July Jones, Chapter 12
New chapter. I don't have much to say. I'm boring....
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 12: Who Wants to Give Me a Ride?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July and Mike arrived at the Racer’s Edge around nine. July pulled her car into a spot and Mike was out the door before the car was even fully stopped.
“You know, next time you do that I am just going to slam the brakes and laugh as you go flying,” July threatened as she got out of the car and locked it.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Mike deadpanned, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“I know, thank you.” July smirked, slinking past him.
They entered the store and Mike’s retort died on his lips as he took in the surroundings.
“Hey, look, I found a way to shut you up!” July jibed as she walked away from Mike’s still form, giving him a tiny flick on the arm. Mike snapped back to reality and gave her a look.
“I bet you were the same way when you first came,” Mike growled, stepping up next to her at the counter.
“Yup,” July agreed watching as Mike turned so he could look at everything.
“Hello July,” Harry’s voice sounded out as he came from the back.
“Hi Harry. Did you get everything that I needed?” July asked.
“Yeah, they’re in the back. Just bring your car around and we’ll load them up.”
“Give us a couple minutes to look around and then we’ll be back.”
“Sure thing,” Harry said nodding.
“Man, you know how much money I could spend in here?” Mike asked with a glazed over look.
“Yeah, I can just imagine.” July continued to watch him as an idea formed in her head. “Okay, I’ll buy you two things,” she said and couldn’t hold back the smirk at Mike’s shocked expression.
“What? No way! Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I mean you came all the way out here for me, this will be a way for me to compensate you and thank you for coming,” July explained, looking down at her feet.
Mike tipped up her chin, her face serious. “JJ, you don’t have to do that, I told you I wanted to come.”
“I know, but I want to do this for you,” July said wrapping herself around one of his arms.
They spent a couple minutes looking through things and finally Mike decided on green neon glow kit for underneath the car and some speakers. Luckily Harry had it all in stock and added it to July’s pile. They loaded up the parts and headed back to July’s house, where they back up the car into the driveway and popped the trunk.
“I’m going to go change into my coveralls,” July said as they walked through the front door.
“Me too.”
Mike followed her up the stairs. They parted their separate ways and rejoined each other in a few minutes. They both came out with their overalls tied around their waist but July wore a white wife beater while Mike wore a black one.
“I have something for you,” Mike said going back into his room. He returned with a shoebox and a travel case in his hands.
“What’s that?” July asked with a frown.
“This is all your drawings,” Mike explained, handing the shoebox over to her. She opened it up to find all her drawings and the set of colored pencils she especially used.
“Did you take these all from the shop?”
“Yeah, I went and got all your stuff. Now you have to guess what’s in here,” Mike teased, waving the travel case in her face. She studied the familiar looking box.
“My spray gun!” July shouted, grabbing the case from him and hugging it.
“Yeah, Sam told me to bring it to you.”
“Oh,” July mumbled running her thumb along the edge of the case.
“So, I thought we were going to work on the cars,” Mike prompted, trying to lift July’s spirits up. If cars didn’t do it then he didn’t know what would.
“Yeah,” she answered as she followed Mike down to the garage, lost in thought about Sam and Mary.
“Earth to July. Is there anyone in there?” Mike asked.
July shook her head to bring herself out of her stupor. “Yeah, what?”
“I asked which one you wanted to work on first?” Mike repeated, opening the garage door in front of July’s car. July set the boxes containing her spray gun and drawings on the bench and then began to help Mike unload the car parts.
“Let’s work on the Soarer,” July decided, setting the last box on the ground.
“Sweet, but you know what we need if we are really going to work on the cars?” Mike asked looking at her. Their eyes meet and they both knew.
“Music,” they answered at the same time.
“I’ll go get my stereo and CDs,” July said disappearing and reappearing a few seconds later. “Okay, so what do you want to listen to?”
“Why don’t you surprise me?” Mike suggested, putting all the stuff they would need for the Soarer into a pile on the bench.
July slipped her Red Hot Chili Peppers CD in and turned to help Mike separate the parts. As the music began to play, Mike turned and smiled at her, nodding his head at her selection.
“Good choice.”
She opened the hood to the Soarer and they began to work. July telling him about everything that had happened in full detail since she’d arrived and filling him in on everyone next door. Mike got especially jealous when he heard about the race but was ecstatic when July said he could probably go to the next one.
It was noon by the time July checked her watch again. They had made some progress on the car. Maybe a day more and then they would be done with all the basic stuff.
