The promised second chapter...I'm posting it now after correcting any mistakes I immediately noticed, but I'll fis and reupload it if I find anything too major that I've missed. Thanks for sticking out (:
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Something about my boyfriend in hiking boots and a hunting jacket, a little dishevelled by our early start, made me hot under the collar. He caught my smile, returning it with a shy one. The day was so new that it was still dark when we got into the car. Thank god, we'd had a the forethought to pack our stuff into the trunk the night before; I was barely awake enough to get dressed. The early hour made the air a little cool, and both of us had opted to put on jackets before leaving the house.
We picked up some coffee from a service station on our way out of town, loading up on snacks while we were there. The drive was going to take us a good eight hours and there was no way I was going without food for that long. Seeming as the trip was so long - and it was so early I was half-dead, - we'd decided that Carlisle would drive the first couple of hours until we were far enough past the outskirts of the city that he would start needing directions, and then we'd swap.
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The country around us was gorgeous, but the novelty was quickly wearing off while we were sitting in the car. There hadn't been another vehicle in miles, and the isolation was getting to me a little bit. We'd been driving for hours, and the roads were windy as hell. I sighed in relief upon seeing a sign for a rest area up ahead; I was bursting to go to the bathroom, and Carlisle looked rather ill from the twisting hills.
He relaxed upon seeing it too. "Hey, Gar...can we stop for a little bit? I'm getting really carsick …" he admitted shyly, confirming my suspicion.
I reached over to squeeze his hand. "Are you okay to keep going until the rest stop, or do you need me to pull over now?" I glanced at him again, trying to gauge how desperately he needed to get out of the car.
"I'm okay," he mumbled, looking away and locking our fingers together.
Kissing the back of his hand, I focused on the road again. Well, that, and trying not to pee my pants. It was only another mile until the car park came into view. The wave of hot air that rushed into the car as I opened the door was like a slap in the face, and I was instantly too hot. "Ugh." I pulled my jacket over my head as I tried to wipe the grimace off my face. God bless air conditioning.
Carlisle had taken shelter under a tree by the time I came back from the bathroom, lying back on the grass with one arm folded over his face to block out the light streaming through. I came and flopped down next to him, my hand landing on his thigh.
"You okay?" I chuckled. Apparently I wasn't the only one that the heat was wiping out.
"Can we go for a walk? There's trails here, right?" he asked. Forcing himself to sit up, he propped himself up on his elbows. My dubious expression prompted him to elaborate. "If the roads are that windy the rest of the way, I'm going to puke."
I nodded. Walking was not what I considered 'fun', but I also didn't want to make him feel sick. "Yeah, come on, then." Before we went, I took off as many clothes as I could, shushing my boyfriend as he laughed at me.
The tracks were well shaded, thank god. A faint breeze blew into us as we walked, and Carlisle linked our fingers together. It was actually enjoyable despite it being exercise. We picked a trail - a longer one than I would have liked, but the prospect of a lake had him pleading with me to do it, wanting to take pictures or something. "There's water next to where we're staying," I reminded him. The slight incline had winded me, yet Carlisle didn't seem affected at all.
His excitement to be exploring the countryside was almost childlike - and fucking adoreable. Moving so much must have made him uncomfortable, but he wasn't about to let it stop him if it meant we could go somewhere pretty. We had the whole place to ourselves, which was nice at least.
By the time we reached the lake, we were both sweating. Carlisle's cheeks were faintly pink, which made me pretty certain that I was bright red, and I'd be more than happy to stop and sit for a bit.
I'd forgotten how perfect this area was. The lake, deep and a rich blue, stretched across to the base of a cliff, the power of a gentle stream turning into a more forceful waterfall as it reached the drop and poured over the edge. The area was lined with flat boulders, tufts of thick grass sprouting between the rocks. The clearing was entirely surrounded by trees, with only the path entrance as an opening.
I settled down on one of the rocks, stretching my legs out in front of me. A smile was hard to suppress as I watched Carlisle pull out his phone and edge closer to the water to take a few photos. Aside from the rushing of the stream and the sound of the birds, the place was quiet. I let my eyes fall closed as the shade started to help take some of the heat of the day away, listening to my boyfriend's quiet footsteps as he moved across the dry leaves.
"Want to come for a swim?" He was grinning at me when I looked up at him, his hand wet from touching the surface of the lake. His phone was back in his pocket, and he was already pulling his shirt of his head.
