Page 2 of Falling Together

Chapter 2

Blair

Blair Breckenridge stared up at the sky as she floated on a raft in her parents’ pool. The sound of a text notification going off on her phone caught her attention, but instead of checking it, she continued to float.

Floating through life.

That’s what her parents had accused her of doing when they sat her down just a week after her college graduation to ask what her plan was now that she was a legit adult.

But how was she supposed to know? She was only twenty-two after all. She couldn’t possibly know what the hell she wanted to do with the rest of her life. And how could they expect her to? Blair hadn’t worked a day in her life—a fact her dad pointed out when they were going through the list of mistakes they had made while raising her, along with spoiling her, giving her whatever she asked for, and last but not least, the very large trust fund that had served as her income these past four years.

Now they were threatening to withhold said trust fund if she didn’t get a job. They told her it didn’t have to be her forever career, just something to pass the time and teach her responsibility while she decided what she actually wanted to do with her life. They weren’t necessarily

wrong

to expect that of her. She

was

a college graduate after all. All of her friends seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do with their lives and were ready to get started. It was kind of the point of getting a degree. At least for most people. She knew she was set for life even if she didn’t work. For her, college was all about fun, and she had plenty of it. The problem was that she now had a psychology degree and no idea what the hell she was going to do with it.

The

other

problem was that now instead of spending the summer figuring it out while soaking up the sun, she needed to figure it out while working her first job. When one of her friends suggested babysitting, it sounded like a great idea. How hard could it be to hang out with a kid every day, right? She was practically a kid herself, so it should be easy.

So far, it seemed the hard part was convincing the parents she was responsible enough to watch their precious angel.

When Blair sent a screenshot of the message she was sending to potential clients to her best friend, Marisol, she had responded with a page full of laughing emojis and the words, “Girl, no.”

When her phone sounded from across the yard, Blair assumed it was another text from Marisol making fun of her for being

so disconnected from the real world

. One of the reasons Blair loved her best friend was because of how honest Marisol was with her, but right now, she could do without that honesty.

When the text tone went off again, Blair’s curiosity got the best of her. She rolled off of her raft and swam to the edge of the pool, lifting herself out of the water and wrapping up in a towel before she picked up her phone. She was surprised to find the texts weren’t from Marisol, but instead, from an unknown number.

It was even more shocking to find

that it was someone getting back to her about babysitting.

Hey! This is Erin. Thank you for messaging me. My son is potty trained. He’s a little wild (aren’t all toddlers?) but also very loving. As I mentioned in my post, I’m looking for someone to watch him Monday through Thursday. If you’d be able to come from about 8:30-6:00, that would be great. Fifty dollars per day sounds great to me if you’re sure that’s okay with you. I’d love to learn more about you. Are you free for a phone call at some point?

Also, if you are able to do a few hours on Fridays as well, that would actually be great. But if not, it’s no big deal.

The second message must have been an afterthought because it was sent a few minutes after the first. Being given the option of only working four days a week made Blair hesitant to agree to five, but at least that didn’t seem like a deal breaker. She thought about texting Marisol to ask her how to respond, but this was the first person to actually show interest in her, so she didn’t want to waste any time.

Hey! Thank you for reaching out. Glad to hear your child doesn’t shit himself anymore.

She shook her head at herself as she erased that last sentence and continued to type.

I would be happy to speak with you. I’m free whenever, so just let me know a time that works for you. I’ll have to let you know about Fridays. I’m not positive if I can make that work, but I can definitely keep you updated.

Less than a minute after Blair hit send, she received a reply.

I could call you tonight when I leave work if that’s okay. It will probably be around 5:30/5:45.

That works :) Can’t wait to hear from you.

Blair smiled at her phone in satisfaction. Marisol would be proud. She had handled that well. Now she just had to make sure she didn’t fuck up this phone call.

***

Blair practically fell off of the couch when her phone started to ring. Even though she was expecting the call, she had started to doze off while watching TV and the loud noise took her by surprise. She cleared her throat a few times before picking up. “He-hello?”

“Hi. Is this Blair?”

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded nervous, but also sexy. It was low and raspy and totally Blair’s kryptonite.

Stop. This is a job, not a girl you’re trying to get in your bed.

“Hello?”

Shit. Off to a great start.

“Sorry. I must have bad service. Yes. This is Blair.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. It’s probably me. I’m driving. Can you hear me now?”

“Yep. All good.”

The woman laughed, and it was just as sexy as her voice. “I’m Erin. I’m calling about babysitting for Nolan.” There was a slight pause before the woman spoke again. “Sorry, that’s my son. I don’t know if I mentioned his name before.”

“I don’t think you did, but that’s cool.” Blair paused, because she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. She had no clue how any of this worked. “So… you had some questions for me?”

Erin laughed once again. “Yeah, sorry. I’m not completely sure what to ask. My son has been in daycare the past two years, so I’ve never interviewed a babysitter before.”

