July Jones - Chapter 18
Um...since 'Just Pretending...' isn't ready yet, I'm going to go ahead and post this chapter for OGM. Hope you enjoy hun and that you're not too disappointed by what happens.
Author: BloodyTearsOfLife
Title: July Jones
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: All characters from The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, yada, yada, yada. I only own the ones you don’t know. And no profit is made of this, this is just for mine and hopefully your entertainment.
Summary: July Jones has just learned she's been lied to for the last 10 years. Now she is in LA trying to find the real her but it won't be easy and what happens when she moves next door to the team.
[|All Chapters|] [| Previous Chapter|]
Chapter 18: Moving On
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July first reaction was to kiss back and she began to when Vince’s face floated in her mind. She struggled to pull back and Dom let her go when he felt her push on him. July covered her mouth with her hand and stared at him in horror. It hit him then what he had done: he had kissed Vince’s girl. Dom turned away in shame and they sat in an awkward silence.
“I’m sorry,” Dom said looking at the dashboard.
July didn’t say anything and just started up the car and began to drive back to the garage. She had to get away from him as soon as possible. She parked next to Vince’s car and immediately went inside.
Dom sat in the car, cradling his head in his hands for a moment before exiting the car and going inside. The guys were standing around with puzzled looks on their faces and July and Letty were nowhere to be seen. Vince instantly came over to him and looked at him. Dom couldn’t meet his gaze and stared down at the floor.
“What happened?” Vince ground out. All he knew was that July and Dom hadn’t been gone more than 15 minutes before July came bursting threw the door, tears running down her face, grabbing Letty and disappearing into the back.
Dom searched his brain, trying to figure out what to say. He knew he would have to tell the truth and that made his stomach turn over at the thought of what Vince might say or do.
“I kissed her,” Dom said quietly, so quiet that Vince didn’t hear him.
“What?” Vince asked with a frown.
“I kissed her,” Dom said looking up with apologetic eyes.
Once the words made themselves known in Vince’s brain all he saw was red and he punched Dom with a mean right hook. Dom, who wasn’t prepared for the hit, stumbled and caught himself on a car. His jaw throbbed and he slowly stood up right. Vince’s face was a mask of fury and he could see Leon, Mike, and Jesse’s disapproving looks behind him, all three ready to intervene if the fight continued on.
Vince really wanted to keep kitting Dom, and while he knew it would make him feel better for the moment, it wouldn’t help later on. He shook his head at Dom before turning and leaving towards the back. Letty came out, caught Vince by the arm and whispered into his ear before letting him go.
Letty took one look at Dom and grabbed an icepack from the little fridge they had. Everyone else turned back to work as she handed him the icepack, which he pressed to his face.
“Thanks,” he said wincing slightly at the pain in his jaw.
“At least you got what you deserved,” Letty commented before turning away to help Mike on a car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vince entered the back to see July’s huddled form perched in a chair. She looked up at him and her face fell. Tears swam down her cheeks and she drew in a shaky breath before talking.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” she cried as her tears began to fall faster. Vince sat down next to her and watched as she struggled to make the words come out. “We were in the car…and I raced… and then I pulled over… and he just kissed me. I didn’t try to kiss him,” she explained as Vince ran his eyes over her face. July sat and waited for Vince to yell at her.
Vince knew she was telling the truth and picked up her fragile form and sat down with her in his lap. Anger at Dom filled his body but as he looked down at July, it washed away and was replaced with concern for her. It should have scared him how fast everything was happening. He’d never been the one to be like this, but looking down at July, as she cried because she was afraid he was going to dump her, he couldn’t help but feel lucky to have found her.
“I know,” Vince said as he wiped the tears from her face with his thumb.
“Vince, I’m sorry, so sorry,” she repeated, echoing her words from earlier.
Rage filled him at the thought that July felt that it was her fault. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault,” Vince replied at he smoothed back her hair and stared into her tear filled eyes.
