I'm your basic mother, wife and career woman. Pretty much in that order, too. My kids come first, then my husband Brian, then my job. My own needs were ranked a distant fourth, about even with doing housework and regular visits to the dentist.

Pretty gloomy, huh? Actually, for most of my marriage I didn't mind. I ranked things in that order because I wanted to. Nobody forced me. The kids were happy, Brian was happy, I was happy.

Until about three years ago. That's when I looked in the mirror and realized I was approaching forty and I still hadn't experienced much of life. We don't travel a lot, our tastes are simple and Brian was the only man I'd ever made love with. I decided I needed to live a little before I got too old to enjoy it.

I lost weight, got back in shape and rediscovered my sex drive. I had no plans to cheat on Brian but I wanted to rekindle the lust in our marriage. Fat chance. Smokey the Bear would have been proud; that fire was OUT. Brian never even noticed my sexier clothes and any attempts I made to spice up our sex life fell flat.

After humiliating myself a few times with silly clothes, chocolate syrup and one memorable evening out in the garage that nearly required a hospital visit, I gave up trying to arouse him. He liked plain vanilla sex, once a week, nothing else. I retreated into the bedroom to masturbate with fantasy lovers.

It worked for a while but then I just started getting hornier. The more I tried to masturbate and fantasize, the more I thought about everything I was missing. I got more and more frustrated. The kids knew something was wrong, Brian knew something was wrong, but we didn't talk about it. How do you tell your husband that his cock isn't enough any more?

Finally, I sat down and told him I thought we needed to separate for a while. I didn't tell him the truth, I just said I thought I needed some time to myself. Once he got over the shock, he actually took it pretty well; I think he must have known I was unhappy. We agreed to wait until summer, after school was over.

Apparently Brian thought about it and figured out that the only thing wrong with our marriage was my overactive libido. Two months after we agreed to separate, he came to me.

"Kathy, do you remember Connie Sutherland?"

"What about it?" I asked, not sure why he was asking. 'Connie Sutherland' was the name on a fake ID that I used when I was in college. I was almost a year younger than everyone else so I used it to be able to go places with my friends. I threw the ID away on my eighteenth birthday.

"I've been thinking. I know you haven't seen her in a while, but do you think you could give her a call? I was telling one of my vendors about her and he said he'd love to go out with her. I think she'd like him, too."

I had no clue what Brian was talking about. 'Connie Sutherland' was just a name, not a real person. "Brian, I don't... "

"I know what you're going to say, honey. You haven't seen Connie since college and you don't know if she'd even be interested. I did some checking, though. From what I hear, she could use a date. I think she's horny." He grinned.

Dense me, I finally figured out what he was saying. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Not at all. Jack Holgren and I were talking today and I just think he'd be perfect for Connie. He's handsome, witty and a lot of fun. When I described Connie, he got really excited. I think they'd have a great time together. I promised him I'd set him up with her," he finished.

I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. My husband wanted me to go out with another guy! "Brian, are you sure this is a good idea?. I mean, we're already having problems."

"I think it's just what everybody needs, Kathy. What do you think?"

Stunned, I nodded. "Ok."

"Perfect. I told Jack I was sure Connie would agree. I made arrangements for him to meet her at Fiddler's bar at eight. Why don't you take a shower and get ready." Before I knew what was happening, Brian herded me into the bathroom.

While I showered, I tried to decide if I should go through with this. Brian was willing to let me go out with another guy but he wanted me to pretend to be someone else. Well, our marriage was almost shot anyway. What difference did it make? Besides, if I didn't like the guy I could always bail out.

When I got out of the shower, Brian had already laid out one of my best outfits, not supper sexy but low cut. I quickly dressed, opting at the last minute for heels rather than flats. As I came down the stairs, my son asked where I was going. I started to stammer but Brian interrupted.

"A friend of Mommy's has a date tonight and your mother is babysitting for her."

"Why are you dressed up?" quizzed my daughter Ashley.

"After her friend gets home, she and Mommy might stop for a drink," Brian smoothly replied. Satisfied, the kids went on their way. Brian gave me a big grin and herded me out the door.

I got to the bar and was surprised to discover that Jack was a tall, well-built black man about five years my junior. I was nervous but he immediately put me at ease, smiling and shaking my hand.

Dinner went quickly. I constructed a life for 'Connie,' close enough to my own to remember the lies, but with a few extra flairs. Jack was very attentive and I realized at the end of the meal that Brian was right; I was very attracted to him.

After dinner, we sat in the bar for a couple of hours, chatting and dancing a little. I had a great time, better than I'd had in years. Despite my attraction to him, I still didn't know what to make of the whole situation so I gently refused when he asked me back to his apartment. He walked me to my car and we kissed for a few minutes, Jack's body pressing me back against the door. I let his hands roam freely over my breasts as he pressed his erection against me. I could feel myself getting wetter and wetter as Jack drove his tongue into my mouth and squeezed my nipples through my dress. When he pulled back I was gasping for air.