I'm back pitches! As for the delay, I know I suck, but I have a good excuses, I went on vacation the middle of September for 16 days to Europe then came back and caught a bad cold. But I'm back now and after a major rewrite of the chapter I'm ready for you to read. I hope you guys will forgive me and as a peace offering I'm offering another long chapter!

Disclaimer: PP1 & PP2 still aren't mine, there fore I don't stake my claim any of it, no ideas, quotes or songs! Everything else, including all the mistakes are mine!...I don't claim in any way shape or form know anything about sleep disorders or how Rolling Stone Magazine works or how they operate. I made the majority of it up, so don't hate me if it's inaccurate, but if you do know please PM me and let me know, I'm more than happy to keep things accurate from here on out!

Also I know Skyfall and Maroon 5 and everything else I listed in the chapter happened way before PP1 or PP2, but please just role with it. At times I took whatever was on the radio or TV when I was writing this :)

And as always a huge, huge, huge shout out to sugarlandaddict23 for working her amazing beta skills on another long mother of a chapter. Once again you rock!

Anyways enjoy, it's fluffy at the beginning, but things get rolling towards the end...Oh and user until its gone I hope this doesn't make you mad either :) Let me know either way!


Beca's eyes cracked open and she could just make out the fan spinning slowly above her as the morning light crept through the parted blinds. Trying to stretch out she quietly laughed finding the whole right side of her body practically immobile and a patch of red hair over her chest. Chloe was taking cuddling to the extreme, a leg was draped halfway across her lower body and a hand was tucked under her shirt resting low on her stomach.

Admittedly Beca loves this, how two people can be so comfortably wrapped up in each other that outside distractions didn't exist, it was simple and easy. If she's honest with herself, she wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning, her day would be so much better if she started it by seeing Chloe. That thought alone was surprising because she's spent her entire life keeping people at arm's length and away from her heart. Yet with Chloe things are different, Chloe kind of walked in and took up residence behind her walls without her even knowing and it was kind of amazing.

Beca wasn't kidding last night when she said she wants to build a life with and around Chloe Beale. She wants a life where Saturdays are spent bike riding and picnicking or Tuesday night dinners revolve around drinking wine and watching the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge. She wants those things to become her normal routine, her priority, not music or work. Don't get her wrong once her break is over she'll go back to music, but it won't be full time anymore, because she's finally found more important and fulfilling things to dedicate her life to. She sees a long term, forever type of future with Chloe and it's filled with love, laughter and happiness.

Wiggling down the bed into a more comfortable position Beca smiled when Chloe readjusted right along with her. God this woman is invading her personal space like no other, but she's so in love that she could care less. The calmness and warmth she is provided with makes life pretty damn good and she wouldn't change a thing.

Using her free hand Beca adjusted the duvet, pulling it tighter around them and closed her eyes. She's pretty sure she slept the whole night and she'd like to give herself a majority of the credit, but really it's a combination things. To begin with it's Chloe being Chloe, all bright smiles and radiating positivity, then it's getting help for her mom's death and finally no longer having to deal with the stress of work or deadlines and it feels so good to slowly start functioning as a normal person again.

"I can feel you thinking," Chloe's sleep filled voice resonated around the room, "talk to me."

"I was just contemplating if you'd like sliced apples in our pancakes," Beca grinned as she felt a kiss pressed to her collarbone, "or if I should run down the street and grab blueberries instead."

Lazily trailing a hand along her girlfriend's abdomen Chloe hummed against Beca's shoulder "My vote is for you to make me Dutch pancakes with apples and extra crispy bacon."

"But you love blueberries," the denser pancakes were Beca's go to food after a night of music and booze, she totally wasn't making the fluffy ones anymore, "I don't mind going out and getting your favorite, I only do it for girls I love."

"I love you too," Chloe closed her eyes, "but I'm, in your words," she grinned, "kind of really, really fucking comfortable right now," Beca's laughter echoed around them as a kiss was placed on top of her head, "and I'd rather spend the ten minutes you'd be gone snuggling."

Combing her fingers through red hair Beca was completely fine with that, "I won't argue with you."

"It's best if you don't."

Beca could hear the playfulness, "And why's that?"

"Because you'd never win, you'd fold quicker than a paper airplane."

"At least it's mutually known I'm wrapped around your finger," Beca teased and got a pinch to the side making her squirm, "I kind of love that though and I'm more than willing to be at your beck and call."

Sleep warm and totally relaxed Beca was probably one of Chloe's favorite things, but waking up like this was one of the highlights of her life. It was far superior to any place she has traveled and way more enjoyable because money couldn't buy this feeling or moment.

A hand drifted down Chloe's back, "Hmmm I just might take you up on that offer."

"Remember, I've got tons of free time on my hands."

"Technically your hand is on my ass," Chloe corrected, then rolled and buried her face in Beca's stomach laughing as the hand in question gave a couple of light pats, "I swear I give you an inch Mitchell and you take a mile."

"Umm it's the perks of having a girlfriend, I love having a girlfriend."

"Well you're a pretty good one."

Tugging on the back of the dark green Barden University t-shirt, Beca watched Chloe shift to face her with a smile, "Morning gorgeous."

Chloe stretched out along the bed with a long happy sigh, "Good morning sexy."

Beca swears her heart stopped beating seeing Chloe's sleepy smile and slightly out of place, yet still perfect hair. Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe Chloe, it doesn't even scratch the surface, because even without makeup and a faint crease on a cheek from sleeping on her bunched up shirt, Chloe Beale was the epitome gorgeous and stunning and beautiful. Never in her life has Beca been so attracted to one single person like she is to Chloe.

The only disappointing part was that Chloe wasn't on top of her anymore, but she really wasn't complaining. In true Chloe fashion a few seconds later their bodies were touching again and this time it just so happened to be their feet.

"God yes it is, it's a very good morning."

"How did you sleep?" Chloe asked yawning.

"Really good," Beca answered with a smug grin making Chloe raise a questioning eyebrow, "I could so enter an ill timed joke about sleeping together right now," their combined laughter warmed her heart as she pulled her girlfriend closer, "but I haven't had coffee yet, so it'd just come out all rambling and nervous instead of confident and sexy."

Chloe knew exactly what was meant and as much as Beca thought she was a slick talker, especially in the mornings, she wasn't. It usually just ended up being a comedy of errors ending with a blushing red face and topic change, but that was all part of the allure of Beca Mitchell. Beca just had this endearing quality that Chloe couldn't help but gravitate towards, even when she was upset a single smile, kiss or small joke easily brightened her day.

Sliding closer Chloe smiled, "I always figured you'd be the grumpy type in the morning babe."

"Yeah well a girl has nothing to be grumpy about when she wakes up next to you," twisting to lay on her side Beca lifted the duvet and glanced down her girlfriend's body then back up, "although you're killing me with those shorts, but I think I'll survive," she winked. "Besides I'm pretty sure you'll be the death of me in some other way."

Shoving a shoulder Chloe giggled, "You're on a roll today and we haven't even got out of bed yet."

"That's what a full night sleep does to me," Beca grinned tucking a strand of hair behind Chloe's ear, "I don't get them very often, but it's easier around you."

"You told me that last night before you fell asleep," Chloe bit her lip with a small sigh as Beca averted her eyes.

Beca didn't what anything to spoil this beautiful moment, but it seems like her big fucking mouth did some talking last night. She tends to incoherently babble right before crashing from extreme exhaustion or when she's fighting the sleeping meds. In a way it's good that they're talking about this now, because the last thing she wants to do is frighten Chloe when they're on vacation as she mindlessly wanders the house at all hours of the night. Plus she wants to keep their communication open and flowing and continue the huge breakthrough they had as a couple last night.

"Why do you have a hard time sleeping," linking her fingers Chloe brought them up and kissed them, "I've heard Jesse and Aubrey talk, but they never answer any of my questions."

Chloe's eyes were filled with understanding and Beca didn't have the heart to give some half assed explanation, "The night my mom died, she called but I didn't answer, I was working on a mix for the USC radio station so I just let it go to voicemail…" Closing her eyes she took a breath trying to keep her emotions in check as Chloe's thumb stroked her wrist, "I still have the message, I listen to it every day and ever since my body either won't let me sleep or I wake up five or ten minutes before the last time she called."

"Then you can't go back to sleep?" Chloe gently asked.

"Right, my shrink says I have acute bouts of stress induced insomnia or whatever," Beca's eyes opened and the love she saw in them made her feel so much better, "I just, I wander my house or sit out on my rooftop patio and watch the way the sun lights up the Golden Gate Bridge every morning."

"Is it pretty?"

"Yeah, it reminds me of her," talking to Chloe about her mom was easier than Beca ever imagined, "we did it all the time at the beach house. I can't wait to share that with you…" A radiant smile appeared and it made her stomach flutter, leaning forward she slipped a hand to Chloe's cheek and quickly pressed their lips together, "When we get back from our vacation, if you haven't dumped my ass, you are more than welcome to come over to my house and see for yourself."

Chloe's heart melted, Beca was beginning to open up her world, "I'd like that."

"I'm sorry I haven't had you over sooner," Beca hoped that after next week Chloe would understand why, for some reason explaining the Grammy's and an in-home recording studio wouldn't be kosher until her other life was out in the open, "I just…I like it here and hadn't really thought about it, I don't know what's normal for a relationship, but I do know I want you to be able to come and go from my place whenever you want. I can like give you a closet or whatever."

"A whole closet?" Chloe laughed and Beca looked at her confused, "Man I must be an awesome girlfriend to get a whole closet? You're making me feel bad, I was gonna offer you a couple drawers once Emily brought you clean clothes."

"Well, you are awesome," Beca gave a quick kiss, "And I've never been in a relationship like this, so I don't know if it's drawers or closets you're supposed to offer. I-I don't know the proper protocol."

It's weird because sometimes Chloe forgets Beca doesn't have a lot of experience with certain social norms that she was able to learn in high school. She's aware of it sometimes when Beca asks questions or makes weird references, but others times Chloe just rolls with it and allows Beca to learn on her own. It was a trick Aubrey had told her to do not long after she and Beca really started hanging out and it's given her a little more insight into what makes her girlfriend tick. It's refreshing in a way, Beca hasn't been scared by ex's that have cheated or ran away when things got tough, Beca is just being herself and putting one hundred percent into their relationship. Chloe's never dated someone like this and it gives her a whole new and optimistic outlook on the dating world.

"You are so cute and you're doing just fine," Chloe easily smiled at the slight blush, "and yes I'll take whatever you want to give me."

"I'll give you whatever you want, I can make space in my closet for you," Beca scrunched up her nose in thought and she heard a giggle, "you can even pick what side of the bed you want to sleep on."

"I can't wait, can I leave some art stuff at your place?"

Beca nodded with a smile, "I have a few guest rooms that are just storing random shit, you can have one. Just tell me what you need, make me a list or something this week," placing a finger on her girlfriend's lips she stopped the impending protest, "I don't care about the cost or that you have an art room here, this will be separate from that…"

Watching Chloe sketch or paint was something Beca loved, it was relaxing in a way she didn't expect and she could do it for hours. Chloe's focus was so precise and the way her hands moved were effortless, it was a talent she would never understand but immensely admired. Sometimes Chloe would sing, it was mostly random songs, but other times it was just notes in a tune only her girlfriend knew and it was one of her favorite things. It soothed her and more often than she'd like to admit, Chloe caught her staring, and she didn't even care.

"Bec, that's too much," Chloe tried to come up with some way to oppose the offer, but she was kind of left speechless.

This was something Beca had been thinking a lot about and since she had no idea what to do with her new found freedom last week she'd already started cleaning out the perfect room with a view. It was almost double the size of the room Chloe had here, so she knew she wouldn't hear complaints about bumping shoulders with bookshelves or backing into desks when her girlfriend takes a step back from the easel to evaluate her work. In fact Beca had already ordered the perfect art desk after visiting a store downtown last week.

"Let me do this for you, I want too…" Beca loved watching Chloe's face light up, like Christmas had just come early, "While we're on vacation I'll have Emily get everything together and when we get back I'll personally help you set up the room however you want."

"But we said no," Chloe began but stopped mid sentence seeing this crazy beautiful lopsided smile that made her heart do flip-flops. Beca was being sweet and thoughtful and although she wasn't used to it, she needs to let people do nice things for her for no reason. She never wanted Beca or anybody to feel like their gifts were underappreciated, "You really want to do this for me? It's not my birthday or Christmas."

"I do," Beca ran a hand up and down Chloe's side. She could see a hesitation and battle going on behind Chloe's eyes, but she didn't call her out, instead she just reemphasized, "I want to give you this and for no other reason except that I love you."

