New story.
Hope guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
She looked at the clock hanging on her wall.
It read 6:03.
Which meant he should be home by now.
Aubrey Posen had done this almost every day for the past week or so. When her classes at the university were done for the day, she would go home, get herself a nice cold drink and wait patiently for her best friend to finish with his classes so she could pay him a visit. Though, despite what her friend may think, she had ulterior motives for her visits.
Her best friend, Jesse used to live alone with his younger brother, Benji. Recently, his adopted sister had come to live with them after making arrangements to start school at their university. When Jesse told her of this, she expected he would want her to meet the girl. What she hadn't expected, was to be swept away by a wave of primal attraction.
As soon as she entered the room and her eyes fell on the girl, everything else around her blurred out of focus. Her mind was clouded by those deep navy blue eyes, her heart was, suddenly, pounding in her ears and her stomach was filled with hummingbirds. She had never felt that way before in her life and the only one to ever make her feel that way, was her best friend's adopted sister.
Her name was Beca Mitchell. It was a name that haunted nearly ever part of her mind and it was the name of the sexiest person on the face of the planet. Beca was only two maybe three inches shorter than her, had beautiful long brown hair, a smooth silky voice, a slim and athletic yet nicely curved body that was riddled with various tattoos and piercing. Just thinking about Beca was enough to bring a light blush to her face.
Bringing herself out of her musings, she picked up her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. She didn't have to wait long for an answer.
"Hello?" answered the voice that had been recently invading her dreams. The voice was so unexpected, it made her give a small start.
"Oh hi, Beca," she responded softly, losing a bit of her confidence. "Isn't this Jesse's phone?"
"Oh, hey Aubrey." That was another thing Aubrey adored about her. Beca had an accent that she guessed was possibly from New Zealand, but she couldn't be sure. She never thought to ask the brunette about it, but Aubrey just assumed that she picked it up from her biological parents before they died. "Yeah, this is his phone, he just left it in the kitchen. Hang on a sec." She faintly heard her yell for Jesse.
"Hello?" he answered. He was always the goofy, more outgoing brother while Benji was more timid and shy.
"Hey, Jesse," she said, the confidence she lost talking to Beca quickly returning.
"Oh, hey Bree. Are you coming over again today?" She smiled to herself.
"If it's not too much trouble." He chuckled.
"You're like family, Bree. Of course it's no trouble. Though, I must warn you, Beca and her friends are taking over the garage again today." Her smile grew. Jesse and Benji had always been into music and Beca was even more so. She and her friends would crowd the garage and make all kinds of music. Not only that, but she was also a very talented singer and very mysterious in Aubrey's opinion.
Beca had always seemed to have something to do, but never really revealed what it was. She had been present a few times when Jesse tried to pry information out of her and Aubrey always ended in a fit of giggling by the end of it. Though it both annoyed and amused her to no end, Beca always seemed to talk in riddles. She had to admit that the girl did have very creative, very effective ways of wiggling her way out of Jesse's grasp right when he thought he had finally had her where he wanted her.
"That's fine," she answer without missing a beat.
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit then." After they hung up, she quickly finished the last of her tea before grabbing her jacket and slipping on her shoes. She gave herself one last look over in the mirror and took a deep breath before grabbing her car keys and heading out of the door.
It wasn't long before she was parking in front of Jesse and Benji's four-bedroom house. She got out of her car and as she started toward the front door she couldn't help, but notice Beca's friends setting up in the garage while two cars sat parked in the driveway and one was parked in front of the neighbor's house. Strangely enough, she hadn't seen Beca with them. She rung the door bell and waited patiently.
"Come on, Bec," a voice shouted as the door started to open. Shortly afterward, Aubrey was looking at the back of Beca's head.
"Don't rush me, damn it!" the brunette shouted back before turning to the open door and meeting Aubrey's eyes.
"Hi Beca," the blond greeted simply, her eyes drifting down briefly to Beca's pouty pink lips just as they turned upward into that crooked grin that made heart beat faster.
"Hey Aubrey," she responded, her eyes slowly trailing up and down the blond's body before stepping to the side a bit. "Come on in. I'm sure Jesse should be on his way down, now." Just as she said that, the boy came jogging down the stairs.
