CHAPTER 14

Sunday passed uneventfully. Lauren had taken care of some grocery shopping and had fulfilled some of her domestic duties by cleaning her house and doing her laundry. She had avoided two phone calls from Emma and a handful of texts from both her and Angie, all of which were some variation on a theme of "I'm so sorry, blah blah blah." But Lauren was in no mood to hear it. Up until a month ago, she had been blissfully unaware of the true dynamic of their friendship. But no longer. Everything was exposed and Lauren would be damned if she was going to allow the years of transgressions to be rectified with a simple apology. She would need some time.

By 6am Monday morning, Lauren was out of bed, dressed, and practically ready to sprint out the door. Obviously no sane person would arrive at work at 6am on a Monday, so instead she had curled up on the couch with a mug of hot coffee to watch the morning news in leisure - that is, until 7am hit and she could legitimately sprint out the door and arrive at work without looking like a complete nerd. It wasn't so much that she loved being at work all the time, but it was more that she was ready to finally be able to get to the meat of her research since the issue of funding had been resolved. There was nothing holding her back... not work-wise, at least. But personally? Geesh, that was a whole separate beast. Take all of the enthusiasm and joy that she felt about moving forward with her research and suck it into a black hole of dread and confusion, and that's how she felt about her situation with Bo and Thomas, and now Emma and Angie on top of it. Sure, it may sound a tad over-dramatic but then again, what's a good relationship without a bit of drama?

Lauren continued to mull things over as she poured the rest of her coffee into a travel mug and headed out the door. As she suspected, 7am was still too early for the rest of the lab, and Lauren found herself sitting alone at her workbench for a while until the gang started to trickle in. Once everyone had arrived for the day, the lab practically hummed with activity - like they had all been given a renewed sense of purpose - and it certainly didn't take much for Lauren to get swept up in it.

Before she knew it, noon had come and gone and she was absolutely starving. Still in an emotional haze as to what to do about her growing feelings for Bo, she opted out of swinging by Bo's office to ask her to lunch. She clearly exercised poor judgment on that front on Saturday evening when Bo had returned to her apartment to get her clothes back, so perhaps a little bit of space would bring some clarity and, more importantly, some much-needed self-restraint.

The cafeteria was a zoo when Lauren arrived. She wasn't use to eating quite this late in the day and hadn't realized how good business was. After a long wait at the cashier's line, Lauren finally had her food in-hand and was now faced with the task of finding someplace to eat. She always had the option of taking her food back up to the lab to eat, but it was never her first choice. She was about to give up her search when she spotted an open booth. Though she hated to take up an entire booth all by herself, she was desperate and hoped no one would mind. Lauren made herself comfortable and started in on her sandwich. She was only a couple of bites in when her chewing was halted by the sound of a familiar pair of voices coming from the booth in front of her. She slumped down as far as she could in her seat in an effort to avoid being found out. Even though the booths were separated by tall seat-backs, one could never be too careful. Forcing herself to swallow her bite of sandwich, she waited and listened - - -

"What's with you and Blondie, Doc? Not gonna lie," Kenzie laughed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest, "I didn't realize you swung that way. But hey, even I gotta admit that girl is fiiine."

"It's not like that, Kenz," Bo tried to deny, half-heartedly. "She's just -"

"Let me cut you off right there, PinocchiBo. You can deny it all you want, that's your choice. But the two of you last weekend? That ain't 'nothin'. I'd say that's most definitely a 'somethin'."

At Kenzi's words, Bo visibly slumped in her chair. Running her hands roughly over her face, she tried to respond, "Lauren and I, we're... God, I don't even know what we are," she admitted, letting out a long breath. "Never in my life did I imagine myself capable of cheating. I can not and am not that person. But Kenz, I spend one second with her and I'm practically like "Tom? Tom who?"

"Bo Blue, I hate to say it, but I think you already busted the shit out of that rule of yours," Kenzi broke the news, reaching across the table to squeeze Bo's hand gently. "It's okay for you to be interested in women, I mean - "

"Woman," Bo corrected. "Just... one woman," she said quietly.

"Well that woman of yours is gorg-ass. But like you said, you're driving stick these days and we all know how complicated it can get switching back and forth between a stick and an automatic. Ya know?" Kenzi added, with a hint of warning in her voice.

"Kenz, it gets worse," Bo added, practically whispering.

"Don't hold back now, lady!" Kenzi prodded, clearly excited for Bo to dish out her big news.

Bo held her head in her hands for a moment before she continued, "I found something in Tom's coat pocket last night."

"Oh no, is he a closeted smoker?" Kenzi asked in mock horror. "You know how I feel about doctors being hypocrites: Smoking is bad for you, it causes cancer," she mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "and then you see them all lined up outside, puffing away like it's no big thing. Bastards," she swore under her breath.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that," Bo waved her hand dismissively. "I found... a ring."

Kenzi's eyes got wide. "Holy. Shitballs."

"God, Kenz, this is such a mess! I mean, I love Tom and all, but marriage? I had no idea he was this serious." Bo shifted nervously in her seat.

"What are you saying, BoBo? Are you not that serious about him?" Kenzi asked as gently as possible, though still obviously excited to be getting the inside scoop.

"Tom is..." she paused, searching for the right words. "We're...him and I are good together," she stated matter-of-factly. "He's sweet and funny, obviously intelligent, and very handsome. He treats me well and I've been happy being with him," Bo shrugged, not really sure what else to say.

"But?" Kenzi pushed, obviously not convinced that their relationship is all sunshine and rainbows.

"But," Bo conceded, "I think our relationship is more comfortable than anything. And I don't know that the kind of feelings I have for him are enough to build a marriage on. I just... I don't know."

"And what about your feelings for Blondie? Are those the kind of feelings you build a marriage on?"

Bo waited an agonizing amount of time before finally answering, "Maybe? I don't know," she whispered.

Kenzi studied Bo's expression for a moment, looking like she was trying to make up her mind about something. Leaning forward to rest her crossed arms on the table, she continued to study Bo intently. "Be careful there."

Bo tilted her head to one side, her brow furrowing in confusion at Kenzi's words.

"I see the way she looks at you, Bo, that's all. Just... be careful there," she said again. Her final sentiment effectively ended the conversation and the two women began gathering up the remnants of their lunch. As Kenzi rose from her spot at the table, she immediately spotted Lauren in the booth behind Bo. Their eyes locked and Lauren felt like her heart was going to pound straight out of her chest. She felt so exposed. Kenzi's face flushed in embarrassment. She acknowledged Lauren with a quick nod of her head before turning to leave, practically running out of the cafeteria. Bo quickly gathered her own things and followed her out, never realizing that Lauren had been sitting behind them the whole time and had heard their entire exchange.