Erin quickly hopped from the couch and grabbed Nolan. She rushed him to the bathroom and a few seconds later, Blair heard throw-up hitting the toilet water.

Blair followed slowly behind and stopped a few feet away. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked softly.

Erin looked up while she rubbed Nolan’s back and gave Blair a small, tired smile. “No. You’ve done so much already. You should get back to your night. I’m sure you have much more fun things to do.”

“Are… are you sure?” Blair had no idea why, but she really didn’t want to leave. This was exactly how she wanted to spend her night, as weird as that seemed.

“Yes! Go!” Erin smiled as she said it, so Blair didn’t take it personally, but that didn’t stop her from feeling disappointed as she headed toward the door.

“Bear! Wait.” Nolan ran from the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her legs. “Don’t go.”

She was sure he only wanted her there because he wasn’t feeling well, but that did not stop her from feeling overcome with joy at his request. “Okay.” Blair looked at Erin for reassurance. “As long as that’s okay with your mommy.”

Erin looked from Blair to Nolan and back at Blair. When their eyes met, Erin stared at Blair for a long time, and everything seemed to disappear around them. The moment was charged, and Blair swore Erin’s throat moved in slow motion as she swallowed hard. “It’s fine with me,” she answered softly.

Her eyes were burning into Blair and Blair knew that if she didn’t break this contact, she wouldn’t be able to control what happened next. She might close the few feet separating them, wrap her arms around Erin’s hips, and pull her close so their lips had no choice but to crash into each other. Obviously she couldn’t do that, though. That wasn’t the nature of their relationship at all. At best, Erin would slap her. At worst, she’d be left without a job.

So, she forced her eyes away and looked at the little boy who was  the reason for their relationship. “It looks like I’m staying, buddy.”

Chapter 7

Erin

Erin jumped when loud banging suddenly started on her bedroom door. In actuality, it probably wasn’t that loud, but after being in the quiet of her room for the past two hours, anything seemed loud. “Mommy! Mommy! Lunch, Mommy!”