"Hey, Bree," he said with a smile that Aubrey returned.
"Hey," she responded before turning to see Beca walking away.
"You guys are hanging out in the garage again?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah," Beca replied absently without stopping.
"Are you guys coming in afterward?" Beca sighed.
"Most likely." Jesse smiled.
"Okay. Feel free to order some food or something."
"Thanks so much for your permission." Jesse rolled his eyes at Beca's sarcastic answer and waved his hand for Aubrey to follow him up stairs to his room. Once there, they both took a seat on his bed. Jesse laid back and sighed heavily making the blond look at his questioningly. Shortly after settling in, they heard the faint sounds of music from the garage.
"I know what that sigh means," she began looking down at him. "What's bothering you?" Jesse sighed again while he sat up and looked at Aubrey, his expression serious.
"I'm crushing on someone." Aubrey's eyes widened.
"Really?" He nodded.
"Yeah. She's in the garage right now. know I shouldn't, but every time I see her, every time she comes over... I get nervous and fidgety." He subconsciously scowled. "And what's worse, she and Beca seem to be more than friends." This caught Aubrey's interest.
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't have any solid evidence, but they just seem so close. And it's just frustrating to see them together." Aubrey relaxed a little.
"Well, people say the same thing about us. They see us together and think we're a thing, but we both know that couldn't be further from the true." Jesse sighed again and laid back on the bed again.
"Yeah, you're probably right, but it's still annoying. You'll see exactly what I mean when they're done in the garage and they come inside." The blond laid back on the bed with him.
"I'm crushing on someone pretty hard too, you know. And they're also in the garage right now," she admitted after awhile of silence. Jesse looked at her in shock.
"Are you serious?" He hadn't heard her say that she liked someone in so long, the words sounded a bit strange coming from her. Aubrey nodded wordlessly, inwardly surprised that she actually admitted to liking Beca out loud (well, kind of). "Who?"
"I'm not telling."
"What?"
"Well, you didn't tell me who you liked."
"Chloe. Chloe Beale." Aubrey chuckled at the sudden confession.
"I don't know who that is."
"She a redhead and her eyes are light blue."
"I'm still not telling you."
"Hm… It has to be a girl right? I mean the only boy in the garage right now is Benji I think." She didn't see any harm in answering that. Jesse knew she was, technically, bisexual. Even though she preferred women to men, despite never having actually been with one.
"It's a girl."
"I knew it. But all of Beca's friends are pretty attractive so that doesn't narrow it down much. I mean I know it's not Cynthia Rose, we've known her since we were kids. If it was her you would've said something by now. And it can't be Beca...," he trailed off when the blond turned her head away. "Wait… It's not Beca, is it? Because if it is, that'd be extremely weird. I don't even think that's something I can approve of. I'm mean, she's not even your type." Aubrey looked at him with a raised brow.
"Not that I need your approval, but what, exactly, is my type?"
"Beca's the classic mysterious bad-girl type. She rides motorcycles and only speaks sarcasm. I just don't see you with someone like her. I always pictured you with someone more… like you... A straight edge kind of person I guess."
"Being with a 'straight edge' would bore me and I'm still not telling you who it is." Jesse gasped and shot up, looking down at her suspiciously.
"Wait, is it Chloe?" Aubrey laughed and shook her head.
"Calm down, Jesse. It's not Chloe." They both looked toward the door, hearing voices down stairs talking and laughing.
"Sounds like they're done in the garage," Jesse mused before turning to his friend with a subtly sly smile. "Maybe we should go down stairs too. See what everyone's up to?" The blond chuckled at his obvious excuse.
"Why not. I'm a little thirsty, now that you mention it," she said going along with his excuse to go down stairs.
"Yeah, it's important to stay hydrated. Let's go to the kitchen, then." Jesse jumped up from the bed and quickly made his way to the door. She shook her head softly, but followed him nonetheless. He opened the door for her to go first. "After you." They sudden heard loud laughter as they came down the stairs.
"Keep it down, guys! Jesse and Aubrey are up stairs," Beca shouted above the laughing, laughter still evident in her own voice.