She gave him a watery smile before throwing her arms around his neck and smothering her face into his chest. Her sobs started to fade and her breathing began to deepen. Vince knew she had fallen asleep and pressed a kissed to the top of her head. Standing up, careful not to wake her, he cradled her to his chest and began to walk out. Mike came over to him when he saw him carrying July.
“She okay?” he asked, worry evident on his face.
“Yeah, just tired herself out. I think it’s been a wild week for her. I’m just going to take her up to the house and let her sleep,” Vince answered looking down at July’s sleeping form.
“All right, I’ll bring her car in so you can take yours,” Mike said and Vince gave him a nod before heading out the garage. With a gentleness that could have rivaled Mia’s, he set her in the passenger seat of his car and got in himself.
He pulled up her house and cut the engine. After securing her in his arms, he headed up to her house and maneuvered her so that he could open the door. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he walked up to her bedroom, laying her down on her bed and taking her shoes. He smoothed back her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She began to stir as he started to leave.
“V?” Her voice was drowsy and quiet. “Don’t leave me,” she pleaded and Vince’s heart tugged at the desperation he heard in her voice.
“I won’t,” Vince said as he pulled off his own shoes and lay down next to her. She immediately pressed up against him, intertwining their legs and throwing an arm around his torso.
“Don’t ever leave me,” she murmured sleepily.
“I won’t,” he promised as he held her closer and watched her face. Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing slowed again. He ran his hand through her hair for a bit and watched her sleep. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve this girl but he was going to hold onto her as long as he could. He felt his eyes grow heavy and tried to keep them open to watch her longer but it wasn’t long before he surrendered to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was an hour later when July woke up. The day’s events replayed in her mind and she cringed. Vince must of felt her move because within a few seconds he yawned and opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said, his voice subdued. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. As long as I know you’re not mad,” July answered looking down.
“Hey,” he started placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to look at him. “I’m not mad at you. Dom, now he’s a different story, but you, I’m not mad at,” he said he brought her face up to kiss her.
July kissed him back as her hand began to trail up his chest and grabbed his head, anchoring him to her. Vince held her tight and then rolled over, pinning her beneath him; his weight was comforting against her.
When oxygen became an issue, he released her mouth and began to rain kisses across her jaw and down her neck, smirking as she arched her neck and a small moan escaped her lips. It was his turn to groan as she mimicked his actions, nibbling on his neck. She trailed a hand underneath his shirt and traced his muscles.
Vince grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her again. Her hands stilled as Vince’s hand started to slid underneath her shirt and caress her stomach and new sparks began to ignite within her. She grabbed his hand when it began to play with the button of her jeans.
“Not yet Vince,” she said breathless.
“All right,” he said, his own voice was husky. He gave her one last searing kiss before rolling off her and laying on his side.
“Hey, that didn’t mean we had to stop,” she replied with an impish grin.
Vince let out a laugh before kissing her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next week went by quickly. July had been avoiding Dom like the plague even thought he tried several time to talk to her. Letty and Mike were getting closer and Amy had been over almost every night to hang with Jesse. The team had immediately taken to her. She was a lot like Jesse in that naïve, innocent way and they all thought they made a cute couple.
It was Friday afternoon when July found herself with Vince in her car. They were currently at the track practicing. Vince had taken her every afternoon to practice. He said she was getting pretty good and had some natural skill. He had to help her quiet a bit with the nitrous oxide since she had never used it but after the first couple days, she had mastered it and learned when it was safe time to use it. They had just finished the fifth run of the day and were idling at the start.
“Okay, this time you’re using the nitrous,” Vince said with a grin.
July’s face matched his and then she opened the tanks and flipped the switches. Putting the car into first, she revved the engine and waited for the light. Time seemed to slow down, all she could hear was the engine, and all she saw was the light.
