Lessons Learned

By the time my senior year of high school rolled around, I wasn't trying to set myself up for a good college. I showed up to class, did my work, and made good grades, but I didn't have any goals associated with it. As a result, I put forth a lot more effort at working for the largest retailer in the world.

Jessica was one of my supervisors while I was a cashier. Later she moved on to the associate management program, and I moved to the sales floor to work in the pet department. I was still seventeen at the time, and Jessica was twenty years older than me. She wasn't the most beautiful person, but she had that attitude that attracted people to her. She was a flirt and a tease, and she enjoyed that role. All the men wanted her, and all the women wanted to be her. A few of the women wanted her too, but that's not my story to tell. Being seventeen and not really educated in the ways of seduction, I didn't always recognize it, but it eventually became clear that I was the target of her flirtations.

One day in particular, she was acting strangely around me, and I couldn't put my finger on why. After the store had closed that night I finally asked what was going on with her. She walked up to me, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and climbed on to my body. She put her arms around my neck, wrapped her legs around my waist, put her mouth right up to my ear, and slowly, with a heavy and hot breath said, "I am very horny." She then loosened her legs slightly, slid down my body to the floor, and stood up slowly. As she walked away from me, she looked back and gave me a wink.

This incident initially scared the hell out of me. Mainly because the most important word that described Jessica was "married". I had heard all kinds of stories about her husband. He had been arrested for drunk driving and shooting guns in the air while drunk. He was a dick and a drunk. He also owned multiple guns, and intimidated the piss out of me. Unfortunately, the blood left my brain pretty quickly, and those thoughts left my mind completely.

For the next couple of weeks nothing happened, but that changed soon enough. Usually on the weekends, five or six of us would gather at the local IHOP or Waffle House after the store closed. We would use that time to wind down and tell our "stupid customer" stories we had experienced during the week. Ultimately, we would disperse around 2 or 3 in the morning and go home. This night, however, was going a little differently. Jessica managed to sit next to me in the booth, and she spent the entire time rubbing her hand on my thigh and crotch. After everyone else had left, she led me straight to her car. She drove us to a random neighborhood, and we had sex that night for the first time.

This affair continued for several months. I was on the work program at school which meant I only had to be at school for 3 hours every day. She and I would sometimes rendezvous for lunch time "activities" at my house. We would sneak kisses at work, and play grab ass in the back room; it was exciting, forbidden, and, now that I am telling this story, really stupid.

After several months of this, we got bolder. We would convince groups of people to go out dancing or to a bar (I had a fake ID that I used quite often.) We would hang out until everyone else had left, and we'd have the rest of the night together. One or two of our coworkers put two and two together and realized what was going on, but they actually helped us keep it hidden.

One night that we worked together she caught me in the back room by the manager's office while we were on break and planted a steamy kiss on me. The next day, at her request, I skipped school. I picked her up from her house, and we went back to mine. We were naked on the living room floor when I heard a car door shut. I looked up and realized that my mom was home. I didn't know it at the time, but she had missed work because of a jury summons. She wasn't chosen, so she came home.

Jessica and I jumped up and ran, and I grabbed our clothes. I thought I saw Jessica run into the bathroom, and I threw her clothes into it as I ran by. I went to the bathroom in the back of the house and got dressed. When I came back around the corner, I saw my mom standing at the end of the hallway looking extremely pissed and disappointed. I also saw Jessica's clothes laying on the floor to my left and her head sticking out of my bedroom on the right. I had to pick up her clothes and carry them past my mom to take them to Jessica. When my mom asked what was going on, I just responded with, "Don't ask stupid questions." By her stance and voice, it was evident that she had seen two naked butts running down the hall, and I didn't have a chance at convincing her otherwise. Jessica got dressed, and we left. Although I didn't know it. This was going to be the last time I spoke with Jessica.

