July Jones, Chapter 19
Okay, one more chapter to go after this!
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 19: Proving Yourself
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The cars were lined up and down the main drag for more than a quarter of a mile. July sat in her car at the starting line. Everyone had wished her good luck and reassured her that she would win but when it came down to it, it was just her: this would either make or break her. Vince gave her a good luck kiss before getting into Dom’s car and heading down to the finish line. Vince hadn’t forgiven Dom yet but they were on civil terms so far.
Turning on her stereo, she got the car ready for the race, opening the tanks and flipping the switches. She sat back in her seat and surveyed the competition. She was in Dom’s usual spot on the outer right edge and looked over.
There was a maroon Altima next to her, then a white CRX, and then a light blue Lancer. The drivers were all male and all had different expressions on their faces. The guy in the Altima looked slightly bored about racing against her while the guy in the CRX looked slightly impressed that she was racing. The guy in the Lancer looked cocky and just gave her a smirk like he knew she was going to lose. His arrogant smile did it for her and she knew she was going to win; there was no doubt about it. She was going to take that stupid look off his face and show him that being a girl didn’t make you bad.
Looking out the window, she saw Leon listening to the scanners a couple feet down. She saw him raise the two-way radio and speak into it; it was time. The butterflies in her tummy went into double time and continued to make their presence known as Hector raised his hands up. Pushing down on the clutch and shifting the car into first, she waited. Her grip was so hard that her hands started to ache. She relaxed her grip a bit and took a deep breath. She revved the car and her opponents mimicked the action.
Her car took off from the starting line with a roar as Hector dropped his hands. Not once did she look to the side or in her rearview mirror. She honed herself on listening to the engine and shifting at the right moment.
She momentarily looked down at her gauges and saw she was ready for a shot of nitrous. Taking a deep breath, she moved her thumb from the steering wheel and pressed down on the red button. The g-force pushed her back into the seat and her tires gave a small squeal as her car lunged forward. All the cars and people blurred into a blob of color as the car flew down the road.
She passed the finish line with a small cry of joy. She slowed down and then made a u-turn and drove back to the finish line. Vince was waiting for her at the side and she leaped into his arms as she got out.
“I did it,” she cried above the cheering, her voice still breathless.
“Told ya you could do it,” he replied with a smile.
“Oh shut up monkey boy and kiss me,” she said and Vince gave her a grumble before happily capturing her lips.
They broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat. July looked over to see Hector holding out her money. Vince lowered her down and July took the money from Hector.
“Thanks,” she said with a big smile, the adrenaline still making her giddy.
Hector just smirked at her before turning around and starting to organize another race. Everyone surrounded her and congratulated her. Pulling a roll from her stack of money, she made her way over to Dom, who was standing on the sidelines.
“Here’s your money,” she said holding out the roll.
“You keep it,” he ordered, looking down at it.
“I don’t want your pity money,” she snapped before taking a deep breath. “Look, I understand that you’re sorry and I'm glad that you realize you made a mistake and I forgive you. It’s Vince that you’re going to have to make it up to. I owe you this money so please take it,” July said holding it closer to him. With a dejected sigh, Dom took the money and gave her a meaningful look.
“You think he hates me?” he asked.
“He couldn’t hate you. Just give him some time and don’t be an ass,” she said with a smirk. Dom shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. July turned around and started to walk back to her car when Dom grabbed her by the arm.
“I just wanted to say I was sorry,” he said when she turned around. He let go of her arm and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“I know and I forgive you,” she replied with a tense smile. Being around Dom still unsettled her a bit. She then turned and headed back to Vince. He was taut and began to relax as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
“What was that all about?” he asked, his voice a dangerous growl.
“Just gave him his money and he told me sorry,” she answered casually.
“Oh,” he replied, trying to keep his cool. Suspicion didn’t get him anywhere with July; he had learned that with the little scuffle over Mike and Max.
July looked at his face and how hard he was trying to hold back and laughed. “Don’t worry, nothing happened. He just wanted to apologize,” she said answering his held back question, the last of the tension sliding away.
“Come on, there’s another race, let’s move your car and watch. Then we’ll party,” he said with a sly smirk, tugging on her waist and moving towards her car.
