Survival of the Fittest

            It has now been a month and a half since that night and Kevin and Kala now have a wonderful relationship with one another. Kevin walks into the club and hopes that Kala was able to get away from work like she had planned. He is pleased when he sees Kala sitting with Brian and Leighanne at a table. This is her first time out in a place like this since her father passed on. So here he is watching her from the opposite side of the club. He has fallen hopelessly in love with Kala throughout that month and a half. He finally makes his way across the club and covers Kala's eyes with his hands.

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            “Guess who it is,” Leighanne says as she laughs.

            I brings my hands over my head and feel the pair of arms, I know right away that it’s Kevin, so I let my hands travel and feel his chest, and then, deciding to be playful, I say, “Oh I know that body anywhere. It's AJ right?”

            We all laugh as Kevin kisses me on the cheek and says, “Smarty.” I look and the rest of the gang has joined us.

            “So what took you so long? I thought for sure you would have beaten me here,” I say, trying to get Kevin going.

            “I didn’t expect you to be here yet. You said you had some work to finish up, so I took my time getting here. But I will say, I was very pleased to see you when I got here,” Kevin says as he moves his chair a little closer to me and puts his arm around me. Kevin seems to have decided that he isn’t going to hold back anymore. I do believe that he has every intention of making sure that I know that he loves me by the time the night is over.

            “Well I am equally pleased to see you, Kevin,” I say, “But if you will excuse me for a second, I have to go to the bathroom.”

            “I think I will join Kala.” Leighanne says.

            “We will too,” the other three girls say as they all get up and walk away from the table.

            “How does it feel to be out like this again?” Leighanne asks.

            “It feels great, Leighanne. I have been looking forward to this night for a long time now.”

            “So, what do you think of our Kevin?” Celeste asks.

            I can do nothing other than smile and blush. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Sarah asks with a look of happy surprise.

             “Ladies, I know how patient Kevin has been, and I am not going to keep him in suspense anymore. I have fallen hopelessly in love with him,” I say as we enter the bathroom.

            “Well I am sure that we’ll all understand if the two of you decide to leave early,” Elena says while waiting in line for a stall.

            “I don't think we will leave early; Kevin and I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow, so we have all night,” I say as I step into a stall.

            “So, Kevin’s going to be the one that you’re with first, that’s so romantic,” Leighanne says.

            “Sex is completely out of the question, I won’t have it until after I’m married,” I tell the girls

            “That is so admirable,” Celeste says.

             “Thanks,” I say.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

             Meanwhile Kevin, Brian and the rest of the guys are getting drinks for everyone. “So Kev, you’re finally going to tell Kala how you feel about her?” Brian asks as he sips on his Coke.

            “You bet I am. Before this night is through, she is going to know exactly how I feel about her,” Kevin says. He shows the guys a very large diamond ring.

            “Kev, you haven’t known her very long, are you sure?” Howie asks.

            “Yes, I’m very sure,” he says. “I’ve felt this strongly about her ever since she first opened up to me, I am not letting her go for the world. The sooner I have her as my wife the sooner I will be happy, knowing that she is safe in my protection and that no one can ever hurt her again.”

            “What if she turns you down?” Nick asks.

            “Then I’ll keep working with her, until she feels she is ready, I’m not going to lose her, you guys,” Kevin says with decisive firmness. The conversation is interrupted when he sees Kala and the rest of the girls walking towards the table. He focuses in and soon Kala is all that he can see. He loves the way her black flared tights cling to her body, and how the lacy top she is wearing shows that she has a lean midriff, without cutting the shirt short. As it contours to her figure it also displays her lavish breasts, and with the holes in the lace, it shows off her bra just a little bit. He can feel himself getting aroused as he watches her.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

            I sit back down beside Kevin and caught the furtive glances that he snuck at me from across the club. I went through my closet last night with the help of the girls and found this outfit. I decided on it for the very fact that I knew it would drive Kevin crazy. He leans over and whispers in my ear, “Do you realize how hot you look tonight?”

