Disclaimer: The Cobras, Castle Rock, etc. belong to Stephen King and Columbia Tristar. Katherine, her parents, Maggie, Sarah, and Jennifer belong to me.
Chapter 4
The drive to Erring Point was pretty uneventful; no games of chicken or anything like that. Ace had slipped his arm around me almost as soon as we pulled away and he drew me real close. Once or twice he tried to lightly touch one of my boobs, but I let him know that I wasn't having any of that. "Aw, come on Kat. You're no fun." he whined the second time that I pushed his hand away.
"Maybe later," I said, just to get him off my case. That was mistake number one.
"Good," he replied simply and I started to get a little nervous.
We pulled down a narrow, one-lane road that continued on a bit into the woods. I looked back at Sarah and she let me know with a Look that they were taking us exactly where they said they were.
After awhile we came out of the woods and the road merged with another one to become two lanes. In about ten minutes we came to Erring Point, which as you might be able to tell, was situated on a wide piece of land that dropped off a few feet at the edge. There were a couple of what looked like old shacks there, and Maggie had told me that kids used 'em to do all sorts of not-very-moral stuff. Ace and Vince pulled their cars up to the nicest and largest one and killed the engines. "Here we are, our home away from home," Ace announced.
We all piled out of the cars and apparently they had decided that it was Charlie's turn to climb through the back window and open the front door for the rest of us. He ran around the back and after a couple of second he opened the door and stepped aside so we could get in.
"So, whaddaya think?" Eyeball asked.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. It was sorta like a teenage version of a tree house. There were three old couches were arranged around the medium sized room, and a small hallway went into the back where it seemed a couple of other rooms were. Wooden crates were used for tables, a radio sitting on one, and a cooler sat on the floor. Gas-burning lamps were hanging from hooks on the walls for light. "What's in the cooler?" I asked.
"Drinks of course. We got beer, wine, and ginger ale," Eyeball answered and he crouched in front of the cooler and opened it.
"Wine and ginger ale?" I asked.
"Purple Jesuses, Kat. Ever had one?" Ace asked.
"Nah, I was always drinkin the harder stuff," I replied.
"Yeah, okay," Jack said with a snort.
We were all just kinda sitting on the couches at this point, the guys beginning what seemed would be a long night of chugging and getting off-their-asses drunk. Wow, fun.
"Sure she was! Tell 'em about the time...," Maggie started and trailed off.
"What time?" Ace asked with interest. Inside I groaned. Why did Maggie have to bring that shit up?
"Nothing, never mind. Maybe Kat doesn't want to talk about all that," Jen cut in.
"Nah, it's okay, Jen. I don't care. Which time are we talking about? The time I got kicked out of school for comin to class ravin drunk on straight whiskey? The time I blacked out on my pop's stash of rum? That was pretty shitty. Think I almost died that time," I stated matter-of-factly.
The girls looked at me, speechless. I think the Cobras were kinda surprised too. "What?" I asked.
"Way to make an impression, Kat," Sarah joked, and giggled. Jen and Maggie started to laugh, too, and then the Cobras joined in. After that everyone was pretty well relaxed.
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I had promised myself I wouldn't get very drunk, if only to keep an eye on my friends, who I didn't think had a lot of experience with the affects of alcohol. And after that first hour, I was only mildly buzzed. Jen was, too. I never really pegged her as the drinking type, anyway. Sarah, Maggie, and the guys, however, were all well on their way to being drunk with a capital D. That scared me. Sarah would be vulnerable to Eyeball, and Maggie to Jack, and I didn't think either of them would be very happy with themselves in the morning if something happened. Before I could do anything about that, though, Ace slid up next to me. "Kitty-Kat, we haven't talked privately *all* night," he said, and his voice and eyes were as clear and sober as mine were.
"I noticed, Ace. You seem pretty in control of yourself."
"Yeah, well, I can drink any a these bitches under the table. A few beers don't do anything to me," he told me.
"That's good to know," I answered honestly. It seemed to me that a semi-sober Ace would be a lot better than a totally drunk Ace.
"So, you wanna go in the back and talk privately?" he asked with a half-smirk.
