Page 31 of June (New Orleans #6)

E nid was nervous. She was standing outside Caroline’s dorm building and knew she needed to text her to have Caroline come down and let her in, but she wasn’t sure that she was ready for that. She still hadn’t made a decision about the job, but she now had an interview scheduled for the following afternoon with Sylvie and two other members of the team. Because Sylvie had worked with Enid before, this would be the only interview, and as Sylvie had told her before Enid had left her parents’ house to pick Caroline up for their date, it was more a formality than anything.

Sylvie had checked on the possibility of Enid working remotely in New Orleans, and the company had said no. They currently had no employees outside of the state of Florida, so they weren’t interested in dealing with payroll taxes and other legalities for one employee in another state. Enid understood, but it was still a hit because she’d been hoping that they would allow it and that, in doing so, they would magically solve all her problems at once.

She’d still have to work either around her class schedule, which wouldn’t be too hard, or she would have to change to the fully online program, but Caroline was what she was really worried about. Enid knew it was ridiculous. They’d only just started dating. She needed to make the best decision for herself and her career. Thinking about turning this job down just because of Caroline wasn’t something she should be entertaining, but her mind couldn’t shut off the idea that if she got this job and had to move within a month, they would end up losing what they had.

She’d talked to her mom about it earlier, too, and her mom had reiterated what Enid had already known: that she should do what was right for her. Still, Enid couldn’t stop thinking about saying goodbye to Caroline, getting in her car, and driving away from her. She pictured their relationship in its slow decline over the next several months until, ultimately, they would end it because that would be easier than missing each other all the time. That was how most of these things went, and it would be at least two years of that while Caroline finished school. Then, assuming they were still together, if Caroline didn’t want to live in Florida, it could go on longer, or Enid would need to find another job anyway.

“Oh, hey,” Jodie said when she pushed open the door. “Care is waiting for you upstairs,” she added and held the door open for Enid.

“Hi, Enid,” Viv greeted as she walked through it.

“Oh, hey. Thanks,” Enid said and held on to the door.

“No problem,” Jodie replied and smiled over at Viv before she looked back at Enid. “Hey, talk to her, okay?”

“Sorry?”

“About the job thing. Just be real with her,” Jodie replied.

“She told you?”

“I’m the best friend.” Jodie shrugged a shoulder. “We have to go, though, or we’ll be late for the reservation I made.”

“You made a reservation?” Viv asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Jodie replied, looking a little embarrassed. “See you later, Enid.”

“Bye,” Enid said and walked up the stairs, making her way to Caroline’s door.

She was surprised to see it closed, but maybe Caroline was still changing for their date. Enid sighed, knocked, and waited. When the door opened a few seconds later, Caroline stood there, and Enid let out a deep breath because, wow. Her girlfriend was… Wow.

“You look beautiful,” she said.

“I’m just in jeans and a T-shirt,” Caroline replied, looking down at herself.

“You’re always so beautiful to me,” Enid said, knowing that it was the truth.

“Trying to butter me up so that you can tell me you’re moving out of state?”

Caroline turned to walk farther into the room.

“No,” she replied, walking in and closing the door behind her.

“I don’t know if I feel like going out tonight,” Caroline told her.

“We can stay in if you want, but I kind of did a thing.”

“A thing? Like a reservation?”

“Not exactly. But, apparently, Jodie made a reservation for her and Viv.”

“They’re on their first date. It’s really very cute.” Caroline pointed to Viv’s desk. “Jodie got her flowers.”

“I should’ve brought you flowers,” Enid said.

“I don’t want flowers, Enid. I just want you .” Caroline sat in her desk chair, looking defeated. “I swear, I was in a better mood earlier, but I saw how excited Viv was with Jodie, and I know I want that.”

“To date Viv and Jodie?” Enid made a bad joke as she walked over to the chair and knelt in front of Caroline, rubbing her hands over Caroline’s thighs.

“No, to date you ,” Caroline replied. “I didn’t expect you to be in another state while we were doing it, but that’s what I want.”

“I still have to get the job,” Enid replied.

“You will,” Caroline said, looking away. “I’m not one of those girls, Enid. I wasn’t planning on finding a girlfriend or trying to make distance work. I don’t want to be sad all the time, missing you because you’re somewhere else, and I can’t get there.”

“I don’t want that, either.”

“But I want you to have what you want,” Caroline said. “As much as I want this with you, I can’t stand in the way of you having the job you’ve been wanting.”

“I have the interview tomorrow. Let’s not worry about this until after that, okay?” Enid cupped Caroline’s cheek. “We won’t be out long, I swear. I just wanted to show you something. Is that okay?”

“And it can’t wait?”

“It can, but I asked Melinda for her help, so…”

Caroline looked at her confused and said, “Okay. I’m not really hungry, though.”

“Good. It’s not a dinner thing,” Enid said and stood.

