After a few seconds, Erin pulled away from her. “Is everything okay?”

Blair tried her best to give her the most reassuring smile she could, then reached out and squeezed her hand. “Everything is great.”

Erin sat up slightly and rested her head in her hand. “Since when do you lie to me? I can tell something is bothering you.”

Blair sighed. “It has nothing to do with you.” She shook her head, because that actually was a lie. “Okay, I mean, it does. But it’s nothing you did wrong.”

“Please tell me what’s going on. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

Blair rolled onto her side so she could stare at Erin. As she studied the contours of her face and the little crease that formed on her forehead when she was worried, she realized that Marisol was right. She wasn’t just falling  for Erin anymore. She was head over heels in love with her. “I think that’s what I’m afraid of. Getting hurt.”

Erin pointed to herself. “You think I’ll  hurt you ?” She asked as if it was a completely foreign concept that she could hurt someone.

“I like you so much, Erin, and I’m starting to worry that you’ll never let yourself feel the same.”

Erin scooted even closer to her now, the heat of her body making Blair uncomfortable in the best way possible. “See, that’s the thing. I do feel the same. I like you so much too. No matter how much I try to fight it, and trust me, I’ve tried, I can’t stop myself from falling for you harder and harder.”

Blair wanted to tell Erin how she really felt. She wanted to confess that she was in love with her and had no doubt she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she worried if she let them out now, she might scare Erin away. Erin had good reason to believe that people don’t always stick around just because they say they will. The problem was Blair was running out of ways to show her that she wasn’t one of those people. When she said forever, she actually meant it. “Why are you still trying to fight it?”

“I don’t want to.”

Blair wasn’t sure if that was an observation or a promise, but it was good enough for now. She leaned in and brought her lips to Erin’s, letting herself fully enjoy this moment with the love of her life.

***

The next morning, after waking her up to breakfast in bed and a birthday card that Nolan claimed he had spent hours making, they got dressed for an activity that still hadn’t been revealed to Blair.