Lexxy Baby Pt. 06

Note from the Author:

Thank you all for your patience with this story. I apologize for the long waits between chapters. Covid-19 is doing crazy things to my work schedule.

Many people think working from home is all peaches and cream, but it is actually pretty hectic. I do more work from my home-office than I did from my office-office.

I hope we are all keeping our heads up during these troubling times. Thank you for spending some of it with me. I appreciate everyone who reads my stories.

IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:

Monique, a Personal Trainer and YouTube personality, walked in on her fiancé of three years in bed with another woman. She took Trey's betrayal hard and went on an unplanned hiatus from men.

Eight months later, she met an Uber driver named Alexander after a night out with her best friend. Monique was still recovering from heartbreak but felt a strange connection to this man who made her smile. Nothing romantic, just an appreciation for him.

Their second encounter wasn't as pleasant. He showed up at the gym she worked at, looking for a personal trainer. Because his original trainer quit, she was the replacement.

But he didn't want to work out with a woman. He requested a man for a reason.

She was offended by what she perceived as sexism, and the two had a falling out. He left the gym in a huff, with her dismissing him from her life as another loser.

Yet, after talking with her big brother, she realized that she was presumptuous.

After finding his phone number, she disguised herself as a random representative of the gym to find out why he was quitting. She found out the real reason he wanted a male trainer, and it had nothing to do with sexism. He was just insecure about his body.

She apologized, and the two of them talked it out. She even convinced him to give her a chance as his trainer.

That was the beginning of their friendship. Monique looked forward to their workout sessions together. They made each other laugh, and their personalities complemented one another.

Monique eventually got over her ex. She even had a random one-night stand with a guy she met at a club. His name was Craig. It felt great to be liberated from Trey's grasp on her heart. It was a celebration of that liberty.

The next day, however, reality set in. She had a massive hangover and was drained of energy to do anything with her day. After realizing there was nothing to do, she called Alex. The two hung out outside the gym for the first time while watching Star Wars.

That became a thing for them over the course of the next few months. They watched everything Star Wars related. In that time, they got to know each other a little more.

As much as Alex wanted to deny the growing attraction he had for Monique, he couldn't. His best friend Greg had a feeling that she was attracted to Alex too, but he was too jilted over a past experience to take the leap.

Summer Fitzgerald was that experience; the ghost that kept haunting him from high school. She repeatedly broke his heart by keeping him in the background while she pursued "the bad boys". She even used him as a bait and switch to trick her mom into letting her stay out late. That was the last straw for Alex, and he hadn't tried to pursue another woman since.

But now, his heart -- and Greg -- was telling him to carpe diem. So, he leaned in for kiss.

Unfortunately, he was rejected yet again. Monique wasn't ready for that, at least not with him. Right now, she just wanted his friendship. Nothing more.

Alex took that pretty hard. He renewed his vow to stay clear of romantic relationships and to keep Monique at a distance.

This hurt Monique, and the two had a long discussion about it. Fortunately, they were able to re-emerge from that discussion as friends.

However, things took a turn the day before Monique's birthday. The two celebrated it with an incredibly thoughtful gift from Alex, but there was an even bigger surprise waiting for her. Alex had met someone new; a girl. He was actually going out on a date with Cameron, a girl from his high school days.

Monique had to come to grips with this. It was then that she realized that her feelings for Alex weren't just about friendship. She wanted to date him.

Coincidence, or just the adage "You don't know what you've got until it's gone"?

***

Relationships are hard. Whether romantic or casual, the success of any union between people is a resultant of five factors: commitment, compromise, communication, honesty, and just a bit of luck.

All five are needed. Life can call upon either these pillars at any time. Lacking one will put stress on the other four. However, if more than one piece is missing...

The relationship is doomed.

***

"Mo? What's up? You okay?"

Lexxy's voice sounded concerned when he answered his phone. It also sounded like he was trying to stifle it to keep it from being too loud.

