Chapter 1

Angilee Carver stood by the metal fence watching her two girls, Amy, nine and Mary Beth, eight as the soccer game proceeded up and down the field. Both youngsters wore intent expressions on their faces as they raced to intercept the other team's advances and then take to the offensive. Angilee had never cared about the game, but both girls seemed to truly enjoy it, so every Tuesday and Thursday she found herself playing the role of soccer mom and driving them to the community park where the games were played.

The thirty-two year old's thoughts drifted from the game. She wished again that Terry would make more of an effort to attend, but his shift at the plant conflicted, for the most part, and even when he could attend, he often begged off, citing exhaustion from the job. Their marriage had drifted, especially in the last three years, finding him spending more time at work and involving himself less and less in the affairs of their marriage and family. Angilee had felt the gradual lessening of affection, as more and more Terry seemed to accept the routine of work, eat and sleep with only occasional time spent with her and the kids. He, of course, had been reluctant to have children, but her insistence and two pregnancies within a year, which she had hoped would result in a deeper commitment on his part, had had almost the opposite effect. He was never openly resentful and did assume his fatherly duties, at least at a minimal level, but she could now see that the children and his wife were gradually being usurped by his job, a job which only a few years ago was only of secondary importance to their relationship and the love and affection which they had once showered upon each other. She realized her own romantic feelings toward Terry did not reach the levels of intensity which they once had. Was she falling out of love with her husband? No, but she admitted to herself that his gradual withdrawal from emotional and physical intimacy had affected her feelings as well. She had tried talking with him, but he saw their relationship as "comfortable" and found nothing wrong. She had tried to arrange family outings to bring them all closer, but even when Terry agreed to go, his consent was mechanistic and obligational rather than joyous. Her attempts at personal intimacy met with no greater success. On several occasions she had arranged for the kids to stay with their grandparents while she had planned a romantic tryst, dressing and offering herself to him provocatively, but these too met with disappointment. He often begged off with fatigue from work or else his lovemaking was short, his quick orgasms leaving her both emotionally and physically unsatisfied. She sighed as her attention returned to the field.

Turning, she became aware of the attention of a young man, one of the coaches, a college student helping out as part of a fraternity obligation. She had noticed him at some of the other games, his eyes always finding her, undressing her. His eyes were taking in her long, tanned, shapely legs making her wish she hadn't worn the cut off jeans. She wanted to look away but for some unknown reason could not. As he drank in her hips and slender waist and then moved to her ample breasts, she silently cursed, because even through the modest pull over she wore, her nipples were evident. Her breasts were often the second thing men looked at, the first being her still lovely face, bright green eyes and vivid auburn hair.