Disclaimer: Don't own Fast and Furious. Don't sue.

Chapter 12: Assumptions

"What the fuck did you do to that chick?" I looked over to give Letty a dirty look. She grinned at me giving me a wink. "Ah, you put it on her."

It was Letty's first day back in the garage. The seven sat in pieces. Most of the damage had been surface. In other words: bullet holes and water. Looking at the remaining skeleton today with Letty cracking jokes just made me want to scrap it altogether.

"Don't you have some work to do?" I asked sternly. She flashed me a grin before sauntering off to do a rotor replacement. I stared at her, probably longer than necessary. I was going to pretend that I was just unused to seeing her in the garage. My accelerated heartbeat was trying to make a liar out of me.

"Here's that list of parts Dom," Jesse announced, emerging from the office with a laundry list of items. I'd warned him that he'd need to clear the parts with me first. I was really just afraid that I'd end up with a fantastic over budget experiment that Mia would gripe about.

"This looks good. Order it," I told him. Jesse looked satisfied as he walked away. Ok. No more stalling. I shook out my arms, gave my neck a satisfying crack then dove into removing the engine. I spent the rest of the day working on my car, leaving the normal shop work to Vince, Leon, Letty, and Jesse. We closed up then returned to the house for dinner. Mia was already waiting for us with Letty's favorite foods ready: meduros, pink beans and rice, pork chops, and these little fried plantain chips that reminded me of French fries.

"Thanks," Letty said appreciatively.

"Oh it's no problem," Mia replied. The look they gave each other was full of significance. They were up to something.

"So what are you doing tonight?" I asked Mia.

"Shopping. I need a new bathing suit and 'tis the season…" she trailed off. Leon reached for the pork chops first. Everyone bowed their heads.

"God bless the bikini and the hot women that wear them," Leon said gleefully. The rest of us murmured Amen. Mia threw him a salty look.

"And what are you getting into?" I asked looking directly at Letty as the food was passed around. I was hoping she would answer. Despite asking to move back in, Letty was still sleeping at her parent's house. She and I were being friendly to one another. We were revolving in the same circle but not making any moves to make our relationship anything else. It felt like our friendship in high school really. Almost. Except for the fact that she had my attention all the time. And I didn't want her to sleep at the Ortiz's house. I wanted her here.

"A new bathing suit according to Mia," she responded in her friendly tone. I was starting to really hate friendly. I wanted more than friendly but I didn't have a right to ask for it so I kept my mouth shut.

"Well I want to go," Leon piped up eagerly. Vince looked up at him, pausing in shoveling dinner into his mouth. "Hey, they could use a male opinion on their suits."

Letty's lips gave a small twitch. I felt my brows draw together. 'Leon's my friend. He's not trying to mack on Letty…Don't rip his eyes out.' Vince didn't seem totally convinced in Leon's answer but he returned to eating at full speed.

"Are you going suit shopping too Jesse?" I asked keeping my voice calm. I wanted more of a lookout than just my sister. Mia loved me but she wouldn't stand in the way of Letty and Leon if they wanted to get together. She'd made herself very clear that I had screwed up on my own so I would have to fix things on my own.

"Oh no Dominic. I want to work on some designs for our cars," he said between bites of his dinner. I could tell he was eager to get to work as soon as possible. I would have to suck it up and go myself.

"Well I could use a new suit too," I threw out.

"Oh no! No way Dom!" Mia exclaimed. "Shopping with you is asking for misery."

"Mia, name a time we've shopped together and it's been bad," I challenged.

She stared at me incredulously, "I was eight, you were ten. You opened the door to the fitting room and exposed me to a line of people."

"That was over a decade ago."

"I was twelve, you were fourteen. You humiliated me by announcing in Victoria's Secret that I didn't have enough breasts to fill the smallest sports bra they carried."

"Nine years ago! And I didn't say it that loud."

"One lady peeked out of her fitting room to look at me."

"Give me a break…" I started but she cut across me.

"I was fifteen, you were seventeen. You and Vince got bored, wouldn't let me try on any more clothes and just told me to buy everything to try at home. You know the one store wouldn't let me return anything. I had a two hundred dollar store credit which Papa made me work off at the garage."

