Lexxy Baby Pt. 04

"...we shoulda done this a while ago. Mom thinks you're the sweetest boy. She's always on my case whenever I bring a guy around, but with you she didn't even give me a curfew! There is no way she woulda let me drive off with Robbie like that. She keeps calling him a loser and whatnot, saying he's a piece of shit like my daddy. Can you believe that?"

Alex didn't respond; he just drove. His eyes were pointed straight ahead, his hands at 10 and 2. The pensive look on his face went unnoticed by Summer.

When they pulled up, a guy in a black tank top and two sleeves of tattoos was waiting for them. He was at least five years older than them, and that was being generous. This guy could have very well had a family.

That didn't matter to Summer. Her smile, the one that turned Alex's heart into clay, lit up her entire face.

"Thank you, Alex! You're the best!" she said as she placed a small peck on his cheek. It was the kind of kiss one would give an uncle.

Robbie, however, received a different form of affection. Alex had to endure the torturous sight of watching the love of his life eagerly bouncing out the car towards another man. She leaped into his arms like a little girl seeing her military father for the first time in months. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs around his waist.

Then, there was that kiss. Their faces melted together with passion he'd only seen in movies; the adult kind that came on premium channels late at night.

It was then that an epiphany hit Alex.

Summer would never look at him the way she looked at this guy. The stark difference between the two of them was summed up perfectly by those kisses.

He would NEVER get that lustful reaction from her. No matter how much he was here for her, or what he did to make her smile, he would always get no more than a peck on the cheek.

Up until now, he assumed that their interactions were special; that he was special to her. But sitting in his car, watching her right now was a revelation.

To her, he was just...Alex. Nothing more.

This guy knew it. He wasn't even jealous that she drove up with another guy. In fact, he waved goodbye at her chauffeur as he carried her giggling body into the hotel room and kicked the door closed behind him.

That vision still haunted him. That door slamming definitively shut was a knife in his heart. The bigger knife came later when he went back to pick her up.

Yes, he picked her up! Like the simp he was, he came running when she called.

She looked...radiant. Even with her hair tussled all over her head, and her bra missing, she looked like an angel.

An angel that was freshly fucked.

He refused to go back to that. He would never be that guy again. His heart, and his pride, would not survive that kind of humiliation a second time around.

So, from now on, things between him and Monique would be strictly professional. It was the only way to protect himself.

***

For the next couple of weeks, Alex remained closed off to Monique. Yes, he was polite, but coldly so.

With anyone else, Monique would've just taken this in a stride and shook it off. He was supposed to be just a client, after all. But things with Lexxy were way past professional; had been for a while. Working out for the two of them had become intertwined with hanging out, laughing, and horse-playing around like a couple of juvenile teenagers.

On top of that, he'd been to her home. Once she invited him in, he was no longer a regular client; he was her friend. He still technically paid her to get him in shape, but at this point she'd gladly do it for free just to spend time with him.

She was losing her friend. Deep down, she knew why, and for those couple of weeks felt helpless to stop it. Then, one day, she realized that if she simply stood by and passively waited for him to get over it, he would be gone.

So, she did what she always did best. She took the situation head on.

Across town, Alexander sat in the lab looking at the computer screen in front of him. He'd just changed out a graphics card on a so-called gamer's tower (a "gamer" who couldn't figure out he had a bad GPU was a disgrace to the entire community).

He had some spare time after running through the usual diagnostics. He had no more projects for the day, so he decided to "test the internet capability" by watching one of his favorite YouTube channels.

"And as usual." Monique said as she signed off, staring right at him via cyberspace. Her signature smirk adorned her lips as she flexed her small but extremely toned bicep. "Stay fit, stay fun, and keep smiling."

With that she punched at the camera, ending the video.

Alexander couldn't help but to sigh to himself. It was surreal seeing Monique on screen. This woman seemed like an abstract version of his trainer. Her perfect make-up, perfect hair, and perfectly rehearsed wording seemed a bit artificial.

