Finally getting back into the groove of things. Thank you readers so much for your patience and support! All your kind words sincerely touched my heart and made me feel better. :) You're the best!

Thanks so much to: Xsparklesthemagicalunicorn, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto (Thanks for checking up on me in your sweet PMs! I really appreciate it), Rue Dawn (Your review was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much.), VincesDirtyGirl (Thank you so much for your offer to talk and your prayers. I really appreciate it.), Violet201, and lovely-whisper (I did, in fact, find support in all the amazing reviews. Thank you!).

Here's one chapter, the next will be posted tomorrow, I promise!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Alex, Mickey, and Ronnie.

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 56: Desire

By: LoveInk

A month later…

Leon sat on his bed and just stared at his hands. He couldn't get the image out of his head. He'd been driving home from the garage when he saw them walking down the street toward the store. She was holding his hand, her head thrown back as she laughed, her silky dark hair tumbling over her shoulders.

He'd pulled over the car and just watched them, feeling sick to his stomach. How could she look so happy? It'd only been a few weeks since they'd broken up. Anger filled him. What was she doing with this tool? Hadn't she kissed him just weeks before? He slammed his palm on the steering wheel. It wasn't fair! How could she just move on like that? How could she be happy without him? He certainly wasn't happy without her. Resisting the urge to get out of the car and kick the crap out of that damn cowboy, he sped back to Alex's place.

And here he sat feeling absolutely miserable. He knew had no claim on her. He'd given that up a when he hadn't chased after her the minute she'd left. Alex had told him Michaela had moved on, but he didn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Especially not after she'd kissed him like that in the kitchen. He just lived his life as if nothing had happened. As if she'd be waiting for him when he got home from work.

But she never was and at the end of each day, that absence hit him like a ton of bricks. Now it hurt even more because he knew who she was going home to. Standing, he grabbed his little carton of cigarettes and headed outside.

When he walked back inside, Alex was sitting on the couch, a bottle of nail polish on the coffee table in front of her. She was desperately trying to angle herself around her round tummy to get to her toes. He could see the frustration written all over her face and bit back the urge to laugh. "Havin' fun?" he asked, throwing himself down on the couch next to her.

She looked up at him and frowned. "No," she said on a pout. "I'm a fuckin' whale and I can't reach my toes."

He chuckled and extended his palm out to her. "Gimme."

"You paint toes?"

Leon shrugged a shoulder. "How difficult can it be? The polish goes on the nail, right?"

She gave him a thankful smile as she nodded. "Thank you."

"Yeah," he said, uncapping the bright orange nail polish. "Where'd you come from?"

She looked down at her feet, watching his agile fingers gently swipe paint over her toe nails. "I had lunch with Michaela and her…well, her boyfriend."

He hand jerked to the side, painting a streak of orange along the skin of her toe. That's why he'd seen her taking that dumb cowboy to the store! She was introducing him to her family! "Shit, sorry Lex," he mumbled, wiping it off with his finger.

"No worries. It comes off in the shower," she said, studying him instead of her toes. His shoulders had visibly tightened and she could tell whatever he was feeling, he was consciously reigning it in. "Say it."

"What?"

"Whatever you're thinking right now. Just let it out. Yell it at me. Go 'head," she urged.

He sighed, capping the polish and putting it on the table. "It's just…she wanted him to meet you so…it's fuckin' serious now. She's not kidding around with this cowboy dickhead. This isn't a fuckin' fling, this shit is going to last! And I can't…why would she jump me in the kitchen last month if she's going to stay with this stupid dickhead cowboy? She drives me up the fuckin' wall and I can't handle it, Lex! What the fuck does she want me to think? Are we done? Is it over? Or is she trying to make me fuckin' jealous? I don't get it!"

Alex nodded her head as she listened. She got the sense he wasn't done with his little tirade so she sat and waited. He took a deep breath and continued, "The worst part is…it's fuckin' working, Lex. I'm jealous as hell but I can't fucking do anything about it. I got no claim on her. She can go fuck whoever the hell she wants and I can't do anything about it. Do you know how fuckin' hard that is?"

"I can only imagine, boo."

