Chloe likes her new neighbor.
She's kind of mysterious and a little awkward while still maintaining a decent but not excessive level of confidence, and she's either independently successful or a trust fund baby to be moving into this neighborhood all by herself. She thinks they would make good friends. Plus, that streak of standoffishness that underlies everything she says in their first encounter in front of her new house only makes Chloe want to befriend her even more.
And she likes that this Beca girl isn't married.
She invites herself to Beca's house the next afternoon after her freshly baked brownies have cooled and are arranged on a plate she won't mind not getting back. She feels kind of like Bree Van de Kamp on "Desperate Housewives," strolling to her new neighbor's house with baked goods and booze.
Beca's house is similar in layout to her own, obviously built around the same time by the same contractor as this particular area of Los Angeles was developed. The stairs are in the same place, and she assumes the bedrooms are up there like they are in her own home.
Her theory is confirmed that evening. She's reading in bed on her Kindle when a square of light catches her eye. The window on Beca's house opposite her own is lit up. She looks for a few seconds, curious but not wanting to be invasive. The room is quite obviously in a state of just-moved-in. From her angle, she can see the tops of a few boxes, some large items that are still wrapped in moving blankets propped up against a wall, and, when curiosity gets the best of her and she sits up a little straighter, a bed that is still bare from its relocation.
Beca crosses the room holding what looks to be a beer and Chloe forces her eyes back to her book, stealing glances now and then when motion catches her eye. Beca's busy, moving things here and there.
The room falls dark a bit later, Beca never reappearing, but Chloe knows she's there, having turned off the light before climbing into bed. She watches the darkness for a few more seconds before switching off her e-reader to turn in for the night.
Chloe quickly grows to enjoy the fact that she has a private (not so private?) window into Beca's life. It's become part of her routine, like red wine and popcorn to watch TGIT on ABC. She needs to be in bed early enough that she can watch Beca do whatever she's going to do that evening in her bedroom.
She spares a thought to wondering if, since she can see into Beca's house, if Beca's ever seen into her house and, if so, what she's seen. Chloe's been so used to the house being empty, she stopped thinking about the need for discretion like that.
Chloe's watched her unpack, moving things out of one box into another. The boxes eventually disappeared. The walls were still undecorated, but she could see things waiting to be hung - an abstract painting that Chloe pondered every time she saw it, some framed photos, and one of those gold records she sees pop stars get and she wonders if it's real or one of those souvenir ones.
Beca hadn't been particularly forthcoming about her personal life over their wine and brownies that day, redirecting most of the conversation back to Chloe, which she didn't mind because she loves talking, but now she wishes she knew more about the girl. Maybe if she hadn't talked so much she would know what Beca does for a living. She can't even Google her; she doesn't know her last name.
The mystery makes her all the more fascinating.
It also makes Chloe...needy. She's starting to want what she can't have, or at least doesn't have - yet.
It's what's brought her and Jessica to one of their usual haunts, an LGBT-friendly club that offers her multiple options. Jessica's a good wingman, not that Chloe needs one, but they always have a good time dancing and ogling Chloe's possible conquests.
Tonight, the girl with the silky straight blonde hair who she's repeatedly caught staring at her all night is her chosen prize.
She takes the girl home, Jessica opting to meet up with her boyfriend, and Chloe has the house to herself. She's elated when the girl lets her leave the lights on; Chloe likes to see what she's doing to better appreciate the physical beauty of whomever she's with. She undresses the girl, and sits on the bed expectantly but the girl's just as much of a flirt as she is, teasing her by staying just out of reach.
Chloe finally convinces the girl to come to her, pulling her down into bed only to take matters into her own hands and roll them so she can be on top.
Chloe's up in the middle of the night. Her phone says it's 3:07am when she's woken up by the need to pee. She moves somewhat blindly, knowing the route to and from the bathroom and how to not run into things like the dresser or doorways or the shoes she remembers leaving by her closet instead of putting them in her closet.
She's crawling back into bed when curiosity gets the best of her. She wonders if Beca happens to be awake at this ungodly hour, and if she is, what is she doing?
She's peeking around the curtain, trying to be inconspicuous, but Beca's light is off. Apparently she still hasn't gotten around to installing blinds or a shade or a curtain, and Chloe's not totally sure how she can stand to sleep in a bedroom that is lit up with so much morning light. And it's while she's considering this, and whether or not Beca wears a sleep mask to combat the issue, that her eyes start to adjust to the darkness and she can make out the outline of her bed, and the wrinkled bedding that covers it, and the lump beneath it that would be Beca. She looks, telling herself just ten more seconds, when she notices the lump is moving.
Slowly.
Rhythmically.
A car drives down their street and the headlights catch Beca's window. It's so, so brief, but it light her up in a spotlight long enough that Chloe can see exactly what Beca was doing in bed, eyes closed, bedding pushed almost to her knees; she's nude, and very alone.
It makes heat rush through her and she tries to press closer to the window to get a better look at her cute, mysterious neighbor who is loving herself quite intimately at the moment. Now that she knows what is happening, it's easier to make out the movements in the darkness, and what she can't see, her mind fills in the blanks to.
