No Coincidence

by Tiffany Patterson

  She pulled her hands back from my face as if she’d been burned, but I caught her wrists in both of my hands. “I’ll take that as a no.”

  “The timing hasn’t been right.”

  “It hasn’t? Since when does the timing have to be right to tell your family that you’re being stalked and had a break-in at your home?”

  She sighed, her shoulders sagging. “I’ll tell them.”

  “When?”

  “When the timing’s right.”

  “Don’t you record another podcast episode with Destiny in two days?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not telling you my schedule from now on.”

  I grunted. “Too late. Our schedules are already synced up via the cloud, sweetie.”

  “Whatever,” she mumbled.

  “You’ll tell her this week.”

  “Are you asking me or telling me?”

  “I’m telling you,” I responded firmly.

  “Fine. I’ll talk to Destiny and my aunt as long as you speak with your brother.”

  I frowned, and instead of answering I bent low and hoisted Resha over my shoulder.

  “What the hell?” she demanded, smacking my backside as I started for the staircase. “Connor, if you don’t put me down right now!”

  “I’m going to put you down, baby. And then I’m gonna strip you out of this tempting ass skirt you’ve been walking around in all evening but keeping on those boots because I want them resting on my shoulders. Finally, I’m gonna spread your legs and eat you out until your eyes roll to the back of your head and you pass out, or until you beg me to stop. Whichever comes first,” I finished just as I laid her down on the bed, my hands immediately reaching for the front clasp of her skirt. “How does that sound to you?”

  When she didn’t respond at first, I lifted my gaze to her face to see her bottom lip trembling and her eyelids heavy with lust. Smirking, I lowered my face in between her thighs to make good on my promise.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Resha

  “Hey!” Destiny called as I entered the studio where we recorded our podcasts each week.

  Smiling, I leaned down, hugging my cousin. “Hey yourself. I’m loving that cardigan,” I complimented, admiring the leopard print, almost floor-length cardigan sweater my cousin wore.

  “Thanks. All I had left clean to wear were some jeans and a couple of bodysuits so I chose to wear the sweater to disguise my back fat and pudge,” she stated, pinching the damn near invisible belly rolls at the sides of her body.

  I rolled my eyes. “If you say that dumb shit one more time, I’m gonna punch you. No, you know what, better yet, I’m going to call your husband and tell him you’re over here badmouthing yourself.”

  Destiny’s eyes doubled in horror. “Resha, stop playing. You know that man I married is a little off his damn rocker.”

  I giggled. “I know. That’s why I said it. Ty don’t play about his baby mama.”

  Destiny laughed, shaking her head.

  I teased her but I was serious. Destiny had always been petite growing up. She was barely five-foot-three and was always small and athletic. She looked great, but after having triplets the year before she was self-conscious about the ways in which her body had changed, despite getting back to her pre-pregnancy weight. She did have more hips than she used to, and she sometimes moaned about not being able to get to the gym as often as she liked because life was so busy these days.

  “And do you know what? Tyler is already asking for more kids! That damn man.”

  My heart squeezed in my chest.

  Envy, my brain shouted at me. I wouldn’t mind having Connor begging me to have more of his kids.

  Wait, what the hell did I just say?

  “What? You didn’t say anything.”

  I blinked and looked at my cousin, realizing I’d asked that question out loud. I shook my head. “Girl, don’t pay any attention to me,” I giggled, trying to play it off.

  “You okay? You seem a little jumpy today. You’re not pissed that I had to cancel last week’s podcast are you?” She frowned.

  I wrinkled my forehead, trying to recall what she was referring to.

  “Oh!” I snapped my fingers, suddenly remembering that she did have to cancel the previous week due to their nanny being out with the flu. “Girl bye!” I waved a dismissive hand. “You know I totally understand that you had to take care of your family. Besides, I had something else come up, too.”

  “What was that?”

  “Huh?”

  “That came up.”

  “Oh, uh, nothing just an issue with a brand that wants me to work with them. Apparently, they got in some hot water for their lack of inclusivity or whatever, so they want to push up our campaign.” That was a semi-truth. The particular issue had come up with one of the clothing brands I partnered with, and since Destiny had canceled, I was able to take care of it on the day we usually record our podcast, but it could’ve waited.

  “So they want you to go out of town to shoot?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “The photoshoot will be here in Williamsport with a few other local bloggers.”

  “That’s good. I know you were getting burnt out on traveling so much.”

  I nodded. “That’s the truth.”

  “I called you a couple of nights ago. Did you get my message?”

  I blinked, realizing that I’d totally forgotten to check the voicemail my cousin left me a few days earlier. “I forgot.” My nights had been, ahem, occupied as of late.

  “Now what if I was calling to tell you something super important?”

  Again, I waved Destiny off. “If it was that important you would’ve called again, sent a text, or whatever.”

  Destiny sucked her tongue. “I could’ve been dying somewhere and you wouldn’t even know.”

  “And your ass calls me dramatic? Dying? Really, D?”