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July and Vince were one of the first ones back to the houses. Parking in her driveway, she and Vince made their way over to the fort, as Vince liked to call it. Music was playing and beers were already out. Vince grabbed one and offered one to July. She shook her head no and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
They made their way back to the living room and sat down on the couch, July sitting half way on Vince’s lap. The people were pouring in and the music had become a couple decibels louder. They looked around to find everyone: Jesse was teaching Amy how to play some game on the PS2, Letty and Mike were dancing and seemed to be having lots of fun, Leon was sitting in a chair talking to a blonde chick and appeared to be doing it out of sheer boredom, and Dom was talking to a group of guys near the front door. Mia and Brian then came out of the kitchen, each with a drink and sat on the couch on the other side of the room.
After sitting on the couch for a bit, July and Vince got up and danced. Vince wasn’t too bad but made an amusing sight. They danced a couple songs before July took pity on him and then sat back down. July curled up into his lap and Vince leaned in, whispering in her ear.
“Had enough of the party yet?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on,” he said, getting up and grabbing her hand.
They started to walk towards the door but instead of opening the door, Vince turned right and began to walk up the stairs. July didn’t hesitate and followed after him. They walked down the dim hall and Vince opened the last door on the right. He held the door opened and allowed her to enter first before following her and locking the door behind him.
July’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his room. Apart from it looking like any guys room, there were several candles placed around the room that were lit and gave the room a warm look. The scent of tiger lilies caught her attention and she saw a beautiful bouquet standing next to the bed on the nightstand.
“Vince…” she trailed off, turning back to him.
“July, I love you, but that doesn’t mean we have to do this. I just wanted tonight to be special,” he said stepping forward and staring her straight in the eye. The want and desire were palpable in the room.
“I know and I love you too and I want to do this,” she replied, stepping closer and trailing a finger up his arm before wrapping her hand around his neck and tugging him down for a kiss.
Vince wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, pulling her as close as possible. When they both pulled back to breathe, Vince tugged off his shirt and let it drop to the floor. Vince kissed her tenderly on the lips before bringing one hand up and lowering the strap on her left shoulder, kissing the shoulder and then repeating the same action on the other side. July let the shirt fall to the floor and stared up at Vince timidly. Vince saw her fear of rejection in her eyes and kissed her, trying to convey all his emotions for her. When he pulled back, her eyes were more confident.
Toeing off his shoes, he grabbed her and set her down on the bed. He unzipped her boots, pulling them off, and then skimmed his hands up her legs, resting them on her hips. July raised her feet, looped a toe into his belt loops, and tugged down. Vince chuckled at her before unbuttoning his pants and kicking them off, standing in only his boxers. Rising up her hips, Vince shimmied the skirt off her. They were still for a few moments, each one studying the other. July felt a heat rise within her under Vince’s stare.
Discarding the rest of their clothes, they huddled underneath the blankets and embraced each other, soft curves pressing against muscular ones. They joined together, oblivious to the world around them; they were only focused on each other and that was all they could see. July let out a breath of completion before falling asleep on Vince’s chest, secure in his arms.
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The warm surface beneath July’s face shifted and brought her out her slumber. She stretched her body out before tucking herself deeper into the crevasse between Vince’s arm and chest. One of her hands rested on his shoulder while one of his rested on her hip.
“Morning,” he murmured, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“Morning,” she said with a big smile on her face and pressed a kiss against his chest.
“How did you sleep?” he asked with a deep sigh.
“Good. What about you?” she asked raising her head to look at him. His eyes were still closed and a smile tugged at his lips.
“Me too,” he said opening his eyes open a slit to look at her. Her face was glowing and her hair was wild but he still thought she looked beautiful.
“What are you thinking?” she asked propping her head on his chest.
“How beautiful you are,” he answered as he trailed a thumb across her bottom lip.
“Really?” she asked playfully as she crawled closer to his face.
“Yeah,” he mumbled against her lips.
Soon they were kissing and lost themselves in their passion.
