She wraps her arms around my neck and tilts her head back for me to kiss her. I do, long and deep. I miss her when she's in class. I never thought I'd want to spend all my time with someone the way I do with her. When she's not with me, I'm thinking about her, missing her, obsessing over every little thing about her.
It's fucking great.
"Gross," Caroline teases, laughing.
I break the kiss, pulling back.
Kennedy smiles up at me, her expression dazed.
"What are you doing home so early?" she asks when I pick her up and then take her seat, putting her in my lap. She and Caroline are watching something on Netflix about a girl in Paris.
"Got finished early," I murmur.
Caroline and Kennedy spend a lot of time together here or at Jared's. I know Kennedy is going to miss her sister like crazy next year, so I give them all the time they want. Jared does too. They're planning to move to California once Caroline graduates, so the girls will be on opposite coasts for the first time in their lives.
I have a feeling we'll end up in California too once Kennedy graduates. I don't mind. I want her to be close to her family. They're important to her. I haven't met her brothers yet, but we've talked on the phone several times. They don't seem to hate me, which is great.
Her parents came for Christmas.
Her mom loves me, which is even better. I see where Kennedy and Caroline get their sweetness from. Anne is affectionate. The love she has for her daughters is obvious.
Their dad, on the other hand, doesn't care much for me. He doesn't care much for Jared, either. Truthfully, I don't think he'd like anyone with his daughters. Can't blame him for that, especially when I know myself that I'm not anywhere remotely close to being good enough for Kennedy.
Her dad is not as bad as I expected, though. He obviously cares for them. He wants them to be happy. Since Jared and I make them happy, he keeps his opinions of us to himself. I think he's relieved I'm going with Kennedy to New York though. I know her brothers are. It's the only reason they didn't raise holy hell about it.
"I can't take it!" Caroline cries, pausing their show.
Meeko jerks away, lifting his head to shoot her a disgruntled look. He slowly rolls over and then slides to the floor. He gives her one more disapproving look before heading toward her old room. Swear to God, he's the most spoiled guard dog I've ever met.
But if he doesn't like you, you don't stand a chance in hell of getting close to the girls.
Caroline digs underneath the couch cushion before pulling out a thick envelope. "This came today," she says, passing it to Kennedy. "You have to open it before it drives me crazy!"
I think she's as excited for her sister as I am. And as nervous as Kennedy is.
My girl looks at the envelope and then sucks in a deep breath.
"It came," she whispers.
"Yeah, it did." I rub her back, reminding her that I'm right here with her. "Open it, angel baby. You've been waiting on this all week." Hell, she's been waiting for this her whole life. If she didn't place, I may have to hunt down and strangle every judge on the board.
She runs her finger over the return address, taking her time.
"Open it!" Caroline demands, laughing.