Sign 3

EPOV
Mid September 2010
Bella's been with Emma now for a month, and it's… hard.
She comes by everyday a little before five PM, and after five or ten minutes of small talk, Emma demands her attention.
And damn, they are thick as thieves.
This is what I've found out about Bella so far, and it isn't much. She's nineteen- Well, twenty now. She hates attention. I learned that when it was her birthday on the 13th and I congratulated her. She just grimaced before she and Emma took off.
She lives in Chinatown where she shares an apartment with her friend Alice. She's not just a friend to Emma; she's also a huge inspiration, especially when it comes to Emma's creative outlet, which is painting. Bella encourages her, helps her, and teaches her new things all the time. Which means that Bella is a very natural caretaker. And it's always there. The way she can subtly suggest something to Emma without making her feel inadequate. Or the way she can encourage Emma to watch her Signing Time DVDs without making it sound like it's something Emma needs to watch.
She makes learning fun for my girl, and it's amazing to watch. Yes, I watch sometimes. Fucking sue me.
For instance, the first week Bella was here, and I found them in the kitchen, talking about their sign-names.
Flashback
I stood in the doorway, smiling like a goof as my girl explained the sign-name I had for her—instead of finger-spelling her name.
*I'm Daddy's Princess…* Emma smiled proudly, proceeding to show Bella how I sign the letter 'P' for 'Princess' over my heart.
*…Over his heart because he loves me so much.*
It was quite emotional to watch her.
And to see Bella smile so hugely for my girl, that was also… big.
"Of course he loves you, Emma. You're so adorable," Bella replied, smiling widely, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say her voice was…huh…thick with emotion?
"Can I have my own sign-name for you?" Bella asked excitedly then. And Emma was just as excited, nodding furiously.
Bella looked thoughtful for a second, even tapping her chin, making Emma giggle in anticipation, and I couldn't look away to save my life.
Bella had made up her mind then, and signed 'Sweetheart' or 'Sweetie' before adding the letter 'E' for 'Emma,' and I… was stunned. Completely overcome with… something. But I felt it in my chest.
*Is that okay?* Bella asked, and I fought the urge to laugh at the absurd question, because I knew that Emma would adore it. And I was right. Emma smiled so widely I thought her face would split.
*Yes!* was her reply. *Can I also have one for you?*
"Of course," Bella answered, her eyes lighting up with excitement again.
It didn't take many seconds before Emma signed the letter 'B'.
Over her heart.
I swallowed hard before heading back to my room.
Too much to handle.
End Flashback
So, yes, I watch them sometimes.
I make it seem random or casual, though. Pretty fucking stealthy if I say so myself. To Bella I just may come off as a person who really, really loves his coffee, because God knows I leave my music-room for it… a lot.
Anyway, Emma loves her of course.
Oh, and so does the rest of my family.
Yep, Mom and Dad just "happened to be in the neighborhood"… a few times.
They think she's great for Emma.
I do, too.
What else do I know about Bella?
Nothing. That's it.
I know her name, her age, I know where she lives, I know what she study, and I know what a great friend and caretaker she is when it comes to Emma.
Do I have questions? Oh, yes. A million or two.
The thing is that Bella's an open person. That's easy to see, and she's always happy, but I don't know how to ask her anything without coming off as… someone who's interested.
Not that I'm interested in Bella in that way… well, that's a lie.
Fuck.
Confession time.
I've turned into a hormonal teenager. And I shower a lot. Very, very cold ones.
But I refuse to jerk off to the image of her, because that would make me creepier than I already am.
It means I'm a horny mess, because if I try to get off, the image of her body just magically appears in my head, which leads to turning the hot water off.
My balls are blue to be honest.
And don't get me started on that blush of hers. Yes, I've seen it, and it's slowly but surely making me lose my goddamn mind. I guess I don't understand why she blushes, though. I mean, sometimes it's when she arrives, sometimes it's right before she leaves, sometimes it's when I get my damn coffee, and sometimes it's after we say goodnight to Emma.
