I was lying on my back looking up at a jungle of wires in the avionics package of a newly designed heat seeking missile in Hanger One but my mind wasn't on the missile it was mulling over the options in my marriage. Hanger One at the GE Test Center is the maintenance hanger for the Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle fighter plane and I was suppose to be trying to see if I could figure out a quick fix for a new concept in heat seeking missiles, an instant lock-on of the enemy heat source before the missile released from the plane's rack when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Bob Thornton, the hangers' avionics and maintenance supervisor. He tapped his hard hat over his left ear meaning he needed to talk to me. I scooted out from under the missile rack and we walked into a small welding shop. I took off my Mickey Mouse ear protectors and asked, "What's up Bob?"

"I don't know Stacy; the boss wants to see you in his office ... ASAP!"

"Okay, any idea why?" I asked.

"Nope, he just said make it on the double."

The boss he was referring to was Jack McCain, the General Electric coordinator for government contracts and specifically the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile that the Navy used on its FA-18 Hornets. I left the hangar and walked across to the administration building and over to the elevator banks when my husband, Jimmy Keys, snuck up behind me.

"Hey there sexy ... what in the hell are you doing over here with the paper pushers? You're not trying to suck up to good old Jack are you?"

I turned around and looked at Jimmy, smiled sarcastically and gave him the finger. "I don't know what the hell Jack wants Jimmy, I just got a message that he wanted to see me. What about you?" I was trying to be nice to my husband but it was getting harder by the minute.

"Same thing, just told to report to Jack's office ASAP."

"You don't have any idea what this is all about?" I asked.

"Nope but I guess we'll know in a couple of minutes." We got into the elevator and when the doors closed he leaned over and kissed my cheek and then with his free hand grabbed my butt. "Hey, you know I could pull the emergency stop button and we could have a little sex before going into Jack's office ... what do you think about that Stacy?"

I slapped his hand away and looked at him angrily. "I think you're a perverted ass hole! Now stop fucking with me before I call your bluff and see what you would really do."

"Jesus Stacy ... what's up with you? Is it that time of the month?" He asked.

I glared at him. "Fuck you Jimmy Keys!" The doors opened and we walked down the hallway and I knocked on Jack's door.

"Come in."

Jimmy held the door for me and I walk inside. I was surprised to see Byron Richards standing over on the far side of the room scanning a set of blueprints taped to a chalkboard. Byron was the third member of our team and was Jimmy's best friend. The three of us had met in our junior year of high school in Mrs. French's advanced science class. I guess it was just natural that we were drawn together, after all the three of us were classic nerds. None of us were into sports and we would rather work on a science project as much as go to the movies. I actually dated Byron for three months before a typical teenage spat broke up our relationship but all three of us had remained close friends, finishing high school and junior college together and then took a year long internship training program on missile technology sponsored by General Electric. When we graduated from our training program we were all hired by GE to work out of their Charlotte, North Carolina facility. Jimmy and I were married three years after taking the job with GE and Byron had been our best man. We were a team, a threesome, The Three Musketeers ... at least that was the case until last Thursday night! Byron turned and saw me and smiled. He hates his first name so everyone calls him Rich or Richards that is everyone except me, I've always called him Byron. "Hey Byron," I called out, "what's up?"

He frowned and gave me a dirty look. "Well we got problems! And I mean big problems with the AIM-9!"

"What? What kind of problems?" Jimmy asked.

Before I could jump in Jack interrupted the conversation. "Look everyone this need to be a team effort here. Yesterday, two Navy FA-18's got into a dogfight with three MIG's over northern Iraq and their Sidewinders failed to track. Nothing, Nada! They just came off the rails and flew off into the sunset. Christ people we have to find out what the fuck happened and damned fast! Jimmy I want you to take the next flight to Norfolk, they're holding a Navy C-4 hop for you to take to the USS George Washington, she's cruising somewhere in the gulf. Richards ... you and Stacy catch the next flight for San Diego and get your butts out to Miramar and check out their 18's electronics. Questions people?"

"Miramar?" I asked. "Why Miramar, that's Marine Corps aviation."

"I know it's the Marines Stacy, I'm thinking that maybe the problem is a carrier landing problem and that's why I want Jimmy out on the George Washington. Maybe those landings are too hard on the new avionics. Miramar is because the Marines do less carrier landings."

Byron spoke up. "Look Jack, why not let me take the Washington gig and let the married folks go to Miramar?"

