Chapter 1

Janet Simpson stormed into the den, placed her hands on her hips and shrieked, "Goddamnit George, are you going to take the garbage out or not?"

George Simpson slowly lowered his newspaper, looked at his wife coldly and replied in an even voice. "I told you that I would take the fucking garbage out when I finished the paper."

Janet turned back to the kitchen, "Fuck you, let it rot!," she snapped.

George sat there, feeling his blood pressure soar. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. Their relationship had been going downhill for months now. It seemed as if his wife was doing her damned best to wreck their marriage.

He got up, moved to the bar, and poured himself a small tumbler of scotch, neat. Returning to his chair, he sank back and reflected, "What the fuck is going on?" he asked himself again. Taking a sip, his mind went back in time. "Shit," he thought, "I used to adore the very ground she walked on. Now I shudder when she comes in the room."

His mind went back in time...

He first met Janet in college, he a senior majoring in business, and she a sophomore in the school of education. One look at her and he knew that he had found his life mate. In his mind she was the personification of femininity. She stood about 5'3" and had a figure that, to his mind, was perfect. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes and the sweetest lips he had ever seen. Getting to know her, he was entranced with her personality, sweet, kind and intelligent. He pursued her with a passion and it wasn't long before they were a steady couple. Their friends knew that if you saw George, Janet would be with him.

George felt a small smile come to his lips as he recalled their first date. They had spent the entire evening yakking, they seemed to connect, as if they had known each other forever. George knew that he didn't want to blow this. When the evening ended and he drove her to her dorm, he just took her hand to say goodnight. Janet leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek, asking softly, "Call me, George?"

He blushed and stammered, "Of course, you betcha, you betcha, I sure will." And he did.

At the end of their third date, Janet, as they said goodnight, leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Call me, George?" she asked again. Again George smiled and replied, "You betcha," They both laughed.

George was driving her to the dorm at the end of their fourth date, when Janet turned to him and suggested, "George, the lake should be beautiful tonight, let's drive over there."

George parked and they saw that they were alone in the parking area. Janet reached for him. Putting her arms around his neck, she purred, "George, let's neck." They kissed passionately, tongues dancing with abandon. He placed a tentative hand on her breast and she pressed it firmly into her. It wasn't long before her blouse was unbuttoned and bra undone.

As he gently fondled her breast and played with the turgid nipples, Janet whispered in his ear, "George, I'm a virgin and I would like to remain a virgin for a little while longer." The statement had a question in it and George recognized that.

"I understand, Jan. We won't do anything that you don't want. I will respect that."

Janet accepted the sincerity in his voice and relaxed as he lowered his head onto her breast. He sucked gently on her nipple, then bit it gently. His hand drifted to the button on her jeans. She helped him open her zipper and gasped as his hand slid under her panties and cupped her mound. She was aroused, her pussy moist with her fluids. George let his middle finger slip between her nether lips, pass over the entrance to her vagina and travel up until it felt the nub of her clitoris. She suddenly tensed and held him tightly.

"My God, my God," she murmured. "You made me come," she said in wonder. "That's the first time anyone has made me come," That statement almost elicited an inappropriate question from George, but he quickly swallowed and kept quiet. Now was certainly not the time to question her about past lovers.

Janet turned to him with a wide grin on her face. Placing her hand on the zipper of his slacks, she exclaimed, "Wow, George, I think you're excited too. Did I do that?" She gently squeezed his erection and he gasped as he felt himself losing control. He came under her hand, unable to stop. She felt the contractions in his cock and continued to squeeze gently until he finished. They sat quietly, holding each other closely.

It took a year for them to consummate the relationship. George really did not pursue her virginity with any great vigor. He knew that she wanted to wait and he respected her wish. That didn't mean that they were totally chaste. They had explored each other's bodies with enthusiasm, petting, fondling and even experimenting with oral sex, albeit clumsily

They had moved in together as soon as George graduated. He had gotten a job in the area as a marketing intern and had rented an apartment. The pay was not huge, but he saw potential in the position. Janet continued with her studies and graduated two years later with a degree in Education. They immediately married and the twins were born almost a year later, a boy and a girl.