"They're up stairs alone together?" another voice asked. Jesse and Aubrey stopped and looked at each other before peeking around a wall to hear the rest of their conversation. "Are there any weird sounds we might hear?"
The girl talking, Stacie Conrad, was smirking at Beca from across the coffee table. She was one of Beca's childhood friends and She had long brown hair, a pair of bluish-green eyes that were full with amusement, and legs that went on for miles.
"Uh ew," another girl commented. Cynthia Rose, long time family friend. She had dark soulful brown eyes and usually kept her hair short and boyishly cut. "I don't think any of us needed to hear that."
"I second that," Emily added her bluish-brown eyes shining with disgust as she combed a hand through her long brown hair.
"Hey," Stacie spoke again with a small shrug. "I'd rather be warned than surprised."
"Oh come on guys, let's be serious," Beca interrupted with a smirk. "They're probably up there studying or something."
"I think Bec's right," another said, joining in the conversation. She had fiery red hair, bright blue eyes and a bright smile to match. Aubrey immediate recognized her as Jesse's crush. He scowled slightly seeing the redhead sitting so close next to Beca. The brunette's arm was stretched across the back of the couch behind Chloe's head and Chloe sat so close to Beca that their thighs were firmly pressed together. "Jesse would never do something like that. At least, not with us here and he said that the two of them were just best friends."
"Why am I not surprised that Chloe's defending Jesse?" Cynthia asked with a teasing smirk, while Stacie and Emily snickered.
"Don't start, C," the redhead warned. Cynthia held her hands up in surrender, but still held her smirk.
"We all know. I'm just saying," she said innocently.
"Well, don't just say," Chloe growled. Beca sighed and stood up lazily, making the redhead look up at her questioningly. "Where're you going?"
"What?" Beca asked with a light-hearted smile, glancing back at the girl while walking toward the kitchen. "I need your permission to go to the kitchen in my own house?"
"No, but I would appreciate it if you got me a snack," she said suggestively, returning the smile with one of her own.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure you would," Beca mumbled.
"It doesn't matter what," Chloe added a moment later. Aubrey saw this as a chance and immediately jumped on it.
"Hey," she said quietly. "I'll go get something to drink. You go sit next to Chloe before your sister comes back." Jesse brighten at the idea.
"Great idea," he said running a hand through his hair before casually walking into the living room like he wasn't just spying on them. "Hey guys. Where's Benji?" The blond missed whatever he received, being too focused on getting to the kitchen.
When she walked in, naturally, the first thing she noticed was Beca, who had half of her body in the refrigerator.
"Find anything interesting in there?" she asked teasingly. The brunette, having not heard her come in, jumped and hit her head.
"Ow, shit that hurt," she said holding the top of her head as she reemerged from the refrigerator. Aubrey's eyes widened.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she said, approaching the other girl and even putting a hand on her upper arm. "I didn't mean to startle you." Her mind faintly registered how Beca's bicep felt. Nicely toned, but not overly muscular. 'Very nice,' she thought briefly. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, no worries." As she said this she wore an easygoing smile. That same easygoing smile that was almost always on her face whenever they would talk. Which wasn't very often. She took her hand anyway from her head and looked at it before showing it to the blond. "See? I'm not even bleeding."
"Well, no blood is always a good signed," Aubrey chuckled, walking over to where she knew they kept the glasses and mugs.
"So," Beca began, walking over and jumping up to sit on the counter next to where the other girl stood. "What're you making?"
"I'm not making anything. I'm just getting something to drink."
"You could make me some chocolate milk." Aubrey glanced at her briefly, trying to suppress her smile and failing.
"Should I?"
"Yeah." The blond looked at her again. "Would you?"
"I guess I could. Since you asked so nicely." The brunette leaned back comfortably and watch as Aubrey moved around the kitchen like it was her own. "Are you going to watch me the whole time?" Beca shrugged.
"Most likely."
"And why is that?"
"I just like to watch people work in the kitchen. Ask Chloe, I watch her all the time." Beca noticed Aubrey's brow twitch slightly at that, but didn't comment on it.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Actually, I remember how much I used to like watching my mum in the kitchen. She was an amazing cook. Watching her was better than T.V." Aubrey looked up at her in surprise. That was the first time Beca ever really told her anything about herself, much less her parents. She had only heard a few things about them from Jesse and even he hadn't tell her much. The brunette just continued to give her that same easygoing smile.
