Page 6 of Falling Together

Chapter 6

Blair

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Marisol asked as she leaned on the bar at Ralph’s and smiled at Blair knowingly.

Blair stuck her middle finger up at Marisol. “You know damn well what I’m doing tomorrow. It’s Friday. I work again.”

Jackass.

Marisol tapped her chin. “Hm. That’s funny. I didn’t think you worked on Fridays.” Her face lit up in exaggerated realization and she stuck her pointer finger in the air. “Wait. That’s right. Miss I-Probably-Wouldn’t-Even-Take-The-Extra-Day-If-She-Offered-It didn’t even hesitate when her mom-crush called. Kicked me right out of her house and everything when you were

supposed

to be telling me about your time with a different girl.”

Blair glared at Marisol. “She sounded so desperate. She clearly needs me. How could I say no?”

“Oh, she

needs

you, huh?” Marisol wiggled her eyebrows. “What is it she needs? Your body?”

Blair groaned and threw a french fry at Marisol. Why the hell was she not getting this? “She’s the mother of the child I babysit. She doesn’t want my body.”

A mischievous smile spread across Marisol’s face as she reached onto the bar to pick up (and eat) the french fry that had just hit her. “But you want her to want your body. Because

you

want

hers.

”

Blair was really starting to regret sharing that with Marisol. In the two weeks since she told her, Marisol had not let her live it down. “I’m over that.” She waved a hand to try to appear nonchalant, so Marisol would hopefully believe her and let it drop. “Do I need to remind you that I’ve had mind-blowing sex pretty much all of last

weekend with a woman who is definitely

not

the mother of the child I babysit?”

Of course, the part that made the sex so mind-blowing was that Blair thought about Erin the whole time. Was it wrong to pretend she was touching Erin every time she touched her latest hookup? Should she not imagine every sound coming from Erin’s mouth instead? Probably not.

But

picturing Erin’s face as her own climax built made the orgasm like nothing she had experienced before. Wrong? Probably. Really fucking amazing? One hundred percent.

“Uh-oh. You have that faraway look in your eyes. Which girl has you lost in your daydreams?”

“The one I’m sleeping with, obviously.”

“And which one is that again?”

The sarcasm in Marisol’s voice was infuriating, so Blair threw another fry at her. “Tomorrow, I will babysit Nolan, because

that’s

what Erin needs from me, and then tomorrow night, I have dinner plans with the latest hookup.”

“You know the only thing I just heard in your rambling?”

Blair sighed.

No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.

“What did you hear?”

“You called

Hot Mom

by name, but didn’t call

Latest Hookup

by her name.” She made air quotes when she said the words

Latest Hookup

. “I just find that funny since the hookup is

clearly

the one you're more into.”

“Whatever. We’ll see who’s laughing after I have the best sex of my life tomorrow night.”

***

Blair was surprised when she walked into the house and Nolan ran over to greet her. “Bear! Mommy says we are having special day, then I’m having special night with Mommy.”

Blair knelt down and held her hand out for a high five. “That’s so cool, buddy.”

When Nolan hit her hand hard with his own, a warmth spread throughout Blair’s body. In the two weeks she had been babysitting him, she really had grown to love him. Sure, he had his moments that made her want to rip her hair out, and he had conned her into taking him to McDonald’s three more times since the last trip, but he was also a huge sweetheart and incredibly funny. Well, as funny as a three-year-old could be. They always had fun together, but this was the first day Nolan had actually acted excited that she was there. Every other day, it had taken him time to warm up to her and get over the belief that she had stolen him from his mom. It might be strange how happy it made her that this three-year-old wanted to spend time with her, but Blair didn’t care. She was going to enjoy the moment.

“I’m happy you’re excited to spend time with me.”

Nolan scrunched up his nose and looked toward the kitchen counter where his mom was hunched over, intently focused on something on her computer. “I’m more excited about my time with Mommy, but we’ll have fun too.”

Ouch. Shot to the heart. That’s okay, though. Blair would take what she could get.

“And guess what else?” Nolan jumped up and down in front of her as if he was on a pogo stick. “Mommy is going to eat lunch with us.”

Blair inadvertently licked her lips.

I’ll definitely take that.

Three hours after locking herself in a room upstairs, Erin came down to join them for lunch, as promised. “Who wants mac and cheese?” she asked, as she opened the door to the refrigerator.

