AN: Soooo, A couple of things. 1) You guys are truly awesome. I got a lot of love today for this story so far and I truly appreciate each and every comment. 2) It was a nasty rainy day here so I got time to sit and write ... like allll day. Which means, I'm a head of schedule. Those two things combined resulted in **drumroll** Double post Sunday! **Insert screams and applause** Just kidding... but really, thanks for the notes and here's chapter 4.
CHAPTER 4: BUT I HAD A GREAT NIGHT 'CAUSE YOU KEPT RUBBING AGAINST MY ARM
Night Two
"Knock, knock" CR said as she entered Chloe's room. "Dinner will be ready in like 5 woah" CR stopped in her tracks.
"Is it too much" Chloe turned and asked. "It is. I'll change." She said quickly without giving CR a chance to answer.
"No Chlo wait." CR smiled. Chloe was nervous, she could see it written all over the redhead's face and she thought she knew why. Rumors of Chloe's crush on the chef passed quickly between the girls throughout the afternoon. Chloe denied it every chance she got but seeing her standing in her large room in front of a tall mirror in a sleeveless white mini dress with a croqueted neck line that stopped mid-thigh, she knew for sure that Chloe was crushing on the small brunette. "You look beautiful" CR smiled. The sun Chloe had gotten today only enhanced the white dress that blew slightly in the breeze that circulated through the room.
"Then what? Why are you looking at me like that?" Chloe asked nervously as she looked back at herself in the mirror.
"It's just that the rest of us are still in our swim suits or jeans. I think Stacie said she was going to put on her eating pants, but you should stay in that. You look great." CR said with a smile. "I just came to tell you dinner would be ready in a few minutes."
"Are you sure I shouldn't change?" Chloe asked nervously.
"I'm positive." CR replied as she started backing out of the room. "I'll see you in a few minutes okay?"
"Yeah." Chloe said with a slight smile. "Okay."
Once out of the room CR ran quickly down the steps and pulled Stacie and Jessica with her along the way.
"What the fuck?" Stacie asked trying to pull her arm away.
"Where's Bree?" CR asked breathless.
"In her room." Jessica supplied.
"We need to change." CR said quietly.
"Why?" Stacie asked.
"Chloe is dressed up and she'll feel even more nervous than she already is if we are dressed like this." CR explained.
"Dressed up? Why?" Stacie asked quickly but suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks, "oh!" her eyebrows shot upward. "I knew it" She shouted in a whisper. "She's totally crushing on that grumpy little chef."
"Wait … what about Luke?" Jessica asked in a hushed tone. She cringed just saying the man's name. She'd been in the house numerous times and heard the shouting matches between him and her best friend. She'd heard the names he called Chloe. "He'll flip if he finds out."
"What Luke doesn't know won't hurt him." Stacie said quickly. "She deserves this. She needs to get her groove back and if flirting with that girl brings Chloe back and gets her head out of her ass so she finally drops that ass hat like she should have years ago, then fine." Stacie huffed. "I'll tell Bree. You guys gets changed and back here ASAP."
Chloe parted her hair to the side and swept it up in a loose bun. She pulled some hair out on the side, tucking a few strands behind her ear before taking a deep breath and deciding she was ready.
"I'm plating in 3 minutes Flo" Beca called from the kitchen.
"Okay ladies." Flo clapped. The other two girls she had from her staff followed her quickly to the kitchen. "The table is perfect. Ohhhh" Flo moaned as Beca whipped the edge of a plate with a towel. "This looks so good."
"Thanks" Beca smiled. "I'll pack some up for you guys." She winked.
"You're literally the best person in the world." Flo said with a smile as she carefully picked up two plates to bring to the dining room.
"I've got the wine" Benji said as he moved quickly around the servers to grab a cork screw.
Chloe sat at the table wondering where everyone was. Her thoughts were interrupted and she sat up a little straighter when Stacie, Aubrey, Jessica and CR all filed in one after the other. Each dressed nicely. Stacie in a green jumper pant suit that somehow made her legs look longer than they already were. Aubrey in a short spaghetti strap black dress. Jessica in a blue floral print dress that accented her eyes with a white sweater draped over her shoulders and CR in sheer black top and black leather jacket over black skinny jeans. "Wow ladies" Chloe greeted.
CR winked at her as she sat next to the redhead at the table.
"Just in time ladies" Benji said as he popped the cork on the wine bottle. "You all look lovely" He smiled as he made his way around the table filling their glasses.
"Dinner is served" Flo said as she entered the room with plates in her hand followed closely by her two employees. "First our chef has prepared for you calabacitas en crema mini sopas." Flo said as she placed a small plate in front of two of the women as the other guests were served at the same time. "Calabacitas is a zucchini squash, poblano chilies and sweet corn in a cream sauce. Our chef as served them to you on mini sopas. Enjoy" Flo said with a smile as she and the other servers backed out of the room with Benji.
