Saturday night
As always, cars of every color were gathered to see if Dom Toretto was going to race or not. After his last race, some people wondered if he still had what it took to be King of the Street Races. A few thought that his loss to Niema was a crushing blow. But they were wrong.
"You weren't kidding, Pris," Becca laughed, staring at all of the cars, "This is so close to my idea of Heaven that it's spooky." Pris smiled at her sister. "See? And just think, you and Jesse have all of this in common," she hinted with a sly smile. The girl's cheeks pinked. "Knock it off, would ya? I mean, he's a really sweet guy and all, but I don't think he'd like me that way," she murmured, glancing at Pris through her lashes. "And why not?" Pris demanded, giving Becca an exasperated look. "I dunno, but I know he wouldn't," was all the girl would say. "So help me God, if Mom's been running her down again, I'm going to give her an earful," Pris thought as she spotted Leon and Jesse. "Speaking of the mad scientist, I think I see him, Blink," Pris teased, pointing to where the two men stood by Jesse's car. Becca brightened immediately. "Really? Where?" she asked excitedly, rising on tiptoe to scan the crowd.
She spotted Leon immediately and started toward him. "I'll be back in a little bit, Pris," she called out as she wove her way through the crowd. Her older sister only grinned and nodded. Becca wouldn't admit it to her sister but she was thrilled at the thought of seeing Jesse again.
Jesse was checking the valves on his NOS tanks when Leon slapped him on the arm. "Dawg, hottie comin'," he joked, grinning. The younger man glared at him. "I got more important things to worry about, Leon, than hotties," he retorted, shaking his head. Leon smiled wickedly. "But this hottie is special, man. Nice legs, damn nice rack and the prettiest face I've ever seen." "Pris hears you say that and she's gonna hand you your ass, man," Jesse laughed, finally looking up. His eyes widened when he recognized the figure bouncing towards them. It was Becca. "Leon, why didn't you tell me it was her?" he hissed, suddenly annoyed with his friend. "You know her?" Jesse rolled his eyes. "Duh, dumbshit. That's Becca, Pris's sister." Leon's eyes grew round. "That's Becca? She didn't look like that when I met her," he commented, eyeing the girl appreciatively. "Don't, Leon. Don't even let yourself think it," Jesse warned with narrowed eyes. "You like her, don't you?" Leon asked softly. Wordlessly, his friend nodded. "But don't tell nobody, man. Please," Jesse pleaded in a low voice. "It's cool, little man," Leon assured him, smiling slightly.
"Hey, little girl," Leon called out when Becca was only a few feet away. "Don't call me 'little girl', Leon," she said, frowning slightly, "I hate that." "Hi, Blinker," Jesse said almost shyly. She smiled shyly as she replied, "Hi, Jesse. How's it going?" "All right. Just having a slight problem with my tanks," he answered, jerking his thumb toward the tanks. "Want me to take a look? Maybe I can help," she offered, moving next to him. "Sure, that'd be great. Leon, move over," he said, giving Leon a pointed look. The older man grinned and moved out of the way. Becca leaned into the trunk and peered at the tank connections. "Here's your problem, Jess," she murmured, lightly tapping the valve stem with her index finger, "The fitting's loose. I'd disconnect it until you can fix it." Jesse leaned closer. "Damn! I was planning on racing tonight. You know, make a little extra money," he said, realizing that his face was only inches from hers. She looked thoughtful. "Any chance you get one of the others to switch tanks with you? That would take care of the problem," she suggested after a moment's thought. He shook his head. "It would take too long and I don't have the tools with me." Suddenly she smiled. "I have an idea. I'll be right back," she told him and hurried away. He watched her go and wondered what she was up to.
Pris was talking to Edwin when Becca came back. "Pris, I need a favor," she whispered after getting her sister's attention. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. But I'm hoping that you have some of your tools with you. Do you?" Pris nodded. "Sure. Bec, what's going on?" she asked, watching as Becca dug around under the back seat. "Something for Jesse," Becca mumbled and came up with the tools she'd hoped to find. "Jesse?" "I'll explain later, okay? Thanks, Pris," the girl bubbled as she rushed back over to Jesse's car.