It switched and she let the clutch pop and then the car rushed forward. She shifted, paying special attention to all her gauges. When it was time, she pushed the red button on her steering wheel and both of them were pushed back into their seats. She crossed the finish line and then slowed the car down. She parked the car in the shade and shut the car off. The high from racing still strummed through their bodies and they mutually grabbed each other for a passionate kiss.
Managing to keep their lips together, July crawled over the gearbox and straddled Vince, her leather skirt riding high on her hips. July pressed up close to him as she could, her nerve endings sparking from the close proximity. He grabbed her hips as she ran her hands up his arms and then through his hair.
Their kisses were quick and heated. July’s breathing and moans filled the car as Vince rubbed his hands down her body and kissed her neck. July’s hand made their way underneath Vince’s shirt and tugged it up. Vince released her long enough for her to pull his shirt off. July’s hands sprawled out on his chest and traced every curve of his muscles; they flexed and relaxed under her exploration. Vince watched as she pulled off her shirt and her skin was revealed to him.
Without hesitation, he began to rain kisses down her chest. His hands caressed her back, starting to undo the clutch of her bra when he felt her hands fumbling at the buttons of his jeans, making him stop. Grabbing her hands in his, he kissed each one and held on to them, halting them from going any further.
“What?” July asked, her eyes huge and luminous in her flushed face, her voice only wavering slightly.
“We can’t do this,” he said struggling to say the words.
“Huh?” she asked in confusion before a moment of clarity settled over her and then hurt and anger covered her features. “Oh, I get it, now that you got a glimpse, I’m not good enough for you,” she said, using anger to cover up her embarrassment.
“No, that’s not it,” Vince started as July bent her arms back to refasten her bra.
“Sure, it’s all right, I can deal with this,” she said defensively as she tried to push back her tears and hastily put on her shirt.
“Would you listen to me?” Vince said louder, grabbing her face and making her look at him. He could see the hurt behind her eyes and he mentally kicked himself for not wording it right. “Baby, I would love to do this. You can feel that and you know that. But when I first make love to the women that I love, it’s not going to be in a car at the race tracks,” he finished, searching her eyes. He saw his words sink in, the anger and hurt washing away from her face.
July had heard the wording he had used and the fact that he was refusing because of the situation, not because of her. She took these things to heart and couldn’t help but fall that much more for Vince.
“You love me?” she asked quietly.
Vince swallowed the lump in his throat and told himself to be brave. He loved this girl and it was time to be honest with her about it.
“I love you,” he said, his thumb stroking her cheekbone.
“I love you too,” July said and they kissed. It was tentative and sweet, carrying the newfound declaration. When the kiss ended, July leaned her forehead against his and stared into his eyes. “So am I ready?” she asked.
“Ready for what?”
“To race,” she answered, her lips brushing ever so lightly against his as she spoke.
“Yeah, you’re good to go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was Saturday night and races were on. After July and Vince returned back to the house, Vince had quickly talked to Dom about July racing and Dom instantly agree, still feeling guilty. All four girls were currently in July’s room. Mia and Amy had arrived only a few minutes ago, completely ready and now were helping July. July could swear they had been through her whole wardrobe and she still hadn’t found anything to wear. Letty was starting to get impatient and finally stood up and left the room. The remaining girls gaped at the door until Letty return holding an outfit. July took one look at it and knew it was the one.
It was a low, spaghetti strap shirt made of a blue shimmery material. It stopped about an inch or two below her breast but had fringes that fell to her belly button. Letty tossed her a black skirt that had a diagonal cut starting from mid thigh and stopped just below her knee. July gave her a thanks before taking the outfit and running to the bathroom.
Once she had changed, she came back out and found Letty equally ready. She was dressed in a red leather skirt, a tight black tube top, and a sleeveless red mesh shirt to go over that had a jagged cut edge on the bottom. Only a few steps into the room, Mia attacked July and starting on her makeup.
“You know, I’m fully capable of doing this myself,” July said as Mia began to put on a bluish-silver eyeliner that made her eyes look bluer.
