Two Worlds Collided (Ace Merrill)

A Walk by the River

"Thanks, Lisa. I had a lot of fun," I say as I'm getting out of her car.

"Me, too. Except for when I embarrassed myself," she complains.

She hasn't really shut up about that since we left. It's her own fault, really. He told her no and she persisted.

"It'll be okay. He's got so many girls coming onto him, he probably won't even remember it in a week," I say.

She nods. "True."

I smile. "Night."

I walk inside and head to my room. Both my siblings are sleeping, and my parents are watching a movie in their room.

It's only nine, so I'm not really tired yet. I grab a book and go back downstairs into the living room.

I get preoccupied, though. First I just tidy up the living room, but move on to making the kitchen spotless after that. I'm not sure why my parents have been slacking on the house so much lately, but I don't really mind doing it. Cleaning is so calming.

As I'm sweeping the floor, there's a knock on the front door. I'm not sure who it could possibly be at ten o'clock. Nevertheless, I jog to the living room and pull the front door open.

Ace is standing on the porch, smiling.

"Hey. Are you okay?" I ask.

He nods. "Of course. Why?"

I shrug.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on an adventure with me," he tells me.

I hesitate.

"Is it safe?" I question, only half-joking.

He smirks. "Depends."

I giggle.

"Yeah, I'll go."

I put on some shoes and follow him to his car. The night is dark and warm, but a bunch of clouds are blocking most of the stars from showing. I have to feel around for the door handle when I get in the passenger side.

As he drives away from my house, he lights a cigarette.

"Want one?" He offers, holding the pack out to me.

I wrinkle my nose. "Oh, no thank you."

He smiles, putting the pack back into its place in his car.

"See? Innocent."

I frown. "I am not."

"Relax, Ellie. It isn't a bad thing."

I sigh and look outside.

"So, where are we going?" I ask.

"For a walk by the river," he shrugs.

I smile at him. "You're not going to drown me, right?"

He laughs. "Guess you'll find out."

He winks at me again, reminding me of earlier at the drive in. I look at him for a second, considering my next words. Then I decide to just spit them out.

"Hey, why'd you wink at me earlier? After you turned Lisa down?" I question.

He looks at me, raising his eyebrows. "Really?"

I nod.

"Yeah. I- I wasn't really sure of your motive behind that..."

He's quiet for a couple minutes while he drives. I'm contemplating telling him never mind when he answers.

"Well, Eleanor, I've got to be honest. You may not like it, though."

I shrug. "That's okay."

"Well, I'm not really seeing anyone right now. However, I would be very interested in becoming a little more involved with you." He glances over at me. "If that's okay with you, of course."

I can't take my eyes off him. As my cheeks get warm, I nod.

"Yeah, that sounds great."