Page 2 of Reckless Temptation

“A couple of other things will be posted as well, but as I will be participating in the panel to choose this intern, I wanted to give you as much notice as possible.”

“What she say now?” Maxim whispered, wincing as he wrote the notes I’d jotted down.

A kick to the back of my chair jolted me forward. It happened so suddenly that I lost my balance in my chair and bumped my elbow into my water bottle. Rattling, then tipping over, it crashed to the floor and rolled down the steps.

Dammit.

Rachel Brown smirked from her spot behind me. I shot her a quick glare as I got up to retrieve the bottle. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment to be the source of such a distraction.

Next to her, Tiffany furrowed her brow. “Excuse me, Professor Angus,” she said sweetly. “Could you please repeat that? I couldn’t hear over the commotion.”

“Yeah, Sabrina,” Rachel sneered. “If you’re not talking through class, you’re making as much noise?—”

“Enough, Ms. Brown.” Professor Angus kept her wrinkled face emotionless as she watched me reclaim my seat, then glanced at Maxim, as though she already knew it was him whispering, not me. “I said that the criteria for the internship position will be posted tonight. That way, your year-one projects can be completed according to schedule. It would serve you well to incorporate your community outreach project into the application for this position, should you want it.”

Should I want it?

Hell yeah, I wanted this intern spot!

Class was dismissed, and Professor Angus called Maxim down to speak with her. She wasn’t so heartless as to let him suffer with his obstacles, but it never appeased him. Maxim was just that anxious, nervous to miss anything despite Prof. Angus alwaysoffering him a copy of her handwritten notes. It made him that much more of an underdog, making me want to help him too.

As I packed up to leave the lecture room, I made sure to keep my head down. Avoiding eye contact with Rachel and Tiffany was a lesson I learned back in August, when I first started my law studies here. Tiffany was too “good” to bully me directly, at least when a member of the faculty could see. Therefore, Rachel was her agent in arms, doing her bidding and trying to make my life worse in any possible way.

Skirting past them completely, I hurried outside to start the bus ride then walk home. Ignoring the long route and how my stomach grumbled for dinner, I passed the time with thoughts of the internship spot. Excitement built within me. Nervousness tried to settle. Underneath it all, I smiled and welcomed this optimism about the opportunity to get ahead.

I was already ahead in life. My parents had never gone to college, so my bachelor’s in English was a huge milestone for our family. My father hadn’t even graduated from high school. We came from modest means, and with my determination to go into law, I would be able to one day provide for them. This internship would be one more impressive achievement to put on my résumé. It would serve as another example of why I should be considered for a generous salary on a legal team somewhere near home.

By the time I arrived at the small one-story house I lived in with my parents, my hunger pangs were gone. They’d passed, leaving me feeling empty and tired. But the second I set foot inside and called out my hellos, the scent of enchiladas hit my nose and I groaned.

“Sabrina! You’re so late,” my mom hollered from the kitchen where music played.

“I’ll warm you up a plate,” my dad added as I hustled to the kitchen. This warm, colorful room was the one spot in the house where I couldfeelthe sense of family we were blessed with. This was where we ate, where I did my homework, where my mom cooked and tried to help out with some dishes for the small catering company she worked for. It was the site of many conversations held, games played, and meals shared.

So, when I plopped into my chair and grinned at them, I felt like I could finally breathe. I could relax and lower my guard. Without books and homework in front of me yet, I didn’t have to concentrate. I could justbe. Without Tiffany and the other bullies watching me, I didn’t have to keep a hawkish control on my composure and image.

“Long day?” my dad asked as he leaned over to kiss my brow. He set a steaming plate down for me as Mom brought over a glass of water.

“Yes, another long day,” I said happily.

“Bah. You say that about every day,” Mom teased, taking the chair to sit with me. It didn’t matter that they’d already eaten. They would savor every minute of my company that they could. Law school was a demanding existence, so they had to take advantage of what they could, when they could.

I nodded, agreeing with her as I stuffed my mouth.So,sogood.The rich spices and tang of flavors distracted me from wanting to complain about anything at all. Any time I had the privilege to taste her food, I was in heaven.

“What was today?” Dad asked, so interested in my days. To him, I was a “superhero” for going to college and trying to be a lawyer. He had never aspired to obtain the education I had, mostly because he had to work through his youth instead, but he never missed a chance to show his interest in what I did.

“Torts, contracts, and Civ Pro,” I replied before taking another bite.

“Civ Pro…” He furrowed his brow, etching the lines on his tanned face. “Don’t tell me what that one is again. I know it. I know it.”

“Civil Procedure,” my mom filled in for him, as keenly interested in my life as he was, despite her lack of knowing what it all meant.

He snapped his fingers and nodded. “And Criminal Procedure was the one you did last semester.” He beamed.

I didn’t know how I’d ever lucked out to get such loving parents like them, genuinely intrigued and invested in what I did. “And I’ll have to take them again. But listen to this! Professor Angus announced that they will open up internship applications to L1 students.”

Mom’s jaw dropped. “Already?”

“I thought you said that you wouldn’t have an internship until next summer,” Dad said.

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