Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: Shorty smiled at Vince and wrapped her arm around his own. "Thanks for comin' Ol' Coyote," she said and placed a kiss on his cheek. "This is gonna be ballin!"

Chapter Fourteen

The game was as thrilling as she had expected. Well, for her at least. Vince seemed to just enjoy sitting with her, guzzling beers as she screamed at the players. The Dodgers had lost by two runs but that didn't stop Shorty from bouncing back to her car. "That was unreal!" she whooped as she unlocked their doors and slid behind the wheel.

"If you say so," Vince grunted as he buckled into his seat.

"You're such boner kill," Shorty grinned at him as she whipped her car onto the street. "You wanna come over or you wanna go home?"

"Take me home I guess."

"Sounds good," she answered and turned towards the Toretto's household. She rolled the window down and enjoyed the breeze blowing in.

"You looking forward to Race Wars?" Vince asked her as he followed suit and rolled his window down.

"Hell yeah! I can't wait! Its gonna be insane," she said as she pulled into the Echo Park community.

"You gonna come down with us or you gonna go with Hector and the guys?"

"I'm gonna go with the boys and meet you there. The trailers are close together anyways ain't they?" Shorty asked and turned her head to face Vince.

"Yeah, we booked sites right beside each other," Vince grunted at her as he tried to find an acceptable song on the radio.

"That's trouble," Shorty answered but her attention had shifted from Race Wars to the Toretto household.

It was still early and there was no doubt that the team would still be up, sitting around the TV watching a movie or playing video games. And the closer they got the faster her heart beat. Leon would be there and she didn't know how to act around him now that they had kissed. What if it had all been a ploy? What if he was just playing her like some cheap racer chaser? What if he wanted to date her? Did she even want to date him? Why was everything so complicated now?

When Shorty turned onto to Echo Park Crescent and when she caught sight of Leon's gleaming Skyline she knew she couldn't go in. There was no way she was getting out of the car. That was final. No sir. "You coming in?" Vince asked as she pulled in behind his Maxima.

How could he ask that? Did he not see the resolve on her face? She had decided she wasn't going in and a simple question like that wasn't going to convince her otherwise. "Yeah for awhile I guess," she answered. Damn it. That wasn't what she had meant to say.

Swallowing the nervous laugh that was pushing against her lips, Shorty stepped from the car and followed Vince up the pathway. The sounds of laughter reached her ears through the screen door and she relaxed immediately. Now that she was climbing the porch stairs all nervousness she had felt on the way over had evaporated. This was her home away from home. And the inhabitants sure as hell would never hurt her on purpose, and that included Leon.

Stepping into the house behind Vince, Shorty smiled at the scene in front of her. Letty was sprawled on her back on the floor with Dom's head under her shirt. She was pushing at him furiously, trying to dislodge him. "Yo Boo, I can't believe Hector let you out," Letty grinned up at her before bursting into hysterical giggles as Dom blew a raspberry on her stomach.

Grinning, Shorty stepped over the laughing couple and collapsed on the couch between Leon and Jesse. "Sup boys?" she asked as she grabbed the popcorn bowl from Jesse's lap and placed it on her own.

"Shit all. Just chillin' as usual," Leon answered and snatched a handful of popcorn from the bowl.

"Damn Shorty! Nice outfit!"

"Yeah yeah," Shorty rolled her eyes at Jesse before turning her attention back to the TV and shoving a mouthful of popcorn past her lips. She hadn't planned on coming into the house, so she hadn't seen any need to wear anything but what she had on. But now that she looked down at herself clad in her Dodger's jersey, small shorts and mustard yellow boots she could see what Vince had meant earlier about dressing in the dark. She really had no fashion sense.

"Boo what you doin' tomorrow?" Letty asked from the floor where she and Dom were still fooling around.

Throwing a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth she glanced down at Letty. "No plans. Why?"

"You wanna come shopping with me and Mia?"

"Yeah actually, I need to get some new boots anyways. I gotta work until 5 though," Shorty answered and transferred the bowl back to Jesse's lap. Standing she smoothed her jersey and grabbed another handful of popcorn. "I gotta bounce ya'll before Hector sends out a search party. Where V at?"

"He went downstairs," Leon answered and reached forward to grab his beer off the table.

Shorty felt his eyes on her as she walked towards the basement door. That hadn't been too hard. There were no awkward silences between them and he hadn't ignored her. They were still friends, and everything was all good. Except that sitting there had been torture because all she had wanted to do was kiss him again. Descending the stairs quickly she pushed through Vince's door and sat on the bed while he looked for something under the bed.

