Letty's POV
I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way back into the house. I felt slightly better but still exhausted and slightly queasy. In our room I changed, hauling on shorts and a vest top.
We went for a drive and we stopped on the edge of the city at a market. We walked around it for a bit, pausing at stalls which we found interesting. I stopped at a stall which sold jewellery where Dom ran his fingers over a necklace which hung in a thick silver chain. The cross was studded with fake diamonds and coated with silver. It looked more expensive than it probably was. I could see longing flicker in his brown eyes. Dom moved on until he was a little ahead of me but still within view. With my typical impatience and the carelessness only he could tease out of me, I inclined my head, inviting the stall owner to me.
"How much?" I asked.
The man tipped his head and looked me up and down. "Thirty five dollars."'
I scoffed and smirked. "I'll give you thirty dollars."
The guy looked impressed especially since I held out the thirty dollars. Greed coloured his eyes and he took the money. He actually looked like he was slightly desperate. I knew we weren't in the nicest end of town but we were together.
He boxed up the necklace for me and I watched him carefully. He handed me the black cardboard necklace box. My hand curled awkwardly around the box which was too large for me to hold comfortably.
"Where'd you go?" Dom asked in his deep growl of a voice.
"Just looking at the stall."
He nodded and grinned indulgently at me. It was only when we were alone that we actually behaved like a couple. Slipping his arm around my shoulders he and I walked through the markets. We only stopped at a few stalls, most of them food stalls. I insisted we stop at the doughnut stall as a lack of food was getting to me and I needed a sugar kick. Then Dom dragged me off to an Italian place for a late lunch or an early dinner, depending on what way you looked at it.
We sat in the restaurant. An informal feeling surrounded us. There were red and checked table cloths on the table and a candle lit on every table, even the unoccupied ones.
"Why here?" I asked Dom with a slight smile. We never ate anywhere like this, we were always on the go so stopping was never an option.
"Sometimes it's nice to slow down and enjoy it."
I shook my head and my smile got bigger. It was rare we stopped for long enough just to appreciate where we were. It was actually rare we slowed down enough to share a meal together on our own. Usually everyone else was there.
"Ready to order?" A waiter asked us.
"Yeh, I'll have the lasagne please," Dom requested.
"Yeh, I'll have the chicken bake please."
The waiter nodded and we ordered our drinks. I ordered a water and he ordered a Corona. I knew I had to drive home. I wouldn't ask him to drive after drinking.
We lapsed into silence. What did couples actually do on dinner dates? We didn't go in for gooey conversation nor idle gossip. We didn't talk to fill silence. It was strange. All around our couples were affectionately drooling all over each other and there we were sitting like friends and not lovers. Maybe what we had was better though, we didn't need to be open about our affection to know the other cared.
An idea struck me, I should give him the necklace. I didn't really know what to say so I slid the crappy looking cardboard box over the table to Dom. His eyes widened as he looked at the box.
"Let, what is this?" He asked, his voice softening.
"Open it and see."
He smirked and shook his head in amusement. His hands carefully opened the box and when he saw the necklace all I could notice was the grin that spread across his face. Dom ran his first finger over the raised stones on the cross and his smile grew bigger.
"It's the one I was looking at earlier."
"Yeh, I could see it in your eyes," I admitted raking my fingers through my hair.
Dom looked at me in amazement. "You always do exactly what I don't expect you to do."
"What do you mean?" I asked intrigued by his sweeping statement which could have been both an insult and a compliment.
"You always surprise me. When I told you why I bought the cars from Hector, you may not have agreed with my reasoning but you backed me all the way. When I was in prison, I thought you'd cave and admit you needed help but you didn't, instead you sold your Cobra to pay the bills that month. When I reentered your life, I was expecting someone else to be standing by your side, a boyfriend, instead you waited for me even though we only had one night with the promise of being serious. Now you've bought me a chain when I expected you not to notice that I wanted it. You always seek the best for me, even when I don't deserve it." His words were careful and dripping with sentiment, as was unlike him. They were beautiful and I was forced to acknowledge the brims of my eyes welling with tears.
I opened my mouth to tell him that I loved him but something stopped me. I didn't want the first time I told him I loved him to be in a restaurant I didn't even remember the name of. I wanted to tell him somewhere special to us. Even if it was sitting in his Dad's Charger, in his Escort, his room. Somewhere we often went together, not somewhere as insignificant as this.
"Letty, thank you."
I waved my hand awkwardly dismissive as I didn't know what to say. I really needed more practice being part of a couple, we both did.
Our food was brought out and Dom slipped the necklace on around his neck. It suited him. The chunky chain glittered in the dim lighting of the restaurant and it caught my eye every time he moved.
"Dom, I was wondering," I murmured between bites.
"Yeh."
"Will you promise me something please?"
"Anything Let, what do you want me to promise you?"
I gulped slightly. We needed to put money away for Mia, just in case, while the idea had been floating around in my head for a while, I still hadn't put it to him out of fear he was already doing it or he'd hate himself for not thinking of it first. Perhaps worse, he'd think I was mixing in somewhere I shouldn't be.
"Would you put money away for Mia?" I asked him in a quiet voice as nerves coloured my thoughts.
"Sure, why?"
Drawing a sharp breath, I said the unthinkable words out loud. "If anything happens to us, it ain't Mia's fault. She might be short and I won't let her lose 1327 after us fighting so hard to keep it. I'm willing to give up part of my share every go, for her."
"Okay, each time we take a quarter of our cut and we put it away, lock the account from her until things get bad. Have it a direct account and keep the card, only giving it to her until we run out of luck."
"That's what I was thinking."
"If that's what you're asking of me, I promise I'll do that."
I grinned at him then carried on eating. If I'd have known he'd take it so well I would have proposed it long ago.
We didn't bother with desert instead we got up to go home.
That night everyone managed to sit quietly in the one room and just watch a movie. Another friend of the boys joined us that night. Leon. He seemed cool and was really laid back.
We went up to bed round twelve that night. I fell into the bed beside Dom feeling myself totally relax. He kissed me so gently I barely felt his lips touching mine. As much as I hadn't wanted to be the first one to cave, I didn't want to hold back telling him that I loved him any longer.
"Dom?" I murmured into the darkness of our bedroom.
"Yeh?"
I raised myself up on one arm so I was staring down at his face. Already I could feel my arm tingling with pins and needles. Cold sweat was trickling down my back and arms.
"I love you," I murmured as I leant in to kiss him softly.
His reply was as natural as breathing, "I love you too Letty."
Our lips met in a slow kiss. Soon he was laying on top of me and I was basking in the warm weight of his body resting on mine. My arms were tangled around his neck and we held each other close. His hands were rested on my waist.
"I've wanted to say that for so long," he murmured against my lips.
"So have I," I admitted.
"I was going to tell you at that restaurant but I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"I wanted to say it earlier but I was scared. That restaurant, Dom, we weren't going to remember the name of it. I wanted to say it somewhere that meant something to us."
Dom smiled, "But if we said I love you there for the first time, it would have been memorable."
"Really?" I raised one eyebrow at him.
He scoffed, "Ye of little faith."
I kissed him again to shut him up and we fell into our own world and damn was it perfect.