Page 122 of June

“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 aboutthisand 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?”

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