Amy re-read the letter and looked at the picture one more time then dropped them both onto the coffee table and began sobbing. The husband that had sent her the letter and photograph had wanted to hurt her and David and he had certainly succeeded. She looked down at the letter again but couldn't read the words through her tears but she could see the picture, a clear shot of her husband David in the naked arms of a woman, a stranger who was at least twenty years younger than her 51 years. The writer had made it clear that this was no one-time relationship, no David had been seeing this woman for over a year and he wanted it stopped. After all, the letter explained, it was his wife!

Amy wrung her hands then picked up a Kleenex and wiped the tears from her eyes. She rose and walked down into what she had always thought of as 'their' bedroom but now she wasn't sure that was true or if it would ever be true again. Had David brought 'that' woman into their house? Into their bedroom? Had he actually made love to her in their bed? She didn't know and didn't want to know.

She stripped out of her frumpy housecoat and walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror and the reflection staring back at her wasn't a pretty sight. Even though she had always thought of herself as nice looking now she wasn't so sure. Amy stood 5'6" but she was at least twenty pounds overweight and had small love handles on both sides of her waist. She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra and let it slide down her arms and she watched as her breasts follow the bra, sagging down onto her chest. She cupped her right breast and hefted the 34C mound into the air and let it drop until it plopped down and almost lay flat against her chest. Her mind wandered back to the photograph sitting on the coffee table and the stranger whose breasts stood straight out from her chest and the tears reappeared in Amy's eyes. Turning around to look at her butt she smiled through her tears, well at least her butt and legs still looked respectable.

Amy brushed back her blonde hair and looked at her roots. She saw a few strands of grey but not so many that a good coloring couldn't hide them from view. She stepped into the shower, adjusted the water and started washing. As the washcloth crossed her breasts her nipples hardened and he mind turned to her sex life or rather the lack of a sex life. David had always been a good lover and their two sons and a daughter were a product of that good relationship, still he had turned to someone else. At that moment she realized that their sex life had taken a downward turn about a year ago, about the same time as he started having his affair. So that was it, he was getting his sex from someone else. Her fingers touched her labia and easily slid inside and she found her clit. She closed her eyes and as the warm water ran down over her body she rubbed small circles on her clit until she finally orgasmed. The feeling was exquisite, her body was shaking with pleasure, her vagina was clamping shut then opening up again and again and Amy leaned back against the shower wall and clamped her legs tightly shut on her fingers trying to prolong the pleasure.

An hour later Amy closed the front door and walked over to her car and climbed inside. Before she started the engine she looked at herself, just one last time, in the rear view mirror. Her hair was coiffure up with just wisps hanging down by her ears. She had on a summer sundress that adequately covered her excess weight and looked smashing on her and with the pushup bra she looked maybe ten years younger. Amy started the car and a half-hour later pulled into the parking garage of the cities largest shopping mall. The five block long mall had been built three years ago as an urban renewal program and was anchored by a Sax 5^th Avenue on one end and a multimillion dollar condominium on the other end. Amy's first stop was at the Victoria's Secret where she purchased several new pairs of panties and matching bras. She saw a sexy nightgown in a gorgeous forest green and bought that too. Amy was determined to make herself sexier for her husband, to bring him back into the fold so to speak and into her arms. She still enjoyed sex and realized that perhaps their lovemaking had just gone a little stale and she knew how to revitalize that part of the marriage. The real question was whether or not David still wanted to be married to her, and to be a part of their family. Amy knew that she could forgive David for this indiscretion, she had to after all they had been married for over thirty years and the vow said 'until death do us part' and she believed in her vows.

Toting her purchases she walked down the mall mostly window shopping until she came to the Winston's Steak House. Suddenly realizing that she was hungry she walked inside and asked the maitre d' for a table.

He smiled at her. "I'm sorry ma'am but all I have left is a booth, would that be alright?"