“Oh hush, or I might poke your eye out with this,” Mia ordered as she started on her other eye. Finished with the eyeliner, she added some black mascara and tinted her lips with a sparkly lipgloss. Amy brushed out her hair and left it down.
When Letty came out, they started on her. Letty resisted until Mia accidentally poked Letty in the eye with the eyeliner. After that, Letty sat still until Mia was done and gave her a death glare.
“That hurt,” Letty said with mock anger.
“That’s what you get for not holding still,” Mia answered back smugly.
Letty just shook her head at her and then turned back to the mirror to put her hair up. July and Letty were just finishing putting on their boots when Vince yelled at them to come down or they were leaving without them. Mia and Amy both grabbed their purses while July and Letty grabbed their wallets and then they headed downstairs.
The guys were speechless as they descended down the stairs. Each guy grabbed their respective girl and complimented them. A horn honked outside and they all knew it was Dom. They all exited the house, July locking the door behind her. Mia rode with Brian, Mike with Letty, Amy with Jesse, and Vince and July rode together much to Dom’s dismay, but he didn’t put up much of a fight on the issue. They all loaded up into their cars and began to make their way to the warehouses.
They were late to arrive and were the last ones as usual, drawing all the attention. Inside the tinted windows, July could see all the questioning and wondering faces. When they had stopped, everyone’s eyes were on the unfamiliar car that was rolling with the Torettos’. Vince smirked at her and gave her a kiss before they opened the doors.
A hush feel over everyone as they watched the vert doors open and July and Vince get out. July could hear the whispers starting up in the crowd and heard them double when Vince put his arm around her. He smiled at her and started to play with the fringes on her shirt; she knew they were driving him crazy. They formed a perfect curtain around her but every time she moved, the fringes swayed and exposed her smooth stomach to him.
Everyone had got out of their cars and July looked over at Mike; his eyes were large, trying to take everything in and he looked like a little boy in a toy store. Letty was standing next to him and behind her, Jesse and Amy were sitting on his hood talking, and for once Jesse was more interested in what Amy was talking about than the cars around him. They both nodded at Leon who was chatting up some girls on the side as they made there way over to where Dom was talking to Hector.
“Well chica, looks like you got a sweet ride,” Hector said his eyes showing his double meaning.
“I do, don’t I?” she said, pulling Vince closer to her and giving him a smile.
“So how are we doing this?” Hector asked, turning back to Dom.
“July’s racing tonight. 2G buy in, winner takes all,” he answered not once looking at July.
“This your first race sweet cheeks?” Hector asked as he collected the roll of money that Dom held out.
“Yup,” July said trying to be confident.
“I know just who to grab.” Hector said sharing a look with Dom. With a wink to July, he turned and began to weave through the crowd looking for three more racers.
“Thanks for fronting the money,” July said tight-lipped.
“You’re welcome,” Dome replied, not looking straight at her but over her shoulder. Mike interrupted any further talking and Dom slipped away.
“So you really racing?” Mike asked, his eyes shiny with excitement.
“Yeah, isn’t it awesome,” July said the excitement in her voice matching his.
“I’m one jealous puppy,” he commented with a pout.
“Well maybe with your money you can get a better car and we’ll fix it up,” July suggested.
“What money? Oh, that money,” Mike trailed off, his excitement gone like a candle being blown out.
“Oh Mikey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” July said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” he answered with a sigh. “I need to do this. I need to be able to move on and talk about it,” he continued, his voice gaining strength with every word.
“I know but I still didn’t need to,” she started again.
“It’s okay, really. Someone’s been helping me a lot and it’s getting better,” Mike said looking over at Letty.
July was bubbling on the inside with happiness that Letty and Mike were getting closer. They would be good together. They both knew the heartache of getting cheated on and would never do it to each other. Letty came walking over and they all talked until Hector showed a few minutes later.