"Carlisle," I chuckled. "We're still in public, remember."
"It isn't public if there's no one here to see it," he told me, trying not to laugh.
"You're crazy." I shook my head. It was a little tempting; it would make the trek back to the car more pleasant. Still, it made me a little nervous that someone could walk up here at any time.
He came towards me, kneeling on the ground in front of me to gently bring our lips together. "Maybe, but it might be fun?" Another kiss, his fingers raking through my hair. He was testing my self control, and he knew it.
I smiled and ran my hands up his sides. "You're not feeling sick anymore?" I checked. The last thing I wanted was to push him if he still didn't feel good - though judging by his behaviour, he was fine.
He shook his head. "I'm okay now that we've been outside a while. It's nice out here." For a while he stayed with me on the ground, stealing kisses and letting me pull him into my lap. Being so close together quickly made both of us far too hot, though, and he got up. The pull of the water was too much.
"I'm not sure about this," I admitted, nibbling my lip as I watched my boyfriend strip down to his underwear.
"The water is warm, Garrett," he teased. "Just come."
I just shrugged; if nothing else, he looked fucking amazing all wet. And there weren't people around. At the moment. "I could just watch you swim," I offered.
He rolled his eyes at me and jumped into the lake, disappearing under the surface for a few seconds before resurfacing. "Take your clothes off and get in. You were complaining that you were hot."
Groaning, I reluctantly did as I was told, easing myself into the water one leg at a time. It wasn't shockingly cold, but it wasn't exactly warm, either. I very quickly realised that I couldn't touch the bottom, panicking for a few seconds when I slipped under before gaining traction and managing to float again.
Carlisle apparently didn't have the same issue, stealing kisses whenever I was stable enough not to sink under the water at the distraction. We swam across to the other side, where the boulders were smoother and water was a little shallower.
My feet were firmly on the sand, but it was still over my boyfriend's head, and I locked my arms around him to stop him slipping under as I pressed my lips against his neck. He wrapped his legs around my waist, tangling one hand in my hair and lightly tugging.
Realising that he was stable, I ran my fingers down his back, gripping his thighs. He gasped as I jerked his underwear down as much as I could, feeling his face become warm as he leaned his cheek against my shoulders. His hold on me tightened, one hand digging into my side while the other pulled my hair.
It was bit of a confidence boost, knowing I could get this reaction out of him when I'd barely touched him. I didn't dare try anything too drastic; water was one thing, but it would still be uncomfortable for both of us. Instead, I brushed my thumb over his hips, working my way down before finally touching him.
Using my free hand, I gently tilted his chin up so that I could kiss him, smiling as he couldn't muster enough coordination to respond. "You're cute like this," I accused, brushing his hair off his face.
He shifted against me, and I groaned through my teeth at the change in sensation, grinding against him the best that I could. Smiling as our eyes met, he worked his way into my boxers, stroking me gently. His rhythm was terrible while I was touching him, but I wasn't mean enough to take my hand away. I knew he wouldn't last long now. Heat surged through my body, and I was grabbing him wherever I could.
Leaning against me, his breathing quickened, unsure where to hold onto me as I pushed him over the edge. "I love you," he mumbled, settling on pulling my hair until he could think again and his body relaxed.
After catching his breath, he started to stroke me again. As he built up a steady rhythm, all I could do is groan and curse. I had to really concentrate on not letting him go as my heart rate picked up and I gasped for breath. It wasn't long before I was riding out my climax, humming quietly as his lips brushed mine before leaning in for a proper kiss.
I was sweating again now, despite being mostly submerged in cool water. I could feel the heat from Carlisle's body as well, and his cheeks were flushed a light pink. Holding my hand against the side of his face, I slowly untangled myself from him. "We're not going to make it to the campsite in time to put our tent up before dark if we carry on like this," I warned.
He nodded, groaning quietly and pushing back to swim away. He disappeared from view for a seconds, submerging himself to cool off. I copied, hoping that the heat might leave my face. By the time we were back on the bank where we'd left our clothing, I was panting for a different reason.
Pulling clothes on while I was still wet was disgusting, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. It made my shirt cling to me a little too tightly, but it had the same effect on Carlisle, and I really wasn't complaining about that.
I wrapped my arm around his waist as we walked back to the car, smiling to myself. "Ready to go camping?"
