Alright, here we are with another chapter, Lovelies. Mostly just Beca and Jesse trying to get under each other's skin. Good things will be coming in the next chapter ;p. Lemme know what you think?
Beca sighed in frustration as she tuned her guitar for the next song. She glanced down at herself discreetly, cursing her 'best friend' and the ground on which he walked.
It been damn near war between her and Benji to get her into the nearly Daisy Dukes short cut off jean shorts and the 'improved' band T shirt that Chloe had once gotten her hands-and scissors-on in a fit of Feeling Crafty, and it had left both Beca and Benji in a surly mood.
To say nothing of the sass they gave each other over her hair and makeup. Benji had steered her to her vanity, saying, "Okay, do your makeup, but don't lay the eyeliner on so thick like you usually do. And make your hair do that curly thing that it does sometimes." Beca stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one doing that for me? What kind of gay best friend are you if you can't do my hair and make up for me?"
"Ugh, rude. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I know how to do hair or make up. Do I need to remind you that, as a woman, it's a crime that you can't even make grilled cheese sandwiches without catching your stove on fire?"
Beca blew a lock of curly hair out of her face with an annoyed puff of breath. She strummed the strings to test the sound and decided to tweak the strings just a bit more.
"Jesus, are you tuned yet?" Bumper grumbled. Beca flipped him off without even looking at him. She strummed again and found the sound to her liking. "God, finally. Maybe if your shirt wasn't so damn tight you wouldn't be so damn distracted and you could actually tune your damn guitar." Beca whipped her head around to glare first at Bumper and then at Benji. She had told him that Bumper would give her hell for dressing provocatively.
"Wanna trade, Bumper? You're tits would look just as awesome as mine in this shirt."
"Maybe we should trade," Bumper said evenly.
"Now that, I'd like to see," Jake laughed as he twirled one of his drumsticks.
"How 'bout I just take the damn thing off?" Beca continued. " It's kinda hot, anyways. I think I'd be much more comfortable without it. What do you think?"
"I think we need a break for a few minutes," Jake interjected, standing up from behind his drum kit. He dropped his sticks onto his snare drum. "I got a cooler full of cold beers in my truck. Any one want some?"
"God, yes," Beca sighed. She had never wanted practice to end so badly as she did in that moment. So far, this had felt like the longest practice ever. And it had only started twenty minutes ago. She picked absently at the strings of her guitar, making up a melody as she went to ease her frazzled nerves. She watched Bumper and Jake walk out of the unit to go fetch the cooler of beer.
"You working on a new piece?" Benji asked, wandering near her. They hadn't spoken much after trading more snotty barbs in his car on their way to practice. She glanced up at him.
"Yeah… It's called 'I'm a ridiculous bitch and I'm sorry for what I said earlier'," she answered quietly. She looked up at him and watched him roll his eyes.
"Apology accepted." Beca smiled at him.
"I'd hug you, but I'm afraid of this tight fucking shirt ripping if I move too much," she added, smiling. Benji laughed. He leaned closer and spoke with a low voice.
"If it makes you feel any better, he stares at you when you're not paying attention." Well...kinda, yeah, she thought, but she said nothing. She slid her eyes past Benji to peak over at the source of her frustration.
Apparently, Jesse had the exact same idea as Benji: Come to band practice looking as sexy as possible. Except that Jesse brought his A game. And Beca was sitting on a reluctant C. She sighed, glancing down briefly at the, apparently, controversial shirt she wore.
Chloe had cut off the sleeves and the collar before attacking the back of the back of the shirt. She cut four horizontal lines before snipping up the center of the back of the shirt, making it so that Beca would have to tie each piece of the slashed fabric in four separate knots down her back.
It wasn't like her shirt was showing cleavage or a ridiculous amount of skin, except for the back. But the shirt was tighter than she normally wore, hugging the curves of her waist and accentuating the magic of the red push up bra Benji had insisted she wear beneath. It was certainly not what Beca normally chose to wear and she found herself feeling awkward and unsure of how to stand or move.
Jesse had apparently taken her sentiment about his hair to heart. It wasn't carefully coiffed, like usual, but a messy disarray of short waves and half curls, which suited the wife beater and torn up jeans he was wearing just fine. Sure, Jesse made a suit and tie look sexy but...this disheveled look was...
"Jesus, it's fucking hot," Bumper swore as he and Jake returned, the cooler being carried between them. Beca tore her eyes away from Jesse as he stood, looking over the sheets of lyrics for the songs the band was working on. Jake and Bumper set the cooler down and popped the top up, reaching to grab a beer.
"Please toss me one," Beca begged eagerly. Even though it was done raining for the day, the humidity still hung heavily in the air, weighing on everything. Mixed with Beca's nerves, it left her feeling parched. Plus, she could use some liquid stress reliever.
She watched Bumper grab a can before tossing it through the air to her. She caught it easily and popped the tab in one swift motion, bringing it to her lips for a deep draw. It was fizzy and cold and Beca groaned in satisfaction as filled her mouth slid down her throat in a cool wave. When she'd drank enough she took the cold can and placed it to her left temple and then to her chest, relishing the way the cold condensation on the can left her skin prickling against the heat. She sighed, her eyes closing momentarily. When she opened them again she found herself staring straight at Jesse who was watching her with wide eyes. Beca felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
"You gonna molest that can some more, Beca?" Bumper laughed, calling her attention away from Jesse. Beca turned a baleful glare towards her brother.