"Oh my gosh, Beca, I didn't mean to-," Beca waved her hand dismissively, her smile widening.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like you asked me to tell you, I chose to. So, don't apologize." Aubrey turned away from the other girl's deep blue irises, feeling her cheeks heat up a bit. "But if you want to make it up to me, you can keep doing what you're doing so I can keep watching you."
"Right. Here's your chocolate milk." Aubrey handed her the glass while taking a sip from her own, having decided to drink chocolate milk with her. She watched as Beca took a small sip, tasting it, before downing half the glass.
"That's so good. Thanks for making it."
"You're welcome." They were quiet for a moment. "Beca?"
"Mm-hm?"
"There're some questions I've always wanted to ask you." The brunette looked at her, giving the other girl her undivided attention.
"Okay, shoot."
"But I don't want to ask if you're not going to answer." Beca chuckled.
"Well, I can't make any promises. And the only way to find out is to ask and see what happens."
"Where is your accent from?" The brunette couldn't stop the laughter that erupted from her. The reaction made Aubrey smile. "I've been trying to figure it out on my own, but I can't and I didn't want to ask and offend you or something."
"It's fine. I get it." She paused. "I moved around a lot as a kid so it's a weird mix of a few things. My mother was from Australia. My father, on the other hand, was British. I born here in America and we lived here 'til I was ten. Then we moved to England. Then after a few years moving around there until we moved to Australia. So most of my accent is Australian, some of it is from different parts of England."
"Different parts of England?"
"The people speak differently in different parts of England. I'm surprised you didn't know that."
"I knew. I just didn't think you could pick up more than one."
"I was young and wanted to fit in so I learned to adapt. Usually, I just tell people I'm Australian. It saves me from having to tell my whole life story."
"Understandable. So, it's Australian, British and American." Beca smirked.
"Correct."
"Do you speak any other languages?"
"I can speak French, German, Spanish, Italian and a bit of Japanese."
"Wow. That's pretty amazing." The brunette snorted and shook her head.
"It's nothing special." Aubrey looked up at her briefly, but decided not to question the other's last comment. She was far too nervous about her next question.
"Where are you always disappearing to?" Beca chuckled again.
"Did Jesse tell you to ask me that?"
"No. I'm, honestly, pretty curious to know myself. I want to 'unravel the mystery that is Beca'." Beca looked up at the ceiling while rubbing her chin pensively.
"Hm, well I can't lie to a pretty girl. Especially now when she makes such good chocolate milk." She turn back to the other girl with her usual smile. "Lets just say... went I leave, I make sure you guys can't find me for a reason. And no offense, but where I go is none of your business nor is it any of Jesse's for that matter." Beca looked away from her, her face suddenly unusually stoic. "I'm really not trying to be mysterious. I'm just an amateur musician who's seen a bit of the world and I just so happened to pick up a few tricks of the trade along the way. More tricks than most." Aubrey nodded slightly, not knowing exactly how to respond. The girl's words stung a little, but she knew Beca wasn't saying it to be hurtful.
"You sound like a traveler." Beca hopped off of the counter and smiled that easygoing smile. The blond felt a light blush rise to her cheeks at how close they sudden were, with less then a foot of space between them. "Are you… a traveler?"
"If that's what you want to call it, I guess I am. Somewhat." She leaned back against the counter, staying close to the blond.
"I don't understand." Her smile widened at the curious gleam in Aubrey's eyes as the brunette took another sip of her milk. "Thought you said stayed in Australia."
"I did. But then my mother died I didn't have anything keeping there anymore. So I traveled a bit once I graduated high school."
"Where did you go? And what made you decide to travel?" Beca sighed and gulped down the rest of her milk before shaking her head lightly.
"That is a very long story."
"Please tell me? It's not like we don't have the time." She chuckled at Aubrey's insistence.
