Making Memories VI "Feels like the first time…"
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"Thanks again for having us over, Dom. I appreciate being called upon to make dinner for my family." Mia rolled her eyes with a laugh as she carried Jack into the Toretto house, followed by Brian and bags of groceries.
"Come on, Mia, you love feeding us," Dom winked at his little sister, kissing her forehead in greeting. He tickled the child's foot, receiving a giggle in response before helping Brian with the bags.
"Thanks, Dom," Brian smiled appreciatively, his arms relieved to be less full of food. "I'll take an excuse I can to eat a Toretto grilled burger," he kissed his wife's temple as she rolled her eyes again.
"Don't you two see enough of each other at the garage? Dom, I'm going to make you and Letty babysit this weekend so Brian and I can have some semblance of a real life," She handed her brother her son, watching as he happily snuggled the gleeful child to his strong chest.
"You don't have to ask twice. I'm pretty sure a cruise around town is just what this little guy needs on a Saturday night," He tickled Jack's belly, the boy letting out a contagious laugh.
"Don't you dare think about racing with my son in the car." Mia's glance was a stern one, before she turned back to the ground beef she was unpackaging.
"What do you take me for?" Her brother responded as Brian laughed, opening a beer for himself and Dom, settling down next to him at the kitchen table. Mia glanced at him with an expectant look, clearing her throat. He jumped up immediately, cracking open a beer for her as well. She smiled her thank you, standing on her toes to give him a kiss. Dom covered the baby's eyes. "Let's keep it G-rated, children," he remarked with laughter.
"Where's Letty?" Mia wondered out loud after a beat.
"Upstairs, taking a shower," Dom replied, lifting Jack over his head, airplane noises in full effect. Mia watched him with Jack, admiring his gentle hand and his easy-going manner with the young being.
"How's she doing?" Brian asked curiously, "Any more memories?"
Dom placed the child gently on his leg, bouncing him up and down as Jack gurgled happily, chewing on his tiny fingers. He shook his head. "Nah. She seems good though. It's all a process," his responses were always fairly short when it came to her. He was a private man. Brian appeared thoughtful, sipping his beer.
"Have you tried jogging her memory, taking her to places she used to go?"
"Not really, I haven't wanted to push it with her. She gets frustrated fairly easily," he paused for a moment, hearing for the water upstairs before continuing, "I think at this point we've accepted that we'll take whatever we can, but that she may not remember everything, you know?" Mia could tell he was torn up by that thought, the moment of accepting Letty may never remember who she was, who he was. Her eyes were sympathetic as she watched him interact with Jack, moving past the tough thoughts.
"You can't give up hope, Dom," Mia encouraged, leaning her hip against the counter, "you never know what can happen." The kitchen was quiet for a moment before Dom spoke, changing the subject.
"O'Connor, I want to show you the new intake we put on the Charger last night," he stood, holding Jack firmly, talking about the upgrades he'd made to his car, heading for the door with his beer. Brian exchanged a look with Mia, kissing her forehead before following Dom out the screen door. She watched them go, thankful for the life they had now, thankful for Brian and her baby. There was a time when she hadn't thought this was possible; going home had seemed unattainable. She was slowly getting used to waking up, safe and sound, every day, her son able to grow up surrounded by the people she loved.
Letty pulled on a pair of worn jeans, sliding a ribbed cotton tank over her trim frame. She could see Mia's car parked out front of the house through the linen curtains that blew lightly in the breeze of the open window, but she took her time. Sometimes she still felt awkward around everyone; it was inevitable. She sometimes felt like she was on the outside looking in, as if she had missed the inside joke. It was a process, and each day was a little better, but whenever someone referenced something she couldn't place, the frustration slipped in and she was reminded of what she'd lost.
As she combed her long dark curls, there wasn't anyone to blame. She'd put herself in the situation that had lead up to her accident. And, sure, she could blame Dom for pushing her to go to bat for him, to take the undercover job. But she didn't remember any of it. Not a bit. It was hard to blame someone for something she had no concept of. Did that make her any less angry? Of course not. But she couldn't take it out on him. He took it out on himself enough.
She thought back to the night before, and a small blush crept up her cheeks, a chill creeping down her spine. His hands all over her, her hands pulling at his button down shirt. The way the hot metal of the hood of the Charger had felt against her skin…
"That should do it," Dom stood back after the last bolt was tightened, and peered down into the soul of his beloved car. Letty slid out from beneath the beast, pulling herself to stand beside him. She could see the light in his eyes, his joy at upgrading his baby. They'd been tweaking a few things under her hood each evening, and with the installation of the air intake, she was complete. For now anyway. She would always be a work in progress. And she needed some serious body work. But her engine was put back together, her soul intact. Letty bumped his hip with her much smaller one.