             “Indeed, I do. I did it for you,” I whisper back in his ear. Before I pull away, I give Kevin a sweet kiss and ask him if he wants to dance. Kevin takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor.

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            He looks around and he knows that he has the best looking girl in the place with him. He focuses in on Kala and man can she move. Kevin is thankful for the fact that he wore baggy jeans, because they hide his arousal. The next song to come on is “Too Close” by Next. They start off dancing with quite the distance between them, but it is obvious that they are both eager to close that distance. Half way through the song, Kala has her arms around Kevin's neck and they are dancing very suggestively, well, he is dancing that way, Kala is just sort of following him. Kevin doesn’t try to hide the fact that he is aroused anymore. She has to feel it he thinks to himself.

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            I’m not sure how long I am going to be able to last, especially if we continue dancing like this for the whole night. I can easily feel Kevin's arousal against my abdomen and all I can think about is not sending him a wrong message. I decide to speak to Kevin, so I bring my free hand up the front of his body, making sure that I don’t make contact with is arousal, and whisper in his ear, “I'm exhausted.”

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

            Kevin mistakes the statement and thinks that this is an invitation. He didn’t realize that Kala could be so feisty. He responds by pulling Kala closer and he trails kisses down her neck. Another fast song comes on, so Kala and Kevin agree that they will take a break for a few songs. When they get back to the table, Leighanne, Brian and the others are all just heading onto the dance floor. They all figure that the two of us can use some private time.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

            I go to go sit down in my chair, but Kevin pulls me onto his lap. I put my arm around his neck and kiss Kevin teasingly at first, but Kevin makes sure that he deepens the kiss. He brings one of his hands up to my breast and makes me squeal in shock as he feels my nipple harden under his touch.

            I know that I need to breathe for a second or I will wind up telling Kevin something I will regret later on in my life, and I refuse to let that happen. I break free of Kevin's touch and excuse myself to go to the bathroom. I rush off to the bathroom and lean up against the stall after I close it behind myself. I catch my breath and then start to head back to Kevin. When I exit the bathroom I feel Kevin's big arms grab me and somewhat softly throw me up against the wall in a dark corner.

            “What do you say we sneak out of here for the night?” Kevin says in between the kisses he places on my neck and ear.

            “Are you just a little turned on?” I ask in a whisper as he nibbles on my ear.

            “You know I am. Now, why don't we get out of here so we can take care of this problem that we have,” Kevin whispers sensually in my ear. He takes one of my breasts in his hand again, and grinds his hips against me.

            I tense up as he finds my nipple through the thin material of my top and bra. I know that I can’t take it any longer, and have to separate us; the best way I know how to do that is to go back to my place and hope that there are some delays on the way there. So I take his hand and leave through the nearest exit. “Come back to the house,” I say as I hop in my car.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

            Kevin sold his house in Florida, apparently, to the over-indulgent parents of some rabid fans. It had been scary for Kevin to go to the closing; the teenagers were there and were salivating and hyperventilating, as the final papers were signed. Then as soon as the house was their parents’, they rushed up to the master bedroom and started arguing over who would get it. Even though Kevin and the rest of the gang lives with Kala, he always said that it was ‘her place’

            In their separate cars, Kevin is thankful that it is a short drive to her place. But Kala wishes that it is longer, she doubts that it will take a mere fifteen minutes for Kevin to calm down about making love that evening. The idea terrifies her. When Kevin pulls up to her place, there are no fans waiting at the end of the driveway. He and Kala go through the gate, he is so grateful that he doesn’t have to think about stopping to sign any autographs. He doesn’t want there to be any interruptions, Kala, however, would be all too happy if there were a few small ones.