Jack stared angrily at Byron. "Look Richards did you get promoted recently and someone forgot to tell me? Oh no ... I didn't think so ... you and Stacy will go to Miramar because it's my God damned decision."

Byron looked properly chastised. "Jesus! Alright boss, sorry."

Jimmy took a late afternoon flight up to Norfolk while Byron and I made the nine p.m. flight out of Charlotte to Chicago where we changed planes for the last leg into San Diego. We arrived at six in the morning and picked up our rental car and were off to the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar. Miramar used to be a Naval Air Station and was famous for the Top Gun training but when the Navy moved that to Nevada the Marine Corps took over the base for the First Marine Air Wing headquarters. We arrived and were given spare rooms in the Bachelors Officers Quarters (BOQ), settled in our rooms and then went down to the flight line and found the maintenance hanger.

That night Byron asked me to dinner but I was bushed from the overnight flight and took a rain check and told him maybe we could go the following night. I got into my room, stripped out of my sweaty clothes and sat down in an old easy chair and popped the top on a beer. I was bushed but I was still deep in thought about my marriage. I had planned to have a heart-to-heart chat with Jimmy that night but the urgency of the AIM problem got in the way. In the three years we had been married everything had gone pretty well ... for the most part. Oh we argued like most couples and there were times when I thought that if I had a gun I would shoot him but mostly these were minor bumps in the road. The thing that had gotten my attention was that in the last few months I had noticed a dramatic drop off in our sexual relationship. We had gone from making love three or four times a week to a couple of times a month. At first I attributed it to both of us working long hours and so damned hard but last Thursday something else reared its ugly head ... another woman.

Normally on Thursdays Jimmy, Byron and I all met down at the Sweet Sixteen Bar and Grill for dinner and drinks but on this particular night Jimmy told me that he was working overtime and that he would see me at home. His last words as he walked back into his workstation were... 'tell Rich to behave himself.' I didn't think anything more about it until Byron and I were eating that night.

"So where's your old man tonight Stacy?" Byron asked.

"Working some overtime." I replied.

"Oh really? Gee I saw him ... well, never mind."

"What in the hell does that mean Byron?"

"Oh nothing, I'm sorry I brought it up."

"You didn't exactly bring it up Byron, that's why I'm asking what in the hell you meant." I was getting just a bit perturbed.

"Oh it's probably nothing but I saw his car leaving the main gate of the plant when I drove out to meet you ... that's all."

"Leaving? For where? What time did you see him?"

"It was around four and I don't know where he was headed. Look Stacy, I don't want to be drawn into a family spat."

"Fine Byron but you've already let the cat out of the bag ... so tell me what you saw."

"Oh sweet Jesus! Look Stacy, I saw Jimmy driving out of the facility with Jessica Hall in tow. I'm sorry."

"I see." I really didn't see and wondered why Jimmy had lied to me. Jessica Hall was Jack's secretary and couldn't have been much older than nineteen but she had a body to die for and a mind devoid of brains and I only hoped that Jimmy wasn't screwing the bimbo. When I got home that night Jimmy was in the shower, which I thought was interesting because it was so late. I idly wondered if he was scrubbing off the scent of another woman. I walked into the bathroom, "I honey ... I'm home." I called out. From behind the shower curtain Jimmy answered,

"Oh hi baby, I'll be finished in a couple of minutes."

His work clothes were in a pile on the bathroom floor and I reached down and picked up his underwear and looked at them. Inside the crotch were the telltale yellow stains of cum ... fresh cum that hadn't even dried yet. I lifted them to my nose and sniffed and there was a feint odor of perfume and I was pretty sure that he had been with someone else, that someone most likely being Jessica Hall. FUCK ME, my brain screamed!

I walked out to the den where I spotted Jimmy's Blackberry plugged in and charging. I picked it up, found the icon for text messages and opened it. There were tons of messages and most of them were from Jessica. I only read three before I was so angry I wanted to kill something.

"Jimmy, love U 2! Want ur big cock inside me soon."

"Hey big guy glad U could ditch the wife, need you hard and in me. Cu soon."

"Tonight after work ... want 2 suck you dry!"

That did it for me. I started to push the icon for pictures then decided I didn't want to know if he had pictures of Jessica. Tomorrow night he and I would have a talk and see where, if anywhere, this marriage was headed.

