A/N: Short chapter but it has a lot of stuff happening. On to chapter six!
We make it to the pool with a hot dog in one hand and our other hands tangled together by our sides. I see Jesse first because he waves at me and the other two by his side in the pool. Of course they would go swimming, Jesse is such a kid at heart. We walk over to where the group is and sit down with or feet in the water. I already finished my hot dog and Chloe was taking her last bite when I make a sexual joke about deep throating your food. She gives me a horrified looks shoves my arm. I start laughing hysterically as Jesse and the two girls swim over to us. Jesse reaches us first and looks at mine and Chloe's joined hands and smiles as he asks, "So I take it, all went well?" He gives me hopeful look and I nod my head with shy smile as he raises his fist in the air breakfast club style. "I knew it! Beca finally gets the girl and you guys will live happily ever after. You'll see." He gives us a goofy grin and nudges my leg with his elbow. "Actually Becs, it seems that we both have finally gotten the girl of our dreams." He turns his head and gives Aubrey who is blowing bubbles at Sarah a dreamy look. "She's amazing." I make a gagging sound and he tries pulling me in the water but Chloe catches me.
I glare at his smiling face and say, "Dude I will kill you if you get my clothes wet! I swear you are the most annoying human being." He frowns at me and I decide to add, "And you're my best friend so don't push your luck." He begins smiling at the added comment swims back over to Aubrey.
I can feel Chloe looking at me and I turn my head so I can look her in the eyes. She has a worried look on her face and she says, "I know I wanted you to meet Sarah but if I'm going too fast for you I understand and you can officially meet her some other day." She's biting her lip while waiting for my response. I suddenly get the urge to kiss those lips that she's biting and I glance over to Sarah who isn't paying attention at all. I lean in to Chloe quickly and give her a passionate kiss.
Once I pull away I smirk at the dreamy look she has on her face and that she isn't biting her lips anymore. I kiss her cheek and say, "You really need to stop biting your lip Chlo. I already want to kiss you all the time but when you're biting your lips that need is multiplied by like ten." She smiles and me and looks down. I sigh and go back to her original question, "Listen Red, I've never really done this relationship thing before and I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but I promise you," grab her hand and slightly twist my body towards her, "I am going to do everything in my power to make you happy." I then kiss her hand and continue talking, "And if you want me to meet your daughter right now then I want to meet her. I know I'll love her because she's apart of you. But if you're not ready to introduce her to me then I understand that too. It's whatever you want, there's no pressure baby." I kiss her nose and wait for a response.
Chloe looks deep in thought for a second until she calls Sarah over and smiles at me. Sarah swims, or more like dog paddles due to her floaties on her arms, and grabs Chloe's leg. "What mommy?" She looks up at Chloe with her big brown eyes and I already like this little sucker.
Chloe grabs Sarah and places her small wet body on her lab. "Hunny do you remember this lady?" Sarah looks at me for a second before she brings her attention back to Chloe and nods with a shy smile. Chloe takes a deep breath and continues talking, "Well Beca is an old friend of mine and she is going to be around a lot more. Is that okay with you?" Sarah looks at me and for a second I think she's going to say no. That's until she leaps from Chloe's lap into mine and giving her own rendition of a famous Beale hug. I smile at Chloe and pull in Sarah tight.
Once she pulls her head away from my neck see give me a toothy grin and says, "I liked you when you helped me find mommy." I poke her nose and she giggles. Chloe pulls her back to her lap and whispers into Sarah's ear. Sarah looks at Chloe excitedly and nods her head. Chloe starts laughing and whispers again. Sarah comes jumping back into my lap and begins speaking excitedly, "Mommy says once we're off the boat that I could show you our house! It's huger than this boat!" I laugh at the comparison of the apartment building and look at Chloe.
She's giving me a hopeful look and I say. "Really Chlo? You want me to see where you live? Good thing I'm not a stranger you just met or I'd be a little worried." She giggles at me and pulls me in for a group hug with Sarah. I'm normally not much of a kid person but this little girl reminds me so much of her mother that I can't help but like her.
We spend the rest of the day sitting in the sun and watching Sarah swim with Aubrey and Jesse. Later that night I finally find out what room number Chloe is in and am happy to find out its only one deck above me. We spend the night watching Disney movies with Sarah until she falls asleep in my lap. I think she likes me. I carry Sarah to her bed and walk back to sit on the couch with Chloe. She curls her body into me and we fall asleep on the couch with me playing with her hair.
There is only two days left until the boat goes back to California and I'm spending every second I can with Chloe and Sarah. The day before they get off the boat Chloe and I have a conversation about the future. I'm in her room again and it's around 4 p.m. we're cuddling on the couch while Sarah takes a nap. I look down at Chloe and realize that she has her thinking face on. I sit up and make her look at me. "Penny for your thoughts?" I look at her and she gives a faint smile.
Chloe sighs and begins speaking, "I'm just sad that I'm not going to be with you every day after tomorrow. I don't even know how your DJ schedule works on this boat. Are you on it all the time? Do you even have a house to go back home to when you're not on the boat?" Her lip is quivering. I hate this conversation because it's one of the reasons that I never got in a relationship, I never understood how they would work out.
