By the time I became a senior in high school, I had begun to assume a “big brother” role in the lives of several younger girls. None of them were serious dating prospects, so that was fine by me, I suppose. One such girl, Ashley Smith, began dating a guy who was new to the school, so I was doing my “brotherly duty” and making sure the guy was alright. He was in my World History class, so I made small talk during class.
During the October of my senior year, I went to my first rock and roll concert with Ashley and some of her friends. The guy she was dating was sitting a couple rows back, so we visited with him during the show. I’ve been to a lot of concerts since then, but I still have very fond memories of that concert.
Pretty soon they were calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend and holding hands and such. Her best friend wasn’t dating anyone and Ashley was determined to find a date for her so they could go on double dates. Enter ignorant ol’ me. Ashley talked me into going on a blind date with her and I agreed. We went on a couple dates during Christmas time and did some fun, Christmas-y type stuff. We went on some double dates, and even triple dates with another couple.
Well, that didn’t last very long. It turned out the only reason she was going out with me was so she could go on double dates with her best friend. Once I started thinking there was potential for something more serious, she jumped ship (which was a whole lot better than leading me on, I supppose.) Fortunately, by this time, I had gotten to know Ashley’s boyfriend pretty well and we hung out together a lot as I eased back into being single again.
Ashley and her boyfriend only stayed together for a couple more months and then they broke. We were two guys, single and in the twlight of our high school lives. There was no better place to be. No need to worry about commitments or expectations with girls. We had some good times just enjoying our youthful freedom doing crazy stuff as our senior year burned down.
Almost five years ago, David was the best man in my wedding. He is now slowly building an underground following for Christian techno music Just a couple months ago, we got to visit him and his wife in the hospital just a couple hours after giving birth to their first son. I still keep in touch with a couple of my high school friends, but David and I probably keep in touch the most. I don’t know whatever happened to Ashley Smith, but I’m sure glad I got to know her ex-boyfriend.
That’s a pretty cool story. 🙂