A/N: Read and review, all feedback is appreciated. In this chapter Beca and Chloe go ice skating. Fun fun fun. :) I'm working hard on the next chapter. In the meanwhile, enjoy chapter 11. ;)
Chapter 11.
Beca tightened her skate laces and let out a nervous sigh while she glanced at Chloe who was sitting next to her. Her trainer seemed deep in thought and fiddled with her fingers as she waited Beca to get ready. Beca zipped her hoodie and checked her skates once more. She didn't want to admit how nervous she felt. It had been years since she'd been ice skating. Then again Beca had been the one to suggest this so she would see through it as well.
As part of making Beca feel more invested in her exercise routine Chloe had told the DJ to pick a sport for their next session. Ever since hiring Chloe as her trainer Beca had wanted to see the redhead in action one day. It had taken a phone call to Cynthia Rose to make sure Chloe wouldn't resent the idea. When Beca suggested ice skating Chloe had sounded surprised but said yes eventually.
Beca had half hoped that Chloe would turn up in one of those short dresses she'd seen Chloe wear in the YouTube videos but apparently they were mainly for competition use. Beca had to say she didn't mind the tights and formfitting sweater either the redhead was now wearing. Beca especially liked the way how Chloe wore her hair in French braids. The hairstyle made the trainer look even more adorable than usual if it was even humanly possible.
"I'm ready now," Beca finally sighed although she didn't feel like it.
Chloe nodded enthusiastically and offered to help Beca to stand up.
"Thanks, but I think I'm good as long as we're on solid ground," the DJ remarked as they made their way out of the dressing room.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. I'll make you a skater in no time," Chloe promised as they reached the side of the rink.
"Can't blame the coaching if I suck today," Beca muttered as she mentally prepared to get on the ice. Then she felt Chloe squeeze her arm reassuringly and state firmly.
"You're not going to suck. I don't deal with suckers. Now get on that ice and show me what you've got."
Beca stepped on the ice and placed her hand on the boards for support. She felt Chloe firmly grab her other arm to support her. Beca hadn't skated for years and being on the ice after such a long break left her feeling a bit shaky.
Beca was surprised and relieved to find that she was soon able to skate without support. She was still a bit unsteady on her skates but eventually she managed without fear of falling down constantly.
Beca told Chloe to go and do her own thing while Beca would get accustomed to skating again. Beca felt like it didn't really help when Chloe was watching her every step and she told the redhead that she made her more nervous. Chloe smiled sweetly at Beca's last comment and told the DJ that that wasn't her intention so she would give her some space.
Chloe took off from Beca's side to skate laps around the rink. Beca steadied herself and took a deep breath as she focused on not falling.
Chloe had embarked on memory lane as soon as they stepped into the ice rink with Beca. All the familiar smells and sights were there. She liked being in the cool building for a change as it was always hot outside in L.A. Chloe didn't know how she would feel when she stepped on the ice as she hadn't been skating for over a year now.
It was like coming home after being gone for a long time. Her muscles seemed to remember the movement patterns and her hips and back had forgiven the strain and pain she'd put them through a few years ago. Chloe tried some simple steps and turns and felt relieved when she was still able to do them easily. She smiled widely as she moved onto trying some spins and jumps.
Chloe didn't notice that the DJ along with almost every other person at the rink had stopped to watch her skating. Chloe certainly stood out from the rest of the people at the public skate. She was inside her own familiar bubble again where only skating existed. As she finally stopped to draw breath she heard a small voice right next to her.
"Are you Chloe Beale?"
Chloe turned to see a girl no more than ten years old look at her curiously. The girl had the same shade of red hair as Chloe and her face was covered with freckles. Chloe thought the girl reminded her a great deal of the young Lindsay Lohan when she was still just a cute and innocent child actress.
"Yes I am. Who might you be?"
"I'm Morgan."
"Hi Morgan. Do you like skating?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah. I want to be like you when I grow up."
Chloe smiled at the girl's comment. Morgan's expression was thoughtful when she looked at Chloe.
"Why aren't you skating anymore? You're still so good at it."
Chloe laughed as she looked at the child's expectant face.
"Good question! I'm not sure really. Today it feels like I should be skating again. I'll tell you a secret. It's just between you and me."
Chloe leaned closer and Morgan listened attentively.
"This is the first time I've been skating for a year."
Morgan looked at Chloe in awe and smiled.
"You can't really tell. You should come back. Bye Chloe." The girl then skated off to a direction where a redheaded woman was waiving at her. It must've been the girl's mother as they looked strikingly alike. Chloe experienced a flash back to her own childhood. It could've been her ten something years ago. Morgan pointed at Chloe excitedly and said something to her mother. The woman looked surprised but smiled and waved at Chloe. Chloe waved back and watched the pair leave the rink side.
