Adam chuckles. “Take care of my girl. And hey, Tera,” he says, waiting for Skyler to put her on the screen again. “Nice to meet you. You picked the best Big there is.”
Tera beams at me. “I know. I’m the luckiest Little.”
The smile I wear is a little less forced then, my heart caught between surging with love and happiness, and breaking from jealousy and insecurity.
“I love you, babe,” he says to me next, blowing me a kiss. “Call me tomorrow.”
Skyler ends the call before I can get out my answer, and then she immediately loops her arms through mine and Tera’s, taking up the middle. “Alright, bitches — let’s party!”
She and Tera give a little hoot of approval, and then we’re making our way across campus. Skyler holds up the conversation as we try to find a cab once we hit Greek Row, and when Tera runs inside the KKB house real quick to meet up with some of the other pledges and take some pictures, Skyler pulls me to the side in the yard.
“Hey, she’s just a friend. Adam loves you. She is not a threat.”
I nod, but almost start crying.
“He loves you,” Skyler says again, holding my arms and searching my eyes.
“I know,” I say. “But people cheat on the ones they love all the time.”
Skyler frowns, pulling me in for a long hug. “He’s not cheating on you. Okay? I promise. I know Adam. You know Adam. He could never.”
I nod, sighing when she releases me from the hug. “I’m just being crazy.”
“No, you’re being normal. Long distance is hard.”
Skyler’s attempt at being strong dies with that, as if she’s just remembered the distance between her and Kip — both literally and metaphorically — at this very moment.
She clears her throat. “Let’s go out and have fun with your new Little tonight, okay? You can talk to him in the morning. Tell him how you’re feeling. Let him clear your worries.”
I blow out a breath. “You’re right. I want to make sure Tera has the best night.”
And then like we’ve summoned her, Tera is bolting across the yard, waving her wand around and saying random spells as we laugh and watch.
A cab pulls up. We all pile in.
And then we celebrate the new addition to our legacy.
I PLOP INTO BED with a sigh heavier than any I’ve ever released in my life, freshly showered and bleary-eyed after a long, but fun, night out with the girls. My legs are sore from dancing, my throat sore from screaming, and I already know that regardless of not drinking a crazy amount, I’ll have a headache in the morning.
But it was worth it.
Seeing Cassie take a Little, getting to know Tera more, celebrating with all our sisters as our sorority gets bigger and stronger… it’s the best feeling in the world. Perhaps what touches my heart most is knowing I’m a part of it, knowing these are friendships that will last a lifetime, values that will settle in and help young women grow into professionals, maybe mothers or wives, maybe country leaders.
The possibilities are endless, and I get giddy when I think about how something so seemingly small — a sorority at a tiny private university — can have such huge impacts on so many lives.
On the world, really.
I didn’t even bother getting dressed after my shower, and now I’m wishing I would have thought to plug in my phone to charge and shut off the light before collapsing, because it’s going to take every ounce of energy I have left just to roll over and do those things before I pass out.
Except when I make my move and reach for my phone to plug it in, it vibrates in my hand.
And Kip’s face fills the screen.
I swallow down the knot that immediately builds in my throat, pressing my free hand to my chest to try to ease my racing heart. We haven’t talked in so long, and the only time I’ve seen his face was when I stole Bear’s phone to stalk his Instagram and immediately regretted it.
I let it ring for a long time, debating just letting him hit voicemail.
But at the last second, I answer.
“Hello?”
There’s a brief pause on the other end, and then a half-shocked, half-relieved sigh. “You answered.”
I bite my lip. “Don’t make me regret it.”
He blows out a breath, and even though I can’t see him, I can imagine him — the way he pinches the bridge of his nose, moving his glasses up in the process, and the way he runs his hands back through his hair, the way his eyes look when he’s sad or distraught, how they somehow morph into an even deeper blue.
“What are you doing?” he asks after a moment. “It’s late there. I thought you’d be asleep.”
“It was Big/Little reveal. I just got home from Ralph’s.”