I'm sorry I've been MIA. I had a family emergency that took me away from home for a while and I only had my phone, so I couldn't do too much.
For those who are complaining that something is "fishy" with Chloe's story about Chicago and that she is cheating on Beca, I apologize. As the writer, I should have been clearer in the explanation so that cheating was ruled out as the reason behind the marriage troubles. My bad.
Tuesday was an unproductive day for Beca. She spent most of the day sitting in her office thinking about New Orleans and what it would mean for her. It was a really great opportunity but she couldn't wrap her head around having to move. Moving to L.A. and becoming a music producer had been her dream since she was fourteen years old. She also dreamed of being married with a couple of kids. Although, in that particular dream she was definitely not married to a Chloe. But, that was a dream she didn't even know she had until she heard the words I Love You, Beca come out of Chloe's mouth. Now she's living in L.A. as a music producer, married to one of the hottest people she knows and has a couple of kids. She's fulfilling her dreams.
"I'll make a pros and cons list," Beca thought to herself. She grabbed a notepad and a pen and made two columns on the paper. She spent the next several hours working on the list only to have one item under each column. "That didn't help at all," Beca thought.
That night was relatively quiet at home. Beca and Chloe were both lost in their own thoughts about moving to New Orleans. They went to bed, and neither one wanted to discuss the move, so they just snuggled together and went to sleep.
~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~
Chloe woke up early Wednesday morning to an empty bed. She ran her hands over the sheets where Beca would be lying and found them cold. She knew this meant that Beca had been up for a while. They had gone to bed without really talking about Beca's job offer or New Orleans. She knew Beca would be thinking about it and couldn't sleep. She got up and went looking for her wife. She found her in the kitchen asleep with her head on the counter using her arms as a pillow.
"Beca," Chloe softly said as she sat next to Beca and rubbed her hand up and down Beca's back. "Come on, babe. Why don't you come back to bed?"
Beca mumbled and picked her head up from the counter and looked over at Chloe. "Hey," she said, voice raspy from sleep.
"Hey, yourself," Chloe said. "What time did you come down here?"
"I don't know," Beca said and stretched. "I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to think."
"Were you thinking about New Orleans?," Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Beca said. "I don't know what to do. I mean it's a major step forward in my career, but I can't decide if it's right for me at this point."
"You always said you wanted to have your own studio someday," Chloe said.
"That's true," Beca said. "But this won't be my studio. I'll just be running it for Khaled."
"I've been thinking, too," Chloe said. "I, I have to be honest with you, Becs. I don't want to move to New Orleans. We have a good life already established here. I have a job here that I love. This house is the only home Dylan and Sophie have known. Our best friends are here. Sophie's best friends are." Chloe took a breath and let it out. "Maybe it's selfish of me; I don't know. I do love and support you, I really do. And, I know I said I would stand behind whatever decision you made, but that was when you were talking about jobs here in L.A. I'm sorry, but I don't want us to have to move to New Orleans."
Chloe had tears in her eyes when she finished.
"I know," Beca said. "I appreciate your honesty. I understand, and I agree with most of what you said. I'm not going to decide anything until I see what Sony and RCA offer. I have a feeling if I decline Khaled's offer of New Orleans, there won't be an offer to stay with his studio here in L.A."
"I'm so sorry, Beca," Chloe said and wrapped her arms around her. The tears fell harder. "I know I should be encouraging you to keep moving forward in your career and taking the New Orleans job. I also believe that you will be great at it. It's just. I'm worried about what it might do to us."
"Let's go to bed," Beca said. "I'm exhausted, and there's too much to think about. Plus, the kids will be up in a couple of hours."
Chloe didn't say anything. She wiped her eyes as she got up and walked out of the kitchen with Beca following behind. They got to their bedroom and laid on their bed. Beca pulled Chloe close to her and Chloe started crying as Beca held her.
"Please don't hate me," Chloe said through her tears. "I couldn't stand it if you hated me."
