Blanche Devereaux

“Detention? Already?” Hileni huffed, her hand on her hip. 

I sighed, about to respond when she cut me off. 

“You said you were hanging out with a new friend! You even made a name up!” 

Hileni looked at Rina. “Lena, was it?”

Rina nodded. “Yes, it rhymed with mine. Quite original.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “I didn’t invent a friend, you guys. She is actually someone I’ve met. I just wasn’t with her yesterday.”

Hileni scoffed. “A pro-choice rally, Adal? You must be out of your mind!”

“My mom would be horrified!” Samara half-whispered, a frightened look on her face. 

I nodded. “Yes, I know. But she doesn’t need to know about it, does she?” I scanned their faces with a stern look. Aunt Leila would have a fit. I wasn’t scared of her, per se, but I knew she could make life difficult for me. As a kid I’d stolen a cookie off her counter and lied about it. She’d dragged me to the confessional at church, where I’d confessed my crime through sobs to a scary old priest. I shuddered to think of what she’d come up with for this.

They looked at each other and shook their heads. 

“No,” Hileni finally replied. Her expression softened a bit. “But what are we supposed to tell her you’re doing every day for two weeks?”

I shrugged nonchalantly as I closed my locker door. My eyes drifted to the wall, where a poster hung for a hilarious school club. “Tell her I’ve joined the Chastity Club.”

The three of them burst out laughing. 

“What?” I smirked, feigning innocence. “It could happen.” As their giggling fit continued, my eyes moved a little farther down the wall, and they widened when I saw Matteo, the mysterious guy from detention yesterday. He was leaning up against a doorframe, and he was looking right at me with a smirk on his face. 

“Yeah, okay,” Hileni laughed, bringing my attention back to our conversation. “You’re a little more Mary Magdalene than Virgin Mary.”

I blushed as I continued to feel Matteo’s eyes on me. “Yes, well...Jesus loved them both, didn’t he?”

Rina patted my arm. “We’ll try to think of a better lie on our way home.”

“See you later,” Hileni added. “Try and behave today.”

I sighed as the three of them waved goodbye. My gaze drifted back to where Matteo had been, but he was gone now. 

“Mary Magdalene, huh?” came a smooth, deep voice. 

I jumped a little. Matteo was right next to me now. I held his gaze and nodded, wordlessly. Jesus Christ. How was it possible for someone to be this disarming?

He rested his palm on the locker next to me and grinned at me. “And I thought it was Hester Prynne.”

I rolled my eyes and exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding in. So James had mentioned me. I needed to know what he’d told Matteo. I quickly decided I’d lay on a little charm of my own. “Uh, no,” I replied, biting my lip as I leaned into the locker. I looked up at him through my lashes. “It’s actually Adele.”

Matteo’s Adam’s Apple bobbed in his throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Adele. I’m Matteo.” 

I smiled at him. “What brings you to the girls’ side of school?” I arched my back a little- enough to push my chest out a bit. 

Matteo’s eyes flickered over my body and then back up. “Oh, I heard there was a new student. Thought I would welcome you.”

I smirked. “I’ve been here a month. Why wait until now?”

He chuckled softly. “Well, there is something I was hoping I could discuss with you.”

I nodded expectantly. 

“It’s about James,” he continued. 

I tried not to break, though my heart was pounding in my chest at that point. Charm him, charm him. “Oh? Don’t tell me you’re his wingman. I saw something I liked yesterday, but it wasn’t him.”

Matteo grinned as he looked away briefly, then back at me. “Oh yeah?” 

I nodded, knowing I was going to get myself into trouble for this. But I mean, I wasn’t lying... He cleared his throat and laughed a little. “Well, thankfully this isn’t fifth grade, and I’m not here to ask you out for James.”

I gave a sigh of relief. 

“Besides,” Matteo added with a smirk. “That would be a conflict of interests.”

I gulped, my eyebrows raising. 

“Miss Carrem!” a harsh voice cut through our sexually charged bubble like a knife. 

Matteo and I turned our heads toward the offending voice, and I shuddered. It was Dr. Porter, and she looked pissed. 

“Young lady, you are supposed to be in detention,” she chastised. Then she looked at my companion. “Mr. Vasari, you shouldn’t be over here.”

“Yes, uh, I know, I-“ I stumbled over my words. 

Matteo stepped in front of me. “Dr. Porter, I apologize.”

From behind Matteo, I watched her expression soften. You’ve got to be kidding me! Even she wasn’t immune to his charm! “Adele was interested in joining the Debate Club, and well, you know how important extra-curriculars are,” he chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Might just straighten her out.”

