Chapter 9
The warm ocean breeze swept through the evening Baja, the sky a beautiful array of blues, pinks and oranges. The large disc in the sky was beginning to disappear behind the wonderful blue ocean, and people were beginning to flock to the residence. People Faith knew well, people Faith knew of, people she'd never seen. Either way, the word was out and everyone came to the party. It was in full swing by the time the sun had set and it had seemed to have an effect on the team. Leon was chatting to some girls who seemed more than interested to be just chatting with him, and likewise with Vince. Letty however, seemed to stay away from the action, sitting on the sand nearer to the house, sipping on a Corona, alone. Faith was catching up with some friends and told them Cassie needed a little cheering up and so pulled her into the crowd to let them cheer her up.
Cassie laughed as she was dragged in by Faith to a group of people she knew, but didn't know all that well. They all slung an arm around her and dragged her down further into the centre of the party and forced her to dance with them. Soon she forgot about the day's events and was actually enjoying herself.
Dom walked out of the house with a freshly opened corona in hand - he planned to drink his sorrows away. When he noticed Letty sitting on the sand away from the crowd, he joined her on the sand. Without hesitation, he spoke straight to the point, "Look, I'm not happy with what you did. And I know I may never forgive you like I said... but we're here to get away from shit, not to start more. So, if you want, I'm willing to see this out. Work through it. Whatever. I just hate to see us all like this. All the hesitation and bullshit. We need to let it pass." He paused and waited for a reaction from her. When nothing came, he chuckled and said silently, "I told you we'd be on the beach in Mexico."
Letty had listened to everything he'd said, and agreed silently as he continued to talk. It was only when he mentioned the dream she felt her features softening and a smile appearing on her face. "so psychic's your thing now..?" she questioned lightly. "If it is...let me ask you this one thing." She moved in closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Do you see us having a future?"
Dom looked over at her and shrugged, "that I don't know. Maybe if you learn to trust me... and if I learn to trust you again." He placed his hand lightly on her knee and smiled.
She returned the gesture and leaned in, planted a kiss on his forehead, and when she pulled back, smiled. "I think I can learn. Can you?"
He nodded slowly, "yeah, I think I can. It won't be easy... and it'll take time."
She nodded her head calmly. "Time is all we have right now..." she told him. She sucked in a breath and sighed it out. "So...wanna spend some time with me, now, Papi?"
"I'd love to," he slid his hand to hers and intertwined their fingers together.
Leon swayed his hips gently to the music as the girls danced on him like there was no tomorrow. He took a swig of his beer and gazed over at the two familiar bodies sitting in the sand, and to his amazement, kissing. It seemed feuds don't go on too long when you gotta put up with each other night and day, Leon thought to himself. The happiness he'd found from partying with these chicks he barely knew quickly disappeared and he found himself telling them he'd be back later. He headed off down the beach, deciding all too quickly that it hurt too much to watch them together. A part of him missed how close Letty and him had been, but an even larger part hated that Dom and her were now made up.
Vince watched as one of his best friends wandered away from the party and further down the beach. He made the excuse that his arm was starting to hurt, and he needed a break to get away from the women dancing all over him and followed Leon down the beach. He jogged up to him and when he caught up he patted him on the back. "Yo, man? What's up?"
Leon glanced at Vince, a twinge of pain surging through him as he saw his cast. It still hurt him that he got so badly hurt during the heist, and Leon emerged from it all without a scratch. He scoffed and drunk a little more of his beer. "Nothin' man, why don't you enjoy the night while it's still fresh?" he said, trying to brush him off, as much as it was comforting having him there.
"Naw man," he slung his arm across Leon's shoulders, "It's not the same here than it is in LA. I can't enjoy it as much. So tell me... what's up?"
Leon slowed up his pace and glanced over his shoulder, peering back at Dom and Letty, who now seemed to be enjoying each other's company too much. One more step and they'd be heading up to their room.
"Just..." he took in a breath and ran his fingers back through his hair. "I think I messed up way too much."
