After taking a big sip of her latte, Blair glanced at Erin. Since Erin was distracted by Nolan at that moment, Blair was able to take her in more without her noticing. Around Nolan, Erin always had a smile on her face, even when it was clear by her eyes that she was tired and maybe even a little bit sad. Obviously, Blair noticed that Erin was hot the first time she saw a picture of her, but it was so much more than just her looks. Erin was beautiful, but not just physically. She was one of those rare people who became better looking the more you got to know them, because she had such a beautiful soul. She had so much on her plate and still thought of Blair. Blair, who didn’t deserve anything from this woman. Blair, whose life had been so easy thus far. Erin had to work so hard for what she had, and Blair had everything handed to her. It wasn’t fair, but it also made Blair like her even more (which also wasn’t fair since she knew she couldn’t like Erin).

When Erin’s eyes met hers, crinkled at the corners from her smile, Blair knew the truth. This was no longer a lush. It was a full-on, heart-pounding, can’t-possibly-end-well crush.

Chapter 9

Blair

By the following Monday, Blair had it all figured out. She knew how to squash this crush before it became anything worse. She needed to stop blurring the lines between babysitter and something more. She couldn’t show up in Erin’s room on Fridays to bring her food when she was too busy to stop working. She couldn’t stick around after Erin got home from work (even if Nolan asked her to). She needed to be Nolan’s babysitter and nothing else, because she knew the heart crushing reality—that was all she could ever be.

She decided to spend the weekend relaxing, so she didn’t look exhausted when she showed up at Erin’s house on Monday. That way, Erin wouldn’t feel tempted to stop and get her a drink again, something she had done one other day last week because she said Blair looked like she could use it. Today, that wasn’t the case. Erin had actually made a comment about how chipper Blair looked for a Monday morning, which somehow made Blair feel even more energized.

Blair was so energized, she decided to put her and Nolan’s lunches into a cooler and head to the pool early. They arrived only a few minutes after opening, which meant they would probably have the pool mostly to themselves for a little bit. As they got closer to the entrance, Blair’s thoughts were confirmed. It didn’t look like anyone was there.

When they made it to the gate, she figured out why. Pool closed for cleaning. We will be open again tomorrow, read the handwritten sign.