freefall |[ luke kuechly ]|

|[graduate]|

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May 14, 2013
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The day Ellen had long awaited had finally arrived. She was finally graduating from Coastal Carolina with her degree in Culinary Arts and Business Management. She was finally free from college and could start her life in the real world. Wherever she ended up she couldn't be more excited to start.

This last semester had taken a toll on Ellen. She learned more than just class work. She learned who she was as a person and what she wanted. Right now all she wanted was to walk across the large graduation stage and get her diploma in front of the crowd. And of course she wanted Luke.

She adjusted the tassel that had just fallen into her eyes. She had a smile on her face just thinking about Luke. Things had been going great since the night she came back for him. They had been happier than ever and hadn't fought once. This was the first time they had ever gone a months without fighting since they met. It was quite the feat and each of them knew it.

Luke, Nicole, and her mom were all going to be at the graduation ceremony today and she couldn't wait to see them. The view from the night she came back still replayed in her mind.

Luke and Ellen stood hugging in the doorway. Luke's hand for tangled in Ellen's hair as he ran his hands up and down her body to make sure she wasn't going anywhere. He pulled her away from his body. "Ellen I need to know that you mean what you say. I need to know that you can be fully committed to me, maybe not marriage but a commitment," Luke said. He was holding both of her hands in his much larger ones.

"Let me show you that I can be committed to you. I want oh and only you," she said. She wiggled her hands free from his and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for their long awaited kiss. Luke's hands lifted her into him by wrapping his hands around her back. Ellen's legs sexily wrapped around him.

Luke carried her to his bedroom and threw her on the bed. He was out of breath. "Show me."

Ellen blushed in the mirror a the memory. Trying to forget that, was like trying to forget who Luke even was. She felt like she knew him on a much deeper level and felt more connected to him than she had. It was a feeling that she never wanted to go away.

Ellen lined up where she was instructed. She was surrounded by all of the other graduates, dress in their caps and gowns, hiding their hair that was covered in hair spray and gel. Finally the precession began and Ellen walked into the auditorium. Heel. Toe. Heel. Toe. She hardly wore heels and had to remind herself how to walk in them, trying to prevent embarassing herself in front of this many people. The auditorium was packed, there was not an empty seat in the large room. Coastal Carolina was a small school and Ellen couldn't believe how many people showed up for graduation.

The ceremony was long and dragged on. Everybody that was anybody have a speech that lasted far too long. Finally they began calling the names of the graduates. Ellen stood in the waiting area in anticipation of her name. She looked around in the crowd trying to find her family and Luke but she couldn't see them. "Ellen Reilly," the name caller finally announced. Ellen smiled a close lipped smile and walked up the stairs. She graciously grabbed her diploma and exited the stage. With the diploma in her hands, she was officially done with school. Never again would she worry about an assignment or test. Never again would she stay in the dreadful dorms. Never again.

The graduates walked out of the auditorium first. Then the audience did. Ellen waited by a wall full of Windows for her guests to find her. Eventually she saw the large linebacker coming her way. He had a humungous smile across his face as he enveloped her into a spinning hug. "Congratulations! But they said your name wrong when they called you," Luke said placing the small girl back in the ground.