Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: "Be quiet then," Leon whispered and captured her lips again. He deepened the kiss until her resolve broke. She pulled her arms from his grasp and entwined one hand in his sweaty waves. When his callused hand pushed under her bikini top she knew she had lost the game. Twice in one day.

Chapter Nineteen

Shorty lay curled around Leon as he lounged on his back and softly stroked the back of her arm. The silence stretched on while Shorty propped her head up on Leon's chest and gazed at him. His eyes were closed against the sunlight streaming in through the drapes and she knew if he opened them they would shine like the brightest emerald. A smile touched his lips and Shorty felt her heart flutter uncomfortably. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?" he asked opening his eyes and catching her own.

"I'm not staring."

"Mhmm, and what're you doing then?"

"Ogling."

Leon laughed loudly, "You know that's just another word for staring right?"

She crawled up his body until her head was resting beside his on the pillow. He turned onto his side and rubbed the sensitive flesh in the small of her back. "No it's not."

"Yeah baby, it is."

"Shut up," she answered and flicked the tip of his nose with index finger.

Leon pushed onto his elbows and grinned down at her, "Shut up, hey? Shut up? Is the rookie mad?"

Shorty inhaled sharply and narrowed her eyes. Before Leon could respond she was straddling him, his jeans chaffing her thighs and the bed sheet dropping around her waist. "You wise ass. I'm no fuckin' rookie," she growled as she furiously tickled his sides.

Leon snickered at her attempt to subdue him before grasping her by the wrists. He held her still and gazed up at her naked chest openly. She felt a blush creep to the tops of her ears but she sat still under his intense gaze. When Leon flipped her on her back and lowered his head towards hers she expected a passionate kiss but received a raspberry between her breasts. She shrieked in disgust and shoved at his head roughly. "Get off!" she laughed.

Two loud bangs sounded on the window beside their heads and they both froze. "Get the fuck off my sister esé. Shorty, get out here. Now."

"Ohhhh, you're in trouble now," Shorty snickered as she scooted to the end of the bed and stood. The bed sheet fell to the ground and she grinned over her shoulder when she saw Leon memorizing every inch of her naked flesh. "Hand me my clothes, pervert."

Leon shook his head and threw her the bikini bottoms and top he had picked off the bed, "Who you callin' a pervert?"

Shorty quickly slipped back into her bikini followed by her jean shorts and loose tank top. She bent down and whispered, "But you're my pervert," into his ear before grabbing his hands and hauling him to his feet. Leon was still clad in his baggy jeans but he pulled his jersey back on and slipped into his dusty boots. He nuzzled into the back of her neck as they stepped out of the trailer. Every team member looked towards them and grinned. Every member, except two of course.

She rolled her eyes at the two men sitting forward in their chairs, elbows resting on their knees. They had moved their chairs closer together and squeezed a chair between them. Vince pointed at her and indicated the chair between himself and Hector. An exasperated sigh issued from her lips before she stepped out of Leon's arms and cast an apologetic look over her shoulder. He shrugged nonchalantly and gave her a firm pat on the behind as she walked towards her chair.

"I'm a big girl, boys," she grunted as she dropped into the chair between her best friend and brother. She felt like the chair was a small prison built to house only her. She understood why they were acting as they were but it was starting to wear thin. Leon was her decision and so far he had given them no cause to roll in on their white horses and sweep her to safety. She sat silently as Pedro built a fire in the pit and slowly the laughter and talking returned to the circle.

Shorty could feel Leon sneaking glances at her whenever her brother and Vince weren't looking. She couldn't help grinning to herself and would let her own eyes linger on Leon until something else drew her attention. She was glancing around at her family when she noticed how withdrawn Mia was from the group around her. She was sitting a little behind Dom and gazing into the fire. It was obvious she was lost in thought and Shorty wondered what had upset her enough that she wasn't interfering in the lives of others. After all, she had lost to Vince and disappeared with Leon. That was like kindling for Mia's internal fire. She should be sitting beside her now demanding to know why she had lost and what exactly had happened in the trailer.

She was still wondering about Mia when Marvin and Beto hauled dinner to the table and called "Grub!"

"I already ate," Leon winked at her.

Letty's harsh laughter filled the air and Shorty jumped out of her seat before her brother or Vince could comment. Her cheeks burnt hot and she smacked Leon's arm as she past him to the table.

A soft thud, followed by "What the fuck V?" told her Vince had mirrored her actions, albeit a little more forcefully. She could hear Vince muttering under his breath and prayed Hector would steer clear of Leon until he could clear his head.

Shorty piled her plate with fajitas and grabbed an ice cold Corona before returning to her seat. The tension around the campfire after Leon's comment was palpable. She wanted to get as far away from Hector and Vince's prying eyes before she melted under their intense glares. She was twenty three, almost twenty four for God's sake. Did they think she was a fucking virgin? Vince, least of all, knew she wasn't as innocent as Hector seemed to believe.

Her plate was clean within a few minutes and she guzzled the rest of her beer in one swig. She deposited her paper plate into the garbage and motioned for Letty and Mia to follow her. They discarded their empty plates and bottles before rising and moving to her side. Shorty stooped and grasped three beers around the neck, handing one to each of the women. "We'll be back later," she said over her shoulder as she hauled ass out of their campsite.

"Where we going?" Mia asked when they were out of earshot of the men.

