A/N: I hope you guys had a fantastic Christmas and New Year! Haven't gotten much response for the past few chapters, so I'm hoping y'all are still with me! This is my longest chapter to date! It was bittersweet writing this chapter, so I hope y'all enjoy it!
Just wanted to give a shout out to areaderofmanythings for being an amazing beta and getting this chapter into shape. If you haven't checked out her newest story, "The Reclusive Music Producer and The Journalist", you really should check it out. It is beyond amazing!
Also, I don't own Pitch Perfect or anything related to it, just any and all mistakes you may find! Now, onto what you really came for!
Beca woke up with a smile. She has been doing that a lot lately and she had come to realize that having Chloe Beale in her bed every night for the past month has made her life content. Yes, the sex was great, but the company was even better. Beca attempted to stretch but her arm was trapped under an utterly beautiful sleeping redhead. She tilted her head and just smiled down as she watched Chloe sleep, placing a light kiss to her forehead she wiggled the almost numb arm out from underneath the older woman. She closed her eyes and shook her head at the thought, this was no dream, Chloe Beale was actually lying in her bed and there was no way she could ever convey how happy that made her.
While Chloe slept, Beca made her way to the bathroom to shower and as she walked she turned to look back at the sleeping form and smiled before she gently shut the door. Turning on the shower so the water could warm, Beca took a look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head and she couldn't help but smile at the purple mark peeking out of her light blue v-neck shirt, just above the freckle on her left breast. She ran her finger over the spot and smiled at the memory.
Beca looked at her watch as she placed it on the sink, August 24th, the time she had to spend with the redhead was winding down. She had a week and a half before she was supposed to move into the dorms and then classes started on September 6th. Which was fine with her, Chloe because leaves for New York on September 3rd and she could only move in the weekend before. Undressing Beca stepped into the shower and leaned back to let the semi-hot water cascade down her face as she thought about the fact that she was going to have to say goodbye to the beauty that was asleep in her bed.
"Ugh, why does life have to be so unfair?" Beca mumbled as she began to wash her hair.
She was so lost in thought over the fact that she was going to be alone in the dorms sooner than she wanted, that she didn't hear the door open then close. Beca was leaning with her head under the spray with the water running down her back when she felt a cool breeze. Almost immediately arms wrapped around her waist and a kiss placed on the equalizer bars at the middle of her back.
"I swear woman, you really have a problem with sneaking up on people don't you!?" Beca chuckled as she turned around in the woman's arms.
"At least this time you didn't flail around and nearly fall!" Chloe said playfully making Beca roll her eyes.
"Shut up Beale," Beca said as she pulled the redhead into a kiss. "Now, I'm really not complaining, like, at all," she said rubbing her hands up and down Chloe's back, "but to what do I owe the pleasure of you joining me in the shower?"
"Well, I woke up and realized you weren't holding me and as I laid there pouting, I heard the shower, so I just thought I'd join you." Chloe said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can go," she said as she pointed to the direction of the door, "if you really want me to."
"Nope, no, you're good," Beca said as she leaned in to place a kiss on Chloe's collar bone. "Actually, I take that back," she said as she moved her kisses up to Chloe's neck, "you are very good." A smirk played on her lips as she looked into those brilliantly blue eyes.
"I can say the same about you," Chloe stated matter-of-factly as she leaned in to close the gap between their lips.
What started out as an innocent kiss, quickly turned passionate and the fact that they were in the shower was all but forgotten. Hands roamed bodies, lips explored skin, and water turned cold. As Beca held Chloe against the shower wall and waited for her to come down from her orgasm, she reached behind her to shut off the water.
"Well good morning to me," Chloe said untangling herself from Beca and placing a gentle kiss on the younger girl's lips. "But I would like to move this out of the bathroom," she said as she ran her finger down between Beca's breasts.
Beca moved to grab her robe off of the hook beside the shower and Chloe just laughed stopping her hand.
"I really don't think that will be necessary" Chloe said reaching for a towel. "I'm pretty sure moving it from the hook to the floor beside the bed is pointless." She smirked as she threw Beca a wink and handed her the towel. "Just dry off, no need to put anything on when in about 30 feet, it'd be coming right back off." She chuckled and stepped out of the tub, towel drying herself off.
Beca followed suit and as she was bending over drying off her legs, she felt Chloe's arms wrap around her waist and another kiss placed on the equalizer bars in the middle of her back. "Have I ever told you, how sexy your tattoos are?" Chloe inquired as she placed another kiss before letting Beca stand.
As Beca stood, she felt another kiss land on the flower tattoo along her shoulder, followed by another. Chloe then turned the smaller girl around and kissed the top of her shoulder where the flowers stopped. Taking Beca's right arm Chloe gently kissed the grasshopper then switched to her left and kissed the script on her forearm and moved down to the headphones above her wrist.
As Chloe placed a kiss there, Beca moved her hand to Chloe's face and brought it up so they were at eye level and planted a tender kiss on the redhead's lips. Chloe moaned into the kiss and Beca took the opportunity to slip her tongue into her mouth.
They battled for a few moments and then became in sync as the kiss deepened; Chloe moved Beca backwards out of the bathroom and angled her towards the bed. Once Beca's knees hit the mattress, Chloe pushed her down onto her elbows and crawled up into Beca's lap.
Chloe began kissing up Beca's jawline towards her ear, "Lay back," she breathed hotly and Beca scooted back to lay with her head on the pillows. Chloe started crawling up Beca's body, settling herself in between the smaller girl's legs.
"Wait," Beca said as Chloe tried to kiss her again, "you sure…"
Chloe put her finger on Beca's lips to silence the girl, "You don't need to keep asking me that, I'm very sure I want to do this," she said as she leaned down to capture Beca's lips again. Beca gripped Chloe's sides and rubs her thumbs on the underside of Chloe's breasts, pulling another moan out of her.
Chloe moves her lips from Beca's and starts kissing down her jaw, to the hollow of her throat, then down to her breasts. Beca removes her hands from Chloe and grabs onto the railing of the headboard above her, leaving herself completely exposed to the redhead. Chloe beings to palm Beca's right breast as she takes the left into her mouth. When Chloe nips and pulls at the nipple, the brunette rises up off the mattress and lets out a groan that just spurs Chloe on further. She moves her mouth from the left to the right, paying close attention the erect nipple, eliciting another groan from the girl below her.
When Chloe is happy at the attention she paid to Beca's breasts, she begins to run her hand up and down Beca's thigh and moves her mouth over her smooth stomach. When she reaches the girl's belly button, she places a kiss and then dips her tongue into it, just like she would do with her finger when they were playing around.
Beca begins to shift under her and Chloe knows she needs to stop teasing the brunette. She begins placing kisses below Beca's belly button and moves to where she knew Beca wants and needs her the most.
Beca propped herself up on her elbows and watched under hooded eyes as Chloe moved further down her body, and she was struck with the fact that no matter what situation they were in, Chloe was the most beautiful human being on the face of the planet. When Chloe's tongue moved over Beca's clit, the brunette's elbows gave out and a strangled "fuck" fell from her lips.
"God Chlo, fuck, that feels so damn good," Beca said as she tried griping anything close to her.
Chloe looked up at Beca and smirked, "I want to see how many times I can get you to say fuck tonight." And as soon as she said those words, she went back to circling Beca's clit with her tongue, then moved her hand and began stroking between Beca's wet folds.
Without warning, she plunged two fingers into Beca and heard, "Fuck, oh god," as a hand fly to her head and tangled into her mane of red. After a few strokes into the younger girl, Chloe sucked on her clit making Beca's hips lift up in response. That's when Chloe got an idea.
Pulling her fingers out of the younger girl, earning a groan of disapproval, she moved to straddle her hips. "I want to try something, if you're game?" she asked coyly, as she grabbed Beca's hands and helped her sit up.
Beca quirked an eyebrow up and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, I need this leg…" Chloe said as she lifted up and tapped Beca's right leg, "to move."
Beca pulled her leg out from under Chloe and bent it so that her foot was flat on the bed. Chloe shifted so Beca's left leg was around her hip and she slid her left leg under Beca's right.
Beca's eyes lit up immediately when she realized what Chloe was doing. "Fuck Chlo…I've wanted to try this, but wasn't sure if you'd be up for it," she said as her breathing picked up.
As Chloe lined up their centers, she lowered herself onto Beca and began to rock her hips back and forth.
Beca grabbed onto Chloe's knee and pulled her leg up to where it rested on her shoulder. She loved how flexible Chloe was and this was a prime example.
Chloe kept a steady rhythm with her hips and Beca started moving her's in sync with the older girl and as they created friction between them, both girls' breathing became more and more rapid.