"Start her up," she encouraged, a grin across her pretty features, grease and sweat spread across her forehead. He caught her eyes, before dropping the hood. He moved to the driver's side, and slid into the car, the leather seat welcoming him. He slid the key into the ignition and turned it, the car sparking to life, the purr of her healthy engine echoing through the small garage. Letty did a small jump of excitement, her smile contagious. Dom watched her through the windshield as she touched the surface of the hood, drinking her in with his eyes. Her hair feel from her ponytail in more spots than one, framing her face, caressing her neck. Her white tank top was stained from years of grease, her ripped jeans bearing the scars of the same. The sight of the scar on her hip caused his breath to hitch, peeking out at him from the space between her tank and her tight jeans.
Letty could see his eyes darken from where she stood. He was taking her in, one hand on the wheel, the other clutched around the gearshift. He revved the engine just a bit, and she could feel it rumble through her veins. Her heart raced a little as he climbed out of the still-idling vehicle, coming around to the front where she continued to stand, listening to what they'd created.
No words were spoken as his head dipped, taking her lips with his. He sucked whatever air she had from her lungs on contact, and Letty could feel herself melt into him, one arm pulling at his waist, the other sliding up around his neck. He pushed her back into the car, her knees buckling as they became flush with the grille. He lifted her up with ease, his hands gripping her hips as he placed her on the hood of the large car. She vibrated with the purr of the engine, and that seemed to only spur him on more, as he slid her down along the hood, before laying her back, the hot metal touching every exposed area of skin she had, her legs automatically going up to squeeze against his hips.
She could tell his restraints were no longer intact, one hand holding himself steadily over her, the other sliding up under her shirt, his large hand covering more ground than she would have predicted it could. His mouth attacked her neck, making its way down to her collarbone, before sliding back up to nip on her jaw. She couldn't think much, her mind numb from the electric shocks coursing through her, her skin on fire everywhere he touched. She ran her hands up his arms, gripping his biceps, before sliding her hand under the garage shirt, her fingernails digging into the skin along where his traps met his shoulders. She whimpered into his lips as the reached hers again, whispering a strangled 'please' against them.
It was as if the word flipped a switch within his brain. The hand firmly gripping her breast released immediately, and the weight of his lower body no longer crushed against hers. Her eyes opened cautiously to find his full of shame, as he backed off of her gently. She grabbed his hand, slowly rising up to a sitting position. Words barely could form on her lips.
"Wait, Dom..what…?" her words were mangled as she tried to recover quickly from the intense moment she'd just had. He released her hand, rubbing it over his bare head and down his face.
"Letty, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…I lost it for a moment." He paced for a quick moment, one hand on his hip, the other rubbing the back of his neck. She could see his stress, the tension emanated from his physique. She couldn't help but be confused.
She reached for him but he didn't come, couldn't trust himself to get closer. He knew he'd rip her clothes off if he did. He stepped back. Her hand fell to her lap. "It was okay," the words were strained, her feelings, and pride, slightly hurt. He walked to the car and turned her off. The silence made the moment worse.
"You should go take a shower, I'll finish up here," he turned his back to her, and she starred at him, her eyes boring into his back like daggers. He could hear her boots hit the ground, the sound of each foot on the gravel until the screen door slammed.
Breakfast had been strained, awkward. He'd gone straight to the garage, leaving her behind to drive herself if she chose to follow. She had chosen not to, instead busying herself around the house, cleaning. She still wasn't entirely sure why he'd suddenly backed off the previous evening, though she figured it had something to do with her not remembering anything, especially their intimate moments. She assumed it was awkward for him. Lest he forget how awkward it was for her.
Sighing, she moved toward the stairs. She found Mia in the kitchen, pulling a meal together. She friend smiled in greeting upon seeing her.
"Hey, Letty," Mia spoke happily. She stopped her movements to embrace her friend quickly, who appreciated the small moment.
"Hey, Mia. What's for dinner?" She chuckled, knowing the answer was Mia's least favorite.
"Burgers, cole slaw, chips, corn on the cob…what else do you think? Maybe some day my brother would accept something a little more exciting, let me make a real meal!" The women laughed as Letty pushed herself up to sit on the counter across from Mia's work station.
"Where are the boys?" She inquired, sipping on the Corona she had pulled from the refrigerator.
"Outside, playing with their toys," Mia shook her head, reaching for the cole slaw she was mixing. Letty peered out the window. Brian leaned against the garage door as Dom played with Jack, bouncing him gently over his head. There was something so attractive about him with Jack…she pulled her eyes away before she got in over her head again. She sipped her beer, and decided to take a leap of faith.