  She shrugged. “I’m just saying. You’ve been absent as hell lately. Not returning calls, barely coming over for dinner anymore. Sometimes, I feel like I hardly see you, Resh.”

  My shoulders slumped as I started to feel guilty because Destiny wasn’t totally making things up. I had kind of gone a little MIA, and the fact that so much was happening in my personal life that I wasn’t sharing with her, made the pit of guilt in my stomach only grow.

  “You’re right. Work has really been taking off, and I guess I got a little preoccupied. I’ll do better,” I affirmed.

  Destiny’s smile grew. “I know I can do better, too. I’ve let my homelife kind of get in the way of us spending one-on-one time together. I’ll—”

  I held up my hand, shaking my head. “Don’t ever apologize for being a good wife and mommy.” As independent as Destiny was, I always knew she wanted to be married and have a family of her own. We both did. It just sucked that for the last year I’d been left feeling like I was on the outside looking in. But I wouldn’t burden her with my bullshit.

  “Now, let’s get this podcast recorded,” I stated clapping my hands and looking around at the microphones and wooden stools we sat at to record. We rented out time at a recording studio in the same building where Destiny rented out space for her main office.

  “Let’s do that. Hey, I haven’t checked the email in like two weeks. Can you scroll through and see if we have a couple of questions from listeners to answer?”

  I nodded, pulled my tablet out of my bag, and set it up on the small, wooden table in the corner of the room to look through the joint email we’d set up for our podcast listeners to email with questions. Typically, Destiny checked the email and pulled three to four questions that we’d read and answer at the end of each recording.

  “Let me see if I can pick out some juicy questions,” I remarked, rubbing my hands together as the email opened.

  “I always pick out the juicy questions …” Destiny’s rebuttal faded into the background as the first email I saw caused my stomach to drop.

  STOP IGNORING ME, BITCH!

  I
gulped, biting my bottom lip in fear, my finger trembling as I pressed the email to open it.

  Did you like the little present I left for you on your bed? I can’t believe you called the fucking cops on me, you bitch! And you’ve been whoring around with that tall blond guy! I saw you weeks ago leaving the building with him and getting on the back of his motorcycle. That’s how you treat me after I’ve gone out of my way to show you how much I care?!?!?!?!

  There was more in the email but I couldn’t finish it. My stomach churned with nausea at what I had read.

  “You find anything good?”

  I startled at Destiny’s question and immediately deleted the email, quickly opening another one as she came to stand over my shoulder.

  “Y-Yeah …” I paused to clear my throat. “This one thinks her fiancé is keeping secrets about his total debt and net worth from her. She wants to know what to do about it without looking like a golddigger,” I stated, reading the question and trying not to look too suspicious even though my stomach was practically doing cartwheels.

  “That’s a good one. I definitely have some thoughts to that question. I know you do, too.” Destiny bumped me with her hip.

  I glanced up, giving her a tight smile. “Sure do. Um, let me pick out another few questions and then we’ll get started.”

  Destiny tilted her head. “Cool. I need to run to the bathroom anyway.”

  I sighed in relief as she exited the studio room. Quickly, I scanned through the rest of the unopened emails making sure he hadn’t sent any others. Never before had he sent an email or message to this email address, or any other outside of the account connected to my blog. Opening the trash folder, I scoured it, searching for the email I’d just deleted, and although I hated to have to do it, I sent it to my personal email account. Suddenly, I was relieved that Connor was going to be picking me up from our recording session and going with me to the police station to speak with Detective Brookes.

  Once that was completed, I hastily looked through the emails and chose two more listener questions without fully looking them over. Luckily, they turned out to be great questions, one of which was on plus size fashion and the other was on dressing your new body after having a baby. The show went off without a hitch, and since I’d gotten a text from Connor telling me he was running a few minutes late to pick me up, I headed to Destiny’s main office with her to talk for a few minutes.

  ****

  Connor

  Exiting the elevator, I pulled my cell phone out of the back pocket of my jeans to look up the exact number of Destiny’s office. I’d gone up to the floor where Resha told me they recorded, only to be informed by the studio owners that the women had exited a few minutes earlier, having completed their session.

  I swore that if Resha even tried to leave this building on her own, there was going to be hell to pay. I’d started to text her as much but refrained when I saw her standing just outside of a glass door talking with her cousin, her back turned to me. From behind, I could admire the form-fitting jeans she paired with a sleeveless white top and a flowy blue, floral shawl or whatever the hell she’d called it this morning. It was the red pumps she’d matched with the outfit that truly caught my eye. I’d taken her to a storage location where she kept a ton of clothing that’d been gifted to her by brands the day before, allowing her to get more clothing since the ones she’d packed from her apartment weren’t enough. At least that was what she claimed. And since she’d been using my office space at work, we’d received at least two packages a day from brands sending her new clothes to post on her blog or Instagram.

  “Connor?” Destiny’s surprised voice called, staring at me over Resha’s shoulder.

  Resha spun, with wide eyes, to face me.

  “Destiny.” I nodded.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I cocked my head to the side, giving Resha a curious expression. “Picking up your cousin,” I responded while keeping my eyes locked on Resha's nervous face. Clamping my mouth shut, I gritted my teeth together, recognizing that she hadn’t told her cousin anything.

