CHAPTER 8
“I cannot study for another hour,” Enid said. “God, why did I go back to school?”
Rory laughed and took a sip of her iced coffee.
“I had a job. I had a career,” Enid continued.
“Grad school is good,” Rory noted with a nod. “You’ll get a better job.”
“That’s just what they tell you. The reality is none of this matters. We’re all screwed,” Enid said as she closed her book.
Enid Becker had graduated from undergrad with Rory. She was almost a year older and had taken a year off college to backpack through Europe, which had sounded exciting to Rory until Enid had revealed that she’d stayed in hostels with shared bathrooms and had her phone stolen twice. Rory wasn’t much of a risk taker, but beyond that, she didn’t like the idea of having to share a bathroom with strangers.
After college, Enid had gotten a job in Tallahassee and moved there for it. Then, a year later, she had returned. The company she’d just started working for had laid off twenty percent of their staff, including Enid, and she’d been forced to move back in with her parents, which was where she still lived. She’d decided to go to grad school, like Rory, hoping it would get her back on track, but she was still a little bitter about spending money moving to Florida only to have to pay to move herself back because the company hadn’t paid for her to relocate.
Rory could understand that. Enid had thought she was at the beginning of her career, only to have to pack up her life after a year and start all over. She was now getting a master’s degree, which she wasn’t sure she needed, and looking for a new job. It wasn’t the best of situations, but Rory was trying to get her to look on the bright side. Enid was back home, and she loved New Orleans and hadn’t cared much for Tallahassee. That had to be a good thing, right?
“I’m going out tonight. Want to come?” Enid asked.
“Out where?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere.”
“Come to Candace’s place,” Rory suggested.
“I was thinking more of a ladies-only situation, Rory.”
“Oh. Well, there are usually lesbians at Candace’s.”
“What? Why?”
“Um… Remember Linden, the friend I told you about?”
“I guess.”
“She’s gay and has a girlfriend, but they have friends. They’ve stopped by a few times.”
“And are any of them single?”
“Jill is, I believe.”
“Jill?” Enid asked and leaned over the table in the quad they’d been sharing to get some studying done.
“Yeah. She’s about twenty-six or maybe twenty-seven, I think. I haven’t asked.”
“And she’s single?”
“Pretty sure,” Rory said with a nod.
“You aren’t going after her?”
Rory’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head.
“Why not, Rory?”
“Why would I?”
“Are we really not going to talk about it?”
“Enid, there isn’t anything to talk about. That was a long time ago.”
“You kissed me, Rory. You kissed me .”
“It was one time,” she said, looking down at her book.
“But it happened,” Enid pointed out.
“I told you it–”
“Rory, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but have you at least admitted it to yourself?”
Rory sighed and replied, “Yes. Okay?”
“Yeah?”
“I told Candace.”
“You did?” Enid asked. “You told her what?”
Rory leaned in and whispered, “That I’m gay.”
“Yeah?” Enid asked with a wide smile.
“Yes. But no one else knows, and I’m not ready to do a whole thing.”
“Okay. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you told me.”
“Why? It’s not like you kissed me back.”
“I did briefly until I realized it was you.”
“Gee… Thanks,” Rory said sarcastically.
“No, not like that.” Enid laughed. “Just that we were friends.”
“I know. You didn’t feel that way about me.”
“No, but I wish I did, if that counts.”
“Not really, no.”
“So, do you not like this Jill?” Enid changed the subject or, at least, took them to an adjacent one.
“She’s nice, but I don’t really know her.”
“You could get to know her on a date.”
“I don’t want to,” Rory replied.
“Because you’re not really out yet?”
“No, because I don’t feel a thing.”
“What kind of a thing?” Enid asked.
“Sparks.”
“Did you feel sparks for me?”
“Sort of. I just remember thinking that you were pretty and that I shouldn’t be thinking that you’re pretty, and the next second, my lips were on yours.”
Enid chuckled and said, “So, not really sparks, but more curiosity?”
“I guess. It’s hard to explain.” She shrugged a shoulder.
“Well, has anyone else given you these sparks?”
Rory looked down at her book.
“Someone has,” Enid concluded. “Who? Tell me.”
“No one,” Rory replied, still not looking up.
