Page 25 of Falling Together

Chapter 25

Erin

“Mommy! Mommy! How much time ’til my birthday?” Nolan asked from the back of Erin’s car.

Erin had to suppress an eye roll. If she had a dollar for every time Nolan asked about his birthday this past week, she could quit her job. “Soon! We’re going to Blair’s house now to get everything ready, and in a little bit, all of your friends will be there!”

“Not JP. JP say he not coming.”

“I’m sorry, bud. You’ll have a lot of other friends there, though.” Honestly, Erin wouldn’t know who JP was if the kid threw a toy at her head, but hopefully this party would allow her to get to know not just Nolan’s friends, but also their parents, much better.

“I know! And

Bear

will be there!”

Erin laughed. “Of course! It

is

her house, after all.”

“I love Bear’s house. And I love Bear!”

“I do too, buddy.” Erin’s whole body immediately heated up and she could feel her face turning red.

What the hell did I just say?

“I really like Blair too.”

Erin spent the rest of the drive anxiously overthinking what she had just admitted to Nolan and to herself and whether it was just the slip of her tongue or something more. I mean, you can

love

someone without being

in love

with them. Maybe that’s how she felt about Blair. The knot in her stomach said otherwise though.

She hated that she couldn’t be a normal person who found these feelings exciting, rather than having her fight-or-flight instincts kick in and tempt her to run away. There was no running from Blair though. Even if she tried, she knew she’d end up turning right back around.

“Bear!” Nolan shouted, shocking Erin back to the present moment.

Erin realized she was sitting in Blair’s driveway and Blair was walking toward them, waving excitedly. Erin had been so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn’t even remember putting in the code for Blair’s neighborhood.

Shit, I really hope I didn’t just drive through the gate. I would’ve realized if I did that, right? Even if I didn’t, Nolan definitely would’ve let me know.

Erin jumped when Blair tapped on her window. She brought one hand to her chest while she used the other to hit the button to put down the window.

“Someone’s a little jumpy today, huh?” Blair asked as she stuck her head through the window. For a second, Erin thought she was going to kiss her, but instead, she leaned around her to look at Nolan. “Hey, dude! Happy birthday! Are you ready for the best birthday party ever?”

“Yes!” Nolan bounced up and down in his car seat and started to claw at the straps. “Get me out!”

“I’m on it.” Blair pulled back, but stopped for a moment to stare at Erin. “You’re okay, right?”

“I’m good. Just a lot on my mind with all of the last minute party details.”

Not a complete lie.

“I brought a big thing of my mac and cheese and the pizza will be delivered about a half hour before the party. And you said you grabbed some snacks and drinks, right?” When Blair offered to get all of that, Erin told her she really didn’t have to, but Blair insisted, and given how stubborn she was, Erin knew there was no point in fighting her.

“I did. Don’t worry. Even if his classmates have a bigger appetite than an NFL football team, we’ll still have enough food.”

Erin figured Blair was exaggerating until they walked into the house and found the snack table already set up. Well, snack

tables

. There were multiple. Small bags of popcorn, assorted chips, every type of cookie imaginable, and so many different juice boxes and other drinks lined the tables.

“There’s also mini sandwiches and potato salad in the fridge that my mom made. We’ll wait to get those out until right before the party starts, though.”

Erin’s eyes burned as she blinked back her tears. Blair was way too good to her, and she had no idea what she had done to deserve such kindness. As much as she wanted to be someone who deserved Blair, she had a really hard time convincing herself that she was worthy. “You really didn’t have to do all of this.”

Blair turned to face Erin and put her hands on her arms. “I know I didn’t. That’s not why I did it. I did it, because I would do anything to make you and Nolan happy.”

Erin thought her heart might leap out of her chest. The amount of…

feelings…

she felt for this woman was getting harder and harder to contain. She wanted to give Blair a kiss right there in the middle of her dining room, but that didn’t seem like the best idea with Nolan also right there and Blair’s family most likely close by. She settled for a light kiss to her cheek instead, which still made a shiver run down her spine. “Thank you. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve all of this.”

Blair stared at her with eyes that were full of adoration and care. The look would’ve made Erin weak in the knees if it hadn’t ended so quickly when Blair dropped her hands and jumped away from her. “That’s not all! I have one more surprise for you!”