"You are seriously the best," Chloe was truly touched and all she could do was pepper Beca's face with kisses, "Nobody has ever given me art supplies, let alone a whole room, it's always something I had to do myself. My family never really cared…"

"I do, I care," Beca quickly interrupted, "and I want you to be comfortable in my home just like you've done for me here. You can spend all day painting or drawing or editing your pictures and not say two words to me and I won't care. I just like the idea of knowing you're there and that you're happy doing what you love."

"Well thank you, I don't know what else to say but thank you," Chloe was fighting the tears, she has no idea how someone this amazing was in her life, "So I guess this means I can spend the night whenever I want?"

"Yes," blue eyes were twinkling and it made Beca chuckle, "What?"

"Can we…" Chloe closed the remaining distance between their bodies knocking their knees together and whispered, "Can we have sleepovers, like naked sleepovers?"

"Oh naked is a requirement."

"Is it also a requirement while we're on vacation?" Chloe playfully challenged slipping her hand under Beca's t-shirt and running it along the smooth warm skin.

"It can be," damn Beca loves how Chloe touches her, "but I swear to God if you keep doing that," she stilled the wandering hand, "you'll turn me into a horny teenage boy who can't control himself."

Chloe raised a challenging eyebrow, "And what if that's what I want?"

The hand was roaming again, Chloe's touches were getting bolder and were hitting all the right spots. When the other hand fisted Beca's t-shirt and she was pulled half on top of her girlfriend and they started a kiss so slow and heavy that it made her head spin and her insides dissolve into mush. It was like all the stuff that happened last night, their failed attempt to her proclamation of love to Chloe's breakdown, had somehow flipped a switch. She could feel the shift, the difference between last night and this morning was drastic and Beca didn't sense any hesitation from Chloe. Chloe's light moans and body movements or even the way fingertips lightly brushed along her neck spoke volumes, Chloe wasn't scared anymore.

Breaking away Beca shifted her weight and easily spread Chloe's legs then slid between them. Ducking her head she pressed a line of soft kisses down her girlfriend's neck, "Then I'll give you whatever you want."

Holding Beca's head in place on her pulse point, Chloe let out a ragged breath, it was insane how much a simple action like this could drive her nuts. "I want you…"

Lifting her head so they could lock eyes Beca sucked in a gulp of air, trying to calm her racing heart, "Chlo, there's no going back from this, I want us to be ready, I don't want you to feel obligated because you think you need to make up for last night." She swallowed the lump in her throat, "I will wait for you, I want more than just sex from you."

"I know," Chloe softly answered, lifting her hands to Beca's cheeks she smiled, this moment was all kinds of right, more right than ever, "but it's ok, I've thought all night about it and I'm ready."

Biting her lip Beca hesitated, she really wanted Chloe to think about this, "But."

"Bec trust me," inching her girlfriend's shirt up and exposing more skin Chloe wasn't more certain about anything in her life, "just trust me on this, I want this." As if on cue Beca's hand slid up her thigh and began toying with the edge of her sleep shorts, "I want you so bad," she whispered, "it's ok to touch me Beca, to make love to me…"

Beca was confused, things went from art rooms to sex in less than two minutes, and she didn't want decisions to be made with hazy minds, "Are you sure?"

"Yes…" just to prove her point Chloe pushed at Beca's shoulders so she could slightly sit up and peel off her shirt. Dropping it off the side of the bed she settled back against the mattress and that's when she saw her girlfriend's eyes darken, "I figured I'd let you remove the rest, if that's ok?"

Beca dumbly nodded, because yeah that was more than ok and for a brief minute her hands were frozen in place on Chloe's knees. From this one little glimpse it's obvious, painfully obvious, that Chloe takes care of her body and it was a direct consequence of the miles and miles of running and hours spent in the gym. Reaching out she ran a hand along the faintly outlined, perfectly toned and smooth abs that were the epitome of perfection and what probably hundreds of men and women envy. She's never had sex with a girl this hot before and who she was this in love with, hell she's never had sex with somebody she's actually been in love with, so this was a first for her on multiple counts. There were so many things she wanted to do, so many ways she wanted to touch and kiss this body that she didn't even know where to begin. A body like this needs to be worshiped and she fully intends on doing that, even if they totally miss the concert today she plans on thoroughly and carefully making love to Chloe.

"You're just," lifting her hands Beca rubbed her eyes with her palms, letting out a slow anxious breath, "Fuck, everything about you is completely perfect."

"Bec," reaching for an arm Chloe tugged it down and let out a breathy giggle when grey-blue eyes snapped to hers, "I'm not breakable, you can touch more than just my stomach."

"I know, it's just, damn I didn't expect this right now, not after last night…"

"Me either," Chloe interrupted, fingers reaching for the drawstring of Beca's pajama bottoms, "but this feels right."

"It does and I'm not gonna lie, I've thought about this moment a lot," dropping back down so she was face to face with her girlfriend Beca gave an all too brief kiss as arms wrapped around her neck, "I…can I take the lead on this, you need perfect, let me give you perfect."

It has been so long since Chloe has done this that she's actually grateful Beca offered to guide her. She wasn't scared anymore, she'd laid awake a long time last night thinking about it, probably overanalyzing it, yet she was still nervous simply because it had been over two years since the last time she had sex. They were going to make mistakes and probably laugh, but that was what was going to make it so much better. She loved Beca and Beca loved her and for some reason hearing those three words last night made everything come together in a way she wasn't expecting. In fact hearing Beca say I love you, was the kicker she needed to put her life back on track towards finding the old confident Chloe that she once knew.

"I'm with you, it's already perfect," Chloe's breath caught in her throat as Beca's head bent down and her left nipple was taken between a set of teeth, lightly pulled back and then released. Her whole body felt that and she instinctively arched off the bed when the same was done to her right. "Damn," she hissed out in pleasure, "I just…let's go slow."

Beca lifted her head with a grin hearing a whimper as her finger and thumb rolled a taut nub between it. She could totally get used to that sound, "Whatever you want my love, I'll go at your pace."


Chloe smiled as she slipped back into her bedroom toting a lighter and the package of cigarettes that she'd recently bought. She only used them occasionally and half the time had to buy a new pack because they were always stale, but in any case she only pulled one out after she got stuck on where one of her paintings was going. For some reason staring out an open window doing the mindless action helped get her back on track. It was a trick she picked up in college from an art professor who, like her, didn't condone smoking, but couldn't deny that it clears the mind. So when Beca mentioned needing one with a cheeky grin, she'd laughed and said she'd be right back.

"That's a good look on you Beale," Beca joked eyeing her girlfriend's naked body and the more tousled than normal hair. If she wasn't so comfortable in the bedrooms small alcove window seat, she'd already be up and moving towards Chloe, instead she opted to watch the perfection from afar, "It's something I could get used to."

Bending down and giving an unhurried kiss Chloe knew she'd never be able to get enough of this, of Beca. The kiss wasn't meant to go anywhere, but just exploring her girlfriend's mouth was enough to make her want to jump right back into bed and have a repeat of their previous activities. She's didn't realize how much she missed sex until she was left a panting, sweaty mess staring up at the ceiling feeling like she wouldn't be able to walk for a week. She still loved sex, her body's prevalent buzzing was proof of that, and damn had it been exceptionally fantastic with Beca.

Pulling Beca's bottom lip between her teeth Chloe released it then stood up straight. She silently watched her girlfriend's head rest against the wall, eyes closed and a content smile across her face.

"You're relaxed," Chloe said moving to the opposite end of the seat. For the first time ever there was no traces of stress anywhere in Beca's body language, "I like that look on you."

"Well yeah I mean hello," Beca's smile turned into a smirk, "I got a full night's sleep, woke up to you curled around me, we had fucking amazing sex and soon I'll make pancakes." Lifting her head from the wall she opened her eyes, "In my opinion that's a great start to a Saturday."

Before sitting down Chloe wrapped the opposite end of Beca's sheet around her body then dug a cigarette out of the package and stuck it between her lips. She grinned in appreciation when Beca grabbed the lighter, flicked it on and held it out.

"Thanks," Chloe mumbled blowing the smoke out the already open window. It was nice outside again and the breeze was cooling her skin faster than her air conditioner ever could.

"Sure," Beca's phone chimed beside her and she held up her hand refusing the cigarette pack for the time being. Unlocking the screen she typed out a quick message, "Emily just wants your address…" Hitting send she tossed her phone back on the bed and smiled, "Done, it's just you and me now," she gestured to Chloe's right hand, "Do you mind if we share that?" Chloe just smiled and nodded, "I think you're about as big of a smoker as I am, which is borderline nonexistent."

"What time is Emily dropping Gizmo off?" Chloe asked passing the cigarette to Beca and letting the long stream of smoke out the open window again.

"I told her around threeish, Cynthia Rose will be here at four," taking a long drag Beca brought the cigarette from her lips and looked at it. "You know, I never figured you'd own cigarettes," she occasionally smoked, in fact she actually didn't really care much for it, but after that mind-blowing experience with Chloe she needed it, "I was just joking when I said I needed one," she laughed passing it back to her girlfriend, "I thought that with all the running and shit your body would be your temple."

Chloe threw her head back and laughed, "You sure worshiped it like it was."

Beca's face flushed and she looked away as Chloe fought the urge to poke fun but instead reached out and snagged her girlfriends big toe. Giving it a wiggle she softened her laughing to a light giggle and put on a reassuring smile. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, what they'd just shared was for lack of a better word, incredible. Beca had been amazing, so gentle and so loving, she's never had someone be so totally in tune with her needs like Beca had been. It made all the turmoil of her past, their disastrous attempt last night, and of all her hesitations totally worth it.

Chloe had forgotten what it was like to connect with someone on another level like they just had. It was like all her senses were heightened the moment Beca's hands began wandering her body doing all kinds of amazing things. She always figured her girlfriend would be good in bed, but holy shit not that good. Beca was an experienced lover, confident and strong, yet sensual and able to read her needs and wants. It wasn't intimidating like she thought it would be, more than anything it was reassuring. It told her that Beca really, truly loved her and that what they'd shared meant more than either could possibly describe.

"Babe I'm kidding," setting the cigarette out on the window ledge Chloe wrapped the bed sheet tighter around her. Scooting forward she give a quick kiss, "You were perfect, you definitely made my first time in two years perfect."

"Yeah?" Chloe nodded and Beca let out a small relieved breath while letting a shy smile slip on her face. "That's what I wanted Chlo, because I love you. I know we kind of dove head first into this really fast after last night and I swear I fully intended to wait longer than a day."

"Hey," Chloe gently jumped in, Beca needed reassure that she wanted what happened, that they she didn't have any regrets, "I didn't expect it either, but I'll say it again the moment felt right. It wasn't forced," resting her hands on her girlfriend's ankles, she ran them up and down the calves, "we were ready, I was ready and I'm glad we did. I love you and I know that's new for us too and it seems like we're moving fast, but we're not. We've been dating a lot longer than we actually put a label on it, so saying I love you and having sex were just natural progressions."

Beca nodded with a laugh, "You're right, we have kinda been dating since that night I met you in the bathroom."

"It was adorable how you almost busted your ass," Chloe laughed.

"We have been together a long time haven't we?"

"A little less six months, but if you want to get technical," Chloe held up her hand and flashed two fingers, "somebody only officially asked me out on a first date and to be their girlfriend a month and a half ago."

"Wow ok," Beca rubbed her forehead in confusion, "so like what date are you using for our anniversary? I don't want you moping around and shit next year because I think it's one day and you think it's another," Chloe crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow with a not so stern look, eventually making them laugh, "I'm kidding I'll do both the official and unofficial one just to cover my ass."

Chloe hummed her confirmation, "That works."

Beca loved this, the easy banter and playfulness of their relationship, letting out a happy sigh she smiled, "I guess I'm just over thinking everything else, aren't I?"

"You wouldn't be Beca Mitchell if you didn't," that got Chloe a snort of laughter and she smiled at her beautiful girlfriend, who looked so attractive with the opposite end of the sheet loosely wrapped around her body that it made her heart ache. She is so lucky to be with this person, "Seriously though, thank you for being so…well for being you. This was a big step for me," and one she never thought she'd take again, "in the last twenty-four hours I've overcome a lot of internal battles and self doubts about not being good enough for somebody like you. I even spent most of the night thinking about my breakdown and how sheltering myself isn't fair to you or us."

"Chlo, you could've woke me up, I would've listened, held you…"

"I know, but that was something I needed to process on my own. Trust me, this," Chloe reassuringly gestured between them seeing worried eyes, "wouldn't have happened this morning if I didn't take a look back and tell myself that it's time to let someone in to love me, emotionally and physically, so thank you Beca."

