This is my First Submission. I hope you enjoy the road Destiny will travel.
Destiny Ryder had a problem. At 28 years old she couldn't believe she was dealing with this issue. Maybe 'dealing' wasn't the correct word. 'Suffering' might be better. 'Lamenting' would work too. All she knew was that this was not where she expected to be at this point in her life. The problem wasn't with her job. Destiny worked for a very successful party planning company. She had started to work there right after college and was a very early hire when the company was still getting off the ground. Now it was one of the top party planning services in the state and had even started to branch out throughout the country. Destiny's salary was enough to keep her living more than comfortably and she took great pride in the apartment she called home.
The problem also wasn't with her appearance. Although Destiny would say that she would never be Miss America, she was a very attractive girl. At least that is what her friends told her not to mention the guys she dated albeit briefly. At 5'6 with a small waist and large chest, long brown hair and large blue eyes she had been told she resembled a mythical goddess. Well, her ex-boyfriend Rich had told her that before trying to shove his hand down her pants. But although no one would describe Destiny as arrogant she was pretty sure she wasn't ugly by any means.
No Destiny's problem had nothing to do with her day-to-day life or looks. Destinys problem was that at 28 years old she was still a virgin. It's not that Destiny hadn't had the opportunity to lose her virginity. She had, several times over, with plenty of guys. When she was younger, she had been determined to save it for someone special. And she came very close to taking that step with her college boyfriend. Destiny and Joel had been together for months and he'd been very patient with her. She had wanted to give it to him. She worked extra hours at her part-time job to save the money to make everything perfect. She bought her very first set of lingerie and booked a room in a nice hotel away from the campus. She had planned two nights away with the thought that they would stay in the room humping like rabbits and order room service when hungry. While driving to the hotel Joel kept putting his hand on her leg trying to reach higher and higher under her skirt. But she would laugh and push his hand away telling him to save it for the room. He was practically shaking in anticipation by the time they got to the hotel and checked in. Once the door shut behind them Joel was all over her. One hand on her breast and the other on her thigh. Destiny was feeling hot, but she'd had a plan and wanted to see it through. She pushed Joel away once again and with her small bag in hand headed to the bathroom. Once there she quickly brushed her teeth and put on the blue teddy that was the exact color of her eyes. When she walked out Joel was sitting on the bed in his boxer shorts, eyes wide with excitement and desire.
He pulled her down next to him and began to kiss and stroke her. Destiny felt warm and tingly all over and couldn't believe it was finally going to happen. Joel then stood up and in one quick movement scooped Destiny up bridal style and walked over to the side of the bed where he carefully laid Destiny down, her head on the pillow. He looked down at her for just a moment before carefully lying down on top of her. And that's when it all went wrong. For some reason still unknown to Destiny to this day, feeling Joel's weight on her sent her into a panic. All she could think about was all the bad that could happen. What if he dumped her as soon as she slept with him? What if she was bad at sex? After all she had no idea what she was doing. What if she disappointed or worse repulsed him? What if he didn't like her body? What if she got pregnant? She couldn't afford a baby while still in college. What if he left her pregnant? What if he stayed with her but resented her for it. Suddenly all the what-ifs overpowered her desire, and she told Joel to stop. He could hear the panic in her voice and to his credit he stopped right away. Destiny burst into tears and apologized but she told Joel that she couldn't go through with it. She still wasn't ready. He tried to get her to talk to him about it, but she just couldn't. It was her problem not his. She tried to tell him that she would be ready in the future, she was sure of it. And she suggested that they stay at the hotel since it was already paid for. They could still cuddle and make out. Plus, it was still nicer than spending the weekend in the dorms. But Joel simply got dressed and told Destiny to do the same if she wanted him to drive her back to school because that's where he was going. He told her there was a campus party this weekend and he'd rather go and see his friends than simply hang out in the hotel room all weekend watching television.
Destiny apologized again but went into the bathroom to change. When finished she and Joel checked out lying to the desk clerk that there was a family emergency and started the quiet ride back to school. Oh, Destiny tried to make conversation. Light and funny subjects to try and change the mood. But Joel wouldn't respond or comment on anything she said so she'd finally given up and suffered the rest of the drive in silence. Finally, when Joel pulled up in front of her dormitory, he said that it was for the best if they stopped seeing each other. Destiny was shocked. She knew he was upset but never thought he'd break up with her. She started to cry but he just calmly told her to go inside. He never even looked at her and drove off as soon as the car door shut after her. Later, she found out from several people that Joel had indeed gone to the campus party. Not only that but he'd very openly had sex with some random girl on top of one of the picnic tables. He hadn't even tried to hide it.
