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Ace
The gravel leading to the auto shop crunches under my wheels as I make my way off the main road. This place is pretty much No Man’s Land. It’s not part of the Bay, but equally it’s not in the Heights, either.
I like it.
It fits me, seeing as I don’t really belong in either place right now.
I thought the Heights would always be my home, but after going back there that night, I realized it stopped being that the day I left. That place will always be in my blood, but I’m not sure I could go back to living there. Although I have a suspicion Donny wouldn’t allow it. He runs that place, and what he says goes. And he clearly doesn’t want me there any longer.
There are cars scattered everywhere. Some look pretty new, others even more beat-up than my brothers’ Ford, which really is saying something. The place is steeped in darkness, and I wonder if it’s already shut for the night when a guy emerges from the side of the building. He’s dressed in all black with heavy ink running up his arm. He is not at all what I was expecting.
He tilts his chin in my direction, and I bring my bike to a stop a little in front of him before jumping off. “Hey, you Gunner?”
“Yeah, but G is just fine. Only my mom and sister call me that,” he says fondly. “You Ace?”
“Sure am.”
Ellen didn’t say that she was going to ring ahead, but I can’t say that I’m surprised.
“Ellen said she might have the perfect laborer for me. I’ve been waiting for her call.”
“So what is it you need?”
He pulls a pack of smokes from his back pocket before offering one to me. Having run out of my own, I accept and put it between my lips to light up.
“You any good with engines?” he asks, gesturing for me to follow him into the shop.
“I guess. I keep this thing running and help with my brothers’ heap of shit car.”
“We do all sorts here. But I’m looking for someone to pick up a few hours. It’s going to be dirty work—cleaning up, making coffee, that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, whatever you need, man.”
“Great. My last guy decided he was too good for this place and fucked off to the military.”
“That won’t be happening here.”
“Good to know. So you grew up in the Heights, eh?”
“Born and bred.” I nod.
We chat for a bit longer. Gunner talks about his love of restoring vintage cars and his dream of opening a chain of auto shops. We talk hours and pay, and almost an hour later, I agree to come back tomorrow after school for my first shift.
For the first time in... possibly ever, I feel like things are looking up.
Remi’s forgiven me, I’ve left my life in the Heights behind, and I’ve got a proper job for once in my life. Maybe this move to the Bay isn’t so bad after all.
Knowing that she’s going to be in the pool house waiting for me, I rev the bike and push the speed a little higher in my need to get to her.
The sound of music spills out into the yard as I make my way toward where they’re hanging out, and I can’t help a smile spread across my lips. When I get to the door, I find Remi and Hadley nestled on the couch and my brothers sprawled over the beanbags, drinking beers.
“I said you could hang out, not party without me.”
“Ace!” Remi jumps up and runs at me, the bottle of beer she was holding crashing to the floor as she launches herself at me.
“Whoa, Princess. How much have you had?”
“I missed you,” she says, crashing her mouth to mine and sliding her tongue past my lips.
