Thank you to my beta&prereader, K.K. Fush&TheMortician'sDaughter!
Carlisle POV:
April turned into May as Esme and I became closer and reconnected. She seemed much happier ever since she started going to those meetings. However, she was still hesitant to kiss me. The days went from chilly to warm enough to wear jeans and a t-shirt, so I called her to invite her and Alice to the park. Her mom answered the phone.
"Hi, Anne. May I please speak to Esme?"
"Certainly. Hold on, Carlisle."
I waited until Esme got to the phone and answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, Esme, how are you doing?" I asked her.
"Fine, thank you. What's up?"
"I was just wondering if you and Alice want to go to the park today. I'm thinking of us having a picnic and I'm going to bring Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie along so Alice has her friends to play with."
"That sounds fun!" she exclaimed.
"I know. I can pick you up, if you want."
"Yeah, sure, that'd be great."
"See you soon. I'm making rice!"
"And I'm about to bake chocolate chip cookies as our dessert! Bye!"
"Goodbye."
When I hung up the phone, I started preparing our meal and then I put it into a plastic bowl. I looked out the window and saw that Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were riding their bikes around the neighborhood and playing basketball on our basketball court. A while later, they came inside the house.
"Hey, guys, let's go to the park!" I announced.
"Can we bring our bikes and the basketball?" Emmett asked.
"Can my best friend Alice come?" Rosalie added.
"Can I teach her how to ride my bike?" Jasper put in.
I laughed. "Yes, to all three of your questions. That reminds me, I'll bring my bike too and let Esme ride it!"
"Yay!" the kids cheered. I strapped all four of our bikes onto the top of my Mercedes, threw the basketball in the trunk, and we got in.
"Make room for Alice, you three. Esme's sitting up here with me."
It didn't take long for me to get to her house. I exited the driver's seat and practically ran to her front door. I couldn't wait to see her again, as I hadn't seen her for days. When I rang the doorbell and knocked a few times, I saw Alice frantically jumping up and down to try to get the door. Esme finally came and opened it for me a few minutes later. She smiled at me with a blanket draped over her arm and held out her plate of cookies. She had on jeans and a cute pink top. Her hair was half up with strands hanging down across her forehead.
"They look good."
"Thanks. Come on, baby." Esme looked down at Alice and took her hand.
"Okay, Mommy. Hi, Carlisle," the little girl greeted me.
"Hey, Alice. Your friends are in my backseat."
"Awesome!" She ran to join them and I opened the passenger door for Esme.
"After you."
She slipped in without a word. I closed her door, went to my side, and sat behind the wheel. I turned on some music while I drove us to the park.
The kids scrambled out and went for their bikes. I grabbed the rice, my bike, and the basketball.
"Alice, do you mind holding this?" I asked and showed her the rice. "I have too much to carry and your mom's got her hands full with those cookies and the blanket."
"Sure." She shrugged.
"So, why did you bring your bike?" Esme wanted to know.
"Because after our picnic, I wanted you to go for a ride on my bike."
"Oh, no, I don't know how to ride...I'll fall off and die!"
"I can hold it for you."
"Okay, after we eat," she agreed.
We stopped under a tree that was near where the kids were playing and shared my rice using two plastic plates I'd also brought. I gave her a spoon and let her start eating first before I got my own spoon out.
"Mmmm, this is tasty!" she complimented me. "You're such a good cook."
"Thank you."
We sat and ate while we watched our children and the Hales. Next were the cookies. I wolfed half of them down and let Esme have the rest. "Those were great!"
"Now, I have to burn off all this fat," she sighed.
"Hey, you're not fat," I protested.
"Says you," she smirked at me and then got up. "I'm going to push Alice on the swings."
I leaned back on my elbows and enjoyed seeing her have fun with her daughter. Alice was flying high in the air, and so was Rosalie.
I rode my bike around the park a few minutes later and made sure the boys didn't fall off their bikes. Esme was watching us with her hand shading her face. She waved as I passed her. Alice and Rosalie were playing hopscotch and she joined them for a few minutes. Then, she sat on the swings and her feet traced patterns in the sand. I braked my bike and leaned it against the tree we ate our lunch at.
"Want me to push you?"
She looked over her shoulder at me. "Okay."
I wrapped my hands around the chains below where hers were and started pushing her back and forth. "Is that good enough?"
