Love Me Until My Heart Stops

“Are you bringing that friend of yours to Eloisa’s birthday drinks tonight?” Ella posed as she sipped on her mug of tea, her brown eyes looking at her little sister who was sifting through a folder, looking for something. It had been a few weeks, almost a month since Esmé had slept with Gerard for the first time, and despite the fact they were still keeping one another a secret, she was remarkably cheerful, something which hadn’t gone unnoticed by those around her. It was sudden, Esmé’s return to her cheerful self, and it didn’t take a genius to see that it was somehow related to the defender. He was around even more, if that were possible, and Ella, as well as her mother and other sister, wanted know what had happened.

“What friend are you talking about?” Esmé returned, finding the piece of paper she had been looking for.

“You know which one” Ella noted.

“Gerard?” Esmé posed “Does Eloisa want him there?” she quipped.

“Well, she’s bringing Martin and Isaac is coming with me since we found a sitter for Oliver. It’d be nice if you had a plus one” Ella reasoned.

Esmé shook her head. “I don’t have a plus one, Ella, I haven’t in almost 6 weeks” she mused.

“You know what I mean, Esmé. Even madre is bringing that guy from her dance class, you know the one” Ella stressed.

“I will be fine on my own” Esmé replied “Besides, for all I know, Gerard could well have something to do tonight” she added, setting the piece of paper in the ever growing one that had started to form on the side of her desk. It was a lie, Gerard was free and had tried to convince her to spend the night with him, but she knew that she couldn’t. She’d never missed Eloisa or Ella’s birthday and she wasn’t about to start just to suit him.

Ella pursed her lips. “You know he’d drop anything in a heartbeat for you” she noted.

“Why are you so desperate to have him there? You two aren’t even that close” Esmé mused, moving to collect her own mug of tea, sipping at the warm liquid.

“I like him” Ella shrugged vaguely.

Esmé cocked an eyebrow. “You spoke to madre” she mused.

Ella sighed. “She was desperate for someone to talk to you” she noted “She said he made you hysterical” she added.

Esmé sighed, regretting not swearing her mother to secrecy, before she looked up at her older sister. “We sorted it out” she noted simply.

“Sorted it out?” Ella asked, almost incredulously.

“Yes, Ella. We talked and we’re in a good place right now. He’s still in my life and I like it like that” Esmé commented.

“But he told you he loved you” Ella protested, not quite believing that her sister was so calm about what had happened.

Esmé rolled her eyes, still trying to stifle her smile, before she looked at Ella. “If it mean that much you, Eloisa and madre, I will bring him tonight, but you’re going to see the same thing you’ve seen a hundred times before. He’s still Gerard, I am still me, and nothing is different” she lied gently.

Ella grinned. “Good, I will tell Eloisa” she mused before she placed her empty cup on the table, moving to hug her little sister “He’s not the worst choice in the world, Esmé. He’s handsome, kind, funny…you could do worse” she muttered.

Esmé smiled softly. “I have done worse” she replied.

~#~
“I see you could not resist the chance to spend the night with me” Gerard smirked as he leant against his door frame, his blue eyes approvingly scanning over Esmé who stood ahead of him, her arms folded across her chest. He didn’t like hiding it, in the 4 weeks since their first night together, Gerard had only grown more and more sure of them, but he knew Esmé and he knew she was intent on waiting until the entire Cesc storm blew over, something it hadn’t done quite yet. It was dying down, people were stopping caring about the Chelsea footballer, his ex and his fling, but there were still murmurs and rumors and until they’d died off, Esmé didn’t want to flaunt what she and Gerard were up to. They were a secret, and they would be for the foreseeable future.

“You know why I am here” Esmé mused “I did call you” she added.

“I know” Gerard replied “And for the record, I cannot help that your sisters love me. I am clearly that fantastic” he boasted.

“Are you ready?” Esmé commented, rolling her eyes a little.

“Almost” Gerard commented before he took a step towards her, causing her to cock her eyebrow slightly. “I am not going to be able to do it all night, hermosa, do you not think I should get it out of my system now?” he commented, his tall stature looming over her. Esmé smiled at him gently, her hand finding the back of his neck and pulling him into a kiss that he quickly melted into. “You’re sure you want to go to drinks with your sisters?” he murmured, moving away to catch his breath.

