My Destiny

by Adrianne Byrd

  Adele blinked. “The book that fell in your room—

  anything good?”

  Destiny blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “The Bible,” she lied.

  “The Bible,” Adele repeated, and then looked to Violet.

  Great, Destiny thought, I am going to hell for this one. “Yeah, just figured it was about time I, uh, read it.”

  Violet and her mother just nodded with barely suppressed smiles. Probably, Destiny guessed, because they didn’t buy the lie.

  “By the way.” Destiny thought it was best to change the subject so she launched right into another lie. “I just called Miles on his cell.”

  Violet lifted a delicate arched brow. “Oh?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Destiny cleared her throat. “He’s out doing something with Wes and he asked that I tell you to go ahead on to the dealership and, uh, he will meet you there in about an hour.”

  Violet held her gaze for what seemed like, to Destiny, an eternity before she finally smiled and asked, “Did he now?”

  Destiny swallowed hard and nodded. In her mind, she could smell and hear the fires of hell roaring toward her.

  Adele lowered her head and sipped her coffee.

  Destiny’s heart dropped when she thought for a fleeting moment that she’d actually seen a smile hugging her mother’s

  lips.

  Violet, on the other hand, drew in a deep breath and gave Destiny a wide, beautiful smile. “Well, isn’t that just like Miles to run off with Wes like that? Did he happen to say which dealership?”

  “Which dealership?” Destiny repeated, with a rising panic.

  Violet nodded. “Yes. We’d talked about several models yesterday and couldn’t decide on a Lexus or a Mercedes.”

  Destiny stared, and then picked one herself. “Lexus—I believe.”

  Though Destiny would’ve thought it impossible, Violet’s smile brightened.

  “Excellent choice, my dear,” Violet said, winking. She took another sip of her coffee and stood from the bar. “Then I guess I better get a move on if I plan to catch him.”

  “I’ll go down with you,” Adele suggested. “I think I left something in my car.” She looked at Destiny. “You’re going to need a few minutes to get ready, aren’t you? Or are you going dressed like that?”

  “Oh—yeah.” She smiled. “It’s going to take me at least a half an hour.”

  “Take your time. In fact, I’ll just run a few errands and come back,” Adele said, still smiling. She turned and walked with Violet to the door.

  Destiny followed demurely, relieved to get rid of them so easily. But victory slipped through her fingers when Violet turned around.

  “Destiny, my dear. When you speak to Miles, tell him to hurry and that I’d appreciate it if he take better care of those expensive, silk boxers I bought him for Christmas, and not just leave them lying around your living room.” She leaned over, kissed Destiny’s cheek and then slipped out the door.

  Adele, barely able to suppress her laughter, also kissed Destiny and said, “Take your time. I’ll call before I come back.”

  Chapter 25

  Miles stood from the bed when Destiny returned. “Well?” he asked, eagerly.

  Despondent, Destiny threw his clothes and hit him squarely in the face. “Your mother asks that you don’t leave your boxers lying around the apartment.”

  Miles’s shoulders hunched forward as his mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”

  She plopped down beside him on the bed. “I wish I was.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the sound of Miles’s deep rumble of laughter as it filled the room.

  “This isn’t funny,” Destiny whined miserably. “How long do you think it will be before all our friends know about what happened?”

  “What’s the big deal if they find out?”

  Destiny held out her hand. “For one thing, I don’t want everyone thinking that we’re an instant couple. Especially, when I haven’t had time to think about how I feel about what happened last night.”

  Miles clamped his jaw shut as her words plunged like a knife into his heart. “Good point.” For the first time in his life, he was going to be the recipient of the “let’s be friends” speech after a wild night of passionate sex. He felt sick.

  Destiny continued to ramble about the consequences of their actions without looking up at Miles. If she had, he was sure she’d have easily read his pained expression.

  By the time she did look at him, he had his emotions safely hidden beneath a stony facade.

  “You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Makes perfect sense to me,” he said, retrieving his boxers and slipping them on.

  Destiny exhaled. “Good. I knew you would. I mean, we don’t want to make last night too much of a big deal. And we don’t need to involve our friends in what happened, right?”

  “Right.” He removed the towel, and then grabbed his pants.

  She smiled and the sight of her relief only twisted the knife in his heart.

  “I better get going,” he said.

  “Oh,” Destiny said. “I told your mother to meet you at the Lexus dealership. I assume you know which one.”

  He nodded and turned toward the door.

  “Hey.” Destiny stood and touched his arm. “Are you all right?”

  Anger boiled in his blood as he looked at her, but he kept his hard mask in place. “Never better,” he responded, his voice devoid of emotion.

  Destiny’s hand fell from his arm as she studied him.

  Not in the mood to be dissected, Miles turned and left her bedroom.

  “Something is wrong. Tell me what it is,” she said, following close on his heels.

  “There’s nothing to tell.” He kept walking. He went into the kitchen and continued on to the adjoining laundry room where he pulled his shirt out of the dryer.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said, crossing her arms and blocking his exit from the laundry room.