Another surprise? Erin was barely keeping it together already. If Blair did anything else, she might cry, or worse—take her up to her room and have a repeat of the last time she was at Blair’s house.

Fuck.

Erin really wished her mind hadn’t gone there, because now it was all she could think about and the last thing she

should

be thinking about.

Luckily, Blair rushed them through the kitchen and out the glass doors to the pool area, so she didn’t have much time to focus on things she shouldn’t be thinking about.

“A bounce place?!” Nolan shouted, before Erin even had a chance to notice the huge structure set up in the large open yard beside the pool.

It was one of the biggest bounce houses Erin had ever seen, and it was right there in Blair’s yard. There was what looked to be a mini obstacle course, followed by a large bouncing area, as well as a set of blow-up stairs that led to a high slide. “Blair…” Erin tried to form words, but she couldn’t find any that described exactly how she felt in that moment. “This… It’s too much. It probably cost you so much money.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Blair pointed to where Nolan was already running over to the bounce house and jumping inside, a smile on his face so big that it removed every pain Erin had ever felt from her heart. “

That

makes it all worth it.”

Erin turned toward Blair and rested her hands on Blair’s hips. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” She looked around and didn’t see Blair’s family anywhere in sight, then checked to see if Nolan was completely distracted by the bounce house (which he was). She leaned in and placed a kiss on Blair’s lips that immediately lit a spark inside of her.

She opened her mouth to Blair’s and was about to deepen the kiss when the sound of her phone ringing loudly in her pocket caused them both to jump apart. She pulled it out to check who was calling, then held it up to show Blair. “Sorry. My sister has

impeccable

timing,” she said sarcastically.

She took a step away from Blair and answered the phone. “Hey, April. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that we’re about five minutes away. Sorry to crash the party early. It took less time to get here than we expected.”

“No problem.”

Except for the small detail of you interrupting the perfect moment.

“That just means I can put you all to work once you get here.”

“Works for me. I’ll put Sydney and Tanner on Nolan duty and the rest of us can help with set up.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

Blair smiled at Erin as she hung up the phone and put it back into her pocket. “I take it that was your family?”

“Yes.” Erin rolled her eyes. “They are unfortunately going to be here very soon.”

“That’s okay. My parents should be home soon too. They’re just out taking Moon for a walk since he’ll most likely hide in my room once all the kids start arriving.”

After coaxing Nolan out of the bounce house with the promise that he could get back in as soon as his cousins arrived, the front door opened and Erin heard the voices of not just Blair’s parents, but her own family’s as well.

When she, Nolan, and Blair walked into the hallway, Moon ran over to them, going directly for Nolan, who giggled as he gave him belly rubs.

“Wow, Nolan, Moon seems to really like you,” April said with a certain lilt to her voice that told Erin she was up to no good. “You must spend a lot of time with him.” She looked directly at Erin and gave her a shit-eating grin, which would have absolutely driven Erin insane if she wasn’t too happy to care about her sister’s antics.

“Yeah. Moon loves me,” Nolan said, completely unaware that April only said that to tease his mom.

Erin said hello to Blair’s parents and thanked them profusely for hosting the party. Brandy waved a hand at her. “It’s no worry at all. We’re happy to do it. We miss having little ones running around in here.”

Erin patted Nolan’s head. “Don’t worry. I’m sure

this one

is happy to run around here whenever you’d like.”

“Well, we’re always happy to have him.” Brandy looked from Nolan to Erin and smiled in a way that could only be described as mischievous. “We’re always happy to have

both of you.

”

The way she said it almost made it sound like she knew there was something going on between Erin and Blair. Was that her way of telling Erin she was okay with it or was that just wishful thinking on Erin’s part? Either way, it was still nice to hear. It really felt like Blair’s whole family had made it their goal to get her to cry today.

Erin and Blair both greeted Erin’s family, then all of the kids and Erin’s mom headed out to the back so Nolan could show them the bounce house. Blair’s dad asked for help with something involving the pool and Blair, along with Erin’s brother-in-law, jumped at the opportunity to help him, leaving just Erin and her sister standing by the door.