Esmé smirked. “You don’t have a choice about that. You do, however, have a choice about where I spend my night afterwards” she flirted before she made her way back towards her cab.

Gerard watched after her and chuckled. He didn’t think that he could like Esmé anymore than he did in that moment.

~#~
“Gerard” Eloisa grinned as she tossed her arms around the tall defender, pulling him into a rather unwilling hug.

“Happy birthday, Eloisa” he mused “And thanks for the invite. I would have been on my own tonight otherwise” he added.

Eloisa giggled and grabbed onto his hand, pulling him towards the set of seats that she and her family had laid claim to. Esmé followed her sister, smirking a little at the pleading look that Gerard sent over his shoulder.

“You’re smiling at him” Delia grinned, padding towards her younger daughter.

Esmé blushed, something which was hidden by the dim lights of the bar, and shrugged. “He could always make me smile” she noted.

“Another reason why you’d be good together” Delia quipped “That, and you’d give me some pretty adorable grandbabies” she added, smiling.

Esmé shook her head. “Mama” she warned gently.

Delia held her hands up. “I am just saying, you two could do worse than each other, and you know how he feels about you. It’s been 6 weeks, Esmé, 6 long weeks. Surely Cesc must be out of your system now?” she pressed.

Esmé opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as Gerard stepped back towards them. “You need to save me” he sounded almost pleading.

“From what?” Esmé posed.

“Your sisters. They’re lovely, but not drunk” he replied quickly.

Esmé shook her head. “Man up” she commented before she grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him back towards her sisters.

Delia hung back a little and shook her head, wondering just what it would take to make Esmé see she had the best thing right under her nose.

~#~
“You’re still a terrible dancer” Esmé commented as she wandered out of the bar, her body leaning against Gerard who was helping her. It had been a wonderful night, even if she had had to keep her hands to herself, and she hoped they got the chance to do it again. Her family clearly loved Gerard and, despite his hesitations, he liked them too.

“It’s easier when your girlfriend isn’t drunk and treading all over you” Gerard smiled, leading her towards the taxi rank which stood at the end of the street.

“I wasn’t treading on you” Esmé protested “And I am not that drunk” she added.

“Drunk enough to miss my comment about you being my girlfriend” Gerard replied.

“We both know that I didn’t miss it” Esmé replied, straightening up a little.

Gerard tilted his head, pulling them to a stop underneath the shadow of a tree which lined the street. “You didn’t?” he posed.

Esmé shook her head. “Of course I didn’t, Gerard. You called me your girlfriend and I didn’t object, mostly because, without ever saying it, that’s what I’ve become. It is what I am to you, isn’t it?” she posed softly. It was trivial, ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ were merely titles and were mostly irrelevant, but she knew that it meant something to him. She had kept the breaks on for 4 weeks, and something small to her, meant a lot to him. Gerard stared at her, his forehead a little crinkled, before he nodded slowly. “You’re not kidding around, are you?” he posed.

Esmé shook her head. “You need to stop assuming that I am kidding around with you. Look at me” she mused, her hand gently resting on his cheek as his eyes settled on her. “I am your girlfriend, aren’t I?” she whispered.

Gerard smiled. “Yes, yes you are” he grinned.

Esmé returned his grin gently before she moved to take a couple of steps towards the taxi rank, only for Gerard’s hand to catch hers. “You’re going to walk away?” he posed “Esmé, that was a big deal” he grinned, gently pulling her back towards him.

“We will celebrate at yours” Esmé reasoned, trying to wiggle away from him.

“One kiss” Gerard bargained “No one is around, and I want to kiss you” he added, gesturing to the empty street.

Esmé eyed it unsurely before she stepped towards him, pressing a kiss to his lips briefly before she tried to pull back, something Gerard’s hold on her prevented. It was sentimental of him, but he wanted to mark the moment, it wasn’t every day she agreed to be his girlfriend. Smiling, he held her against him for a few moments before he pulled away, leading her towards the taxi rank, completely oblivious to the girl who stood across the street, a camera in hand.