“Okay, lunch time,” July announced, wiping the sweat off her face. The day had proven hot and with no fan in the garage the air was muggy. She would definitely be putting a fan on her shopping list.
“Okay, where are we going?” Mike asked.
“My friends little store,” July answered.
They both washed up and got into her car. The drive was quick and the rushing air from the windows felt good. July wasn’t surprise to see everyone else’s car already parked as Mia had told her they usually came by for lunch. She parked her car next to Vince’s and they both go out, Mike whistling at the other cars.
“You ready to meet everyone?” she asked.
“I guess,” Mike answered.
Before they could fully walked in, July grabbed one of Mike sleeves that were tied around his waist and stopped him. She could feel everyone’s eyes on them.
“What?” Mike questioned with a frown.
July took a deep breath, trying to quell her nerves. “I just want to warn you. Both the girls inside are spoken for so don’t go and do something stupid to piss off one of the guys,” July said sternly.
“Like I would do anything to piss someone off?” Mike asked sarcastically. When he saw the expression on July’s face he knew she was serious.
“Mike, I’m not kidding. I like these people and I don’t want to lose them as friends. Once you leave, they might be all I have left,” July finished quietly.
“All right, I promise to try to piss everyone off,” Mike said.
“Mikey!” July whined, even though she knew he was joking. Mike just hugged her around the waist and they continued inside.
Inside, Vince could feel his blood start to boil as he took in the sight of July and some guy. True, he had no real reason to be upset since him and July weren’t together but he still felt this overwhelming jealousy. He watched as they talking quietly among themselves, but soon they both turned and entered.
“Hey guys!” July greeted. Brian was sitting at the counter eating a sandwich, while Mia was behind it. Leon, Letty and Jesse were standing around munching on a bag of chips. Vince sat at the farther edge of the counter, a couple seats down from Brian. A chorus of hellos sounded out and everyone was eyeing Mike.
“Guys, this is Mike, my best friend from Texas. Mike this is Vince, Brian, Mia, Jesse, Leon, and Letty,” July introduced, gesturing to each person. Almost everyone nodded, Mia chirping a hello as Brian shook his hand.
“Well, looks like you two were busy,” Mia teased, leaning on the counter to look at them. July had grease and oil spots on her shirt while Mike had some on his coveralls.
“Yeah, we started to work on the Soarer,” July explained, as they both sat down. Mike sat one seat over from Brian and then July, putting her next to Vince.
“Did you have any trouble getting the parts?” Dom asked coming out of the back.
July looked up and gave him a smile. “Nope. Harry had everything I needed.”
“Good,” Dom said and then shifted his glance towards Mike.
“Dom, this is my best friend Mike, Mike this is Dom.”
The two nodded their heads at each other but neither offered to shake hands.
“So you guys hungry?” Mia asked handing them a menu.
“Starving, this chick is a slave driver,” Mike answered, July scoffing and smacking him.
Mia chuckled at the two. “Well, what do you want?”
“I’ll have a turkey sandwich,” July replied and then turned to Mike.
“Me too,” Mike said sliding the menu back to Mia.
“Okay.” Mia turned around to make their food. “Drinks are in the back fridge.”
“I’ll get them,” July said, hopping off her seat.
“What? You’re not even going to ask what I want?” Mike protested.
July raised one eyebrow at him. “Like I don’t know what you want. You never change. You want a Pepsi.”
Mike grumbled at her. “You never know, I could have wanted something else.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said over her shoulder. July headed to the back and opened the big fridge doors. She stood there for a minute letting the cold air run over her.
“Hey, that’s not an air conditioner. You gonna pay for the extra electricity?” Dom asked leaning against the doorframe to the office.
“You wish,” July said as she grabbed two sodas and closed the door.
“So how’s everything going?”
“Good. I went to the drive-in last night with my old best friend and her brother. Then Mike showed up. We got the parts and we’re working on the cars, so it’s all good. What about you?”
“I’ve been better,” Dom answered, running a hand over his head.
“What’s up?” July asked with a frown.
“Just got a lot of stuff to think about,” Dom said sounding tired.
“I know how that goes.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, if you need help on the Nova, let me know. I am pretty familiar with the older engines,” Dom said looking more through July than at her. He was lost in memories of his dad and him building the Charger.
“Yeah, help would be great with it later. I probably won’t work on it ‘til I get the Soarer done,” July said bring Dom back.
“All right, just let me know when,” Dom said with a wink and started to turn back to the office.
“Hey Dom,” July called, causing Dom to turn around.
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering when the next race was.”