"God, Chloe," Beca said. "I could never hate you. I love living in L.A., too. I'll figure something out, and everything will be okay. I promise."
Beca held Chloe until her cries turned into sniffles and she finally fell asleep. Beca laid there in the dark her mind racing. The job in New Orleans is a great offer, but it wouldn't be worth much if she took it and Chloe was miserable. Beca finally fell asleep only to be awakened by her alarm what seemed like minutes later. Chloe stirred and hugged Beca to her.
"Good morning," Beca said, hugging Chloe tight.
"Good morning," Chloe said. "You get in the shower, and I'll make you breakfast before you go to work."
"Thanks, babe," Beca said. She leaned down and kissed Chloe. Chloe returned the kiss, and things were starting to heat up when they heard the patter of little feet coming towards their room. "Rain check?," Beca asked.
"Definitely," Chloe said with a sigh as they separated and got out of bed.
Chloe opened the door just as Sophie knocked. "Mommy!," Sophie squealed. "It's morning."
"I know," Chloe said. "Let's go make mama's breakfast while she's in the shower."
"Okay," Sophie said and grabbed Chloe's hand.
Mother and daughter went to the kitchen. Sophie climbed on a stool while Chloe got the bacon and eggs out of the refrigerator.
"Can I help break the eggs?," Sophie asked.
"Of course," Chloe said. "Let me get the bacon in the oven, and we'll make scrambled eggs."
"Cause that's the way mama likes them," Sophie added.
"Yep," Chloe said with a smile.
She put the bacon on the sheet pan and popped it into the oven. She grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and set it in front of Sophie. She grabbed some milk and a whisk and placed those on the counter.
"Ready, Soph?," Chloe asked looking down at the smaller redhead.
"Ready," Sophie said.
Chloe stood behind Sophie kneeling on the stool and helped her break three eggs into the bowl. She poured a little milk into the eggs and handed Sophie the whisk. Chloe held Sophie's hand while she broke the yolks and whipped the eggs.
"These look good," Chloe said and took the whisk to the sink. "Move your stool, and you can help me cook them."
"Okay," Sophie said and did as Chloe said.
Chloe grabbed a skillet and set it on the stove. She grabbed the bowl with the eggs. She then got a wooden spoon from the holder and handed it to Sophie. Chloe slowly dumped the eggs into the pan.
Beca came in while Sophie was stirring the eggs. She hugged Sophie from behind and kissed her on the cheek.
"Smells good in here," Beca said.
"We're making you breakfast," Sophie said. The oven timer went off. "Bacon's ready."
Sophie moved the stool out of the way so Chloe could get the bacon. "Hurry, mommy, I have to stir the eggs."
"Yes, ma'am," Chloe said with a laugh.
Chloe pulled the pan out of the oven and set it the counter. Sophie moved her stool back into position and returned to the eggs.
"The eggs are ready," Sophie said after a moment.
Chloe heard Dylan through the monitor and asked Beca to get the food plated while she got Dylan. Beca got the plates and started dishing up the food while Sophie moved the step stool out of the way. Beca had just finished pouring everyone's juice when Chloe came in with Dylan. She put him in his high chair and sat down to eat with her family.
Beca leaned over and kissed Dylan causing him to giggle. She helped him with his sippy cup and wiped his mouth.
"Mama, do you have to work on Saturday?," Sophie asked.
"Nope," Beca said, shaking her head.
"Can you go take us to the zoo?," Sophie asked as she took a bite of her bacon.
Chloe looked at Beca and saw her smile at Sophie.
"I think that sounds like a great idea," Beca said. "What do you say, mommy? Want to go with us to the zoo on Saturday?"
"I'd love to," Chloe said.
Sophie squealed and clapped, which caused Dylan to squeal and clap. Beca joined in squealing and clapping as well. Chloe sat back and watched her wife and kids being silly. Silly family times like this are what she missed the most. She thought of something as she sat watching Beca making faces at Dylan causing him to giggle.