“You want to know what sounds good right now?” July asked when she pulled back to breathe. Vince gave her a lustful look and she laughed at him. “That too but not what I was thinking off. A shower sounds better,” she said with a mischievous smirk. Vince gave her a sly smile of his own before jumping out of bed and hauling her over his shoulder.
“All right, let’s go,” he said giving her a light smack on the butt.
“Vince! Stop!” she yelled.
“What?” he asked stopping in his tracks.
“A little case of nakedness here. There’s no way I’m going out of this room with nothing on.”
“Fine,” he said setting her down. Vince grabbed one of his shirts and pulled it over her; it stopped around the middle of her thighs. “All better,” he said before hefting her back onto his shoulder and heading towards the door.
“V!” July squealed.
“What now?” he asked stopping again.
“You’re still naked. Not that I’m not enjoying the view but it’s my view to enjoy and not everyone else’s,” she replied giving said view a squeeze.
Vince pulled her back down and pushed her into the door. His eyes were dark with desire.
“Is someone jealous of other people seeing me?” he asked in a teasing banter.
“Maybe,” she said with a saucy smirk.
“You’ll just have to cover me, make sure no one sees anything.”
“I think I can do that,” she answered before crushing her lips against his.
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Much later, July and Vince made their way down stairs. July wore her skirt from last night and borrowed one of Vince’s smaller shirts. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was in the living room and looked over at them with knowing looks on their face. July flushed and buried her head into Vince’s chest. Vince laughed before saying bye to everyone and then they headed over to her house.
“You hungry? We could go and get something or I could make something,” July asked as she opened her door and then entered. Vince’s reply died on his lips as a very naked Mike entered their sight.
“Oh my god!” July yelped and covered her eyes. Vince started cracking up laughing and July thumped him on the chest. “I don’t find this very funny.”
“July! Vince! What are you guys doing here?” Mike asked as he covered himself up with his hands.
“I live here you nitwit!” July said at his general direction.
“I know that but I didn’t figure you guys back for a while.”
“Mike, can we do this later, like when you have clothes on?” July asked.
“Why, you’ve already seen everything,” he commented carelessly.
Vince stopped laughing and snapped his eyes to July but she couldn’t see him because she still had her eyes covered.
“Mike, please, just go upstairs and continue whatever it was you were doing, in your room,” she said stressing the ‘in your room’ part.
“Okay, I’m going,” he said and July could hear him go up the stairs.
“And don’t parade around the house naked again!” she yelled up after him. She heard him laugh and mentally cursed at him. She waited a minute before taking her hands off her eyes and looking at Vince. He had that slightly pissed off look on his face.
“I thought you said there was nothing between you and Mike,” Vince said strained.
“There is nothing between us. There use to be, as in past tense. Not anymore. I thought we already had this talk. I told you that I think of Mike as my brother,” she said as anger began to grow in her.
“Yeah, a brother who you saw completely naked,” Vince shot back at her.
“So that just gives you a right to be mad? Because Mike and I use to date? I thought you understood that I want to be with you and no one else. I don’t use the word love lightly and I don’t sleep with someone unless I love them. I thought that last night meant something but I guess it didn’t if you still doubt my feelings for you,” July said as the tears started to gather in her eyes.
“July that’s not…” Vince started to say but never got to finish because July was racing up the stairs. He chased after her but her door slammed in his face and locked before he could open it.
“July, open the door,” he said knocking on it.
“Go away!” she shouted.
“No, come on, you know that’s not what I meant,” he yelled back but it didn’t matter because she had turned on music and it was too loud for her to hear him. He gave the door one last thump before leaning against it sliding to the floor.
“All right ass wipe, what did you do now?” Letty asked as she came out of Mike’s room.
“Screwed up,” Vince said with a sigh.
“Well, duh, that much is obvious, I meant what exactly did you do,” Letty said crouching next to him.
“I said something when Mike said July had already seen all of him,” Vince said as Mike came out, fully clothed this time, from his room.
“You said something, didn’t you?” he asked.
Vince lunged up and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “You did it on purpose didn’t you? You said it because you knew I would make a deal about it,” Vince said with hostility, his other hand clenching into a fist.
“No I didn’t. I didn’t really think it would matter. I swear, I didn’t say it to get you two in a fight or anything,” Mike said calmly.
