Page 110 of June

Jodie sighed and said, “Why don’t you focus on Enid, and I’ll worry about whether or not I’m going to ask Viv out. You said she was going to ask some girl out on the floor, so if it’s not you, it’ll be someone else.”

“Idiot,youare the girl,” Caroline said with a big laugh. “She’s been getting to know you way more than she ever has before, right?”

“I guess.”

“And she’s buying your favorite drink and making sure you know that she’s not a virgin forsomereason. She asked you questions about your status. Jodie, she likes you.”

“Then, why hasn’t she asked me out?”

“Probably because she’s scared, too, just like you,” she suggested. “But if you’re worried about the whole rooming-with-me thing, don’t. She’s moving into a single when the fall semester starts.”

“Oh,” Jodie let out, sounding disappointed.

“Why do you sound so unhappy about that? It makes things less complicated.”

“Not really.” Jodie shrugged a shoulder. “I think I just realized that I would have no excuse to see her. I’m probably moving into an apartment, maybe with you, but even if we were rooming together in the dorm, she’s getting a single, so I’d have no excuse to just stop in, pretending I’m looking for you when I really just want to hang with her.”

“Wait. How many times have you stopped by pretending you want to hang out with me, and it’s been about Viv?”

“Oh, a lot,” Jodie admitted.

Caroline laughed and asked, “You really, really like her, huh?”

“She’s just so put-together,” Jodie replied and flopped backward onto her bed. “She doesn’t care about any of this college bullshit. She wants to get her degree and graduate so that she can have the career she’s always wanted. There’s no drama with her, Care. She’s also really, really pretty, and I just want to hold her hand and kiss her whenever we walk places.”

Caroline smiled at her friend and said, “Jodie, ask her out. I think she’ll say yes, but if she doesn’t, you two can at least talk and get everything out in the open. If you’re worried about not seeing her because she’s moving into her own room, isn’t it better to talk to her about things now?”

“I guess,” Jodie replied. “But if she says no, you’ll have to start hanging out in here more. I wouldn’t be in your room all the time like I am now.”

“Deal,” Caroline replied. “I told Viv I was going to the bathroom, so I’m going to get back. Do you want me to find an excuse to leave so that you can talk to her?”

“What? No. I need time to plan my speech.”

“Yourwhat?” Caroline laughed as she stood.

“I need to tell her how I feel.”

“Jodie, if you ask her out, I think she can guess how you feel about her. Just start there. And if she says yes, you can tell her how you feel over dinner or something.”

“Is that what you did with Enid?”

“Kind of, yeah,” she said with a smile.

“That’s going good?” Jodie asked, sitting back up.

“I met her parents this morning, so yeah.”

“But that was just because she lives at home. It wasn’t, like, a real relationship step or anything.”

“Just for that, I’m going to go back to my room and stay there for the rest of the day, so you better catch Viv in the hallway or in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, if you want to ask her out.”

“Hey!” Jodie laughed.

Caroline left, and feeling inspired, she went back to her room, where she found Viv reading, as usual. She picked up her sketchbook and climbed into her bed, stopping briefly on the two sketches of Enid, which made her wish Enid were there with her, before she got to a blank page.

“If you were a diva microwave, would you even give the TV the time of day?” Caroline asked.

“What are you talking about?” Viv asked back.

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