"Sure that's fine." He grabbed a menu and led Amy through a labyrinth of high backed booths and settled her into her booth which was all the way in the back in a secluded corner of the restaurant. She looked around and thought for a moment that this would be a perfect place for a lover's rendezvous, it was quiet and secluded and just dark enough to be fun-sexy. She wondered if David had taken his bimbo to a place like this where they could kiss and fondle each other. Sighing, Amy opened the menu and began scanning the various selections of the day.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Excuse me?"

Amy looked up expecting to see a waiter but instead standing there was a young man, maybe 25 or so, tall, well over six feet, nicely built with light brown hair and brown 'cow' eyes. He was smiling down at her. "Yes, can I help you?" She asked the stranger.

"Well I just came in for lunch and Walter, that's the maitre d', said that all the tables and booths were taken but seeing as this is a four person booth he suggested that I ask you if you would mind letting me join you for lunch."

The last thing that Amy wanted today was company, especially the company of a man. "Sure, why not. Sit down." She held out her hand, "My name is Amy."

He took her hand and squeezed it lightly almost sexily. "Jonathan Edward Burns, but everyone calls me Jeb."

She thought that she had heard or read that name somewhere but nothing came to mind. "Nice to meet you Jeb."

The waiter arrived and they ordered lunch. Jeb asked and Amy agreed, and he ordered a bottle of Napa Valley Chardonnay to accompany their meal. As they slowly ate and sipped on the wine they talked, first about things in general; the recent rain storm, the falling housing prices and the like then Amy relaxed a little and told Jeb about her family, leaving out the part about her husbands affair. Her two boys she told him were already out of college and their jobs, one in Arizona and the other in New Jersey were both excellent starting positions. Her pride in her sons' accomplishments was obvious to Jeb but nothing compared to those of her daughter. Amy explained that she was a senior in college, had made the Dean's List every semester and had almost aced the LSAT's, the entrance test for law school and she had been accepted to the Harvard School of Law. Jeb talked about his life too, his rise in the computer industry, his taking his small company public and making a small fortune and his investment in the shopping mall. He explained that he had been approached by the original investment group and was now a 40 percent investor in the mall and the owner of the entire condominium building, selling off one unit at a time but keeping the penthouse for himself.

Amy now knew where she had heard his name and was impressed with his credentials. "Jeb you are so down to earth that I would have never thought of you as a multimillionaire."

"Well thanks but that's quite a set of accomplishments yourself Amy, you should be proud of your family."

"Oh Jeb they're just such good kids, never caused me a moment of pain and I would do anything for them, anything."

"I see. Look Amy can I ask you a personal question. I mean you don't have to answer if you don't want too."

"Ah... well you can go ahead and ask then I'll decide about answering part."

"Fair enough. Look it really isn't any of my business but I was wondering, you are obviously so proud of your family, and you should be but you haven't said a word about your husband. When I first sat down I had the feeling that you were... uh, unhappy. No that's not quite the verb I'm looking for; sad is a much better fit I think. I also noticed that you aren't wearing your wedding ring although from the suntan on your hands it's obvious you normally wear it. What's the matter Amy?"

At the mention of the missing wedding ring Amy unconsciously covered her left hand with her right and put them both under the table. She thought about what he had said for a moment then replied, "Well Jeb you are quite perceptive for such a young man. I am indeed a bit sad today and it does have something to do with my husband David. I was angry when I dressed and in a rash moment I decided to leave my rings at home. I shouldn't have done that but I did."

"Well in a successful marriage there has to be a lot of give and take. Your family sounds like they are very strong and I'm sure you'll weather this storm, whatever it is, as you probably have so many others."

Amy mused at his words. "Where did such a nice young man gain so much wisdom?"

"Oh I'm not sure I have any patent on the wisdom thing, I just rely on life's experiences as my teacher, that's all."

Amy smiled at his retort. "Life's experiences, you aren't old enough to have any life experiences."

"Really, well I'm probably older than you might think; I'll turn 29 in two months." From the look on her face it was obvious to Jeb that Amy had thought that he was much younger.

"Twenty Nine, God what I would give to look and be twenty nine again."

