Joe raced the car through no man’s land, a deserted stretch of road that ran alongside the mill. He felt a dull ache in his balls from draining them so completely. Looking over to Veronica, he watched her in the morning light. Noticing his eyes on her, she turned her head. “You okay?” Joe asked. Veronica smiled. Taking her small purse in hand, she rummaged through it. She held up the glassine bag that Donnell had given her. “Do you want this?” she asked. Joe glanced at her, what she held in her hand. “You don’t?” he asked. “Not really. I like how dangerous it feels to party with the dealers,” she said. “But drugs aren’t really my thing.” Joe held his hand out for the bag. Flexed his fingers. When she placed it in his palm, he flipped it out his open window, then grinned at her. Veronica laughed. “Be careful hanging out with those dealers,” Joe said. “Especially that kid with the hat.” Veronica let the warning hang in the air, her unenthusiastic response more the knee-jerk reaction of a teenager than anything else. The car remained silent as Joe pulled to the curb in front of her father’s house.
