It was a couple of weeks after things had started picking up for the guys before I got to have another date with one of them. I was glad to see that they were finally getting their mojo back, even if I was feeling a little lonely without their constant company. It did mean that I could get back to helping the council with legal advice on some of their hairier situations and getting some semblance of normality back in my days.

Brandon snuck into my room after Marc had left for work and sat on the empty half of the bed beside me, nursing a cup of coffee, while waiting for me to wake up. I had grown so used to waking to coffee from one of them every morning that it didn't take long after he sat down for me to rouse. I groggily said good morning and then drank the coffee like my life depended on it. I had been up late the night before going over the paperwork one of the lawyers that was getting ready to head to trial. They already had everything they needed and were well prepared, but they wanted someone else to go over everything to ensure nothing was missed and that there were no possible gaps for the defendant to try and sneak through.

Brandon laughed at my desperate coffee drinking. "Rise and shine Beautiful! Gabe wil be here shortly to help you get ready. We're heading to a vintage car show and I thought it might be fun to dress up for it. Most of the people that go dress in vintage outfits for the day and it's usually lots of fun. Besides, Who doesn't like looking at lovingly restored cars? I hope that's okay."

"I don't think I have anything to wear that would be classed as vintage or retro,' I commented, absentmindedly, while wondering when Brandon had first started attending these shows, and at what point he joined in with the vintage dress.

"Gabe says he's got you covered. There was something about sneaking some extra pieces into your wardrobe while you weren't looking," he said, laughing.

I laughed. I knew it seemed like the size of my wardrobe was slowly increasing, but I hadn't been buying anything.

"Oy, what are you laughing at?" Gabe called from the door. "Sang is the only other girl I get to dress. She has always been a little more conservative with her preferences, and we never really have a reason to get dressed up in vintage wear."

"I knew it. You are using me to fuel your addiction!"

Gabriel feigned hurt at my accusations before admitting that he did have a shopping addiction and that the variety of clothes and shoes that he has to choose from for Sang and I made it near impossible to not give into temptation when he spotted a good sale, or even an amazing outfit. It took a solid five minutes of bargaining with him to get him to agree to no more unneeded purchases.

Once that was agreed, Brandon left to get himself ready and I was sent to shower with strict instructions not to wash my hair. I had straightened it the day before anyway, so had no intention of getting it wet for the next couple of days. I always liked to try and get the most out of it every time I put in the effort to straighten is, because that in itself becomes a workout with how long, thick and curly it can be.

Once I had thoroughly scrubbed myself with my coconut coffee body scrub - Marc had been experimenting with ways to reuse his ground beans and this actually proved to work quite well, I carefully wrapped my towel around my body before stepping out into the bedroom. I found the door was closed and an outfit set out on the bed waiting for me. Seeing that it was a red dress, I decided to go for some of the sexier underwear that I owned, opting for the lacy red set that was almost the same shade as the dress itself.

Once I had the dress on, I stood admiring it in the floor length mirror hanging on the back of my wardrobe door. The dress itself was a crimson red, straight cut across the chest, with capped sleeves and a collar that wraps around the neck. There was a black sash around the middle, with a bow tied to the left of the waist. The skirt of the dress was a wide flare that sat out from my hips with the help of a petticoat.

After a while, Gabe pounded on the door demanding to know if I was dressed yet so he could come in and get my hair and make up sorted. I quickly obliged and by the time he was done, my hair and make up were immaculate. Gabe had coiffed the front of my hair, pinning it up, before tying a red and black bandana around my head and covering the pins. The ends of my hair were curled. My make up was fairly simple. Dark eyeliner and lashes, deep pink blush across my cheeks and deep red lipstick. It all tied together nicely and was complimented by the black, lace heels and matching purse. He really did know his stuff.

He escorted me downstairs where we met with Brandon. I stopped mid-step when I saw him. Gabe chuckled and excused himself, leaving us to get on the road. Brandon was wearing black slacks and dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His ensemble was finished off with red suspenders and a bowtie to match my dress.

When we arrived at the event, I was surprised to see just how large it was. There were rows upon rows of vintage cars, each one polished to the point of being able to see your reflection in it. I was in heaven. Brandon offered me his elbow as we started moving toward the first row of cars. We took our time making our way through each row of cars, from Porsche to Jaguar, Ferrari to Triumph, Lexus to Lamborghini, Morgan to Lotus. Virtually all makes of cars.

I wasn't sure who was more excited, between Brandon and I, at each new car we stopped to look at. That is, until we got to the 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. I wasn't able to contain my excitement with this one. Brandon laughed at my enthusiasm.

"Okay, what gives? We have both been excited for all of the cars we have seen so far, and especially the quality of the restorations, but this one, you've gone from enthusiast to kid on a sugar high in a candy store." The light in his eyes told me that he was genuinely excited and curious about my reaction.

"One of the first movies I remember watching is Smokey and the Bandit. I loved that car from the minute I saw it and always wanted to buy one and restore it from the ground up. Of course, to do that, I would need to learn how to actually restore a car and everything that is associated with it."

