Chapter 9: Limelight

"So what do you feel like doing? We look too damn good to just go home." Richie grinned.

"I don't know, what do you feel like doing?"

"There's a pretty cool club not too far from here."

"We're not too overdressed?" She looked at him making a face.

"Nah, not for this place. It's a club in an old church, it's really cool. But stay close to me, because it's a little more out there than the Fast Lane. Sometimes anything goes."

Ashley's eyes got really big. As if she was deciding whether to go or not.

"Don't worry, you're with me. I won't let anything happen to you. I hope we can get in. Sometimes it's hard to get passed the assholes at the door."

Richie parked the car and they got out and got in line, that was already pretty long. A guy was walking down the line and letting people go in if he thought they were worthy of entry.

"The guy approached Ashley. "Hello there blondie."

Ashley looked up, surprised he was talking to her. "Hey."

"Would you be interested in dancing in one of the cages?"

"No she wouldn't." Richie spoke up and put his arm around her.

"Oh so you speak for her, do you?"

"Yes I do."

The guy looked Ashley up and down. "Well if you want to go on in I can let you, but only you."

"No thanks if he can't go in too, I guess I'll just leave and we'll go to another club."

"Is this dude really that important to you?" He chuckled looking at Richie.

She looked at Richie. "Yeah he is."

He stamped their hands. Richie paid him the cover charge and the big guy told them, "go on in."

Walking up to the door, Richie bumped her shoulder.

 "Damn you made that look easy. The last time we came here, they wouldn't let Johnny in and we had to sneak him in through the bathroom window." He laughed.

"Oh my God." She laughed and her mind drifted off to thoughts of John.

Back at the reception hall, John was standing outside drinking a beer wondering what Ashley and Richie were off doing together.

 He couldn't wait to get home and see if Ashley was at her house or still out with Richie.

Carol walked out. "Johnny, we are just about to leave. Are you riding home with Dorothea?"

"No, I'm riding with you. I'm ready when you are."

"Okay, I'll go find your Dad."

Dot walked up to John. "Do you want to come back to my house? Everybody has gone down to my grandparents beach house. They won't be back til tomorrow." She smiled at John.

"Let me catch a ride home with my parents. I've got to get out of this suit and I'll get my car, then I'll come over."

"Okay, that's fine. I'm leaving now. Don't be long, Johnny. Bye."

"Bye."

She left and he walked back inside to hurry his parents along.

Back at the club it was already packed. Ashley had never seen anything like this back home. There was a pulsing laser light show and a live band was playing some kind of music she had never heard before. There were cages hanging from the ceiling and girls dancing in them. She turned to Richie. "Wow, this is wild!"

Ashley felt like she was being watched. She looked up and locked eyes with one of the hottest guys she had ever seen. She turned her head and looked away.

He walked over and began speaking to Richie. "Richie, long time no see man."

"Ace, hey man. How's it going?"

Looking at Ashley, he responded. "I'm not doing as well as you obviously are." He grinned. He leaned over to Richie's ear. "Is this sweet thing yours?"

"I wish, she's just a friend. Forget it, don't even think about it. You ain't got no kind of chance." Richie grinned. "Ashley this is Ace."

"Hey nice to meet you. What kind of name is Ace, anyway?"

He began smiling. "My real name is Billy. They just call me Ace, because I'm the best at what I do."

"And what's that exactly?" She asked.

"Poker, blackjack, anything with cards really. And for kicks I like to race my souped up corvette. Be nice and I might give you a ride sometime."

She grinned. "I don't do vettes. I like Trans Ams better."

"Oh damn, you're feisty, baby where are you from? I just love that killer accent you've got going on."

"Mississippi."

"Damn if they all look like you down there, I might need to take a little vacation." He chuckled.

"So who owns this Trans Am you like so much? Maybe they can race me sometime?"

"I do and its better than any vette! Sure we can race anytime you get ready."

"Well shit now, you know that might be fighting words." He grinned. "I don't usually let strangers off the street bash my vette." He smiled. "It should smoke a Trans Am unless you've got something extra under the hood?"

"Maybe." She grinned.

"So you got any games happening tonight?" Richie asked.

"Nah, nothing tonight. Now tomorrow we got a little something brewing. Is Johnny's punk ass here? I want a chance to win my damn money back!"

"No we just left my cousin Robby's wedding and just swung by here."

"Okay." Turning to look at Ashley. "Can I buy you a drink Miss Feisty?" Ace asked with a grin.

"Okay she smiled. I'll take a strawberry daiquiri."

"Coming right up." He gave the order to the bartender and turned back around.

"How do you like this place, Ash?" Richie asked.

"It's really cool. It's a lot different than the Fast Lane that's for sure."

"Yeah the Fast Lane ain't got nothing on this place." Ace grinned.