"What are you doing for lunch today?," Chloe asked Beca.
"I don't know," Beca said. "I want to meet with Khaled to find out what's he doing about the artists Theo was working with. Plus, I want to get more details about the New Orleans job."
"What's that?," Sophie asked.
"New Orleans is a place," Beca said. "A place in Louisiana where mama's been offered a job."
"Oh," Sophie said and continued eating her breakfast.
"Would you like for us to come to the studio and have lunch with you?," Chloe suddenly asked Beca. "I can stop and pick something up on the way."
"I'd love that," Beca said with a smile. She checked her phone to make sure she didn't have anything scheduled to get in the way and saw the time. "I have to go. I'll let Dani know you guys are coming for lunch. Could you get something for her, too? She likes what I like so whatever you decide to get will be fine."
"Okay," Chloe said. "We'll see you about Noon."
Beca walks around the table kissing Dylan and Sophie before she gets to Chloe. Chloe puts her arm around Beca's waist as she leans down to kiss her.
"I love you," Chloe whispered looking Beca in the eye.
"I love you, too," Beca whispered. "And I plan to show you how much tonight."
"Can't wait," Chloe said, and Beca kissed her again.
"Bye, guys," Beca said to the kids. "Love you!"
"Love you, too, mama," Sophie called out as Beca was leaving.
Beca felt as if she was walking on air. This morning was the first time in months she's had breakfast with her family, and everyone was happy when she left. Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to do about New Orleans.
~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~
Beca walked up to Dani's desk smiling.
"Someone's in a good mood," Dani said.
"Yep," Beca said. "Chloe and I had quite the afternoon. We spent time talking, and things are better. Also, before I forget, Chloe and the kids are bringing us lunch so you won't have to order anything."
"Great," Dani said. "I love it when Sophie and Dylan are here."
"Can you come into my office for a few minutes?," Beca asked Dani as she looked through her messages.
"Want me to bring you some coffee?," Dani asked.
"Please," Beca said. "Thank you."
"I'll be right back," Dani said and left her desk.
Beca went into her office and sat down. She organized her messages from most important to least important as she fired up her laptop. Dani knocked once and entered the office carrying Beca's coffee in one hand and envelopes and her notepad in the other. She set the coffee on Beca's desk and held two large envelopes out to Beca.
"What are these?," Beca asked as she took them.
"The offers from Sony and RCA," Dani responded. "They were sitting on my desk when I came in."
"Oh, okay," Beca said. "I'll take a look at them later. But, first I need to fill you on some stuff that happened yesterday."
"If it's about Theo and Blaze," Dani said. "The office gossips beat you to it."
"Oh, well that's good, I guess," Beca said. "There's something else I need to tell you, though."
"What's up?," Dani asked.
"This is close-hold so keep it to yourself for now," Beca said.
"That goes without saying," Dani said.
"Khaled has been planning to open a satellite studio in New Orleans," Beca said. "He was going to have Theo run it, but now that Theo is out, I've been asked to step in."
"Wow," Dani said, eyes widening at the news. "That's, um, great, Beca. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks," Beca said. "But, I haven't made a decision yet. Chloe doesn't want to move to New Orleans. Running my own studio is a dream of mine but running Khaled's studio is a close second. I'm not sure what's going to happen because I need to consider what's best for my family. Once I see what RCA and Sony are offering, and I see the contract Khaled comes up with, I'll make a decision. I meant what I said about taking you with me to RCA or Sony if you're interested. I'll have to decide by the end of next week. I wanted you to know, so you had time to think about my offer."
"I talked to Jane last night," Dani said. "She said she was on board with whatever I wanted to do. She knows you'll make sure I'm taken care of."
"Good to know," Beca said. "I need to see Khaled at some point today. I want to see what my options are here if I decide to decline the New Orleans offer."
"I'll call Joan and see what we can schedule," Dani said and stood. "Oh, did you have anything else?"
"No," Beca said. "That's it. Thanks, Dani."
