This is my short Valentine's Day story. A big thank you to Mistress Lynn for editing it and making it a much better read.
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My life sure changed in the last twenty-four hours. I'll try to explain what happened by telling you a little about myself and my girlfriend, Julie.
We had been going together since we were sophomores in high school. I played sports and she was a cheerleader, so it was kind of an automatic match. In the beginning, it was hormones and puppy love. We spent most of our free time together.
Like most teenagers, we argued a lot. We dated on and off all through high school and even went to the same area college. I received a year-by-year football scholarship and Julie's family paid for her tuition.
I was ending my third year when I broke my leg. The coach informed me that he had talked to the doctors and that I probably wouldn't be ready in time for our spring training. I knew that was the end of my scholarship.
It wasn't that I loved football that much. I was good at the small college level but I knew I'd never go further, so I studied hard in the criminal law field. I wanted to go into the police force or something along that line.
Shows like CSI and ones about Private Investigator's were my favorites. I just needed the education to get anywhere in my future profession. I came from a large family and I knew my parents didn't have the finances to pay for the rest of my tuition.
That meant it was time for me to make some decisions. I contacted the college and set up a program where I received a student loan to pay for my senior year. Next, I hunted for a part-time job to help pay for other college expenses. Of course, I would have to wait until I could walk again. The doc said I would be on crutches for a good three months.
When Julie found out about the severity of my injury, she was sad at first. After about a month, she seemed to become more distant. As soon as I told her I would no longer be playing football, she changed. I guess it was the first time I stopped looking through rose-colored glasses and saw the true Julie. She was all about popularity. Julie liked and wanted to be in the limelight, I realized then.
About the time I was off the crutches, she told me that we should cool it and see other people. It didn't surprise me by then. I guess it hurt my pride more than my heart. We did still date but not quite as often.
My counselor suggested I go to the local police department and check for employment there. I explained to the woman in human resources that I had three years of Criminal Law courses and was looking for a way to help finish paying for my education. They helped me get a job as a night guard at the mall. Before I left, she said that I should apply at their department after graduation.
That gave me a great feeling. My future was now looking brighter. I told Julie about it but she just gave me one of those 'that's nice' smiles. I could see our relationship wasn't going too well.
Now I was going to school full-time and working. The job was easy and gave me time to study.
It was February and near Valentine's Day. I thought I would try to do something about our relationship, so I set up a dinner date at one of the local restaurants. I purchased two tickets to a local play and even got a motel room for the night.
I had Saturday off so I put my plan together. I went to the Hallmark store in the mall and purchased a large heart-shaped box of candy for Julie. I figured I would take it to her after her classes on Friday before I had to go to work.
I stopped by her apartment, which she shared with four other girls. The candy was in a shopping bag so I could surprise her. I knocked on the door and I was the one who was surprised.
She came to the door in a robe and opened the door ajar just enough to see out.
"Jerry! What are you doing here? I thought you worked tonight."
I pushed on the door and saw Brad, the quarterback of our team, standing there fastening his belt. It was obvious they had just finished having sex. Julie had that just fucked look.
"Jerry, I told you to always call before coming over."
"Yeah, now I can see why. I guess it's my own stupidity for wanting to give us one last try. Have a nice Valentine's Day Julie."
I left without saying anything else. Brad never attempted to butt in. The whole school knew that Julie and I dated since high school. At that point, I had no interest in recouping our relationship.
I headed home to change into my uniform before going to the mall. In one way, I felt sad and even embarrassed. On the other hand, I figured I could just go on with my life.
I took the candy back to the mall, hoping I could get a refund. The store told me they had a no refund policy on food items. I wasn't mad at them. They were just sales clerks doing their job.
As I made my rounds, I saw an old classmate sitting by herself in the food court, drinking a soda. She looked rather sad.
"Sarah, is there a problem?"
The look on her face showed I had startled her. "Oh, Jerry, I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."
Sarah had been a year behind Julie and me in high school and later went to a larger university studying physics or something. Sarah had a full ride scholarship. She said she would make a good lab rat because science was so interesting to her. As I said, Sarah's a brain.
I never remembered her dating anyone but then, she wouldn't have told me anyway. Sarah was always somewhat of a loner. Julie used to make fun of her always sitting alone. To be honest, I would say Julie was probably jealous of Sarah's smarts.
Whenever I saw her alone in the cafeteria and Julie wasn't around, I would go sit with her. She always seemed shy and unsure of herself. There were a few times when Julie and I were on the outs that I thought about asking Sarah out, but decided it might not be a good thing, since Julie and I usually got back together after a few days.
"So Sarah, why the gloom and doom look?"
"It's a long story Jerry. It's rather personal. I made a stupid mistake."
"Look Sarah, I have time and anything you tell me I promise to keep a secret. It looks like you need to talk to someone."
"I don't think Julie would approve of you talking to me. You'd better go."
"Whoa! Where did that come from? Sarah, what's going on. I think we need to talk. What's this shit about Julie?"
"If you must know, she came to me your senior year and told me to keep my grubby hands off her man or she would ..."
"She would what, Sarah?"
"Have me jumped by the cheerleading squad."
"Why didn't you tell me? I would have stopped that shit right then.
"I didn't know what to do. She was your girlfriend, so I decided to just leave well enough alone."
"Damn that bitch. God, I wish I would have known. I'm so sorry Sarah."
"No harm done. I'm still in one piece and she still has you."
"Correction, Sarah. You're in one piece but Julie and I aren't a couple."
"What happened? You two were together like forever."
