Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: "Nothing," she answered and leaned up to place a soft kiss upon his lips. "Nothing at all."

Chapter Sixteen

The following two weeks passed in a blur. It was surreal watching cars come and go before Race Wars. They came in, received their tune up or decals and sped out faster than she could process it. Her brain felt like it was wading through sludge in its efforts to keep up with everything going on. She was constantly in a state of hyper arousal.

The garage's profits had doubled before Race Wars and she was eager to spend some of her wages racing at the event. Shorty was unable to fathom that in less than twenty four hours she would be participating in the circuit's largest event. Glancing at the clock again it seemed that quitting time would never arrive. She had been checking the clock every few minutes for the past hour, just waiting for it to read three. Time dragged slower and slower until finally Hector slid the metal doors into place and locked them down for an extended weekend.

"Finally! I never thought today would end," Shorty said as she cleaned her hands on a rag. "I'm so ready to get outta the city."

"I hear you," Hector answered as the team rushed for the door. "Go home, shower and be ready to go in an hour."

The team split into their separate cars and sped off to the house to clean themselves up and finish packing. Excitement swam through her body and Shorty had a hard time concentrating on the task at hand. Finally she was lugging her duffle bag up the basement stairs and into the living room where half her team was anxiously waiting. She sat on the edge of the couch and looked at the smiling faces around her. They were as excited as her, but she could also feel their nervous energy.

Race Wars was where racers made names for themselves. Rookie drivers from all across the western states would come to the event expecting to take home big money. Their goal was to get their name out there, and they usually did. Just not in the way they had dreamed. She knew her boys were notorious for being incredibly hard to beat at Race Wars. The DT team had a reputation of being virtually impossible to beat. Shorty also knew that rolling with Dominic Toretto had its perks, but combined with her own team's notoriety, she was going to be hated by the women and lusted after by the men. If you're lucky enought to roll with Dominic Toretto you were instantly considered legitimate. Legitimate, however, held a hefty price tag.

Anyone she raced over the weekend would likely already know who she was. Know she had assimilated into the Toretto crew relatively easy. And jealousy would rear its ugly head around her at least once. Shorty knew the price on her races would be double that of her teams, simply because racers would want to beat her. Beat her, and make it painful and embarrassing. They would want to show the DT team what a mistake they had made taking her in so quickly.

Never the less, she was ready.

"You all packed?" Hector asked her when he returned to the living room with his bag. He stretched out into the chair and closed his tired eyes.

"You bet," she said and smiled. He was obviously exhausted and she found it hard to believe he'd make it past ten o'clock that evening. However, she also knew what it felt like to be tired and have that lingering anxiousness wake you. If she had to bet, she'd say Hector would still be up well past her.

"Shorty, please try and stay out of trouble this weekend. And when you do get into trouble, come get me or Beto," Hector sighed.

"Hey, trouble finds me," Shorty said. "But I'll try and stear clear just for you." She grinned wickedly over at him and rose when the rest of her team returned to the living room. Each dropped their bags by the door for her to load into the trailers. Standing from the chair she started collecting the bags and stepped outside into the warm sunlight. She gazed into the clear blue sky and took a deep breath, "Race wars, here I come."

When the team was completely loaded they hitched up the two trailers to their rental trucks. Shorty was driving her own car to Race Wars, however, Hector, Marvin, and Beto were each driving a a heavy duty truck. Just before they were ready to pull out, Hector drove all three of their cars one by one onto a flattop trailer. After securing them down the team pulled out and began the two hour journey to the desert.

When the team arrived it took less than an hour to set up their campsite. They needed nothing fancy, just some full coolers and a place to sit. They each threw their bags onto a bunk. Beto rolled their round barbeque out beside the bigger trailer and dragged two cooler's full of Corona's into the semi-circle Shorty had created, with the lawn chairs facing the campsite beside them. They each grabbed a beer and Beto pulled his chair into the group; silently the team's attention focused on the chaotic scene next to their campsite. The Toretto's had purchased that lot and as Shorty watched she could tell they were struggling to get their campsite organized.

"What the hell are they doing?" Beto asked as he lounged in his chair.

"Cleaning?" Pedro question with a confused look upon his face.

"You don't clean tarmac," Shorty laughed. Although that was exactly what it looked like. Mia was hard at work sweeping the cement with a broom and glancing around guiltily as she swept the dust under the stairs of their trailer.

"Why is she doing that?" Pedro asked.

Hector shrugged and muttered "Women," under his breath.