I take a breath and explain, "Listen Chlo, I've been working on this ship for the last three years of my life. I have to sign a new contract every year which means I'm stuck working on this boat for the next three months. That's when my contract ends and I have the option of signing a new one or finding a different job. I've been thinking, that if our relationship gets serious that maybe I don't have to renew my contract. I could find a new job in Las Angeles and maybe rent an apartment that's closer to where you're living. This is all just a thought. If you think that I'm moving too fast just tell me." I look at her and she has tears in her eyes. I freak out and try to defend myself and I wipe away her tears, "Shit Chlo, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry." I look at her a little scared to hear what she has to say and wait for her to calm down.
Once her breathing evens out she looks up at me and smiles. She grabs my hands and begins speaking, "Don't apologize, I'm just so touched that you would completely change your of life just for me. I can't tell you how happy you're making me with just your words. I would love for that to happen but I don't want you to have to move all of your stuff out of your apartment to find one that is closer to mine. Even though we live on complete opposite sides of Las Angeles we can still see each other all the time." I start laughing and she frowns at me with a confused look.
Once I've contained my laughter I start talking, "I don't have an apartment. I'm literally on this ship for eighty percent of my life. The other time I just stay in a hotel room. This boat runs year round. Sometimes it won't run for maybe two weeks but then I'm back on the ship for weeks on end. I just thought it was easier not to have a lot of things that I have to worry about. Jesse still rents the apartment that I used to share with him and sometimes I'll crash there, but I normally just stay at the hotel near the boarding dock cause I'll only have a few days free before I have to get back on. Jesse's job isn't as demanding however and he gets more time off than me." I explain to her and she listens intently. She is processing all of this information and hasn't replied yet and I begin to worry. "It's not as bad as it seems. I've gotten used to it." I try to get her to understand my way of life. She looks up at me and smiles.
She leans in and kisses me on the forehead and starts talking, "Well if we are still together, which I do plan that we will be together for a long time, then I want to go apartment shopping with you." I smile at her and lean in for a kiss. We begin having a heavy make out session and things get heated. I'm about to pull her shirt up when I hear light footsteps and a door shutting.
"Mommy I had a bad dream." Chloe looks over the couch to her crying daughter and immediately stands up to scoop Sarah into her arms. She comes back and we comfort the crying girl until she calms down. Chloe asks her what her dream was about and Sarah sniffles into her hair without replying. Chloe asks again and this time Sarah replies, "Daddy." Chloe looks completely horrified as she looks at me, she tells Sarah everything is going to be okay. She promises Sarah that we'll go get ice cream if she changes into some nicer clothes. Sarah gets off of Choe's lap and heads for her bag in the other room. I give Chloe a questioning look and she sighs.
Chloe looks down and starts playing with her thumb ring as she explains, "Tom wasn't only controlling but he was a hopeless drunk, and when he drank he got angry. He only ever got physical with me but one time when he threw me against the wall and started screaming at me Sarah walked in and started crying. After that, Tom only got physical when he knew Sarah wouldn't see. Tom drank himself out of our lives and decided to leave us for a stripper he met at a club. Sarah still gets nightmares sometimes." After she finished explaining she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. I don't realize I'm crying until she brushes her thumb against my cheek to take away a tear.
I sigh and hold both of her hands in mine as I say, "How bad did he hurt you?"
She points at her forehead where there is a scar that wasn't there my freshman year of college. "This is where he hit me with a beer bottle. I had to have eight stitches." She lifts up her shirt and shows me a long thin scar just above her left hip. "This is where he pushed me up against a countertop too hard and it cut me." She turns around and lifts up her shirt where she points at multiple small round scars on her lower back. "This is where he burnt me with lit cigarettes if I didn't get his beer quick enough." She turns around with tears streaming down her face, she starts speaking again, "The bruises are long gone but he kicked my ribs so hard he broke two of them." She takes my hand and places it on her ribs where they broke. I can feel a knot that wasn't supposed to be there and pull my hand back. I start crying harder and pull her into my arms.
Once I can speak again I say, "If I ever meet this bastard I will kill him. You deserve none of this Chloe why didn't you just leave him?"
She still has her head laid on my chest as she mumbles, "Because he was good to Sarah." This gets me fired up but I don't say anything not wanting to make her mad. I instead kiss the scar on her forehead.
I lean back and look into her eyes as I say, "I just want to let you know I will never do that to you. I will do everything in my power to make you happy. You are my world Chlo and you always have been. I'll protect you and Sarah with my life." She kisses me hard and I happily return the kiss.
Before things can get heated again I hear Sarah yell from her room, "Mommy I can't find my shoe!" I laugh and so does Chloe as we get up to go help Sarah. Once we found the shoe that somehow ended up under the couch, I open the door for Chloe and Sarah as we make our way to the unlimited free ice cream on the boat. As Sarah walks in front of us I hold Chloe's hand and whisper sweet nothings into her ear occasionally just to remind her how special she is.
That night both Chloe and Sarah fall asleep in my arms on the couch as we watch Frozen for the thousandth time.
I'm trying to figure how I'm going to continue this story so give me some time guys I promise I'll finish it! Thanks for reading and as always, make good choices!