Blair figured Erin was getting milk to make macaroni and cheese from a box, so she was shocked when Erin took out a Tupperware container and opened it to reveal homemade mac and cheese. Blair pointed to the container as though it were a fine piece of art. She was sure her mouth was hanging open in awe. “You made that?”

Erin nodded. “It was our dinner last night.”

“You came home from work last night and made homemade mac and cheese for dinner?” Who was this woman? Superwoman? She definitely wasn’t human. She was like no one Blair had ever met. That could also be because she was older and a fully functioning adult, but she had to assume not all single parents worked a long day, came home to their son, and

still

found the energy to make macaroni and cheese that wasn’t from a box.

“No. I made it after Nolan went to bed on Wednesday night, then reheated it for dinner last night. That kid is way too hungry by the time you leave to wait for me to bake something.” Erin laughed, but her face became serious when she looked at Blair, who was still staring at her with mouth wide open. “Are you okay with that? I promise it’s still good. It doesn’t go bad after two days.”

Blair shook her head and forced her mouth closed. “Oh, I’m not worried about that at all. I’m just amazed you made mac and cheese. I didn’t know anyone actually did that. I figured the people who say they make homemade mac and cheese just moved it to another container to make it look that way.” She pointed to the macaroni and cheese sitting on the counter. “That is

not

from a box, though.”

Nolan weaved in and out of his mom’s legs. “Mommy makes the best macaroni and cheese. It’s

so cheesy.”

He moved his hands around while he said

so cheesy

to emphasize just how cheesy it was.

He wasn’t lying. Just one bite had Blair feeling like she was having an orgasm in her mouth. She didn’t speak a word the whole time she ate because she was so focused on shoving as much of this orgasmic cheesy masterpiece into her mouth as possible. Well, that, and she was enjoying watching Nolan and Erin interact with each other. It was no wonder he adored Erin so much. She really was the best mom. Blair loved the way Erin spoke to him like a real person and didn’t baby talk to him like she had seen so many parents do with their toddlers. Hell, she saw it happen to some of her friends through middle school and high school even.

“I take it you liked that?” Erin asked with a laugh as she pointed to Blair’s empty bowl.

“Liked it? I loved it! It was fucking amazing.” She put a hand over her mouth as soon as the words came out. She might not know a ton about kids, but she did know you were not supposed to just let the

F-Word

fly around them. “I’m so—”

She couldn’t finish her apology because she was cut off by Nolan holding his empty bowl up to show his mom. “Yeah, Mommy, this is

fucking

amazing.”

Shit. I’m definitely getting fired.

It took Blair a few seconds to look over at Erin because she was afraid of what she would find there. She was convinced if looks could kill, the one Erin was most likely giving her would knock her dead on the spot, which was why she was so confused when she finally worked up the courage to look at her and found an amused look on her face. The small smirk and sparkling eyes made Blair’s stomach do somersaults.

She waved a hand at Blair. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a single mom. Do you really think I’ve never let profanity slip out around my child?” She looked from Blair to Nolan. “Just remember, sweetie—that’s one of those words that you can say at home, but

not

anywhere else.”

Nolan looked at Blair, his face now serious. “Some people don’t like those words, ’specially teachers. No one likes the S or H word though, so we never say those. Those are mean words.”

Shit or hell? Blair didn’t think that could actually be what he meant, because she didn’t know many people who were okay with fuck, but weren’t okay with shit or hell. Erin must have noticed her confusion because she mouthed the words

Stupid

and

Hate

at her. So this child can drop the F-bomb, but Erin has trained him not to say words that can hurt people’s feelings?

Just when I thought I couldn’t like her more…

That night at dinner, Blair still couldn’t get Erin off of her mind, which was bad since she was literally on a date with another woman.

“You should totally get the mac and cheese.”

Latest-Hookup’s words only distracted her for a millisecond since macaroni and cheese obviously made her think of Erin’s delicious cooking. “I actually had mac and cheese for lunch.”

Latest-Hookup pushed out her lower lip in a move that Blair would have found incredibly cute if she wasn’t stuck on someone else. “That’s too bad.” Latest-Hookup reached her hand across the table and took Blair’s. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll get it and you can try a bite of mine.”

