Phillip wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. “Me too.”
The whole ride to Bellevue University was quiet. Neither Reese nor Phillip said anything as they followed Claire to her dorms. Her car had been packed since the day before. Reese wished like hell that they weren’t doing this but when they got out of the car, they put on the biggest smiles imaginable and made this day Claire’s. She was excited, and they didn’t want to put a damper on that. She was basically bouncing on her heels, excited for her future, and while Reese was excited, the thought of not seeing her every day broke her heart.
Walking across the courtyard, carrying all her things, Reese took in her surroundings and decided that Claire was going to love it here. The courtyard was huge; they had a Starbucks, a Dominos, and Panera Bread. All Claire’s favorite things. As they walked, she noticed Claire checking out the boys and if Reese were a decade younger and not in love with Phillip, she would have been looking, too. As they came up to Fisher Hall, which held Claire’s dorm, Reese liked how clean it was and she knew that had a lot to do with the University being so young. That was one of the things that sold Reese and Phillip to the campus. It was safe and so close that between the security and Phillip, Claire should be safe.
“They have a hockey team, Phillip,” Claire said as she unlocked her door and pushed it open.
“That’s good, stay away from the players,” he mumbled. Reese rolled her eyes as she followed them in.
“But I like hockey players,” Claire pouted playfully.
“Yeah, well, unless you want them to die, stay away. Boys are off limits.”
Claire and Reese both laughed at that. She figured that pissed him off because he grumbled that he was going to go get the rest of Claire’s things and left.
“Don’t listen to him,” Reese said, waving a hand. “He’s just being silly.”
“I know,” she said, pushing her long, red hair off her shoulders. “He doesn’t want me to leave home, but I want to follow my dreams.”
“I know,” Reese said. Even though she didn’t like it, she knew that Claire needed it. “They have a dance team here, you know, for the hockey team,” Reese said as she helped unpack a few things. When she came to the picture of the three of them in the Fiji islands holding up the Lord Stanley cup, she smiled. Her eyes dusted with tears as she reminisced about the first summer vacation they had ever taken. They had so much fun that week and, despite the fact that Phillip was carrying the cup around like it was a solo cup and not a thirty-five pound cup, they had a blast.
“Yeah, you can’t try out till you’re a sophomore, so next year.”
“Awesome,” Reese said as she laid the picture down and then turned to look at Claire. “Are you sure about this? You don’t want to go to New York? LA? You want to stay here?”
Claire smiled. “I haven’t had a real family my whole life and now I do. I’m not ready to leave. I am good here. I will get my business degree, teach dance, and be happy because I have you guys only thirty-two minutes away.”
She couldn’t hold in the sob that was bubbling at the base of her throat. She wrapped her arms around Claire tightly and kissed her cheek. “I love you so much.”
Claire held onto her as she whispered, “I love you.”
Parting, Reese wiped her face as she shook her head to try to collect herself. Pulling in a deep breath, she said, “Don’t drink anything that is handed to you from someone. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do, and no means no. If someone has a problem with that, you have your mace and call us. Phillip will be down here faster than a bat out of hell.”
“Hell yeah I will,” Phillip said, carrying in three more boxes before laying them on the ground.
Claire smiled. “I got this, guys, and you’re right up the road. I’ll be fine.”