"I'll be right back." Richie headed to the bathroom.

"So is this your first time in New York?" 

"Yes, we just moved to New Jersey. This is my first time here."

"Here you go Ashley." Ace sat her drink down.

"Thanks."

"So do you have a boyfriend?"

"How do you know Richie's not my boyfriend?"

"I'm psychic." He laughed, no Richie told me he wasn't."

"Oh so you asked him about me." She smiled.

"Yeah, I sure did."

"No, I don't have one, but I'm not looking for one either."

"A hot girl like you, I bet you have a lot of guys at the Fast Lane trying to be your boyfriend."

"A couple, I guess."

"And Richie's not one of them?"

"No not Richie."

"Aww damn , it's not Johnny Bongiovi is it?"

The mention of his name made her smile. "Why do you say that?"

"You just seem smarter than that to me.
Ain't he still dating the ice queen?"

"Dorothea?" She giggled. "Yeah he is."

"See he has too much baggage. He doesn't seem right for you."

"I told you, I'm not looking for a boyfriend."

"Well when you are, you deserve the best and that ain't Bongiovi." He smirked.

Richie walked up. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, not a thing." Ashley replied.

"Do you want to dance?" Richie held out his hand to Ashley.

"Sure, I would love to. She took his hand and they walked out on the dance floor. They danced to a couple of fast songs then a slow song came on. They held each other close.

"I hope you are having a good time, Ashley."

"Aww, I am having a great time. Thanks for bringing me here."

"No problem, I really enjoy spending time with you, Ash."

"I like spending time with you too."

When the song ended.

"You want to go watch the new band on stage?" Richie asked.

"Okay." They walked over to a table by the stage. A rock band had just took the stage and Ashley was really liking the music.

They watched the whole show and really were having a good time together.

John and his parents pulled up at home. He saw Richie's car still at Ashley's  and no sign of her car.

"Where the hell would Richie have taken her?" He thought to himself. He ran inside to change his clothes. Then he went out front to sit on the porch.

He had been out there for a while, when Carol walked out front.

"You aren't coming inside?"

"I'm going to smoke a cigarette."

"I thought you were going to quit. It really is a nasty habit, son."

"I know I am, just not today."

Carol watched him look over to Ashley's house three times while she was standing there.

"Are you out here waiting on that girl to get back with Richie?"

"Maybe."

"Johnny, now you know I am not a fan of Dorothea's by any means, but she is still your girlfriend. Do you have something going on with this girl? I warned you with Dot. A girl that will cheat with you will cheat on you."

"Well don't worry Ma, Ashley won't have anything to do with me because of Dot.
That's why she's out with Richie right now."

"Do you really like this girl? I thought so by the way you were looking at her at the wedding."

"I really do, but she just broke up with her boyfriend and she's been pushing me away."

"Well give her a little time and if it's meant to be, she will change her mind."

"Yeah I guess, but I just don't know where she could be with Richie. I wish she'd just come home."

"I don't know where they are. If you really want to move forward with this new girl, you've got to get rid of the other one."

"I know, I've really been pushing Dot's  buttons lately hoping she would break it off with me, but she hasn't done it yet."

"Sometimes you have to do your own dirty work. If you don't want be with her anymore tell her."

"I guess you're right, but I can't take the tears."

"Just follow your heart. You'll never go wrong if you do that."

"Thanks Ma, I feel a little better."

"You're welcome son, I'm your Mother and nobody wants to you to be happy, more than I do." She smiled.

"I think I'm going to ride over and talk to Dot."

"Okay, please be careful on the road, dear."

John went in and grabbed his keys off the coffee table. He jumped in his car and looked one last time at Richie's car, still sitting at Ashley's house. "Where the hell, could they be?"

He mashed the gas a spun out a little leaving the driveway.

He was trying not to think about Ashley, but thoughts of her flashed through his head.

"If I know Richie Sambora, like I think I do. He's somewhere with her trying to get lucky." He thought. "Damn it!"

Pulling up at Dot's he hesitated to get out. Ashley was all he could think about and he was beginning to wonder why he even bothered coming over.

Dot came to the door and opened it. He got out and met her at the door.

"Hi handsome." She smiled. "You finally got rid of the suit huh?"

"Yeah finally."

"Come in." She walked over to the couch and he followed. She was watching a movie and she turned the sound down. He sat down and she sat really close beside him.

"What's wrong Johnny?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired."

" You seem like you want to be somewhere else."

"I'm here with you ain't I?"

"Yeah I'm sorry. We've been fighting so much lately. I guess it's my fault." She replied.

"Some of it's mine too."

"The wedding was really nice. I had a good time with you." She gave him a little smile and started figeting with her fingers.

"Yeah, me too."

