Chapter Sixty-Three

**

“You gonna stick by me?”

“Maybe….”

**

“Hey, Leticia, can I talk to you for a second?” Miguel asked, right after the bell rang.

“Sure,” I said, hoping that it wouldn’t take long. I wanted to get to the garage and work on my car, get it fixed up to race that weekend.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” Jamie asked as she got up.

“Yeah, I should be home around eight or so, or you can call the garage,” I answered.

Miguel just sat there for a few seconds, until I started wondering if he’d forgotten he wanted to talk to me. Then, I realized. He was gonna ask me out. It was the first time a guy had ever really asked me out - Dom and I just sort of happened, nothing so formal as a date involved, except for that one time on my birthday. My stomach dropped out, my palms started sweating, and I was *pissed* at myself for being so nervous. I’d just tell him no, and that would be that.

Finally, when everyone but Loz had left, Miguel turned towards me. “Uh…you know, Isabel’s having her quinceanera next Saturday, and I was wonder….”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if you’d want to go with me,” he stammered out.

“I, uh…” I started, still not really sure what to say. I mean, I didn’t want to be totally rude to Miguel, he was a pretty cool guy. He just wasn’t Dom. “I don’t know, man. I was gonna race next Saturday….”

“Oh,” Miguel said, looking down at the table. “Well. Some other time then, maybe.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said as he got up.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what’d happened all the way to the garage. It was just unreal. I mean, even with Dom telling me Miguel was gonna ask me out, it was still…like it wasn’t really happening to me. I’d never really thought of myself as pretty, never thought I was the kind of girl that guys went for. That was Mia, or on the other side of the spectrum, the racer sluts. I knew Dom loved me, thought I was hot and all, but I always figured he was the only guy who ever would….

"Hey Letty," Mia said as I walked into the garage office. "How was school?"

"Damn, Mia," I said, sinking into one of the chairs. "You'd never believe it. Miguel...."

"Asked you to go to Isabel's quinceanera with him?" she finished.

"Exactly," I sighed.

"Guess he didn't pay too much attention to Dom, then...."

"Who?" Dom asked, walking into the office.

"Miguel," I answered, rolling my eyes. "I told him i was gonna be busy getting my car ready for the races. He seemed to take it okay...so hopefully he'll finally get the hint and drop all this."

"Oh," Dom said, quietly. "You know," he went on, flashing a quick look at me before looking down at a stack of papers on Mia's desk, "I was thinking maybe you should just go with him."

"What!?!" Mia practically screeched. I just stared at Dom, wondering what the hell he was thinking.

"Well...if anybody still has any doubts about us, this should convince them.... And besides, that kinda thing's what you're supposed to do in high school, isn't it? Go out, party with friends...could be fun," Dom explained, still not looking at me.

Mia and I just sat there staring at him in shock. I kept waiting for Dom to do something - anything - to take it back, so we could all laugh about what a dumb idea it was. But he just stood there. And every second that went by without him saying anything, the more pissed I got.

"So, call him tonight and tell him you've had a change of plans, you'd love to go to Isabel's party with him," Dom finally said, turning to walk into the garage.

I looked over at Mia, still trying to figure out if this was all actually happening or if I'd just somehow stepped into an alternate universe or something. She just shrugged at me, like she was trying to figure the same thing out herself.

"So tell me, Dom," I said, following him into the garage, "should I fuck Miguel too? Or maybe just suck his dick? You know, so then he can tell all the guys and they'll really believe we're not still together? You know, 'cause them seeing you all over Amber at the races wasn't quite enough to convince them. I mean, everyone knows that Dominic Toretto is God's gift to women, so of course I wouldn't mind if you cheated on me. Hell, the truth is most of 'em didn't think I was anything more than a fuck to you in the first place."

By this time, Vince and Leon had come out from behind the cars they'd been working on and were standing off to the side, watching. But they didn't try to stop me, and neither did Dom. Mia'd stepped out from the office, and I could feel her tugging on my arm, trying to get me to back off, but I just shrugged away from her.

"You hear that, Dom?" I asked, staring him right in the eyes. "No one believes you actually love me, or that you ever did. At all. No one. And shit, with you this anxious for me to go out with another guy, not just a friend but a guy who likes me.... Well, it makes it hard for even me to believe you ever loved me."

Dom blinked, looked like he was about to say something, but I didn't stop. I couldn't.

"It's awfully convenient for you, don't you think? This whole situation.... You get a girlfriend - or whatever you'd call me, shit, I don't even know anymore. And you've got the perfect excuse to flirt with all the sluts who throw themselves at you. Honestly, I have to start wondering why you've gone along with this shit for so long. The Dom I thought I knew wouldn't ever let some punk like Johnny dictate his life like this. So you know what? Fuck you, Dom. You want me to go out with Miguel? Fine, I will. You want me to act like I don't have a man? Fine, I can do that too. But you'd better be careful, Dom, and know just what you're asking me to do. 'Cause this could all come real faster than a quarter-mile."

With that, I stormed out, jumped in my car and took off, peeling out so fast my tires I could see the smoke from my tires out the back window. I didn't even know where I was going, I just had to get away.