“Whatever,” Vince growled before releasing Mike and shoving him away. He started to stop down the stairs.
“You go after him, I’ll talk to July,” Letty said giving him a quick kiss. Mike gave her a ‘do I have to?’ look and Letty crossed her arms, waiting for him to go.
“Fine, I’m going, but be prepared to call 911 when he beats me to a bloody pulp,” Mike said before heading downstairs. She heard the front door close and then turned back to July’s door, knocking on it.
“JJ! Open up, it’s me,” Letty yelled over the music. The music turned notably down and then July’s muffled voice sounded.
“Letty? Are you by yourself?”
“Yes it’s me, by myself, and I’m dressed,” she said and heard a half chuckle.
The door unlocked with a click and it slowly creaked open. Letty pushed her way in and closed the door behind her. July’s face was pale and tears were still streaming down her cheeks. Letty gave July a comforting hug before directing her towards the bed and sitting down. Letty patted July’s back while she cried and waited until her sobs faded away.
“Feel better?” Letty asked.
“No,” July said with a pout as she wiped her face.
“Let me explain something to you. Vince is insecure when it comes to girls. Yes, I know, it’s a shock but believe me it true, even if he’ll never admit it. See, Vince has liked Mia since high school. Did anything for her, all she had to do was ask and Vince would drop everything. Then Brian showed up and swept Mia off her feet and Vince was left alone. He figured he might have a chance when Brian ended up being a cop but was wrong when he showed back up asking for forgiveness. Now Vince can’t really hate Brian since he saved his life and that ticks him off more than anything. So you got to understand that Vince has always been the one to stick it out and then be left in the cold. So he’s a tad bit insecure when it comes to relationships,” Letty said and saw July’s eyes soften a bit.
“But that doesn’t give him an excuse to start crap every time something happens or gets said,” she said
“I didn’t say it was. Just give him some slack,” Letty finished with a sigh.
“He did seem sorry,” July muttered and continued her inner battle on what to do about Vince.
“You know you’re lucky that I like you enough to be doing this, because normally, I would have said ‘not my problem’ and walked away. Or get Mia to handle it.”
“Or maybe you’re scared I’ll kick you out,” July suggested, laughing as Letty’s eyes got wide.
“I didn’t think about that,” Letty said. “But you wouldn’t.”
“You sure about that?” July asked with a smirk.
“You couldn’t throw poor, innocent old me out into the streets could you?” Letty said, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Innocent? Yeah right,” July shot back sarcastically.
“Am too,” she argued back.
“Right, and the horns are just there to keep the halo straight?” July asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Damn right,” Letty said laughing before turning serious again. “So you think you can give V a chance?”
“Yeah…”
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“Yo, Vince! Wait up!” Mike yelled as he cut across the lawn.
“What do you want?” Vince asked in a low voice.
“Look, I really didn’t mean for anything to happen. I know that July is happy with you and I would never do anything to ruin that. She’s been through a lot and deserves to be happy,” Mike said looking down at the ground.
“So you were just having a bit of fun this morning?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean anything by it. I mean, it’s true,” Mike saw the livid expression on Vince’s face and quickly continued, “But I don’t think of July like that anymore. Plus, I think I’ve found someone else,” Mike said with what he hoped was a friendly smile.
“You mean Letty?” Vince asked.
“Yeah, she’s something,” Mike answered with a wistful look.
“So you don’t want to get back with July?” Vince said, voicing the question that he had at the back of his mind.
“No, of course not. For one, she’s with you and I don’t take other guy’s girls, and two, there’s Letty, and three, I really don’t see me and July ever being like that again, even if I wanted to. She’s hooked on you pal,” Mike explained with a serious expression. “So if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and make you pay.”
“The same goes for Letty,” Vince said with a threat of his own.
They nodded their understanding at each other before turning away from one another.
“If you want to keep her you have to completely trust her. July’s won’t be with someone who doesn’t completely percent trust her, remember that,” Mike said before turning and going back into the house.
Vince turned back to go inside but stopped. He didn’t really want to go inside where everyone would ask what was wrong. He felt his keys in his pocket and pulled them out. A drive was what he needed right now.
