(A/N: I'm starting with Bella/Esme and Carlisle/Edward first, and after that with Bella/Alice and Carlisle/Jasper and so on. Mainly Bella and Carlisle's POVs, but I will add Alice's, Esme's, etc. POVs as well. Some chapters are deleted scenes from the original story. Enjoy! :D)

Three weeks after Bella and Carlisle's visit to Jacksonville.

BPOV

After the New Year and school started again, everything fell into its normal routine. When I wasn't spending time with Carlisle or our family, I kept busy by studying and practicing my music. The incident at the Peterson Road Bridge was now a distant memory and did not affect me any longer. Because of this, Carlisle told me that I didn't need any more therapy sessions. I was both happy and sad about that. Happy because they weren't necessary anymore, but sad because they were fun and I was able to spend more time with him.

Edward, Esme, and the others had decided to stay at the mansion. We were both glad that they did; we had missed them so much when they were in Alaska. I was allowed to spend the weekends there now, with Charlie's permission. I had the time of my life whenever I visited. Rosalie and I were now the best of friends, and spent a good deal of time catching up.

The only thing that I didn't like about going there was that my sex life with Carlisle was not private. Alice and Emmett loved to tease me about it, especially if we had a particularly wild night.

When Carlisle was working at the hospital, I would hang out with the others. However, whenever I spent time with Alice, Esme, or Rosalie, I felt inexplicably shy around them. It was mostly because of the fact that I liked the way they kissed me when we played spin-the-bottle on Christmas. I never told them how I felt, although I was quite certain that Alice knew at the very least. But if she did know, she didn't tell me that she did. How could I have explained it to them anyway, without humiliating myself?

The only person that I talked to about it was Carlisle. He thought that I should have told them, but understood why I didn't.

XXX

One Saturday morning, I was eating breakfast at Carlisle's when Alice rushed into the dining room. She looked very excited.

"Bella, would you like to go shopping with me?" she inquired. "My favorite mall in Portland had a large shipment two days ago. You should have seen all of the new clothes that they posted online!"

I groaned. "I'm not really in the mood for it today, Alice. Besides, you had already bought me a half of a department store last November. I don't need any more clothes," I pointed out.

Alice was crestfallen. "Oh, come on, Bella. I really want to hang out with you. You've been studying too hard lately, and you deserve a break. Please, please, please say you'll come. Please?" she begged, clasping her hands.

Feeling dazzled, I gave a reluctant nod. "Alright, I'll go. Now, can I eat my cereal in peace?"

"Of course. And don't procrastinate while taking your shower either. I want to leave by eleven, and it's almost ten o'clock now."

"I guess that I don't have a choice but not to procrastinate then..."

"No back talk."

I rolled my eyes at her.

After I had finished eating, I took a quick shower and got dressed. I knew that if I took my time, Alice would come after me, which was not what I wanted.

Soon, we were speeding down the highway in her new yellow Porsche. She chatted animatedly for the entire ride, with me joining in the conversation every now and then. When we arrived at the mall, Alice practically dragged me inside.

"Damn, Alice, slow down! I'm going to fall if you don't," I declared.

"I'm sorry," she remarked.

We went up an escalator and into the store that she had told me about earlier. I could only watch as she grabbed a countless number of items off the racks. Within an hour, she had a very large pile heaped into a shopping cart. The cashier's eyes nearly fell out her head when she saw it. Alice purchased everything, then went to the waiting room to divide the pile in half.

"We'll try them on in my bedroom. If you don't like something, I'll take it off of your hands, okay?" she queried.

"Okay," I replied as if I cared.

On the trip home, she rambled on about how much she loved her new clothes. I stayed quiet and nodded occasionally whenever she asked me or commented about something.

Alice parked her car in the garage and led me up to her room. Just as we had crossed over the threshold, however, her cell phone rang. She answered it immediately.

"Hi Jasper. I'll be there soon," she stated. Then she hung up and turned to me. "Sorry, Bella, but Jasper wants me to meet him at our house."

I smiled and waved my hand. "That's fine. Go and enjoy yourself. I won't have a problem in looking over my clothes. I'll just put the ones that I don't like in your closet," I added.

"That sounds reasonable. See you later, then."

"Bye, Alice."

