This is a story about a woman's struggles with a marriage that has become stagnant and the lure of infidelity. All the characters are fictional so even though they don't practice safe sex it doesn't mean you should too. Allow me to apologize up front for any grammatical errors I missed. I hope that anyone who takes the time to read it will enjoy the story. Comments, good or bad, are always welcomed.
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Carly Newberg sighed and closed the thick book on state contract law that dominated her desk. It was time to go home. She was in her office at school where she worked as a law professor, but this was for one of the law firms she did research work on the side for. If she left now there would be just enough time to catch her normal train home. Her husband had left on a business trip this morning, but she didn't dread his trips like she had when they were first married. Two whole weeks without her husband would be refreshing and she couldn't wait to get home.
They had met in college. Her husband David was a couple of years older and ready to graduate from business school whereas she still wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life, halfway through her undergraduate degree. She smiled thinking about the night they had met at a frat party. If only things had remained as perfect as that night she thought sadly, the smile gone now, as she turned out the light and locked the door behind her.
For eighteen years they'd been a couple, nearly half her life she realized with a start. She loved her husband more than anything, but over the last few years their marriage had started to fizzle. They'd been married for fifteen years now. For the first few years of their marriage David had supported her in her pursuit of a law degree, but lately she had been earning more than him as the company he owned ran into financial trouble. This past year, she'd started taking casework with the firm she'd worked with years ago to make ends meet. David was a perfectionist and shied away from facing his own shortcomings. It was the main source of trouble in their marriage and his recent dependence on her had become the latest and greatest reminder of his failings. There were a lot of things she loved about her husband, but his bullheaded pride wasn't one of them.
Walking across campus she headed to the station for her commute home. There was an early evening chill in the air to remind her that the middle of fall was here already. She was fine in her light sweater over a blouse and knee length skirt, but it wouldn't be long before she needed a coat. Within sight of the station now she could see her train pulling up and hurried to make it knowing it wouldn't wait long. She caught it just in time, slumping into an empty seat a little out of breath.
Almost immediately she could feel the eyes of the man across from her lingering over her skin. Carly was in her late thirties with dark hair that fell just past her shoulders and smooth white skin that tried in vain to cling to its light summer tan. The short run in the cool weather had left her cheeks slightly flushed, a look she knew men found irresistible. Five and half feet tall with an athletic body thanks to her religious like dedication to jogging and a pair of breasts that looked well proportioned on her slender frame, she was pretty if not quite beautiful. David liked big breasts but had still fallen in love with and married her, a fact she reminded him of every time he hinted at her getting implants.
The man across from her with short dark hair, graying slightly at the temples, and a Magnum P.I. like mustache certainly seemed to admire her charms. He wasn't one of the regulars from her evening compute, one the people who'd become her silent and nameless companions. Sitting in front of her today was the girl she called Red, a short girl with countless piercings and a star tattooed on the back of her neck who had bright red hair the first time Carly saw her. Her hair was green this week, but she'd always be Red to Carly. On the other side behind Magnum was Big Beard an older, balding man with a messy looking beard. He wore a wedding ring and she always wondered how his wife could let him get away without trimming that thing. There were plenty of people she recognized but Magnum was definitely new. Turning her blue-eyed gaze back to him she blushed under his bold stares and let her dimples show nervously. He wore a wedding ring too but looked more than ready to forget about his wife for a night if given half a chance.
Reading her book, she glanced at him frequently becoming nervous under his unwavering stare. She wasn't scared in the crowded train, but would have changed seats if there had been an empty one. As the train started making it stops she said her silent goodbyes to the faces she knew, knowing their stops as well as her own after all these years. Soon as there was another vacant seat she moved to it but Magnum's eyes followed her. As the train got closer and closer to her stop she started praying he would get off soon. Relief filled her when he stood up a few stops before hers and left. Even outside the train he stared back at her until the train pulled away.
Getting off at her stop she ran to catch the bus that would take her home from here. She had her own car but the traffic and parking in the city was a nightmare so she rarely used it to get to work. Magnum's stares had left her shaken and she was still nervous even though she knew he wasn't here. It wasn't that she had sensed anything dangerous about him, but he shared more than just a mustache with Tom Selleck. He was blessed with rugged good looks and a pair of broad masculine shoulders. Carly was forced to admit she found him attractive and therein lay the danger. His gawking stares had left no doubt in her mind that he was open to sharing a lot more than looks on the train. While her marriage had been less than perfect of late it wasn't bad enough that she'd ever thought about cheating on David. Then again, she was sure most people didn't plan on having affairs they just sort of happened. Well nothing was going to happen between her and Magnum, no matter how warm his handsome face left her feeling inside despite the chill in the air.
Letting herself in at home, she locked the door behind her and leaned back into it with a sigh. Safe inside she hoped David would call tonight, though he didn't check in with her every night during his trips like he used to. Magnum's face kept popping into her mind, like she'd seen it before, as she went to the kitchen to pour herself a drink. She broke out David's good scotch and poured herself a stiff drink downing it in a single gulp. He didn't really look like Magnum all that much. It was the mustache that made her make the comparison but his face was just as handsome and familiar. Maybe she had seen him on the train before, but she didn't think so. In either case he was gone now and it didn't seem likely she'd see him again which meant she was worried over nothing. It was the small part of her worried that tonight was the last she'd ever see him that forced her to have another drink.
