Page 18 of Falling Together

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, andstillfound 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 isnotfrom a box, though.”

Nolan weaved in and out of his mom’s legs. “Mommy makes the best macaroni and cheese. It’sso cheesy.”He moved his hands around while he saidso cheesyto 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 theF-Wordfly 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 isfuckingamazing.”

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, butnotanywhere 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 wordsStupidandHateat 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 mistakeshemade.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.”

---