Chloe inhaled the cool air in her lungs as she turned to look for Beca. She smiled widely as she found Beca skating on the other side of the rink. The DJ displayed a concentrated look on her face. As if sensing that she was being watched Beca turned and saw Chloe smile at her. She responded with an equally wide smile as she watched Chloe skate towards her.
Beca had the same sinking feeling watching Chloe approach that she had had when she watched Chloe skate on her own earlier. Anyone with eyes could tell Chloe was in her element. She belonged on ice. There was nothing better than seeing people do something they loved. For Beca however it was more than that. She was fast falling for Chloe head over heels.
Merely seeing Chloe skate closer made Beca's heart flutter against her ribcage. Beca felt her heart jump as Chloe reached her side and grabbed her arm enthusiastically. Just the feeling of the redhead pressed on her side made her giddily happy.
"Way to go Bambi," Chloe commented as she held Beca's arm.
The mere presence of the redhead made Beca's head spin. Her reply came out rather meekly.
"Don't call me that. And I'm pretty sure I'm doing better than Bambi anyway."
Chloe giggled at the flushed DJ.
"Do I still make you nervous?"
Beca let out a shaky laugh and tried to regain some of her usual poise.
"Not the slightest. It was just the beginning when I looked like Bambi on ice."
Chloe's smile was warm when she leaned closer to whisper in Beca's ear.
"Maybe you're not as shaky but you sure are as cute as Bambi on ice."
A feel of warmth spread all over Beca's body at the statement and Chloe's warm breath on her skin and she couldn't help beaming at Chloe. There had to be something seriously messed up if Beca Mitchell beamed at something or someone. She was so out of character it was unreal. And the scariest thing was that she felt okay with it. Wow. Her father would be proud of her for showing so much emotion. Beca cringed at the thought and went back to smirking.
"Thanks - I guess. You seem excited. You were just flying out there. Honestly I wondered if your feet touched the ice half of the time, it was so effortless."
"Well I did do some jumps so you're not technically wrong saying that I was flying," Chloe grinned at the DJ.
"I've always liked smart girls," Beca stated thoughtfully and earned an elbow in the ribs from Chloe.
"Ouch! What was that for? I do!"
Chloe pursed her lips.
"So should we make you a world-class figure skater then? Or we could try ice dancing."
"What's ice dancing?" Beca enquired. She was here to learn anyway.
"It's paired figure skating with dance elements in it. It's like ballroom dancing on skates."
"Well we're make good use of my two strongest athletic skills then. Skating and ballroom dancing."
Beca protected her abs as she saw Chloe's elbow twitch in her direction again.
"Sorry! Lead the way champ."
Chloe had a lot of fun teaching Beca. After getting rid of the shakiness in her skating Beca was doing great for someone who hadn't skated for years. Beca was clearly more athletic than the brunette obviously thought. As always in their sessions Chloe felt the time just flew by.
There was definitely a change in Beca's demeanor. After the nervousness at the start of their session she went back to being her witty self but there was something in the way she looked at Chloe with shining eyes that made the trainer's very core twist in knots. The glint was there in Beca's eyes for the rest of the session and Chloe had to draw deep breaths more than once to retain herself under the effect of the gaze that was constantly directed at her.
Chloe thanked Beca for choosing such a great sport for the session and expressed her contentment on the progress the DJ was making. She could already see a whole different Beca than two weeks ago already.
Chloe bade goodbye to Beca and surprised herself and the brunette when she leaned in to hug the shorter woman before they went their separate ways. It just felt like a natural thing to do after how their bonding experience a few weeks ago. It seemed that invading the DJ's personal space was becoming a bad habit for her. She waved absent mindedly at the DJ as they parted in the parking lot.
Later when Chloe sat on her car she noticed that Beca had mentioned her in a tweet.
ChloeBeale shows how it's done. Me next? #skatingisaworkout #somuchfun
There was a picture of Chloe doing a jump on the background as Beca gave thumbs up and made a scared face on the front of the picture. Chloe scrolled for another picture of her and Beca standing their backs against each other, pretending to make a dramatic starting pose. It was a good picture of the two of them. Chloe's eyes trailed on their lightly touching hands. The sound of her phone ringing snapped Chloe out of her thoughts.
It was Cynthia Rose.
"Hey Cynthia."
"Hey girl, I'm glad to see you back on skates again."
"News travel fast huh? It was actually Beca's idea. I let her pick the sport today."
