Debbie's Story
I fell hard and fast for John. Every time we were together, I found something new to like about him. Yes, he was my type physically, tall and blond, but there are plenty of guys like that. It was everything else that came with him that attracted me. He's humble. Smart. Funny. Kind. Calm under pressure. He stands up for what's right. He puts my needs before his own.
Unfortunately, he's also a cheater. Maybe that isn't fair. He cheated. Does that mean he'll cheat again? Maybe. I don't know. The thought scares me.
John's humility probably contributed to him cheating. He doesn't see himself as a hunk, but he is, and that makes him a target. The little bitch who roped him probably had him picked out before he was even introduced to her.
For me, this nightmare started when the bitch appeared at my door. I didn't buzz her in, so she must have snuck in with some other tenant. I heard a knock on the door and peeked through the peephole to see a petite brunette. I assumed she was a new neighbor. There are twelve units in our building and there's a lot of churn, people moving out, people moving in. I barely had the door open when she started into her spiel.
"Hi. You must be Debbie. I'm Emma. I had sex with your husband two weeks ago. I thought you should know. Sorry."
She turned and walked quickly away from the door.
My vision went into soft focus. Somehow I managed to shut the door and turn around, but that's as far as I got. The floor beckoned, and I went down in a slow-motion collapse.
It might be an important sign that I never doubted Emma was telling the truth. Maybe I had sensed something. I don't know. If you had asked me before all this if John would cheat, I would have said no. He had convinced me he loved me. But, but-but-but, why was I so ready to accept the news of his betrayal?
Emma's a piece of work. I am sure John was wearing his wedding ring. That didn't stop her. She seduced him, got what she wanted, and then decided to drop a grenade into my life. Knock-knock, boom. You know by now that I didn't let John off the hook because he was taken in by someone who liked manipulating men, and maybe women, too. Still, I don't think John would have sought out an affair or even a one-night stand.
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John's self-image was set when he was a middle schooler. His school pictures from those days show a skinny, nerdy kid with some light acne. All those things improved during high school, but the die was cast and from what he told me, he stayed one of the anonymous nobodies that makeup the majority of high school students. He took his second cousin to the prom. Not pathetic, but close to it.
By the time I met him, he had filled-out into his height, his hair was cut by someone who knew what they were doing, his acne was gone, and all his positive traits were front-and-center. He told me later that he didn't think he had a chance with me, but I was thinking I didn't have a chance with him. When he didn't pursue me very hard during the fall semester of our senior year, I assumed some hottie had discovered him and had him in her clutches. I'd fight for him, but it was almost impossible to do long-distance.
My teen years were different. I was used to guys pursuing me. I'm no super model, but I'm pretty. I can point out dozens of my own flaws, physical and otherwise, but unlike John, my self-image was formed when I was already being chatted up by guys who were a couple years older than me. I knew most guys--classmates, guy friends, older brothers of girlfriends, guys at bars, guys at work, every penis-wielding human on the planet, probably--would take a shot at getting into my pants. I deflected them all without a thought. John never developed the equivalent skill on the male side.
The mismatch between the actual John and his self-image caused the almost-miss at the start of our relationship. He told me he was pining away for me the whole fall, but I assumed he was fucking his way through the coeds of BC.
