“Here.” Mel passed her notes to Jess. “I’ve already memorized everything.”
“Thanks, Mel! What would I do without you?”
As Jess flipped through the notes, Mel closed her eyes again. Her mind picked up where it left off. She couldn’t deny how the idea of submitting to another woman made her hot all over. These desires weren’t new. No, they had always been there. But Mel had never allowed herself to even consider letting them play out. They went against everything she believed about herself. So she’d buried them deep inside her where they remained a half-forgotten fantasy. Until Vanessa had reawakened them.
“Mel? Hello?” Jess waved her hand in front of Mel’s face.
“Huh?”
“I said, do you want to come over and study tonight? You know, for the quiz tomorrow?”
“Right. Sorry, I can’t,” Mel replied. “I have work.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Jess asked. “You’ve been spacing out all day. Something on your mind?”
“No, I’m fine,” Mel replied.
Jess narrowed her eyes and studied Mel’s face. “Or could it be… someone?” A smile broke out on her face. “I knew it!”
Mel sighed. Jess knew her too well. They’d been friends since freshman year of college when they ended up in most of the same pre-law classes together. Jess wanted to become a criminal defense attorney. But for now, she had to settle for interrogating her friends.
“C’mon, spill,” Jess said. “I want every detail.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” Mel said. “It’s just a stupid crush. Nothing’s happened.”
“Do you mean, nothing’s happened yet?”
“No. Nothing is ever going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t have the time or energy for a relationship of any kind.” It wasn’t a complete lie. “Why are you so interested in my love life anyway?”
Jess sighed. “Because mine is non-existent.”
“What happened to Brandon?”
“You mean Brendon?”
“Yeah, him.” Mel found it hard to keep up with Jess’s ever-changing list of boyfriends. “I thought things were going well between you two.”
Jess shrugged. “We broke up. He was kind of boring.”
Mel shook her head. A week ago, Jess had been sure that Brendon was the one.
Professor Carr strode into the room. “Okay everyone, settle down.”
The class fell silent. Even though Professor Carr was five foot two and old enough to be Mel’s grandmother, she commanded the respect of everyone around her. She was Mel’s favorite professor. She had a long and impressive career behind her. Fighting civil rights violations. Taking on corporate giants. Representing thousands in large-scale class action suits. Now she spent her days running a nationwide legal non-profit organization. She was everything that Mel aspired to be.
“Before we get started, I have a small announcement to make,” Professor Carr said. “By now, you should all be thinking about summer internships.”
Murmurs went through the class. Summer internships were the first opportunity that Mel and her peers would have to get hands-on law experience, and finding an interesting internship as a first-year was almost impossible.
Professor Carr continued. “I’ve decided to take on a first-year student as an intern this summer. You’ll be working for me personally at The Legal Services Project. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, The LSP is a non-profit that provides free legal help. It connects lawyers who are willing to do pro-bono work with the clients who need it the most. And it provides individual lawyers and law firms with incentives for providing legal aid. We’re making waves in the legal world. And I’m giving one of you the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Mel’s ears pricked up. She had to have that internship. An opportunity to work under Professor Carr was too good to pass up. Not to mention that a number of influential people, lawyers and otherwise, were involved in the project. The connections a law student would make working there would be invaluable. So would the experience.
But Mel’s interest in The LSP was far more personal. Projects like this were the reason she decided to go to law school. When she was young, her father walked out on Mel and her mother, leaving them destitute. Mel’s mother spiraled into debt, depression, and alc