Mia, as the mom, surely understood that there was no need for a spectacular campsite. Obviously camping on pavement was not camping in the least but she looked determined to spruce up their lot. As the boy's lugged their bags to their trailers Mia rolled out green turf and brought out four huge mosquito lanterns that she stood on each corner of the turf. Seemingly satisfied she grabbed her own lawn chair and crossed into their campsite.

Shorty leaned forward, grabbed a beer from the cooler and handed it to Mia. "You're an oddity, you know that?"

"Shut up," Mia said as she held the cold beer to her forehead.

Now that Mia had finished her work she had joined Shorty and her boys in watching the rest of the team try to accomplish something. Jesse and Leon were trying to set up a wooden dining table bigger than the one the Last Supper. Letty was helping Dom unhitch the trucks from their trailers to make room for the cars and Vince was guzzling back beer as he dragged their coolers from the trucks into their living quarters.

"Just watching them is making me famished," Miguel said loudly.

"Wise ass!" Vince called as he opened another beer and downed the entire thing in three gulps.

"He'll be three sheets to the wind by ten," Shorty said as she watched his neck muscles coax the beer down his throat.

Mia giggled when she saw the smirk on Shorty's face. She had obviously seen Vince at Race Wars and knew just how drunk the man could get. "Good thing he's got you to babysit!" The boys laughed with Mia while Shorty groaned. She was obviously going to be the one watching to make sure Vince arrived back at the trailers alive that night.

One by one the Toretto team drug a chair over to the semi-circle and collapsed into it. Beto started the barbeque and threw enough burgers and hotdogs on the grill to feed a small army. The surrounding campsites were coming alive as other racer's arrived and began setting up. The drinks were flowing and before their dinner was even ready a DJ had set up his equipment in the campsite opposite the Toretto's. Heavy music filled the air and as Beto loaded the hotdogs and hamburgers onto a platter both teams dragged the chairs around the table set up on Mia's turf. The meal was finished loudly and quickly.

"You need to change girl?" Letty asked Shorty as she pushed away from the table full.

Looking down at her sweat pants and wife beater Shorty shrugged up at Letty. "Depends on what we're doing?" she answered.

"Let's go check out the engines while the boys check out the pussy."

Shorty laughed and stood up to take her plate to the wash bin outside the Toretto's trailer door. "Yeah, let me throw on some jeans," she replied as she quickly cleaned the plate and placed it on the drying rack. "Can I go play?" she questioned Hector.

Hector sighed deeply and grinned at his sister. "Ok, but what did I say earlier?"

"Don't get lost?"

"No."

Shorty scratched her head and beamed at Hector as her team began to snicker, "Use protection?"

"No. Damn it Shorty. Yes, use protection, but that's not what I said!" he grunted. His frown grew as his team openly laughed at his protectiveness. They knew Shorty could play this silly game all night and the sillier her answers got the more frustrated Hector became.

"Oh yeah, don't talk to strangers! Got it chief! My lips are sealed," Shorty laughed. She swooped down to kiss his bald head and hurried away with a giggling Letty at her side.

In the trailer she quickly dumped her baggage onto her bottom bunk and sorted through it quickly to find a simple cotton shirt and ripped jeans. Letty was still smiling when she changed into her new outfit and pulled on a pair of red Chuck Taylors. Shorty pulled her long hair into a messy bun, slipped her cell and wallet into her back pockets and clipped the chain to her belt. "Let's bounce," she said as she opened the door and stepped onto the stairs only to be met by Leon.

He grinned up her before pulling her into a warm hug, "I finally get away from the boys and you're gonna run off?" he asked as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

Shorty burrowed her face into his warm neck and inhaled deeply. Since Hector had found out they were dating they hadn't had much time to see each other. In fact, the only time she had seen him was for lunch at the Toretto's store. She had been so busy she hadn't spared a minute for him or the rest of the Toretto team. And although Vince was allowed to crash at her place with no words from Hector, Leon wasn't allowed within ten feet of her bedroom. "Mhmm. Go do your man bonding thing," Shorty said when she stepped out of his hug.

"I did that all day. I want to see my girl for longer than a thirty minute lunch break."

"Your girl hey?" she teased with a swift poke to his ribcage.

Leon feigned hurt and clutched his ribs. "Yup. Mine," he answered and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Shorty laughed and shoved him away from her, "Go hang with the boys, you pussy. Me and Letty got girl things to talk about."

"Like what?" he grinned, eyebrow raised.

"Dom's dick, now piss off Leon," Letty laughed as she brushed past him.

"I've seen it, I'll come too," Leon said as he fell into step with Letty.

Shorty laughed softly as she jogged to catch up with both. Letty stopped next to Dom's chair and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "Hey Papi, we'll be back in a bit."