I threw up my hands. The rest of the team was in a fit of laughter. "Forget it then. Go. Have fun," I told them. Mia crossed over to me, placing a kiss on my head.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

Mia, Letty, and Leon peeled off in Mia's car ten minutes later, promising to keep on the lookout for a suit for me. Jesse retreated to his room to work on his project of the moment, designing decals for our cars. I think this was his way of including Mia again for Race Wars. He was putting a lot of thought into them, making sure they would all have a centralized theme that would make us recognizable as a team. But he also wanted each to have its own personality. I really should have him make a logo for the garage that we could add inconspicuously just in case people had any doubt who's team the cars belonged to.

Vince left not long after the others to take care of 'stuff'. That left me with nothing but television and my thoughts. I tried watching TV for a half hour before I went upstairs. Might as well get some extra sleep. I would just go to the garage early in the morning. I lay in bed trying to force myself to go to sleep. But every time I started to settle down my mind flashed me thoughts of Letty. I had thought about her a lot while she was away. Even when I was with all those other girls, I had always returned to thoughts of Letty.

As time slipped by it bothered me that she had been able to actually move on. It was crappy, I know, but I'd been reassured before she left LA. She hadn't made moves to date anyone else. But I really didn't know anything about her year away. And she hadn't made any attempts to share that information with anyone, least of all me. The woman that had returned was mysterious and exciting to me. For the first time since we'd gotten together I had to wonder if I could be enough for her. Her childhood infatuation wouldn't be able to assure me that she would always be with me. She had proven that she could walk away, regardless of how much she loved me. That's why the thought of any guy around her, touching her, sharing the same air as her irked my nerves. I couldn't guarantee that Letty wouldn't take up with someone else now that she was back.

Rationally my mind knew I could trust Leon to respect my prior claim. It was my emotional, irrational side that wanted to break his hands in the following weeks leading up to Race Wars though. He and Letty were spending a lot of time together in the garage. I would catch them huddled over the seven's engine having hurried conversations that would stop when anyone else approached them. Some nights he would disappear after she left, staying out for hours with no explanation. I wouldn't have suspected anything except they both looked extremely tired in the mornings. I quit feeling reassured when Mia would join them on their excursions. I would often get one of my favorite meals following those adventures. Mia was feeling guilty about something but vehemently denied that she was keeping any secrets.

Letty wasn't helping matters. She was sending me into overdrive at work and redlining me everywhere else. She came to the garage in jeans that hugged her hips. Her tanks hugged her curves and showed flashes of her stomach. She didn't seem concerned when it was hot, the sweat beading on her exposed flesh, making the shirts stick to her. She adjusted by taking twice as many water breaks. I was becoming so conditioned I could hear the small snick of the top of the bottle. She'd unplug it with her teeth, tilt her head back, and take a satisfying drink. I found myself pausing every time to watch because she always used her teeth to close the top then lick her lips to catch any stray beads of water.

What I had assumed to be a fluke at races turned out to be a new fashion statement for Letty. She started showing up in leather skirts. She did replace the strappy thin heels for wedge looking ones. They still gave her some height and drew attention to her legs but they were flat on the bottom. This had become a necessity after Mia had cried over a pair of heels Letty had snapped during a race. And she brushed my strange behavior off, never commenting on the fact that I basically became hyperaware of her whereabouts. I was never far from her at races even though I never touched her.

Six weeks later I was reduced to feeling like an out of control horny teen. I obsessed about Letty all the time now. As long as I continued to repress the most tortuous behavior she was exhibiting I was able to keep my feelings under wraps. At least until she would do it. She started by letting her fingers linger when she passed me a wrench. The next time she placed her hand on my back as the team stood around the computer to view Jesse's logo sketches. In the kitchen her shoulder rubbed my arm as she passed me an extra dish to put in the sink. If I thought about her touch it made me think about returning the favor. And I knew where touching her would lead me. I'd feel the heat flood through me, my memory returning me to one of a truck load of memories of us having sex. I both wanted her to touch me and perversely wanted her to stop it. But I was determined to keep things friendly until she showed interest in being with me. Or at least that's what I told myself up until I decided to break Leon's neck.

It was the Sunday before Race Wars. The previous night I had scraped a win in the seven. But the timing just felt off. I didn't feel like I had the room to do my adjustments at the house so I drove to the garage to work. I'd just come back, eager to fire up the grill. I was back in one of my perverse moods. I wanted to be done with the grilling by the time Letty showed up so I could focus completely on watching her. Pulling into the driveway I decided that I should go ahead and fire up the grill so the coals would be hot when I returned with the meat. I heard Jesse and Leon's laughter as I rounded the corner of the house to the backyard. I was prepared for their shenanigans but what I saw made my jaw clench.

