Author's Note: Guys I love you all! I'm not going to stop writing and I don't have plans to stop these shorts anytime soon. I'm just fighting with them a little more. Haha. I enjoyed using the others in this chapter. And I'm loving all the suggestions. Fast 6 has definitely given me some ideas of how to integrate past stuff in. This is baby's first trip to the beach.
A Summer Day
"You know, the nice thing about driving two hours outside of LA is the beaches are less crowded," Roman said, closing the door to his car and heading around to the trunk. "The annoying thing is that whenever we drive anywhere with you idiots we end up having to race."
"You're just bitter because you lost," Brian laughed. He had already pulled a large cooler, an umbrella and a couple of beach chairs out of his car. Mia was standing beside him, shouldering a large beach bag stuffed with towels and such as she kept ahold of her four-year-old son's hand.
Tej got out of the passenger side of Rome's car, shaking his head. "Shameful man, come on. They both got more shit in their cars than you and you still can't beat them."
"Shut up," Roman frowned, then went to get the beers and towels from the back of his car.
Letty was lounging against Dom's car laughing at them as Dom got his baby girl out of her car seat in the back. With one arm he tucked her against his shoulder and she grabbed at his arm with tiny hands, blinking at the rest of them with big dark eyes. Roman grinned at her. Babies were damn cute. Especially when they were someone else's babies.
"You mind giving us a hand, boys?" Letty asked, nodding to the massive cooler beside the car. Roman sighed and shoved his bag and beer at Tej, then moved to pick it up.
Letty grabbed a couple of beach bags and the chairs while Dom took the smaller cooler in his free hand. Locking the cars the group wandered down towards the beach.
Mia pointed out a nice spot and led the way. She started spreading out blankets and towels in the sand as Vince dug around in her bag for a pail and shovel. Roman set down the cooler and helped Brian plant the umbrella firmly into the sand, packing it down around it. Tej unfolded a chair and tugged off his shirt, plopping down in it.
"Yo man, pass me a beer," he said.
Roman frowned at him but fished one from the cooler, adding his own supply to chill. He passed the beer to his friend, then turned pull some sunblock out of his bag. He tossed it at Brian.
"Don't forget this shit. Last time we came to the beach you looked like a lobster."
Brian caught it. "Very funny," he complained, but he put it on anyway.
Mia was already spraying her son with his own sunscreen and slathering more on his face. The boy groaned, but stood still obediently until she was finished.
"Daddy! Uncle Roman come swimmin'!" the little boy called, then ran for the water.
Tugging off his shirt, Rome hurried to follow, with Brian on his heels. "Don't go out without us!" Brian warned the boy.
Tej shook his head, scanning the beach from behind his sunglasses. He spotted them, some hotties walking along the water. Oh hell yes. He stood, then looked over at Dom.
"Hey man… can I borrow your kid for a minute?"
"What?" Dom frowned at him.
"I swear I'll bring her right back I just need like… babies are hottie bait."
Letty was staring at him and started laughing. Mia shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"It's true," she agreed. "Brian gets hit on every time he goes out with Vince and I'm not there."
"Please man, I will totally owe you one," Tej was practically begging.
"Oh hell, just give her to him, Dom," Letty said. "I kind of want to see this."
Dom passed over the baby carefully. Tej grinned at him and then tried to look casual as he wandered down to the water with the baby. The little girl stared up at him, then grabbed his ear.
"Hey hey," he whispered to her. "Play it cool monster, and I promise I'll put a kicking stereo in your first car."
She babbled at him and patted at his face. Tej could only grin as he heard a chorus of "awws" sounding behind him. He turned, smiling.
"She's so cute," the dark-haired beauty leading the trio said. "Yours?"
"Ah nah," he said. "I'm just her Uncle. But you know… I love kids."
Dom watched from the towel as Letty tugged off her tank top and stepped out of her shorts.
"I seriously cannot believe that is working," he said.
"Yeah well, don't go getting any ideas," Letty muttered.
He laughed. "Already got the attention of the lady I want," he said, leaning down to kiss her.
She smiled. "You got more than my attention, big guy," she murmured against his lips, kissing him again.