“Oh, no one is definitely someone . Who is it? Do I know her? Is it that girl in your–”
“What? No. She just asked to borrow a pen. I only mentioned her to you because she literally always asks me to borrow a pen, and it’s annoying.”
“Rory,” Enid began and laughed a little. “No one needs that many pens. Did you ever think that she might be trying to get you to talk to her?”
“Why?”
“Maybe she’s trying to flirt.”
“By asking me for a pen every Tuesday and Thursday? I doubt it.”
“Okay. Well, if it’s not pen girl, who is it?”
“I told you, it’s no one.”
“Liar. I bet Candace knows. I think I will go to her bar tonight to see if I can get her to tell me.”
“She doesn’t know anything because there’s nothing to know.”
“Oh, you are a terrible liar.” Enid laughed.
“Why do people always say that like it’s a bad thing?”
“It’s not. But if you’re going to be hiding this big secret about yourself for a long time, you’ll want to get better at it.”
“I don’t plan on doing it for a long time. I think I want to maybe kiss someone who’s actually interested in kissing me back first. That’s all.”
“So, who is she?”
“I don’t know. I need to meet her, Enid.”
“No, the woman you’re pretending doesn’t exist.”
“Will you just stop?” Rory said and laughed.
“You’re safe for now because I need to get to class, but I’m not dropping this. I’ll figure it out eventually or get it out of you somehow.” Enid stood and packed up her things. “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, later,” Rory said.
She watched Enid walk off and checked the time on her phone. She was technically done with classes for the day, but she had some time left before she needed to get to work, so she stood up and packed her things, too, deciding to drive over to the bar and make sure that Keith was still there to help. Earlier, Candace had texted that he’d been keen to get back home, which kind of ticked Rory off. He’d promised Candace that he would be there for her to help get the bar open, but he had been late, and now, he needed to get back home for some reason.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” Candace asked when Rory got to the bar and found her putting some glasses away.
“Just stopping by real quick,” she replied. “Everything okay?”
Candace stopped what she was doing and said, “You’re checking on Keith, aren’t you?”
“Is he here?”
“He’s in back, Rory. I put him to work. You don’t have to check on me, you know?”
“He made promises. I’m just making sure he’s keeping them.”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Candace replied. “But I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“Why did he want to go home early?”
“Work. They called to see if he could work a shift tonight. I told him that I needed him here and reminded him that he had requested this time off for a reason.”
“Good,” Rory said. “So, I’m going to work, but do you need me later? I can stop by.”
“Up to you. I have Keith, and Logan is in tonight.”
“Logan?” she said for some reason.
“Yeah. I hired her. She was actually in earlier to fill out the paperwork and everything.”
“Cool. That’s cool,” Rory replied. “Enid might come in later.”
“Oh, nice. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Yeah, she said she might. So, she might not.”
“Okay. Will I see you?”
“Maybe. I don’t know how tired I’ll be after the Simon tornado.”
Candace laughed and said, “Oh, you left a book here, by the way. I put it on the desk in the office for you.”
“Thanks. I didn’t realize.”
“I’ll see you later,” Candace replied and went back to putting glasses away as Rory headed into the back office to pick up her book.
“Hey,” she said to Keith, who was hunched over the desk on Candace’s laptop. “Heard you were trying to make a break for it.”
“Huh?” he said, looking up at her.
“Leaving early when Candace really needs you here.”
“Oh, no. It’s not…” Keith paused and looked around her at the open door. “Can you close that?”
“Okay,” Rory agreed and closed it.
“Can you keep a secret? I mean it. You can’t tell Candace.”
“What’s going on, Keith?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’ve been working extra hours, Rory. There’s a reason.”
“Do you need money or something?”
“Yes. For an engagement ring,” he replied. “I want to ask Candace to marry me.”
“Really?” she asked. “Finally.”
Keith smiled and said, “I want to be able to afford the perfect ring for her, so I’ve been saving up, but my parents needed to borrow some money, and my savings took a hit. I’m trying to work more to compensate for what I had to lend them, and I get overtime pay if I have to come in when I’ve already requested off and it was approved. So, it would’ve helped a lot, but she needs me here. I’m here.”
“That’s great, Keith. Honestly, she has no idea.”
“Oh, I know. She yelled at me when I mentioned wanting to go back to pick up some more hours. But she’s the only woman I want yelling at me.” He laughed.