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It was just on dusk when we pulled into the carpark, and then we were loading ourselves up to hike out to the camping ground. We'd mostly dried out now, but I suspected Carlisle was getting a little nervous about the whole experience. The heavy pack immediately made my spine ache and I frowned. "The weight isn't hurting you?" I asked as I adjusted the straps of the backpack against his collarbones; it can't have been good for his back.
He just shook his head. "How far do we have to go?" he asked as our feet crunched against the dried leaves, skipping forward a few feet to grab my hand. He moved surprising easily, despite the weight against his shoulders. His fingers were cold in mine, and I let my thumb trail across the back of his hand.
"Not far," I promised. "You know how unfit I am; it's nothing too intense." As if to cement my words, I tripped on a couple of tree roots, stumbling into him as he wrapped his arms around me to stabilize me.
That made him laugh, and he nodded, managing to smile a little. "Okay."
"Tired after our swim?" I teased, chuckling when the question made the heat rush to his face.
"...yeah…" he admitted, nibbling his lip as he thought about it. Quiet until we made it to the camping ground, his fingers tightened around mine as we were greeted by my family.
A fire was already crackling loudly in the middle of the camping site, and bags of snacks were being handed around. Perched on a log, Eleazar grinned as he saw me, but he refused to look at Carlisle. "What the hell took you two so long?"
I just rolled my eyes at him while my boyfriend shifted uncomfortably. "We're here now though, aren't we?"
He threw a torch at me. "Hurry up and set up your tent before you need that, and you're doing it in the dark. I hope you're not as useless at putting up a tent as Garrett is, Carlisle." I was fairly certain that he knew that this was a new thing for him, and that he was just trying to wind him up, but Carlisle didn't seem all that worried anyway.
I was useless at it, but I grumbled at him for calling me out on it anyway. "Shut up, Eleazar." With the pressure of not looking like an incompetent idiot with a tent in front of my family and boyfriend, and Carlisle's complete cluelessness about the task, it took a good hour to get everything secured. I just hoped it didn't come crashing down on us during the night.
The way my family has settled around the fire was rather inconvenient; the space in the circle they'd left for us meant that we were between my brother and my father. I waited to see what Carlisle was grade as 'less hostile'. Faltering for a second, he sat next to dad with an awkward smile. They'd waited for us to have dinner, and everyone was very eager to eat now we'd finally sorted ourselves out.
"How's work, kid? You're up in the offices now?" Dad nudged Carlisle while his elbow. His attempt at conversation made my heart sink, and I instantly saw the anxiety on my boyfriend's face. I put my plate on the ground, shifting a bit closer to him.
He immediately looked down, stuttering to answer him.
"Not anymore he's not; he fucked his boss and got a paid holiday out of it when he got sick of it," my brother spat out, glaring at him. Everything was suddenly silent. Not even the insects in the forest around us made any sound. Eleazar's words hung heavy in the air. I wondered if he regretted them; he looked faintly uncomfortable. My parents frowned, but no one said anything.
Carlisle's breaths caught as his cheeks burned. "It wasn't like that- it was to keep my job so I didn't have to have to go back to London, and I was scared of him, and-"
"And he's locked up because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself-"
Dad's frown grew until I was sure it was permanent. It wasn't my boyfriend that he seemed mad at, though. "That doesn't have anything to do with you, Eleazar; he doesn't need you tormenting him as well. Enough."
I could have hugged my father. If this had gotten out of hand, I would have lost my shit at my family, relations or not. Instead, I just pulled my boyfriend closer, hugging him and pressing a kiss against his cheek. He leaned his forehead against my shoulder and avoided looking at everyone. The rest of the night was very quiet, no one saying much and everyone going to bed early.
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Despite the heat in the tent, I knew Carlisle was going to want to be close to me that night; he was a bit nervous - he fidgeted and froze at every sound outside, and was wide awake despite our long day. I purposefully slept in my underwear, using the unzipped sleeping bag as a blanket rather than getting in it. Sure enough, he hesitantly shuffled closer to lean against me. "You doing okay?" I whispered.
"Yeah…" he whispered back. Despite it being awkward in the sleeping bag, he curled into my side, resting his head on my shoulder. "It's odd being outside though."
Trying to stifle my laughter, I kissed his cheek. "You'll get used to it; it's peaceful," I promised. I tugged the zip on his sleeping bag undone and slipped my arms around him - there was no way he could be cold if we were this close together. It prompted him to mould his body to the shape of mine, his hand coming to rest on my stomach. "Are you alright after tonight?"