As soon as the food was placed in front of them, Latest-Hookup shoveled a big bite onto her fork and held it out in front of Blair. “Are you ready? You’re about to eat the best macaroni and cheese of your life.”

Blair accepted the bite and while it might have been the best if she had tried it yesterday, she couldn’t feel that way after having Erin’s. Still, she nodded politely.

This is a date after all.

“You’re right. It’s really great.”

Latest-Hookup smiled in satisfaction, clearly unaware that Blair wasn’t telling the whole truth. Blair forced herself to focus on the conversation (instead of other things) as they ate their meals. She did a good job of it until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She snuck a peek and found that it was a text from Erin.

That’s weird. She never texts me after babysitting hours.

She brought her phone into view so she could read the text more closely. Before opening it, she smiled at Latest-Hookup. “Sorry. I have to check this. It’s about work.” Since they had yet to discuss their careers, Latest-Hookup had no idea what that meant.

I’m really sorry to bother you on a Friday night, but I was just wondering if Nolan ate anything with you other than the macaroni and cheese today. He’s claiming he didn’t, but he’s also thrown up twice.

Of course this kid chose to keep a secret when his health was on the line.

He had an ice cream sandwich. I’m sorry. He’s very persuasive. I had no idea it would make him sick. If I did, I wouldn’t have given it to him. I promise.

Within seconds, Erin’s reply came through.

That’s okay. I’m just happy to find out there’s a reason for it. He gets sick if he has too much dairy in one day. After eating my mac and cheese, he really shouldn’t have anything else, especially not an ice cream sandwich :-p. Not your fault though. I forgot to tell you.

Blair’s heart dropped. Erin might not be blaming her, but she still felt bad. Her favorite little boy was throwing up because of a mistake

she

made.

Is there anything I can do?

Blair didn’t even bother looking up as she waited for Erin’s reply. Luckily, it didn’t take very long to come through.

Nope! You’re good! He’ll be fine by the morning.

“Everything okay?” Latest-Hookup asked, her face one of concern when Blair finally looked at her.

“Yeah. All good. Sorry.” She shoved the phone into her pocket, but that didn’t stop her from thinking about Nolan and Erin. They were probably going to have such a hard night, and even if Erin claimed it wasn’t, it really was her fault. “Actually, no. I need to leave and take care of something. I’m sorry.” She quickly stood up and threw more cash on the table than was necessary to pay for the meal. “I hate to run out on you like this, but it really can’t wait. I had a great time though. Truly.”

“Well, if you get done with whatever work thing you have to do and want to meet back up for some fun, just let me know. I’m also free tomorrow night for that.”

Blair felt bad (and a little worried if she was being honest) because sex was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. All she could think about was doing whatever she needed to do to make Nolan feel better, even if it took all weekend. “It’s probably not going to work. I’m sorry.”

Blair saw when the realization hit Latest-Hookup’s face, and the hurt in her eyes that she was clearly trying to mask made Blair feel even more guilty. “Be honest with me. Is this the end of whatever

this

is between us?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s all good.” Latest-Hookup shrugged and chuckled. “At least I got one weekend of amazing sex out of it. That’s really all I was looking for anyway.”

“Glad I could be of service,” Blair said with a wink before turning around to walk away.

She had no idea what she was getting there, but her first stop was at Walmart. After grabbing a bunch of stuff that definitely wouldn’t help an upset stomach, she drove to Erin’s house. When she pulled in the driveway, she realized this might not be the best idea. As far as she knew, Nolan could be asleep by now and she could make things even worse by knocking. She pulled out her phone.

Are you two still awake?

She wondered how long she should wait for a reply before giving up and leaving. If she sat in the driveway too long, it would become super creepy. Luckily, she didn’t have to wonder for long, because after only a few minutes, a text came through from Erin.

Yep! Just watching a movie together on the couch. Everything okay?

I bought some stuff for Nolan and am on the way to your house. Is it okay if I bring it now? If not, I can wait until Monday.

Another long minute passed before Erin replied.

You really didn’t have to get him anything, but of course you can come in. The front door is unlocked, so don’t bother knocking.

Blair waited a few minutes before shutting off the car and walking to the front door, because she didn’t want Erin to realize she had actually been there that whole time. Before opening the door, she took a deep breath as if she was walking into a classroom to give a major presentation.

