THIRTEEN
The next morning Dom and Kylie headed down to the kitchen as usual. They had already showered together, where they had made love again, and were dressed for the day. Dom had surprise planned for Kylie.
They followed the smells of coffee and bacon, and the sounds of teasing, talking and laughing to the large, sunny kitchen. As expected, they found Rome standing at the stove, cooking and eating at the same time. Lydia, Leon, Lexi, and Jesse were seated at the table, as usual. What wasn't usual, or expected, was for Letty to be there with them.
Dom stared hard at his ex.
"Morning, Dom," Rome called from the stove, hoping to cut off the brewing confrontation. "Since it was so late last night, Mia invited Letty to stay in the extra bedroom."
Dom grunted, then headed over to the coffee. What the fuck? Didn't Mia think about how Kylie'll feel with Letty here?
Kylie joined Rome at the stove and the two exchanged a 'good morning' hug. Rome fixed her a plate with eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and a chocolate chip waffle. Kylie then joined Dom, who had fixed himself an extra large cup of coffee, along with a regular sized cup of tea for her, at the table. Dom sat down, took the plate and pulled Ky down on his lap. He kissed her softly, apologizing for his sister's thoughtlessness.
Kylie pulled back and smiled up at Dom. He's so sweet. None of this is his fault, but he feels guilty. She picked up a triangle of her Belgian waffle and began to munch on it.
"Angel still asleep?" she asked Jesse, trying to break the tension now filling the room.
"Uh, yeah," he replied flashing her a guilty smile. "we, uh, we were up late catching up with Letty."
Kylie smiled back at him. She hated that he was feeling guilty for being happy his friend was back. "Sounds about right. After all, you been gone for over a year right?" she addressed Letty.
Letty's eyes narrowed as she studied Kylie. What the hell is this chick up to? she asked herself. Then she nodded. "Yeah, that's right."
Kylie nodded as she sipped her tea, and set it back down. She snitched a piece of Dom's bacon and grinned at him mischievously.
He growled playfully and nipped her ear. His hand came down and he began to tickle her.
"No! Stop!" she squealed laughing.
Dom's hand came up to cradle her head, and he kissed her passionately. He was proud of how she was handling Letty's unexpected presence.
"Jeez, didn't you two get enough last night," a gruff voice growled from the doorway.
Dom pulled back and tightened his hold on Kylie, as Leon called out.
"Sounds like Ol' Coyote's jealous."
The kitchen erupted into fits of laughter and jeering.
"Yeah, well I'm surprised the girl can walk today is all I'm saying," Vince continued.
Kylie got up and walked over to Vince, her face angry, and red with embarrassment. Everyone else watched closely. They all knew how close Kylie and Vince were, with the exception of Letty, and they couldn't wait to see how this was going to play out.
Brian and Mia, having heard Vince's comment as they walked into the room, chose to stop and watch from the doorway knowing this was going to be too good to interrupt.
Kylie stepped into Vince's space, her hands on her waist, her head tipped back so she could glare at his face. One hand came up to rest on his bare chest. She smiled up at him looking oh so innocent.
"V-bear, you want me to talk with Rachel so you can get a little sump'n sump'n, too?" she asked sweetly while scratching his hairy chest.
The group burst out laughing again. Rome was standing by the stove, clutching his stomach with one hand, a spatula in the other, gasping for breath. Leon fell off his chair, he was laughing so hard.
Letty couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. Her gaze hardened as she continued to watch, obviously not amused. Girl needs a lesson in respect.
When the laughing had finally died down Vince leaned forward and growled at Kylie. "You need a spanking, Little Girl."
"That's what Dom said last night," Kylie quipped not missing a beat. She walked back over to Dom and climbed on his lap amid the new bout of laughter from their friends. Dom kissed her softly, proud of how she'd held her own, and rubbed her back.
"That's enough picking on my girl," he ordered. "What we do, and how often we do it, is nobody's business."
"Yeah, but Vince does have a point, Dom," Mia argued as she and Brian finally ventured into the kitchen. "We really have to do something about your headboard."
"My headboard?" Dom asked obviously perplexed.
"For cereal, Cuz?" Rome asked. "Every time you and Kylie 'go for a ride' we hear it throughout the house, thump 'n bump, thump 'n bump, over and over. I'm surprise ya ain't gots a hole in the wall from it."
This caused the rest of the team to burst into laughter again. Kylie buried her red face in the crook of Dom's neck, totally embarrassed that the team knew such intimate details about her and Dom's sex life.
Dom couldn't help grinning even though he knew Kylie had had enough. He kissed the top of her head and then decided to end the discussion.
"Alright, alright. I'll fix the headboard. Now change the subject," he ordered in his 'I-mean-business' voice.
F&F
A couple of hours later Mia joined Dom in the garage. He was checking the fluids in his car while waiting for Kylie to get ready to go to Venice Beach. Dom knew she'd enjoy all the sights of the boardwalk.
"Hey, Dom. I need to talk to you," she told him as she leaned against the side of his car.
He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
"It's about Letty-" she started.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that," he interrupted. "Did you even consider Kylie's feelings when you invited Letty to spend the night?"
Mia winced. "Of course I did, Dom. But, I also thought about Jesse and Leon's feeling, too. Plus Letty's."
"I can understand Jesse and Leon, but Letty's feeling?" he countered.
"Yeah, Dom. I know you're hurt and angry by what she did, but we're the only family she has. You know that." Mia stood her ground, determined to make Dom see things from her point of view.
"Whatever," Dom replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"She needs a place to stay, long term," Mia forged ahead, knowing this was going to be another battle.
"No way!" Dom exploded, crossing his arms over his chest. "There is no way I'm going to do that to Ky."
"Do what?" Kylie asked, coming up behind him.
Dom turned so he could see both women. He couldn't help grinning as he took in the sight of his girl. She was wearing a pair of faded low rise jeans, a white short sleeved cropped t-shirt, and a pair of black boots with a two inch stiletto heel.
"Do what?" she asked again, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand.
"You tell her," he ordered Mia.
Mia sighed. She didn't want to hurt Kylie, but she had to consider everyone else as well.
"Letty doesn't have anywhere to go. She needs a permanent place to stay," she blurted out.
"And you want her to stay here?" Kylie guessed.
Mia nodded, looking guilty, while Dom continued to glare at her, obviously against the idea.
Kylie sighed and rolled her eyes. It was blatantly apparent that Dom didn't want to Letty stay. While she normally loved how protective he was of her, this time Kylie was annoyed. Doesn't he understand? I don't want to come between the others and Letty. They'll end up resenting it, and me, she thought.
"Dom," she started her argument. "if I wasn't here would you still be against Letty staying?"
By the look on his face she knew she had him. "No, but you are here, and I don't want you to have to-"
"Please," she cut him off and placed a finger over his lips. "just listen for a minute."
She waited until he unclenched his jaw and finally nodded. She had to stifle a laugh when she jaw Mia fighting not to laugh as well.
"I love that you care so much about me and my feelings. And, I love how you're trying to protect me, but it's OK. Letty can stay. It wont bother me. I know you love me, so she has no power to hurt me."
It was true. Ever since that January night at the beach, Kylie had found herself feeling more secure in Dom's love, and more confident in herself.
It took a bit more persuasion, but Dom finally agreed. Letty was once again a part of the team, working at the garage, and more importantly, living in the Toretto's house.