A Perfect Marriage Ruined Pt. 01

"But David and I didn't argue," Anna interrupted, "we realized we didn't talk enough about work-life, and that turned out to be a major mistake, but our relationship was strong. We were happy," she added sadly. And Kendra and Jake ruined it.

"But were you still intimate?" Theresa asked, "as your family takes center stage your sex life can take a dip, especially after pregnancy."

Anna looked thoughtful. "I admit after my first child, Sophie, was born it took me a while to become interested in sex again."

"Perfectly understandable," Theresa responded, "doctors usually recommend waiting at least six weeks before resuming a sexual relationship, but it depends entirely on you and how your body has reacted to the birth. Some people take longer than others."

"I was so focused on Sophie, making sure I got everything right. I didn't have time to worry about sex. I figured it would just happen after things got normal again," Anna said.

"And did it?" Theresa asked.

"Well eventually," Anna replied. "It was different somehow. I was different. When we made love, David was caring and attentive. It was lovely."

"And how long did it take you to get to that place?" Theresa probed.

"Probably about a year after Sophie, maybe a bit less," Anna confessed.Is it bad I don't fully remember? I was so consumed with Sophie, certainly that wasn't all my fault.

"Again, that's perfectly normal, we all make our own pace," Theresa said. "Tell me about your pregnancy with Grace and your life since her birth."

Anna thought about it for a moment before replying. "It was tough. I had a few rough months with sickness and then put on weight, which caused me all sorts of other problems."

"And how supportive was David during this period?"

Anna pulled a face. He was still hurt about Jake Ventura. "Truthfully, nothing like how he was when I was pregnant with Sophie."

She paused briefly. "But he was going through a bad period. As I said earlier, his father died suddenly, and the family business went with him. It was a distressing time for all of us. In fact, it still is."

"And how was your sex life through this period?"

"Nonexistent," Anna replied grimly.

"And now?"

"The same," Anna replied. "It's not that I can't or don't want to have sex. It's the complete opposite. I find myself craving sex these days... and not always the gentle and loving kind." She looked down in embarrassment. "I don't understand why. Surely that's not natural? That's not how I'm supposed to be reacting?" Am I a freak?

At first shocked, Theresa quickly recovered her poise. "Ordinarily I would say yes, but there has been research that has revealed that some women began to feel desire and engage in sex sooner than usual after pregnancy. When it comes to the human body and its hormones, many things could be going on that is throwing you out of whack. I suggest you talk to your medical doctor."

Anna smiled. "Oh I have, and her response was that I must've won the hormone lottery!"

"Perhaps sleeping with Jake opened up something inside of you that you hadn't felt in a long time, or that you didn't even know was there?"

Anna blushed and quickly offered a rebuttal. "Certainly not! I'm ashamed of what happened with him." But the shiver down her spine told her that perhaps Theresa was on to something. I have indeed wanted sex more since I copulated with him. Maybe I'm a freak after all? And a horrible person.

Theresa scribbled some more notes before looking up at the clock on the wall. "Sadly, that's all we have time for today Anna. I think we've made some real progress, but I would like to pursue this topic again on your next visit. Do you have any questions for me before you go?"

"Yes," Anna replied, "What about the third phase?"

Theresa smiled. "It's the companionship phase. It's a period that's a calmer and more supportive partnership.  Obviously, you're a long way from that yet and the trick will be to get you there."

She stood and ushered Anna towards the door. "I'll see you next week."

*****

A week later Anna was again in the office of Theresa Coleman. The appointment had started with a recap of her previous visit, and now Theresa wanted to press ahead with what she thought was the crux of Anna's reasons to be there.

"So, tell me about the sex with Jake," Theresa asked. "Was it good, bad, indifferent?"

She had to go there, did she? Anna breathed out deeply before delivering her carefully considered response. "It was certainly different. He was very energetic, and he seemed to know how to pleasure a woman. I guess you could say he knew what he was doing." She flushed with embarrassment as memories she'd tried so hard to forget came flooding back. She felt a dampness between her legs, which surprised and worried her. Stop it, Anna. Think of the asshole that he was, NOT the multiple orgasms he gave me with that big dick of his.

