Page 26 of June

“So, we’re okay. I’ll be okay. I mean, yeah, I like you, but you don’t feel the same way. I’ll be fine.”

Caroline then watched her pick up her book and open it, so she knew that their conversation was over. She didn’t know what to do now since she’d planned to spend the afternoon at the fair with Jodie, so she grabbed her phone and her old sketchbook and climbed onto her bed. Having opened the sketchbook, she returned to the images of the very naked Brooke. Brooke hadbeen sexy as hell, and drawing her had led them to having sex in the bed this sketch depicted. Caroline closed the sketchbook and picked up her phone instead. She wasn’t sure what she was planning on doing with it, but the instant she unlocked it, she remembered that she hadn’t gotten Enid’s phone number. She hadn’t even gotten Enid’s last name.

CHAPTER 7

Enid hadn’t gotten her contact information. Sure, she now knew where Caroline lived, so technically, she could go to her dorm, but that seemed like bordering on stalking. She also hadn’t caught the room number, only that she’d turned right on the second floor, and she wasn’t sure if it was two or three doors down. Maybe it had even been four. Enid had been a bit distracted watching Caroline’s hair kind of sway as she moved. Caroline was talented. Enid had been able to tell that from the sketchbook she had looked through on the quad, but those drawings had been of everyday things. The ones she’d seen in the sketchbook from Caroline’s road trip had been much more detailed. In fact, the images of Brooke had made Enid a little jealous, which made no sense.

Caroline had captured the woman well, though. If Enid had to guess, Brooke was maybe her own age or older. She could have been twenty-eight or twenty-nine, even, and her body – or, at least, how Caroline had depicted it – was pretty perfect. She either worked out or was just naturally fit, but possibly both because she definitely had some muscle definition. The second drawing Enid had seen of her hadn’t necessarily beenofBrooke but more of apartof her. Caroline had drawn a close-up of Brooke’s sex, with legs spread but not visible. The attention was on Brooke’s folds and fingers, which hovered just above themand almost out of the drawing, as if Caroline had run out of space to draw them.

Yes, she was very talented. That was certain. But Caroline was also cute and funny, so Enid wanted to run into her again, and maybe they could hang out. She had no friends on campus, with Rory not being there in the summer, so it would be nice to have someone to talk to between classes or maybe to study with in the library or on the quad when it wasn’t too hot or muggy. With that in mind, Enid was now sitting at the same table today, hoping that she was visible enough in the middle of the most popular part of campus that if Caroline did walk by, she would see her.

She’d been trying to study but had so far been unsuccessful because focusing on her book was difficult when she was also trying to keep her eyes peeled for Caroline. Maybe she should really just stop by the second floor of Caroline’s building and walk down the hall. Odds were, her door would be open if Caroline was in her room, and if Enid didn’t see her today, she could try again another time and just make it out like it wasn’t a big thing. No, that would for sure be more like stalking. She promptly talked herself out of it and looked back down at her book, deciding that she was already spending most of her time on campus because it was usually better than being at home, so she’d run into Caroline eventually.

“Hey.”

Enid looked up and saw Rory standing there with her girlfriend.

“Hey. What areyoudoing here?”

“I had to pick up some stuff for next semester,” Rory replied. “The textbook I need is in stock, and I didn’t want to have to deal with the crowds in the fall. I couldn’t find it online.”

“She’s just a nerd and wants to get a head start,” Logan teased.

“That too,” Rory confirmed. “Want to grab lunch?”

“Uh…” Enid looked around. “I already ate. But you can hang out with me for a few before my next class if you want.”

“Are you starving?” Rory asked Logan.

“No, I’m okay. I’ll just need to get home by three to shower and change for work.”

“I have a vested interest in you showering,” Rory said.

They sat down at the table, and Rory gave Logan those heart eyes again.

“So, Enid, how’s school?” Logan blessedly changed the subject.

“It’s fine. I’m learning a lot. It’s just also boring.”

“Because you don’t want to keep learning. You want to start doing,” Rory said.

“I guess I want to learn while I do, yeah, not to be done learning. I’m just ready to get to work. In this summer session, they have us starting on my capstone project.”

“What’s that?” Logan asked.

“We have to form a group and create our own business from scratch. I got stuck with three people who really don’t seem to want to put in the work, which sucks.”

“You can’t change groups?”

“I tried. The professor said that thiswasbusiness: you sometimes have to work with people you don’t want to work with. This capstone project is a huge deal, though. It continues throughout the rest of the program, and if we suck at it, my grade suffers.”

“Can I help?” Rory asked.

This woman reallywasa saint. She was also newly in love and had two jobs already, with kind of a third one, too, where she helped Candace at the bar. When school started back up in the fall, she would hardly have any time left over for Enid. She’d want to spend whatever time shedidhave with Logan. Enid wasdefinitely envious, though. She hated that she felt it, but it was there. Logan had her hand on the back of Rory’s neck, and she was massaging it for her. Enid didn’t have anyone to massage her neck, and it hurt because she was constantly looking down at a laptop or bulky textbooks. Then, she thought of Caroline and how it had felt to sit in her room, with Caroline looking over her shoulder. Enid had tried to hide how she had breathed her in. Caroline had smelled a little of mint, which might have been from a piece of gum or possibly her shampoo.

“No, but thanks,” Enid replied, returning her thoughts to the present.

“So, I heard from a little birdie at work that someone has a date,” Rory said.

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