He nodded. "Your parents don't seem upset with me, so I guess so." In truth, they were more upset with Eleazar. Dad had pulled him aside and scolded him like a misbehaving child while Carlisle had been distracted, and I as pretty sure that the shame of that alone would stop him making another smart ass comment for the rest of the trip.
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Dad seemed to have taken it upon himself to make up for every 'father and son' activity that Carlisle had missed out on, but I couldn't tell whether my boyfriend was actually enjoying it or not. He looked bewildered as my father set about showing them the correct way to cast out a fishing line, but the gesture was sweet. There was no hesitation when dad touched him anymore, and they accidently bumped each other continually as Carlisle failed miserably at following his instructions. Dad was chuckling, eventually taking the pole from him and untangling the line.
"Sorry...I'm really clumsy," Carlisle told him sheepishly. He partly looked like he was waiting to be scolded, but it only made dad laugh.
"I have to agree with you there, kid, yet your artwork is so delicate. Come; I'll teach you how to set the lines in the boat, or you'll be getting wet later." He ushered him toward the water, already dragging out the oars.
"...You've seen my drawings?" Carlisle asked quietly, watching unsurely as dad set everything up. His face was burning already and he threw an accusing glance in my direction. I shook my head at him as we made eye contact - I'd never shown my parents anything after he'd told me not to.
"Well, I saw what you painted on Kate's cast when she broke her arm," he reminded him. "That kid loves you, even if he father can't keep his mouth shut when it's best." That was for Eleazar's benefit as he came to help pull the boat out, and only resulted in him guiltily ducking his head. Dad handed Carlisle a paddle to hold once he'd seen the bewildered look on his face.
"...won't that sink with all of us on it?" His eyes traced the frame of the wooden body, trailing over the patches dad had put in place when Eleazar and I had run it into a bank when we were children.
"You aren't fishing from the land, kid. You'll never catch anything," he chuckled, amused. "You're coming out with me and Eleazar tomorrow - boy's trip; the women stay here, Garrett included, usually."
I only just suppressed rolling my eyes. "Thanks, dad."
He just shot me a grin, but his expression softened again as he looked at Carlisle. "If you hate it, Carlisle, I'll bring you back here and you can stay on dry land as long as you please. I just want you to try it first; you might like it." Squeezing his shoulder as he passed him, he offered him a kind smile. "You'll be fine, I won't let you drown."
"Thank you," I whispered to dad once he was close enough, unable to bite back a smile. This was everything I wanted out of this trip.
He frowned a little. "He can swim, right?"
"Yes," I laughed, fighting blushing. "He's just nervous; he can swim fine. But be careful - he gets motion sickness and I know he'll be too shy to say anything-"
"If he starts looking green, I'll bring him back in," he assured me. "I won't even take him out of sight of the shore, if you think he's going to be too anxious, but he's not a baby; you're babying him, Garrett."
"The last few months have been really difficult and-" I started to defend, only for him to interrupt again.
"And this will help to take his mind of it. He's enjoying this - I think anyway, he's probably too polite to tell me otherwise," he chuckled to himself. We both looked over at my boyfriend, who was now caught in a very, very awkward conversation with my brother. They were both refusing eye contact with each other, and I suspected - hoped - that Eleazar was apologising.
All too soon, the three of them were clambering into the boat, dad keeping a firm hold of the back if Carlisle's life jacket as he tried to settle without slipping. I forced myself to look away and keep my mouth shut; dad had promised to look after him, and it would be fine. Thankfully, mum and Carmen immediately dragged me into their conversation.
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They returned after only about forty minutes. Normally they disappeared for hours at a time, and my immediate conclusion was that my boyfriend wasn't feeling well. Sure enough, Carlisle looked a little queasy, but he was grinning at me all the same. "I caught my first fish," he told me, holding up the line. To his credit, it was actually big enough to be edible. I caught him as he stumbled out of the boat, relaxed once I had him in my arms again.
"It's a better catch than you've ever made, Garrett," Eleazar teased me. He was right, the bastard.
"Shut up, I'll stick to cooking them," I grumbled back. Cooking did not under any circumstances include gutting, though. Never. Instead, I pulled my boyfriend into my arms, hugging him tightly. "Need to go for a walk?" I asked in a whisper. It was too hot to hold him like this for long, but some time out would be nice. I felt like I'd barely seen him since we got here.