            Fifteen minutes later, Kevin pulls into the garage beside Kala's car and quickly goes inside. When Kevin gets inside, he looks all over for his girl. He finally finds Kala in her bed. He crawls into bed beside her and puts his arms around her. Kevin is concerned when Kala stiffens in his arms.

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            “Are you ok, Kala?” Kevin asks when he tries to bring me into his arms, but I resist him. “Come on Kala, talk to me. We don't have to do anything tonight if you're not ready,” Kevin says as he backs away.

            I finally roll over and bury myself in Kevin's arms and cry. I had fun dancing with Kevin, but when I think about it, I am terrified. I do love Kevin, but I’m not ready to go that far yet. Since I’m not ready, I’m now worried that Kevin won’t want me.

            After about ten minutes I finally get up the nerve to tell Kevin what is on my mind. “Kevin, just let me explain and then I will be out of your hair,” I say.

            Kevin interrupts, “You mean I’ll be out of your hair, this is your room.”

            I nod with a weak smile at his attempt to correct things and bring mirth into the situation; it is all that I can manage. “I will be very honest with you Kevin, and tell you that I have fallen in love with you over the past months. How could I not have? You have been there for me whenever I needed you. And I realize that you have feelings for me too Kevin, but I can't let this continue. I can't be the kind of girlfriend that you need and deserve. I am damaged goods, in more ways than one, and you deserve better than that. I think it is just best if we stop seeing each other,” I say and then try to get up from the bed.

            Kevin reaches up and holds onto my arm to ensure that I cannot get away. “It is time for you to listen to me now, Kala. You are correct when you say I have feelings for you. In fact, like you, I have fallen in love, Kala, deeply in love with you. What kind of girlfriend do you think I need, Kala? Well I will tell you. I need someone that loves me for me and supports me in my career. You are all of those things and more. And I respect that fact that you are not ready for an intimate relationship. I know more than anyone else, how much pain you have endured in the past months. I don't need sexual intimacy, Kala. I just need someone that I enjoy spending time with, someone that loves me for who I am and is supportive.

            And in no way do I consider you to be damaged goods. Please believe me when I say that you are a beautiful person and I saw that a lot earlier than I think you realize. Kala, I was able to look past all the external beauty and see what a beautiful person you really are,” Kevin says. Before he continues he puts his hand under my chin and urges me to look at him. As soon as he makes eye contact with me he continues, “Kala, please know that I love you for who you are. If you will just give me a chance to make you happy, I think we can make this work. I want to give you the world, Kala. Please tell me you'll let me stay,” Kevin pleads with tears in his eyes.

            I look away for a brief moment to hide the tears, but I give into my feelings and let Kevin take me in his arms. Between sobs, I manage to say, “Yes, of course I will let you stay, Kevin, of course I will let you stay. I'm not even sure how I would have gone on without you to be honest. As long as you can live with the fact that I am not perfect, then I am willing to give this a try.”

            Kevin tightens his grip on me and says, “You are perfect in my eyes Kala. You are far too hard on yourself. Please, stand up for a moment.”

            I do as he asks and ask him, “What are you up to Kevin?”

            “Kala, I was hoping to give this to you tonight, but I wasn’t sure if the opportunity would present itself, but now I see that this is the perfect time and place,” Kevin says as he reaches into his pocket and produces a small velvet box. He comes back over to me and stands in front of me. “Kala, we haven’t talked about this, but there is one thing that is missing in my life right now; one thing that will make me complete. This has been on my mind for a while now, and I have the feeling that this is the appropriate time to do it,” Kevin says. He kneels down before her and opens the case, “Kala, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

            I stand there looking at Kevin and the delicate diamond ring through tear-filled eyes. I have never in my wildest dreams imagined that Kevin would propose to me. We barely know each other, but something tells me that here is the man I am destined to marry. Yet with all of the certainty, there is a major problem, which I haven’t told Kevin about, and he has the right to know about it. “I want to say yes to you in the worst of ways,” I say.