Don't understand her one bit.
But I want to. God, I really want to.
It doesn't really help that she knows everything about me. Yeah, Rose's spilled the beans about everything, including Heidi and all that. I'm not bothered by it, because I wasn't the one that fucked up. I have nothing to be embarrassed about. That's all Heidi. I just wish I had someone who could spill the fucking beans about Bella.
Last but not least.
The way Bella dresses.
Usually it's those tight yoga pants and a snug t-shirt seeing as she comes right from class, but sometimes… oh, sometimes it's skinny jeans and some sexy top.
Her ass, it's out of this world. Her breasts are… out of this world, too. It's all out of this world. Her gorgeous eyes, her slender body, her neckline, her skin, the way she smiles radiantly, the way she lights up when she sees Emma… her mouth… her voice… it's…
Time for a cold shower.
*O*O*O*
*When, Daddy?*
I gave her a pointed look, which she understood.
She was getting lazy with her mouthing and facial expressions, and that wouldn't do if she was to learn more, and I knew she knew this.
*When, Daddy?* she repeated, mouthing this time.
*Perfect, Princess. I'm very proud of you,* I told her with a huge smile. *Jasper and Katie will be here soon.*
She nodded before running towards the swings.
We were meeting Jasper and his daughter here in the park like we always do on Saturday mornings, and I knew both Jasper and I needed our manly gossip-hour.
Jasper and I met a few years ago when we both had our girls going to the same playgroup, and when Emma and Katie clicked, we did, too.
He's as much of a brother to me as Em is, if not more since we have so much in common. Not just with our daughters, but we're both in the music business, too. Me being a composer, and him being a producer and technician. And we actually work together on several projects, too, which mean we see each other most days. However, work is busy and that's why our Saturdays are important.
Emma and Katie play together, and Jasper and I vent.
He knows about Bella of course, and he knows I'll be bitching about that today, and I know about his trouble.
It's called divorce.
Jasper is getting divorced from his wife Tanya, and God knows he can use all the support he gets. I saw it as soon as I met Tanya.
She's not a true Heidi, but she isn't far off. And I saw that. Nasty bitch.
Tanya wants Katie to go through every possible exam in the world to see if 'Katie can be fixed.'
I shudder just thinking about Tanya and Heidi.
Jasper's more like me on that subject.
Of course we've gone through tests and all that, but I refuse to have Emma go through procedures and procedures of prodding and poking just to be heartbroken when nothing happens.
I want my daughter to have her childhood without spending all that time around doctors, and if Emma one day wants to go through all that, it will be when she understands the ramifications of it all. Basically when she's old enough to understand, period.
Emma and Katie can have a wonderful childhood as it is, but if they go through all that potential bullshit and it doesn't work, they'll never get their childhood back.
If Emma and Katie decide they want that when they're older, and it does work, their childhoods will still have been good ones.
Then of course there's the issue of hoping. Both Jasper and I know how much hope you can have despite bad odds. Even if you're given a single percent of success, as a parent, you easily put a lot of hope in that percent. And that's not something you want for yourself or for your child.
Fuck, I'm digressing here.
Jasper's getting divorced, and it's their fighting over Katie that is the reason.
So, today I know he's gonna vent about that.
My cuff vibrated then, and my eyes quickly searched out Emma who was waving happily from the sandbox.
This is one of those moments where a mother had taken a picture.
I waved back, snickering.
That girl had me so wrapped around her finger.
I have to say that though her hair is slightly lighter than my hair, most her features are mine. Reddish brown hair – curly has hell, which is far better than my straight mess – my green eyes and pale skin. The only thing I can see in her that's Heidi is her nose and the blond streaks in her hair, but to be honest, I wouldn't want my five year old girl to have Daddy's rather fucking manly nose.
She does have my lopsided smirk perfected, though. And I have to say hers is far cuter than mine. She's even got a dimple.