"My testosterone level is spiking, I can practically feel the hair growing on my back. I needed to get out of there," Shorty answered.

"Yeah right, boo. You needed to get out of there before V and Hec locked you in the trailer."

"Like I'm worried about that."

"Mhmm," Mia giggled, "Then why did we have to leave?"

"My vagina was drying up!" Shorty exclaimed in exasperation.

"Leon didn't seem to mind," Letty chuckled and bumped her hip against Shorty's.

Mia chuckled along with Letty as the familiar creep of embarrassment crept back onto her cheeks. She knew the team would suspect something had happened. But whatever had was between her and Leon. She hadn't grown up around woman and didn't understand the need to talk about it. She could see Letty's comment was leading into a discussion that she didn't really want to take part in.

"Don't make me punch you in the ovary Lett. And before you ask, no we didn't fuck and that's all you're getting."

"I'd tell you if I fucked Dom today," Letty grunted.

Mia groaned loudly and slapped a hand over Letty's mouth. "Please don't."

"You fuck Dom every day, where's the news in that?" Shorty laughed as Mia covered her own ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You bitch!" Letty laughed and shoved Shorty from her side. "I do not."

"Girl, you couldn't go a day."

"Would you two please shut up? Talk about something else. Talk about engines for fuck's sake," Mia pleaded loudly.

"Sure," Shorty answered before glancing at Mia. "What's up with you? You've been moping around since we rolled in."

Mia looked at Shorty in shock. She cast her eyes down at the ground and shrugged. "Nothing's wrong. I'm great. Better than great, I'm fantastic actually."

Shorty knew Mia was lying, and had one of the men asked her they probably would have believed it. The lie had just rolled off her tongue so easily she herself barely questioned it. She thought back to the weeks leading up to Race Wars and couldn't place any significant upsets to have her friend so down. She nudged Mia's shoulder and the girls sat on a dusty old couch set up to watch the races.

The sun was dipping below the horizon and Shorty watched it silently, waiting for Mia to gain the courage to speak. The darkness crept towards them quickly and they could all hear the many parties starting back at campsites. The saturday night often got rowdier than Friday and she knew sooner or later she'd be back at her campsite participating. However, first and foremost she and Letty had a job to do. They were the only vagina's in a group of dicks and they needed to stick together. She loved her boys more than anything and cherished their friendships but sometimes girls just needed girls to talk to. And she could tell Mia was in need of one of those times.

"I just miss him so much," Mia cried suddenly and dropped her head into her hands.

Shorty looked at Letty uncertainly her face questioning who Mia was talking about. Letty rolled her eyes at Shorty and wrapped an arm around Mia's shoulder and pulled her to her chest. She rocked her softly and let her sob loudly. Shorty slid closer until she was pressed against Mia's side and placed a comforting hand on her thigh. She was new to female companionship still and tears unnerved her.

Slowly Mia's breathing began to even out and less sniffles issued from her nose. She raised her bloodshot eyes and patchy face and stared into the darkness ahead. "Have you called him?" Letty asked.

"No, you know Dom. If he ever found out, he'd kill him. I won't be the reason he ends up in jail again."

"Come on Mia, if you miss him that much, call him. I'll handle Dom."

Listening to the girls talk raised a memory of Vince explaining about the heists. Explaining something about Mia falling for the buster. The same buster who had torn their family apart and sent them running to Mexico to hide out. Sure, he hadn't ratted them out but she understood how furious Dom would be, how betrayed the team would feel if she forgave the buster for everything he had done to them. It wasn't her place to give opinions so she clasped Mia's hand in her own and listened to Letty's attempts at comfort.

"You hate Brian, Lett."

"Yeah, but I love you and you love him. I'll make my peace with him if that's what you want. But Mia, you haven't let yourself move on. You haven't been on a date in over a year."

"I miss him," Mia answered as she brushed a stray tear off her cheek. "I want to be with him but then I don't. He lied to me. He betrayed me. Maybe you're right," she sighed. "Maybe I need to get over him."

"That's your decision girl," Letty said as she grinned at Mia. "And the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else!"

Shorty laughed along with Letty while Mia tried not to smile. "You're too good for the buster, girl," she added and stood from her seat. She raised the beer bottle in the air and shook it side to side, "I'm all out." She snatched Mia's bottle from between her knees and swallowed the rest before Mia could reach for her beer. "Gee, and it looks like you are too. Can't have that, can we Lett?"

"Fuck no!" she answered and hauled Mia to her feet.

Mia straightened her tank top and looked at Shorty, "You think I should move on?"

Shorty shrugged uncertainly. "I'm not really good at giving advice girl. How about sarcasm?"

A small giggle tumbled out of Mia's mouth and she shook her head. "What the hell am I going to do with you two? Sex and sarcasm are all you guys are good for."

"Yeah, about that, can we keep that on the DL? Hector has no problem locking me up and I'd like to stay out of handcuffs," Shorty said before quickly correcting herself. "Unless Leon's putting them on."

The girls laughed and turned back towards the campsites. It was obvious Mia was feeling better even though neither she nor Letty had been much help. Maybe she'd call Brian; maybe she'd suck it up and move on. But for now, they walked back to camp arm in arm ready for whatever crazy adventure awaited them that night.

A/N: An update before I head out to the great white north in the morning. Thanks to Ashes and Alez for their reviews, I'm glad you're sticking around to watch it unfold. Shout out to nairn1572 for the favorite. Cheers!