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 fiancΓ© 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 "