“Friday. Last one didn’t scare you off did it?” he asked with a lazy smirk.
“No, I was actually wondering if Mike could come. I told him he might be able to go but I figured I’d have to talk to you first,” July said chewing on her lip.
Dom paused for a moment. “Let me think about it.”
July nodded her head and then walked back to the counter, sitting back down next to Mike, passing him a can of soda.
“Here you guys go,” Mia said setting two plates down.
“Thanks,” July and Mike said and then chomped down, everyone making small talk around them.
“Man, I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Mike remarked, once he finished his sandwich.
“Me neither,” July said polishing off the last of hers.
“So, what are you guys doing after this?” Mia asked picking up the plates.
“I don’t know, it’s up to Mike,” July replied.
“Up to me?” Mike asked.
“Yup, so you figure out what you want to do.”
“Fine. Let me think,” Mike said and then tapped his chin with his fingers.
“We might be here a while then,” July said making everyone laugh. Mike rolled his eyes at her and then turned to lean against the counter.
“Hey! Who’s Skyline?”
“That’s mine,” Leon said coming over.
“Sweet. Would you let me take a look?”
Leon looked over at July and she gave him the slightest of nods.
“Sure,” Leon agreed, figuring that Mike wouldn’t be talking about his engine specifications to anyone anyways. They both headed outside. Brian retook up his conversation with Mia and Jesse and Letty appeared to be in deep conversation in the back corner. July looked over to find Vince watching her.
“Hey V.”
“JJ.”
“So, I’ve got to ask, why’d you race off yesterday?” July asked with a puzzled frown.
“Just wasn’t in a good mood,” Vince grumbled, not really wanting to talk about it.
“Oh.”
“So who was the pretty boy with you yesterday?” he asked with a slight bitterness.
July looked at him and began to put two and two together and she began to laugh; Vince was jealous. Vince gave her a strange look and then anger set in his features thinking she was laughing at him. He began to get up and walk away when a small hand was on his arm, stopping him.
“Wait V, come on, sit down,” she said and pulled him back down with more force then Vince thought she had. “That guy that you saw yesterday was my old best friend’s brother. We were all friends when we were little and I hadn’t seen them in ten years. So we stopped at my house to fix his car and then we went to the drive-in. Nothing happened. I don’t think I could think of him like that.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice to know,” V said feeling dumb for overreacting and could feel his face redden a bit, but before he could stop himself the next question was out of his mouth. “So what about Mike then?”
“Not Mike too! Mike has been my best friend since I was nine. We went out for a while,” July noticed Vince tighten up, “But it didn’t work out. We’re friends now and he has a girlfriend, who I set him up with,” July finished, raising an eyebrow at Vince.
“Oh.”
“Yeah oh,” July repeated with a shake of her head at him, her fists balling up in anger.
“July,” Vince said, starting to apologize.
“No Vince,” she snapped, cutting him off, “You don’t just go and start assuming things because guess what? Ninety-nine percent of the time you’re wrong. You know, I don’t get you. First you ask if I’m a cop, then you apologize so I forgive you, then you kiss me, I tell you I’m not ready to be like that, and then you just go and assume that I’m with two guys that I would never ever be with like that. I just don’t get you. You know what Vince? Let me know when you’ve grown a brain and maybe we can talk then.” July got up and slammed some money on the counter. She marched right past Mike’s questioning looks, hopped in her car, and drove off in a cloud of burnt rubber.
“So, who wants to give me a ride?” Mike asked with a wary smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July got onto the highway and pushed down harder on the gas pedal. She zoomed in and out of traffic. When she finally realized how fast she was going she slowed down and took her first exit. It wasn’t ‘til she turned to go back did she notice the car following her. She did a second glance when they flashed their light at her. She looked closer and it dawned on her that it was Letty’s car. She pulled up to the next place on the street, which happened to be a little diner. Letty parked next to her and got into July’s car.
“So what was that all about?” Letty asked staring at July.
July briefly explained everything that happened and why she had left.
“You’ll have to excuse V, he likes to make an ass on himself on a daily basis.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” July replied, letting out a big sigh.
“It’s just V being protective, being who life has taught him to be. He’s impulsive. He doesn’t always think before he does something or says something. Sometimes it the thing we love most about him and other times the thing we hate about him, but we still love him anyway.”
“So what did you follow me for?” July asked after a moment of silence.
“I knew you were going to need someone to talk to and Mia wasn’t going to be able to leave, none of the boys were going to do it, and I had a feeling your friend Mike wouldn’t be able to either.”
