A/N: I wanted to thank you guys for all the nice reviews and for hating Gracie Lou. It means a lot. I'm not sure how long this will get, new things seem to pop up. But we're getting places in this one. Hope you like it.
When Aubrey came home that evening she found Chloe at the kitchen table with her phone. She looked thoughtfully at the device, fiddling with a piece of paper in her hand.
"Hey, everything okay?" Chloe looked up at her and sighed.
"Yeah, I'm good. I was just calling Mr. Davidson about that job in Chicago," she said and tried a smile.
"Really, that's great. When're you gonna start?" Aubrey came over and put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, squeezing it in congratulation.
"I'm not," Chloe answered.
"What? Don't tell me they offered the job to someone else. I thought you had another week to decide," Aubrey seemed outraged on the behalf of her friend.
"No, they didn't offer it to someone else. I... I decided not to take it." Aubrey looked at Chloe in bewilderment and didn't know what to say. Since Chloe had decided that she wanted to work as an editor she had talked about the publisher who eventually offered her her dream job - and suddenly she didn't want to take it. That was beyond weird, that was insane.
"What happened, Chloe?" She finally uttered.
"We almost kissed," Chloe stated and smiled up at Aubrey. The tall blonde pulled a chair up and sat down.
"You almost kissed," she repeated but she didn't seem to know what that meant exactly. Chloe couldn't be talking about the man who had offered her the job, they never met... that left...
"Beca? And you? You..." And then her mouth just stood agape. Chloe nodded and kept on smiling. Aubrey screeched and threw her arms around Chloe, she hugged her.
"That's aca-mazing, Chloe. I'm..." But then she broke up. She looked at her friend earnestly. "Is that why you're not going to Chicago?"
"Yes," Aubrey wanted to protest, she started to but Chloe interjected: "I know what you're gonna say, 'Brey, but... I can't just leave, not now. I..."
"I know you're in love, Chloe, but this is the job you've been dreaming about for the last three years. This is the part of the future you most wanted to happen," she reminded Chloe.
"Not for the last year, 'Brey," the redhead answered.
"Does Beca know about this? Does she know what you're giving up for an almost kiss with her?"
"Don't belittle this, 'Brey, it means too much to me. And, no, Beca doesn't know yet. And it's not like I don't have anything... I actually had another offer to work at a publishing house in Atlanta. That's only a couple hours' drive. And it's a good publisher, smaller but good." Chloe argued.
"But it's not the best, it's not what you deserve and worked so hard for, Chloe. How can you... you'll be miserable with this decision, and we both know it," Aubrey said. She was quite adamant that Chloe should have the best possible things in her life and that included her dream job. The blonde had been so proud of Chloe when she called to tell her the news, they had talked for an hour on the phone and the redhead had told her how excited she was. Aubrey couldn't see how Chloe could give up on that - for the slight possibility of a relationship. It didn't matter to her that it was with another woman - Aubrey had known from the start of their friendship that Chloe liked women and men - it didn't matter that it was with Beca Mitchell - although she thought that Chloe could do a lot better - it was about what women did for people they thought they loved, how they sabotaged their personal success for people who didn't appreciate the sacrifice. She had seen this happen, and she had vowed to herself that it would never happen to her - and she hated to see it happen to her best friend.
"Aubrey, if I get a chance with Beca... it'll all be worth it," Chloe said earnestly.
"But what if you don't? What if Beca... Jesse just broke up with her and it hit her pretty hard. I hate to say this but... you could just be the rebound." Aubrey saw tears springing to Chloe's eyes.
"No," her friend pleaded.
"Chloe, please, think about this," Aubrey said but Chloe shook her head and got up off her chair.
"Beca wouldn't do that to me, 'Brey, she wouldn't." And with those words she left Aubrey at her kitchen table and walked out the door.
It was still raining. Beca looked out the window at the water accumulating on the lawn and the concrete walks running through it while she worked on a new mix. She tried not to overthink the things that had happened between her and Chloe, or the things that almost happened. But she kept coming back to that moment she had made the decision to kiss her and felt that it had been the only decision to make. And she would do it, she would kiss Chloe - one of these days.
The vibration of her phone in her pocket pulled her out of her thoughts and she smiled as she saw the name of the text-messager on the display: Chloe.
U wanna go out, have some fun?
What do u have in mind?, Beca texted back.
Maybe a pizza somewhere. I also know a karaoke bar that serves beer to underaged delinquents. Beca laughed.
Are u calling me a delinquent, red?
Do I have to remind u that u've been to jail?, came the prompt answer from her friend.
U win. When u wanna meet?
