Thanks for the reviews. I made a typo in the last chapter. The character I referred to as Marty is actually supposed to be Monty. I had no idea what I was doing lol. But my mistake.
Chapter 19-One Helluva Show
No POV
"Wanna just get ice cream and take them to Chuck-E-Cheese?" Dom asked, as he and Letty entered the arcade. It was packed with children running around, screaming and yelling. The building was large, but dimmed, only lit from games and machines. She nodded as they searched for their children. Letty spotted CJ on a boxing conjuction, swinging left and rights. Letty was surprised at how good her almost-eight year old daughter was at boxing. Not many girls wanted to do it, especially girls at her age. She left Dom's side as she approached CJ's side. Casey was so into the game that she didn't see her mother arrive.
"You really like it huh chica?" Letty asked, leaning up against the machine. CJ paused for a moment and looked at her mother. Not being able to read her, she turned back to the game. She only nodded. "You know, I wanted to box when I was little too," Letty said, staring at the screen. CJ's swings slowed as she became interested in her mother's story.
"Really?" she finally spoke.
"Yeah, man. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Being able to hit people and not get in trouble for it, I loved that idea." Letty said, smiling.
"How come you're not a boxer then?" CJ asked, finally putting her game on hold.
"I love cars mami. They've been all I know since I was your age. I would have loved to be a boxer, but I just couldn't get away from cars. Nobody forced me to do anything. Not my folks, not Dom, not Aunt Mia, nobody. Everything I did was my decision. The same goes for you mija. You can be whatever you want to be. Make your own choices. If you don't want to race, yes, I'll be crushed, but I'll be fine. Do what you want too. Just make sure it's something you love," Letty said, bending down to CJ's level.
"I want to do them both, Mommy. I love them both," CJ said, her deep brown eyes staring into Letty's.
"Then do them both mija," Letty said, smiling at her baby girl. She kissed CJ's forehead.
-x-
Dom found Elijah over on a eighteen-wheeler racing game, which brought back too many painful memories for him. He was struggling to reach the pedals. Dom tried his hardest not to focus on the screen, but mainly on his son. He slid in the booth and sat Elijah on his lap. He worked the pedals while Eli did the steering.
"Thanks Daddy," Elijah said, not taking his eyes off the screen.
"No problem Bud. Say, Mommy wants to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. How 'bout you?" Dom asked, hoping he'd agree. Elijah was a tough one to pull away from games.
"Sure," he said simply without a fight.
"Sure?" Dom asked, not sure if he heard right.
"Yeah. I know Mommy doesn't like cars that much anymore. We can go," he said, surprising Dominic with his maturity.
"How do you know Mommy doesn't like cars?"
"'Cuz. Every time we're in the car and it goes too fast, she gets that weird look on her face. The same look she gets when a car is too close on the road," Elijah said, not taking his eyes off the game. Dom smiled as he thought about his son. It was amazing how close Elijah paid attention to Letty.
"Oh. Well when you finish you're game, come find me okay. I'll be over by the door."
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"Ok boys, we only got a few hours left. Let's get back to work," Angel said, causing an eruption of laughter in the room. The boys were on their lunch break, eating food Ricky prepared for them. Thankfully, Leon volunteered to get it, saving Sasha from a bitching.
"She sounds just like Mia," Vince said, lifting his niece up from the ground, kissing her on her cheek.
The time was creeping up to 5:30 and it was still scorchering hot outside. The guys were all now down to undershirts and tank tops. More cars rummaged threw the garage, more filed out. Vince was becoming worried that they'd never close at the rate they were going.
"V, how many cars are out there now?" Roman asked, shutting the hood on a dark blue F-250 truck. Vince looked out the door and dropped his head.
"About seven!" he yelled, tossing his oil rag across the room. "God damnit Dominic Toretto!" he screamed, walking to the bathroom in the back. He turned on the faucets and ran his hands under them. He tossed some water on his face as he tried to wipe away some of his anger. He was hurting right now. He had blistered all over his hands and his biceps ached. He was getting a migraine from the all the noise and wasn't sure if he could go a few hours longer. Suddenly, there was a knock at the bathroom door.
"C'mon V, dawg. Let's get these cars done so we can go home," Leon's voice said from behind the door. Vince sighed and opened it.
"Remind me to kill my best friend when I see him," Vince said, walking back into the garage. Rome was just hanging up with Sasha, telling her that Peter's truck was done.
"Dude, how much money have we made all together today?" Brian asked, curious about the pay they'd made today.
"Um," Vince looked over the books, "almost two grand. Holy shit, brotha. Dom's gonna die when he sees this. We've never made that much in a day." Vince said, smiling at the books.
"Well let's keep racking it up then," Brian said, his plan working. He knew that'd boost Vince's work efforts, making Dominic proud of him.
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Over at the store, things had calmed down. The customers were a lot less rowdy and Ricky took over at the counter for Sasha for a while. She finally got Desmond to sleep and was working on herself. Ricky had treated her like a queen the whole day. She massaged her sore muscles, sat her aching feet in lukewarm water, and fixed all the food for the customers and the boys next door. Sasha didn't know any way to possibly thank her. Ricky had assumed Sasha sleeping, so she sat at the counter, watching the people outside. Sasha pulled her phone from her pocket and sent Ricky a text.
