Lexxy Baby Pt. 06

As Monique looked out at the stars, she was lost in thought. Charles was such a pain in her ass. He was a smug, arrogant, jackass who always thought he was right.

And she was going to miss him. Terribly.

What was it about her that made all the men in her life disappear? Her dad, her brother, Alex, and every other boyfriend she'd ever had.

Was she cursed?

From behind her, she heard Charles joke, "You know, one of the joys of being grown is you can just go home if you wanna smoke. You don't have to hide up here."

Monique turned to see him poking his head out the window. A sad, half smile formed on her lips as she retorted, "Or you can go across the planet to Japan."

He couldn't help hearing the hurt in her raspy voice.

"Touché." He said with a nod before climbing out there and crawling next to her.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before she asked, "Do you really have to go?"

Charles looked off into the distance thoughtfully. Turning back to her, he nodded and said, "Yeah. I kinda do. When pops first died, I needed to come home for my family. But now, look at you guys! Momma is doing so much better. You and Ci Ci are wonderful women who have their shit together. You guys don't need me here anymore."

"Yes, we do!"

"No, you don't."

Now she was the one who was turning away, only she was doing it to hide the tears that were forming. Charles sighed, grabbed his sister's knee, and gave it a shake.

"I'm not abandoning you, Mo. It's just time for me to live my life. I have to do this...for me. You know?"

She sniffled and looked back at him, her eyes shimmering. She could see him begging her to understand; to not judge him for needing this.

With a reluctant nod, she replied, "I know."

Another quiet moment passed. It was broken when she softly said, "I'm gonna miss you, butthead."

"I'm gonna miss you too, fartface."

"Hey!" Ci Ci's voice said from behind them, breaking the moment. Both turned towards the window to see their youngest sister looking out at them.

"You two out here hitting the blunt without me?"

Monique and Charles looked at each other before busting out into laughter.

***

Later on that evening, Monique sat in her car outside of her apartment building. For some reason, she didn't want to go up. Not quite yet.

Pulling out her phone, she looked up the number she hadn't seen for weeks. Her pride wouldn't let her dial it before, but now she needed to hear his voice.

Hoping against hope that he wasn't still mad at her, she let it ring.

"Hello?"

Hearing his voice made her seize up. It's funny how long a couple of weeks can be. He almost sounded like a stranger.

"Alex?"

"Yeah. It's me."

She didn't know what she was expecting. Would he hang up on her like she did him? Yell at her? Tell her to fuck off?

He did none of that. He instead just asked, "How've you been?"

There was no anger in his voice; no malice. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

She wanted to give the standard answer; to say "Good. How are you?" But she couldn't. It would've been the biggest lie, and she didn't have the emotional bandwidth right now to pretend.

"Not good." She said honestly, her voice cracking with emotion. Tears formed in her eyes as she said, "I really miss my friend."

"Oh...wow." He said. He wasn't expecting her to be so...vulnerable. It warmed him to his core.

"I miss you too."

She sniffled. "Really?"

"Yeah. There's no MoLex without Mo."

She let out a laugh of relief, happy she wasn't the only one who felt these things.

"I wanna see you." she said bluntly. She didn't ask because she wasn't accepting no for an answer. Fuck being subtle.

"Okay. I'll come over."

She looked up at her apartment building. "No." she said quickly, still not wanting to go up there. She needed a change of scenery. Then, realizing she'd never seen his place, she said, "You know what? I'll come to you for a change. Text me your address."

Alex hesitated. With uncertainty in his voice, he said, "Uhhhh...not such a good idea."

"Why not?"

My dad is a raging racist who will probably embarrass me.

"It's just a bad idea." He said aloud.

Her mind, however, flashed to his new dating partner. Was that the reason she couldn't come over? Did he have her over there? In the entire year of them knowing each other, he'd never invited her over once. This new girl was only in the picture for a couple of weeks.

Feeling dejected, she said, "You know what? Never mind. Don't worry about it."

"Mo..."

"No. It's okay, Alex. I...uh...guess I'll talk to you tomorrow."

With urgency in his voice, he begged, "Don't hang up, Mo. Please."

It was in this moment that he realized the need to tell her about his father. His family situation was a sore spot for him. His father and sister's estrangement weighed heavily on him, and he didn't like talking about it. And with her being black, he was afraid she would unfairly judge him.

