“Yeah, with Reese.”
“Reese?” he asked, even though he knew exactly who Reese was. He had met her a few times, but never really talked to her. Only admired her from afar. She was hot as fuck with dark hair that went down to her bottom, honey brown eyes, and suck-you-dry lips that could bring a man to his knees. She had delectable curves and the greatest ass he had ever seen. Even though she was super sexy, he knew with one glance that she was a ball buster. Since he loved his balls very much, he tended to stay away.
“Harper’s sister. She owns a dance studio and asked me to train there. I’m on some probation or something. Harper seems pretty excited for me, and I guess it’s cool.”
It was the most she had talked to him without yelling since she had been with him. He ignored his need to fall to his knees and thank the Lord above, saying, “That’s right, I knew that, and yeah, it is cool. Reese is really awesome from what I hear. I didn’t know you liked to dance.”
A small smile pulled at her lips as she looked down at the ground. . “Yeah, I do. A lot.”
“Wow, that’s cool, Claire. Have you always danced?”
He could see the smart remark in her eyes but, to his surprise, she didn’t say it. Instead, she said, “Yeah, since I was like seven. Mom had me in it for a while. Then she couldn’t afford it anymore and stopped paying. I used to do things around the studio to pay for my classes.”
Phillip looked down, feeling completely guilty. She had to work to dance? She was a child. What the fuck was his sister’s problem?
“You must really enjoy it.”
“Yeah,” she said offhandedly.
Phillip could tell that this meant a lot to her, and it killed him for not knowing this. He used to know everything, and now it was like he was with a stranger. It scared him how much he wanted her to love him and to know that he loved her. Never in his life had he cared about someone as much as he cared about Claire. He never told anyone he loved them. With Claire, he was basically screaming it at her. He usually wasn’t so emotional, but he felt like he had to hold onto her like a vice grip because he was so scared she would turn out like her mother and grandmother. He wanted her healthy, and he wanted her to succeed in her life.
Looking down, he took in the beauty of her. She was filling out since she came to him, and actually looked like a normal teenager. Things were still a little rocky, but he felt good about them. He felt like things were going to work—she just needed time.
“Do you need to get anything for it?”
She looked up at him shyly as she asked, “Can we go by a dance store? I’d like to pick up some stuff.”
With a grin, he nodded as he said, “Sure, let’s go.”
After spending an hour in Spell Dance and Theater shop, they walked out with bags of things, and Phillip could see the smile that Claire was trying to hide. Getting into the roadster, Phillip started the car before pulling out and heading home. He was dog-tired, and he was ready to get home.
“I’m going to take a nap when we get home. You can pack and get ready to go to Harpers,” he said, turning onto West End.
Claire nodded as she looked down at her phone.
“Okay.”
“You like it there, right? Everything is good?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. Harper is really nice, and Ally is cute. She likes to dance with me.”
“Good, let me know if things change.”
“I will.”
“I don’t doubt that. I don’t even know why I said it,” he said with a chuckle. He flashed her a quick smile and saw that she was smiling, too.
Feeling good about himself, he looked out at the road as she said, “Thanks for today, Phillip.”
His heart went into his throat, and he took in a deep breath before saying, “Anytime.”
“Only you have sex with some guy at the gym.”
Reese laughed as she bent over, stretching her thighs. Her phone lay in front of her on speakerphone so she could hear Piper.