Page 1 of June

CHAPTER 1

“It’s weird,” Rory noted. “I knew he was going to propose, but I thought he was going to wait. Last I’d heard, he hadn’t even picked out a ring.”

“I guess he changed his mind,” Rory’s new girlfriend, Logan, replied as she wrapped her arm around Rory.

It was strange for Enid to watch Rory with someone. Rory had been single for as long as Enid had known her, and she hadn’t even gone on a date with a woman until Logan. That felt like just yesterday, despite the fact that they were currently sitting across from her at Candace’s bar, acting like they’d been together for years. Not only that, but Rory had also recently officially come out to pretty much everyone except for her parents, and Enid suspected that would be happening soon because Rory was clearly in love.

Logan hadn’t technically been Rory’s first kiss with a woman, though. That had been Enid, and it felt like forever ago to her that Rory had initiated the kiss. Enid hadn’t felt the same way, so she hadn’t kissed her back, but they’d managed to remain friends. She had been Rory’s only gay friend at the time, and that had been the main reason why Rory had been into her back then, but as Enid watched the two women make those heart eyes at one another, it brought that kiss to the forefront of Enid’s mind. She wished she had someone to make heart eyes with, too.

It wasn’t Rory specifically that she wanted, even though Rory was great. She was beautiful, funny, and shy at times. Enidshouldhave liked her. She should have kissed her and gone out with her. She just hadn’t. Now, Rory was happy with someone else, and Enid was still single. Well,stillwas a bad word to use. She was only twenty-four.

Besides, being single wasn’t the most pressing issue that she had on her plate right now. The main problem she faced was that she’d already graduated from college and had moved to Tallahassee, where she’d gotten her dream job. It had been an entry-level position, but it was supposed to lead to an entire career. Enid hadn’t been there long when there had been layoffs, and she’d been a victim of them. After moving her entire life and using up whatever savings she had had on the security deposit for her apartment and the move, she had had no choice but to move back to New Orleans andinwith her parents, who had been kind enough to let her move back into her old room and not charge her rent.

Since being laid off, Enid had tried to find another job to no avail, so she had decided to go to graduate school to give herself a better chance of getting the job she wanted after she graduated. She still had her car and had enough money to pay for gas and a few other things, but she would need to find something part-time soon to help make ends meet because she didn’t want to live with her parents forever, and she hated taking advantage of them. They had raised her and had helped her pay for college, and now, she was using student loans for grad school and not paying them any rent. None of this had been part of Enid’s plan of getting her undergraduate degree, finding a decent job, and working her way up.

Grad school hadn’t ever been in the mix, but here she was. Her MBA program was only two years, which wasn’t bad, but it went year-round instead of giving her the summers off, whichmeant that while Rory was now done with her own graduate program for the summer, Enid wasn’t and had to keep up with two classes during her summer session while Rory had more free time for her new girlfriend, Logan.

“I assume you’ll be the maid of honor,” Enid spoke, trying to join the conversation.

“Candace hasn’t officially asked me yet, but she got engaged yesterday, so I’m not worried,” Rory replied.

“Can I be your arm candy?” Logan asked.

Rory responded by kissing her, and it was all adorable and cute and annoying at the same time. Enid took a drink of her beer and internally rolled her eyes. She had studying to do. Her summer session hadn’t even started yet, but she had over five hundred pages of reading to get through for this class, according to the syllabus, which she had snagged online the other day.

“I’ve got to get back to work,” Logan added and kissed Rory quickly before standing up. “Break’s over. Want me to put in a food order for you?”

“Can I have a burger?” Rory asked.

“Sure,” Logan said, nodding. “Enid?”

“I was thinking about heading home to get some studying in,” she replied.

“Really? I thought we were hanging out tonight,” Rory said.

‘Yeah, we were going to hang out tonight,’Enid thought to herself.

Then, Logan went on a break the moment they walked into the bar, and it had turned into the two of them hanging out and Enid being the unwanted third wheel.

“I can hang for another hour, maybe,” she replied.

“Cool. Food?” Logan asked.

“Maybe just a burger, too.”

“I’ll put the order in,” Logan said and walked toward the bar.

“Are you okay?” Rory asked her.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Rory giggled.

“Well, I’m not in the honeymoon period of a new relationship, and I didn’t recently have sex with a woman for the first time, but I’m good.”

“Don’t say that that loud,” Rory told her as she looked around at the somewhat crowded bar.

Enid laughed and said, “You two are a little annoying.”

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