I shook my head and my mind came back to the present. I looked around the BOQ room, shook my head in disgust at being shunted to the west coast and I finished my beer. I took a deep breath, got out of the chair and walked into the small bathroom and slipped out of my bra and panties. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a nice looking woman looking back at me. Not a beauty, not the typical '10' of movie fame but a nice looking woman that didn't deserve to have her husband fucking around on her. I was five-five and 112 with nice hips, no sag to my ass and a respectable 34C bust line. I had sensitive nipples a tight pussy and I loved to fuck! What the hell had I done to deserve this shit? Just thinking about it made me cry.

I finally got myself together and showered, put on an oversized tee shirt and climbed under the covers. As I lay there in the dark, horny and angry, my hand slipped down between my legs and my fingers found their favorite spot and I masturbated until I came, then I fell asleep still in the fetal position.

The next two days went by in a blur and although Byron kept asking me to dinner, I begged off night after night. On our fourth day in San Diego Byron and I were eating lunch at a concession stand that was located between the PX and the Commissary.

"Tell me something Stacy, what's wrong with you? I mean how come you're avoiding me? If it's about Jimmy, I'm sorry that I ratted on him and hell maybe that night was just something innocent. Besides, I tried to change places with Jimmy and take the carrier so you two could spend some time together and figure out what was wrong."

I looked at Byron and nodded my head. "No Byron it wasn't innocent, not unless there was some really great reason for his shorts to be stained with cum and another woman's perfume. And, oh yea then there were the text messages between them ... real nice stuff if you like x-rated sex stories! But I appreciate the gesture about taking the carrier; I really do Byron because I know that you were trying to look out for me." I could see the disappointment on his face as he listened to me.

"God I'm so sorry Stacy. Look let me make it up to you and take you out for dinner. Nothing fancy or anything ... we'll just head over to the officers club and have dinner and a few drinks. Okay?"

It sounded good and I really needed to get out of my BOQ room so I relented. "Okay Byron ... dinner and drinks and that's it. I want to be in bed early tonight because I've got an early morning flight to test the AIM system."

"No problem Stacy. I'll pick you up at your room around seven-ish ... alright?"

"Seven it is."

When I got to my room after work I stripped out of my work clothes and took a nice long hot shower. I dried off, did my hair and make-up then searched through my closet to see what I wanted to wear to dinner. Nodding at my choice I slipped into a pair of plain yellow panties and matching bra then pulled my Sunday-go-to-church sundress off a hanger and slipped it over my head. I zipped up the back and walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror ... not to bad, not to bad at all I thought. Back in the bedroom I put what I thought I would need into my purse then waited for Byron. It didn't take long ... at five to seven there was a knocking on my door and I opened it to see the smiling face of my co-worker and best friend.

"God you look gorgeous Stacy!" He literally beamed at me.

I hugged him. "Thanks partner, I needed that!" Byron drove the mile and a half down to the Miramar Officers Club, parked and we walked inside. I saw the bar off to the left and suggested we have a before dinner drink. We pulled out chairs at the nearest table and a waitress hustled over.

"What can I get for you two?" She asked with a smile on her face.

I thought about it for a second, and then ordered. "Vodka/Tonic with a lime please."

"Single malt scotch, any single malt will do." Byron ordered.

"I'll be right back." she smiled and scurried away to fill our drink order. After the first drink we ordered a second then I asked the waitress if she could get us a table in the dining room. We finished our drinks and walked into the dining room and were shown to a table near the window that overlooked part of the Miramar golf course. Even at eight o'clock the dining room wasn't crowded and it was nice to have a semblance of privacy and a quiet dinner. We both ordered a steak and Byron ordered a chilled bottle of Chardonnay to accompany our meal. The waiter poured us each a glass and we held them up and toasted. "To finding our AIM-9 problems." I said.

"To a beautiful woman." He countered.

Dinner was served and the steaks were surprisingly good, cooked just right and we both dug in. Half way through the meal Byron ordered a second bottle of wine. With the two pre-dinner drinks and the wine I certainly wasn't feeling any pain. So far all we had discussed was the AIM-9 problems but there were other things lurking in the back of my mind and after another sip of wine I put down my glass and looked thoughtfully at Byron and just blurted out, "Byron ... why in hell did you tell me about Jimmy leaving the plant with Jessica Hall?" He looked up from his plate and stared at me.

"Uh, well I..."

"Come on Byron, fess up." I chided him. He looked at me for what seemed like a long time then he spoke.

"I guess I told you because I didn't think it was fair what Jimmy was doing to you!"