Chloe had a long road ahead of her in dealing with her issues, but last night and this morning were the swift kick in the ass and dose of reality she has needed for a long time. She could already tell the shift that had been happening since she met Beca, she's happier and in love, but to really get the ball rolling she needed to be vulnerable in front of someone again.

"You're welcome, all I want is to love you with everything that I am, to show you how special you are and that you're not just some fling or…" Beca briefly looked out the bay windows to the view of downtown, "Look I've had one night stands before, I just don't want you to feel like that, ever…That's what I tried to convey last night and this morning."

The voice was small, almost scared, but honest, and Chloe knew Beca was trying her best to express herself. It was amazing seeing the different sides of Beca and she wondered how often the others got to see it too. Beca is such a complex person with walls and defense mechanisms galore, but underneath it all lays an extremely sensitive person.

"I didn't, trust me," holding out her hand Chloe wiggled her fingers until they were taken, "It's hard to really put into words everything I felt, but loved and safe are at the top of the list."

"That's exactly what I wanted…"

Absentmindedly tracing the lines on Chloe's palm for a few minutes Beca really contemplated what she wanted to say next. She'd been thinking about it for a long time and she'd gone back and forth about asking and not asking because of the simple fact she didn't want Chloe to see her cry. Yet she knows Chloe won't judge her and sitting here, naked and emotionally bare, after sharing and experiencing what they just had, she realized she didn't want anyone but Chloe by her side.

"Bec," Chloe's soft voice resonated between them making her girlfriend visibly jump, "tell me what's wrong, what you're thinking."

Glancing up Beca gave a calming smile, "Nothing, I was just thinking about us and my mom and how much she would've loved you."

"Yeah?" Seeing a nod Chloe smiled, "She seems really great."

"She would've been surprised I have a girlfriend like you…"

Chloe raised a playful eyebrow, "Why, because she didn't know you slept with girls?"

Beca let out a bark of laughter while reaching for the cigarette, taking another drag she shook her head, "No, I had this girlfriend…" She let the smoke out the window, "Well I wouldn't really call her a girlfriend per se more of a…" she lobbed her head back and forth thinking of the right term, "fling? Anyways we slept together a handful of times over the spring semester, casual you know? No strings attached."

Smiling Chloe nodded, she knew exactly what Beca was talking about as she reached for the cigarette, "How old were you?"

"A senior in high school, she was in her junior year at USC, we had a music composition class together."

It was still mind boggling that Beca was this musical prodigy and had been taking college level music classes while still in high school. Chloe didn't see Beca that way, to her Beca was a normal person with an extreme gift that made an appearance every now and again at odd times.

"Are you about to tell me what I think you're going to tell me?"Chloe stubbed out the cigarette butt and flicked it out the window, she knew where this story was going and it made her smile widen.

"Oh yeah," Beca grinned, as mortifying as the moment was, it's still pretty fucking funny, "The one and only time I skipped class my mom conveniently came home early and found us…"

Chloe slapped her thighs, "No way!"

"Yes way," Beca laughed although she could feel the heat burning her cheeks. Giving a nonchalant shrug she added, "At least we were finished, still naked, but thank god we weren't doing anything."

"Why weren't you at her place?"

"Roommates…"

"What did your mom say?"

"That she was glad she didn't have to teach me how to use condoms, then promptly slammed my bedroom door."

Mouth hanging open Chloe was utterly speechless, that was not at all what she expected. Most people's parents would've been furious to walk in on something like that, hers would've been, but apparently not Beca's mom. Then again she had a feeling those two were a lot alike, brash and sarcastic and always looking to make people laugh.

"Don't get me wrong she wouldn't look me in the eye for three days," Beca continued, "and I wasn't allowed to have 'friends'," she used air quotes, "over without her knowledge anymore, Jesse included, but surprisingly she was mostly angry that I skipped class."

"Oh my God," Chloe finally broke down laughing, "you were having sex in her house and all you got was a slap on the wrist."

"Hey," defensively holding up her hands Beca chuckled, "I was eighteen, besides you can't tell me you never did anything remotely cringe worthy growing up."

"Nope," Chloe shook her head with a self-assured grin. Pointing at herself she stated, "I went to boarding school remember," with confidence and a wink. "We put scarves on the doorknob so we won't be disturbed no matter what we're doing. Besides," she motioned her girlfriend closer until they were nose to nose, "I didn't start sleeping with girls until college."

Beca bit her lip and raised an eyebrow, "Did you do a little experimenting Chlo? Because that's so hot…"

"Oh totes," glancing down to her girlfriend's lips then back up Chloe saw those grey-blue eyes darken, "I learned all kinds of stuff, I'd love to show you."

Slipping her hand to the back of Chloe's neck Beca tilted her head and whispered, "You know now that we've had sex…I have a feeling we're going to have it a lot more."

"Oh we're just getting started Mitchell," Chloe countered before connecting their lips and letting her smile grow against them, "I mean I've never cum that hard in my life and I have your hands and mouth to thank."

"It was really all my pleasure," Beca answered before really laying into the kiss, going no holds bar. After a few minutes of their brief, but heated make out session, she pulled back breathless and happy, ridiculously fucking happy, "I love you."

"I love you too…" Chloe grinned settling back in her position, it was still surreal to be saying that, so much has changed in the span of twenty-four hours. Picking up the pack of cigarettes she held them out, "Another?"

Beca shook her head, "One's enough."

"Same…"

"So," Beca still had an important question to ask, "since you were being so distracting," she flashed a grin as Chloe's feet settled in her lap, "a good distracting, I never got to tell you why my mom would love you."

"Oh, do tell," Chloe had forgotten that's how this whole conversation started, "I'd like to know."

There were a lot of things anyone would love about Chloe, the girl exuded confidence but not in a way that would come off as cocky and arrogant. Chloe was social and outgoing, someone who easily floated from person to person holding conversations about anything from the weather to the latest San Francisco Giants game. It was interesting in a way that Beca never expected and she loved sitting back and watching her girlfriend chat with deli customers or the grocery store cashier. But that wasn't what she loved the most, she loved how easy it was to be herself a hundred percent of the time around Chloe, even if she was being a goofy dork.

"Well to begin with you're beautiful," in uncharacteristic fashion a light pink blush crossed Chloe's face and Beca softly smiled as she began massaging a foot, "and easy to be around, you make me feel comfortable. Hence why I'm sitting here naked except for this sheet," they both laughed, "but you also make me smile. I smile like an idiot even when you're not around and I think about even the stupidest things, like how you sing to Billie or how you fell over in laughter when Gizmo went ape shit after he heard a Green Day song."

"That was hilarious, he's definitely your dog," Chloe added, "I think about you a lot too."

Beca just nodded, "And my mom always told me," straightening her back just like her mom used to and deliberately pointed a finger before sternly speaking, "Beca Mitchell find someone who will, during the good and bad times, make you smile, make you laugh, even when they're not around."

"And I'm that person?" Chloe quietly asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Beca simply stated, "she never found what we have, but it would've made her so happy to see us together. I have to believe she's looking down and is giving me her trademark two thumbs up." Hearing a light laugh made her heart swell, "Plus, she'd be amazed that I scored a chick so hot and she wouldn't be afraid to tell you it either, then in the next breath give some embarrassing story about me as a kid."

"She sounds great," Chloe continued to laugh, she wishes someone was around to tell her funny stories about Beca as a toddler, "I really would've loved to meet her."

"Funny you should say that," scratching the back of her neck Beca knew she needed to do this, her shrink said it would be a good idea to share this experience with someone she trusts and for once she was going to follow his orders, "I uhhh…I'm not sure how to ask this," dropping her hand to a foot she nervously began tapping her fingers, "without like upsetting you or making you uncomfortable and you can totally say no."

Chloe inched forward and took the tapping hand in hers, "Baby you can ask me anything."

"Ok," Beca let out the breath she'd been holding and looked out the window, "while we're on vacation I plan on visiting my mom's grave, would you maybe want to go with me? I'll understand if you don't want to…"

Chloe froze, she knew exactly why Beca was giving her a way out and to be honest she wasn't expecting to get such a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach because of it. She'd only been to her parents and sister's grave once after their funeral, right before she left for California, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. She'd only managed a few glances at her parent's headstone, because for as much as she felt unloved and unwanted it was still heartbreaking. Yet her world completely shattered in two when she stepped to her sister's plot that was just a few feet away. There was no reason for someone so young, so full of life to be there, the name and date were the harsh realities of that and that it was all her fault.

As much as Chloe doesn't want to go with Beca and doesn't want to have all those feelings rush back to her, she knows she needs to. She wants to be Beca's support system and she knows it'll be the perfect beginning to facing her own demons.

"I want to go," Chloe reassured rubbing her thumb along Beca's wrist in a calming circular motion, "I think it will be good, for both of us."

"Thank you," Beca turned back to Chloe and weakly smiled, "it really means a lot to me."

"I'd do anything for you," Chloe softly said, "Can I ask you something else, that's kind of related to all this?"

Beca nodded, "Sure…"

"Earlier you said I help you sleep, how am I different?" Chloe hated prying and Beca seemed conflicted, but still ok with the question, "Like what is it about me? You sleep a lot when you're here," the corners of Beca's mouth twitched up in a true smile, "not that I mind."

That's a complicated question, because Beca doesn't have just one answer. When Chloe's around her problems vanish, she's a normal person with a normal job and doesn't worry about fame or album deadlines. Even the side of her brain that creates music and stresses about perfection is toned down. She has this semblance of inner peace and calmness because she's finally found love and it's filled this giant void in her life. How the hell does she sum that up without talking for days?

Finally coming up with a way to verbally interpret her thoughts, Beca bit the inside of her cheek and saw those blue, expectant eyes, waiting for an answer, but not caring how long it took. She's never met a girl who made her feel that it's ok to share what's going on in her mind and it not be laughed at.

"Your love and the simplicity of how we are together, we're uncomplicated," Beca honestly answered, hoping that everything she wanted to say would come across as straightforward as she intended. "Unless it's kissing you or loving you," she smiled as Chloe's hand gently squeezed hers, "I don't feel this overwhelming need to make things perfect, because I think we are perfect together. And as a result I've been making better music, I just…" she shrugged, "I guess being with you is good for me, I love you and I love loving you and that's how you help. You calm my mind but make my heart beat faster all at the same time and in a way I've never experienced with anybody…" Smiling adoringly she plainly stated, "There's just something about you Chloe Beale, something that says hold on and don't let go…"

Chloe's eyes were stinging with tears as Beca's voice trailed off at the end and the only sound she heard was the soft whirring of the ceiling fan. Beca could be so eloquently poetic and so passionate sometimes that it's a whole new experience having someone like this love her. Beca wasn't asking for anything except love in return and Chloe could easily give that. After last night and the way Beca held her and didn't run, then wow this morning's experience, she wasn't going to hesitate or allow her self doubts and parents' negative thoughts get in the way of loving Beca anymore. She was going all in, because she wants to be happy, wants a future and life with Beca.

"I think that's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me," Chloe confessed in a whisper as she shuffled across the bench. Resting their foreheads together Beca's hands fell to her hips, steadying her just like they always would, "I love you, god I love you."

"I love you too," Beca grinned. Seeing a tear slip down a cheek she said, "Please don't cry."

"These are good tears I promise."

"Good."

Pecking Beca's lips, Chloe tried to move back to her spot but hands firmly held her in place, "What?" She giggled as Beca intently stared at her, "I thought after the cigarette you were going to make me breakfast?"

"I was," looking to her right Beca glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table, "but it's only a little after ten, I was thinking we could wait a little bit and have brunch instead."

"Oh," hands skillfully pulled the sheet down Chloe's body making it pool at her waist and the cool air caused goosebumps to prickle along the newly exposed skin, "What did you want to do to pass the time?"

"I was contemplating a shower or hopping back into that," Beca cocked her head towards the bed, "and getting really hot and sweaty with you, then showering…" inching closer she felt their breath mingling as she reached behind her girlfriend and pulled the string on the blinds making them crash down into place. Chloe didn't even flinch and she couldn't help connecting their lips in a short, frantic and wanting kiss that left them gasping for air, "How's that sound?"

"Or we could just skip the in between and have shower sex," Chloe countered.

Abruptly standing Chloe purposefully allowed the bed sheet to slowly fall away from her body. She smirked watching Beca's eyes follow it to the ground then slowly roam up her body taking everything in. It wasn't done in a perverse way, it was done in a very loving and longing way and it made her feel appreciated and wanted.

Resting a hand on her hip Chloe winked when their eyes finally connected, "Yeah I'm pretty confident about," if possible Beca eyes just got incredibly darker at the throwback to their first meeting, "all this…"

"You should be," a coy smile slipped on Beca's face, "damn you should be."

