Chapter 2: A New Woman in My Life

About eight months before graduation, I asked Carol Singer for a date. She was in one of my classes, so I had seen her before, but it was only a nodding acquaintance. We went out a few times and we seemed to hit it off quite well. I was getting my sex at the club and I had not committed to Carol, so I saw no reason the stop sex with Justine, Ellen and several others. I was making good money from that even at only a couple of nights a week. I continued to work during school.

After about the tenth date with Carol, I could see us getting much closer. Carol was 5'-4" with a nice figure. She was not the classical beauty that April had been, but it was much more of an inner beauty than drop dead gorgeous. I asked if she would accept being my steady girl, as I was still afraid of the problem I had with April. We talked in my car that night and I asked her to go steady with me. She asked if I was sure; she had heard that my engagement with April ended rather abruptly and wondered why.

"Carol, I guess we were too young and I know April was not done experiencing life when we were engaged and she cheated on me. So, once bitten, twice shy. I have a few trust issues with women in general, but I'm trying to get a handle on that. That is why, although we get along great and we seem to be quite compatible, I don't want to rush into another failed engagement. I want to take this a little slower, with just being together before I commit to asking for your hand. I hope you can understand that and live with that type of commitment for now."

"Bob, I'm so sorry about the way you were treated. Believe me I love you, and, if we have to wait for a while to ease your mind, I can wait. I truly think that you are worth waiting for. I will try my very best to make sure that you can trust me and I will do nothing to break that trust."

"Thank you so much, Carol."

We spoke of many things that night, mainly about what our plans were after college. We both wanted to stay around the area. We were trying to get to know one another much better and I thought that we were accomplishing that quite well. We just seemed to gel and we worked together to accomplish our goals, first to graduate and then to get good jobs and then get married. Things were working quite well toward our mutual goals.

I had an interview a month before graduation with a manufacturing plant. They knew my grades, and had seen my résumé and wanted to hire me on as soon as I graduated. Carol was to interview the first Monday after graduation, so it looked like we would both have jobs. We needed a place to live. I had stopped my modeling career once I graduated. I figured that working for a living and having a wife was not conducive to a modeling career. And I was now more or less committed to Carol, so there were no more trips to the "detail modeling" rooms for me.

I did some calling around to some friends of mine that I knew from the club and inquired if they knew any place for rent, cheap. I did have some money stashed away in a safety deposit box that I had squirreled away from my modeling days, but that was my "if nothing ever turned up" money so that I wouldn't have to crawl home with my tail between my legs and hope things got better. It was only about $20,000, and that wouldn't go very far if I had to live on it very long. I know I had a new job, but my first paycheck would be three weeks after I started.

Ellen came through for me, though. She and her husband had several rental properties — apartment complexes — with between 20 to 30 apartments in each complex. She had a two-bedroom apartment available that was not too far from my work. I could even take a bus to work. Carol didn't have a car, but I did. Well, not a car, but an old Dodge pickup that was in great shape and ran well. It had one of the old reliable 318 CID motors in it and I even got decent gas mileage with it. It was cheap when I found it and I got a friend from the club to do some work on it for, shall we say, "services rendered" for his wife. She was the money behind his shop and he liked to double team her. Anyway, if I could get that apartment, Carol and I could live there and she could use my truck to get back and forth to work while I rode the bus or rode a bike and we could make ends meet.

That is how we started our life together. After six months, we became engaged and then married within a year. Our early years of marriage were perfect; we were totally in love with each other. Sure we had a couple of spats; most young married couples do. Ours were mainly about where to spend our money, should we save for this item or splurge on that item, or should we save for something nicer later on. We lived in the apartment I rented from Ellen and saved for a house that we could buy some time down the road.

We both were getting raises and things looked bright and rosy for our future. We did seem to have good communication going between us and we worked through the tough times. We were now buying a three-bedroom house in the suburbs and were doing very nicely now. Our sex lives was still active and varied. We would go out a couple of times a month for dinner, and dancing.

At about seven years into our marriage I received a major promotion and for the past six months I was the Night Supervisor for our IT systems operations. I had been working day shift since I started, but I now had an opportunity for real advancement with this promotion to Supervisor. Carol had gotten a newer car although I still drove my truck. It still looked great and ran like a top so why get rid of it?

Working swings is when most of the updating and real maintenance is done on the servers and mainframe. I know it was not ideal, but this last promotion gave me much more money and a Supervisor title as well. If things worked out, I could be day shift supervisor once Craig Young retired, which was due in a year. I had been taking some more courses at school in business management, hoping that Manager of Information Technology Systems or Director of Information Services would be my ultimate goal.

Carol was moving up her ladder at work, too. She was now Personal Assistant to the Sales Manager for her company. She had been promoted about the same times I was. Her job was strictly 9 to 5 days, where mine now was 4 to 12 in the evenings. We slept together: well, when I got home we did, and I was up to fix her breakfast when she got ready for work. Then I went back to bed for a while to complete my sleep. I had late mornings to mid-afternoons to do what I could to help out with cleaning, laundry, shopping, and such.

Our sex life had been great, about four to five times a week until I went to swings. Then, I set her alarm for earlier than normal, and I woke her up many a morning with loving kisses and we made morning love and then caught up on the weekends when we were both off work.