◆◆◆

Enid pulled her car into the parking spot she had been lucky to find and put the ticket she’d just grabbed in the window. Then, she turned to look at Caroline, who’d been pretty quiet the whole drive to the Square. Enid tried not to worry too much because she still had to get the job offer and accept it, but it was getting worse, seeing Caroline look dejected and knowing that it was all Enid’s fault.

They got out of the car, and Enid took Caroline’s hand as they walked. Caroline didn’t push her away. In fact, she squeezed Enid’s hand so tightly that Enid knew Caroline was trying to hang on like this was her last night in New Orleans before she moved for a job that she didn’t even have yet.

“So, I was talking to Melinda about your art.”

“My art?” Caroline looked over at her. “Not the art I think you’re talking about, right?”

Enid laughed, and it felt good to laugh.

“Not that one, no. I think that art stays between you and me.”

“And Viv, who has technically seen it,” Caroline said.

“Yeah, and Viv.” Enid stopped them at the light, waiting for it to change so they could cross the street. “Melinda knows practically everyone in this city, I think, including the artists who show their stuff in Jackson Square.” She nodded ahead, where several artists had their paintings, watercolors, chalk drawings, and sketches hanging on the fence and on the ground beneath, where even more were laid out. “I told her about the characters you make, and she mentioned that there’s this guy who has fun art like that, and he sells pretty well out here. It’s his full-time job. His aren’t like yours necessarily. He does his own characters with spray paint, and he does them live, but he makes decent money at it, I guess. Melinda told me he’s been here for years doing this, and he’s been working with a gallery recently and might end up with a show there.”

“You brought me here to look at his stuff?” Caroline asked.

“No, babe. I mean, yeah, but I thought you could talk to him and ask him questions about how it works out here and how you could maybe display your own stuff here one day. Melinda checked with him, and he said he’d be up for it.”

“I don’t know that I want to display my stuff, Enid.”

“You don’t have to. I was just… I can see how happy it makes you when you’re drawing, Care. I can see it on your face.”

“You watched me draw you naked. That smile had less to do with me drawing and more with you being naked.”

“No, it didn’t,” Enid said as the light changed, and they crossed the street. “I saw you when I was flipping through your sketchbook and you were telling me about Timmy and Miranda and Frank. You were so happy, Care. You love this, don’t you?”

“I like drawing, yes,” she replied. “I don’t know, Enid. I’m not sure I want to put my stuff up for people to see and probably judge. They’re just stupid characters.”

“No, they’re not. They’re cute, and it’s funny that you have stories for them. I think you could do something with it, but if you don’t want to, that’s up to you. He’s over here.” Enid nodded toward the corner of the fence that was facing the street and the three horse-drawn carriages. “I was going to run to Café Du Monde to get us some beignets and coffee while you talk to him, but if you don’t want to, we can go.”

Caroline stopped them and turned to Enid.

“You can’t do nice things like this for me if you’re going to move away. I need you to be more of an asshole and less of a supportive girlfriend right now.”

Caroline tugged on the hem of Enid’s shirt.

Enid laughed and leaned in. She kissed Caroline slowly, not caring that there were hundreds of people around or that they were possibly blocking the sidewalk.

“I want to always be your supportive girlfriend.” She kissed the tip of Caroline’s nose. “So, do you want to talk to him, or should we go?”

“I want to talk to him,” Caroline replied.

“Want me there with you or–”

“You said you were buying me beignets,” Caroline interrupted her and playfully lifted an eyebrow.

Enid nodded with a smile and kissed her quickly. Then, she introduced Caroline to the artist Melinda had told her about, gave them a minute to start their conversation, and excused herself to cross the street and stand in the long line, waiting for their beignets.

Every few seconds, Enid looked over at them and saw Caroline smiling and leaning over the art. It looked like they were engaged in a good conversation, so when Enid got their beignets, she sat at one of the only empty tables in the café and waited for her cue. Another five minutes went by before she noticed Caroline looking around, likely for her. Caroline was gorgeous. Her hand ran through her brown hair, which she had left down and a little messy for their date. The smile on her face was wide and genuine, and Enid couldn’t help but watch her for another minute before she stood to go. As she walked back across the street, she thought about what Caroline had said back at the dorm.

Caroline wanted her to get what she wanted. Enid had wanted a job since she’d lost the last one and hadn’t wanted school or anything else, but now, in this moment, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. She was on a date with her girlfriend, who was so talented and had no idea. Enid was in school, learning more than she’d ever had in her undergrad and actually liking it now. She had new friends that she’d made recently. She was even closer with her family than she had been when she’d last lived at home, even though she still wanted her own place.

“Hey,” she said. “Should I make myself scarce for a little longer?”

“What? No,” Caroline replied. “We were just wrapping up. He needs to focus on his paying customers since I have no money to buy his awesome stuff.”

