Page 17 of June (New Orleans #6)

T here was something about this date that felt different, and Enid knew what it was. It was obvious. She was on a date with the woman she was supposed to be on a date with, and she wasn’t thinking about anyone else. She wasn’t even thinking about the fact that Jodie had given her some serious side-eye when Enid had wrapped her arm over the back of Caroline’s chair at lunch. Caroline had assured Enid that it hadn’t been because Jodie had feelings for her. It had been because Jodie was a good best friend, so she’d just been looking out for Caroline.

Viv, for her part, had smiled at the two of them, which surprised Enid because she had incorrectly assumed that Viv had only told Caroline that she was moving on mainly to make her feel more comfortable and not because she actually was moving on. But Viv hadn’t seemed to mind Enid being there, and when they’d finished eating and Caroline had rested her head on Enid’s shoulder, Viv had even smiled at them a little. Enid had walked Caroline back to the dorm, where they had hung out with Viv and Jodie for another hour or so before Viv had class. Jodie had left with her, having something else to do, so Enid and Caroline had been left alone in the room. They’d both been on Caroline’s bed, with their feet hanging over the side of it, and Enid hadn’t known what to do. Viv’s class was only fifty minutes, and she’d be coming right back, so while Enid would’ve loved to do more with Caroline than just sit on that bed, she hadn’t been sure then was the time.

Enid had self-control, but if they started making out on the bed, she knew they’d go further than that. Even holding Caroline’s hand like they had been on the bed lit Enid up in a way nothing else ever had. So, she’d done the right thing. She had climbed down from the bed and said her temporary goodbye to Caroline in order to go home and get ready for their date.

While getting ready, she had stared at that dress she’d mentioned to Caroline for a minute, considering surprising her with it, after all, but she opted for jeans and a shirt instead. She’d save the dress for another night because there would be another night.

“You cannot redo a shot without taking a penalty, you cheater,” Caroline said.

“It’s not a redo. I didn’t even hit the ball,” Enid argued. “I whiffed.”

“That’s considered a shot.”

“Is this the PGA Tour, and no one told me?”

Caroline laughed and asked her, “Are you one of those crazy competitive types that has to win all the time?”

“No,” Enid replied. “I was just taking a practice swing, though.”

“Which is it, cheater? Is it that you whiffed or that it was a practice swing?”

Enid laughed and hung her head.

“You caught me,” she said.

“And you’re getting an extra stroke.”

Caroline held up the tiny pencil and the scoresheet and made a mark.

“I’m really trying not to make that a sex joke…” Enid noted.

Caroline laughed then and said, “You failed, obviously.”

“I’m not doing great at mini-golf, either,” Enid replied. “Maybe I should just give up on it and stare at you while you play?”

“You can stare at me no matter what. We take turns,” Caroline said.

“Stop making sense,” Enid replied and looked down at the bright pink ball Caroline had picked out for her earlier just to mess with her because Enid had mentioned that pink was her least favorite color.

She pulled the club back and swung, causing the bright pink ball to bounce off one wall and then the other before it went through a series of obstacles and bounced into a puddle of water that was also meant to be an obstacle. Caroline saw that and laughed. Enid grunted at herself. Caroline laughed even harder. Then, Enid felt arms snake around her from behind, and Caroline’s vibrating body pressed against her.

“You are really bad at this, but somehow, I think that makes you even hotter,” she said through her laughter.

“It’s only the fourth hole. I’m just out of practice,” Enid replied and placed a hand over Caroline’s arm.

“I know I’m a little shorter than you, but this feels really good,” Caroline said as she placed her chin on Enid’s shoulder.

“It does, yeah,” Enid agreed as she smiled wide.

A throat cleared from behind them, and Enid turned to see a family of four lined up at the hole, waiting for them to finish.

“Want me to get you a new ball?” Caroline offered as she pulled away.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just grab that one and admit defeat on this hole.”

They walked up to the water, and Enid knelt down on the fake turf to grab the ball that now smelled like chlorine and maybe a little bit like algae. Of course, Enid had no idea how algae actually smelled, so she assumed that was what it was and stood up.

“Make sure you wash your hands when we’re done,” Caroline said, looking on as Enid held up the ball in victory.