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tbc…
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 19: Proving Yourself
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The cars were lined up and down the main drag for more than a quarter of a mile. July sat in her car at the starting line. Everyone had wished her good luck and reassured her that she would win but when it came down to it, it was just her: this would either make or break her. Vince gave her a good luck kiss before getting into Dom’s car and heading down to the finish line. Vince hadn’t forgiven Dom yet but they were on civil terms so far.
Turning on her stereo, she got the car ready for the race, opening the tanks and flipping the switches. She sat back in her seat and surveyed the competition. She was in Dom’s usual spot on the outer right edge and looked over.
There was a maroon Altima next to her, then a white CRX, and then a light blue Lancer. The drivers were all male and all had different expressions on their faces. The guy in the Altima looked slightly bored about racing against her while the guy in the CRX looked slightly impressed that she was racing. The guy in the Lancer looked cocky and just gave her a smirk like he knew she was going to lose. His arrogant smile did it for her and she knew she was going to win; there was no doubt about it. She was going to take that stupid look off his face and show him that being a girl didn’t make you bad.
Looking out the window, she saw Leon listening to the scanners a couple feet down. She saw him raise the two-way radio and speak into it; it was time. The butterflies in her tummy went into double time and continued to make their presence known as Hector raised his hands up. Pushing down on the clutch and shifting the car into first, she waited. Her grip was so hard that her hands started to ache. She relaxed her grip a bit and took a deep breath. She revved the car and her opponents mimicked the action.
Her car took off from the starting line with a roar as Hector dropped his hands. Not once did she look to the side or in her rearview mirror. She honed herself on listening to the engine and shifting at the right moment.
She momentarily looked down at her gauges and saw she was ready for a shot of nitrous. Taking a deep breath, she moved her thumb from the steering wheel and pressed down on the red button. The g-force pushed her back into the seat and her tires gave a small squeal as her car lunged forward. All the cars and people blurred into a blob of color as the car flew down the road.
She passed the finish line with a small cry of joy. She slowed down and then made a u-turn and drove back to the finish line. Vince was waiting for her at the side and she leaped into his arms as she got out.
“I did it,” she cried above the cheering, her voice still breathless.
“Told ya you could do it,” he replied with a smile.
“Oh shut up monkey boy and kiss me,” she said and Vince gave her a grumble before happily capturing her lips.
They broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat. July looked over to see Hector holding out her money. Vince lowered her down and July took the money from Hector.
“Thanks,” she said with a big smile, the adrenaline still making her giddy.
Hector just smirked at her before turning around and starting to organize another race. Everyone surrounded her and congratulated her. Pulling a roll from her stack of money, she made her way over to Dom, who was standing on the sidelines.
“Here’s your money,” she said holding out the roll.
“You keep it,” he ordered, looking down at it.
“I don’t want your pity money,” she snapped before taking a deep breath. “Look, I understand that you’re sorry and I'm glad that you realize you made a mistake and I forgive you. It’s Vince that you’re going to have to make it up to. I owe you this money so please take it,” July said holding it closer to him. With a dejected sigh, Dom took the money and gave her a meaningful look.
“You think he hates me?” he asked.
“He couldn’t hate you. Just give him some time and don’t be an ass,” she said with a smirk. Dom shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. July turned around and started to walk back to her car when Dom grabbed her by the arm.
“I just wanted to say I was sorry,” he said when she turned around. He let go of her arm and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“I know and I forgive you,” she replied with a tense smile. Being around Dom still unsettled her a bit. She then turned and headed back to Vince. He was taut and began to relax as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
“What was that all about?” he asked, his voice a dangerous growl.
“Just gave him his money and he told me sorry,” she answered casually.
“Oh,” he replied, trying to keep his cool. Suspicion didn’t get him anywhere with July; he had learned that with the little scuffle over Mike and Max.
July looked at his face and how hard he was trying to hold back and laughed. “Don’t worry, nothing happened. He just wanted to apologize,” she said answering his held back question, the last of the tension sliding away.
“Come on, there’s another race, let’s move your car and watch. Then we’ll party,” he said with a sly smirk, tugging on her waist and moving towards her car.
