Rivalry

I made Ace wait in the backstreet while I jumped the picket fence into Natalie's backyard and went to her window. She was waiting for me, and I helped her climb down into sweet freedom.

"Hi Cassie," she whispered. She hugged me so tight I felt my intestines move.

"Natalie... air..."

"Sorry." She let me go.

I saw that she was wearing a pinafore style dress and long sleeve blouse underneath, similar to the outfits she always wore. It hung at her ankles and was more conservative than a Catholic school uniform.

"Are you excited?" I asked. Although, by the way she was beaming from ear to ear and nervously fussing, it was obvious.

"Oh yes. My first date. Oh, I'm shaking inside. Is Vince here yet?"

"No. There's been a change of plans. We're meeting him at my place instead. Come on, Ace is waiting."

"Ace?"

"Yeah, he's our ride." I had actually forgotten that Natalie didn't know about us yet. "I... took a chance."

"Oh! Oh... very well then..."

I sensed her hesitancy and put a reassuring arm around her. "Don't worry, he won't bite."

"How can you be so sure?" she said with an anxious laugh.

Ace barely acknowledged her, which I thought was quite rude, but now wasn't the time to be sorting out the issues between them. I had half an hour to get Natalie ready before Vince would arrive, and I couldn't waste a second of it.

I made Ace wait by himself in my living room while I pulled Natalie into my bedroom.

"What are we doing, Cassie?" she asked.

I took the large, square, flat box from where I'd left it on my bed and handed it to her.

"A gift? You bought me a gift?" She looked at me like she suddenly wasn't sure if I was real anymore - like I was too good to be true.

"Just don't ever let your folks see it, because I bet they'd burn it."

She took the top off the lid, and her eyes went wide in surprise as she revealed the pastel green fabric. I did her the honor of taking out the bundle and unraveling it for her to see. It was a simple strapless style that tucked in at the bust and had a petticoat underskirt that made the dress flare. I had also bought her white heels and a white jacket to complete the look.

"Oh Cassie... it's gorgeous." I noticed her eyes start to well, and I took a breath to sort out that raw feeling that was building in my throat. I felt like a parent seeing their only daughter off to the prom.

"At first, I was worried about Vince being the one to take you out, but now, all that matters to me is that you have a good time. You deserve a good time."

I fussed over her for a full twenty minutes, fixing her hair and filling her head with all sorts of motherly advice. We heard Vince's Studebaker pull up, and I told her to wait while I went out to meet him. While I went out to lecture him.

"What are you doing here?" Vince asked Ace when he walked in the door.

"Waiting for you two to fuck off so I can get laid," he replied.

Vince's eyes just darted between Ace and I; for once I was witnessing Vince speechless and, I must say, I liked him much better that way. He looked good though, dressed smart-casual in tidy jeans and a black collared shirt. I was thankful that he'd gone to some amount of effort.

"Listen Vince," I said, you are going to treat her like royalty tonight. "Because if you don't, you will have me to answer to."

I'm sure that at any other time, Vince would have laughed at me for trying to give him orders, but I don't think he heard a word I had said. Natalie had entered the room and stolen his attention. If everyone has a color, that shade of pastel green was hers. Her dark hair flowed around her bare shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled with it. The dress was a perfect fit, and it hugged her small waist and flared at the knees.

Vince scrapped his jaw off the floor and pulled himself together. "Hello, Natalie," he smiled. "You look... beautiful."

"Thank you," she replied shyly.

Ace's eyes were repetitively scanning her from head to toe. It was something to finally acknowledge her, but I didn't approve of the grin that revealed every dirty thought that was running through his mind. I joined him at his side to remind him that I existed. But he hadn't forgotten. No sooner had the door closed behind Vince and Nat, he was at me, driving me backwards towards my bedroom.

2

After working up a thirst, we decided to go for a drink. I had to meet Natalie somewhere around there later anyway to see her home. I have to admit, I was nervous walking into Irby's with Ace's arm around my waist, but it was a mixed bag of reactions. Some people stared, some people didn't care. And none of the guys seemed surprised.

"Did you see Vince before?" Charlie laughed as Eyeball took his shot on the pool table. "All done up nice and pretty. That asshole smelt like fucking flowers. Can you believe him?"