Beca reached out with the hand that was holding Chloe's leg to her shoulder, and began massaging her breast. Chloe mirrored the action and soon, both girls were picking up their pace, and Chloe moaned out "Oh god Becs, I'm…so…close…"
"Fuck, me too," Beca panted out. "Come with me, Chlo" Beca said as she pulled roughly on Chloe's nipple.
"Oh fuck…god…fuck," spilled from the redhead's lips and that was all it took for Beca to lose herself. She sent her hips forward with one hard thrust making Chloe's body stiffen as she started climaxing.
Both girls reached their apex within seconds of each other and as their bodies came down from their shared high, Beca pulled out of their position and crawled up to give Chloe a deep kiss. She pushed the redhead down on the bed as she kissed her. "God, you are so fucking sexy. I can't believe that just happened." Beca said as she leaned down for another kiss.
"Well Miss Mitchell, I'm sure there are lots of things I can think up that we can try," Chloe said seductively as she winked at the girl hovering above her.
Beca threw her head down into the crook of Chloe's neck, laying her body flush against the naked girl, "Fuck you really are going to be the death of me," she said as she peppered kisses on Chloe's throat as the redhead just held her and laughed.
"How is it you made it this far in life and don't have a Facebook profile?"
"Umm, because?"
"Ugh, Beca, we're going to set you up a profile. How else will I be able to keep up with you once I'm in New York and you are off in LA?"
Beca rolled her eyes at the girl lying in her arms. She hadn't thought about their impending separation for the past few days, but here it is, one week before they were set to say good bye and she was starting to really hate the idea.
Beca sighed, "I guess you are right. It probably would be the easiest way for us to see what we're up to." She kissed the top of Chloe's head.
"Awes!" Chloe said as she began to unwrap herself from Beca's grasp. "Where's your phone? We can set it up and then we can go grab some breakfast at the diner. I think Stacie is working this morning."
Beca sat up against the headboard, pulling the covers over her lap and reached over to the night stand and unplugged her phone. She readily handed it over to Chloe's waiting hands.
The redhead beamed as she slid the unlock bar and brought Beca's phone to life. She was greeted with a picture of the two of them on top of Stone Mountain, Chloe had leaned over to kiss the girl's cheek and the content look on Beca's face made the older woman's heart skip a beat. She didn't realize Beca had put it as her wallpaper. In all honesty, she had forgotten about the picture because they had taken so many that day.
"I love this picture of us," Chloe said as she smiled down at the phone.
"Yeah, it is one of my favorites from that day." Beca said as she leaned over to kiss Chloe's cheek.
"Okay, Mitchell. Let's get you a Facebook profile." Chloe went to download the app to Beca's phone. Once it was finished, Chloe handed the phone to Beca and instructed her to put in her email and to create a password. Beca did as told, then handed the phone back to Chloe.
"Here, I have no idea what I'm doing. You have full reign to set it up however it is supposed to be." As soon as the phone was in Chloe's hands, she reached for her laptop.
Chloe beamed at this, the trust that Beca showed in her was beyond comprehension, she's never experienced anything or anyone like Beca before. She immediately navigated to her photo gallery.
"Okay, we need to pick out a good profile picture and cover photo," Chloe said as she scrolled through the pictures.
Chloe never realized how many pictures Beca had on her phone, especially of her. Her heart melted just a little more each time she would find a shot of herself when she wasn't paying attention and didn't realize a picture was being taken. When she found a good picture of just Beca, she showed it to her and got a hum of approval. The cover photo was easy, it was of a sunset they watched a few weeks ago from on top of the barn. The sky was painted with pinks and purples with the clouds streaking across. The whole scene around them was beautiful.
The pair sat in silence with Beca diligently working on her laptop as Chloe set up the profile page. Every once in a while, she would glance at what the redhead was doing and she was amazed at the information Chloe had picked up since they met. Chloe barely asked any questions when filling out her "About" section and of course, she added herself as Beca's first friend.
When Chloe was done, she locked and handed the phone back to Beca. "So," she asked, "what do you want to do today?"
Beca glanced at the clock on her laptop screen, it was almost 9:15am and she had just finished purchasing tickets for a surprise she had in mind for Chloe, "Instead of going to the diner, why don't we shower and maybe head into Atlanta for the day?"
"Atlanta, huh?" Chloe questioned as she tilted her head to the side. "That sounds fun." She leaned down and gave Beca a chaste kiss before moving towards the edge of the bed. "I need to run to the house to talk to daddy for a second and get some clothes. How about I shower there and then come back here in about an hour?"
"Umm, how about I come get you?" Beca responded as she closed her laptop lid and placed it on the nightstand, "I want to thank your dad for letting me have this last week off so we can spend time together. So, I'll come down there when I'm ready and I'll talk to your dad until you get done. Sound good?"
"You are too amazing, you know that?" Chloe leaned back onto the bed and gave Beca a more passionate, deeper kiss.
"Okay, Beale," Beca said pulling away, "If you don't leave now, we may not leave this room today and we have plans." She threw Chloe a wink that sent her heart into full on butterfly mode.
"Ugh, if you insist," Chloe playfully rolled her eyes and got up off the bed and moved towards the door. She paused in the open doorway and looked back at Beca, now sitting on the foot of the bed and called out, "See you in a little while." And then she disappeared down the steps.
Beca quickly got out of bed and pulled a duffle bag out from under the bed and started packing.
"So, where are we headed?" Chloe inquired as she watched the city pass by on her left from I-20.
"I figured we could go have breakfast and then maybe head over to the either the Coke museum or maybe the aquarium?" Beca turned to look at Chloe and was greeted with her brilliant, face splitting smile.
"Ooo, that sounds fantastic," Chloe beamed. "Where are we going for breakfast?"
"That, Beale, is for me to know and you to figure out," Beca said as she took the I-85 exit.
Chloe was familiar with Atlanta, so she knew they were headed towards downtown, but the amount of places they could go were endless. So she just stuck her tongue out at the smaller girl and turned to stare out the Jeep's window and tried to figure out their destination.
Once they got onto Highway 10, Chloe's list of destinations were decreasing as each exit passed. As they drove through neighborhoods, they eventually drove up on a pretty non-descript looking brick building. There were iron tables lined up along the front sidewalk with plants in every window and Chloe's eyes lit up as she realized where they were.
"Highland Bakery?! Beca! This is like my all-time favorite place!" Chloe squealed as she bounced in her seat.
Beca pulled the car into a parking spot along the street and shut off the engine. "You aren't the only one that picked up on things while we've been hanging out." Beca said as she got out of the Jeep and made her way over to the passenger side. Opening the door for Chloe, she held her hand out to help her out of the Jeep. "I figured that since this was our last Saturday together, that we could do some of your favorite things. Plus, I've heard nothing but great things about this place and so we're killing two birds with one stone." Beca laced their fingers together as they walked across the street.
After a short wait, they were seated in the larger dining area, in the corner where they could see everything around them. Beca was amazed at the rustic charm of the place, from the exposed brick and ductwork to the lanterns that hung from the ceiling. The pictures around the place showed off the bakery's history and that mixed with the sounds of the customers made Beca extremely happy with her choice. The waitress came by the table and took their drink orders as they browsed the menu.
"Do you want to try something absolutely heavenly?" Chloe asked Beca.
"What are you suggesting?" Beca quirked her eyebrow playfully at Chloe.
Chloe threw her head back in laughter, "Keep it in your pants Mitchell. I was referring to the shrimp and grits."
"What the hell is a 'grit'?" Beca deadpanned. "It really doesn't sound appetizing at all!" She shook her head as she found what Chloe was referring to on the menu.
Chloe giggled, "Oh, but you're so wrong! They're coarsely ground kernels of hominy and are so good." She saw a look of confusion cross Beca's face. "Hominy is a kernel of corn where the hull and germ are removed. Native American's have eaten it forever."
"Um, okay," Beca said still slightly confused, "I'll take your word for it. How about this, you order it and I'll try it. I don't want to waste a whole meal not knowing if I'll like it."
"Makes sense," Chloe shrugged, "I was going to order it anyway."
Beca winked at Chloe's response, "Good deal. I was actually thinking about getting a half order of the French toast and a fruit bowl." She placed her menu down in front of her just as the waitress came to take their orders.
The pair placed their orders and made easy conversation as they waited. They planned out their afternoon and decided that they would go to the World of Coca-Cola first and then would hit up the aquarium afterwards.
Once their food arrived, the pair started to eat in comfortable silence. Chloe had asked for a small plate so that she could give Beca some of the shrimp and grits. Once she received the plate, she broke off part of the jalapeno focaccia bread and scooped a spoonful of the grits on the plate, then added a piece of shrimp on top of the grits. After passing the plate over to Beca, she waited patiently for the younger girl to inspect the food.
"I'm not real sure what to think of this. It looks weird." Beca said as she moved the grits around her plate.