"Higher!" she shouted.
I pulled her back even farther and let her go.
"Whoo-hoo!" she giggled and kicked her feet in the air adorably.
"Are you having fun?"
"Yes! I love this!"
When the swing slowed down, she jumped off the seat and landed perfectly on her feet.
"Can I ride your bike now?"
"Of course. Come on." I led her to my bike and helped her on. She started pedaling slowly as I rode her around the park.
"Wow, this is a good workout! Now, I want to get off!" She was panting hard ten minutes later. I chuckled and let her off the seat. "My butt was too big for that seat!"
"So is mine. Hey, do you want to play basketball?" I pointed to where Emmett and Rosalie were playing while Jasper let Alice ride his bike with his assistance.
"I'm not very good. I suck." Esme looked at the ground and bit her lip.
"That's okay, I can teach you."
Emmett shot the ball in the hoop and pumped his fists in the air. "Slam dunk!"
"Way to go, monkey man!" Rosalie cried.
He flexed his barely-there biceps and tossed her the ball. She threw it into the basket and did some cheerleader move.
"Alright, Michael Jordan, Lisa Leslie, let us have a chance to play!" I said. They laughed and gave me the ball. I bounced it a few times and put it in Esme's hands. "Kids, go play with Alice and Jasper," I instructed Rosalie and Emmett.
They scampered away from us and I guided Esme to the basket. "Okay, you wanna try to get this ball into that hoop."
She let it drop to the ground and quickly picked it back up. She tried to throw it into the hoop with her hands over her head, but it bounced off the rim and she sighed. "I'm sorry."
I chased after it as it rolled away. "That's okay, Esme. I can teach you." I caught the ball and brought it back to her. This time, I stood directly behind her and grasped the ball with both my hands. My arms were touching hers as we both lifted the ball and shot it in.
"You did that, mostly."
"Give yourself some credit. Aim for the square in the middle of the backboard," I instructed her. "Bend your knees just a little bit, and then jump!"
After a few tries, she finally got a basket. "She shoots, she scores!" I hollered and rushed over to her. She was giggling while I picked her up and spun her around. "That's my girl!"
"I'm not that much of a superstar...you're better."
"Practice makes perfect," I insisted.
The chiming of an ice cream truck made itself known and the kids started running for it, singing, "Ice cream, ice cream, I scream for ice cream!" Esme looked at the scene wistfully.
"Do you want ice cream too?" I asked her.
"Sure, but I don't have any money."
"Neither do the children, but I do. My wallet's in my pocket..." I fished around in my wallet and found ten one dollar bills. "Perfect."
The truck stopped and the kids stood in line. We were behind them. I gave them two dollars each and kept four dollars for Esme and myself.
"Thanks!" the children chorused. They got different flavored ice cream cones, but Esme got an ice cream sandwich and I got a drumstick. We ate our ice creams in the shade under the tree.
As the sky got darker, I decided it was time for us to go home. Everyone packed up their things and loaded them into my car. Alice held Esme's hand and reached for mine as she walked in between us. "Can you guys swing me?"
We agreed and lifted her up. "Whee!" she squealed and then ran away with her friends. Our hands bumped and suddenly, I decided Alice was being very clever in trying to get us back together again. I didn't want to make Esme feel uncomfortable, so I kept my hand far away from hers. I saw that sneaky little girl looking back at us and when she saw that we weren't holding hands, she was disappointed.
"You can hold my hand if you want...we just can't be intimate," Esme said softly.
"Do you want me to, though?"
"Alice wants us together. She tells me that every day...I want to make her happy. And I feel like you deserve to have your hand held."
"Just do whatever makes you feel comfortable."
"Holding hands is a good step in the right direction. At least, that's what Ella told me." She held out her hand and I put my hand in hers. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me. How have your meetings with Ella been going?"
"Great. I met another girl who was sexually harassed. She was from my previous therapy group and her name is Michelle. She and Ella have both been sexually harassed by old disabled men when they were minors. They asked Michelle's parents for her phone number, called her three times until she had to change her number, and tried to put sunscreen on Ella's back once. They've asked the girls to dance before. It was really gross, but it's nice to know that there are others out there who know my pain."
"I'm glad they're helping you recover from this. I know it's not easy coming from such a dark past."
"No, it's not."
