Page 31 of Falling Together

“Of course I’m right. I’malwaysright.” Marisol rolled onto her side. “Now we just need to figure out what you’re wearing today.”

***

After much discussion, Blair and Marisol settled on a skimpy red bikini top and rainbow board shorts. Any questions Blair had about whether that was the right choice flew out the window when Erin arrived with her family.

As soon as Blair opened the door, Erin’s jaw dropped and there was no question what it was in response to. That was made obvious by the fact that she didn’t take her eyes off of Blair from the moment they walked through the door. Blair couldn’t help but smile as Erin’s eyes subtly moved up her body, slowing down when they scanned past her bikini. To anyone not paying close attention, it would have gone unnoticed, but Blair wasveryfocused on Erin. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, right behind a pair of large sunglasses that she should have kept on if she wanted to hide her wandering eyes.

When those eyes met Blair’s, it felt like all of the air was sucked from the room. Blair could hardly breathe as all of the noise surrounding them faded away and time seemed to stop. She wanted to spend the whole day lost in Erin’s eyes, but she knew if she didn’t look away soon, someone might notice. As much as Erin clearly liked what she saw, Blair was sure the last thing she wanted was for anyone to think she had a crush on the young babysitter. Because she obviously didn’t. How could she? Erin was mature and sweet and a fucking amazing mom. She would never have time for someone like Blair, even if she did find her aesthetically pleasing.

She forced her eyes away and focused on the older woman standing next to Erin. She stuck a hand out toward her. “Hi. I’m Blair. You must be Erin’s sister.”

The woman’s face lit up just like Blair hoped it would. “Aren’t you a charmer?” she asked with a laugh. “I am obviously the mom.” She put her hand on Nolan’s head. “Or the grandma, depending on who you’re talking to.”

“Well, Mrs. Corcoran, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s actually Mrs. Morrison, but it’s also fine if you call me Martha. Either one works for me.”

Of course. Erin probably changed her name when she got married. Why didn’t Blair think of that?Probably becauseI don’t want to thinkabout her being with anyone else, even though she’s not actually with me.

“Sorry. Very nice to meet you,Mrs. Morrison.” Blair still felt like she was too young to get away with calling adults by their first names, even if they told her it was okay. She turned to the next person in line, who was another woman who looked very similar to both Erin and her mom. “And you must actually be the sister.”

“That I am. My name is April.”

After shaking hands, April introduced Blair to her husband, Wesley, and their kids, Sydney (who was fourteen), and Tanner (who was twelve).

After introductions were done, Nolan offered (or more so demanded) to show Erin’s family the pool, leaving Erin and Blair behind.

“So, I take it you still have your ex’s name?” Blair asked, internally reprimanding herself as soon as the question was out.That’s none of your business.

“No, actually. My mom switched back to her maiden name after my dad left us, but she kept our last names the same because she thought it would be too confusing for us if she changed them.” Erin clenched her jaw. “I really wish she had though. I hate sharing anything with that man.”

“I’m really sorry.” Blair didn’t actually know anything about Erin’s family. Before today, she didn’t even know their names, which made sense since she and Erin never really had personal conversations. The fact that Erin’s dad clearly left her and then her ex-wife did the same to Nolan, broke her heart.

Erin looked out into the distance as if she was trying to avoid looking at Blair. “It’s okay. I’m not even sure why I said that out loud. I don’t need to bore you with all of my past traumas.”

Before she could overthink it, Blair reached out and squeezed Erin’s hand. “You could never bore me.”

Her words caused Erin to turn her head, and when those eyes met Blair's, she was transported right back to that moment they were having when Erin first walked in. Blair swallowed hard as she watched Erin bite her bottom lip and bring her eyes to Blair’s lips, almost as if she was thinking about kissing them as much as Blair thought about kissing hers.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and as much fun as it was to imagine, there was a time and place to do it and standing by the front door at her parents’ house was not it. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think someone would have to be an idiot to leave you.”

“Yet people seem to have no trouble doing it,” Erin said with a strained laugh. She blinked her eyes in what looked like an effort to hold back tears.

Blair nodded toward the door. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

Erin shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I know I don’tneedto. Iwantto.” She squeezed Erin’s arm, but this time, more playfully. “Come on. I’m sure Nolan is going to keep your family occupied for at least a few minutes giving his grand tour, so what do you say?”

Erin smiled, and for the first time in the past few minutes, it was a sincere smile that actually reached her eyes. “Okay, let’s go.”

Blair led her out the front door and onto the sidewalk that ran in a circle around her neighborhood. “Talk to me,” she said when she realized Erin wasn’t going to say anything without a little prompting.

“I’m seriously fine. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I was starting to get emotional. I think I’m getting my period or something.” Erin laughed and shook her head. “Not that you needed to know that.”

“Hey, we’re both women. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with myself. You don’t need to apologize, though.I’mthe one who should be apologizing. I shouldn’t have brought up your last name.”

Erin shrugged. “I’m sure it would’ve come up eventually. My dad left when I was two, which is really ironic since that’s the same age Nolan was when his other mom left. I can’t remember my dad, so all I know about him are the things I’ve heard. In reality, his leaving should be much harder on April since he left when she was ten, but it always felt like he leftbecauseof me. He was with my mom for seven years before my sister was born and then stayed around for ten years of her life, but couldn’t make it more than two years with me.”

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