She was gone in an microsecond. I went to the bedroom I shared with Carlisle and dumped the contents of my bag onto the bed. I was astounded over the amount of clothes that even fit into the half-pile that Alice had given to me. It would take the whole day for me to sort through all of them.

Abruptly, there was a knock on the door, which jerked me out of my thoughts. "Come in!" I proclaimed.

I heard the door close and turned to see Esme standing next to me. "Hey," I grinned.

"Hi Bella. What are you up to?" she questioned.

"Eehn. Just looking through all of these clothes that Alice had bought for me. I swear, one day she's going to buy me an entire mall! I told her that I didn't need any more clothes, but of course, she didn't listen."

Esme laughed gently. "Well, you know Alice. She can never have enough of them, and she doesn't expect any else to have enough of them either. Here, I'll help you, if you like."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks, Esme. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't showed up."

"Oh, you're welcome, my dear."

We set to work, examining various types of shirts, skirts, dresses, pants, lingerie, boots, and shoes. I had to admit that I like the ones that I had looked over very much. However, I didn't know when I would be able to wear them all.

I was inspecting a black leather outfit when Esme sniffed, then leaned close to me and sniffed again. "Bella, is that sweet pea lotion and moonlight path perfume you're wearing?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I bought them a week ago," I replied.

"Mmm. The combination of two smells wonderful on you. I wish more of the women I know had your good taste, or Alice's or Rosalie's."

"You have good taste yourself."

"I suppose so. But you should wear that lotion and perfume more often. I'm sure that Carlisle himself likes it."

"Yeah, he does, but not as much as my strawberry scent."

"I believe you. Oh, this v-neck t-shirt and black skirt would go nicely with these black low-heeled boots. Why don't you try them on?"

"Um...okay."

I took the clothes that she held out to me and headed for the bathroom.

The t-shirt was a rich, dark-red color which clung onto my form tightly. The skirt was three inches above my knee. The boots went half-way up my calves.

Esme nodded in approval when she looked me over. "This looks sexy on you. Carlisle will adore your outfit. It's too bad that it's winter. If it weren't, you could wear it almost immediately."

"Who knows? Perhaps I can next weekend, if I don't leave the house. Besides, a pair of leggings or stockings could be worn with the skirt."

"That is very true. It wouldn't matter what you wear with it. Either way, you'll look good. The outfit compliments your figure splendidly."

I blinked, not expecting her to say something like that. Her tone was innocent of anything that would have disturbed me, though, so I grinned brightly. To be honest, I was flattered. "Thank you," I whispered.

She waved her hand. "Don't mention it," she smiled.

In no time at all, we had sorted through the clothes and put them in my closet.

I was hanging up one last pair of jeans when I noticed that Esme was eyeing me fixedly and biting her lip, taking me in from head to toe. With a jolt, I realized that I still had the red v-neck t-shirt and black skirt on. I returned to the bathroom and changed back into the sweater and jeans that I had been wearing.

When I re-entered the bedroom, I saw Esme leaning against the closet door. After putting away the t-shirt and skirt, I smiled at her.

"Was there anything that you liked? One of the dresses, perhaps?" I inquired.

She peered into the closet. "Well, I do like the casual white silk dress over here, but I'm not certain if it will fit me," she mumbled.

"Well, try it on. If it does fit, then you can keep it. I don't think that I will need it or most of these clothes anyway."

"Are you sure? Don't you want it? It's a very pretty dress."

"Yes, I'm sure. But even if I want it back, you can still keep it. I'll just buy another one."

"Okay. Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a second?"

"No, of course not. You're more than welcome to."

Esme ghosted into the aforementioned room and came back out five seconds later. She looked remarkable; even though the dress fit her, she said that it was still tight on her. This was true-I could see every curve of her slender figure. Her calves stood out, and the tops of her large breasts were hitched upwards into a nice, prominent cleavage...

Hold on. Was I checking her out?

She frowned at me in bewilderment. "What's the matter? Is there something wrong with the dress? Do I look terrible?" she queried.

I shook my head. "Not at all. You look amazing! I'm sure that Edward will like it too," I commented.

Esme grinned. "Thank you, Bella."

After she had changed out of the dress, she prepared to leave the room. "Thank you for letting me have this, Bella."

"You're welcome, Esme. And thanks again for helping me out. I really do appreciate it."

"No problem."

