Page 25 of June (New Orleans #6)

“Y ou have to be quiet,” Caroline told her.

Enid had to laugh at that. She couldn’t possibly be quiet. Caroline’s head was between her legs, and she was about to make her come.

“Enid!” Caroline admonished her in a whisper before she kissed Enid’s thigh and rested her cheek against it. “Your little br–”

“Do not mention him while you’re doing that,” Enid cut her off.

Caroline laughed softly, and Enid felt her hand move until there were fingers inside her, keeping still but filling her up in that way Enid hadn’t even known she had needed this morning.

“You have to be quiet,” Caroline repeated.

Enid nodded, and Caroline moved back into position. She licked Enid and began flicking her fingers deep inside her. They had only had the one round the previous night before they’d dressed for bed right when Enid’s brother had lumbered loudly up the stairs. He had gone straight to his room, but Enid had known by then that she only wanted to hold Caroline for the rest of the night, so they had done just that. Around midnight, after her parents had gone to bed, Enid had tiptoed down the stairs to get them drinks and a snack, and they had eaten while they’d watched a movie and talked more about their families.

From what had been shared with her, Caroline clearly had some things she needed to work out with her parents. They’d been the classic overinvolved, helicopter parents, and it made Enid wonder if that was at least in part because Caroline was their only child. In contrast, when Enid was six, her parents had to split their focus between an active first grader who had liked to learn and an infant who had needed them to roll him over. Enid had a lot of respect for her parents, who hadn’t ever made her feel like they spent more time with EJ than with her or that he was more important. In fact, they had never made her feel lonely or the opposite, like they had these ridiculously high expectations that she wasn’t meeting, which she appreciated.

They’d fallen asleep around two in the morning, fully clothed, even though Enid had locked the door because she wanted to be extra careful, and she’d held Caroline most of the night. They’d had to separate at one point because Caroline was a furnace when she slept, so Enid had needed to cool off, but when she’d woken up not all that long ago, Caroline had been spooning her from behind, and it had been perfect. Well, it had been perfect up until Enid had remembered that they were in her teenage bedroom because she lived with her parents. This had not been her ideal way of waking up with her girlfriend, and she had said as much to Caroline, who had then asked her how she’d wanted to wake up.

Now, Caroline was about to make her come, and Enid needed to be quiet. She covered her mouth with her hand, biting down on her bottom lip, and when she came, she managed to keep in the scream she wanted to let out but couldn’t stop the deep, throaty moan that came after. Caroline had a way with her tongue that Enid hadn’t ever experienced before. She knew that she could come again. If Caroline kept it up, trying to wind her down, she would only bring Enid back up to the precipice, so she tapped Caroline’s head with her other hand and dropped the one from her face in order to open her mouth and finally exhale.

“Jesus… That was good,” she let out.

“Yeah?” Caroline asked as she moved up Enid’s body.

“The best way to wake up,” Enid said and wrapped her arms around Caroline’s back, holding her in place. “You’re still fully clothed, though. Why?”

Caroline chuckled and kissed Enid.

“Well, when I woke up, I decided to go down on you, so that was my number one priority.”

“We should remedy that,” Enid suggested.

“Later,” Caroline said.

“You don’t want…”

“I do, but I also don’t,” Caroline replied. “I really just wanted to do that to you.”

“But now, I want to do that to you ,” she noted before she heard a door open and close.

It was EJ. Enid listened closely for the sounds of his loud footsteps, expecting him to either go to the bathroom or down the stairs and wanting to know which one he was about to choose. Seconds later, she heard him practically rush down the stairs, and not long after that, she heard the garage door under her bedroom open.

“Oh, thank God,” she added, letting out a breath. “He’s gone.”

Caroline laughed and said, “We should get moving, too. We both have to be on campus today.”

“Ugh. Stupid project team meeting,” Enid groaned. “I fucking hate this project.”

“I know, baby,” Caroline replied and kissed Enid’s lips. “Hey, what are the chances that we can take a quick shower together? I promise, no sex. I just need to clean up, if you know what I mean.”

Enid lifted an eyebrow and asked, “Yeah?” When Caroline smiled, Enid rolled them over and said, “Let me touch you.” Caroline laughed, so Enid whispered against her lips, “Now, it’s your turn to be quiet.”