Vince clicked his tongue and nodded, "Dom told me about you and Letty...and Cassie. You got yourself in deep, man."
He shook his head. "That's not all, man." They slowed to an eventual halt and he drunk more of his beer. "Cassie thinks I used her, Let doesn't even want me, says that time was it even after..." he drifted off, realising Vince didn't know the first thing about what went on between Leon and Let. "Cass hates my guts...Let only wants Dom, it's obvious. I'm the bad guy."
"Don't say that, dawg. Cassie doesn't think you used her... she's just confused, and just put yourself in her shoes. She picked up and left everything and lost everything in one go. And now, all that she left is back. It can't be easy. And Letty ... she's just being Letty. Her and Dom have been together for years, you can't expect her to just up and leave him after all the shit they've been through."
Leon contemplated what Vince had told him, looking over at them occasionally, and then Cassie, who seemed just as happy. "Yeah..." he made an unresolved gesture and continued to walk. "I hate this, man. I'm such an asshole, and so stupid, I didn't realise how much I was hurting Cass and my feelings for Letty, and...it's just..." he faded out shrugged it all off. He gazed at Vince and something clicked in his mind. "What's with the one-man deal; how come Mia and Jess didn't come down with you?"
Vince shrugged, "I came by myself. I'll explain later... tomorrow. I just wanna relax for a bit while I'm here. Too much shit has happened to want to think about that." Vince carefully sat down on the sand and shoved his beer bottle into the sand to let it sit upright.
Leon followed, sitting beside Vince and resigning himself to the sand for comfort. He lay back on his elbows and sighed. "Just wish I knew everything was gonna be alright, you know? It's like...we get ourselves into such deep shit we can't even go home, then screw up with our family...what's left? Home and you guys are all I have." He licked over his lips and sighed. "I fuckin' hate this man."
Vince scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "yeah. I fucking hate it too." He sighed loudly, "I miss home." He looked up to the sky and said goodbye to Jesse silently, miss you too, Jess.
Leon glanced at him, wondering if he was holding back on something. "Does Jess say hi?"
Vince took a long gulp of his beer and nodded just slightly, then wedged the empty bottle back in the sand.
It seemed they wouldn't stay silent for long as Faith jogged over to them, over-obviously drunk deep and happy as hell. "Wassup boys; havin' a good time?" she said, tackling Vince to the ground and then rustling up his hair.
Vince laughed and pulled his bandaged arm out of the way, "yeah. Havin' a good time, Faith. As are you, quite obviously." He laughed again and punched her playfully.
Leon sat back and watched them wrestle, and then out to the ocean. As beat up as Vince had been, he was still alright. But Leon felt he was breaking apart inside.
She moved away from him took his beer and had herself a swig. "Come on back to the party, someone made cocktails! But I think they're gonna get me spending time with the toilet in the mornin'..." She slurped a kiss on Vince's cheek and winked at him. "You are one...hot...man..." And when she pulled back, shot a finger at him. "I! Will catch ya later..." she got up and hurried off back to the party, leaving the two as they were before.
Vince chuckled as he scratched his neck and shook his head slowly, "Cute."
Leon chuckled a little. "Why don't you go get you some...sure she'll be happy about it."
He shook his head no, "Nah, not while she's drunk. She'll regret it in the morning... Like every other girl that wakes up next to me. I think it's because I'm so naturally good looking it scares them." He made a grand gesture with his hand and collapsed back on the sand.
Leon chuckled and watched him as he fell back, then released a yawn. "Of course." He sat forward and picked up a handful of sand, to let it through his fingers again. "Well I got 20 that says she won't regret it."
Vince pushed Leon from the back and laughed. "C'mon man, she's worth more than a 20." Vince looked over to the party again and noticed Faith dancing up against Cassie and he smirked, "Ok, and I'll give ya a 50 if you get Cass to dance like that with you." He nodded to Cassie and Faith grinding up against one another to a slow and sexy song that blasted through the speakers. When Leon looked back at him, he smirked mischievously and crossed his legs at the ankles and leaned back on his elbow.