"He ain't getting laid like he's tryna," Billy added. "I know them Catholic girls."

"What Catholic girl?" Eyeball asked.

"Where the hell have you been?" Billy said. "Vince has been bangin' on about her all day."

"You seen that new chick in town?" Charlie asked. "Her folks bought the diner."

"She's cute but Jesus, she wears some ugly dresses," Billy said, dragging the word 'ugly' through the dirt.

"Are you talkin' about Natalie? Vince is taking Natalie out?" Eyeball said.

"Yeah, that was her name."

Eyeball looked stunned and confused as if he couldn't quite comprehend it all. "That scumbag! He knew I was gonna ask her!"

"I dunno why either of you would bother. You'd have to marry her before she'd even let you cop a feel," Billy laughed.

"Natalie ain't like all them others," Eyeball said. "She's different. There's just somethin' about her that's... different."

"Why would I bet you anything when I don't him to make it anywhere, cocknuts?"

"Will you lot shut the fuck up?" Ace finally interjected from the booth. "I've been sittin' here for ten minutes listening to you pussies whine, and not one of you has brought me and my girl a drink. So, who's up?"

"Billy's shout," Eyeball snickered, putting his now empty beer bottle down on the pool table. "I'm broke."

"Yeah, me too," Charlie quickly jumped in.

"Nah, screw you guys, I bought the last round!" Billy protested.

"And now you're buying the next one!" Eyeball jeered at him.

"Come on, Billy!" Ace snapped. "Stop being a fucking scrooge."

Billy's face screwed up in disgust, and he carelessly threw Eyeball's cue onto the pool table, knocking some of the balls, before bumbling towards the bar.

"I don't think I've ever seen you get the drinks," I elbowed Ace. "Even I've done it a couple of times."

"Who do you think got all that beer for the party the other week? Or all that top-shelf liquor you drink up at the garage?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose."

Billy came back with an armful of beer bottles and all but dropped them onto the table in front of us. "That's the last beer I'm buying anyone here until someone buys me one for once," he said.

"So, if I buy you one beer, you'll keep 'em comin' after that?" Charlie poked at him.

"No dickwad. From now on, we should all take it in turns."

"Well, nobody cares what you think."

"He does have a point though, guys," I piped up. "Billy is nominated to buy more often than not."

Billy frowned at me, his eyes wide in astonishment at having some support. "See?" he told the guys.

"I'll get the next one," I said. "Even though I only drink beer when I'm desperate." I pushed the bottle he gave me over to Ace.

Nobody argued with that, and so when every bottle was consumed, I got up to adhere to my word. Joe gave me the same look as he always did – one of complete disapproval. His thick eyebrows furrowed so low that you could hardly see his eyes.

"What'll it be?" he huffed, leaning in on his bar.

"Four beers, thanks. And two shots of JD's."

Joe sighed and started on the order, moving at a reluctant one mile per hour. He finally poured my shots, and I went to hand him the money when Ace sat on the barstool next to where I was standing and pulled me in to sit on his knee. I reveled at feeling his arm come around my waist.

"Add another four shots to that," he said to Joe, and he put a five-dollar bill on the bar top. That would be enough to cover everything we'd ordered and then some, and so I tucked my money back into my pocket.

"You didn't have to do that. I don't mind paying."

"I wanted to." He held up a shot, and I picked up mine for him to clink before we downed them. Two more shots went down and Ace told Joe to keep them coming.

"Wow, you are feeling generous tonight."

"Generosity is my forte." His eyes strayed to a packet of cigarettes that lay open in front of the old man to his left, and he snatched one up and stuck it in his mouth.

"Right..." I chuckled.

The old man's attention stayed fixated on the baseball game playing on the television, and so Ace took another one and stuck it behind his ear. The man still hadn't noticed a thing, and so Ace swiped the packet and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

I shook my head in disbelief at his nerve.

Ace waved Eyeball over to collect the beers to give to the guys. "Pass over a dozen more, Joe. And leave the Jacks," he ordered.

Joe just looked at him and sighed before turning to get the beers.

It turned out that Ace had been milking the guy beside him for more than just cigarettes. He casually reached down into the guy's jacket pocket, which was loosely tied around his waist, and his nimble fingers soon flicked out a crumpled bill to hand to Joe.

