Page 3 of Reckless Temptation

Despite their lack of higher education, they fully understood the importance of internships. Real work experience, according to them, was irreplaceable. Being present and doing the work was how they tackled chances of getting ahead, and they wereenthusiastic for me to not only study but also to start getting job experience.

“I know!” I couldn’t help but smile again. “It’s new. But this summer, Lorsen & Spengler will take on just one L1 student.”

“That’s fantastic!” Mom clapped. “Let’s celebrate!”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I didn’t get the spot.”

“Yet,” Dad added.

“It’ll be very competitive.”

“Bah.” Mom dismissed me with a wave. “You’ll get it, Sabrina. I know you will.”

“You’re too bright not to.” Dad leaned in to hug me.

I nodded, used to their praise and appreciative of it. I was also a realist, though. “It will be difficult. I’m going to go through the criteria for it tonight, and then…” I shrugged. “May the best student win.”

“I’m betting on you,” Dad said.

As I finished eating, they asked me more about it, again telling me that they had utmost faith that I could be the one chosen. Everything they said instilled more excitement in me, but once I was done and had washed my dishes, a little bit of dread trickled back in.

I sighed as I bade them both good night before making the short walk to my apartment. It wasn’t much, just a studio over the garage, but it was mine so long as I lived with them. After the latest hurricane damage that obliterated most of the house, Dad invested in rebuilding the garage with this additional living space over it. They cherished the fact that they could still provideme with a home. Scholarships paid for my schooling, and having no rent was a blessing.

Normally, entering the small studio would induce further relaxation. This was my safe haven. My study. My home. My space to unwind or focus, depending on what I needed most at the moment.

On the heels of the internship news, though…

I was antsy.

Nervous about whether I would get it.

Thrilled that I could be in the running for it.

And… uneasy about how harsh the competition would feel.

Law school already fostered a dog-eat-dog mentality. But to fight with all my classmates foronespot?

“It’ll be brutal,” I told my best friend, Elise, when she called me after my shower.

A fellow—or former—law student herself, she was still keyed in to the law school news. Elise dropped out after her first semester, choosing to go into nursing instead, but she stayed in touch with many classmates and had already heard about the internship news before calling me.

“Brutal, yes. But also bearable,” she coached, launching into a little pep talk. “Especially for you. You’re smart. You refuse to have a life outside studying.”

I laughed, knowing she said that with love. “Hey, I volunteer at the Humane Society.”

“Okay, that just proves you love animals. But it’s also something you can put on your résumé.”

I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it.

“Everything you do is for graduating and getting a solid job afterward,” she said.

“True. But that’s true for all of us.” Maybe some students didn’t have to worry about their futures and finances like I did. I doubted Tiffany Lorsen lost sleep about bills and helping her family keep a roof over their heads. “It’s not like anyone goes into law—or nursing—for shits and giggles.”

“You’re right.” She sighed heavily. “And then there’s people likehim.” Another swoon-worthy exhale left her lips.

“Huh? Him who?” I frowned as I sat at my desk and eyed the stack of homework and reading I’d need to get done tonight. “Where are you, anyway?” The light music and chatter on her line suggested she wasn’t at home.

“At the Cricket,” she replied, naming a little dive bar near her apartment complex. Lots of students stopped in there for cheap beer, darts, and billiards. At least, that was what Elise told me. I’d never been. She was unerringly accurate about my having no life outside of school.

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