"Oh, and did you know she slipped into my fuckin' window the other night? Drunk as hell and all she wanted to do was…well, you know…and what the fuck was I supposed to do? Push her away? I can't fucking do that! Any other girl, I could say no. I could tell them to go fuck themselves, but Michaela…I can't fuckin' do anything. I can't even say anything to her because every time I open my mouth, all I want to do is ask her why! Ask her why she had to be so fuckin' stupid and ask about kids, about getting married. And why she wants to live her life in fast-fuckin'-forward when I want to take my fuckin' time and enjoy it! I just…fuck!"

"So that's what all that noise was the other night," Alex commented, her expression slightly amused.

He sighed, breathing hard from his little rant. Nodding, he ran a hand through his hair. "She's fuckin' crazy."

"You make her that way."

Leon shook his head. "I fuckin' hate it."

"And that one rounds out the f-word count to a nice twenty. Good job," she said on a giggle. "This baby is going to come out cussing like a sailor. I would not be surprised if his first word was 'fuck.' We all certainly say it enough."

He chuckled, shaking his head at her. "I spill out my guts and all you do is count swear words. Thanks, Shorty."

She grinned at him. "Lee, you gotta relax. She'll come around. I know that cowboy isn't half the man you are. Hakuna matata." (No worries.)

"You've been watching Disney movies again, haven't you?"

"Grem likes them," she replied on a shrug, her hand rubbing over her round tummy. "But seriously. I wouldn't stress about Jem. The fool drives a Ford-360 or something. Can you imagine Mickey in one of those? She hates it. He drives like a turtle too. And you know Mickey, she likes to go fast. Their whole relationship is being held together by Michaela's stubbornness. I honestly doubt she even likes him; she's just with him to prove that she doesn't need you. But she does. And she's slowly realizing it."

"A Ford-360?" he asked a smirk on his face as he resumed painting her toes.

"I don't know. It's a huge truck! Are you listening to me buttface?"

He nodded, breathing in a deep breath. "I heard you, Shorty."

Alex leant back on the couch and sighed. "I wouldn't mind a Catella slipping into my window at night."

"I'm sure if you asked, Michaela would do it for you."

She glared at him. "Not her."

Leon laughed. "How much longer?"

"Six months, fifteen days, ten hours, and maybe five minutes," she listed off the top of her head. "I have the baby in four and a half months, fifteen days, ten hours, and twenty minutes. See a problem?"

"I'm sorry, Shorty."

"Don't be. Not your fault," she replied on a sigh. "Dom called."

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it. "What? When?"

Alex shrugged a shoulder as if it didn't matter. "Dunno. A few weeks ago. Said he called me because he figured everyone else was being watched."

"And you didn't tell anybody?"

"No. Why should I? I'm willing to bet a hundred dollars he didn't want to tell me about Vince that day," she shot back.

Leon sighed, she had a point. He remembered the way Dom had shouted at him when he'd called Alex after Vince had been air-lifted to the hospital. If it'd been up to their bald-leader, Alex would never have known Vince was injured. "Touché," he murmured. "What'd he say?"

"I hung up on him like three times before he finally convinced me to stay on the line," she said looking quite pleased with herself. "Then, I bitched him out. I told him what had happened to Vince, to Jesse, and the whole damn mess he left behind. I told him he better watch his ass if he comes around here again because if Vince doesn't kick it, I will."

He laughed at her gall. He knew that if she were face to face with the muscular, bald-headed man she wouldn't have sad anything like that, but on the other side of the phone, with her hormones raging…Leon was willing to bet she'd given him quite an earful. "Where was he?"

"Somewhere in the Caribbean, I think. He started talkin' to me in Spanish and I could hear people speaking Spanish in the background that sounded Caribbean so…"

"Was Let with him?" he asked, capping the nail polish and setting it aside.

Alex frowned and shook her head. "No. He asked about her. I think he was hoping you brought her back here with you."

Leon felt guilty as he ran a hand through his hair. "I tried," he said. He knew he could've tried a little harder, but Letty had been set on waiting there for Dom. How was he supposed to know that Dom would never come for her? "That fucker just left her there."

