Lexxy Baby Pt. 05

Unfortunately, she didn't plan well enough and forgot to take the day off. So, the choice was out of her hands. She had to work.

That day was like any other. She put her trainer face on and strolled into the gym, making sure to greet everyone as she made her way to the computer to clock in. While there, she checked her client list for the day so she could begin planning her routines.

But something was wrong. She had to double check to make sure she was looking at it correctly. What she saw confused her.

The day before, she checked and saw she had a full roster, just as she always did. But today, there was nothing. No clients were under her name. Thinking that it was maybe a computer glitch, she checked a couple of her coworkers. Nothing was wrong with their schedule. In fact, all her clients were dispersed to the other trainers.

What the hell?

For a personal trainer, this was usually the kiss of death. When your boss starts cancelling your appointments, it usually means that you're going to get fired.

Monique stomped into Naomi's office, ready to angrily interrogate her as to why she would do that. What she found was the entire staff in there. They were all standing there, facing the door, and smiling like they were expecting her.

A cake was in the middle of them.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!"

The shocked look on Monique's face was priceless.

With a huge smile on her face, Naomi said, "I know your birthday is tomorrow, but I wanted to surprise you. And I'm sorry for cancelling all your appointments, Mo. It was the only way to get you in my office without tipping you off."

Monique didn't know what to do or say. To go from being so pissed you could spit fire to fighting back tears in mere seconds was emotional whiplash. Her hand went to her mouth as everyone else clapped and serenaded her with a group rendition of "Happy Birthday".

Monique let out a laugh, mostly from relief. "Fuck you guys! I thought I was getting fired!"

They all laughed, and they each took a turn giving her a hug. When Naomi got to her, she asked, "Why the hell would I ever fire you?"

"That's what I was going to ask you!"

The two laughed it off. She turned, and that's when she saw that Alex was there too.

"You were in on this too?"

He smiled and nodded before giving her a hug.

The group each had a slice of cake. A few had to get going out on the floor to deal with their clients, but the ones who could stay hung out for a minute. Finally, Naomi looked to Alex and asked, "Should we give her her real gift?"

He nodded with a mischievous smile on his face.

"What's going on?" Monique asked as she suspiciously looked between the two of them.

"Get outta here and go home." Naomi ordered. "I know you have better things to do than hang around your job!"

Monique's smile left her face and was replaced by a confused expression. "Wait...I seriously have no appointments today? That wasn't just a trick?"

"Nope. And you don't have any appointments tomorrow, either."

Skeptically, she said, "Um...not to sound ungrateful boss...but I need my money."

Naomi and Alex looked at each other and smiled, like they had a secret. Finally, Alex said, "Yeah...well...you see, the entire staff here pitched in and booked all your timeslots."

"What?"

"Yeah." Alex said with a smile and a nod. "Apparently they all felt you needed a couple days off, so everyone pitched in to give you that."

Monique was dumbstruck.

Naomi turned to Alex and nudged him in the ribs. "So, you're just not gonna tell her your part in all of this?" When he shrugged, she turned to Monique and explained, "Your friend here is actually the one who came to me with the idea. He said he noticed how tired you've been lately because you're so overbooked. He thought it would be a nice present to send you home, yet still allow you to get paid. So, he bought as many of your appointments as he could. I called all your co-workers together, and each of them contributed $20. I made up the difference, and now you have your days off."

"So...today and tomorrow are paid for?"

Beaming proudly, Naomi said, "Yep. So, get outta here! Enjoy your birthday."

All her co-workers clapped as she lost the battle with her tears. They'd fought their way to the surface, and there was no going back.

It was almost surreal for Alex seeing her cry. She was always so put together, so much larger than life. It was a nice reminder to see that she was human too.

Monique locked her teary eyes to Lexxy. This guy, her friend, was probably the most thoughtful person on the earth. What would she do without him?

She walked across the room and embraced him in a long, tight hug.

Surprised, Alex wrapped his arms around her slim waist. He had to close his eyes and block out how good she smelled, and the fact that her breasts were smashed against his chest.

"Thank you so much, Lexxy. You're the best." She whispered.

Satisfied that she enjoyed her gift, he said, "Happy birthday, Mo."

Not long after, the two walked across the parking lot to their cars. As if his first gesture wasn't enough, Alex said, "I have one more gift for you."

"What? Lexxy..."

"Wait right here." he said, ignoring her. Opening his trunk, he reached in and pulled out two things that made her bust out in laughter.

"You are such a fucking nerd!" she said in between laughing fits

In his hands were a lightsaber and a Star Wars T-shirt.

