Chapter 10: She's Not Your Girl

The next day, John slept til one o'clock.

He woke up to the sounds of his two brothers laughing and slamming doors down the hall. He got up and took a shower. Then he headed to the kitchen to look for some food.

He looked at his Mom. "They woke me up again." He grumbled.

"Well somebody needed to. I thought you were going to sleep all day." Carol replied.

"I got in late."

"Here's the breakfast I saved for you. Did you talk to Dorothea?"

"It just wasn't the right time."

"Okay, but there may never be a perfect time. I'm going to stay out of it, though. I know you don't want your Mom poking her nose in your business."

"I'll handle it Ma."

John ate his food and drank two cups of coffee.  He needed to go see Richie and find out what happened last night.

He went up stairs to change his clothes. He looked out the window over at Ashley's house, and there was no sign of any movement. He wanted to call her, but he really didn't know what to say. "I've got to go talk to Richie." He mumbled.

He went out and got in his mustang and drove off.

Pulling up at Richie's house, he noticed Richie's car was the only one at home. He got out and knocked on the door.

Richie pulled the door open.

"Hey man. Come on in." I'm going out in the garage to rehearse a little. I've got a gig with Message tomorrow night."

"Yeah, okay." John replied. They walked out to the garage and picked up some guitars.

"How was your date last night?"

Richie smiled. "We had a good time. I got to know her a little better. Ash is a great girl."

John wasn't liking what he was hearing. Richie could tell by the scowl on John's face, he was a little bothered about something.

"Where'd you two slip off to, after the wedding?" John asked waiting and hanging on the answer.

"We didn't want to go home yet, so I thought I would take her to a club."

"Where did you go?"

"We went to Limelight."

"Limelight? What the hell did you take her there for?" John snapped with his disapproval showing on his face.

"Richie laughed. "What's wrong with Limelight?"

"It's wild over there, Ash ain't in to all that shit!"

Richie grinned. "She loved it. I asked her to go back over there with me tonight."

"You're going out again?" John felt like he had just taken a punch in the gut.

"Yeah I bumped in to Ace." 

John cut him off. "Aww damn, was he hitting on Ashley?"

Richie chuckled. "Yeah but she put in his his place really quick."

"Good he's an asshole." John barked.

"He said there's a card game there tonight and he'd like a chance to win back that two hundred dollars you won off his ass."

"I'm broke, the most I could get is twenty-five or thirty, maybe."

"Why don't you sell that amp, you don't use anymore?" David's cousin offered to pay you sixty bucks for it last week."

"Okay call him but tell him it's seventy-five."

Richie called David to get his cousin's number and he still wanted to buy it.

John got tired of the small talk and looked at Richie directly. "So did anything happen?"

"At the club?" Richie asked with a little confusion on his face.

"No between you and Ashley."

"What are you asking? If I slept with her?" Richie asked surprised.

"Yeah or did anything happen between you two?"

"I don't think you know her at all. Do you?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" John asked getting a little snippy.

"It's just, you act like I did something wrong. I think you forgot, I don't answer to you and she's not your girl!"

John's temper was getting a little hot and he was having a hard time controlling his feelings for Ashley. He stood up and yelled. "Well she sure as shit ain't yours!"

"Look Johnny you need to calm the fuck down! Nothing happened between us but, Ashley's free to date anybody she wants to! You ain't got no claim on her, man! Not to mention you already have a girlfriend!"

John lightened up a little, as much as he hated it he knew Richie was telling him the truth. "I'm changing that, I'm ending it with Dot." He announced as he sat back down.

"Are you serious?" Richie asked kind of surprised."

"Yeah, Ashley means a lot to me and I don't want to lose her. So you swear nothing happened. You didn't kiss her or nothing?"

"I swear nothing happened between us. But, before you break it off with Dot, there's some stuff you really need to know about this girl."

"What are you talking about?"

"A couple of things. This chick's got some baggage."

"Like what?"

"She told me last night her ex knocked her around."

John's face went hard and cold. "What do you mean?"

"While they were dating he was really jealous and sometimes he hit her. It got bad."

"Tell me."

"She caught him screwing her best friend and they fought at the top of the stairs at his house. He hit her Johnny, she fell all the way to the bottom of a wooden staircase and she was hurt really bad, she could have died."

John's eyes were blazing with fury, "I'll kill him!"

"Wait, there's something else."

"What is it?"

"Johnny, she really doesn't want you to know."

"Know what?"

"She's a virgin, man."

John's eyes got huge. "Are you shitting me?" He questioned.

"No she was pretty drunk and she told me all this shit. Please don't tell her, I told you. She said she didn't think you would understand."

"Damn, I don't know what to say."

"I knew it might change your mind about her."

"No, it's not that. But hell look at her, it's hard to believe she's a virgin. But that does explain her not sleeping with Bret."

"Yeah I guess it does."

David and Tico showed up to buy the amp for his cousin.

"You guys got anything going on tonight? David asked.

"We're going over to Limelight." Richie answered.

"Damn can I catch a ride with you? My gas tank's almost empty. The chicks over there are amazing." David chuckled.

"I guess you can."

John was dazed and deep in thought.

"What's wrong with you, man?" David asked.

"He just got some news, that knocked him on his ass. Richie laughed.

"Oh yeah, what's that? Is Dot pregnant?"

John looked up. "Bite your fucking tongue!" He yelled.

"No he just found out, Ashley's a virgin." Richie grinned.

"Aww damn you're shitting me, a girl that hot, is still a virgin?" No way." David shook his head.

"It's true." Richie replied.

Tico spoke up. "There's nothing wrong with virgins. You can teach them everything they need to know. And it's really true what they say.  The first guy they give it up to, they fall deeply in love with. They'll practically do anything for you. They never forget their first."

"Damn Johnny, why do you look so bummed?" David asked looking at John.

"I ain't never done it with a virgin."

"You've got to be kidding, all the girls you've banged and none of them were virgins?"
Richie asked shocked.

"How the hell did that happen?" Tico laughed.

"Johnny skipped virgins and jumped right to the older ladies in his neighborhood!"
David chuckled and the guys all started laughing.

John looked up with a grin on his face, brandishing his middle finger. "Shut the fuck up! I don't want Ashley to know about that shit, and you assholes, better not tell her!" He chuckled.

"We know the drill Johnny. We didn't hear nothing, we didn't see nothing, and we sure as hell ain't telling nothing! Brothers to the end man." Richie grinned.

"I hear you, But seriously Richie, no more dates with Ashley?"

Richie grinned. "Is that how you decided on Ashley, because she went out with me? Are you jealous of me, Johnny?" Richie laughed.

"Hell no, I ain't jealous of you.  But, I got some real feelings for this girl and I've got to stake my claim. I don't want her dating anybody else."

"I understand Johnny, but techically you are still with Dot and Ash agreed to go out once more with me. So I might have to seal the deal if you know what I'm saying!"  Richie and the guys started laughing hysterically.

"John shook his head laughing. You ain't right, man. But if you touched her, I'd have to kill you." He grinned.

"Well damn, you going to lock her away or something?" Richie grinned.

"She's so fucking hot I might have to. To keep all you assholes away from her."

"Yeah that's the down side of dating hot chicks man. Everybody wants a piece of that action!" Tico added.

"She ain't like that Tico." John replied.

"Maybe not but guys are like that, so watch yourself. The worst relationship I was ever in was with the hottest girl I ever knew. I couldn't trust my friends or my family. Hell my own cousin even tried to get with her. I was always looking over my damn shoulder."