            “Then say yes,” he coos.

            “I dare not,” I say. “I have a secret and you must be told.”

            “What is it?” he asks.

            “If after I have told you, you wish to remove your request for marriage I will not be angry,” I say.

            “I will never remove my request for you to marry me,” he says.

            “Kevin, what is the worst thing that I can tell you right now?” I ask.

            “That you have only been pretending to love me,” he says. “That you are acting this way to get at my money, or at my status,” he says.

            “Okay, it’s nowhere near that bad, but… Kevin, I can’t bear children,” I say all at once.

            “What?” he asks, as he looks hard at me.

            “I’m sterile. You know that I have a bad heart, correct?” I ask.

            “Yes, you told me about your two surgeries to correct it,” he says.

            “Well, when I turned sixteen, I had never gotten a period, which is odd, so I went to see a reproductive specialist. A slew of tests were run, and they are all inconclusive, so finally, they put me to sleep and inserted a tiny camera into my body, I have a perfectly normal vagina, but just beyond the cervix is where it stops, it’s just a wall of flesh. There is no uterus, they think that there must be ovaries, since I have secondary sexual characteristics, but I cannot bear children for you. I would have told you sooner, but I never dreamed that you would ask me to marry you,” I say.

            “Kala, look at me,” he holds my head up and forces eye contact with me. “I don’t care, I only care about you, and how much I love you, I love you all the more now that you have the courage to admit this to me, I love you so much, there is no question that now I truly and desperately wish to marry you.”

            I look at Kevin, scarcely believing my ears. I start by slowly nodding my head, and then throw my arms around him as I say, “Yes! I will marry you, Kevin.”

            After a long and drawn out, passionate kiss, Kevin removes the ring from the velvet box, and places it on my finger. I sit there admiring the ring for several minutes, until a thought goes through my mind. I look up at Kevin, and say, “Are you sure about this Kevin? I mean, what about Lou? He hates you all having girlfriends, what is he going to say about this?”

            I can see anger in Kevin’s eyes instantly, but his response is, “This is my life. This is not going to interfere with the group at all, so he has no reason to be upset.”

            “I just hope he doesn’t give you a hard time over this,” I say

            “Don’t you worry about that, we will be home for a whole month yet, and then we’re off to Europe for four months, I know that this is insanely short notice, but, please, I want to be married before we go. We will discuss and plan it together now. I want this to exceed all your hopes and dreams,” Kevin says, much calmer.

            “Oh God, Kevin, you don’t know how happy you have made me,” I say as I hug him around his neck.

            “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea,” Kevin says as he holds me close.

            We stay up chatting and looking through all of these things that I have been saving for years since I ever started thinking of getting married. When everyone else gets in they all dive head first into helping us plan the thing. The entire wedding and ceremony is planned before we go to sleep in the early hours of the morning. Even the dresses, it is all planned out. I even managed to book the hotel for the reception and church for the service, I left messages for the caterer, the florist and everyone else. Since I have a limited number of people that I want to come to the wedding, seeing as how I don’t have any relatives, and I don’t have too many friends either, Kevin is in charge of the guest list for the most part. Of course his family and the other guys will be there, but beyond that there are only a few people that he wants to invite, so it winds up to be a rather, low key, intimate affair, which us just fine.

            The whole thing will happen the day before we are to leave for Europe, since the first show will be that night in Florida. Kevin and I decided that we don’t mind somewhat postponing our honeymoon for his work. I haven’t been to Europe since my father took me when I was younger. I have a great wealth of lingual, and other useful skills, which haven’t been divulged to Kevin for reasons of modesty, and it never came up, plus this trip will give me time to check up on my companies that are abroad in person.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *

            After sometime, Kevin manages to get Kala to sleep. He lays awake for quite sometime thinking. Kala has come to mean the world to him. He thanks God every day for sending Kala to him. He was always told that he would find love in the least expected places. He now knows that is true.