Her hair blew softly in the wind and she got some of her bangs in her eyes, so I pushed them out of the way. She batted her eyes and I couldn't stop staring at her. She looked so pretty.
"What?" she half asked, half giggled.
"It's your beauty."
"Oh...just drive me home."
I shook my head. I could tell she liked me.
The next day was extremely hot, so we took Emmett and Alice swimming. I put on my black sweats over my orange swim trunks and drove myself and Emmett to Esme's house to pick her and Alice up. The Hale twins weren't coming since their parents were taking them to Seattle for the day. Esme must have heard my car coming into her driveway since she was already out there with Alice. She had a pink strapless sundress on, a big white hat, and sunglasses. Alice was wearing a blue sundress, a black baseball cap, and sunglasses.
"Hi," Esme greeted me as she got in the car next to me. Alice climbed into the backseat with Emmett. They were already talking a mile a minute.
"Hey, how are you?"
"I'm great. Alice and I just bought this swim stuff last night, when you invited us. We have literally nothing. Just the same crap we've been wearing all of our lives."
"Well, you two look fantastic."
I heard Emmett whispering in Alice's ear, but chose to ignore it. Secrets were secrets. When we finally got to the pool, I got out sunscreen for all of us to use. Alice and Esme went to the bathroom to put theirs on that they'd bought with them, and Emmett and I shared my sunscreen.
"So, Dad, I bet you were wishing you could put sunscreen on Esme, huh?" my son asked as I did his back.
"I want to do more than just put sunscreen on her," I muttered to myself so he couldn't hear me.
"Just marry her already, Dad!"
"I will when she feels comfortable with it."
Esme came out of the bathroom with Alice in tow. "Can we do each other's backs? I get bad sunburns around my shoulders and back."
She had on the cutest tankini. It was black with a green lining and pink and white flower patterns. The way she walked made her chest bounce up and down. God, she was so sexy.
Emmett wiggled his eyebrows at me, so I pushed him away playfully. "Go hang out with Alice, son."
Thankfully, they both let us be. I squirted some lotion on my palm and started rubbing it into her skin. My hands went all around her shoulders, a little bit down her arms, and thoroughly on her back. I was well aware of her back pressing into my naked chest and I had to suppress the urge to lift up her top and...
"Carlisle, I didn't ask for a back rub. I think it's my turn to put suntan lotion on your back."
"Oh!" I shook my head. "Sorry, Esme. Go ahead." I turned around, very embarrassed, and let her do my back and shoulders. She stood on her tiptoes and I felt her warm, soft hands spreading the lotion around my scalding skin. I enjoyed her touching me a little too much and felt my shorts get tight.
"Is that good?" she asked when I didn't say anything. I turned around to face her.
"Yes, thank you, Esme. Thank you."
She looked at me weirdly. "You're, um, very welcome. Well, now our hands are all oily..."
"You can rinse your hands in the pool. Ready to go swimming?"
"You go. I just want to lay in the sun." She grabbed my hand. "Maybe I'll put my legs in the pool since it's sweltering."
I wiped the sweat off my forehead. "You look great in that suit."
"Thanks. You look good in yours, as well."
Esme giggled. "Are we flirting?"
I shrugged. "If you want us to be."
"Can you do a cannonball in the pool?"
Because I was so mesmerized by her, because I would do anything for her, and because I was excellent at cannonballs, I agreed. I jumped up, wrapped my arms around my knees, and splashed into the water. She cheered and ran around to the edge of the pool where I surfaced. Once Emmett saw me, he swam over and got on my back. Esme laughed out loud.
"I've been teaching myself how to swim," Alice announced. "It's quite easy to float now. Emmett was helping me for like five minutes."
"You're a pure genius!" Emmett told her.
"Thanks! Mommy, come on in the pool!"
Esme sat down and dipped her feet in. "Ooh, this feels nice. I'd rather just watch you guys play in the water." She folded her hands in her lap and looked down.
Emmett and Alice ran out of the pool and went up to the diving board. They were fighting over who was going to go first, and then they dove in together.
"Be careful!" Esme exclaimed.
I did a few strokes in front of her and tapped her thighs. "Come on in, the water's fine!"
She kicked her legs at me. "I can't swim! I'm sorry! God, I'm so humiliated..." She put her face in her hands.
"Hey, it's okay...I'll give you some lessons..."
"I'm afraid to get in there...can we go in the shallow end?"
