Page 3 of Falling Together

When Blair sent a screenshot of the message she was sending to potential clients to her best friend, Marisol, she had responded with a page full of laughing emojis and the words, “Girl, no.”

When her phone sounded from across the yard, Blair assumed it was another text from Marisol making fun of her for beingso disconnected from the real world. One of the reasons Blair loved her best friend was because of how honest Marisol was with her, but right now, she could do without that honesty.

When the text tone went off again, Blair’s curiosity got the best of her. She rolled off of her raft and swam to the edge of the pool, lifting herself out of the water and wrapping up in a towel before she picked up her phone. She was surprised to find the texts weren’t from Marisol, but instead, from an unknown number.It was even more shocking to findthat it was someone getting back to her about babysitting.

Hey! This is Erin. Thank you for messaging me. My son is potty trained. He’s a little wild (aren’t all toddlers?) but also very loving. As I mentioned in my post, I’m looking for someone to watch him Monday through Thursday. If you’d be able to come from about 8:30-6:00, that would be great. Fifty dollars per day sounds great to me if you’re sure that’s okay with you. I’d love to learn more about you. Are you free for a phone call at some point?

Also, if you are able to do a few hours on Fridays as well, that would actually be great. But if not, it’s no big deal.

The second message must have been an afterthought because it was sent a few minutes after the first. Being given the option of only working four days a week made Blair hesitant to agree to five, but at least that didn’t seem like a deal breaker. She thought about texting Marisol to ask her how to respond, but this was the first person to actually show interest in her, so she didn’t want to waste any time.

Hey! Thank you for reaching out. Glad to hear your child doesn’t shit himself anymore.She shook her head at herself as she erased that last sentence and continued to type.I would be happy to speak with you. I’m free whenever, so just let me know a time that works for you. I’ll have to let you know about Fridays. I’m not positive if I can make that work, but I can definitely keep you updated.

Less than a minute after Blair hit send, she received a reply.I could call you tonight when I leave work if that’s okay. It will probably be around 5:30/5:45.

That works :) Can’t wait to hear from you.Blair smiled at her phone in satisfaction. Marisol would be proud. She had handled that well. Now she just had to make sure she didn’t fuck up this phone call.

***

Blair practically fell off of the couch when her phone started to ring. Even though she was expecting the call, she had started to doze off while watching TV and the loud noise took her by surprise. She cleared her throat a few times before picking up. “He-hello?”

“Hi. Is this Blair?”

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded nervous, but also sexy. It was low and raspy and totally Blair’s kryptonite.Stop. This is a job, not a girl you’re trying to get in your bed.

“Hello?”

Shit. Off to a great start.“Sorry. I must have bad service. Yes. This is Blair.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. It’s probably me. I’m driving. Can you hear me now?”

“Yep. All good.”

The woman laughed, and it was just as sexy as her voice. “I’m Erin. I’m calling about babysitting for Nolan.” There was a slight pause before the woman spoke again. “Sorry, that’s my son. I don’t know if I mentioned his name before.”

“I don’t think you did, but that’s cool.” Blair paused, because she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. She had no clue how any of this worked. “So… you had some questions for me?”

Erin laughed once again. “Yeah, sorry. I’m not completely sure what to ask. My son has been in daycare the past two years, so I’ve never interviewed a babysitter before.”

“So, is that what this is?” Now it was Blair who laughed nervously. “An interview?”

“Nothing to be nervous about. I promise. I know you’ve never babysat before, but what other job experience do you have?”

Blair rolled her eyes.Yeah, definitely nothing to be nervous about.“I’ve actually just been focused on school.”

“That’s great,” Erin replied with a bit too much excitement for Blair to believe she was being sincere. “I know you mentioned you just graduated. What did you major in?”

“Psychology.”Please don’t ask what I’m doing with my degree.

“That’s wonderful. What do you want to do with that?”

Fuck.“Honestly, I’m not sure. That’swhyI’m looking for another job while I figure that out.”

“That makes sense. It’s crazy how we’re expected to figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives so early on. I still don’t quite know what I want to do.”

“Whatdoyou do?”

“I work in tech. There’s obviously more to it than that, but I don’t want to bore you with all of the details.”

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