“Okay girly, I got the other three, we’re on,” he said with a smirk before disappearing into the crowd again. The people close by began to circulate the word and everyone headed to their cars. It was time to race.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc…
Just two more chapters to go!
Author: BloodyTearsOfLife
Title: July Jones
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: All characters from The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, yada, yada, yada. I only own the ones you don’t know. And no profit is made of this, this is just for mine and hopefully your entertainment.
Summary: July Jones has just learned she's been lied to for the last 10 years. Now she is in LA trying to find the real her but it won't be easy and what happens when she moves next door to the team.
[|All Chapters|] [| Previous Chapter|]
Chapter 18: Moving On
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July first reaction was to kiss back and she began to when Vince’s face floated in her mind. She struggled to pull back and Dom let her go when he felt her push on him. July covered her mouth with her hand and stared at him in horror. It hit him then what he had done: he had kissed Vince’s girl. Dom turned away in shame and they sat in an awkward silence.
“I’m sorry,” Dom said looking at the dashboard.
July didn’t say anything and just started up the car and began to drive back to the garage. She had to get away from him as soon as possible. She parked next to Vince’s car and immediately went inside.
Dom sat in the car, cradling his head in his hands for a moment before exiting the car and going inside. The guys were standing around with puzzled looks on their faces and July and Letty were nowhere to be seen. Vince instantly came over to him and looked at him. Dom couldn’t meet his gaze and stared down at the floor.
“What happened?” Vince ground out. All he knew was that July and Dom hadn’t been gone more than 15 minutes before July came bursting threw the door, tears running down her face, grabbing Letty and disappearing into the back.
Dom searched his brain, trying to figure out what to say. He knew he would have to tell the truth and that made his stomach turn over at the thought of what Vince might say or do.
“I kissed her,” Dom said quietly, so quiet that Vince didn’t hear him.
“What?” Vince asked with a frown.
“I kissed her,” Dom said looking up with apologetic eyes.
Once the words made themselves known in Vince’s brain all he saw was red and he punched Dom with a mean right hook. Dom, who wasn’t prepared for the hit, stumbled and caught himself on a car. His jaw throbbed and he slowly stood up right. Vince’s face was a mask of fury and he could see Leon, Mike, and Jesse’s disapproving looks behind him, all three ready to intervene if the fight continued on.
Vince really wanted to keep kitting Dom, and while he knew it would make him feel better for the moment, it wouldn’t help later on. He shook his head at Dom before turning and leaving towards the back. Letty came out, caught Vince by the arm and whispered into his ear before letting him go.
Letty took one look at Dom and grabbed an icepack from the little fridge they had. Everyone else turned back to work as she handed him the icepack, which he pressed to his face.
“Thanks,” he said wincing slightly at the pain in his jaw.
“At least you got what you deserved,” Letty commented before turning away to help Mike on a car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vince entered the back to see July’s huddled form perched in a chair. She looked up at him and her face fell. Tears swam down her cheeks and she drew in a shaky breath before talking.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” she cried as her tears began to fall faster. Vince sat down next to her and watched as she struggled to make the words come out. “We were in the car…and I raced… and then I pulled over… and he just kissed me. I didn’t try to kiss him,” she explained as Vince ran his eyes over her face. July sat and waited for Vince to yell at her.
Vince knew she was telling the truth and picked up her fragile form and sat down with her in his lap. Anger at Dom filled his body but as he looked down at July, it washed away and was replaced with concern for her. It should have scared him how fast everything was happening. He’d never been the one to be like this, but looking down at July, as she cried because she was afraid he was going to dump her, he couldn’t help but feel lucky to have found her.
“I know,” Vince said as he wiped the tears from her face with his thumb.
“Vince, I’m sorry, so sorry,” she repeated, echoing her words from earlier.
Rage filled him at the thought that July felt that it was her fault. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault,” Vince replied at he smoothed back her hair and stared into her tear filled eyes.