I really don't know when it all started, but I noticed that Carol was not as amorous during the middle of the week as she used to be. She said it because she was working late with a bunch of contracts that were up for renewal. She was working hard right now getting everything ready for their proposals to their clients and suppliers.

I let it slide as I could understand that something like that would be very stressful and tiring. Then, something happened that made my spidey sense start tingling. One morning, Carol came in to breakfast and said that she would have to go out of town next week for three days. They were going to swing through three cities with contract proposals for next year for some of their suppliers and customers. There would be seven proposals given over the three-day period. They would leave late Monday evening, be gone three days, and return on Friday afternoon. It would be Carol, her boss and the two salesmen that handled these customers. I really didn't like her traveling with three guys, but what could I say. This was her job now.

The Saturday morning after Carol got back, I was not awakened for sex. I woke up about nine. I expected to see Carol, but I only found a note saying that she went shopping and she would be back later. I mowed the lawn and just generally puttered around the house doing things I had put off because there wasn't the time to complete them due to my shift work. By four, I was getting worried.

I didn't really know if PAs went on proposal trips or not but with the other things happening since the trip, it made me wonder. Usually just the salesmen and maybe the manager went on these trips, so why would they need a secretary to go? A personal assistant is just a glorified term for secretary or more correctly a personal secretary. Sure she could type up the contract if there were changes that needed to be done, but they could do that over the phone and fax or e-mail the new contract to the supplier and have one less expense to the company. It didn't make any sense to me unless she was cheating on me.

About five, Carol came home loaded down with bags. She had been shopping for new clothes. I guessed this traveling was going to be a more frequent thing for her and she said she needed new clothes for it. Some of those new clothes that I saw had my spidey sense prickling again. I saw some pretty sheer blouses and short skirts and I swore I saw a pair of crotchless panties from a Victoria's Secret bag. Either I was going to get a big surprise or someone else was. Somehow, I didn't think those things were for me. I would have to wait and see.

When we made love that night I didn't see any of her new purchases so I really was worried and wondered what was wrong. Did I do something wrong? Didn't I deserve to see those naughty but nice things on my wife's body? Who was she buying these frilly things for if not for me? My birthday, her birthday and our anniversary was months away so there was no special occasion that was coming up so why those purchases? Since they were not for me, then who were they for? I got nothing further from Carol on Saturday or Sunday morning.

Late Sunday afternoon I went into my home office and called Justine at home on my cell. "Justine, this is Bob Greene. Do you know a good PI?"

"Bob, what is going on?"

"I don't know, suddenly Carol is going on overnight trips for work, she bought sexy new clothes, but has not modeled them for me." I explained my suspicions and what I had just caught a glimpse of from Carol's new clothes.

"Bob, let me get back to you. Can I e-mail you some things so you know what to look for and what to do to prepare you for what may have to happen?"

"Sure, you have my personal e-mail address. Carol has her own, but doesn't know my password. I change it every month and I think I need to change it right now."

"Bob, can you access her e-mail? You might want to look and see if there are any suspect e-mails there." I said I thought I could.

We talked for about another ten minutes and then I hung up and looked to see if Carol was going to start supper yet. I looked in the kitchen, but no Carol. I lifted the wall phone to see if she was on the phone. I heard her talking to her boss, Gary Potter.

... [Giggle] "You are so naughty, Gary. No, I will not wear them to work. I might when we are on the next trip, but not for the proposals. Maybe when we go out for dinner later."

"Carol I hope your hubby doesn't hear about these trips."

"Oh Gary, he trusts me and I keep him satisfied when I can, so he can't complain. Besides, with him on swings, we have plenty of time for fun after work. Oh, I've got to go — it's almost dinner time and he will expect me to make it. It's my turn to cook tonight. See you Monday. Love ya."

Boy, talk about hearing your marriage go up in flames. I quickly hung up the phone and went out into the garage. I sat down at my workbench, and put my head in my hands and sobbed. What was wrong with me? What had I not given Carol that made her go out and fuck around on me with her boss? I know he had more money than I, he was kind of nice looking, but he was a lot older than she. I wondered if he had a bigger dick; was that the answer? She needed more dick than my seven inches? What was it? I mean, I always ate her pussy to at least three good comes before I ever put the meat to her. So, what made her go searching for someone else?

Maybe that was it; she was tired of me and wanted variety. Well, from now on she could have all the variety she wanted, because she was not going to get me anymore. How do I explain my not wanting it anymore? Hah, I have it: I have a groin pull. It's summer time right now, so no cold, or flu, so that would have to be my excuse. I finally got my shit together and sauntered into the kitchen.

"Hey Babe, you're looking good; is that a new hairstyle or have you lost weight?" I said as I grabbed her around the waist and started pulling my arms up her body.

She slapped my hands and said, "Later, lover boy, I'm fixing your supper." I pushed my lower body into her ass and then groaned and pulled back and sat in a chair and thought about what I heard earlier and tears came to my eyes.

"What's the matter, Baby, are you all right?" She really did sound concerned.

"I think I pulled something today when I moved that garbage bag of clippings. I felt something then, but it was just a twinge and went right away. I guess I will need to go see a doctor on Monday. But, I think our loving will have to be put on hold for a bit.

"I'm sorry, babe, I know how we both look forward to our weekends of loving each other."