“So, now she’s hosting your son’s birthday parties? Things must be getting pretty serious.”

Even though Erin knew her sister was just teasing her, she couldn’t help but smile when she thought about the past few weeks with Blair. Movie nights, time with Nolan, the amazing sex they had in Blair’s childhood bedroom, the way Blair had jumped at the opportunity to help with Nolan’s party. It was all so perfect. “Blair’s great.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying.

Her sister pulled away from her and gave her an incredulous look. “Wait. Did something change? Are you two

finally

official?”

Erin shook her head. “Not yet.”

Yet.

That little word held so much possibility. The possibility to make Erin the happiest woman in the world and the possibility of breaking her once and for all.

“Yet?” Her sister asked, also latching onto that one very important word. “So, that means you’re finally going to get your head out of your ass and let something good into your life?”

“I want to.”

April laughed and pointed down the hallway. “You’re saying that as if the woman who is currently

throwing a goddamn birthday party for your son

wouldn’t date you at the drop of a hat.”

“Blair isn’t the problem. It’s

me

.”

April sighed, clearly sick of having this same conversation over and over again with Erin. “The problem is that attitude. It’s not your fault that Dad left. It’s not your fault that your ex-wife turned out to be a complete douche. I feel like you’ve done such a good job of convincing yourself

you

caused those things to happen that you figure it’s just a matter of time before you scare someone else away, but you can’t live like that. You’re going to end up pushing away the people who actually matter; the ones who would never leave you if you just gave them a chance.”

Erin wanted to ask her sister how to stop blaming herself, but before she had the chance, Blair walked back into the hallway. She stopped when she saw Erin and April, most likely both looking like they had just been caught doing something wrong. “Sorry. I was just coming to make sure you two were okay.” Blair pointed her thumb behind her. “If you’re having some secret sister talk, I can go though.”

“No. You should stay.” April took a few steps away from Erin and closer to Blair. “My sister was just telling me how great you are. I think maybe she should tell you instead.”

April shot Erin a smile over her shoulder, then walked down the hallway, leaving Erin and Blair alone.

Blair closed the space between her and Erin, the cocky smile on her face getting more pronounced with each step. When she was practically toe-to-toe with Erin, she leaned forward and rested her hand on the door behind Erin, essentially pinning her there. “So, you think I’m pretty great, huh?”

Erin couldn’t help but smile back at her, and her breathing picked up due to their close proximity. “I think I said you were

okay.

”

“Just okay? Are you sure about that?” Blair leaned even closer to Erin, causing her heart rate to pick up now too. “That’s not what you were saying last week when I—”

Do not pull her upstairs. It’s inappropriate. This is your son’s birthday. But, fuuuuck.

Erin used all the strength she could muster to gently push Blair away. “You can’t talk to me like that right now.”

“Why? Because you don’t want it?” Blair made a point of running her eyes up and down the length of Erin’s body. “Or because you want it so bad you can hardly stand it.”

“I think you already know the answer to that.” Erin pushed past Blair, but before walking away, she checked for signs of anyone else around and when she found no one, she squeezed Blair’s ass.

Blair’s laughter followed behind her the rest of the way down the hall, and it was like music to her ears.

***

Nolan’s birthday party turned out to be a huge success, mostly thanks to Blair and her parents. All of the parents of Nolan’s friends seemed impressed, and Erin even managed to get a few of their numbers to set up future play dates. Some of the parents were under the impression that Blair was Nolan’s other mom, which Erin didn’t bother to correct, mainly because she had no idea how to actually describe their situation.

After the last parent and child left, Erin blew out a long breath. As much as she had enjoyed getting to know all of them, it was nice to be surrounded only by people she knew well.

“What can we help with?” April asked.

“You've done enough already.” Erin walked over to her backpack and dug through it until she found her keys. She pulled off her house key and threw it at April, who fumbled with it before giving up and letting it land on the floor. “Why don’t you all head back to my house and get yourselves settled?”

“Are you sure?” April looked around. “It looks like there’s still a lot to do.”

“We’re sure.” Blair walked up to Erin and put an arm around her waist. “You were such a big help in getting set up, and I know you had to leave at an ungodly hour to get here. Let us handle the rest.”