"Can you guys give it a rest?" Mia complained. "Or are you trying to give her a little sibling?"
Letty stared at her sister-in-law. "Hell, no. I just lost the last of the pregnancy weight. I am not doing that again."
Mia laughed, pulling a magazine out of her beach bag. "Oh I hear you there." She laid back on the towel, soaking up the LA sun. "Getting my body back was so nice after pregnancy."
Dom shook his head at them. "You're both crazy. Look at you." He sat down on the towel.
Mia posed from where she was sprawled on the towel. "We look good. We know it."
"Yeah so does that bozo in the green shorts over there," Letty replied, getting some beers out of the cooler.
Mia turned to look over at said 'bozo' with a frown as Letty settled between Dom's legs to lean back against him, offering him one of the beers. Tej was returning to them with a pleased look on his face as he passed Letty the baby.
"Guess who got himself a date?" he asked, sitting down.
Letty set her daughter on the blanket and the baby girl rolled onto her belly, little hands grabbing at her mother's leg. Her dark curls stuck out from under her white hat and she was wearing a little red swimsuit with white polka dots on it.
"You only got a date because of my daughter," Dom told Tej.
"Sounds like she takes after her Dad," Mia said with a laugh.
"Do you hear that?" Letty asked her daughter, tickling her bare feet. "That's what you get for helping your Uncle Tej pick up chicks."
The baby giggled and squealed, rolling away from her mother's hands. "Mami!" she squeaked, sitting up and scooting away from her on her butt.
Letty laughed at her daughter as she crawled away to the edge of the towel. Then she put one hand in the sand before quickly snatching it back. She stared at her palm, curling her hand into a little fist, then opening it again. She reached out to poke at the sand with her fingers, and then grabbed fistfuls of it, giggling gleefully.
"Oh lord," Letty muttered. "You're going to be a mess when we get home."
The baby belly-crawled into the warm, damp sand, wiggling her feet and covering herself in the substance before Letty leaned forward to pluck her up. The baby sputtered, sand on her face. She rubbed her hands against her sandy cheeks with a whine, spitting sand out of her mouth.
"Yeah not very tasty is it?" Letty asked, passing the girl to Dom.
She whined and stuck out her tongue. Letty got a water bottle out and wet a paper towel, wiping her tongue off, then brushing the sand off her gently.
Dom sat her on his lap gently, pulling her hat off once she was under the shade of the umbrella with him. "No more eating sand," he told her.
She grinned up at him and stuck her fist into her mouth.
"Charming," he laughed.
She babbled something around her hand and pointed as Brian came walking up, carrying Vince, Roman not far behind him. They were all dripping water. Mia sat up to pass over some towels, wrapping Vince up in one and ruffling it over his hair.
"I'm hungry, Mommy," he said.
"Well it's about lunch time," Mia agreed, reaching for the cooler. "Everyone want sandwiches?"
There was a chorus of 'Yes' and she passed the food around. Vince sprawled on his stomach between his mother and his Uncle, eating with one hand and driving a hot wheels around with the other. Letty sat across from them, watching in amusement as she fed her daughter small bites of her own sandwich.
"Did you see Tej using your niece to score himself a date?" Mia asked Brian.
It was Roman who started laughing. "Oh man, you have so little game you need to use a baby."
"As opposed to you and your classy harem parties and casino buffet vouchers?" Tej asked.
"Hey man! That was an emergency contingency plan."
"Oh really? Cause I thought that was what you left on the dresser the morning after," Tej said.
The others laughed.
"No respect," Roman muttered.
After eating Dom stood with his daughter and Letty joined him, slipping her hand into his free one. The family walked down to the edge of the water together. Letty squeezed at his hand and gazed out over the ocean.
"Makes me miss the beaches in the DR. So many less people." She grinned up at him.
He laughed, wrapping his arm around her to kiss her. "We'll have to go back some day."
She rested her head against his shoulder. "Nice to be able to come and go, to not worry…" She looked up at their daughter, who was watching her with very familiar dark eyes. "To give her a more stable life," she finished, kissing the baby's little cheek.
Dom smiled, stroking her dark hair as he lingered at the water's edge with her, the waves lapping against their feet and legs. He wrapped his arms around her and held his family close.