“So, is that what this is?” Now it was Blair who laughed nervously. “An interview?”

“Nothing to be nervous about. I promise. I know you’ve never babysat before, but what other job experience do you have?”

Blair rolled her eyes.

Yeah, definitely nothing to be nervous about.

“I’ve actually just been focused on school.”

“That’s great,” Erin replied with a bit too much excitement for Blair to believe she was being sincere. “I know you mentioned you just graduated. What did you major in?”

“Psychology.”

Please don’t ask what I’m doing with my degree.

“That’s wonderful. What do you want to do with that?”

Fuck.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. That’s

why

I’m looking for another job while I figure that out.”

“That makes sense. It’s crazy how we’re expected to figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives so early on. I still don’t quite know what I want to do.”

“What

do

you do?”

“I work in tech. There’s obviously more to it than that, but I don’t want to bore you with all of the details.”

Blair was sure that meant Erin was incredibly smart just like Blair’s parents, but she hoped that didn’t keep her from giving Blair a chance. “My parents would’ve loved it if I chose a career like that. My dad is a CEO and my mom is a pharmacist, so I think they were hoping that I would be a bit more…” She struggled to find the right word. “Motivated”

Probably not the best thing to admit when I’m trying to be hired for a job.

“Sounds like a lot of pressure. I’m sure you’ll figure it all out in your own time, though.” A long silence filled the space between them, but before Blair could think of a reply, Erin spoke again. “So, I’m not really sure what else to ask, and I’m just about at the daycare to pick up my son. How would you feel about coming over at some point this weekend to spend some time with me and my son and see if this is a good fit for all of us? I know weekends won’t be your usual work days, but I’ll pay you, and I promise to not keep you too long.”

“That works. How about Saturday?” Blair had plans Saturday night and was worried about being hungover on Sunday.

“Saturday would be perfect. How does eleven sound?”

“Sounds great.”

“Awesome. I have to run, but I’ll text you the address. The public pool opens on Saturday so feel free to bring your bathing suit. It’s okay if you don’t want to though. Nolan can survive not going on opening day.”

“I’ll bring it. Wouldn’t want to deprive him of his time in the sun.”

Erin laughed once again. “I think the two of you will get along well. Have a good night. I’ll see you this weekend.”

Before Blair could reply, Erin ended the call. Out of curiosity, Blair pulled up her Facebook messages on her phone to figure out exactly who it was she was talking to. She found the message from Erin and used it to click on her profile. Unfortunately, she was one of those people whose profile was super private, so there wasn’t much to see. She clicked on the one thing that was available to her, which was Erin’s profile picture that had apparently been last updated the previous summer.

Blair practically choked on her own saliva when she took in the woman in the picture. Clad in nothing but a small red bikini, Erin was the literal definition of a MILF. She was petite, but definitely had a little bit of junk in the trunk. Once Blair was finally able to pull her gaze away from that perfect body, she noticed that Erin had straight, dirty-blonde hair that fell around her shoulders and the most stunning blue eyes. Blair was so distracted by Erin that she almost missed the little boy standing next to her in the photo. He was practically Erin’s opposite with his curly brown hair and dark eyes, but even Blair had to admit that he was fucking adorable.

If she could keep her shit together on Saturday, this would definitely be a very interesting summer.

***

Remember: she is the mom of the kid you’re trying to babysit, not some hot girl you’re trying to fuck. Keep it professional (and keep it in your pants, for God’s sake).

Blair laughed to herself as she replied to Marisol’s text.

Keep what in my pants exactly?

Blair could feel Marisol’s judgment radiating from the phone when her reply came through.

For fuck’s sake, woman. She’s probably married to some guy that looks like Ken. You better just hope he doesn’t catch you checking out his wife.

Instead of replying, Blair shoved her phone into her pocket and got out of her car. The last thing she wanted was for Erin to catch her creeping outside of her house forever before she went in, especially since it was already ten minutes past the time she said she would arrive.

She walked onto the front porch of the cute little townhouse and was about to knock when the door swung open. At first, she didn’t see anyone, but when she looked down, she noticed the little boy from the picture staring up at her, head tilted as he studied her. “Are you Bear?”

“It’s Blair, sweetie. B-lair,” a sexy low voice said from somewhere else in the house.

Nolan scrunched up his nose and glared in the direction of the voice. “Bear! That’s what I say.”

“Fine. Could you please tell

Bear

to come in.”

“I says that,” Nolan replied through gritted teeth, clearly not appreciating the joke made at his expense. He stomped his feet, but moved off to the side so Blair could walk through the doorway.

As soon as she was inside, with the door closed behind her, the woman from the picture walked around the corner. She looked exactly the same as her picture, but she was, unfortunately, fully clothed. “Sorry about that. I’m Nolan’s mom, Erin. It’s nice to officially meet you.”

