After 10 years of marriage, life got a little dull for you.

You couldn't think of any major complaints with your husband, save for the fact that he traveled so much, but this was something you had grown to live with, appreciating it as a necessary evil he endured with a stoic demeanor and loving hand as he constantly checked on you while he was away. Really, your husband was a stand up guy, one you never regretted marrying, even if things did continue to stay dull....which they didn't.

After 10 years if marriage, life got a little dull for him too, but he was never concerned with his own excitement and pleasure, only yours.

Your husband started to spice things up a little here and there, planning dates, sending photos on trips, all of which were fun but....still dull, and he knew this, so he made one final suggestion that, over the course of a month, added back the excitement you both had when you first started dating.

One night, during his nightly phone calls from God knows where, he had mentioned the new security camera he installed in your bedroom....a little odd but you had nothing to hide as a faithful wife, and you said as much.

"What if you did?"

Overnight you went from a a perfect partner of a perfectly balanced pair, to an independent women who saw the freedom of the world and all it had to offer when your husband was away! The only stipulations being that you kept this life separated when he was at home and that he could always watch when he wanted to.

Being a lady of class, you didn't simply just start looking up. After all, sex was never the issue, your husband provided quality sex in spades, it was just the excitement missing.

Fast forward a couple of years and you've had dozens of romantic and hot flings, most of which lasted anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

One fact remained from your experience however, and it was that any man below 30....typically wasn't your type. Usually there would be outliers in this type of situation, but you sure as he'll hadn't found one. They always were far too straight forward, annoyingly dominant, had no class, didn't know how to spell romance, or were just plain bad in bed if they manged to get that far!

This wasn't a fact you thought about much and certainly had no desire to "prove wrong", until you started going to a local coffee shop, not too far from your place of work in town. It was the perfect little reading nook for after work or even long lunches, should you just be enamel with a particular book. It was warm and had soft brown wooden mahogany tones that filled every corner. They even kept a live fire in the winter time in the chimney near your favorite corner. Apart from the immaculate coffee and comfortable atmosphere, what kept you coming back was the barista who managed your area. The coffee shop had two who worked at all times, one older woken who ran the shop front and tables and a college aged man who attended to the back area where regulars and readers sat.

He was skinny and about the same height as you, with messy black hair that always seemed the perfect amount of unkempt, though he denies trying for this effect. His face was pale, clear of any blemishes, and lacking in any facial hair aside from the stubble that cropt up occasionally. Under his long sleeved uniform, you imagined he was toned and well kempt.....but that may have just been the book you were reading at work!

Most of all, he was amazingly dutiful and kind, always there to fulfill your next order even without asking or happy to extend a platonic compliment towards a new dress or haircut. It was these small gestures and the several comments he made about the books you read, seeming to have read as many as you had! Though he never recognized the business novels, he always knew the classics, even the niche ones, and always offered a quick opinion should it be asked for. He also seemed to have an affinity for the more romantic books, one's that, bereft of the cheap smut, filled its pages with deep passion and blush worthy lust.

It was all of the facts entangled in your head one evening, plus a little bit of red wine, that led you to the decision that maybe....just maybe, this man was the outlier you thought to never appear.

I know that was a lot to read but if that was interesting at all, please don't hesitate to reach out!