They were ecstatic. They had planned to have two children and here they were. in one fell swoop, so to speak. Janet wanted to stay home with the children and George concurred. He also felt that it was important that she be a stay-at-home mother, at least for awhile. Things were tight financially, but they managed. George had been given more responsibility and promoted as he had shown his worth.

Janet was extremely eager that they purchase a house and had convinced George, now that the twins were over a year old, that now would be the time for her to seek a teaching position. With the added income, a house was more than possible. Day care was available for the twins.

Marge, her friend from college and married to a teacher, had informed her that her husband's suburban school district had openings. Armed with her credentials, she interviewed and was accepted as a teacher in the middle school for the fall term. While George wasn't totally thrilled about her going to work so soon, he recognized her desire for a house and didn't put up too much of an fuss. The added income swiftly qualified them for a mortgage and they started to look for a home in Janet's school district.

Marge was a great help again, convincing them to look in her neighborhood. It wasn't long before they found something that Janet fell in love with, and was, coincidentally, three houses down the street from Marge and Phil Brock.

The two couples soon become very close friends. Marge and Phil had a boy about a year older than the twins, and a little girl only a few months younger. Dinners were exchanged frequently and many summer vacations were spent together. While George did not really consider Phil a close buddy and confident, he recognized that Janet felt very close to both of them and, of course, went along.

Years went by and George grew with the company until he occupied a management position, enjoying the salary that came with it. Janet had also stayed with the school district, had chaired her department and had just been appointed assistant principal of the middle school. Of course, that promotion was helped along by Phil Brock, who had been transferred from the high school and had been appointed principal of that middle school.

The children came into George's thoughts and he realized that the kids were now 22 years old and on their own. "My God, where have the years gone. We should be enjoying our lives now with less responsibility, plenty of money and the time to enjoy life and each other. Why had it all suddenly turned to shit?"

It had all come to a head at that Christmas Eve Party at the Brock's house.

The place was packed with neighbors and colleagues from the school. The liquor flowed, as usual, and George soon felt no pain. The whole damned evening seemed a blur. He knew that he had danced with Jan, and then with Marge and, he was sure, with a few of the other women. He remembered Marge cornering him under the mistletoe for a quick peck. Things got a little blurry after that. He could swear that he saw Janet in a hot embrace with some guy, but that was also a blur. He did remember being pissed at her, but was it for that incident? He couldn't remember.

The shit really hit the fan the following morning. George and Janet had staggered home, shed their outer clothes in the living room and wobbled to bed. Who knew what time that was. Later the following morning, Jan called out up him that she was going to take some stuff to the cleaners on Monday and told him that she would include the sport coat he had worn to the party. He had mumbled an ok as he slowly made his way into the bathroom.

Suddenly the door burst open and he saw Janet standing there with eyes blazing. "Who's are these, you prick? Who's panties are these?" she repeated, waving a lavender pair of bikini panties in his face.

George stood there stupidly, his mouth agape. "Huh?" he stammered. "What are you talking about," he asked hoarsely, the pounding in his head getting louder.

"You son of a bitch, I just knew that you were cheating and here's the proof. You didn't even bother getting rid of the evidence, Here, smell your girlfriend again," she screamed as she thrust the panties into his face.

George recoiled and slapped her hand away from his face. "What the fuck are you talking about? Are you crazy? What do I know about panties?"

Janet lowered her voice and hissed at him. "They were in your pocket, lover boy. You forgot to get rid of them. You just stuffed them in the pocket of your sport coat before you fucked her."

George looked at her in total amazement. Who the hell was this woman? He had never seen Janet in such a rage. Reason took hold and he said softly to her, "Janet, I have never seen those things before in my life and I honestly have no idea how they got into my pocket. I can't believe that you think that I cheated on you. That has never happened and it never will."

Janet's eyes softened for a brief moment and then turned hard again. "You're a lying bastard, George Simpson and I'll get even with you. You think that you can fuck around with impunity, you're going to find out that you're not the only one that can attract a lover."

