Quarter Mile at a Time
Chapter Three

Gaby secured the last strap over the parts and got into the truck. Pulling out onto the street, the team surrounded her as they made their way to the garage. Once they had parked, everyone helped upload.

"That the last of it?" Dom asked as Gaby brought in the last box.

"Yup," Gaby answered and wiped off the sweat from her brow.

"Go ahead and get started on the car. Once we get all our stuff done for the day we'll help," Dom said and Gaby nodded. Cracking her neck, she stared down at the shamble of car. First she needed to clean it up as best she could. She had just removed the last of the broken windshield when Vince came waltzing over.

"So you really think you can fix this piece of junk?"

"First of all, it's not a piece of junk and second, I know I can," Gaby quirked an eyebrow at him.

"So were you serious about dinner Friday?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I have been?" she asked as she began to disconnect hoses.

"You could have just said it to get your pink slip back," he replied as he began to help her.

"When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. So where we going on Friday?"

"Dinner," he simply said.

"That's all you're going to tell me?" she asked and his smirk gave her his answer.

"Let me know when you get the engine out," Jesse said as he walked by.

"I will," Gaby called after him and continued her work.

"You know, Letty doesn't like you."

"Well tough, she's just going to have to deal," Gaby replied as she struggled to loosen a hose. Vince just smirked at her and continued to work on the car.

Gaby sat at the picnic table in the team's backyard, fiddling with the label of her Corona. Not minutes before, she had been kicked out of the kitchen after knocking over the potato salad and spilling it everywhere. A sigh escaped Gaby's lips as she scratched at the corner of the label and glanced over at Dom. He was turning over the chicken on the grill, making sure that it wasn't being burnt.

The sound of engines pulling into the driveway caught her and Dom's attention and she rose from the table. Slowly, she walked over next to Dom and watched Vince, Leon, and Letty climbed out of their cars; Letty's 240sx was the last one in the driveway. A small scowl crawled onto her face as she grabbed the bags of groceries from her passenger seat.

"What's hoe bag doing here?" she mumbled to Vince, once he took a bag from her.

Vince shrugged. "I don't know. I guess Mia invited her."

"Nah, my guess is that Dom did. Fuckin' A," she swore softly. "Tell Dom, I'll be back later. I don't know when."

Vince didn't have enough time to argue. In a matter of seconds, Letty had made it back to her car, started it up, and sped away from the fort. As Vince, approached Dom and Gaby, he saw a frown forming on his face.

"Where did she go?" he asked. There was no emotion in his face or his eyes.

"She said to tell you that she'll be back. When, I have no idea."

Gaby groaned softly. "It's 'cause of me," she said, stating what everyone else was thinking.

Dom flipped the last piece of chicken before closing the grill. "Letty will have to get over it," he said, in what was meant to be a consoling way. "You work for me now and she's goin' to have to deal with that sooner or later."

"If she has it her way, it'll definitely be later," Vince mumbled.

Dom shot him a warning glance before turning to Gaby. "It'll be alright."

She gave him a wan smile. "I guess. You want me to take those in for ya, V?" she asked, referring to the grocery bags in his hands.

"Sure, why not?" Vince replied before handing the bags over.

Gaby found a small blush creeping into her cheeks when their hands touched. She was sure that both Vince and Dom noticed. Quickly, she looked away, her eyes traveling up to the small kitchen window. She saw Mia standing there, peering out at the trio. There was a look of something across her face that Gaby couldn't quite make out. It could almost be described as…

"Will you tell Mia that I need the sauce?" Dom asked, bringing her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, sure," she replied with a small smile. Gaby treaded up towards the kitchen, still feeling slightly awkward; sure, she put on a good front but inside she was a nervous wreck. Carefully handing the bags to Mia, she took in the slightly conflicted look on her face. "Hey, you okay? Looks like you got something on your mind?"

"I'm good, just wondering what's up with Letty," she answered.

"I got one answer for you and it starts with m and ends in e."

"Don't worry, that's just the way Letty is. She'll warm up towards you," Mia reassured her.

"Dom said that he wanted the sauce," she said after a moment.

"Okay, here," Mia handed her a bowl of barbeque sauce and a brush.

"You sure you're okay?" Gaby asked again as the distant look appeared once again on Mia's face.

"Yeah, just get that out to Dom before he starts complaining," she replied, feigning annoyance. Gaby gave her a smirk before heading back outside.

"Here ya go," she said handing the bowl to Dom.

"Thanks."

"Heads!" Gaby heard and caught the basketball right before it hit her. "Whoa, that was one good catch," Leon complimented as he walked over to her.

"What can I say, I've got good reflexes," she replied with a smile.

"Dare to test those reflexes?" Leon taunted.

"Sure," she said as she began to walk towards the little court they had. Dribbling the ball, she made it past Leon and made the shot.

"That was luck," Leon said as she passed the ball to him.

"If you say so." Gaby blocked Leon and could feel Vince's eyes following her every move. She was pretty close to Leon when Vince stepped forward.

"Alright, my turn, we all know you suck at basketball Le," Vince said. Leon quirked an eyebrow at Vince but passed him the ball anyways.

"Fine, let's see if you can do any better," he retorted.

"You can have the ball first, sweetheart," Vince gibed mockingly. Gaby caught the ball and dribbled. Making her way towards the basket, she was curled up to Vince's chest as he made a halfhearted attempt at getting the ball; every brush of her body against his making a tingling sensation glide down her skin.

"You even trying?" she asked.