"Looks like you were enjoying yourselves. Your jump looked really good in the picture. If I didn't know it almost looked like you didn't have a break at all."
"Oh thanks CR. I really enjoyed it. I didn't realize how much I'd missed skating. I think I want to go again soon."
"Talking about going again…How would you feel about skating for a purpose?"
"I don't know. This is the first time I've been skating for over a year now. Why? Are you planning something?"
"There's this charity gala coming up. It's kind of a big deal and they're trying to get some big stars involved. It's all for a very good cause. Some of your former Team USA teammates have already signed up. I'm choreographing the performances. But you just got back on skates and I don't know if you would be interested anyway. I can call you back another time…"
"No it's okay. I'm listening…"
xxx
It was late when Chloe got home that night. She had been in meetings for the rest of the day and had been crazy enough to still go and do a workout of her own at the end of the day.
Chloe dropped her things on the floor and slouched to the living room where Aubrey was seated on the couch flipping through channels on their TV. Chloe flopped onto the couch next to Aubrey who finally seemed to settle on a channel.
"Perfect timing," Aubrey congratulated her friend as she turned the volume up and grinned.
"Huh?" Was all Chloe could manage as she turned her attention to the TV screen. Her eyes fixed on the dark-haired man seated behind a desk, looking at the camera. Apparently they were watching Jimmy Kimmel Live. The host effectively grabbed Chloe's attention with his next words.
"Ladies and gentlemen my next guest is a talented artist who hit her head so hard a while ago that it led her to a complete lifestyle change. She is currently recording her second studio album. Please welcome Beca Mitchell!"
Chloe was shocked when Beca walked out in the studio. She didn't remember the DJ mention anything about the talk show appearance. Then again it wasn't like Beca had laid out her entire schedule to Chloe. She only knew about the things that affected their workout schedule.
Beca smiled and waved at the studio audience. Chloe thought she looked amazing. Beca was wearing a midnight blue top that showed off her toned arms and black skinny jeans that hugged her thighs in all the right places. The high heels made the jeans look ridiculously good on Beca. Chloe hoped Beca would turn before sitting down so that she could see her backside. She got her wish as Beca turned her back at the audience when she hugged Jimmy. Chloe checked out Beca's behind and thought there was already a shape to it that wasn't there a couple of months ago. Beca looked so good already. Chloe could only imagine how good she would look like at the end of their 12 month contract. Chloe was nodding her head unconsciously and earned an interested look from Aubrey who couldn't help observing her friend's demeanor. She turned her attention back to the TV when they started the interview.
"I'm good thanks Jimmy. You look good!"
"I must say you look amazing. I'm so glad you hit your head. I mean you've always been beautiful but there's just a whole new glow to you! Look at those arms."
Beca smiled at the audience and comically flexed her biceps. Chloe giggled as she could see the barely noticeable bumps emerge on each arm when Beca did that. Super cute.
"Not bad, huh? Thank you Jimmy! I feel so good at the moment. It was about time to make some changes."
"I understood you weren't a big fan of exercise before?"
"No I wasn't. I didn't really see it necessary but what happened a few months ago was definitely a wakeup call. I realized that I want to enjoy life to the fullest and exercising is an important part of it for sure."
"It sure is. So you are just working with a trainer now or how does it work?"
"I have a great team around me. I'm working with a trainer five times a week and with a nutritional specialist once a week. They're absolutely amazing. They really changed how I think about nutrition and exercising."
"She's talking about us!" Chloe whispered excitedly but Aubrey shushed her as the interview continued.
"I see they're doing a great job with you. Can you give any hints or tips to people who may be in the same situation as you were, meaning who are not engaging in exercise at the moment?"
"I would say that find a sport or activity that you really like. That gives you motivation. I mean my trainer has had me trying all kinds of different things. Like figure skating."
"Figure skating? That's an interesting one. I think we have a picture from your twitter account of you two doing some ice dancing I believe."
"You went skating again? Why didn't you tell me?" Aubrey panned.
"It was just today. I didn't know she was going to tape this live."
A picture emerged on the screen of Beca and Chloe doing a paired arabesque spiral. Beca laughed as she saw how high above the hip level Chloe was able to extend her leg behind her and how Beca's leg barely reached the hip level.
"Can you tell which one of us used to be a professional figure skater?"
"If I understood correctly your trainer is Chloe Beale who won a silver medal in the last Olympics?"
Beca looked proud, almost smug when she replied. Beca's reply made Chloe blush.
"That's right. I've got to learn from the best Jimmy."
"Well you're not doing too bad yourself. That looks so hard to do. Was it hard?"