Enid laughed and took Caroline’s hand in her free one. Then, she grabbed her club that she had rested against one of the obstacles on the hole with the same hand holding the ball, and they walked to the fifth hole together.

“You go first this time,” Caroline suggested. “That way, if you take forever, I can wrap us up quickly.”

Enid laughed and placed the ball down. A few seconds later, she lined up her shot and swung, and the ball made it through the clown’s mouth. She followed it, hoping she had earned herself a hole in one, but found that the ball got stuck in a ninety-degree angle obstacle that meant she’d have to tap it a little before she could take a real shot. She heard Caroline laughing and looked up to see her standing next to the clown’s big head, watching Enid contemplate her next shot.

“That bet we made earlier is really going to work out for me, huh?” Caroline asked.

When they’d paid for their eighteen holes, they’d made a bet that if Caroline won, Enid would buy them food from the concession area inside the arcade, and if Enid won, Caroline would. Enid was grateful she had applied for a few jobs that morning before class because if she was really going to date a girl, she needed to have a job to afford dinners, movies, and mini-golf nights.

Unsurprisingly, Enid had lost their bet in the end. Caroline hadn’t kicked her ass or anything, but Enid had definitely lost by at least five strokes. So, when they went into the arcade, Enid went to the concession stand to get them an order of fries and onion rings to share and a corn dog for Caroline. Enid went with the slice of cheese pizza that didn’t look too old but had undoubtedly been previously frozen and bought at the grocery store. She got them both something to drink and headed to the table, where Caroline was already sitting.

“Can I steal a bite of your pizza?” Caroline asked after stealing a fry.

“Can I steal a bite of your corn dog?”

“Depends. Do you eat them with mustard or ketchup?” Caroline asked.

“Oh, I’m sensing this is an important relationship question, right up there with, ‘Do I want to have kids or get married one day.’”

“Obviously,” Caroline teased.

“Well, I’m weird. I like to tear the breading off and eat that with ketchup and the hot dog part with mustard. I don’t eat them together.”

Caroline’s eyes widened.

“Was that the wrong answer?” Enid asked, seeing her reaction.

“No, I’ve just never felt so seen,” Caroline said.

“What?” Enid laughed.

“That’s what I do, too.”

“No way.”

“Yes, way,” Caroline said. “I’ve never seen anyone else do that before.”

“So, I’ve passed the test, then?”

“It wasn’t a real test, but yeah.” Caroline smiled at her. “So, want to split it?”

“Only if we split the pizza, too.”

“Deal,” Caroline said before she stood up and headed to the condiment bar, where she grabbed what looked like everything and returned, dropping packets of mustard and ketchup onto the table along with napkins and straws.

They talked as they ate, and Enid hadn’t felt alive like this in a very long time. She found herself staring at Caroline as she told her about her family and upbringing. Caroline was an only child of overachieving parents, so the pressure she felt made a lot of sense to Enid, who was the oldest child of overachieving parents and had always put pressure on herself even when her parents hadn’t.

“So, your parents had you, waited six years, and decided to have your brother?”

“I was a surprise,” Enid revealed after picking up a fry. “My parents were planning on waiting to have a kid, but then, I showed up. They waited after that and had my brother.”

“I don’t want any surprises,” Caroline said and shook her head. “Not even sure I want kids, honestly. Maybe I do. I still go back and forth about it. I’m twenty-years old, though, so I plan on waiting a very long time if I do decide.”

“Me too,” Enid replied. “I know my brother and I are only six years apart, but my parents worked a lot, so in a way, I feel like I helped raise him. We had babysitters, obviously, but he was my brother. I was going to make sure he was okay and had what he needed better than they would.”

“And now, he’s all grown up and video-sexing girls,” Caroline teased.

Enid laughed and said, “He’s a good kid. He’s annoying as hell most of the time, sure, but that’s because I shouldn’t be living at home, and he’s ready to be at school away from our parents’ house. I was, too.”

“You just called him a kid, but I’m only two years older than him,” Caroline noted.

“He’s my little brother,” Enid replied. “I’ve seen him in and out of diapers, so it’s very different.”

“Well, let’s hope you don’t see me in diapers until we’re both old and gray and wearing those adult ones,” Caroline remarked.

Enid laughed and said, “That’s a weird thing to hope for, but okay.”

“Do you want to play some games before we leave?”

“Can I try and fail to win you a prize?” Enid asked.