"So we were….are best friends right?" Letty reworded her question, knowing Mia was, and apparently had always been, her closest friend. Someone she had confided in during past years, and still did now, though what she was about to ask was much more in depth than they had talked about any time recently.
Mia raised an eyebrow, tossing the cole slaw with tongs, turning her head slightly to catch her friend's expression from where she sat on the counter across the kitchen. "Of course, Letty…" her voice drifted off with a laugh, "why?"
"Well, I gotta ask you something..I need a few blanks filled in, and, well, I'm hoping you know the answers," She jumped down and wandered toward Mia, grabbing a chip from the open bag on the counter, munching thoughtfully. She caught another glimpse of Dom through the window. Her cheeks were a little pink and Mia chewed on her lip, curious of what Letty could possibly want to know.
"Sure, ask away. We've been friends for a lot of years, I'm sure I know the answer," she giggled a little, putting the tongs down and giving Letty her full attention, taking a drink of her beer. Letty took a small breath.
"Can you tell me anything about my relationship with Dom, like, you know…?" she practically whispered the last two words. Mia almost spit her beer all over Letty, but managed to hold it in. Letty's eyes widened a little as her friend coughed. "I mean, maybe, like where or how our first time was…or anything you might know. Just something to make this a little less awkward, please!" She felt desperate; it had been on her mind for weeks, and after last night she needed some sort of information. As her coughing subsided, Mia eyed Letty, laughter dancing in her pretty brown eyes.
"Have you and Dom not had this conversation yet?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, leaning against the counter. Letty grew more uncomfortable, and Mia tried to hold in her laughter.
"In case you haven't met him before, your brother is slightly difficult to talk to sometimes," Letty's comment was snide, and Mia let out a laugh, her dark hair shaking over her shoulder.
"That's an understatement," Mia laughed, before turning thoughtful. "I think you were 17, maybe 16. You, me, and the boys were staying at the track in the upstate for my dad's race one weekend. After my dad went to bed, you and Dom went for a walk through the woods. It happened in a clearing by the lake. Pretty romantic considering Dom's normal style. You were on cloud 9 the next day." Letty took in every word and tried to imagine it. She was slightly disappointed she none of Mia's story jogged her memory, but grateful nonetheless. She gave her good friend a hug.
"Thank you! I needed that, you have no idea how much," her sigh was loaded, and Mia took in her friend's demeanor.
"You okay, Let?" She forgot about the food for a moment, focusing on a much more important task.
"Yeah," she drifted off, playing with the ring on her middle finger, "Dom and I had a…moment… in the garage last night," she paused, deciding how far she wanted to take this conversation, "on the Charger, and we were getting all hot and bothered and he just went ice cold and literally kicked me out of the garage. And he's been strange all day, I'm just not sure what I did," Mia laughed sympathetically, keeping her eye on the boys outside as she spoke, as to not be intruded upon.
"As previous discussed, Dom is a man of few words. Just ask him. Or wait for him to come to you. He's always been better at relationships without emotions. He kept you at an arms length forever. Women love him, he's not really had to work for anything. This kind of situation is somewhat new to him. And you don't remember your past with him. I'm sure he's struggling with that. He probably doesn't want to push things too far. Give him time." She rubbed Letty's shoulder in comfort. The screen door opened before Letty could respond, the boys wandering in, laughing about something. Mia intercepted her son from Dom, blowing kisses on his little cheeks.
Letty caught Dom's eyes, her dark ones cautious. He offered her a small smile, and leaned over to kiss her forehead in reassurance as he moved past her to grab the burgers that were ready to be cooked. "Mia, I'm going to start the burgers, can you shuck the corn so I can grill that too?" He picked up the platter and made his way toward the door.
"I'll shuck the corn," Letty offered before Mia could snap at her brother. She mouthed a 'thank you' as Letty grabbed the bag of corn and a trash bag, following Dom outside. She settled at the table, picking up one of the dozen of corn in the bag. She contemplated her action for a moment, before throwing the cob at Dom. It hit him between the shoulder blades, and though he didn't flinch, he turned toward her, eyebrow raised.
"Can I help you?" He replied, stooping to pick up the corn. She shrugged, before throwing another one at him. "Ortiz," he warned, "Don't start something you can't finish," he carried the corn back to the table, placing them in front of her. He couldn't see her eyes behind her sunglasses, but caught the tone she used very clearly.
"Maybe you should take your own advice, Toretto," was her sharp response. He nodded with a bit of a smile.
"Touche',"
I would have LOVED to have kept going but I've got to leave something for the next chapter right… ;) Expect a continuation of sorts in the next one.
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