To say the past few months have been a cakewalk would be the biggest lie I’ve ever told in my life and I don’t like lying. Omitting the truth to my grandma about my past career is saving her from the heart attack she’d surely have. Besides, telling my grandmother, the woman who raised me, that in order to secure my future I shook my dick in women’s faces for money would not go over very well. She’d have me in confessional and doused with holy water.

But it wasn’t for nothing.

Today, I’m graduating with honors. When I started interning at Vaughn & Marshall I was at the top of my class. However, after the accident I missed a few classes and I easily slipped to second. No one knows, not even Kennedy. I keep telling myself that it isn’t a big deal, and it shouldn’t be, but deep down it is. Graduating number one opens doors. Number two will as well, but having the title of first in class is something I’ve strived for, for years. Chad Bates fucked up my academic records when stripping couldn’t even do that. I never missed a class, an assignment, or was late until that piece of shit came into my life.

I’m going to put that all behind me and walk across the stage and collect my diploma. My grandmother, Kennedy, and Chris will all be sitting out in the audience, cheering for me as I graduate. Maybe even Sara and Elaine as well. They’ve all been invited.

My classmates linger around me, all of us dressed in black, and the only difference is some of us wear gold sashes. Everyone is taking selfies, exchanging phone numbers, and talking about what the future holds. I know what my future is: junior associate at Vaughn & Marshall and it wasn’t my girlfriend who offered me the job, but Chris.

Three weeks ago, he sat me down to go over a letter of recommendation I asked him to write. I knew I could call in the contract with Kennedy and demand she give me a job, but that’s not how I wanted to do things. I wanted to earn my job, my pay. The last thing I wanted was the handout and I knew that is what would happen if Kennedy were the one to give me the job.

I never told her that I was sending out applications. I didn’t want to upset her, or make her act on our deal. The reason being, I wanted to be able to achieve a position on my own. I wanted her to be proud of me.

And honestly, I thought that working with her day in and day out would damage our relationship if she were my boss. Now, I’ll report to Chris. Very rarely do they have clients that overlap so it’ll be odd for Kennedy and I to work together on any given day. Unless we’re at home and giving the bed, counters, sofa, desk, and whatever other surfaces we can find to fuck on a workout.

The administration team tells us to line-up. We’re in alphabetical order and even as adults we’re saying it silently in our heads to find out who we line up after. Being an M, I’m usually smack dab in the middle and that is where I stand, answering repeatedly what my last name is. We practiced once and they expect us to nail it. Clearly their expectations that we’re overachievers are lacking. It’s taken some of us to get through grad school ten years. I, however, am not one of them. Thank you, Society X.

Once the music begins, we start into the auditorium. Multiple classes are graduating right now, but in different locations. Each discipline has its own, with my class being approximately two hundred students. Doesn’t seem like a lot until you get us all together in one cramped room.

Instead of looking forward, my eyes scan the crowd for my family. I’ve taken to calling Kennedy family because short of getting married, she is. I don’t see myself with anyone else. Even with the age difference, she’s the woman for me. I knew it the night in the club when I first spoke to her.

Kennedy is easy to spot with her red hair. I stare in her direction until she looks my way. There’s something about Kennedy that I can’t get enough of. I don’t know if it’s the way she responds to my touch or the fact that she’s so expressive when we’re together. I can read her body before she even knows what’s happening to her. And watching this woman come … it’s like fucking unwrapping all your Christmas presents over and over again.

We file into our seats and the staff members start in on their spiels. Five professors talk and all five make me yawn. It’s easy to keep eye contact with Kennedy, and if it weren’t for my grandmother sitting next to her, I’d be making some lewd gestures at her. Chris doesn’t care. In fact, he thinks it’s funny and has asked my advice when it comes to his boyfriend, Logan.

Logan and I met sophomore year in college. We hung out a few times, hit a few frat parties, but he couldn’t afford tuition so he had to drop out. By chance I ran into him a few months ago and told him where I was interning and suggested he stop by for lunch someday. He did and took one look at Chris and asked me to hook them up. He’s the shit and has turned out to be one of my best friends. Where Chris and Kennedy are close, Logan and I are buds, often sitting on the couch drinking beer and watching the game.

As the names start to get called, I grow nervous. Each goal in life that I have set has been met, except for one. Tonight, after my graduation party is over I plan to take Kennedy for a walk. It’s been a while since we’ve gone on a date between Jennifer’s divorce trial, our depositions for Chad’s murder trial, and studying for finals; we’re rarely free of any duties. It’s during our walk that I plan to propose. I know it’s damn early in our relationship, but I don’t want anyone else. Thing is, when you know, you know and you shouldn’t second-guess yourself. I’m scared fucking shitless, though, because she hasn’t been divorced a year yet and I can imagine she’s in no hurry to rush down the aisle again.

My name is called and my little cheering section stands up. Because my graduating class is so small, the administrators opted for a traditional graduation instead of introducing us all at once. It’s nice and personal this way.

Once my diploma is in my hand—well, the piece of paper saying they’ll mail me one in three to six weeks—I let out a sigh of relief. At any given time someone could’ve outed me about being a stripper, ending my academic run and ruining my career. I imagined the scenario so many times that I’ve scared myself.

When news broke about the club bombing, my name wasn’t mentioned because I never gave the police the okay to release it. At best I could’ve played it off that I was there partaking in some extracurricular activities, but I wasn’t wearing a shirt and even my sexual exploration of the club would seem questionable to the admins. Of course, the fear was never far from my mind each time I got on stage or did a lap dance. Any one of those women could’ve been a student and I would’ve been fucked.

