Destiny - By The Wife

He may not recall much about his ill fated relationship with Molly, but I certainly do. Molly was overjoyed at the fact that she had spent less than two days mourning her relationship with Eric, and when the second day had come to and end, her greatest wish had been fulfilled when Matt asked her to be his. I was full of jealousies of course, especially since Molly had finally won the prize we both had set our hearts on. Certainly I knew that I wouldn't get him, not without her acceptance of course, so the best thing to do was to step back, and let my best friend be happy.

Of course, that left me in the dark. Quite literally sometimes as Molly would come to school in the morning with a wicked smile on her face causing me to wonder what exactly she and Matt were doing whenever I wasn't around. Of course, that wasn't nearly as bad as when I was around and forced to observe their public affection. I was even there for their first kiss. The three of us had gone to see a school performance of Oedipus and sitting there in the back row, I observed the boy I secretly wanted, share his first kiss with my best friend.

It was that night that I swore I would turn away from them both and set my eyes on something . . . someone else.

Josh had quickly grown into one of my closest friends, and since he and Matt were friends, it made it easier for me to be around Matt and Molly since I now had someone else to talk to whenever they broke into making out. Josh and I would roll our eyes and walk away. I had actually become very bitter towards Matt, though it wasn't his fault. After all, he didn't know that I secretly adored him, and the mere idea of seeing him kiss Molly had me wanting to claw at both of their faces.

"Hey Jia, you seen Molly?" He said calling out to me one morning.

"Don't know, I forgot her leash." I bitterly commented and then walked away.

The longer Matt dated Molly, the closer I became to Josh, until one day I felt a pinch in my stomach as I looked over observing him draw in the cafeteria. I watched him the whole forty minutes because it was better than watching Molly and Matt play kissy face. I soon became enamored with Josh. After all, he was a lot like Matt. "A poor man's Matt." Molly once said. I didn't care. Josh was sweet, slightly odd, but I found him to be curious and I needed to know more. Plus he lived like three doors down, how convenient would that be!?

"Josh, I have something to ask you, but I'm really nervous about it." I began my perfect played up line that so easily worked on Justin months earlier.

"Oh yeah?" He asked as the two of us began walking home.

"Yeah, see, I'm gonna ask you out, but I'm really nervous about it." I said with a coy smile, waiting for his inevitable grin, followed by the acceptance nod. He'd then reach over and take my hand as we walked home. He'd walk me, his new girlfriend to my house, kiss me on my doorstep and everything would be right in the world again.

"Huh." He said.

"Huh?" I repeated him, slightly confused. What did he mean "huh?"

"Well, I just don't think we know each other that well." He commented. "Hey, I've got to get going." He said again and left me standing on the curb with a confused look on my face.

"Huh!?"

Days passed and my fury and confusion were fed on equal terms. No one had ever said no to me. I mean sure I had broken up with a few guys, but no one had ever said no to being asked out. My confidence quickly dropped. I became consumed with Josh, determined to win him over. We didn't know each other well enough. Well he was certainly about to know me! The two of us passed letters in the hallways, on the bus, and in the evening I would sneak out to my mailbox where another letter would be waiting for me from Josh. We asked each other questions about relationships, about love, about life. I soon found out that Josh had never had a girlfriend before. The closest was a crush he had on some girl in Utah named Angie.

After a week or so of constant communication through the written word, we knew each other pretty well. Then, during lunch, Josh passed a note to me under the table and I gladly took it. Inside it read, "Does your offer still stand?" I smiled and without words being spoken, we were a couple.

"What do you mean he hasn't kissed you yet?" Molly said as we walked from our high school to the large stadium during a bomb threat drill. Josh and I had been dating for almost two weeks and all we had done was hold hands and hug. During the three hour long bomb threats we would cuddle in the scorching sunlight. Josh was taller than me, but not bulky like Justin, it seemed a perfect and very comfortable fit. But he had yet to kiss me.

"I mean, he hasn't kissed me yet." I repeated, slightly irritated that my boyfriend was more concerned with talking about cartoons with Matt than walking beside me, holding my hand and heaven forbid showing me some affection.

That was when it happened.

"He's a good Mormon boy," Molly commented. "And you could try as hard as you want, but you'll never get him in bed."

The gauntlet had been thrown. I was challenged.

"Whatever! You think you're so hot. Why haven't you nailed Matt yet?" I asked, trying to offend her just as easily.

"Closer than you are with Josh." She fought back. "In fact, I bet you twenty bucks that you can't nail him within a month."

The challenge would be hard, but my ego had been damaged, and then, stupid me, said this, "Oh yeah! I bet I can do it within a week! Like . . . the night of my birthday party!" I set a date. May 7th, I would change Josh's world and he didn't even know it.

Oddly enough, Josh did kiss me that same afternoon. I could have swore that he overheard Molly and I talking, but he was sweet, gentle and I appreciated that. We walked home as per usual, holding hands until we came to the corner where our ways separated. I stood on the curb to make up the difference in height, and suddenly he leaned in and kissed me. It was shocking, it was gentle, it was very Josh.

It only made me think it would be easier than I thought to win the bet. Of course, after Josh and I shared a kiss, it seemed that we began to go our separate ways. Or well, it seemed that somehow whatever spark was there, was now vanishing before our eyes.

"Hey Jia, you seen Molly?" Matt asked me one day as Josh and I approached him.

"No," I said. "Why what's wrong?"

Matt looked terrible. A combination of pissed off and confused.

"Well she said she'd call last night and never did, and the last time I saw her she was goofing off with Sean and ignoring me." I was upset. The boy I secretly adored was dating my best friend and she was ignoring him. I set out on a search for Molly to find out what was going on, ignoring my own boyfriend in the meantime.

Another day passed and I had still not seen Molly. I of course had other plans. Tonight was the night of my 15th birthday party and I had a goal. Once my friends left my house, Josh was mine. It's so strange how so long ago my world was so different. Values were different and certainly the price of virtue wasn't the highest at that time in my life. After all, everyone was doing it.

The school bell rang and as I rushed to the bus I saw the handsome dark haired boy walking away, hands shoved into his pockets. I sighed and approached him. "Look, I'm gonna go find Molly and tell her to stop being such a bitch okay?" I offered a suggestion.

Matt however responded with, "Don't bother. She broke up with me. By the way, I don't think I should come to your party. Sorry Jia, happy birthday."

"What?" I asked as he walked away from me. Molly broke up with him? What was she thinking?

"Are you out of your mind!?" I asked her an hour later as the two of us set up for my party. "You wanted him for like 4 months and then just like that you toss him to the side?" I was furious.

"Exactly. I built him up for 4 months and Jia . . . he's just not for me." She shrugged her shoulders.

I spent at least twenty minutes on the phone with Matt, begging him to come to my party.

"Yes Molly will be here, but you're still my friend and I don't give a crap what she thinks. I want you here."

Oddly enough, he agreed.