The Day of Surprises
When I was about 14/15, my friend introduced me to a guy that she was dating and lost interest in. I thought he was a nice guy and decided to give it a go… hindsight tells me that I was just seriously naïve and so glad I was a prude! I was in high school and had never had a boyfriend. I was feeling left out of everything and was too shy to meet guys on my own, so bless my friend for “handing him over to me on a silver platter,” as she put it. He had just graduated high school. I thought that it was so awesome that he’d be interested in me (go teenage logic!) and was so excited that he wanted to date me, the awkward and slightly socially inept teenager.
In any case, we had a very short relationship – it lasted for all of two or three months, but in the course of that relationship, he had tried unsuccessfully to get in my pants and even tried for a threesome with my friend. I looooved the lines he came up with: “You know, a man judges a woman by her hips when he goes after her. You have child bearing hips.” Um, thank you? And “Virginity is so overrated. You might as well lose it. Sex is so awesome and you’ll love it…especially with me.” I think he also said something about his “formidable package” and how so many women much older than his wise 18 years wanted him. Did I forget to mention that they were all very impressed by his vast and inordinate amount of worldly knowledge (he had never been out of the city, much less the state) and his propensity to speak in English and Spanish (failed out of 1st year Spanish…)? Regardless of his tool bag nature, being as young as I was, I was absolutely heartbroken when he inevitably broke up with me – without telling me. He just changed his phone number and stopped calling.
Fast forward a few months to the “date”. My friend that introduced us found him working at a Hometown Buffet (food place) and decided to take me to see him without my knowledge. I’m not sure why she did it other than it would be “funny” to see my reaction. Again, I was 15 years old, completely crushed and still licking my wounds from this rejection and a friend with a morbid sense of humor. When we walked in, I saw him and was completely shocked. He was even gaunter and skinnier than I remembered, had grown out his hair, and had some scant amount of wiry something growing out of his chin. I think he meant it as a goatee, but it looked like a few pieces of blonde pubic hair had migrated and made their home on his chin. He was just as shocked to see us and was leery of even talking to us. I most certainly didn’t want to talk to him, but we all met up after because he wanted to talk to me and “tell me something very important.”
After he got out of work, we met him outside in the parking lot to have a chat. He pulled me aside at one point and said, “I’m sorry for dumping you the way I did. I met a girl (while we were dating) and I slept with her a few times. She didn’t tell me this, but she had HIV and she gave it to me. I’ve gotten tested a couple of times and they both came back positive, but I’m okay.”
I was very shocked and didn’t know what to say. He must have taken this as a “good” sign, so he continued. “Anyway, I’ve missed you and want to be with you again. Can we please have sex and sometime soon? I have condoms.” And he proceeded to try and make out with me. Meanwhile, my friend, who was within earshot, came to my rescue and claimed we had a curfew and had to get home.
A few weeks later, he got ahold of my friend and said that he was retested and didn’t have HIV. It was a false positive and that all was well. He asked her if she wanted to go out some time and when she rejected him, he asked for my phone number. Thankfully, she had the sense not to give it to him and I never saw him again.