After everyone has had their chance to go across the stage, music is played and we’re dismissed. In the hall, bodies linger, cameras flash, and everyone squeals in delight because school is over. Some start jobs on Monday, while others are still looking. Thankfully, I’m one of the lucky ones.

Kennedy is by my side in a flash, kissing me full on the lips. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you,” I murmur against her lips.

She lets go when my gram meanders her way to me. I hug her tight and my eyes burn. I quickly push my thumbs into my eyes to stop the tears. She doesn’t need to see me cry even though she knows what the tears are for.

“Oh, Hunter, I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Gram.

“Your mom and dad would be beside themselves right now.” And that’s why I’m upset. They’re not here. Not that they have been at my previous graduations, but it doesn’t make the sting any less.

“Come, son,” she says, pulling me along. “We have a party to attend.”

I take Kennedy by the hand and pull her behind my gram and I. Chris and Logan are waiting by the door.

“Congrats,” they both say and I give Chris a knowing look. He shakes his head, confirming that he hasn’t told Kennedy that he’s hired me yet. I don’t know how the conversation is going to go, but I’m hoping she won’t be pissed.

Chris and Logan drive my gram home, while Kennedy and I drive her car. I’m behind the driver's seat, with my hand between her legs. Of course, my pinky is inching closer and closer to her promise land.

“Hunter,” she warns, making me laugh.

“You know,” I say as we come to a stoplight, “you could easily give me a blow job right now and no one would know.” I thrust my hips even though she can’t see it much due to the black robe.

“I know you want one.”

“Hell yeah,” is all I can say.

She rolls her eyes and tells me to drive, but I’m not a block away when I feel her hand brush over my dick. She palms me, causing me to hiss.

“Kennedy.” She laughs and tries to get my zipper down with her fingers. It doesn’t quite work so I help her the first chance I can. Her hand wraps around my dick and she starts stroking. “Fuck that feels good.”

I pull off, down a side street that I know leads to a dead end that abuts an open field. Once I have the car parked, I push my seat back and pull the robe up. My girl doesn’t fucking hesitate and wraps her luscious lips around my cock.

“Your fucking mouth,” I tell her. Kennedy can make my dick throb in no time flat by the way she sucks and strokes me at the same time.

I keep my hands on the steering wheel so people won’t assume anything is amiss. My eyes roll back in my head as my release gets closer.

“Fuck, baby, I need to be inside you right now,” I tell her, reaching for her, but she’s sitting so the only thing I can do is grab her tit. “Kennedy, I’m going to come in that pretty mouth if you don’t stop.”

She sits up and continues to jack me off instead. Within seconds I’m releasing over her hand and probably down the front of my fucking pants. At this point, I don’t even care.

I’m panting heavily as she cleans up. She’s laughing and for the life of me I can’t figure out why.

“What’s so funny?”

She shakes head. “I had this big, dramatic speech planned for you and instead we’re here, who knows where, and I’m giving you a blow job.”

“Speech about what?” I don’t care that my dick is hanging out of my pants; I grab the back of her head and press my lips to hers. When she doesn’t answer, I furrow my brows. “Babe,” I run my fingers up and down her arm, trying to get her to talk, “what’s up?”

She takes a few deep breaths and turns her head. When she finally looks at me, there are tears in her eyes. “I thought I could handle this without crying, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be possible.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, concern etched in my voice.

“It depends on you.” We stare at each other for a few minutes but then she rests a hand over her stomach. Time stands still as I wait for her to tell me what I already know. “I’m pregnant,” she whispers.

Stunned into silence, my mouth opens but closes quickly. I have no clue what to say.

“Hunter?”

“Um … wow, this is … um.”

“Look, I can do it by myself. You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want.”

I can see her mouth moving, but the words make no sense. Closing my eyes, I shake the fogginess that’s starting to creep in. My emotions are running high and I have no clue what I’m supposed to do.

“Pregnant?” I ask, making sure I heard her right. Maybe it’s all a dream?

She nods, confirming it once and for all.

“How?” She blanches and averts her gaze before I can continue. Grabbing her chin, I turn her toward me, refusing to let her go. “What I mean is, I thought you were on the pill.”

“I am, but I think the prescriptions I was taking to counter any infections may have worked against the pill.”

“Oh. And we had sex a lot.”

She rolls her eyes. “We did it at least three times a day, Hunter, and relied only on the pill.”

“I know because wearing a condom with you would suck.” I throw that out for good measure. “A baby, huh?”

She nods again, wiping her tears. I pull her into my arms and kiss every part of her face that I can. “I hope it’s a monkey.”

“What?” She sits back in her seat.

“Fuck, Kennedy. If we have a girl, she’s never leaving the house, and a boy … what am I going to teach him? How to stroke his dick for money?” Her eyes go wide. “See, a monkey would be much better.”

“Stop, Hunter,” she says, crawling into my lap. “You’re going to teach them how to love, how to respect, and how to be a decent human. The rest, we’ll do together, minus the stroking of dicks. You save that for me.” She winks before kissing me. We break apart and I know it's the perfect time to ask her the one question I've been dying to ask.

"Kennedy," I whisper, trying stealthily to pull her ring out of my pocket. Her eyes widen and there's something about the expression on her face that tells me I should wait, but I can't. "I know it might seem sudden, but I've never been so sure about anything in my life." Her breath hitches and my heart is beating so hard I can barely breathe. The words are out before I can show her the ring. "Will you marry me?"

Frozen in place, she stares at me for I don't know how long. It feels like an eternity until she finally sits back before moving over to the passenger seat.

“Hunter,” she cries, hiding her face. When she lifts her gaze to mine, I can see her answer. "I'm sorry, but I can't."