"Afraid your friends are enjoying the show?" She shot back, annoyed at him for calling her out. She stuck her tongue out at him before reluctantly set her beer down, after one more satisfying sip, atop the closest amp. From the corner of her vision she watched as Jesse reached into the cooler, grabbing a beer for himself, shaking it slightly to knock the ice off of it. As he popped the tab, the liquid inside bubbled up over the mouth of the can, splashing up onto his fingers. He looked straight at her then, obviously aware that she was watching him, his gaze hooded, as he brought his fingers to his mouth and proceeded to suck the liquid from his digits. Beca felt her face flame as visions of him doing that very action earlier filled her mind.
Fuck me, she swore. Fuck this day, fuck my life, and fuck Jesse Swanson!...Well, already did that… Show up to practice, she could do that. Dress hot, sure, she could do that too. Pretend that standing within an eight foot radius of Jesse didn't give her heart palpitations, okay, that was manageable. This was supposed to be about showing Jesse that what he had said didn't bother her. Not some 'Lets-Do-Things-to-Get-Each-Other-All-Hot-and-Bothered' game. That hadn't been the plan.
Admittedly, Beca's plan hadn't gone any further than show up and look hot. And with each passing minute in the heat, Beca felt more and more miserable in her makeup and outfit choice-except for the shorts, those were actually ok and she needed to remember to wear them more often in the summer. She felt like she was failing miserably in her plan. Until salvation came to her in the form of a dusty Ford F250.
"Shit," she cursed. "What the fuck is Luke doing here?"
"This is perfect," Benji said quietly behind her. Beca turned around to stare at him in disbelief.
"No it is not," she argued. "All Luke ever does when he is around me is try to fuck me. Or try to goad me in to drinking enough so that I actually think it's a good idea to fuck him."
"Exactly."
"Benjamin Applebaum," Beca said slowly, narrowing her eyes at Benji. "Why is it, when it comes to my sex life, you become absolutely devious?" He smiled at her, and winked.
"This will work. Trust me. Just let Luke do his thing, and you just smile and let Luke and Jesse think you're interested."
"You're buying me the largest bottle of Jameson that you can afford tonight," she grumbled.
Beca Mitchell was a goddamn tease, Jesse decided. And the worst part was that he was sure she had no idea what she was doing. She had stormed into the storage unit, stalking across the concrete floor, long legs swinging with angry purpose, in a pair of sinfully short jean shorts.
"Good evening, BecaLee," Jake had drawled after letting out a low whistle. She had graced him with a small smile. Bumper had certainly been less than thrilled.
"Don't fuckin' whistle at my sister, Dude," he had groaned before rounding on Beca. "Excuse me, did I miss the fashion show? What the fuck are you wearing?"
"What does it look like I'm wearing?"
"Fake tits, a painted on shirt and fucking jean panties."
"I'm actually not wearing panties," she replied coolly and Jesse could feel a jolt straight to his groin. He tried desperately not to stare-Good God, don't let Bumper catch me staring at her ass-wondering if she really wasn't wearing any underwear.
"Go home and change, you can't walk around looking like that," Bumper had ordered. Beca squared her shoulders in challenge. Jesse could only watch in fascination. He hadn't seen the two of them quarrel like this since, well, since high school. He wondered how long it would take before Beca kicked him in the shins-that was how those fights usually ended.
"Looking like what?"
"Like you've been ridden hard and hung up wet." Beca's eyes widened with her rage.
"You are not my mother, my father, or my Gran, Jared Allen Mitchell. You are only my brother and you are not the fucking boss of me." There was no telling how long they would have continued if Jake hadn't decided to break up the fight by playing his drums.
The next twenty minutes were torturous. Jesse kept trying, and failing, to avoid staring at Beca. But she made it so damn hard, every time she would lean back, her back arching and her breasts straining against the fabric of her shirt, and tossing her hair back over her shoulders as she played her guitar. At one point she bent over to adjust one of the pedals on her pedal board. Not only did Jesse forget the line he was supposed to be singing, but Jake dropped one of his drumsticks. And, God, it was so fucking hot...
The storage unit was climate controlled to a point but not enough to compete with being up and moving and jumping while singing along to the boisterous music. Even with three box fans set up around the unit, Jesse still felt the sweat rolling down his face. He wished he had worn shorts instead of his ratty old jeans.
He walked over to stand in front of one of the box fans, trying to cool off as he pretended to look over lyrics while Beca and Bumper sniped at each other some more. He kept looking over at her surreptitiously. Her skin was practically glistening and Jesse found himself momentarily thankful for the blistering Oklahoma heat for once in his life. And when she pressed her wet can of beer to her chest with that fucking sigh? Jesus, she had to be doing that on purpose...right? Okay, he could play that game too.
He made sure to catch her attention as he walked over to the cooler, trying not to smile as he felt her blue eyes on him. He reached into the cooler, grasping at a can and shaking it just enough to agitate the carbonated liquid slightly. As he looked up at her, watching her lips part, he popped the tab and felt the contents splash onto his fingers. He held her gaze, smirking as he brought his fingers to his mouth. He watched her eyes widen as he sucked the fluid off of his fingers. When she whirled around, her face aflame, Jesse crowed silently. It was nice to know that he could tease Beca just as mercilessly as she had been doing to him.
Haha, yeah, he chuckled to himself. Suddenly the sound of an engine roaring brought everyone's attention around. Jesse watched as Beca and Bumper both rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"What's going on?" he asked, walking over to the open side door. Jake walked up beside him, both of them looking down the gravel lane to see a dusty red pickup truck headed for them, kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel behind it.
"Shit," Jake cursed. "Luke is here."