Still clutching the panties in her fist, Janet turned and stalked out of the bathroom, leaving a stunned George standing there, looking after her blankly.

To say that the following days were chilly in the Simpson household would be an extreme understatement. Janet would not utter a word to him other than what was absolutely necessary. George attempted, time and time again, to reason with her, to no avail. She refused to listen to him. She had made her mind up that he had cheated or was cheating and no conversation would convince her otherwise.

What George couldn't, for the life of him, understand was why she was so convinced. It couldn't just be those damn panties. He honestly didn't have the foggiest idea how they came to be in his pocket. How could she be so convinced of his infidelity based on such flimsy evidence? Where had the trust gone? Why, all of a sudden, did she turn into such a jealous shrew?

George paused in thought. Was he missing something here? He suddenly realized, perhaps belatedly, that Janet's behavior and attitude had changed gradually since the beginning of fall when she assumed her new position as assistant principal. The change was subtle and gradual, so gradual that he missed it. It started at the begining of the school year, he now realized, Janet seemed a bit preoccupied, a little thoughtful, like she had things on her mind.

Little by little, now that he thought about it, she had become irritable and impatient with him. Small things set her off. By the end of the year, she had become an almost different person. At first he had put it down to the stress of her new position. She had more responsibility now, more to deal with. But it had to be more than that. Very gradually a coolness had developed between the two of them. Gone were the little gestures of affection. What had happened to that sweet and patient temperament?

He also realized that sex with Janet had become a more than an infrequent event. With a bit of a shock he recognized that they hadn't made love in well over a month, or was it two? It was always something - the proverbial headache, I think I'm getting my period, I may be coming down with a cold, etc., etc., He had not made the lack of physical intimacy an issue. Considering the growing schism, he realized with more than a little concern, that he really had had no great desire to make love to her.

It was on New Year's Eve day that Janet approached him. She came into the den, or rather stood in the doorway. "George, I had your suit cleaned, we're going to the Salter's for their annual New Year's Eve party tonight. Be ready by 8:00." With that statement, she turned and strode away.

George sat and looked after her. Those were the first words from her all day. He really didn't think that they would be going anywhere tonight, let alone a party. He shook his head sadly, but knew that he would go. He was just too tired to argue. If she wanted to party tonight, then fine. He was a bit puzzled; he really thought that she would be in no mood for another party, considering what had happened at the last one. "Well," he thought. "At least it's within walking distance. I won't have to worry about driving tonight."

Promptly at 8:00 pm, they strolled down the street to Harry and Susan Salter's house. It was large structure. The Salter's had added on and had done quite a bit of remodeling. They had also spent a bundle constructing a huge complex of rooms in the basement, including a TV lounge, a billiard room, a sauna and general recreation area. There certainly was enough room in their house for a party of this size.

It looked like the whole neighborhood was there, People were milling about throughout the house, from the kitchen, family room and, of course, the basement. Janet left his side as soon as they entered the house and George had no idea where she disappeared to. He had made a conscious decision to strictly limit his intake of alcohol, tonight he wanted a clear head. He was soon involved in conversation with a few of the men, sipping from a glass of scotch. This would last him the entire night, he vowed. Time slipped by and he was startled to hear everyone start the countdown to the new year. He looked around for Janet, but she was nowhere in sight. The scene of all of the couples kissing the new year in saddened him. He truly, at that time, felt alone. He just didn't know what more he could do to save his marriage.

George had had enough, he just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. The whole scene here depressed him. He started his search for Janet, with no success. She was not downstairs in the basement nor was she on the first floor. Puzzled, he looked about, uncertain as to where she could have gone. Perhaps she had gone upstairs to the bathroom. He walked up the stairs and found the hall bathroom occupied. He then went into the master suite, seeking the master bathroom. Entering the room he stopped and just stared in disbelief.

There before him, on the bed, was Janet locked in a passionate kiss with a very drunken Harry Salter. Her breasts were half exposed and Harry had his hand up her skirt and there was no doubt where his fingers were.