When Esme was gone, I put my face in my hands. Carlisle was right; the spin-the-bottle game had gotten to my head.

This was bad. Very bad. But I knew that Carlisle wouldn't have cared if he found out about this. Nevertheless, if Edward did, I would likely be in major trouble. I knew that he couldn't see my thoughts, but he would probably find out via Esme's, Alice's, or Carlisle's if I told him.

I couldn't let that happen. I would just have to keep away from Esme often...for the time being. Perhaps that will prevent something like this from ever happening again.

Esme's POV

I sped out of Carlisle's room as quickly as possible, fraught with dismay.

Bella had noticed. She noticed that I had stared at her. Luckily, she had thought that I was looking at her because I was wondering why she had left that v-neck t-shirt and black skirt on.

That was not the case, however. I had been lining up her new shoes, and had turned around to say something to her, when I came face to face with her legs. (She was standing on the tips of her toes to hang up a blouse.) I glanced upwards to see her cute (?!) little bottom peeking out from under her skirt. Her chest was bulging against her shirt like melons would in a thin plastic bag. Her calve muscles, which were half hidden, popped out from her boots like big, round oranges...

Before I could analyze her any further, Bella peered at me, then noticed that she had forgotten to take off her outfit. When she left to change her clothes, my jaw dropped in horror.

Did I just check out a woman?! Oh no, I was so screwed!

This was so wrong! What was I going to do? I needed to block my thoughts; I couldn't let Edward know about this. I was quite certain that he would disapprove of it for sure if he saw what had happened through my mind. I would also need to steer clear of Bella as much as possible. Being in her company too much would not help matters.

Carlisle's POV

When I was spending time with Isabella that evening, I noticed that she was a little more withdrawn than usual. She was very quiet, and seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"Sweetheart? You have barely spoken to me since I came home. Is something the matter?" I queried in concern.

She started; she had obviously not been paying attention. "Wha-? No. I've just been very absentminded today," she mumbled vaguely.

I took her chin in my hand and made her look at me. "Are you sure?"

Isabella nodded. "Yes."

Her eyes did not betray anything suspicious. Her answer was truthful enough, but I could tell that something was nagging her. However, I decided not to point this out and put pressure on her. I knew that she would tell me when she was ready. That was what I loved about her; she would always tell me what was bothering her, even if she didn't do so immediately.

"All right," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "But you know that if you want to talk to me, I am always here to listen."

"I know," she murmured, giving me a tiny smile.

I rubbed her back. "So, what would you like for me to cook for you this evening? Have you eaten dinner yet, or were you too busy wandering around in la-la land?"

Chuckling at my joke, Isabella replied, "No, I didn't eat anything. I guess that I was deep into la-la land. I don't want anything special. But may I have some of the lamb chops that you bought? And the buttered noodles and mixed vegetables?"

"Of course, you may, Beloved. You know that I would give you anything that you wanted."

She rolled her eyes. "Like hell, you would," she scoffed.

Edward's POV

It was extremely annoying. Ever since I had returned from my hunt, Esme had been blocking me from her thoughts on and off. I knew that something was wrong because she rarely did that after we found out that we were soul mates.

When we were alone, I laid my hand on her back. "Esme, what are you hiding from me?" I inquired, going straight to the point.

She blinked. "Hiding from you?"

I nodded. "Yes. You know that you never have to hide anything from me."

"I know that."

I stared at her for a moment. "Well...?" I drew out the word when she did not say or think something to me.

Esme took a deep breath. "It's nothing crucial, Edward. But it is a matter that I would like to keep to myself."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but not in a menacing way. "It must be crucial if you're preventing me from seeing it. You haven't broken anything of mine, have you?"

She huffed. "If I did, I would have told you right away. Can we please not talk about this? I'm not in the mood to."

Taken aback by her curtness, I decided to leave the situation to itself. "Fine. But when you're ready to tell me about it, let me know."

"I will."

Bella's POV

For the rest of the following week, I avoided Esme as often as possible without making it look strange to everyone else. This turned out to be incredibly simple. For reasons unknown to me, she stayed away from me as well. If we chanced to be in one another's presence, we didn't speak to each other half of the time. And when we did, our conversations were short and ended so abruptly that they almost sounded rude.