  Miles, however, placed his hands on her shoulders and physically moved her away from the door frame. “I gotta go,” he said icily and headed toward the door.

  “Miles,” she snapped.

  He jerked back and faced her. “Tell you what... Why don’t you get back to me when you figure out what you want or where you think we should go from here—especially since you’ve made it clear that my feelings on the matter are moot.”

  Before Destiny had a chance to respond, Miles turned, wrenched open the door and slammed it behind him.

  Destiny felt as if she’d been cast in a bad movie as she stared at the closed door. What had she done? They hadn’t been out the bed more than an hour and already they were fighting. She slapped her hand against her forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

  * * *

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Miles entered his apartment with a strong need to throw something. He had never felt so humiliated. Why couldn’t he have left last night when she’d asked him—why did he have to play hero in the first place? He collapsed into a nearby chair in the living room and tried to figure out a way to repair the damage to his and Destiny’s friendship.

  * * *

  The sound of the telephone ringing was slow to penetrate Lu Jin’s dreamy haze. In fact, she’d hoped for a few more hours of sleep before she actually had to get out of bed. But apparently, the caller either had something important to say or didn’t have a life.

  “Are you going to get that or am I going to have to throw that damn thing across the room?”

  She moaned and wished like hell she’d remembered to buy a new answering machine yesterday. She stretched an arm out from beneath the covers and fumbled around the nightstand in search of the hand unit. “This better be good,” she said, groggily.

  “Lu Jin, it’s me, Destiny.”

  Lu Jin’s eyes lifted slightly. “I’m listening.”

  Just then, another shrill ring filled the bedroom and a groan rose from the covers beside her.


  “Lu Jin,” Destiny continued. “Something terrible has happened.”

  Another shrill ring and Wes threw back the sheets and grabbed his cell phone. “Make it fast,” he mumbled.

  “Wes? This is Miles. Man, something bad has happened.”

  “What is it?” Lu Jin and Wes asked in unison, and then looked at each other.

  “Miles and I slept together.”

  “Destiny and I slept together.”

  Lu Jin and Wes pressed their hands over their mouthpieces and looked at each other. “They did it.”

  “That’s great,” Lu Jin exclaimed.

  “You are the man,” Wes encouraged with a wide grin, while simultaneously draping an arm around Lu Jin. “I’m glad you finally took the plunge.”

  “It’s a disaster,” Destiny complained in a strained voice.

  “Wes, I made a complete fool of myself.”

  Lu Jin and Wes bolted upright and asked in unison, “What happened?” They looked at each other.

  “He left here angry,” Destiny said. “I think it’s because I said that I wasn’t sure where we should go with the relationship. I don’t know. I don’t know what I was saying. I guess a part of me didn’t want him to feel pressured into anything—then again, he told me that he loved me.”

  “I told her I loved her.”

  “He said what?”

  “You told her what?”

  Again, Lu Jin and Wes looked at each other.

  “Is someone there?” Destiny asked.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time, Wes?”

  “N-no, the television is on,” they both lied to their friends.

  Lu Jin placed her hand over her mouthpiece. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered to Wes. She climbed out of bed, slipped into her robe and left her bedroom so she could continue the conversation in private. “Now, tell me what happened,” she asked, when she’d eased into a chair in the kitchen. “From the beginning.”

  Chapter 26

  Elliott won the four-hundred-dollar pool and decided to treat the gang to a dinner at which Destiny and Miles were the hot topic of discussion.

  “Did anyone ever think that when those two finally slept together that our lives would be miserable?” Jared asked, nursing his beer.

  “I sure as hell didn’t,” Wes admitted, sliding an arm around Lu Jin. “This past week, Miles has had a temper out of this world.”

  “So has Destiny,” Lu Jin mumbled. “I mean, that’s my girl and all, but she’s a walking time bomb.”

  “Isn’t there something we can do?” Debra asked as she slumped back against her seat. “I feel almost responsible for this mess.”

  “I hear ya,” Monique agreed.

  Theo stabbed another piece of his steak. “Frankly, I don’t think we should be so quick to throw in the towel.” With that comment, he successfully grabbed everyone’s attention.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Lu Jin asked, frowning. “Those two are ready to start World War Three.”

  He shrugged and chewed his food slowly before responding. “The question you have to ask is why are they mad?”

  “Because Miles doesn’t want to take things slow,” Lu Jin supplied her answer.

  “No,” Wes corrected, shaking his head. “It’s because Destiny has completely ignored my man’s feelings.”

  “What?” Lu Jin’s hands flew to her hips and she swiveled to look at him.

  “Now don’t you two start,” Monique piped up and rolled her eyes. “Go on with what you were saying, Theo.”

  “I was saying that, even though Lu Jin and Wes brought up two good valid points, the problem is much deeper than that. This goes beyond physical attraction—these two are in love with each other.”

  “Which is exactly what Miles told Destiny,” Wes said, his gaze, however, was focused on Lu Jin.

  “And Destiny just wants a little more time to analyze her feelings. Why is that such a crime?”