“Mike! Oh my god! I just left him there with a bunch of strangers. I am so stupid, how could I leave him there,” July started to rant, hitting her fists against her forehead.
“Hey, can I get a word in here? You didn’t mean to leave him so don’t worry. If he’s your boy like you said, then he’ll understand, if not, then it’s his problem.”
“Mike’s pretty good about being understanding. He’s one of the best guys I have ever met.”
Letty didn’t have anything to say to that, but it got her thinking about Dom.
“Hey, Let, what’s up? You look far away from here,” July asked waving a hand across her face.
Letty playfully slapped it away and now realized she had a dilemma. Should she tell July or not? What if July liked Dom and she ruined it for them but telling her that she still loved him? No, she needed to talk to Mia.
“Nothing, just thinking we should probably get back,” she lied.
“Yeah, that would be good,” July said and started her car.
“So why aren’t we moving?” Letty asked after July sat there looking at her.
“Uh, ‘cause your butt isn’t out of the car yet. Or are you going to leave your precious car here?”
“Sorry, I forgot,” she grumbled, opening the door but July’s hand on her arm stopped her from getting out.
“Let, I know we don’t know each other completely but are you sure they isn’t something you want to talk about? You look like there is something bugging you.”
“No, I’m good, promise.” She got out of the car. “Do you know your way back?” Letty asked crouching in the open door. July looked up sheepishly at her.
“No,” she admitted, biting her lip, Letty laughing at her.
“All right, just follow me, if you can.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drive home was a cat and mouse game. Letty diving between any open space she could find and July following after her. Luckily they didn’t get caught and they arrived at the store in better moods.
Mia looked up and smiled at the two of them as they walked in.
“So where’s Mike?” July asked looking around.
“You really didn’t expect him to still be here, did you? He left with Leon up to the garage. We’ve been piling up at the garage, and when Mike said he was a mechanic, Leon suggested that he go up and work with them ‘til you got back.”
“And of course Mike jumped at the opportunity to be around cars,” July said with a little smirk.
“So now we got to head to the garage,” Letty said.
“Thanks Mia. I’ll see you later,” July called back as she got into her car.
Letty waved at Mia and then got into her car. They left with Letty leading the way again. They arrived at the garage and getting out, they could hear the guys laughing. As soon as they walked in the garage though, the laughter died down.
“See I told you, we must have some special power that makes every room we walk into go into silence,” July side whispered to Letty. Letty gave a shrug and then headed over to the car she had been working on before lunch.
“Hey JJ!” Mike said coming over and giving her a hug.
“Hey Mike, I’m so sorry I left you. I can’t believe I even did that. You must hate me now,” July muttered, tears forming in her eyes. She tucked her head down into Mike’s chest not wanting everyone to see she was crying. Almost everyone else turned away knowing this was a private moment between the two. The only person left watching was Vince.
“Hey, you know I couldn’t hate you,” Mike reassured her, raising her head to look in her eyes and wipe away the stray tear that had fallen.
“I didn’t mean to leave you.”
“I know, you just meant to do it purposely on accident,” Mike teased with a raised eyebrow and it was enough to get a small chuckle out of July.
“Okay, so maybe I did,” she replied with a small smile.
“Oh I know you did!”
“You know I didn’t, right?” July asked, her face serious again.
“Yeah I know,” Mike answered, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her tight.
“So you forgive me?”
“Yes, but you have to make it up to me.”
“Fat chance if you think that is going to happen,” July shot at him, letting him go.
“Excuse me, but aren’t you suppose to be kissing my butt to make up for what you did?”
“Fine, what do I have to do?” she asked with a sigh.
“Hmm, what could I make you do?” Mike wondered, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger. After a second he got a big grin on his face.
“Mike, that look isn’t good,” July said and Mike let out an evil cackle.
“You have to do my laundry, clean and wash my car, make me food, and anything else I decide you have to do.”
“And why can’t you do this yourself?”
“Because I’m lazy,” Mike answered with a wink and turning to go back to the car he had been working on.
“I’ll give you lazy, you little...” July started to mumble.
“Did you say something?” Mike asked turning back to her.
“Nope,” she replied with her best innocent smile, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Mike gave her a grin, letting her know he had heard and then started to work on the car.
“JJ, you want to help me with this car over here?” Jesse asked.
“Sure thing,” July said giving a glare at Vince and then heading over.
