Worlds was over, the school done, and it was time for Chloe to figure out what she was going to do with her life after graduation. Obviously, her first stop was a visit to Aubrey.
She stepped out of her car, grabbing her bag from the back seat and set out for the lobby of the lodge. A chipper girl in a pink polo and khaki shorts sat at reception, leafing through the latest People magazine.
"Hi," she said, smiling.
The girl jumped, shoving the magazine under the counter. "Sorry, uh... yeah?"
Chloe pursed her lips, and held back a laugh. "I'm looking for Aubrey she's expecting me."
"Oh! You're the girlfriend."
"What?" Chloe's eyebrows shot up and she leaned forward towards the now very frightened receptionist.
"I just assumed since she said you'd be staying in her room and there's only one bed and you guys seemed so... uh... close."
Girlfriends, they were not but it wasn't for lack of wishing on Chloe's part. Their occasional bouts of casual sex had exponentially increased once Beca came around and Aubrey started to get scared that she would lose Chloe but when that didn't happen they just grew distant.
Aubrey graduated and got her new job. Chloe stayed at Barden and though they were still best friends, there didn't seem to be much more beyond that. Until, the Bellas had come to find their sound. The last night there something had happened.
After the campfire she had walked Aubrey back to her room and they talked. About everything and about nothing but most of all they reconnected. Aubrey was happy and in a great place and Chloe was ready to move on with her life and see what was out there for her after the Bellas.
It seemed now might be their time. So, she was here to see what would happen, to take a chance. She was drained after all the emotional highs of late. Even winning took a toll. All that anxiety leading up to worlds crashed and burned her brain when she was finally able to relax.
"Okay, well, where is she?"
Chloe avoided the whole awkward assumption part of the conversation. This girl had no reason to know their business as Aubrey would say.
"Oh, she's in her office." The girl twisted around and pointed to the hallway at the back of the room that lead to the left. "End of the hall, on the left."
"Thanks," Chloe replied. She made her way around the desk and down to the hall. The lodge's interior was full of upscale decor and furnishings. It made her wonder just which corporations paid to send their employees here. Aubrey must be making bank. She kept walking, her boots making a sharp clicking sound on the stained cherry wood floor.
The last door in the hallway was a dark wooden affair with a nameplate on the outside that read: Aubrey Posen, Director. She had not been surprised at her friend's quick ascension to running the entire lodge. If there was one thing that Aubrey enjoyed, it was having power and control. She could get carried away but balance had come into her life. Senior year had helped start that and Chloe now found that Aubrey was even more comfortable with herself than before.
She knocked and waited, hearing an authoritative, "Come in.", after a moment. The dark gold door handle turned easily in her hand and she pushed open the heavy door to find Aubrey at a large desk, which was perfectly neat.
She looked up to see who it was and Chloe smiled, dimples appearing. Aubrey's slow half smile in response was a resplendent sight. It was better than a full blown smile. The sight of Chloe started up those parts of Aubrey's brain that were definitely not safe for work.
"Hey," Chloe said. Her coy manner carried through in her voice.
Aubrey sat back in her chair and released the mouse she had been using. "Hey yourself."