How about right now. Look out the window. And when Beca did that she could see one of the umbrella's going around campus lift and Chloe's wild red mane winblown like a flag. Beca waved at her and Chloe waved back.
B right there, she answered the text, slipped into her boots and pulled a jacket from her closet. Then she left her room to meet with Chloe.
"This is good pizza," Beca said.
"It's the best you're gonna find around here. Trust me, I tried every single venue around town," Chloe grinned at her friend.
"So, that's why Aubrey always teases you when you want to order pizza for everybody and usually suggests something else." Chloe rolled her eyes but nodded. Beca just laughed. "Why haven't we been here before?" She then asked. It was just a usual pizza joint, nothing special. There were a lot of students hanging around tables, some older folks as well.
"I guess, we never been out eating before... like on a date, or something," Chloe said and Beca looked at her.
"Is this a date?" she asked. Chloe took a sip from her soda.
"If you want," she then said and seemed to hold her breath for the answer. Beca thought about it for a moment then she nodded and saw Chloe relax visibly. She was smiling and the dimples that showed had Beca's stomach aflutter with butterflies. This was new, it was interesting and just a little scary. But she was cool, Beca Mitchell was cool... and smiling like an idiot.
"Good, now we got that cleared up..." Beca cleared her throat. "...tell me about the place where this delinquent will get a beer with a song." Chloe laughed.
"You're so cute when you're flustered," she said.
"I have you know, I'm not cute at all. I'm being serious about that beer... and about that song. Are you gonna sing something for me?" She flirted and then sobered at the memory of someone else singing to her. Her smile faltered. Chloe lay a hand on Beca's on the table but Beca pulled hers away.
"Sorry, that was..." Chloe started saying but Beca interjected.
"No, I'm... I'm sorry. I just thought... of Jesse and his very public proclamation of me being a lousy girlfriend," Beca bit her lip. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I keep bringing this up. You must be really tired this this by now."
"No, honestly, I just... It's too early, isn't it? To call this a date?" Chloe wanted to lay a comforting hand on Beca but was suddenly self-conscious about it. She had never been self-conscious with Beca. But the brunette had pulled her hand away which probably meant she didn't want to be touched.
"Considering I have been thinking about kissing you since... we almost did, I think it's not too early," Beca said and this time she reached out and took Chloe's hand in hers.
"You have been thinking about kissing me?" Beca nodded rather vehemently and Chloe laughed. "So..," she wanted to lean in but Beca whispered.
"Not here, though. It's a little bit... too crowded."
"Okay, somewhere else then... later," it sounded like a question and Beca nodded again.
"Yeah, that would be good." They smiled at each other and resumed their dinner.
The bar they walked into almost an hour later was a greasy place, probably because most of the patrons were students. Drunk students.
"And you call me a delinquent," Beca wondered aloud.
"Well, you did time, didn't you?" Chloe gave back.
"Yeah, like half an hour in a holding cell. Most of these guys probably have some DUIs on their rap sheet," she grinned.
"The perfect place. Come on, let's get you a beer and a tequila. There's no singing sober," Chloe pulled Baca to the bar and they got their order. They both drank a shot of tequila right at the bar then ordered another and started looking for a table. They got lucky when a couple of girls vacated their table to sit with some guys. They sat down.
"I would never have pictured you in a place like this," Beca yelled over the noise. Chloe laughed.
"Why not? I like to party, you know that."
"Yeah, but I also saw where you come from, Chlo. This isn't exactly a country club setting," Beca almost slapped herself for her snobbery.
"Oh, so only people from a middle class background like yourself have the right to end the day in a bar? Is that it?" Chloe called her out on her bullshit but good-naturedly. There had always been moments in her life just like this one, when someone would say she didn't fit because of her background, her family, her status. The only thing she could do about that was being nice to everyone, not to discriminate, to treat everyone like she wanted to be treated. That was her way of life. She had never been a debutante - her parents had given her the choice - and she wasn't going to act like one.
"Sorry, I didn't... way to go on a first date, Mitchell. Be an ass why aren't you," Beca rolled her eyes over herself but Chloe just laughed.
"You're not an ass. You just have prejudices against richt people, most people have them." The DJ opened her mouth but didn't know what to say to that accusation, she just sat there with her mouth agape. Chloe laughed again. "So, you're gonna dance with me?" She pulled Beca from her chair and over to the dancefloor.
They started dancing to a song by Jennifer Lopez, it was a rhythmic piece and Chloe was moving her hips to the beat. Beca felt a little awkward but Chloe just went with the song and didn't let any guys who might want to cut in come between them. Finally Beca was losening up a little and concentrated more on the redhead than the people who might be watching them. And it was actually fun to dance with Chloe, she wasn't self-conscious, she was a little dorky and not shy to show it. Before Beca knew it she was just laughing and dancing and having a good time.