"All throughout high school I was the perfect student. I did all of my assignments perfectly, I aced all of my testes and quizzes, I read every book I could get my hands on, I even surpassed a few of my teachers. By the time I was sixteen, I was walking across the stage, graduating with the eighteen and nineteen year old students. I was the youngest person to ever graduate at my high school."
"That's incredible."
"Believe me, it's not as incredible as you may think. I just wanted to make sure my mom saw me graduate." The brunette looked down into her empty cup and continued her story before Aubrey could ask any questions. "After graduation, I put my scholarships on hold and decided to wait a year before going back to school. I, honestly, felt like I deserved a little break and because most schools wanted me to be a little older before attending they didn't try to rush me. One of the perks of being smart, I guess." The blond nodded in agreement.
"I should say so."
"You know, to this very day I'm still not entirely sure what made me start wandering. One day, I just woke up after having a dream about my mom and decided 'I want to see as much as I can before I sell my soul to a university for however many years.' So with nothing else to do with my time, I packed my backpack with a couple changes of clothes, grabbed my lucky guitar, pocketed my parents picture and all of the money I had saved over the years - which turned out to be quite a bit of money - and I left that apartment without ever looking back. With that backpack and my guitar, I went around and explored. You name it, I've probably been there for at least two days. I loved it."
"So why did you stop?" Beca sighed wistfully.
"I'm getting to that part." Aubrey nodded, wanting more than anything to hear more.
"Sorry, I won't say another word. Please continue."
"Well, I had been living that way for a pretty long while and, like I said, I loved it. Maybe not every moment, but for the most part I wouldn't have traded my way of life for the world. I met a lot of people and learned a lot. Like how to play the piano, the violin and the drums. I learned how drive a car, a motorcycle and a stick shift. I learned how to properly manage a farm. Don't ask how or why, but I will say it was a lot fun." Aubrey giggled at that. "And I learned more life lessons than I could ever count, even in that short amount of time." She sighed again, getting lost in her memories. "But then something happened and I decided to put my travels on hold for a while. And now, here I am. Starting university with all of you."
"So Chloe, Stacie and the others...?"
"Are my only friends that I kept in contact with when I left the States. Even when I was traveling, I talked to Chloe more than I did Jesse." Aubrey changed the subject, not wanting to talk about Chloe.
"So you traveled by yourself the whole time?"
"No, actually. I traveled by myself at first, then I met an old man and his dog and traveled with them for a long time. We were together for about... six… maybe seven months I'd say."
"An old man and his dog?" Beca smiled another fond smile.
"Yeah, his name was Kane, but I just called him Old Man and his dog's name was Bailey. I guess you could say, we had the same objective. So we decided to travel together."
"What do you mean, 'you both had the same objective'?"
"To see all we could see while we had the time."
"But where was he going? And what made him want to travel?"
"I asked the same questions when I first met him and never really got a clear answer. Even now, I couldn't tell you."
"What happened to him?"
"He died." The blond's eyes widened with shock. "Apparently, he was dying the whole time and I had no idea. One night he just started telling me about how glad he was that he met me and that we were able to travel together. Then he said he was happy. And that was that. He was dead by morning and Bailey refused to leave his side so I didn't make her."
"I'm so sorry, Beca."
"No worries. I'm over it now." Aubrey was desperate to change the subject.
"So what countries have you been to?"
"I've been all around Australia and the U.K. I've been to Canada and to Spain once. I didn't want to leave Spain." They shared a small laugh.
"Wow."
"I actually learned my farming skills in Spain-," she was cut off by the loud vibrating of her cell phone. She looked at the caller I.D. before reading the text message. She put her phone away and looked at Aubrey with her easygoing smile. "Sorry, but I have to get out of here."
"But what about the story?" Beca stood up and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter.
"I can finish telling you another time. It's not like I'll never see you again, right?" the brunette started to walk toward the living room. Aubrey grabbed the girl's arm gently, successfully stopping her.
"What I still don't understand is, why you even bothered to tell me all of this in the first place." She looked back with a smirk.
"Well, you basically said you wanted to know more about me and I could tell you didn't have any ulterior motives so, I told you." The blond tightened her hold when Beca tried to pull away.
"But why?"
