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.
Trying to focus on fixing dinner for herself she found it was impossible to get his piercing gaze out of her mind. Carly knew she had a nice figure and pretty face, but it was easy to forget when her husband didn't show much interest in sex anymore. As she chopped vegetables for a small stir-fry for herself she began wondering who he was and why he had shown such an obvious attraction to her. She couldn't envision herself ever cheating on David, but the feelings another man's interest had awoken in her were surprising. Thinking for a moment, she couldn't remember the last time her husband had given her desire filled stares like that.
When dinner was ready she ate in the living room watching TV. Flicking the channels she seemed to find reminders of her admirer wherever she turned instead of the relief she was hoping for. Everywhere she looked from the local newscaster with a mustache to the host of Jeopardy, though he looked different since he shaved off his own mustache, she found vivid reminders of the man she called Magnum. Finally resorting to tuning in a kids channel she could only watch that for so long until it filled her with pain. Turning off the TV in disgust, she put her dishes in the kitchen sink before retreating upstairs to her office.
Shortly after she married David they bought this large four-bedroom home filled with dreams of the children they'd raise here. As Carly stepped into the office that should have been the bedroom for one of her children she felt the sadness wash over her like it hadn't for years. For her law school seemed like something to do as she waited to get pregnant, but she was a member of the state bar and working full time with a firm before she was forced to admit something wasn't right. David had been supportive of her, willing to do whatever it took he said, but how quickly that changed when her doctor told them he was the problem not her. Her husband refused to accept any kind of failure and couldn't stand to ask for help. Suddenly they didn't need children in their lives according to him.
Carly loved him so much that she didn't press the matter, but now as his interest in her diminished and he spent more and more time on the road trying to save his floundering company; an empty house was her cruel reward. Everyday, every single day of her life she wished their problems had been something with her so they could have at least tried some of the treatments. She shook her head thinking about some of the things people would say to her. 'Oh Carly you're so lucky you get to travel all the time and not worry about dragging kids along with you,' or 'You have such a great figure Carly, I wish I still looked like I did twenty years ago but I never got my figure back after having children.' Lucky? Great figure? People could be so fucking stupid sometimes. She knew none of them meant to be hurtful, but if they had any idea how much their comments pained her she knew she'd never have to listen to it again.
As she sat down at her computer she logged into the school's secure server and downloaded some files to go over for tomorrow. These next few weeks were going to be busy and every little bit would help. If they couldn't get that one case to settle she might have to spend a few days in court on top of her classes and other work. It was useless to try and focus on her work though. With her empty house and a strange man showing interest in her on her mind, she found herself thinking it wasn't too late to have kids yet. Giving her head a shake she got up to get a glass of wine. Carly loved her husband more than anything despite his foolish pride that had cost them so much, but tonight her thoughts were leading her down a dangerous path.