"It's good everybody is paired up again. Erica seems happy with Chris, so I guess it's good Richie found Ashley. Maybe we can go out with all of them sometime."

"Ashley's not with Richie! She only went out with him because he couldn't find anybody else to take to the wedding."

"Did you just hear yourself? You sound jealous that she went out with Richie."

"Hell no, I'm not jealous of Richie."

"Look I don't want to fight about some new girl." She cut her eyes at him.

"Good I don't want to fight either." He stood up and walked over to her Dad's liquor cabinet.

He took a glass and filled it with Jack Daniel's, hoping it would give him the courage he needed to break it off with her.

"You're drinking that straight?"

"Yeah I like it that way."

"Oh that's so nasty! How do you drink it like that?"

"I'm a real man." He grinned and took a big swig and coughed a little as the amber whiskey burned his throat, on the way down.

She poured herself some wine.

Let's go upstairs, it's been a while since we've been alone." Dot stood up.

"Okay." He stood up half heartedly and headed for the stairs. They went in her room and she laid on the bed drinking her wine.

"Come over here." He walked over to her and laid down on the bed. He finished the whiskey.  She started kissing him. He slowly pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

"I just feel like your Dad's going to walk in any second."

"Forget about him, he's gone for the weekend and we are all alone."

She started unbuttoning her shirt and kissing him again. She pulled him closer and took her shirt off. She started pulling his off and he grabbed her hands. "Wait."

"What now Johnny? I'm getting the feeling you don't want to have sex with me at all!"

"I'm just not into it tonight. I'm sorry. I got a lot of shit on my mind."

"Like what? What is so heavy on your mind that you don't want to have sex with your girlfriend?"

"A lot of shit, the band and some other stuff."

"Are you kidding me?" It's Saturday night and every couple in America is having sex and you can't because you are worried about your damn band! I bet Richie isn't worried about his band, I bet he's screwing that Ashley chick right now!"

John's mind went wild with thoughts that  Richie could be having sex with Ashley and it really pissed him off.

"Take your clothes off!" He yelled.

"What?"

"You want us to have sex, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, take your damn clothes off!"

"Okay." She took the rest of her clothes off and laid down on the bed. He removed his clothes and climbed on top of her. He roughly entered inside her and began forcefully thrusting into her as if to prove something to her. His face was cold and his touch was unfeeling. All he could picture was Richie and Ashley together.  After a couple of minutes he finished and jumped up and put his clothes back on.

"What the hell was that?" She asked sarcastically.

"You wanted to have sex, so we did."

"Damn it Johnny. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I just didn't really want to do it.
But I didn't want to hear you bitch about it all night." He yelled.

"That's not what I wanted at all! I wanted us to make love all night."

"I'm not staying here all night! I've got to go back home."

"Just get out!" She started crying. "Get the fuck out!"

He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. He couldn't stand it when she turned on the water works.

As he reached the car, he started to feel bad. He knew his feelings had changed for her and he was probably just using her. He wanted to end it with her, but he knew now wasn't the right time. He got in his car and drove off.

Pulling up at his house it was 2:05 and seeing Richie's car was still there and Ashley's car wasn't. "Fuck!" He yelled and hit the steering wheel!"

Richie saw Ashley yawning. "Are you tired? We can leave, if you're ready?"

"A little." She replied.

"Well let's get out of here. This crowd is getting weirder by the minute." Richie laughed.

 Richie stood up and started walking toward the door with Ashley.

"You heading out man?" Ace stopped them before they reached the door.

"Yeah it's been a long day."

"If you and Johnny want to get in on the game tomorrow, get here about seven. We'll be out back."

"Yeah sure man, I'll tell him."

"Miss Fiesty it was sure nice to meet you."
Can I get your number, I'd love to call you sometime."

She grabbed a pen out of her purse. And grabbed a napkin off the table. She wrote it down. "Here you go. It was nice meeting you too."

"Thanks, I'll call you soon."

"Bye." She smiled.

"Bye."

Richie and Ashley walked out and got in the car.

John was still sitting out front at 3:08 when he heard Ashley's Trans Am coming down the road and watched as they  pulled into the driveway.

They got out of the car. "I had a great time with you, Ash."

"I had a great time with you too. Thanks for asking me out."

"I'd love to go out with you again, we can take my car this time. I'm going back to Limelight tomorrow night if you want to go?"

"Yeah, I'd love to." She smiled.

"Can I get a hug?" He smiled and held his arms open.

"Sure you can."

She walked into his arms and he hugged her tight.

John's eyes were glued on these two in an embrace. His heart sank as Richie was right where he wished he could be.

Richie pulled back, smiling. "Thanks again. Good night."

"Goodnight Richie."

She walked inside and Richie drove home.

John was left sitting there on the porch wondering, where they had been and what the hell had they been doing. He finished his cigarette and went up to bed.