Page 43 of June

Enid nodded, only now realizing that they had walked much farther than she had intended. The walk back to the car took another thirty minutes, and they talked about Jill’s tours again and her family a little. Enid told her stories about how she was an overachiever in school and a bit of a nerd. Jill laughed and called her a cute nerd, and by the time they got back to Enid’s car, Enid was feeling lighter. She liked talking to Jill. She liked laughing with her, walking around with her, and watching Jill interact with the artist she clearly knew well.

When they got to Jill’s apartment, Enid planned to say goodnight at the door like last time, but Jill just opened the door and walked inside, expecting her to follow. Enid did, but it felt like something sheshoulddo more than something she actuallywantedto do.

“I’ve got coffee,” Jill said. “Or do you want to open that wine I mentioned? I found it last night after you left.”

“Oh,” Enid said. “Coffee is fine.”

“Have a seat,” Jill replied and nodded toward the sofa. “I’ll make it. I have a pod machine and a variety pack. Any particular flavor you want?”

“No, just regular coffee is fine with me.”

“Are you a regular coffee kind of woman?” Jill asked.

“Usually, I add a packet of sugar, and that’s about it. I’ll do a cappuccino every now and then, but I haven’t had one of those in a while. They’re more expensive, so I gave them up when I moved back home.”

“I get that. This thing is two years old, and I need a new one, but I don’t want to spend money on it until I have to. I choose to have a crappy coffee maker at home so that I can buy a few more cappuccinos out there.”

Enid laughed and asked, “How is that working out for you?”

“Oh, I’m not saving money at all,” Jill said and laughed. “It’s just how I rationalize buying coffee that’s five bucks for a small cup.”

While Jill worked on their coffees in the kitchen, Enid looked more closely around the room she hadn’t had much time in the previous night. It was a nice apartment, and it had Enid missing the small one she had had in Florida. It hadn’t been great or special, but she’d been working on making it a home right before she’d gotten laid off.

Jill sat down a few minutes later and placed two mismatched cups on the table in front of them. Enid liked that Jill didn’t have matching coffee cups. She had been thinking about how ahead this woman seemed to be in her life compared to her, but something simple like not having a set of matching cups made Enid feel a little bit better.

“I added a teaspoon of sugar. Is that okay?” Jill asked.

“Perfect,” she said.

Enid looked at the coffee and knew she would drink it, but she didn’t really want it. She wasn’t surewhatshe wanted, though, so that was the bigger problem that she would have to try to solve for herself later.

“Want to watch a movie or something?” Jill asked.

Enid nodded, so Jill reached for the remote, and a few minutes later, they had a movie on for them to watch. Enid had taken a sip of her coffee, and Jill snuggled into her side. Enid wrapped an arm around her shoulders in return, and it was nice again. When she didn’t think too much about the fact that this was adate, it was nice, being with Jill. The two of them were more relaxing together than anything, and she liked that.

Then, Jill kissed her neck, and Enid’s eyes widened. She hadn’t been prepared for that, but she should have been because thiswasa date. It was a second date, and they hadn’t even had areal kiss yet, so when Jill repeated the movement and her hand moved to rest on Enid’s stomach under her shirt instead of over it how it had been for the past hour, Enid’s heart started to race.

Neither of them said anything, but Enid moved her face, and Jill lifted her head. Jill’s lips were on hers then, and Enid was kissing her back. She cupped Jill’s cheek, and before she knew it, Jill’s face was moving away and out of her grasp because Jill was lying down on the sofa. Enid moved on top of her, and Jill’s hands moved to Enid’s back under her shirt. When Enid looked down at her and saw Jill smile, she realized that she had to stop. This had gone farther than it should have, and very quickly, so she hadn’t had time to explain.

“I have to tell you something,” she said.

“What?Now?”

Enid nodded and told her, “Someone else asked me out today, and I said yes.”

Jill’s eyes widened, and her face showed both confusion and a little anger. Was that anger? Sadness? Enid couldn’t exactly read the woman well after only one and a half dates, so when Jill cleared her throat, she tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever it might be.

“Well, we’re not exactly exclusive, so that’s fine.”

“Itis?” Enid asked her.

“Have you never just dated?” Jill asked.

“Yes, but I asked you out, and then, I met someone, and she asked me out today. I’ve never hadthathappen before.”

Jill nodded and tapped Enid’s back, indicating that she should move off of her, which Enid did, sitting back on her heels, facing Jill, who was sitting up sideways on the couch.

“Okay. I think we should be honest with each other, so thank you for telling me before we took any big steps,” Jill said. “Do you want to go out with me again?”

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