I tried to hide the smile as I blushed. Oh I’d let him straighten me out alright... “That’s very encouraging, Mr. Vasari,” Dr. Porter replied. Then she looked at me, and her expression hardened back up. “Although I believe the Chastity Club will be of more relevance to Miss Carrem. I think it might be a fitting substitute for detention.”

I was fuming (and mortified) but I kept my mouth shut. Oh, the irony. Matteo nodded, glancing back at me again and giving me a surreptitious smirk. “I’ll show her to the meeting, then, if that’s alright, Dr. Porter?”

Dr. Porter nodded, regarding me coolly. “I’m letting you off quite easy with this, Miss Carrem. Don’t screw it up.”

“I won’t, ma’am,” I replied, but she had already started walking away. 

Matteo turned to face me again, an unreadable expression on his face. “Holy shit, do you come with a warning label?”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “I have some...enlightened ideas about women’s reproductive rights, and Dr. Porter isn’t a fan.”

Matteo pointed down the hall, presumably in the direction of the Chastity Club. He began to walk, nodding at me to join him, which I gratefully did. I was relieved he’d smooth-talked me out of further trouble, even if it did land me in a ridiculous club.

He rounded a corner as I hustled to keep up. “So why did James send you to talk to me today?” I asked, breaking the silence again as I remembered that someone else here wasn’t a fan of mine. 

“He wants your help with something,” Matteo replied cryptically. 

I crinkled my nose in confusion. “My help? Why me?”

Matteo looked down at me as we walked. “He thinks you’re smart, and...’scrappy,’ I believe is how he put it. He thinks you’d be a good vice president on our Student Council.”

I was even more confused now. “What? Why? Is he the president?” That was a scary thought. “No,” Matteo replied. “His cousin, Zetta, is. She needs a strong VP, since she can’t seem to hold on to one.”

I cocked an eyebrow as Matteo stopped outside of a classroom door. I had about a million questions, but Matteo held up a hand to stop me. 

“I know this is a lot,” he sighed. “James wants to talk more about it with you. He just sent me to...” he trailed off. 

“Sweet talk me,” I finished. I crossed my arms with a huff. “I’ll tell him myself that I think it’s a ridiculous idea.”

Matteo looked slightly pained. “I would wait to hear what he has to say.”

I opened my mouth to reply but stopped. Whatever he meant by that, it was obvious that it wasn’t good. 

Matteo smiled again, and his hand came up to brush my upper arm. “It was really nice to meet you, Adele.”

“Uh, yeah, you too,” I replied absentmindedly. 

Matteo put his hand on the doorknob and grinned at me. “And hey, enjoy Chastity Club. Some square named Charlie leads it.” Then he leaned down to whisper in my ear, making my breath catch in my throat. “I like an enlightened woman, though.” And with that, he opened the door for me before disappearing down the hallway. ---

“Your presence at our fine institution is a privilege,” Dr. Porter fumed. “Regardless of your personal convictions, you will adhere to the tenets and ideals of the Catholic Church.”

She continued to drone on, and I had to make a conscious effort to avoid rolling my eyes. The circumstances under which I’d come to this school were not at all ideal, and I certainly didn’t feel privileged to be here. I’d never been religious, and I’d never agreed with their archaic views on women’s rights. My thoughts drifted to the particular right I’d recently had to exercise. If this school ever found out about that...if my aunt ever found out about that...

“Miss Carrem!” Dr. Porter snapped.

I took a deep breath and looked back up at her. “Yes, ma’am?”

She leaned over her desk, enunciating her words carefully and condescendingly. “If you pull anything else close to this pro-abor-“

“Pro-choice, ma’am,” I interrupted, against my better judgment. I wasn’t about to let her paint me as some abortion fanatic. You’d be hard-pressed to tell me that anyone actually wants that to happen.

Dr. Porter guffawed. “Don’t attempt to rebrand your sinful perspective with liberal buzzwords. Anything else from you, and I will personally see to it that you are expelled.”

As much as it pained me to do so, I kept my mouth shut. I couldn’t risk her finding out any more damning information about me...not if I planned on keeping a roof over my head.

Dr. Porter smirked. “Ah, you’re already learning.” She sat back in her chair again, seeming to soften. “Miss Carrem, you could do quite well for yourself here. Students from St. Christopher go on to the top universities in the country. This is quite an opportunity that you’ve been given. Don’t waste it getting yourself into trouble.”

I nodded and stood up to leave. I was nearly to the door, feeling relieved I’d just received a slap on the wrist, when Dr. Porter spoke again.

“You’ll start serving your two weeks of detention after school today,” she added.

Wonderful. I rolled my eyes before turning back to nod curtly at her.