"And you," Chloe swirled her finger in Beca's direction, "totally had a sneaky hot body buried beneath those clothes."

Beca shrugged indifferently, "I'd love to tell you it's because I work out, but I don't," Chloe just shook her head with a laugh, "I eat horribly bad food, drink beer like a fish and don't exercise. So if you think my body is rockin' well," she grinned widely, "who am I to tell you otherwise."

"So what's it going to be Mitchell?"

Without a word Beca stood and took a couple steps forward, palming her girlfriend's hips she started blindly steering them in the direction of the bathroom as her mouth latched onto a nipple. At the last minute she did an abrupt one-eighty and they stumbled backwards and down onto the bed.

"Yeah I had a feeling we weren't going to make it," Chloe breathlessly laughed as Beca mumbled something about sheets being the cause of their fall and the bed catching them as an expert tongue and mouth worked its way down her body. She let out a groan of pleasure when the sensitive skin right at the dip of her hip was lightly sucked then released causing it to instantly prickle red, "Fuck I've missed this, I'd almost forgot how great sex is."

Beca's face popped into view and she rested her chin low on Chloe's abdomen and smiled, "Told you it's just like riding a bike."

Covering her face with her hands Chloe laughed, "Really Bec, a joke like that when your fingers are," her tone elevated in pitch and her body lifted slightly off the mattress as a finger entered her and a thumb simultaneously swirled around her clit, "I take that back do whatever you want."

Throwing a hand to the side Chloe gripped on the edge of the mattress. She was getting this feeling low in her gut again, one she hadn't experienced in a long time, and it was this longing for sex. Her body was responding to the fact that her sexual frustration was beginning to be alleviated after two years of being stagnant. It wouldn't completely be squashed this morning, but they were going to make a damn good attempt.

"Oh I fully intend to," ducking her head again Beca replaced her thumb with her mouth, added a second finger then used her spare hand to hold Chloe's squirming hips down for the time being. Teasingly lifting her head up she smirked as her girlfriend's chest rapidly rose and fell, fuck she could get used to this view, "You know feel free to praise God or me or whatever."

Chloe quickly nodded as Beca went down on her for the second time this morning and let out a, "Holy shit…"


"Babe?" Chloe called out to the half closed bathroom door as she plopped back down on her bed with her camera and laptop. Hearing the sink turn off and a mumbled 'yeah' she smiled, "I went ahead and started the coffee maker for you."

Beca popped her head out from behind the bathroom door with her toothbrush in one hand wearing a toothpaste filled grin, making Chloe keel over with laughter. So cute, Beca Mitchell was so cute.

"Thanks," Beca answered shoving her toothbrush back in her mouth and disappearing again, "love you!"

Flopping onto her back Chloe closed her eyes with a smile, it was a little after eleven but she was already ready for a nap. Her body ached in all the right places and she was starving, but she'd live, she'd have to otherwise she'd never get to experience orgasms like that again. Beca had all kinds of tricks up her sleeve and to say it had been an out of body experience would be an understatement. This morning was singlehandedly the best sex she's ever had, all of it, in bed and once they made it to the shower. There was a little fumbling on her end a few times, but they just lightly laughed like it was no big deal before she found her rhythm and equally returned the favor.

After having effectively closed herself off to that aspect of her life, Chloe was pleasantly surprised and relieved that Beca wasn't comparing her actions to anybody else. The morning was nice and the sex had been fun, it was everything she could've asked for and yet so much more. Beca was fantastic, everything a conscientious lover should be, she was perfect really and it made Chloe wonder how a person like this wasn't already firmly locked down in a relationship or married by now. But then what Beca had said last night before falling asleep hit her like a ton of bricks, my whole life's a secret I don't want fame I just want you and to be normal. For some reason Beca didn't trust a lot of people, but Chloe knows she's trusted because she has been told on numerous occasions.

Feeling the bed dip beside her, Chloe opened her eyes and lazily smiled, "Hey sexy."

"Hello gorgeous," Beca ran her fingers through her damp hair, "thanks for setting out a clean t-shirt and these super comfy Columbia University what do you call them? They're not quite sweatpants not quite yoga either?"

Chloe giggled, "I run in them when it's cold, I like them a little baggier because I'll wear thermal running pants under them."

"What dude why? It's like seventy degrees here year round, no need to bust out the parka," Beca dumbly asked without even thinking.

"Yeah, but it snows in New York, hence why they say Columbia University down one leg, I lived there for almost four years."

"Ohhh well I stand corrected," Beca laughed at her own mistake, "seriously though I could've worn my stuff from yesterday."

"It's ok, I just figured you wouldn't want to smell like a concert while waiting for Emily to bring you clean clothes, besides I tossed them in the laundry just in case she brings something you don't like," Chloe said reaching for a hand.

"Did you change the sheets? I think they're a different color!" Beca snapped her fingers in astonishment, totally disregarding Chloe's last statement.

"Yeah you were taking forever in the shower…"

"Hey what can I say, I needed a cold one after you left."

Beca laughed because showering with someone was fun when they were doing stuff, not when they were actually showering. There were too many elbows when trying to maneuver under the shower head, shampoo always managed to get in both her eyes and sharing soap was difficult to say the least. So to prevent injuries she opted to let Chloe do her thing while she watched like a perv from the corner of the shower, which she was perfectly content with. The way the suds from the body wash glistened and flowed down her girlfriend's perfect body with such flawlessness will forever be ingrained in her brain.

"Anyways dork, I didn't have enough clothes for a full load so I just tossed them in too. I mean," Chloe laughed, "they were pretty much on the floor already."

"I needed room to work so I kicked them off," Beca joked, leaning over she gave a quick kiss, then brushed a strand of red hair off that beautiful face, "So, like, will people be able to tell we've slept together?"

Chloe shrugged, she completely forgot about their friends and the bazillion questions that were bound to be asked once they found out, "Who knows, but it's nobody's business except ours."

"True…" Beca paused, the whole morning had been special and she doesn't want inappropriate questions or jokes to ruin that, so she's crossing her fingers nobody says a damn word, "Although for some reason I think Stacie can smell sex, if not she has eyes and will probably see this."

Pulling at the collar on her shirt Beca exposed a small, light red bruise just to the left of the tattoo below her collarbone. It was an awesome reminder of everything that had happened and was something she found herself wearing with pride.

"I'm sorry," stifling a laugh Chloe covered her mouth, "a hickey is so eighth grade."

"Don't worry about it," Beca waved a hand, seeing amused eyes she winked, "I know what got you to put it there, I have no qualms about that."

"Good."

"So, I hate to change the subject," seeing Chloe playfully roll her eyes Beca chuckled, "but I'm hungry and the coffee smells awesome and before I leave to tend to my kitchen duties, I'll ask again, yes or no on the blueberries? I don't mind running out and getting them."

"Apples are completely fine, plus they go great with crispy bacon in Dutch Pancakes," they both were instinctively leaning in and Chloe felt the happiness radiating off them, "Make plenty because we worked up an appetite this morning."

"Will do, but first I need a parting gift," Beca whispered closing the small gap. Chloe had a variety of kisses and she never gets tired of learning new ones and this one was no exception. They've never been in this situation before and if the next month she wakes up like this every day, well then she's died and gone to heaven. Slowly ending the kiss she pulled back and opened her eyes, "Your kissing game is on point, I love it."

Chloe grinned, "I'm always on point."

"Someone's confident."

"I'm always confident…"

"You're supposed to be the modest, likeable one in this relationship Chlo," falling onto her back Beca laughed as her girlfriend gravitated closer, threw a leg over her waist and nuzzled against her neck. Fucking hell she loved this, she couldn't get enough of this feeling, this closeness with someone, she was in love and loved every second of it, "And me?" She could feel Chloe's laughter even though she couldn't hear it yet, "I'm supposed to be the loudmouthed, sarcastic asshole that everyone finds delightfully charming," she finished with an air of sophistication.

"Is that right?" Chloe laughed loud, lifting her head she was met with an over exaggerated award-winning smile showing all Beca's teeth.

"Yes, that's how we work," Beca answered, her smile never breaking as she talked through her teeth, making Chloe laugh harder.

"See I thought…" shifting to straddle her girlfriend, Chloe grabbed Beca's hands and laced their fingers together, "I thought it was because you are thoughtfully sweet and I'm the arm candy with the brains to back it up."

Bringing their hands closer Beca gave them a quick kiss, "We can go with that theory, doubt people would buy it though…"

"See you can't do things like what you just did or write me little poems and leave them in my purse and not expect people to believe how awesome of a girlfriend you are," Chloe playfully rolled her eyes.

"Guess the world will never know…Oomph," Beca rubbed her stomach with a frown, "Dude I'm not into the hitting for pleasure thing, that's off limits, what the hell did you smack me for?"

"For being difficult instead of adorable," lobbing her head back and forth Chloe got an idea, "Although on the flip side, people might look at us and say 'hey she's the only one who can put up with you'."

Beca had been waiting for that comment it's what she'd been aiming for and a huge smile stretched across her face, "God we're disgustingly perfect for each other."

"We are," Chloe regretfully sighed but a smile slipped through her façade, "but there's no one I'd rather be disgustingly perfect with…" Sliding off her girlfriend, she began poking a side until Beca started squirming, "Now get your sexy ass off this bed and to the kitchen and make me some pancakes, I need to get some work done."

That comment and the domestic bliss the whole morning provided is everything Beca has needed in her life. This is exactly what she's been looking for, this is the type of balance she'd talked about with her doctor. She's barely a week into her official break and she can already tell that besides asking Chloe on their first date, this is the second best decision she's ever made. Sex aside, if she feels this good right now, she can't imagine how she'll feel a year from now. And although it's really early, probably way too early to be thinking about this, but maybe this time next year Chloe will have an engagement ring sitting on her left hand.

Scrambling off the bed and snapping to attention Beca gave a mock salute and wink, "Yes ma'am."

"Bring me coffee?" Chloe asked with a grin as Beca stepped out the door muttering about a good tip later. "I need to evaluate the service first," she yelled fighting back her laughter, "Oh can you also bring me my iPod from the dining room table?"

Sticking her head back in the room Beca narrowed her eyes, "Geez women, do I need to start a list? You're bossing me around like we've been together five years. Is this," she gestured between them, "how it's going to be?"

"Yes."

"So I better get used to it right," Beca playfully groaned when Chloe enthusiastically nodded, "just be lucky I love you…" Crossing her arms she relaxed against the door jam and let out a happy sigh, "What else can I bring you my love?"

"That's it, I promise," biting the inside of her cheek Chloe dared to add, "and also I was instructed that my ass wasn't allowed to leave this bed, so it's your own fault."

Closing her eyes Beca lightly knocked her head against the doorframe in frustration, "I did say that didn't I?"

"Yep."

"I should've realized you'd take that literally."

Brightly grinning Chloe asked, "Did you expect anything less?"

Pushing off the door jamb Beca just laughed, "Nope, I'll be back when the coffee is done. And don't forget to work on that list for your art room at my house."


Chloe may have gotten in a tiny bit of trouble when she snuck out to spy on her sweet girlfriend in the kitchen a little while ago. She couldn't help it, but after Beca had brought her coffee, amazingly with the right amount of cream and sugar, it didn't take long for the smell of bacon and the sound of music to blast through her apartment making her curious. As she peeked around the corner into the kitchen she was greeted with the sight of Beca quietly singing, a towel slung over her shoulder, and Billie patiently waiting for food to fall to the floor. It all seemed very natural and once again made her feel like Beca had always belonged here and was completely comfortable stepping into the role of doting girlfriend. Even if it meant rolling up a hand towel and whipping it against her bare thighs as she stole a piece of bacon and was chased down the hall.

Now though Chloe was wrapped in a blanket on her bed, laptop balanced on her knees, sifting through thousands of songs on her iPod trying to discern which ones might have been written by Beca. She's still not a hundred percent convinced that Beca was fully in her right mind last night when those words were mumbled, but Beca is a musician and a songwriter so it was worth ten minutes of investigation. In times like these she wishes she didn't have such an eclectic music taste, but for once it was also beneficial. With the exception of Country, which Beca seemed to have a major adversity towards, any number of genres was fair game.

Ruling out classical, show tunes and anything written or recorded prior to the last five years, significantly narrowed Chloe's search. Next, she tried to decipher what bands wouldn't take on outside help in the songwriting department and although tedious, her OCD need for having all composers and producers on each song paid off. In the end she was left with about twenty albums and a few hundred additional songs that were within the scope of being Beca's music taste.