Vince was still standing in the same spot thinking. Now he realized what the relationship between July and Mike was. He realized it was the same thing he saw with Dom and Mia, brother and sister. Now he really felt like an ass. He then went to work on the car, thinking about a way to apologize.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 12: Who Wants to Give Me a Ride?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July and Mike arrived at the Racer’s Edge around nine. July pulled her car into a spot and Mike was out the door before the car was even fully stopped.
“You know, next time you do that I am just going to slam the brakes and laugh as you go flying,” July threatened as she got out of the car and locked it.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Mike deadpanned, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“I know, thank you.” July smirked, slinking past him.
They entered the store and Mike’s retort died on his lips as he took in the surroundings.
“Hey, look, I found a way to shut you up!” July jibed as she walked away from Mike’s still form, giving him a tiny flick on the arm. Mike snapped back to reality and gave her a look.
“I bet you were the same way when you first came,” Mike growled, stepping up next to her at the counter.
“Yup,” July agreed watching as Mike turned so he could look at everything.
“Hello July,” Harry’s voice sounded out as he came from the back.
“Hi Harry. Did you get everything that I needed?” July asked.
“Yeah, they’re in the back. Just bring your car around and we’ll load them up.”
“Give us a couple minutes to look around and then we’ll be back.”
“Sure thing,” Harry said nodding.
“Man, you know how much money I could spend in here?” Mike asked with a glazed over look.
“Yeah, I can just imagine.” July continued to watch him as an idea formed in her head. “Okay, I’ll buy you two things,” she said and couldn’t hold back the smirk at Mike’s shocked expression.
“What? No way! Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I mean you came all the way out here for me, this will be a way for me to compensate you and thank you for coming,” July explained, looking down at her feet.
Mike tipped up her chin, her face serious. “JJ, you don’t have to do that, I told you I wanted to come.”
“I know, but I want to do this for you,” July said wrapping herself around one of his arms.
They spent a couple minutes looking through things and finally Mike decided on green neon glow kit for underneath the car and some speakers. Luckily Harry had it all in stock and added it to July’s pile. They loaded up the parts and headed back to July’s house, where they back up the car into the driveway and popped the trunk.
“I’m going to go change into my coveralls,” July said as they walked through the front door.
“Me too.”
Mike followed her up the stairs. They parted their separate ways and rejoined each other in a few minutes. They both came out with their overalls tied around their waist but July wore a white wife beater while Mike wore a black one.
“I have something for you,” Mike said going back into his room. He returned with a shoebox and a travel case in his hands.
“What’s that?” July asked with a frown.
“This is all your drawings,” Mike explained, handing the shoebox over to her. She opened it up to find all her drawings and the set of colored pencils she especially used.
“Did you take these all from the shop?”
“Yeah, I went and got all your stuff. Now you have to guess what’s in here,” Mike teased, waving the travel case in her face. She studied the familiar looking box.
“My spray gun!” July shouted, grabbing the case from him and hugging it.
“Yeah, Sam told me to bring it to you.”
“Oh,” July mumbled running her thumb along the edge of the case.
“So, I thought we were going to work on the cars,” Mike prompted, trying to lift July’s spirits up. If cars didn’t do it then he didn’t know what would.
“Yeah,” she answered as she followed Mike down to the garage, lost in thought about Sam and Mary.
“Earth to July. Is there anyone in there?” Mike asked.
July shook her head to bring herself out of her stupor. “Yeah, what?”
“I asked which one you wanted to work on first?” Mike repeated, opening the garage door in front of July’s car. July set the boxes containing her spray gun and drawings on the bench and then began to help Mike unload the car parts.
“Let’s work on the Soarer,” July decided, setting the last box on the ground.
“Sweet, but you know what we need if we are really going to work on the cars?” Mike asked looking at her. Their eyes meet and they both knew.
“Music,” they answered at the same time.
“I’ll go get my stereo and CDs,” July said disappearing and reappearing a few seconds later. “Okay, so what do you want to listen to?”
“Why don’t you surprise me?” Mike suggested, putting all the stuff they would need for the Soarer into a pile on the bench.
July slipped her Red Hot Chili Peppers CD in and turned to help Mike separate the parts. As the music began to play, Mike turned and smiled at her, nodding his head at her selection.
“Good choice.”
She opened the hood to the Soarer and they began to work. July telling him about everything that had happened in full detail since she’d arrived and filling him in on everyone next door. Mike got especially jealous when he heard about the race but was ecstatic when July said he could probably go to the next one.
It was noon by the time July checked her watch again. They had made some progress on the car. Maybe a day more and then they would be done with all the basic stuff.
“Okay, lunch time,” July announced, wiping the sweat off her face. The day had proven hot and with no fan in the garage the air was muggy. She would definitely be putting a fan on her shopping list.
