Ryan Davis was a man who liked to pick up women. Married, single, dating, or engaged, it didn't matter to him. For years it was his sport. He relished the feeling of a new conquest and always wanted more of the rush.
It was easy for him. He was young, good looking, made good money, and knew how to use his charm.
He'd gotten into a few fights over the years messing with the wrong woman though. It was enough that it had him reconsider his lifestyle and think about settling down.
Ace Taylor, who eventually became a friend of his sucker-punched him for talking bad about his eventual wife Jenny, after Ryan once tried to seduce her. Ryan helped save Ace's life a few months later when he was stabbed in a fight with a thief. They became very close because of it.
His boss at his old job racked him in the balls for trying to hit on her. He was caught massaging her shoulders by her husband. The husband stormed off and when Ryan tried to smooth it over with her, she used her knee the way men don't want ladies to use them.
Ryan had recently tried to get involved with a married co-worker, Ali Chambers, but her daughters had some football player friends jump him and he ended up in the hospital needing some minor reconstructive surgery
Getting beat on for those events was ironic. He never even got the girl.
For as long as he could remember he was always the top dog. His parents were wealthy, he had the best looking girlfriends, he was the best in his school at sports, and he even got excellent grades.
His guidance counselor in high school told him he could've been valedictorian if he'd have wanted it as much as he wanted to be a baseball star.
He entered the Major League Baseball draft straight out of high school and was drafted in the third round by the White Sox. He was fast, hit for average and power, and he had a cannon for an arm, so he was a top high school prospect. If he were a pitcher, he may have been drafted in the first round, but he was an outfielder.
He wasn't offered enough money in a signing bonus, so he took the route many players drafted in baseball out of high school do and declined to sign and went to college. He had taken a big chance to go for a higher draft status and a bigger contract.
Everything was on track for him until his junior year at The University of Florida. He was injured in a car accident. He was the passenger when the drunk friend driving passed out at the wheel. They drove off of the road and down an embankment. The car rolled over twice before it stopped and in the aftermath, Ryan had a badly broken leg and knee cap. the driver had a broken arm and concussion.
He was lucky to survive and was lucky, in a way, that after several surgeries, he was able to walk without a noticeable limp. If he's fatigued, it's more pronounced, but he keeps his muscles strong for proper support.
His baseball career was over, but he finished college and got a degree in Marketing. He still had a strong competitive nature but couldn't play any physical sports. He was able to play in a darts league though and became very good, very quickly. That channeled his drive to win.
After the accident, he changed. He became mean and surly and lost his girlfriend of two years when he cheated on her; several times.
He decided that he didn't want a long term relationship with anyone and kept to one night stands and sometimes short flings, if they were really hot in bed.
That changed two years after he graduated. He met a sweet girl named Carolyn Graham.
She was beautiful, in a classic way. She came from a wealthy family and carried herself with an air of class and grace.
They met when a mutual friend introduced them at a party. They hit it off, but he was unable to get her into bed that night. He was hooked on her though, looking at her as a challenge.
She gave him her number and instead of tossing it in the trash, he called her and asked her out. They dated for almost a year before Ryan got caught.
She was pressuring him to get married and he was fighting it tooth and nail. It ended one night when Ryan got drunk and brought a girl home from the bar where he was partying.
He was cheating on her for most of the time that they dated, but he started getting sloppy. He started flirting with her friends and even got two of them to take it farther.
He never noticed one of her friends, that he took to bed, sitting at the bar when he left the bar that night he was caught.
Carolyn got a call and was told that he was seen leaving with a girl. She rushed over to his apartment, let herself in, and caught him sitting on his couch with a girl bouncing on his lap.
When Carolyn saw them, she snapped. She threw anything that she could lift at him. The girl ran out half-naked carrying the rest of her clothes. Ryan locked himself in the bathroom to protect himself.
Eventually, Carolyn left and Ryan surveyed the damage to his apartment. It was trashed and she made several holes in the walls. After a few minutes, the cops came to investigate the domestic disturbance call they got from a neighbor.
Ryan told them the whole story but refused to give them Carolyn's name. He caused it and didn't want her to get in trouble over it. He paid for the repairs needed and was lucky to not be evicted. His landlord did refuse to renew the lease.
Carolyn was distraught. She had all of her mental pictures of a storybook wedding and a house full of kids shattered. She shut herself in and made no contact with anyone for over a month. Her parents flew in and put her into therapy and she recovered after a year of sessions. It turned out she had a hormone imbalance that caused anger management issues.
Her best friend, Hannah visited her several times a week and was her only friend through the ordeal. Carolyn did eventually reconnect with the rest of her friends and was introduced to a man who she eventually married and had her storybook wedding and children with. Ryan never spoke with her again, after that confrontation night.
Ryan went through the next few years traveling the country playing darts tournaments. There is a circuit for it, like a smaller-scale version of Pro Golf albeit with a lot less money.
Ryan became one of the top players in the country and had a group of cronies following him around that treated him like a king among peasants.
The darts tournaments were a breeding ground for girls looking for one night stands or weekend lovers. He was like a pig in slop and enjoyed it immensely.
He still played some tournaments, but being a successful realtor, he had to work most weekends and couldn't travel as much. He made much more money working and the thrill of making the sale ate up his competitive juices just as much as playing darts ever did.
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On a recent Friday evening, Ryan took his date to a nice steakhouse for his usual wining and dining. He made a show out of tipping the valet to keep his Mustang close, he then ogled his date's legs as she exited the car.
They walked up to the reservation desk and he said, "Hi, Ryan Davis, reservation for two."
The hostess smiled and said, "Yes sir, right this way."
As they were walking to their table, they walked past a happy couple enjoying their meal. The lady saw Ryan and gasped.
Frank and Ali Chambers were sitting in a booth enjoying the resumption of their Saturday night date nights. Their baby Frank Jr. had just turned six months old and their twin teenage daughters had proven responsible and trustworthy enough to babysit and give the couple their much-needed break.
Frank and Ali had hit a rough patch in their marriage just prior to her pregnancy. Ali gave him the "honey we have to talk" speech and separated from him. She was caught going out with Ryan and it almost cost her their marriage.
It was only a conversation with Ryan at a bar that convinced Frank that she didn't cheat on him with Ryan. He overheard Ryan tell his tale about getting beat up over a married woman. Frank had never met Ryan, and he was told the story as if Ryan didn't know him either.
Ryan spoke about getting beat up for nothing because he had never slept with the woman. Frank recognized all of the details from his story and knew that his wife was the subject of the tale.
It was hearing that story that made Frank finally believe Ali about him being the father of the baby.
With Ryan being in the same restaurant, Ali lost her good mood.
"What's wrong, hun?" Frank asked his wife.
"Frank, Ryan just walked by."
Frank remembered his wife almost being led to adultery by the young lothario and said, "So?"
"I'm sorry, I just got hit by a wave of guilt. I still feel so badly over my seeing him when we separated and how much I hurt you."