"Really, I think you look wonderful Amy. You're mature, wise, and funny and you have a very nice figure."

"For an old woman you mean."

"No, I meant exactly what I said."

He was beginning to flirt with her she realized and today of all days she was actually enjoying it. Normally, although it had been years since anyone had flirted with her, she would have stopped it right away but today was different, today was they day she found about her husbands' affair and the day she looked into the mirror and didn't like what she saw. No she would let him flirt a little bit; after all there really wasn't any harm in innocent flirting. "Well as perceptive as you are about some things your taste in women is suspect. Christ Jeb not only am I old enough to be your mother, I'm 51! I'm also twenty pounds overweight and I don't stand a chance when it comes to looking anywhere near as sexy as the women of today do."

It just dawned on Jeb that Amy was having some sort of a midlife crisis and somehow it involved her husband. "Look Amy not every man wants to be with women who look like those undernourished, emaciated women they show on television. No, give me a woman who has some meat on her bones and can make love to a man they way he deserves to be made loved to, not some 95 pound, skinny self absorbed, egomaniac of a runway model or Hollywood starlet. Nope you're my idea of a beautiful woman." And with that said he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"My God you sure know the way to a woman's heart!"

"Look Amy I don't mean to be forward but I would love to ask you up to my condo for a Champaign cocktail and a look at the view of the mountains from the penthouse, what would you say to that invitation?"

She knew the correct answer was a firm, thanks but no thanks, but today she was vulnerable and he was being so sweet and she figured why not, why not have an innocent cocktail with a handsome young man. She also knew that he would probably try and seduce her but she knew how to fend off a man so she said, "Alright." She reached down and pulled her purse over and opened it and took out a credit card.

"Put that away Amy, lunch is on me."

"Thanks Jeb but I like to pay my own way."

"Well today that just isn't possible. You see Walter know just to bill my account and that means anyone who is dining with me too."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders then put away her credit card. Jeb helped her up from the table and they walked out of the restaurant and down through the mall until they reached the bank of elevators for the condominiums. He pushed the up button and when the doors opened he inserted his private key and pushed the PH button and the elevator started up. When it reached the third floor the elevator was out of the shaft of the mall and it became an outside glass elevator and as it rose Amy marveled at the view.

"Oh my god would you look at that view!"

"If you think that's something wait until you see the mountains from my living room, it has a 180 degree view of both the city and the mountains. You'll love it."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened directly into Jeb's foyer and even from there Amy could see completely across the foyer, through the living room and out through the solid glass windows to the mountains some twenty miles away. "Oh my God Jeb it's beautiful."

Jeb smiled as he walked over to the wet bar and opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Champaign. He popped the cork and made them both a Champaign cocktail then he handed Amy her glass and directed her into the living room and out through the glass doors onto the deck ten stories above the parking lot. Neither of them said a word; they both just sipped on their cocktails and let the view say it all. At some point Jeb had placed his hand around her waist and on an instinct he pulled her into his arms then leaned down and kissed her neck. "Ummm, you smell adorable Amy."

Amy didn't move. For the first time in her life she didn't know what to say or do. Maybe it had been the two glasses of wine with lunch, she wasn't a big drinker she knew or maybe it was the Champaign or maybe it was just that today she really needed to be desired. Today of all days Amy needed to feel that she wasn't over the hill and that men still found her attractive and for that reason she simply turned and tilted her head back a little and closed her eyes and waited for him to kiss her.

Jeb took that as a sign that she was interested yet and he was reluctant, after all she was a married woman and had a great family. Did he want to be responsible for doing something that might ruin this wonderful woman's whole life? He didn't have to think long because before he could commit one way or the other Amy reached up and pulled his head down and they kissed. Their first kiss was exploratory in nature. Their lips touched and they tasted the unfamiliar fluids and smelled the unfamiliar odors. The second kiss was more pronounced, Jeb pushed her bangs aside and kissed her neck and she moaned with pleasure. He moved his lips up and kissed up her neck and then moved across and kissed her lips and she let his tongue ease inside and they teased each other. Jeb let his arm wander across her shoulders and down her back, teasingly rubbing and massaging as his arm went down to her buttocks. When his hand finally touched her butt she pushed forward into him and he knew she could feel his hardness pushing back.

