CourtesanTales Masterfile by Unknown

one-day share with that
special woman and a kid or two.
    I had very little
contact with Jason. He and I hadn’t been close since he’d won my first girl
away from me when we were 13. He’d repeated that offense many times over the
ensuing years. I began to get used to having him waltzing in and out of my
life, after stealing the affection of my woman of the moment. Most of the women
he took hadn’t meant much to me. I finally reached a point where I considered
any woman who could be lured away from me to him as not worth having.
    Sharon had been the
exception. The moment I looked into her warm, dark gaze, I felt an instant
connection with her. Our first date had been so magical I’d practically felt as
if I’d been gliding on air when she lifted her face for my kiss at the end of
the night. That kiss and gone on and on until we were both so aroused we ended
up making love.
    The next morning, when
I rolled over and found her smiling at me from the other side of her bed, I
felt as if I were on top of the world. We made love again before I left. On the
way home, I tried to tell myself I was going too fast but I knew even then that
she was the woman for me. 
    Sharon and I liked the
same things. We shared similar life goals and both wanted to settle down with a
few kids. And it goes without saying that we were good together in bed. Despite
all my attempts to control my feelings for her, three months after we’d started
an exclusive dating relationship, I bought an engagement ring.
    I held it for two
weeks, intending to propose during a long weekend we planned to spend in the
Pocono Mountains skiing. Three days before we were due to leave, Jason waltzed
back into town and turned my world upside down.
    The moment I
reluctantly introduced the two of them, I knew I was in trouble. Jason immediately
set out to charm her. And watching the way her eyes never left his face, it was
clear what was happening. In the past, once I saw the writing on the wall, I
usually bowed out gracefully. But my feelings for Sharon ran so deeply, I did
something I hadn’t done with any of the other women he’d taken: I fought for
her. I gave it my best effort, but she called off our skiing trip. For two or
three weeks, Sharon and I saw each other erratically.
    I knew she was seeing
Jason at the same time. I tried not to mind, but it hurt like hell. Finally,
she arrived at my apartment one night and told me it was over. After she left,
I looked out the window and saw her getting into Jason’s car.
    Jason taking Sharon
was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back and led to our
estrangement. He hadn’t really wanted her. He’d only taken her because he
could. Once she’d fallen as hard for him as I’d fallen for her, he left town,
leaving her behind. She’d come crying to me begging me to tell her where he was
so she could follow him.
    I told her. She
followed and he blew her off. She returned to Philly with a broken heart. She
hinted we give our relationship another try, but there was no way in hell I was
going to trust my heart to her again.
    Five years after
losing Sharon to Jason, I was still nursing my wounded heart and unable to
forgive him. I was fed up with his selfish, me-first attitude. I wanted him out
of my life for good. He’d never shown me any real consideration and I finally
decided it was time I returned the favor.
    Since Jason was a
freelance photojournalist who traveled constantly, we rarely saw each other
during those years. Not that either one of us would have chosen to spend more
time together even if we could. Jason and I had absolutely nothing in common
except our physical appearance. About the only time we saw each other was on
Mom’s birthday.
    After Mom’s death, I
felt as if the last tie that bound me to Jason had been severed. Although I
continued to accept his infrequent but annoying phone calls and occasionally
“lent” him money for various emergencies, I made it clear I didn’t want him in
my life