"I think your definition of 'talk' is different than mine," I answered, and I fully intended to stay put.
"I don't think so. Come on, Kat, I won't do nothin to ya, swear it," he said and put his hand over his heart. "Sincerely."
"Well, since you put it that way...," I said and rolled my eyes. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Merrill."
"If I get outta line you can kick my ass, free of charge," he offered with a grin.
"Now *that's* a pretty good offer."
He got off the couch and pulled me with him and the little voice of reason in the back of my head started talking a mile a minute. I chose to ignore it.
-------------------------------------
We went into one of the back rooms, which was sparely furnished with just a mattress, an old rocking chair, and a lamp. 'Just great, Reyes. What the fuck have you gotten yourself into this time?' I asked myself in disgust.
"Wow, this is one swanky place," I said sarcastically.
"Isn't it though? Now, why don't you put your blade somewhere where I can see it," Ace said seriously.
"What makes you think I gotta blade?" I asked with genuine surprise.
"I just know. I'll stick mine in the door if you do the same," he offered.
I nodded. "All right. You first, though." I agreed.
He produced his switchblade from his back pocket and stabbed it into the course wood of the door and waited for me to do the same. I took my knife from my pocket and flipped it open and looked at it for a minute. Then I sighed and jammed it next to his. "Good," he said and those nervous feelings returned.
We sat on the mattress and for awhile we actually just talked. I learned about the drunk he had for a dad and the crazy he had for a mother. He told me about his sister, who had run away from home with her boyfriend when she was sixteen, four years ago. He only heard from her once a year, but she actually seemed happy. He said that every time she wrote she asked him to live with her and her family, that he'd be a lot safer there. He never went, if only to make sure nothing happened to his mother.
In turn, I told him about my shitty parents, and how much I hated them. "Well, at least they never beat on you," he said with disdain.
"I guess," I said quietly. I decided that I wouldn't tell him about their strange ultimatum. I really didn't think it made all that much sense, on account of they'd never given a shit before. I guess they wanted to create the illusion of the perfect family for this town.
"Hey, that don't mean your problem ain't nothin," he said quickly, maybe thinking that I was mad at him.
I smiled softly. "It's cool, Ace, I know what you meant."
"Good," he replied and leaned over, softly kissing my lips.
I kissed him back, and I felt him trying to part my lips with his tongue. I opened my mouth for him and he slid his tongue inside, and I did the same, my tongue for his mouth. It had to have been one of the most incredible kisses I've ever experienced, before and since. The way his tongue so thoroughly explored my mouth sent shivers through my body and made me never want it to end. One of my hands rested on his chest and the other played with his perfectly styled blond hair.
Then I felt one of his hands inching its way up under my shirt, and for a half a second I thought of ending it right there. But for some reason I didn't. He fingers glided lightly over belly and ribs, stopping on my lace-covered breasts briefly before dipping under the fabric to cup my naked skin. He placed kisses on my neck and jaw-line and I sighed happily.
The spell was broken by a knock on the door. "Ace! Ace man, open up!" one of the Cobras (I couldn't tell who) shouted from the hallway.
Ace's eyes flashed with anger and he slid his hands back out of my shirt and stood up. "Just gimme a second," he said shortly.
I nodded and ran my fingers through my ruffled hair, trying to make myself look presentable again. Ace cracked the door and spoke to whoever was there for a minute, and it didn't sound good. "What the fuck do you mean?" I heard him demand angrily and turned back to look at me.
He closed the door again and grabbed his knife from it. "We gotta go," he said.
"Why, what happened?" I asked as I retrieved my own knife and shoved it back in my pocket.
"Cops is comin," was all he said.
"Wait, how do you know?"
We left the room and I saw that everyone else was leaving as fast as possible. "Fuzzy's got a transistor. Someone called the cops about noise at the Point."
"Fuck," I swore softly.
"Yeah, fuck is right," Jack said as we jumped into Ace's car. I saw Jen get Maggie into Vince's car and I shook my head. At least she would be sleeping it off at my place where her folks wouldn't find out.
As we peeled away I noticed something interesting. It looked like Eyeball and Sarah were getting along because he was nibbling her neck and she looked into it. "Sarah?" I said her name loudly, just to get her attention.