*I love you, Princess,* I signed to her.
I heard her giggle from across the playground as she signed back. *I love you, Daddy.*
Cue content sigh.
"Edward," I heard a familiar voice drawl behind me.
Before I could follow his voice's direction, a small body crashed into me. Or my leg.
Looking down, I had to laugh when I saw Katie's goofy grin.
"Hello, little one," I chuckled. "How are you today?"
*Good! Where is Emma?*
I nodded in Emma's direction. "By the swings. Be careful, okay?"
She nodded with a roll of her eyes before she darted off towards Emma.
Katie was a year older than Emma and God forbid if you treated her like anything but a lady. Adorable and gorgeous as hell, but the girl had sass like no other. And many things were obvious to her. Oh, and if you accidently touch her hair, you're in for a world of pain. Which means that many have experienced that, especially women who just love her blond curly hair. Well, you know how Jasper looks. That's the hair.
Women…
"Jasper." I smirked, turning around to face him, and once I did… "Shit, you look like… well, shit."
"Don't I know it," he sighed tiredly.
With circles under his eyes and his hair in a clusterfuck – even in my standard – I'd say Jasper hasn't been sleeping for a long time.
"Wanna sit down?" I asked, motioning for the benches not far away.
He nodded once.
Once we were seated, I was sorta concerned, because no matter what, Jasper was always one that managed to see the positive side of things.
"I'd ask who'd died, but I guess Tanya did something?"
"Yeah, you could say she did something," he huffed, rolling his eyes.
Sorta like Katie.
Sighing again, he explained. "I think she's leaving."
And boy did I know what he mean.
"Has she said anything?" I frowned.
"Said that if we didn't do what we could to get Katie's hearing back, she wouldn't be able to stick around. She said it hurt too much," he replied sarcastically.
"Fucking bitch," I muttered in response. "That's blackmailing, Jasper."
"I know, and I have no fucking clue on how to deal with this, 'cause I really don't wanna put Katie through all that shit, but… I don't wanna be the reason her mother's not sticking around," he groaned in frustration.
Safe to say, we talked about Jasper's clusterfuck since my issues became kidsplay in comparison to what Jasper had to deal with. I mean, divorce is one thing, because that will still allow Katie to have both her parents, but to have Tanya walk out? That is something I'm too familiar with.
My wrist vibrated then, and in my peripheral I could see Jasper react to his own leather cuff.
After scanning the playground, I found our girls in the far corner, but they weren't alone.
Fuck.
"Who's that?" Jasper asked and pointed at the brunette.
"That would be Bella," I sighed.
Apparently she's also a dog walker.
Emma and Katie waved at us frantically, and I figured it was time… "Let me introduce you to my nightmare," I mumbled.
"Nightmare or fantasy?" Jasper laughed as we stood up.
Nightmare. Definitely nightmare.
God, I want her.
As we walked over, I couldn't help but notice that Bella was deeply engaged in a conversation about whether dogs could talk or not, and Katie was convinced that they could.
Emma was hesitant.
"She seem great with them," Jasper commented, obviously also watching the signing.
"Yeah, she's fucking perfect and all that," I chuckled humorlessly.
She really was perfect with Emma, and she didn't hesitate to bring Katie into the conversation. I just wish she didn't seem so perfect to Emma's dad. AKA, me.
"Hi, Edward," Bella greeted me, smiling brightly.
I fought the urge to groan at the way her voice affected me.
"Bella," I replied with a nod… and a goddamn smile. "I see you're also at the park this morning."
"Yeah," she chuckled. "I walk a few dogs a couple of Saturdays every months," she added, smiling down at the three mid-sized dogs.
"Oh, this is Jasper, and I see you met his Katie," I said, remembering my manners now. "Jasper, this is Bella, Emma's sitter."
"A pleasure to meet you, Bella," Jasper drawled, turning on his southern charm to the fullest when he kissed her damn hand. "I've heard… so much about you."
