Beach Bum

Story Sent in by Dana:

For my birthday, George promised me a day I would "never forget." Having been with him for six months, I thought it could be fun.

His car was in the shop for a while, so he asked me to drive. A week before the day, he told me he would pay for gas and food, saying he had a wonderful present for me. He made it sound like he had been planning it out for a while. I was excited.

The day came and I went to pick him up. I had dressed cute, having put some effort into looking good. He was wearing a bathing suit and an old, paint-stained shirt. And he wasn't alone. His friend Steve was with him.

I rolled up to the curb, rolled down the window, and asked what was up.

"We're going to the beach. Steve's coming with us," George said.

"On my birthday?" I asked, "I would have invited my friend Claire if I knew it was going to be like this."

"Claire's a whore," Steve said. I locked the doors to the car when he tried to get in.

"No, she isn't," I said, "I thought it was just going to be George and I."

I looked at George, who shrugged and said, "I thought you'd be cool with it."

"Well, I'm not."

"Don't be like that," George said.

"Maybe we should do this another day," I said, and I was ready to drive off when George told Steve to get lost. Steve, looking upset, went back to his own car and drove away.

George got in and sulked. He didn't have anything with him. When I asked where his stuff was, he got upset and said I was supposed to bring him a towel. He then stormed into his house and brought out a bag of stuff he had already packed. He shoved it in the back of the car and we were off. We didn't talk.

When we got to the busy beach, he tromped out of the car, not offering to pay for parking like he had promised. I paid, got out, and followed him onto the sand. He went out into the water and swam around for two hours. I read a book.

By the time he got back, he was in an even worse mood. He said he wanted to go home. I was really sick of his attitude at that point.

"What about dinner? And the good day you promised me?" I demanded.

He said, "Why are you being so demanding? I thought my presence was enough of a present for you. Why did you have to make this day all about you and what you wanted to do?" He then told me he didn't get me anything, because I was a fat, demanding cow who didn't even put out or let him have fun. He started pointing out other women and asking why I could not be skinny like them.

I was in tears at that point. I packed up my stuff and walked towards the car. He got mad because I would not carry his things. He followed me, screaming.

A guy walking by asked if I was okay. The guy, Daniel, invited me to come sit with him and his friends. He was a little older than me, around 30, and there were other girls in his group. So I went with him, and George followed until another guy told him off.

I spent a while sitting there until Steve came to pick George up. George spent the time glaring at me from the sidewalk and making threatening gestures.

After I told the group what had happened, they took me out for drinks and I hit it off with Daniel, who took me out for dinner shortly after, just the two of us. While we didn't continue dating after that, he saved what would've otherwise been a horrible day.

When I made it home that night, I found a handwritten bill on my door and my things in a box by my apartment door. George had the audacity to demand that I pay for the gas he had spent delivering them to me. He also demanded back some jewelry I had bought for myself.