Tashi and Art weren’t stupid. They knew how strained their marriage was, how fragile the line they walked between love and resentment was, and they were acutely aware of how recently they had been dipping more and more toward the latter. But even with all their petty remarks and silent judgments, they still loved each other. They still wanted their marriage to work; they wanted to remain the Duncans. However, they also knew that if they wanted to continue being the power couple the world knew them as and not explode on one another, something had to change.

Of course, a normal person would suggest couples counseling or an intimate getaway to rekindle the fire in them. But Art and Tashi weren’t normal people, and they accepted that. They needed more. They needed a distraction, something to take the focus off all their flaws and issues. Something for both of them to focus their attention on long enough to forget they even had problems in the first place. They were just desperate for it. And, of course, they always got what they wanted eventually.

And then came you. You were the newest tennis sensation, fresh meat in the tennis world, considering you had just come down from your junior doubles title at the US Open a few years ago and were now dominating every match you played. Their attention was instantly on you. It took them less than two weeks to have you playing on their team as a protégé, something to mold and correct as they saw fit. They had you moved into their house within a month, your room filled to the brim with lavish gifts and products. And you were loving it.

“Baby, could you come here for a moment?” you heard Tashi’s smooth voice call out from the other side of the patio. You were currently lounging in their massive pool on a float, but as soon as you heard her beckon, you were paddling over toward the edge. You could see her grin at your actions from where she lay on a pool chair, with Art lying between her legs, reading a book as she lazily combed her fingers through Art’s golden locks.