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Nineteen-year-old Marvin Parks let out a sigh and sat back on the couch in his small two bedroom apartment in Burke Virginia. He had a lot on his plate. He had a couple of papers to write for school and they were due soon. He had to work later on that day and he was going to be up a good part of the night for classes at Northern Virginia Community College.

Marvin and his best friend, twenty-year-old Simon Williams, were roommates and pretty much in the same boat. They both worked together for a small telecom company in the area. There were learning how to do electronics installs for clients. They were both gamers and knew a bit about the business. Both were taking electronics classes in school and hoped to parlay this into a four year university ride.

But it was hard. Both were good students but not with grades good enough to get scholarships. They figured they could work their way through school. It was easier said than done. They were lucky to get the apartment that they shared. That is, until now.

Marvin sat there staring at the notice they got from their landlord. The front door opened and Simon came in with his backpack. He rushed off to his room to freshen up. Both men were due at work in an hour.

"Damn man, you haven't changed yet? Well I gotta get in the shower," he said, coming out of his bedroom. He saw the look on Marvin's face and stopped short. "Dude, wassup?" he asked.

Marvin handed him the notice. Simon stared at it for a minute then read it completely. It said the rent was being raised by fifty dollars if they wanted to renew their lease. That time was coming up in a couple of months. He threw the paper down on the cocktail table in frustration.

Marvin ran his hands through his long, kinky braids in his hair and rubbed his temples. Simon began to pace slowly back and forth in the small living room.

"Bruh, we're barely getting by as it is," Simon said. "What are we gonna do?"

"We do what we can. We'll figure it out. We can't move. This is the cheapest place in the area," Marvin said.

Simon nodded his head and went off to take a shower. Marvin got up and made himself some lunch to eat before they left for work.

 

******

 

Not too far away in a small exclusive community in Fairfax called Waterford Creek, fifty-two year old Stephano Bradario sat out on his deck having a drink. It was only mid-day but this is the way Stephano got down. He had to drink to handle the stress of his work. He wasn't doing a very good job of it. Stress had taken its toll on the man and his health was failing a bit. In addition to having diabetes, Stephano also had liver and heart issues. He knew he needed to slow down to get better but he simply could not. There was too much left for him to accomplish to slow down.

Stephano was a commercial real estate investor. He had over 100 properties in Nothern Virginia and Prince George's County in neighboring Maryland. They all brought in millions of dollars per year for him and that made him very happy. His firm ran the day to day operations for maintaining the properties but Stephano liked being on top of things and was very much a micro-manager.

He brought his drink up to his lips and stopped, noticing the tremor in his hands. It hadn't always been like this. Ten years ago, he was a trim, handsome man with bright blond hair and tAnnelysad skin. That was then and this is now. He went from a very fit 160 lbs to a portlier 230 lbs on a six foot frame.

Stephano felt a warm touch on both of his shoulders and a pair of dainty hands crept around his shoulders from the back and a warm hug followed. He turned his cheek and his wife of ten years, Annelysa, pecked his cheek with a small kiss. She came around and sat down near him.

"Are you okay, honey?" she asked.

"Yes, my love. I'm fine," he lied, sipping his drink. "What do you have going on today?" he asked.

"I'm meeting with a client in a little while."

"Good." Stephano said.

Annelysa was sipping on a glass of white wine. She had her vices as well; alcohol being one of them. She was suffering from Stephano's health woes, too. With the stress and Stephano being so busy, they caused a low sex drive in Stephano and Annelysa was neglected. So she tried to keep busy herself as she suffered in silence.

Annelysa Bradario was forty-five years old. She fancied herself as a premier real estate agent but she didn't have many clients. She more or less had her business to keep herself busy. She loved the lifestyle Stephano was able to provide for her and canoodling with the well-to-do social elite in Northern Virginia. However, she was quite a vivacious woman with needs to be met and Stephano wasn't up to the task. At least not anymore. When they first met, Stephano swept her off her feet. She sold him the home they lived in and he sold her on a life of luxury. They even had a daughter, Alexiah who was now nineteen. She was away in boarding school right now. Life was good then. Well, it still was to her but the sex life was lacking.

Annelysa was in her prime sexually. She was a curvy, 5'3 120 lb natural redhead with perky 34D breasts and a plump bottom. She was proud of her body and did yoga four times a week to keep it tight. One would think that Stephano would be attracted to such a sexy woman but Annelysa didn't think Stephano was anymore. The truth was that he just felt inadequate with her and couldn't please her anymore.

But as horny as she got, Annelysa never cheated on Stephano. She truly loved him and hoped things would get better one day. There was also the pesky matter of the prenuptial agreement she signed before they married. Annelysa was not going to lose all she had due to her libido.

Stephano got a call on his cellphone and he answered it. He talked quietly and then hung up. He got up from his chair to go inside.

"Work?" Annelysa inquired.

"No, I'm having a contractor coming over to do a consultation to upgrade the media room. The techs are here now." Stephano said. The doorbell rang and Annelysa got up to answer the door.