She gave him a watery smile before throwing her arms around his neck and smothering her face into his chest. Her sobs started to fade and her breathing began to deepen. Vince knew she had fallen asleep and pressed a kissed to the top of her head. Standing up, careful not to wake her, he cradled her to his chest and began to walk out. Mike came over to him when he saw him carrying July.
“She okay?” he asked, worry evident on his face.
“Yeah, just tired herself out. I think it’s been a wild week for her. I’m just going to take her up to the house and let her sleep,” Vince answered looking down at July’s sleeping form.
“All right, I’ll bring her car in so you can take yours,” Mike said and Vince gave him a nod before heading out the garage. With a gentleness that could have rivaled Mia’s, he set her in the passenger seat of his car and got in himself.
He pulled up her house and cut the engine. After securing her in his arms, he headed up to her house and maneuvered her so that he could open the door. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he walked up to her bedroom, laying her down on her bed and taking her shoes. He smoothed back her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She began to stir as he started to leave.
“V?” Her voice was drowsy and quiet. “Don’t leave me,” she pleaded and Vince’s heart tugged at the desperation he heard in her voice.
“I won’t,” Vince said as he pulled off his own shoes and lay down next to her. She immediately pressed up against him, intertwining their legs and throwing an arm around his torso.
“Don’t ever leave me,” she murmured sleepily.
“I won’t,” he promised as he held her closer and watched her face. Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing slowed again. He ran his hand through her hair for a bit and watched her sleep. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve this girl but he was going to hold onto her as long as he could. He felt his eyes grow heavy and tried to keep them open to watch her longer but it wasn’t long before he surrendered to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was an hour later when July woke up. The day’s events replayed in her mind and she cringed. Vince must of felt her move because within a few seconds he yawned and opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said, his voice subdued. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. As long as I know you’re not mad,” July answered looking down.
“Hey,” he started placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to look at him. “I’m not mad at you. Dom, now he’s a different story, but you, I’m not mad at,” he said he brought her face up to kiss her.
July kissed him back as her hand began to trail up his chest and grabbed his head, anchoring him to her. Vince held her tight and then rolled over, pinning her beneath him; his weight was comforting against her.
When oxygen became an issue, he released her mouth and began to rain kisses across her jaw and down her neck, smirking as she arched her neck and a small moan escaped her lips. It was his turn to groan as she mimicked his actions, nibbling on his neck. She trailed a hand underneath his shirt and traced his muscles.
Vince grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her again. Her hands stilled as Vince’s hand started to slid underneath her shirt and caress her stomach and new sparks began to ignite within her. She grabbed his hand when it began to play with the button of her jeans.
“Not yet Vince,” she said breathless.
“All right,” he said, his own voice was husky. He gave her one last searing kiss before rolling off her and laying on his side.
“Hey, that didn’t mean we had to stop,” she replied with an impish grin.
Vince let out a laugh before kissing her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next week went by quickly. July had been avoiding Dom like the plague even thought he tried several time to talk to her. Letty and Mike were getting closer and Amy had been over almost every night to hang with Jesse. The team had immediately taken to her. She was a lot like Jesse in that naïve, innocent way and they all thought they made a cute couple.
It was Friday afternoon when July found herself with Vince in her car. They were currently at the track practicing. Vince had taken her every afternoon to practice. He said she was getting pretty good and had some natural skill. He had to help her quiet a bit with the nitrous oxide since she had never used it but after the first couple days, she had mastered it and learned when it was safe time to use it. They had just finished the fifth run of the day and were idling at the start.
“Okay, this time you’re using the nitrous,” Vince said with a grin.
July’s face matched his and then she opened the tanks and flipped the switches. Putting the car into first, she revved the engine and waited for the light. Time seemed to slow down, all she could hear was the engine, and all she saw was the light.
It switched and she let the clutch pop and then the car rushed forward. She shifted, paying special attention to all her gauges. When it was time, she pushed the red button on her steering wheel and both of them were pushed back into their seats. She crossed the finish line and then slowed the car down. She parked the car in the shade and shut the car off. The high from racing still strummed through their bodies and they mutually grabbed each other for a passionate kiss.