The usual top ten suspects were there some with the biggest hits of their career, most notably was Maroon 5, twenty one pilots, Green Day and Ellie Goulding. Although newcomers with standout voices and interesting sounds like Halsey, Daya, Tove Lo and X Ambassadors were included, while surprisingly a few songs for the DJ duo The Chainsmokers. Some had consistent third part songwriters or producers on multiple albums while others were random songs that ended up being one hit wonders. It was almost like whoever wrote or produced those songs knew those musicians were going to be big and were willing to give them the break they needed.

Chloe could still hear singing coming from the kitchen and she knew she still had time before she had to begin looking up hotels for next weekend in Monterey. It was a shot in the dark but opening up Google she typed in the name Beca Mitchell and hit search, unsurprisingly there was no personal Facebook or Instagram. Twitter was a whole separate beast that she didn't even bother looking for because Beca had consistently told her that she, "can't get her point across in one-hundred and forty characters or less and that her time could be better spent napping or eating."

Scrolling down Chloe came across the USC radio station website, clicking on it she found a list of the stations current and past DJ's, one of them being Beca Mitchell. Next to each of the names were the years active and a link to current places of employment or projects. Beca's had nothing, there wasn't even a link to click, but what was weirder was that she recognized two names and it wasn't because they were radio personalities.

Had Chloe not have known about these two individuals then she wouldn't have linked them to Beca. The first was Cynthia Rose, who she just met yesterday, and it was exactly what she expected, a generic corporate profile put together for a job as an assistant producer at a local radio station. The next was for Luke Taylor, a guy Beca frequently talks about, and he was a talent scout for Universal Music Group in LA.

Chloe knew for a fact Luke was the one who gave Beca some type of break, she'd been told that months ago during an afternoon in Crissy field. There was just too much of a coincidence for Beca to know some other Luke Taylor, the music industry is a big community, but it's not that big. And considering the amount of times Luke is mentioned in passing to Jesse or she hears Beca say his name on the phone, she gets the distinct impression that he still plays a huge role in her girlfriend's life.

If in fact Beca sold her songs, Luke was probably the person she filtered them through, the question now is what pen name is used. Quickly skimming the composer's section on iTunes Chloe looked for any variation on Beca's name or even Gizmo. Every one was relatively standard and she could easily put a face to a name if she was ever asked, except for DJ Titanium. DJ Titanium had a ton of songs and albums on her iPod, which wasn't surprising, because that producer and songwriter had their hand in just about everything over the past few years and had won multiple Grammy's, all while keep completely anonymous.

Chloe's hand froze hovering over the most recent Maroon 5 hit, because here was a DJ that nobody had ever seen or knew where they worked, had won Grammy's for both songwriting and producing, but still wanted nothing to do with fame. Those were all things Beca had claimed last night. It was really farfetched, but it did semi make sense that Beca and DJ Titanium resemble the same person.

Although it was probably a total coincidence, Chloe was just going to keep telling herself that there was no way Beca was DJ Titanium, she was just getting ahead of herself. Besides Beca's really down to earth and an easygoing person who enjoys reading, cooking and playing the piano, she's not into the whole fast paced producer Hollywood lifestyle. Beca's a regular person, except a regular person whose job just happens to be running a recording studio. Since they'd met Beca's always been available, extremely busy at certain times, but Chloe's always been put first and she thinks that probably wouldn't have happened if she were dating a celebrity. Not to mention that DJ Titanium could have their pick of superstar runway models and other high profile people to date, so why would they waste their time on someone like her, the lonely, entry level Rolling Stone Magazine journalist.

Effectively talking herself out of that theory Chloe continued to search. She refused to believe that Beca didn't sell songs, Beca's constantly writing, and until she reaches a dead end, she's going to keep looking. Plus DJ Titanium wasn't the only person on her iTunes list that had won Grammy's, in fact a songwriter by the name of Dr. E.R. Muzeik had just about as many credits and co-credits as the elusive DJ and had even won multiple Grammy's.

Flipping back to the Google page, Chloe scrolled down looking for any clue or detail about Beca's life that would help. It wasn't until she got to the last hit on the page that a LA Times obituary for Elizabeth Richardson caught her attention, this had to be Beca's mom. Clicking on the link the article titled, Elizabeth Richardson Well Known Film, TV and Jazz Musician Dead at 50, immediately appeared with a picture of the two at the top of the screen. The photo was clearly taken in the middle of a giant recording studio, similar to the one on the first floor of the studio Beca owned. They were laughing and looked happy together, Beca was at the piano and her mother was standing with a trumpet in one hand pointing to something on a piece of sheet music.

Chloe loved seeing candid moments like this and the only bad thing was the nature of the article. It was bittersweet how a beautiful moment like that was tied to something so tragic and as she read the article she learned a lot about Beca's mother. Apparently she grew up in Malibu and was the only child to a structural engineer father and a mathematician mother. She'd obtained a PhD from USC in music performance at twenty-six and unexpectedly fell into the world of a studio musician while trying to build a jazz career. It was a lovely article, highlighting the short but highly productive and astounding career, some of the caliber of movie film scores she worked on were insane. To the outside world a name like Elizabeth Richardson didn't mean anything, but within the film world she was extremely famous, highly sought after and well respected.

It was easy to see why Beca loved music, particularly jazz, it gave her a connection to her mother that would always be there. Towards the end of the article Chloe smiled reading the section on Beca and her mother's relationship, the two did everything together, and a close family friend was quoted as saying, "Elizabeth never missed a single moment of her daughter's life, from preschool art work displays to just last week's piano recital at USC. Beca was her entire world and will forever be Elizabeth's greatest legacy and accomplishment."

That one quote really got to Chloe, those two had a bond that she always dreamt of having with her own mother, but that just wasn't her fate. And after all the good things that have happened to her in the last twenty four hours she was just going to push those negative thoughts away.

Finishing off the article Chloe was a second away from pressing the back button when the final message at the bottom of the screen caught her eye:

In lieu of flowers, Beca Mitchell requests that donations be made to the Dr. E. Richardson Music Foundation in support of LA County School Music Programs.

All at once things came crashing down and Chloe had to read the last sentence twice just to make sure her eyes and mind weren't playing tricks. It was too much of a coincidence that the Dr. E. Richardson Music Foundation and the songwriter Dr. E.R. Muzeik had almost the exact same initials. Hell although music was spelled wrong, she could still tell it said music and there was no way some other person could come up with a name like that without it being significant. She's like ninety-nine percent convinced that Beca Mitchell, her Beca Mitchell, the one currently singing and making breakfast in her kitchen, is the Grammy award winning songwriter Dr. E.R. Muzeik. It was all plain as day written write in front of her.

Flipping back to iTunes Chloe quickly narrowed her song choices down to the ones only written or co-written by Dr. E.R. Muzeik, then categorized it even further by release date. The first thing she noticed was that the first date was a little under three years after the date and time stamp on the article. That would've given Beca enough time to graduate and start an internship, an internship that Luke Taylor, former USC radio station manager and Universal Music Group talent scout, probably got Beca to begin with.

The only thing that Chloe could think about at this point was how fucking nuts this was, Beca wasn't kidding, she'd won multiple Grammy's and effectively kept her name and face out of the spotlight. Given Beca's quiet and reserved nature Chloe can see why that penname was used, because unless someone was close to the source there would be no way to connect the two. That also leads Chloe to believe that Beca wasn't writing songs just to make money, maybe it's another way to support the music foundation started in her mother's honor. It's the only logical explanation she can come up with and it didn't really change anything between them. In her eyes, Beca was still Beca, her insanely awesome girlfriend who was silly and awkwardly goofy while still maintaining this sweet and caring side. Those were the things Chloe was totally in love with, she could care less about fame or Grammy's.

There was a lull in the music and Chloe could hear the plates being stacked on the kitchen counter so it wouldn't be long before breakfast was ready and she needed to make this last search quick. Clearing the search bar she typed in Dr. E.R. Muzeik and hit enter. Not surprising the first hits were YouTube videos, the next were various artist webpage's giving detailed descriptions of song writer credits and even a Wikipedia page listing even more songs she didn't know existed, all of which were bookmarked to be looked at later.

Glancing through a few pages of Google, past seemingly endless song or album reviews, she paused on a webpage with a title she didn't think would ever be remotely related: DJ Titanium aka Dr. E.R. Muzeik?

With shaking fingers Chloe held her breath as she clicked the link and the page loaded, but then let out a relieved sigh and a small laugh. In her haste to get answers she never even looked at the web address, but as soon as pictures, gifs and other random memes loaded she knew exactly what this page was, Tumblr. If the IloveDJT name was anything to go by, this was a Tumblr page of a very dedicated, yet slightly obsessed DJ Titanium fan. It was all very comical and everything her teenage self would dream of, but as she scrolled through page after page there was no explanation of the title. That was until someone asked the same question and the author directed them to the DJ Titanium FAQ link at the side of the page.

The section wasn't huge and mainly held information that was already public knowledge, but after reading half the page Chloe's mouth fell open in disbelief at three very revealing questions:

Q: How do you know that DJ Titanium and Dr. E.R. Muzeik are the same person?

A: The answer is highly debatable, but amongst some of the more hardcore fans (myself included) who have followed the DJ's success from the very beginning we've come to that collective conclusion. Dr. E.R. Muzeik won their first Grammy with Maroon 5 and Adam Levine praised the songwriter in countless interviews for helping perfect a song they thought was going nowhere. Then magically the next Maroon 5 album, and subsequent albums since then, a "new" writer, co-writer and producer emerged and are credited with propelling Maroon 5 to super stardom. That person just so happens to be DJ Titanium, someone who Maroon 5 is very tight lipped and refuses to answer questions about in interviews. Can anyone say confidentiality agreement? So why would Adam Levine and Maroon 5 stray from the person who brought them international success to begin with? We believe they didn't, Dr. E.R. Muzeik simply changed their name to DJ Titanium. A name so completely different that it would never be associated with the first to begin with.

Chloe's mouth hung open, Beca makes everyone who works at Hyde Street Studios sign a confidentiality agreement, Emily had told her that the first day they met and her girlfriend confirmed it. It was also no secret that Maroon 5 exclusively works with DJ Titanium and that Beca Mitchell loved Maroon 5 and sometimes got texts and late night phone calls from an "Adam L." that were never missed.

Q: But if they are the same person why do they need two names?

A: That's the million dollar question and one we won't know until my future wife answers it, but it does add to the overall mysteriousness. If I had to guess they are protecting themselves, from some type of scrutiny, maybe a famous family member they don't want to be compared to.

Holy shit, Beca's mom was famous and Beca had been a music prodigy her whole life. Chloe could totally see why Beca would want to keep her identity a secret. Her girlfriend probably didn't want anything to take away from her mom's legacy or maybe Beca didn't feel like she lived up to her mom's standards and didn't want a constant comparison.

Q: You've mentioned DJ Titanium is doing the theme song for the next James Bond movie Skyfall, how sure are you?

A: I'm almost 100% confident! It has already been confirmed that Adele has signed on and although DJ Titanium's camp hasn't confirmed or denied it Adele says she's hoping to work with someone topnotch, someone she hasn't been able to work with yet. Now we all know that DJ Titanium refuses to travel to record and that Adele doesn't stray far from her family for long periods of time, but a single song could be easy for both parties to record rather quickly. Plus, it has been widely discussed that MGM (the company distributing the movie) wants an Academy Award for best original song in a motion simply because they haven't won one for a James Bond movie yet. And DJ Titanium has the potential to give them that, so be on the lookout in the next few months for confirmation.

"Holy shit," Chloe whispered glancing at her open bedroom door, "holy shit," she smacked the sides of her leg in excitement, "it all makes sense now."

Beca had come to Chloe last month asking what the hype was about this "Daniel Craig fucker" and why he was considered the best James Bond. Her girlfriend, the one who hates everything to do with movies, even asked to watch Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and didn't fall asleep. Beca had been engaged, asked questions and even commented on how the title theme songs "sucked" and that she could do better. Chloe didn't think anything of it at the time, but now all kinds of red flags were being waved in front of her face.

"Ok, ok wow, I can deal with this…" Chloe let out a breath as she quickly closed all the pages and unplugged her iPod, "This doesn't change anything between us, Beca is still Beca. I love Beca…"

Chloe couldn't get over what she just found out, she loves her girlfriend and her girlfriend just so happens to be DJ Titanium. Well she's not a hundred percent sure, Tumblr pages are about as creditworthy as Wikipedia, but sometimes both could be highly accurate. For some reason knowing Beca is famous, like uber famous, really isn't all that surprising when she looks at some of Beca Mitchell's quirks. Beca's extremely private, protective over her personal life and maintains a relatively small group of devoted friends. She watches her laptop and songbook like a hawk, knew just about everyone backstage last night at the concert, has a driver, a personal assistant and owns a fucking recording studio. A recording studio that, for all practical purposes, is so hidden away from the outside world that it even made Chloe questioned if she was actually in the right place when she first visited.

