Destinee and Destiny Ch. 01

Thank you, readers, for hanging in with me for what was essentially the prologue of Destinee and Destiny. To make any sense of the story, make sure you're reading everything in order. Also, as promised, things start to heat up pretty damn quick from here. I hope you enjoy! Also, this story is categorized under incest/taboo, but that will happen in later chapters.

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Chapter Five - Fighting Destiny

"These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume."

-William Shakespeare

I have no idea why those words suddenly strike me as I wake up, filling me with a strange form of anxiety.

The last few days had been a blur of constant motion as Destinee and I rediscovered one another. I had no possessions left to my name, so Destinee had drove me to a few stores so I could buy some clothes as well as stuff for my new room like a bed, wardrobe, etc. It wasn't much, but really, I have never needed much in the first place.

As we caught up on each other's lives, it started to hit me just how much I had missed her over the years. That wasn't the heart of the matter though, nor the source of the strangely pensive Romeo and Juliet type thoughts. I knew I had feelings for her, but the more we talked the worse the constant ache in my stomach seemed to grow.

I caught myself staring at her occasionally as we went about the day trying to settle into a groove, my heartbeat noticeably rising every time she was near. I was constantly aware of her breathtaking figure, the subtle drop in her neckline revealing just a tease of tanned cleavage, the way her body moved imperceptibly in tight clothing every time she shifted or took a step. It was maddening. It was intoxicating.

Even when I had been engaged to Mikayla, I had never been that level of deeply enthralled. That was probably why I had never seen the warning signs of her cheating on, but that's just a hindsight realization. Not running from my feelings anymore, I had to admit it to myself. I was feeling what Destinee had felt for me years ago that I had ignored, maybe even more intense. I wanted her, with every fiber of my being.

Hell, if it was just a sexual response because of how gorgeous she has grown, I would've felt less guilty. Sure, it was totally pervy to have the hots for my own sister, but at least if it was just a sexual attraction, I could just excuse it as being a horny male. Shit, that was half expected of all men, right? 'Wanting to fuck anything that moves.'

No, somehow, this was even worse.

I was paying complete attention for the first time to a woman in my entire life. I know how that makes me sound as a guy, but I had never even realized just how much shit you could notice about someone before now. And those fucking long legs, they were killing me.

It got worse when I finally met her beau Zach. She warned me beforehand he was on his way, and I forced my own feelings to the dark nether reaches of the back of my mind - fully ready to be the friendliest, most welcoming brother on the entire planet.

Then he shows up, a ragged punk type, messy blonde hair, blue eyes, 'skater' slender, clean cut to the point of not even a trace of stubble on his chin, the palpable aura on him of 'I play drums in my garage band'.

That's when I know how doomed I am in regard to how I feel about Destinee, the moment of true, crystal-clear clarity. Instantly I want to punch this punk kid in the face several times as he walks in and devours my sister's face in front of me. Outwardly, of course, I paint a smile on my face and shakes his hand. Maybe a bit too much iron in my grip, but I act the model citizen.

He seems like a nice guy, exactly her type from what I'm quickly learning. I should be happy for her, I want to be happy for her, I need to be. We chat amicably for a while, the three of us, but I can't get the violent tendencies screaming in my head to go away. I know I need a distraction. Everything with the cartel, getting injured, seeing Destinee again - it was just messing with my head and clouding my emotions.

After talking for a while, I finally make my decision. I wait for the current conversation to lull before making my move. "Well, Zach, thanks for letting me borrow Destinee for a few days so we could work things out between us. It was nice meeting you. I'm just going to make myself scarce to give you guys some time alone. There's a bar down the street, right? Cobrahs or something?"

Destinee nods, sharing a smile with Zach, a mixture between relief and desire. They've been celibate for a week for my sake, their thoughts plastered clearly. It makes my blood boil and my desire to go blossoms ever stronger. "Yeah, just be careful, okay?"

I smile dutifully with a curt nod, "of course, Des, I always am." She's too distracted to note the semi-sarcastic irony of my attempted joke, and I excuse myself out the door.

