Alex

To say I was surprised when Lelo invited me for dinner at her place would be an understatement. Don't get me wrong, in the last few months since I've known her I've been at her place but I never could've imagined that I'd meet her mother so soon.

Lelo is a very private person, an introvert really and she's extra protective of her mother considering everything she's recently been through. She would never let me meet the most important person in her life if she wasn't serious about us. Could it be possible that she also sees a future with me?

Her personal space is very important to her, I know that my life being in the public is difficult for her but I appreciate the fact that she's trying her best to be understanding.

I can't even mention the amount of times I've had to be stubborn and bulldoze my way into her plans, especially in those early days when she was doing all she could to run away from me. We sure have come a long way.

My phone ringing pulls me away from my musings, when I check it I see that it's my friend Blake.

"Greene." I say as a way of greeting.

"Hey man, how's it going?"

"Good, good man and on your side?"

"Great, so I was talking to Musa today and we touched on the fact that we haven't met up in quite a bit."

"Yeah that's true, it has been a while bro. I guess all of us are busy trying to navigate through life."

Musa Zulu, Blake Arquette and I met in our first year of high school at St. Lukes College which is a one of the most expensive and prestigious schools in the country. It's an all boys boarding school in Johannesburg, the three of us were class mates and naturally gravitated towards each other, becoming best friends.

Musa is a royal prince and is the heir apparent of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the country while Blake got the opportunity to be at St. Lukes due to a scholarship that was well deserved because the man is a genius.

"So what do you say to a boy's night out this weekend? Cape Town FC has a soccer game against The Durbanites this Saturday at Athlone stadium and we can have a few beers after that, just like old times..."

I smile fondly as I remember just how much we used to party like rockstars in university. In our final year in high school all three of us decided that we would be going to the University of Cape Town although it was for different courses. Musa and I chose the business route, heading on to get our Masters in Business Administration while Blake went the medical route, choosing to be a doctor and specialising in cardiothoracic surgery.

"That sounds good man, I certainly need to unwind because work has been killer these last few weeks. Will Ashton be able to make it?"

He's the fourth and final member of our close knit group.

He's actually Blake's cousin and although they grew up together, Musa and I only met him when we had gone to the funeral of Blake's uncle and Ashton's father in our senior year of high school. Mr Haines had been the one to raise Blake after his parents died when he was still young.

"Yeah, he said he'll be there so we were only waiting to see whether we could get you away from work for one night." Blake says flatly, expecting me to decline. I may have been known for partying and all that but when it comes to business I sometimes come across as a workaholic.

I decide to actually surprise him by not being a wet blanket. "I'm game, it will be awesome to go back in time and relive those days."

"So how's it going between you and your Lelo, she's still giving you a hard time?" He says chuckling, it's not a secret from my friends just how hard I've had to sweat in order to get together with Lelo which makes me appreciate her so much more.

Her constantly running away from all mentions of a relationship between us has provided my three best friends and my brother with lots of laughs during the past few months.

"My Lelo and I are doing great, thank you very much. We've recently become official if you must know so you can keep all those insults you had in your arsenal."

"What! You lucky so and so. Congrats man, I know how much you like her."

We catch up on how we've been and what we've gotten up to since we last talked then we hang up, promising to talk to each other soon.

I decide to take a shower and retire to bed because I'll need to be at my best if I want to impress the mother of my girlfriend tomorrow.

I get out of the shower then wrap a towel around my waist. Feeling strangely melancholic I sit on top of my bed reaching for the single picture of Lelo and I that I have in my possession.

I took it on one of our many lunch dates, I remember that day as though it was yesterday. As soon as she had gotten into my car she had told me that she would be the one to choose where we were going. She pressed the GPS coordinates and I saw that they were for the city park.

We were sitting on a park bench eating hamburgers from her favourite fast food joint and she had been mid sentence when I'd gotten the inspiration to take a picture of us. She had momentarily frozen before launching herself at me, trying to delete the picture because according to her she hadn't been ready.

I stare at the photo and caress her cheek fondly. I don't know why but I'm feeling a bit restless tonight... Roaming around an empty mansion can make one realise just how lonely his life is. I guess I must really be growing old now because I'm tired of playing the field. I want to settle down and start my own family, an image of Lelo with a swollen tummy and my ring on her finger comes unbidden into my mind, instead of leaving me terrified the thought actually makes me smile.

Growing tired of feeling sorry for myself, I change into my workout gear and decide to hit the gym.

Thankfully I have my own personal gym equipped with state of the art machines in my basement. I decide on the treadmill for the night, I set it for the kilometres I want then I begin running until I can't anymore, my legs feeling like jelly. I take a quick shower and collapse into bed, my mind full of what will happen tomorrow.

........................................

Aaand there it is folks. Another look into Alex's life, if you haven't already guessed it: ONE Night Only is book #1 of a series I've decided to do about Alex, Musa, Blake and Ashton. These three will play a significant role in this story.

I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. In South Africa the time right now is 23h09 CAT, 27/04/18 so although the promised chapter came a little late, it still came 😂.