Leon chuckled and lay back on his elbows once more. "I say 100 says they get all hot and steamy all by themselves," he quips and nods towards them. He shot Vince a look and chuckled when he realised what he meant.
Vince put his hand out and shook Leon's, "deal!" As they watched the girls dancing, Vince couldn't help but let out a sigh, "man, I'm gonna miss doin' this with Jess." He shook his head remembering all the times the three of them, or four with Dom would do that with each of the girls at the party. But when he realised what he said, it was too late to change it.
Leon frowned and sat back. "What?" he hoped to God Vince didn't mean what he'd just said, and felt a twinge of nervousness as he watched his friend answer him.
Vince groaned, and sat up, leaning his elbows against his knees as he bent them up towards his body. "Um, well... I'm here alone because... Mia didn't wanna come, and Jesse. Well he..." Vince trailed off not knowing how he would say it to Leon. Saying it to Dom was easier... he was stronger, but Jesse was Leon's best friend and he had no idea how he would react to the news. "The ambulance didn't get to the hospital in time... and well..." He dropped his head and prayed that he wouldn't have to finish the sentence.
Leon sat up even further. "Are you kiddin' me! You kept it from me this long! Why didn't you tell me, Vince; me, why didn't you say anything to me?" he said, feeling more hurt than he was angry. This was Jesse. The guy he'd grown up with practically since birth.
"I couldn't man!" Vince all but yelled, almost begging, "I didn't wanna put more shit on you. You're goin' through all this, and now Jesse. I couldn't."
Leon couldn't believe this. Whilst they were out having a party in Baja, drowning all their sorrows with drink and forgetting the LA days, Jesse was at home, buried somewhere, and he didn't even know. He rose from the sand and, shaking his head, walked away. The tears threatened to fall down his cheeks but he refused to cry and hurried back up the beach towards the house. This day couldn't get any worse. He slammed the door so hard he thought it might break, and stormed into the empty lounge, and at first clasped a table with his hands, now feeling the tears were tumbling too fast, and then in a fit of rage, screamed out, as if he was in pain and as he pulled away from the table, lifted his hands to his face, and began sobbing loudly.
Vince pinched the bridge of his nose in hopes to relieve some tension. With no luck he fell back on the sand and watched the stars and the clouds roll by.
Cassie watched as Leon stormed inside and slammed the door shut. She stopped dancing and looked over at Faith who had also stopped, and even in her drunken state, she knew what was happening. Faith nudged Cassie and she instantly ran inside after Leon. She found Leon standing in the middle of the room, sobbing and she didn't know what to do. It was the first time she had ever seen him like that. She approached him slowly and placed her hand on his arm. He looked up at her, and the tears threatened to spill from her eyes as well. "Vince told you." She said as a statement rather than a question and then embraced him in a hug, forgetting everything that had happened earlier.
Leon moved from under her touch and rose, and walked towards the front of the lounge. He couldn't let her see him this way. "Please just, leave me alone."
Cassie refused to budge, "no. I'm not leaving you alone this time. This is ... too close to the heart to just walk out." She sat down on the couch and pulled him down next to her.
He sucked in a deep breath and dropped his head into his hands, and rested his elbows on his knees. He couldn't believe it, it was too unreal. Last he'd seen of Jesse he was telling him to visualise a stupid win and Jess was telling him he had it. "Why..." he said through his hands, and as he rubbed them over his face to rid his cheeks of tears he inhaled. "Why didn't anyone tell me...? he asked Cassie. "Did you know?"
"Vince told me when he walked through the door. I told him not to tell anybody. I dunno if he did... but I guess if he told you, he's already told Dom." She ran her hand down his back, and rubbed his cheeks gently with the other hand.
Leon shook his head, trying to keep his emotions under control, especially around Cassie. "This is madness..." he said, almost inaudibly and ran a hand through his curls. "How?"
All Cassie could do was shrug. She really didn't know the answer to that. "C'mon, let's go upstairs. People still walk in and out of here, and I know much you hate people who pry in other people's business." She gestured to the two people who had walked into the kitchen and 'casually' stopped to listen in on their conversation, "especially your own."
