Fast Lane ━━ Brian O'Conner

𝟬𝟭. look beneath the surface

     As you can see, it didn't work very well.

     Behind her, Mia was grinning like an idiot. Josephine sent her a discreet glare and the younger girl quickly turned back to her book, trying not to laugh at her and their new regular customer's interaction.

     Of course. Brian still chose the tuna with no crust. It earned another eye roll from the Toretto girl. She turned away from him so she could make his stupid tuna sandwich, not noticing how his stark blue eyes stayed on her the whole time, a ghost of a smile on his face like he couldn't help but smile every time he saw her.

     "Thank you," Brian mumbled as she placed the small plate of a single tuna sandwich in front of him.

     He put down the magazine he was reading and began to eat. Josephine seized him up, wondering what was his deal coming at their store every single day. Then she looked at the magazine, familiar with the cars and engines on each page. He glanced at her, giving her a small smile which Josephine raised an eyebrow in response. This guy, I swear. She wasn't sure if he was interesting or if he just really irked her.

     Suddenly, cars revving from a distance began to sound closer, the familiar sound of her friend's cars modified engines making her relaxed. Josephine didn't bother to look up like the sight was a daily occurrence. Brian turned to look at the noise. Mia shifted from her seat, already knowing where the noises came from. A line of speeding custom sports cars with their personalized colors and decals began fashionably parking across from the store.

     "You into cars, blondie?" Josephine flipped through the magazine, ignoring the ruckus her friends were making on the neighborhood streets.

     Brian shrugged. "I know a thing or two."

     "I guess you're not so bad after all," She muttered.

     He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You thought I was bad?"

     Josephine opened her mouth to argue but Mia suddenly appeared next to her as their friends went to them. They greeted each other with smiles and nods, comfortably sauntering around the family business. Jesse hopped towards the circular rack of sunglasses with Leon following behind him. Letty who was closed behind, gave Josephine a little knowing smirk when she walked past them.

     Vince was the only one who looked unhappy. He abruptly pushed a bowl of tissues as he leaned over the counter, the dish sliding towards Brian. A small distance between them as tension began to rise. Mia seemed to notice it as well as she exchanged a look with her sister who was ever so calm as Josephine shared a grin with Jesse behind her.

    Brian clenched his jaw as he tried to ignore the tattooed man. When he finally decided to look at Vince, his face showed no reaction to the guy's attempt to intimidate him. They looked at each other, waiting for someone to start speaking or raise a fist.

     "Ah, he's beautiful," Jesse drawled as he looked at Brian while trying on sunglasses after sunglasses.

     Leon agreed. "I like his haircut."

     Josephine rolled her eyes as the two men stared one another down. She shook her head and gave the older one a look even though his attention wasn't on her. Her tone held a warning. "Vince."

     Brian immediately broke off their stare down and turned to Josephine when he heard her voice. She didn't sound very pleased at Vince's actions. Josephine wasn't dumb. She knew how protective he had always been of her. Even to the blind eye, they would know she held a special place in Vince's stone-hard heart.

     Noticing her sister's annoyance, Mia raised her voice: "Vince! My sister's talking to you."

     He begrudgingly looked at the sisters, mainly at the older one. "What?"