“Okay, where are we going?” Mike asked.
“My friends little store,” July answered.
They both washed up and got into her car. The drive was quick and the rushing air from the windows felt good. July wasn’t surprise to see everyone else’s car already parked as Mia had told her they usually came by for lunch. She parked her car next to Vince’s and they both go out, Mike whistling at the other cars.
“You ready to meet everyone?” she asked.
“I guess,” Mike answered.
Before they could fully walked in, July grabbed one of Mike sleeves that were tied around his waist and stopped him. She could feel everyone’s eyes on them.
“What?” Mike questioned with a frown.
July took a deep breath, trying to quell her nerves. “I just want to warn you. Both the girls inside are spoken for so don’t go and do something stupid to piss off one of the guys,” July said sternly.
“Like I would do anything to piss someone off?” Mike asked sarcastically. When he saw the expression on July’s face he knew she was serious.
“Mike, I’m not kidding. I like these people and I don’t want to lose them as friends. Once you leave, they might be all I have left,” July finished quietly.
“All right, I promise to try to piss everyone off,” Mike said.
“Mikey!” July whined, even though she knew he was joking. Mike just hugged her around the waist and they continued inside.
Inside, Vince could feel his blood start to boil as he took in the sight of July and some guy. True, he had no real reason to be upset since him and July weren’t together but he still felt this overwhelming jealousy. He watched as they talking quietly among themselves, but soon they both turned and entered.
“Hey guys!” July greeted. Brian was sitting at the counter eating a sandwich, while Mia was behind it. Leon, Letty and Jesse were standing around munching on a bag of chips. Vince sat at the farther edge of the counter, a couple seats down from Brian. A chorus of hellos sounded out and everyone was eyeing Mike.
“Guys, this is Mike, my best friend from Texas. Mike this is Vince, Brian, Mia, Jesse, Leon, and Letty,” July introduced, gesturing to each person. Almost everyone nodded, Mia chirping a hello as Brian shook his hand.
“Well, looks like you two were busy,” Mia teased, leaning on the counter to look at them. July had grease and oil spots on her shirt while Mike had some on his coveralls.
“Yeah, we started to work on the Soarer,” July explained, as they both sat down. Mike sat one seat over from Brian and then July, putting her next to Vince.
“Did you have any trouble getting the parts?” Dom asked coming out of the back.
July looked up and gave him a smile. “Nope. Harry had everything I needed.”
“Good,” Dom said and then shifted his glance towards Mike.
“Dom, this is my best friend Mike, Mike this is Dom.”
The two nodded their heads at each other but neither offered to shake hands.
“So you guys hungry?” Mia asked handing them a menu.
“Starving, this chick is a slave driver,” Mike answered, July scoffing and smacking him.
Mia chuckled at the two. “Well, what do you want?”
“I’ll have a turkey sandwich,” July replied and then turned to Mike.
“Me too,” Mike said sliding the menu back to Mia.
“Okay.” Mia turned around to make their food. “Drinks are in the back fridge.”
“I’ll get them,” July said, hopping off her seat.
“What? You’re not even going to ask what I want?” Mike protested.
July raised one eyebrow at him. “Like I don’t know what you want. You never change. You want a Pepsi.”
Mike grumbled at her. “You never know, I could have wanted something else.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said over her shoulder. July headed to the back and opened the big fridge doors. She stood there for a minute letting the cold air run over her.
“Hey, that’s not an air conditioner. You gonna pay for the extra electricity?” Dom asked leaning against the doorframe to the office.
“You wish,” July said as she grabbed two sodas and closed the door.
“So how’s everything going?”
“Good. I went to the drive-in last night with my old best friend and her brother. Then Mike showed up. We got the parts and we’re working on the cars, so it’s all good. What about you?”
“I’ve been better,” Dom answered, running a hand over his head.
“What’s up?” July asked with a frown.
“Just got a lot of stuff to think about,” Dom said sounding tired.
“I know how that goes.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, if you need help on the Nova, let me know. I am pretty familiar with the older engines,” Dom said looking more through July than at her. He was lost in memories of his dad and him building the Charger.
“Yeah, help would be great with it later. I probably won’t work on it ‘til I get the Soarer done,” July said bring Dom back.
“All right, just let me know when,” Dom said with a wink and started to turn back to the office.
“Hey Dom,” July called, causing Dom to turn around.
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering when the next race was.”
“Friday. Last one didn’t scare you off did it?” he asked with a lazy smirk.