"That is so good." Stacie was the first one to speak after placing the sopa in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back as she tasted all the flavors.
"Appetizer served." Benji informed as Beca continued working on the main dish for the night. "And I only hear good noises coming from the dining room."
"Thanks Benji" Beca said with a smile as she worked.
"So ladies" Aubrey said with a smile as she raised her wine glass. "A toast to the best group of friends any girl could ask for." She raised her glass slightly and reached into the middle of the table. The sounds of glasses clinking together were heard as the girls smiled at each other.
"Too many more drinks to come" CR added. "Tonight."
The other girls giggled and sipped their wine as they dove right into talking about everything that came to mind. Chloe's upcoming appearance schedule. What Jessica knew were going to be the upcoming fashion trends and what she thought would suit the others at the table. Their upcoming plans for the next several days and shopping they wanted to do while in Cabo.
"Ready for the next course ladies?" Benji asked as he cleared his throat to break up their conversations.
As Flo and the other's entered the room he read from the card that Beca had written for him. "Tonight's entrée is blackened grilled tilapia served over a bead of quinoa topped with a creamy chipotle avocado crema."
"This looks amazing" Chloe said as she eyed the perfect plate in front of her. She'd been to a lot of fancy restaurants around the world and this presentation was just as good as any she'd ever been in. If it tasted as good as it looked she would have many questions for Beca. Like why was she in Cabo and not in a fancy 5 star restaurant in Paris or New York. She gently cut the fish that seemed to crumble perfectly when it was cut. The flavor erupted in her mouth. It was perfectly cooked. The chipotle spice and creaminess of the avocado only enhanced the fish.
"It's so good." Jessica said with a smile.
"I'll pass it along to the chef." Benji said as he topped off their wine glasses.
Stacie got an idea. "Could you ask her to come out here? I'd like to give her my compliments personally."
"Of course." Benji smiled and quickly left the room.
"You're being summoned to the dining room." Benji said as Beca stood leaning against the counter holding a plate of tilapia in front of her.
"Why?" She asked as she swallowed the fish.
"They want to tell you how great it is." Benji said with a smile. "Good job Beca."
Beca rolled her eyes and handed her plate over to Benji would gladly accepted it. "Thanks" He said picking up a fork and digging in.
Beca's breath hitched as soon as she saw Chloe sitting at the table. She cleared her throat as she continued into the room standing with her hands in front of her clasped together tightly. "Would you like to have dessert tonight ladies?" Beca asked.
The women at the table looked around at each other shaking their heads. "No I don't think so" Stacie answered for the group.
"Did everything taste okay?" Beca asked nervously. Benji said they wanted to compliment her but she didn't have many guests that turned down dessert if they were satisfied with the meal. Her eyes nervously glanced to Chloe who wore a cute smile.
"It was amazing." Aubrey supplied. "Truly one of the best I've ever had."
"Thank you" Beca said with a slight head nod.
"I agree. It was so good." CR said as she sat back at the table bringing her wine glass with her. "You can cook for my any time."
Beca smiled. "Thank you ladies." She felt awkward standing there while they complimented her. "Enjoy your night." She said as she backed out of the room taking one last look at Chloe for the evening. Once she returned back to the kitchen she took her apron off and laid it on the counter. "This for Flo and the girls" Beca said as she held up a bag that Benji assumed contained so to-go containers. "I left you some in the fridge and I'm gonna take this back to the house." She explained as she grabbed her own bag to bring back to Jesse as she promised. "See you back at the guest house."
"Thanks Becs." Benji said as she watched Beca exit the kitchen and walk through the living area to the pool and back around so she wouldn't have to pass the dining room again.
XxXxXx
Chloe pulled the lime wedge from her mouth and her face puckered immediately. "I can't" she choked. "I can't do any more." She said as she put the shot glass down on the poolside table.
"Boo" Stacie yelled towards her. "You're a lightweight."
Chloe playfully shot her friend the middle finger.
"So. Dinner was amazing." Stacie decided Chloe was buzzed enough to admit her feeling towards Beca. "The table was dressed gorgeously. My ladies were looking superhot. And the chef was pretty easy on the eyes too." She slipped in.
Aubrey giggled into her wine glass as her eyes quickly found Chloe who was blushing. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the fire coming from the nearby fire pit but it was probably at the thought of Beca.
"So. You gonna hit that Chlo?" CR said loudly. She was drunk.
"What? No" Chloe replied quickly. "I'm not going to … hit that." She repeated trying to sound angry but couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Looks like you want to hit that." Jessica chimed in.
"Oh my God" Chloe said as she cover her face in her hands.