"I'm good." Monique said casually. "I was just checking to see how your...uhh...date went."

The word "date" tasted bad in her mouth. She couldn't help how disgusted it sounded when it came out.

"Uhh...yeah...I'm actually on it right now."

"Really?" she said, as if oblivious. "But it's...like...after 11. I thought you woulda been done by now."

"Nope. Still going strong." He said with a bit of pride.

"Oh."

She just left it hanging like that, with no indication that she was letting him off the phone. Stalling and taking her sweet time, she asked, "Sooooo...it's going good then?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly, I haven't screwed it up yet."

He gave a small snicker at his self-deprecating joke. Of course, this was where she was supposed to giggle with him, pile on with how much of a nerd he was, and give him some "friendly" encouragement.

Fuck that shit.

Here she was on the verge of her birthday, and he was out "Living La Vida Loca" with some random chick from his high school days. Earlier today, he gave her the most thoughtful gift any guy had ever given her. Now, he was out wining and dining some other bitch.

What kind of friend would do that?

The kind that's free to do that because he's just a friend. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?

Shut up conscience.

She needed to tell him how she felt. He should know. That way, he could dump what's-her-face before she got too attached. Probably best to do it in the beginning.

Poor girl.

Oh well.

"Lexxy...listen. I need to tell..."

Before she could get anything else out of her mouth, he hurriedly whispered, "She's coming back! Gotta go! Wish me luck!"

"Wait! Lexxy..."

She was talking to a dead line.

"Ummm...what the fuck?! Did he just rush me off the phone?"

She looked at the device in her hand, as if in disbelief. A scowl masked her normally pretty face with an ugly expression.

A part of her, the irrationally angry part, wanted to call him back and cuss him out. But even now, with her jealousy whispering in her ear, she knew how unfair she was being towards him. She had no right to claim him.

With a groan of frustration, she tossed her phone next to her on the couch.

The television provided no comfort. Neither did the internet. She was left alone to do nothing but be tortured by her imagination.

An hour passed, and suddenly it was 12:01. Her birthday was officially here.

She didn't remember much after that, because the next thing she knew, she was waking up on the couch with a stiff neck. She didn't even realize she'd slipped off to sleep.

Grabbing her phone, she saw that it was a little after 6. The notification bar at the top showed nearly 30 new messages on Facebook; even more on Instagram. Her twitter page was filled with birthday wishes from her community of YouTube watchers.

Even her inbox had a few texts from family.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter! Your father would be so proud of the woman you've become!

Happy b-day sis.

Happy birthday sis. Luv u.

Happy B-day cuz.

I hope u getting some birthday dick!!! (Of course, this one was from Toni.)

She smiled as she scrolled her birthday wishes. But that smile faded when she saw that there was one person who had yet to text her.

Was she right to be upset? She couldn't tell. Her feelings were not to be trusted right now. Logically speaking, it was still pretty early in the morning. He probably wasn't even up yet. Who knows what time his date ended?

Or if it did, in fact, end. What if he was still on it? What if that skank was laying naked in his bed, right now?

Or worse? What if they stayed up all night talking, laughing, or watching movies together?

Like Star Wars...

There was a sting in her stomach at that thought. Crazily enough, the visual of them in the throes of passion wasn't nearly as gut wrenching as the image of him sitting next to her sharing MoLex's sacred cow with an outsider.

Trey, with all his philandering, never cut her as deep as that would.

She felt sick. She was unhealthily obsessing over this, and it was driving her mental. If Alex had a pet rabbit, she'd probably be over his house right now bringing a large pot of water to a rolling boil.

She had to get out of this house and get her mind off things. What she needed was a nice jog around her favorite park.

Since it was fall, the temperature was sure to be a little frigid. This was perfect jogging weather as far as Monique was concerned. Not too cold, but cool enough to not get her all sweaty.