It's pretty genius really and it all made Chloe laugh, Aubrey wasn't kidding when she said Beca was smart and it was on more than just a music level. Beca knew people would look for her once she got famous so she covered her tracks and made it virtually impossible. If Chloe were to guess she'd assume that every entity of Beca's businesses were held and managed under another name totally unassociated with DJ Titanium, Dr. E.R. Muzeik or Beca Mitchell. It was insane, but it allowed Beca to live and work in San Francisco in relative anonymity, she can do normal things and be a normal person with a normal girlfriend while still doing what she loves.

Had they met in another setting and had Chloe known this little bit of information she may have looked at Beca differently and would have probably been intimidated, but thankfully she met Beca Mitchell first. That's why Chloe's not mad about this, ok maybe she's slightly annoyed simply because Beca hasn't made one move to tell her, but she can't really fault her girlfriend for that, she has things she doesn't talk about too. Now that she knows the real Beca, the one who is loving and considerate and thoughtful, she doesn't think this was kept from her out of malicious intent or even on purpose. Beca just doesn't have it in her to be that type of person, she's too nice and too aware of how her actions affect the people around her.

So for the time being Chloe's not going to say anything, she's just going to continue on like she hadn't heard Beca last night and that she hadn't done any snooping today. Beca's her girlfriend and their relationship is what she wants to focus on. DJ Titanium isn't who she's with, the elusive DJ isn't who she wants to be with, she wants to be with Beca. And as crazy as it sounds she's kind of honored that someone as renowned and talented in the music industry has chosen to love her. She's finally good enough for someone, Beca could have anyone, yet she's the one who was chosen and that's a giant slap in her dad's face. It's not about the money or fame or prestigious job, because that didn't matter when they met and it doesn't matter now.

"Hey Chlo?" Beca softly questioned knocking on the door jamb.

"Yeah Bec," Chloe smiled looking away from the laptop screen. She lightly giggled seeing her beautiful girlfriend smiling with flour dusted across the front of her t-shirt, "What's up?"

"I was thinking breakfast in bed, but," fidgeting with the towel in her hands Beca blew out a breath, "I'd rather not risk getting syrup on your sheets. Plus I made an omelette for us to split, so do you mind eating at the table? I've already safely moved your work stuff aside."

"No that's a good idea," closing her laptop and setting it aside, Chloe slid off the bed. On the past her closet she grabbed Beca's hoodie, "It'll be easier to vacation plan that way."

"Cool," Beca watched Chloe slip the hoodie on that she left here last week. She couldn't help but notice how much better it looked on her girlfriend than it ever did on her, "Well everything's ready when you are," stepping over to the bedside table she picked up the half empty coffee cup, "take your time, I'll get you some fresh stuff."

"You're awesome," easily grabbing Beca's upper arm as she passed, Chloe stilled the movement and gave an easy kiss. Pulling back she grinned, "I love you."

"I love you too," Beca whispered out of breath and half-dazed, "Keep doing that and I'll make you breakfast every day of the week."

"Oh shut up, you just got laid, I could've asked to you vacuum my living room and you would've done it," Chloe joked making them both laugh.

"True, but you didn't ask me to be your maid," shaking her head Beca finished off Chloe's coffee, "So, I guess we'll never know what you could've gotten away with."

Kissing a cheek Chloe smiled, "Oh I'll have plenty of opportunities, the sex was awesome, so I don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon."

If Beca found it hard to keep her hands off Chloe before, after this morning that urge is like ten times worse. Grabbing a hand she tugged her girlfriend out the bedroom door, "Come on nerd, foods getting cold."

"But you're still smokin' hot!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

A lot of people may listen to DJ Titanium and think they have an idea about who that person is, but they don't have a clue. Most people would probably die to have their fingers intertwined with someone so famous and so talented, but Chloe doesn't feel that way, she's not even nervous. And as she is lead down the hall to her dining room and a chair is pulled out for her to sit, she doesn't see DJ Titanium, she see's someone completely different. DJ Titanium didn't make her breakfast and they definitely weren't standing next to her looking all cute and slightly guilty while explaining why her kitchen was a complete disaster area, that was all Beca Mitchell. DJ Titanium was merely a stage presence, a larger than life cover up for the down to earth and quiet person Chloe has probably loved since the day they met but didn't fully come to terms with until last night.

"What?" Beca asked, slicing into the omelette, Chloe was looking at her funny.

"Nothing," Chloe smiled grabbing the syrup bottle, "thanks for brunch Bec…"

"Anytime gorgeous," Beca winked lifting a full fork to her mouth and taking a bite. Swallowing she smiled, "So about this vacation thing, where do we begin, I've never planned one before."

"Never?"

"Nope," Beca mumbled between bites.

Reaching out Chloe wiped a tiny bit of syrup away from the corner of Beca's mouth, then licked it off her thumb, "Well let's get started!"


One week later…

Hurrying down the hall Roger Jensen veered to the left and came to a halt at the open door of the intern office. Controlled chaos was what was happening inside, people were packing up their desks, chatting and laughing as they celebrated their last day as a Rolling Stone Magazine intern. The small party had been going on for the better part of an hour and as much as he hated to interrupt on a Friday afternoon, he had no choice.

Scanning the room he spotted his newest employee seated at a desk happily talking to the group of people surrounding her.

"Roger, hey," Chloe brightly said waving, "I was hoping to see you before I left, I stopped by your office."

"Sorry," Roger put on a warm smile, "I had a meeting with the suits upstairs." Well it was more like he defending one of his intern's right to a personal life. Pointing to the door he nodded, "I hate to interrupt, but can I speak with you, it's urgent."

Standing Chloe excused herself after giving a quick round of hugs to a few people who were taking off, then quickly hurried down the corridor to her new boss's office. She didn't know what was happening or how to interpret his agitated demeanor, but she just chalked it up to a deadline or maybe she needed to edit her Outside Lands Music Festival spread one last time before she left for the month.

Entering his office Chloe was quickly told to take a seat, "So, what's up?"

"We have a meeting in five minutes," Roger rapidly bounced a pen against his desk, "I tried to stop it, I really did, but the people upstairs want to speak with you and they can't wait until you get back."

"What about?" Chloe simply questioned, "Should I be worried?"

Letting out a long sigh Roger tossed his pen aside, "Apparently your personal life."

What the hell did that have to do with Chloe's job, she didn't let family things or her relationship with Beca…oh apparently that's what this is about. Ever since discovering an interesting fact last weekend about her girlfriend she's kept it to herself, she hasn't even told Aubrey. However, there's no way Rolling Stone knew or cared about them, they don't even know who DJ Titanium is or what she looks like. That point had been made very clear a couple months ago when the lead claiming to have overheard DJ Titanium talking in a local bar lead nowhere.

"Well they don't have the authority to ask me anything about my private life," Chloe sternly stated as her boss nodded, "What I do in my free time has no bearing on how I do my job."

"I understand and fully agree," Roger pinched the bridge of his nose, "You've given me no indication that whatever goes on outside of this building is any of my concern. I've told them they're treading on thin ice…"

"Does this have to do with the legal cases my family was involved with after their death," there was no way Chloe was going to start out with the Beca situation, so she deflected, "because I refuse to talk about it, everything has been settled."

Shaking his head Roger glanced at his watch, his phone should be ringing any minute telling them it's time, "I don't think so, but I'm not entirely sure, they wouldn't tell me much."

"Ok…"

"Look originally they didn't even want me there, but I told them," tapping the desktop with a finger in annoyance Roger decided to lay it all on the line, "under no circumstances was I going to allow six people against one. You are on my team, I stick by my people and asking questions about people's personal life was both unfair and unprofessional."

Chloe was kind of taken back, she didn't expect her boss to go to bat for her like this so early in her career. She was a brand new employee, not many people would do this for someone they knew very little about. But the frightening part was that she has a big inclination that this is about Beca, the only question now is how much did they know.

"Wow, ok, so…" Chloe closed her eyes, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, "Does this have to do with my…" she paused and cringed, she hated using this term because it was so putting a label on things she didn't think needed a label to begin with, "sexual orientation, because I always figured Rolling Stone to be pretty tolerant of that."

"No absolutely not," Roger adamantly denied, "Look I have no idea what they want to discuss, but if they bring that up anything we're uncomfortable with, I'll step in and do the talking."

"Thank you…"

"Any other advice?" Chloe tentatively asked, "Can't I just plead the fifth," she tried to lighten the mood and got a little chuckle out of Roger, "I don't mind."

Lobbing his head back and forth Roger thought about, "Actually that's a great idea, just deny everything and continue to state you don't see how this is relevant to your job."

"I can do that." Chloe lightly jumped when the phone rang, "I guess that means we're up."

"Afraid so," Roger added before picking up the phone up.

Chloe watched him listen and respond to a couple of questions with curt yes or no answers before hanging up and moving to stand. Before she knew it they were in the elevator and she was getting a rundown on who they were meeting, one of them being the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine.

This whole thing was sprung on Chloe so fast that she doesn't know whether she should be nervous, angry or a mixture of both. But the longer she waits and with every step she takes toward the giant conference room the angrier she gets. Her life was her life, regardless of what happened in her past, who she dated or what she did on her free time. Looking to her right she is grateful to have the support of her boss, who looked just as upset about this as she feels because as Beca always says this is heading into sketchy territory.

Stopping Roger from opening the conference room doors Chloe asked, "Will HR be here?"

"Yes, I called them before I came to get you," scratching his forehead Roger frowned, "Although with the bigwigs, I don't know what help they'll be, but it's their job to watch out for the employee's rights."

"I understand, so I still need to watch what I say?"

"To an extent yes," reaching for the handle Roger briefly hesitated, leaning closer he whispered, "just remember these people can make or break your career, so be careful how much you piss them off." Getting a nod he pushed the door open slightly then stopped, "Are you ready?"

"No," hesitantly smiling Chloe just wanted to get this over with so she could get out of here and go see Beca. Good, bad or otherwise if this was about DJ Titanium, Beca needed to know because the secret was out and it would only be a matter of time before it was revealed, "but that doesn't really matter does it?"

Roger just shook his head as he pushed the door open for Chloe, who instinctively squared her shoulders and stood up just that little bit straighter before taking the final step through it. She was immediately faced with six people, some she had met briefly and some she'd never even seen before, sitting at the middle of the stupidly long conference table. Also sitting off to the side of the room were two people she recognized from HR, the manager and assistant manager. She and Roger quickly took their seats and waited for them to make the first move, because it wasn't going to be her.

The man in the middle eventually cleared his throat and held out his hand, "Miss Beale, my name is Paul Connelly, chief editorial director, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Chloe answered as Paul quickly introduced the others.

The first person was Jann Wenner, the co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine, quickly followed by another lead publisher as well as marketing and photography managers and the in house lawyer. All they were are lapdogs, meant to intimidate and sway her into answering questions that she wasn't going to answer. From her orientation at the beginning of her internship she knew that these were the people who ran the magazine, they made all the decisions.

"So this is purely an informal meeting," Paul stated.

"Then I'm not sure why I'm here, I'm just a new hire and…" Chloe checked her watch. She was hoping to be gone by now, she had errands to run and needed to finish packing. Beca was picking her up early tomorrow morning and they were stopping for breakfast before starting their mini-road trip down the coast to Monterey where they'd spend a couple nights, "It's Friday afternoon."

"I'm sorry," Paul apologized looking down the table at his colleagues, "We'll make this quick."

"Good," Chloe forced, "So what did you need from me?"

As if on cue all of the people sitting across from her opened matching folders and began shuffling through the pages. Eventually Janet, who Chloe didn't actually get a job title, passed over a copy of an email she'd written months ago. This was exactly what she'd feared, it was about Beca, but she wasn't going to let them know that she knew, she was going to play dumb.

"If you're asking if I wrote this," placing the paper on the tabletop Chloe looked up, "then yes I did. I was the one who called this Alex person to talk about their DJ Titanium claims. It's a complete transcript of our conversation that lead nowhere…"

"We know," Paul abruptly interrupted, "but that's not what we're interested in." When the woman across the table didn't even budge or look away he continued, "We're interested in your knowledge of DJ Titanium."

"I don't know any more than the average fan or this magazine," Chloe easily retorted without so much as a second thought. Thinking back to the Tumblr page she decided to summarize her thoughts by using the crazy fan girl approach, "I'm a huge fan, I have everything they've ever done on my iPod. And the whole incognito vibe just adds to the allure."

"Quite frankly everyone is a fan," Janet added, "and everyone wants an interview or to meet them."

Chloe nodded, "I'm sure and it shouldn't be surprising that I'd love to do both too."