“Do you know how you’ll do it?”
“I have an idea, yeah. I’m trying to save up a little more so that I can move here, too. I want to quit my job there; it just might take me a minute to find a new one here. I’ve been looking, though.”
“I know,” Rory said.
“I want something reliable. I think this bar will be successful, don’t get me wrong, but if it’s not, I want us to have something to fall back on.”
“I’ll keep your secret. Just keep in mind that the longer you don’t explain yourself to her, the more yelling you’ll have to deal with.”
Keith laughed and replied, “I know. But I want it to be a surprise. I think Candace thinks that we’ve been together so long now, I might not ever ask.”
“Candace loves you. She just wants you to have more time together.”
“So do I.” Keith sighed. “I’m trying.”
“Keep trying. You’ll get there.” Rory reached over and grabbed her book from the desk. “I’ve got to go to work, but I’m happy for you.”
“She’s got to say yes first,” he replied.
“Candace only ever wants to yell at you forever.” Rory winked at him.
Keith laughed again, and Rory thought that maybe she had helped him release a little of his visible tension before she walked out of the office, leaving the door open behind her. She said a quick goodbye to Candace, trying not to look her in the eye as she headed out toward the front because she couldn’t already ruin Keith’s surprise, and she promptly bumped into someone in the open doorway leading outside.
“Sorry,” she said, looking up. “Oh.”
“Oh, hi,” Logan replied. “My fault.”
“No, I wasn’t looking where I was going. My fault.”
“You’re leaving?” Logan asked.
“Work.”
“Babysitting?”
“Yeah. Just for a few hours tonight.”
“Cool,” Logan replied and moved out of the way. “Are you coming in later?”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
Logan nodded and said, “I’m working an earlier shift tonight. That’s why I’m here already. Candace wanted to teach me how to open.”
“Have fun,” she replied and couldn’t believe she’d just said that.
“No spots in the back?” Candace asked loudly.
“No, I checked,” Logan said over Rory’s shoulder.
“Me too. I had to park in the front,” Rory added.
“Do you need help?” Logan asked.
“With what?”
“Your books,” Logan replied, looking down at the one book Rory was holding.
“My books?”
“Did you just ask if you could carry her books?” Candace asked with a laugh.
“It’s a textbook. It looked heavy,” Logan said. “Never mind.” She shook her head.
“Okay,” Rory replied. “I’ve got to go now.”
“I’ll see you around.”
“Probably here. She’s here every night,” Candace added.
“Don’t you have glasses to clean or something?” Rory remarked, turning around to glare at her friend.
“Actually, I think that’s my job,” Logan said. “But I’ll see you later.”
Candace looked at Rory as if she’d just figured something out, and Rory hoped that Enid wouldn’t be stopping by tonight, after all.
“Have a good night,” she said to Logan. “I wish you nice customers and good tips.”
Logan looked at her like that was a weird thing to say and replied, “Thanks.”
Rory lowered her head in embarrassment and walked onto the sidewalk.
“Idiot,” she whispered to herself.
She’d watched Logan flirting with a woman at the bar last night, and it had been pretty obvious what had been going on between them. Logan had likely taken the woman home with her, or they’d at least gone for a drink after she’d gotten off work. Rory didn’t like thinking about that, so she tried to push what she’d seen of the two of them out of her mind. She wasn’t just jealous, though. There was something more to it than she could put her finger on.
“Hey!”
Rory turned around and saw Logan jogging toward her. Had she dropped something? She looked around on the sidewalk. Had she stepped in something that Logan had noticed?
“Hi,” she said.
“Candace said this was yours. She forgot to give it to you.” Logan held out some cash. “From working, I guess.”
“Why wouldn’t she just give it to me when I came by later?” Rory asked and took the money.
“No idea. She just asked me to catch up to you.” Logan paused. “So, you’re coming by later?”
“Maybe,” she said, stuffing the money into her pocket.
“Okay. Well, maybe I’ll see you then,” Logan replied.
Rory nodded, turned, and walked away quickly.
“See you later, Aurora!”
Rory turned her head back to Logan, who laughed.
“That face… You really don’t like your name, do you?”
“No,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
Rory turned back around and tried not to let the blush creep over her cheeks.