"I think this was the only picture we were able to take without me falling down so yeah, it was hard."
Beca's response made the audience laugh and the DJ laughed as well.
"Have you enjoyed working with her?"
"Oh yeah. She's the tits. She's so innovative when it comes to exercising. She thinks outside the box. That's what I like about people."
Chloe smiled at Beca's description of her. It felt heartwarming to hear someone such as Beca Mitchell to compliment her so generously.
"Speaking of liking people. Is there anyone special in your life now? I can't help asking because there's this aura of happiness around you that I just can't ignore."
A full-fledged, almost a giddy smile set across Beca's features as the audience shouted and whistled. Jimmy Kimmel smiled and shrugged.
"They seem to think so too."
Beca's expression turned mysterious now as she quirked an eyebrow at the talk show host.
A long silence ensued as Beca made no effort to comment on the statement she just smiled her trademark Cheshire grin. The camera zoomed on the DJ's perfectly made up face and Chloe could see the glint in Beca's eyes, shining brighter than ever.
Beca was about to lean her chin on her elbow when she was interrupted by Jimmy.
"Okay, we'll talk about this during the break. When we return we will talk more about Beca's lifestyle change and people who she likes or doesn't like."
Beca clapped her hands as she laughed and then leaned closer to say something to the host which wasn't caught on microphones anymore as the camera zoomed out and commercials started rolling in.
Chloe felt eyes on her and she turned to look at Aubrey who smiled knowingly at her best friend.
"Cute interview, right?"
"Mhmm. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Aubrey examined her nails as she stated casually:
"I'm just wondering who that special person in Beca's life might be."
Chloe refused to take the hint.
"Well you can let me know if you find out."
"Oh Chloe don't be like that. I think we both know who's sent Beca's head spinning like a figure skater doing a pirouette..."
"Are you serious? I think I've told you like a million times that what we have is a purely professional relationship."
"Oh please! But do you like Beca Mitchell? Like more than as a client? Because I'm sensing you're not telling me everything here…"
Chloe's reaction was to deny everything. How could Aubrey possibly imply there was anything going on between her and the petite DJ? It wasn't the first time when Chloe thought the blonde doctor had obtained mental powers to read her mind. Because what Aubrey was asking had occupied Chloe's thoughts for the past few weeks. Today's skating session and Beca's behavior had just confirmed that there was something more behind their normal teasing and flirting. Chloe wasn't ready to admit it though. She would not blow up the biggest contract of her career by admitting she had feelings for her client. That simply wouldn't do.
"Of course not! And besides that's not the point. She's my client. I'm being professional about this. I'm not going to be one of those personal trainers who start a relationship their client. It's unprofessional, unethical and will be bad for my career. We went over this before!"
When Chloe faced Aubrey's eyes she knew she hadn't done a really good job in dodging the question. Chloe wished the blonde would drop the whole thing. Aubrey however wasn't having any of that.
"Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me you don't have any other than professional feelings towards Beca Mitchell?"
Aubrey sure knew how to corner people, Chloe thought. Aubrey barely saw it as her duty being Chloe's best friend. She knew Chloe was hiding something from her and it had most certainly something to do with their DJ client.
Chloe braced herself as she met Aubrey's eyes.
"I don't have…I don't have feelings for Beca," She faltered with her words as she knew she was lying the moment they left her lips.
Aubrey shook her head slowly as her eyes drilled on Chloe's.
"If you say so it must be true. If you don't have feelings for Beca then you're free to see other people, right?"
"Right," Chloe replied unconvincingly. Where was Aubrey going with this?
The blonde went back to checking her nails to let her words really sink in before her final blow. She'd got the idea earlier that week. Aubrey thought she had only Chloe's best interests at heart. If the redhead denied being attracted to Beca Mitchell this was just supposed to help her go one way or the other about the situation.
"So you wouldn't mind if I'd set you up for a date?"
Chloe's reaction was expected. Aubrey could only see pure shock splash across her ginger friend's features.
"You what? With whom?"
"I have a colleague at work, Jessica. She's this totally gorgeous cardiologist who does triathlon so you two probably have a lot to talk about. She's single and I'm sure you'd get along great. Especially since you're not interested in anyone at the moment…"
Chloe knew she couldn't really decline or she would have to retract everything she'd just said and admit something she was nowhere near admitting even to herself, let alone out loud to her best friend.
Aubrey didn't give her friend much time to digest as she grabbed her phone from the table and darted Chloe a devilish smile.
"We could call her right now."
Chloe was between rock and stone.
"Do it," she stated firmly, not letting it in her voice how her gut twisted painfully from the thought of going on a date with someone else than Beca.