Janet pulled out another piece of paper with what Chloe thought looked like hand written questions. The top guns probably told Janet to ask the preliminary questions to soften her up. That fact alone was annoying and she inwardly rolled her eyes.

"So…" Janet began, finger pointing to the first question, looking up she asked, "Since you're a fan where do you think DJ Titanium lives?"

"I have no idea," Chloe answered and got blank stares, they knew something and were baiting her, "and I don't really care."

"Any idea what their next big project is," Janet carefully asked pointing to the second question.

It was almost like the people sitting across from Chloe were trying to gauge her reactions, to see if she'd flinch or break her poker face. She could easily play that game, she'd been doing it for years, even before her parents died. It was a defense mechanism and one she was proud to say her father fell for every single time. It's the whole reason he believed she'd started law school when in fact she really hadn't.

"I have no idea," Chloe repeated her words while never breaking eye contact, "and I don't really care."

"Any idea where they work or what kind of car they drive?"

"I have no idea," Chloe's fingers dug into the chair's armrest, "and I don't really care."

Chloe wasn't going to be backed into a corner and she wasn't going to give Beca up either. Over the last few months she's finally found someone she can trust and she loves Beca, is in love with Beca. She's had a whole week to sit on the knowledge that Beca is DJ Titanium and at first she was a little annoyed, but then it evolved into something much better. She has a deeper appreciation for the person Beca is and how she grew to love that person, not the celebrity who has a won Grammy's and has more fans than anybody would probably know how to deal with. No, Chloe sees Beca, the slightly complicated, awkwardly adorable, goofy, tenderhearted and romantic person that loves her on a daily basis without asking for anything in return. The person who has spent the night a few times this week and has gotten up each morning to make her breakfast before work simply because she loves doing it. That's the person Chloe loves, because looking back on everything they've talked about in the whole time they've known each other Beca hasn't lied.

Although Chloe kind of understands why Beca's hiding, she still doesn't have the whole story and won't until she's told from the source. And it's not Chloe or anyone else's decision to ask questions or write articles, therefore she is going to protect Beca at all costs. It's the right thing to do, it's the only way to keep building on the trust they've established. That way if any hint or whisper or story emerges, she can safely say she played no part in it and that she did everything in her power to prevent it.

"How about this," the new voice came from Steve, a guy with slicked back hair and an overly confident smile that made Chloe's skin crawl, "do you think this person is a man or woman?"

"Look guys," Roger interrupted, making everyone's head snap in his direction, "what the hell does all this have to do with Miss Beale?" Pointing to Chloe he defended, "She clearly stated she doesn't know anything and I thought this meeting was about her…" Sitting back in his chair he let out a long breath, "Unless you need to speak with her and not ask questions about DJ Titanium, then this meeting is over. Any fan off the street could answer these type of questions."

"Miss Beale," this guy's name was Doug and was one of the head publishers, Chloe had heard Roger mention him all the time and it was never anything good, "what do you do on your free time? If you don't mind me asking?"

Chloe steeled her nerves and pointedly stared at every person at the table before answering, "That is none of your business because it doesn't affect my work."

"See we feel it does, we believe you know DJ Titanium," Doug easily stated, "and we'd like some information."

"I've told you, I don't know them," Chloe angrily stated sitting forward in her chair, "I don't know where they live, work or what kind of car they drive."

"Are you sure?" Doug flipped through the pages in the folder, pulling out a stack of photos he placed the first one down and slid it over, "Does this person look familiar?"

Picking up the photo Chloe examined it closely, of course it was Beca, she could pick out that sexy form, trademark laptop bag and headphones around her neck from a mile away. Beca was standing at the entrance to her studio, phone in one hand and Gizmo's leash in the other, there was no mistaking who that was.

Setting the photo down Chloe looked up, "Nope, just somebody and their dog, besides you can't really see their face it's blurry."

"I see," handing over a couple more photos Doug questioned again, "How about now? Do these help jog your memory?"

These photos were better, taken with a higher quality camera, the type that paparazzi use when they go after major celebrities while they're on vacation on a beach in the south of France. The first was of Beca entering Aubrey's deli and the second was of her girlfriend exiting the backdoor of the studio and getting into Cynthia Rose's SUV. It was all very strange and it made her think back to the conversation she had with 'Alex' and how he'd claimed to have pictures of Beca having various meetings with musicians in the back booths of random bars around the city. At the time it all seemed very fishy and farfetched, but with what she knows now it's all very logical and she totally buys it.

"Still doesn't ring a bell," passing the photos over to her boss Chloe just shrugged. "I don't know what this has to do with me," she hoped that they were starting to get the message, "I mean they're cute, but I don't know them."

"Me either," Roger nodded in a way that said he was going to do his best to deter the executives minds. He slid the photos across the table, "So you have a couple of photos of a girl walking down the street, that's nothing out of the ordinary. I think you need to give Miss Beale some credit, I don't know what else you want her to say."

"I would like to go, it's past four and I have somewhere I need to be," Chloe lied, then looked over to the HR managers, "Unless I'm in some type of trouble, I don't think I'm needed anymore," the pair nodded in agreement and she immediately looked back to the faces across the table, "And you have no right to ask me where I'm going, who I'm with or what we'll be doing. My personal life is just that," she jabbed her finger onto the photo and forcefully shoved it across the table, "personal. I don't let it interfere with my job or how I perform it." Standing she placed both hands on the table and leaned on them, "I have a life outside of work and they will always be separate I hope we all understand that?"

Clearing his throat the HR manager drew everyone's attention, "She is absolutely within her rights not to disclose any personal information. So ladies and gentlemen I suggest you refrain from pursuing that topic, it violates our corporate policies, policies that you signed off on."

"You're right," Paul gave an apologetic smile that Chloe didn't buy at all, "but I believe, we believe," he gestured down the table, "our next questions and photos very much involve her work." Standing to match her presence he handed over his entire folder, "Take a look at the first three photos and then tell us if you recognize them, because we think you do…"

Chloe's face flushed and she dropped down into her seat because in her hands were pictures of her and Beca, together. Resting her elbows on the table she placed her fingers on her temples and just stared at the pictures. There was no mistaking it was them in all three photos, each one was crystal clear and their profiles were front and center. One was of them walking down the street holding a couple of cloth grocery bags and laughing, the second was of them sitting at an outdoor restaurant on what she very clearly remembers to be a date. The third however was probably the most damning, they were kissing in the front seat of Beca's SUV that was parked in front of her apartment building.

They had her, there was no way Chloe could deny this was some other red head and some other Beca Mitchell. They had her and they knew it, they'd known it the second she'd walked into the room. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she was pretty sure she was beginning to hyperventilate, but she needed to maintain her composure because she wasn't under any circumstances going to confirm Beca was DJ Titanium.

"We have inside sources that confirm that this person," Paul pointed to Beca's picture making Chloe's head snap up, "the person you're clearly involved with is DJ Titanium."

All eyes were on Chloe and she knew whatever she said next wouldn't matter, everyone already had their answer.

"I've told you my personal life is none of your business," Chloe's tone was icy and sharp, but the others didn't even flinch.

"I second that," Roger jumped in trying to break the tension, "you can't penalize her for keeping this secret, Chloe it's time for us to go."

As the two stood to leave Paul's voice carried throughout the room, "After you sent us your follow-up email with the transcript we felt like there was some validity to what the source told you. So we," he carefully sat down in his chair and straightened his tie, "decided to pursue it. I personally sent someone to retrieve the photos he talked about, they're all in the folder. For once it seemed like we had a legitimate source so we paid him to report back to us on a biweekly basis and low and behold your face popped up which a photo editor recognized."

"So you mean to tell me if I hadn't made such a lasting impression by actively participating in the internship program and making a name for myself that I wouldn't be sitting here right now?" Chloe was furious and the hand placed on her shoulder didn't do much to calm her down, "In answer to your question, yes I'm dating her, does that make you happy? Go ahead publish those photos, I hope you paid enough for them because it'll increase your sales, but it's going to crush my chance at a happy life."

"What does that mean?" Finally the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine decided to step in, Chloe had almost forgot he was in the room, "Please explain."

"It means," taking a shaky breath Chloe tried to collect her thoughts, she may be angry, but she can't disrespect someone of Jann Wenner's nature, "It means she'll think I'm behind this, because I'm the one who has suddenly shown up in her life, worked their way into her small group of friends and gotten close to. Then pictures like this will surface in the magazine I work for," she was out of breath, sad and angry. She was ready to punch a wall because her life was on the verge of collapsing around her right after she'd finally found love and stability, "Not to mention this is a magazine she has repeatedly turned down for interviews. If you were her, what would you think?" She glanced around the room and got nothing but blank stares as a response, "You'd point the accusing finger at me, the newcomer, and nobody else. No matter what I say it will be all my fault."

Holding up a hand Paul signaled that he'd heard enough, pulling out another sheet of paper he began reading off names, "Aubrey Posen-Swanson, Jesse Swanson, Stacie Conrad, I can go on, there are others. We can pin it on any number of these people or…" Rolling his fingers in a rhythmic pattern along the tabletop he smiled, "We'll just use Cynthia Rose, they worked together at USC. We can swing it so it sounds like she's jealous of her friend's success and sold the story to us because she wasn't cutting it as an assistant producer at the KMEL morning show."

"Hell no," Chloe wouldn't allow that to happen to her friends, Beca's friends, even if she never saw them again after this, she wasn't going to let any of them take the fall, "You leave them out of this."

"Rolling Stone should have way more integrity than this," Roger finally spoke trying to silence the argument that was about to ensue, "I've told you numerous times an artist either agrees to an interview or they don't, we don't chase them around like the paparazzi and we don't do things like this. I refuse to run my department that way."

Two people were about to speak but the founder of the magazine raised his hand, silencing the room, "He's right, I started this magazine on integrity, honesty and the love of music, Paul you need to take a step back and think about how you're approaching this."

"Thank you sir," Chloe curtly nodded.

"I'm not in the tabloid business, but we have a unique situation on our hands," Jann Wenner stated in a calm voice, "First, let me apologize, when we met this afternoon they assured me things wouldn't escalate like they have," looking to his left and right he gave a reprimanding glare, "It's not an excuse, but they're not used to taking no for an answer."

Chloe felt her heart calm slightly, for the first time since she stepped into the room she thought somebody understood her. She'd only heard of Jann Wenner, never met the guy face to face, and the comments were always very neutral, neither good nor bad. The only things she had learned was that he was quiet and preferred to listen then speak and that people either did what he wanted or they were gone. It's part of the reason why the magazine has been so successful, yet he still gives her an uneasy feeling.

"And I hope you understand where I'm coming from and the reason for my reactions," relaxing somewhat and dropping her shoulders Chloe gave a tired smile, she was just ready to leave, "I was blindsided and not prepared to see photos of me like that with my girlfriend."

Don't get her wrong Chloe's scared of what life will be like in the spotlight, hell she already had a small taste of it when her parents died and that was concentrated around Atlanta and her home town, not on a worldwide scale. She'd never dreamed that her image, her life and relationship with someone would be splashed over every tabloid and the subject of talk shows or Tumblr feeds, it's daunting to the point of almost overwhelming. Yet she understands that if she wants to be with Beca long term she has come to grips with the fact that things like that will inevitably be part of their everyday life. It's been looming over her head since the day she found out and the only thing that outweighs all her fears is knowing that she loves Beca and Beca loves her and that's all she really cares about.

"Your reaction was completely warranted and I admire you for sticking to your principles," Jann smiled, "no hard feelings, I think everyone would agree on that," he looked around the table and got simple nods, "and please don't worry everything said today stays in this room regardless of the outcome."

That was somewhat reassuring Chloe thought as she purposefully looked around the room, Paul and Doug seemed upset, Janet shocked, while HR and legal had on their poker faces, "It still doesn't change the fact that you will get no information out of me."

"I understand," Jann simply stated in a neutral tone, "but, we were hoping that you could help us and in return we'll help you."

"By doing what?" Chloe didn't even blink, she knew exactly where this was going.

"Don't convince DJ Titanium to do an interview," looking down at a sheet of paper Jann read off the name, "convince Beca Mitchell to come forward."

Up until five seconds ago Chloe was positive she was the only one that knew Beca's true identity, this was alarming they had way more information and were using it to bait her, "How do you know that name?"

"Research," Doug interrupted making Chloe's head whip in his direction, "it's amazing what kind of motivation a couple hundred bucks thrown at our informant will do, it took him about a month but he eventually got you to tell him."

"Me…" Chloe whispered in disbelief. This conversation was going all sorts of wrong, these people were on their game and willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to get this interview, "I don't understand how…" her voice trailed off as it dawned on her, "Oh…"

The deli it was the only possible way, Beca was in there regularly, especially after they started dating, and always in her regular booth reserved just for her. It wasn't uncommon on busy nights for customers to ask who it was reserved for and everyone always answered the exact same way, Beca Mitchell.