They sat down again and waited for the karaoke to start. Beca was sure that they would be up on the stage for sure tonight, Chloe had made that very clear. She loved to sing and if Beca wasn't going to go onstage with her she would just go alone. But Beca planned very much on a duet, she wanted to hear her voice mix with Chloe's again. It had been too long.
"Do you want another?" Chloe pointed at Beca's almost empty beer mug but the brunette shook her head.
"Later," she answered. Chloe nodded. "Tell me something. How do you know this place, for real?" Chloe grinned.
"I was with a guy the first year at Barden, a jock, insanely good looking. We're talking about Brad Pitt-look-alike, that is, Brad Pitt when he made Thelma and Louise," Beca looked at her blankly. "That was the first movie Pitt was in, he was hot," Chloe said.
"Okay," Beca answered. She did know who Brad Pitt was but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear a story that involved Chloe going out with someone looking like that.
"You know I date, right? I mean, I'm not a nun, Beca."
"I know, I know, sorry," Beca smiled. "Tell me the story."
"Okay, so Neal, that was his name, was a total closet case..."
"He was gay?" Beca seemed to like the story better now but Chloe shook her head.
"No, not that closet. He always pretended to be a bad-ass, you know, with his friends. But one night, he brought me here, alone... and he went onto the stage and sang the most aweful rendition of James Blunt's Goodbye My Lover that I've ever heard. But it was so cute and he loved doing it so much. He just wouldn't admit it to his friends."
"So, why did you guys break up?" Beca asked.
"He made fun of me singing with the Bellas," Chloe simply stated. Beca rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I know the nerve of him... but he wasn't that great a guy. You know, most of it was looks. Not funny, not really intelligent."
"Are those your requirements for a relationship?"
"Funny and intelligent, sure. Someone who loves music, of course. A good person who's there for her... or his friends. Of course, if it's someone nice to look at...," Chloe bit her lip as she smiled at Beca. The brunette blushed a little but didn't break eye-contact.
"You think I look nice?" she asked.
"You're beautiful, Becs. Really, beautiful." They were just looking at each other.
"So are you," Beca complimented. "You're a knock-out, actually." It felt a little strange for Beca to be complimenting another woman's looks. She had done it before, of course, friends liked to be reassured as did mothers. But this was different. She had looked at Chloe many times, always thinking that she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. And she had seen a lot of her. And it had never been... desinterested. She had liked looking at her, and she had looked at her a lot. And it only now occured to her.
"I always thought so," she admitted.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I saw you naked," Beca winked at her friend and they both started giggling.
"That you did... and vice versa." Chloe let her eyes rake down Beca's body and the thickness of that look took Beca's breath away. She couldn't even comprehend how sexy Chloe could be after having been goofy a moment earlier. Some girls had it all, and the redhead most certainly did. Chloe looked up again and smiled at Beca.
"You're hot," her voice was soft and sincere. She just looked into Beca's eyes and the brunette felt prickly all over. She wanted so much to lean in and kiss Chloe right now. She wanted to give back to that openness of Chloe's, her honesty. But once again, timing was not on her side as the night's DJ played that one song she didn't need to hear right now: Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simiple Minds.
Beca closed her eyes and moaned.
"Damn! Why..." She felt Chloe take her hand.
"Hey!" She said and Beca opened her eyes again. She looked into Chloe's.
"I am cursed."
"No, you're not. I had this song with my first girlfriend... I'm not even gonna say what it was because it was cheesy beyong hope... we always listened to it when we were making out. After she broke up with me I thought I could never listen to it again... but whenever I hear it now, I just think of how sweet we were and how inexperienced. It was a good thing while it lasted. And I actually made one new memory to that song... also good," she grinned.
"You didn't lose your virginity to it, did you?" Beca asked.
"No, that was before I kissed a girl for the first time. And no music was playing, fortunately," she told Beca. "What I'm saying is: a lot of times in our lives moments will be connected to something, not just music, but smells, maybe, or a dress you wore or the room you were in. We can't blame these things for being around while we are happy or unhappy. Sometimes a song is just a song, Becs. This one is good and you sang it to your first boyfriend. It's a good song."
"You're amazing, you know that?" Beca smiled.
"Yeah, I think I'm pretty cool," Chloe joked and they giggled. That was when Chloe looked up and saw three guys in dark red shirts coming in. For a second she wondered what Bumper was doing back in town, then she saw the dark-haired guy behind him and she made a decision. She leaned over to Beca and captured her lips.