"I wonder about that girl sometimes," Pris muttered, shaking her head. But then she smiled. As far as she was concerned, Jesse was good for Becca.
When Becca got back to the car, she had a broad grin on her face. "You'll be able to race tonight, Jesse," she told him softly, giving him a wink. He scratched his head. "With a loose fitting on a NOS tank? Blinker, are you nuts?" A soft giggle was all he got by way of a reply. She leaned into the trunk, one knee resting on the bumper. "Becca, what are you gonna do?" Jesse demanded, trying to see what she was doing. "Hang on a sec and I'll show you," she answered, quickly removing the loose fitting and replacing it with an oddly-shaped one. While he watched, she tightened the new fitting in place and gave the valve a single turn. Taking a piece of bubble gum out of her mouth, she wrapped it around the fitting and muttered, "Yes!" "What'd you do?" Jesse asked curiously as she pulled the gum loose. Straightening, Becca smiled at him. "I replaced your old fitting with a new universal fitting. They're made to fit any size valve stem. The bubble gum was a leak test. There was no bubble so there was no leak," she explained almost shyly.
Jesse stared at her for a moment and then grinned. Without thinking, he grabbed her in his arms and swung her around in a circle. "Becca, you are so damn awesome!" he laughed as he set her down. "No, I'm not. I'm just ordinary, Jesse," she murmured, blushing profusely. He lightly touched her cheek. "If I say you're awesome, Becca Foster, you're awesome," he told her softly. "If I am, then you won't have any trouble winning a race tonight, will you?" she sassed, her pretty eyes twinkling. "No problem at all. I owe you one, Blinker," he said with a wink before heading over to the buy-in group.
"Hey there, beautiful," a male voice said a few minutes later. Becca turned. "Do I know you?" she asked, simply looking at him. "No, but I think I can change that," the young man in front of her said smoothly. "I'm only here to watch the races so you won't be changing anything," she told him quietly and turned to walk away. He caught her arm. "Come on, at least tell me your name." Becca stared at his hand on her arm. "Not hardly. And if you don't take your hand off my arm, asshole, you're gonna pull back a bloody stump," she retorted, losing patience. "Ooh, tough little girl, huh? I like tough little girls," he murmured, tightening his grip on her. Becca winced and then reacted. Grasping his forearm with her right hand, she gripped his upper arm with her left and yanked. As he rushed toward her, she stepped aside, sticking out one foot and tripping him. His head smacked against the side of Jesse's car and he fell to the ground.
"You little bitch!" he shouted as he tried to get back to his feet. "You figured it out already?" she laughed softly, "It usually takes a while for people to realize that." Without another word, she turned and walked back to where Pris and Ni were waiting. The watching crowd laughed as the young man made it to his feet and wobbled his way through the crowd to his own car.
Jesse watched the events unfolding near his car and was about to go help Becca but quickly realized that she didn't need it. She could handle herself quite well. "You see that, Leon?" he asked his friend. Leon laughed. "Everyone saw it. She's a helluva chick, Jess." Jesse blushed slightly. "She is, isn't she?" "Hell yeah, dawg," Leon replied, clapping him on the shoulder.
He went back to his car and got in, starting it up and moving it to the start line. Glancing to the side, he could see Becca standing with Pris, Niema and V. She smiled at him and held up crossed fingers. He smiled back and then focused his attention on the street in front of him.
Less than a minute later, Becca was jumping up and down. "He did it!" she crowed happily, hugging Pris and Niema. "Go congratulate him, Blink," Niema laughed, pointing at Jesse's car which had just come to a stop. With a big grin, Becca nodded and practically ran over to the car. She stopped a few feet short of the car and smiled at him. "All I get is a smile?" Jesse asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Giggling softly, Becca hugged him tightly. "I knew you'd win," she whispered as he hugged her back. "You helped me win, Becca," he whispered and then surprised her by kissing her. She stared at him for a moment and then kissed him back. The sight of that brought cheers from the crowd as well as the team.
