Sometimes in life you learn or are taught a lesson and because you weren't paying attention you have to be taught that same lesson again. Hopefully you will learn by the second time. That's what happened to me. Let me explain.

I had just turned 25 as these events took place. At that time I was a personal transportation consultant; that's what my business cards read. Truthfully, I was a car salesman. I only tell you this because it helps explain my mind set at that point in my life.

My name is Jake Steadman and I was a very good salesman, especially if the client was female. At the risk of being immodest I will say that my rugged good looks, my 6foot 1 frame, and athletic body helped in my dealings with my female clients. I was a man's man to borrow a phrase. So I had success selling to men too, but my track record with female clients was something like 75 per cent. My achievements included a better than 50 per cent success rate in selling the ladies on some romantic extracurricular activities. I was very good at getting them into bed, either at home or a motel or even in the back seat of the car I just sold them.

I was outgoing, cocky, and a little brash and felt that my lifestyle of making money, partying, and getting as many women in bed as I could was the only way to fly. One evening before going out to prowl and cruise for young lovelies, two of my friends and I discovered a restaurant called Smugglers Inn. It was sort of a high dollar Red Lobster, specializing in steaks and seafood. The food was better than average but the real draw was the bar/lounge.

The lounge had a great DJ, some discreet booths in the back and bartenders with a heavy hand when pouring my Jack Daniels. We came back at least once a week just for the lounge; it was a target rich environment for young ladies. The third or fourth time I was there, I met Beverly.

Beverly Vitali was a waitress that sometimes worked in the lounge if the dinner trade was slow or if the lounge was very busy. She was a classic Italian beauty with long jet black hair and a body made for driving men crazy. I know I wanted her the first time I met her.

Beverly brought the drinks to the table for my friends and me. She smiled as I tipped her for the service and I took her left hand to look at. "What?" Beverly said with a smile.

"I wanted to see if you were married, I don't like breaking other men's hearts when I take their woman," I responded with a smile of my own.

The smile left her face, she pulled her hand away from me, and went back to the bar with anger in every step. My friends laughed at the apparent rejection by Beverly.

"Looks like you struck out hot shot," Bill taunted me.

"You pissed her off so bad, you'll never get close to her now," offered Tom.

"Oh, ye of little faith," I proclaimed. "Give me two or three weeks and I'll have that young lady at my apartment for a weekend. One month tops," I boasted.

Neither of my friends believed me and started to rag on me. A small wager was made and I put my plan into action. If I won the bet not only would I collect $200 but I would have Beverly as a playmate for awhile. Time for recon, I needed information about Beverly. The next night I waited until my favorite bartender, Sam, took a smoke break and followed him outside.

"Sam, how're doing buddy?" He acknowledged my greeting, we talk a little and I asked, "What's the story on Beverly?"

"Yeah, I saw her stomp away from your table last night. What did you say to her, Jake?"

I described the incident at the table and Sam just shook his head. "You really stepped in it with that line."

Sam gave me the information about Beverly. She was married but separated from her husband Jerry, although not legally and was trying to get a divorce. Jerry had been verbally abusive for over a year and even hit her a couple of times. That's when she left him, took back her maiden name, and moved back in with her parents.

Apparently Jerry was fighting the divorce tooth and nail and doing everything he could to postpone it. Beverly's father and two brothers beat the hell out of Jerry the second time he showed up at the family home. He was smart enough to stay away from there after that.

During that year that Jerry was abusing her, Beverly had meet Joe, an assistant bar manager at the restaurant. He heard Beverly talking about the problems she and her husband were having and hatched a plan to become the man in Beverly's life. Joe began to sympathize with her about her problems and gave her verbal support. He was able to make her believe that he was concerned about her and really cared about her. Beverly was in a vulnerable state and believed his line of bullshit.

According to Sam, the sympathy and support voiced by Joe went a long way with Beverly after the way Jerry had been treating her. She fell for Joe and two months after the separation from her husband, Beverly moved in with Joe. Jerry, her husband, went totally ballistic when he heard about Beverly and Joe and she had to get a restraining order to keep him away from her. He got the point the second time she had him arrested.

As Sam finished his story I said, "No wonder she reacted so badly to what I said. A touchy subject for her, huh? Well I'll just have to smooth that over and see what I can do to make her feel better." I was nothing if not confident; I was also more than a little self-centered. Not once did it cross my mind that maybe Beverly didn't need any more stress in her life. At that point in my life not many other people mattered, whatever I wanted was what was important.

Sam had one more piece of info for me. "Everything isn't all sweetness and light between Beverly and Joe right now. They have been bickering at each other at work. It seems that Joe is spending all of his check and most of Beverly's too. He likes to go out with friends and play the high roller. It must seem like déjà vu all over again; that was part of her problem with Jerry. They had a bit of a blow out last night and Beverly is not a happy camper."

Normally I didn't date married women. I had an experience that sort of soured me on that idea. About three months before Beverly I met Jackie at a bar and we hit it off. The next night was Saturday and I took her to dinner and dancing afterwards. Later that night we were in her bedroom resting after a romantic interlude (we had just screwed each other's brains out) and there was a knock on her front door. Knock hell, it sounded like someone was trying to beat the door in.

Jackie looked out the window and with a great deal of fear in her voice, "It's my husband and his brother. Oh my god, if he finds you here it will get very ugly."

She had told me that they were legally separated, divorce papers had been filed, and the divorce would be final in another 30 days. That didn't help me now. I slipped on my pants and shoes and told her to let him in but stall for about a minute.

"He won't find me here because I will be gone when you let him in. I'll go out the back and around the side of the house to the front. When you let him in and close the door I'll get to my car and bogie out of here."

When I got to the front of the house I heard Jackie ask him what he wanted. Her husband said he wanted to talk to her and brought his brother to keep things from getting out of hand. Then he asked her to please talk to him in a much softer voice. Jackie opened the door wide and let both men in. As the door closed, I ran to my car and got the hell away from there.