Chapter Three

"Is there a problem here?"

The new guy's head popped up hearing Dom's words as he strolled into the picture. Dom wasn't glaring at him per se but his interest was definitely more than just simple curiosity. There was the moment of sizing Dom up, trying to figure out who he was and why he was interrupting a pathetic attempt to get into Letty's pants.

Neither Dom nor Letty were the kind of people to hang all over each other in public, but at times like these, Dom wished there was an easier way to keep these assholes off of his woman. He was positive Letty had her moments of thinking the same thing. This punk thought he was free to work his game on Letty. If that was his assumption, the record was about to be set straight real quick.

"No problem, my man. I just had to come over and see if I could maybe convince this beautiful woman here to spend some time with me, one-on-one."

Vince rolled his head back to take in the larger man. "Dom, Rasta; Rasta Dom," Vince indicated, pointing between the two men. "He's come over to woo Letty with his mighty game." He couldn't even say that last part with a straight face. But Letty punched him in the arm, turning his laughter into a wince.

Rasta perked up at the slip. "Letty, huh? I like it. It suits you; tough yet feminine." Rasta didn't seem bothered by Dom's scowl at that comment. Apparently, Letty was the only one he was interested in impressing.

Letty leaned an arm on the back of her chair and nudged Dom with her elbow in warning. He didn't pay her any mind.

"You know, a guy's gotta have some serious balls to think he can get with this woman right here," Dom said. "You think you can handle a woman that can build and race that kind of car?" he said, pointing to her ride gleaming in the sun. "We're talking about a woman who wins every time and looks sexy as hell doing it. You may think you've got what it takes to satisfy my girl here." He eyeballed Rasta for a moment and shook his head. "But I don't think there's enough of you to even make a dent."

Grinning, Rasta shrugged. "I already know first-hand that the woman's got skills. All you're doing is making me want her more. She'll never have to worry about staying satisfied if she got with me." He leered over Letty again before turning to frown at the bigger man. "Are you her brother or something?"

Dom frowned. "No, I'm not her brother but she's part of my team, part of my family. Did you even think about that before you pranced your punkass over here? Her crew is all over this place. What if her man were, I don't know, ten feet from where you're standing right now."

Rasta just waved the idea off. "I already know this dude isn't her man and since you're over there with your girl and no one else is around, I think it means I've got a shot. Besides, what kind of fool would leave a sexy thing like this all by herself when guys like me can come around and scoop her up?"

"Excuse me?" Letty interrupted, glaring up at the man. "Who the hell do you think you're dealing with?" She'd been content to sit back and watch this show play out. That didn't mean she'd stand for this dick acting like she was some brainless piece of ass waiting for a guy to come along and charm her panties off.

"I'm just saying, if I was your man, there's no way in hell, I'd leave you all alone when I could be loving on you and showing all these jerks that you're mine."

Dom crossed his arms in front of him, expression unreadable. "I don't think so. Nobody owns Letty. And she doesn't need a man riding her ass all the time since she can take care of herself."

Letty turned her scowl on Dom. "Maybe a woman like Letty can speak for herself too." His response to her was an eye-roll.

"Or," Dom continued, "maybe anyone man enough to keep a woman like her knows what it means to trust and be trusted."

Rasta just laughed. He didn't have a clue. "Yeah, whatever, man. I'm not buying it." He turned back to Letty. "Listen, if we were kickin' it, I'd be rocking your world 24/7 instead of wandering around trying to impress these racers."

"Is that so?" Letty asked, glancing back up at Dom who smirked back wearing an expression of innocence.

"Baby, you better believe it," Rasta said ignoring the exchange between the two. "Now if you don't mind," he directed at Dom, "I'd like to continue my conversation and you can go back to your girlfriend over there."

Dom glanced back at the woman he'd been talking to for the past ten minutes. She was leaning against the fold-out table, lips curved in a knowing smile. He returned his gaze to Rasta.

"That's not my girl. That's my god-sister."

"Well, whoever she is, you can pick up where you left off. I got this right here," he gestured at himself and Letty. Vince was practically falling out of his chair laughing and even Letty looked amused at the tiny man going up against the goliath that was Dom.

The only one who didn't find the situation funny was Dom. His annoyance had reached a new level and it was clear the man in front of him was about to get shut down.

The smile Dom gave Rasta was icy. "Obviously, you're cool with steppin' to her team and I'll give you props for that, my friend."

Rasta nodded and puffed himself up with smug pride at that.

"But let me tell you where you fucked up: before you walked over here, before you opened your mouth and started acting like you had a piss of a chance with a woman like Letty, you should have kept a look-out for her over-protective boyfriend who always has his eye on her and wouldn't hesitate to beat your ass for even thinking about touching her."

"What boyfriend? I don't see no dude over here talking about how he's going to …"

He paused, scrutinizing Dom who simply stared back, unblinking and stoic.

"… beat my ass." Rasta took a small step back, realization dawning as Dom remained an unmovable fixture behind Letty.

"Right," Dom responded.

Rasta tried taking a cue from Letty, hoping for her to dispute Dom's suggestion. However, her expression only showed curiosity at what he was going to do now that Dom had staked his claim.

"Aw, man, f'real?" His whine was so pathetic that Dom couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed for him.

Dom cocked his head to the side, a slight smirk on his face. "For real." The statement was matter-of-fact and left no room for discussion or counter. Vince was beside himself he was so entertained.

Rasta threw his hands up, shoulders sagging in defeat. He shifted his attention back down to Letty. "Why didn't you tell me, girl?"

"You didn't ask." She grinned at him before taking a pull of her Corona and passing it up to Dom. He took it from her hand and swallowed a long drag before passing it back.

Rasta stared back and forth between the two of them, as if making sure they weren't messing with him.

"Alright, I get it. I know when to quit."

"You do?" Vince questioned.

Rasta rolled his eyes. "Of course, I do. How you think a little guy like me has lasted this long around here?" He startled at the sound Dom's booming laugh. After a beat, he relaxed, realizing that if Dom was laughing, he probably wasn't going to get his ass handed to him today.

The relief made him bolder than he probably should have been.

"But listen," Rasta said, addressing Letty. "If you ever want to downsize from this clown," Dom raised an eyebrow at that. "You just look me up, darlin'."

"I'll keep that in mind," Letty deadpanned.

Crossing his arms again, Dom returned to a more intimidating pose, though more amused than angry at this point. Nonetheless, Rasta retreated, arms up in surrender.

"It's been real, baby. Until next time, stay fine." Letty rolled her eyes and let the latest nuisance walk back into the obscurity of the crowd.

Vince was cackling in his seat. "Now THAT was some funny shit. You better watch your back, brotha." Dom flashed him an annoyed look but Vince just went back to sipping his beer and trolling the girls walking by.

TBC ...