Chapter 7 - Wash My Car When You Get Done!

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my friend and it looks like you have all the company you need, brotha." Vince turned to leave.

Nyssa stopped him. Damn that had hurt. She didn't know why and she didn't want to let on to how much. She really wasn't his girl but did he have to say it like that. Like she never would be. Like there was something wrong with her that would make her not worthy to be his girlfriend. Of course he was hurting too, she reminded herself. He had tried to put in the work with Mia for 5 years just to be shot down time and time again. He was trying to move on, she could tell. He was having some success and since from all counts she was the first girl he'd ever tried to bother to be serious with in all that time she even had to admit he wasn't doing that bad.

They'd walked down the driveway far enough that they'd rounded the corner of the house and were out of site of the rest of the team, who were still in the backyard.

"Come one Vince, let's stay. Besides isn't it better to keep an eye on him? Isn't it time to move on? You said it was." Nyssa wanted to meet his friends when they weren't all drunk and partying. She wanted to know what it was about Mia that made her so special, why Letty stayed with a man who could be so cruel, why Dom was the way he was, where Leon and Jesse fit into the whole dynamic. If she let Vince take off to lick his wounds in private she'd never know.

"He's a fucking cop. I just know somehow that he is."

"Then stick around and make sure everyone keeps their mouth shut around him. If he 's around for the long haul you can't run away from him forever." Nyssa pointed out wisely. Vince gave her a dirty look. She figured it was over the running away from Brian comment she'd made.

"OK, fine, we'll stay. But he pisses me off once he's walking out here a lot less pretty or he's not walking out at all, cause I'll throw him out. And yeah, it is better to watch and make sure that Mia keeps her mouth shut."

Nyssa tried to sooth his ego. "You're right, he's too pretty. He's not very manly. I like my men looking a little less pretty." She tried to make it funny and playful. "I like 'em a little hairier and taller, more muscle and definitely with more tattoos..." Nyssa trailed off with a sly glance at Vince's face. Vince caught her eye and laughed. He got what she was trying to do and it did make him feel better. He put a possessive arm around her waste and walked her over to the table.

"Well look who it is, old Coyotes are us. What's the matter pumpkin, thought you wasn't hungry." Leon drawled.

"Well we gotta eat."

"Ok, sit down." Dom told them.

They sat down and Vince gave Brian a dirty look across the table. Vince introduced her to Letty, Mia, Leon, and Jesse. Of course she already knew Dom. She thought she was going to like Mia the best. Letty was as tough as she looked, Nyssa could tell. She didn't know how to jive that with the woman who put up with the stuff she did from Dom. But one thing was for certain, Letty fit right in with the guys. Nyssa wished she was so natural around guys. But of course Letty grew up with these guys, Nyssa reminded herself and she remembered that she had been plenty comfortable with her brother. Nyssa still didn't see her and Letty having much in common and didn't imagine that they'd ever become close friends.

Jesse went for the chicken first and had to say grace. He did the best grace she had ever heard all about car parts, he thanked god for direct port Nitrous injection, four core intercoolers, ball bearing turbos and titanium valve springs, Leon encouraging him the whole way. Dom even laughed. It was better then her family's good food good meat good golly let's eat. At least Jesse was really thankful for the things he said grace for.

Dom was still kind of scary to Nyssa but he really loved these people like a family. It was written all over his face, in the way he looked at them. Dom was loyal to his family and she had no doubt that every one of these people was fiercely loyal to him to. She stopped analyzing everything and ate.

They all ate too much and it was dark by the time they got the backyard straightened away. Nyssa tried to help Mia clean up the rest of the kitchen mess but Mia would not hear of it. She said that guests did not clean. Letty didn't help because she considered herself one of the guys. She followed the rest of the guys straight into the living room and plopped down on the floor in front of Dom. Mia did let Brian help her though. They were in the kitchen talking in low tones when Vince went to make popcorn. Nyssa was sitting on a couch alone in the living room when she heard Vince talking in the kitchen.

"Wash my car when you're done!" Nyssa heard Vince call, laughter in his voice. Mia said something back to him that Nyssa didn't catch. Vince had such a deep voice she could hear every word he said. Not deep like Dom's but close.

"Not you Mia, I'm talking to the punk. And wear your favorite dress because when you're done I'm putting you on the street where you belong Cutie." Vince laughed at his own cleverness. Nyssa cringed, imagining Vince was talking to Brian, and in front of Mia at that.

Not good Vince, Nyssa thought. He doesn't know women at all, she told herself. His arrogance is just gonna to backfire in his face. Sure enough, she could hear Mia was talking back, and in much louder tones then she had been using up to that point.

"V, hey V, what's the name of the little Cuban restaurant you wanted to take me to? You know with the little candles and pico and food everywhere?"

"Cha Cha Cha?" Nyssa, and the rest of the people in the living room she imagined, could hear the wonder in his voice, that he was finally being accepted by the woman he'd fought so long and hard to have.

