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“How were you going to explain your broken ankle?”
“I don’t know! It was fight or flight!”
The patent ridiculousness of that made Erin double over she was laughing so hard. Cassie looked at her like she’d lost her mind, and maybe she had, focusing on the hilarity of the situation instead of all the ways it could go wrong.
“This is maybe the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” she said, letting out one last chuckle.
Cassie’s face fell. She ran a hand through all that blond hair. “We can stop,” she said, almost but not quite a sulk. “If you want.”
“God, no,” Erin said. She crossed the room to kiss Cassie. “I haven’t had this much fun in years.”
Cassie ducked her head like somehow that would make Erin not notice her smile.
If Erin let herself, she’d be crushed under the weight of all theshoulds. She should feel bad about this. She shouldn’t have slept with Cassie, not even once, but certainly not after learning Parker was her friend, and not with Parker under the same roof. She should be embarrassed. Ashamed. She should stop.
If she thought about it too hard, all of that would get to her. But she refused to let it. She was a grown woman, making her own choices. She didn’t have to be perfect, and she was allowed to have fun. That was what this was. She could have fun for the next week, then Cassie would leave, and this would all be a fun memory. Maybe Erin would even tell Rachel about it. Rachel would die laughing at the thought of Cassie attempting to sneak out her bedroom window to avoid Parker. She would be so proud of the shower sex, Erin could imagine her pretending to tear up.
That was all this had to be. Erin would have fun stories and think back on them fondly. Next fall, Cassie would be across the country at Caltech. Who knew if she and Parker would even keep in touch?
Downstairs, Erin and Cassie ended up on opposite ends of the couch, each with their own book. Cassie’s was three inches thick.
“You are aware it’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s and thus you’re not actually supposed to do anything?” Erin asked.
“Says the person who had a shift at the hospital yesterday. On a Sunday.”
Erin ceded the point. “Okay truce. I won’t tease you about reading your textbook before classes even start, and you won’t tease me about the trashy mystery novel I’m reading. They’re my guilty pleasure.” She waved her book in Cassie’s direction.
“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures,” Cassie said. “Like what you like. I’m not embarrassed to be a nerd. You don’t have to be embarrassed to read mysteries. Why would that even be embarrassing?”
“I… don’t actually know, now that you mention it.”
Erin had felt bad for not reading “real” books for so long, she’d never really questioned it. Cassie shrugged at her and opened the textbook in her lap, like it was that simple.
That first night in the bar, Cassie’s confidence had been sexy as hell. It was more than that now. It was impressive, really, that this woman who was barely old enough to drink was socertain,of herself and the world around her. She could teach Erin a thing or two.
It was more than an hour later before there was any movement upstairs. Cassie had adjusted on the couch, tucked her toes under Erin’s thigh. She pulled her feet back when they heard Parker descending the staircase. She was slow, like she was taking one stair at a time. When she finally shuffled into the living room, she was clutching her pillow to her front with one hand and her comforter together under her chin with the other, the rest of the blanket dragging along behind her. Her nose was bright red.
“Oh, honey,” Erin said. She leapt off the couch and pressed a hand against her daughter’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“I’msick.” Parker’s voice was nasally, clearly stuffed up. “Can you make me a bed on the couch?”
“Of course.”
It didn’t matter that Cassie was still on the couch—she could move. By the time Erin returned from the laundry room with two fresh sheets and a pillowcase, Cassie was on the love seat with the TV remote, eyeing Parker like she had the plague.
Erin spread the king-sized sheet over the couch and tucked it in to the edges of all the cushions. The other sheet went on top. Shetook the pillow Parker had brought down and switched the case out with a clean one. She fluffed it before setting it on the couch.
“C’mon, baby. Lie down. I’ll make you some breakfast.”
Erin could feel Cassie’s eyes on her, but she didn’t care. The mama bear in her always came out when Parker was sick. It didn’t matter what Cassie thought of it. Jesus. She had slept with Cassiethat morning,while Parker had been feverish, probably tossing and turning. And Erin had liked sitting next to Cassie on the couch too much to check on Parker upstairs. She could’ve brought her medicine and breakfast in bed instead of making her sick kid trudge all the way downstairs.
She tucked Parker in on the couch and headed into the kitchen without looking at Cassie.
It was past lunchtime, but Erin made enough oatmeal for all of them. She still didn’t look at Cassie when she handed her a bowl.
“Drink some OJ, too,” she told Parker. “I brought you DayQuil.”
Parker sat up enough to swallow the two orange pills and eat about four bites before setting her bowl on the coffee table. By the time her head hit the pillow, she was already out.