She put on her favorite lycra leggings with the matching top, along with a zip up hoodie to account for the chill in the air. After a few stretches, she put her earbuds in, turned on some Nikki Minaj, and headed out the door.

Around this time, it was a little after 7. The park only had a few other fellow patrons, but that was enough to make her feel safe. Nevertheless, she still made sure to bring her stun gun.

Hey, you never know. Mother fuckers are crazy nowadays.

She paid little attention to the random people she passed as she strolled along. Her mind was on her breathing and her pace. And with Ms. Minaj's "Looking Ass Ni**az" pumping in her ears, she could outrun the green demon trying to haunt her about Alex.

What she didn't realize was there was another ghost watching her right now. It was one from her past; another jogger who just happened to be here.

She felt a presence behind her but didn't pay it any mind. She was jogging at a decent pace, but this person was set to pass her by. Monique turned her head to quickly glance over her shoulder and was surprised to get a tap on it.

She stopped and laid eyes on a face she hadn't seen in two years.

"Hey Mo." Trey said, slightly out of breath. He said it casually, like they were old friends.

She often wondered how she would react to seeing him again. How would she feel? Would she cuss him out? Ignore him? Give him the finger and laugh in his face? Knee him in the dick?

Surprisingly, she did none of those. A scowl fell on her face as she removed her headphones. In a deadpanned, disinterested voice, she returned his greeting with a simple, "Trey."

"How are you?"

She shrugged and gave him another icy, one-word response.

"Fine."

She didn't do the courtesy of following up with a question of how he was doing, because she didn't want to know.

He nodded, taking the opportunity to subtly give her an appreciative once over. His eyes quickly roamed down the length of her, taking in her tights that were hugging her lower half.

She saw this, of course. It wasn't anything new. This was a look she was used to getting from guys. Still, having him do it was a tad bit irritating.

Feeling a bit impatient for this encounter to come to a swift end, she broke from barely speaking to him. Briskly, she asked, "What do you want, Trey?"

"Just to see you." he said, with his usual confident grin.

An annoyed look replaced the disinterested one that was just on her face. "So...you stopped my jog and interrupted my day so you can see me?"

He chuckled, despite her. "Well, when you say it like that..."

"Bye Trey." She rudely cut him off before putting her earbuds back in.

He reached out and lightly grabbed her by the wrist to keep her from jogging off.

"C'mon. Hold up, Mo." He said, his voice coaxing her to stay.

His touch sent a surge of electricity up her arm. In a flashback, she was suddenly back inside that bedroom, watching him fuck another woman in her bed. All that pain that she was forced to overcome over the last two years bubbled to the surface, only now it was turned into indignant anger.

She incredulously looked down at his hand gripping her, then back up to his face. Her lips curled like a wolf baring its teeth as she asked, "Who the fuck told you you could touch me?"

"Mo..."

Taking her stun gun out of her hoodie pocket, she let it pop. The startling sound of sparking electricity made him release her and put his hands up in surrender.

To confirm what he was thinking, she told him, "Touch me again, and I'm tazing your ass. Got it?"

"Really Mo? It's like that?"

Another pop of her gun was her answer.

He wisely backed up and decided to not call her bluff. With a tinge of exasperation in his voice, he said, "Damn. A'ight Mo. You need to take it easy."

She nodded when she felt he'd backed up far enough. As she put her weapon away in her pocket, she looked at him with a bored expression and said, "I hope you enjoyed the view. Feel free to keep looking as I jog off."

"Can I at least wish you happy birthday?" He asked quickly.

That caught her off guard and stopped her in her tracks. That bored expression was replaced with one that was wide eyed in wonderment.

"You...remembered my birthday?"

Smiling, he asked, "Of course I did."

Him remembering her birthday, even after they'd been broken up for so long, took the sting out of her anger. As much as she wanted to not feel touched by that, she did.

