No Coincidence

by Tiffany Patterson

  “Oh.” Her eyes dropped from mine. “I thought you didn’t want me since I couldn’t have a baby, and you went and found someone else.”

  “Resha …” I pushed out a breath, giving myself time to get my thoughts—which were jumbled with anger that she could even fathom such a thing—together. “A stór, I would cut off my right fucking arm and beat myself with it before I did anything like that to you.”

  She frowned. “Thanks for that imagery.”

  I chuckled before pulling her to me again for a kiss. “What I’m saying is, there is no getting rid of me. You’re stuck with me. Do you know how much it killed me to introduce you as Resha McDonald at the front desk?”

  Her forehead creased. “That’s my name.”

  “Resha O’Brien sounds better.”

  Her eyes ballooned.

  “Baby, if trying for another baby is what you want, I will put a hundred babies in your womb.”

  “And what if …”

  “Then we’ll adopt or steal a kid or borrow one from someone. I don’t give a shit. We’ll have the family that we both crave. In our own time and our own way.”

  Turning to my left hand that still cupped her face, she kissed the inside of my palm. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I don’t believe in coincidences.”

  More confusion on that pretty face of hers.

  “It was no coincidence that we met in that bar in New York, or that yours was the first face I saw when I walked in, or that the loneliness that I saw in your eyes pulled me to you because it mirrored my own. You were right about what you said in the hospital. That night, we were two lonely ass people, looking to not be so alone. But it became so much more than just that. It’s not a coincidence that we both lived in the same city and found one another months after our first encounter. And I know for damn sure it’s not a coincidence that we fell in love. That was destined for us.”

  I paused, moving my thumb to wipe away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t need to form any words. Her tears told me enough. And when she moaned into my mouth as I pulled her in for a kiss, I knew that neither one of us could hold out any longer.

  ****

  Resha

  “Don’t be soft with me tonight,” I pleaded, staring up into Connor’s eyes, my back pressed against the wall of the elevator as he hovered over me.

  His lips pressed together, and for a second he looked hesitant.

  Circling his neck with one arm and bringing his head down to meet my lips, I kissed him with everything I had inside of me, before pulling back. “I don’t need you to be soft or gentle with me tonight, Connor. I want you. All of you,” I said just above a whisper.

  I wasn’t in the mood to be treated with kid gloves. I wanted to be handled in only the way Connor could. I wanted to be desired, cherished, and loved all while being thoroughly sexed. I needed the feeling of being pushed to the edge, all the while feeling incredibly safe, that only came from being in his arms. It’d been weeks since I’d felt that. Weeks since I allowed myself to feel anything other than grief. Now, I wanted more. The grief was still there. It would be for a long time, but right then I wanted my man more than anything else.

  Connor’s lips crashed down on mine, pulling a moan of gratitude from me. His kiss was all-consuming, just the way I needed it. Somewhere in the far off distance I heard the elevator beep as it came to a stop. My heart sank a little when Connor pulled back, to allow himself to reach for the button that would open the elevator door directly into his apartment.

  “I won’t take you for the first time in a month, in our elevator.”

  My heart sank and rose at the same time. Something I never knew was possible. It sank because I thought I might burst into flames and die if I didn’t have him inside of me at that moment, but rose at hearing him call this place, this elevator, ours without hesitation.

  “Just make it quick,” I demanded.

  “Oh hell no, baby. I plan on taking my time wit— What the hell?” he raged suddenly, causing me to look from him to the middle of the living room.

  A wide-eyed Mark sat there, eating a plate of the leftover baked chicken and vegetables I’d prepared a few nights before.

  “Welcome home. Glad to see you got outside for a little while, Resha,” he stated calmly. “This chicken is delicious, by the way. Lemon pepper? Can I get the recipe?” he questioned, before cutting another piece from the plate in his lap and devouring it.

  “Get the hell out,” Connor demanded.

  Mark gave Connor an impish look. “How wonderful to see you, too, brother. Is that how you welcome me these days?”

  “Get out.”

  “Babe, don’t be rude,” I interjected.

  “Yeah, babe. Especially since you failed to call me and tell me that my stopping by tonight wouldn’t be necessary.” Mark put his knife and fork down on his mostly empty plate and rolled himself to the kitchen.

  I followed, and Connor followed me.

  “As you can see, you’re not needed tonight. Get out.”

  “You’re so mean,” I said over my shoulder.

  “No, what I am is horny as a motherfucker and ready to throw my brother out on his ass,” he stated low in my ear, the rumbling in his voice reaching down, in between my thighs.

  “I heard that.”

  Mark’s comment pulled my attention back to his now frowning face. Suddenly, his face morphed into a grin and he shrugged.

  “But I see that I’m not needed and my belly is full, so I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” He rolled past us, out of the kitchen.

  “Good to see you looking better, Resha. By the way, that burgundy color really works for you.”

  “Thanks, Mar—”

  “Bye, and don’t forget to lock the fucking door on your way out.”

  Mark chuckled.

  Spinning, I placed my hand on my hip, giving Connor a glare.

