Ken and Ayala Part 2 Exploration

"It's funny that you talk about family. A couple of years ago, I had a really bad break-up with an old girlfriend – the girl I thought I was going to marry, who betrayed me with one of my friends. It made me stop believing in people, what she had done to me. My parents had never liked her, and all they could say was 'I told you so' so I basically stopped talking to them about it; we sort of grew apart over it. And I stopped talking to my friends about it too, since all of them seemed to think that I should just get over it. But the thing was . . . this was the first girl I had ever thought I'd loved. And absolutely the first person who I'd ever trusted with everything. But she took it all and stabbed me in the back with it. And none of my friends helped me pick up the pieces.

"Ever since then, I've stopped believing in people. I never let myself get too close to anyone, and it seemed to be working out. But, I guess, maybe, you found a chink in my armor, huh? And you touched me somewhere I had never been touched before. Made a connection with me I couldn't fight or deny, and that I welcomed. I hope that you feel the same."

Ayala leaned her head over so that her mouth was next to my ear. "I do, Ken. I do." She ran her finger through her hair to push it out of her eyes, kissed me, then lay her head on my chest.

After a while, she spoke up again. "As long as I know you're with me, my knight in shining armor, then I'll know this connection is real. I can't believe that you feel the way you do, that you can still care for me even though I'm the person I am. It makes me really believe you, and trust you."

"I know . . . I never would have thought that I was capable of feeling this way, but it seems like a stronger feeling with you than I've ever had before with anyone. And I'm not going to take your trust and this connection for granted."

Ayala got up and smiled. "Well then, I think this really is a reason to celebrate, huh? For us to go out to a real dinner and a fun night out on the town and be with each other. What do you think, hot stuff?"