Page 24 of Falling Together

“B-but why?” Nolan’s eyes drifted to the ground and his lips turned down into a frown. Blair really thought he might start to cry.

“I don’t know, dude. Some little brat probably shit in the pool.” Okay, not her smoothest moment, but she was pissed off that Nolan was upset.

“B-but I thought we were going to spend all day swimming.” He sniffled, and Blair knew the tears were coming.

Shit. What the hell do I do? I don’t want him to be sad.Her heart tugged in her chest as she watched Nolan struggle to keep his tears in. Then an idea popped into her head. It was a terrible idea for someone who was trying to keep her professional and personal life separate, but she didn’t have another choice. She had promised Nolan the pool, and she refused to let him down.

Blair knelt down in front of Nolan and took his hand. “You know what? We might not be able to go swimminghere,but I know where there’s another pool where we can swim.”

Nolan looked up at her, a sparkle to his eyes that wasn’t there a second before. “Where?”

“My house.”

Nolan’s body began to wiggle. “You have a pool?”

“Well, technically, it’s my parents’ pool, but I live with them, so it’s my pool for now, too.”

Nolan tilted his head and wrinkled his eyebrows as if he was confused. “You live with your parents?” He stabbed his pointer finger into his own chest. “Like me? Adults don’t live with parents.”

Don’t I know it, kid.“Can I tell you a little secret?” When Nolan nodded, Blair ruffled his hair the way she always did. “I’m not really an adult.”

“You’re a kid?” Nolan pointed to himself once again. “Like me?”

Blair laughed. “Yes. Like you. I’m just a little bit bigger.”

Nolan held his arms out from his body. “You’rea lotbigger.”

“Hey, now, be nice or I might not take you to the pool.”

“No! Pool!” Nolan brought his hands together in a praying motion and pushed his bottom lip out. “Please.”

“I was just messing with you. Of course we’re going to the pool.” Blair cringed when she remembered one very important detail. She couldn’t really take Nolan somewhere without letting Erin know.Why didn’t I think of that before?“Just as long as your mom says it’s okay.”

Once they started their walk back to the house, Blair hit Erin’s name to call her. She hated to bother her while she was working, but she knew if she texted it could take longer to get an answer. Because she had already promised Nolan they could go, she didn’t want to make him wait.

Erin picked up after only two rings. “Blair. Hi. Is everything okay?”

Blair cringed again. She hadn’t thought about the fact that calling Erin, something she had never done while babysitting, would scare her. “Oh yeah. Everything is fine. I’m sorry. We just walked to the pool, and it turns out it’s closed.”

“Yeah, Mommy. Someone shit in the pool!” Nolan shouted.

“Did he just say what I think he said?” Erin asked.

Shit, I am really messing this up.“Yes, he did. I don’t actually know if that’s what happened, but hemighthave heard that from me. I’m so sorry. Anyway, I was calling to ask if it would be okay to take him to my… parents’ house to swim.”

“Bear is a giant kid and lives with her parents,” Nolan shouted once again.

Blair hoped Erin didn’t hear that, but the fact that she started laughing right after he said it made it pretty clear that she had. “I’m sorry my son is so savage. But yes, that would be fine. I’ll call before I leave work to see if you two are still there.”

“I’m sure we won’t be.”I will make sure we aren’t. No crossing any more lines.“But that sounds good.”

Blair said goodbye to Erin and continued the walk back to the house. After running inside to grab her car keys, they got into her car and headed in the direction of her house.

“Whoa,” Nolan said when they pulled up to the gate in front of her neighborhood. “Are you a princess?”

Blair laughed as she entered the code to open the gate. “No. I wish I was, though.”

After pulling into her parents’ driveway, she turned around to find Nolan staring at the house with wide eyes. “Are you sure you’re not a princess?”

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