"What happens in Cabo stays in Cabo" Stacie grinned. "I mean am I right?"
Chloe shook her head in her hands unable to look at her friends.
"What's that?" CR asked suddenly changing the subject. She pointed down the beach to an area that should be pitch black but now a small light could be seen off in the distance.
"I don't know" Aubrey said turning in her chair to get a good look. She squinted her eyes but it didn't help.
"Hey Benji" Stacie called out.
A few seconds later the man appeared. "Yes ma'am. What can I do for you?"
"I thought this beach was private." Stacie said looking at him with wide eyes.
"It is." He nodded.
"Then what's that?" CR asked as she pointed in the direction again.
Benji followed her hand. "Oh. That's probably just Beca." He said looking at the familiar light.
5 head snapped back towards him swiftly waiting for more explanation. "Sometimes she goes out to the beach at night after she's done. She and Jesse dug a fire pit down there."
"Is Jesse down there too?" Stacie asked. She thought he was cute and she wouldn't be opposed to getting laid while on vacation.
"No. He's driving Flo and the other girls home." Benji said with a smile.
Chloe looked back in the direction of the small flame as her friends began chatting again.
XxXxXx
Beca poked the flames with a stick she'd found on her walk down from the guest house. After dinner service was complete she'd gone back to the guest house and showered off her long day. She threw on an old pair of loose jeans and a flannel shirt over a t-shirt. She grabbed the six pack of beer from the fridge and invited Jesse to join her down on the beach but just as they were walking out he got a call from Flo that they were ready to go home. So here she sat sipping Corona, watching the flames of the fire dance, listening to the sound of the water flowing up on the shore, and thinking about the redhead a few hundred yards away. After a couple of beers she leaned back and rested her head on her trusty warm pillow. She'd slept on the beach before so she let her eyes drift close. She wasn't sure if she'd actually been asleep but when her head jerked up quickly and then fell back to the sand with a thud she knew someone was coming.
"Hi there" Chloe said as she stopped walking seeing the dog approached her. "What's your name?" The dog sniffed her hand quickly and sat down in front of her as she petted its head. She could see that the dog was mostly white but had a large black patch over one of his eyes and one black ear. She heard a whistle and the dog got up quickly and ran back in the direction of the fire.
"Tuck!" Beca called out. She could hear his collar clanking against his metal tag as he ran back towards her. "What the hell dude?" She asked as he came back to her. She looked in the direction he came from and could make out a shadow coming their way. Beca blinked quickly. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe she'd drank all the beer and passed out on the beach and this was a dream. Chloe wasn't really walking towards her in that fucking white dress.
"He's a sweetie. Did you call him Tuck?" Chlo asked as she approached the two.
The dogs head turned back toward her after hearing his name called.
"Mind if I join you?" Chloe asked as she stopped a couple of feet away from them.
"Yeah, of course." Beca said as she snapped her fingers at the dog who quickly circled around the fire pit and returned to laying in his original place right behind her. "Where's your friends?" Beca asked looking to see if they were following her.
"At the house. I wanted to take a walk and saw your fire." Chloe said as she pulled her dress underneath her butt and sat on the sand crossing her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands.
"You shouldn't be walking the beach by yourself." Beca scolded.
"Why not?" Chloe turned her head and asked. "It's a private beach right. Only us?"
"Yeah but you never know." Beca replied. "Want a beer?" She asked looking over to the six pack that still sat in the sand.
"Sure." Chloe said with a smile. She watched as Beca bent forward and pulled out two bottle and fumbled in the card board sleeve for something. A few seconds later she pulled out a bottle opener and handed one over to the redhead who sat watching her with a smile. "Dinner was really good Becs." Chloe said just before taking a sip.
"Thanks" Beca hoped the fire hid her blush. "I'm glad you liked it."
"You said earlier that you went to culinary school. Where did you go?" Chloe asked hoping to learn as much about the girl as she possibly could.
"Le Cordon Bleu." Beca answered simply.
"Where is that?"
"Paris." Beca said as she put the bottle to her lips.
"Oh. Wow." Chloe replied surprised. "That's impressive."
Beca shrugged.
There was silence between them for a few minutes before Beca spoke again. "I'm sure you've eaten in some pretty nice restaurants all over the world being the famous actress that you are."
Chloe's head turned towards her quickly.
"Jesse told me" Beca smiled. "Sorry I didn't recognize you. I don't really watch movies."
"You don't watch movies?" Chloe asked.
"No. Don't really like them. Music is more my thing." Beca replied.
Chloe felt a cold shiver run through her body. When Beca said the word music she instantly thought of Luke for the first time since earlier that day. "How" She stumbled over her words, "how did you get into that? Music I mean."
"I've always been into music." Beca teased. "But my parents didn't really support that as a profession. They wanted me to go into the family business."
