Jesse was so proud of his latest purchase, he didn't think for a second that Beca wouldn't be so excited about it. When he told her on the phone to get her body ready for the best thing of the summer, she immediately thought he had bought one of those inflatable pools and was really excited. When he laughed it off and said "Come on Beca, I don't make that much money!" her curiosity itched even more. He managed to hang up the phone without telling her, and he knew she'd be dying to know what that big surprise was.
When the week-end finally came and Beca departed from her 1 bedroom apartment directly next to campus to go to Jesse's home; a comfortable three bedrooms house he shared with Benji and another Treble whose name Beca couldn't remember. She always liked the boys, they were like brothers to her, and they sure treated her like a little sister; annoying her and always making comments on her size, but at least, she got to punch them and they couldn't punch her back. She liked that it was always a mess in the apartment, except for Jesse's room, and that her boyfriend had long ago given up on her place because she couldn't clean just like his roommates.
Usually, they could see each other at least three times a week and Beca would spend the week-end at his place, but this week had been really busy at the radio station, and Beca took an extra shift to help out. That resulted in her getting off from work at almost midnight every night; thus she couldn't use Jesse's shoulder as pillow as often as usually. When the boys once told her she should just move in, Beca had laughed about it, saying she liked her apartment, but looking at it now, she had pretty much moved in anyways : she had an extra toothbrush that she left there, she had clothes permanently there so she didn't bring anything with her when she went there, and she had slowly but surely taken more and more space around the bathroom's faucet. She even went as far as leaving a box of tampons under the sink; she had to take it out, though, when Benji found it and shrieked so loud the neighbor came to ask if everything was alright.
She didn't even knock on the front door anymore, she directly went inside from the side door. She didn't have a key, but she knew where they kept the emergency one (under the hedgehog foot cleaner (curtesy of Jesse's mom when they moved in) on the front porch) and she even knew the alarm system's nip. Beca kicked her shoes off, waving at Benji slouched on the couch, playing video games. She asked where Jesse was, and he motioned to the backyard.
"He's outside, he's just trying to fix his ―" before he could ruin it, Jesse came running inside yelling.
"NO! BENJI SHUT UP!" he shouted, jumping to press a hand over his best friend's face.
Beca quirked her eyebrows, trying to peek out the backdoor window, but her boyfriend soon jumped from Benji's face to hers, covering her eyes with both his hands.
"Close your eyes, Becs." He said, placing himself behind her, pressing his body against her.
Beca's instincts were to pull his hands off her face, but she resisted the urge and instead leaned back on his strong chest, smiling awkwardly.
"Jesse, what the hell is all this? Why can't I just walk out and see what's your big surprise already?" she asked, slightly annoyed at her loss of sight.
She tried to convince him to take his hands off her face a little more, but he just shook his head (she could feel it going from side to side in her hair) and guided her to the backdoor. When he told her to keep her eyes closed and uncovered her face, it took everything in her to keep them shut tight, because curiosity was eating her away. When, finally, he told her she could open them, her expectant smile hung in the air for a moment.
"You got to be kidding." She said blatantly, her jaw dropping to the floor.
Jesse misinterpreted this as a delighted surprise and he beamed even harder, slowly rocking from left to right in his brand new hammock. When Beca looked at him with wide eyes and no more smile on her face, he realized she wasn't as pleased at this as he had expected.
"You… you don't like it?" he asked, frowning.
"I.. Uh, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I guess I was expecting something a little… different?" she offered with a small smile.
She had never really liked hammocks; they were too rocky and she truly had hoped he had bought an inflatable pool for the summer, because the heat was getting ridiculous. He pated a space next to him and Beca shot him a wary look.
"Come on Beca, just try it, it'll be fun, I promise!" he gave her his childish smile that she couldn't resist, but she stood her ground, folding her arms.
"Last time I got on one of those things, I nearly broke my arm." She said with a pout, rolling her eyes before stepping closer, Jesse still smiling at her like an idiot.
He helped her settle in, and she awkwardly gripped on his shirt to regain her balance, feeling so out of place on this hammock. Jesse wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she felt herself more safe instantly, resting her head on his chest. She knew he knew she thought he was right; this actually felt good and she was comfortable, but never would she admit it out loud. She could feel his pride from the heat radiating from his body, and the beating of his heart lulled her in a state of semi-consciousness.
"Look, I can even rock ourselves." He said in a joyful tone before starting to wiggle his body in various ways, trying to get the hammock moving.
Beca instantly stiffened, her fist clutching at his shirt. Her eyes popped open and she looked at him with a death glare.
"Stop it." She growled, but he kept going on, grinning when the hammock started moving slowly.
"No, look, it's working!" he looked like a kid, and Beca tried really hard to suppress the smirk from her lips, but he was so adorable she just couldn't resist very long.
She pressed her body closer to his, trying to immobilize him with her weight, but he only twisted and twitched with more energy. Soon, they weren't rocking from side to side anymore, but were swaying dangerously. Beca tried to warn him, but she was one second too late, because the hammock flipped on itself.
"Jesse!" she cried out as they fell on the hard wooden floor of the patio.
Her boyfriend's chest was rising and falling fast, and Beca rolled off of him, grabbing his face to see if he was okay only to realize he was laughing silently. He never laughed silently unless it was something so funny he had passed the stage of laughing with a voice. He clutched at his sides, unable to speak, simply taking in sharp breaths, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Forgetting her fear and her shock, Beca slapped him on the shoulder, but his laughter was contagious. She felt a bubble rise in her throat, and was genuinely surprised when it escaped her mouth, soon followed by others, and before she knew it, she was lying on her back, her arms wrapped around her belly, laughing hysterically.
Minutes passed, and they both couldn't take it anymore, tears rolling down their cheeks, but every time they tried to look at each other, they'd burst out laughing again. It was Benji peeking out and dropping on his knees beside them, asking if they were alright, looking worried, who finally put an end to their laughing torture.
"Guys, guys, please, talk to me!" Benji said, shaking Jesse by the shoulder.
"We― we're okay!" Jesse blurted out between two giggles, sitting up.
"Ye― yeah!" Beca seconded, snorting when she looked at her boyfriend.
"You're so weird. Bothh of you." Benji shook his head, standing up and going back inside.
They inhaled deeply, trying to regain some kind of seriousness, but it as useless; any time they would steal a glance at each other, a chuckle would bubble up, like a contagious hiccup of laughter. It took them nearly an hour, and going inside to do something else, to stop snorting every time they were near each other. Benji was still clueless, and it wasn't until the next day they could explain what had happen to send them in such a laughing fit.