That night, my dad called me. Apparently, my mom had apprised him of the situation. Because he also worked a couple nights a week at the same store, he had heard rumors of Jessica's affair with someone, but until he heard from my mom, he didn't know it was me. In no uncertain terms, he made it clear that I needed to end this relationship, or her husband was going to slit my throat while I slept. He thoroughly convinced me, and I agreed to end it the next day. I was fully aware that this relationship was wrong from the beginning, but, as long as I was having fun, I wasn't prepared to end it. It wasn't fun anymore.

The following day I went to the store after school, and waited for Jessica to come to work. It was my day off, but if I didn't end it that day, I didn't know if my resolve would last. After a few hours, one of the assistant managers came up to me and asked to have a talk with me. She confronted me about the rumors that were going around, and told me that she knew it was me. She wanted to know what I was doing there on my day off. I told her the truth, and I told her that I was there to tell Jessica that it was over. She believed me and let me go back out to wait for Jessica.

Eventually, it looked like Jessica wasn't going to come in as scheduled. They needed some help greeting people at the front door, and I was asked to clock in. After a couple of hours of working, I saw one of the other associate managers, Cindy, come in the store. She wasn't dressed for work, and she looked angry and confused. She went straight to one of the customer service managers, and they immediately told me to clock out. Cindy waited for me to return and dragged me outside.

Cindy proceeded to tell me about a new camera pointed at the manager's office. My heart skipped a beat when I remembered the last kiss Jessica had given me at work. I felt the color start to drain from my face as Cindy reminded me that our loss prevention manager was also a very good friend of Jessica's husband. He had reviewed the tape and told Jessica's husband what he had seen. The night that my father was telling me to end this was the night that her husband confronted her about it. When he picked her up from work that night, Jessica's husband asked her about what he had learned. She admitted to everything. Apparently, and understandably, this sent him into a rage. He stomped on the accelerator and rammed into a light pole. My nightmare had come true. He knew his wife was having an affair with someone, and he knew that someone was me.

While Cindy was telling me what had happened, Jessica and her husband were both in the hospital, on a lot of medication, and probably wouldn't be getting out any time soon. That didn't stop me from panicking, however. I called my dad, and he let me stay at his house that night. We were afraid that if her husband knew where I lived, then he would come looking for me or send someone to look for me. I was learning from people that knew him that he could be that crazy. The next day at school, I went straight to the principal's office and told him what had happened. He agreed that there was enough reason to think I was in danger, and he gave me an open-ended pass to leave school. He said he would fill in the return date when I came back.

I went home, packed some things, and got in my truck. I drove for about thirty minutes when I realized that I had NO money, and no where to go. What did I think I was going to do? Drive until I ran out of gas? And then what? I realized that I had no choice but to continue living my life, and deal with whatever happened. I returned to school and work the next day.

When I returned to work, I talked with one of the managers; they all assured me that her husband was going to be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks. Some friends of Jessica and her husband approached me later that day too. They told me that this wasn't Jessica's first ride on the infidelity train. They also told me that her husband didn't blame me. He understood that I was just a dumb kid that got duped into something by woman with a history of this type of activity. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't going to come after me. It was a big relief, but I wasn't comfortable for weeks.

I think I saw Jessica one more time after she got out of the hospital. It was the day she came to pick up her last check. We didn't say a word to one another. I don't know if she left voluntarily or not. I never heard from or saw Jessica again.

All the school I skipped that year actually hurt me. I missed graduating with honors by a slight margin, because I let a few grades slip to low B's. I had to attend Saturday school for six weeks to make up for the time I had missed, or I wouldn't have graduated at all.

My job was never the same again. I stayed there for another year or so, but people looked at me differently. There were some very understanding people that stuck by me no matter what, but they were few. Of those that I didn't call friends some admired me, some were jealous, but mostly people just pitied me. I had gained a reputation from all the whispering going on behind me. Some of it was actually good from what I understand, but it wasn't worth the negative rumors that were mentioned too. No one ever said anything to my face.

When I learned about Jessica's other indiscretions, I realized that I might be at risk for STD's. I was tested, and, luckily, I am clean.

It wasn't as expensive as it could have been, but I paid a price for my actions.

The lessons I learned that year were some that you can never learn in a class room...unless, of course, you are banging your married high school teacher.

-A.W.C.