Sadie was bewildered at Richie's appearance on her doorstep. She opened the door wider, "Riche? What are you doing here? You're going to catch pneumonia with your clothes soaked like that."
Richie smirked at her and stepped inside. "You want me to take all my clothes off, then?" He teased her, slyly.
Sadie tried to hide a smile. "Where's your brother? I gotta talk to him. There's a party in the works. It'll be too cool, Sadie." Richie explained, his hands on her shoulders.
She looked at him quizzically, "He's out in the garage. He's real grumpy, though. I think it's the rain." Richie kissed her on the check and headed towards the garage door. He paused a moment, and said over his shoulder, "Ace is on his way. Could you let him in, babe?" Then he was out the door.
Sadie tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. She looked from the closed garage door to the front door and back again. "It will be ok. They're just right there, nothing bad will happen. Just open the door and keep out of his reach." She told herself, her voice trembling so that she couldn't even begin to fool herself that she wasn't afraid. Her fingers played at the hem of her skirt nervously. She walked into the living room and sat down stiffly on the sofa. Her fingers drummed on her knee as the clock ticked the seconds slowly away. Sadie took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to get her racing heartbeat under control. She knew that Ace probably wouldn't try anything with Richie and Billy just a few feet away. However, she also knew that if he smelled the slightest bit of fear on her, he would revel in it. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.
Five minutes passed, and then ten and her breathing and heart rate had dropped down to almost normal. Ace Merrill was dangerous, but he was still just a teenage boy. A boy that she had known almost all her life. Richie and Billy would not let anything terrible happen to her and they were only a holler away from the front door. As she was thinking these calming and rational thoughts, someone wrapped at the door. Her breath caught in her throat. Then she was up and moving towards the door, a brave face on.
She opened the door, and there he was, in the flesh. A look of surprise showed on his face when he saw that it was Sadie and not Billy who had opened the door. "Well lookie what we have here." He said, a sly smile spreading across his face.
Sadie stepped back quickly while keeping a poker face. "They're in the garage." She said matter- of-factly, pointing towards the door. "Is that so?" Ace said, stepping towards Sadie. She nodded, and took a step closer to the garage and safety.
They looked at each other for a moment, Ace's blue eyes daring her brown ones to look away. They did not and simply went on returning his steady gaze. Suddenly, Ace's hand shot out and before she knew what was happening, she had stayed still long enough for him to caress her face. He trailed his finger from the side of her face down to her collar bone. Flustered, she stepped away again in confusion. Ace smiled again. "I know how to make you do what I want, Sadie, baby." He said smoothly. Before she could respond, he had begun to walk away to join the other boys.
She frantically scrubbed at her skin with her hand where he had touched her. "How dare he!" She thought to herself. Who did he think he was anyway? Still, lying under the anger was fear. Perhaps Ace Merrill was bolder than she had thought.
Ace had taken a seat out in the garage, pretending to listen to Billy and Eyeball bullshitting each other. He had enjoyed how things had gone. He hadn't expected Miss Priss to open the door, but that was ok. He had loved the fear he saw in her that she failed to hide. How she had been too shocked to move away from his touch. He smoked a cigarette. He had not forgotten the plan he had devised in the shower all that time ago. He was simply being patient. He would know when the time was right, and it wasn't yet.
He started listening to his friends, "My old man'll be gone. My mom's always gone. It's perfect." Eyeball was saying.
"I dunno." Billy said hesitantly. "If your old man finds out, he'll kill all of us, Eyeball."
"Aw, c'mon, Billy. He won't find out. It'll be fun." Eyeball answered, the excitement clear in his voice.
"Quit bein' an asshole, Billy. It'll be fine. We're all gonna have a good time." Ace spoke up.
Billy muttered something to himself and then began fumbling with the lawn mower again. Eyeball clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "Bitchin'!" He stood up from his seat, "I'm gonna go tell Sadie. Hey, somebody tell the other guys, huh?"
After Billy had left with Richie and Ace, Sadie had gone up to her room and sat on the bed, and cried. Her mind was completely under control and calm, but still the tears came. When they had eventually dried up, she smoothed herself out and stood up. She was going to put an end to her troubles with Ace Merrill once and for all. If her brother or her boyfriend were too pussy to stand up for her, then she would do it herself. Although she hoped that it would not come to that. Richie would be furious… if he believed her. He didn't even like anyone to look at her.
Ace had ditched the other two boys about an hour ago. He said that he had to help his old man, but it wasn't true. His father wasn't even home. His mother was downstairs on the couch, a cigarette smoldering between her first two fingers. She was watching a game show on the television set and Ace could hear some of the dialogue floating up the stairs. He was in his bedroom, sharpening his switch blade. He had really wanted to get Sadie in bed at her house, but when a golden opportunity came knocking on your door, you answered it. He wasn't entirely sure that he could pull it off, though. It would be difficult, but he was getting impatient. He would just have to play it by ear.
The Chambers home was nothing more than a three room shack. Tomorrow night when it was filled with a bunch of drunk teenagers, it would be virtually impossible to get Sadie alone. She would also be very unwilling to follow him anywhere, as she had last time. He rubbed at his temples, thinking. He had two options: The cellar or the wood shed out back. If he could think of a way to trick her into either of those locations, he would win.