But it was time. Long overdue, in fact.

"Can we meet somewhere? Maybe get something to eat?" he asked.

"I just ate."

"Then what about a Starbucks shop? Or we could go for a walk. There's a lot we have to talk about."

She thought for a moment before relenting. "Okay. Let's go for a walk. I like that idea. Where do you suggest?"

***

There was a path under a bridge that Alex like to sneak to when he was a kid. It led up to the freeway, where he could sit and watch cars zoom by.

This was where he took her. As much as Monique took this freeway, she never knew this spot existed. It was secluded, yet public. Noisy, yet quiet. It was the perfect place to talk.

So they did. Or rather, he did. This was the first time Alex had indulged about his family.

For Monique, this conversation cleared a lot of hazy spots in her understanding about him. It was a long time coming, and she realized that she didn't know him at all.

"I wish you'd told me all this before." she said when he was done. Then, thinking about it, she added, "But I understand why you didn't."

He nodded and shrugged. He looked forlorn, so she reached out and touched the hand closest to her. When he looked at her, she smiled and said, "I wanna meet your family."

"After everything I just said, you seriously wanna meet my dad?" he asked, disbelief filling his voice.

"Well...maybe not him." she said with a chuckle. "But definitely your sister, brother in law, and niece."

"Really?"

"Yes. I wanna know you. Everything about you."

"Okay." He said with a nod. "And I'd like to take you up on that invitation to that family dinner. Unless you changed your mind."

"Of course not."

The two of them smiled at each other. Her hand was still laying on his, and it felt nice. But seeing it made him feel guilty.

Feeling the need to address the elephant, he said, "I'm still dating Cameron."

Monique sighed, but didn't lose her shit. In a calm voice, she asked, "Do you like her?"

"Yeah. I do."

Monique let out a breath and looked off to the side but said nothing as the moment went quiet. She thought for a moment before looking back at him.

"I don't care. Date both of us."

"What?"

"You heard me." she said, not breaking eye contact. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No. We've only gone on a few dates."

With a shrug, she said, "Good. Then you're free to take us both out."

Alex thought about it. To say he was flattered would be a gross understatement. Who would have ever thought that he would be in this predicament? The Uber driving, Star Wars nerd had two pretty women who wanted to date him; one of them even with model-like beauty.

Stuff like this didn't happen to him. It happened to guys who had loads of money, flashy cars, or huge cocks.

But, as intriguing as it was to up his player status to new levels, he couldn't do that. He wasn't that type of guy. To him, it felt like he'd be stringing both women along, making them compete for him.

As the puppet who'd always been on that string, he didn't have it in him to do it.

"I'm sorry Mo. I can't do that."

Her face was crestfallen. The last thing he wanted was to have her feel rejected, so he further explained, "I'm just not the type of guy who could be with multiple women like that. Even with there not being a verbal commitment with Cameron, it wouldn't be fair to string either of you along like that. I...hope you understand."

All Mo could do was look at him in awe. Yes, she threw herself at him yet again, only to get shut down. Yes, he rejected her in favor of another woman.

But after being with all the Treys and the Craigs of the world, this nerdy white boy just towered miles above all the finest men she'd had the pleasure of being with.

She couldn't like him anymore than she did at that moment. He was the best man she knew.

"I do understand." She said with a tight-lipped smile. "But we're still Team MoLex, right?"

"Always." He said with a wink.

They talked a little more before she was finally ready to go back home. Now, the thought of her apartment didn't feel so lonely anymore.

As she drove home, her mind pondered the evolution that MoLex's relationship had undergone. Now, she was the one wanting more than friendship, and he was the one pumping the brakes.

Irony was a bitch who amused herself.

However, she wasn't worried. More than ever, she knew that she wanted Alex. Not as a friend, and not just to date. She wanted him to be her boyfriend. And she was going to have him.

This Cameron girl was just an obstacle; a speed bump on the road. Monique would walk the line she made Alex walk and live within the boundaries she made him live when their roles were reversed. It was her penance for taking him for granted, and she accepted it.

But there was no way this girl was taking Lexxy from her. He belonged to her, whether he knew it or not. Eventually, he'd realize it.

They were Team MoLex, goddammit, and no one fucks with Team MoLex!