"Their chefs too?" Chloe asked.
"No. My dad was a successful business man. He bought into and owned several restaurants but I just didn't want to do that. So I talked them into sending me to culinary school. I'd always liked cooking and since my family was involved in so many restaurants it was a compromise." Beca answered.
"So where are they now?" Chloe asked hanging on Beca's every word.
Beca took a long pull from her beer. She didn't normally talk about her parents but she found Chloe especially easy to talk to. "They died 6 years ago. Their plane went down off the coast of Africa."
Chloe's eyes widened. "Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't" She started but Beca cut her off.
"Of course you didn't know." Beca said for her. She knew they would be the next words out of the redhead's mouth. "It's fine."
Silence washed over them again as they looked out at the ocean, occasionally stealing glances at each other.
"What are you doing out here?" Chloe whispered. The air felt heavy between them and she didn't know why.
Beca shrugged as she placed her empty bottle in the cardboard holder and pulled out another bottle going through the same process of searching for the bottle cap opener. "It's a good way to relax." Beca smiled as she looked over at the redhead. The light from the fire illuminating half of her face. Her wavy hair softly blowing in the ocean breeze. "It can be stressful cooking for our guests. Guests who have such high standards." She teased. "So sitting on this beach with this guy" she reached back and gave Tuck's head a rub, "helps me relax after work."
"I didn't mean to interrupt you." Chloe apologized quickly.
"No. That's not what I meant." Beca said just as quickly. "I'm glad you're here. I like talking to you."
"I like talking to you too. I wanted to back at the house but you disappeared so quickly." Chloe said as she took the opportunity to push herself to her knees and reach across Beca placing her empty bottle in the holder and pulling out the last beer. "Do you mind?" She asked flipping her hair and looking back at Beca over her shoulder.
Beca shook her head slowly as she watched Chloe move. She watched the actress find the bottle opener and pop the top off the bottle before slowly moving back.
Chloe purposely sat a little closer to the brunette when she returned with a fresh bottle of beer. "Why'd you run off so quickly?" Chloe asked.
Four beers in a Beca felt confident and courageous. "When I came into the dining room and saw you." She paused to look over at Chloe who was looking anxiously back at her. "You literally took my breath away." Beca breathed not much louder than a whisper. She swallowed and collected her thoughts again, "You look so beautiful."
"Thanks" Chloe replied softly.
"And it's kind of weird just standing there while everyone tells you how good dinner was. Other chefs love to hear that kind of stuff but I just feel so awkward. I never know what to say." Beca admitted. "And you in that dress with those eyes and your stupid perfect smile." Beca blushed at her own words. "I just needed to get out of there. Needed to catch my breath." She admitted.
Chloe leaned forward towards Beca she used the hand that wasn't holding her beer to reach around and grab the back of Beca's neck pulling the chef towards her. Her lips landing solidly on Beca's who she could feel was caught off guard by the action but slowly caught on and kissed her back. Chloe pulled away with hooded eyes.
"Um" Beca mumbled.
Beca's voice snapped her out of her trance. "I've got to get back" Chloe said softly trying to cover the treble in her voice. She knew she was in trouble. She shouldn't have done that but when Beca said she was beautiful and that she'd taken her breath away, all Chloe could think about was kissing her. And so she did. She didn't regret it but she knew she wasn't free to be kissing other people. "I've been gone a while and I don't want my friends to worry. And it's getting a bit cold out here." She said hoping to cover her tracks. She stood up and brushed the sand from her dress.
"Yeah okay. Do you want me to walk you back?" Beca asked standing quickly. She didn't hesitate taking her flannel shirt off and wrapping around Chloe's shoulders.
"No." Chloe smiled at Beca's actions. "I'll be fine."
"At least take Tuck with you." Beca said quickly. "Then just tell him to go home once your back."
"Really?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah. It would make me feel better about you walking along the beach at night. Even if it is private." Beca answered.
"What about you?" Chloe asked.
"I'm gonna put this out and then head up to the guest house." Beca answered quickly.
"Okay." Chloe smiled. "Thanks again."
"Chloe I" Beca started but stopped when Chloe leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
"Good night Becs." She whispered as she pulled away.
Chloe turned and took a few steps away before Beca broke out of her trance. She snapped her fingers and turned towards the white dog. "Tuck. Go" She said pointing at Chloe. The dog was on his feet in seconds and ran to catch up to the actress who dropped her hand to rub his head as they walked together along the beach.
Beca watched them until she couldn't see them anymore before turning back to the fire kicking sand over it to extinguish it.
AN2: As always fine people. Please tell me your thoughts. Love it or hate it. Keep going or trash it. I'm all ears.
TITLE SONG CRED: Amy Shark: Adore