  “What? He always leaves that fucking elevator unlocked. Did the same shit as a kid, leaving the door unlocked.” He shook his head as if he were a father, thinking of his unruly child. It was such a turn on.

  “I’m glad you two are getting along better.”

  Connor grunted but didn’t say anything.

  “Mark told me you called him and told him your issues with his fighting. Your real concerns.”

  “Yeah well, whatever.”

  “You’re so cute.” I found it funny that Connor didn’t hesitate when it came to openly expressing his feelings with me but it was a different story with his brother.

  “Still. You could’ve been nicer.”

  His eyes narrowed, and a spark entered them. One that had my nipples budding beneath the fabric of my bra.

  “You don’t want me to be nice tonight, remember?” And before I could respond, he took one step in my direction, bent low, and circled my thighs with both of his arms, hoisting my over his shoulder.

  “Connor!” I yelped, feeling a twinge of fear for the briefest of moments. It was a natural reaction, but then the warmth filling my body reminded me who had me. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall, even as he carried me up the stairs. Still, I smacked his backside just to be able to feel the muscles of his ass beneath the jeans he wore.

  “Oof!” I blurted out when he dropped me onto the bed, causing me to bounce a couple of times. He wasn’t going to be gentle that night, and I started to wonder what the hell I’d been thinking telling him that in the elevator.

  His gaze was focused and intentional as he roughly unbuttoned my belt and jeans, yanking them down my thighs, calves, and eventually off my body.

  Rip!

  I gasped at the sound of my lace panties tearing underneath the strength of his determination.

  “Connor, you ripped my damn panties!”

  “Your fault,” he grunted as he moved to cover my body, taking my mouth with his.

  I groaned against his lips as my core began to ache with need. My entire body started to feel weak, and I sent up a silent than
k you that I was already lying down because I didn’t have the strength to stand on my own two feet.

  His large hands felt underneath the sweater I wore, moving it up my body and over my head. He was so deft at removing my bra, I felt like I blinked and it was off. I watched as he tossed it over his shoulder, dipping his head as he pushed both of my breasts together and covered my nipples with his mouth. I practically felt a waterfall gushing between my thighs as my back arched into the feeling of his hot mouth. I let my hands intertwine in his hair, disposing of the band he used to hold his long locks back.

  “Ooh! Baby, that feels so good,” I moaned.

  But before I could get too comfortable in that position, Connor flipped our bodies over and slid down on the bed a ways, while holding me in place by the waist. He was so damn athletic and dexterous that he would have me in positions I never dreamt of moving in before.

  I found myself with my knees pressed against the bed as my pussy lips hovered over his face. He was especially fond of this position. I’d found myself self-conscious in the beginning but this was quickly becoming a favorite of my own. Especially when Connor pulled my waist down to his face, and pressed my lips apart with his tongue, circling my clitoris.

  Tossing my head backwards, I held onto the headboard for dear life as I let out a wail of a scream. My entire body sighed in relief at being in this position and receiving this kind of pleasure again. It’d been a month since Connor and I had made love and he was letting his mouth make up for lost time.

  My sudden and thunderous climax was his reward, and he sopped up the physical evidence of my orgasm with the fervor of someone who’s been waiting all year for their Thanksgiving dinner.

  “Jesus!” I breathed out, struggling for air.

  “Jesus can’t save you tonight, baby,” he growled, pressing my back against the bed while simultaneously lifting my left leg over his shoulder.

  I was so dazed, I couldn’t even recall when he’d removed his clothing, but I sure as hell felt all of him when he began pressing himself inside of me.

  “So fucking tight,” he groaned, again his tone electrifying every nerve ending in my body. He wrapped one arm around my leg, trapping it to his body, allowing himself free entry into my canal however he wanted.

  “Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded, pushing inside of me all the way to the hilt.

  “I’m yours,” I conceded, repeatedly with each thrust of his hips. There was no way I could ever be anyone else’s.

  Lifting my hands to circle his neck, I pulled his head down to meet mine, kissing him with all the promises I was too tongue-tied to actually say in that moment. This small position change allowed him to push even farther inside of me and I let out a small scream. Connor responded by biting my lower lip and sucking it into his mouth. At the same time, the tip of his cock, along with the ring he still wore, hit my G-spot at just the right angle and all I saw were stars exploding.

  My entire body shuddered with the release of my second orgasm for that night. Connor kissed me through it, his hips continuing to surge forward over and over again, as the walls of my vagina milked him for his release. His body obeyed, granting him his first orgasm of the evening.

  But that wasn’t to be his last. We went at it like rabbits until the wee hours of the morning, relieved and elated to have this sort of intimacy back between the both of us.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Connor

  “Who threw you away?” I questioned as Resha’s head rested against my chest and I let my fingers glide up and down her sweaty arm. Part of me felt guilty for putting her body through so much exertion, after being intimate for the first time in a month, but I couldn’t help my damn self. I’d been jerking off in the shower, alone, for the better part of a month, just to not be an asshole and push her too far too fast.

  But as we laid there, in the dark, our bodies completely sated—for the time being, at least—I asked the one question I’d been wanting to know the answer to for weeks.

  “Was it your mother?” I pressed when she didn’t answer at first.

