson."

"Let me see." The tapping of her manicure nails on the keyboard lasted a few seconds and then she turned back towards Letty. "He's on the second floor, room 218."

"Thank you so much," Letty said giving her the best smile she could manage.

Letty turned to the elevator and began her journey to the second floor. The elevator stopped and she got out and stood in the hall. Then it hit her, what they heck was she going to say to him? Well, she had never been much of a planner and decided to wing it. She easily located his room and hesitated outside of it. Finally, she raised her fist and knocked on the door.

"Room service, finally," Leon grumbled as he opened the door and a surprised expression came over him as he saw Letty standing in the doorway. "Oh, it's you. Let me guess, you want to talk," he said with no bitterness in his voice.

"Yeah, I was hoping we could," she said her throat feeling tight.

Leon gestured her in and shut the door behind her. He shut off the TV and sat on the bed. Letty sat at the small table and looked out the window. A silence took over the room and neither one of them said anything for a while, each lost in what to say.

Letty finally broke the silence and looked over at him. "Le, I know I hurt you, and I wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"I know," he said with resignation. "And I got what you mean about loving someone and not being in love with them. It's like Mia and me. I love her, but I'm not in love with her," Leon said looking up at her and seeing the tears coming to her eyes. Letty turned away, not wanting Leon to see her. She didn't cry in front of people.

"I don't deserve to be friends with you," she whispered.

"And why is that?"

"Because you're better than me. If this would have been the other way around, I would never have been as understanding as you are," Letty answered. "I'm supposed to be the hard ass who doesn't take anyone's shit, and I'm so tired. I'm tired of pretending that nothing affects me. I'm tired of people talking about me. I'm tired of loving Dom. I just wish there was some way for me to take it away, cut that little chunk of my heart out," Letty growled, digging her fingers into her chest as she surrendered to the tears she couldn't stop. All the pain came surging back, overloading her and she didn't have enough strength to keep up her mask.

"I know baby," Leon said walking over to her and picking her up. He sat on the bed and cradled her in his lap.

"Every time we get together, he promises not to cheat, to be loyal, and every time it's the same. I thought that if I let him go and tried to move on, I could do it but I couldn't. It hurt me to be leading you on and it was killing me."

"I know," Leon said rocking her.

"And I'm so sorry Leon. I am so sorry that I couldn't be what I needed to be for you," she said looking him in the eyes. Her normally hard brown eyes were puffy and red rimmed, and Leon's heart clenched as Letty blamed herself again and he shook his head at her.

"Don't worry about me. I'm strong. Just worry about yourself. You'll be able to beat this, trust me. You're a fighter. You have determination to do anything you put your mind to. Now come on, you need to sleep," Leon said unzipping her boots and taking them off.

"Okay," Letty agreed in a sleepy voice, suddenly exhausted. She allowed Leon to maneuver her into the bed and snuggled into the pillow as he pulled the blankets over her. She peeked open one eye to see him watching her. "Thanks Leon."

"No worries baby, now go to sleep. We'll work out everything in the morning," Leon said with a small smile.

"M'kay," Letty said closing her eye and falling into a dreamless sleep.

Leon sat for a while watching her. She looked so different when she slept. The hard lines of life left her face and she looked innocent and peaceful. He brushed her hair back from her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

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Back at July's house:

July closed the door and couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face. She began to hum the song that Vince had sung her. She wandered into the living room and noticed the lack of Letty.

"Letty? Letty, you here?" she yelled up the stairs. When the house stayed quiet she knew that Letty wasn't there. She ventured into the kitchen and checked the answering machine and sure enough there was a message.

"Hey JJ, it's me, Mike," Mike's tired voice came from the speaker. "I'm at the hospital. Mom's in critical condition. It was a hit and run. They don't know the exact details since there were no eyewitnesses. The doctors are trying to be optimistic but there isn't much they can do right now. Uh…she's broken a lot of bones and there is quite a bit of internal damage. I'll call you tomorrow when I know some more. Don't worry. I love you, bye." The machine clicked and sounded a beep.

Vince's dinner had been a nice distraction and reality hit her with a slap. Fear began to make its home in her mind. She was scared for Mike's mom; she had always been like a second mom to her.

"July! I know you're home!" Mia's voice shouted outside the door as the pounding on the door finally registered in July's brain. July sprinted to the door and opened it up. "Hey Mia. Come in," July said closing the door behind her. She flopped onto the couch and heard Mia settle close to her.

"Leon called and said that Letty was staying with him for the night."

"With him?" July asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not like that. She had a breakdown, she was a wreck, and Leon couldn't send her home so she's just sleeping at his hotel room. He promised they'd be back in the morning for work."

"So they are all okay now?" July asked.

"Yeah. And I've been meaning to ask you, where's Mike?" Mia asked looking around.

"Letty didn't tell you?"

"No. I think the guys might know but she looked really lost during lunch but I couldn't talk to her because we had a rush."

"He's gone," she uttered quietly.

"Gone? Why?" Mia asked confused.

"There was an accident. A hit and run. His mom's in the hospital," she said saying it out loud for the first time, making it real.

"Is she going to be okay?" Mia asked taking one of July's hands.

"I don't know. She's in critical condition and Mike said she's pretty bad. I'm just scared. I don't want to lose anyone. I've already lost enough people in my life," she trailed off, her eyes losing focus.

"Don't worry, if she's anything like Mike, she'll make it," Mia tried to reassure, giving her a hug.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," July said letting go of Mia.

"All right. I'll let myself out."

"Night," July said heading upstairs. She heard the front door close and entered her room. She quickly changed and flopped into bed. She huddled underneath the covers feeling cold but it had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. She moved around, not finding sleep until the early hours of the morning.

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July was woken up when someone bounced on her bed. She gave a groan and pulled the blanket tighter around her and snuggling her face into the pillow, trying to shut it out.

"Wake up JJ, or we're going to be late," Letty ordered, still bouncing on the bed.

"Hmm?" July mumbled, her eyelids fluttering open to see Letty standing on the end of her bed with her hands on her hips. "Oh, hey Letty." July yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Leon's downstairs making breakfast."

"Leon's making breakfast?" she asked thinking she might of heard wrong, but Letty just bobbed her head yes back at her. "Oh. So what happened?" July asked sitting up and Letty sat down next to her.

"Well, we talked and we decided that me staying here is a good idea for a while, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah that's no problem. So everything's okay?"

"Yeah. I still feel really bad though," Letty admitted with a small frown.

"I don't know Leon all that well but he seems pretty understanding," July said getting up and stretching.

"Yeah, he is. So hurry up and get dressed or there won't be any pancakes left," Letty said leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

July entered the kitchen ten minutes later to find Letty already stuffing her face and Leon flipping the last of the pancakes off the stove.

"I swear if you tell anyone I cooked for you, I'll hurt you," Leon said pointing at her with the spatula. July and Letty cracked up laughing at him.

"Yeah, whatever you say. We should get him an apron that says 'Kiss the chef'," July said sitting down and helping herself to a plate of pancakes.

"You do that baby doll and I expect you to be the first one in line," Leon tossed back, puckering up at her.

"In your dreams," July replied, giving him a grin through a mouthful of pancakes. Leon just rolled his eyes and muttered back at her.

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tbc…