To make matters worse, there were times when I could barely stop gazing at her if she was around. I did it when she wasn't looking, peeking at her through the strands of my hair. I couldn't help myself, and there were times that I felt so guilty that Jasper asked me (more than once) if everything was okay.

"I'm fine, Jasper," I assured him.

It was in the beginning of the next week that it became clear that I was starting to feel attracted to her! Not like in the way I had became attracted to Carlisle before we officially got together, of course. I wasn't saying that she didn't have a good personality, but I wasn't drawn to her in the way that I would be if she were my mate.

In addition to her, I caught myself staring at Alice and Rosalie too, finding them just as captivating as Esme. And without knowing why, there were times where I wanted to jump on all of them and kiss their pretty lips.

Great. Not only had I realized that I was bisexual (which to me wasn't a horrible thing. I didn't care if I was. I accepted it without question, and so did Carlisle when I told him), but I had a crush on every single woman in the house. As a result, I felt timid around them, and refrained from them whenever I could help it. If Alice or Rosalie said something to me, or asked me a question, I blushed and stammered. I never told Carlisle about any of this. Not because I believed that he would disapprove of it-I knew he wouldn't have minded-but because I felt too embarrassed to.

"Are ya sure that everything is all right, Bella?" Jasper queried that Tuesday.

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about me," I remarked, smiling a little.

I knew that Alice probably found out that I was bisexual at the same moment that I did, but at least she still wanted to hang out with me. I didn't know if she had told Rosalie, but if she had, I would never have guessed. She still liked to spend time with me too. Perhaps they-or Alice, at the very least-didn't care that I was into them or women in general. And I gladly let them hang out with me; I was relieved that they didn't shun me. I had to prevent myself from staring at them when I was in their presence, though, or they would wonder if something was wrong.

However, Esme continued to stay away from me most of the time. I didn't worry about this until the middle of the next week. What was her problem? Had Alice told her that I was bisexual, and was now too uncomfortable to be near me? Or was she mad at me about something? I understood why I was avoiding her, but I didn't know why she refused to be around me.

I decided to talk to Edward. He knew her better than anyone else, plus he could read her mind. I didn't think that it would be a good idea to speak to Esme if she was planning to keep away from me.

(Thursday)

While Esme was out on a hunt with Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett, I took my chance. I went upstairs to the third floor and knocked on Edward and Esme's bedroom door.

"You may enter," he declared from the other side.

I opened the door and stepped inside the room.

Edward was relaxing on his couch, reading a magazine, but looked up as I strolled in. "Oh, hi Bella. To what do I owe the pleasure? How are you today?" he inquired with a grin.

I perched on the armrest. "I'm good. How are you?" I returned.

"I am fine. So, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just needed to ask you a question."

"Oh, all right. Go ahead and ask it."

Biting my lip apprehensively, I queried, "Is Esme angry with me? For the past three weeks, she's been avoiding me."

Edward shook his head. "No," he replied slowly. "I don't think so. But if she is, she hasn't told me, and I haven't seen it in her mind. You'll have to ask her."

I nodded. "Okay," I sighed, getting up. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Bella."

Then I left the room.

I wanted to talk to Esme privately, but unfortunately, she never seemed to be alone when I was around. She was usually with Edward, Alice, or Rosalie.

Luckily, on Saturday, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper went hunting. Carlisle had to work, of course, and Alice and Rosalie had gone to the movies. Esme chose to stay at the house with me. That was good. I was beginning to think that I would never be able to speak to her.

Because I didn't want to make her feel uneasy, I decided not to ask her anything until the middle of the afternoon. I searched for her and located her in the family room watching television. She turned as I walked over to her and stood.

I held up my hand. "You don't have to get up. I just wanted to ask you something. Is that okay, or do you want me to leave you alone?" I questioned.

Esme's POV

I shifted with unease. I knew that Bella was going to confront me about avoiding her for the last three weeks. Truthfully, I couldn't blame her for doing so.

Nonetheless, I dreaded answering her question. How could I tell her that the reason why I kept away from her was to prevent myself from gazing at her too much? I only did it when I was certain that she wasn't paying attention to me. There was something about her that just made me want to stare at her for minutes at a time. She was just so alluring. So alluring that, for inexplicable reasons, I wanted to kiss her. I had to block my mind whenever I thought of this, and thankfully, Edward didn't find out about it yet.

