After basketball season our senior year, however, we had a falling out. Despite of — or maybe because of — her parents not-too-subtle lobbying for her to exclusively date me she broke a date with me for one Saturday night with a bogus excuse — an out-of-town family obligation.
There was something about the way she broke the date that got my spider-senses tingling. That night I called up Debby on a bogus, although legitimate-sounding, pretext and found that she was surprised that I wasn’t out with Sharon. I made it sound like we were both doing other things that night and I don’t think that Debby caught on.
I went out looking for Sharon; when I saw her kissing, then getting on the back of the motorcycle of Jared Young, the best known “bad boy” in town, I was furious. No matter how much I liked Sharon I saw no future with her if she hadn’t gotten over what I coined her was bad boy “phase,” which I incorrectly thought that she had overcome. Plus the lying was a killer.
Obviously Debby told her that I had called on Saturday night because Sharon called my house (this was before every teenager had a cellphone) Sunday around noon. I had made it clear to my mother — who answered the phone 90% of the time — that I had no interest in talking to Sharon. My mom merely relayed the message that Sharon wanted to talk to me, which I thanked her for and then went to the gym to lift weights. Since I never called her back, after dinner on Sunday night Sharon showed up at my house. Since I was outside when she did I couldn’t avoid her.
With a cautious smile Sharon approached me with a nonchalant “Hi Carson; did you get the phone message I left for you?” She seemed to be angling for a hug. I stepped behind a rocking chair on my front porch to preclude that possibility.
“Yeah, I heard,” was my deadpan reply.
“Why didn’t you call?” she asked with some trepidation since she recognized my ploy of standing behind a rocking chair for what it was.
“Because I have no desire to date you until you both get out of your ‘bad boy’ phase and stop lying to me, that’s why,” I snapped giving her a dirty look.
My words and look set her back slightly, but Sharon is intrepid so she started to say “Well I guess that I should explain…”
That’s all that she got out before I said “I made my position clear. Give your explanation to someone who gives a damn, because I sure don’t,” and then I turned and stormed into my house, closing the door hard behind me.
For the next two weeks when I saw her at school I merely said “Hi” and never stopped to chat. I also started an exclusive relationship with Bethany, a girl who lived in my neighborhood but who went to a private High School. Since Bethany and I also had male and female parts that meshed nicely (though not as nicely as Sharon’s and mine) we had a good time together until we went to different colleges after the summer was over.
Two weeks after I broke up with Sharon as I was finishing lunch after all the others at my table had left she sat across from me. “I know that you don’t want to date me anymore because I lied and went out with Jared, but I value your friendship; can’t be at least be friends for the rest of the year and not have things awkward between us?” she asked.
I thought about it for a few seconds. I did like Sharon and the fact that I wasn’t interested in dating her anymore shouldn’t control my attitude since we were good friends before we became romantically and sexually involved, so I said “Sure; but never any discussion of dates with others,” as I held out my hand. She shook it, and we walked next to each other to our next class (the only one that we had together).
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Sharon and I went to different colleges. I went to an excellent small liberal arts college and played Division III basketball. Sharon went to the largest state school and played club basketball. We saw each other during the summers and often hung out together, sometimes just by ourselves. Being one-on-one with her was hard, however, because if truth be told, although I tried to fool myself that it wasn’t true, I was still in love with her. While I had more than my share of relationships in college no woman rang my bell like Sharon had!
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After my senior year in college, two weeks before I started my first job, my parents insisted on giving me a graduation party. It wasn’t until I got home that I was told that it was a joint party hosted with the Spencers, Sharon’s parents Bill and Debby. I was surprised by this since even though I knew Bill and Debby and they liked me I didn’t ever know my parents to be friends with the Spencers.
“So, Mom, what’s the deal with hosting a graduation party with the Spencers? I didn’t know that you were friends with Debby.”
“Debby and I have gotten to know each other over the past couple of months, and I know that you used to date Sharon, so when Debby suggested a joint party I was all for it,” Mom smiled.
“You didn’t think to ask me?” I inquired, although not in a hostile tone.
“No, most of the people your age that are invited are friends of both you and Sharon and by sharing costs with the Spencers we can have better food and drink,” she smiled.
I always had a great relationship with my Mom and could never get mad at her — but when she smiled, turned and started walking away, and then as a throw-away line said “Plus, who knows maybe you’ll rekindle your relationship with Sharon,” I knew something was up. In fact, that comment made everything clear. Bill and Debby had always hoped that I would be Sharon’s long-time mate and I’m sure that thought was behind the joint party. I wondered if Sharon was part of the plan — but then dismissed that as ridiculous.
When I got to the party the ridiculousness of Sharon being part of the plan evaporated at first contact.
When she slinked into the Community Hall which was the venue for our joint party there was no doubt that Sharon looked better than she ever had. Sharon had always been at least a 9.5 on the 10 point sexy scale; now she was a 10. She obviously had been religiously working out, her hair had even more luster than in High School, her face and body had a natural luminous tan, and she had done something with her light makeup to even more intensely highlight her piercing cobalt blue eyes. I was temporarily speechless — and then overcome with lust when she immediately came up to me and planted a quick, but meaningful, kiss on my lips.
As the evening progressed it became clear that the event was a setup to get me to focus on Sharon and that she was a willing participant. I could fight it, overthink it, or go with the flow; I chose the latter option.
When the party was winding down as Sharon came back from the washroom she stopped at the DJ and obviously made a request. “Last call,” the DJ announced, as a slow song started to ooze over the JBL Partybox 310 speakers.
“This is our song,” Sharon chuckled as she wormed her way into my arms. No more than ten seconds into the dance she shoved something into my front left pocket “A party souvenir,” she whispered into my ear. It sure felt like a pair of panties but I couldn’t be sure — but would find out later that I was right. As the song neared the end, with her right leg between mine which had caused my little soldier to salute she whispered “I sure wish that we could end tonight at the Westin on Broad Street; I have a room reserved.”