Brian had arrived at six o'clock on the dot. He had been helping Alex and Mia with preparing for the barbecue before everyone else showed up. Alex heard the sound a engines roaring from a distance. She knew it meant that everyone was here.
Letty, Vince and Leon pulled into the driveway and grabbed the groceries out of their cars. When Vince saw Brian, his blood began to boil. The two stared at each other for a moment. Letting his anger get the best of him, Vince handed Leon the two bags of groceries that were in his hand.
"I'm out of here," Vince said furiously as he turned to walk away. A scowl was spread across his face. Alex sighed. Would this feud between Vince and Brian ever end?
"Come on, dawg!" Leon pleaded, giving his friend a look. He didn't get why Vince was acting the way he was. Leon knew that Vince was protective over Alex, but so was he yet he wasn't being like this.
"Vince!" Dom yelled when he realized what was happening. "Get over here and give us a hand." Vince ignored him and continued walking away. Dom pursed his lips.
"Looks like you've got all the help you need brother!" Vince yelled back, opening his car door and getting inside. He slammed the door closed and sped off. Dom shook his head. Alex and Brian shared a look.
"Sorry about him. He's a bit dramatic if you haven't noticed," Alex said to Brian. He simply shrugged. Brian didn't really care to be honest. He didn't like Vince, but he could suck it up and spend time with him if he had to.
"He'll get over it eventually," Brian replied, looking down at the dark haired girl. When Alex met his gaze she smiled.
"C'mon, you can come help me bring the food out here," Alex told Brian, grabbing his hand and leading him inside the house. They made their way into the kitchen. Alex grabbed the large salad bowl after handing Brian a case of Coronas. Jesse grabbed a bowl of dinner rolls and followed the two outside. They set everything down on the table, then began to put the beers in the cooler that sat near the grill. Dom gave Alex a sideways hug seeing as his other hand was busy flipping burgers and kissed her on the forehead before pulling away.
About fifteen minutes later they were all seated at the table. Jesse looked at the plate of chicken and felt his stomach rumble. He couldn't resist any longer. He reached over and grabbed a piece of chicken. Dom, who noticed this, pointed a finger at Jesse.
"Because you were the first of everybody here to reach in a grab the chicken, you say grace," Dom said. Brian was beginning to learn that Dom has a lot more to him than just being the big bad street racer everyone makes him out to be. He didn't think Dom would be the religious type. Alex did the sign of the cross, then folded her hands and bowed her head. Everyone followed in suit. Brian kept his eyes open, observing the people around him.
"Dear heavenly uh.." Jesse trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Jesse wasn't religious but there was no way he was going to disrespect Dom's house rules. He fiddled with his hands anxiously.
"Spirit," Leon said, helping his friend. Alex chuckled, shaking her head. Brian found himself looking at her again. He couldn't help it. Alex felt eyes on her. She turned her head towards Brian and caught his stare. She smiled softly at him.
"Spirit, thank you. Uh.. thank you for providing us with the direct port nitros injection, four core inter-coolers, and ball bearing turbos, and titanium valve springs. Amen," Jesse prayed. Everyone fought a smile at his words.
"Amen!" Leon repeated as everyone clapped and laughed. Leon rubbed his palms together, excited to dig in to the food sitting in front of him.
"Not bad," Dom said to Jesse with a smile. He knew that Jesse was a good kid.
"He was prayin' to the car gods, man," Letty teased, smirking at Jesse. Everyone began to put food on their plates and pass the dishes around. It was then that Leon noticed someone walking towards the driveway. His face lit up when he noticed who it was. It was Vince.
"Look who it is! Old Coyote's R Us! I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin?" Leon asked with a smirk. He was glad his friend decided to come back. Vince shrugged once he got closer. Brian turned his head to see who Leon was talking to and was disappointed at the sight. He didn't want Vince to cause anymore trouble this evening.
"You know, I gotta eat," Vince replied. You could tell that Vince was irritated but he needed to get over it and spend time with his friends.
"He's always hungry," Letty said, looking at Vince. Alex looked at Brian, searching his face for some type of reaction to Vince being here. He seemed slightly tense.
"Alright sit down," Dom said, pointing to the open seat. Vince was thankful that Dom always welcomed him, regardless of his behavior. Vince kissed the top of Dom's head and took the empty seat. It was directly across from Brian. Vince grabbed Brian's beer and fountained some into his mouth before setting it back down on the table. Everyone just sat and watched the interaction between the two. Alex just prayed that they wouldn't start another fight. Brian simply picked the bottle back up and took a long swig. The tension between Vince and Brian was so thick you could cut into it like you would a piece of cake.
"Let's eat some grub, man!" Letty said, patting Vince on the back, trying to ease the tension. Thankfully, everyone got along okay and they were able to eat peacefully while they all conversed.
After the group finished eating, they headed inside to watch a movie. Alex got stuck washing the dishes since Mia had to do them last night. Alex was rinsing a plate off when she heard light footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see who it was.
"Need a hand with anything else?" Brian asked as he approached her. Alex smiled at his offer.
"No, it's okay. You go enjoy the movie. I got this," Alex told him, grabbing another plate, beginning to scrub it with a sponge. Brian shook his head.
