The Rich Boy in a Rock Band

Song 12 ♪ Vitamin Ashton (Leading Us Along)

Fun story, but the last time a guy asked me to trust him, I'd almost given him my virginity.

I'd been at one of Leti's fave parties last year. We'd got way past tipsy and I'd been dancing with one of DeAndre's friends a bit too tight. He was not as good looking and later I learned definitely not as nice, but he'd paid attention to me that night and we danced well. So well, really, that I let my guard down and let loose. I remembered it like it was yesterday. They'd been playing a classic by Tito El Bambino when he leaned down and whispered in my ear that we should find a room.

We'd stumbled upstairs in between giggles and sloppy kisses, and at that point I hadn't cared about notions like losing my virginity should be with someone I loved and all that jazz. I'd just felt hot and tingly and a boy had touched me in ways I liked.

"Trust me," he'd said once we found an empty room and closed the door.

We started kissing and lost clothing items, one by one. He sat on the bed and pulled me closer. I was drunk on alcohol and hormones and my feet tripped on our clothes. I went flying on him and, well, after that I'd sobered quickly.

It took what felt like an eternity for him to get his breath back, but by that point the nice mood had vanished. As he put on his clothes and glared at me he said words that were engrained in my head. The least insulting of which had been fat.

Come to think, that had actually been the last party in the barrio I'd been to. I felt like everybody knew what had happened, or hadn't happened, after that and I just didn't want to deal with their mierda.

I sighed. That all wasn't here or there and I didn't know why I remembered it again. It wasn't like this situation and that had any comparison.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Ashton's voice brought my wandering mind back to my body in his car. "I should've given you a choice."

I folded my arms. "You still could. I mean, there's still time for you to turn around and take me back to school."

That shut him up for a moment.

"I could. If that's what you want?"

I drummed my fingers on my thighs and looked out at the more sparse buildings on the outskirts of the city. If we went back to the school, I'd be able to catch up on my homework. I guess I probably would also have to see what the fuss was about in the music club. I looked at his profile from the corner of my eye. Along the course of a week I'd somehow come to terms with the fact that someone like him was in my life. I didn't think it was going to last because, hey, my life was not a telenovela love story between the rich boy and the poor girl, or even the pretty boy and the ugly duckling girl, but I was kinda curious to see how it could be to hang out with someone who was completely out of my sphere of reach.

"No, not really." I smiled as he startled.

"All that fuss for nothing?"

I shrugged. "Not for nothing. We do have to be back by curfew and we're looking at four hours on the road, to and fro."

"Easy, it's still early."

We did take advantage of the entire two hours on the way to Sarasota for him to educate me on rich people music. He handed me his iPhone to find a few playlists on it. It was locked and I handed it back to him. He just offered me his thumb to place it on the home button. I berated myself for the sparks I felt when I touched his hand.

This was nothing. Just two maybe friends, hanging out. I'd be crazy to get funny ideas in my head about him.

I didn't know how Ashton didn't drive into a ditch when I started attempting to sing to some piece of opera that I was trying to learn on the spot. I sounded horrible and there was no way around it.