  “Really?” Destiny peered back over at her cousin.

  At least, I assumed she did because I was still staring at Resha as well.

  “Yeah, uh …” she paused, clearing her throat, “we’re going to lunch.”

  “Huh,” Destiny huffed, obviously feeling not in the know.

  “Right, Connor?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Lunch, right.” It was true. That had been the plan—to go to lunch, and then head to the police station. It was the second part of that plan that Resha didn’t want me to reveal to Destiny. The fear in her eyes was only second to the silent begging I saw there.

  “Yeah,” I reiterated to Destiny as I draped my arm over Resha’s shoulders instinctively. I didn’t miss Destiny’s eyes moving to my hand, watching our contact. Nor did I care too much either. What I did care about was the way Resha’s body, perhaps without her even realizing it, melted into mine.

  “Sooo, this is uh …” Destiny trailed off.

  “Lunch. It’s a lunch. And we have to get going,” Resha hurriedly explained.

  “Resha—”

  “I’ll call you later, D. I promise.” She didn’t give Destiny time to ask another question as she barreled through her explanation and quickly pulled her into a hug. “Give the kiddos a kiss for me. Love you.” Resha waved her hand and glanced up at me as she backed away from her cousin.

  “Nice seeing you again, Destiny. Give Tyler and the kids my regards.”

  “Will do,” Destiny retorted while still eyeing her cousin who would’ve been three steps ahead of me if it not for my arm now around her waist, still holding her to my side.

  I physically felt the tension exit her body the farther away from her cousin we moved.

  Dropping my arm from hers, I punched the button to the ground level where I’d parked my car.

  “Am I some sort of fucking secret to you?” I barked as soon as I slammed my driver’s seat door closed.

  Resha reared back, gasping, eyes bulging. “What?”

  “What the hell was that up there?”

  “That …” She trailed off and sighed. “I’m not hiding you or what’s happening between us if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “That’s exactly what the hell I’m thinking. And if you’re not hiding us then why the hell did your cousin seem so surprised to see me?”

  She averted her eyes, and it took everything in me not to turn her head to face me, to look me in the eye. But she was warring with something.

  “You tell me to be honest with Mark, to express my feelings and shit, and then you hide our relationship from your best friend? The woman you call your sister,” I growled, feeling angry for reasons I couldn’t fully explain.

  “She is my sister. Not by blood but in every other sense of the word.” Resha turned to face me—the exact emotion I saw in her eyes that first night in the bar was back again.

  I had the same urge I’d had that night in New York: to wipe it away from her pupils; to remove whatever the hell it was that was plaguing her.

  “But just like you and your brother, I don’t share everything with her.”

  “What does that mean, Resha?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t told Destiny all of my secrets, and for the last year and a half …” She tapered off. “It’s been difficult, okay?”

  I parted my lips to make her say more. To tell me what the hell she meant by all of this. However, the look in her eyes stopped me. They practically begged for me not to press any further. There was something she didn’t want to reveal.

  Moving my hand to take her chin in between my thumb and forefinger, I angled her head upwards so she had nowhere to look but into my face.

  “You keep secrets from Destiny, your aunt, and God knows whoever else. But not from me,” I demanded. “I don’t give a shit that they’ve known you longer, they’re your blood. I’m your man, and whatever or whoever is putting that look
in your eyes needs to be stomped out. I’m the motherfucker to do it.”

  It might as well have been a blood oath because I meant every syllable with the entirety of my soul. And while I was one hundred percent serious, I couldn’t refrain from the laughter that burst from my lips, when Resha damn near leapt across the center console, her lips meeting mine as she threw her arms around my neck.

  “I don’t know why but I believe you,” she sighed against my mouth.

  Reaching around, I squeezed her hip with my hand and said, “Because while you may not want to admit it fully right here and now, I’m yours and you’re mine.”

  She stared into my eyes and shook her head slightly, grinning. “If you say so.”

  “I say so and so do you because last night, you were yelling those very words.”

  She giggled as she moved back into the passenger seat, putting on her seatbelt. “We’re going to be late to meet Detective Brookes.”

  I grunted, having almost forgotten about the appointment.

  “Brookes can wait. You need to eat first. What are you in the mood for?”

  “Thai.”

  “Thai it is. There’s a place not too far from the station we’re headed to anyway.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Resha

  “He what?” I demanded, staring at Detective Brookes in the private room of the police station Connor and I had been shown into after first arriving. It wasn’t one of those typical interrogation rooms you see on TV. There was actually a bookshelf in the back corner, and a circular table with four chairs around it, instead of the rectangular-shaped tables. And there was a huge window which allowed you to see down onto the parking lot. Still, the white walls and lack of decor save for the clock on the wall gave a cold feeling to the room.

  “That son of a bitch was part of this?” Connor growled, his voice causing me to shudder and he wasn’t even directing his anger my way. “I should’ve killed him that night.”

  “Then we wouldn’t have the information we have now,” Brookes retorted.