Erin opened her eyes to find Blair watching her with complete awe. It was as though Blair actually saw her as something magnificent. When Blair looked at her that way, it made Erin believe  that she was special. For the first time in much too long, it felt like she was important to someone other than just Nolan. It felt like floating. “Blair, I…” Erin cut herself off because she had no idea what she was about to say and nothing good could come of whatever was about to come out of her mouth.

Blair nodded as though she understood every word Erin was holding inside. “I know. Just get some rest, okay?”

Erin listened to Blair and drifted off to sleep feeling as though nothing in the world could hurt her. It felt like she had just fallen asleep when there was a tap on her arm. Erin struggled to open her eyes as the bright sun shined down on her. “Did… did I fall asleep?”

Blair laughed. “Yeah. You’ve been out for over an hour. I was just wondering if you wanted to keep resting or if there is anything else you want to do before we start getting ready for dinner.”

Erin definitely didn’t need more rest. She felt amazing right now. But she also didn’t have any sort of idea what to do next. “What if we… go back to the hotel and get ready now, then once we are, we can go for a walk on the boardwalk until it’s time for dinner.”

“I love that idea.”

They gathered up their beach supplies, then headed back to the hotel where they both took showers to wash off the sand. It took all of Erin’s willpower to not touch herself in the shower the way Blair clearly had the day before, because she knew Blair would somehow figure out what she was doing and it would make things very tense at dinner.

“Want me to put on some music?” Blair asked as soon as Erin, wrapped only in a towel, came out of the bathroom.

Much to Erin’s surprise, Blair was still in her own towel as well. Knowing the only thing separating their naked bodies was two thin pieces of fabric made Erin’s heart race. Calm down. Nothing is going to happen. Control yourself.

“How about you put on that deejay you like? What’s his name again? Scratch and Sniff?” Erin knew that wasn’t actually his name, but she loved to tease Blair about her horrible taste in music. Still, she was willing to listen to it if it would make Blair happy.

Blair rolled her eyes at Erin. “It’s Skratch Sick. And are you sure? His music is a little loud.”