With Erin so close, it was hard to catch her breath. She wanted to reach out and touch her, but her hands were glued to her side. She struggled to force words out that she hoped would come across as flirty and fun. “I’m not the babysitter anymore, you know,” she whispered, but the way her voice cracked didn’t make it come across in the enticing way she’d hoped.

The small smile that had been on Erin’s face dropped and she looked toward the ground. “I know. I’m sorry. I promise if Nolan asks you to do something like put him to bed that you can say no. I don’t want you to feel that way.”

Wait. Why is she apolo- OH! She thinks I’m upset about putting Nolan to bed. Very smooth, Blair. Blair rolled her eyes at herself. So much for being fun and flirty. “No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I love when Nolan asks me to do stuff. I can’t even begin to explain how happy it makes me. I meant I’m not the babysitter, so we can be…” She let her words trail off because she didn’t want to make Erin think she was forcing her into anything she wasn’t ready for.

Erin stared at her the exact same way she had in Nolan’s bedroom, and Blair’s mind went back to the night they stood right outside this door and almost kissed for the first time. At that time, it had felt like nothing but a pipe dream, but after everything that had happened between them, Blair wondered if she should just lean in and take what she wanted.

When she slowly started to move in, Erin shut her eyes. “Do you want to stay and watch a movie with me?” She took in a long shaky breath, then opened her eyes and pushed it out. “As a friend. I’m sorry. I know it’s pathetic that I’m still so stuck on my past. I want to move on, but I can’t.”

Blair reached out and grabbed Erin’s hand. Even though that response wasn’t what she hoped for, Blair wanted to be understanding. She couldn’t imagine deciding to spend her life with someone just to have them walk away. Of course that would mess someone up, and for that reason, Blair was willing to be patient. She would take her time and prove to Erin that she wasn’t like the other people who were able to just walk out of her life. “If a friend is what you need, that’s what I’ll be.”