Next Big Book Thing: Prudence by Michele Kimbrough @Madambition

[from part of chapter 4]

“I’m celibate, James,” she blurted out. There. The cards were on the table. Now let’s see how fast he runs.

***

Matthew Bender was the reason why Pru had committed to celibacy. With Matthew, Pru felt something that she’d never felt before. It was a combination of feeling that she couldn’t live without him and a desire to devour his very essence. His feral green-gray eyes were penetrating when he looked at her. She was in a perpetual state of wanting to rip her clothes off whenever she was with him. She couldn’t explain how animalistic her attraction to him was but it felt very much like love.

Matthew was from the DMV area: DC, Maryland, Virginia. He grew up in Capitol Heights, Maryland. He came to Chicago to attend Illinois Institute of Technology and eventually went on to Northwestern for his graduate degree. He worked his way through college unlike Pru who had full scholarships. Pru met him when he was about to graduate from IIT.

Pru and Matthew had been dating a little more than a year when he needed to find a new living situation. His lease was ending, his roommate had graduated and secured a job in his home state. At the same time, Pru’s roommate and close friend, Jess, had dropped out of law school and moved out of the apartment they shared. Pru was looking for a roommate.

One evening while typing his research paper, as she had done throughout their relationship, he asked her to spend the night. They’d spent a lot of time together but she had never stayed overnight. This particular evening seemed like all other evenings except Matthew had made it a big deal with wine and candlelight. She thought, or maybe she hoped, he was going to pop the question, ask her to marry him.

The evening turned out to be quite romantic even though most of it was spent studying and typing his paper. The candles had burned out and he pulled her closer to him, caressing her body sensually. All of her feelings and desires and passions culminated into this moment as he made love to her. She wanted to say I love you. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her. But instead, she whispered in his ear “you can move in with me.”

He stopped mid-thrust and kissed her on the lips. He looked her straight in the eyes, smoothed her hair from her face, and said, “I like you, Pru. I do. But I love Allyne.”

Allyne?

Allyne was the girlfriend he had left behind in Maryland. Pru thought because they’d been seeing each other for over a year, Allyne was a part of Matthew’s past. He had never said so, she assumed so. She was crushed. It hurt so bad that she went flat. She was no longer engaged in the moment. He was making love to her yet he was in love with someone else. She decided no more. She’d been celibate ever since, about a year to be precise.

***

James stared at her blankly for a moment. Her declaration of celibacy caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected such a personal confession from Pru, who seemed to be so guarded.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You have me now to take care of that problem.”