"You see, the cook doesn't clean where I come from," Brian replied, grabbing a towel so he could dry the dishes after Alex washed them. Alex smiled at his words. He was always making her smile. Alex liked that.
"Boy would I like to go there," Alex said laughing. They glanced at each other a few times before Brian spoke up again.
"You know, I think we should go out sometime," Brian told Alex in a confident tone. He knew that he probably shouldn't be saying for the sake of his job but he couldn't help himself. Why can't he mix business with pleasure for once? Alex tried her hardest not to react to the butterflies that erupted in her stomach.
"Oh really now?" Alex asked, setting the last dish that she had washed on the counter. She turned the water off and looked at Brian, a smile playing at her lips. Brian nodded, drying his hands with the towel. "I don't date my brothers friends."
"Wow. That sucks. I guess I'll have to kick his ass then," Brian said to the dark haired girl next to him, a grin on his face. Just one date won't hurt, Brian thought, Sergeant Tanner will never have to know.
"I would love to see that happen. Scratch that, I think I would pay to see that happen," Alex said laughing. The laughter died down but the smile stayed on her face. "Maybe I can make an exception for you, though," Alex added in a flirty tone, gazing into his eyes.
Vince, who had already downed five beers, entered the kitchen. He scoffed when he saw Brian and Alex standing there together. He opened the microwave and grabbed the bag of popcorn from the counter, inserting it inside. It took his drunk mind a moment to figure out how long he was supposed to cook it. His eyes widened when he realized there was a button that said popcorn. He clicked that one. Brian was annoyed that Vince ruined their moment. Alex felt the same.
"Wash my car when you get done," Vince said, his words slurring. He laughed, thinking his joke was a lot funnier than it was. Alex frowned. She turned around to look at the drunk man.
"Excuse me?" Alex asked, crossing her arms. She was irritated with Vince. She had always hated the way Vince acted when he was drunk. Alex stood in front of Brian, knowing that they wouldn't start a fight with her in the middle.
"No, not you Alex. I'm talking to the punk. And wear your favorite dress 'cause when you're done, I'm puttin' you on the street where you belong, kid," Vince said with a cocky smile. Alex instinctively reached behind her and gently grabbed Brian's arm to make sure he wouldn't give in to Vince's taunting words.
"Hey V? What's that Cuban restaurant called? That one you said had the best fried plantains in California?" Alex asked softly, devising a plan to give Vince a taste of his own medicine. She let go of Brian's arm.
"Cha Cha Cha," Vince replied with a smile.
"Ah, I knew it was something like that," Alex said, then turned to face Brian and placed a hand on her hip. "You can take me there. Friday night at ten. Does that work for you?" Alex smiled a flirty smile at Brian. Brian was shocked. He didn't expect her to ask him out. He wasn't complaining though.
"Yeah. That's perfect," Brian told her, smiling. This caused Vince to storm out of the room. It pissed him off that Alex was interested in Brian. He had a bad feeling about him. Vince slammed the front door as he left. "So was that just to make him mad or are you actually asking me out?"
"I'm actually asking you out. I was going to do it before Vince came in, but I knew it would piss him off to hear me do it so I thought, hey, why not? He's always trying to piss you off, so I thought I would give him a taste of his own medicine, you know?" Alex explained. Brian nodded.
"Good. So Friday night at ten?" Brian asked. Alex nodded at him. She felt excited.
"Friday night at ten. I'm already looking forward to it," Alex admitted.
"That makes two of us."
Alex laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. By now, everyone had either left or was passed out in the living room. Mia came in the room to drop off some clean clothes that were fresh out of the dryer. It was her last load before bed. Alex hadn't been able to stop thinking of her and Brian's conversation earlier.
"What's got you so smiley tonight?" Mia asked, setting the basket of clothes on the floor. Alex snapped back to reality. Her eyes widened.
"N-nothing," Alex lied. She didn't want to tell Mia, then have Mia tell Dom. She felt as if Dom would be mad if he knew about the date, considering he and Brian are friends.
"Alex I've literally known you your whole life, I can tell when you're lying. Spill. Now," Mia said, closing the bedroom door in case anyone else happened to be awake. She walked over and sat on the bed with her sister. Alex sighed. She had been caught.
"I have a thing for Brian and we also have a date on Friday night.." Alex trailed off, unsure of how Mia was going to react. She didn't really know how Mia felt about Brian, they never really talked about him. Mia squealed with excitement. Alex nudged her. "You're gonna wake up Dom! Be quiet!"
"I can't believe it took him that long to ask you out. It's so obvious that you're both attracted to each other. Any time that you're both in the same room, neither of you can keep your eyes off each other," Mia told her sister, smiling. She was so happy for her.
"Actually, I asked him out," Alex corrected, a confident smile on her face. "I mean, he said we should go out sometime but I actually made the plan, you know what I mean?" Mia had an impressed look on her face.
"I've trained you well," Mia said, placing a hand on her heart, her mouth curved into a smile. "As much as I would love to sit up and talk more about this, I've got class tomorrow morning and I would like to be semi-awake for it. We are so not done talking about this though, got it?"
"Yes ma'am."