CHAPTER FIVE
there's things i wanna say to you
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𝐃ominic made Brian stay for dinner. Josephine wasn't sure whether to feel glad or suspicious because her older brother had sent her a certain look before he told Brian to hang around longer. Mia wanted to say it was because Dominic was warming up to him, but the girl couldn't lie for her life. Her grin only grew twice as wide when Brian proceeded to stand closer beside Jo and discreetly touched the middle part of her back when Dominic left them.
"He so cannot keep his hands off you," Mia giggled as they whispered to themselves in the kitchen like teenagers who were gossiping.
Josephine grumbled as she grabbed another clean plate from the cabinet. "He needs to keep his hands away if he still wants them by the end of the day."
"Like I didn't see you freezing every time he brushes up against you," Mia scoffed, giving her that cheeky smile of hers.
"Please." Josephine rolled her eyes, shaking her head adamantly. "I just don't like anyone touching me."
"Tell that to your man over there." The youngest Toretto nudged her shoulder teasingly as she walked past her out of the kitchen and into the garage yard with a handful of plates in her arms.
Her hazel eyes flickered at the blond man standing by the grill as he stoked the fire. Brian looked like he belonged. He didn't complain. Or even speak about trivial things. He just did what Dominic told him to do. Brian didn't even need to try. Mia was right. He was too good to be true. There had to be something━a bad thing, a flaw, literally anything wrong about him. He cannot be just that perfect.
After Vince's little outrage, the others were left to ignore the man's immature actions and prepare dinner. As usual, Josephine was assigned to take out the food and drinks because she could not cook for her life. Mia and Dom did all of the cooking for her while she was left with the simpler stuff━cleaning and washing the dishes. Strangely, Josephine liked her designated job at the house.
"Jo!" Dominic called from outside the kitchen. "The chicken's dry."
Josephine rolled her eyes, kicking Jesse's shin as he walked in front of her holding a big plate stacked with sandwiches. Jesse grinned at her and ran away before she could reach him again. Behind her, Brian watched them with a smile on his face. He was carrying a few bottles of Corona, following the two twenty-one-year-olds who were trying to trip each other on the stairs.
"Here you go, my kind, balding sir." Josephine tried to be sarcastic but she always had a soft spot for her brother. The man pulled her into a hug and babied her, which made Brian grin at the familial love in front of him. "Get off. Please. Before I drop this on you."
"Yeah, we get it, Jojo." Mia chuckled at her siblings, pointing her hand which held a kitchen tong in Josephine's direction. "You're the clumsiest."
"Do not call me that again."
"What are you going to do, Jojo?"
They settled around the table with the food all laid out in front of them on the open driveway. The sun was just dipping over the horizon, giving the scenery a golden glow as a warm breeze wafted over their faces. The hills overlooking the city of Los Angeles. They were content with the presence of each other. Bright smiles on their faces, some fainter than others, but they all shared the same warmth in their eyes.
"Hey, hold up," Dominic said, which made Jesse pause from picking up his utensils. Beside him, Brian looked up, a little confused. "Because you were the first out of everybody here to reach in to get the chicken, you say grace."
Jesse nervously clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. The others doing the same thing, trying to hide their amusement for the hyperactive boy. Then he trailed off: "Dear heavenly, um..."
"Spirit," Leon muttered.
"Spirit. Thank you." Jesse sent an awkward thumbs-up at his friend across from him. The moment he began to pray more━the more they began to feel amused. "Ahh... Thank you for providing us with a direct port nitrous injection, four core intercoolers and ball-bearing turbos, and um, titanium valve springs."
Josephine found a pair of blue watching her across the table. She raised an eyebrow, leaning against her clasped hand as Brian faintly smirked at her. They didn't break off their eye contact until the praying ended and they had to pretend they weren't just staring at each other while the rest of them had their eyes closed.
"Amen."
"Thank you."
Dominic grinned, pointing an approving finger at Jesse. "Not bad."
"He was praying to the car gods, man," Letty laughed between the Toretto sisters.
Brian stole another glance at Josephine as she began to hand out the foods some of them couldn't reach. There wasn't even anything on her plate yet as she put her family before herself. He had to force himself to tear his gaze off her before anybody could notice as he accepted the food laid out in front of him.
"Look who it is. Old Coyotes R Us," Leon announced, making everybody look up and follow his gaze to none other than Vince. He laughed gruffly at his friend. "I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin."
Brian looked uneasy. Josephine just shrugged.
"You know, I gotta eat," Vince said defeatedly.
"He's always hungry," Letty said jokingly but she was treading carefully as she eyed him.
With one word from Dominic, Vince took a sit around the table. Josephine sent the man a small smile when he walked past her as she went around the table to sit in the open space next to Brian. There was no way Vince was going to sit next to him so she had to adjust. She placed her half-full plate on the table, giving Brian another of her cheeky smiles.
The tension was palpable between Vince and Brian, and everybody noticed it. The two men were seizing each other up like it was the end of the world as they drank their bottles of beer. Josephine was the only one amused, avoiding Mia's warning look as she decided to stare at Brian's pretty face instead.
"Is it natural?" Josephine asked quietly, taking his eyes off Vince (the latter seemed disgruntled at this but he decided to keep his mouth shut and eat).
Brian hummed, briefly looking at her lips and then back at her face. "You like my hair."
"That's not a question." Josephine furrowed her brows at him, which made him shrug coolly. "I'd give it to you but it's kind of a part of me, princess."
She refused to give any more satisfaction and rolled her eyes at his words. "Keep calling me princess and I'll sabotage your truck."
Brian chuckled breathily. "Now, you wouldn't do that, would you?"