"She can't be convinced," it was a long shot, but Chloe threw it out there, because things were close to unraveling and she was just kind of trying to keep her head above water, "there's no use."

"Then use your powers of persuasion, so to speak," Doug easily stated in a way that made Chloe want to throw up, he was as sleazy as he looked. "You're a very pretty girl and it's obvious from these pictures," he shoved another stack towards her, "that DJ Titanium is appreciative of that fact."

"Stop right there," Roger smacked his hand on the table stopping the pictures, "I will not let this continue, this is unprofessional on so many levels."

"Do you love her?" Doug continued in a blatant disregard for HR, legal, Roger and even the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine. He was on a mission to break her and Chloe wasn't going to allow it, she'd quit right now if it meant protecting Beca.

Chloe just blinked in anger, "That's none of your business."

"Does she love you?"

Chloe's done depositions before, has been scrutinized over tiny inconsequential deals about her life and everything that has happened leading up to her parents accident, but never in her life has anyone made her feel like this. Like she was floundering for air, like she was being looked down on for not bringing this information to the magazine sooner, that it was her duty to reveal information that nobody but Beca and their close friends were privileged to. And now they wanted her to use her looks and Beca's natural gravitation towards her to gain an interview? Any creditworthy journalist would walk away from this and she knows she should too but what she really wants is to jump over the table and punch this son of a bitch directly in the face and then haul off and do the exact same to Paul.

Then there's Jann, who supposedly was on Chloe's side, but now appears to have just been lying. He's just like the other two except he's forcing his lackeys to do the dirty work while he comes out looking clean and she's slowly beginning to loathe him. She can see his light smirk behind the two fingers pressed to his lips as his eyes flick back and forth between her and other two while not saying a single word or jumping to her defense.

"That is also none of your business," fingernails were digging into the arm of the chair and it was the only way of keeping Chloe grounded, "so stop asking."

"Look Miss Beale, I'm tired of playing games," Jann finally stated.

"You and me both," Chloe angrily replied crossing her arms and turning slightly away. At this point she didn't even care how she looked or sounded anymore, she was beyond furious.

"I'll cut to the chase," Jann began folding his hands on top of the table, giving Chloe this look that said she better pay attention, "If you get us the interview, I'll guarantee you'll write the cover story and you'll take all the photos, including the one for the cover."

"You can't do that," Paul quickly corrected, "we've already got people lined up for that."

"I can and I will," Jann stated not breaking eye contact with Chloe, "so Miss Beale will you take the assignment?"

After today Chloe's seriously going to reconsider if this is the job for her, yes it was her dream, but at what cost. How could she ever work for a company that treated their people like this, giving them ultimatums in exchange for information that was otherwise unavailable? She has morals and codes and her intuition says following them is the smartest decision. Her father would be laughing at the situation and how her useless degree got her a useless job and how the only way she could make it in her dream was to be blackmailed. It was ironic in a way, he was dead, but this is exactly what he wanted, her to fail in her career choice. She doesn't see it that way, since Beca has walked into her life she's been happier because someone supports her regardless of what her dreams are and in that aspect she was winning.

"No…" Chloe vehemently refused without a second thought, "I can not and will not try to convince Beca to do the interview. She has her reasons and I'm not going to push it, my relationship with her means more to me than a god damn cover story."

"Are you refusing an assignment?"

"Yes…" Chloe strongly stated.

"I suggest you think about that for a minute," Jann slowly spoke in a calm tone, "You're giving up a cover story which you will have complete creative freedom on and where you'll personally have my backing on one hundred percent."

Chloe nodded, as much as she'd love that and has dreamt of having this opportunity, this wasn't the way she wanted to achieve it. She always figured it would take years of hard work before she'd ever be given a cover story. Instead it's being handed to her on a silver platter because she was sleeping with the person these people have been dying to get their hands on for years. She'd never take the offer though, even if she and Beca broke up next week, next month or next year she wanted to keep some shred of decency and integrity for herself and her profession. Beca had her reasons for wanting privacy, reasons she'd yet to find out and having a major article written should be her girlfriend's decision, there should be no outside forces influencing it.

"I'm still not doing it," Chloe didn't know how much clearer she needed to be. They thought being persistent and dangling pretty things in front of her face would sway her, but they've got another thing coming, "I refuse to write any article about Beca Mitchell or DJ Titanium, it's a conflict of interest."

"Let me explain the ramifications of turning us down," Paul was back in the conversation and Chloe visibly rolled her eyes, "you'll never do another major story for us. Instead you'll write nothing but mundane and useless articles or album reviews. We'll essentially dead end your career."

"Now hold on," abruptly interrupting Roger tossed his glasses aside and tiredly rubbed his eyes. He's worked here a long time and this is the first time he has heard ultimatums of this nature, "Chloe shows promise and is a valuable asset to my team, our team. You can't do this to her because she refuses to write one article."

Paul nodded, "We understand, but she is our only hope, we can't even get past DJ Titanium's publicists and she sees our subject on a daily basis."

"Oh so what," Roger spat out, "like she said, if someone hadn't of recognized her we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now."

"If Miss Beale doesn't write the article, someone else will," Paul fired off with a satisfied grin, "We'd just prefer to have the…proper, inside knowledge. She helps us and in return we'll help her."

"No," Chloe shook her head, the magazine executives could ruin her life, but she'd be damned if they were going to do it to Beca without the proper authorization. They may think she is a fool, but she'd paid attention to all the company policies during her orientation and even memorized a few, "I know for a fact that you can't do a cover story or any major article without the express written consent of the artist in question. This is something you," she individually pointed to each of the people sitting in front of her, "issued as a corporate policy. Honesty and integrity right?"

Looking towards HR and legal, Chloe silently asked for help and she got it with a firm head nod from both parties.

"She's absolutely right," the HR manager confirmed, "the only thing we have a right to publish without consent is reviews or photos involving live performances because access is automatically granted through press passes. Everything else is strictly prohibited by our policies."

"Not to mention the legal ramifications that could be associated with a celebrity of this magnitude," Sarah the corporate lawyer finally spoke up, "one wrong word or sentence and we could be sued for defamation of character and posting false claims." Clearing her throat she hesitantly stated, "We all remember what happened with the UVA Rape story last year after we didn't do proper fact checking. We're still in court over that, if we have another screw up like that, we probably won't recover."

Not a single person in the room said a word and Chloe couldn't help but feel like she was winning the battle.

"So the magazine can't publish those photos of my girlfriend or us together?" A few heads nodded and Chloe felt her heart rate slow and the tension in her shoulders somewhat ease, "And who keeps the photos?"

"Right now they're archived in the photo department," Sarah reassuringly smiled at Chloe, "they're specially watermarked to prevent accidental publication. Once I receive explicit written consent from the artist, then I'll start the process to get the watermark removed and that takes three signatures."

Chloe liked that answer, she was one step closer to fully protecting Beca and breathing a sigh of relief, "And what happens if someone publishes something without consent?"

"Regardless of rank within the company, anyone signing off on the pictures or articles will immediately be terminated," the HR manager added, "And I think the board of directors would agree if this was presented to them."

Paul, Doug, Janet and Jann all turned their backs to Chloe and began a heated whispered discussion. As far as she was concerned she wasn't legally obligated to do anything except be annoyed that they'd pressured her this long and kept her from leaving. HR and legal were doing exactly what they were meant to do, looking out for her rights, and she really has Roger to thank for getting them involved.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable waiting the three turned back to face her and Chloe watched Doug and Jann give Paul the go ahead nod with an uneasy feeling. She was slowly starting to have a bad taste in her mouth, he was clearly sent to do the dirty work. It made her roll her eyes as hard as Beca when Aubrey complains about an untidy office.

"How about this," Paul smiled, "we know you're gone next month…" Shuffling through his folder he handed over the rest of the pictures, "why don't you take that time to think about your future with us and how successful your career within this industry could be if you wrote this article."

"So all I have to do is tell you yes or no when I come back?" Chloe curiously asked shifting her eyes around the room.

"Not exactly," Janet finally broke her silence, "you'll either have a ten page article written on your first day or you won't. That's all the answer we need."

Chloe watched Paul reach for Janet's folder and remove a preprinted sheet, then hand it over. Giving it a brief skim through she raised an eyebrow, "What's this?"

"Merely suggested guidelines," Paul quickly answered, like he'd been waiting for that question, "Like Mr. Wenner stated you have complete creative control, but there are a few topics we'd like your article to touch on, how you go about finding the answers is completely up to you."

"So you're forcing me to write the article your way," Chloe bitterly laughed.

"No," Paul cautiously held up his hands in defense, "but it would ensure a well rounded article, covering all the bases. Besides you're close to the subject and we hope you'd add in little personal touches, you know things adoring fans want to know. Like what toothpaste Beca Mitchell uses, the type of coffee she drinks or the name of her dog." Everyone around him voiced their agreements with all too easy smiles, "The tone and direction of the article are all up to you."

"I see," Chloe halfheartedly flipped through the folders contents after adding the additional photos to the mix. Besides the pictures, it was mainly filled with things people already knew about DJ Titanium, at least they didn't have much on Beca Mitchell's private life. The contents were a complete joke and looked like it had been put together as an afterthought with a consent form hastily printed out and shoved in at the last minute, "So just let me get this straight, I write the article and have a long and illustrious career at Rolling Stone?"

"Yes, we'll have a private office next to Roger's ready for you on your first day," Paul easily stated with a hopeful and encouraging smile, "you'll be fast tracked to success and will begin writing major articles for us."

"On the other hand if I refuse I'm stuck doing intern and low-level employee bitch work," Chloe added Beca's favorite term in just because it was appropriate, making Sarah giggle, "while never advancing my career in any aspect."

"Yes…"

Slamming the folder shut Chloe narrowed her eyes, "So you want me to jeopardize my relationship with someone I love in order to get you this article?"

Paul held up his hand, cutting off Doug's impending comment, "This is strictly business and we hope your girlfriend sees it the same way."

Chloe let out an annoyed laughed, they didn't care if this article broke her and Beca up, they were only looking out for Rolling Stone Magazine's best interest. They didn't give a shit about her and her career and they damn sure didn't care about the massive pressure this would put on Beca. Beca was the type of person who took her time and thought about moves and much like her girlfriend's music, everything was very calculated. So until Beca was ready to answer questions for an article, Chloe was going to do her best to make sure nothing gets published.

Drumming her fingers on the tabletop Chloe contemplated her next move by eyeing everyone in the room again. When they landed on HR she asked, "If I decide to not pursue my career with Rolling Stone what will happen? Can I still get references from Roger and will I be in good standing?"

The HR manager and his assistant nodded, "Technically we don't process your paperwork until your official start date. So as of four o'clock this afternoon, you are under no obligations to stay. If you decide to leave we'll present you with the necessary paperwork to confirm your internship and if he wants Roger can give you a letter of recommendation for your work as an intern."

"Absolutely, one hundred percent," Roger confirmed looking at Chloe, "you have my word."

"And any future employer that calls, we're only legally allowed to talk about your internship," the assistant HR manager confidently added so that everyone in the room understood, "nothing else will be discussed."

"Wow, well that's a lot to consider, because Rolling Stone is my dream job…" Chloe looked around the room stopping on her boss who looked distressed and alarmed because he had no idea what was going to happen next, "On the other hand Beca is my future, the person I love most in life and ultimately who I want to be committed to one hundred percent."

"They can be combined, it's easy all you have to do is convince her to see it that way," Paul hopefully stated.

"Ok…" Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose letting out a long sigh, she knew what had to be done, "So where do I sign..."

"Excellent," Paul interrupted as everyone sitting across the table from Chloe simultaneously grinned and in that instant she knew what she was doing was right, "we can draw up a tentative contract for the cover story in minutes, legal is here and can have it to you before you leave."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about, you didn't let me finish," standing Chloe slowly pushed her chair in and picked up the folder as she prepared to do something she never, ever thought she'd be doing, walking away from the thing she thought she wanted most. Except, as it just turns out, Beca and her love for the incredibly sweet and affectionate woman was worth way more than any job, "Where do I sign my resignation letter?"


Thanks for reading!

Liked it, loved it or hated it? Leave me a review or drop me a PM to let me know what you guys think, I'm dying to know your thoughts on this chapter or how I'm doing, I'm all ears! It really gives me great feedback to know what works or what doesn't.

I promise the next chapter won't take this long and I will try my best to get back to each review this time (fingers crossed)!

Anyways I usually do a long note at the end of the chapter, but I'm just going to let the last line sink in and not say anything else.

Until next time...