Chapter 5
"You gonna stick by me?"
"Maybe," she answered softly, slowly looking up at him.
Those eyes. He loved those eyes. He could get lost in those eyes. He had gotten lost in those eyes...
"Maybe?" he replied back, laughing, smiling.
She was such a tease... made him work for it. Not too hard though. Just the perfect amount of tease. Enough to keep him wanting it. But, he always wanted it...
He felt her fingers slowly work at the buttons of his coveralls, popping them open, one by one...
...
"Maybe.."
No way. No fuckin way.
What the hell was she doing there?! In HIS house? Who the fuck did she think she was?! She had no right to be in that house anymore. She gave up that right four years ago. She gave up that right when she gave up on him.
But damn if he didn't recognize that voice. Quiet. Raspy. Seductive....
"Maybe..."
He clenched the beer can tightly with one hand, the other still holding onto the refrigerator door. He wasn't sure why, but he just couldn't seem to turn around. He couldn't face her. Not yet.
"What are you doin here?" he asked harshly through clenched teeth. He didn't mean to sound so rude. He just wasn't expecting it. He wasn't ready to see her. Not yet.
"Mia called me."
That voice...
"I'm sorry about your aunt," he said as he finally got the nerve to turn around and face her.
There she stood. Arms crossed. Eyes dark. Head cocked to the side. She looked the same. She looked exactly the same...
"Thanks," she replied nonchalantly.
"Look," she continued, "I didn't think you'd be here. Mia said you'd be at the garage."
...the garage...
...the couch in the garage...
...the cot in the office...
...working long hours...
...sweating...
...fighting...
...making up...
...on the couch...
...in their garage...
"Look, I'm gonna go. Tell Mia I'll call her," Letty said quickly, needing nothing more than to escape from the awkwardness that surrounded them. She snatched her Evian bottle from the kitchen table and headed toward the door.
"Letty wait..."
She stopped at the doorway but didn't turn around. He wasn't sure why he even said it. The words just kind of flew out of his mouth before he had could stop them.
Shoulda just let her go...
...
"Letty wait," he said, grabbing her arm, forcing her to whip around.
"Look Dom, I told you. I don't wanna do this," she said sternly, half yelling. She never had to yell. He knew when she was upset. She yanked her arm out of his hold.
"Letty, I have to. I have no choice."
"You don't have to do anything Dominic. You chose to do this. And I'm trying to tell you that this feels wrong," she insisted.
"My god Letty. Would you just stop? Nothings gonna happen. The only thing different is we're down a man without Jesse," he said irritated, all of the days frustrations wearing him down. Just then there was a knock at the trailer door and the door flung open.
"We gotta get goin brotha. You guys ready?" Vince asked, poking his head through the doorway.
"I don't know. Are we?" he asked, turning to Letty.
She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, crossing her arms across her chest.
She was NOT making this easy...
"Jesus. Give us a minute V," Dom said to his friend.
"Dom man, we gotta..."
"I SAID, gimme a FUCKING MINUTE!!" he roared, causing Vince to hold his hands up and surrender to the large mans overpowering voice. Dom turned back to Letty, placing his arms around her waist, bringing her close.
"Let, please. I need you. Please do this for me. One last time Letty. I swear. This is the last time." he said, placing a gentle finger under her chin, lifting her head up slowly.
"Nothings gonna happen baby. I promise," he stated, unsure of who he was trying to convince more, Letty, or himself.
"Fine," she said, startling him as she broke free from his embrace, grabbing her jacket and heading out the trailer door.
...
"I gotta go Dom. What do you want?" she asked irritated, leaning back against the doorway, arms crossed.
God, that stance was familiar...
"When's the funeral?" he asked, quickly switching the subject.
"There isn't one."
"No?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"No. She didn't want one. She left me the house though. So, Im trying to figure out what I'm gonna do with it."
The house she grew up in. Three houses down from his...
"Oh. Well, I dunno," he babbled as he scratched his head. "If you need help with anything over there, I mean...I could..." he stuttered.
"Yeah, thanks," she replied, blowing him off. "But Alex should be here tomorrow. He's gonna help me."
Alex? Who the fuck was Alex??
"He's a guy I've been seein for a while," she said, answering his question before he could even ask it.
It felt like a knife had just been shoved deep into his chest. The thought of Letty, his Letty, with someone else...
Laughing. Kissing. Fucking.
Wait. She wasn't his Letty anymore. Hadn't been for a long time. Why the fuckdid he even care? He was with Debbie.
"Where'd you meet this guy?"
Shit. Again. The words just flew out. Possessive words.
"What?" Letty asked laughing, "what do you care Dom?"
He didn't. Well...
Where'd you meet Debbie?" she shot back.
His head snapped up.
"What?" he asked.
"You heard me."
"How do you know about...?"
"I have my ways Dom. I guess I did the right thing then. You moved on pretty quick."
No, she just didn't...
"WHAT?! Letty, what the fuck is THAT supposed to mean? You broke up with me remember? Not the other way around! What the fuck was I supposed to do? Sulk around the house forever over some bitch that gave up on me?!"
Shit. There it was again. Verbal diarrhea. But he was so bitter. How was it possible to still be so bitter after 4 years?
"Oh fuck this!" she yelled as she let the door slam shut.
He whipped open the patio door, practically following her out, enraged, searching for something to say. He should have known that it wouldn't be what he really meant.
"Go ahead Letty! Run away! It's what your good at!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, flipping her off.
His blood was boiling as he watched her storm off into the street. Only SHE could get under his skin like that. Only SHE could make him that furious, that fast. Only SHE could keep him from getting the one thing he really needed. Closure.
He stalked back up the stairs, kicking the door shut behind him, practically shaking the whole house. Mia appeared almost immediately and cornered him.
"What the hell was that Dom?! Where's Letty?" she yelled, the only way Mia knew how to yell, which was much calmer of a yell than either him or Letty.
"Fuck Letty," he shot back under his breath, violently grabbing another beer from the fridge. "Who the fuck is Alex?!" he blurted out.
"Dom stop it," Mia warned.
"Why didn't you tell me she was with someone?!" he roared.
"Dom are you serious?"
"Does it look like I'm joking Mia?" he yelled.
"Jesus Dom. I just...it never came up. And I mean, why are you so upset? So what? Letty moved on. And so did you. You've been with Debbie for four years Dom. So what's the big deal?"
He kicked the refrigerator door shut and rubbed at his head. Maybe she was right. What was the big deal? Letty was his past and that's exactly where he intended on keeping her.