Page 30 of June (New Orleans #6)

“T his is our first two-bedroom unit. It’s one thousand square feet and has a balcony but no fireplace. You also get the washer-dryer combo in the two-bedroom, and this one has the walk-in closets. Our eight-hundred-square-foot unit on the first floor doesn’t have the walk-ins or the balcony, but there is a patio,” the representative from the apartment complex said. “The courtyard is open to all, and you face the street in this unit, but the other one I can show you does face the courtyard. It tends to be a little quieter most times, but the kids do go there to play, so after school, it can get a little loud.”

“Thanks,” Jodie said. “Can we just walk around on our own for a minute?”

“Sure,” the woman replied. “I’ll wait outside in the hall. Just call for me if you have any questions.”

She walked back out the door they’d come in through.

“What do you think?” Jodie asked Caroline once they were alone.

Caroline looked around the empty apartment unit with the gray carpet that looked freshly cleaned and tried to picture herself living here.

“It’s nice,” she replied.

“Want to check out the bedrooms?” Jodie asked her but didn’t wait for a reply before she took off toward the one on the right.

Caroline just laughed and checked out the kitchen while Jodie made comments about the bedroom.

“The window faces the building across the street, so we would need curtains or blinds or something,” she said.

Caroline didn’t say anything in response as she opened the refrigerator and noted that there wasn’t a little squeak like there was whenever she opened Frank. She actually smiled at the thought and felt like a real adult, opening a full-size refrigerator that could be hers if she and Jodie liked the apartment. This was their first complex. They’d found three with available units that fit their price range that they wanted to check out, and they knew that they needed to do it as soon as possible because once more students started figuring out where they wanted to live for the fall semester, those units would go quickly. Caroline had finally gotten up the courage just that morning to ask her parents to pay her rent, and they had said yes but had given her a very tight timeline to find a place because otherwise, they had to pay for her room and board at the university soon to reserve her dorm room and meal plan.

“I like the bathroom in here. It’s pretty big,” Jodie said. “I can’t believe there are two of them.”

“Me neither,” Caroline replied as she walked over to the other bathroom, which was smaller and, technically, the guest bathroom.

The main bedroom was larger and had a bigger bathroom inside it, along with the closet, and they’d already decided that they would rock-paper-scissors for it. The person who got it would pay a little more in rent because of it. The guest bathroom had a shower but no bathtub and was right off of the other bedroom, and Caroline figured she wouldn’t care either way. She’d been sharing a bathroom with about a hundred other girls for years now, so anything would be an upgrade. Although, she did have a vision of her and Enid in a bathtub, so getting the main bedroom would be nice. Then again, she would need Enid to stay in New Orleans for them to have that, and that was no longer a given.

“Hey, what do you think?” Jodie asked as she emerged from the bedroom.

“It’s cool, but anything is better than a dorm room. At least here, you’d have your space, and I’d have mine.”

“So you and Enid could get it on behind closed doors, and neither Viv nor I would need to see it?” Jodie teased as she walked over to Caroline and looked into the other bathroom.

“I can’t guarantee we’d be quiet,” Caroline replied.

Jodie glared at her and said, “I know you can be quiet. You were quiet that night. So, is Enid uncontrollably loud in bed or something?”

“Let’s not talk about my girlfriend’s bedroom noises,” Caroline replied and walked into the second bedroom to take a look.

“So, there are noises?” Jodie teased as she joined her.

“She might be leaving, Jodie,” Caroline blurted out.

“Huh?”

“Enid. She has an interview for a job in Jacksonville.”

“Oh, shit. Really?”

“Yeah. And I want her to get it if that’s what she wants. I mean, I know she really wanted the job she had and didn’t want to go to grad school, but now she does, and she’s here. She’s only a year away from finishing, but she’s thinking of leaving and going through the longer program instead, which is her choice, obviously, but she’ll be in Florida, and I’ll be here because my parents are insisting that I finish school. I can’t just quit and go with her. I don’t have a job myself, and it’s not like I’ll find a good one there without my degree in whatever I decide my major will be. I’ll end up resenting her because I’m waiting tables and probably miserable and–”

Jodie’s hands shook Caroline’s shoulders, and she said, “Hey, hold on there a second.”

“What?”

“Care, you and Enid just met.”

“So? She’s my girlfriend.”

“Yes, but you can’t quit school and go with her if she gets this job, even if you wanted to.”

“I know that. That’s what I’m saying.”

“You just said you’d resent her.”

“No, I meant that I can’t do that because I’d resent her for it. I think I want to stay here.”

“Yeah, you have school,” Jodie said and let go of her shoulders.

“No, I mean that I like it in New Orleans. I might want to stay here after school, too.”

“Why do you think that?” Jodie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know. The art scene here is pretty cool.” Caroline shrugged a shoulder.

“Art?” Jodie asked.

“Yeah. Like, I hated the classes they made me take, so I don’t think I’ll get my degree in it, but I like the idea of doing something with it after school.”

“You’ve never talked about what you would do after we graduate before,” Jodie said.

“I know. It’s new. I’m kind of just realizing it. And Enid is part of the reason.”

“She’s helped you figure it out?”

Caroline nodded.

