On a Loop

17| "YOU NEEDED ME" - RIHANNA

Toni and Lauren talked about weddings many a late night.

They discussed everything from themes, and colour schemes; décor, venues, destinations, real flowers, fake flowers, open bar, dollar bar, wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, bridal parties, bachelorette parties and most importantly - being the other's maid of honour.

It was as if all of that floated away as Lauren walked out of the diner, wondering who truly had their head up their ass.

She wandered aimlessly through the busy streets of Toronto. It was a beautiful Saturday, but Lauren couldn't help but feel like a grey rain cloud was hovering over her head. Toni's harsh words reverberated off the walls of her mind.

Toni had crossed every unspoken boundary they had ever set.

They always turned up their noses and frowned upon messy chicks who were fake and didn't really fuck with their girl gang. Bitches who fought each other and fucked each other's partners for fun were not on par with them. But had everything just changed between them?

Were we those bitches now?

Buzz.

Lauren's phone vibrated with a text. She hoped it was Toni begging for forgiveness. It wasn't. It was Gabe but she wasn't mad at that either. She felt rays of sun immediately warm the skin on her face as if the moody nimbus cloud hovering over her head had suddenly floated away.

12:00

Gabe:
Let me know when I can treat you to a REAL brunch. 😏   

12:11

Gabe:
You good? How's brunch?

Lauren:
Not good smfh.

How about you treat me to that brunch now? I'm already DT - meet you at your spot? 11HEURE right?

Gabe:   
🏃🏾

Lauren headed on foot towards the 'best brunch place' as proclaimed by Gabe. She was only fifteen minutes away by streetcar, but decided to walk. She needed the fresh air to clear her head. Plus, it gave him more than enough time to get ready and make his way there. Lauren doubted he was just sitting around waiting for a text from her.

Or was he? She smiled at the thought.

Though Lauren felt less gloomy, she was far from over what had just gone down. Toni was dead wrong. Yes, she had been wrapped up in Gabe...

But I mean, who wouldn't be?

As she replayed the scene over and over in her mind, Lauren suddenly felt hot with anger again. She was mad she hadn't taken the chance to stoop as low as her. She wished she'd raised hell. She wished she'd called Toni a bitch first. She wished she'd told Toni about who she really was regardless of the fact that Zeke was now willingly choosing to turn a hoe into a housewife.

Lauren fumed the rest of the way to 11HEURE, the French upscale restaurant Gabe described as 'a modern piece of Paris in the city'. Lauren had never been there as the plain black awnings and paned windows on its outside made the place seem a little too stuffy. It looked like the type of place that served high tea with dry scones; but she was deeply mistaken when she opened the heavy metal door.

When Lauren stepped inside the surprisingly trendy brunch spot, obtuse patterns made out of black marble tiles, popped against white hexagon tiled floors. Some crawled up the textured, black wallpaper. The round, iron tables looked like they had been stolen from a Montreal Vieux-Port outdoor café, and were all contrastingly accompanied by clear, modern chairs or stools; many of which were full on this almost Summer-like-Saturday in the city.