After they had said goodbye, Enid handed Caroline the bag of beignets, and they began walking back toward her car while Caroline talked non-stop about everything he’d told her and that they’d made a plan for her to stop by and watch him work and maybe even go to the gallery to see his stuff. Enid loved listening to her girlfriend talk when she was excited like this. She took Caroline’s hand in her own, and they stopped to cross the street again when Enid saw the old woman from before. She was definitely looking at Enid this time, and her eyes lowered to their joined hands before she looked back up and met Enid’s eyes with her own. Then, she nodded.

“So, back to the dorm? Viv and Jodie will be out for a while. You can stay over, if you want.”

“Sure. We can’t stay at my place tonight anyway,” Enid said, her heart racing because she was pretty sure that woman just told her that Caroline was the one for her without saying a word.

“Why not?”

“My brother is having a few friends over. They’ll be in his room all night, playing video games, before one of them crashes on his floor and another crashes on the couch. I don’t want any of them to see you there. They’re idiots. They’ll flirt with you non-stop, even after you tell them you’re taken and gay.”

When they got back to the dorm, Enid closed the door behind them and waited because she didn’t know what they would be doing. She wasn’t sure if they were in a place where Caroline wanted to have sex or if she just wanted them to sleep tonight, given there were so many unknowns. It was way too early to go to sleep, though, so they lay in Caroline’s bed, watching a movie on her laptop. Every so often, Caroline would snuggle more into Enid’s side, pulling her in as closely as she could, and Enid reveled in it. When it became clear that Caroline was getting tired, Enid turned off the computer and set it on Caroline’s desk before they settled in for sleep.

“Thank you for tonight,” Caroline whispered.

Enid ran a hand through her soft hair and replied, “You don’t have to thank me.”

She placed a gentle kiss on Caroline’s lips, and Caroline kissed her back, snuggling against Enid’s chest. They didn’t say goodnight and fell asleep in each other’s arms, but that was until there were two giggling women outside the door and a key trying to get into the lock. Enid opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening.

“We can’t,” Jodie whispered.

“Care’s at Enid’s tonight,” Viv replied a little louder.

“Yeah?” Jodie asked.

The room was dark, even with the little light from the hallway, but Enid could just make out Viv and Jodie kissing as they closed the door using Viv’s back. Enid’s eyes widened, and she tapped Caroline on the shoulder, waking her. Caroline looked up at her in confusion, but then her eyes widened as well when she heard it.

“We can wait,” Jodie said. “I’ll wait.”

“I don’t want to wait. I’ve waited already. I’ve waited a long time for you,” Viv replied, and they were kissing again.

Enid tried to look away, but she couldn’t. Jodie and Viv were walking toward the bed, and clothes were being tossed on the floor.

“They’re going to…” Enid whispered into Caroline’s ear.

Caroline just laughed silently and rolled into Enid, who held her against her body. Jodie and Viv were now on Viv’s bed, and the whole thing shook for a second before Enid heard what looked like maybe a shoe land on the floor. Caroline then cleared her throat loudly, and the bed movement stopped. The whole room got silent.

“Care?” Viv asked in a high-pitched voice Enid hadn’t heard her use before.

“Yup,” Caroline replied. “And Enid, too.”

“What? Fuck,” Jodie said, and there was a scramble underneath them.

Enid couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing. A few seconds later, Jodie and Viv were standing up by the bed, wearing the clothes they’d just haphazardly thrown back on.

“I thought you were staying with Enid tonight,” Viv noted.

“I didn’t say that was for sure,” Caroline replied.

“I asked you,” Jodie said.

“And I didn’t tell you that we’d be at her place,” Caroline replied. “I see the date went well,” she added, laughing a little.

“Shut up,” Jodie told her, laughing, too.

“Is your roommate home?” Viv asked Jodie.

“I don’t think so. She’s probably at her boyfriend’s.”

There was a moment where Viv and Jodie looked at one another and smiled conspiratorially.

“Yeah, we’ll see you two later,” Jodie added and tugged on Viv’s hand.

“Have fun,” Caroline replied with a laugh.

They proceeded to grab a few things off the floor before the door opened and closed loudly behind them.

“Lock it!” Caroline yelled.

“Sorry!” Viv yelled back, and Enid watched as the lock clicked into place.

Caroline turned to her and said, “I can’t believe they’re hooking up right now. It was their first date. I never thought Viv was a first-date sex-having kind of girl.”

“Well, looks like you were wrong about that,” Enid replied and shifted on top of Caroline. “So, I know we’ve got things we’re figuring out, but if Viv and Jodie are going to be in Jodie’s room, that means we have this room to ourselves for the night.”

“I thought we were sleeping,” Caroline said, wrapping her arms around Enid’s neck.

“We can go back to sleep, if you want,” Enid said and rested her forehead against Caroline’s. “I just miss you.”

“I’m right here, babe,” Caroline replied, running a hand under Enid’s shirt. “Let me show you.”

Caroline kissed her slowly, and when they finally came together that night, Enid knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t some job in Jacksonville.