Bella cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. I realized that I had not answered her for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Of course you may ask me a question. You know that you may ask me anything," I stated.

She pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing as if she were considering something. "Esme...are you angry with me?" she inquired in a low voice.

I blinked in surprise, not expecting her to ask me this. "No, my dear. Why would I be angry with you? You haven't done anything that would have upset me."

"Oh. I thought that you were because you have been avoiding me. You barely even talk to me. If you're not angry with me, then why have you been doing this? Is it...something else to do with me?"

So, there it was.

I opened my mouth, but was incapable of giving her a response. At least, a response that wouldn't frighten or terrify her.

Suddenly, I couldn't face her. I dashed away from her, too conflicted with inner turmoil to be in her presence any longer, and headed for my bedroom.

I could not understand why I was so oddly drawn to Bella. I did not feel for her as I did for Edward. However, this was obvious (after all, he was my mate.)

Nevertheless, I found her very captivating. I noticed that I enjoyed her company-no matter how briefly I was in it as of late-more than I would have liked. Then again, who wouldn't enjoy it? Once you broke through her shell, Bella proved to be a kind, intelligent, loyal, and friendly person. She could certainly hold a good conversation.

But there were other qualities that (startlingly) beckoned me to her. I hated to admit it to myself, but Bella was rather pretty. She had beautiful eyes and hair and smooth, red lips.

Smooth!? Where was this coming from? Was this some after-effect from that spin-the-bottle game? And an after-effect of the day when I checked her out in her closet?

Had I become attracted to her?

Oh geez, here we go. Now what was I going to do? I definitely couldn't tell Edward about this. He would, on no uncertain terms, throw cold water on the very idea of it. It was best to ignore how I felt about Bella and do nothing.

Just as I had come to this conclusion, I heard Edward's footsteps approaching. I quickly thought of something else so that he couldn't read my mind. However, bits and snatches of my previous inner monologue drifted across it.

"Esme? Can I talk to you?" Edward queried as he entered the room.

I was doomed.

"Certainly, Edward," I replied.

He sat down on the bed and patted his lap. When I had made myself as comfortable as I possibly could, I turned to him.

Stroking my hair, Edward sighed. "Would you mind explaining to me what I had just saw?"

I fidgeted and bowed my head in shame. "You're disappointed with me, aren't you?"

To my amazement, he said, "No...only shocked, but not in a bad way. You can tell me about it. I promise not to explode."

"Well..." I murmured, trying to find the right words to explain everything. I was unable to, so instead of telling him, I showed him.

"Hmm," Edward grunted once he had absorbed all of the things he wanted to know. "Is this what you have been keeping from me?"

I peered at my hands. "Yes, and I honestly apologize, sweetie. I know that you must be furious. What do you want me to do? What do you think I should do?" I questioned in a tiny voice.

He kissed me on the lips. "I am not furious at all. But why did you not tell me about this?"

I gazed into his eyes and saw that he was being truthful. "Because I felt that you would be angry with me."

"Well, I'm not. It isn't as if you were attracted to another man." He laughed gently.

"You...you don't mind that I am attracted to Bella?" I was even more astonished.

"Not one bit. I know that you feel differently for her than you do for me."

I was speechless. "So, what do you think I should do?" I asked finally.

Edward thought about it for a second. "I think that you should talk to Bella and Carlisle. Well, speak to Carlisle first, and see what he thinks of it. However, I wouldn't be nervous if I were you. I know that he wouldn't mind, in any case. Did you know that Bella is bisexual?"

I shook my head, my eyes widening. "No, I didn't. Wow."

He smirked. "Yes. But after speaking to Carlisle, make sure that you talk to her. It's Bella's reaction that you'll have to be concerned about, but perhaps not too concerned. How do you think she feels about you?"

"I don't know, but Bella seems shy whenever I am in her presence nowadays, but I noticed that she's like that around Alice and Rosalie too."

"Then I suppose that it won't be too difficult for you to let her know how you feel about her."

Edward kissed me again and smiled brightly. "When Carlisle comes back from work, maybe you can speak with him."

I agreed. "Yes. It would be better to deal with him first. After all, Bella is his mate. We have to be considerate about how he would feel most of all."

-Time Skip to 7:15-

When I heard Carlisle's Mercedes racing up the driveway, I couldn't help but feel anxious.

