On a Loop

9| "YOU DON'T LOVE HIM, IF YOU'RE THINKING OF ME" - THE WEEKND

Lauren stood in the doorway, frozen, for about a minute as guilt washed over her. She had known Trent was speaking about Toni, and that there was no possible way he could know about Gabe,  and that since she had decided she was emulating Toni she shouldn't care, but - was she cheating?

No, stupid, that requires a relationship.

Lauren shook her head, and closed the door. She was not invested in Gabe, and she and Trent weren't exclusive. Plus, it was just one date.

She lazed about the apartment, watched Netflix, began mixing a new song and napped on the couch for the majority of the afternoon, waking up to Toni creeping into the apartment with Zeke around 4.

"Hey Toni, hey Zeke." Lauren said once she saw his towering figure trailing behind her.

"Hey L! How are you?" He came to give her a hug.

Lauren had only met Ezekiel a few times before but he never forgot her name or who she was to Toni.

He too, was unforgettable. A tall, muscular dark-skinned man with a face and smile that could give Broderick Hunter a run for his money. He was an athlete, super street smart and handy, however, books were not his thing. Toni began tutoring him shortly after Lauren moved in, and one thing led to another on a winter night, and their situationship was born. He looked tough but on the inside, he was a big softy for Toni. He currently was in law school and doing well, which Lauren was sure he was doing to impress her parents... if Toni ever decided to introduce him to them.

"You good?" Toni asked, eyeing the unused condom on the floor in the corner Lauren had forgotten about.

"Oh! Yup!" Lauren said blushing as she hurriedly scrambled to pick it up.

"We will be in my room..." Toni guided Zeke away from the crime scene, and as he strode away, she turned back to Lauren with a dramatic wink and thumbs up.

Now wide awake from her nap, Lauren checked her phone. Gabe had texted an hour ago:

Gabe:
Remember, 6:30.

Lauren:
I'm shleepy.

Gabe:
Consider this your wake up call.

Lauren:
I'm up, I'm up.

Lauren began to get ready to ensure she was on time for Gabe, who was clearly a keener. She took another shower, sweaty from napping, and did her hair, now frizzy and flat from two days' wear. She tied down her edges in a satin wrap, lotioned up her skin and sat at her vanity to do her makeup.

She kept it simple - the man had asked her out bare faced for God's sake, he wasn't expecting much. She applied a bb cream, mascara and lip gloss and lightly filled in her brows before removing the head tie and fluffing out her hair.

Lauren fished the dress out of her closet and steamed it slowly, ensuring to not miss a crease and then carefully stepped into it. She lotioned her feet again to ensure they wouldn't get ashy, which would have been a good idea in theory, but after she tightly tied up the heels, her toes kept slipping out like they were going down a slide. It was fifteen minutes before Gabe arrived and there was no time for games. After a quick googling session, her feet were dry yet moisturized and her stilettos were sticky from five coats of hairspray. She laced them up before she went to the foyer and slipped on her tan trench coat and black vinyl mini bag.

Toni and Zeke had been suspiciously quiet and Lauren didn't want to interrupt anything, so she texted Toni to let her know she was gone as she locked up at 6:20, heading curbside to avoid the classic, 'Where are you?' debacle.