"Sure." I swam to the stairs as she walked down them unsteadily, holding onto the rail. Esme cautiously sat on the bottom stair with the water up to her tummy. She held her knees close to her chest.
"Don't let me drown."
"I would never."
"You promise?"
"With all my heart. Now, the first step in learning how to swim is floating. Let's both walk until the water is up to your shoulders."
"Okay," she agreed.
I held her hand and we both waded through the water.
"Turn around, I'll hold you up at first. Go on your back, please."
I held her back up with one arm and her legs hooked over the other arm. She was breathing slowly as we moved through the water together. I let her go to see if she would float after about five minutes. She did, but then she shrieked and flailed her limbs as she went under. I grabbed her and held her back up. "I got you, don't worry..."
"Don't do that or I can't trust you!"
"Okay, sorry...now let's go back to the shallow end and practice some strokes. Freestyle and breaststroke are really easy." I demonstrated them for her and she copied me.
"You're right, that was fine."
"Now...kicking. Hold onto the edge of the pool and just kick. You're doing great! Let's tread water."
She dog-paddled with my hands on her waist. "I'm doing it!"
"Yes, you are! Do you want to do a few strokes in the shallow end?"
"Okay," she mumbled uncertainly.
I watched her to make sure she wouldn't drown. She was keeping her head above the water, but still doing the strokes. It was a good start. I would save teaching her backstroke another time. She swam to me quickly and grasped my arms.
"What happened? You did so well. I'm proud of you!"
"I just got a little nervous. Can you hold me? I want to be in the deep end." Esme looked at me with both fear and excitement in her eyes.
I nodded and scooped her up. "Yes."
When we got further into the pool, she whimpered, so I held her tighter against me. Alice swam through the small space between us. "Please kiss my cheeks!"
Esme smiled and puckered her lips to kiss her daughter. I did the same, but then Alice bent her head down and let out a loud sneeze. Emmett hollered and whooped a few feet away from us. My lips touched Esme's before I could stop myself. I pulled away from her immediately.
"Oh my..." she whispered.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know she would..." I started to apologize.
"It's fine, really." She blushed, but I saw it before she hid it with her hair.
"You're a good kisser."
I was gazing into her eyes as we swayed in the water. Esme threw back her head and laughed. "Are you actually dancing with me?"
"Yes, I enjoy dancing with you."
I couldn't stop looking at her. The drops of water on her skin, her wet hair all around her face, the way she hooked her arms around my neck and wrapped her legs around my waist...she turned me on completely. And we weren't even an official couple yet.
"So, why are you so comfortable being so close to me now?"
"Ella taught me how to conquer my fear of men. She said if you never hurt me before, you won't now. I do want to be your girlfriend, but I want to be your best friend too."
"That woman sounds like a great counselor for you, then."
"Yeah, she's also one of my good friends. She said even the best couples go through hard times and she has often had to lecture her boyfriend, well now, her husband. But when they were dating, he made many mistakes, so much more than you have made with me. They are now a happy married couple with a little girl."
"I let you get abused. That was inexcusable. I'll never forgive myself for that."
"Consider us even, then. I was psycho and scared you to death multiple times."
"But you said that you're thirteen emotionally. I'm twenty-four on all levels: physical, emotional, mental, and intellectual."
"I think I'm actually growing up. Having my family back has really helped me, and I have a strong group of friends, like you, Renee, and my friends in my office at school. Of course, my counselor has been telling me that I need a protector and I know you'll always save me."
"She's right," I murmured and touched her cheek lightly. "I will." I dipped her and the water collected her hair so it swirled around. She pulled herself up to my chest again and wet her face. "So, Mother's Day is coming up...anything special you want to do for it?"
"I want to take Alice and Emmett to a movie," Esme decided. "Well, they would take me to the movies. For my mom, I'll take her to lunch."
"But Emmett isn't your son."
"I just want to get to know him better. All that I've really talked to him about is the chocolate cake incident with the asshole. You know those rules about I couldn't talk to other guys?"
"Yeah? Go on."
"It all started when he saw me talking to Emmett. He accused me of being a pedophile and hitting on him!" Esme glared at the water. "I would never! I wouldn't dare do that to an innocent little boy or any child, for that matter!"
"I know, I know..." I calmed her down by massaging her shoulders. "You're innocent."
"He called your son a bastard child."