"Thanks. For everything." she waited a few seconds until Ricky got the message. She pulled her cell from her pocket and read the message. Looking over at Sasha, she texted back.
"You owe me. Big time." Ricky replied, smiling to herself.
"Whatever you want." Sasha didn't know if the message had a double meaning, but she really meant it. She'd do just about anything for Ricky right now.
"How 'bout a kiss?" Ricky texted back. Sasha smiled at the message. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but right now, she didn't have the energy to think about much.
"Sure." she replied, looking over at Ricky. Ricky smiled, standing from the seat behind the counter. Sasha removed her feet from the water and tossed her phone to the side. Her heart was sinking further as she thought about what she was about to do. Ricky walked to the back, hiking up her shorts some. She sat next to Sasha on the sofa.
"You sure about this?" Ricky asked. She knew what Sasha was about to do, and she wasn't up to ruining a marriage.
"It's just a kiss," Sasha reassured her. Ricky smiled, moving in for the kiss. She slowly placed her lips on Sasha, being hit with the scent of her peach lip gloss. Sasha parted her lips some, allowing Ricky's tongue access. Their tongues danced with rhythm as they both became trapped in one another's embrace.
"Umhum, as hot as this is, I need some more beers." Brian said, standing in front of the two women. He was wearing a shit-eating grin. Sasha hurriedly stood from the sofa and ran to the back, grabbing two cases of Corona. Brian followed her, taking them from her.
"How long were you standing there?" Sasha asked, making sure they were out of earshot.
"When she started groping your ass. I think that's where I came in," he laughed, turning red with humor.
She couldn't help but laugh too. "Shut up O'Conner. Look, please-"
"I won't. Won't say a word. But if that happens again, call me next time. I wanna tape it," Sasha smacked his arm as he laughed, walking out back front. He stopped at Ricky, who was sitting on the edge of the sofa. He smiled at her.
"No sweat. I'm Brian," he introduced, trying to put the embarrassed female at ease.
"Ricky," she shook his hand. "Sorry about that."
"Hey, no sweat. It was one helluva show," Brian looked back at Sasha laughing. She smacked his arm and pointed out the cafe. "GO!" she yelled.
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Dominic and Letty laughed as they watched CJ and Elijah jumping around in a Jupiter Jump. The twins looked happier than ever. Dom and Letty got a table nearby and ordered some sodas.
"They look happy don't they?" Letty asked, looking over at the kids.
"Yeah, they do," Dom answered, looking at Letty. They sat in a companionable silence for a bit. Finally, Dom broke it. "Let, are you afraid of cars?" He knew that was stupid, but he needed to know.
"Honestly, I dunno. Ever since the accident, I hate them being too close when I drive. It's like - like I'm paranoid, ya know? I dunno, it's stupid," she said, playing with her straw.
"It's not stupid Let. It's understandable. When I had my first crash, I was terrified of them. But I had to face my fears somehow. That's why I continued to get behind them. Look, that crash wasn't your fault. You were clipped. Don't let something that happened so long ago haunt you babe," Dom said, trying to ease his wife.
"I guess I could say the same thing to you about the trucks. I see how you tense up when a eighteen-wheeler goes by. It makes you think of the hijackings doesn't it?" Dom nodded. "Me too. We almost lost everything that day. Our family, our freedom, our lives. Shit got real twisted then. But it's in our past Dominic. We were young, doing anything to make a quick buck. We've grown so much from that shit. Look at us now. Look at them, they're us now." Letty said, smiling over at her twins, who were exiting the Jupiter Jump.
"What's up guys," Dom greeted them as they ran over. Eli jumped in his Daddy's lap while CJ jumped in Letty's.
"Nothing. We're hungry though," CJ said, using her puppy eyes on her dad.
"Fine. Letty, you order some pizza. I'm gonna go call the guys," Dom scooched out of the booth and walked outside, where it was a lot less noisy. He dialed the garage...
"DT Mechanics," Vince answered, irritation in his voice.
"S'wrong Vincent?" Dom asked.
"Dominic if I were you, I wouldn't come home tonight. I'd hide out for months because when I see you, I'm going to fucking murder you brotha," Vince replied threw gritted teeth.
"Why? What the fuck man?"
"Today has been one of the busiest days all year. We've had at least twelve cars in here since we've opened. Not to mention it's about five more outside waiting. For Christ sakes Dominic, we need you here," Vince almost begged.
"Wow, brotha, I'm sorry to hear that. But I can't leave just yet. Give me a few more hours, then I'll be in to help out. Where's Sasha at? Is she not helping?"
"No she's not helping. She's stuck with assholes over in the cafe. And I'm not gonna wait a few more hours. We're closing early tonight. Probably in about two hours. We've been busting our asses all day man," Vince said.
"Fine! Close early tonight, fuck! Look, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later," he growled, snapping shut his cell. He looked up to find a couple staring at him in shock. "You in enjoy the show? The fuck are you lookin' at?" He growled at him absentmindedly. He didn't mean too, he just hated leaving the guys in the garage with plenty work and not being able to get to them.
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There's nineteen. I know, not very eventful. I just wanted to get two chapters up tonight. It's about 4:34 in the morning lol. Well please read&review.
-Kita