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

Chapter 19 - Caged Bird

"Cass, get out to Ace's, now!"

Vince never rings me. I didn't even know he had my phone number. I was up early for once and relaxing on my back porch, enjoying an ice-cold coke on a hot afternoon, when Vince rudely interrupted me. He didn't even bother to say hello. He just threw his demands at me without even explaining why I was expected to bike ten miles out to Ace's in the blistering heat.

He did, however, kindly remind me that he had the dreaded 'feet' incident in his arsenal and could whip it out at any time it suited him. He pulled that card out every now and then, making me get him a beer when he was closer to the fridge than I was – stupid things like that. But this time, he had a seriousness in his voice that made me grab my bike and peddle like mad all the way out there.

I wasn't looking forward to seeing Ace. I had already called him that morning to ask if he'd talked to Antonia, but he said he couldn't get hold of her.

I got out there at around three, all hot and sweaty, to see a line of cars parked outside Ace's. There was the '49 and Ace's 52' Ford pickup, Eyeball's shitheap and Vince's Studebaker. The front door was wide open, and I hung around outside a minute just to listen. The house was filled with Vince's loudness battling with Eyeball's drunken slur as the two were locked into some pointless argument, and I could hear a girl's voice pitching in every now and then. She talked quick – a rabbiting rabbit. And I was quite sure I knew who she was.

"Oh, my word! Cassie!" Just as I stepped into the living room, the blonde's sudden outburst killed off the guys' bickering.

There were five of them sitting around on Ace's collection of three sofas that were laid out in a U shape. On the sofa to my left sat Carol and Eyeball, although the gap between them was large enough to sit an elephant. To my right, Vince was sitting next to a girl I didn't know, and he had his arm laying across the top of the sofa behind her. At first, I thought maybe he had a new girlfriend, but when I saw how pretty she was, I cynically threw that notion out the window. Ace was sitting alone on the far sofa. I told myself to stay cool around him, but when those sly blues hit me with a wolfish grin, I only felt more flustered.

"It's Carol, right?" I asked, an excuse to stop staring at Ace.

"Yeah! How are you?" she asked, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'm just great." I looked down at Vince who was taking a mouthful of his drink and paying no attention to me like he hadn't impatiently called me out there.

"Have you met Natalie?" Carol asked. "She's new to town."

I took in the dark-haired beauty who was sitting quietly next to Vince. Her green eyes smiled at me just as kindly as her cute little mouth, and she had a flawless, olive complexion. Wearing a pinafore style, navy-blue dress that flowed all the way to her ankles and a blouse that went to her wrists, she looked a picture of innocence. It was surprising that she could stand to wear all those clothes in that heat.

"Nice to meet you, Natalie," I said.

"And you," came her reply.

I went into the bathroom and locked it (mainly so Ace couldn't get in if he tried) and splashed cool water over my face. It felt so good that I basically ended up giving myself a sponge bath before changing into the other clothes I had brought with me; I had accurately predicted how sweaty I would get biking all the way out there. I picked a light singlet and high-cut shorts to keep me cool, and I ignored Ace's stares as I took the seat next to him while mindfully keeping my distance.

Natalie's eyes kept wandering in my direction, and she'd smile like she wanted to talk but wasn't quite sure what to say.

"How long have you been in town?" I asked her.