—

I hadn’t been at St. Christopher more than a month, and I’d already gotten myself in trouble. I guess I was used to the bit of free speech I’d been afforded at my inner city public school. Now that my sister and I had lost our father to cancer, and I’d had an unfortunate incident, we’d been forced to move out to the suburbs with our religious aunt and cousins. The Catholic Church’s views on so many things were fucked- LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive rights to name a couple- and I didn’t plan on coming to such a school without protesting. The pro-choice rally I’d started in the courtyard was mildly successful; I’d generated a decent amount of interest in the five minutes I’d had to speak before being shut down.

I found the detention room after school that day. It was sparsely populated; this was not a school where students got into trouble. At my old school, I would’ve been able to go unnoticed. Not so here. Though I took a spot away from anyone else, I soon felt someone’s presence next to me.

“Well, well,” came a taunting voice.

I sighed and looked over at him. He was blonde and reasonably good looking, though definitely not my type. His smile was arrogant, disingenuous. His eyes were bloodshot, and his smelled unmistakably of weed.

“I know you from somewhere,” he announced in a hushed tone.

I couldn’t figure out how that was possible. I smirked and shook my head. “Don’t think so.”

He pressed on, and I could hear the squeaky wheels in his head turning. “Wait...yeah! Holy shit! I saw you at the free clinic about a month ago!”

“Shut up!” I hissed. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I tried to suppress a cough, but failed. “You must be high.”

The boy chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry...did I offend you? Am I not supposed to mention it?” His eyes glinted with curiosity...and something more sinister. Or had I imagined that?

“You must be mistaken,” I finally replied, hoping to quell the impending inquisition. This idiot seemed like he might actually be trouble. He reeked of weed, sure, but also of privilege. I raised an eyebrow before turning to face the front of the room again. Inside, my thoughts raced. How the hell had he seen me at the free clinic? Would he figure out what I was there for? What would he do with that information?

“Hey,” he whispered, reaching over to tap me.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at him.

“I’m James,” he grinned. “And you are...?”

“Not interested,” I replied coolly.

James laughed loudly, earning a shush from the teacher. He lowered his voice. “Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Hester Prynne.“

I scoffed. Even the stoners here actually read their lit novels, evidently.

James smirked. “She got knocked up, you know.” He scooted closer. “I bet if they had a free clinic back in her day, she would’ve been there too.”

I rolled my eyes and didn’t respond. Inside I was panicking, but I couldn’t let on that it had been me he’d seen.

James grinned. “So, Hester, you must be pretty smart to get accepted here without any of the usual credentials.”

I assumed the “credentials” he spoke of had little to do with merit and everything to do with nepotism. “I’ve always worked hard in school,” I responded coolly.

James chuckled. “Ah, now that is adorable.”

If he spoke after that, I was no longer listening. A guy who was the very definition of “tall, dark, and handsome” strode into the room and exchanged a glance with James.

“Ah, right on time,” James muttered with a grin.

I watched as James’s friend pulled up a chair next to the teacher’s desk. “Hi, Ida,” he grinned.

“Matteo,” she sighed, seemingly hiding a grin. “That’s Mrs. Strauss to you.”

As Matteo distracted Mrs. Strauss with both a question about his economics assignment and an unfair amount of charm, James quietly got up from his seat and crept toward the classroom door.

Once it was clear James was out of the room, Matteo wrapped up his conversation. As he stood to leave, he glanced over at me and caught me staring at him. Any instinct I might have had to play it cool failed me. I felt my cheeks flush, and I smiled involuntarily. The grin he gave me in return- devilish, with one eyebrow raised- made me want to faint.

Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone, leaving me momentarily dazed...until the previous conversation I’d had with James came back to mind. Fuck! I had to find that jerk again and find out what he knew. I tried to reassure myself. It could be nothing.

Then again, it could be enough to ruin my life.

---

He’d felt my eyes on him, no doubt. He smirked down at me as we came to a stop outside of my building. “You are even more beautiful than I remember.”

I felt myself blush, and as I opened my mouth to speak, Hileni nudged me.

“Adal, I just remembered,” she began, a sly smile tugging at her lips. “I said I’d take the evening shift at the shop.”

I grinned. No, she hadn’t. I was supposed to work, and she knew it, because that’s all I’d done for months. She was forcing me out of my shell, and I loved her for it.

She smiled. “You two enjoy your evening. It was lovely to see you again, Matteo.”

“It’s been a pleasure as always, Hileni,” Matteo replied with a tip of his hat.

She gave me a wink before ducking into the storefront.

Matteo grinned down at me, one of his eyebrows raised. “Something tells me she didn’t have to work.”

I sighed. “My sister is many things, but subtle she is not.”

Matteo spun me so that I faced him. His eyes flickered over my body, making me warm all over. “I’ll have to be sure to thank her,” he murmured with a grin. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I don’t plan on being subtle, either.”