As soon as I'm outside the apartment complex, I pause to let the cool evening air wash over me. My rage subsides enough to think straight. I was being insane. We weren't kids anymore, I couldn't let idle fantasies cloud my thoughts. She was my sister. There was no if, ands, or buts about it. Whatever I thought I felt, I needed it flushed out of my system for good.

Walking slowly to enjoy the night, I stop at the nearby convenience store and pick up a pack of Marlboro red 100's. I smoked in the army and quit right after, but whenever I drank those familiar cravings would always creep back up. Better safe than sorry.

Cobrahs was a simple storefront hollowed at and converted to a 'clubby' type bar. The air reeked of stale smoke and bar food as I entered, but the sounds of classic rock music instead of constant rap was enough to make me want to give it a chance. Not that I minded rap or anything, it just seemed unavoidable in the states like everyone was trying too hard to prove something.

Still fairly early, there weren't a huge cluster of people yet, so I settled for a spot by the bar where I could watch people playing pool. I grinned, tempted to hustle a few games for a quick buck, but really, I had no need currently for the money and if I was going to be staying here for a while it would be better not to piss off the locals.

The bartender finally made her way over to me, a cute, short brunette with enough meat to be considered curvy border lining chubby. I had no issue with a girl with some meat on her bones, but I much more preferred short, petite, and fiery. She looked a little too tame for my taste, so I just smiled friendly back at her.

"You're definitely a new face. Just passing through?" she asked, just making polite conversation.

I shook my head, "no, I just moved here, sort of. I just got back from Mexico and am staying with my sister until I find a place."

"Mexico, huh? Why would you ever come back to Pennsylvania?"

I chuckled softly. "My sister and I lost touch several years ago. It was time to make amends, ya know? Any chance I could get a Cantaritos De Amatitan? I'm in a forget-the-world kind of mood?"

Confusion crossed her face, scrunching up her nose. "I'm not sure what that is, sorry. What's in it?"

Realization hits me, bringing another soft chuckle as I shake my head. Right, they don't make drinks like that in the states. "Never mind. How about a Zombie, as dirty as you can make it?"

She gave me a quick appraising look as if seeing me for the first time before nodding with a soft shrug. Mexico had me spoilt, I realized with a grin. The man sitting a few seats down from me watched her make the drink as well with a half-reverent expression. Three types of rum, falernum, and absinthe, and a few mixers - not a drink for the faint of heart, I suppose.

I paid her with a grin and took a long sip, lighting up a cigarette as I spun around to watch a guy and his wife playing pool. Another guy not far off was watching them closely, grinning like a shark, as the man taught his wife how to play. I shook my head, seeing right through it with an amused grin before taking a long, fulfilling drag. They were hustling the guy, pretending the wife didn't know how to play. She would 'somehow' win their game though and be forced to play the next guy. He'd 'promise to take it easy on her' and she would let him win for a shot or two and then crush his soul and clean him out. It was a game I had done a dozen times.

Feeling surprisingly obstinate, fueled by the sweet burning filling my lungs after two weeks of not drinking, I crushed out my cigarette and made my way over to the man who was about to be made a sucker. He looked at me in confusion as I leaned close to be heard over the music. I was probably going to seriously piss the couple off, but at least it was a good distraction.

"Are you playing the winner?"

He nodded, "yeah, why?"

The man and wife glance my way nervously, careful not to let their rouse slip. I ignore them, "you're being made a sucker, man. The woman knows how to play, she's gonna win their game and then hustle you."

The man looked between the couple and me for a moment before muttering a string of curses under his breath. "Shit, I knew I shouldn't bet a hundred on such an easy game. Pool leaguers, you think?" He was smart enough to not show his cards on his expression, at least. I almost pitied him.

I shrugged, "definitely professional. I'll fill in for you, if you want. Your money, your decision, though."

He studied me for a long moment before nodding. "If you're good, then sure, what the hell. I don't know if they'll go for it though."

My grin was wolfish and huge as I clapped him on the back, taking a long drink. Shame, it was already half finished, and I was only just getting a slight buzz. "I'll take care of that."

I walked over to the table after the wife sunk the four-ball, gesturing for the husband's attention. He flashed his wife an uncertain look for a brief moment and she nodded imperceptibly. Damn I had it wrong, just a little, she was definitely the pants of their relationship. I made my way over to her instead.