Jesse, Mia, Letty and Leon were lying in a row on a blanket in the grass. The first three were lying on their backs, clearly sunbathing. Mia and Letty wearing bikini's I would never want them to wear outside the safety of the back yard. I glanced at Letty's legs and practically felt my heart jump start. I noticed Leon was lying on his stomach, leaning over Letty to whisper something to both of the girls. I think I could have forgiven that except Letty smacked his arm and he did something stupid. Leon put his hands on her stomach and started to tickle her. Letty started laughing and the invisible tugging line drew me up to them.

"Ah, ah, ah, uh…Dominic," Jesse stammered, struggling to get to his feet. Mia noticed me, must have seen the manic glint in my eyes. She was too slow to react though. I pushed Leon and he landed on his back, his arms raised to cover his face.

"Jesus Dom, what is your problem?" Letty yelled at me. I froze, my fist raised to strike my friend. I blinked my eyes and looked at her. She'd sat up, her chest was heaving. I started to feel a conflict between my anger with Leon and my attraction for her.

"What the fuck you got on?" I said roughly. She looked at me like I was crazy. Then a small smile twisted her lips. She stood up and I mimicked her movement.

"If I had known you'd be jealous that we didn't get you a suit, we would have given it to you sooner," she said casually, folding her arms over her chest. I was taken aback by the comment.

"Yeah Dom, we got you a suit too," Leon said from his position on the ground. He seemed to think that was the safest place for him at the moment. I gave him a sobering stare. Letty turned to walk into the house and I followed. She led me up the stairs, pausing in Mia's room to riffle through the closet. I watched her body sway as she searched. The invisible tether was back in play.

"Dom," Letty whispered. My hands were rubbing her behind. I was breathing on her neck. I forgot that I was supposed to keep my hands to myself. I couldn't recall why though.

"Hmmm," I murmured. My right hand slid up her back, untying the strings on her top while my left snaked between her legs. She groaned and I shuddered. I wanted her so badly. I pressed her back into my front. She definitely could feel how much I wanted her. Letty squirmed against me, enhancing the pressure building in me. I gripped her hips momentarily looking to stop her but she twisted in my arms. I got a quick glance at her bared front before she was kissing me wildly.

"Stop," she moaned into my mouth. I held her loosely, pausing to look in her eyes. She was as turned on as I was. I felt her shove material into my chest. Looking down I noticed a pair of red and black swim trunks.

"Letty, I don't care about the swim gear," I growled softly. She licked her lips.

"I can tell," she replied, rubbing up against me. I gripped her hips again. I started to kiss her but she pulled back to assess me. "So are you going to beat up every guy that touches me?"

"It crossed my mind." She tilted her head to the side. I took advantage, nipping her neck.

"Uh huh," she said, bending to retrieve her top. She started to tie it back on.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to tan. You can join us if you want," she offered. Her friendly voice was back in place. What just happened? I was grasping for something to say to make her stay with me, to get her to start touching me again. She practically flew downstairs. 'Girlfriend, not one of the boys.' The thought popped into my head in time for me to stop her as she crossed the kitchen to return outside.

"Letty," I called out. She looked at me, her face flushed and curious. "Let's go out Wednesday night." Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes wide.

"You mean like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date." She laughed, walking out to rejoin the group still lying in the sun. They'd switched up their lineup, Leon now sandwiched between Jesse and Mia, a space open for Letty on Mia's other side. Well it wasn't a 'no'. Bolstered I fired up the grill.

By Wednesday morning I was feeling tense. Letty still hadn't given me an answer. The garage was keeping us busy. We were trying to clear out the last of the pending jobs by tomorrow since the shop would be closed for the weekend. I finished replacing the shocks on a Camaro to find Leon sauntering into the supply area.

"Yo Le can you bring me…" Letty called out.

"No. Come get it yourself," he called back. She rolled out the kinks in her neck then joined him. My eyes narrowed. I quietly followed, stopping to listen in on their conversation.

"Well I can't tonight. I have plans," Letty told him. I heard him grunt.

"You promised me," he said, uncharacteristically stern.

"I've kept my promises," she sharply replied.

"You've half assed, yeah."

"Whatever Le."

"No one's feelings around here are secret baby girl. So stop wasting time." I walked away preferring not to be caught snooping. So she and Leon did have something going on. The speculation had hurt less than knowing the truth. Methodically I started putting the tools away to give myself something to do. The rest of the cars were being finished up by the rest of the team. I needed to make calls to the owners for pick up but I couldn't bring myself to do it just yet. My throat seemed closed up.

