Chapter 5: A Long Time Coming

I woke up Saturday morning fired up. It was college graduation day, which was a huge deal but I had a MUCH more important objective: this was the last day before Madison departed for her summer internship in Dallas and I left for mine in Boston. I felt like there was a vague agreement that today was not the end of the line for us, but I was not particularly happy after not seeing her on Friday and was determined to have a real discussion to try to figure out some concrete next steps for us.

I sent Madison a pretty aggressive ‘good morning’ text about this being game day and was pleased she responded positively. I got the sense she badly wanted to carve out some one on one time today as well. Enough Janelle. Enough Griff. Enough Ashley. Enough parents. We needed some time. I was a fan.

The roommates and I spent the morning finishing up our packing, and I cooked one last brunch with an assist from Griff. After that we started getting dressed for graduation. Griff had attended a private school called The Oaks that required him to wear ties daily, which was a lifesaver because the rest of us had no clue how to do a half Windsor. We managed to all make it to graduation on time and took our respective alphabetical spots. Although college graduations are pivotal moments in the lives of young adults, the fact of the matter is that they are boring as shit. Some of the more popular students were angling for the biggest cheer, but for Madison, myself and our friends we just wanted to get it over with.

After graduation there were the obligatory photos with family and friends along with the necessary small talk. Handshakes, back slaps, and entreaties to stay in touch. I think I put on a good front and was friendly, but internally I was seething - I wanted to fast forward to seeing Madison.

The small, private college we went to was big on tradition. After the ceremony there was a cocktail hour, followed by a big dinner served in one of the quads for all the graduates and their families. Once everyone had eaten and the sun had gone down there was one last ceremony involving candles and a heartwarming speech from our valedictorian. I tried to drink it all in and enjoy the moment instead of just worrying about seeing Madison.

After the ceremony I introduced several of my friends to my parents and was introduced to theirs. Eventually, I met up with Madison and we introduced our parents to each other. We told them we were just good friends. I doubt they believed us.

Once everyone had said their goodbyes and parents had been dispatched back to their hotels I met Madison outside the student union.

“So what do you think?” I asked.

“I think that was a long freaking day,” Madison said. I laughed. Her dry sense of humor was my favorite because my humor was exactly the same way.

“That it was, hopefully you have some energy left to hang out tonight,” I said.

“Hmmm well what did you have in mind?” Madison’s eyes danced with mischief. She knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Nothing that can be discussed in polite company,” was my rejoinder.

She scoffed and gave me a light shove. “Since when did I become polite company?”

“Excellent point,” I admitted. Madison and I had been consistently willing to discuss the most intimate, ridiculous things as long as we had been friends. The problem was most of those were emotional or moral quandaries. We had never really talked about sex, it seemed inappropriate while I was with Haley, and I had had no interest in hearing about her interactions with Braden. So despite my bluster I did not really know what I could say without potentially offending Madison. It was the last night of college I decided. Now or never, shoot your shot.

“I want you, in my bed, with not so many clothes on.”

Madison visibly shivered - she liked that idea.

“Jeez, you could at least buy a girl a drink first,” she said, grinning. I laughed. Her sense of humor was undulled.

“Yeah, I guess sometimes you do need a little liquid courage, like last Saturday,” I joked.

“Oh my god, are you ever going to let me live that down?” Madison whined.

“Probably not,” I admitted. “Nobody who wasn’t there will believe sweet little Mads would do that.”

“I really do need a drink to put up with you,” Madison said.

“Want to hit up The Depot for a round? I do have like 50 dining dollars burning a hole in my pocket it would be a shame to waste,” I offered. The Depot was the on campus bar where you could buy booze on your meal plan instead of spending “real” money. It was very popular.

“Gosh, we can’t let that go to waste,” Madison said. I turned in the direction of the bar and extended my elbow for Madison to grab on to. She did so happily and we strode towards The Depot.

The one variable we had, foolishly, not accounted for was that we were hardly the only seniors with the idea to burn the last of their dining dollars on the final night of college. The Depot was completely full of celebrating graduates. Luckily, Madison and I had a system for navigating this we had perfected in crowded bars and nightclubs in Sevilla. I snaked and elbowed through the crowd as best I could, with Madison right behind me with a hand through a beltloop of my pants. If anybody got offended by my moderately aggressive efforts to make my way through the crowd Madison popped up, used a slightly ditzy voice and apologized profusely. This worked particularly well in Spain where Madison’s natural blonde hair was uncommon, but I figured it would work fine here too, where everybody was in a good mood after graduating.

I made my way through the crowd to the bar with Madison in tow without incident. I ordered two of our favorite drink - a gin and tonic - then we reversed course to try to find somewhere to speak privately.

There really wasn’t anywhere to get a quiet moment indoors. The Depot didn’t have a patio, but it was the last night of college, rules were relaxed. Madison and I took our drinks outside and sat on a low brick wall outside the bar.

“What kind of gin did you get?” Madison asked.

“No clue,” I laughed. “I just yelled G&T. I think the bartenders are beyond swamped,” I said.

“It’s good, I like it,” Madison said.

“It is strong. Generous pours for recent graduates I guess,” I noted.

“Guess that’s fair,” Madison said. Our conversation was weirdly stilted, again.

“I feel like maybe I’m pressuring you a little bit, I don’t mean to. It’s just ... you know, last night before we leave and all that stuff,” I said.