"If I said no would you hold it against me?" he murmured into her ear and Gaby's mouth suddenly felt dry. His hands flashed on her hips and before she had time to say anything Dom announced that the food was ready. Vince reluctantly pulled away, his hands lingering on her hips. Winking at her, a smirk remaining on his lips, he headed over to the picnic table. Gaby took a deep breath and tried to control her erratic breathing. Damn hormones, she inwardly cursed. I need to be professional.

Making her way over to the table, she let the ball fall to the ground. Sitting down, she positioned herself straight across from Vince and stared into his blue eyes. They stared each other down until Dom's voice brought them out of their daze.

"You know the rules, Jesse. You reached first for the chicken," Dom said as he folded his hands. Everyone grew quiet and Gaby watched with interest.

"Oh, Dear heavenly, uh..."

"Spirit," Leon suggested. Gaby then knew that Dom was making Jesse say grace.

"Spirit. Thank you," Jesse nodded towards Leon before continuing on. "Uh, thank you for providing us with a direct port nitrous, uh, injection. Four core intercoolers and ball-bearing turbos, and um, titanium valve springs. Thank you," Jesse finished. Gaby was trying her hardest not to laugh and shared a look with Vince.

"Amen," Leon concluded.

"Not bad," Dom said complimenting Jesse, an amused smile on his face.

"Praying to the car gods?" a voice asked and everyone looked up to see Letty standing near the barbeque pit.

"He's the best," Dom said his eyes connecting with Letty's. He nodded his head and she came forward, sharing a small kiss with him before taking her spot on his left as Dom eyes flickered between Gaby and Letty. Gaby eyed her warily before turning back to her food. Everyone began to pass dishes and soon they were eating.

Gaby brought in the last of the dishes and offered her help.

"No, go in and watch the movies, you're the guest."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Mia said and turned away from her. Gaby opened the door from the kitchen and made her way into the living room. Letty was sitting between Dom's legs and offered her a glare. Jesse and Leon were sprawled out on the floor while Vince sat on the couch behind them. Noticing her hesitate at door, Vince nodded to the spot next to him. Gaby ducked her head and sat down next to him.

"So what movie we watching?" Gaby whispered over at Vince.

"Dragon."

"Jackie Chan?"

"No, Bruce Lee you dumb hoe," Letty answered for Vince and Gaby glared at her. Gaby stood up and everyone looked up.

"Can you and me talk for a sec? Outside?" she asked Letty. Dom gave her a quizzical look, but Gaby ignored him. Letty got up with a grumble and stomped out the front door. Gaby followed after her and stopped abruptly when the door slammed shut on her face. With a growl, she slammed opened the door.

"What the hell is your problem with me? I'd really like to know," Gaby snapped as Letty laughter died.

"You wanna know my problem. I think you're a cop," Letty replied as she crossed her arms.

"You think I'm a cop? What the hell makes you think I'm a cop?"

"I just know it."

"No, you want to know what I think? I think that you think I'm after Dom," Gaby shot back and gave herself a point as Letty's face turned sour. "Well let me tell you something, I'm not after Dom."

"Sure, let's just forget this and paint each other's toenails," Letty said sarcastically.

"I'm not after him. Do you want to know where I'm going this Friday? To dinner, with Vince," she emphasized.

"Fine, but that doesn't change that I think you're a cop."

"Okay, think what you want to but I'm not a cop," Gaby replied lying through her teeth. God this sucks. "And I'm not after Dom. The bald look just doesn't do it for me," she added with a smile and was surprised when Letty let a small smirk appear on her face. Testing her luck, she stuck out her hand and was surprised again when Letty shook it.

"This doesn't mean I trust you, or like you," Letty said as she let go.

"I know," Gaby said and they both returned inside.

Gaby looked up as a familiar voice sounded in the shop.

"Harry, what's up, dog?"

"Excellent, brother, come on in, man. Check it, it's yours," Harry replied.

"Damn! What do we got here? Hired some new help, huh?" Hector asked as he eyed Gaby up. She stepped up to the counter and offered him a friendly smile.

"What can I do for you Hector?"

"I need you to hook me up. Three of everything. I made a list. Why don't you look that over?" Hector answered as he passed a piece of paper to her.

"When do you need this by?" she asked as she typed the order onto the computer.

"Tomorrow, today, now," he replied and Gaby nodded her understanding. "Beto, pasa la feria, homes. That's right."

"You said you need three of everything?"

"Yeah, three of everything. What do you think about that? Check this out," Hector said as he held up the roll of money.

Gaby cruised the truck behind the building and stopped. She looked around as she got out and closed the door quietly. Climbing up, she landed quietly on the roof and crept along until she got to the edge. As she peeked around the corner she could see El Gato Negro club was in full swing and could make out Hector and his crew. Looks like they'll be busy for a while.

She ducked down and blended in with the shadows as best as she could. Using her elbow, she broke the weak glass pane and checked to make sure no one heard. She stuck her hand in gingerly, mindful of the glass, and unlocked it.

The garage was dark as she climbed in. As quickly as she could, she pulled the covers off and checked the cars. The third car she found was a Honda Civic. Clicking on her flashlight, she looked for a neon kit: no kit; she almost cursed as the tires turned out to be the wrong brand. Guess I can check Hector off the list.

Placing the covers back into place, she clicked off the flashlight and headed back out the window. Everyone was still partying as she made her way back down the building.

"You know, bitch, I really wanted to give you a second chance," was the last thing she heard and then her world turned black.

Cliffhanger, I know, it was her idea (points at Scorching) I just tagged along. Hope you guys all enjoyed it. Don't forget to review!