"Yeah," he mumbled into my shoulder. "I don't think I'm made to go on a boat." He kissed my neck before pulling away, reaching for my hand. It went unnoticed by my brother and father - they were already hauling their wooden craft back into the water as soon as possible. We did the same thing; I slowly lead him away toward the hiking trails.
We tripped and stumbled our way up one of the steeper tracks, somewhat dodging the far too sunny patches. The path was dry and dusty, the loose dirt giving way under our feet and sending us sliding every few feet. We were both getting torn to shreds by the little stones, but our clumbyness was making Carlisle laugh, and that was making me laugh, which was making everything more difficult. I was partly regretting the suggestion to come up here; I'd always refused when my family tried to coax me into it after I'd suffered through it the first time, and hadn't been dumb enough to want to do it again. Still, the map promised a nice view, and perhaps another place to swim, and mum had given me lunch to take with us, so the sweating would be worth it.
"Are we there yet?" I half-grumbled. Puffing, I held my footing once I was stable enough, trying to catch my breath. Carlisle had climbed a few feet ahead of me, but stopped and turned to face me when I spoke. Somehow, he wasn't bright red. I pushed my hair off my face with the back of my hand to try and stop it sticking to me. My shirt was clinging to my back, and I cursed myself for not doing any physical preparation for this trip in the weeks leading to this.
"You're the one holding the map," he pointed out. The bit of paper was screwed up in my pack, and I knew I would off-balance myself if I tried to get to it. "Come on, Gar, it can't be that much further." He offered me his hand to pull myself up on.
I groaned, but took it. We'd come this far, and there wasn't much point in going back down now. "Alright." We trudged on and on, by it was still another hour before we reached the top. "Carlisle, we gotta sit down for a bit," I whined at him, panting between words. I was sure I was about to overheat and die, and this was only confirmed when I saw that he was a little out of breath too.
He rolled his eyes at me but reached out to grab my sleeve, pretty much dragging me over to an old tree, finally letting us collapse under it. The towering branches provided a shelter from the sun that immediately soothed me, and eventually my heart started to slow down again. I risked stripping off my shirt and tried to pretend we weren't in public. Carlisle's hand left mine as he dug out our water bottles, handing me mine and starting to dig out our lunch. We ate in silence, just listening to the rushing of water around us and the sounds of the birds.
"This is the most I've ever enjoyed trips like this," I admitted. Despite the heat, I slipped my arm around his waist and tugged him closer, smiling when he immediately cuddled into me.
"I love you." He kissed my throat, his lips brushing along my jaw until they met mine. "I can't wait until we find our new home together."
"Me neither, Carlisle," I smiled. Unable to help it, I ran my fingers through his hair, brushing it back off of his face. It didn't stick to him like mine did to me. "I am a little worried about finding a place with such short notice; I don't want to end up signing the lease for our old place again just because we don't have enough time to get somewhere suitable."
"We can do it," he soothed. "I know you're nervous, Gar, but it'll be fine."
"You're too calm about this." Sighing, I leaned against him, my forehead against his shoulder.
He only tilted my chin up with his thumb in order to kiss me again. "When I moved over here from the UK without anywhere to live, but someone still leased me an apartment even though I barely had a job and couldn't put down a deposit and was pretty much still a child; we're financially stable adults - we'll be alright." His description of us made us both chuckle a little - it seemed far too serious as a title, thought it was what you would hope you would be as a person over 21. "Don't stress about this while you're supposed to be on holiday; we can do all that when we get back."
I rolled my eyes, but ultimately did agree with him. My gaze followed him as he got up to take a picture of the view, telling me he wanted to sketch it when we got back home. The stream next to us became his next target, and I found myself grinning. "Are you up for swimming again?" I teased him, laughing when it earned me a playful glare. Suddenly, I wasn't against the idea at all; the water wouldn't be as deep as the lake, but it'd be just as cold. I stole his phone from his hands and gentle tossed it on top of my t-shirt on the ground, tugging the hem of his shirt.
He watched me as I kicked off my boots and undid my belt, but eventually copied me. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him after me, both of us laughing as the coolness of the water sucked the air out of our lungs. It was far, far colder than I had anticipated, coming from high on the mountain, and it killed the heat of the day instantly.
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We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the water, only disturbed by another couple once when they stumbled into our clearing. I considered drowning myself, or perhaps floating downstream enough to fly over the waterfall further down, when my worst nightmare became true as they wandered over to ask how far they were from the end, and I was caught in my underwear by someone other than my boyfriend - my boyfriend who apparently had no qualms about helping them and holding a conversation for far too long. The only saving grace was that we had only been talking when they approached.
