Page 67 of Falling Together
“Yes. Stay tonight and make mac and cheese after you wake me up.”
Blair looked at Erin once again, but this time she shrugged. “I’m okay with it if you are, but I’m going to have to borrow some clothes.”
Erin really needed to get her hormones under control, because she felt like she might cryagain.Still, as much as she wanted Blair to stay, she also needed to think about Blair’s wellbeing. “I don’t know. I’m worried if you stay, we'll get you sick.”
Blair waved a hand at her. “I have an awesome immune system. I’ll be fine.”
Yeah, I thought I had a good immune system before I had a child too.Erin shook her head at herself.Nolan is not her child, and you can’t expect her to step into that role.
“Is that a no?” Blair asked.
Erin shook her head once again. “Yes. I mean no.” Erin groaned at herself. She had no idea what she was even saying anymore. “What I mean is that I want you to stay.”
Blair’s face lit up as though Erin had just told her she wanted to take her to the fanciest restaurant in town, not said she could stay at their germ-infested house. “Awesome. I can’t wait.”
“Me either.”Seriously. I’m way too excited over this.
Blair took Nolan to the kitchen and sat at the table with him while he ate his soup, but insisted Erin stay on the couch and rest more. Erin tried to argue, but it was no use. Blair wasn’t budging, so Erin followed her directions and shut her eyes once again. She tried to fight sleep so she could help Blair clean up dinner, but it was a losing battle. Within seconds, she was drifting off once again.
***
“Psh. Erin. Wake up.”
Erin thought she must be havingdéjàvu when Blair’s comforting voice whispered in her ear just like she had earlier. When Erin was finally able to crack her eyes open, she noticed it was now pitch black outside.Shit.How long had she been sleeping? She searched the room but couldn’t find Nolan anywhere. Her heart raced as she tried to figure out what was going on.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Blair said soothingly. “Nolan is in bed. He’s been asleep for almost an hour at this point.”
“What… what time is it?” Erin felt around for her phone but couldn’t find it.
“It’s 9:00. Nolan was really drained so we started his bedtime routine a little earlier than we usually do. Of course, he suckered me into reading him more books than I could count, but that’s okay. He was super sweet and kissed my cheek after I finished each one.”
Blair had a dreamy look on her face, but all Erin could focus on was her use of the wordwe.She said‘weusually do’ when referring to Nolan’s bedtime. Sure, Blair had been at their house for his bedtime more times than she hadn’t been there these past few weeks, but when she put it like that, it really felt like they were a team. Which they could be if Erin could get her head out of her own ass. She knew thatshewas the only one holding herself back from the happiness Blair could provide her, but the fact that Erin’s happiness was ripped away from her once before still scared theshitout of her.
Blair ran her fingers over Erin’s cheek. “I didn’t want to wake you, but I also figured you didn’t want to lie on the couch all night.”
“Definitely not. My back appreciates the wake up.”
Blair laughed and kissed Erin’s cheek. “I can actually sleep anywhere.” She pointed toward the kitchen. “I could fall asleep on that table and still get a good night’s sleep. It’s strange.”
Except, it wasn’t strange. Before she turned thirty, Erin was a lot like that too. Blair was a long way from thirty. That reminder made Erin feel sick to her stomach. It wasn’t that she minded their age difference. Most of the time she honestly didn’t even notice it, but Blair being so young meant that she really didn’t have a full understanding of what she was getting herself into. That wasn’t worth dwelling on right now though. She could worry about that on a day when it didn’t feel like someone was rubbing sandpaper over her throat.
“I guess we can’t all be that lucky,” Erin said with a forced laugh. “So, I better head up.”
Blair stood abruptly and looked around the room as she rubbed the back of her neck. “You, um… you don’t want me to come with you?”
Of course Erin wanted Blair to come with her, but there was one very big problem with that. Erin pointed to herself. “Violently ill. Remember?”
Blair smiled and pointed to herself the same way Erin just had. “Amazing immune system, remember?” She looked down at the couch and let out a dramatic sigh that Erin could tell was completely fake. “Plus, what if tonight is the night couches decide to start fucking with my back? You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”
One thing Erin knew by now was that Blair was stubborn as hell. It was honestly one of the things she lo-likedabout her. It also meant Blair would be sleeping in the same bed as Erin no matter how much Erin tried to fight her on it, so she might as well just give in. “Fine. You’re right. You can come with me. Just stay on your side of the bed.
Blair’s smile grew even bigger. “Fat chance of that. I love the feeling of you wrapped in my arms.”
Erin loved that too, which was why she didn’t fight it when Blair held her tightly from behind after they crawled into bed together. Instead, she let herself enjoyfinallyfeeling safe in another person’s arms.
***
As soon as her alarm went off, Erin took a deep breath and smiled at the lack of stuffiness. It was Monday morning, and she wasfinallyfeeling like herself again. Of course, that was mostly thanks to the woman lying next to her, who hadn’t just stayed all day Saturday, but also stayed all day Sunday and should be waking up soon so she could go home and get ready for work. A tinge of sadness hit Erin straight in the heart. She was happy to be feeling better, but aside from not being able to breathe for most of it, her weekend with Blair had been pretty damn perfect.
