“You didn’t.” Blair chewed on her bottom lip as though she was nervous for some reason. “I normally bring my own to make myself for lunch since it’s really all I can make.” She shrugged. “I also love it.” Now, she cringed. “I guess you probably have a much more refined palate than I do. You are an adult.”

Yes. She was an adult, ten years older than the girl standing next to her bed doing something sweeter than anything she could ever remember her ex doing for her. Ten years younger is the important part, Erin. Still, she needed to let Blair know how much the gesture meant to her. “I might be an adult, but who doesn’t love ramen noodles and microwave pizza?”

“Serial killers?” Blair asked with a laugh.

Erin laughed along with her. This was the first time all day she didn’t feel like she was on the edge of a panic attack. “They’d have to be to not like this meal.” She waited for her laughter to subside to say the next part, so Blair knew how sincere she was being. “This is seriously so nice, though. Thank you. You’ve gone above and beyond. Last week you helped when Nolan got sick. This week you’re making me lunch. I really don’t pay you enough.”

Blair shrugged. “It’s not about the money for me. You do so much for Nolan. I’m happy to help where I can.”

“Well, thank you. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

It really did. Blair was doing this for no reason other than the fact that she was a really fucking good person. Now if only she were ten years older and not Nolan’s babysitter…

***

Thanks to being fueled by ramen noodles and pizza, Erin was able to have her work done by three, which gave her plenty of time to satisfy Nolan’s pool itch.

“Bear, you coming to the pool with us?” Nolan asked as Blair put on her shoes to leave.

Blair ruffled his hair. “Not today, buddy. I have tickets for a show.”

Nolan tilted his head at her. “What kind of show?” His eyes suddenly lit up. “ Bluey ?”

Blair laughed. “No. Definitely not Bluey, unfortunately. It’s music. EDM. Have you ever heard of that?” When Nolan shook his head, Blair laughed again. “I didn’t think so. EDM stands for Electronic Dance Music. It’s when people called DJs play really loud, awesome music.”

EDM music? Really? Even when Erin was younger, she was never into that kind of music. She liked her lyrics to have meaning, and so far, she hadn’t found a DJ that used meaningful lyrics (not that she’d been looking). “You mean it’s when people who call themselves musicians push buttons, right?” Erin joked. She just hoped Blair would see it that way and not be offended.