Chapter 1

“Ashley, look at this skirt.” Courtney said, holding up a mini skirt with a leopard print on it. “I bet this would get Hunter excited.”

Ashley walked over to the rack her friend was standing at and took the skirt in her hand. She looked it over, from front to back, not needing much time to see every inch of it since it was so tiny. “Yeah right, we’ve only been married two years, and the only thing he ever gets excited about is if his football team wins.” Ashley chuckled, playing it off to be less serious than it was. Sadly, she put the skirt back on the rack.

The two friends browsed around the store for a little while longer, picking up bits and pieces of clothes that interested them. Ashley found a great shirt that she loved, but wasn’t too sure about the color. She brought it over to the three-way mirror and held it up against her chest.

Her eyes slowly went from checking the color against her skin, to examining her facial features. Her arms gradually fell to her sides, the shirt long forgotten about. Instead, she was looking over her body with a critical eye…her long, straight brown hair, her larger than average chest, her small waist, and her long legs. “Hey Court, can I ask you something?”

Courtney walked over to her best friend. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Do you think I’m losing it? Am I just getting old, or have I gained weight or something?” Ashley asked, sadness and frustration clearly written on her face.

“Ash, why would you even think that? You are just as beautiful as the day I met you.” Courtney reassured her.

“Then why do I feel like my own husband isn’t even attracted to me? I used to be able to get any guy that I wanted. Remember when there wasn’t a single night that I went home alone if I didn’t want to? Now I feel frumpy and so undesirable.” Ashley said, running her hands down her sides, and then turning sideways to check her profile view.

“I’m telling you Ash, you are beautiful, and I don’t know why Hunter isn’t all over you 24/7. Hell, if I was playing for the other team, I’d be all over you constantly. But, sadly, I am absolutely ape shit about men, and I don’t think that will change any time soon.” Courtney said, with an air of seriousness.

Ashley just looked at her friend and laughed. Leave it to Courtney to break up a ‘poor me’ moment.

“How often do you get the nookie?” Courtney asked, knowing that nothing was too private for either of them to share with each other.

“Not very. Maybe once a week, once every two weeks. And you know me, if I had my way, it would be twice a day, at least.” Ashley said honestly. Was she a nympho? Not really, but close!

“Well, maybe Hunter has a problem…” Courtney started to say, and held up her hand with her index finger slightly bent.

“No, Hunter gets it up just fine when he lets me anywhere near him. Most of the time he just says, ‘Maybe later’ or ‘Not tonight’. And he never initiates it. It’s always me. I guess that’s what really gets to me. Any other guy would be jumping at the chance to have a woman who wanted sex all the time. They’d think they won friggin’ power ball. But no, not my husband. I think he sees it as more of a curse.” Ashley told her friend as they walked out of the store and into the mall. “But, I guess its something I just need to deal with. I knew this before I married him, I don’t know why I ever expected it to change.”

“Well, you know, if you aren’t getting it at home, maybe you could find it somewhere else…?” Courtney suggested.

“What!? No! I could never cheat on him. I love him, I just feel a little neglected in the bedroom, that’s all. It’s not bad enough for me to cheat on him. I couldn’t even imagine doing that, then having to look him in the eye every day.” Ashley protested.

“Ok, I was just making a suggestion!” Courtney laughed. “Come on, let me buy you a soda. Shopping always makes me so thirsty!” She latched onto Ashley’s arm and dragged her towards the crowded food court.

While Courtney went up to the counter to get the drinks, Ashley took their shopping bags and went to get them a table. She had just sat in her seat, when she saw the most gorgeous man walk by that she had ever seen. He was tall, with dark brown hair that was wavy, and longer than she usually liked. He also had some stubble growing on his face, which intrigues her since she usually liked her men clean shaven. He had a nice body, with just the right amount of muscle that said he took care of his body, but wasn’t obsessed with weightlifting. Her eyes scanned his whole body, from the top of his head, down to his feet and back up again until she was met with his piercing green eyes. He locked his gaze in her matching green eyes and smirked, knowing that she was checking him out. Ashley could feel the heat rise in her cheeks, but she wasn’t sure if it was because she was embarrassed that she was caught checking a guy out, or if she was just turned on by what she saw.

The moment was broken when Courtney walked up and put the drink in front of Ashley. Reluctantly, Ashley peeled her eyes from the gorgeous man and focused on her friend and what she was saying. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her mystery man walk off into a crowd of people, where she soon lost sight of him.

“…and he was so gross. When he handed me back the change I was owed, he tried to hold my hand, it was so gross because his hand was all slimy. Hello? Ashley? Are you even listening to a word that I’m saying?” Courtney snapped her fingers in front of Ashley’s face, finally getting her to come out of the daze she was in.

“I’m sorry, what?” Ashley asked when she realized her friend had been talking to her.

“Girl, what has gotten into you? You’re face is all red, and your eyes are all glossed over. Did I miss something?” Courtney asked, getting a bit concerned.

“Oh, nothing, just a really hot guy walked by, and I think I went off into a little dream world.” Ashley admitted.

“Wow, you really need to get laid.” Courtney told her, then the two laughed.

“You’re telling me!” Ashley said through her laughter. “Come on, I’ve had enough shopping for one day, let me drive you home.”

“You got it. Home James!” Courtney demanded as if she had a chauffer.

@-}----

Ashley walked into her house and called out for Hunter, to let him know that she was home. She found him in the family room, hooking up more electronics to the television.

“What’d you buy now?” Ashley asked, feeling the frustration welling up inside her.