The real woman, the one who worked out with a sweaty ponytail atop her head and wore nothing on her face save a little lip gloss, was the one he knew. She was more beautiful than the one on screen could ever be.

And yet, he felt shitty thinking about her. She was the one who would always overlook him and view him as less than. No matter how much she encouraged him, complimented him, or told him how special he was, her eyes were no different than any of the other beautiful women's.

Looking at her face, watching video after video, just further reinforced to him why he could never have her. Without even trying, she was a symbol of beauty and sexuality. Just look at the comments underneath any of her videos for proof.

Yo, this chick is hot!

Does she have an Only Fans account?

She is perfect!

I wish she showed off her body more.

He closed the video and sighed. If he was going to remain neutral with her, he had to stop watching her channel. With that, he finished running the usual diagnostics and prepared to put Monique from his mind.

However, if there was any lesson Alexander should have learned by now, it's how persistent "Moria" could be when she wanted to find someone.

She remembered that he said he worked at Best Buy. There were only three of them in their area, one being really far away. Unless he drove 25 miles each way, through a toll tunnel no less, then she could narrow it down to the two.

After that, a flirty phone call to the manager was all it took to finish her search. By the time she was done, she even had Alex's schedule.

As Alex was putting the computer on the repaired shelf, Greg walked in. He was unusually excited, but with a stunned look on his face.

"What's wrong, G?" Alex asked, noting his strange demeanor.

"Uhh...there's someone out there asking for you."

Alex rolled his eyes. Probably some ungrateful customer complaining about how much it cost to remove all the malware they inadvertently downloaded onto their computer while watching some petite white girl get nailed by three BBC's.

Dismissively waving his hand and returning his attention to his current project, he said, "If they have a complaint, tell them to take it up with Josh (the manager on duty)."

"Uh, she's not a customer, dude. And she asked for you by name."

That made Alex's eyes snap up, now giving him his full attention. His mind raced through the short list of who would come to his job looking for him. The only person he could think of was his sister, but why would she come up here instead of simply calling him?

Unless something terrible happened.

"Who is it? Is it Sarah?" he asked, now more alarmed.

With a smile, kind of like he was waking up from a dream, he said, "No, it's not your sister. It's some black chick. A hot one. I mean, smoking hot. Like a model."

Alex's head cocked to the side questioningly at first, then a light bulb popped on inside of his head.

No fucking way. She did not come up to my job!

How does she even know where I work?

Greg looked at Alex with a smile spreading on his face. Leaning in closely, as if he didn't want to be heard by any wandering ears, he asked, "Is that her? The Star Wars chick?"

Alex didn't respond, but he didn't have to. Greg already figured that part out, even before he asked. What confused him was the non-reaction Alex was having to a beautiful woman coming to his job looking for him.

"Soooo...are you gonna go out there and talk to her?"

"Tell Mo I'm busy." Alex answered dismissively.

Greg could only look at him with a mixture of confusion and disgust. His face screwed up, like he just caught Alex eating a handful of roaches.

"Dude! A hot girl who is into you came up to your job to find you, and you just blow her off?"

Alex shook his head with exasperation. "She's not into me."

"Bullshit. Just go out there and..."

"GIVE IT A REST, GREG! Dammit!"

The initial burst caught him off guard, but Greg realized that this conversation was now entering a zone of deaf ears. All he could do was bite his tongue, nod, and say, "Okay" before going back out to the floor.

***

"He's busy?" Monique said, her deadpanned expression filled with skepticism.

Shrugging his shoulders like he couldn't believe it either, Greg said, "That's what he told me to tell you."

With her hands angrily on her hips, she shook her head and huffed. Then, with a determined glare, she said, "Take me to him."

"Uhh...I can't. Customers aren't allowed back there."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not buying anything, Greg." She sassily said as she read his name badge. His name was familiar from the talks she had with Alex between their movies.

He looked around guiltily before leaning in and whispering, "I could get in a lot of trouble."

Monique sighed. She had no doubt in her mind that she could convince Greg to break the rules and risk his job, but to what end? Alexander was hell bent on not seeing her. Getting poor Greg in trouble would do nothing to change her situation.

"Fine." She said, relenting but still pissed. "I'll go. But, before I do, can you do me one favor?"

He eagerly said, "Anything."

"You tell him..." she started off, her voice full of condescension. She stopped herself, though, remembering how things worked out the last time she went bitch mode on Alex. That tactic wasn't going to work with him. All she would do is further alienate him and drive him away.

Dropping the attitude, she got honest. With vulnerability now in her voice, she said, "Just ask him...why? What did I do to deserve to lose my friend? We were getting along so great, and..."

She sighed, turning her head to look away. After a moment to collect herself, she said, "Just tell him to call me. Please. Okay?"

With a small, tight-lipped smile, he said, "I'll make sure he gets the message."

"Thanks, Greg." She said, giving him a pat on his chest. With that, she turned and kept her promise. She left the store without making any more trouble.

***

Later that night, as she sat in her living room watching tv and petting Mr. Pugsley, her phone rang. When she saw who it was, she answered, saying, "Are you done being mad at me?"

"I wasn't mad at you." Alex said, his voice almost apologetic. "I was mad at myself."

"What are you talking about?"

"I should've known better than to set myself up like that; to think that you could ever...you know."

"Lexxy..."

"No, it's okay." He said, stopping her from saying whatever reassuring lie was about to come from her mouth. "Please don't apologize for it. That doesn't make it better. In fact, it does the opposite. I don't need you to pity me."

"I don't pity you!" she said sharply, aghast that he would even say that. "You are a great guy. You're kind, you're funny, you're..."

"I SAID DON'T DO THAT!" He yelled out. "Don't tell me how wonderful I am, or how I'm gonna make some fictional future girl a lucky woman. Save it, please!"

She wanted to say something but had nothing. The truth was, he was right. She did want to say those things.

Realizing he took the wind from those sails, he said, "Do you know why I hate it when you women say that shit? Because it's so disingenuous. You aren't saying that to make me feel better. It's to make you feel better about throwing me to the side. You need to believe that someday, another woman will see the beauty in the things you're taking for granted. You all say that you want a guy who treats you well, makes you laugh, and is faithful to you. But that's not completely true."

Monique's lips tightened in incredulity. No one likes to be sized up.

"And what do you think we want, Alex? What kind of insight into women do you have for me?" she asked with venomous sarcasm dripping from her voice.

He knew he offended her, but at the moment he didn't care. Not backing down, he said, "You don't want a good guy, you want to be the one who reforms the bad guy. You want the guy that every other woman is fighting over. It's not about finding a guy who is loyal. It's about taming a guy who has had all the other women and making him choose you. THAT is the fantasy. That's why the ones who break your heart are the ones getting all the sex."

Well, this was new. This hidden disgust for women was not a good color on him.

"Wow. You really have us all figured out."

"I know."

Things fell awkwardly silent for a few moments. Then, Monique huffed sardonically.

"You know, I thought you were different from the other guys, but I guess I was wrong."

"Don't try to turn this around on me."

Monique laughed aloud at that one and shook her head. "Why is it that guys only think a relationship matters when they've stuck their dicks into a vagina. Anything less is something crass, like simping or friend zoning."

"That's not true."

"Really? Because all I hear is you complaining about getting overlooked, yet you're tired of women telling you how wonderful you are. To you, it's disingenuous because they aren't fucking you."

He snarled before saying, "It's really easy for you to judge me. You can have any guy you want. When men tell you you're beautiful, you know it's true."

"You're right..." she said, her sarcastic smirk evident even over the phone. "Men tell me I'm beautiful all the time. They also tell me how special I am, how smart I am, and how much they never met another woman like me. But guess what? If I don't fuck them, all I become is a cunt, a bitch, or a dick tease. And these are the so-called nice guys!"

"And yet, the guys you choose to have sex with are the thugs and the players! It's the nice guys you keep in the background waiting. Then you judge them for feeling overlooked."