Amy had never in her life even thought about cheating on David and yet she knew that was going to end this afternoon. It wasn't going to be revenge on her part, not at all. It was just a case of actually having someone desire her for what she was — an older woman. She should have realized that once she accepted his invitation to his condo that she had accepted the fact that they would have sex. Still when he first kissed her it was with so much passion and warmth, that same passion and warmth that had long been missing from her marriage that she found Jeb hard to resist. Oh she could and probably should have just pushed him away and said a firm no, after all he was a gentleman and would have stopped but she didn't do that. When their lips met and his hand caressed her shoulder she wanted to stop but the image of that woman, the one lying on the coffee table pushed its way into her mind and suddenly she felt vindication for what she was doing. As they continued to kiss and caress each other she could feel his hardness and now, right that minute, she wanted him as much as he wanted her. "Jeb? Jeb honey, I'm just a little old fashioned - do you think we could maybe go into your bedroom? I mean it's beautiful out here but I'm not much of an exhibitionist."

"Sure Amy, come on." He took her by the hand and led her inside and they walked down the hallway, turned to the right and entered the master bedroom. Jeb opened the door and let Amy precede him and smiled as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Oh Jeb this room is unbelievable!" The room was huge, probably 30'x30' feet with a king sized bed in the middle flanked by windows on both sides. And the skylight! Directly over the bed was a skylight the size of the bed, probably 10'x10' feet that made the room seem so open and inviting.

"I'm glad you like it." He pulled her to him and they kissed again. Jeb reached up and found the top of the zipper and slowly pulled it down to her waist and when he did she stiffened. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, well look Jeb I just realized that in a minute I'm going to be standing here naked in front of a young man and after looking at my body this morning I'm not sure that I want anyone, much less you seeing me without my clothes on."

"Don't be silly Amy you're beautiful so just let yourself go." He pushed her back just a little and time she didn't resist and he lowered the straps of her dress over her shoulders and let it slide down her body where it fell into a pile at her feet. Jeb kissed her neck and she shivered with anticipation and when his tongue touched her earlobe and he sucked it into his mouth she clung to him like ivy clings to a wall. While he fumbled with her bra clasp she let her hand slide down and caressed his hardness with her fingers. Finally the bra was open and Jeb slowly pulled it off and dropped it onto the floor.

Amy felt the clasp give and she knew that in a moment her bra would be gone and her flabby, saggy breast would be out in the open. She closed her eyes as they kissed mostly so she wouldn't have to see the negative reaction in his eyes. She was pleased when she felt his hardness, knowing that she was still attractive enough to make a young man that hard. She let her head slide down onto his shoulders as he broke the kiss and soon enough her nipple was inside his mouth and she felt the wetness starting between her legs. It felt so damn good to have a man paying attention to her that she started moaning out loud, probably too damn loud but she really didn't care, what she wanted was to be wanted, no that wasn't right, what she wanted to be desired and obviously Jeb desired her.

Jeb wasn't surprised that her breasts sagged, after all she had told him as much but he was pleased at they way they were responding to him. Her nipples were large, about the size of the tip of his little finger and as hard as a rock. As he sucked he let his hand slide down and when he touched her panties he realized that she was leaking profusely and Jeb knew she was going to be a wonderful lover. Finally he let her nipple slide out of his mouth and as he slowly sank down onto his knees he kissed her from her breasts down over her stomach and down to the vee between her legs. He slipped a finger into each side of her panties and pulled them down over her hips then gently pushed her backwards until she was sitting on the edge of his bed, then he took off the panties. Amy was nicely trimmed, her hair not any longer than a quarter of an inch anywhere. Jeb touched her knees and then eased them apart and scooted in between them.