"Oh stop playing with it and just eat it," Chloe laughed as she took a spoonful of the grits into her mouth.
Beca mumbled, "That's what she said," as she looked at the food in front of her and cut the shrimp in half and used the bread to push some grits onto her spoon. "Here goes nothing," she playfully said as she grimaced and moved the food towards her mouth. Once Beca had the shrimp and grits in, her eyes went wide as she chewed. "Oh holy shit, Chlo, you weren't kidding…" she said after she swallowed the first bite, "that was amazing!" Quickly she spooned the rest of the food into her mouth.
Chloe just shook her head and giggled at the smaller girl's reaction. "I told you it was heavenly!"
Beca practically moaned as she spun the spoon around in her mouth so she could make sure she got everything off of it. "I don't think my French toast and fruit are going to be able to reach the amazingness of that."
They finished off their breakfasts with relative ease and Beca asked the waitress for the bill. Once she paid, the two set off on the ten minute drive to the World of Coca-Cola.
"I don't get it," Beca said as they walked through the large open room. "Why do they have pay phones on the wall?"
"I have no clue, but let's take a picture with them," Chloe said as she pulled Beca towards the wall of pay phones.
They had already gone through some pretty cool places during this self-guided tour. So far, Beca was digging the Vault of Secret Formula, however this room just confused her. As they got done taking the picture, she was looking down to make sure it turned out good, when Chloe grabbed her arm and squealed.
"LOOK Beca! It's the polar bear!"
"What?" Beca looked up from her phone and at the overly excited redhead.
Chloe pointed across the room to the larger than life white polar bear with a red Coca-Cola scarf around its neck.
"Can we go take a picture with it?" Chloe squeezed the smaller arm and bounced on the balls of her feet.
"Sure!" Beca returned the smile that Chloe was giving her. How could she say no to Chloe? She hadn't figured that out and wasn't sure if she ever would.
The redhead flagged down one of the workers and asked if they could take their picture. As the pair approached the bear, it acted like it was surprised that the two women wanted a picture with it. The theatrics this person was giving them from inside costume was enough to keep their smiles plastered to their faces.
Once the girls were done, they made their way to the Pop Culture Gallery and spent time taking pictures with the different displays throughout the area. While Chloe was off looking at the different Santa pictures, Beca found the Coca-Cola couch and plopped down on it. There weren't that many people in the area, so she didn't care that she was laying on half of the couch. With her right leg thrown up on the cushions and the left planted on the red and white rug below her, she watched Chloe mille around the other room.
She couldn't help but stare at Chloe's beauty; the way her eyes and nose crinkled as she read things posted on the wall, to the way she absentmindedly twirled her hair when she was studying a picture. Beca could literally watch Chloe all the time, she knew that was uber creepy, but she didn't really care.
When Chloe realized that Beca wasn't by her side she started looking around. Peering through a doorway she saw Beca partially laying on a couch looking at her. She smirked at the younger girl and started to make her way over. The closer Chloe got, the more seductive she started walking, it was like she was stalking her prey, slowly moving, over exaggerating each step. She could tell that Beca realized what she was doing and began to shift on the couch. Chloe could visibly see Beca swallow when she walked past the "Slow School Zone" cop cut out standing by the door. By the time Chloe made it to the end of the couch facing Beca, she could see the younger girl's chest rising and falling at a rapid pace.
Chloe looked around and saw the last group move out of the room, so she walked to the front of the couch and threw her left leg over Beca's hips. She slowly leaned down and put her left hand on the arm of the couch beside Beca's head, then seized Beca's lips into a sultry kiss. She knew they weren't going to be alone for very long, but she was on a mission to get Beca riled up. So she slowly deepened the kiss, swiping her tongue along Beca's bottom lip she was quickly granted access.
Beca's hands gripped Chloe's hips as she tried to pull the redhead down further to her. Chloe kept her position steady, hovering just enough above her for Beca to realize she was being teased. Beca brought the kiss to its conclusion and as Chloe rested her forehead on hers, she let out a breathy laugh.
"I know what you are trying to do Beale," Beca said playfully.
The glint in Chloe's eyes soon manifested itself onto her face in the form of a smirk that she leveled Beca with. "A girl can try," she said playfully and leaned down to give another kiss.
"And she can succeed, just not yet." Beca winked as she patted Chloe's ass and began to move to get up. "We still have the tasting room to get to and the aquarium to visit."
Chloe fell down onto the couch with a grunt, "Ugh, give me a minute."
Beca laughed at Chloe turning herself on with that kiss and she walked to the couch and bent down in front of a frustrated redhead. "Don't worry, we can take care of that when we get back to the ranch," she said as she leaned in a kissed Chloe's forehead. As she stood up and turned to walk away, she smiled at the groan that left Chloe. Within a few steps, a warm hand was wrapping around her own and the pair walked into the tasting room.
They walked around the different pillars that housed Coke flavors from all around the world and they tasted flavors they had never heard of to see just how different it was from what they were used to. Some were good, some were okay, while others should never have been put into production. They both were glad those flavors were in countries they probably would never visit.
Chloe had heard of people coming here and trying "The Beverly" so she found it and read that it originated in Italy, "The Italians have great taste, I bet this is popular because it's so good. Stacie wouldn't tell me if she liked it or not, she just told me I had to try it."
Grabbing a cup for her and Beca, Chloe filled it up with a shot of the drink and then handed it to Beca. They both threw the drink back simultaneously as they had been doing, except this time, Beca's head flew forward and the drink went straight back into her cup.
"Holy fuck, Chlo," Beca said as she kept spitting into her cup. She looked over at the redhead and she busted out laughing, Chloe's eyes were squeezed shut and she looked like she was going to puke. "Okay yeah, that was some absolute nasty ass shit."
Beca took the cup that Chloe was holding and walked over to the nearby trashcan and threw both cups away. On her way back, she stopped and got them two cups of water.
"I'm going to kill Stacie for not warning me about how absolutely disgusting that was," Chloe swished the water around her mouth then spit it back into the cup. "I think my taste buds sunk into my tongue, they don't want to be abused anymore."
Beca laughed and noticed a conveyer belt of bottled Coke's moving along the room overhead. "Why don't we go get our bottle of Coke, hit up the gift shop and then head to the aquarium?" Beca motioned to the bottles overhead.
"Sounds like a plan," Chloe said as she reached for Beca's outstretched hand.
"Oh my god, Beca" Chloe said breathlessly as they walked into the large under water exhibit. "This is absolutely stunning."
Beca smiled at the childlike wonderment that was plastered all over Chloe's face, "You've lived here, what, your whole life…how could you have never been here?" She said playfully as they walked along the large wall of glass.
Chloe stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to face Beca, "Because every time I've tried to come, something always happened," she said with a pout. "Like when I was 12, I was supposed to come here for Kristian Williams' birthday party and I ended up having the flu. Then we were going to have our graduation party here from high school, but the aquarium was undergoing renovations and we had to move the party."
The sadness on Chloe's face made Beca's heart hurt, "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you've had traumatic experiences trying to get here." Lifting their intertwined hand up to her lips, she placed a gentle kiss on the back of Chloe's hand, "I hope that I'll be able to make up for all of those missed opportunities," she said with a knowing smile on her face.
"I'm here, with you, so it's already the best," Chloe smiled and stole a quick kiss from the shorter girl.
The pair wandered around the aquarium looking at all of the exhibits and took tons pictures of the sites.
"Holy shit, Chlo!" Beca squealed as she caught a glimpse of the sea otter exhibits, "These things are the cutest animals on the planet!" She practically pulled Chloe into the exhibit and plastered her face against the glass.
Chloe laughed at Beca's antics, "Well, I'm going to have to disagree with you," she said playfully. "The penguins are the cutest animals on the planet." She bumped Beca's hip with hers as they watched the otters swimming around and playing with a floating bottle.
Beca inwardly smiled because she knew Chloe loved penguins and she was going to make sure the older woman was able to get up close and personal with one and soon.
Beca glanced down at her watch, "Why don't we head over to the penguin exhibit then," she said, "so you can explain to me how they are cuter than these guys."
When the pair got to the penguin exhibit, it appeared to be closed for maintenance, but Beca was well aware that they did this prior to any encounters they had scheduled.
"Well crap," Chloe sighed as she saw the sign. "I guess we'll have to come back later once they're done doing whatever they're doing," she pouted.
"Why don't we go in anyway," Beca suggested. "I mean, what's the worst they can do?" She winked at the redhead and moved around the sign.
"Beca!" Chloe whispered screamed at the brunette. "Get out of there, I don't want to get kicked out!"
Beca turned around and smiled at the stunned redhead still standing outside of the exhibit, "Oh come on Chlo, live a little," she taunted as she walked to the far side of the exhibit and began knocking on the door.
"What are you doing?!" Chloe harshly questioned as she hurriedly made her way over to the brunette.
