"So, I see you and Dom are finally together—together," Jesse says as him, Brian, Mia, and I are in the kitchen. Mia and I are preparing some side dishes for dinner while the two boys are gathering bottles of Corona in their hands.

Mia shoots me a smile. "It's about time too."

"Okay, I don't need to hear how it was so obvious and we should've gotten together months ago," I state, taking a drink out of my own Corona bottle. All three stare at me while amusement written all over their faces.

"Alexis! Mia!" We hear Dom yell from outside as he's lathering the chicken up with sauce.

We walk down the steps into the backyard. Dom hugs Mia, and his eyes meet him over her shoulder. As Mia starts to lean away from Dom, my eyes quickly go to Letty who is engaged in a conversation with Leon. I guess the feeling of not wanting to upset her will always plague my actions in public when it comes to Dom.

A hand grasps my hip, bringing my attention away from Letty. Dom brings me into his side as he places the chicken on a place and I offer to carry it to the table. I sit to Dom's left, with Letty and Mia on my side and the boys on the other.

As Jesse goes for the chicken, Dom stops him. "Hold on," he says, putting his hand out to stop Jesse. "Because you were the first one out of everybody here to reach in to get the chicken, you say grace."

Jesse hesitates a moment before starting, "Dear Heavenly—"

"Spirit," Leon cuts in when Jesse pauses.

"Spirit, thank you," Jesse picks up again. "Thank you for providing us with a direct port nitrous injection, four core intercoolers, ball-bearing turbos, and titanium valve springs."

"Amen," we all chime in as we begin to fill our plates with food.

Dom points to Jesse, smiling, "Not bad."

"Praying to the car gods man," Letty adds.

Taking a drink out of my beer, I look to the driveway and see Vince approaching us. Raising an eyebrow, I say, "I thought you weren't hungry."

"He's always hungry," Letty chimes in.

Dom purses his lips. "Alright, sit down," he says, waving Vince over to the table.

Vince comes behind Dom to kiss the back of his head before walking around us girls, touching the back of Mia's chair, to the empty chair beside Leon. My eyes travel over to Brian who is not happy to see Vince here. The two guys keep eye contact as they take a drink out of their Coronas before dinner continues as played.

*****

I play with Dom's fingers as I sit in his lap as the movie plays. Everyone was together today, and although I wished Letty stayed for the movie, she told me she had a date she had to get to. Having everyone here makes me realize how much I cherish these people as family.

Vince gets up from where he's sitting to go into the kitchen. Knowing Mia and Brian are currently washing dishes, I silently groan. I turn my face so my nose is nuzzling the side of Dom's neck.

"Is it too much to assume Vince won't get pissed with Brian being in there with Mia?" I mumble against his skin, close to his ear.

Dom made a displeased sound in his throat. "Don't count on it."

Just then, Vince comes out of the kitchen, hitting the door in the process. On his way out, he yells to us to make our own popcorn before heading out, Leon throwing popcorn at his retreating figure.

I kiss Dom's neck before getting up and going into the kitchen to see the close proximity of Mia and Brian. Smirking, I walk to the refrigerator to grab a beer. "What made Vince lose his shit again?"

The youngest Toretto looks at Brian. "I agreed to go out on a date with Brian to the place Vince has wanted to take me to."

I'm midway through a drink of beer. Stopping, I bring the bottle away from my lips slowly as I raise an eyebrow. The cool alcohol travels down my throat as I watch the two. "So, you agreed to take Baby Blues here up on his date?"

Brian smirks as he hears his nickname as Mia nods.

Happy for Mia, I throw an arm around her neck to draw her in for a hug. "Looks like we both are finally giving these guys a chance."

*****

A few days have passed since I was content in the ways things were going, but then today arrived. Staring at the calendar pinned to the wall, my mood instantly darkens.

"I want to go out with you tonight," I tell Dom as he walks into the kitchen.

He shakes his head, "No Alexis." He goes to wrap his arms around me, but I step away.

Turning, my facial features set into a grim expression. "Don't Dom—don't baby me by any means. Don't tell me it's too dangerous or whatever bullshit excuse you have. I'm going." I fold my arms against my chest.

His eyes then travel to the calendar. "I know what day it is Alexis, and I know you're trying to get your mind off your father."

"It's his birthday Dom. I need to distract myself from falling into a slump because trust me—I'm not a pleasant person to be around when that happens."

He knows, of course. When my dad was taken away, I was a raging bitch for weeks after, but that still didn't stop him from wanting to spend time with me.

Dom sighs, "Fine, but there's better things to do to get your mind off of tonight."

"Like what?"

He smirks, finally stepping forward and pressing his body against my own. My back presses against the kitchen counter as he cages me in as he rests his hands on the countertop. Dom bends his head and kisses against the pulse of my neck.

I guess I should've seen this coming. Even though my body doesn't want to push away, I place my hand on his chest anyway. Looking up into his eyes, I smirk, "Very convincing, but for another time." I slide out from between Dom and the counter to grab my leather jacket. "Lets go."

Dom takes us to where Hector and his friends are hanging out. I'm leaning against a fence when I see Vince dragging Brian behind him. Straightening up, I go to see if Brian is okay, but Dom stops me by grabbing my arm.

"Smells like a cop," Vince says, keeping his gun pointed at Brian.

AN: I ENTERED THIS BOOK INTO THE WATTY AWARDS! I'm so excited and all the support for this book would mean the world!