She took his hand in her own and all but dragged him up the stairs into the room he was using. She locked the door behind them as Leon sat on the bed. Cassie walked up and knelt down before him, "I'm here to listen if you wanna vent." She looked up at him and gave him a weary smile.
He looked down at her, grateful that she would want to be there for him after all he'd put her through. He smiled back a little, telling himself not to break down, instead to be strong and hold it together. For his own sake. He reached down to her face, and ran fingers gently along it, then through the gorgeousness of her hair. "Thank you," he whispered, hoping she'd accept this.
Cassie smiled and closed her eyes as the smell of his cologne filled her nostrils. She automatically leaned into his hand and licked her lips, but forced herself to pull away. She nodded slowly, and then whispered, "I forgive you. Don't hate yourself... please." She pressed her fingers to her lips and then placed them gently on his with a small smile.
He let his eyes fall, just remembering what it was like to have her touch him, and he felt himself beginning to tingle at the thought of them making the most of the night. He let his eyes open when she pulled away, and sat forward at first, then, slid his arms around her shoulders, and squeezed them a little. "Too late, I already do hate myself..."
Cassie rest her forehead against his knees and sighed, "please don't. I got past everything that happened, being here made me see life in a different light, and I don't want to have to watch you go through what took me so long to get over." She looked back up at him and slid her arms across his that were around her shoulders, "I don't think I could live if you hated yourself. To just see you like this breaks my heart."
She looked around the room quickly, "you need something to distract you." She said trying to change the subject. When she couldn't find anything she stood and stripped off her shirt, leaving her in the bra that used to drive Leon wild. She then straddled his lap and crushed her lips against his, until they were both out of breath.
Leon was a little surprised. After everything that had happened today and the day before, he'd have died and gone to heaven if Cassie had so much as said she was ready for this again. Sex with Cassie was like no other. There was only one girl that could match up to her, and everyone knew who that was.
The sheer thought of her in the bra, her exposed stomach and lips against his sent him straight to happy land. Distracted he was. He could feel himself getting harder as they made out, and soon he was pulling his shirt above his head, pulling off his trousers, pulling off the remainder of her clothes, leaving her in that gorgeous bra, nothing else.
He pulled her a top him as they lay upon the comforter, kissing her still, out of breath still.
Cassie licked her lips as she pulled away from him, straddling his waist. This was like a dream come true... she never thought she'd be in the same room with Leon again, let alone the bed... naked. She raked her fingers down his stomach, kissing the marks her nails made. She let her hands trail lower down, until she gripped him with one hand and slowly started gliding her hand up and down. She kissed his neck, slowly, teasing him in wanting more, but never necessarily giving it to him. Her kisses trailed back to his lips, where she kissed him hungrily, devouring him. Then she pulled away, sucking on his bottom lip, and then grinning mischievously down at him.
She never knew how she would be able to show him how she felt at one time, but she thought she had found the answer. Hate, pain, love, revenge, jealousy... all rolled into one.
He wanted to take this and couldn't all at once. It was too much. Trying to keep his mind off Jesse, trying to keep his mind off of Letty, it was all too much. Within seconds he found himself becoming distant and unable to go through with it. He pulled back and touched a hand to her arm. "Cass...I can't do this...not right now...Jess..." he told her all at once. He hated that he was doing this to her, but he just couldn't. He hadn't mourned for his friend and had only found out about his death moments before they were undressing each other, devouring each other.
Cassie sighed and dropped her head on the pillow, "I understand. I just ... I guess I needed it." She shrugged lightly and hopped off the bed and replaced her underwear and jeans. "Are you ok though? I'm not leaving you alone still... not yet anyways." She smiled and rested her head on his stomach as she lay down next to him.
He chuckled a little at the thought and sat up himself, and grabbed his jeans. Once on, he crawled upon the bed, and sat before Cass. "C'mere," he said gently, and pulled her into a hug.