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July and Vince were one of the first ones back to the houses. Parking in her driveway, she and Vince made their way over to the fort, as Vince liked to call it. Music was playing and beers were already out. Vince grabbed one and offered one to July. She shook her head no and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
They made their way back to the living room and sat down on the couch, July sitting half way on Vince’s lap. The people were pouring in and the music had become a couple decibels louder. They looked around to find everyone: Jesse was teaching Amy how to play some game on the PS2, Letty and Mike were dancing and seemed to be having lots of fun, Leon was sitting in a chair talking to a blonde chick and appeared to be doing it out of sheer boredom, and Dom was talking to a group of guys near the front door. Mia and Brian then came out of the kitchen, each with a drink and sat on the couch on the other side of the room.
After sitting on the couch for a bit, July and Vince got up and danced. Vince wasn’t too bad but made an amusing sight. They danced a couple songs before July took pity on him and then sat back down. July curled up into his lap and Vince leaned in, whispering in her ear.
“Had enough of the party yet?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on,” he said, getting up and grabbing her hand.
They started to walk towards the door but instead of opening the door, Vince turned right and began to walk up the stairs. July didn’t hesitate and followed after him. They walked down the dim hall and Vince opened the last door on the right. He held the door opened and allowed her to enter first before following her and locking the door behind him.
July’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his room. Apart from it looking like any guys room, there were several candles placed around the room that were lit and gave the room a warm look. The scent of tiger lilies caught her attention and she saw a beautiful bouquet standing next to the bed on the nightstand.
“Vince…” she trailed off, turning back to him.
“July, I love you, but that doesn’t mean we have to do this. I just wanted tonight to be special,” he said stepping forward and staring her straight in the eye. The want and desire were palpable in the room.
“I know and I love you too and I want to do this,” she replied, stepping closer and trailing a finger up his arm before wrapping her hand around his neck and tugging him down for a kiss.
Vince wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, pulling her as close as possible. When they both pulled back to breathe, Vince tugged off his shirt and let it drop to the floor. Vince kissed her tenderly on the lips before bringing one hand up and lowering the strap on her left shoulder, kissing the shoulder and then repeating the same action on the other side. July let the shirt fall to the floor and stared up at Vince timidly. Vince saw her fear of rejection in her eyes and kissed her, trying to convey all his emotions for her. When he pulled back, her eyes were more confident.
Toeing off his shoes, he grabbed her and set her down on the bed. He unzipped her boots, pulling them off, and then skimmed his hands up her legs, resting them on her hips. July raised her feet, looped a toe into his belt loops, and tugged down. Vince chuckled at her before unbuttoning his pants and kicking them off, standing in only his boxers. Rising up her hips, Vince shimmied the skirt off her. They were still for a few moments, each one studying the other. July felt a heat rise within her under Vince’s stare.
Discarding the rest of their clothes, they huddled underneath the blankets and embraced each other, soft curves pressing against muscular ones. They joined together, oblivious to the world around them; they were only focused on each other and that was all they could see. July let out a breath of completion before falling asleep on Vince’s chest, secure in his arms.
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The warm surface beneath July’s face shifted and brought her out her slumber. She stretched her body out before tucking herself deeper into the crevasse between Vince’s arm and chest. One of her hands rested on his shoulder while one of his rested on her hip.
“Morning,” he murmured, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“Morning,” she said with a big smile on her face and pressed a kiss against his chest.
“How did you sleep?” he asked with a deep sigh.
“Good. What about you?” she asked raising her head to look at him. His eyes were still closed and a smile tugged at his lips.
“Me too,” he said opening his eyes open a slit to look at her. Her face was glowing and her hair was wild but he still thought she looked beautiful.
“What are you thinking?” she asked propping her head on his chest.
“How beautiful you are,” he answered as he trailed a thumb across her bottom lip.
“Really?” she asked playfully as she crawled closer to his face.
“Yeah,” he mumbled against her lips.
Soon they were kissing and lost themselves in their passion.