"He left Vince in the hospital, Jess on the sidewalk, why are you surprised he left Letty? The pattern is pretty clear."

"He's not a bad guy, Lex. He makes bad choices when he's scared, but he's not a bad guy."

Her green eyes glared back at him, completely furious. "Don't you dare defend Dominic Toretto to me, Leon. He has done nothing to prove to me he's a good guy. So far all he's done is insult me, hurt my family, and send my fiancée to jail. There is nothing that can redeem him in my eyes."

"Woah, woah, calm down, Shorty," Leon said holding his hands up. "I'm just sayin' that he didn't force any of us to do those heists. We all knew what we were doing when we were doing it. He didn't hold a gun to any of our heads."

She didn't want to fight with him. She really didn't. "Whatever, Lee," she muttered, standing and walking away from him.

"Wait!" he called out to her. She stopped and turned around, one eyebrow raised as she waited for him to continue. He sighed. "Letty called me."

Alex smirked. "And you didn't tell anyone?" she mocked.

Leon scowled at her. Now she was just being petty. "Cut out the attitude, Lex. I have a right to my own fucking opinion and just because you're pregnant, you don't get to act like a five year old brat when someone disagrees with you. No, I didn't tell anyone because Mia would start crying, Vince is in jail, Jess is pissed at me, you're dealing with your own shit, and Michaela won't fucking talk to me. But since you said Dom called, I'm telling you Let called."

She walked back over to the couch and sat next to him, her anger mostly forgotten. Leon was right. She was acting a bit like a brat. "What'd she want?"

"She's coming back here. Girl's on a mission to find Dom and figured she'd start here."

"When is she coming?" she asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

Leon shrugged. "I don't know. She had to go before I could ask. She doesn't know about Jess or about V. She just asked if I knew where Dom was and when I said no, she said she's coming back to find out."

"Why? Why does she want to be back with him so much? I don't get it. He put her in this whole fucked up mess and the first chance she gets; she's going back to him!"

"Shorty, if Vince had run to get away from the cops…would you have stayed here?"

Alex bit her lip as she thought about the question. "No," she replied honestly. Leon gave her a look that said 'point made.' She frowned; his point was definitely not made. "Vince is not Dom, though."

"To tell you the truth, they're not much different," he said on a sigh. She looked almost offended at that comparison, but he just shrugged. "Think about it, Shorty. They're both these big tough guys, dedicated to their girls, loyal as hell, quick tempered…do I need to list more?"

She glared at him as she shook her head. "Vince is at least respectful."

"To you, maybe. He's not respectful to the race girls or to other guys."

Alex fought the urge to pout. Leon was right. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath. "I'm gonna go take a nap."

Leon watched her walk away and sighed. He knew she was annoyed with him. To compare the person she loved most in the world to the one she disliked the most, was not his smartest idea. Great, another woman pissed at me, he though sullenly. He wandered back into his room and lay down on the bed. Dark clouds were visible from the window, making him frown. The weather report had predicted rain. I hate the rain, he decided as he watched the first drops hit the glass of the window.

The steady tap of the rain against the window pane lulled him to sleep. In his dreams, Michaela slipped through his window again. She was wearing one of his jerseys and her typical cut-offs and both were soaking wet from the rain. He felt a drop of water fall onto his face, waking him from the dream. And there she was, leaning over him with this strange look in her eyes.

He sat up, his face coming dangerously close to hers. "Mickey, what are you doing here?" he breathed.

Michaela blinked back the water that was slowly falling into her eyes from her wet hair. Without a word, she took his face in her hands and kissed him. It was a long and hard kiss, not the kind that told of love or feelings, but the kind that told him she wanted him. And wanted him now.

He knew he shouldn't, but he gave into her. Meeting her kisses with his own. He let his teeth drag over the smooth skin of her neck, smirking when she moaned in response. Then she pushed him back onto the bed, taking control as she usually did. Leaning over, she pressed a wet kiss just below his ear. Her breath was hot against his skin as she whispered, "I need you, Lee."

You like? Let me know in a review, please! :)

Thanks again for all your patience and support! I really do appreciate it!

~Love Ink