Infiltrating Your Heart (28 page)

When I walk into the kitchen, Dad
turns to look at me.

“Princess, you look beautiful.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I say, walking
forward.

“I can’t believe you are graduating
from college, already. You truly are a woman now. I wish LeAnn were here to see
you.”

LeAnn is my mother. And I have no
desire to see her today, thank you very much.

After having breakfast, Dad and I
step outside to go to where the graduation ceremony is taking place. I brought
my Infiniti when I arrived earlier. I told Dad that it is a recent acquisition,
a graduation present to yours truly.

“I’ll drive, princess.”

I nod to Dad. I’m not about to argue.
Wearing this gown, I doubted I was fit for driving.

The graduation ceremony is to be held
at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. It is a large building on the northwest
side of the city. The architecture style reminds me of buildings in London, for
some reason. I haven’t been abroad, but I’ve seen England online.

“You should get down here,” Dad says.
He stops just outside the front entrance. “I’m going to drive around to find
parking.”

“Okay,” I say. Then I check myself in
the rearview mirror. Dad grabs my shoulder.

“See you in a few, princess.”

“Thanks.”

I walk out of my car, and then watch
Dad drive away. I sigh, and look around. There are a few other people in
graduation gowns. I recognize a few of them.

Before I can take a few steps to the
entrance, someone pokes me in the shoulder. I turn.

“Friend!” Nadine says, opening her arms.
I smile.

“Nadine!” I tell her. We both embrace
each other. “You’re here.”

“Duh,” she replies. “There’s no way I
was missing my bestie’s graduation.”

We break the hug. Nadine looks me up
and down.

“How do I look?” I ask.

“Ha! Your worried tone. You look
great, friend.”

“Hey, guys,” a voice behind us says.
We both turn. “Or girls,” Albert says. “You look hot, by the way.”

I laugh.

“Aw, friend. Take off your
blindfold,” I tease.

“Serious,” Albert insists. “You’re
beautiful, and you have brains. That’s hot.”

“At least you value something that
matters,” I mutter. Nadine smiles.

“Let’s go,” she says.

The three of us enter the auditorium.
To attend any event here, you need tickets. The school provided me with
graduation tickets for a family of four. Since Dad is my only blood relation who’ll
be able to attend, I gave the other two tickets to Nadine and Albert, my best
friends.

Sharon, my godmother from L.A., is
coming to see me today after the commencement. Clayton, my maternal uncle,
e-mailed me to let me know that he wouldn’t be able to take a flight here.

There are four lines inside the front
of the building, with employees checking people’s tickets. My friends and I
take one of the lines and wait. As soon as we’re let through, we go straight to
the hall where the ceremony is to take place.

“Mercedes!” a voice calls. I turn and
see one of my friends from class walking to me.

“Hi, Vanessa,” I greet, giving her a
hug. Vanessa looks beautiful with those blonde curls contrasting against the
black of the gown.

“So, this is it,” Vanessa says when
she pulls apart. I nod. Then I look at my friends.

“Vanessa, you already know my friends
Nadine and Albert. Friends, this is Vanessa. You’ve seen each other a few
times.”

My friends and Vanessa shake hands.

“Is your father coming?” she asks me.

“Yes. He just went to find a parking
space.”

“Oh. Then I’ll see you inside.”

“Wait,” Nadine says. We turn to her,
and she pulls out a digital camera from her purse. “We need a photo.”

“Don’t you have a smartphone,
Nadine?” I ask.

“I can’t afford it. Besides, I can’t
have the battery run out on me.”

I pose with Vanessa, Albert, and
Nadine while one of us takes turns with the camera. When we have enough photos,
Vanessa waves at us and then walks toward the hall.

My father catches up with us at that
moment.

“Princess,” Dad says, stopping beside
me.

“Hi, Dad. You know Nadine and Albert,
of course.”

“How are you doing, sir?” the latter
asks.

“Great. Thank you.”

“Let’s take a photo,” I say to Dad. I
look at Nadine, and she nods. She takes a photo of us.

“Mercedes,” someone calls me. I
recognize that voice. How could I not? There were days when it could melt me to
a puddle—and it still does, a bit. I turn to face him.

Mercedes

Oliver stops to stand next to Nadine
and Albert. He is more than one of my classmates; we have a history. My cheeks
must be red, but no one seems to notice.

“Hi, Oliver,” I say, hugging him. As
always, he looks handsome. In a different world (one where I wasn’t hired to
seduce Gabriel) I might have ended up married to Oliver. We dated back in my
sophomore year. Oliver broke up with me early in junior year after he found out
what I do for a living. Over time, we reconciled, but only as friends. Oliver’s
been trying to win me back since then. I haven’t budged.

“You’ve already met my father, of
course,” I tell him.

“Good to see you’re healthy, sir.”

“Thanks.”

“The commencement will start in a few
minutes. I think we better go,” Oliver says.

“Yeah, we should,” I agree. Nadine
stops us for just a couple more pictures, and then we’re on our way.

When we enter the hall, we see that
most of the graduating class is there already. A third of the bleachers are full.
Oliver and I part ways from my father and friends. We walk together to the
chairs facing the stage.

“Last day as students, huh?” Oliver
tells me.

“Yeah. It all went fast.”