Managing to keep their lips together, July crawled over the gearbox and straddled Vince, her leather skirt riding high on her hips. July pressed up close to him as she could, her nerve endings sparking from the close proximity. He grabbed her hips as she ran her hands up his arms and then through his hair.
Their kisses were quick and heated. July’s breathing and moans filled the car as Vince rubbed his hands down her body and kissed her neck. July’s hand made their way underneath Vince’s shirt and tugged it up. Vince released her long enough for her to pull his shirt off. July’s hands sprawled out on his chest and traced every curve of his muscles; they flexed and relaxed under her exploration. Vince watched as she pulled off her shirt and her skin was revealed to him.
Without hesitation, he began to rain kisses down her chest. His hands caressed her back, starting to undo the clutch of her bra when he felt her hands fumbling at the buttons of his jeans, making him stop. Grabbing her hands in his, he kissed each one and held on to them, halting them from going any further.
“What?” July asked, her eyes huge and luminous in her flushed face, her voice only wavering slightly.
“We can’t do this,” he said struggling to say the words.
“Huh?” she asked in confusion before a moment of clarity settled over her and then hurt and anger covered her features. “Oh, I get it, now that you got a glimpse, I’m not good enough for you,” she said, using anger to cover up her embarrassment.
“No, that’s not it,” Vince started as July bent her arms back to refasten her bra.
“Sure, it’s all right, I can deal with this,” she said defensively as she tried to push back her tears and hastily put on her shirt.
“Would you listen to me?” Vince said louder, grabbing her face and making her look at him. He could see the hurt behind her eyes and he mentally kicked himself for not wording it right. “Baby, I would love to do this. You can feel that and you know that. But when I first make love to the women that I love, it’s not going to be in a car at the race tracks,” he finished, searching her eyes. He saw his words sink in, the anger and hurt washing away from her face.
July had heard the wording he had used and the fact that he was refusing because of the situation, not because of her. She took these things to heart and couldn’t help but fall that much more for Vince.
“You love me?” she asked quietly.
Vince swallowed the lump in his throat and told himself to be brave. He loved this girl and it was time to be honest with her about it.
“I love you,” he said, his thumb stroking her cheekbone.
“I love you too,” July said and they kissed. It was tentative and sweet, carrying the newfound declaration. When the kiss ended, July leaned her forehead against his and stared into his eyes. “So am I ready?” she asked.
“Ready for what?”
“To race,” she answered, her lips brushing ever so lightly against his as she spoke.
“Yeah, you’re good to go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was Saturday night and races were on. After July and Vince returned back to the house, Vince had quickly talked to Dom about July racing and Dom instantly agree, still feeling guilty. All four girls were currently in July’s room. Mia and Amy had arrived only a few minutes ago, completely ready and now were helping July. July could swear they had been through her whole wardrobe and she still hadn’t found anything to wear. Letty was starting to get impatient and finally stood up and left the room. The remaining girls gaped at the door until Letty return holding an outfit. July took one look at it and knew it was the one.
It was a low, spaghetti strap shirt made of a blue shimmery material. It stopped about an inch or two below her breast but had fringes that fell to her belly button. Letty tossed her a black skirt that had a diagonal cut starting from mid thigh and stopped just below her knee. July gave her a thanks before taking the outfit and running to the bathroom.
Once she had changed, she came back out and found Letty equally ready. She was dressed in a red leather skirt, a tight black tube top, and a sleeveless red mesh shirt to go over that had a jagged cut edge on the bottom. Only a few steps into the room, Mia attacked July and starting on her makeup.
“You know, I’m fully capable of doing this myself,” July said as Mia began to put on a bluish-silver eyeliner that made her eyes look bluer.
“Oh hush, or I might poke your eye out with this,” Mia ordered as she started on her other eye. Finished with the eyeliner, she added some black mascara and tinted her lips with a sparkly lipgloss. Amy brushed out her hair and left it down.
