Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: Leon groaned in disappointment and threw "Shut up," over his shoulder as he followed her into the trailer.

Chapter Seventeen

The scorching sun beat down through the flimsy curtain onto Shorty's face. She groaned at the sunlight but kept her eyes closed tight against the assault. She was curled on her side with her knees drawn up and a warm body glued to her own. Leon was breathing softly into her hair and his arm was curled against her own and tucked under her chin. She was content to lie there comfortable and warm had the sun not kept attacking her. Disengaging herself from Leon's grasp she gently scrambled over his body and stood in the small hallway. She looked in the bunk above her bed and found it completely untouched.

Shorty crossed to the tiny kitchen, grabbing the coffee pot from its stand and filled it quickly before starting the coffee maker. She checked the other two bunks at the front of the trailer only to find them untouched as well and grinned to herself. Her entire team must have found other beds to sleep in last night.

Grabbing her bag from the floor beside her bed she rummaged through it until she found a gold bikini, a small pair of shorts and a loose tank top. She snatched a towel from the closet and stepped into the miniscule bathroom to shower. The water was not as hot as she wanted but warm enough to wake her completely and reignite the excitement she had suppressed from the day before. She dried herself off and quickly dressed throwing her wet hair over shoulder and brushing her teeth roughly. Picking her dirty clothes up off the floor she stepped out of the bathroom and into the hall beside the kitchen. The smell of coffee stung her nostrils and she could hear movement coming from her bed.

Shorty shoved her dirty clothes into her bag and looked up to find Leon stretching languidly. He reached forward and pulled her onto his stomach so she was gazing into his brilliant emerald eyes. "You showered without me," he mumbled and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I didn't want to wake you."

"You should have," he laughed as he moved uncomfortably beneath her. He winked at her when she felt his morning wood press into her thigh.

Rolling her eyes at him she placed another kiss on his lips before she stood back to grab coffee cups for Leon and the team she knew would be arriving any minute. As if on cue Hector pulled the door open and stepped into the trailer. "Hola hermana," Hector said happily. (Hello sister.)

"You swine," Shorty joked as she kissed him on the cheek and grabbed the cream and sugar. "Grab the mugs, aye," she ordered and descended the trailer stairs into the sunlight. "Can you grab my shades too please?"

"Yeah yeah," Hector answered.

Shorty deposited the coffee pot on the Toretto's table and began nosily dragging chairs over to sit in. When Hector handed a pair of mirrored ray ban's to Shorty she slid them on gratefully, "Gracias hermano." (Thank you brother.)

Collapsing into the chair Shorty kicked her Chuck Taylor's off, pulled her feet up and sat cross legged. She could hear the campsites coming alive as people called "Hey's" to their friends returning from a rough night. She could also hear a muffled grunt as the sound of someone bumping into a metal wall met her ears. She could see the door to Vince and Mia's trailer rattling before it was forced open hard enough to slam against the side of the trailer. "Fuckin' door," Vince grumbled as he rubbed a red welt on his forehead.

His eyes were bleary and red as he stumbled down the stairs and slumped to a stop in the chair beside hers. He reached for a coffee mug and poured himself a cup. Taking a deep swig he fisted sleep out of his eyes and groaned. Shorty reached out and rubbed his neck gently as he rolled his broad shoulders. "Sleep well?" she asked.

"No."

Shorty knew when to keep her mouth shut so they sat in silence until Leon wandered over freshly showered and smelling delicious. He was smiling contently and glanced at Shorty's hand wound in Vince's hair. She was happy that Leon wasn't worried about her relationship with Vince. Sure, he probably wasn't thrilled with Vince and her crashing in the same bed but he seemed fine with the affection they bestowed upon each other. Truth be told they were closer than best friends; they were simply family in each other's eyes. Shorty would die for Vince without a second thought and she knew he felt the same way.

"Go shower V. Let's get these races started the right way. Seven G's says I beat you," Shorty said and grinned broadly.

He raised his head and smirked at her. "Eight."

"Whoa, easy Coyote. Seven and a half. You still gotta make rent this month."