"What?" she asked, and looked at me in annoyance. Well, at least she wasn't too drunk. It seemed like she knew what was going on.
"Nothin," I said, and leaned on Ace's chest. He grinned and squeezed my arm.
Both Ace and Vince drove at break-neck speed back to Castle Rock. As soon as we made it over the bridge they slowed to normal speed. Then flashing lights started behind us. "Just keep it cool," Ace said softly to the us.
"No, prob. You two quit yer neckin," I said to Eyeball and Sarah, who had seemed attached at the lips since we'd gotten a good distance from the Point.
"Okay, okay. No need to get nasty about it, Kat," Sarah replied and they did stop.
A policeman came up to our car and shined a flashlight at Ace and then at the rest of us. "What are you kids doing out so late?" he asked.
"Nothin, Officer Daley. We're just comin back from the dance," Ace told him.
"That Harlow dance ended an hour ago," the officer replied with suspicion in his voice.
"Yeah, well, we stopped to get somethin to eat on the way home," I said and smiled my cutest smile.
"I hope you realize that I don't believe a word one of these hoods says, girls. But I know that you girls don't cause much trouble, so I'll let you all go this time. But I'm warning you, next time I'll be calling your folks," said Officer Daley, and he waved us away at the same time his partner waved Vince and the others away.
Once we'd gotten a bit away from them we all let out a huge sigh of relief. "Shit, I thought we was toast," Jack said.
"We almost were. It's a good thing you girls are here," Ace said to me.
I gave him a flirty smile and kissed the corner of his mouth.
-----------------------------------------
When we pulled up to my house it was almost eleven o'clock at night. I was just relieved to make it home in one piece. "I would invite all of you in, but I think we'd better go to sleep," I said.
"That's cool, Kitty-Kat. Next time," Ace said and we began to kiss.
"Um, Kat? Can we go inside now?" I heard Jen ask from outside the passenger side after what seemed like only a couple of seconds. "I think Maggie needs to lie down."
I broke the kiss and sighed. "Yeah, okay, " I said. I got out of the car on his side and leaned on the door. "See ya, Ace."
"Night, babe," he responded and then roared down the street, Vince right behind him.
I joined my friends on the front lawn and was greeted by two pairs of raised eyebrows. I guess Maggie really did need to lie down. "You're one to be raisin your eyebrows, Sarah. You and Eyeball looked pretty comfy."
"Oh, please, Kat," Sarah answered as we started to walk. "That always happens when we hang out. I try not to, but it just always does. Now you and Ace, *that's* something new."
"It's not something. It's nothing," I said and unlocked the front door.
"Didn't look like nothing," Jen pointed out with a grin.
"Ah, fuck you," I mumbled and we entered my house. I flipped on the porch and foyer light and was greeted by the shrill ringing of my phone. I sprinted to it and picked it up. "Hello?"
"This is Mrs. Everson. May I speak with Maggie?"
'Oh, shit,' I swore silently. "She's sleeping, Mrs. Everson. First asleep, as usual. Should I wake her for you?" I asked, praying she would say no.
"Oh, no, that's fine. I was just making sure you girls were home safe and sound. I tried to call before, did you go to the dance?"
"Yeah, we sure did. It was a swell time."
"That's good. Well, have her call me tomorrow morning, will you?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Everson. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she replied and we hung up.
"Who was that?" Sarah asked from the doorway.
"Maggie's mom. She was checkin up on us."
"Oh, so what's the story?" Jen asked.
"Story?"
"Yeah, what are we going to tell our parents, in case they ever talk to each other," Sarah explained.
"How about we got bored here, so we went to the dance in Harlow. It was pretty fun, and we met up with a couple of people from school, like just acquaintances that they wouldn't know anyway, and we decided after the dance to grab a bite to eat. What do you think?" I asked them.
"Sounds fine," Jen said.
"Yeah, that's perfect. We're gonna have to fill Mags in tomorrow," Sarah said.
"Looks like it," I said, and glanced at where she was sleeping on the couch in the den, which is directly across from the kitchen.
Sarah, Jen, and me spread our sleeping bags on the floor in the den, and we quickly settled in. I fell asleep very happy with the outcome of that evening, content with the knowledge that there would probably be plenty of others like it.
