Chapter 15

Blair

“Bear! Bear! It’s time for the beach, Bear!”

Even from her bedroom, Blair could hear Nolan loud and clear as soon as her mom let him and Erin in the front door, and that high-pitched voice made a wide grin spread across her face.

“Just a minute, bud.” She rushed around her room throwing things into the bag she hadn’t started packing until about fifteen minutes earlier.

Even though she wasn’t quite sure what she was saying, she could hear her mom speaking animatedly to Erin and Nolan. Her mom had been so proud when Blair told her she was going on this trip to help out with Nolan that Blair actually felt a little bit guilty. It’s not like she had lied to her mom, per se, but her reasons for going might not have been completely selfless.

She was not going to worry about that now, though. She was about to go on vacation with two of her favorite people in the world, and nothing could ruin her good mood. She whistled as she shoved the last of her things into her suitcase, slammed it shut, and continued to whistle as she made her way downstairs.

Her mom lifted an eyebrow at her as she skipped over to them. “Someone’s excited.”

Excited was an understatement, but Blair wasn’t going to actually let on to her mom why . “Well, someone didn’t plan a family vacation this summer because she thought I needed to get a job and learn how to be responsible. Now, I get both.”

“Bear, what’s ’sponsible?”

Before Blair could answer, her mom replied. “It’s something Blair had a lot of trouble with before this summer.”

It took everything in Blair not to glare at her mother. Erin clearly thought Blair was too immature to date. She didn’t need her thinking she wasn’t even mature enough to form a real friendship.

Instead of addressing her mom’s comment, Blair focused her attention on Erin. “We should probably get going before the traffic gets too bad.”

All three of them said goodbye to Blair’s mom, before Blair quickly shut the door to avoid any more embarrassment.

“Bear! Sit with me!” Nolan said as he grabbed her hand and ran toward the car.

Blair looked back at Erin. “Only if it’s okay with your mommy. If she needs a copilot, I’ll have to sit up front with her.”

She couldn’t decide if she’d rather help Erin navigate or goof off with Nolan, so she figured it would be best to let them fight over it.

Erin waved a hand at them. “You two have fun. The map on my phone will be a great copilot.”