When Chloe made it to Beca's side, the door swung open to reveal a young blonde woman wearing a dark blue Georgia Aquarium polo. Chloe stood there with her mouth partially opened as she felt Beca take her hand.
"May I help you?" The young woman inquired.
"We have a scheduled encounter for 2:30." Beca stated as she produced two tickets, that she had gotten when they arrived, from her back pocket and handed them over to the woman.
As the lady looked down at the tickets, she smiled, "Ahh, Beca and Chloe, if you would, please follow me," she said as she moved so the pair could enter the backstage area. "My name is Penny and I'll be your guide today."
Chloe was dumbfounded. She stood still as Beca tried to walk away, but their intertwined hands pulled Beca back towards her.
"Beca, what is going on?" Chloe asked as the brunette turned towards her.
"I figured that we could see these little guys up close and personal. They are your favorite, right?" Beca said with a smile stretching across her face.
"Uhhh, yeah, they are," Chloe stuttered out. "But you didn't have to do this," she protested.
"It's nothing, Chlo. I just wanted to see you smile," Beca leaned up and gave the still dumbfounded redhead a quick kiss. "Now, come on so we don't miss anything."
The pair followed Penny back into a room where they were introduced to a few African penguins. While they held the birds on their laps, the young woman began to tell the two about the penguins and their efforts in conservation. As the pair learned more about the penguins, they failed to notice a guy walking around taking pictures. Once the encounter was over, the guy stepped up to them and handed over a ticket with a number on it. "If you want to look at the pictures I was taking, hand this ticket to the lady just outside of the gift shop and she'll be able to pull them up and print any that you want."
"Okay, so I have to admit, penguins are cute," Beca said as they made their way out of the back of the exhibit.
Chloe laughed, "Told you."
"Oh, I'm not admitting that they are cuter than the otters," Beca said playfully as Chloe smacked her bicep. "I'm just saying you aren't wrong when you say they are cute, only wrong about them being the cutest on the planet. I think sea otters and red pandas give penguins a run for their money in that area."
Chloe turned to the shorter girl and stuck out her tongue, "I guess we will have to agree to disagree there Mitchell."
Beca looked at her watch, she wasn't surprised to see that they had spent six hours walking around the aquarium.
"So, it's 6:15," Beca stated, "do you want to go grab something to eat?"
"Actually, I saw that there is a dolphin show at 6:30 and was hoping we could go watch that?" Chloe asked hopefully.
"Yeah, sure, that's not a problem," Beca agreed. "I mean, we did watch the seal show earlier, it's only fair to see the dolphins!"
Chloe squealed as they took a right and went up the escalators to head out to the Dolphin Celebration area.
Once the pair had found seats and got situated, Chloe pulled Beca close to her and planted a kiss on her temple, "Thank you so much for today. It has been better than I imagined."
Beca turned to face the beaming redhead, "It really was my pleasure. I am happy that you are happy. However," she said as a smirk played on her lips, "our day is not over yet. There is still one more thing we have left to do."
Chloe's brows drew closer together in curiosity. "What do you mean?" she inquired as she tilted her head to the side.
"Well, after the show, we'll go find something to eat. Maybe walk through Centennial Park and go to Taco Mac over by Phillips Arena? Then we're coming back to the Aquarium." Beca said as her lips broke out into a face splitting grin.
Chloe still looked at Beca with confusion written all over her face, "Why would we come back to the Aquarium? We've seen and done everything possible."
"We haven't done everything yet." Beca said as she placed a kiss on Chloe's cheek. "But, you're going to have to wait until after dinner to find out what is left." She winked, which earned her a frustrated groan and a shove to the shoulder.
"I swear, you and your surprises, Mitchell." Chloe smiled while rolling her eyes. She gave Beca and short kiss and then turned to focus on the trainer coming out onto the platform.
After their dinner and a leisurely stroll through Centennial Park, the pair walked towards the Aquarium doors and Chloe pulled to a stop at the ticketing counter. She noticed that the sign said they closed at 9:00pm. She looked down at her watch, "Beca, this place closes in 15 minutes. What are we going to do in that short amount of time?"
Beca just smiled then remembered that she had left the duffle bag in the back of the Jeep.
"Hold that thought, Chlo. Stay right here and I'll be back in 5 minutes." Beca then leaned in to kiss Chloe and took off in a sprint towards the parking deck.
Chloe just stood there, watching Beca's retreating form and couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. Leave it to Beca to keep pulling out surprises. Honestly, in all of Chloe's life, she had never met anyone like Beca. She was thoughtful and sweet, yet had this rough edge about her that screamed 'I'm a badass, leave me alone', but Chloe knew that it was just a front. Beca was one of the most generous people she has ever had the pleasure of getting to know. She sighed when she realized that their time together was drawing to a close.
They had yet to talk about how things were going to be once Chloe was off to New York and Beca was in Georgia going to Barden. She was never a fan of long distance relationships, but she just wasn't sure how she was going to be able to let Beca go.
Just then Chloe was pulled from her thoughts as she saw Beca round the corner in a full on sprint towards her. She had a duffle bag slung over her shoulder and was breathing like she hadn't had done cardio work in years, which she knew wasn't the case, they put in some pretty major cardio the night before. Chloe beamed at the thought and just how adorable Beca was huffing and puffing in front of her.
"You okay there tiger?" Chloe playfully asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. I just didn't realize how heavy this was until I tried running with it over my shoulder." Beca threw the bag down in between them.
"So, what is the bag for?" Chloe looked at the object between them and quirked an eyebrow at the shorter girl.
"Well, we needed to have a change of clothes, so we don't have to sleep in what we have on." Beca said matter-of-factly. "And I brought a few other things so we could have a comfortable night." The look on Chloe's face must have been one of contorted confusion because as soon as Beca got the words out of her mouth, she laughed and grabbed Chloe's hands. "C'mon Beale, we need to get in there before it closes."
Chloe allowed herself to be pulled back into the glass doors of the aquarium even though she had no clue what Beca was up to. Once they got inside, they were greeted by the same blonde that had given them their penguin encounter earlier in the day.
"Hello again, Beca," Penny smiled at the brunette, "and Chloe," then turned her attention to the redhead. "Do you have your VIP Sleepover tickets?"
"Sleepover?" Chloe asked as she looked between the blonde and brunette.
Beca pulled the envelope out of her back pocket and handed over the remaining two tickets that were tucked inside, "Here you go."
"Fantastic," Penny said. She turned to look at the redhead, "Do you have a particular area that you would like to set up your things?" Chloe stood there, mouth slightly parted, just blinking at the woman.
Beca laughed because rarely had she been able to make Chloe Beale speechless and it looked like she had rendered the girl mute now, "I think we'd like to set up in the Ocean Voyager tunnel," she spoke up when it was clear that Chloe wasn't going to.
"Alrighty," she turned, "follow me."
Silently, the pair followed behind Penny until they were at their intended destination. Once they entered the tunnel, Penny turned and told them that they were going to be the only ones there tonight, but that they would have access to the Southwest Lounge for snacks or water. She also informed them that, if something were to happen, there would be a guard posted at the information desk, i and that they would be woken up when the first workers arrived at 8am, so they could freshen up before the doors opened. Finally she also made sure that they knew everything they could and couldn't do while locked in the aquarium. Both girls agreed and signed the designated forms and once they handed them back to Penny, she disappeared.
"Holy shit Beca," Chloe said breathlessly. "We're seriously spending the night here?" She looked around at the fish and sharks and rays floating past them.
"Yep, I figured we could do something that not many people get to do. Plus, this is just too cool to pass up the opportunity!" Beca responded as the pair stood bathed in a blue glow watching the fish swim all around them.
"I hope you know, you are ruining me," Chloe said as they spread out the blanket they had used on their trips to the river. She was surprised when Beca pulled out two pillows from the duffle bag and another blanket for them to cover up with.
"Ruining you? How?" Beca inquired spreading out the second blanket.
"You're going to make it extremely difficult for me to date anyone that isn't you." Chloe said with a shy smile on her face.
"Again, how is that ruining you?" Beca said playfully as she grabbed on to Chloe's hips and pulled her close.
"Ugh," Chloe rolled her eyes, "did you forget that we are about to be states away from each other sooner than I'd like?"
"So?" Beca shot back as she moved to sit on the bed of blankets that they just put down. "I guess we should talk about the inevitable huh?" She patted the space beside her in a silent request for Chloe to join her.
Chloe sighed as she sat down, "I guess now is as good of time as any."
"Okay," Beca turned to face Chloe and took a deep breath. "I like this," she motioned between the two of them, "I like how you make me feel, the ease of everything when I'm with you." She took Chloe's hands and began to run her thumb over the redhead's knuckles. "It doesn't feel like we've only known each other for, what, three months?"