Chapter 4
The drive to Erring Point was pretty uneventful; no games of chicken or anything like that. Ace had slipped his arm around me almost as soon as we pulled away and he drew me real close. Once or twice he tried to lightly touch one of my boobs, but I let him know that I wasn't having any of that. "Aw, come on Kat. You're no fun." he whined the second time that I pushed his hand away.
"Maybe later," I said, just to get him off my case. That was mistake number one.
"Good," he replied simply and I started to get a little nervous.
We pulled down a narrow, one-lane road that continued on a bit into the woods. I looked back at Sarah and she let me know with a Look that they were taking us exactly where they said they were.
After awhile we came out of the woods and the road merged with another one to become two lanes. In about ten minutes we came to Erring Point, which as you might be able to tell, was situated on a wide piece of land that dropped off a few feet at the edge. There were a couple of what looked like old shacks there, and Maggie had told me that kids used 'em to do all sorts of not-very-moral stuff. Ace and Vince pulled their cars up to the nicest and largest one and killed the engines. "Here we are, our home away from home," Ace announced.
We all piled out of the cars and apparently they had decided that it was Charlie's turn to climb through the back window and open the front door for the rest of us. He ran around the back and after a couple of second he opened the door and stepped aside so we could get in.
"So, whaddaya think?" Eyeball asked.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. It was sorta like a teenage version of a tree house. There were three old couches were arranged around the medium sized room, and a small hallway went into the back where it seemed a couple of other rooms were. Wooden crates were used for tables, a radio sitting on one, and a cooler sat on the floor. Gas-burning lamps were hanging from hooks on the walls for light. "What's in the cooler?" I asked.
"Drinks of course. We got beer, wine, and ginger ale," Eyeball answered and he crouched in front of the cooler and opened it.
"Wine and ginger ale?" I asked.
"Purple Jesuses, Kat. Ever had one?" Ace asked.
"Nah, I was always drinkin the harder stuff," I replied.
"Yeah, okay," Jack said with a snort.
We were all just kinda sitting on the couches at this point, the guys beginning what seemed would be a long night of chugging and getting off-their-asses drunk. Wow, fun.
"Sure she was! Tell 'em about the time...," Maggie started and trailed off.
"What time?" Ace asked with interest. Inside I groaned. Why did Maggie have to bring that shit up?
"Nothing, never mind. Maybe Kat doesn't want to talk about all that," Jen cut in.
"Nah, it's okay, Jen. I don't care. Which time are we talking about? The time I got kicked out of school for comin to class ravin drunk on straight whiskey? The time I blacked out on my pop's stash of rum? That was pretty shitty. Think I almost died that time," I stated matter-of-factly.
The girls looked at me, speechless. I think the Cobras were kinda surprised too. "What?" I asked.
"Way to make an impression, Kat," Sarah joked, and giggled. Jen and Maggie started to laugh, too, and then the Cobras joined in. After that everyone was pretty well relaxed.
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I had promised myself I wouldn't get very drunk, if only to keep an eye on my friends, who I didn't think had a lot of experience with the affects of alcohol. And after that first hour, I was only mildly buzzed. Jen was, too. I never really pegged her as the drinking type, anyway. Sarah, Maggie, and the guys, however, were all well on their way to being drunk with a capital D. That scared me. Sarah would be vulnerable to Eyeball, and Maggie to Jack, and I didn't think either of them would be very happy with themselves in the morning if something happened. Before I could do anything about that, though, Ace slid up next to me. "Kitty-Kat, we haven't talked privately *all* night," he said, and his voice and eyes were as clear and sober as mine were.
"I noticed, Ace. You seem pretty in control of yourself."
"Yeah, well, I can drink any a these bitches under the table. A few beers don't do anything to me," he told me.
"That's good to know," I answered honestly. It seemed to me that a semi-sober Ace would be a lot better than a totally drunk Ace.
"So, you wanna go in the back and talk privately?" he asked with a half-smirk.
"I think your definition of 'talk' is different than mine," I answered, and I fully intended to stay put.
