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

Chapter 28 - Dream Big Dreams

The next night, Ace dropped me off at the cargo train so I could catch a ride into Chamberlain, and we planned to meet back at the garage afterwards. I found Ace right where I expected him, laying on a creeper with his legs sticking out from underneath a car. I got down onto my hands and knees and peered under it to see him doing something that looked disgustingly greasy.

"Eyeball's car's parked out front. Did he come in tonight?"

"He's out on a boost."

"And Vince?"

"Didn't see Vince."

"Really? I thought Vince would show but not Eyeball."

"Guess he's still sulking."

"I feel kinda sorry for him. Did you know he even had a picnic hamper to take to the lake?"

He let out a sharp laugh. "That boy'll do anything if he thinks it'll get him laid. He'll get over her. He'll be back."

"Yeah. I'm sure." Although, I wasn't.

I got up off the cold, concrete floor and went into the trailer to fix myself a drink. By the time I chose something and found a clean glass to pour it into, Ace had followed me in. He came from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist, and I cringed and looked down, expecting my pretty blue shirt to be smeared with grease. Lucky for him, he'd washed up and it wasn't. He still had grease all under his nails though – you know how they get, and you wonder why they never wear gloves.

"I'm all done. What are we doing tonight?"

"Well..." I said before taking a quick sip. "I was thinking... maybe we could go down to the lake."

Ace laughed softly in my ear, making it tingle. "You're not gettin' sappy on me, are you?"

"I just wanna see it. That's all. I feel like I'm the only person who hasn't been."

He spun me around and just grinned at me. A teasing, taunting grin.

"Stop laughing," I said. "I just thought it would be nice. Like the view but better."

"You wanna get a good view of the lake? I got a place we can go. Somewhere... more private than the waterfront." I felt his hands dip under the rim of my shirt and slide up the skin of my back, making me sigh softly and lose myself to him for a moment. He kissed into my neck, making my head roll with pleasure, and he laughed before saying, "Let's go."

---

Instead of the '49, Ace decided to take one of the cars he'd just finished working on. He said his car might draw attention. We headed up into Castle View and drove right through it, eventually pulling off the road and into a large gravel area. We got out of the car, and Ace walked me right to the ridge where he explained that we were at Castle View's southernmost lookout. The sky was clear that night and the moon high, touching its faint light to the trees and rooftops and making the lake shimmer in the darkness below us. I could see that Castle Lake was like a huge crater with residences dotted all up the sides, peeking out of the shrub, while the lake itself was deep down in the basin, right at the center of it all.

He pointed at a cluster of houses up on a hill in the far distance, on the other side of the lake. "See those places up there?"

"Yeah..."

"That's where we're going."

"Oh," I said, surprised. "Do you know someone there?"

"Could say that. Come on."

We got in the car and followed the road as it began its descent down into Castle Lake. Even the impressive real estate in Castle View seemed low-class compared to what we passed on our way down. Most of the properties were concealed behind walls or trees or bush and so were hard to see into, but every now and then, we'd get a peek at huge gems poking through the rough.