As Dom pulled Letty into his lap Shorty leaned against Leon's chest. His smell was intoxicating and now that she was freely allowed to sniff him like a bulldog in heat she took advantage of it. She breathed in deeply and looked up into his bright green eyes. "When we get back, I'm all your's," she said and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Promise?"

"Would I lie?" she grinned then added, "Don't answer that."

Leon brought his hand up and rubbed his thumb across her cheek before resting his forehead against her own. "Ok, but hurry back." He dropped a lingering kiss onto her lips and let her drag Letty off Dom's lap and mouth.

Shorty handed a bottle of water to Vince as she passed him and strolled out of the campsite with Letty. They quickly made their way to the stretch of clear pavement for the races and sat along the edges to watch a couple of the evening competitions. Hector had told her that both their own crew and the Toretto's waited until Saturday morning to begin racing. They could easily have won a few races in the first evening but the real money was always made on Saturday. That was the day the big spenders and the over confident Friday night winners started rolling on higher stakes.

As she watched the races she couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of her car and scam money off some poor sucker. However, she would wait with the rest of her crew and make the grand entrance they were used too. Until then she was satisfied to hang around just experiencing the atmosphere. She felt as if small vibrations were thrumming through the air and the hairs on her arms stood on end. Shivers raced down her spine and suddenly she grinned at Letty, "I want to party Lett!"

Letty's throaty laughter reached her ears and she knew Letty had been waiting for her to come out and say it. She stood up and pulled Letty to her feet before they wandered around checking out engines. The engines gleamed in the florescent lights set up in some of the larger campsites. The moon had fully risen and the smell of hot tarmac, engine fumes, fire pits, and overwhelming ecstasy assaulted her nose.

"So, boo, you and Leon done it yet?"

Shorty erupted into laugher as they made their way back to their campsite. "Oh yeah, on the one date we went on that you and V showed up, totally by accident mind you, to chaperone." She snorted before adding, "We haven't made it past a quick grade 9 make out session."

"Oh boo, you need to let him have a grade 9 make out session with your vag," she laughed.

Shorty shoved Letty but laughed along with her. "You kiss your mom with that mouth?"

"No, but I do Dom and he sure doesn't mind!" Letty grinned as they reached their deserted campsite.

The girls quickly looked around before deciding to climb into Mia's trailer to see what she was up to. When they stepped into the trailer they found Mia sprawled across the bottom bunk reading a thick book. "What the hell are you doing?" Shorty cried.

Mia smiled at them before returning her attention to the book in front of her, "Just some light reading."

"I didn't mean that Mia! You should take the top bunk so when V chunders tonight it doesn't drip onto you while you're sleeping," Shorty laughed and bounded over to bunk she was laying across. "Come on girl, we're gonna go dancing! The boys are gone!"

"So?" asked Mia as she shut her book and gathered her clothes. Standing from her bunk she put her stuff up top and moved Vince's to the lower bed.

"So? It means we can do whatever we want!" Letty said as she pulled Mia towards the door.

"Yeah, and?"

"Mia, you have no sense of adventure," Shorty laughed. Digging through Vince's duffle bag she found a small zip up case the size of a cassette tape and opened it. She pulled out two joints and zipped the case up again. "This may inspire you to live a little." She put the case back in the side pocket she had found it and pushed the bag farther back on the mattress. She stood quickly and ushered both Mia and Letty out of the trailer. "Let's jet before they get back!"

"Aren't you gonna wait around for Leon?" Letty asked as she fished a lighter out of her pocket and took the joint Shorty handed her. Letty lit it and took a deep drag before handing it to Shorty.

"Hunny, I don't wait around for any man." Shorty accepted the joint, took a few drags and passed it to Mia as the girls followed the sounds of pulsating music.

Letty burst into laughter at her "strong woman" comment and rolled her eyes. "You have your cell phone on you, don't you?" Shorty blushed furiously but didn't reply. She knew both Letty and Mia had correctly assumed that she had her cell phone on her so Hector, Vince, or Leon could get hold of her.

The music led them to a campsite a few down from their own, large enough to be at least six lots in all. The crowd was throbbing and Shorty's adrenaline spiked as they approached the party around them. Bodies were rubbing together and someone had set up an expansive lighting system with brilliantly coloured strobe lights. Even when the boys returned to the campsite and found them missing they would know exactly where to find them. It would just be difficult to locate them in a sea of sweaty bodies.

Shorty accepted the joint again and crushed the filter under her foot when she finished. She turned her back to the crowd and backed away from Mia and Letty. "Let's do this!" she smirked and badly imitated the Carlton dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her grin stretched across her face before she spun around and bolted into the crowd without Letty or Mia.