“No, I was actually wondering if Mike could come. I told him he might be able to go but I figured I’d have to talk to you first,” July said chewing on her lip.
Dom paused for a moment. “Let me think about it.”
July nodded her head and then walked back to the counter, sitting back down next to Mike, passing him a can of soda.
“Here you guys go,” Mia said setting two plates down.
“Thanks,” July and Mike said and then chomped down, everyone making small talk around them.
“Man, I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Mike remarked, once he finished his sandwich.
“Me neither,” July said polishing off the last of hers.
“So, what are you guys doing after this?” Mia asked picking up the plates.
“I don’t know, it’s up to Mike,” July replied.
“Up to me?” Mike asked.
“Yup, so you figure out what you want to do.”
“Fine. Let me think,” Mike said and then tapped his chin with his fingers.
“We might be here a while then,” July said making everyone laugh. Mike rolled his eyes at her and then turned to lean against the counter.
“Hey! Who’s Skyline?”
“That’s mine,” Leon said coming over.
“Sweet. Would you let me take a look?”
Leon looked over at July and she gave him the slightest of nods.
“Sure,” Leon agreed, figuring that Mike wouldn’t be talking about his engine specifications to anyone anyways. They both headed outside. Brian retook up his conversation with Mia and Jesse and Letty appeared to be in deep conversation in the back corner. July looked over to find Vince watching her.
“Hey V.”
“JJ.”
“So, I’ve got to ask, why’d you race off yesterday?” July asked with a puzzled frown.
“Just wasn’t in a good mood,” Vince grumbled, not really wanting to talk about it.
“Oh.”
“So who was the pretty boy with you yesterday?” he asked with a slight bitterness.
July looked at him and began to put two and two together and she began to laugh; Vince was jealous. Vince gave her a strange look and then anger set in his features thinking she was laughing at him. He began to get up and walk away when a small hand was on his arm, stopping him.
“Wait V, come on, sit down,” she said and pulled him back down with more force then Vince thought she had. “That guy that you saw yesterday was my old best friend’s brother. We were all friends when we were little and I hadn’t seen them in ten years. So we stopped at my house to fix his car and then we went to the drive-in. Nothing happened. I don’t think I could think of him like that.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice to know,” V said feeling dumb for overreacting and could feel his face redden a bit, but before he could stop himself the next question was out of his mouth. “So what about Mike then?”
“Not Mike too! Mike has been my best friend since I was nine. We went out for a while,” July noticed Vince tighten up, “But it didn’t work out. We’re friends now and he has a girlfriend, who I set him up with,” July finished, raising an eyebrow at Vince.
“Oh.”
“Yeah oh,” July repeated with a shake of her head at him, her fists balling up in anger.
“July,” Vince said, starting to apologize.
“No Vince,” she snapped, cutting him off, “You don’t just go and start assuming things because guess what? Ninety-nine percent of the time you’re wrong. You know, I don’t get you. First you ask if I’m a cop, then you apologize so I forgive you, then you kiss me, I tell you I’m not ready to be like that, and then you just go and assume that I’m with two guys that I would never ever be with like that. I just don’t get you. You know what Vince? Let me know when you’ve grown a brain and maybe we can talk then.” July got up and slammed some money on the counter. She marched right past Mike’s questioning looks, hopped in her car, and drove off in a cloud of burnt rubber.
“So, who wants to give me a ride?” Mike asked with a wary smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July got onto the highway and pushed down harder on the gas pedal. She zoomed in and out of traffic. When she finally realized how fast she was going she slowed down and took her first exit. It wasn’t ‘til she turned to go back did she notice the car following her. She did a second glance when they flashed their light at her. She looked closer and it dawned on her that it was Letty’s car. She pulled up to the next place on the street, which happened to be a little diner. Letty parked next to her and got into July’s car.
“So what was that all about?” Letty asked staring at July.
July briefly explained everything that happened and why she had left.
“You’ll have to excuse V, he likes to make an ass on himself on a daily basis.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” July replied, letting out a big sigh.
“It’s just V being protective, being who life has taught him to be. He’s impulsive. He doesn’t always think before he does something or says something. Sometimes it the thing we love most about him and other times the thing we hate about him, but we still love him anyway.”
“So what did you follow me for?” July asked after a moment of silence.
“I knew you were going to need someone to talk to and Mia wasn’t going to be able to leave, none of the boys were going to do it, and I had a feeling your friend Mike wouldn’t be able to either.”