"Now that you're officially a Star Wars nerd, I thought it was only fitting that I give you the fan club starter kit."

Shaking her head as she accepted her gifts, she asked, "What am I gonna do with you?"

All he could do was shrug.

He walked her to her car, which wasn't parked far from his. In the first quiet moment, he broke the silence with, "So, what's on your birthday agenda? Partying? Clubbing? Lots of drugs? More one-night stands?"

Giving him a wry look, she said, "You're not funny."

"Sooooo...no drugs?"

She chuckled and gave him a light push. On the one hand, the fact that he was able to joke about her night with Craig signaled a new comfortability in their relationship. He'd accepted their status as friends and held no hidden animosity about it.

That was a good thing. Wasn't it?

"Toni wants to go clubbing..." she said ignoring his "I knew I was right" expression. "...however, I may just get together with my family and have a nice dinner."

"Sounds fun."

"It is." She said with a shrug. Then she casually added, "You should come."

"To the club, or the family dinner?"

"Both."

He thought she was joking, but she didn't laugh. He looked at her and saw that she was serious.

"You sure you want the nerdy white boy intruding on family time?" he asked with a chuckle.

"You are no intruder, Lexxy. Besides, I think it's about time you met everyone." She said, almost too seriously for the question that was jokingly rhetorical.

There was something to the way she looked at him. He brushed it off though, no longer looking for signs of mutual attraction. He was fine with being her friend, as long as he remembered that was all they were ever going to be.

But unfortunately, he had to decline the invitation.

"As fun as family time sounds, I can't make it."

Not hiding the irritation in her voice, she asked, "And why not? You can't give up driving for one evening?"

"It's not that."

"Then, what is it?"

A proud smile spread on his face. Bouncing his eyebrows, he said, "I can't come because...I have a date."

"You...have a date?" she chuckled with humored skepticism.

"Yes." He said, offended that it was so hard to believe.

She looked at his face, and her smile was immediately wiped from her mouth.

Wait. He's serious.

He has a fucking date!?

"O-oh." She stuttered. Recovering from her shock, she asked, "Uhhh...with who?"

"You don't know her. She works at the America's Best in the same shopping center that my Best Buy is in."

"Oh yeah. I know which one you're talking about."

"Well, it turned out that she and I went to high school together. Of course, I didn't notice her because my eyes were stuck on Summer for the longest. But it's like you said, I've overlooked people because I was so focused on the women who reject me."

He gave her an appreciative smile, but she was still trying to come to grips with the words that were coming from his mouth. He droned on with his story, oblivious that she was only half listening at this point.

"...when I went to renew my prescription, she was there. One thing led to another, and she gave me her phone number. I called her later that night, and we'd been talking on the phone ever since. Tonight is our first actual date."

He looked at her expectedly, waiting for her to rib him or give him a smart-assed but loving congratulations.

But her reaction was a bit strange. She smiled, almost like it was forced, and numbly said, "That's great, Lexxy. Good for you." Then, she quickly followed that up with, "I need to get going. I'll talk to you later. Have fun on your date."

With that, she turned on her heels and was gone.

Later in the evening, Monique sat on her bed putting her hair up for the night. She mindlessly did her task, her thoughts far away from her. She hadn't been able to take her mind off the fact that Lexxy was probably out with another woman at this very moment.

Laughing. Talking. Watching movies.

Replacing her bit by bit.

Her eyes dropped down, and she looked at the new T-shirt she was wearing to bed. Across from her, her lightsaber sat on the dresser.

She smiled softly, but that smile left her seconds later.

He fucking better not be watching Star Wars with her!

What was going on with her? Why was she so upset? Lexxy had a date; so what? After all, they were just friends. It was what she wanted.

Wasn't it?

Somewhere along the way, the lines had become blurred. It was close to a year after they'd first met, and Monique realized that she hadn't even thought about finding a boyfriend. She didn't need one. Everything (except for sex) that she needed in a boyfriend, she found in Lexxy. They spent massive amounts of time with each other, and he was there for her emotionally.

And she could talk to him about ANYTHING.

To top that off, she now found herself looking at him...differently. If she were honest, the thought of her and Alex going out on an actual date didn't sound like the worst way to spend an evening.

But now, he was going out with another girl. For some reason, that felt like a betrayal; like he was cheating on her. No matter how irrational that was, she couldn't help feeling it.

It was then that her earthquake hit. All those little trembles that happened right beneath her feet over the last year - all those times the sneaky little shit grinded her tectonic plates by doing something sweet and thoughtful - and suddenly she was in the middle of ground zero.

"Oh my god!" She thought to herself in shock. "I think I want to date Lexxy!"

***