"But he is one technically," I let her know.
"It's a rude name to call him!"
"Well, he's gone now. Don't you fear, he's buried down in Hell."
"Yeah, I know...but sometimes, I get nightmares of him pulling me under..."
"Hey, hey, that'll never happen. I assure you."
"You're so good to me." Esme laid her head down on my shoulder and I cradled her to my chest.
"I'll always be good to you. You deserve it."
It was getting cooler, so we all decided to leave the pool. All of a sudden, I remembered my camera was in my swim bag. There was a guy walking by, so I asked him to take a picture of the four of us.
"Sure, man," he said and I showed him how to use my camera. He held it up and I posed with Esme, my son, and Alice.
I put my arms around Esme and Emmett while Alice hugged Esme's legs. We smiled when the guy directed us, "Say cheese!"
"Cheese!" we shouted in unison and then he handed me back my camera.
"You guys...nice family you got there." My heart skipped a beat when nobody bothered to correct him.
"Actually, we're just-" Emmett began, but I interrupted him by thanking the man and shaking his hand.
"Shh!" Esme scolded Emmett.
"That's cool that the guy thought we were a family!" Alice laughed and skipped to my car after we all got changed.
"We looked like one," Esme added.
"We are one," I corrected her and she beamed.
"Really?" Emmett asked.
"Well, sure! Esme and I are like your parents, in a way."
"Okay, I'll give you that, Dad."
"Thank you, son. Okay, who wants to go out for Mexican food?"
"Me!" Alice and Emmett called out and raised their hands.
"I do." Esme held up her hand timidly.
"Dinner's on me," I told them. "What does everyone want?"
"A vegetarian burrito, complete with refried beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole," Esme said first.
"Oh, yummy! I would love that too!" Alice squealed.
"I want a chicken and rice burrito along with salsa!" Emmett put in.
"I'll have the same thing, but with hot sauce, not salsa," I said. "All right, keep your orders in mind. We're almost there." I drove us to a restaurant that allowed children. I went up to the counter and the woman asked, "How many?"
"Four. Two children under twelve, two adults."
"Right this way, ladies and gents."
We followed her to a table in the back and it wasn't long before we got our food and began to chow down. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and I was fine sitting across from Esme. We had to stop Emmett and Alice from kicking each other under the table quite a few times. Those were the moments where I really felt like Alice was my daughter and Emmett was Esme's son. Esme and I shared a knowing smile. When the kids were busy killing each other and giving each other wet willies, I leaned across the table and asked, "Our children really love each other, don't they?"
"Oh, yeah...the joys of parenthood..." She rolled her eyes. "But they're wonderful, all the same. When they grow up, you will miss these playful moments."
"You're right." Some rice spilled out of my burrito and Esme picked up one of her chips.
"You mind?" She looked at me as she scooped up the fallen rice with it.
"Rice with chips?" I asked doubtfully.
Esme shrugged. "It's good."
I offered another bite to her and she opened her mouth. I simply put it in there and avoided being bitten.
"Mmm, that was delicious! Here, try some of mine." She cut off a piece of her burrito and put it on my plate.
I threw it in my mouth, all in one bite.
"Eeewww, gross! Carlisle! You're a pig, that was supposed to be three bites!"
The children took one look at me and laughed. Emmett gave me a thumbs up and Alice shook her head. "Men..." she groaned. "Mommy, how do you deal with him?"
"I have no idea, but I manage." Esme lovingly ruffled her daughter's hair. "You're going to have to deal with that from Jasper one day."
Alice went bright red and Emmett pointed at her. "Ohhh!"
"What 'ohhh'?" She blew a raspberry at him.
"You like Jasper!" he sang.
"Emmett and Rosalie, sitting in a tree!" Alice started.
"Alice!" he whined.
"Watch it, I can make your dessert land on your head."
"You wouldn't dare!"
I had enough of their bantering. They were becoming too loud. "Alright, calm down, you guys."
"I just love this brother and sister humor. I never get to hear it," Esme chuckled. "Well, that was enough for me."
"I've heard and seen it forever. Drives me crazy!" I gave Emmett a noogie and Alice cracked up.
Thank you to readers&reviewers TeamCarlisleandEsme8, CarlisleandEsme, TeamCullenx, K.K. Fush, Msoxcookie, Just4Me, and that kiwi chick!