Douchebag.
"Nice to meet you, too, Jasper. Gotta say, though…your daughter's the charmer." She winked.
"Jesus," I snickered, stunned with her natural wit. "I guess you're getting rusty, Jazz."
"Hmph," was Jasper's clever response.
But he was taken with her, too. That was easy to see by how relaxed he was.
"So, play date, huh?" she asked, smiling towards the girls who were playing a few feet away.
"Pretty much." I nodded. No need to say that it was my vent-time with Jasper.
"Every Saturday morning," Jasper added.
"And what are your plans for this sunny Saturday?" Bella continued conversationally.
I found that fucking perfect. Conversing, I mean.
Maybe I could find out something about her.
"Not much." I shrugged. "We usually go out for ice cream afterward, but I guess that'll change now when it's almost October." I grinned.
It was still somewhat warm out, and a thin jacket or hoodie sufficed, but it wouldn't much longer.
"And you?" I inquired.
Please just give me something to go on!
"Well, tonight we're a bunch of people going out to a club, and I'm all out of excuses, so I kinda have to go," she chuckled.
"Not a fan of clubs?" I smirked, thrilled to add that to my list.
"No, not even close," she laughed. "Bars are fine, but clubs, no."
Noted.
"But other than that," she sighed, "not much here either… Oh, I'm meeting my roommate here in a few minutes for brunch, but we're just gonna be lazy all day."
"Doesn't sound half bad." I smiled. "That would Alice then?"
"Yep," she chirped before looking at something behind me. "And speaking of…"
Jasper and I both turned around to see a woman – as tiny as Bella – walking towards us with a huge smile. Dressed similar to Bella in those tight jeans, a hoodie… but Bella had that adorable beanie that just made her… yeah, I've already mentioned gorgeous a few times.
"Bella! I know how much you love children, but picking up fathers? Isn't that going a bit too far," she laughed as she approached.
Another thing quickly added to my list. Bella loves children. Apparently a lot.
"Oh, shut up," Bella replied, shaking her head in amusement. "Alice, this is Jasper and Edward… And this is Alice."
"Wait, Edward as in Emma's dad?" Alice asked, quite wide eyed.
"Um, yes," Bella said… and blushed!
What is that about?
"Wow, you weren't kidding," Alice murmured as her eyes roamed over me.
What the fuck does that mean? Has Bella talked about me?
God, I sound like a chick.
"Nice to meet you, Alice," I said politely, offering my hand.
"Good to meet you, too, Edward. Glad to finally put a face to all those stories." She winked. "And your friend, also a delicious DILF?" she inquired, watching Jasper like he was something to eat.
"Shut the fuck up, Ali," Bella hissed quietly. "It's Katie's dad if that's what you're wondering."
And as Jasper turned his charm on again, Bella mumbled something under her breath that sounded an awfully lot like 'Edward's the DILF.'
I made a mental note to find out what a fucking DILF was.
The dogs made themselves known then, most likely impatient, so after Jasper had dazzled the shit out of little Alice, she and Bella said goodbye to us and the girls.
That's when Jasper's eyes bugged out. Simply because Alice said goodbye in sign language.
This was one of the few things I actually already knew. Bella and Alice grew up together in Washington, spending every minute together, which somehow ended up with Alice picking up the language to communicate with Bella's mother easier.
She was from fluent, but she did enjoy learning.
"What's a DILF?" I asked curiously as we watched the girls walk away.
"Why don't you Google it, old man," Jasper chortled.
"Old man?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at the bastard. "You do know you're three years older than me, right?"
"Yeah, well, I still know the term, and you don't. Now, Google it. It'll make your day."
So, I did.
As we headed back towards the benches, I brought out my iPhone and Googled the damn thing.
And it did make my day.
Yep, I liked that immensely. My cock did, too.
Bella thinks I'm a DILF?
Cold shower or hot shower? Cold shower or hot shower?