"I'll get back to you as soon as I've talked to Joan," Dani said.
Beca nodded and started returning phone calls. Dani came back about ten minutes later.
"Joan said Khaled flew out to New Orleans this morning," Dani told Beca. "He'll be back in the office on Friday, and we put you on his calendar at 9:30. Joan said he wanted to speak to you personally about some things."
"That's fine," Beca said. "Just gives me two days of anxiety to get through."
"Maybe you can use this time to convince Chloe to move to New Orleans," Dani said.
"I don't know if that's going to happen," Beca said. "She's upset about the idea. She's also been honest with me that she doesn't want to move. I appreciate her honesty, but it makes the decision even harder. If I take the job in New Orleans, I'm sure Chloe will accept it, but it may put a bigger strain on my marriage than there already is. If I don't take it, Chloe will be happy, but I don't know it will mean for me here."
"I'm sure you two will work something out," Dani said. "If you don't need anything else, I'll be at my desk."
"No, I'm good," Beca said. "Thanks, Dani."
Dani left Beca's office and spent the next couple of hours responding to phone and email messages.
~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~
Chloe looks at the time and smiles. "Sophie, let's get ready to go have lunch with mama."
"Okay, mommy," Sophie said and went running up to her room.
Chloe picks up Dylan and takes him upstairs. She stops at Sophie's room and looks in on her.
"Can I wear my jeans and my Minnie Mouse shirt?," Sophie asked holding them up to show Chloe.
"Sure," Chloe said. "I'll put Dylan's Mickey Mouse shirt on him."
"Cool," Sophie said and started changing.
Chloe took Dylan into his room and changed him. She then took him to her room and set him on the floor with a toy so she could freshen up. Once they were all ready to go, Chloe packed up the diaper bag throwing in an extra shirt for Sophie, just in case. She got the two buckled into their seats and drove off.
"Where should we get lunch from, Soph?," Chloe asked. "Mama said we could choose."
"The diner?," Sophie suggested. "I like their chicken tenders."
"The diner it is," Chloe said and drove off in that direction.
The diner was busy, so it took a little longer to get their order. When it was finally ready, she sent Beca a text to let her know they would be at the studio in about twenty minutes.
~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~
"Chloe's on her way with lunch," Beca told Dani. "She should be here in a few minutes."
"I can't wait to see Dylan and Sophie," Dani said. "You guys have the cutest kids."
"That's all Chloe," Beca said. "We used a donor with my hair and eye color so they would resemble me somewhat. But, they both came out with the red hair and blue eyes just like Chloe."
"I was surprised at how well Dylan was walking at his party," Dani said. "He fell on his butt a few times but all in all he did well."
Beca grimaced slightly knowing that she missed Dylan's party and him walking around.
"I know," Beca said. "He's gaining more confidence. You should have seen the way he came walking into the family room like he owned it."
Dani laughed. She heard a voice squeal "mama" and looked at Beca. "I think they're here."
"What was your first clue?," Beca asked with a laugh.
Beca started down the hall to help Chloe carry the lunch bags. Sophie got to her first and barreled into her almost knocking her over. "Whoa, Soph," Beca said catching her. "That's not how we act at mama's work."
"I'm sorry, mama," Sophie said. "I was so happy to see you."
"I'll forgive you this time," Beca said as she grabbed Sophie up and flung her over her shoulder. "But, only because I'm happy to see you, too."
Sophie giggled as Beca waited for Chloe and took one of the bags she was carrying. She leaned in for a quick kiss, and they walked back to Beca's office. Sophie was holding onto the back of Beca's shirt, giggling as her torso hung down Beca's back. Beca opened the door and let Chloe enter with Dylan.
"Dani!," Sophie squealed as she raised her head to see the woman. "Are you having lunch with us?"
"Yes I am," Dani said as she followed Beca into her office. "Do you need some help getting down from your mama's shoulder?"
"Yes, please," Beca said.
Dani grabbed Sophie and lifted her off Beca's shoulder. She set her down, and Sophie hugged her. Dani hugged her back and smiled down at her. "Ready to eat?," Dani asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Sophie said and sat on the floor next to the table where Chloe and Beca were emptying the food.
"Hey, Dani," Chloe said and handed her a take-out container. "I got you the turkey club."
"Thanks," Dani said.
"Did you get my tenders?," Sophie asked sitting up on her knees to look at the food on the table.
"Right here," Beca said grabbing the container with the tenders and fries. She placed it in front of Sophie.
"Hey, Becs," Chloe said. "Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone."
"Um, sure," Beca said. "Dani? Would you mind keeping an eye on Sophie and Dylan for a few minutes?"
"I don't mind," Dani said. "Take your time."
Beca led Chloe to the small conference room next to her office. She held the door open for Chloe and turned to ask what was going on when she felt Chloe grab her and kiss her. They finally came up for air and stood staring at each other.
"Not that I'm complaining," Beca said. "But what was that for?"
"I just wanted to kiss you properly," Chloe said. "Give you a preview of what we've been missing."
"The coming attractions are nice," Beca said with a smirk. "But I'm ready for the main event."
Chloe smiled and gave Beca another quick kiss on the lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Beca said.
Beca and Chloe rejoined Dani and the kids, and the group sat around eating and laughing.
"DJ Khaled called while you were with Chloe," Dani said. "He said to call him back on his cell after Chloe and the kids leave. He said it wasn't urgent."
"Okay, thanks," Beca said.
"Do you want us to go?," Chloe asked.
"No," Beca said quickly. "Let's finish eating. He said it wasn't urgent so it can wait."
Dani loved having Beca for a boss. Beca and Chloe had become family to her and Jane. The kids always kept them all on their toes. She and Jane have been talking about having kids but never really got past the talking stage. Looking at Sophie hugging Dylan, made Dani really want to have a baby. Maybe she and Jane needed to do more than talk about it. She smiled as they continued chatting and eating.
About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on Beca's office door. Beca called out for whoever it was to come in. The door opened and Joan, Khaled's assistant, poked her head in.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Beca," Joan said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's fine," Beca said. "What's up?"
"Khaled asked me to hand-deliver these to you," Joan said, handing Beca an envelope. "He wants you to look them over before your meeting on Friday. He also said you don't have to call him back. He'll discuss everything with you on Friday."
"Thanks, Joan," Beca said as she took the envelope. "I'll make sure I look them over before Friday."
"Perfect," Joan said. "How have you been Chloe?"
"I'm good, thanks," Chloe said and smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you," Joan said and smiled at Sophie and Dylan. "I can't believe how big these two are getting. I need to get back. It was great to see you, Chloe; you too, Dani."
Joan left, and Chloe watched her. "Is she always so formal? I mean even in just a casual conversation she has this air of...formality about her."
"She's been that way as long as I've known her," Beca said.
~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~
The rest of the day passed by slowly for Beca. Since Khaled was gone, and she didn't have any artists to work with, she wandered around the studio checking in with some of the other producers. It was finally time to go home and she couldn't get out of there fast enough. She grabbed up the three offers and stuffed them in her bag and headed out the door. Dani was leaving just as Beca came out of her office.
"Oh, hey, you leaving?," Beca asked.
"Yeah," Dani said. "Unless you needed something."
"No, I'm heading home, too," Beca said.
They walked to the elevator together and parted ways when Dani got off on the main floor, and Beca continued down to the garage. Beca got home and walked into the house to hear Chloe singing in the kitchen. She quietly put her bag and keys down by the door and crept to the kitchen. She leaned against the door frame and watched as Chloe danced and sang in front of the stove. Sophie was coloring and hadn't noticed her yet. Dylan was clapping and giggling at his mommy.
"Sing with me, Dylan," Chloe said walking over to the toddler.
"Mama!," Sophie suddenly squealed and climbed from the stool to run over to Beca.