“Mike! Oh my god! I just left him there with a bunch of strangers. I am so stupid, how could I leave him there,” July started to rant, hitting her fists against her forehead.
“Hey, can I get a word in here? You didn’t mean to leave him so don’t worry. If he’s your boy like you said, then he’ll understand, if not, then it’s his problem.”
“Mike’s pretty good about being understanding. He’s one of the best guys I have ever met.”
Letty didn’t have anything to say to that, but it got her thinking about Dom.
“Hey, Let, what’s up? You look far away from here,” July asked waving a hand across her face.
Letty playfully slapped it away and now realized she had a dilemma. Should she tell July or not? What if July liked Dom and she ruined it for them but telling her that she still loved him? No, she needed to talk to Mia.
“Nothing, just thinking we should probably get back,” she lied.
“Yeah, that would be good,” July said and started her car.
“So why aren’t we moving?” Letty asked after July sat there looking at her.
“Uh, ‘cause your butt isn’t out of the car yet. Or are you going to leave your precious car here?”
“Sorry, I forgot,” she grumbled, opening the door but July’s hand on her arm stopped her from getting out.
“Let, I know we don’t know each other completely but are you sure they isn’t something you want to talk about? You look like there is something bugging you.”
“No, I’m good, promise.” She got out of the car. “Do you know your way back?” Letty asked crouching in the open door. July looked up sheepishly at her.
“No,” she admitted, biting her lip, Letty laughing at her.
“All right, just follow me, if you can.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drive home was a cat and mouse game. Letty diving between any open space she could find and July following after her. Luckily they didn’t get caught and they arrived at the store in better moods.
Mia looked up and smiled at the two of them as they walked in.
“So where’s Mike?” July asked looking around.
“You really didn’t expect him to still be here, did you? He left with Leon up to the garage. We’ve been piling up at the garage, and when Mike said he was a mechanic, Leon suggested that he go up and work with them ‘til you got back.”
“And of course Mike jumped at the opportunity to be around cars,” July said with a little smirk.
“So now we got to head to the garage,” Letty said.
“Thanks Mia. I’ll see you later,” July called back as she got into her car.
Letty waved at Mia and then got into her car. They left with Letty leading the way again. They arrived at the garage and getting out, they could hear the guys laughing. As soon as they walked in the garage though, the laughter died down.
“See I told you, we must have some special power that makes every room we walk into go into silence,” July side whispered to Letty. Letty gave a shrug and then headed over to the car she had been working on before lunch.
“Hey JJ!” Mike said coming over and giving her a hug.
“Hey Mike, I’m so sorry I left you. I can’t believe I even did that. You must hate me now,” July muttered, tears forming in her eyes. She tucked her head down into Mike’s chest not wanting everyone to see she was crying. Almost everyone else turned away knowing this was a private moment between the two. The only person left watching was Vince.
“Hey, you know I couldn’t hate you,” Mike reassured her, raising her head to look in her eyes and wipe away the stray tear that had fallen.
“I didn’t mean to leave you.”
“I know, you just meant to do it purposely on accident,” Mike teased with a raised eyebrow and it was enough to get a small chuckle out of July.
“Okay, so maybe I did,” she replied with a small smile.
“Oh I know you did!”
“You know I didn’t, right?” July asked, her face serious again.
“Yeah I know,” Mike answered, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her tight.
“So you forgive me?”
“Yes, but you have to make it up to me.”
“Fat chance if you think that is going to happen,” July shot at him, letting him go.
“Excuse me, but aren’t you suppose to be kissing my butt to make up for what you did?”
“Fine, what do I have to do?” she asked with a sigh.
“Hmm, what could I make you do?” Mike wondered, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger. After a second he got a big grin on his face.
“Mike, that look isn’t good,” July said and Mike let out an evil cackle.
“You have to do my laundry, clean and wash my car, make me food, and anything else I decide you have to do.”
“And why can’t you do this yourself?”
“Because I’m lazy,” Mike answered with a wink and turning to go back to the car he had been working on.
“I’ll give you lazy, you little...” July started to mumble.
“Did you say something?” Mike asked turning back to her.
“Nope,” she replied with her best innocent smile, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Mike gave her a grin, letting her know he had heard and then started to work on the car.
“JJ, you want to help me with this car over here?” Jesse asked.
“Sure thing,” July said giving a glare at Vince and then heading over.
Vince was still standing in the same spot thinking. Now he realized what the relationship between July and Mike was. He realized it was the same thing he saw with Dom and Mia, brother and sister. Now he really felt like an ass. He then went to work on the car, thinking about a way to apologize.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc…