My Destiny

by Adrianne Byrd

“You know what, Destiny? I think you’re the first attractive woman I don’t want to sleep with,” Miles proclaimed. His voice filled with a certain measure of awe.

  Destiny nearly choked. “That’s good to know.”

  “No. I mean it. In the last two weeks I haven’t been tempted once to make a pass at you.”

  “You made a pass at me yesterday.”

  “We were joking around. I mean a real pass—one I fully expect you to take me up on.”

  “Oh. I’m glad you cleared that up.”

  “Come on. I’m being for real. I’ve never had a real woman friend before. This is a step toward maturity for me.”

  Destiny laughed and shook her head as she returned the water bottle to her hip. “Well, I’m real happy for you.”

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “What about me? I took the plunge into maturity a long time ago. I have plenty of male friends.”

  “Sure you do.”

  “What? I really do.”

  “Are these guy friends of yours single?”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

  “So, I’m willing to bet you put them in that friend zone against their wills. Every one of them is just waiting for the opportunity to be something more to you, even if it’s just for one night.”

  “You know I’m amazed that your head isn’t more pointed because you really do have a narrow mind.”

  “I’m just being honest.”

  “That’s what’s scaring me.”

  “I’m telling you how a man thinks, that’s all. It’s very rare for a man not to want to sleep with every woman he sees.”

  “Are you telling me that at one time you wanted to sleep with me?”

  “The minute I laid eyes on you.”

  Her head jerked in his direction, astonishment seized her features. “You’re kidding.”

  “Please. In my mind’s eye, I had you stripped and lying beneath me before I ever bothered helping you with that box.” He smiled at her shocked and reddened face. “Come on. You’ve got to know that you got a cute little figure there.”

  “I think we should change the subject.”

  “Why? It’s just starting to get interesting.” When she said nothing, he couldn’t help but ask, “How about you?”

  “How about me what?”

  “What did you think of me?”

  “I’m not answering that.”

  Miles enjoyed her deepening coloring. “Come on. You can tell me.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “You wanted to jump my bones, didn’t you?”

  “That’s a lie,” she said with a little too much force.

  “Uh-huh,” he said, unconvinced. “If you say so.”

  “You know in the past week, I’ve forgotten how big your ego inflates.”

  “Can it be that you use sarcasm to hide a deeper feeling?” He watched as her jawline hardened and he laughed. “All right. All right. I’ll stop. I was just trying to give you a hard time.”

  “And you’re doing a damn good job of it, too.”

  “You’re way too easy to embarrass. You need to try and loosen up a bit.”

  “Why? Do you think I’m a prude or something?”

  “No. Well, not anymore.”

  Destiny frowned. “So, you mean at one time you thought I was.”

  “Well...it was kind of hard not to.” He winced. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings and judging by the look on her face that was exactly what he was doing. “But hey, this was all before you had your mini breakdown last week.” He grimaced. Now he’d managed to successfully jam both feet into his mouth.

  She glared over at him. “My, don’t you have a way with words?”

  “Sorry,” he said, and meant it.

  She held his gaze for a brief moment, and then her features softened. “It’s all right. You’re right. Lu Jin has been calling me a prude since college. I don’t know, maybe I do need to learn how to loosen up.” She focused her attention back onto the trail. “You know, you both have a lot of similar qualities. Maybe I should try and fix you two up.” An image of them together caused a sour taste to pool in her mouth.

  Miles laughed. “You forget I’ve met Lu Jin.”

  “What? You don’t find her attractive?” she asked with perhaps a trace of hope in her voice, but he disappointed her with his next statement.

  “Are you kidding? A man would have to be blind or dead not to find her attractive—and I’m neither. But one of the main rules for a player is not to date another player. It’s a bad mix.”

  “I have a feeling I should be writing all this stuff down,” she said.

  “If you’re about to jump back into the dating scene, then maybe that’s not such a bad idea. You know I could teach you all the games to look out for.”

  “Okay, then, I’ll bite. Why is it bad for a player to date another player?”

  “I don’t think that you’re going to like my answer to that question.”

  “That’s okay. I haven’t liked most of what you’ve said.”

  Miles laughed. “Well, it’s kind of like how a man looks at infidelity. He can lie to himself as to why he does it or why it’s okay, but he could never forgive his girl if she does it. That’s pretty much what a female player is all about. She’s bouncing from one guy to the next for one reason or another. And the coolest brother out there can’t handle that.”

  “Sexism at its best,” Destiny replied with disdain. “I can’t believe you actually think like this.”

  “Hey, I’m not the only one.”

  She shook her head.

  “I told you you weren’t going to like my answer.”

  “I’ll never doubt you again.”

  They jogged out of the park and within a few minutes Destiny spotted their high-rise looming before them.

  “You know the good thing about all of this is we’re the exception to the rule,” Miles said suddenly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like I’ve said before—you’re the first attractive woman I don’t want to sleep with. And you’ve admitted that you’re not attracted to me—so we’re free to have the perfect female-male friendship, right?”

  “Right,” she agreed, not bothering to correct him on the fact that she’d never said that she wasn’t attracted to him—far from it.

