Page 3 of Falling Together

Chapter 3

Erin

Erin took much longer than she needed to fix Nolan’s swimsuit. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to face Blair after she had run away from just one mention of Bianca. Blair and Bianca—of course their names had to be similar, just like their looks. She was sure people would easily assume Blair was Nolan’s mom given her long wavy brown hair and eyes so dark they almost looked black. Erin clearly had a type, because she couldn’t help but realize how hot Blair was, a fact she was trying to erase from her brain, because it was wrong on so many levels. Not only was Blair ten years younger than her, but she was also most likely going to be Nolan’s babysitter, which basically made her Erin’s employee. Even if all of that wasn’t enough, Erin could never be with someone like Blair who didn’t want kids. She had made that mistake once. There was no way it was going to happen again.

She shook her head at herself. Why was she even thinking about this? A pretty girl gives her one compliment and all she can think about is the reasons they should or shouldn’t be together? It was pathetic, honestly.

I need to get laid.

She laughed out loud at the thought. That clearly wasn’t happening anytime soon.

“Why you laugh, Mommy?”

“You’re silly, that’s why.” Erin tickled Nolan, which she hoped would make him forget all about her strange behavior.

“Stop, Mommy. I…wanna…go…pool,” Nolan said between giggles.

Erin pulled her hands back, but kept them in the tickle position. “You know who else wants to go to the pool?” She dug her hands back into his sides. “The tickle monster.”

Nolan broke into another fit of giggles, and it caused a warmth to start in Erin’s heart and travel throughout her whole body. She stopped tickling him so she could wrap him in a tight hug. “Do you know how much I love you?” she asked as she held him up against her. This little boy was her whole world and the one thing that got her through most days.

“Love you.” Nolan placed a sloppy kiss on Erin’s cheek then wiggled out of her arms. “Let’s go to the pool.”

Nolan ran out of the room and down the stairs. Erin had only made it to the top of the steps when she heard him say, “Bear? You still here?”

She stopped to listen in on their conversation.

“I am,” Blair answered. “I heard you were going to the pool, and I

love

the pool.”

“Want to go with us?” Nolan asked, his voice squeaking the way it always did when he was really excited.

“Can I?” Blair asked. “Pretty please?”

“If Mommy says so, you can. She’s the boss.”

“She sure is.” Blair laughed. “I really hope she says yes. I want to see what a good swimmer you are.”

“I’m the best swimmer.”

“Then it looks like you’ll have to teach me. I’m not that good.”

“Okay.”

The sound of hands slapping together in a high five filled the house, bringing a smile to Erin’s face. Blair might not meet the standards of most parents, but this conversation was enough to convince Erin that she was the right fit for their family.

“Who wants to go to the pool?” Erin asked as she finally made her way down the stairs.

When she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, both Nolan and Blair had their hands raised. Nolan bounced up and down as he looked between Erin and Blair. “Can Bear come to the pool? I need to teach her to swim.”

“How could I say no to that?” Erin smiled at Blair and mouthed the words

I’m sorry.

Blair waved a hand at her as if to say it was no big deal, and the three of them headed out the door. Neither Erin nor Blair was able to get a word in as they walked to the pool, because Nolan spent the whole time talking about everything he was going to do once they got there. As soon as they were inside the gates, Nolan ran toward their usual spot at the top of a small hill that overlooked the pool.

“No running,” Erin yelled after him.

With her warning, Nolan switched from a run to a speed walk that looked more like a waddle.

“He's a really cute kid,” Blair said as she walked next to Erin.

Erin looked over and found Blair staring at Nolan with a big smile on her face. It was so sweet, Erin could hardly handle it. “He takes after his mom,” Erin joked.

Now Blair directed that wide grin in Erin’s direction. “That’s for sure.”

Erin couldn’t help but laugh. “You must be quite the Casanova with the girls your age, huh?”

“I do okay.”

With that smile, Erin had no doubt Blair was telling the truth. With the compliment, her lips curled up a little more on the right than the left in a way that could only be described as cocky.

Oh yeah. This girl knows how hot she is.

“Mommy!” Nolan shouted with a huff. “You’re too slow.”

Both she and Blair laughed as they walked up to him. Once she was standing beside him, Blair put her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “Chill out, little dude. We’re here.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared up at Blair. “My name is Nolan. ’Member?”

“That’s right.” Blair slapped her forehead as if she had actually been confused. “How could I forget?”

“Because you’re old.” Nolan brought his hand to his mouth and giggled into it.

“Oh, I’m old, huh?” Blair picked Nolan up in her arms as he giggled uncontrollably. “If I was old, could I throw you into the pool?”

“No! You can’t. Our clothes! My swimmies.”

When Blair set Nolan back down on the ground, Erin took off his shirt and started spreading sunscreen over all of his bare skin. She looked up at Blair as she did it. “Anytime he comes to the pool, he needs sunscreen and his swimmies before he can get in.” She shook her head at herself. She sounded just like those helicopter moms that she couldn't stand. “Sorry. I’m not lecturing you. Just letting you know these things as I think of them.”

Blair shrugged as if she wasn’t bothered at all. “Of course. No problem.”

Erin was about to look away when Blair pulled her shirt off, revealing one of the skimpiest bikini tops she had ever seen. Not that Erin was complaining, because

wow

. She wanted to look away. She

should

look away. But…

oh my god. Is that a six pack?

Now, all Erin could think about was running her hands over those abs, which made her feel like a huge creep. This was the young girl, fresh out of college, who was most likely going to be watching her son for the summer. Was it wrong to check out someone so much younger than you? She was over eighteen so it couldn’t be that wrong, right? Plus, Erin did have eyes. No one could blame her for taking notice of the perfection standing in front of her.