Letty walked over to place her tools back in the box. I gave her a blank look but she didn't seem to notice. She was making a production of putting each tool back in its place.

"So are we still on for tonight?" she asked quietly. Leon looked over at us to give me a small smile, before he returned to his work. I think I hated him. Well if she was going to choose him over me then I wanted her to tell me to my face.

"Yep," I said louder than necessary so he would hear. "I'll pick you up at eight."

Dinner alone with Letty turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. We talked a lot about Han. She was regaling me with stories of life while I was at Lompoc. I reciprocated with stories of life while she was in Virginia. We laughed a lot. I was able to push the brush off to the back of my mind. And for a while I was able to forget. I brushed my fingers over her hand at the table. I placed my hand on her lower back to guide her back to the car. I allowed myself to rub her bare knee at stop lights. I got distracted, pulling into the driveway at my house.

"I'm going to walk you home," I said to cover my mistake. I took her hand to lead her down the street but she stopped walking.

"Dom, I need to tell you something." My mouth went dry. We had just had such a good time. I wasn't ready to watch her be with someone else.

"Can it wait till after Race Wars?" She gave me a funky look. Her mouth opened then closed. Just then I heard the sound of a quasi-familiar engine round the corner. Seconds later, Mia came to a halt at the curb. She and Leon jumped out of the car. Mia looked like she had hoped to beat me home.

"Hey. How was dinner?" Mia asked curiously.

"Are you serious?" Letty asked me ignoring Mia's question. Mia and Leon sensed that they'd walked in on a private moment. Leon looked at both of our faces then frowned at Letty. Mia started to edge away towards the door.

"Dinner was fine Mia," I answered. Letty pulled off her heels, chucking them at Leon. He laughed and she threw up her hands. We watched her stomp off down the street muttering under her breath.

Leon turned to me, a grin still on his face, "Dom I'm starting to wonder whether the stories about you being a Don Juan are true."

After the previous year, I expected Race Wars to be fun but uneventful. Friday I made the team promise me that they would avoid Tran and his crew if at all possible then watched them scatter. Saturday the action swelled around the race area, cars lined up in twos to challenge one another. Given the way we were spaced out in the line I missed watching Vince and Leon race. I won my race and had enough time to catch Jesse and Letty race. Good everyone made it through the first round. I started counting heads but someone was missing.

"Where's Mia?" I asked. Jesse shrugged but Vince stared past me. I turned to see Mia's Acura pull up to the line. I was going to strangle her. Didn't I tell her that she couldn't race! Her car wasn't even ready yet. I'd never allowed the car to be modded beyond the paint. The official threw down his hands and Mia jumped off the line, coming to a satisfying win ten seconds later. By the time Mia found us, the announcer had warned that the second round was starting in ten minutes. But I was so furious I couldn't revel in the fact that the whole team, including my sister, had all won their first races.

"That was awesome chica," Letty told her, pulling Mia into a hug. Mia was smiling like an adrenaline junkie.

"Thanks Letty."

"Yeah girl, that was a good run," Leon added. Mia hugged him next.

"How did you get so fast Mia?" Jesse asked.

"Would you believe natural talent?"

"Try again," Vince growled. He looked as angry as I was. Mia frowned.

Letty laid a hand against his forearm, "Cool it V. She did great out there."

"She risked her neck out there," he countered.

"The same as the rest of us," Letty said heatedly, pointing to encompass the rest of the team. And then it clicked. Letty, Leon, and Mia had been missing these last few weeks together. No matter what groupings had left the house they had been meeting up to work on Mia's car. Mia's guilt had manifested from the knowledge that they were doing something I disapproved of. Something I'd expressly forbidden. What else was being done behind my back? I felt my temper starting to boil over.

"Can't we just race?" Jesse asked nervously.

I nodded. "Yeah, but we will discuss this later."

It took me through my third race to calm down. I didn't bother looking for anyone for the rest of the afternoon though. When racing was complete for the day, I stood as I had last year, five races away from winning the top prize. Vince and Letty had made it too. Leon, Jesse, and Mia had each been eliminated throughout today's competition. I got a lot of offers to come grab a beer. I also got offers to test drive several of the girls milling around. But I declined in favor ripping Mia, Letty, and Leon apart for their little stunt. I expected my return to the camp to be one that instilled fear. Instead everyone was gone. I kicked the side of the camper, ignoring the throb in my toes. That had been stupid.