  Chapter 14

  “What do you mean you’re not interested in sleeping with her?” Wes asked incredulously. “Are you coming down with something?”

  Miles laughed as he picked up his poker hand. “I feel fine. Destiny and I are just friends.”

  Wes shifted his gaze from Theo and Juan. “Are you two hearing this? He and his sexy neighbor are just friends.”

  Theo removed the fat Cuban cigar from his mouth and blew out a thick cloud of smoke. “I hear him, but I don’t believe it.”

  “Comments like that can get a man’s player card taken away,” Juan added with a sly grin.

  “I know damn well that you undergraduates aren’t trying to school me about the rules of the game.” Miles’s chest puffed up with indignity, but his eyes twinkled with amusement.

  “Nah, nah,” Theo said, returning the cigar to the corner of his mouth. “We ain’t trying to school ya or nothing, but you are talking a little crazy. Every brother knows that a man can’t be friends with a woman, especially with a fine sister like the one living across the hall.”

  “Exactly my point,” Wes agreed, and then rewarded Theo with a jive hand slap.

  Miles only rolled his eyes. “That’s a bunch of bull. Destiny and I are two mature adults having a mature, nonsexual relationship.”

  “What you and Destiny are doing is fooling yourselves,” Wes corrected. “Have you ever seen that chick flick, When Harry Met Sally?”

  “I must have missed it,” Miles said. “Is anybody going to open the bid?”

  “I’ll open with five,” Juan said.

  “I’ll call,” Wes said, and then returned
his attention to Miles. “Anyway, the movie’s premise was whether a man and a woman could really be friends without sex becoming an issue.”

  Miles’s brows rose in mild interest. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah. In the beginning Billy Crystal’s character is convinced that the whole man/woman friendship can’t exist without the sex ruining everything.”

  “Who’s Billy Crystal?” Juan asked, propping his elbows on the table.

  “He’s the short, funny guy in City Slickers,” Theo answered with a smile.

  “Do you two mind?” Wes asked, annoyed.

  “Sorry,” Theo and Juan apologized in unison.

  “Like I was saying, the movie spans through all of this mushy stuff just to prove Crystal’s point. Somewhere in the middle, while they were lying to themselves and calling each other ‘friends,’ sex happens and changes everything. Suddenly, the blonde chick wanted more from the relationship and by the end of the movie, they were married.”

  “But Destiny and I aren’t having sex.”

  Wes, Theo and Juan laughed.

  “What you mean to say is you and Destiny aren’t having sex yet,” Wes corrected.

  Miles frowned. “That was only a movie.”

  The guys laughed again.

  “Art imitates life all the time, my friend.”

  There was a knock on the door and Miles placed his card hand facedown onto the table. “I still say you guys are wrong.” He stood and shook his head at his friend’s laughter. “You’ll see,” he said, heading toward the door.

  When he pulled it open, his face exploded into a wider smile at the sight of his friends, Jared and Kyle. “So you two were finally able to get away from the old balls and chains?”

  “Ha. Ha. Ha.” Kyle smirked, and then held up a case of beer. “I’m bearing gifts, so let me in.”

  Miles stepped back and allowed the brothers to enter.

  “Well, it’s about time,” Wes hollered. “Now we can get this game going.”

  “Who’s winning?” Jared asked, removing his leather jacket.

  “Who else?” Everyone else at the table responded with equal sarcasm.

  Miles held his hands up high into the air. “Don’t hate the player—hate the game.”

  A wave of popcorn flew in his direction.

  “Hey, hey, you guys, watch it. The last time we played here ya’ll trashed my place and left me to clean up everything.”

  “Who are you kidding?” Wes griped. “We all know you have a maid service in here twice a week.”

  Miles returned to his seat and threw a kernel of popcorn at Wes. “Yes, but they always charge extra after poker night.”

  “Boo hoo. Now, how many cards do you want?”

  Miles took another look at his hand and removed a five and eight of clubs. “Give me two.” He looked over at Jared. “So what’s been up with you, man? You haven’t joined us in a while.”

  Jared shrugged, and then bummed a cigar from Theo. “Just trying to hang in there until Kimberly has that baby.”

  “Ya’ll ain’t had that baby yet?” Wes frowned, taking two cards for himself and wincing slightly when he looked at his new cards. “I fold.”

  “Nay, but junior’s due here any minute.”

  “So what in the hell are you doing here tonight?”

  “I had to get the hell out of Dodge. Kimberly’s two sisters and mother are here and they are driving me crazy with honey do’s.”

  Theo shook his head and tossed down his cards. “This is too rich for my blood. I fold, too.” He then looked at Jared. “What the heck are honeydews?”

  All the men in the room responded in unison. “Honey, can you do this, and honey, can you do that?” The guys looked at each other and burst out in a chorus of laughter.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe we’re actually about to have a sleepover,” Lu Jin said, filling a plastic bowl with freshly popped popcorn.

  “Hey, this is going to be fun.” Destiny loaded a tray with soft drinks. “It’ll feel like we’re back in college.”