Picking up the latest issue of Playboy, Shorty flipped through the glossy pages, tilting the magazine to examine the women in the centerfold. "You gonna talk to him?" Vince asked, his voice muffled from the position he was in.

Shorty froze the minute his words reached her ears. Shit. She could always count on Vince to know exactly what she was thinking, but that didn't mean she couldn't play stupid. "Who?"

"Come on Shorty. You know who I'm talking about," he said his voice triumphant as he emerged from beneath his bed holding a hoodie she had left there. Throwing it at her he cocked an amused grin and waited for her to answer him.

Catching the hoodie she swiftly folded it and placed it on her lap. "Yeah I know who you're talking about," she shrugged at him avoiding his gaze.

"So you gonna talk to Leon or not?"

"Yeah. I will. I'm just confused V. I don't know what I want," Shorty sighed before standing again. "I gotta go. Hector's probably tripping."

"Shorty. He likes you."

"Yeah V. Look I gotta bounce. Holla at me later," Shorty muttered before escaping the uncomfortable conversation and taking the stairs two at a time.

The TV room was deserted when Shorty emerged from the basement and she was slightly thankful for it. She wanted to see Leon but she didn't know what to say to him. Maybe the truth was the best course of action. It had to be. Silently making a pact with herself, she vowed to see what was going on between them the next time she saw him. Pulling the front door shut behind her, she smiled at the sky and crossed the lawn silently. Now that she had made her pact with herself she felt better. It was weird how one simple promise to herself could make her feel so free of the weight she had been carrying around all day.

"Hey."

Stopping next to her car she was shocked to find Leon sitting on the curb. And now that she was a few inches from him she wanted to back out on her promise instantly. "Hey," she whispered and sat down beside him before she decided to skip the pact and make a run for Canada.

"How's it going?" Leon asked softly.

Shorty's mind raced. She needed to tell him how she felt. She needed him to know. But she was never one to talk. Damn it, this was going to be incredibly difficult for her. "It's going. You?"

"It's going," he answered, his hands fidgeting with the hem of his jersey.

"Look Leon, I. Well. See, I. And, I. This, you, I, I just. But. It's all..." Shorty stopped and took a deep breath.

She was babbling and the last thing she needed to do right now was spew verbal diarrhea. Vince was right, she did need to talk to him. She owed him that after everything he had done for her. But talk was so over rated and she hadn't been much of a talker before and that wasn't about to change. Sucking up all her courage she knew how to get her point across. Pushing away from the curb she stood in front of Leon silently, unsure if she was doing the best thing. Fuck it. It may not have been the best idea in the world but at the moment she was fresh out of ideas.

Taking another small breath Shorty looked down into his upturned face, right into his watchful eyes and lowered herself onto his lap. Planting her legs on either side of his she wound her arms around his neck and grinned. She felt Leon's arms wrap around her waist and his hands plant themselves firmly on her lower back.

"Oh yeah?" he laughed at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Yeah," she whispered before tightening her grip and laying her head in the crook of his neck. She grinned again. In fact she couldn't stop grinning. Everything just felt so right.

"Yeah. I know," he murmured quietly and he tightened his own grip on her, one hand rubbing her back gently. "V knows right?"

"Of course," Shorty laughed gently, raising her head to look into his eyes. "He's been going on and on about my 'silly smile'."

"Was he now?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't leave it alone, the smart ass."

Leon grinned at her wickedly in the moonlight and brushed the stray hair from her ponytail behind her ear. "And where'd you get this 'silly smile" from?" he teased.

"I pulled it out of my Cheerio's box this morning. I was hoping for a race car or even a tiger figurine, but that was my prize. You know, they should really put the toys at the top. It was hell cleaning up all the cereal before the boys came in for breakfast," she smiled, knowing full well that it was because of him.

"Really?" Leon laughed.

"For real! Would I lie to you?" she grinned. "Don't answer that."

"KISS ALREADY! I WANT SOME ACTION!"

Shorty burst into laughter when she heard Letty screaming at them. Gazing around she could faintly make out the shape of two figures in the upstairs window, and she knew that Letty and Dom were watching. Leon chuckled softly too, before flipping the bird in their direction. "Think we should give her what she wants?" he asked, his breath hot on her face.

"If we don't I think she'll come down here and smash our faces together like Mia used to with her Barbie and Ken dolls," she said before capturing his lips between her own again, for the third time that day.

A/N: Thanks again to my ballin' reviewers. I obviously have the best readers. Just saying. Also, The Hunger Games trailer came out yesterday - did anyone else have a fangirl moment? I hope I wasn't the only person reduced to a shivering mess of giggles.