"As Kane would say, 'If what you want to see seems invisible, then you'll just have to look harder'." She gently pulled her arm free and walked away leaving Aubrey utterly confused. When she reached the living room, she smiled at her friends that turned to look at her. "Guys, I have to get out of here."
"Oh ok," Chloe said standing up much to Jesse's displeasure. "We should probably go too guys."
"Chloe, you don't have to leave just because Beca's leaving," Jesse said. Cynthia and Stacie stood up next.
"He's so desperate," Stacie mumbled to Cynthia, making her snicker.
"I know, but I should go anyway," Chloe said with an apologetic smile. She turned to Beca. "I'm still going with you, right?"
"Sure, if we can take your car." Beca drove a motorcycle, a black and grey Ducati 1098 sports bike, to be exact and it made her sexy-factor skyrocket in Aubrey's book. According to Jesse it was given to her by an uncle on her mother's side, who had to bike flown over so she'd have it while in college.
"Of course. As long as you're driving." Emily stood up last as they all started heading for the door at the same time Aubrey had walked into the living room.
"Why am I not surprised? I'm not your chauffeur, you know that right?" Beca replied with a small smile, handing her friend the apple she had snagged from the kitchen.
"Oh I know. I mean real chauffeurs don't complain nearly as much." Cynthia and Stacie walked out of the door first talking about something amongst themselves while Emily waved goodbye to Jesse and Aubrey before them out. Beca turned back to the blond and smiled.
"I enjoyed talking to you, Aubrey. But I'd appreciate it if we could talk a little more about you next time." Aubrey returned the smile.
"I think I can manage that."
"Oh, and thanks for the chocolate milk. It was fantastic."
"No problem. You'll have to let me make you another cup sometime," she replied making Beca's smile widen.
"It's a deal. I can't wait." Chloe waved back at them with a bright smile as she and Beca walk out, closing and locking the front door behind them. After a moment, Aubrey walked over to Jesse and sat beside him heavily.
"So," he began. "You were in the kitchen with Beca this whole time?"
"Yep," she answered, pausing to think of an explanation. "I thought I'd be giving you more time with your crush if I could keep her in the kitchen." He smiled at her thankfully.
"Thanks. I think I might've made a little headway. What did you guys talk about? Did you manage to get any straight answers out of her?" The question made her smile.
"Only a few, but I still enjoyed talked to her. She's very…" she trailed off, trying to find the right word. "interesting." They were silent for a while. "Hey Jess?"
"Hm?"
"I learned a lot of different things about her. That was, in fact, the longest conversation we've ever had. Not only that, but that was the first time in a long time that someone has been able to hold my attention like that. I mean, I never got bored listening to her talk. Not once." He chuckled. She knew it was probably a bad idea to tell him anything, but she couldn't help herself. All she wanted to do was gush to her best friend about how she had finally had an actual conversation with Beca and how she liked the girl so much more after their talk.
But she couldn't say all that to Jesse.
"You almost sound like you like her, Bree." Aubrey chuckled with him, but otherwise didn't reply. He didn't think anything of her silence. "Beca does have interesting stories, though. She's done more in her life so far than most people have done in a life time. I wish I could do something like that, but I can't even imagine myself just getting up one day and leaving." Jesse turned to look at her. "Did she happen to tell you where she maybe going?" She shook her head.
"No, she didn't tell me. But then again, I didn't ask either. Why?"
"Well, not long after she first moved in she paid me a five hundred dollars for what she called 'rent'." Aubrey looked at him wide-eyed.
"Five hundred dollars?"
"Yeah. The first day she got here, I told she didn't have to pay me. And I remember her telling me that she tapped out her funds on the way here."
"Then where the hell did she get that kind of money with no job and no savings?"
"I asked myself that same question and I don't have any idea, but I do know that she didn't have it until after she disappeared for the first time. That's why I've been trying to get it out of her."
"That definitely raises a few eyebrows."
"Yeah, and now she says she found herself an apartment and she'll be moving out in a few weeks." Jesse sighed and shook his head. "I don't think she's doing anything illegal, but it still has me worried. What if whatever she's doing gets her in some kind of trouble? Then, I'd have no way of knowing where she is if she needed my help."