Chloe nodded, "Yeah, it has been one of the easiest things I've ever done too."
"I guess…I…" Beca inhales deeply and lets it go with a huff, "I guess I'm just not ready to lose that." She glanced around at the fish surrounding them, a worried tone takes residence in her voice. "I know I'm younger than you," she quickly moved her eyes to Chloe's, "and I know you're going to have plenty of opportunities to see other people when you move to New York," she looks down at their fingers. "But, I would really like to try to keep, whatever we have going, going after you leave."
Beca slowly looks up and searches those beautiful bright blue eyes. When Chloe's eyes lock onto Beca's, she releases the smile that she had been trying to hold in.
"I would like that too," Chloe says in a hushed whisper, afraid that if she spoke any louder, she would burst the bubble they found themselves in.
"Yeah?" Beca said cautiously.
Chloe began to nod and Beca reached up and wiped the tear that was falling from her eyes. "Yeah…" she took a deep breath, "I was afraid that you wouldn't want to try long distance and that this was just going to be some kind of summer fling."
Beca frowned at Chloe's words and the sag in her shoulders as she looked down at their hands.
"Chlo, look at me," Beca pleaded. "You are not a summer fling. Did I come to Barden expecting to find someone like you? No, but you're everything I could've never imagined meeting and becoming attached to. You're more than I ever expected. You mean more to me than I ever thought possible. You," she reached for the redhead's face wiping more tears away, "mean the world to me and I never thought it would be something I did, getting attached to someone so quickly, but somehow, you reached past all of my barriers and heartbreak to piece me back together again in such a short amount of time."
All Chloe could do is stare into those stormy eyes and she was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. Beca was saying everything she had ever wanted to hear from a person she cared about. Beca Mitchell was making her fall and fast. So instead of speaking, Chloe flung herself into Beca's arms and began to kiss her like the breath she was stealing was her only life line. She wanted to make sure the brunette knew that everything she had said, Chloe was feeling it too.
Beca slowed the kiss and brought it to an end. She pulled away enough to look into Chloe eyes and once the redhead opened them, she ran her thumbs over her cheeks and smiled. "I'm glad you feel the same."
Chloe chuckled and kissed Beca again, this time, slower and more passionately. Once oxygen became a necessity, she pulled away and rested their foreheads together and just stared at those dark blue eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve someone like you, Beca Mitchell?"
"I don't know, but can you make sure to keep doing it?" Beca replied with a smirk on her face.
"I'll do my best." Chloe said as she leaned in to kiss her again. "I know that our lives are about to take a serious 180 when I go to New York and you start Barden," she stated, "I know that things won't be easy and our time together will be very limited. But I don't want us to make promises that we know we won't be able to keep."
Chloe brought her bottom lip in between her teeth. She knew that any kind of long distance relationships were going to be hard, especially with both of them trying to get their new careers off the ground, so there is a possibility that things could fall apart just about as quickly as they started.
"Hey," Beca gently said when she noticed Chloe starting to worry. "I know that things won't be easy, but I would like to give it 'the good ole college try'," she said playfully trying her best to get the redhead to smile. When she saw that she was successful, she again moved her hands down and grabbed Chloe's and started to run her thumb over her knuckles, "But I meant what I said, you are more than I could have ever imagined. I know there is a chance this won't work, I know that we're fighting an uphill battle. But what if…" she trailed off and took a deep breath, "what if it does?"
"But what if it doesn't?" Chloe countered. "I don't think I could go through life knowing that you hate me, Beca."
Beca threw her head back and laughed, "Chloe Beale, I'm pretty sure I could never hate you."
"You don't know that." Chloe laughed as she pushed Beca's shoulder.
Beca cleared her throat, "You're right, I don't." She said seriously, "But what I do know is that I would never intentionally hurt you and I know that you wouldn't intentionally hurt me. I also know that if things are meant to be, they will be, no matter the time or the distance. Look, let's treat this like we did this summer. Let's focus on the now and we will worry about the future when it becomes the present. I don't want our last week together to be spent thinking about 'what ifs'."
Chloe nodded, "It's worked for us so far, huh? Guess we should keep doing what we've been doing and take it one day at a time."
Beca pulled Chloe over to her and laid them down. They laid together, soaking in and digesting everything that was said and eventually Beca broke the silence.
"Did you know," Beca said absentmindedly as a whale shark swam above them, "that the whale shark can only eat small prey?" She felt Chloe shake her head, "Yeah, their throat is like only the size of a quarter. Can you believe something that huge can survive off of things like sardines and anchovies?"
Chloe laughed at this random fact. Beca had been spitting out random things all day about the animals they saw. "You are too cute," she said as she rolled over and snuggled further into Beca's side, as yawn took over.
Chloe woke up with a heavy weight on her chest. She didn't want to open her eyes, she wanted to lay here and keep sleeping because that would delay her from having to actually face the day. She rolled from her back to her side and lazily opened her eyes. She was alone, in Beca's bed, and the dread of knowing that this was going to be her norm, made the weight on her chest even heavier. Today she was getting on a plane headed to New York, leaving the stunning brunette behind, starting her new life at her new school and in a brand new city. She should be happy and she should be looking forward to the fresh start at an amazing school.
The Manhattan School of Music was a prestigious school, one that Chloe still couldn't believe she was able to get a teaching job with straight from college. But the school was thrilled that she was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and she believes that's probably what sealed the deal. She snuggled further under the comforter and buried her face in Beca's pillow, thinking about how everything seemed to fall into place prior to the summer. Then in the next instant she let out a groan, because now she wasn't so sure of what she wanted.
It was on a whim that Chloe applied to become a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she didn't think she had a shot in hell, but with three ICCA championships under her belt as co-captain of the Barden Bellas, she figured it was worth taking the chance. It was like an early Christmas present when she received her acceptance letter in the mail. Some of the members of the board had been judges at two of the ICCA championships in which the Bellas' won. They knew of her hard work and dedication to music and said it would be their pleasure to have her has a member of their society.
Once Chloe got that letter, she knew she wouldn't have a hard time getting a job at any of the school she wanted. She was offered a job at a few different places, but the fact that the Manhattan School of Music was willing to let her start an acapella chamber ensemble was the tipping point that lead her to accept the offer. She was excited to build something from the ground up. She knew it was going to be hard work and that it would take time to get the students interested in making music with their mouths, but she was determined. The Bellas were rich in history, they were established, so taking over as co-captain with Aubrey her sophomore year was easy. But this, this job and opportunity was a once in a life time deal, she should be ecstatic that today was the day it all started, yet she wasn't.
Chloe didn't realize walking into her shift at the diner that fateful day three months ago would throw her world off kilter. She didn't know that a tiny beautiful brunette would walk into her life and upset the balance that she had. Was she complaining? Not in the least bit, but it was making this beginning more bittersweet.
Chloe heard a soft "Good morning" come from the brunette as she felt the bed dip beside her. She moved so that she could peek out from under the comforter and was greeted with the lopsided smile that she had grown accustom to waking up to.
"Good morning," she croaked out, voice thick with sleep and emotion. "How long have you been up?"
Beca turned to look at the clock, "Umm, about 15 minutes." She leaned down to place a soft kiss on Chloe's lips. "I wanted to wake you up with breakfast in bed, but then I heard you groan while I was making coffee, so I knew that you were awake. But then you never came to join me so I just wanted to check on you."
Beca ran her fingers through crimson curls as she spoke. She could see that Chloe was reluctant about the day and she couldn't help mirror those feelings. She only had a few hours left with the redhead and she hated knowing that sooner, rather than later, their time together would come to an abrupt halt. Yes, they would text and can keep up with each other via Facetime, Facebook and any other form of communication, but still she had gotten used to them being together and she wasn't looking forward to not having that after today.
"Come lay down with me," Chloe softly said as she tried to open the covers. Beca stood and crawled in beside Chloe and snuggled her face under the older woman's chin.
"You don't have to ask me twice," Beca said as she tightened her grip around Chloe's waist.
They lay there a few moments before Chloe shifted and moved to be eye level with Beca.
"I am going to miss you," Chloe said before placing a kiss on Beca's lips.
Almost immediately, the kiss went from sweet and gentle to fiery and passionate. Hands found their way under shirts, tongues into mouths, and clothes removed in record time. Next thing they knew, Chloe was screaming out Beca's name as she rode the younger girl's fingers. It didn't take long for Chloe calm down enough to climb on top of Beca to return the favor and as soon as Beca began to come down from her orgasm, Chloe's phone began to ring.
"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me," Chloe groaned as she placed a kiss on Beca's sweaty forehead and moved to get her phone from where it was charging on the night stand.