"You're on," Vince answered. He downed his coffee in one gulp and climbed the stairs back to his trailer to shower.

"You're gonna break his heart," Leon said.

Shorty rolled her eyes at him. If she lost she'd be upset for the day, if he lost he'd be upset for a year. But she had never raced him and she knew what a thrill it was to race family. She had raced Beto a couple nights after she had returned to L.A. and although she hadn't won, she hadn't lost. She considered it a tie even though the rest of her team said he had been an inch over the line before she had. She had heard about it for weeks before it had died down. Whoever lost this race would hear about it for months to come.

She stood and walked behind his chair wrapping her arms around his neck. "Le, why you gotta be a buzz kill?" she asked.

He wrapped a hand around her wrist and pulled her around his chair and into his lap. "Cause you showered without me," he answered and captured her lips with his own.

"Hello? I'm sitting right here!," Hector cried indignantly.

"So?" Shorty asked when she pulled away from Leon's kiss and looked at her brother.

"So, if I catch you showering with him I'll castrate him."

"Oh, don't worry Hector," she answered breezily, "You won't catch me."

Hector narrowed his eyes to slits and looked at Leon. "I'm serious esé. I will saw it off with a rusty razor and feed it to you."

"Jesus Hector, that's disgusting, you filthy pig," Shorty said as Leon laughed uncertainly. "He's kidding," she added over her shoulder as her brother continued glaring.

"Am I?"

Shorty couldn't help but grin when Leon cleared his throat nervously. Her brother had been fine with her and Leon seeing each other after their initial fight. Of course, she had only seen him for a couple of hours in the following two weeks. Seeing them together for the first time must have wedged itself in his head and he was reverting to the protective older brother whether he wanted to or not. Although, Shorty knew perfectly well he cherished being the over bearing, over protective, just a little bit nuts older brother.

By the time Vince had finished showering and dressing the rest of Shorty's team arrived back to base camp one by one, equally smug grins on their faces. Jesse and Letty were each cradling a mug of coffee while Mia and Dom begun frying bacon on a flat griddle they had brought that fit across Beto's barbeque. Shorty's stomach grumbled loudly and she frothed at the mouth hoping breakfast would be served soon so she could eat then head off to the races for the day.

"You're goin' down," Vince said when he pulled a chair up next to hers and tossed his money onto the table.

"You're not supposed to just give me the money V, you have to wait 'til I beat you," she answered glancing at the money.

"Keep beakin' me sweetheart,' he threatened and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Shorty reclined in her chair and baked in the sun until Dom called "Grub". She shot from her chair behind Vince and raced him to the food. Shoving him out of the way she dug her fork into the bacon and deposited it on her plate before moving along the table to collect pancakes and eggs.

"You're lucky we don't say grace at breakfast," Leon whispered in her ear as he she passed him in line.

Both Shorty and Vince inhaled their breakfast as if it was their last meal. The anticipation of racing each other was more than either of them could handle and they had finished eating before half their teammates has sat down. Shorty pecked Leon on the cheek and threw her plate in the wash bin before pulling her keys from her pocket. "Ready to lose old man?" she teased Vince.

He shook his head and disappeared in his trailer to grab his keys. They walked to their cars in electric silence, savouring the last few minutes of equality together. Shorty knew this would determine for eternity who was the better racer. They could challenge each other another hundred times but from this day forth, the winner was the winner. The race would strengthen their bond but it would also give one of them reason to goad the other for years to come, probably until the day they died.

When they reached their cars they split up and approached the driver's side door. Shorty unlocked it and opened the door slowly placing one leg in before turning to look at Vince. He was in almost the same position and grinning at her in easy friendship. She raised her right hand to her forehead and saluted her best friend before sliding behind her wheel and pulling out of her parking spot.

The races were set up across the compound and there were hundreds of campsites to pass before the reached the line of racers. Vince pulled in the line beside her and rested his head back on his headrest. Shorty had been warmed the line could take hours, however, in less than forty five minutes they had crept to a stop before a white spray painted line.