Theresa repressed the smirk that wanted to spring from her lips and made notes on her pad. She eventually looked up. "Well, does that mean you enjoyed sex with Jake?"

Anna looked stunned. She hadn't expected Theresa to be so blunt with her questioning. Can we go back to talking about David instead of Jake? I knew I shouldn't have come to therapy; this is going to make me feel worse.

"Well did you?" Theresa asked again.

"Yes..." Anna almost breathed the word out in a whisper. She paused briefly. "No..." She paused again. "I don't know... it was different... he was another man... it was different because I was having sex with a man who wasn't my husband. We weren't making love, that's what David and I did... I mean, do. Besides, David's my soulmate. We're meant to be together, forever."

Theresa cringed inwardly at Anna's words trying hard to keep her face a mask. She hated the term soulmate. Ninety percent of the women she saw came out with this trite statement. But she knew otherwise. She'd thought her husband had been her soulmate and look how that had turned out.

"Can you clarify your last statement Anna?" She snapped irritably, "you're sending me mixed signals and it's a simple question. Was Jake better than David? Yes or no?"

Anna chewed on her bottom lip as she considered her reply. I was such a fool to fall for his act, but I can't deny I wanted it and that it was amazing. I'm so sorry, David. "Yes, he was better than David," she finally whispered, "It felt... so naughty... and with me angry at David and wanting revenge, Jake tapped into this wild part of me... and I... I liked the feeling."

Her therapist raised an eyebrow as Anna continued.  "But that's not what's important. I love David and I am devastated that I have caused him so much pain." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I don't think he's ever going to forgive me."

Theresa scribbled some more notes in her pad.  'Enjoyed the thrill of sex with another man. Upset because she was caught.'

Chapter 4

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Flashback: How to Ruin a Perfect Marriage, Chapter 13, by TeamEquipe.

At first he was embarrassed but Alexia was nothing if not persistent and eventually as the night wore on and the alcohol dulled his senses, he opened up and began to get into it too. He wasn't the greatest of dancers but it didn't matter. Alexia was just brilliant. Her moves were sensuous and raunchy as she wiggled her ass and shook her tits.

Oblivious to the people around them David eventually and completely let go, and as he was dragged back yet again onto the dance floor by Alexia he managed to blurt out to his buddies near the bar, "Isn't she great?"

Craig and Chris smiled and nodded their agreement. It had been a long time since they'd seen David this loose and they were finding it extremely amusing.

"Do you think I should tell him he's dancing with a stripper?" said Craig as they watched Alexia bumping and grinding herself up and down David's body once more.

"What... she's a stripper?! Doesn't he know?" Chris said.

"No, he's absolutely no idea." Craig replied with a chuckle.

"Nah, let him enjoy the moment," Chris replied with a laugh, "he looks happy, what harm can it do?"

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We all like to think we are surrounded by good friends, although time can prove that most of these are close acquaintances at best. David figured he was blessed having two close friends in Craig Price and Chris Monroe.

Of the two, Craig was his oldest and dearest friend. They'd first met in Junior High when they were paired together for a science project. They made an unlikely team: David tall and good looking with an athlete's build, whilst Craig was small and slightly obese, a problem that didn't improve as he matured. Unlike David, Craig didn't attend college, but their friendship during that time remained intact.

Chris had become part of their group later. He attended the same college as David, and they met at the campus gym. Starting off as tennis buddies their friendship grew stronger as they discovered they had many common interests away from the gym. When Chris had been introduced to Craig, they hit it off immediately, and being that the three of them ended up living in the same city after college, they were able to remain friends.

They made a strange trio. David was the quiet, unassuming one, a bit reserved and shy. Craig was quick-witted, always making the smart cracks, perhaps using the humor to cover up insecurities about his elevated weight and lack of worth. Chris, likable and good-looking in a rugged way, was the most cocksure of the three. In the early days he would be the one chatting up the girls and getting them to sit with the three of them in the bars and nightclubs.