Edward caressed my cheek. "It will be fine," he whispered.

I nodded, but didn't say anything.

Soon, Carlisle walked into the house and headed for his office. I waited until I knew that he had put his things away and had some time to himself. It was an hour before Edward gave me the okay.

"Best of luck, baby," Edward stated as I left the room.

"Thanks, sweetie," I mumbled with a faint grin.

Carlisle's POV

I was filling out the last sheet of my paperwork when there was a knock on my door. Esme's scent drifted through the air.

"Come in," I proclaimed.

I glanced up as she stepped inside the room. "Hello, Esme. How are you?" I inquired.

She lowered herself onto the loveseat that was next to Bella's desk. "I'm fine, Carlisle. What about you?" she returned.

"Oh, I am perfectly well. Is something the matter? Do you need anything?"

"Yes. I need to have a word with you, if that's all right."

"Of course it's all right." I laid my finished paperwork aside and turned to her. "I'm all ears."

Esme nodded and clenched her hands in her lap. "Well," she began. "Edward already knows about what I am going to tell you. It was not easy to explain it to him, and it's just as difficult for me to sit here and do likewise. There is not a simple way for me to say this, so I'll just say it."

She paused to see if I understood. I motioned for her to continue. "By all means, please do so," I requested.

Esme took a deep breath. "Okay. Well...I've realized that...that I am attracted to Bella. I have been for a few weeks."

I gaped at her, but I was not as surprised as I would have been.

Ah! So, this was why Esme had been keeping away from her! And when she was around Isabella, her posture was stiff, as if she were trying to ward something off.

Isabella, too, behaved peculiarly if Esme happened to be nearby. Normally, it was easy for Isabella to have a conversation her. For the past three weeks, though, I had noticed that awkward, tense silences would follow after Isabella said something to her or vice versa. There was an extremely high possibility that she was attracted to Esme as well.

I smiled at her. "I am grateful that you had chosen to tell me this. I know that you must think that I'm upset about this, but I'm not. As I told Isabella on Christmas, I wouldn't care if she was into women, and I don't. She had told me that she was two weeks ago. But how does Edward feel about this?" I questioned. I didn't want him to be angry with her.

"He feels the same way that you do," Esme responded, looking relieved.

"...I see. Have you spoken to Isabella?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? She should have been the first person to know after Edward."

"We thought that it would be better to run it by you first. I did try to talk to Bella about this earlier, when she asked why I was avoiding her, but I couldn't. I was afraid that she would be disgusted with me. If I had known that she was bisexual, it would have been easier to tell her."

"That is understandable. And it is very considerate of both of you and Edward to think of speaking to me first. Nevertheless, if you had told me this after telling Isabella first, my reaction would have been the same as it is now. But speak to Isabella; she is the secondary object of your affections. If she feels the same way for you, then I won't stop you two from doing anything that I would deem...inappropriate, so to speak, if you chose to do so. But if she doesn't, then you will have no choice except for not to bother her."

Esme nodded. "I understand, Carlisle. Thank you."

I waved my hand dismissively. "There's no need to thank me. Just be mindful."

"Don't worry, you know that I will."

She was just about to leave when I thought of something. "Oh, and Esme..." I began.

Esme turned. "Yes?" she queried.

"If you two ever do form a relationship, be careful," I admonished.

"Why?"

I smirked. "Isabella's a tease, especially when she's bored."

We shared a laugh. On the other side of the mansion, I heard Edward chortling as well.

Esme pursed her lips. "Carlisle? Edward? Can you leave and tell the others not to come back for a while? I want to speak to Bella in private."

I bobbed my head. "Sure, Esme. Just let me tell Isabella that I'll see her later, and I'll go for a hunt and leave you to it. I need to hunt anyway. See you later, and good luck."

"Thank you. Bye."

Bella's POV

I had just said good-bye to Carlisle-he was going hunting-and was almost done cooking my dinner when I heard a knock behind me. I turned to see Esme standing next to the island.

Suddenly, I felt tense. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked her what I did earlier. It only proved that there was a reason why she kept away from me, when she left the room without answering my question. Maybe she came back to do so, though. But why did she run away? Had I asked her my questions the wrong way? Did I do something to her that she didn't want to tell me about, and she was too frightened to say what it was?

"Hey," I muttered.