"Oops, guess I'm in the wrong place," I heard an unfamiliar giggle. I turned to see a pretty girl with medium length honey brown hair. She wasn't scantily clad or extremely made up. It threw me off.

"The parties are back that way," I pointed to the way she came. I wasn't rude but close to it.

"Well maybe you can help me," she carried on. Wow she really must be lost if she was asking for my help after that brush off. I thought girls could pick up on subtleties better than guys. "See I'm looking for…"

"May Lynn, there you are!" a second girl stumbled into the camp. She was completely made up. Her dark brown hair was pulled back to reveal her heavy eye shadow and lipstick that matched the bright pink dress draped on her frame. She noticed I was there and her eyes got wide. "Oh look, you've found us some help."

"Yeah, I was just getting ready to ask him…" May Lynn addressed me. Oh wait she was fishing for my name.

"Dom," I supplied slowly.

"…Dom if he could direct me to Jackson's camp," she finished. I perked up at the name. Jackson was the name of a guy from San Francisco I considered a friend of mine. Then again she could be thinking of a different guy.

"Jackson from San Fran?" I asked to check.

"Oh, you know him?" The second girl said excitedly.

I made the split decision to go say hello to him. Might as well since no one was here for me to yell at. "Yeah. Let's go."

We walked in silence for a few moments before May Lynn spoke up. "Thanks for your help." I grunted. She wasn't thrown off by my lack of response. "I'm May Lynn, and this is Tori my girlfriend."

"You're not really talkative," Tori added when I didn't respond. We made it to the camp, hails of hello flowing from Jackson and his crew. I heard her murmur, "Maybe after a few drinks."

Jackson and I gave each other a manly hug. "Long time, no see man."

"Didn't think San Fran's needed more driving lessons," I told him, my cocky racer persona back on.

"Still schooling people in LA I see," Jackson mentioned conversationally.

"Still schooling people out here too," Kessler, another racer in Jackson's crew said jovially. He and I shook hands and he passed me a Corona.

I nodded, taking a long pull from the bottle. "So what are you getting in to tonight?" I asked to keep conversation flowing. Jackson produced a deck of cards from his pocket. I grinned. Two hours later we were all more drunk than sober. The trash talk was flying. I was barely breaking even at poker. I was having fun, forgetting about my earlier anger.

"I'm out. Where's the john?" I asked, throwing down my cards in defeat. Jackson nodded to a trailer. I made quick work of the facilities and was just finishing drying my hands when I heard two voices rise in anger.

"Damn it Tori, I'm so tired of this," May Lynn yelled. I heard a smack then, "No don't touch me."

"Lynnie, it didn't mean anything. You're always taking things so personal."

"That's 'cause it is personal to me." I wanted to escape so I made a production of opening the door. I started to pass them but Tori reached for me.

"You know that I'm with May Lynn right?" she asked me heatedly.

"How could he!" May Lynn spat back, "You've been rubbing your ass over every man within ten steps of you all night!"

"You're gay?" I asked stupidly. May Lynn rolled her eyes, threw up her hands and stormed off. I heard a door slam in the back of the trailer. I looked at Tori's face.

"Oh no, don't start," I warned her. But the tears started to fall anyway.

"Help me," she wailed.

"What can I do?" I asked her incredulously. I started to back away but she grabbed my hand. Her grip was stronger than I had originally thought. She led me down the hall. I heard crying behind the door.

"Make her stop crying, please?" Tori begged. "I just don't want her to leave me." I sighed, my hand rubbing the back of my neck. I could commiserate. I opened the door. May Lynn was sprawled on the bed, her face buried in a pillow.

"Get the fuck out!" she yelled. Tori pushed me gently in the back and moved forward to sit on the edge of the bed. May Lynn kicked me. I did not sign on for this. Why was I doing this again? I hoped I got cosmic karma points for helping out two chicks I didn't even know.

"Baby," Tori said crawling on the bed behind me. She reached out to rub May Lynn's back. The girl flipped over and sat up. I grabbed her wrist before she could reach over and strike Tori.

"Look, if you're willing to fight each other, there's obviously something worth saving." My tone was hostile. My thigh l hurt where I had been kicked.

"Why are you sticking up for her?" May Lynn asked.

"'Cause I know how easy it is to damage what you love the most," I said honestly. Wow. No more drinks for me. May Lynn sighed, looking over at Tori who gave a watery smile.

"I really hate you," she said, flopping back on the bed. Tori flopped down on the other side. I felt her tug on my arm so I lay down between them to stare at the ceiling.