When Letty came out, they started on her. Letty resisted until Mia accidentally poked Letty in the eye with the eyeliner. After that, Letty sat still until Mia was done and gave her a death glare.
“That hurt,” Letty said with mock anger.
“That’s what you get for not holding still,” Mia answered back smugly.
Letty just shook her head at her and then turned back to the mirror to put her hair up. July and Letty were just finishing putting on their boots when Vince yelled at them to come down or they were leaving without them. Mia and Amy both grabbed their purses while July and Letty grabbed their wallets and then they headed downstairs.
The guys were speechless as they descended down the stairs. Each guy grabbed their respective girl and complimented them. A horn honked outside and they all knew it was Dom. They all exited the house, July locking the door behind her. Mia rode with Brian, Mike with Letty, Amy with Jesse, and Vince and July rode together much to Dom’s dismay, but he didn’t put up much of a fight on the issue. They all loaded up into their cars and began to make their way to the warehouses.
They were late to arrive and were the last ones as usual, drawing all the attention. Inside the tinted windows, July could see all the questioning and wondering faces. When they had stopped, everyone’s eyes were on the unfamiliar car that was rolling with the Torettos’. Vince smirked at her and gave her a kiss before they opened the doors.
A hush feel over everyone as they watched the vert doors open and July and Vince get out. July could hear the whispers starting up in the crowd and heard them double when Vince put his arm around her. He smiled at her and started to play with the fringes on her shirt; she knew they were driving him crazy. They formed a perfect curtain around her but every time she moved, the fringes swayed and exposed her smooth stomach to him.
Everyone had got out of their cars and July looked over at Mike; his eyes were large, trying to take everything in and he looked like a little boy in a toy store. Letty was standing next to him and behind her, Jesse and Amy were sitting on his hood talking, and for once Jesse was more interested in what Amy was talking about than the cars around him. They both nodded at Leon who was chatting up some girls on the side as they made there way over to where Dom was talking to Hector.
“Well chica, looks like you got a sweet ride,” Hector said his eyes showing his double meaning.
“I do, don’t I?” she said, pulling Vince closer to her and giving him a smile.
“So how are we doing this?” Hector asked, turning back to Dom.
“July’s racing tonight. 2G buy in, winner takes all,” he answered not once looking at July.
“This your first race sweet cheeks?” Hector asked as he collected the roll of money that Dom held out.
“Yup,” July said trying to be confident.
“I know just who to grab.” Hector said sharing a look with Dom. With a wink to July, he turned and began to weave through the crowd looking for three more racers.
“Thanks for fronting the money,” July said tight-lipped.
“You’re welcome,” Dome replied, not looking straight at her but over her shoulder. Mike interrupted any further talking and Dom slipped away.
“So you really racing?” Mike asked, his eyes shiny with excitement.
“Yeah, isn’t it awesome,” July said the excitement in her voice matching his.
“I’m one jealous puppy,” he commented with a pout.
“Well maybe with your money you can get a better car and we’ll fix it up,” July suggested.
“What money? Oh, that money,” Mike trailed off, his excitement gone like a candle being blown out.
“Oh Mikey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” July said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” he answered with a sigh. “I need to do this. I need to be able to move on and talk about it,” he continued, his voice gaining strength with every word.
“I know but I still didn’t need to,” she started again.
“It’s okay, really. Someone’s been helping me a lot and it’s getting better,” Mike said looking over at Letty.
July was bubbling on the inside with happiness that Letty and Mike were getting closer. They would be good together. They both knew the heartache of getting cheated on and would never do it to each other. Letty came walking over and they all talked until Hector showed a few minutes later.
“Okay girly, I got the other three, we’re on,” he said with a smirk before disappearing into the crowd again. The people close by began to circulate the word and everyone headed to their cars. It was time to race.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc…
Just two more chapters to go!