She lost herself in the giant swarm and assumed sooner or later the girls would find her, however, for now she was content to dance by herself. She moved her body in rhythm with the beat but allowed no men to place a hand on her. There were times when dancing with men was fun, but this was a time when she just wanted to let loose and dance as if she had no care's in the world. Shorty continued dancing until her hair was glued to the back of her neck and scalp by sweat before she forced her way out of the crowd. Unsure of how long she had been in the crowd of dancers she glanced around looking for Letty or Mia. Her eyes landed on Dom and Vince instead, standing just a few meters away and she bounded over to them in glee.

"Hey boys!" she cried when she stopped in front of them. Her body felt like a vibrating rubber doll, almost like those toy clowns that stick to the ground and swung from side to side when punched. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground; however, she could feel herself swaying. If she could step outside of her body and look at herself she was sure she would see a small female just twitching and twisting in ecstasy.

In actuality she was standing completely still, more erect and motionless than she had ever been before. Vince looked her up and down then stepped closer to her and sniffed deeply. Shorty back peddled quickly and discreetly sniffed the space around her as well. A pungent sickly sweet smell met her nose and her eyes snapped up to meet Vince's.

"You didn't," he said narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I didn't."

"Shorty, please tell me you didn't," he groaned rubbing a huge hand over his face.

"Ohhh, what did she do?" Dom asked smugly.

Shorty kept her face as impassive as she could and looked a Dom, "I didn't do anything." She knew that if she was having this kind of reaction to a couple hits of a joint Mia must be either catatonic or a rippling mess.

"Damn it Shorty!" Vince grumbled.

"I didn't," she answered and slowly took another step away from the men in front of her. "Would I lie to you?" she laughed nervously. "Don't answer that." Shorty turned and sprinted back towards their campsite without glancing over her shoulder to see if Vince was pursuing her. She was sure she needed to get out of there as quick as possible before Vince explained to Dom what she had done. She also knew she needed to be as far away as possible when Dom finally found Letty and Mia or she would lose her life. Because, obviously that joint had been laced with something.

Skidding to a stop in her campsite she found Pedro, Miguel, Leon, Jesse, and Letty sitting around an above ground fire pit in the shape of tepee with a small trap for fire wood. Shorty's jaw dropped to her chest and she stared at Letty through glazed eyes, "Where's Mia?" she shouted louder than necessary.

Letty looked up with equally glazed eyes and grinned from ear to ear, "She passed out about twenty minutes after you disappeared."

Shorty heaved a sigh of relief and entered the small circle of chairs around the fire. She crossed to Leon's seat and slid into his lap, throwing her legs over the side of his chair and resting her head against his warm chest. "Twenty minutes? How long was I dancing?"

Letty looked at the time on her cell phone and grinned again, "About two hours. One second you were there, next second gone."

"Hey gorgeous," Leon whispered as he wrapped his arms around her small form and pulled her closer to his chest. "I thought you'd never show up." He placed a small kiss in her sweaty hair and rested his chin against her head.

Shorty relaxed in Leon's embrace and listened to the boys joke about some of the woman they were planning on spending an hour or two with over the weekend. On their walk they had come across more than their fair share of racer chasers, in fact, half her team had already sealed the deal. Beto, Marvin, and Hector had long ago crawled into a trailer other than their own and would not be seen until the early hours the next day. Slowly Shorty began to come down from her high and surely enough her eyes began to droop closed. She snuck a glance at Letty and found her slumped in her chair, chin resting on her chest, feet crossed at the ankle with light snores issuing through her parted lips.

"Babe?" Shorty whispered and raised her head to look at Leon.

"Mhmm," Leon drawled as he brushed her hair off her face and behind her ear.

"I'm crashin' hard," she yawned as she stood holding her hand out to him. "Come sleep with me?"

"What'll you give me if I do?" he grinned wickedly as he grasped her hand and allowed Shorty to pull him from his seat.

"I'll give you..." she reached up to his ear and slowly took the tip of his earlobe into her mouth. She felt him shudder softly and he pulled her body to his roughly. "The left side," she said loudly as she pushed out of his reach and skipped to her trailer amongst laughter.

Leon groaned in disappointment and threw "Shut up," over his shoulder as he followed her into the trailer.

A/N: Thanks to Bindie for the review. I really appreciate it! Also, thanks to JerZeeSkyLine and XxariesdevilX for the story alerts. You guys rock! So, everyone, please take the time to review, I'm running out of steam on Ch.26 and a little encouragement can go a long way. Cheers!