"Jesse, I sure there's nothing to worry about. You know Beca has been through enough to know better than to get involved with anything too dangerous. You'll just have to trust her and be patient. I'm sure she'll tell you when she's ready." He smiled up at the ceiling.
"I sure hope you're right."
Some Time Later...
Beca laid stomach down on Chloe's couch, her head hanging over the side so she could stare down at the carpet. She was, desperately, trying to focus on anything other than her aching muscles and sore limbs.
"I got myself a tough one today," mumbled when she felt her redheaded friend lay a bag of frozen vegetables across her upper back. "Some guy I'd never even heard of." Chloe beside her sat on the couch with a sigh before sitting the cup she had in her hand on the end table.
"Well, you still managed to pull some tricks out of your ass, if the stack of money on the coffee table is any indication." Beca gave a small sheepish grin.
"Yeah, I guess, but now I can barely move. It's been a long while since I've had to put in so much effort."
"Want to tell me about it?" She got a half-shrug in return.
"There isn't much to tell. I was stupid and let hearsay blind my judgment. I underestimated him and he made sure I regretted it. End of story."
"Well, you've been in the game long enough. You should've known better." The brunette's sheepish grin widened.
"You're right, I can admit that. I blame no one, but myself. You don't have to keep rubbing it in, Chlo."
"At least my parents aren't home yet. I guess you can recover here until then."
"Thanks." They were quiet for awhile, the only sound being Chloe moving the vegetables down to her lower back.
"So," she began suddenly. "You and Aubrey, huh?" Beca laughed, but immediately tried to stop herself when her body instantly started to ache.
"Shut up, I don't like her like that. I barely even know her," she said. "And like you're one talk. I should be saying that about you and Jesse." Chloe snorted uncharacteristically.
"You sound just like C and Stacie. I do not like Jesse." It was Beca's turn to snort.
"Yeah okay."
"I don't. Besides, you're my best friend and he's your brother. That'd be totally weird."
"I was adopted so it's not the same. That should make it okay, shouldn't it?"
"I don't care, it's still weird. And I already told you I don't like him."
"Well, he doesn't seem to care. He's always all over you."
"Now that you mention it, I'm surprised you and Aubrey hit it off so well. This was your first time really talking to her right?" Beca's expression slightly sobered.
"Yeah. The only reason I never talked to her before was because I didn't want it to be like talking to a female version Jesse."
"What do you mean? What's wrong with talking to Jesse?"
"Ever since I paid him, he's been suffocating me. He wants to know how I got it and that I can understand. But he always wants to know where I'm going, and what I'm doing all the time now. It's super annoying."
"How much did you give him?"
"Only five hundred."
" 'Only five hundred?!' Well, of course he'd get suspicious. He's not stupid, Bec."
"I know he's not stupid, but-,"
"Let's go over the whole story again and you tell me how it sounds." She paused for dramatic effect. "You have no job, you spent what few savings you had getting here and then you suddenly have enough money to give Jesse a five hundred dollars?! Did you really expect him not to find that weird? Anyone would." The brunette sighed.
"I guess you're right, but I would've felt worse if I didn't pay him at all. At least, I'll be moving out pretty soon." She pulled the thawing bag of vegetables away from her back and started to slowly stand. "Speaking of Jesse, I'd better get going. I wouldn't want him to piss himself worrying about me."
"Okay, be careful on your way home." She started toward the door, Chloe right on her heels.
"Okay."
"And, go straight home. You shouldn't be doing anything else in your condition." Beca sighed wearily with her hand on the door knob.
"Alright."
"And, go easy on Jesse. He's your brother and he worries about you, adopted or not." The brunette grunted a quick okay and left before Chloe could say anything else.
It didn't take her long to get home and the first thing she noticed was the car that was previous parked in front of the house, was now parked in the driveway. Not thinking too much of it, she passed the car and parked her motorcycle in the, still open, garage. She took her time walking inside, knowing if she went too fast she might just fall over. When she closed the door and deposited her keys on her designated hook she moved slowly toward the kitchen.
"Becs is that you?" she heard Jesse call from up stairs.
"Yeah," she answered while continuing her slow journey into the kitchen.
