Karen Saves The Universe: Part 2

Can a strange marriage survive?

Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.

I
want you, Red. I need to make you mine; mine forever. I've never felt
like this before; I know I never will again. Marry me." Cal pleaded.

"I;”
Karen murmured, glancing around their group to make sure she wouldn't
be overheard, "I don't know what to say. You're wonderful; and you've
done so much for me, but this has all been so fast. We're still just
getting to know each other; and half the time it doesn't even make sense
to me why you would want me; but I; I just; can I just finish school?"
she asked.

"How
you can even think about school when someone like me is ready to give
you everything you ever wanted, to take care of you completely, it's
just crazy;” Cal murmured, sliding his hand up between her legs and
brushing along the edge of her panties.

Karen
blushed and squeezed her thighs together, looking around embarrassed.
"I just; I just worked so hard to get in. Juilliard's been my whole life
for so long," she said, looking up into his eyes pleading.

Cal
looked at her through hooded eyes, "Keep looking at me like that and we
won't be waiting for anything." His eyes heated as he pulled her
closer, dominating her with a hungry kiss while she squirmed
self-consciously. The couples around the table smirked as Cal grew even
more bold in his explorations.

When
he released her, Karen hid her face in his neck as the others cheered.
They were his friends, happy to see him happy. Cal glanced at a waiter
nearby and gestured for more drinks for the table. The opening act on
the stage below finished its last set, but the crowd refused to let the
show end. Cheers filled the club, with the crowd demanding an encore.

Castor,
the lead singer, waited for the crowd to quiet with a grin, then his
eyes drifted upward and his face lit with excitement. "Thank you, thanks
guys, you're a great audience. For an encore, we'd love to give you a
taste of our next album. We've been banging it out in the studio and I
can't tell you how excited we are for it to be released. Problem is,
it's got this insane keys part that can't be played by just anyone, but I
think I see our studio angel in the audience tonight. Kare, baby; will
you come help us out?" he asked, reaching upward to where Karen sat.

Cal's
friends turned to look at Karen in surprise. "You play? Like, for
real?" Cal's friend Tony yelled across the table to her in surprise.
Karen nodded in embarrassment, glancing at Cal.

Everything
suddenly froze as Karen rose and walked over to the table, standing
over her younger self looking at Cal's face. "Look, you little dummy;
look at it! It's right there!" she yelled at Young Karen.

"What's there?" Holland asked, craning his neck to try to see what she was yelling about.

"Cal,
for all his big words, rich gifts, and grand gestures; he hadn't told
his friends anything about me; because nothing of who I really was
mattered to him. Only the things he wanted about me mattered to him ;
that I was shy, and submissive, and just grateful to have someone pay
attention to me. And here ; look at his face! It fell!" she yelled,
gesturing to where Cal sat, leaning back in his chair.

"His face appears still to be attached, to me;” Holland said, doubtfully.

"It's
just a phrase. His face didn't actually fall, but his eyes; look, he's
still smiling, but you see it in his eyes. He's not happy for me. He's
not happy because the moment stopped being about Cal and how he was the
great boyfriend spoiling his new stupid girlfriend on her birthday. Once
the moment became about me; that I was asked up on stage; that I could
do something his friends admired; ugh, why didn't I see it?" she moaned.

"What happened?" Holland asked.

Karen
rubbed her eyes with her hand. "I was young. I was asked to do
something. I was asked for help. I was a stupid ninny that had
absolutely no ability to say 'no' without thinking the world would end;
so, I went up and played with the band."

"Oh; was that bad?" Holland asked.

"No,
it wasn't bad. It was a great song. I played well and I was just tipsy
enough to not feel all the eyes that were looking at me, making my skin
crawl. And you know; some part of me; I wanted to do it. I wanted to
show myself that I could play for people; outside a quiet studio," Karen
admitted. "Everyone always went on and on about how I needed to get
over being so self-conscious and how it would hold my career back. That,
and part of me wanted to show Cal's friends that I was more than just
another girl in the long line of girls that he had gone through; that I
was worth something."

"Sometimes I wish our crew would see that I was worth something more;” Holland said, ruefully.

"Yeah;
it's hard when you're young. You're dying to show the world what you're
worth, how you're special, but they mostly just need you to work hard
and do as you're told," Karen sighed, looking around the club. "Some
people will never see what's special about you. They see what they want
and they really don't care about the rest. It's those people that see
who you really are; without wanting anything from you; those are the
ones you need to hang onto."

Karen
turned her back on the club and the room re-formed into her Newark
apartment. The intercom buzzed and Dana rolled out of bed to answer it.
"What's up?" she asked.

"Hey;
um, I don't have my keys. Can you buzz me in?" Karen's voice shakily
asked through the intercom. Dana frowned in confusion and pressed the
button to allow her entry. Soon, she opened the door after Karen's
tentative knock.

"What
happened, Kare? I thought you'd be gone all weekend," Dana said, taking
in her roommate's appearance. Karen looked unharmed, but her face was
puffy and her makeup was streaked from crying and trying to wipe it
away.

"I; uh; I played at the club tonight. Castor Graham was the opening act and he asked me to come up for the encore, so I did."

"You
pl