"I would love to teach you, if you are still interested in learning? I have contacts that will help us track down a body to be worked on."

"I would love that," I exclaimed, turning to kiss him on the cheek. "Though, given how busy you guys are getting, I'm not sure we'll have time to work on it all that often."

"We'll make time, even if I have to rope the others into helping out around the shop somehow, so that we can all spend time together. We'll do what we can to work around our schedules. We all want to make this work."

I was suddenly aware that we were no longer talking about the car. His words were comforting and seemed sincere, which helped put me further at ease about the situation we had all found ourselves in.

As we came to the end of the row that we were walking down, I noticed we were about to pass a concession stand, serving food and drinks. I separated from Brandon to purchase myself a bottle of water, asking if he would like one. He mumbled a distracted "no thanks" as he started down the end of the next row. We were moving from cars to bike and I couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up when I realised that was where the distraction was coming from.

I purchased my water and took a sip as I made my way back toward Brandon. He was still in the same place, looking at the same bike, only he was no longer alone. There was a tall, leggy, blonde in a dress that was so tight that it may as well have been painted on clinging to his arm like her life depended on him. Poor Brandon looked incredibly uncomfortable at having her so close to him.

As I got closer, I was better able to hear what Barbie was saying.

"You know," she purred, trying to sound sexy. "I heard that the person who owns this fine piece of machinery is looking for someone to ride in his sidecar."

"Oh thank god," Brandon mumbled when he saw me approaching. "Look, I have no idea who you are, or how you found out that I am the owner of the bike, but I already have someone to ride with me."

Barbie looked over to where I was standing, appearing to size me up but still not letting go of Brandon's arm. I stepped forward, wrapped one arm around Brandon's neck as I peeled her fingers off his arm, locking eyes with her and giving her a menacing expression, making it clear she was not welcome here. To emphasise my point, I leant in and gave Brandon a kiss, the two of us becoming locked in a battle of dominance. The moment only broken by Barbie throwing a tantrum as she stormed away.

"So this one is really yours?" I asked Brandon, once the laughter had subsided.

"Sure is. It was my first and only personal restoration of a bike and sidecar. I mostly just do bikes, but the occasional client will want one with a sidecar too. It's good to be able to show them the work you can do. I usually enter it into the shows as well. It has sent some business my way over the years."

We talked a little more as we made our way through the rest of the motorcycles, enjoying the craftsmanship that had gone into them as well. Brandon was incredibly animated as he explained the history of each of the bikes to me. I enjoyed seeing him in his element like this. He was far more animated than I usually saw him.

As we made our way beyond the vehicles that were lined up, toward the entrance to a hall, I found myself gravitating further toward Brandon, removing what little space had been left between us. I knew there was swing band playing in the hall from the music that had been flowing throughout the park. What I didn't know, until we were close enough to read the signs, was that there was a swing dance competition running today as well.

"Ooh! Brandon! Tell me you can dance? It would be so much fun to enter!"

He pulled a face at me as I continued to try and talk him into dancing with me.

"Alright," he eventually relented. "But if any of the guys hear about this, we are going to have issues."

I laughed at his grumbled attempt at a threat, knowing that he meant it when he didn't want them to know, but that he wasn't serious about us having issues. Either way, I assured him they would only know as much as he wanted them to. Unless we somehow managed to win. If we won, I reserved all rights to brag to anyone and everyone about it.

We signed up for the competition and took our place on the floor. I had taken lessons in my teenage days, as a type of hobby and, though it took a while, I like to think that I picked it up pretty well. What had me most surprised was the level of skill that Brandon had. It was like he had been dancing his whole life, though I highly doubted it. It wasn't a skill listed in his Academy profile, either, so it really was a hidden talent.

It only took a couple of songs for us to realise that we were having far too much fun and not taking it anywhere near seriously enough to stand a chance at winning, so we decided to call it quits. The side eye we were getting from those around us that were taking it seriously was frightening. We made our way across to the diner that had been set up in the far end of the building, near the kitchen. They had black and white checked linoleum laid to separate the diner area from the dancing and bands and the chairs were all red vinyl.

We sat at a free table and began looking at the menu. It wasn't long before a waitress greeted us.

"Hi, and welcome to Retro Cafe. I'm Cindy, your waitress. What can I get you?" She asked us.

"Hi Cindy. I would like the Grease special please," Brandon replied.

"A Grease special?" I asked. "What's that?"

"It's the meal that Danny orders in Grease, a double polar burger with everything and a cherry soda with chocolate ice cream - if you tell anyone that I knew that I will deny it completely."

I laughed. "That actually sounds really good. I'll have that too please."

Cindy rushed off to the kitchen to place our order and moved on to her next table while we were waiting for it to be filled. We talked and laughed while listening to the bad that was playing and laughing at how seriously everyone that was competing was taking the swing dancing. It was meant to be fun, not serious.

The minute we got home, Brandon started making plans to track down my car so that we could get to work on our new project. We decided that each of us should find a car we want to restore and we can work together at home to bring them back to life, as a family activity. It was at that point I realised these men truly were my family and I wasn't going to walk away from them for anything.