It took Blair a moment to realize Erin was standing in front of her with an outstretched hand because she was so distracted by those fucking eyes. “Sorry. Nice to meet you. I’m Bear,” she said with a wink.

When Erin broke into a wide grin, Blair realized it wasn’t just her eyes that were stunning.

You’re supposed to be a fucking professional, not a fuckboy.

It was Marisol’s voice she was hearing in her head instead of her own.

Goddamn her.

After shaking Blair’s hand, Erin moved her gaze from Blair to her son. “Nolan, sweetie, I have your bathing suit laying out on your floor. Do you think you can get it on all by yourself?”

“I can!” Nolan said before quickly running up the stairs.

Erin smiled back at Blair. “That should buy us a few minutes alone.” She nodded her head down the hallway. “Want to have a seat on the couch?”

“Um, yeah, sure.” Blair wiped her hands on her shorts as she followed behind Erin. Why the hell was she so sweaty all of a sudden?

Once Blair was sitting on the couch, Erin sat down on the loveseat a few feet away. “So, I figured you could hang out with us for a bit and ask me any questions you have along the way.” Erin looked around the room as if she was trying to look anywhere but at Blair. “Do you have any right now?”

Blair shrugged. She was sure she was supposed to have questions, but she had no clue what to ask. “None that I can think of.”

“Okay.” Erin nodded slowly. “I guess with studying psych, you probably know all about the stages and what he should be like at this age. You probably know more than me, if I’m being completely honest.” Erin laughed nervously. This interview was clearly way outside of her comfort zone, which made Blair wonder why her husband wasn’t there to help.

“Honestly, not really. I can’t say I paid super-close attention to all of that since I’m not so sure I even want kids.” Blair cringed internally as soon as the words were out of her mouth. That was definitely not the right thing to say and the look on Erin’s face told her that she was

not

impressed.

“Sounds like my ex,” Erin said under her breath, her eyes going wide when they reached Blair’s, and she put a hand over her mouth as if she was trying to push the words back in. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Truthfully, Blair was kind of happy she had. It took the focus off of the stupid thing she had just said. “Don’t worry about it. I get it. Men are dicks.”

“That may be true, but in this case, it was a woman who was the dick.”

Now, it was Blair’s eyes that went wide. “You mean you’re…” She couldn’t even say the word because she was so surprised. Her hot, possible-future-employer was into women? She loved and hated that fact all at once. Her fantasies (which was all they could remain) would be such sweet torture.

“I’m gay,” Erin responded flatly. “Is that going to be a problem for you?” She stared at Blair with a new fire behind her eyes.

Oh shit. She thinks I’m homophobic?

Blair quickly shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’m gay too. I was just surprised, I guess.”

Erin’s face visibly relaxed. “Isn’t it crazy how we do that? We get so offended when straight people assume we’re straight, but then we go and do the same thing.”

Blair could feel her face turning red as she stared down at the floor and rubbed at the back of her neck. Erin didn’t seem mad, but that didn’t change the fact that she was

really

messing this up. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I jumped to the conclusion of you being homophobic before I even considered the fact that you might be gay too, so it looks like we’re both guilty.”

“I guess so.” Blair laughed as she tried to think of anything to say to clear this awkwardness that had settled between them. “So, I take it your wife was the one to carry Nolan?”

“Why? Because he looks nothing like me?” Even though Erin was clearly trying to keep her voice light, Blair could tell she had struck a chord again.

“No. Not at all. I meant because you look so good. You definitely don’t look like someone who had a child inside of you at one point.” Blair cringed once again. Probably also

not

what she was supposed to say.

Erin’s face turned beet red, but the slightest smile played on her lips. “That’s very nice of you to say, but I did.” She cleared her throat and patted her stomach. “I carried Nolan. He’s genetically my ex’s, but that certainly doesn’t mean anything since

I’m

his one-and-only mom now.”

Ouch.

Erin’s ex clearly did a number on her. Blair didn’t have to know her well to see that. It was written all over her face. Pain, loss, disappointment. “I’m really sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for giving me a compliment. It’s a bit inappropriate if you’re babysitting my son, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to hear.”

“Oh, that’s actually not what I was apologizing for.”

Even if I should be

. “What I meant was I’m sorry your ex put you through all of that.”

“Well, that’s really not something we need to get into.” Erin quickly stood from the couch and walked over to the bottom of the stairs. “Nolan, are you okay up there, sweetie? Do you need my help?”

“No. I do it myself,” Nolan yelled back.

As if she didn’t hear him, Erin hurried up the steps. After a few seconds, Blair heard Nolan complaining about how he was a big boy and assumed that meant Erin was now in his room.

“No! I do it right!” Nolan’s voice echoed throughout the whole house.

Don’t worry, buddy. You weren’t the one to mess up. It was me.

Blair threw her head back against the couch and squeezed her eyes shut.

There’s no way I’m getting this job.