"I don't think so. Come on, Kat, I won't do nothin to ya, swear it," he said and put his hand over his heart. "Sincerely."
"Well, since you put it that way...," I said and rolled my eyes. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Merrill."
"If I get outta line you can kick my ass, free of charge," he offered with a grin.
"Now *that's* a pretty good offer."
He got off the couch and pulled me with him and the little voice of reason in the back of my head started talking a mile a minute. I chose to ignore it.
-------------------------------------
We went into one of the back rooms, which was sparely furnished with just a mattress, an old rocking chair, and a lamp. 'Just great, Reyes. What the fuck have you gotten yourself into this time?' I asked myself in disgust.
"Wow, this is one swanky place," I said sarcastically.
"Isn't it though? Now, why don't you put your blade somewhere where I can see it," Ace said seriously.
"What makes you think I gotta blade?" I asked with genuine surprise.
"I just know. I'll stick mine in the door if you do the same," he offered.
I nodded. "All right. You first, though." I agreed.
He produced his switchblade from his back pocket and stabbed it into the course wood of the door and waited for me to do the same. I took my knife from my pocket and flipped it open and looked at it for a minute. Then I sighed and jammed it next to his. "Good," he said and those nervous feelings returned.
We sat on the mattress and for awhile we actually just talked. I learned about the drunk he had for a dad and the crazy he had for a mother. He told me about his sister, who had run away from home with her boyfriend when she was sixteen, four years ago. He only heard from her once a year, but she actually seemed happy. He said that every time she wrote she asked him to live with her and her family, that he'd be a lot safer there. He never went, if only to make sure nothing happened to his mother.
In turn, I told him about my shitty parents, and how much I hated them. "Well, at least they never beat on you," he said with disdain.
"I guess," I said quietly. I decided that I wouldn't tell him about their strange ultimatum. I really didn't think it made all that much sense, on account of they'd never given a shit before. I guess they wanted to create the illusion of the perfect family for this town.
"Hey, that don't mean your problem ain't nothin," he said quickly, maybe thinking that I was mad at him.
I smiled softly. "It's cool, Ace, I know what you meant."
"Good," he replied and leaned over, softly kissing my lips.
I kissed him back, and I felt him trying to part my lips with his tongue. I opened my mouth for him and he slid his tongue inside, and I did the same, my tongue for his mouth. It had to have been one of the most incredible kisses I've ever experienced, before and since. The way his tongue so thoroughly explored my mouth sent shivers through my body and made me never want it to end. One of my hands rested on his chest and the other played with his perfectly styled blond hair.
Then I felt one of his hands inching its way up under my shirt, and for a half a second I thought of ending it right there. But for some reason I didn't. He fingers glided lightly over belly and ribs, stopping on my lace-covered breasts briefly before dipping under the fabric to cup my naked skin. He placed kisses on my neck and jaw-line and I sighed happily.
The spell was broken by a knock on the door. "Ace! Ace man, open up!" one of the Cobras (I couldn't tell who) shouted from the hallway.
Ace's eyes flashed with anger and he slid his hands back out of my shirt and stood up. "Just gimme a second," he said shortly.
I nodded and ran my fingers through my ruffled hair, trying to make myself look presentable again. Ace cracked the door and spoke to whoever was there for a minute, and it didn't sound good. "What the fuck do you mean?" I heard him demand angrily and turned back to look at me.
He closed the door again and grabbed his knife from it. "We gotta go," he said.
"Why, what happened?" I asked as I retrieved my own knife and shoved it back in my pocket.
"Cops is comin," was all he said.
"Wait, how do you know?"
We left the room and I saw that everyone else was leaving as fast as possible. "Fuzzy's got a transistor. Someone called the cops about noise at the Point."
"Fuck," I swore softly.
"Yeah, fuck is right," Jack said as we jumped into Ace's car. I saw Jen get Maggie into Vince's car and I shook my head. At least she would be sleeping it off at my place where her folks wouldn't find out.
As we peeled away I noticed something interesting. It looked like Eyeball and Sarah were getting along because he was nibbling her neck and she looked into it. "Sarah?" I said her name loudly, just to get her attention.
"What?" she asked, and looked at me in annoyance. Well, at least she wasn't too drunk. It seemed like she knew what was going on.