"Hey daddy!" Chloe chirped into the phone as she pulled the sheet up over her bare torso. "Umm, yeah, I think that should work. I don't think we have any plans." She looked at Beca, who shook her head in confirmation. "Okay, sounds good. Give us about 30 minutes and we will meet you downstairs. Okay, love you too!" She ended the call and tossed the phone back on the night stand. "Daddy wants to take us out to lunch at the diner," she informed Beca.
"Cool, guess we should probably shower, huh?!" Beca said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
"You ready?"
"No."
Beca sighed as she dropped the last bag by the door of Chloe's bedroom and turned, "I'm not either," she said as she walked back to the redhead, "but, if we don't get moving, you will miss your flight."
"That wouldn't be the worst thing to happen," Chloe said sadly.
"As much as I don't want to be doing this right now, you and I both know that it wouldn't be good if you miss your flight." Beca gently took Chloe's hands in hers and brought them up and gave them a tender kiss. "So, let's not delay the inevitable, again." Beca wiggled her eyebrows as she leaned up and kissed Chloe.
"That was your fault we didn't leave half an hour ago, you should have never kissed me like that," Chloe winked at the shorter girl and quickly kissed her again.
Beca shook her head at the memory of their last round here in Chloe's childhood bedroom. She smiled as she walked back to the bag by the door and followed Chloe out to her Jeep.
The drive to the airport was filled with conversation that centered around making sure the redhead had everything she needed and double checking that everything else was sent with the movers that afternoon. If everything stays on schedule, Chloe's bigger items should be arriving at her new apartment in the City tomorrow morning.
For some reason the drive to the airport seemed shorter this time, because neither girl was prepared to face this next step, even though they knew it was inevitable. They silently got out of the car, got Chloe's bags and headed in to check her luggage. As they were standing in line, Chloe pulled out her phone.
"Okay, one last shot to take with me," Chloe said as she pulled Beca in closer.
When Chloe checked to make sure the picture was satisfactory, she couldn't help but notice that neither one of them had on their typical bright smiles. She wasn't be surprised, neither one of them were happy about what was taking place.
After they checked Chloe's bag, the pair walked towards the security checkpoint hand in hand until Beca pulled Chloe away from the crowed, "C'mere for a second."
"What's up?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Nothing, I just wanted to talk before you went through those gates," Beca almost whispered, her eyes were locked on their hands. She took a deep breath to gather the strength it was going to take to get this goodbye done. "I've said this before, I never expected to find you this summer, but I'm so glad I did," she looked up to find those bright blue eyes. "It's funny how unfair life can be sometimes," she chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Chloe asked curiously.
"I mean, us…this summer, why couldn't it have happened years ago or years from now? Why did it have to happen when we both are moving in opposite directions?"
"Yeah," Chloe breathed out with downcast eyes, "I know what you mean. Timing sucked with this one."
"That's an understatement," Beca chuckled. She moved her right hand under Chloe's chin, "But I don't regret any of it for a second. And I know that this whole long distance thing is going to be tough and a fight, but I want you to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make it work."
Chloe's eyes moved back and forth between Beca's. She could see the sincerity in them and heard it in Beca's words. "I know, I will too. But we both have to agree that if we see things hitting a dead end that we talk about it and figure out what to do. I wasn't kidding when I said I couldn't stand to spend the rest of my life with you hating me."
The words came out in an almost pleading manner and Chloe just stood there looking at Beca waiting for the young girl's reaction.
"I promise," Beca said, "I don't want to lose you. You're too important to my life, so I'm going to do my very best not to fuck it up."
Chloe giggled and she noticed the clock behind Beca's head. "I guess I should probably get in line," she said as she hiked her thumb over her shoulder at security.
"Okay," Beca sighed, "but promise me you'll text me when you land?"
"Deal."
Beca stepped in to close the distance between them and kissed Chloe like it was going to be the last time. She held on a little tighter, kissed a little harder, not wanting this moment to end. When breathing eventually became a necessity, so she reluctantly pulled away, "I'm not going to say good bye, but I will say see you later."
Chloe smiled, "That's a promise, and I will see you later!" She winked as she kissed Beca again and then bent down to grab her carryon bag. "I'm going to miss you Mitchell."
"Not any more than I'm going to miss you, Beale. Hell, I miss you already."
Chloe smiled and released Beca's hand as she turned towards the security gate. When she got in line, she dared to look back and saw that Beca was still standing there and sent the girl a little wave. She smiled when a lopsided grin spread across Beca's face as she waved back.
A few minutes later, Chloe collected her stuff from the conveyer belt and she turned again to look for Beca. She smiled when she saw that Beca had moved so she could still see her. She waved a final time before turning and heading towards her gate.
Beca's heart was breaking as she watched Chloe go through security. She had grown so accustom to having that redhead in her life that she wasn't sure what she was going to do now that she had to go back to the ranch alone. It was going to be weird.
As she watched Chloe disappear into the crowd, she turned to head back out to the parking lot. When she reached her Jeep, her phone chimed. Pulling the phone out of her back pocket Beca smiled as she saw it was a text from Chloe. She climbed into the driver's seat and opened the message.
Beale (5:38pm) I miss you :`(
Beca's heart sank at reading these words. She quickly typed out a text and hit send before over thinking it.
Beca (5:39pm) I miss you like crazy. I seriously hate how fucked up the timing of all of this is. Why couldn't we have been lucky enough to have more time together?
Beca started up the Jeep and was about to put it in reverse when her phone went off again. She glanced down at the phone in the cup holder, took her hand off the gear shift and picked up her phone.
Beale (5:40pm) I know right :( Even though our timing sucks, I don't regret anything or what you mean to me. Like we said at the aquarium, we'll just take things day by day and see where we go from here. It'll be strange waking up in the morning not wrapped in your arms.
Beca (5:42pm) I know what you mean. Moving tomorrow is going to suck without a good morning kiss from you.
Beale (5:43pm) Seriously…every morning will suck without those! Ugh…I am seriously rethinking all of this.
Beca (5:44pm) Don't do that, Chlo. You know that this is an opportunity of a lifetime. This is bigger than me. You need to go make your dreams come true, just like I'm going to try to do after I get done with Barden. As much as I want you here, I don't want you giving anything up for me. I'd never ask you to.
Beale (5:46pm) I know you wouldn't and I wouldn't either. It just sucks.
Beca (5:46pm) I know :(
Beale (5:47pm) Well, they just called for boarding. I wish I could kiss you right now
Beca (5:48pm) No more than I wish the same…have a safe flight and text me when you land!
Beale (5:49pm) Will do! Be safe getting back to the ranch!
Beca put the phone back into the cup holder and made her way out of the airport. The drive was silent as she drove down the interstate as her mind kept running over this summer and how special it was. The memories that she and Chloe made brought a smile to her face. Yes she was going to miss the redhead like crazy, but she wouldn't trade everything that happened for anything.
Saturday September 3rd
Beale (10:19pm) Ugh, finally able to text. Got in safely and in the apartment with a brand new bed. Wish you were here to break it in with me ;)
Beca (10:20pm) I'm glad! I was about to call a search party to find you! I wish I was too :( My bed seems so empty without you in it
Beale (10:21pm) :( Still so unfair…
Beca (10:22pm) I know…but at least we did meet and were able to spend the summer together…
Beale (10:22pm) That's true, but our timing still sucks…what time are you moving into the dorms tomorrow?
Beca (10:24pm) Ummm…I think around noon? I told Stacie I'd meet her at the diner for breakfast around 10, so I guess from there we will head to campus.
Beale (10:27pm) Gotcha…well, I hope everything goes smoothly for y'all! Text me when you're done?
Beca (10:28pm) Will do…what time are the movers getting there with your things tomorrow?
Beale (10:30pm) Around 9:45…should be a fun day for both of us unpacking and getting settled in :/
Beca (10:31pm) Yeah…if that's what you consider fun ;P
Beale (10:32pm) I could think of other things that I'd consider fun…but you aren't here to partake with me ;) :(
Beca (10:35pm) Ugh, I'd much rather spend the day doing that than what will happen tomorrow
Beale (10:36pm) Meeee tooooo
Beale (10:36pm) Well, my eyes are getting heavy, so I think I'm going to try to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow…g'night Mitchell
Beca (10:39pm) G'night Beale…dream of me ;)
Sunday September 4th
Beale (7:47pm) Hey you…just checking to see how today went…
Beca (11:16pm) OMG today was so fucking horrendous…I'm sorry I haven't texted earlier. EVERYTHING that could go wrong, did ….BUT I did put in an application at the radio station for an internship *crosses fingers*
Monday September 5th
Beca (6:57am) Good morning beautiful! I just wanted to let you know you were the first thing on my mind this morning…I hope your first day at school is a great one!
Beale (6:59am) Good morning to you too! Thanks! I'm sorry I didn't respond last night, I was asleep :( Why are you up so early? Don't classes start tomorrow?