Okay. That’s enough.

She forced her eyes away from Blair’s body and focused on Nolan. She was so focused it was as if she was perfecting a painting rather than applying sunscreen that would be washed away by the pool anyway.

“Mommy.” Nolan groaned. “P-lease.”

“Sorry. Sorry.” Erin held the sunscreen in Blair’s direction, but still didn’t look at her. “Do you need any?”

“I’m good. I’ve been blessed with skin that doesn’t burn.”

Erin’s eyes instinctively moved to said skin, and her mouth immediately went dry. Blair’s shorts were now off, and her legs were not only extremely tan, but also muscular. She moved her eyes to Blair’s face so she wasn’t tempted to keep checking her out, but that was a mistake, because she was forced to see the shit-eating grin that could only mean one thing—she had been caught. Erin could feel her own face turning red, which certainly didn’t help her case at all.

Luckily, Blair turned to look at Nolan instead of saying anything to Erin about her lingering eyes. “Get those swimmies on. I’m ready to get in the pool.”

“Mommy! Swimmies.”

When Blair smirked and raised an eyebrow at her, Erin realized she was

still

staring. “Swimmies. Right. Come here.”

She struggled to get the swimmies on even more than usual, but as soon as they were on Nolan’s arms, Blair scooped him up just as she had before. “Don’t think I forgot that you called me old. Now you have to pay.”

“I don’t have money.” Nolan giggled and tried to wiggle out of Blair’s arms.

“That’s too bad. It looks like I’m going to have to throw you into the pool.”

“Mommy, save me!” Nolan shouted playfully as Blair broke the pool rules and ran down the hill.

Erin pretended to reach out for him, but stayed where she was. She watched as Blair pretended to throw him into the pool, then jumped in with him instead, both of them laughing as they flew through the air and into the pool. Erin once again couldn’t look away, but this time for a completely different reason.

***

Erin held her hand out toward Nolan after they finally left the pool hours later. “Please hold my hand.”

Instead of taking it, Nolan glared at her hand as if it were a piece of broccoli. “No. I’m a big boy.”

Erin sighed. Playing the same games over and over again got

very

tiring. “I know you’re a big boy, but you know you can’t walk on the road without holding my hand.”

“I walk on sidewalk.” Nolan looked up at Blair, who was still hanging out with them for some reason unbeknownst to Erin. She honestly expected her to cut out hours ago. “Can big boys walk on the sidewalk with no hand?”

Blair put her hands in the air as if surrendering. “If you ask me, a big boy does whatever his mommy asks him to.”

Nolan scowled once again, clearly unimpressed with Blair’s answer, but a second later, a mischievous grin spread onto his face. “I’m the fastest boy. Watch.”

Before either of them could do anything, he took off down the sidewalk. Erin yelled after him as she tried, and failed, to keep up. Her heart rate quickened as she watched him get closer and closer to the crosswalk where the cars were moving much faster than they should. “Nolan Patrick, get back here right now.”

He stopped for a moment, and she actually believed he might turn around, but then that grin was back. “Race home!”

“Can you please take this?” Erin threw the pool bag on the ground beside Blair, not even bothering to see if she picked it up before taking off after him.

“Nolan, wait!” Much to Erin’s surprise, Nolan stopped in response to Blair yelling his name. “If you wait there and do

not

cross the road, I’ll carry you home on my shoulders.”

“Really?” Nolan’s eyes went wide as he jumped up and down. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Erin stopped and put her hands on her knees. “Thank you,” she said as she struggled to catch her breath.

Blair smirked. “No big deal.”

It was a big deal, though. At least, to Erin it was. “You know, for someone who claims to know nothing about kids, you did a great job with him today.”

Blair shrugged, but the cocky smirk remained on her face. “It helps that I’m still a child and have the maturity of someone his age. I just thought about what I’d want and offered it to him.”

“You’d want someone to carry you on their shoulders?” Erin asked with a laugh.

“Hell yeah!

You wouldn’t

?”

Erin laughed once again. She wasn’t sure when the last time was that she had laughed this much. “If you still want the job after spending the whole day with him, it’s all yours.”

Blair bounced up and down the same way Nolan had when she offered to carry him on her shoulders. “Getting paid to act like a child? Of course I still want the job!”

Instead of feeling excited, Blair’s response made Erin nervous. While her naivety was cute, it also worried Erin. “He’s not always as well-behaved as he was today. There’s a lot more to it than just having fun.”

“I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.” The smile that remained plastered to Blair’s face didn’t ease Erin’s worries one bit.

“I just…” Erin stared down at her feet as she walked. If she really wanted to get her point across, she needed to be completely honest. “It’s too late for him to enroll in daycare for the summer, and I really can’t afford the other babysitters. If you end up realizing it’s too much or not what you expected and quit, I’m screwed. I need to know that you’re serious about this.”

“Erin.” When Erin looked over at Blair, the smile was gone from her face and replaced with a look of sincerity. “Listen, I’ve never been serious a day in my life, so I can’t say that I’ll be serious now.”

Great.

Erin looked away from Blair and over to where Nolan was waiting for them.

What are we supposed to do, Little Boy?

“

But

,” Blair’s voice broke the momentary silence, “I promise I won’t quit on you, no matter what. I might be an immature trust fund baby, but I’ve never broken a promise. Seriously. I mean it.”

When Erin looked at her once again, that sincerity was still there. She might not actually know this woman, but she believed her.

The smile returned to Blair’s face as she bent down to pick up Nolan. “Plus, he’s three. How hard can it be, right?”

Now it was Erin who was smiling. This

immature trust fund baby

was in for a rude awakening.