“Mercedes, we’ll stay in touch after
today, right? I will miss you so much if I were not to see you again.”

“This won’t be goodbye, Oliver. I’d
miss you, too.”

I almost feel sad for my friend.
Gabriel’s been so deep in my mind these past few weeks that I haven’t thought
much about Oliver. Apart from being so busy with finals, I heard rumors that
he’s dating someone else. I hope that Oliver’s moved on.

We take
our places among the graduates. My heart’s beating like crazy I’m so nervous.
Within moments, the ceremony starts.

Hours afterward, we are back outside.
I am holding a large envelope containing my diploma. It was exhilarating to
walk on the stage. I felt so proud, walking with my new diploma back to the
seats. In the bleachers, Dad clapped at me. I’ll never forget that moment.

“Congratulations!” Dad says when he
sees me. The graduates and all others left the hall through different exits. I
hug my father, feeling almost overcome with emotion.

“I can’t believe this is real,” I
say. Tears start falling from my eyes.

“It is, princess. I’m so proud of
you.”

Nadine, Albert, and Oliver catch up
with us shortly afterward.

“We’re starving,” Albert says. “Where
are you all going for lunch?”

I tell them the name of the restaurant.

“We’ll have a nice steak and some wine.
Are you coming, Dad?”

“Can’t say no to good food when
you’re hungry.”

I laugh. Then a voice draws all my
attention.

“Congratulations, Mercedes.”

I turn slowly, unable to believe that
he’s here. Gabriel is standing there, looking downright handsome. His eyes look
at me with pride. I sigh.

“Gabriel!” I say, striding toward him.
We hug each other like we’ve been apart for weeks. For a reason I can’t fathom,
it means so much that he’s here today. I’ve never been happier in my life.

“You’re here,” I say, looking into
his mesmerizing blue eyes. He smiles.

“I wasn’t about to miss it.”

Someone clears his throat. I can tell
it’s Albert. I turn to squint at him playfully. Then it dawns on me.

“Sorry,” I say. “This is Gabriel
O’Hara.”

Nadine smiles.

“Secret boyfriend, huh?” Dad asks.

“No,” I say. “We met a few weeks
ago.”

I look at Oliver. His expression is
unreadable. Albert looks normal, and so does Nadine.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Roberts,”
Gabriel greets my dad. The latter raises his eyebrow.

Good.
My father’s impressed.

“The pleasure’s mine, son.”

This is going well.

“These are my friends, Albert and
Oliver. And you’ve already met Nadine.”

The three of them shake hands with
Gabriel. Nadine is so giddy you’d think he’s
her
secret boyfriend.

“We were just going to have lunch,” I
tell him. “Will you come with us?”

“If you want me to, angel.”

I feel my cheeks heat at his use of
my pet name in front of my friends and my father.

“Yes.”

Gabriel looks pleased.

“Okay. Then you’ll come with us,” I
tell him, nodding to my dad. “Nadine, Albert, and Oliver will follow us in
their cars. We’ll meet up with other friends.”

“Sounds good,” Nadine says. “Let’s
go.”

We make
our way to our cars.

~*~
Gabriel

I wouldn’t have missed this for
anything. Mercedes looks great today. So happy, so beautiful.

Mercedes doesn’t know this, but I
paid for my own ticket to the commencement. She tried to give me one of the
free tickets the school provided her, but I told her it was meant for her
family and friends. It took me quite a bit of effort, until I promised Mercedes
that I would get there after the ceremony. She relented.

The truth is, I showed up an hour and
a half ago. I heard the valedictorian’s speech, and saw the students being
called to receive their diplomas. When Mercedes walked up to the stage, I felt
happy for her.

Seeing Mercedes now, so jubilant with
her father and her friends, I know I made the right choice in picking her. When
Mercedes sees me, the look on her face is one I want to put there as many times
as I can.

“You’re here,” she breathes, beaming.

“I wasn’t about to miss it.”

We stand there looking at each other,
until someone clears their throat. Mercedes turns to look at one of her
friends.

“Sorry. This is Gabriel O’Hara.”

“Secret boyfriend, huh?” I hear
Mercedes’s father say. She smiles sheepishly.

“No. We met a few weeks ago.”

Mercedes looks at another of her
friends. I don’t know why, but I’m getting a territorial sort of vibe from him.
What is he to her?

I let that go and greet her father.
He seems to approve of me. Mercedes notices that, and she looks relieved.

“These are my friends, Albert and
Oliver. And you’ve already met Nadine.”

I shake hands with each of them. Now
I know that Mr. Territorial’s name is Oliver. He gives me a
you-mess-with-her-I-break-your-face
kind of look. I wonder about the nature of their relationship.

“We were just going to have lunch,”
Mercedes tells me. “Will you come with us?”

“If you want me to, angel.”

“Yes,” Mercedes replies, her cheeks
flushing.

“Okay. Then you’ll come with us.
Nadine, Albert, and Oliver will follow us in their cars. We’ll meet up with
other friends.”

“Sounds good,” Nadine says. She
appears excited about something. “Let’s go.”

I walk with Mercedes and her father
to their car. He takes the wheel. I sit on the back, letting Mercedes take
shotgun. Mr. Roberts pulls out of the space and then drives forward.