"Can you come up here for a minute?" he asked. When she finally made it, the first thing she did was pour herself a glass of milk. She always felt a little better after a glass of milk.
"Can't you come down here? I'm busy." She downed the glass in one go and heard footsteps coming down the stairs as she refilled the glass. She hadn't looked up when he heard him entering the kitchen so she didn't noticed he wasn't alone.
"Hi Beca," Aubrey greeted soft from behind him. Beca looked up with a raised brow before smiling her easygoing smile at both of them.
"Hey Jess," she responded before turning her eyes to the blond, suddenly in a flirtatious mood. "Hey Aubrey," she continued, dropping her voice to low purr as the name slipped from her lips. Her smile widened a bit, seeing Aubrey's expression flash very briefly with lust before she took on a look of surprise.
"So, Beca," he began, completely missing their little exchange, as the shorter girl refilled her glass for a second time. "Why are you back so late?" Beca shrugged.
"I lost track of time," she answered vaguely before looking over at the microwave oven to check the time. "And it's only eleven forty-seven, it isn't that late."
"Where've you been?" She sighed and put the milk back in the refrigerator.
"Again with this, then?"
"Becs, I'm just worried about you."
"I understand that and I'm thankful that you care enough about me to worry so much, but I'm not telling you anything you don't need to know." She took a quick sip of the milk before slowly making her way toward the living room. "And what I do with my time and how I get my money, is not something you need to know."
"What's wrong with you? Why're you walking like that?" Beca didn't respond until after putting her cup on the coffee table and flopping down on the couch.
"Walking like what?" He glared at her lightly.
"Like you pulled every muscle in your damn body." She shrugged and turned on the TV, propping her legs up on the coffee table slowly.
"Maybe I did pull every muscle in my body. I'm not really sure." Jesse growled before throwing his hands up in frustration, not knowing that the shorter girl was completely serious when she made that statement.
"Fine, be that way. But you will have to tell me sooner or later.
"Whatever." She smirked when she was again met with Aubrey's wide-eyed expression. "Are you spending the night here, Beautiful?"
"Don't call her that. It's weird."
"Yeah, whatever," Beca said waving her hand dismissively at him, her eyes staying on the stunned blond. "Well, are you?"
"That's actually a good question." He turned to Aubrey. "Are you spending the night? You haven't in a while." The blond shrugged.
"Well, if it isn't too much trouble-," Jesse cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"Of course, it's no trouble. You're like family to us, Bree."
"Maybe to you," Beca said quietly yet loud enough for them to hear. He looked at her questioningly while Aubrey looked at her with a raised brow. She reached down and picked up her cup of milk.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jesse asked, reading his friend's mind.
"Well, I've only known you for a couple of weeks, Aubrey, and today was the first time we've had a real conversation. At this point, to me, you're more like a potential girlfriend than a family member." While she nonchalantly took another sip of her milk, Jesse's jaw dropped while Aubrey's face was stained with a small blush.
"P-please tell me you're joking," he stuttered. Beca shrugged slightly, downing the last of her milk.
"I could do that," she began. "But then, I'd be lying and I don't lie to pretty girls." She looked at them, finally seeing their expression and chuckled to herself. "Oh, calm down. Just because I'm attracted to your friend does mean I'm going to try and get with her, Jess." He let himself sigh in relief.
"Good, because-,"
"-But, if I get even the slightest hint of her crushing on me, I don't think I could help myself," the brunette added with a wolfish smirk. Jesse scowled at her, a light blush covering his face as Aubrey's blushing cheeks became a shade darker.
"You're impossible!" The brunette chuckled again.
"I just saying. It's not my fault she's hot-,"
"-Beca!"
"Okay okay. I was just kidding calm down."
"Whatever," he said grabbing, his still shocked, friend by the wrist and pulling her toward the stairs behind him. "You stay away from her, you hear me?"
"No promises, Mate." The blond's gaze stayed on Beca, who winked at her flirtatiously, until she couldn't see her anymore.
This was going to be an... interesting night.
Sorry for any and all mistakes I wanted to write something somewhat different.
Honestly, I've hit a bit of a writer's block with It All Started With You but it's coming. I promise.
In the meantime in between time, here's this.
Review! Please & Thanks!