"Hey, you guys have a hundred on the next game, right? I want to cut in, I'll up it to two hundred against the winner."

Her eyes flashed with a traceable confidence as she laughed, looking to her husband as if to ask if it was okay, but it was clearly a rouse this time. She nodded, "Okay, sure." I walked back to the table to finish the rest of my drink before next to the guy I was saving. Sure enough, five minutes later, the wife finished him off with a near-perfect bank shot for the eight in the top-left pocket.

I put in the quarters and let her rack while I picked up one of the long sticks. The pretense of learning still on her face, she smiled sweetly at me. "Take it easy on me, alright? This is my first night playing."

I nodded with a chuckle. Yeah. It was my break, and I went for purposefully soft. Just hard enough to get a solid in, the one-ball. I shot again, banking to get the three-ball in the side. I fumbled the next shot, using just enough force to bounce the four so she didn't get a ball-in-hand. She was grinning as she quickly sunk the ten, fifteen, and thirteen before finally missing a shot. I did my best to look worried as I stepped to the table and made a show of looking for my shot.

I swear the people nearby watching the game went dead silent as I quickly called out the pockets and sunk the four, six, five, seven, and two. I risked a glance at the wife, delightfully notice her face cross with realization as I called the side pocket and banked my shot, sinking the eight-ball. The palpable silence was broken as the wife begrudgingly approached me and passed me the two-hundred.

She leaned in close enough to not be overheard, "you played me."

I nodded softly, "yup. Just like you were gonna play that guy. I ran a bar for almost a year, you didn't stand a chance, sorry."

Surprisingly, she grinned at me. "Hey, can't win them all. Good game." I nodded and she walked off to join her husband at their table as I went back to the guy and handed him one of the hundred-dollar bills.

I met his confusion with a shrug, "that was fun, thanks." I went back to the bar and ordered two more Zombies as I lit another cigarette. The man I had rescued joined me a few minutes later and bummed a smoke, as we talked a bit. His name was Toby something or other, owned a pawn shop. Middle-aged, lonely, but pleasant enough to talk to.

After a while, the bar started to really pick up as more people wandered in. Toby left to rejoin with his friends, and eventually I noticed a table of girls near the dance floor part checking me out occasionally. A few were cute enough, eye-catching but not really attention-grabbing, until I noticed one of the shyer friends who joined them about an hour later.

She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous or anything, 5'6" maybe, barely above flat-chested, raven-black hair down to her shoulder, contrasting pale skin, root-beer brown eyes, and wearing a modest black dime store dress. No, what caught my attention, was that as soon as she finished hugging her friends and sat down with them, her gaze found me at the bar and stopped dead. She smiled in way that screamed that she was trying not to, giggling suddenly as one of her friends said something to her.

We locked eyes for what felt like a long time, finally breaking it when her friends dragged her out to dance to an Eminem song. I tried to lose myself in watching a couple play pool, but our eyes kept wandering back to the other. I decided she was gorgeous after some small mental debate, pretty in an uncomplicated way instead of screaming I try way to hard. The song ended and her group came to the bar to order more drinks, the dark-haired girl 'wound' up next to me.

They still glanced my way, though trying to be discrete now, except for her. She sat down and smiled at me as my gaze found hers, that same self-conscious smile hesitantly returning to her lips. That smile was the most attractive thing about her. Innocent, pure, uncomplicated. I almost felt guilty, except she was the one to lean closer to me.

"What are you drinking? It looks strange?"

I laughed warmly, that smile and the warmth of my third Zombie finally helping me achieve my entire purpose for coming here. Destinee and Zach were finally getting pushed to the back of my mind. I leaned closer, "It's called Zombie. I wouldn't recommend it, unless your goal is to bow down to the porcelain god."

She giggled, a pleasant and warmly musical tone. Her voice wasn't high-pitched or airy, just a soft, almost southern twang. Possibly faintly Georgian? I wasn't that great at accents. "So, you're an alcoholic then or something?" Her voice was genuinely curious instead of flirty like I had expected. It was disarming, the way she talked just made me feel like I was somehow the most interesting person in the world at that moment.