She fought offence that he would use the term "thugs and players". Would he have said that if she were white, or would he have used another phrase, like "bad boys"?

A sigh escaped her. Frustration was setting in for them. Both were fighting to be understood; each of them failing in their personal battle with words.

Monique felt the need to share something personal with Alex, but she didn't know how it would make him feel about her. After an internal debate, she just decided to go with it. Hopefully, he would look past the obvious and see her.

"You remember the day we watched our first movie, right?"

"Of course." Alex answered, thinking back with a bit of nostalgia.

After a deep breath, she said, "Well, what you don't know is that the night before, I went out to a club. I got drunk, I danced with a bunch of guys, and I found one that I wanted to bring home."

"Bring home?"

"Yeah."

Swallowing a lump, Alex pointedly said, "You mean...you fucked him."

"Yes." She answered honestly, not even attempting to use softer language. As that sunk in, she continued, "And you know what? It was great! He was everything I used to want in a guy. He was tall, handsome, and he fucked me like I needed to be fucked."

Each time she said "fucked" it was like she was punching him in the solar plexus. With anger clear in his voice, he said, "Great. Awesome. Good for you. So glad you could share that with me."

Ignoring him, she asked, "Do you know what I did after that?" Naturally, she got no answer to her rhetorical question, so she continued, "I kicked him out. I didn't want to spend another moment with him because he was nothing to me. And to this day, I still haven't called him. But you wanna know what I did the next day? I spent it watching a dorky movie with a guy whose company I really enjoy. And honestly, I'd rather spend my day with this guy than any other."

A part of him felt good hearing that, but he couldn't ignore the accompanying feeling that she was talking circles around the fact that she would never consider him romantically.

"But what happens when you meet that guy that you wanna fuck and do stuff with? I get what you mean when you say sex isn't the only goal, but to diminish it isn't completely honest."

With a nod, she said, "You're right."

She thought about that for a moment; really thought about it. A part of her wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear, but she also felt the need to be completely honest with him.

Truthfully, she didn't know what she felt. All she knew was that her days were better with Alex in it than without.

"I don't know if our relationship will end in sex, Lexxy. I don't know how it will evolve. All I know is that I like you...a lot. I haven't felt what I feel for you with any guy; not even the one I was engaged to. And I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna let you go that easily. I value your friendship too much.

He sighed. He could feel his walls crumbling, despite the willpower it took to keep them up.

The only way to keep things in check with her was to completely sever his ties with her. That meant no more workouts, no more movies; no more anything.

But...he couldn't do that, no matter how much he needed to.

"I do value your friendship Mo. I don't want you to think that I don't. I just..."

His words cut off, like the remainder of that sentence was too heavy to say.

Monique nodded understandingly. She recognized the pain there. She'd had the same scars on her heart not too long ago.

In a gentle voice, she said, "Tell me about her. Tell me about the one who broke your heart."

It was like a dam burst open. He couldn't not tell her about Summer now. Words poured out of him, like he needed to get them out of his stomach.

Monique listened intently. She didn't interrupt or inject how she felt about things. She just let him speak. He pulled no punches, even when he talked about himself. What came from his mouth was his truth.

Monique found him more enduring as he spoke. For one, he never said one disparaging word about Summer. He described how she made him feel, and how much it hurt to watch her choose other guys, but never spoke about her negatively. He respected this girl, even after she treated his heart like a basketball.

Monique felt for him. She disagreed with him on one aspect, though she saved her opinion. Summer was not the innocent girl he had her out to be. She may not have outrightly led him on, but she did use an emotional leash to keep him by her feet. Having him meet her mom before using him as a chauffeur to get laid was a cruel yank on that leash.

Alex didn't see that, but she did. His heart had been cruelly mishandled.

"I'm not Summer, Lexxy." She said reassuringly.

In a small voice, he said, "I know."

"Do you?" she asked, as if she were unsure of his answer. "Because you keep making statements about all women, but you seem to only be talking about one."

Thinking about that, he said, "I just think she's the representation of the difference between what women say they want and what they really want."