Q.I am a Bostonian born and bred, went to college there, and stayed to work until I moved to Europe for another degree.

At the end of my first year in Europe, I met a slightly older guy, let’s call him David, who was in a position of authority at my school. The first time I was in the same room with him, before words were spoken, he was just oozing a sort of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” sexiness. We worked very closely together for a few weeks and he made it abundantly clear that he was interested in me. He also had a girlfriend and a reputation of cheating. I convinced myself, and everyone else within shouting distance, that I hated him. He ended those weeks by taking up with somebody else, behind the girlfriend’s back. He was a worm. He moved away but kept up a sort of long-distance thing with this new girl.