It was getting close enough to dinner that I called it a day after that, going back to our stuff to get dressed again. "What on earth is wrong with you?" I grumbled when Carlisle did the same, unable to keep the embarrassed amusement off my face.
"They needed help, and I'm pretty sure we're the only ones up this trail to give it to them," he teased, grinning at me.
'They didn't need an entire conversation that badly while we were half-naked!"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they thought you were cute, Garrett, I couldn't worry about it." He left me to grumble as he pulled on his clothes, tying his shoes before walking away from me. For a split second, I worried that he thought I was actually mad at him, but instead, he wandered over to the tree, catching hold of one of the lower-hanging branches and pulling himself up. I watched nervous as he made his way up a few branches further, getting higher and higher until I felt a bit sick.
"You're just got the brace off of your hand - you're going to hurt yourself, Carlisle. If not that, you're going to upset your back, or - you're going to hurt your something if you don't get down!" I scolded, going to stand under where he'd gone. "Carlisle!"
His quiet laughter filtered through the leaves. "I'm not that high, Gar; come."
"I am not getting up there; I'm really not aerodynamic," I reminded him sharply.
"How long had it been since you last climbed a tree? Just come up," he teased again.
"I never climbed trees - I didn't have a death wish," I told him.
"Not ever?"
"No, not ever."
"Then come; I promise I won't let you fall to your death. This is my first time camping, this can be your first time climbing a tree. Just the first branch; it's what? Four feet off the ground? You won't hurt yourself." The click of his camera quickly gave away what the actual motive of hm getting up there was. Still, as much as I didn't want to get up there, I did want to get up there.
I knew my ascent was far less graceful than his. It took me three attempts, and I was out of breath by the time I managed. "Where are you?" I asked once I was stable. Without thinking, I hauled myself up the branches I thought I'd seen him use. All too soon, I was way too high, but I'd managed to get to Carlisle. My fingers dug into the bark so hard it was hurting as I firmly lodged myself against the tree trunk and the branch he was on. I managed to sit there semi-comfortably and without risk of falling, but couldn't actually get close to him until he took mercy on me and shifted closer. He gently pulled one of my hands away from the trunk to hold it, easing the pain there. I refused to take my eyes off of him out of fear of getting dizzy if I looked at the ten foot drop below us. He took a few more pictures, and I waited until my anxiety lessened enough for me to be able to breathe properly.
"You said before you didn't have anywhere to live when you came here? How did you…?" This stuff was still normally off limits, and there was a lot I didn't know about Carlisle that I could never find a good time to ask.
He squeezed my fingers. "I stayed in a backpackers - it really wasn't ideal, but it was better than being at home, so it didn't matter at the time."
I tried to gauge his emotions, hoping I wasn't about to upset him. "And you lived with your father the whole time you were in London, or did you move out?" I pressed carefully.
"I lived with him. For a while, I spent a lot of time at my ex-girlfriend's house, but she moved away with her parents, and it was too far to go regularly," he explained quietly.
"Esme, right?" I'd heard the name once or twice before. "You told her about what was happening with your dad?"
"Yeah. I didn't tell her anything, but I think she knew, or at least guessed a lot of it; we knew each other for years, but she only ever came to my house when I was sure that nobody else would be home, and then she only saw certain parts of it. Her parents knew too, I think - they were always so nice to me." His nervous fidgeting seemed less than it usually did when I brought this up, though he still tightly held my hand. "She was the only person that was supportive when I told her I was gay; she helped me a lot."
"Do you still talk to her?" That came out in a rush, and I repressed a groan as I realised it would make me sound like a jealous asshole. "I didn't mean it like that; just...you two must have been close; do you miss her?"
"I miss her, but we don't really speak anymore; her boyfriend is kind of a dick, and I don't want to upset their relationship." He looked away, the fidgeting stopping. "I wanted to tell her when my dad died, but she'd just had a baby, and…"
That could have very easily have been Carlisle's child. My heart squeezed uncomfortably, and I shook the thought from my head. "Tell her now," I suggested. Forcing myself to let the tree go with other hand, I enclosed Carlisle's in both of mine.
"It's not worth it now, Gar. I'd rather just focus on us." That was enough of a cue for me to know he'd had enough of the conversation, and I dropped it.
"Come on, let's go back; I don't want to be hiking out of here in the dark."