Prologue:
Any bad thought that you might have about me, Zach Baxter, if you read this story is not as judgmental or damning as the same thought I have had about myself. While there are lots of "excuses" for my intolerable behavior, the truth is that had I had the intestinal fortitude and morality that I should have had I could have done things differently and in a manner that would respect my wonderful wife rather than cheat on her.
Go ahead and tell me what a shit I am -- because it's true.
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My wife Melanie is a wonderful woman. She's smart, personable, empathetic, charitable, and beautiful. Even after five years of marriage at the start of this tale I can't believe that someone as wonderful as she is agreed to marry me.
I don't have many of the qualities that make Melanie so great. I am good-looking and fit, but am naturally shallow and self-centered. Probably the only reason that someone as wonderful as Melanie ever agreed to marry me is because I had an intervention with myself when I turned twenty one, took stock of my life, and became determined to not be shallow and self-centered any longer. I started on my road to self-improvement by working as a volunteer at a shelter for abused women and children. I began to develop feelings of empathy and became concerned for others. That volunteer work got me in contact with Melanie and I quickly fell for her. Seeing her level of selflessness intensified my desire to become a better person.
There was only one problem with Melanie -- and that problem led me to the self-loathing that I now experience. Melanie's best friend as far back as she can remember is Rebecca Twist and her maid of honor at our wedding. I'm not sure that by words alone I can fully convey what Rebecca is like; you would need to interact with her for a week before you completely understood, but I'll give it a try.
Some men believe that the hotter the woman the more screwed-up she is. I am not in that camp because in my experience only about 40% of really hot women are totally screwed-up, but if you are one of those who believe in the hot-screwy axiom at the time that this story starts you could use Rebecca as Exhibit A to prove your point.
Rebecca has the face and body of a goddess with perfect bone structure, hair as lustrous as any in a shampoo commercial, breasts that any sculpture or artist would love to be able to duplicate on canvas or in bronze, ruby lips that look like they are made for kissing, and legs better than you have ever seen in a pantyhose advertisement. She also has a friendly and approachable demeanor. Yet she is as bizarre as peanut butter on pizza.
Despite some underlying intelligence she is as ditzy as a character in a sitcom, has no self-confidence, can't handle money, needs others to make decisions for her, and can break down at the hint of a perceived slight. It seems that without Melanie to tell her what to do that she'd be rudderless.
Rebecca does have an incongruous talent, however, given her ditziness. She is a master elementary school teacher. One evaluation service that gives beginning and then end of school year tests to third and fourth graders in more than 1500 schools nationwide found her students learned more than any other third or fourth grade class tested three years in a row and she won national awards for her classroom successes. Melanie and I observed one of her third grade classes one day at a school open house and were amazed by how she absolutely had the kids on the edges of their seats engaged the entire time. She was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin in the ancient fairy tale.
Since I consider teaching -- especially of elementary school students -- one of the hardest things in the world to do I find it absurd that the bubbleheaded woman who comes over to our house almost every weekend can be a fricking genius at something as challenging as teaching kids.
Don't get me wrong -- I like Rebecca; it's just that I consider a very flawed person.
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My self-image started on the road to despair on a beautiful weather weekend in May. Melanie had a rare weekend conference at a resort 500 miles away during that weekend. She started working on me on Monday of that week about helping Rebecca out that weekend.
At first it was "Zach, you wouldn't mind helping Rebecca out with a few minor problems at her apartment this weekend while I'm gone, would you?" Melanie asked with one of her iridescent smiles while she foxily stroked my left cheek with her right hand.
"Can she get maintenance from her apartment complex to do it?" I inquired.
"You know that all the maintenance men hit on her and it makes her uncomfortable. Plus some of the things she needs done are personal and she can't, and wouldn't anyway, ask them to help with those."
"How long would it take?"
"Zach, she's such a dear friend and she thinks you're the greatest guy; I'm sure it wouldn't be more than an hour or two but regardless of the time commitment it's the right thing to do," she responded, making her stroke of my cheek and neck even more sensual.
So really, if I'm trying to become a better person what do I say?
"OK, Melanie, I'll help her. Could you pin her down to a specific time and how long it will take, though?"
"You're a dear," Melanie replied with another of her thousand watt smiles, and a tender kiss on the lips.
That night Melanie rode me cowgirl with a constant grin on her face -- except when she was screaming in ecstasy -- while I mauled her tits until we both were overcome with debilitating orgasms. When she snuggled up to me with her head on my chest I was in heaven.
Then Wednesday the ante was upped. "Zach, honey; I'm worried about Rebecca. She's been down in the dumps lately."