It had been over a month. A solid month since they had had sex and John was beginning to wonder if he could even get it up anymore. Not in a literal sense but the temperature at home had become so frigid that he seriously doubted that she even cared for him in that way anymore.
John and Karen had been married for 11 years and their marriage had been a good one. They had survived many tough times and many good times over the years. When they had gotten married John had been employed at UPS as a delivery driver. But that had changed over the years. John had stayed with his job and had worked his way up the corporate ladder. Now John worked as the regional vice president over the southwest region. His new position kept John pretty busy and it had been a few months since he had been home before seven in the evening.
Karen too was frustrated with the way that their sex life had gone. It had started as a few weeks of Karen feeling ill and had spiraled downhill until Karen did not want to have sex because she was so worried about John resenting her that it just put her out of the mood. When they had gotten married John had been everything that Karen had wanted in a husband. He had been a good man, a man that you can take home to the parents and be proud of it. But he had been adventurous as well. John had always been interested in whatever it was that Karen seemed to take an interest in. They had often enjoyed hiking, camping, shopping, even the little things that Karen enjoyed. John had been in a word, too good to be true. The funny thing was that even though he got more comfortable over the years, John never stopped trying to win her heart. He still took an interest in the things that she liked, and always helped her to care for the responsibilities that arose at home. Karen had always worked outside the home as well. This made for a busy lifestyle. Together John and Karen had always managed to get by.
It should be noted that both John and Karen are attractive people. John is a little over average height at six foot and fairly well built. He had put on a few pounds over the last few years but he always maintained that hard edge that made him a handsome man. John had begun to gray a little early at 32 and his temples had begun to salt and pepper. Karen was an attractive woman. At 31 Karen had aged well. It had often been said that she hadn't aged since she was 23. Karen was about five foot six inches. She had been able to loose all of her weight after each child had been born and she could still turn a head or two during the summer. Her biggest concern was the stretch marks that had "marred" her body from her two children. Karen had long since given up on feeling sexy because she didn't think anyone would ever find those marks attractive.
Today was a Friday and every Friday was supposed to be date night for John and Karen. It was a tradition that they had established early in their marriage. It was a tradition that kept them both sane through the many years of child rearing and the nose to the millstone lifestyle that had developed. Even date night had become stale as of late. Both Karen and John were beginning to want more, but neither knew how to get there.
Karen tired of what was going on decided to seek help from the only place that she knew how. She decided to call her best friend Erin. Erin was an interesting friend for Karen. Erin was almost everything that Karen was not. She was completely wild, single, and always bragging to Karen about her adventures in the bedroom.
"Hey Karen, whats up? Havent seen you in a couple weeks. I was thinking about calling you just this morning."
"To be honest with you Erin, I am calling to get some advice from you. I... I don't really even know where to start."
"Well the beginning is always a good place to start," laughed Erin.
"You know that I have never really been the adventurous type in the bedroom but well it has been over a month since John and I had, well, relations." The tension in her voice was so thick that Erin could tell that Karen was completely red-faced even over the phone.
"Well you came to the right place, but I don't really know where to tell you to start. I know you aren't really all that comfortable with most of the stuff that I get into on a regular basis." Just the way that she said it let Karen know that she had a huge grin on her face. Erin had always given Karen a hard time about how uncomfortable she was with the subject of sex.
"Really I want to do something that will get Johns attention and wont involve anything that I am going to have to go out and buy. I am really not comfortable going into one of those 'shops' that you have told me about."