"You sly bastard," I laughed softly, flabbergasted as he pocketed the change.

With a smug grin, he handed me another shot before tossing one back himself.

"Alright kids," Joe said, "that's it – ten minutes to closing time. Now scat."

"What are you fussin' about, old man? We keep you in business."

"Bullshit you do, now piss off."

Ace rose from his chair, bumping me off his lap, and he leaned in over the bar to stare at Joe who was staring back at him just the same. "Don't forget what I did for you, asshole. I can make that file reappear just as quick as it went missing. All I gotta do is say the word. You owe me so much, you're lucky me and my boys pay you anything at all. In fact, get me another bottle of Jack's on the house. Unopened."

Now, Joe is a big, brawny sack of man meat, and I bet he could squash Ace if he wanted to. After Ace had spoken to him that way, he looked like he wanted to. Those formidable eyes of his were staring daggers, and his face had flustered red with anger. But even still, he turned and got us a new bottle of whiskey and thumped it on the counter.

"Now piss off," Joe said.

Ace smirked and snatched up the bottle before grabbing me around the waist and leading me off.

"What's the story there?" I asked quietly in his ear.

"Few months ago, he was buying stolen booze by the truckload," Ace murmured back. "Top-shelf shit and real, real cheap. The cops knew about it and had gathered enough evidence to prosecute. All they needed to do was arrest him. But his file mysteriously disappeared. All the evidence they had, gone. He's stopped doing it now and so the cops can't do shit."

"And don't tell me – you have the file."

"Buried somewhere between here and Chamberlain. Easy to get, impossible to find."

I stared at him with a disbelieving grin. "Oh Ace, you are just something else."

"Don't I know it," he smirked, patting me on the ass.

Patrons spilled out of the small, crowded space and onto the pavement out front. I could hear whistling and catcalling going on, but it wasn't until Ace and I got outside ourselves that I could see what it was all about. Vince and Natalie had returned from wherever they'd been, and they were standing around outside waiting for us.

"Fuck off, you old fart – you want a knuckle sandwich? 'Cause I can make plenty of 'em to go, just for you." Vince was yelling at whoever had just whistled at his new girl while Natalie shied away from the attention by tucking herself into Vince's side.

The crowd quickly disbanded. They took their cars or faded away at either end of the street, leaving just me, Natalie and the boys who had all gone silent. I looked around at them all, and I kid you not, every single eye was on her. Including Ace's. I felt like making a stab at Billy for using the word 'ugly' earlier.

"Damn Nat," Eyeball said, shaking his head. "Just... damn..." Natalie blushed and shyly beamed at him as he approached her with his eyes brazenly roaming over her from head to toe.

"What do you think you're doin' man?" Vince said, standing up to him. "Take a hike."

Eyeball took a threatening step towards Vince who balled up his fists. "What am I doin'? What are you doin'?"

"Eyeball, go wait in the car," Ace cut-in, planting a heavy hand on Eyeball's shoulder.

Eyeball huffed and shook his head at the unfairness of it all, but the adamant look in Ace's eyes persuaded him to back down. He walked off, but not without winking at Natalie in one last fleeting glance. Natalie's gaze followed him the whole way until Vince pulled her around to tuck her back into his side.

Vince wouldn't let her go. He clung to her like he'd glued himself to her. Ace and I walked them around to the backstreet behind her house, and Vince made us walk back out to the road to give them privacy for a goodnight snog. Not even Ace's "hurry the fuck up, I'm hungry" hurry along was enough to get him moving. In the end, I peeled Natalie off Vince's arm and rushed her over the fence before he could follow us.

"Wow, Vince sure seems to like you..." I said. I locked arms with her as we took it slow to her bedroom window.

"He was a complete gentleman tonight," she sighed. "He opened every door, paid for our meal and movie... and he made me smile a lot. He made me laugh."

"Vince does have a unique sense of humor..."

"He was my first kiss," she chuckled. "I can't believe I kissed a boy. I feel like I'm finally a real woman."

"Was he any good?" I laughed.

"Yes... I think so. Although, I have nothing to compare it to."

"When a guy is good, you'll know."

We arrived at her window, and as we had a goodbye hug, she whispered into my ear, "Did you see the way Eyeball looked at me tonight?"