My breathing picked up, and I could feel my heart racing. I reached up to place my hand on his cheek. “Please don’t be,” I replied flirtatiously.

Matteo reached up and gently took my hand in his, bringing it from his cheek to his lips.

My eyelids slid shut at the featherlight sensation. I knew he saw the effect he had on me, but I was unashamed. “Please come upstairs,” I breathed.

He smirked devilishly. “With pleasure.”

I led him up the cramped, steep stairs to the apartment door, and all the while I could feel his eyes on me. It made my skin tingle. My hands trembled as I unlocked the door, and as I opened it, I suddenly felt self-conscious of my surroundings. My tiny, humble home was a far cry from the grand opulence to which Matteo had become accustomed. I turned to face him, feeling the need to make excuses, to explain. “I’m sorry, you must think it looks a-fright.”

Matteo surveyed the small room, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It certainly isn’t a first class stateroom.”

I sighed, lowering my head at his response. How could he ever truly love someone of my social standing?

He closed the gap between us and placed his finger under my chin. He lifted it so that I was looking him in the eyes. “We don’t need a first class stateroom, my dear. As I recall, a swimming pool sufficed, and even a gymnasium would have, had we not been interrupted.”

My erratic breathing had returned, and I stared longingly at him. My body ached at the memories he brought to mind. Maybe he loved me, maybe he didn’t, but I needed this too much to care.

Matteo’s other arm moved up to the small of my back, and he pulled me closer to him. Our lips were inches apart now. The hand that held my chin slid slowly down the side of my neck, and I reflexively elongated it, feeling drunk from his touch. He leaned down toward my neck, and I felt his breath on my skin as he grazed it with his lips. I was practically panting as he inched his way up to my ear. “My dear, I can satisfy you anywhere.”

I turned my face to meet his and crashed my lips onto his. His hunger rivaled my own, and we began the arduous task of getting each other out of our fanciest clothes. With each layer shed, we appraised each other lustily.

Matteo pulled my body flush with his, and I gasped at the contact. He kissed me passionately as his hands caressed my back.

As his lips trailed down my neck, I managed to choke out, “That’s my bedroom door over there.”

I felt Matteo smile against my skin, and he reached his hands down to lift me up. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and giggled as he carried me the short distance to my bedroom. He laid me down on the bed and stood back, looking me over with a grin. “There are no adequate words to describe your beauty.”

I smiled up at his glorious form. “Then let’s stop talking.”

He raised an eyebrow and lowered his body so that he was hovering above me. He stared at me with his beautiful hazel eyes, seeming to search the depths of my soul.

I was mesmerized, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. I knew without a doubt that it was his face I needed to see above mine, no matter what. Even if all he could express was that he cared for me, that he wanted me.

Matteo’s expression was impossible to read. It looked as if he wanted to tell me something. Was he regretful? Had I been too forward, bringing him here?

Suddenly, he broke the intense silence. “Forgive me, but you have a profound effect on me.” He was still studying me, his gaze hungry, and something else. “Adele, I’ve tried to express my feelings to you, but I’ve failed.”

I swallowed, bracing myself for disappointment. He had realized, then, that he and I could never work- that this had been an enjoyable affair, but nothing more.

He smiled a little. “I’ve failed, because I haven’t chosen the right words- word.” He leaned down and kissed me. Then, with his lips above mine, and our noses brushing against each other, he murmured, “I love you, Adele.”

Something happened then. Our bodies connected, and the familiar hunger and lust mixed with a newfound passion and love. Matteo proved his words to me by worshiping every inch of my body, and he left me in a state of complete euphoria. Waiting six months for this was worth it; I would’ve waited six years...a lifetime.

Afterward, we lie there, our naked limbs still intertwined, a sheen of sweat on our skin, and our chests heaving as we came down from our high.

“Thank you,” I said softly, nuzzling my head into the crook of his neck. I kissed him, and I felt his sharp intake of breath.

“Believe me, my dear, the gratitude is all mine,” he replied, kissing the top of my head. “You’ve waited these last six months for me, and I intend to make up for all of that lost time, and to prove my worth to you.”

I sighed at his pretty words. “Matteo, you’ve nothing to prove.”

His hand moved to stroke my cheek, and he smiled at me.

“Do you remember something you said to me, back in April?” I asked him.

He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

I took a deep breath before I continued. “You said you wanted to be undeniable. I’ve always found you to be that. And now, your love for me is, too.”

Matteo grinned. “That means more than you know.” He propped himself up on one elbow, and gazed down at me. He put his hand on my stomach and trailed it down, ever so slowly. “If you don’t mind though, I’d like to keep proving it.”

******