◆◆◆

Thirty minutes later, they were showered and back in Enid’s room. Having dressed for the day, Enid grabbed Caroline’s bag for her, and they headed downstairs. Enid planned on making a break for it right out the front door to get Caroline into the car and away from her parents, but her mother had another idea.

“Oh, hi, honey,” her mom said, peeking out from the kitchen just as Enid’s hand had been about to grasp the doorknob that represented her freedom.

“Hi, Mom,” she said, giving up on that dream. She then turned to her mother, who was holding a spatula in one hand, and asked, “Why are you holding that?”

“I’m making pancakes. Your dad’s starting work late to have breakfast. I made enough for everyone.”

“We’re heading to campus,” Enid replied, nodding toward Caroline.

“Enid,” Caroline said, giving her a glare.

“Oh, sorry. Mom, this is Caroline. Caroline, this is my mom.”

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Caroline said and walked over to Enid’s mom, holding out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Enid’s mom shook it with the hand not holding the spatula. “I’ve got a giant stack of pancakes. Are you hungry?”

“I am, actually,” Caroline replied, turning to Enid with a wide, conspiratorial smile on her face.

“Um… What about getting you to campus? You have that thing , remember?”

“I’m good on time,” Caroline replied. “And you don’t have your project thing for over an hour, right?”

Enid just gave her a playful glare back because Caroline would be paying for this later, and Enid would enjoy every minute of it. Giving in, she followed both of them into the kitchen, where she also found her father sitting at the round table with the Wall Street Journal covering his face.

“Morning, Dad,” she said.

The paper folded down instantly as if he had been expecting her to walk in and had been trying to hold the paper up to the last possible second to look cool instead of giving himself away.

“Morning, honey,” he replied and turned to Caroline. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Caroline said.

“Dad, this is Caroline. Caroline, this is my dad.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Caroline said, walking over to the table and holding out her hand.

Enid’s dad shook it while he took Caroline in. Then, he set the paper aside next to his half-finished glass of orange juice and continued to stare at her. Was he trying to figure out if Caroline had just had sex with his daughter? Enid’s heart thundered at the thought, and she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

“So, what did you two get up to last night?” he asked.

Yes, he was trying to figure out if Caroline had just had sex with his daughter, and he’d decided to go right for that information.

“We had dinner and came back here to watch a movie. Super chill,” Enid said, pulling out a chair for Caroline.

“What did you watch?” Enid’s mom jumped in on the interrogation as she flipped a pancake.

“ The Goonies ,” Caroline replied. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“You’ve never seen the–” Enid’s father stopped himself and shook his head.

“I know. I said the same thing when she told me,” Enid said as she sat down between her father and Caroline.

“When did you watch it?” her mom asked.

“Last night. I just told you,” Enid replied.

“Oh,” her mom said, seemingly thinking about something. “Right.”

“What’s right?” Enid asked.

“Nothing,” her mom said, shaking her head. “Just heard a sound I thought was from the TV this morning.”

Caroline looked at Enid then, and her eyes were about as wide as Enid had ever seen them. Enid swallowed hard.

“I heard that, too,” her dad added.

“We did have the TV on this morning,” Caroline lied. “I fell asleep during the second movie we started watching, and I wanted to finish it.”

“Oh. What else did you watch?” Enid’s dad asked.

“ Meet the Parents ,” Caroline replied, lying.

Enid laughed wildly. Her parents didn’t get the joke.

◆◆◆

“I’ve got to get my own place,” Enid said. “My parents heard us having sex this morning.”

“They really only heard you . I was very quiet,” Caroline replied, swinging their joined hands back and forth between them.

“I’m going to ask them for a loan. I have to just suck up my pride and ask already. At least I have a part-time job now, and I’ll get another one, but I can’t handle another awkward breakfast like that.”

“It was a little awkward at first, but it was fine once your mom sat down, and we were all eating and getting to know each other. Actually, it got awkward again when your dad told me the story about how you fell pretty bad on your bike when you were nine, and you have a scar on the inside of–”

Enid laughed and said, “You had to pretend you hadn’t seen that scar.”

“That I hadn’t specifically licked that scar about an hour prior to that conversation,” Caroline added, laughing.