“You want to know what sounds good right now?” July asked when she pulled back to breathe. Vince gave her a lustful look and she laughed at him. “That too but not what I was thinking off. A shower sounds better,” she said with a mischievous smirk. Vince gave her a sly smile of his own before jumping out of bed and hauling her over his shoulder.
“All right, let’s go,” he said giving her a light smack on the butt.
“Vince! Stop!” she yelled.
“What?” he asked stopping in his tracks.
“A little case of nakedness here. There’s no way I’m going out of this room with nothing on.”
“Fine,” he said setting her down. Vince grabbed one of his shirts and pulled it over her; it stopped around the middle of her thighs. “All better,” he said before hefting her back onto his shoulder and heading towards the door.
“V!” July squealed.
“What now?” he asked stopping again.
“You’re still naked. Not that I’m not enjoying the view but it’s my view to enjoy and not everyone else’s,” she replied giving said view a squeeze.
Vince pulled her back down and pushed her into the door. His eyes were dark with desire.
“Is someone jealous of other people seeing me?” he asked in a teasing banter.
“Maybe,” she said with a saucy smirk.
“You’ll just have to cover me, make sure no one sees anything.”
“I think I can do that,” she answered before crushing her lips against his.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Much later, July and Vince made their way down stairs. July wore her skirt from last night and borrowed one of Vince’s smaller shirts. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was in the living room and looked over at them with knowing looks on their face. July flushed and buried her head into Vince’s chest. Vince laughed before saying bye to everyone and then they headed over to her house.
“You hungry? We could go and get something or I could make something,” July asked as she opened her door and then entered. Vince’s reply died on his lips as a very naked Mike entered their sight.
“Oh my god!” July yelped and covered her eyes. Vince started cracking up laughing and July thumped him on the chest. “I don’t find this very funny.”
“July! Vince! What are you guys doing here?” Mike asked as he covered himself up with his hands.
“I live here you nitwit!” July said at his general direction.
“I know that but I didn’t figure you guys back for a while.”
“Mike, can we do this later, like when you have clothes on?” July asked.
“Why, you’ve already seen everything,” he commented carelessly.
Vince stopped laughing and snapped his eyes to July but she couldn’t see him because she still had her eyes covered.
“Mike, please, just go upstairs and continue whatever it was you were doing, in your room,” she said stressing the ‘in your room’ part.
“Okay, I’m going,” he said and July could hear him go up the stairs.
“And don’t parade around the house naked again!” she yelled up after him. She heard him laugh and mentally cursed at him. She waited a minute before taking her hands off her eyes and looking at Vince. He had that slightly pissed off look on his face.
“I thought you said there was nothing between you and Mike,” Vince said strained.
“There is nothing between us. There use to be, as in past tense. Not anymore. I thought we already had this talk. I told you that I think of Mike as my brother,” she said as anger began to grow in her.
“Yeah, a brother who you saw completely naked,” Vince shot back at her.
“So that just gives you a right to be mad? Because Mike and I use to date? I thought you understood that I want to be with you and no one else. I don’t use the word love lightly and I don’t sleep with someone unless I love them. I thought that last night meant something but I guess it didn’t if you still doubt my feelings for you,” July said as the tears started to gather in her eyes.
“July that’s not…” Vince started to say but never got to finish because July was racing up the stairs. He chased after her but her door slammed in his face and locked before he could open it.
“July, open the door,” he said knocking on it.
“Go away!” she shouted.
“No, come on, you know that’s not what I meant,” he yelled back but it didn’t matter because she had turned on music and it was too loud for her to hear him. He gave the door one last thump before leaning against it sliding to the floor.
“All right ass wipe, what did you do now?” Letty asked as she came out of Mike’s room.
“Screwed up,” Vince said with a sigh.
“Well, duh, that much is obvious, I meant what exactly did you do,” Letty said crouching next to him.
“I said something when Mike said July had already seen all of him,” Vince said as Mike came out, fully clothed this time, from his room.
“You said something, didn’t you?” he asked.
Vince lunged up and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “You did it on purpose didn’t you? You said it because you knew I would make a deal about it,” Vince said with hostility, his other hand clenching into a fist.
“No I didn’t. I didn’t really think it would matter. I swear, I didn’t say it to get you two in a fight or anything,” Mike said calmly.