"Yeah, that's it, well you can take me there." Nyssa could only imagine that Mia had said the latter to Brian because Vince stormed out if the kitchen, elbowing the door violently on his way past it.

"Hey, where's the popcorn?" Jesse called as Vince walked over his prone form as Jesse was laying on the floor.

"Make your own damn popcorn!" Vince yelled irately as Leon threw an unpopped kernel from the last bag at Vince's retreating back. Vince came and threw himself down on the couch with Nyssa. He was in quite a temper after his encounter with Mia and Brian in the kitchen.

"You wanna go for another ride pumpkin, you need to get out of the house again?" Nyssa asked him, throwing Leon's endearment back at Vince. It came out sarcastic which was how she meant it. She was kind of pissed and kind of confused. Was he still into Mia or not? He said he was over her, but Nyssa had her doubts.

But Nyssa was not a skank. She wasn't sticking around for Vince's amusement. Either they had a shot together or not. She wasn't going to play around with him as a second place supplement while he hoped Mia 'came to her senses'. She would be his friend if that's what he wanted but that wasn't how he acted with her most of the time. Till Mia was in the picture, then he seemed to forget he was over her. Nyssa didn't know if her staying with Vince was a hot idea after all.

"No, but that guy pisses me off." Vince huffed.

"So you've said." Nyssa gave Vince a searching look. "Is that all it is? You don't trust him? Or would it be the same story no matter who the guy was if you thought Mia was falling for him? Cause quite frankly all he is doing is being nice. He has manners, he's helping her clean up after all of us, and he treats her like a lady. Brian hasn't done a single thing to make anyone dislike him but you. So that would tend to make me think that the only reason why you don't like him is because Mia does like him."

"I don't know why I don't like him exactly, but the fact that I have this gut feeling about Spilner is not helping." He gave her a look that told her he clearly did not like her praising Brian. "He's a fucken cop and he's just gonna break her heart." Vince shook his shaggy head and sighed. "And there's not a thing I can do about it."

"Well Vince, here's the thing. Where do you see this thing with us going? I'm not trying to imply anything at this point, but Vince I will be your friend. I'll even try to be more if that's what you want, but I won't be the girl you get laid with while you hope Mia comes around. I don't roll like that. Comprende?"

"Yeah, I get it. I don't know where I see this going at this point. I think while I get this straightened out lets just say we'll be friends."

"Sound's good Vince. But I think that means I should look for another place to stay." It was Nyssa's turn to sigh as she worried about where that would be.

"Why? I said you could stay with me." Vince looked angry with her decision.

"Well, while you're trying to decide if you're over Mia or not what if I fall for you? I have feelings too you know? Not saying it'll happen but if it does then I'm stuck in the same situation as you."

"Well we have a guest room if you can put up with being in a room beside Letty and Dom. Dom might let you use it."

"I don't want to impose on anyone. Dom doesn't know me and I don't think he really likes me anyway."

"Well then stay with me and then you won't imposing on anyone. And I already told you this team takes a while to warm up to strangers."

"Fine." Nyssa conceded. She was going to hope he picked her. What else could she do? She had a thing for him after all. "Is the fact I am staying here a secret?"

"No, we just won't make a big deal out of it if you stay with me downstairs. We'll just pretend that you stay over a lot."

"Isn't that strange when you told people at dinner I was just your friend? I mean, friends don't share a bed under most circumstances."

"Damn, you're right. I guess we need to make them think I was just shooting my mouth off don't we?" He pulled her into his lap on the couch and kissed her hard. She responded out of shear surprise and then out of sheer pleasure. Vince might be hairy and scruffy but he could kiss. Oh boy could he.

Vince broke the kiss off and Nyssa put her head down on his shoulder. If she was confused before she was really fucked up now. She couldn't read this man at all. It was strange to her. She was very good at reading people under most circumstances. The fact that Vince could throw her so easily did scary things to her equilibrium.

Vince was pretty confused himself. Why did he tell her he just wanted to be friends and then kiss her like he was drowning and she was oxygen itself? If they hadn't been in the family room with the whole team he wouldn't have stopped kissing her either. He might not know where he wanted to take their relationship but he couldn't deny even to himself that he wanted Nyssa in a way he hadn't wanted a woman other then Mia in a long time. He didn't necessarily like the fact.

Vince and Nyssa watched the rest of the movie as they were, her curled up against Vince in his lap, head on his chest. She didn't want to move and he didn't want to move her.

Dom was curious about the relationship. It was just not like Vince to bring a girl around to meet them, to hang out with the team while they were all sober and just having family time. Bring a girl home to fuck after a race yes. To hang out with no. To have Mia see him with HELL no. Not that it was bad. Just strange.

When the movie ended Vince looked down at Nyssa. She was dead to the world asleep. "G'night guys." Vince said to the room in general and carried Nyssa down the stairs to his bed without waking her. He put her on the bed in his room and she slept on. He went out to her car and moved her boxes down, figuring she was going to need shit out of them to get ready for bed. It took him several trips and with all the noise he made Nyssa never once moved or woke up. She slept like the dead through the whole process.