Seeing a thaw in her icy fortress, he seized the opportunity. With a familiar smirk, he said, "You know...it's kinda funny...me seeing you on your birthday for the first time in two years. It's almost like kismet."

That snapped her out of it.

"Kismet?" she asked, a bit of cynicism in her voice. "So...after you lied, cheated, and ripped my heart out, you think fate set this little encounter up?"

He nodded, which only made her laugh.

"You're delusional."

"No, not delusional. Hopeful."

She scoffed. "Hopeful? Hopeful of what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I've just been thinking a lot about mistakes I've made. One of the biggest..."

Cutting him off, she said, "Don't you dare!"

"Mo..."

"I'm leaving." She said with finality. She didn't have the emotional bandwidth to get into this with him. For him to even think that he had a chance after all that happened means he had no idea how deep he cut her.

"C'mon. Just let me..."

"Get the fuck away from me, Trey!" she yelled out. Then, to follow that up, she glared at him and said, "Don't follow me. Don't call me. You ever run up on me again, I'm tazing your lying ass. Got it?"

"C'mon Mo..."

"Test me. Please."

With that, she turned and jogged off. There was so much more he wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut. He knew she wasn't bluffing about tazing him. All he could do is watch her disappear from his life. Again.

***

"Aww...hell no! I know his mother-fucking lying, cheating, fake-Rastafarian-dreadlocks-having-ass did not have the fucking nerve to chase you down and spit game at you! That man should have ducked his head in shame and crossed the street when he saw you coming!"

Monique was cracking up at her friend. Antonia was always so animated. Only she could turn this morning's encounter into a comedy session.

"He wasn't spitting game." Monique said in inexplicable defense of him. "He was just...I don't know...being Trey."

Antonia got silent for a moment. She didn't like that tone in her friend's voice. It was too...nostalgic.

"You aren't over there thinking anything dumb, are you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Antonia huffed sardonically before asking, "How did Trey look? Did he look good?"

Thinking back, Monique couldn't help the slight smile that spread on her face. She couldn't deny that he looked good.

"What does that matter?" she said, dodging the question.

"It matters."

With a sigh, Monique begrudgingly admitted, "Of course he looked good. You know Trey is fine as hell. It doesn't make a difference though. He's still the same lying, cheating, dog he was when we were together."

Not entirely convinced, Antonia said, "Mmhmm. You just remember that when your little pooty tat starts meowing, Tweety Bird."

Monique once again busted out laughing. "Something is definitely wrong with you!"

"Girl, I'm being real! When the two of you were together, you used to go running home to jump on that dick. All he had to do was call, and the next thing you know there was a smoke trail and a Monique-shaped-hole in the door!"

Monique couldn't breathe, she was laughing so hard.

Even though Antonia was being funny, her message was as serious as it got. Her friend had come a long way since the broken-hearted mess that Trey left behind over two years ago. Going backward would be detrimental.

Yeah, Monique did get over Trey, but there's something about running into an ex that tests all the stress points of "moving on". And for a guy who uses his dick as a weapon, that stress test can be dangerous.

Switching the conversation, Toni asked, "So, what about your little nerd-crush? You fuck the white-boy yet?"

"Why are you such a horn ball?"

Toni chuckled before knowingly saying, "I see you didn't deny that you like him. You finally ready to admit that you wanna sit on Lexxy Baby's face?"

She moaned Lexxy Baby, which came out sounding like Marilyn Monroe having sex with Jessica Rabbit.

"Umm...don't do that. No one calls him that but me."

"Awww...look at you! Getting all protective over your bae!"

"Shut up."

The two of them laughed for a moment. It settled down, and Monique said, "Besides, Alex went out on a date last night."

She tried to make it sound like a casual, throw-away line, but the jealousy hanging in her voice betrayed her. Naturally, Toni's astuteness caught it with piqued curiosity.

"How do you feel about that?"

"About what? Alex going on a date with some fucking bimbo?"