We. Us.

Those words rang through Erin’s ears and made her heart skip a beat. She hadn’t realized how much she missed being part of a team. It felt good.

Too good.

There was that pit in her stomach again. She

really

needed to figure out how to stop that.

After saying goodbye to her family, Erin and Blair walked to the kitchen where Blair’s parents had already started cleaning up. “Please stop,” Erin told them. “You were so nice to host this party

and

set it up. I can handle the clean up.”

“She’s right, parentals.” Blair pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Let us do all of this.”

Erin turned toward Blair and poked her side. “I was obviously talking about

you

too. You got Nolan a freaking bounce house.”

Blair smacked her hand on her forehead. “Shit. That reminds me. I forgot to give Nolan his actual gift.”

“

Actual

gift? There’s more?”

Blair’s parents looked at each other and gave one another a knowing look, then her mom subtly nodded at him before smiling back at Erin. “If you insist, we’ll leave you two to do this, while we take Moon for a walk.”

Erin watched as she quickly left the room with Blair’s dad following close behind. After they were gone, she turned toward Blair again. “Whatever you got him, you should take back. This is too much.”

Blair furrowed her eyebrows as she studied Erin’s face. “Too much because it’s not what you want or too much because you’re worried about me?”

It was definitely the second one. “Does it really make a difference?”

Blair nodded. “Definitely. If it’s because you want me to back off, I’m more than happy to do that. Not because it’s what I want, but because I never want to make you feel uncomfortable or as if I’m pressuring you into something.”

“You’ve never once made me uncomfortable. I can promise you that. I just don’t want you to ever feel like you have to do all of this. The last thing I want is for you to think I’m taking advantage of you. I like you even without any added benefits.”

Blair smirked and lifted an eyebrow. “What added benefits are we talking about exactly?”

Erin snorted out a laugh because that was the last thing she was expecting Blair to say, even though she really should’ve seen it coming. She playfully pushed Blair’s shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know

exactly

what you mean.” Blair wiggled her eyebrows, but then became serious once again. “But anyway, I wanted to get this for Nolan. It’s honestly kind of a gift for both of our birthdays, since it was a bit selfish on my end. When we were at the zoo, I noticed they had a two-hour up close and personal giraffe experience, so I’m going to take him to that. I didn’t get the actual tickets yet, because I wanted to figure out what day works. I hope you don’t mind that I was just going to have it be me and him. We’d obviously love to have you, but I figured this could be our special time since we don’t really get that now that I’m not his babysitter.”

There was so much to pick apart there that Erin didn’t know where to start. One thing in particular had really caught her attention, though. “Wait. You said a gift for both of your birthdays. Is your birthday coming up soon?” Erin couldn’t believe she didn’t know this, especially after everything they had been through and talked about with each other.

Blair nodded slowly, as if she was hesitant to admit that to Erin. “It’s actually two weeks from yesterday, on October 10th.”

Two weeks? Really?

Erin was nowhere close to prepared for that. “What? How did I not know about this?”

Blair shrugged. “I guess we never had the birthday conversation. When is yours, by the way?”

“March 18th, but that’s not important right now. I’m shocked because you honestly strike me as one of those people who would celebrate your birthday for the whole month. No offense.”

“None taken.” Blair smiled coyly. “I am special like that. Plus, you’re right. I normally

am

that person.”

“So, what changed?”

Blair put her hands on Erin’s hips and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I guess you could say my priorities changed. Some things or

people

are more important than me.”

Erin had to bite her tongue so she didn’t say a certain L-word that was getting harder and harder to hold in. The fact that she was even thinking about it was completely insane. Blair wasn’t even her girlfriend. She didn’t even know her birthday until a minute ago. Still, she had to say something. She couldn’t leave Blair standing there thinking she was the only one experiencing this intense connection between them. “To me, there is no one in this world more important than you and Nolan.”

Blair’s smile blossomed bigger than Erin had ever seen it before. “If you were thinking about getting me a birthday present, forget it. Hearing you say those words is all I need.”

Even if that were the case, Erin’s mind was already buzzing with ideas of what she could do to make Blair’s birthday extra special.