  “Because she’s had ten years. How much time does she need?” Wes asked.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Lu Jin snapped back. “They haven’t been sleeping together for ten years.”

  Juan cleared his throat and grabbed the bickering couple’s attention. “Is there something going on with you two that you want to share with the rest of us?”

  Lu Jin crossed her arms. “Of course not.”

  “Not likely,” Wes added, shifting in his chair.

  But, judging by their friends’ suspicious, narrowed gazes, none of them looked convinced.

  Embarrassed, Lu Jin suggested, “Can we please get back on the subject of what we’re going to do about Destiny and Miles?”

  * * *

  Destiny was working late in the office. She didn’t know how, but somehow she’d managed to get behind in her work. And even as the hours grew late, she realized that she still lacked concentration. It was probably in part because Miles, too, was working late in his office.

  In the past week, their working relationship had become just as strained as their friendship. And a large part of her was sorry for that.

  She rifled through some more of her paperwork and stopped short when she ran across the list of women she’d made a week ago when searching for Miles’s perfect match. A corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. Had that been only a week ago?

  At the knock on the door, she jumped as her gaze flew up to meet Miles at her door.

  “Here are some of the updated proposals for Mr. Michaels’s settlement,” he said, entering her office. He crossed the large span of her office, carefully keeping his eyes averted.

  Destiny’s heart begged her to call a truce to this mess, while her head reminded her that he was the one who’d started this. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

  Miles dropped the folder on her desk and his eyes caught a glimpse of the title on her notepad: Finding Mrs. Miles Stafford.

  “What are you doing?” he asked before he could stop himself.

  Her eyes followed the direction of his gaze and she was suddenly embarrassed.

  “Oh, nothing. This was—”

  “You’re not still actually thinking about doing that are you?”

  “N-no. I just happened to come across this a few minutes ago.”

  He didn’t believe her. “So, you’re still looking to pawn me off on someone else. Is that it?”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about? This was your idea, remember?”

  “That was before we slept together,” Miles reminded her. “Oh, I forgot. That doesn’t make a difference with you.”

  Destiny bolted up from her chair. “Now, wait just a minute. I never said anything of the sort.”

  Miles stepped back, but his blood still boiled in his veins. “You’re right. While I was busy pouring my heart out to you—you didn’t say much of anything.” With that, he turned and stormed out of her office.

  Destiny dropped back into her chair. “I’m getting sick of him walking out on me.”

  * * *

  Back at his apartment, Miles put his body through the grind in his home gym. He desperately wanted to banish all thoughts of Destiny. But the harder he worked out, the clearer his thoughts and her image became in his head.

  He finished with the bench press and sat up. His body was drenched in sweat and he didn’t feel any better after having done the punishing workout. It was just as well, he thought, Destiny was probably going to be the death of him. Love. He shook his head, he never saw it coming. Even now, as much as he wanted to hate her, he couldn’t.

  He reached down and retrieved a discarded towel from the floor and wiped the perspiration from his face. “Maybe I should calm down and just go talk to her,” he mumbled to himself.

  He stood and carried his troubled thoughts to the shower, where he practiced a speech. “Destiny, we need to talk,” he said, and shook his head. He needed a softer approach.

  He dipped his head beneath the showerhead, halfway wishing he could wash his jumbled thoughts down the drain. This was probabl
y the most difficult and important thing he’d ever have to do.

  * * *

  Destiny had just finished washing the deep conditioner out of her hair when she heard the doorbell. She twisted a towel around her head and looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight and she wondered idly who could be visiting her so late.

  Dressed in a two-piece, cotton pajama outfit, she opened her door and was surprised to see Steven Barrett.

  “Good evening,” he greeted with a broad smile. In his hands he held a bouquet of flowers.

  “Steve, what are you doing here?” she asked. Had she forgotten a date or something?

  “Actually, I was in the neighborhood when I realized I hadn’t heard from you in a while. Did I come over at a bad time?”

  It was an odd answer, but she smiled all the same. “No, come on in,” she said, reaching up to touch the towel on her head. “I’m sorry you caught me doing my hair.”

  Steve smiled and waved off her concern. “You look beautiful.” He handed her the flowers.

  “Thank you. They’re beautiful,” she exclaimed and inhaled the carnations’ scent.

  “Sorry, they’re not fancy, but they were sort of an impulsive purchase.”

  “They’re perfect. Won’t you sit in the living room, while I look for a vase to put these in?”

  “Sure,” he said and turned in the direction she’d indicated.

  She walked away, but before she could disappear into the kitchen, her doorbell rang again.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Steven told her, since he was closest to the door.

  * * *

  Miles rocked nervously on his heels as he continued practicing his speech under his breath. When the door flew open, words eluded him at the sight of a grinning Steven Barrett.

  Chapter 27

  “Miles?”

  Miles caught Destiny’s voice, but he was already heading back toward his apartment.

  “Miles—wait!”

  He didn’t wait. Instead, he entered his apartment and slammed the door behind him. This time, he did throw something. In a fit of anger, he grabbed a nearby vase and hurled it across the room. Its crash against the wall was a replication of the explosion inside of him.