  Slowly, her head lifted, her face turning to meet mine. “How’d you know I was thrown away?”

  I shook my head, pressing my free hand behind my head. “Because you’ve always got one foot out the door. Using any and every excuse to push me away before you get pushed away. Making up excuses in that cute little head of yours as to why this can’t or won’t work out. And don’t give me that shit about past relationships. I know you’ve had some boneheads before but those fuckers ain’t me and there’s a reason you try so damn hard to not see that. Was it your mother?”

  I went back to the question I’d asked previously because I knew the truth was there. Resha had admitted some things about her mother but not much. She didn’t talk about her life before she went to live with her aunt, uncle, and Destiny.

  “Yeah,” she finally admitted just a hair above a whisper. “But she didn’t just throw me away. She gave me away.”

  “To your aunt and uncle.”

  She shook her head. “They didn’t come until later.” She paused, turning away from me before facing me again. Sitting up in the bed, she reached over me to click on the nightstand lamp. “If I’m going to say this, I want to be able to see you when I do.”

  I sat up also, leaning my back against the headboard, and waited for her next words.

  “I’ve never told anyone this. Not Destiny, not Aunt Donna, or my uncle before he passed away.”

  “We’re spilling all of our dirty laundry today, baby.”

  She nodded and tucked her knees underneath the oversized AC/DC T-shirt of mine she wore. Ordinarily, I’d be pissed about someone stretching out my shirt like that but Resha wasn’t anyone. I could get a new T-shirt, and to be honest, I would let her stretch that one out as well.

  “My mother was a drug addict. You already know that. My father left not long after I was born, and was in and out of jail until he was shot and killed when I was seven. Both my parents were hardly around. Anyway, one day, I remember my mother frantically searching our small, dirty hotel room for something. The hotel was where we lived at the time. She got us kicked out of so many apartments. I asked her what she was looking for and she said her check. She got paid from the government and would use the money to get drugs. I was twelve and knew the cycle by then. I’d intercepted the check and paid our bill at the hotel with it and bought some food so we’d have a place to live and food to eat.

  “Of course, she was pissed. She stormed out of the hotel room after yelling and berating me. I was numb to it all by then, however. I was proud of myself for prioritizing the important things with that money. But an hour later, my momma came barging back in the room, almost frantic, telling me to get my jacket and come on. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you,’ she said. I asked what it was and where we were going but she wouldn’t answer. Just told me to hurry up as we walked down the back alley by the hotel, across the street, and down another block to what appeared to be an abandoned building.

  “It wasn’t abandoned. There were people there. They all had the same look in their eyes that I’d seen in my momma’s. They all were high or looking to get high. It smelled awful, and I noticed some people passed out in the corner of one room, two men beating up a woman who begged for them to stop in another, and even scared looking kids in there who were younger than me. But my momma ignored it all as she tugged me by the arm down a long hall.

  “‘I need you to do a favor for me, baby, okay?’

  “It was the nicest voice she’d used with me in a long time and I started to get a dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach. Especially after a tall man entered the room behind her, shutting the three of us in.

  “‘You actually brought her. I didn’t fucking think you was gonna bring her.’

  “‘I did. Just like you asked, Tone. Here she is. You got the stuff?’

  “Tone took a long drag of the cigarette he was smoking before his dark, cold eyes moved over to my moth
er in disgust. ‘Yeah, I got it.’ He slammed a baggie in my mother’s outstretched hand and said, ‘Now get the fuck outta here.’”

  “I saw her turning to the door and I panicked. She was going to leave me alone with this evil looking man.

  “‘Momma!’ I called to her, and for a moment she paused, turning back to me.

  “She moved to me, kneeling down. ‘It’ll be real quick, I promise, Resha. He just wanna talk to you a little bit.’ She stood up and quickly moved to the door, slamming it behind her.

  “I yelled for her to come back but she didn’t. My screams became louder when the man approached me, his hands reaching for me. It was then I realized my mother had sold me to this man to get high. She sold my virginity to her drug dealer because I’d spent her government check on rent and food instead of drugs.”

  Resha paused, wiping tears from her eyes, and I thanked God because I couldn’t hear anymore. The rage that filled my body was too overwhelming. I’d have to go find this fucking Tone guy and beat him to within an inch of his life, let him get all healed up, and then repeat the process, over and over for years to come. And that would assuage only an iota of the rage inside of me.

  “I got lucky, somehow,” Resha finally continued. “I don’t know how but I managed to kick him in his crotch through his pants. Hard enough that he doubled over, releasing me. I squirmed away from him, crawled to the door, and opened it, running down that hall and out of the building. I didn’t even bother to stop and look for my mother. I ran all the way back to the hotel. I locked myself inside, putting a chair underneath the lock so even she couldn’t get in with her key. The next day I got the keycards changed so my mother could no longer get in. Not that she tried. She never came back to the hotel after that day. A part of me thinks it was because even she was so ashamed of what she’d done that she couldn’t bear to look at me. I stayed in that hotel room for a month, by myself. It was only when the school I’d been attending contacted my aunt and uncle, who I’d put down as the emergency contacts, that anyone came looking for me.