Chapter 3
"Kendall, don't let some pissed off guy get to you. Dom said he'd give you a job and a place to stay. How ya gonna pass that up?" Letty asked, her one eyebrow cocked, staring at Kendall as she walked to her car. Kendall stopped, turned around, and gave Letty a look as if to say 'excuse me'. "Yeah, it was fucked up. And he's a guy. And they suck. But so what?" She half-grinned, Letty style. Kendall had to smile.
"You're funny for being such a badass." She told Letty, in amusement.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." Letty quipped. "Besides, I live at that house where Dom was gonna let you stay. My girl Mia's away at school so I gotta deal wit all those guys by myself. Stay and help a girl out." Letty pretended to beg, putting an arm around Kendall, who was laughing hysterically at how Letty had used her own words against her.
"Ok, ok. I'll think about it. I would like to meet your crew." Kendall admitted.
"Aight. Now we're talkin. Come on." Letty shrugged, leading Kendall over to the group. Letty gave them a 'don't make me kick your ass' warning. "Guys, you know Kendall. Kendall, this is Vince, Leon, Dominic, and the anxious one is Jesse." She nodded, pointing out her boys. Jesse grinned. Letty was like an older sister to him. She was what kept the house together, he knew that much.
"You did good out there. Very impressive." Leon said, shaking her hand, acting in his typical player way.
"Oh, you're the scanner boy. Nice to meet you." Kendal smiled, tucking her long hair behind her ear, as she often did. Leon nodded.
"Someone's gotta do it and I don't want my crew gettin caught." He laughed. He felt Vince scowling at him but he couldn't help that she was friendly. Even though she had beat him, she was still a girl and a pretty one at that.
"I understand. We had to have a reliable person on our scanners, too." She laughed, making the group laugh.
"Reliable? Leon? That's funny." Dominic grinned in amusement. "Yeah, on scanners." He added, knowing his boys knew he was thinking on terms of girls. Leon could never settle with just one girl. If anyone could be classified as a player, it would have to be Leon.
"So, Vince, you gonna hold tha race against me or can we chill and be cool? Cause I have enough enemies." Kendall stuck out her hand to Vince with a smile. He shook it, the scowl disappearing.
"We're cool. Just know we are on for a rematch one of these days." He said simply.
"Bank on it, then." Kendall nodded. She looked at Dominic. "We're ya serious about a job?" She asked, almost nervous. Dominic had that intimidating presence, even in a relaxed environment. "Cause I can just take off and go..." She trailed off, almost hoping she could escape. She was so afraid to trust anyone or relax and these guys had her at such ease it made her nervous.
"Nope. You ain't getting outta it." Dominic said, his arms around Letty, and leaning on his car. "I need some help." He said.
"Well, I don't work on cars, so sorry." She said.
"Now, what would make you think that working on cars is the job? Girl, I have to know a mechanic for a while before they work at My garage." Dominic said, his typical aloofness about him. She and the crew laughed.
"I figured ...you said... you said garage, right?" She asked, her chin held up, not showing her unsure ness as much as she sounded.
"Dom! Quit it." Letty playfully hit her boyfriend. He grinned, rubbing his face. He was such a macho guy, but he could be such a joker too.
"I got a cafe kinda store we have beside the garage. The job is yours if ya want it." He said, looking at most of the racers pulling out. "Le, do they know something we don't?" He asked, nodding at the cars pulling out.
"Nah, Dawg, it's almost three. Gettin ready for parties." Leon assured him.
"Kendall, we can talk at the house. You wanna come party?" Letty asked as Dominic playfully picked her up and put her in her car. Kendall nodded, thinking a good party might be just what tithe doctor ordered.
"Kendall, follow us. If ya can keep up." Jesse teased.
"No big, Jesse. I got ya." She nodded, jumping in and ready to speed through the streets. Leon came up behind her, flashing his lights and making her laugh. Wow, she thought. It had been a while since she had been able to smile or laugh. Was that a good or bad thing? Her thoughts were interrupted as Jesse lunged ahead and she had to floor her pedal.
"Have a drink, Miss Kendall." Leon tossed her a Corona once she was inside the Toretto's house. She looked at the party scene, loving the familiarity of being at a 'racer' party again. There were your normal skanks and she was surprised they were not all over Leon. Vince was ignoring her, she mentally noted. Oh well, big loss, she thought. She snapped back into reality to see Leon and Letty staring at her. She smiled, embarrassed.
