The impulsive part of Phillip wanted to rush in and tell her his feelings right away but he couldn’t. He just needed to tread carefully because this one could run, could throw those walls up and instead of admitting her love, be miserable. She would lock him out faster than he could blink and he couldn’t have that. He would wait because he knew it was coming. He knew she was falling; she just needed time to realize it was okay and he was fine with that. He would wait and in the meantime worry about how this was going to affect his relationship with Claire. She was more than likely going to act like her life was over and he had to make sure that didn’t happen. And to do that, he had to guarantee that he and Reese were solid and he knew that would take time.
Time he had, because he was soon realizing that a life without Reese and Claire, wasn’t the life he wanted.
Pulling his gaze away from Reese, he looked out at where Claire had just stood up and turned to look at him. She looked so bright, so nervous but happy. Seeing her like that completed him. He had waited so long to see the girl he used to know and in some ways, he believed she was standing in front of him. It brought tears to his eyes, but since he was no *, he pushed those away and smiled as Claire said, “Well, here goes nothing.”
The music started, and it was the same song he always heard coming from her room. It was a cover of David Guetta’s “Titanium” by Madilyn Bailey. He had Shazamed it when he was trying to watch her once, not only because he wanted to know who the soft, beautiful voice belonged to, but also because he wanted to download it himself. The music was gorgeous, but his niece was awe-inspiring. He was breathless, mindless maybe, watching her move effortlessly across the floor. The emotion was so real that it made his heart pound in his chest. He was glad he was leaning against the wall, or he was worried he wouldn’t be able to stand.
Stopping, she looked towards him and he felt as if he wasn’t worthy to witness this beautiful girl dance in such a way that was natural to her. She then picked her leg up, balancing on her other foot, raising it by her head before falling back and then back up. He was speechless. She spun, jumped, and leaped with no cares in the world. This was the girl he remembered and again, the tears filled his eyes because he wasn’t there the way he should have been. He missed so much of this beautiful girl growing up and most of all, she didn’t have his support, his love, and that killed him inside.
When the last note played, she paused, her hands out, tears in her eyes and her body shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or what, but fuck, she was astonishing. Pride exploded in him, and he wanted to scream out that she was his girl. Because she was, and she always would be. No matter what. He was going to make up for the time he wasn’t there for her. He was going to make her proud of have him as an uncle as he was proud to have her as a niece.
A grin sat on his face as he watched her bite into her lip, her shoulders falling with each breath she took as she looked over at him. Reese shut the music off, and then clapped her hands.
“So, what do you think?”
Phillip couldn’t stop grinning as he slowly clapped. “Breathtaking, Claire. Simply breathtaking.”
A radiant grin covered her lips as she crossed her legs, her cheeks burning with color. “Really?”
“Yes, I am so freaking proud of you. You were made to be a dancer, so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said, shyly looking away.
“Awesome, I think she’s gonna kill in Chicago,” Reese added.
Phillip smiled widely at her. “I agree, make sure you get me the times. I hope I can be there.”
“You’ll be gone,” Claire objected.
“Yeah, but our last away game is in Chicago, so I am hoping I can swing it.”
Claire’s face lit up. “So you’ll be there!”
He nodded. “I’m going to try my hardest.”
“Awesome,” she said before doing a little twirl.
He smiled before looking back over at Reese. She was grinning at him, looking all sexy and edible. Damn, she was like a fucking candy shop to him. He wanted to savor each of her flavors and treats. He just wanted to devour her. All of her.
He needed to get out of there before he did just that. Looking back at Claire, he smiled. “Come on, let’s go celebrate. We’ll go to dinner and maybe a movie since Harper will be picking you up from school tomorrow.”
Claire smiled. “Awesome.” She then turned to Reese. “Wanna come?”