Beca grabbed her up and hugged her tight. "Hello, my love," Beca said kissing Sophie on the forehead.
"Hey, babe," Chloe said walking over and kissing Beca. "How was your afternoon."
"Long," Beca said. "I was never so glad to see 5:30 in my life."
Chloe went back to the stove, and Beca carried Sophie back to the counter and sat her down on the stool. She then picked up Dylan and danced around with him, picking up the song Chloe had been singing. Chloe sang along with her, and when they were done, Sophie and Dylan were both clapping and giggling.
"Dinner's just about ready," Chloe said. "Why don't you and the kids get washed up."
Beca carried Dylan and Sophie walked in front of them. Once they washed up, they want back to the kitchen to see that Chloe had set the counter for them to eat.
After dinner, Beca spent time with Sophie and Dylan playing hide-and-go-seek until it was time to put Dylan to bed. Chloe took care of him while Beca and Sophie got popcorn and drinks for their movie. Chloe came back down to find Beca putting in a DVD while Sophie sat on the couch with the popcorn bowl on her lap. Chloe sat next to her and grabbed some popcorn as Beca started the movie. Beca sat on the other side of Chloe, so Chloe was now between her and Sophie.
Beca smiled at her wife and daughter. Tonight was the first night in a long time that she spent with Chloe and Sophie where she wasn't on her phone responding to work emails or texts. The first time in a long time she remembers feeling relaxed while at home. She knows that in the past few months she acted as if she were listening to Chloe when Chloe tried to talk to her. She remembers most of the vital stuff that pertained to the kids. But, Chloe was right, everything else just went in one ear and out the other as she was more focused on what was happening in the studio than what was happening to her family.
Beca nuzzled Chloe's neck, and Chloe turned toward her. Beca captured Chloe's lips in a kiss and Chloe put her arm around Beca's neck and pulled her deeper into the kiss.
"I love you," Beca said after they finally parted, both breathing a little heavy.
"I love you, too," Chloe said and kissed Beca again.
"You're missing the best part," Sophie said seeing her moms kissing.
"Sorry, Soph," Beca said as she pulled away from Chloe. "Later?"
"I plan on cashing in that rain check you promised this morning," Chloe said with a wink and snuggled into Beca so they could finish watching the movie.
Sophie had fallen asleep just before the movie ended. Beca picked her up while Chloe cleaned up the popcorn and drinks.
"I'll be back to help you," Beca said and carried Sophie to her room and put her to bed. She came back downstairs just as Chloe was taking their empty cups into the kitchen. "Is that it?"
"Yeah," Chloe said as Beca followed her in. "I'm going to take care of the dishes and wipe down the counters. I shouldn't be more than twenty minutes."
"Okay," Beca said and left the kitchen. She was back a few minutes later carrying the three envelopes with the different offers she needed to review. She sat at the counter and opened the first one from Sony.
Beca scanned through the document looking for a few key things and looked at Chloe. "Looks like Sony is willing to match whatever Khaled offered concerning salary but made a note about leaving weekends and late nights open-ended."
"Doesn't sound promising," Chloe said as she was wiping down the sink.
"Nope," Beca said and opened the offer from RCA. She scanned through the offer like she did with Sony. "RCA is offering a twenty-five percent increase to my current salary, is agreeing to the no weekend clause, but leaves the longer weeknights open. Plus, they want me to put out an album of my own."
"They want to sign you as a singer?," Chloe asked, sitting next to Beca at the counter and reading over and leaning into Beca to read the offer.
"I've already done that and definitely know I don't want to do it again," Beca said. "It will mean going on tour and being away from you and the kids for months at a time. No thanks."
The two moms heard Dylan cry out over the monitor. Beca started to get up, and Chloe stopped her.
"You stay," Chloe said. "See what Khaled is offering. I'll see to Dylan."
"Thanks, babe," Beca said and kissed Chloe before she got up and left the kitchen.