"I know," Tori said soberly.

"I find 'em and you get them to fight for your cause." We all gave a chuckle. The room got silent. I knew I should get up and find my own bunk soon but I felt really comfortable where I was. Plus my eyes were starting to get really tired. I would just rest them for another ten minutes.

"Dom, did you really lose someone you loved?" Tori asked quietly.

"Yep. More than once." May Lynn turned to her side to embrace me awkwardly. Tori jumped up, turned off the light and closed the door before returning to the bed. She embraced me on my other side. And the three of us fell asleep, each girl with an arm across my body so they could hold hands.

The next morning I woke up disoriented sandwiched between Tori and May Lynn. I didn't have a headache but I felt my body was going to need extra time to respond. I sat up, doing my best not to wake either girl but May Lynn stirred behind me. I started fumbling for my shoes.

"Thanks for helping us out last night," she chuckled softly. I gave her a small grin.

"Don't mention it. It'll ruin my rep," I joked. I hoped to make a secret getaway but I bumped into Kessler when I opened the door. He gave me a look that assumed the worst. I gave him a head nod, not bothering to dignify his curiosity with an explanation. I made it back to camp as everyone was just sitting down to breakfast. It really looked like it was mostly coffee for everyone including Vince. I wasn't going to be the only hung over person on Team Toretto today. Mia even looked a bit haggard which was odd. I walked past them, not willing to address anything without a quick shower and shave. Ten minutes later, I returned to a quiet that seemed deeper than when I'd left.

"You want breakfast?" Mia asked me cautiously. She handed me a cup of coffee, shaking a bottle of aspirin in my direction. I declined.

"I don't understand why you defied a direct order," I said to her sharply, my voice low. They were expecting me to flip out about her car. I'd wanted to deal with it yesterday. Today I just wanted to focus on racing. I really wanted to leave here in a better position than I had left last year.

"Direct order," she responded just as sharp. "What are we, your soldiers now?"

"No, you are my sister. My sister, my responsibility." I spat out jabbing a finger into my chest to accent the words.

"I'm not twelve, I'm twenty-one!"

"And I'm still older. I'm still in charge here!"

"But you're not in charge of us," Letty said, pushing between the two of us.

Vince stood to referee, tugging on Letty's arm, "Chill. Let them fix it." I smacked Vince's hand off her. I didn't want anyone touching her but me.

"Stay out of it!" Letty and I yelled at him. I stared into her face and she glared back. Finally someone was going to oblige me. I was ready to fight.

"You and your boyfriend are just as wrong as she is," I said, pointing to Mia but not taking my eyes off hers.

"I don't believe this! Dom, we're all grown here. What are you going to do, punish us?" she said mockingly.

"Boyfriend?" Leon interjected, "Where did you get that from?"

"Shut up Leon!" Letty and I yelled at him. We were still glaring at each other.

"You don't have to wait till we get home. I know you and Leon are screwing around. I just want to hear it from you."

Letty gave a hard bark of laughter, "You think I'm screwing Leon."

"Yep. I just want you to keep your promise to him and tell me to my face." She looked at me quizzically before her eyebrows rose.

"That's what this is about. Us keeping secrets from you. Well it looks like you figured it out all by yourself." Letty started to walk away but Leon stood in front of her, blocking her path. He looked serious.

"Letty girl, you promised. Tell him." Letty looked at him, her hands balling into fists. He stared back, his hands not touching her but ready to catch her if she decided to run.

"Yeah Letty, tell me," I growled.

"I love you idiot!" There was a stunned silence from everyone but Leon.

"Thank you!" he shouted exasperatedly.

I reached out to turn her to face me, "But what about your other date Wednesday?"

Letty turned to look away from me but I gripped her chin with my fingers, turning her face to mine. "Technically I already had long standing plans with Mia to go on her last test drive."

I pulled her closer, removing every space between us and whispered on her lips, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"'Cause you deserved to sweat it out," she countered sourly. She was still angry. I chuckled. I could deal with angry. Letty loved me. And she wasn't with Leon. Did I mention she loved me? I squeezed her to me and she smacked my back before wrapping her arms around me. We held on to each other and the rest of the team edged away. I moved in to kiss her but she turned her face away.

"You aren't still mad," I stated. She shook her head.

"No. But we'll never make it to the line if we get started."

"Speak for yourself," I teased, pinching her behind before letting her go. She was right of course. What I wanted to do would take a lot longer than the time we had.