"It was hard not to."

"He must like me. He must really, truly like me."

A light turned on in the house, and both Natalie and I jumped like we'd touched a live wire. It was the bathroom light, just a little way away from us, and Natalie didn't spare another moment before trying to scramble up the wall. I crouched down so she could use my shoulders as a footstep, and she slid through her window on her belly, landing on the other side a little too loudly in her panic.

"Take off the dress!" I whispered up to her. If she was caught wearing that, it would all be over.

At first, she couldn't reach the zip at the back, and so I had to get up onto the ledge to unzip her. She shucked it off and tossed the heap of material down at me before jumping into bed and whipping the covers over herself. I lowered the window but didn't quite shut it and dared to wait under there for a second, just to make sure she was OK.

"Natalie, what are you up to?" said a voice. It sounded like her brother.

I didn't hear Natalie reply, so I guessed she was pretending to be asleep. Soon, I heard her door shut, and I decided it was time to get out of there.

3

Ace and Vince were waiting for me in the back street when I returned, which I was thankful for. It used to feel like a second home, but now the place gave me the creeps. I tucked myself tight into Ace's side as we walked, and I couldn't help scoping the place out as if I thought Lewis would jump out of the bushes at us, all bruised and bloodied like something out of a horror movie. Ace said that he was supposed to be gone now, but for some reason I couldn't believe it.

"Natalie's a blast," Vince said. "She's a real looker, she's not all ditzy or mouthy like some chicks can get, and she's up for anything."

"Anything?" I looked at him, concerned.

"Thanks for hooking us up, Cass. Although, I bet I could have done it without you."

Ace gave me a questioning sideways glance which I pretended I didn't see.

"Just look after her," I said. "And don't try to rush her into anything. She's new to all of this."

"Hey, I'm a complete gentleman!"

"You'd better be."

We got back to Ace's car where Eyeball was still waiting and partially dozing in the front seat. "Finally," he said, waking himself up.

"What was the big idea before?" Vince asked him. He took one irate step towards Eyeball, but Ace put a hand on his chest to stop him from going any closer.

"Go home, Vince," Ace ordered.

"You can get her out for me on Wednesday, Cass?" Vince asked, and I grudgingly nodded.

He walked off down the street to his car, still parked outside Irby's, and made a point of peeling out hard on the road. Meanwhile, I found myself sitting between Ace and Eyeball. We headed in the direction of Eyeball's place to drop him home and were a little way through town when Ace said, "Eyeball. Back off that chick. You hear me?"

Eyeball shook his head, looking both livid and gutted. "Ace, come on, man..."

"You and Vince need to stop fightin' over these broads. If you two fall out, I'm fucked. You dig me?"

Eyeball sighed and sunk back into his seat. "Yeah, I dig you." But I don't think he dug Ace at all. He kept looking over at him as if he wanted to say something to change his mind. "Vince knew I wanted to ask her out. He weren't even interested in her before I told him. And why are you helpin' him, huh Cass? I thought you hated him."

"The man makes a good point," Ace said, giving me a sideways glance.

"I don't hate Vince. The more I've gotten to know him, I just... accept him. And Natalie wanted to go on a date."

"Well, did you think of me? I've hung out with her; I know her best. So, if you were gonna hook her up with someone, it should've been me, ain't it?"

"What are you even talking about, Eyeball? You're with Carol!"

"Nah, me and Carol are done."

"Really?" I was shocked. Some signs had been there, of course, but I felt for Carol. I really did. I wondered if their breakup was the reason why she'd gone out of town for a while.

"I'm sure Nat's got a thing for me."

"Eyeball, get the idea out of your fucking pants NOW!" Ace said.

Eyeball sunk back into his seat and said a little softer, "I'm just sayin'..."

"Baby, lean forward for me," Ace said, and I did as he asked.

"Ah, fuck, man!" Eyeball cried. Ace had punched him square in the arm, and so hard I thought I heard the socket pop.

"Next time it'll be your face!"

We arrived at the end of Eyeball's very steep, gravel driveway, and I could see the outline of a big house up on the hill in the darkness. I looked out for Chris but didn't see anyone.

"Night,"I said as Eyeball got out, but I got no reply. He just slammed the door and went storming up the hill.