-1"So how long have you known my brother?" Lanie asked as they drove.
"For bout 18 years now. Makes me feel old." Vince said with a chuckle.
"Shit. You guys have known him way longer then I have. And I'm his freaking sister." She said laughing. "Glad he found some good friends though."
"Be happy. He was a pain in the ass." He said making her laugh all over again. I could definitely get used to this he thought parking the car and getting out to get the blanket.
"I've never been here." She said as they took off their shoes and socks and left them in the car.
"My mom used to bring me here when I was little. I always felt it was my own personal place in the world. No one could take it away from me." He said sitting on the blanket he spread out.
"Have you brought anyone else here?" She asked sitting between his legs.
"Before you? None."
"Thank you for bringing me here."
"Thanks for listening to me. It's good to have a voice who won't judge me." He said with his head on her shoulder.
"That, my friend, is why I'm a psychologist." She said with a laugh.
"Ah shit. I don't gotta pay for this, do I?" He joked
"Naw, you get a special discount. Everyone else gotta pay though." She said with a smile.
"Good. That means I can pay for that date we got next Friday." he said slyly.
"I like the sound of that. Where we going?" She asked as the waves crashed near their feet.
"I was thinking we could go to this nice place in Long Beach. Maybe stay the night."
"You're not going to spoil me right?" She asked looking at him.
"Depends on your definition of spoil." He replied.
"No outrageous gifts or dates. I hate having to dress up in the little black dress." She said making Vince smile.
"What about a little black nightie?" He asked innocently.
"Maybe if your lucky." She said with a smirk.
"So Long Beach. Next Friday. Till bout Sunday?" He asked.
"Yea. We can leave after 4. That's what time I close the office." She replied.
"Okay then. You wanna take your car because I really don't want to take mine."
"Yea that sounds okay. Just don't expect to drive it."
"Ouch! There goes my dream." He said with a laugh.
"I don't know you enough to trust you with that kind of shit. That's valuable shit." She said with a smirk.
"Yea you probably won't be driving my car anytime soon either." He said smirking back.
"Okay we have an agreement then." She said smiling up at him. "Wait. Aren't you still with that one chick?"
"Took you long enough to ask that. No, I'm not. Broke up with her sometime after you left. Girl was some kind of crazy." He said shaking his head.
"Good because I don't want to go back to jail cause I had to whoop her ass. I don't like the looks she was giving." She said
"Well, you were a threat to her. Specially after that "Hey Vince" shit." He said imitating her.
"It was so much fun though." She said with a laugh.
"I don't want to leave. It's so nice here." He said wrapping his arms around her. They just sat there for the longest before he looked down to see Lanie sleeping with a smile on her face. He didn't have the heart to wake her and was just plain tired himself that he carefully laid her down and laid beside her.
"We going home?" She asked drowsily.
"Don't feel like it." He said.
"Good." She said scooting closer and laying her head on his chest.
"Vince, sweetie, we gotta go." Lanie said shaking him the next morning.
"What time is it?" He asked, sleep evident in his voice.
"I don't know. My battery's dead."
"I got 10 am." He said pulling his phone out.
"You know, sand really isn't that uncomfortable." She said with a laugh.
"Come on. I want to show you something." Vince said standing up and helping her up. They walked down the beach about a half a mile before they stopped.
"It's yours? " She said looking at the skeleton of a house in awe.
"Yea. It's still a work in progress but its great to build. Makes it feel like its really mine." He said. She looked at him and smiled at the look of pride on his face.
"Can we go inside?"
"Sure. It's really dirty and dusty. We did just get the floors in, though." He said moving some of the tarp out of the way so they could get in.
"Did you design the house?" She asked looking around.
"Yea. I've always known what I wanted my house to look like. It's still weird that its actually coming together." He said not looking at her. He was kind of embarrassed. He's not used to saying this stuff to girl's. He didn't even talk like this around Mia.
"It looks beautiful so far." She said putting her arms around his waist.
"You think so?" He said finally looking her.
"I know so. Your gonna have to bring me back here when your finished." She said with a smile.
"I definitely will." He said before kissing her lightly.
"Phones ringing." She said pulling away with a light chuckle.
"Yea." He said answering the phone. "Don't worry about it. Yes she's here. We'll be by soon. No I didn't. Nice faith, bratha."
"Leon?" She asked when he hung up.
"Yea. Wondering why I'm not at the shop." He said taking her hand and leading her out and towards the car. On the way they picked up the forgotten blanket.
"What do you do at the shop anyways?" She asked grabbing their shoes and putting hers on.
"Mainly body work. Painting, knocking out dents, waxing." He said putting the car in gear.
"The fun stuff." She said sitting back and enjoying the ride.
"Let me guess. You do the same kind of stuff?" He asked wishing he didn't have to work.
"Yea. That's when everything really comes together." She said watching him drive.
"That's the way I look at it. I mean, if your car doesn't look good, people won't care what's under the hood most of the time." He said
"Exactly." She said
"You want me to take you to the shop?" He asked as they got closer to the house.
"That's fine with me. I can get a ride from Leon if you get too busy." She said as they pulled into the empty driveway of the house.
"I just need to change real quick." He said unlocking the door and letting her in before going downstairs.
Next installment, The shop. hehe. Hope you guys like this. Review.