Despite their close friendship, Chris had always been jealous of David, which was odd being that he appeared to be the more confident of the two. He always resented that David was more successful financially, having been plugged into his family's business right out of school.  And David was taller and more athletic, always getting the better of him when they competed in sports.

But the thing that made Chris the most jealous was David's relationship with Anna. Sure, David had a lot of advantages over Chris, but ability with women was one thing Chris always had in his favor over his friend; however, once David landed Anna, Chris even questioned that.

Chris had certainly been aware of the younger Anna at college. Every straight man on campus with a pulse knew about her, and like many others, he harbored carnal thoughts about her. Sadly, for Chris she seemed unattainable to mere mortals such as him, so it came as a big surprise when he found out that she was dating David. He regretted having not made a move on her sooner; if she went for David, surely, she'd have gone for him, he reasoned. Figuring that she'd eventually dump David, Chris was surprised when they announced their engagement, which ended any hopes that he could eventually move in on her.

He had made a few moves on her early in their relationship, but those attempts failed miserably as she showed zero interest in him, instead doting on David. This had only fueled his jealousy and sparked his desire for her even more as he wished he could steal her from David to prove he was more desirable to women.

But as he got to know Anna, Chris soon found out that as well as being stunningly good looking with a fabulous body, she also had a heart of gold, and it was simply impossible to harbor much resentment. He eventually warmed to them as a couple and put aside all lascivious thoughts he may have had about her. At the end of the day, the jealousy he harbored for David wasn't enough to end their good friendship.

And David certainly was a good guy, Chris knew.  He realized how strong his friend's moral character was when David stoically resisted the stripper, Alexia, who was hired to seduce David. If it had been him in that situation he would have succumbed immediately and fucked the busty stripper!

When he saw David with Alexia that fateful night two years ago, he couldn't believe how much the stripper wanted his friend.  It was obvious she had an agenda to sleep with him.  Chris recalls thinking David should be very careful, lest Anna find out. Deep down though, Chris hoped David would cheat on Anna, to prove that David wasn't so perfect after all and that perhaps he wasn't in a perfect marriage. 

When Craig suggested intervening on the dance floor that night, Chris told him not to. And then when David had gone outside with Alexia, Craig again wanted to go break them up, but Chris held him back.  "He's a grown man," Chris had said with a grin.

It was a terrible thing to wish trouble upon his friend, but he had a nagging feeling of inadequacy when it came to his reputation versus David's reputation. Chris was always considered the slacker, the guy who couldn't find a good job or a good woman. David was always the golden boy with money and the gorgeous wife. Chris thought that perhaps David slipping up would put an end to the narrative.

But of course, David had come running back into the club shortly after with his dick still in his pants. Chris merely rolled his eyes as David explained he could never cheat on Anna and he loved Anna, etc. etc.  Chris shrugged and decided if David wasn't going to fuck Alexia, he would. But upon going outside, she had vanished.

That David resisted Alexia was predictable; however, Chris had been shocked to hear that Anna was the one to slip up with her co-worker named Jake. Never in a million years did he think goody-goody Anna would stray. When David suggested she cheated as revenge for the night with Alexia, Chris couldn't believe the twist of fate, that perhaps he himself could have prevented it!

For a long time after Anna's affair, David was a mess, and Chris had been there to help him along the way. Chris couldn't believe that their seemingly perfect marriage had been turned upside-down.  Even though David and Anna went down the path of reconciling and adding another child to their family, Chris had sensed there was some irreparable damage done.

Chris had continued to play tennis with David on a regular basis becoming the welcome ear that David used to vent his feelings. David's annual membership fees at the health club had been paid in full prior to their money woes, so he took advantage of the ability to exercise to relieve his stress. Chris was happy to gain free access to the nice club, so he accompanied him as a guest whenever he could. It was during these times, especially when they visited the sauna, that David discussed the troubles in his life.

