Beth found herself sitting in a corner booth of the same diner she had her first date with Dean thirty minutes after Rio had picked her up from the front porch of the house where the party had been held.
She hadn't felt like eating the hot dog that Dean had bought for her, and she was hungry. Rio had noticed her staring blankly out the passenger side window of his window, not speaking and suggested that they stop to get something to eat.
"I can't do that, Rio", she had responded. She hadn't gotten paid yet and she had used the last of her money to pay for her last date.
"Yes, you can darling", he responded. "My treat". He turned to look at her expression when he stopped at a red light.
He had already pulled into the parking lot of the diner before she could protest further.
Rio reached over and lay his hand over her clasped hands, which were resting on her lap. "I got it covered", he reassured her.
Beth shook her head again. "It's not just that, us out like this. What if kids from school see us? What would they think of us together at the restaurant together? They may start talking. Start assuming this is more than it is", she said apprehensively.
Rio narrowed his eyes at her and drew his breath in sharply, his mouth puckering as if he had just eaten a lemon. "Who gives a shit what anyone else thinks. I certainly don't care what they think. They certainly didn't give a shit when my parents died, and my grandmother got injured and couldn't work to support me or my cousin. They didn't care when your father ran off with his secretary and left you by yourself to take care of your sick other and little sister. Those snobby shits look at me like I am the scum of the earth for dealing drugs but then the same people are coming to me to buy weed off of me in the hallways", Rio concludes.
Beth took a deep breath, resolved that he was right, and it she shouldn't worry what other people think anyways. She's with someone who does give a shit about her and is there for her when she needed him and that's all that really mattered. Beth got out of the car and walked alongside Rio into the diner.
As expected, they passed three separate groups of kids from their high school, some of whom did a double head turn when they passed by and sat down together in the booth. Beth recognized some of the kids as being in her class and one of the guys at the booth across from them was Dean's best friend. She heard him cough and say the word "Slut" as she sat down. She frowned and Rio caught the look on her face.
"Elizabeth, he's just an asshole. Its guys like him who end up in a headlock in the boys' bathroom and then have their head dunked into the toilet when they say shit about you around me", Rio stated looking into her eyes as she looked away, down at her hands on her lap.
"What do you mean they end up in a headlock?", she questioned.
Rio cleared his throat and his gaze fell to her lips before he looked back up to her eyes, "Gotta defend my girl's honor. Can't let those assholes get away with saying shit. I know you aren't like that and now. They won't be an issue anymore.", he told her.
Beth bit her bottom lip. She shook her head and fiddled with a ring that was around her index finger. "Rio, we have never dated. I'm not your girl to defend. You are with Rhea", she said drawing in a deep breath.
He shook his head at her and looked at her with discern. "Not anymore, we're not together. I told her that we were done but honestly, we never started. I couldn't even be around her without looking at her and thinking about you every time we were together, wanting her to be you".
Beth's jaw dropped open and she looked at him with confusion clouding her eyes. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "Why would you want to be with me, Rio? I don't understand. We are so different, complete opposites." she told him.
"Darling, you think that we are different and on the surface that's true, but deep down, we are the same. We want the same things in life, to break out of the normal, the boring. We both are looking for a little excitement, to break the rules sometimes." he explained.
Beth opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted by someone coming up behind her. She saw a hand land on Rio's shoulder, yanking him to the right, nearly knocking him off the seat.
"Christopher, you are a complete liar. You promised me that us breaking up had nothing to do with Elizabeth. Less than 24 hours later, I find you out with her on a date. Are you kidding me right now?", Rhea yelled at him.
Beth was surprised that Rhea called Rio by his real name rather than his nickname that even his sister and cousin called him.
Rio shook his head in anger and recoiled at her touch, pulling his arm back from her grasp. "Us not seeing each other no more isn't just because of Elizabeth, Rhea. It's because I finally figured out what I wanted, and I was ready to go after it. Someone"…he gestured towards Beth, "showed me what's important in life and that's having someone that's your ride or die by your side. You aren't that to me, she is", he concluded.