After that traumatic breakup Destiny had taken a break from dating choosing instead to focus on her studies. She dipped her toes back into dating the following semester, but most guys made it clear early on exactly what they were hoping for and a loving, devoted girlfriend simply wasn't it. Too many party girls who were more than willing to give it up for free, no name or phone number required. At this point Destiny was still hoping for true love. She wanted romance and butterflies not a drunken encounter in some dorm room or common room couch. Or even worse outside in a back corner behind the dumpsters. She knew she had messed up with Joel. And she understood that he must have been disappointed and even angry but to dump her and immediately hook up with someone else seemed a bit extreme. He had just been telling her that day, hell even in the hotel room, that he loved her. Then, just because she panicked over something that to her was a very big deal, he suddenly didn't love her anymore. Is that even possible? Most likely he'd never actually been in love with her to begin with. But Destiny would never know for certain. She'd never spoken to him again. She'd see him around campus every now and again. For a while her friends would give her details about his doings when and if they heard something. Apparently, he had become a huge player and had hookups with several girls. Destiny had seen him at a party their junior year standing against a wall receiving a blow job from a girl Destiny knew for certain was a freshman. Senior year, however, he started dating a girl who was earning her degree in marketing. The girl, Jessica, was a tall blonde with striking brown eyes that stood out against her fair skin. Destiny didn't see Joel often, however, whenever they did cross paths, Jessica was almost always with him and it became clear to her that this was an actual relationship. She was correct. They were engaged before the year was out and Destiny found out through the very few mutual friends that they shared that they had married not long after graduation.
Destiny graduated from college as pure as she had begun it. No boyfriend or even the prospect of one. She moved forward, however, and was soon hired by the same company she still worked for. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. Being a virgin at 22 wasn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe a bit unusual but not freakish in her opinion. Now that she wasn't spending so much time studying, she could devote more time to her social life. And she did. She went out. She made friends. She went to clubs, restaurants, bars. Even more adult and cultural places like museums. She met lots of men. Men she liked and found attractive. Men she went out with. But whenever she got close to 'doing the deed' she still got so nervous she never could go through with it. By 26 she'd given up the fantasy of losing it to 'the one.' It no longer had to be in the perfect setting with someone who would love her forever. That was taking too long. Her apartment would be just fine of a location and as long as she genuinely liked a guy, and he liked her that should be enough, right? Well, Destiny still couldn't shake her biggest fear. What would he think of her afterwards? She was so scared that she would not satisfy her partner and he would dump her like yesterday's garbage afterwards. She didn't want to disappoint someone she cared about. Unfortunately, every man she liked and dated eventually got tired of waiting on her and dumped her anyway. So, the end result was still the same. She ended up alone. But she told herself she'd rather get dumped for not having sex than for doing it badly. At 27 she had the small satisfaction of finding out Joel's beautiful wife Jessica had applied for a job with her company. Destiny was the person to whom job applications had to pass through. She reviewed applicants and then passed her recommendations onto her boss who would then schedule interviews. Jessica's application was not passed on to her supervisor. Petty? Of course. Did Destiny care? Not a bit.
At 28 Destiny had almost given up. She supposed she could try therapy, but she was too embarrassed to talk about her problem. By now being a virgin was not just unusual, it was flat out embarrassing. Her name didn't help either. At her age men not only assumed she had had sex before but also that she was a slut. A man at a bar she had been chatting with once literally had his eyes bug out when she told him her name. 'Destiny Ryder? Are you a stripper or a porn actress?' She had told him 'No' to both those inquires. 'Every girl I've ever met with a name like that has been incredibly easy! Please tell me that you are too?!' For once Destiny was not unhappy to be able to answer honestly that, no she was not. She was a nice girl. The man moved down the bar to talk to another girl.
The following weekend, however, brought an interesting opportunity to Destiny. She had been out clubbing with her friends followed with some drinks at a bar. People left intermittently and eventually it was just Destiny left at the bar finishing up what was going to be her last drink before heading home. She glanced around at the other bar patrons. She was the only one here alone. No matter. She would be leaving soon. But then a woman walked in and took a seat just one spot away from Destiny. She was dressed very smartly in a little black dress and gorgeous red shoes. But her hair was a bit messy as was her makeup. Her eyes were wide as if she were in shock. She ordered a gin and tonic and once brought to her she downed it in a matter of seconds before asking for another. Destiny was worried that something bad might have happened to the woman who looked to be around the same age as her. Normally she minded her own business, but something compelled her to ask, 'I'm sorry to bother you. But you look a little disoriented. Are you ok?