Their marriage appeared be fine on the surface to Chris, as they looked the part of a charming family in love, but David said things still weren't back to normal. He never got into specifics much, but clearly something was bothering him. Chris had concluded that even two years after Anna's infidelity, there was still trouble in their marriage.

Chris never got the full details about what happened between Anna and Jake, as David was very reticent to discuss that element of the whole mess, but he knew sex was involved and this intrigued him greatly. He wondered how difficult it was for Jake to nail Anna and whether she enjoyed it. He had an entirely different perspective on Anna Hutchison now. She turned out to be a human with flaws after all, and he wondered if there was a horny woman hiding inside that spectacular body of hers.

As David had begun bit by bit to peel back the layers of his supposed perfect marriage, the suppressed desires Chris held for Anna in the past suddenly began to reignite, especially when she decided to contact him out of the blue.

Chapter 5

Just as David was leaning on Chris for support in his troubled marriage, Anna had too reached out to Chris. She was desperate to know what was going through David's head since he wasn't communicating well with her, and she figured his best friends might be able to help calm her anxiety.

She first tried Craig - the more reliable of David's two best friends and who gave David a place to stay temporarily when he was kicked out of the house - but he was no help. Craig had a low opinion of Anna after the Jake incident, so it was no surprise he was unwilling to speak to her.  He did not want to compromise his friendship and speak behind David's back.

She then moved on to Chris, who was David's other best friend. When she got in touch with him, she was delighted by his initial response to help her, especially since he promised not to tell David.

Anna was able to use her chats with Chris to clue her in on David's moods, which helped her understand and cope with them. Soon he became a person she relied on for help, and he also became a great person for her to talk to in general and air her feelings. They had elevated their conversations from texting, to phone calls, and then finally to coffee dates. In a way she was getting more value out of talking to Chris than her therapist, at much less cost financially.

It was weird for her to suddenly develop a closer, more personal friendship with Chris. When they'd first met in college years ago, she hadn't been too keen. Edgy, ruggedly good-looking, and undoubtedly a pussy hound, he was a reminder of the sort of guy she sought to avoid.

In the early days of knowing him there were many times she had caught him looking at her body inappropriately and it annoyed her. There were a few times he had even made suggestive comments implying she should leave David for him. She wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but nonetheless it left her appalled at his behavior.

But lately it was different. With her husband not giving her adequate affection, Chris's attention cheered her up. She noticed when meeting him for coffee that he checked her out a couple times when he thought she wasn't looking. And he had sent her some texts that could be construed as mildly flirty. But instead of being repulsed it made her feel good to receive that kind of attention. Plus, he was funny and sweet, and she suddenly felt comfortable talking to him. She could be real with Chris, and he was so understanding of her struggles with her husband because he knows him so well.

*****

Chris himself was also delighted in the new friendship, but for different reasons. When she had first reached out to him, he was more than willing to get attention from a beautiful and desirable woman even if she was his friend's wife, so he welcomed it.  Chris was not like Craig in that regard.  Craig was driven by loyalty, whereas Chris was driven by his own penis.

She wanted to know if anything weird was going on with David, telling Chris that he seemed to be more despondent lately and she was worried about him. Chris was there to provide her with answers, even if he had to fudge them. David wasn't exactly forthcoming about things in his marriage, but Chris was able to connect some dots on his own. He could see Anna was thirsty for help and wanted to understand her husband better.

All these chats resulted in him building a trusting relationship with her, and he could tell she was beginning to be more open about herself and her feelings. Things had gotten more interesting when he'd suggested they meet for secret coffee dates, and to his surprise she was on board. He reasoned that at the very least, the eye candy would be well-worth any wasted time that came with being her shoulder to cry on.

The longer he spent with her and the more she confided in him, the harder it became for him to control his long-repressed desires for her. It didn't help that since having a baby, her tits looked bigger and her thighs more succulent than he ever remembered.  She told him she was committed one hundred percent to making her marriage work, but he knew it wasn't going to be that simple, as David was too insecure to simply brush off her affair and move on.