"Well, Khaled," Beca said as she picked up the final envelope. "Let's see if New Orleans is the right choice."
She opens the envelope and pulls out two offers. She holds one in each hand and furrows her brow as she looks from one to the other. She puts one down and scans through the New Orleans offer. It was about what she expected. The no weekend and late night clause was in, and her salary was bumped up by fifty percent.
"You outdid Sony and RCA," Beca mumbled and then remembered the second offer from Khaled. She picked it up and scanned a few pages. Her eyes widened, and she went back to the first page to read the document line by line, making sure she understood everything she was reading. She was concentrating so hard that she jumped when Chloe spoke.
"What are you concentrating on so hard?," Chloe asked.
"Oh," Beca said. "Khaled gave me two offers and both are better than Sony and RCA. I guess he wants me to stay with the label." Beca said. "If I don't take the New Orleans job I'll still be with the label her in L.A. The New Orleans offer is really good. But I still need to talk to my lawyer about each of these before I decide anything though."
"Can I say something?," Chloe said as she sat next to Beca.
"Sure," Beca said feeling wary.
"I, um, did some more thinking today," Chloe said and held Beca's hand in hers. "And, first, I wanted to apologize for the past few months. I know I got upset because it felt like you didn't love me like you used to and it also felt like you checked out on us. But, I should have kept trying to get you to pay attention. I think I gave up because it was easier. I love you and I wasn't really showing it. I hope you can forgive me."
"I get it, Chlo," Beca said. "We both did things wrong this past year. I know I got so caught up in my work that I basically neglected you and the kids. I got good at faking paying attention. But, you are usually so good at reading me. I don't know how you didn't just call me on my shit every time."
"It was just easier because even when you were here, you weren't really here," Chloe said. "I mean, physically you were here, but mentally you were somewhere else. The first few months I had Dylan and Sophie and they took up a lot of my time so I also wasn't paying attention to what was happening between us. Then it was like six months later and I couldn't remember the last time you were home to have dinner with us. Or we had sex. Or you said I love you first."
Beca grimaced knowing what Chloe was saying was all true. She had kind of checked out on her family.
Chloe squeezed Beca's hand. "I didn't say it to make you feel bad. I mean, we both checked out because we were preoccupied with something else; you with the studio and me with Dylan and Sophie. We stopped talking about important stuff, and after a while, we just kind of stopped talking. I am just as much blame as you. I was so intent on making sure the kids were happy and taken care of I forgot to make sure you were happy and taken care of."
Beca pulled Chloe into a hug. "I'm glad Sophie told me about your special friend. It opened my eyes. And, I'm glad we're getting back to how we used to be. I just hope that wherever we end up, we can continue moving forward and forget about this past year."
"Agreed," Chloe said and pulled back to kiss Beca. "I also want you to know that I am behind whatever decision you make, whether it's RCA or Sony here in L.A., or staying with Khaled's label and moving to New Orleans."
Chloe looked nervously at Beca. Beca smiled. "What changed your mind?"
"I realized that I wanted to stay in L.A. for purely selfish reasons," Chloe said sheepishly. "Sophie will miss Bella, Maddie, and Ally, but she's outgoing and will make friends easily. Dylan's just a year old, and it won't really affect him as much. I'm a teacher and I'm confident I can find a teaching job there. If not, I guess I'll just have to let my sugar mama support me." Chloe gave Beca a small smile. "The job in New Orleans is perfect for you and you're perfect for it. So, wherever you go we go."
Beca laughed. "I love you," Beca said and pulled Chloe into a heated kiss. "Now, I seem to recall something about a rain check."
"I'm in," Chloe said as she jumped up and grabbed Beca's hand.
Beca let Chloe drag her upstairs. She stopped when they reached their bedroom door and pushed Chloe up against it. They had a heated make-out session before Chloe found the door handle and opened the door. They stumbled into the bedroom still kissing, and Beca used her foot to close the door before pushing Chloe back toward the bed.