“Let’s maybe avoid that for a while. How about you remeet my parents later, but we keep you from them for the time being?”

“I like them. They’re nice. They didn’t ask you a million questions about classes or your major or your future.”

“Well, I live with them, so they talk to me every day. They get updates over dinner usually, so they don’t have to ask.”

Then, Enid’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket with her free hand to check the screen. She didn’t recognize the number, so she decided to let it go to voicemail and put her phone away.

“I have to run. I’m meeting Viv and Jodie for a quick trip to the store for some ice and snacks,” Caroline said. “I’d invite you, but you have a group thing.”

“Don’t remind me…” Enid replied.

They stopped walking in the middle of the quad because Caroline had to go one way, and Enid had to meet her group in the library in the other direction.

“Hey, I had fun this morning,” Caroline said, pulling Enid into her.

“The sex or meeting my parents?” Enid joked.

Caroline laughed and replied, “I liked waking up to me holding you. Then, I liked the sex, and the shower, and the breakfast.” She smiled softly. “It was nice, seeing you with your family. You look a little like both of them, and you get your business side from your dad, don’t you?”

“Mostly, yeah,” Enid said, wrapping her arms around Caroline’s waist.

“So, go and kick ass with this business. Tell your group that you’re the CEO. You’re in charge. Be the boss, babe, and whip them into shape.”

Enid smiled and asked, “You think that will work?”

“They’re in this crazy hard advanced program, too. It’s in their best interest to let you take control and get shit done.”

Enid nodded and asked, “Can I see you later?”

“I’d love that,” Caroline replied and leaned in for a kiss.

It wasn’t quick, but it wasn’t the long, slow kind of kiss that Enid loved, either, and they said goodbye just as Enid’s phone dinged, indicating she had a message.

“Who still leaves voicemails?” she said to herself as she pulled her phone back out and opened the message.

“Hi, Enid. This is Sylvie. I hope this is still your number. Anyway, I know things didn’t work out for either of us in Tallahassee, but I’ve landed on my feet at another company in Jacksonville. It took me a bit to get settled in after the move and everything, but now, I’m hiring, and you were the first person I wanted to reach out to. Give me a call when you can.”

Enid didn’t think or hesitate. She still had the desire to get a new, real job on her mind, so she quickly dialed Sylvie’s number and waited impatiently as the phone rang.

“Enid?”

“Yeah, hey. Sorry, I didn’t recognize your number, so I didn’t pick up.”

“It’s my new office number,” Sylvie said. “How have you been?”

“Good. Really good,” Enid replied, half-lying because some things were good, but other things needed work. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Did you check my message or–”

“I did. You moved to Jacksonville?”

“About nine months ago,” Sylvie said. “It wasn’t part of my plan, but I got the job I wanted after being laid off, so I couldn’t exactly be choosy. I have a team of six now, and I’m looking to hire two more people by the end of the quarter, if I can. I know you moved back to New Orleans, right?”

“Yeah. I went back to grad school.”

“Oh. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. Can you go online?”

“My program is an in-person one, so I’d have to talk to my advisor about switching to the longer program, which has the online option.”

“Would you be willing to do that?” Sylvie asked. “You would have to interview and everything, obviously, but the company is good. We’re growing, too. There’s a possibility of promotions, raises, and bonuses. All that stuff. I’m not sure what you were making before, but I know we can match it if not get you more.”

“But I’d have to move?” Enid asked.

“It’s an in-office position, yes. I know those aren’t all the rage these days, but it’s a new team, so they want everyone to be in the office at least two to three days a week. I can see about them letting me hire a couple of people remotely, but I’m not sure they’ll go for it. Jacksonville is nice, though. I like it enough.”

“I don’t know,” Enid replied. “Don’t get me wrong… I do need a job, and I loved working with you before, but I wasn’t planning on moving again so soon.”

“Let’s do this, then. I’ll send you the link. If you want to apply, do it. We’ll go through the interview process, and if you get it, we’ll talk specifics.”

“Um… Okay,” she replied, knowing she’d be stupid to give up an opportunity like this but not being thrilled at the prospect of having to move so soon after moving back home.

“Great. I’ll email you. Same email address?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“If you have any questions once you see the details, let me know.”

“I will. And thanks, Sylvie,” Enid replied.