Page 100 of June

“That she lied about being over you?” Enid suggested, taking Caroline’s hand. “I had to park in the lot. There was a campus cop here before, and I didn’t want to get a ticket.”

“No problem,” Caroline said. “And I don’t know about Viv. I guess there’s a lot I don’t know about her. I had no idea she had a little brother.”

“Yeah, that’s a bit strange.”

They started walking toward the parking lot, and when Caroline looked down at their joined hands, she still couldn’t believe that she could just hold hands with her very hot older girlfriend, whom she was pretty crazy about. It made her smile because she’d been into Enid since they’d bumped into each other at the bar.

“You have a backpack on. Are you doing homework at dinner or something?” Enid asked.

Caroline leaned against her side and replied, “No. I just don’t have another overnight bag.”

“Oh,” Enid said. “So, that has clothes in it and stuff?”

“Is that not okay? I know it’s your parents’ house, but if they’re not okay with it, I–”

“It’s fine. I talked to them about it.”

“You did?”

“Yes. It was one of the most awkward conversations of my life. You should’ve seen the expression on my dad’s face when he realized I’d stayed at your place last night and what it meant. It’s like he was doing advanced calculus in his head to literally think of anything else other than the fact that his daughter has had sex and probably will be tonight.”

Caroline laughed and said, “We could’ve just slept.”

“I don’t think that entered his mind as a possibility,” Enid replied.

“Is it really okay? Even if they say it is, is it?”

Enid sighed and said, “Well, I don’t have my own place yet, and neither do you. This is kind ofitsince neither of us can afford to get a hotel room every time we want to have sex.”

“I could ask my parents for money, but I don’t see them giving me cash so that I can have sex with my girlfriend.”

Enid laughed a little, and they continued their walk in relative silence until they got to Enid’s car, where Caroline put her bag in the trunk. Enid pulled them into traffic moments later, and the drive to the dive restaurant Caroline had chosen for their date took about twenty minutes. Having found parking a few blocks away, they walked hand in hand down the old sidewalk with the broken concrete that was in need of repair.

After ordering at the counter, they took their number and found an empty table toward the back, which wasn’t idealbecause the kitchen was right through the swinging door. It made talking difficult, but Caroline didn’t mind.

Enid looked great tonight, wearing a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved button-down that was white, with light-gray, almost imperceptibly thin vertical stripes.

“No shorts tonight, huh?” Caroline teased.

Enid laughed and set down the sweet tea she had just sipped.

“No shorts for at least a week,” she replied.

When their food arrived, they ate while mostly people-watching because otherwise, they’d have to yell to hear each other over the crowd of tourists that had just walked in. Since they’d already paid, when they were finished, Enid dropped their trash into the can and placed the tray on top of it before taking Caroline’s hand and leading her out of the restaurant. It was a warm and muggy night, which was nothing new for New Orleans, but it had Caroline hoping that Enid’s house had air conditioning.

Then, when they got to the car, Enid’s phone buzzed.

“It’s Jill,” Enid told her.

“Oh,” Caroline said, pretending like she didn’t want to know why Jill was messaging Enid when they were out on a date.

“She just wants to know when we can hang out again.”

“Cool,” she replied, not at all thinking about how Jill had her tongue down Enid’s throat not all that long ago.

“I still owe her that night out, remember?” Enid asked as she put her phone down into the cup holder and started the car.

“To help her get laid. I remember.”

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