She watches, something in the back of her mind trying to tell her this is wrong, but she can't help but ignore that voice in favor of the vision that's pieced itself together in her brain. She watches until Beca's still, and she slips back into her own bed, pulse throbbing everywhere but nowhere is it stronger than between her legs and she doesn't let herself feel guilty about reaching down to relieve the pressure.
Chloe bumps into Beca a few days later, both of them wheeling their trash cans to the curb at the same time. "Hi!" she says, with a wave.
"Oh, hey."
Beca seems like she's trying to pretend Chloe isn't there, but that doesn't stop her. "If you're not busy later, do you want to come over? Jessica and I are going to find something to watch on Netflix. Order Chinese, just generally be lazy."
She watches Beca's fingers tap the lid of her trash can a few times before the girl turns and fully regards her. "Yeah, okay, sure. Why not?"
She seems nervous and Chloe smiles, finding it adorable. But a memory from what she witnessed the other night slides into place and she bites her lip and for a second she considers playing bashful and looking away, but that rarely got her anywhere with shy girls like this one who usually need her to be the one to make the first move. So instead she makes eye contact with the girl, letting herself remember what Beca doesn't know she saw, until Beca suddenly blushes scarlet and stutters something about needing to go.
Their movie night is fun. Beca's a pretty chill person, if guarded, and Chloe finds it easy to sink into conversation with her. Beca's also easily flustered, but she recovers quickly, usually with a comment that does a decent job at flustering Chloe in return.
Beca has an air of confidence about her; it's a different type of confidence than Chloe's used to. It's one that says she's sure of who she is, and has nothing to prove to anyone. But she's a touch shy, not a lot, just enough to be cute, and she doesn't recoil when Chloe decides to curl up against her on the couch while they watch the movie with Jessica.
Beca even lifts her arm to let it drape around Chloe's shoulders.
Chloe finds herself disappointed when she notices Beca has blinds on her window. She enjoyed her secret insight into Beca's life.
It's a Saturday night. Chloe's sitting in bed with a glass of red wine determined to finish her book when the square of light across the way illuminates. She looks up out of habit but by this point, she knows that the blinds are down and closed.
Only this time, they aren't.
It had been a gorgeous spring day, and it seems Beca's left her window open and blinds raised. Chloe's own window is open to let in the breeze.
It's just like old times.
Only Beca's not alone.
There's a girl with her, with short brown hair, and Chloe can see they're talking. The sound of their laughter carries her way in the wind and Chloe reaches over to turn off her bedside lamp to watch in the relative safety of the darkness.
She's never seen Beca have company, whether through this intrusive method of observation or simply seeing a car other than Beca's parked in front of her house, nor anyone coming or going. It's only then then Chloe realizes it's well past the hour for the casual visitor, and it's the moment the thought registers that Beca's pulled the girl close to kiss her.
Chloe sucks in a breath, the pleasant surprise that Beca likes girls, and that she's about to watch it happen like her own private X-rated website.
She watches Beca strip the girl, and she watches the girl return the favor, and she whimpers at the sight of Beca's nude form on display, and she watches Beca get pushed onto the bed to lay down, and she watches the girl kiss her way down Beca's body and lift Beca's legs over her shoulders.
She watches it happen, and she hears it happening when the breeze is just right. It's almost inaudible but Chloe's listening for it, knowing when to expect it because she sees Beca's mouth open and she waits for the sound to reach her ears and when it does, her own hand pushes between her legs. She watches it happen, and she happens with it.
Chloe's consumed with thoughts. She wants. She's been stupid horny since last night despite relieving herself (twice) while watching Beca's encounter. Part of her wants to simply knock on Beca's front door, grab her, kiss her, and drag her up to her room and fuck her senseless.
She is, however, fairly sure that isn't the best idea.
To deal with her hormones, she does what she almost never does - makes a booty call, to her friend from the bar a few weeks ago. Thankfully, the girl's down and she's the one Chloe grabs at the front door, kisses, and drags her up to her room to fuck her senseless.
She has her pressed up against her bedroom window, and Chloe knows her curtain is open, and her light is on, and it's dark outside, and she's not going to lie to herself: she wants Beca to see. She doesn't know exactly why, but she doesn't question her desire.
But Beca's light is on, which means she is, was, or will be in her bedroom, and Chloe's purposely left her light on, and she lets her lover strip her of her blouse and then Chloe guides her head down to demand attention to her neck so she can see past her to Beca's house.
When she opens her eyes, her moan is taken as appreciation by her lover, but it has nothing to do with the blonde.
Beca's at the window.
Beca's watching.
Beca's touching herself.
To Chloe's immense surprise, she receives a text from Beca the next day, early in the afternoon. It's the first text she's sent beyond the one she sent when she gave Chloe her number at Netflix night.
This is crazy awkward and idk how to say it so I'm just gonna say it
And I prob could have said something earlier...
But we both know what I saw last nite. And good for you, man!
But maybe like...just heads up that I can see into your room sometimes.
Chloe smiles at her phone.
I know. ;)
She knows it might be a risky reply, but she likes Beca. Wants Beca to like her. Wants Beca. She can't play platonic neighbor forever if she's going to get what she wants.
Oh. Ok. Yeah...just letting you know.
As a courtesy.
To be continued...