"Hi Bella. Are you busy with your cooking? There is something important that I need to speak to you about," she remarked.

I grinned a little. "No, I'm nearly finished, but my dinner can wait."

Esme pursed her lips. "Okay, then. May we talk in the living room again?"

"...Sure."

She led me into the aforementioned room and gestured to the sofa. "Please sit down."

I plopped down onto it tentatively.

Esme settled herself onto the other side of the couch. As I waited for her to speak, I noticed that she was fidgeting, and her posture was rigid.

"What's wrong, Esme? Why are you so nervous?" I inquired.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just that I'm not sure how you'll react to what I am going to tell you."

"Just tell me. You know that you can tell me anything."

She took a moment to prepare herself. "Do you remember when we played spin-the-bottle on Christmas?"

I inclined my head and chuckled. "I don't think that I'll ever forget it. Why?"

Esme hunched her shoulders. "Well...I liked the way that you kissed me, and I have been attracted to you for the past few weeks. This was why I stayed away from you so much, and why I didn't answer your question this afternoon. I thought that if I had came onto you or told you, it would disgust you. But it's just attraction...nothing more," she confessed with embarrassment.

I drew back in shock. I had no idea that she felt the same way for me as I did for her. So, this was why she had been acting so strangely around me and avoiding me! This was the answer to all of my questions.

I reached out and took her hand. "I'm not disgusted. To be honest, I...I like the way that you kissed me too, and I am also attracted to you. But I didn't say anything about it because I thought that it would repulse you," I stated.

Esme nodded in understanding. "I see, but you could have, you know."

"I'm sorry that I didn't. What made you want to tell me that?"

"Edward saw how I felt about you when he read my thoughts earlier and asked me about it. I told him the truth. He understood and is okay with it, and suggested that I speak you and Carlisle, but to talk to him first. When I did, Carlisle told me to speak to you. He understands how I feel about you also, but I know that I don't need to tell you that he's fine with it."

I laughed loudly. "Well, of course not. I'm surprised that Edward doesn't mind, though."

"As am I, but then, Edward is very level-headed on certain subjects."

"Mmm."

For a couple of moments, it was quiet. Then Esme squeezed my hand. "Bella?" she murmured.

I looked up at her. "Yes, Esme?" I asked.

She bit her lip. "I...um...want to kiss you. May I?"

I was caught off guard by this question. "...Yeah, sure. I...I've actually been wanting to kiss you for the past two weeks."

"Really? So have I."

She gazed at me longingly for a few seconds.

I quirked an eyebrow. "...Well?" I drew out the word.

Esme started. "Oh, were you waiting for me to do so?" she chuckled.

I snickered. "Of course. Why do you think I'm just sitting here?"

She moved over to sit next to me and brushed my hair away from my face. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, beautiful," she whispered.

And then she placed her lips on mine.

It was a passionate kiss. It was not like kissing Carlisle, though; when he and I kissed, electricity raced through my veins. Still, it was a wonderful, heated kiss. I laid my hands on her shoulders and kissed her back.

"Mmm. Your lips are so warm, Bella," Esme breathed before pressing her own onto mine again.

I smiled against hers and held her close.

A minute later, she backed away to let me get some air.

I took several deep breaths. "So, what should we do, now that we know that we are attracted to each other?"

Esme sighed. "I don't know. But Carlisle said that if you were attracted to me as I am to you, then he wouldn't stop us from doing anything inappropriate. He wouldn't mind if we started a relationship either."

I nodded pensively, taking this all in. "Is that what you want to do? I wouldn't mind if you do, but I would understand if you don't. Truthfully, I would like it if we had one, but it can't be like...like how it is with Carlisle or Edward. We can't go public, and I can't tell Charlie. We can't spend too much time together, either. We wouldn't want to keep each other from our mates for too long," I pointed out, joking a bit.

"No, we don't," she agreed. She thought about this for a while. "Well, I suppose that I would like to have one with you, even with our limits. Of course, we have to have them, but I don't mind it. It would be better for us anyway if only the family knew."

"Yes, I know."

Esme kissed me on the lips. "So...friends with benefits?" she questioned.

I bobbed my head and kissed her back. "Sounds good to me," I grinned.

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! How did I do so far? Is it too short? Too long and descriptive? Let me know, please. The next chapter has a gigantic lemon and a foursome! Stay tuned!)