Beca (7:00am) I figured you were…no worries…and I'm up so I could text you good morning :)
Beale (7:03am) Awww you are too sweet! But, you can go back to bed now, I'm about to head into the subway…text me later
Beca (7:04am) Sounds good! Have a great day!
Beale (7:04am) You too! :*
Beca stared at her phone and the kissy face emoji, oh how she wished she could kiss those lips one more time. She hoped the school year wouldn't go like it did yesterday. All she wanted to do last night was curl up in Chloe's arms and bitch about how horrible her roommate was and everything that went wrong. Flipping over she looked at the sleeping Asian across the room, rolled her eyes and groaned, she would much prefer the roommate she had this summer.
Beca (4:28pm) Hey you…how'd the first day go?
Beale (4:30pm) It went well…no kids yet, so that's a plus! I'm about to head home to change, a group of the teachers are going out later. Can I call you when I get home? Shouldn't be too late?
Beca (4:33pm) Yeah sure! I got the radio station internship, so I'll be here until later on.
*One missed call: Beale 10:48pm*
Wednesday September 7th
Chloe (6:17am) Good morning beautiful. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk yesterday! I woke up late and left my phone at home :( I hope your first day of classes went well. I thought about you all day.
Mitchell (8:01am) Good morning to you too beautiful. Classes were boring, I may pose an important philosophical question this semester…If I don't actually go to that class, will it still suck? Literally wanted to scratch my eyeballs out by the time it was over.
Chloe (10:47am) Bwahaha oh my god Beca…you're too much! You need to go to class babe.
Mitchell (10:59am) You sound like my dad :(
Chloe (11:01am) Oh no you didn't! :(
Mitchell (11:02am) haha I'm kidding…well, kinda…he sorta said the same thing to me when he woke me up this morning…
Chloe (11:02am) ?
Mitchell (11:03am) I fell back asleep after I texted you and missed my 9:15 class…which wouldn't have been too bad…if…it wasn't for the fact it was HIS class :/
Chloe (11:05am) LOL of course you'd skip your own father's class! Haha
Mitchell (11:06am) NOT my fault…I can't help my alarm clock is in NYC now :(
Chloe (1:34pm) Aww babe…if it helps any, waking up is harder for me too. Your morning kisses and other activities made getting up this summer so much more enjoyable ;)
Mitchell (2:41pm) Haha yeah, 5:45am wake ups are definitely easier when sex is involved ;)
Chloe looked down at her phone and smiled. Just as she was about to type out a seductive response, a few teachers walked into her room wanting to discuss how to get students involved with the acapella chamber ensemble she was starting. Placing her phone into her bag she got to work with her co-workers.
It was 8:30pm by the time Chloe got home that evening. She didn't realize that there would be no real working hours with this job. Don't get her wrong, she loved what she was doing, but often times she was so busy that she never really thought about the time. She knew this would take a toll on her and Beca. Retrieving her phone from her school bag she saw she had 3 missed calls, one from Beca and two from Aubrey, and four texts. Dismissing her missed calls she went into her text thread and smiled when she saw all four were from a certain brunette.
Mitchell (3:18pm) Okay so I guess you got busy at work. Don't work too late!
Mitchell (5:39pm) Just tried calling…I wanted to let you know that I've got the late shift at the radio station, so I doubt I'll be able to talk tonight.
Mitchell (7:08pm) I'm seriously missing the shit out of you right now!
Mitchell (7:09pm) and that sexy body of yours…when are you coming home?
Chloe grinned at the last two texts, she could just about hear the whine in Beca's voice when she asked when she was coming home. Chloe pulled out her planner and found the paper she folded up with the school calendar, it looked like the only free time she would have wasn't until the long weekend around Halloween. She was grateful they had the Monday of the actual holiday off and a teacher's workday the following day, after she could totally make a long weekend trip back to Georgia.
Chloe (8:41pm) Hey you! Just got home :( Who knew starting up a new chamber ensemble would take so much work!
Mitchell (9:29pm) I bet it is a ton of work! I miss you
Chloe (9:31pm) I miss you too :( I looked at my schedule though…
Mitchell (9:33pm) aaaaannnnndddd?
Chloe (9:34pm) haha And I'll be able to come home the weekend of Halloween. We have off that Monday and a teacher's workday that Tuesday. So I can fly in Friday and leave Monday evening.
Mitchell (9:37pm) Hot damn! You just made my night! Granted, I don't like the idea of having to wait over a month to see you :(
Chloe (9:39pm) I know babe…me too…but at least we'll have almost 3 full days together when I'm home!
Mitchell (9:42pm) And you better believe I won't let you out of bed that whole time ;)
Chloe (9:43pm) I like the sound of that ;) How's the radio station?
Mitchell (10:37pm) Sorry about that…Luke needed to leave so I had to jump in the booth for a little while. It's good. I'm mainly stacking CDs, but every once in a while Luke lets me into the booth.
The next month went on about the same as the first week of the pair being separated. They would text as often as possible, Facetime at least once a week, and there were the sporadic phone calls mixed in there occasionally. Those usually took place late at night when one of them would be horny and things would go from PG to R within the first few minutes of their conversation. It was just how things were for them now. Both didn't really like it, but it was what they had to work with. So, they tried the best they could.
Eventually, as the season changed and the temperatures began to drop, things slowed down. Chloe noticed it first as the texts she sent and even received became less and less. Their Facetime calls went from once a week to maybe once every two weeks, if they were lucky, and the late night phone calls became almost non-existent. She was so wrapped up in everything at work, that she barely had time to do much else besides eat and sleep. She was living and breathing this job and getting this new program off the ground. She didn't realize how consuming it was going to be on her life, especially when it came to Beca.
As Chloe sat on the subway headed to work she knew that she only had to make it through this week and the tiny brunette would be back in her arms. She was thrilled at this thought, but there was also this little inkling in the back of her mind that bothered her. She tried not to think about it, but when things were still and quiet, the thoughts crept in. How is this fair to them? They seemed to be barely hanging on to whatever relationship they had going on. Chloe felt like she couldn't give her all to Beca and that just didn't seem right for either of them.
Little did Chloe know that Beca was sitting in the quad contemplating the same thing. She had promised her dad that she would take this school year seriously, she had to actually attend class and made decent grades. On top of showing up and studying, she had the radio station that took up most of her free time. Because she was friends with Luke his "no freshmen in the booth" rule was broken quickly and she beginning to gain more and more time on air. She figured she was getting a head start on paying her dues while at Barden and took every opportunity to do so. It was getting harder and harder for her to give the time and attention she felt that Chloe deserved. Looking at her computer screen she realized Chloe would be here in a few days. They needed to sit down and talk about how things were going and where they saw their relationship headed in the future.
Friday October 28th
Beale (2:17pm) Hey stranger! I'm leaving work now and heading to JFK. Any chance you could pick me up at the airport around 5ish?
Beca (2:26pm) I wouldn't have it any other way! Be safe getting here! I can't wait to get my arms around you!
Beale (2:27pm) Mmmm join the club! See you soon!
Beca pulled up and parked at the airport, instead of waiting for Chloe to text that she was ready to be picked up, the tiny brunette went inside to wait. As she watched the TV screens indicating which flights were arriving and departing she realized that she couldn't stand still. She wasn't pacing, but she was fidgeting. Why was she nervous? It isn't like she's meeting Chloe for the first time. I mean, she's slept with the beautiful redhead, why is it now that she can't seem to gain control over her limbs?
Beca was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see the wave of people walking past her and she didn't see the curls of red hair come up beside her. It was only the brush of her hair and the light kiss on the back of her neck that brought her back to reality.
"Damnit," Beca screeched turning towards the laughing redhead, "I swear woman, you will kill me one day if you keep sneaking up on me like that."
Chloe laughed, "I'm sorry, but you were so adorable staring off into space. I couldn't help myself." She reached around the brunette's neck and pulled her in to a bone crushing hug. Inhaling deeply, she sighed, "I've missed you." As she pulled back, she planted a sweet, chaste kiss onto Beca's lips.
"I've missed you too nerd." Beca said as she kissed Chloe again. "You ready to head to your place?" she inquired.
Chloe sighed, "Yeah, I probably should go see daddy. I haven't talked to him in about two weeks." She intertwined her fingers with Beca's as the smaller girl picked up the carryon bag.
"Ahh," Beca said playfully, "I see I'm not the only one you are avoiding now-a-days."
Chloe frowned at the words, "I'm not avoiding you," she pouted, "Work has just be so stupid busy. I barely have time to do anything but eat and sleep when I'm not there."
Beca's heart lurched, she was only kidding around, "I'm sorry Chlo, I was just messing with you. Trust me, I get it. Things at school have been non-stop since classes and my internship started."