"You'd be surprised, sport." Josephine gently nudged his shoulder with hers as she grabbed a glass of water. She gave him a sweet smile that reached her equally beautiful eyes. "You don't know what I'm capable of."
Josephine was right. He didn't know. But she also didn't know Brian might be the ruin of her if she knew all the things he was capable of.
The moon had come up when everybody finished eating. They gathered inside the house, scattered around the living room, and watched a movie on the TV screen. Josephine basked in the silence of the small kitchen as she quietly washed the dishes they had left for her. Mia insisted on helping but she sent her away to her room knowing she had more important things to do (like her upcoming exams).
Brian entered the kitchen with a plate of leftover chicken and placed it above the oven since there were no other spaces on the counter. His gaze flickered toward her. "Need a hand with anything else?"
"No, I'm good," Josephine muttered, sneaking a small glance at the man before he turned around. She scrubbed the shallow plate clean, removing the leftover dish on the ceramic. "You can go join the boys and watch the movie."
Brian began helping her by drying the ones she was done with. His shoulders shrugged. "Nah, you see, the cook doesn't clean where I come from."
"Yeah, I'd like to go there," Josephine said sarcastically.
There was a moment of silence where Brian kept glancing at her when she wasn't looking and Josephine doing the same thing all while fighting the urge to smile. But she didn't want to be the one to break the tension between them. Brian bit his lower lip, almost wanting to tuck the piece of hair that fell on her face as she leaned over the sink and calmly did the dishes without a word.
"You know, I think we should go out sometimes."
"No, I don't━I don't date my brother's friends."
That was a lie, and also not quite right. Josephine did know Brian before her brother, and she admittedly had dated two of Dominic's friends a while ago. But that wasn't important right now. She badly wanted to know if Brian Earl Spilner was going to be worth her time because she was tired of wasting them away with people who had no idea how to handle her most of the time.
"Well, that sucks," Brian deadpanned. A smirk flashed on his lips but disappeared as soon as it went. "I guess I'll have to kick his ass then."
"Oh, I'd love to see that one." Josephine almost snorted. She glanced at him, grinning, and he looked at her the same. She earned a soft chuckle from the older guy. Probably a few years━four at most. "I would pay to see that one, actually."
His eyes were warmer when they looked at her as he murmured: "I like you, Jo."
"Yeah?" Josephine chuckled airily, trying to ignore how his words made her feel like she was on cloud nine. She gave him a playful smile but the way her features softened when she gazed at him was enough answer.
"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just gonna use you for your driving skills," Brian shrugged but there was a perfectly drawn grin on his handsome face. His eyes narrowed at her, mischief swimming around the blues in his iris. "Maybe I want your car."
Josephine gasped dramatically, giving him a betrayed look. "Not my baby."
Brian couldn't help but lean closer to her side so that their shoulders were touching as they laughed and continued to finish the rest of the dirty dishes. The comfortable silence was cut off short when somebody trudged into the kitchen, Brian glancing behind them to see Vince by the faulty microwave near the doorway.
"Wash my car when you get done." Vince chuckled loudly. His cheeks flushed, a sign that he was a bit drunk. He slammed the microwave close after he mindlessly threw the packet of popcorn inside.
Josephine almost chucked the glass she was washing at his sarcastic comment. It wasn't funny at all. She turned around so fast that Brian was almost afraid for Vince's life. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she demanded: "Excuse me?"
"No, Jo." Vince waved her away. He glared at the man beside her who tried his best to ignore him. "I'm talking to the punk." As he blabbered, Brian turned around, too, not the least bothered. "And wear your favorite dress, 'cause when you're done I'm putting you on the street where you belong, cutie."
Josephine scoffed and shook her head as she turned her back on him. She wasn't in the mood to wash dishes now. Beside her, Brian did the opposite. His hands touched the edge of the counter, leaning against it as he bored holes at the back of Vince's head. He might've not known her longer than them, but if this guy ever said anything wrong around Josephine━Brian would have his head.
"Is this thing broken?" Vince repeatedly slammed the side of the microwave, making unnecessary noises as he let his annoyance out on the poor thing. "What's wrong with this thing?"
"V. Hey, Vince." Josephine took a deep breath, composing herself as she looked at her friend again. She approached Vince, which made Brian shift uneasily behind her but his confidence didn't waver. "What was that Cuban restaurant you wanted to take me to? The one with the picadillo and━"
Vince looked ecstatic when she mentioned that as he looked at her, slowly beginning to grin in his drunken state. "With red candles, wooden tables━"
"Yeah, the plantain, too, food all over the place." Josephine nodded along to his words, but she had better things planned in mind. And it was not with him. "What's it called again?"
"Cha Cha Cha," Vince told her, thinking that she was going to go with him.
"Yeah, that one." Josephine smiled through her spitefulness. Then as fast as she turned to Brian, Vince's smile disappeared and turned to anger. "Well, you can take me there." She stopped in front of the man, and to make it even better, she stepped closer to his face, Brian tilting his head slightly to look at her. "Friday night at ten. Is that good for you?"
Brian nodded, never looking away. "Yeah, it's perfect."
"Good." Josephine smiled sweetly.
Behind them, Vince was fuming in anger as he watched. He let out a loud scoff, a little defeated but he was more annoyed at the fact this Buster had gotten Josephine's heart before he could. He marched off, hitting the door on his way out, but Brian merely distracted Josephine by tucking her brown hair behind her ear.
"Don't mind him," Brian murmured, grazing her cheeks with his thumb as he pulled away.
Josephine scoffed, shaking her head. "I should be the one telling you that."
Despite it all, he looked into her eyes like he was searching for something and Josephine had wanted him to find it. I guess out of all the rules she broke, Brian was her favorite one.