She remained theperfect picture of adolescence snuggled into herpillow, clutching her teddy. I never even got to seeher naked.Mistakes come in threes,...my third mistake began withan unscheduled trip to the bathroom one night. I pastthe bathroom and went to her door. Force of habit, Ipeeped in. By the washed out night-light, I saw herteddy on the bed, the blankets were turned down. Shewasn’t in bed.I stood up. Maybe she’d gone downstairs to fix amidnight snack or something. Furtively. Little did I know it, but I had just confirmed his suspicions – a runaway 18 year old punk on his own. He reached out and began pulling the sheet off of me. I tried to pull it back but he yanked it to the floor. ‘You got smooth legs,’ he said. Then his look got hard. ‘One way or the other you gonna pay that bill.’ I was really frightened now. ‘Ok,’ I said. ‘I’ll pay. How much is it?’ ‘Six hundred bucks,’ he answered. My heart sunk. I knew that it was all I had, and the thought of having to give. We’d already driven two hundred miles that morning, and we still had another six hundred to go. We wouldn’t reach the ranch until that evening, and it looked like I was going to die of boredom before then. My parents said that flying would have ruined part of the whole vacation experience. Apparently driving through desert for eleven hours and watching ungodly amounts of sand and cacti go by was something necessary I had to go through in order to fully appreciate life. I peered out the window. She opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly silenced her with a quick but deep kiss. As we parted I simply said, "I'll drive" and started heading for the exit. We didn't hold hands or anything like that, as we walked to the car. After we had left campus, she directed me to her place. As we drove, she hiked up her long dress and placed my hand on her thigh. "I really hoped you'd say yes," she said as she inched my hand up her leg till I found a welcome surprise, no panties! As I drove.