Damn Good Reasons **DISCONTINUED - SEE NEW VER!**

40 On a Knife Edge

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"We're done here," Ace said to me. "Let's go."

"Aw, come now," Junior said. "No need to break up the party; we were just getting to know each other!"

Ace didn't diddly-dally. He just took me by the hand and pulled me off my seat before he half-led, half-dragged me towards the exit. It happened so fast that I didn't really get to say goodbye. Mr. Merrill called out, "It was nice to meet you!" as I was being hauled along, but an acknowledging glance over my shoulder was all I could manage.

"I told you to stay out here for a reason, and he was it." Ace got behind the wheel of the '49, slamming his door.

"How was I supposed to know he was here?" I asked, getting in beside him. "Four hours, I've been waiting! I needed the bathroom!"

"That's why I told you to stay at Eyeball's!"

The humiliation and degradation of being dragged around and talked to like a naughty child made me seethe in my seat. I wanted the argument, but we argue too much these days. I took a breath, long and deep and told myself, He's going through shit, and he needs you to not lose yours.

"OK. I'm sorry. I should have stayed here." Should have stayed home would have been better. Should have stayed at the garage. Should have just downed a bottle and passed out on the sofa and everything would be hunky-dory.

I became aware of Markus standing right beside the car at Ace's door, making things doubly embarrassing. "Uhh... I'm gonna head out," he said awkwardly. "Meet you at... you know where."

"See you there, bud," Ace replied.

Markus headed to his own car, somewhere down in the dark, leaving Ace and I alone in the parking lot.

Ace snatched his cigarettes off the dash and lit one up. You could almost feel the calm it brought him as he inhaled from the burning embers and then sunk back into his seat, letting the smoke stream up and away, out into the darkness.

"You're going somewhere tonight?" I asked. "I take it I'm not invited?"

"This place is men only."

"Right..."

"Wha'd you wanna talk about?"

Mr. Merrill words rang in my ears. "Sometimes, we Merrill boys can forget what's good for 'em. We get caught up in chasin' things that don't matter and lose what does."

I remembered back to when times were good. To when Ace poured whiskey all down the front of me. To when he was so proud of me for winning that drag race in his truck. To the first time he kissed me. My stomach went all a flutter when I thought back through it all. I wondered what we were doing. Does money matter so much that it's worth all of this pressure, stress and worry?

"I ain't got all night, you know," he said, taking another drag.

"I was just thinking about that time we got drunk up at The View and everyone left except those two rich kids who fell asleep in their car."

Ace smirked to himself. "And we let down their tires and smeared their windows with mud."

"I can't believe they didn't wake up," I chuckled.

"'Cause they were as drunk as we were."

Ace and I grinned at each other - the first smile we had shared in what seemed like forever. But his smile quickly faded and he looked away for another puff.