“Whatever,” Vince growled before releasing Mike and shoving him away. He started to stop down the stairs.
“You go after him, I’ll talk to July,” Letty said giving him a quick kiss. Mike gave her a ‘do I have to?’ look and Letty crossed her arms, waiting for him to go.
“Fine, I’m going, but be prepared to call 911 when he beats me to a bloody pulp,” Mike said before heading downstairs. She heard the front door close and then turned back to July’s door, knocking on it.
“JJ! Open up, it’s me,” Letty yelled over the music. The music turned notably down and then July’s muffled voice sounded.
“Letty? Are you by yourself?”
“Yes it’s me, by myself, and I’m dressed,” she said and heard a half chuckle.
The door unlocked with a click and it slowly creaked open. Letty pushed her way in and closed the door behind her. July’s face was pale and tears were still streaming down her cheeks. Letty gave July a comforting hug before directing her towards the bed and sitting down. Letty patted July’s back while she cried and waited until her sobs faded away.
“Feel better?” Letty asked.
“No,” July said with a pout as she wiped her face.
“Let me explain something to you. Vince is insecure when it comes to girls. Yes, I know, it’s a shock but believe me it true, even if he’ll never admit it. See, Vince has liked Mia since high school. Did anything for her, all she had to do was ask and Vince would drop everything. Then Brian showed up and swept Mia off her feet and Vince was left alone. He figured he might have a chance when Brian ended up being a cop but was wrong when he showed back up asking for forgiveness. Now Vince can’t really hate Brian since he saved his life and that ticks him off more than anything. So you got to understand that Vince has always been the one to stick it out and then be left in the cold. So he’s a tad bit insecure when it comes to relationships,” Letty said and saw July’s eyes soften a bit.
“But that doesn’t give him an excuse to start crap every time something happens or gets said,” she said
“I didn’t say it was. Just give him some slack,” Letty finished with a sigh.
“He did seem sorry,” July muttered and continued her inner battle on what to do about Vince.
“You know you’re lucky that I like you enough to be doing this, because normally, I would have said ‘not my problem’ and walked away. Or get Mia to handle it.”
“Or maybe you’re scared I’ll kick you out,” July suggested, laughing as Letty’s eyes got wide.
“I didn’t think about that,” Letty said. “But you wouldn’t.”
“You sure about that?” July asked with a smirk.
“You couldn’t throw poor, innocent old me out into the streets could you?” Letty said, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Innocent? Yeah right,” July shot back sarcastically.
“Am too,” she argued back.
“Right, and the horns are just there to keep the halo straight?” July asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Damn right,” Letty said laughing before turning serious again. “So you think you can give V a chance?”
“Yeah…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Yo, Vince! Wait up!” Mike yelled as he cut across the lawn.
“What do you want?” Vince asked in a low voice.
“Look, I really didn’t mean for anything to happen. I know that July is happy with you and I would never do anything to ruin that. She’s been through a lot and deserves to be happy,” Mike said looking down at the ground.
“So you were just having a bit of fun this morning?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean anything by it. I mean, it’s true,” Mike saw the livid expression on Vince’s face and quickly continued, “But I don’t think of July like that anymore. Plus, I think I’ve found someone else,” Mike said with what he hoped was a friendly smile.
“You mean Letty?” Vince asked.
“Yeah, she’s something,” Mike answered with a wistful look.
“So you don’t want to get back with July?” Vince said, voicing the question that he had at the back of his mind.
“No, of course not. For one, she’s with you and I don’t take other guy’s girls, and two, there’s Letty, and three, I really don’t see me and July ever being like that again, even if I wanted to. She’s hooked on you pal,” Mike explained with a serious expression. “So if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and make you pay.”
“The same goes for Letty,” Vince said with a threat of his own.
They nodded their understanding at each other before turning away from one another.
“If you want to keep her you have to completely trust her. July’s won’t be with someone who doesn’t completely percent trust her, remember that,” Mike said before turning and going back into the house.
Vince turned back to go inside but stopped. He didn’t really want to go inside where everyone would ask what was wrong. He felt his keys in his pocket and pulled them out. A drive was what he needed right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc…