A Chance at Destiny (7 page)

He continued to lay on her. He was heavy but not too heavy. She liked the feeling, so she wrapped her arms and legs round him. Her body felt so relaxed as if she could melt into the mattress. After a few minutes, Tyler rolled off and went to the bathroom to throw the condom away.  She watched him walk to the bed and pull the covers back. Destiny used all her strength to crawl over the comforter into the sheet. He kissed her lips gently, “Are you okay ?" He asked. She nodded.

“Um...did I do it right?” She asked her young husband.

Tyler laughed. “I don't think you can do it wrong. But I liked it. Did you?”

Destiny nodded again. “It felt…” she covered her eyes.

Tyler raised up on his elbow, “What? Tell me.”

“It felt good,” She giggled.

“I think we did it right then,” Tyler said.

After a few minutes they slept. Through the night, Destiny felt Tyler's hardness pressed to her back, “Can we do it again?” She asked .

To that request Tyler rolled on a condom and repeated the process. The results were the same. They slept the rest of the night into the morning.

“Wake up.” Tyler pulled the covers from Destiny's head.  He laughed as she sat up. Her hair was all over  her head and she frowned. “We gotta get out of here.”

Destiny didn't know what to do. She didn't want to stand up nude in front of Tyler but he was staring. She felt a little embarrassed about the way her body responded to his the night before. “You gotta let me get dressed,” she told him.

“I'm going to go get gas and I'll be back to load the truck. Be ready in twenty minutes. Okay?” He stood to leave. He'd left the leftovers from the night before next to the bed for breakfast. But Destiny needed to get dressed before he got back. Eating would have to wait.

“Okay.” Once she heard the truck start she ran to the bathroom to shower and get changed. Her life was going to be so different from now on. After her shower, she pulled her hair into a top notch pony tail and wrapped it into a ball. She slid on her Spanish club t-shirt and a pair of  jeans with her flip flops.

Destiny took a minute to look at herself in the mirror, “I'm not a virgin anymore.” She smiled at herself. “I had sex with my husband last night,” she giggled and even began to laugh a little as the door opened and there her husband stood. Looking at her.

Tyler had on his khaki cargo shorts, Converse, and a black t-shirt with teal writing on it. Destiny looked at him. He looked so handsome, she thought. Where did that thought come from? She asked herself.  He walked over and kissed her forehead. “Ready? We gotta new life waiting for us. Let's go.” he smacked her behind.

“Ouch. Tyler!’  She rubbed her butt.

“Sorry,” laughing, he grabbed the bags and threw them in the truck.

After a few hours, Tyler laughed at his wife now curled with her head in his lap sleeping. He didn't know how he'd missed it. She was so beautiful. Destiny had a heart of gold. His dad was right, he picked a good person to partner with. It was almost lunch, she began to stir. “You hungry?” He asked.

“Not really. I could eat though,” she  sat up  and scooted close to Tyler to lay her head on his shoulder.

“You didn't eat much breakfast. You okay?’  He looked down at her.

“A little nervous,” she yawned.

“About what?” He questioned her.

“All of it. You haven't said much about ....last night,” she said quietly.

“What’s there to say? I enjoyed it. It was good.” He shrugged matter- of- factly, focusing on the road.

“Oh,” Destiny said as they pulled onto the drive thru .

Tyler was confused. He’d had sex with girls before. But the girls never stayed around long enough to discuss it. He didn't know what to say. So he changed the subject, “Do you want something eat?”  She shook her head. “Nothing? We have two and half more hours of driving.” She shook her head again as she scooted toward the passenger window. Tyler knew something was wrong but what? He just didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to do? He was clueless. He ordered his food and two drinks in case his wife was thirsty.

After about an hour of silence Tyler decided he'd had enough. “So you’re not talking to me, right?”

Silence.

“What did I do? Just a hint,” he was growing irritated.

More silence.

After a while, he turned up the music, and focused on the roads. “Fine .Don’t talk to me then. I .Don’t . Care.” He gritted through his teeth.

Destiny could not believe it. She gave her virginity to him and it was just Good? She thought the night was awesome . Perfect. And for him, it was just good. And now he doesn't care. How can I be married to him ? She thought. Her eyes stung with pain and the tears slipped out . She turned her back completely to Tyler looking out the window. How could he eat at a time like this? She was worried and her stomach was rolling with anxiety. They were starting a new life. Left all their friends and family behind and he's eating? She shook her head in anger.

Tyler clenched his teeth trying to bite back the words he wanted to scream at Destiny. Refusing to eat only made him angrier. I'm trying to take care of you, he thought, but she's being all stubborn and emotional. Now she's crying. Oh. My. God. Could the day get any worse? He’d shown her last night how much he cared and now she’s acting like he’d done something wrong. He blasted the music to drown out her sniffles.

Chapter Five

After two hours of not talking, Tyler and Destiny pulled up to Bradford College campus. Destiny pulled the mirror down to wipe her face and add lip gloss to her lips. Tyler cleared his throat as they came to a stop at the student affairs department. The campus was small. Really small. It was on flat land with a lake. There were houses and what appeared to be dorms around the lake. The campus buildings and class rooms were lined up in straight rows.  Each set of buildings was separated by huge sidewalks with tress and sitting areas. There were benches and tables sitting about to create a studious feeling.  There was a stadium and track near the front entrance of the campus.

They both stretched as they got out of the truck. Destiny pulled a back pack out with all their important paperwork including their marriage license, birth records, and social security cards. They walked in the building in uncomfortable silence.  Tyler watched as the tall black guy eyed his wife while nudging his friend wiggling his eyebrows. He decided to close the gap between them. She may not be speaking to him but she was still his wife. After last night, he would kill any man who would challenge him otherwise.  The guys noticed their ring fingers and moved on to their destination.

At student affairs, they turned in their paperwork, had student ID cards made and received a campus map. They loaded back in the truck to drive to married student housing on Lake Bradford road. After driving through campus, Tyler and Destiny drove past the dormitories lining up against the lake.

As they crossed the bridge they saw the property where they would be staying. The large property sat on a huge tract of land. There was a large two story home on a hill with a small farmhouse. On the seven acres of land sat four duplexes that served as married student housing.  They were small studio style apartments. A small lake separated the two areas of the property.  Tyler and Destiny found their apartment number and met their host family.

Before them stood a man in his late fifties and a woman in her late forties. They were both short and round. They had kind eyes and wide smiles. “Hi,” the short lady hugged Tyler, “You’re a tall fella. I'm Annie.” Then she hugged Destiny, “I assume your Tyler and Destiny, right?” They both nodded.

The man walked to the door of the apartment and turned the key, “I’m Jessup. Call me Jess.” He hugged them both. Jessup had mostly silver gray hair in a neat conservative cut and blotchy skin. He wore rimless glasses that were round. He looked studious. He wore a Bradford College t-shirt tucked into his pressed blue jeans with brown sandals and a black watch.

Annie was as round as she was tall with a short bobbed haircut and olive skin.  Her face was round but her smile and teeth were perfect as her smile was warm. She wore a button up blue blouse and loose fitting khaki Capri pants with white tennis shoes.

Annie and Jessup seemed to giggle at one another quite often. “Glad to have you. We are so excited.” Annie said. She and Jessup giggled at each other again. Destiny looked at the older couple thinking how cute they were together. She could only hope to have a love like that one day.
With Tyler
, she thought.

Both couples trailed into the studio apartment .It was fully furnished. Opening the door, Tyler and Destiny noticed the grey sofa and love seat combo.  A small flat screen TV was mounted on one wall. In the corner sat a desk. A sliding glass door opened to the lake with patio furniture in place.  It was same lake they'd noticed earlier as they drove onto the property. Across from the sliding glass door was a small dinette with four chairs that sat near the kitchen. They walked into a galley kitchen with a stove, fridge and pantry closet. Tucked at the end of the galley style kitchen was an efficiency washer and dryer.  

Tyler followed Destiny around the small space watching her eyes. She was in awe of the space. He knew it wasn’t about the nice new appliances but the fact that she had a place. It was all theirs-together. They were home.

They continued to walk just off the sitting area where there was a bedroom. Inside the bedroom was a full size bed and full bathroom to the left of the bed. There was one dresser on the opposite side of the bed.  The floors were stained cement and the walls were brick. It was perfect.

“I hope you like it. The other couple arrived this morning and they’re lovely as well. They'll be living in the unit next to you.  I know you’re tired from the drive. Our first orientation meeting is tomorrow afternoon at dinnertime. We'll cook out so everyone can get acquainted,” Annie said and placed another hug around them.

“Tyler, I'll help you unload,” Jess said patting him on the back. “Let's let the ladies look around some more.” Tyler nodded. At the car, Jess looked at Tyler, “Looks like you’re in a little hot water with your lovely new bride.” Jess looked pointedly at Tyler who seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He needed to vent but he could not tell all the details to a perfect stranger. As if reading his thoughts, Jess continued, “You don't have to tell me. Just give her a little room to breathe. You've been on the road for a while. She's a little tired and you’re more than a little tired yourself. Just tell her how perfect she is and how much you value her before bed. She'll be back to herself in no time.”   He winked and chuckled at the skeptical look on Tyler’s face. “Oh trust me. I've been there,” Tyler chuckled at the older man's understanding.

As Tyler and Jess left the apartment Annie reached over to hug Destiny, “It'll be ok. He's just tired. I can see the hurt on your face. Just tell him how much you respect what he's doing and who he is as a man. It'll be better in the morning. I promise.” Destiny relaxed a little into the woman's embrace. It felt good to be held in a soft matronly way. They moved away from each other as Tyler and Jessup entered with their bags.

“All set? Keys are in the door. Emergency numbers are on the wall next to the phone. We live in the house across the lake at the top of the hill if you need anything. Get some rest. You'll be registering for classes in the morning. Then you’ll have dinner with us and the other married residents after that.”  With that, Annie and Jess walked out the door hand in hand giggling.

Destiny and Tyler faced each other. He spoke first, “I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. You've been so great. For being here with me and the way you've been with my dad.”

“Me too. I'm sorry. You’re doing a great thing and becoming a better person. I respect that. I respect you. Truce?” She stretched out her hand.

“Truce, I don't want your hand,” he grabbed her around the waist for a hug kissing her forehead and then gently kissing her lips.

“Tyler?” Destiny spoke quietly in his embrace