Page 19 of Falling Together
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 whateverthisis 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. “Somestuff, 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 whowasthe reason for their relationship. “It looks like I’m staying, buddy.”