The pair made their way to the ranch catching up on what was missed over the past few weeks and it was really nice to be in each other's company again. Both girls knew they needed to talk, but they both wanted to enjoy their time together before that.
Once they arrived to the ranch, Beca dropped Chloe off so that she could visit with her dad. They had made plans to go to the diner for dinner and Beca was going to come back to pick Chloe up around 7:30.
After dinner at the diner, Beca asked if Chloe wanted to go home or if she wanted to come to the dorms. Knowing the whole roommate situation, Chloe suggested that they head back to the ranch. When Beca pulled the Jeep into its normal parking spot, she jumped out and opened the door for Chloe and turned to go towards the main house.
Chloe pulled the younger girl to a stop, "I thought we could maybe head up to the loft?" She said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Oh, yeah, uhh, sure," the younger girl stuttered, taken off guard.
They made their way up to the loft and Beca was surprised to see the dust cover pulled off of the couch and that the bed made.
Chloe noticed the confused look and spoke up, "I figured since you said you weren't going to let me out of bed while I'm home, we might want to spend our time here." She winked and pulled the girl into a tight embrace.
That was all Beca needed, she pulled Chloe in for a kiss that she had waited for since they said their goodbyes last month. Once the need for oxygen became a necessity, Beca lead Chloe towards her old bed and the two wasted no time getting each other undressed and showing each other just how much they were missed.
"Ugh," Beca moaned as she rolled over and snuggled further into Chloe's neck. "Do you really have to go back today?" she whined.
Chloe giggled as she drew lazy patterns over Beca's back, "I'm afraid so."
Beca sighed as she gripped, Chloe's midsection tighter "I hate distance," she said with a pout.
"I know you do." Chloe said sympathetically, "Trust me, I do too." She kissed the top of Beca's head.
Beca rolled slightly away so that she could see the older girl's eyes and took a deep breath.
"I've been thinking," Beca breathed out.
Chloe shifted and rolled to her side so she could face Beca, "Yeah?"
"Yeah. And I think this conversation needed to be said a while back, but it isn't something I want and I didn't really want to do it over text, Facetime or the phone." Beca shifted some more so that she could take Chloe's hands.
"I think I know what you are going to say," Chloe replied trying to ease the brunette's mind, "and I think you are right."
Beca blinked at Chloe, not sure what to say.
So Chloe continued, "You're right, it needs to be done face to face and not any other way. I, especially, need to see your face and you need to see mine so that you know how much it kills me to say…to say what we might both be thinking."
Beca leaned in to kiss Chloe. "You know that you mean so much to me, right?" she said earnestly.
Chloe nodded her head, "And you mean just as much to me. But, Beca," she sat up and faced the tiny brunette, who mimicked her actions. "I think we both know that right now our lives are moving in opposite directions." She paused and Beca nodded. "I think we're so consumed in getting our careers off of the ground, that right now…" She took in a deep, shaky breath, "right now…" she trailed off and her eyes suddenly found the comforter between them fascinating.
"Right now isn't the right time." Beca finished for her motioning between them, "Not the right time for us." She said, barely above a whisper, playing with their fingers. She looked up and locked onto Chloe's eyes that were already glossing over.
"Yeah," Chloe said in a whisper, voice hitching as the lump in her throat grew. "We both knew it was going to be hard, but I never imagined it would be this hard," she got out as a single tear fell from her eyes.
Beca wiped the tear away with the pad of her thumb, "Me either. But Chlo, I still regret nothing." She cupped the redhead's face, "I just think that we can't give each other the time that's needed to make a relationship work. You said it yourself, we are moving in opposite directions trying to get our careers off the ground."
Chloe nodded and leaned into Beca's hand and closed her eyes, "You don't hate me do you?"
Beca released Chloe's hand and placed it on the other side of her face, "Chlo, this isn't a failed relationship because we didn't try. It isn't some heated breakup because the other cheated. It's us deciding that right now isn't our time. Our timing is off. Who knows what the future holds for us, but like I've told you before," she spoke passionately; "I could never hate you." She leaned in and gave Chloe another tender kiss.
Chloe grabbed on to Beca's shirt and pulled her in closer. She didn't want things to end, but she knew that for both of them, things needed to change so that they wouldn't eventually grow to resent the other for not making time.
When Chloe pulled away she stared into those stormy blue eyes, "You're still one of the best things that has ever happened to me, Beca Mitchell."
"As you are to me, Chloe Beale." Beca smiled as she ran her thumb over Chloe's cheek. "I still want us to keep in contact as much as possible, if you think you're up for that?" She inquired.
"Yeah," Chloe nodded, "I'd like that."
Beca kissed Chloe again, "What time does your flight leave?"
"5:45, I think," Chloe said as she turned to look at the clock.
Beca's gaze followed the redheads, and realized that it was almost noon, "Looks like we have some time to kill," she wiggled her eyebrows at Chloe causing the older woman to laugh.
"That we do, Mitchell, now, come here," Chloe said as she pulled the smaller woman to her.
Just as their tongues started performing a synchronized dance, Beca's phone went off. She chose to ignore it because there was nothing more important than what she and Chloe were doing right now. Deepening the kiss she began to lay Chloe back down onto the mattress, when her phone went off again. She groaned and reached over, without breaking the kiss, to silence the phone and kept her full attention on the woman under her.
After the third time the ringer went off, Chloe pulled away from Beca, "You probably should get that," she said as she wiped under the brunette's lip.
"No," Beca said adamantly, "they can wait." She added before reconnecting their lips.
When the phone went off for the fourth time, Chloe broke the kiss again and grabbed Beca's phone. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was the radio station calling. She handed the phone over to Beca after she had already accepted the call.
Beca groaned and flopped over to the other side of the bed as she put the phone to her ear. "Yeah." she bit annoyingly into the phone. There was a few beats of silence, then Beca shot up, "Are you kidding me right now?" she said as she turned to face Chloe. "Okay, like right now, right now, or like in a few hours right now?" She threw her head back and looked up to the ceiling and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, okay…yes I'm busy, but…" she stole a glance at Chloe, whose eyes were furrowed in confusion. Taking in a sharp breath she quickly let it out, "Okay fine, give me 45 minutes, I'm just outside of town."
"What's going on?" Chloe inquired as Beca's shoulders slumped after ending the call.
Beca took another deep breath, "I have to go to the station, unfortunately," she rushed out.
"Really?" Chloe said with more than a hint of disappointment.
"Yeah, apparently some guy is in town and heard my show on Friday and liked some of the mixes I played. Luke said he spoke with his bosses and they wanted him to talk to me." Beca said as a smile slipped across her face.
"Oh my god BECA!" Chloe screamed. "That's fantastic!" She leapt forward into the younger girl's arms.
Beca laughed and hugged Chloe back. "But I have to leave, like, now," she said with a frown.
Chloe kissed the brunette eagerly, "Then I guess you need to get your cute butt up and get dressed."
Beca groaned, "But I liked where we were headed." She threw her head onto Chloe's shoulder.
Chloe blushed, "I know, I would've liked to have finished it too. Maybe if you're done before daddy takes me to the airport, we can pick up where we left off?" Her fingers lightly traced down the valley between Beca's breasts.
"You better believe it Beale." Beca exclaimed as she lifted her head and leaned in for a quick kiss. She then moved off the bed and began gathering up her clothes. "I need to go back to the dorms to change. Will you walk me down?" Beca asked as she was buttoning up her jeans.
"Sure," Chloe said as she slid off the bed to gather her clothes.
The pair finished getting dressed in silence and once they were descending down the stairs, Chloe grabbed Beca's hand and pulled her to a stop. "I'm so proud of you Beca! This could really be the break you need to get your foot in the door in LA."
Beca came back up a step and placed her hands on Chloe's hips and gave her a quick kiss, "I hope you're right Chlo." She playfully swatted Chloe's ass and proceeded to make her way down the stairs.
As they came to Beca's Jeep, Chloe opened the driver's side door and once Beca was in and buckled up, Chloe leaned in and gave her a passionate yet quick kiss.
"Go knock them dead Mitchell!" Chloe smiled as she closed the door to the Jeep and Beca started the engine.
"I'll text you when I'm done and see where you are, okay?" Beca said as she finished rolling her window down.
"You better," Chloe said with a wink.
Beca smiled and put the car into reverse. As she maneuvered the Jeep around, she backed up to where Chloe was standing.
"I miss you already," Beca said as she leaned out the window for another kiss.
Chloe smiled, "I miss you too..."
Chloe tapped on the window ledge as Beca slowly inched away. She stood and waved as she watched Beca drive down the long drive. She knew that this was probably going to be the last time she saw Beca Mitchell. Even though she is over the moon happy that she met the younger girl, she can't help but wonder if things would be different if they had met at a different time in their lives.
As Beca's break lights faded, she wished the younger girl well, and turned to head towards her house.