Rhea stomped her foot and turned in Beth's direction. "If Ms. Goody Too Shoes is who you want then good riddance to you, Christopher. I can do much better than you.", she huffed.
Rio smirked at her and winked at Beth, "Sure, sure. I hear Dean Boland is single", he said laughing.
Rhea narrowed her eyes at Rio, spun around and stormed out of the diner.
As Beth sat at the booth sharing a plate of chicken fingers and fries that she had craved earlier with Rio, she smiled at him and he returned the smile.
There was a question burning in Beth's mind that she had to ask Rio.
"When you were giving me tips on dating with Dean, were you trying to sabotage the dates on purpose?", she questioned.
Rio shook his head. "Nah darling, Boland did that all on his own. I was though trying to show you that you had a much better option that was right in front of you though I was kinda horrified that you would pick Boland over me", he replied.
Beth laughed. "You succeeded there for sure, how can I ever make it up to you?", she asked.
As he paid the bill that the waitress had set on the table, he turned to her and gave her a sly smile. "Oh, I can think of some ways." he said.
Rio took her back to his house after their 'date' and led her into his bedroom.
Beth sat down on Rio's bed, nervously tapping her foot against the floor and looking at the wall.
Rio had undressed down to his boxers and had just thrown Beth's top on the floor after she brought it up over her head and was leaning his arm around her back to unsnap her bra when all of a sudden, the door flew open, and the door slammed against the wall. Beth felt the clasp slip open at that moment. Beth had thought Rio had locked it when they came into the room, but she may have been wrong.
"Oh wow…just wow…it's about time you two knocked some sense into one another and realized that you were meant for each other", Lucia squealed. She noticed their state of undress and started backing out of the room slowly. "I'll let you get back to uh whatever you two were up to before I interrupted you", she said excitedly.
Beth hid her face in the crook of Rio's neck, her cheeks red with embarrassment as she pressed her body close to his, trying to keep her bra on even though it was now hanging precariously off of her body. She giggled. "We have been found out by Lucia already", she said.
Rio pulled his face back for a moment before moving in again and kissing her gently and tossing her bra to the floor. "Ehh, she was going to find out sooner or later. Now where were we?" he asked as he moved his mouth lower to kiss her neck, moving to the tops of her breast, sighing with contentment.
Beth giggles. "I think that I can get used to this", she responds as Rio lays her down on the bed and straddles his legs over her body.
The next Monday morning Beth kisses Annie's head and tells her to have a good day at school as she heads out the door. Rio pulls up in front of her house and she gets into the passenger's seat. Lucia grabs her shoulders from the back seat. "Morning, bestie. You two ready to set the gossip ablaze at school this morning?", she asks enthusiastically.
Rio and Beth smile at each other with a knowing look.
Let them talk, Beth thought to herself. All she cared about was that she was had her ride or die walking next to her, his fingers entwined with hers. This was what dating should be about, she thought. She looked up at him and smiled; he met her gaze and squeezed her hand tighter.
Once they got into the building, Beth felt like all eyes were on them as they walked hand in hand down the hallway. They passed Dean standing at his locker. He scowled in their direction and Beth's smile only grew bigger. She leaned over, brought her lips up to his scraggly stubble on his cheek and kissed him. She wanted Dean to see them together.
Dean scowled. "Wow you sure move fast Bethie. You date me and then you move on to the school's biggest drug dealer", he stated, his voice tinged with anger.
Beth giggled. "Don't be jealous Dean, Rio is a better boyfriend then you'll ever be", she responded.
It was satisfying seeing Dean cringe when she called Rio her boyfriend. She knew that she deserved to be happy; it was Rio that made her happy and that was all that she had ever wanted.
Rio turns to her and pulls her closer to his body, "I never understood what you saw in that guy in the first place", he exclaims.
Beth smirks and leans into him. "Me neither", she says.