"Nothin," I said, and leaned on Ace's chest. He grinned and squeezed my arm.
Both Ace and Vince drove at break-neck speed back to Castle Rock. As soon as we made it over the bridge they slowed to normal speed. Then flashing lights started behind us. "Just keep it cool," Ace said softly to the us.
"No, prob. You two quit yer neckin," I said to Eyeball and Sarah, who had seemed attached at the lips since we'd gotten a good distance from the Point.
"Okay, okay. No need to get nasty about it, Kat," Sarah replied and they did stop.
A policeman came up to our car and shined a flashlight at Ace and then at the rest of us. "What are you kids doing out so late?" he asked.
"Nothin, Officer Daley. We're just comin back from the dance," Ace told him.
"That Harlow dance ended an hour ago," the officer replied with suspicion in his voice.
"Yeah, well, we stopped to get somethin to eat on the way home," I said and smiled my cutest smile.
"I hope you realize that I don't believe a word one of these hoods says, girls. But I know that you girls don't cause much trouble, so I'll let you all go this time. But I'm warning you, next time I'll be calling your folks," said Officer Daley, and he waved us away at the same time his partner waved Vince and the others away.
Once we'd gotten a bit away from them we all let out a huge sigh of relief. "Shit, I thought we was toast," Jack said.
"We almost were. It's a good thing you girls are here," Ace said to me.
I gave him a flirty smile and kissed the corner of his mouth.
-----------------------------------------
When we pulled up to my house it was almost eleven o'clock at night. I was just relieved to make it home in one piece. "I would invite all of you in, but I think we'd better go to sleep," I said.
"That's cool, Kitty-Kat. Next time," Ace said and we began to kiss.
"Um, Kat? Can we go inside now?" I heard Jen ask from outside the passenger side after what seemed like only a couple of seconds. "I think Maggie needs to lie down."
I broke the kiss and sighed. "Yeah, okay, " I said. I got out of the car on his side and leaned on the door. "See ya, Ace."
"Night, babe," he responded and then roared down the street, Vince right behind him.
I joined my friends on the front lawn and was greeted by two pairs of raised eyebrows. I guess Maggie really did need to lie down. "You're one to be raisin your eyebrows, Sarah. You and Eyeball looked pretty comfy."
"Oh, please, Kat," Sarah answered as we started to walk. "That always happens when we hang out. I try not to, but it just always does. Now you and Ace, *that's* something new."
"It's not something. It's nothing," I said and unlocked the front door.
"Didn't look like nothing," Jen pointed out with a grin.
"Ah, fuck you," I mumbled and we entered my house. I flipped on the porch and foyer light and was greeted by the shrill ringing of my phone. I sprinted to it and picked it up. "Hello?"
"This is Mrs. Everson. May I speak with Maggie?"
'Oh, shit,' I swore silently. "She's sleeping, Mrs. Everson. First asleep, as usual. Should I wake her for you?" I asked, praying she would say no.
"Oh, no, that's fine. I was just making sure you girls were home safe and sound. I tried to call before, did you go to the dance?"
"Yeah, we sure did. It was a swell time."
"That's good. Well, have her call me tomorrow morning, will you?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Everson. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she replied and we hung up.
"Who was that?" Sarah asked from the doorway.
"Maggie's mom. She was checkin up on us."
"Oh, so what's the story?" Jen asked.
"Story?"
"Yeah, what are we going to tell our parents, in case they ever talk to each other," Sarah explained.
"How about we got bored here, so we went to the dance in Harlow. It was pretty fun, and we met up with a couple of people from school, like just acquaintances that they wouldn't know anyway, and we decided after the dance to grab a bite to eat. What do you think?" I asked them.
"Sounds fine," Jen said.
"Yeah, that's perfect. We're gonna have to fill Mags in tomorrow," Sarah said.
"Looks like it," I said, and glanced at where she was sleeping on the couch in the den, which is directly across from the kitchen.
Sarah, Jen, and me spread our sleeping bags on the floor in the den, and we quickly settled in. I fell asleep very happy with the outcome of that evening, content with the knowledge that there would probably be plenty of others like it.