  They were dressed in flannel nightgowns and Lu Jin had her hair pulled back in a hair band. Destiny’s hair was parted down the center and brushed into two pigtails.

  When the doorbell rang, Destiny bubbled with excitement. “I got it.” She flashed Lu Jin a quick smile, and then rushed out of the kitchen. “This is going to be so much fun,” she said to herself before flinging open the door and releasing a squeal of delight at the sight of her two old college friends: Debra and Monique.

  Lu Jin shot from around the corner and also screamed.

  The four women fell into a large group hug in the doorway, their shrieks echoing throughout the hall.

  They broke apart when the door across the hall suddenly flew open and Miles filled the door frame.

  “Sorry,” Destiny gushed. “I guess we got a little carried away.”

  A rumble of men’s laughter spilled out into the hall.

  “No problem.” Miles jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the crowd behind him. “Poker night.”

  Destiny nodded. “Slumber party.”

  Miles quirked a brow while an amused grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “At least that explains the outfit.”

  Destiny looked down at her nightgown, and then flushed when she looked back up at him.

  “Don’t worry. A lot of guys find flannel sexy.” He winked, and then nodded at her friends. “Have a good night, ladies,” he said, and then disappeared behind the door.

  Debra and Monique turned open-mouthed toward Destiny and Lu Jin.

  “Come on in, before we disturb anyone else,” Destiny said, gesturing them in.

  “Who on earth is that fine brotha?” Monique finally managed to ask when Destiny closed the door behind them.

  Destiny shrugged. “Oh, that’s Miles. Don’t worry, he’s harmless.”

  “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. That man has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen,” Debra gushed, fanning herself with her hands. “It should be against the law to look that good.”

  “I heard that,” Monique agreed and high-fived Debra.

  Destiny laughed. “Then I should warn you, Miles Stafford is quite the ladies’ man.”

  “I can testify to that,” Lu Jin agreed, and disappeared into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she reemerged carrying two large bowls of popcorn. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with the same woman twice.”

  Monique placed a hand over her heart. “Hell, once would do me just fine.”

  The women laughed.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Mr. Harmless was checking you out,” Debra said, placing her hand on her hip and eyeing Destiny.

  “Please.” Destiny waved off the comment.

  “Uh-huh. ‘A lot of guys find flannel sexy,’” Monique mimicked Miles.

  “Lu Jin, will you tell them nothing’s going on between me and Miles?”

  Lu Jin shook her head and joined in on the women’s laughter. “Actually, I’m on their side. There was definitely something to his comment.”

  Destiny rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen to retrieve some of the refreshments. When she returned, she saw that her friends hadn’t moved an inch; instead, they stood in a semicircle staring at her with their arms crossed.

  “Drop the subject,” Destiny warned, but for some reason was unable to control the smile hugging her lips.

  The girls erupted with laughter and Destiny’s embarrassment deepened.

  “All right, spill it. We want details,” Debra said.

  “According to her there are no details,” Lu Jin answered instead. “At least not yet.” She wiggled her brows.

  Destiny continued on to the living room. “Miles and I are friends. Period. End of story.”

  Monique frowned. “Why on earth would you want to keep a brotha like that in the friend category?”

  “Because...” Destiny shrugged, not really having an answer.

  “Uh-huh. Jus
t what I thought. You’re lying to yourself.” Lu Jin perked up with a mischievous grin. “You like him and you won’t admit it.”

  “I do not. I just can’t explain it to you. Miles and I don’t see each other that way. We connect on a level that transcends anything I’ve experienced with another man.”

  That won another gust of laughter from the women.

  Lu Jin approached her and draped an arm around her shoulders. “Transcends anything you’ve experienced with another man? You’re not in the middle of a legal deposition here. We’re your girls and we can see the obvious even if you can’t.”

  Destiny shook her head and pulled away from Lu Jin. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She set the tray of drinks down on the coffee table, and then stood with her hands settled against her hips. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ve had plenty of friendships with men—take Zack and Elliott, for example.”

  “Both of them would cut off their right arm for a night with you and you know it,” Lu Jin said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Let you tell it, every man I meet wants to jump my bones.” Destiny grew exasperated.

  “Well,” Debra cut in. “Remember Victor and Andre from school.”

  “Yeah.” Monique snapped her fingers, and then turned back toward Destiny. “They used to follow you around like puppies.”

  “And so did Alfonso and Benjamin.”

  Destiny looked at the small group, frowning. “They did not follow me around like puppies.”

  “They did, but you were too busy with your studies to even notice,” Lu Jin said. Her smile broadened as Destiny’s faded. “In my humble opinion, there isn’t a woman alive who has male friends who, at one time or another, didn’t want to have sex with her.” She turned to Monique and Debra. “Am I right?”

  Monique rewarded her with another high five.

  Debra hesitated. “I don’t know about that.”

  Destiny moved over to stand next to Debra. “What it is is crap.” She cast a withering glance over at Lu Jin and Monique. “Just because Lu Jin’s hormones are turned on to full blast and she believes that every man she sees wants to bed her doesn’t make it so.”

  Lu Jin’s head reared back with a hearty laugh. “The difference between you and me is that I’m observant and more experienced.”