“Maybe we can work together, combine our tickets, and win both of us a prize,” Caroline replied.

Enid leaned over the small table and said, “Let’s talk strategy, then. We’ll get exactly twenty bucks worth of tokens – or points or whatever this place uses – and we’ll pick the games we’re the best at to try to rack up our tickets and then get the biggest prize we can.”

“Forty bucks,” Caroline countered. You throw in twenty. I’ll throw in twenty. It’s only fair.”

Enid smiled and dipped a fry into the ketchup puddle they had made on the napkin between them. Once they’d finished their food, they loaded up two cards and walked around the small arcade that had about thirty or so games. The guy standing behind the ticket redemption counter, where all the prizes were, looked very bored and ready to go home, but Enid couldn’t have been having more fun. Caroline chose the game that had the biggest risk but also the biggest reward. It cost the most for the game, but if they hit the jackpot, they would win five thousand tickets. Enid chose to play something a little cheaper that would give her a decent amount of tickets. After Caroline used up all of her money on the game that involved pressing one button at the perfect time to win those five thousand tickets, and she had only won about one hundred tickets, Enid walked over and rubbed her back.

“You okay there?”

“I swear, I have the timing down. I can win this thing.”

Enid smiled and handed Caroline her card.

“I’ve got about five hundred tickets on it and enough for you to play this two more times.”

“You’re giving me your card?”

“It’s not a kidney,” Enid joked when Caroline looked so happy and surprised that Enid would let her use the rest of her money.

“What if I lose? It’s a lot of pressure.”

“Just do it,” Enid said, swiping the card for Caroline.

“Oh, God,” Caroline replied nervously.

She had been unprepared, but Enid loved watching her watch the lights move around in a circle. Caroline let them go around and around and around before she pressed the button. She got so close, one light away from the jackpot, but that only earned her one ticket.

“I suck,” she said on a sigh and rested her head against Enid’s shoulder. “Take your last few dollars and win us some real tickets.”

“Oh, babe,” Enid replied. “Just go again.” She handed Caroline the card this time. “I don’t care about the money or the tickets. Just have fun.”

Caroline took a deep breath as if she was about to perform some Olympic gymnastics routine, swiped the card, and handed it back to her. Enid watched on as Caroline stared at the lights, her green eyes bouncing along with them, and Enid could only smile. She wondered if there was a time limit on the thing before Caroline had to hit the button or lose a turn, but just as she was about to ask, Caroline pressed it down. Enid looked at where the light had ended up.

“Holy fuck…” Caroline let out as bells began to ring from the machine.

“You did it. You did it?” Enid said first and then asked. “Holy crap, you did it!”

Caroline jumped in place before she pulled Enid in for a hug. The tickets started adding up on the screen, moving them to their card, and Enid laughed, holding on to Caroline and breathing her in. When Caroline pulled back a few seconds later, Enid thought they might kiss, but Caroline was so excited, she bounded away toward the bored-looking guy guarding the prizes. Enid followed her, presented the man with her card, and Caroline gave him hers so that they could be added together. While he did that, they looked around at the cheap and ridiculous prizes and up at the wall where there were some decent ones.

“What do you want?” Enid asked, rubbing Caroline’s back again.

“I know we said that we’d get the most expensive one we could, but do you maybe want to go crazy and just get, like, one of everything we can instead?”

Enid laughed and replied, “Let’s do it.”

Her phone buzzed as Caroline started to pick out the little pieces of candy that went for one to five tickets. They would be here a while, so she checked the message.

Rory Winter : We’re all going to hang out at Candace’s tonight. Want to come?

Enid looked up at Caroline, who was pointing to some toy that was eight tickets.

“Hey, want to go to that bar I mentioned? Owned by my friend.”

“I can’t drink, remember?”

“No, but you can still go. Some of my friends will be there.”

Caroline’s head snapped to her.

“Jill?”

“I don’t know.” Enid shrugged. “I can ask Rory.”

“No, it’s okay. I kind of want to meet her if she’s there.”

“You do?”

Caroline shrugged a shoulder and asked, “Are you really okay with me being there?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Enid replied and placed a hand in the back pocket of Caroline’s jeans.

“Smooth move there, Becker,” Caroline noted.

Enid just gave her ass a squeeze, making Caroline laugh.