I scoffed dramatically, "yup, you caught me." She giggled again, brown eyes sparkling excitedly. "Nah, I bartended down in Mexico for a while. I guess I grew so accustomed to Tequila that everything pales a bit, ya know?"

She nodded, her friends briefly grabbing her attention to hand her a shiny blue mixed drink. Like radioactive blue. She caught my flash of skepticism and giggled even more. "It's a smurf, don't ask. I'm a bit of a lightweight, sadly." She paused as if gathering her courage, "Lexeigh, but my friends call me Lex."

My smile turned into a full-grin, "Brandon."

She nodded, her group starting to pull for her attention. "Would you like to join us? Or are you more of the suffer alone in silence type of alcoholic?"

More than a bit buzzed, apparently my usual ease just slipped back to me without a thought. I nodded softly, leaning in close with a conspiratorial wink, "I guess I've had enough brooding for one night. Although, if I keep looking into those gorgeous brown eyes enough, I think I may just say screw the alcohol entirely."

Her pale cheeks flushed a light shade of pinkish-red, biting her lower lip reflexively. She was so adorable that it was almost painful. She gasped in mock horror, "an alcoholic willing to give up his alcohol? They must be some pretty damn good eyes."

I stood, gathering my stuff with another wink, "oh, they are." She giggled and led me back to their table. I was introduced to her friends in a showy manner, their names ranging from Elena to Caprice. I tried to remember all of them, but there were ten other girls and I had alcohol fueling my brain. Not to mention Lexeigh was more than taking up my attention.

We danced a couple songs, just us and as a group. Mostly I was passed around with giggles of delight, the group of girls acting more than teenagers than women in their twenties and thirties. Honestly it was more than refreshing. Between the cartel and the army, I was forced to be an adult for so long that I nearly forgot what just kicking back and having innocent fun was. Well, mostly innocent.

A few hours later passed find us with a dozen more drinks down between the twelve of us, and a lot of lights conversation intermixed with eager flirting. Lexeigh ended up half in my lap, playing with a strand of hair behind my ear as her friends gossip about their college. She's a student, recently turned twenty-two and going for a Bachelor's in Environmental Science. Three of the girls are her roommates, the others a mix of friends and classmates.

Never having gone to college, I was fairly invested in the conversation though Lexeigh playing with my ear was starting to get distracting. I finally turned to her and she grinned self-consciously as if she hadn't even realized she was doing it. She definitely drunk, nowhere near shit-faced or anything, but enough that I'm starting to feel a little guilty deciding if I want to try sleeping with her or not tonight.

"You're sexy," she whispered in my ear, catching me even more off-guard. It brings a laugh though, the comment from such an innocent face is dramatic.

I grin back at her playfully, "of course, I can't be an alcoholic and ugly. That'd just be boring."

She nods, not giggling for the first time all night. Instead she's biting on her lower lip, seriously debating something. She leans in close again, her lips close enough to graze my ear. "Wanna get out of here?" She says it so softly, I'm almost not sure if I heard her correctly. The look on her face quickly washes away any doubts though.

I nod, actually feeling a bit anxious even through my pleasant buzz. I was just trying to get Destinee out of my head, but I was really starting to dig this girl. All night, the way she watched me, it was that same feeling as if I was the most interest person in the entire world.

"Yeah." We had already talked earlier about me living with my sister for the moment since I had just got back from Mexico. "My place or yours?"

She briefly looks around at her roommates, earning quite a few knowing grins as well as shock on a few faces. Apparently Lexeigh was usually the shy one. "Your place is fine. I didn't drive though." I nodded and she moved off my lap, taking my hand so I could help her to her feet in her heels.

Past midnight now, the night breeze was soft, but it was getting a bit chilly. I noticed the goosebumps rising on her bare arms after we walked about a block and quickly wrapped a protective arm around her. She leaned into me and sighed in a feminine content way.

Our silence was companionable, and we quickly reached the apartment. Destinee had given me a key already, so we went right in, pausing for just a moment to listen for any sign that my sister and her boyfriend were still awake. It was dead silent, so I was safely sure they were long since in bed. For a brief moment, I was almost disappointed until I reminded myself that this was to get over my confused feeling for Destinee not to try and make her jealous or some stupid shit.