"We really need to find you a nickname." Letty said, sitting on Dominic's lap, hating the typical party scene but she figured she owed it to Kendall to stay and make her feel comfortable.
"How about Doll? She looks like a dall." Leon joked, only being half serious. Kendall laughed, finding player boy funny.
"You're a riot, Leon." Dominic shook his head, mildly grinning. He shrugged.
"Yeah, Dawg, I do what I can, ya know." Leon said, hiding his grin.
"And a damn showoff." Letty whispered in Dominic's ear, making him kiss her neck.
"And here we wondered where Jesse learns it from." Dominic replied quietly.
"So, you guys have five on your team?" Kendall asked, not knowing where to sit to rest her feet. Her high-heeled racing boots were beginning to make her feet ache. Looks over pain had always been her motto, though. She eyed Letty's flamed combat boots with a little bit of envy and with much more awe. She had never seen anything remotely close to them before. Leon patted the soft looking couch beside him and she took him up on his invite, sitting down.
"There's a sixth, but he's not here." Jesse said, obviously a fan of the missing sixth leg. His huge grin gave that away to Kendall almost immediately. IN THE END by Linkin Park began to blare over Vince's guitar playing and Kendall felt herself go uneasy for the millionth time that night. The song reminded her of her life in an ironic, twisted way and of her team.
(It starts with) One thing / I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme To explain in due time All I know time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day The clock ticks life away It's so unreal Didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window Trying to hold on / but didn't even know Wasted it all just to Watch you go I kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter One thing / I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme To remind myself how I tried so hard In spite of the way you were mocking me Acting like I was part of your property Remembering all the times you fought with me I'm surprised it got so (far) Things aren't the way they were before You wouldn't even recognize me anymore Not that you knew me back then But it all comes back to me In the end You kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go And for all this There's only one thing you should know I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go And for all this There's only one thing you should know I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter
"So, we told you about us." Dominic said, watching and studying the new girl that Letty had seemed to have taken to so well. He wasn't fond of newcomers, but in all fairness, Letty wasn't fond of many girls. It was even more amazing that she liked a girl who had racing in common with her. "So, what about you?" He asked, eyeing her still and taking a drink of his Corona.
"That's a broad question. What do you want to know?" Kendall asked, her eyes locking into his. It was a defense mechanism of hers to keep from giving away her fear. She hated to be put on the spot.
"Well, for starters, your age, if you have any family, how you got that eclipse to beat my boy's Maxima." Dominic grinned, making Kendall relax. She smiled. They weren't too hard of questions, she mused, and she couldn't blame him for trying to protect his team by being so forthcoming.
"I am twenty-two and I have no family. My mom died giving birth to me and my dad..." She took a deep breath, the wounds still fresh. "My dad was a banker and was sent to prison. He was killed while he was in prison about six months ago. I have had my car for a while and he always was fixing it up for me. He put a lot of hours in it and I guess that is why I win so much." She smiled fondly. "I hate to loose and I hated even more to bet it tonight, so I don't know. I guess I beat him cause I was determined not to loose my baby." She said honestly. Dominic nodded understandingly. He could relate to that.
"Well, determination is what makes a racer." Dominic said, almost regretting he had asked her so openly about her life.
"Yeah, I guess. I raced with my team in San Diego for like a year. After he died, I started loosing and decided to give up. They weren't heartbroken and I guess now I know why. They didn't like me." Kendall said, finishing of her Corona. Leon took it, replaced it with another, and grinned at her.
"Drink up, Dall." He nodded, knowing she needed to relax. She laughed at the name again and decided maybe this team wasn't so bad. She would get her rest, maybe stay and learn some much needed car knowledge, and then go on about her hunt. She figured she could use a vacation and some relaxation. She finished off her Corona again in no time, and, like she had thought, Leon handed her another one. It was going to be one of the best nights she had had in a very long time.
A/N: Please ignore my troll if you are new here and have read the reivews-the troll is a little disoriented and I have tried to make it leave, but he vivts myother story quite frequently! So,please, ignore. Thanks for reading and I am really REALLY glad you guys are liking this! Thanks to you guys who have read so far and thanks even more for reviewing!! I really enjoy reading reivews! So, read, reivew, enjoy, and reivew.... did I mention reivew??!!Lol ..Much love and many thanks to you all! Love CHEER