“Care, if she goes, she goes. You two can decide if you are going to stay together and date long-distance or not. But just because she’s helped you figure out what you might want to do after school and you really like her, doesn’t mean you should change your whole life for her already. You have no idea if you two will hit the one-year mark or even the one-month mark.”

“I know,” she said. “But I want to.”

“So, what does Enid say? Does she not want to stay together if she leaves?”

“She does.”

“Then, why are we talking about this and not the possibility of us getting an apartment together?” Jodie remarked loudly. “Have you even checked out the balcony?”

“Not yet.”

“Care, she’s your girlfriend. You’ll figure it out. Right now, we need to decide about our living situation because I don’t want to live in a dorm in the fall if I have a girlfriend, too.”

Caroline leaned back and asked, “Is that a possibility?”

“Maybe,” Jodie said quickly and walked out of the room.

“Wait.” Caroline laughed and followed her. “What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing,” Jodie replied as she opened the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. “Just that I might have asked Viv out, and she might have said yes.”

“What? You did? When?”

“Last night,” Jodie replied. “I ran into her in the bathroom and asked her.”

Caroline laughed and said, “You asked the girl out in the bathroom? What is wrong with you?”

“I asked her out. That’s what matters. You can’t be picky about where I did it. And she was really cute, Care. She had toothpaste on her chin. She looked really tired, too.”

“She was studying late,” Caroline explained.

“And I was just going to pee before going to sleep, but I saw her, and she looked so tired and had the toothpaste. She, like, quickly went to rinse and tried to wipe it away like I hadn’t just seen it, so I decided to go for it, and she said yes. We’re going out tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“She told me she was free, and I didn’t want to wait too long. It would just be weird. So, we’re going to dinner.”

“That’s great, Jodie,” Caroline replied as she stared at her best friend, who looked really happy.

“I think so,” Jodie said. “I was thinking I’d maybe get her some flowers or something. Do you want to go with me to grab them?”

“Sure. But I’m seeing Enid tonight, so we’d have to go soon.”

“Are you staying with her tonight?”

“I have no idea what we’re doing tonight,” she replied.

Jodie nodded and asked, “Do you like this place?”

“It’s an apartment.” She shrugged a shoulder. “No AC, but the windows are much bigger than the ones in the dorms.”

“Yeah, I think we’ll be okay,” Jodie said. “Should we apply for it?”

“I like the balcony and the street view, so why not?”

They walked out to the hallway and told the woman that they wanted to put in an application. They’d still look at the other units before making a final selection, but Caroline was pretty sure this place would be just fine for them for a year or two. She could even see the cheap furniture they’d fill it with and the fun times they’d have hanging out in the living room while they watched a movie or had friends over.

When they got back to the dorm, Jodie disappeared to shower for her date, and Caroline went to her room to figure out what she was going to wear for her own date that night. She found Viv fresh out of the shower herself and staring at her open closet, likely doing the same.

“Hey,” Caroline said. “I heard someone has a date tonight.”

“Hi. I need to figure out what to wear. What does Jodie like?”

“You,” Caroline replied as she climbed onto her bed, deciding not to worry about her own date clothing for the time being.

“That’s funny.”

“It’s the truth. She asked you out.”

“And you’re okay with it?” Viv asked. “Your best friend going out with your roommate?”

“Totally.” She smiled at Viv when she turned around. “Wear the blue sweater and the black flats. You look nice in those. And just relax, okay?”

“No way. It’s a date with Jodie.”

Caroline laughed a little and said, “She was the girl you wanted to ask out, right?”

“Yes. But she was your friend and fun and exciting, and I’m lame and boring and–”

“No, you’re not. And I think you two will be cute together.”

“The blue sweater?”

“Yes,” Caroline said.

“Will you be here when we get back?”

“Depends on when you get back. I’m going out with Enid.”

“You two are cute together, too,” Viv said as she pulled her sweater out of the closet and placed it carefully on her bed.

“Thanks,” Caroline replied. “I think so.”

“What do I do on a date, Care?”

“You’ve been on a date,” she replied.

“Not with Jodie,” Viv argued. “I’ve been into her for months now. Even when I asked you out the second time, I was kind of already into her.”

“Wait. What?” Caroline asked, laughing. “You asked me out when you were into Jodie?”

“Kind of.” Viv sighed. “I mean, I liked you, but I’d been spending more time with Jodie by then. She was really nice to me and made me laugh, but she was dating around, and that’s not for me. I still liked you, so I thought I’d give it one more try, and if you say no, then I’d have to move on, and I–”

“Moved on to Jodie?” Caroline asked.

“Yeah.”

“She likes you a lot, too, Viv.”

“But is it just like a friend she might like to go out with kind of like , or that she could really… you know, with me?”

“Are you asking me if she wants to have sex with you?”

“I’m not exactly sexy, Caroline. I’m the nerdy, studious girl on the floor. Jodie is outgoing and hot. I read every night for fun and wear silly plaid pajama pants with mismatched T-shirts.”

“She wouldn’t go out with you if she didn’t think there was that possibility, Viv.”

“Are you sure? Because I really like her, Care.”

“Wear that black bra under that sweater and move it a little so it’s an off-the-shoulder thing. When she picks you up, if her eyes go to that bra strap, you’ll know I’m right.”

“I just bought that bra online because it was on sale,” Viv shared.

Caroline laughed and replied, “Trust me, that doesn’t matter.”