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“I know.” Nolan nodded even faster this time. “She tells me that.”

“Good.” Blair kissed the top of Nolan’s head and tried to ignore all of the mixed emotions swirling through her body. “As long as you know that, that’s all that matters.” Enough of this sappy shit, though.Keeping my lives separate, Blair reminded herself once again. She hopped off of the bed and held her hand out toward Nolan. “Are you ready to go to the pool?”

She didn’t have to ask twice. Nolan was off of the bed and out the bedroom door before Blair could process what was happening. She caught up to him on the stairs and led him through the house and out of the sliding door in the dining room that led to the pool. Nolan’s reaction to the pool was about the same as it had been to the rest of the house, and Blair had to quickly take off her shirt and shorts to keep him from jumping in before she managed to put on his swimmies.

After swimming for a few hours, they took a break to eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips she had packed for them. As soon as he took his last bite, Nolan jumped right back into the pool. They hadn’t been in there very long when Blair’s mom walked through the sliding door.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

Her mom laughed. “Thisismy house.”

“I know, but shouldn’t you still be at work?”

“I get off early on Mondays. I have for years. You never realized that?”

Blair shrugged.Talk about worlds colliding. At least it was only Nolan with her and not a certain someone else.

“And who is this?” her mom asked as she knelt in front of the pool.

“I’m Nolan!” he answered with a giggle.

“Hi, Nolan. It’s very nice to meet you. Blair has told me so much about you.”

“Bear told you about me?”

Blair’s mom nodded. “She told me how much fun you two have together. But you know what? You’re even cuter than I thought you would be.”

“I know.” Nolan put his hand over his mouth and giggled again.

When her mom stood back up, she focused her attention on Blair. “What are you two doing here? I thought you normally went swimming at the public pool.”

“Bear said someone shit in it,” Nolan answered before she could.

“Blair Dallas Breckenridge, you do not use that sort of language around a young child, do you?”

Blair could feel her face turning red in response to her mom using her middle name. “It slipped…?”

Her mom shook her head, but a small smile parted her lips. “I’m going to go get changed and figure out what I’m making for dinner, but you two have fun.”

Blair was having so much fun hanging out with Nolan in her parents’ pool that she didn’t realize how much time had passed until her phone started to ring. She hopped out of the pool, quickly wiped her hands, and picked up on speakerphone so she didn’t get the phone too wet.

“Hey, Erin, what’s up?”

“I actually got done with my work a little bit early, so I’m about to hop in my car now. I was just wondering if you and Nolan were still at your house or if you're back at ours’.”

“We’re still at mine, sorry. But I can get him dried off and bring him home. That way you don’t have to go out of your way.”

“It’s really no big deal. I’m already driving anyway. No sense in you getting back in your car when you don’t need to.”

“No, really, I insist.”Please. I’m begging you. Do not make this harder on me.

It turned out, Erin wasn’t the one she had to worry about. “No! I’m not ready to get out!” Nolan shouted from the pool.

Erin laughed on the other end of the phone. “It appears the boss has spoken. Text me your address and I’ll come get him. I’ll fight him so you don’t have to. I have no problem being the bad guy.”

If Blair kept fighting with her, it was going to come across as though she were hiding something, so she said “Okay” and hung up the phone. She quickly typed out her address and the code to the gate, then jumped back in the pool.

This was fine. She would get out all of Nolan’s energy now, and once Erin arrived, Blair would quickly usher them out of the house under the guise that she didn’t want Erin to waste any more of her night. In and out. No harm. No foul.