The quarter mile stretched out in front of them and Shorty blinked in amazement. The sun beat down a blinding haze on the race course and it looked as if the pavement was rising and falling in waves. She knew it was just the heat beating down on the pavement and displaying an eerie mirage or sorts but it was still a little intimidating. She glanced at Vince and found him staring ahead his jaw set in determination.

Shorty looked ahead and placed her left hand loosely on the steering wheel and her right hand tightly on the gear shift. Her nitrous oxide was waiting if she needed it, but she wasn't worried in the least. She knew Vince could drive well, but no one drove better than she and she was willing to place seven and a half grand on that.

She took one more deep breath and nodded at the leggy brunette standing between their cars with her arms raised above her head. The girl looked and Vince and lowered her chin to her chest before dropping her arms. Shorty reacted instantly and released the clutch swinging the car into gear and shooting off the line. She wanted to look back at Vince but she knew she had to keep her eyes on the road in front of her. A quarter mile may be excruciatingly small but a lot could happen in those few seconds.

Shorty shifted into another gear listening to her engine hum proudly below her and she grinned to herself. She had this one in the bag. Vince was eating her dust. And he'd be eating his words in a second which was far the worse in racing standards. Racers were a proud group, they beaked each other constantly, but when they lost it was almost unbearable to swallow their pride and admit defeat.

She was just thinking that when Vince pulled up right beside her. They could only have been racing for a couple seconds but he had quickly regained speed and was neck in neck with her own Nissan. She ground her teeth in irritation and threw her car into the next gear. Vince took that exact moment to perform the same manoeuvre and his car slowly crept forward until her front bumper was in line with his side mirrors. Shorty swore loudly and flipped open the switch that held her NOS button in preparation. The line was almost upon them when she pushed her car into a new gear and punched the button quickly.

The car shuddered violently and shot forward at break neck speed until she was just past Vince's front bumped and meters from the finish line. She grinned wickedly and heaved a sigh of relief.

Her sigh of relief quickly turned to a groan of horror when Vince's car sped past hers and crossed the finish line a hair before her own. Her jaw dropped to her lap and she mechanically slowed the car until they were pulling to the side of the compound and stopping their cars beside each other. Shorty gulped in air filling her stomach instead of her lungs. She felt bloated and humiliated. She could feel a burning blush creeping onto her cheeks and she stared straight ahead when she heard the self righteous knuckle knock on her window. "Hey cutie," Vince sang through the glass.

She couldn't believe it. She had lost. To Vince. She had never expected to lose to Vince. Sure he raced just as good as Dom. But he was impulsive and angered far too quickly. She had thought he would have lost his cool the minute she stole a pace in front of him. But somehow he had kept his head and come out on top. The top was her position and she was numb with defeat.

Swearing to herself she unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car silently. She knew the next few minutes could go one of two ways. Shorty could stomp, bitch, and moan; causing a scene and in the process getting herself into a vocal altercation, ending with a black eye and a disgraced reputation. Or she could shake Vince's hand, congratulate him and take the incessant teasing from their teammates in good humour.

"You win some, you lose some. That's life Lil' Coyote. I'm thirsty, let's go get a beer," Vince said as he pulled her to his chest and lifted her off the ground in a fierce hug.

When he placed her back on her feet she gazed up at the man in front of her. Why he didn't have a girlfriend she would never know. At that particular moment he was the most brilliant man she had ever met. He had just beaten her and brushed it off as a bad day when he known how hard she took defeat. He had single handily whooped her ass and sent her bruised ego soaring in glee.

She placed her seven and half grand in his hand without a second thought before placing a kiss on his glistening forehead. Stepping back into her car she rolled down the window and placed her arm on the door. Shorty was shifting into reverse when a smug voice traveled between the cars and poured into her ear like poison.

"Good doin' business with you, Rookie."

"Son of a bitch!" Shorty swore as she raced after the blue Maxima.

A/N: Thanks to Bindie and Love Ink for the reviews. I'd push hero cookies through the screen if it was possible. MonkeysGoBoo and XXmelissaXXRayanne, thanks for the favorite and story alert. Totally stroked my ego a bit. Keep those reviews coming readers. Hope you enjoyed!