“Oh, it’s a new subwoofer for the surround sound system. The guy at the store said this was the best one, and it was a really good deal, so I had to get it.” Hunter told her, his voice laced with enthusiasm.

“How much?” Ashley asked.

“Uh, it was only $250.” Hunter told her.

“What? Hunter, $250 is a lot of money for us right now. Man, I felt guilty for spending $50 on clothes that I needed for work. Not to mention you just bought new speakers for the bedroom TV last week, and a new DVD recorder the week before. There are other things we should be spending our money on right now.” Ashley told him. She hated feeling like a nag, but he was always buying something new, and she felt like she never got anything.

“Relax. Besides, if I wanted to sell any of this stuff, I could make money off it. I told you, the guy gave me great deals on all this stuff.”

“Whatever Hunter. You know you’ll never sell any of this stuff.” Ashley said and walked into the spare bedroom-turned-office. She sat down at the computer and logged in to check her e-mail. While she waited for the page to load, Ashley looked around the desk out of nothing better to do. There were a bunch of pieces of scrap paper laying all around, so she thought it’d be a good idea to clean it up.

She picked up each piece of paper separately and looked it over to see if it was anything important. She put the papers she wanted to keep in one pile, and the ones to throw away in another pile. As she picked up the last piece, she felt her stomach nearly drop to the floor. “HUNTER!” She yelled.

“Yeah?” He asked, walking into the office.

“How much did you pay for that thing you just bought?” She asked, hiding the piece of paper behind her back, not letting him see that she had found the receipt.

“It was like $250.” He said and started to walk away.

“It was like $250? Since when is $540 even close to being like $250?” Ashley questioned and threw the receipt at him. “I am so sick of the fucking lies Hunter! That is all you ever do. No matter what it is, you lie about it. Did you feed the fish? Lie. Did you pay the landlord? Lie. Did you set the machine to record my favorite show? Lie. It’s pretty sad that I can’t even believe a word out of my husband’s mouth.” Ashley went off. “So, would you like to try telling me the truth now about how much you paid for that thing?”

“It wasn’t that much.” Hunter spat back at her.

“I have the fucking receipt right there Hunter!”

“Well, I didn’t pay that much.” He tried to tell her.

“Oh, so the store just makes up fake receipts and puts higher amounts on there than they really charge? Do you honestly think I am that stupid?” Ashley asked as the tears came to her eyes. “I give up. I don’t even know what to do anymore.” She got up from the computer and pushed past Hunter and ran out of the house after grabbing her purse and car keys.

Ashley peeled out of her driveway, not really knowing where she was going, but knowing that she couldn’t stay there. She needed time to think, time to cool off. She could go see Courtney, but she just wanted to be alone. Instead, she drove to a small wooded park that was usually fairly secluded.

As she drove in, Ashley was relieved to see that there were no other cars there. She got our of her car and walked over to the bench that overlooked the river below. It was the perfect spot to sit and think, so quiet and peaceful. Out here, she didn’t have a care in the world.

There was no question in Ashley’s mind, she really did love Hunter. But was that love enough to keep them together? She missed the passion that she had shared with other men, the way they touched her, kissed her, and easily brought her to earth shattering climaxes. She had none of that with Hunter. She’d get an occasional peck on the lips, but even when they were having sex, or getting ready to, Hunter never touched her. Oh, sure, he expected oral sex every single time, but he never once returned the favor. Not that she minded, because to her, oral sex wasn’t all that pleasurable. But the touch of a man’s hand, the feel of his fingers…that was enough to send her into overdrive. The only time she felt fingers anywhere down there now, was when she touched herself. And the boobs? Might as well cut them off, hadn’t had any man touch those since just before she met Hunter, with the exception of her lump seeking doctor.

As for the elusive big O, sure she had them now and then, but SHE had to work to get it, and she had to work hard. Most of the time he finished just when she was starting to feel good, and the climax had been just around the corner. Hey, he got his, that’s all that mattered, right? WRONG!

Ashley also knew that marriage wasn’t all about sex. She knew that another big piece was missing from the equation…trust. How could she trust her husband when he lied about everything. Even when he was caught lying, with proof in her hand, he still didn’t own up to it. It not only frustrated her, it infuriated her. She tried her best to never keep anything from Hunter and never lied to him.

And for all that bad, there was of course some good. They had fun together, and knew each other inside and out. For all the times that Ashley’s temper got to her, Hunter was there to balance her out and keep her from going over the edge. Likewise, Ashley did the same for Hunter. Their personalities worked so well together, and he had his moments where he could be sweet. It just seemed like those moments were more and more scarce lately.

As Ashley sat there thinking about her marriage, her overactive mind kept flashing a picture of the man that she had seen at the mall. Every time she tried to concentrate on the problem at hand, her mind kept going back to the mystery man. The more she tried to focus on her marriage, the more persistent her memory of the man was.

“This is ridiculous! I’ve seen the guy once, and I can’t stop thinking about him? I really do need to get laid!” Ashley said out loud, with no one around to hear her, except for the passing breeze.

As if on cue, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she rolled her eyes and flipped open the phone. “Yes?” She asked in a tired voice, not having the strength to fight anymore.

“Hi, are you coming home soon?” Hunter asked as if there was nothing wrong, as if they hadn’t just a huge fight.

“Yeah, I’ll be home in about 15 minutes.” Ashley said with a sigh.

“Ok, see you then. Love you.” Hunter told her.

“Love you too.” Ashley spoke into the phone, then snapped it shut.

And just like that, another fight ended in the same way as usual.