Page 103 of The Girlfriend Agreement (Conwick U #1)

Me + Damian = Happily Ever After?

May

Conwick’s annual commencement ceremony is held at Brenton Square—a spacious historic green on campus with a large, adjoining hall—so the school can host graduation outdoors on the quad while having someplace nearby to divert the students and their guests indoors if it rains or once the formalities are over, where a veritable feast of champagne and overpriced canapés awaits.

To the joy of everyone present, the sun is shining brightly overhead—there isn’t a cloud in the sky—and the air is mild, perfect weather for such an important and meaningful day.

It feels kismet, a concept I wouldn’t normally give any weight to (much to the disgruntlement of Ronnie) but which seems appropriate in this instance.

In a lot of ways, it’s like the universe is smiling down on us.

I sit in the front row of the audience waiting for the commencement to begin (a perk of being here as a guest of the Navarros, who have sway at Conwick), sandwiched between Damian’s parents and his abuela on my right, and my mom and Gina—who Damian also invited—to my left.

Even Xolo is here, sitting by my feet with his sweet face propped on my knee, tail wagging happily, because the Navarros donate a shit ton of money to our school, and no one in the administration was about to risk alienating such a wealthy family by telling Lucia she couldn’t bring her dog.

I give his head a gentle pat just as my phone buzzes in my jacket pocket. His head tilts at the sound, and he watches me curiously as I tug it free. When I tap the screen, I find a new text in my group chat with Ronnie and Andie.

Ronnie

Tell D congrats from us xx

A grin tugs at my lips. For someone who once hated Damian, possibly even more than I did, Ronnie has really warmed up to him recently.

They went from reluctant acquaintances to frenemies to actual friends in only a matter of months, bonding over their shared interest in cringey movies and, of course, their mutual love for me.

The only reason she isn’t here today is because her and Andie flew home to California a few days ago for Andie’s younger sister Sammy’s birthday.

Knowing Ronnie like I do, I’m sure she’s feeling guilty about missing Damian’s big day, but she’s here in spirit with us, and that’s all that matters.

Grinning at my phone, I tap out:

Me

Will do. Tell Sammy happy birthday from me xo

I shoot off the text, then turn off the device and shove it back into my pocket just as the ceremony is about to begin.

The procession files onto the quad in a uniform sea of deep purple gowns and caps, the rich hue only interrupted by the spots of varying color displayed by the tassels denoting every student’s individual focus of study.

I spot Damian among the herd of graduating seniors, a sandy brown tassel signifying his business major swinging gleefully by the side of his face.

As if sensing my lingering gaze, he turns his own toward the audience, and when he catches my eye, he gives me a wave.

Just past where the graduates sit, a large white stage has been erected on the quad specifically for today’s ceremony, and all the teachers at Conwick and the university administrators are in attendance with the exception of one: my Applied Discrete Mathematics professor last semester and advisor, Professor Bensen.

Just over a month after school started up again following the Christmas break, it was discovered that he was the one who had sold my name to the tabloids in exchange for a whopping one hundred grand—which he apparently needed to pay off some pretty hefty gambling debts—after seeing the photographs of Damian and me together online.

Whether he noticed Damian crashing his class that one time in September remains unknown, and we’ll probably never know, not that it matters.

The violation was the same regardless, and when the university found out, he was fired.

At the time of my name being released in the media, I never really stopped to wonder about the who or why behind the leak, probably because it always felt like an inevitability—a matter of when rather than if .

Damian never thought of it either; his focus was strictly on damage control and swinging the story in our favor.

But when news broke of Professor Bensen’s involvement, I saw a side of Damian I hope to never see again.

The terror in him. The worry. Obviously, I was disappointed Professor Bensen would sell out a student, though I couldn’t help empathizing with him considering my own desperate actions when I needed money.

Damian, however, viewed it from an entirely different angle.

All he could see was yet another male parental figure in my life letting me down, and it took weeks of assuring him I was okay—that I hadn’t lost my faith in humanity or my trust in men. That this betrayal wouldn’t break me.

And it hasn’t—it won’t—because there is too much good in my life now to allow any of it to be tainted by the bad. Good like this beautiful day and the milestone we’re celebrating.

After the opening remarks and guest speakers, the ceremony moves on to the conferring of degrees, and when Damian ascends the stairs to the stage, the audience erupts into cheers, with our row being the loudest by far.

Beside me, Lucia shouts something in Spanish, Xolo barking in agreement, while on their right, Damian’s mother is weeping, and his father looks on with an approving smile.

To my left, my aunt whistles like she’s at a sporting event, and my mom claps with so much enthusiasm and energy, it brings tears to my eyes.

As of last month—in large part thanks to my new job at Hallazgo and the incredible benefits that come with it—Mom officially went into remission to the surprise of everyone, including her doctors.

With every passing day, she’s looked better and better, healthier and more alive than I’ve seen her in the last two years.

It’s scary to think things might not have turned out this way if it wasn’t for Damian—if Andie hadn’t jokingly pulled up Craigslist on my laptop to cheer me up, and I hadn’t taken a chance on his ad.

But I try to not focus on the what ifs these days and instead stay here in the present, in these moments of immeasurable happiness where my heart is so full with love and optimism (a new one for me) that all those fears that bogged me down for so many years now feel like a distant thing of the past. Like they belong to someone else and not to Present or Future Lexi.

And Present Lexi is a big fan of her current life.

And of her smoking hot boyfriend, who is waving at his loved ones from the stage with one hand while holding up his diploma with the other.

A smile pulls at my cheeks that stretches so wide my face begins to hurt, but I’m so freaking proud of him, I couldn’t care less about my discomfort.

He meets my gaze once more as he makes his way down the stairs and back to his seat, and just before he sits again, he sets the leather-bound folder containing his diploma on the chair, and holds his hands up high so I can see them over the blanket of graduation caps.

He then brings his fingers together, his left hand forming a less-than symbol with his pointer finger and thumb while the first few fingers of his right hand form a rough approximation of the number three—our private way of saying, “I love you.”

Blushing, I hold my hands up and make the gesture back.

The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur, and once the president of Conwick makes his closing remarks, everyone around me seems to spring from their chairs with excitement.

In front of me, clusters of graduates hug each other, while behind me, the attending family members and friends all funnel forward in a herd, rushing off to track down their children so they can tell them how proud of them they are.

As we make our way through the busy throng to find Damian, Lucia holds onto my arm, gushing about how much she’s looking forward to our extended visit to Guadalajara before her grandson begins working full-time at Hallazgo.

Although Damian doesn’t technically step into his role as Innovation Project Lead until early next month, he’s been spending most of his free time making good on those connections he formed with hospitals, pharmacies, and research universities when we were working on the proposal, establishing the partnerships that will make The Jamie Initiative come to life, and give it the outside backing it will need to thrive and accomplish its mission.

As for me, Hector brought me on board straightaway so I could start benefiting from the company’s health insurance—a move my mom and I were both immensely grateful for, and which I repaid in kind by returning the money I received from Damian minus what I had already spent on the insurance deductible and January’s prescription, with a promise to repay the difference, clearing my Mom’s conscience (and mine).

Now, a few hours a week around my classes and tutoring, I’ve been working in the finance department until I transition into my official role as Financial Sustainability Analyst, which will align with when Damian joins the company, so we can work together to get the program up and running.