The Same, but Different

"No, baby; I won't ever mention it again," I told her. "If you don't like it, you don't like it."

"I'm going to mention it again," Kelli said. "I like to feel a finger in my ass when I'm coming. I'm going to try it once."

"Whatever," Kalen said. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and clean up. When I come back you better both make me come a million times to make up for this."

We did and she was very happy. Kelly flew away in the morning. Kalen stayed for two weeks and classes started. I went to see them three times during the semester, and they spent Christmas break with me. Spring break I flew to Philadelphia and called Kelli. I hadn't told them I was coming, and Kelli was ecstatic. I asked her not to tell Kalen and we met for lunch. She looked absolutely gorgeous when she met me at the restaurant and I wanted to rip her clothes off and make love to that sweet girl right there. We caught up and I told her I really wanted her ideas about something.

"I want to ask Kalen to marry me," I told her.

"Really? Oh my God, Dace; that's so cool," she said. "I just know she'll say yes. I'm so happy, baby. Thank you for making her so happy."

"Kelli, I love her. I've loved her from the moment I set eyes on her back in the jungle. The problem is, I love you, too. I'd like to ask you to marry me. I don't want to hurt you. It's not legal to marry both of you. If I had met you first, you'd be the one I'd be asking. I promise I'll find a way for us to be together. It may not be legal, but I'll find a way to make it good. If neither of you file a complaint, I think I can marry you, too. I'll marry you in California and her in Arizona. Is that okay with you, baby?"

She leaned against me and began to cry. She sobbed like she was dying. "I'm confused, Kelli," I said. "I thought that would make you happy! Stop crying, baby; people are staring. They're going to call the police on me."

She laughed through her tears. "I am happy, Dace. I'm so happy I'm crying. Kneel down there and propose to me. Do you have rings?"

"It just so happens that I do," I told her. "What kind of asshole tells girls he wants to marry them but doesn't have a ring? Don't tell Kalen I gave yours to you first, okay? She deserves to be first."

"No, I won't ever tell her," she said.

I knelt down in the floor and opened her ring box. It was the wrong one and I quickly got out the other. Hers was a platinum band with diamonds and sapphires. "Kelli Osborne, will you marry me?" I asked her.

"Yes I will," she said. "But not until you marry Kalen and not until I graduate. Kiss me now."

I did and the whole restaurant broke out in applause. I was very red faced when I got back in my chair. The waiter brought us both a glass of champagne. We drank it and she told me she had to go back to class. I walked her out and called Kalen.

I got her voicemail and I told her I was in town and asked if she would go to a Sixer's game with me. I had it set up to flash the message across the scoreboard at halftime. She called back in an hour. She had been in class and she was so glad I had surprised them. She wanted to go to the game and I told her to dress nice and I would pick her up. I got a limousine to take us to the game and when she came out she was absolutely stunning in a little black dress. I was wearing a tux, and she suspected something the moment she saw me.

"What's going on, Dace?" she asked.

"Can't a guy take his girl out to see a ballgame without getting the third degree?" I asked.

"Well, most guys could," she said. "You have a devious mind, though. This isn't about fucking my ass or something, is it?"

"You're the most suspicious woman," I told her. "Maybe we should just go to Wendy's or something."

She gave me a punch in the arm. "No, I love basketball games. We're just a little overdressed."

"All the stars dress like this when they go to ballgames," I told her.

The Sixer's sucked, but it was fun anyway. We ate hotdogs and pretzels and drank a lot of beer. I kept my eye on the scoreboard at halftime and the camera's panned in on us. "Look," I pointed. "We're on TV."

She looked up at the screen and I knelt in front of her and opened her ring box. This one was yellow gold and rubies. She didn't notice me for a minute and I saw her lips move as she read the "Kalen Osborne, will you marry me?" on the screen. She squeaked and looked at me as it sunk in. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me as the crowd applauded.

"Will you?" I asked her.

"Yes, Dace; that will make me happier than anything," she said. Instantly a cloud went across her face. "What about Kelli?" she asked.

"I went to lunch with her and we talked it out," I told her. "She's wants us to get married. Kalen, would you mind if we marry her, too?"

"I'd love that, but how?" she asked.

"As long as neither of you make a fuss, it's not a problem," I told her. "We just have to do it in different states."

"Yes, let's do it then," she was all bubbly girl. "God, I love you Dace. But I won't marry you until after I graduate and after you retire from field security operations. I won't marry a man that might get killed tomorrow. Kelli wants you out of that, too. You let Benson run field work and I'm yours."

The same, but different. That's the way they've always been. Kelli is teaching philosophy at the university and she's on her third book. Kalen is a trauma surgeon at the university hospital. We have a boy and a girl. The boy is Kelli's and the girl is Kalen's. They both look most like their aunts. The same, but different.