When she walked inside, she found Nolan and Erin both sitting on the couch just as Erin had said they were. Nolan was curled up against his mom so tightly that if Blair hadn’t been looking for him, she would have missed him lying there. On the floor in front of the couch sat a small trash can with a plastic bag inside, which she assumed was being used in case Nolan couldn’t make it to the bathroom.

As she walked closer, she could see that Nolan’s face was pale and his lips were turned down in a frown. It wasn’t the exaggerated frown he did when he wanted to get his way, but instead, just the slightest pinch of his lips as if he was trying to act strong.

Erin placed a kiss on Nolan’s forehead before focusing her attention on Blair. Her eyes went wide when they landed on all of the bags she was holding. “

Some

stuff, huh?” she asked with a laugh.

Blair shrugged. “I had no idea what to get a kid with a tummy ache. I know none of this is actually correct, but I was hoping I could maybe make him smile.” She stared down at Nolan who had yet to look at her and could feel her lips turn into frown as well. “That might be harder than I thought, though.”

She squatted down in front of the couch and put her hand on Nolan’s arm. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, bud. I shouldn’t have let you have that ice cream sandwich.” She held up the gifts. “I brought you some things to hopefully help you feel better, though. Do you want to see them?” She took his very slight nod as a yes and began to pull things out of the bags. “First, I got you these really cool Dino PJs.” She pulled out another set of pajamas that looked only the slightest bit different. “And here is another pair in case you get the first ones messy.”

I.e. throw up on them.

Next, Blair pulled out a dinosaur blanket and an assortment of dinosaur toys. “I kind of went with a theme. I hope that’s okay.”

Nolan nodded more quickly this time, his eyes lighting up as he looked at all of his new toys.

“And last, but certainly not least…” Blair pulled out a remote-control T-Rex that was more than half of Nolan’s height. It definitely wasn’t cheap, but it was more than worth it for the big smile it finally brought to Nolan’s face. “Now, this one you need to wait to play with until you feel better, okay?”

Nolan’s eyes shined as he smiled his usual big, toothy grin at Blair. Without saying anything, he wiggled away from his mom and held his arms out toward Blair. When she leaned closer to him, he pulled her into a tight hug and placed a big sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Bear.”

Blair couldn’t stop the wide smile that took over her face as well. “You’re welcome, dude. I hope this makes you feel better.”

Nolan giggled. “It will.” Unfortunately, the smile didn’t stay for long. He put his hand on his stomach and looked at Erin. “Uh-oh. Mommy, it’s coming again.”

Erin quickly hopped from the couch and grabbed Nolan. She rushed him to the bathroom and a few seconds later, Blair heard throw-up hitting the toilet water.

Blair followed slowly behind and stopped a few feet away. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked softly.

Erin looked up while she rubbed Nolan’s back and gave Blair a small, tired smile. “No. You’ve done so much already. You should get back to your night. I’m sure you have much more fun things to do.”

“Are… are you sure?” Blair had no idea why, but she really didn’t want to leave. This was exactly how she wanted to spend her night, as weird as that seemed.

“Yes! Go!” Erin smiled as she said it, so Blair didn’t take it personally, but that didn’t stop her from feeling disappointed as she headed toward the door.

“Bear! Wait.” Nolan ran from the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her legs. “Don’t go.”

She was sure he only wanted her there because he wasn’t feeling well, but that did not stop her from feeling overcome with joy at his request. “Okay.” Blair looked at Erin for reassurance. “As long as that’s okay with your mommy.”

Erin looked from Blair to Nolan and back at Blair. When their eyes met, Erin stared at Blair for a long time, and everything seemed to disappear around them. The moment was charged, and Blair swore Erin’s throat moved in slow motion as she swallowed hard. “It’s fine with me,” she answered softly.

Her eyes were burning into Blair and Blair knew that if she didn’t break this contact, she wouldn’t be able to control what happened next. She might close the few feet separating them, wrap her arms around Erin’s hips, and pull her close so their lips had no choice but to crash into each other. Obviously she couldn’t do that, though. That wasn’t the nature of their relationship at all. At best, Erin would slap her. At worst, she’d be left without a job.

So, she forced her eyes away and looked at the little boy who

was

the reason for their relationship. “It looks like I’m staying, buddy.”