"What do you mean 'how'?" Chloe leaned back and smiled at the brunette. "I switched my time off around so I could have tonight off. I don't have to leave until four tomorrow afternoon."

"What?" Beca grinned. "That's incredible Chlo. I'm so excited." She leaned over to give Chloe another kiss. "Thanks." As her food arrived, Chloe ordered something to drink and looked at the food menu herself. After snagging a few of Beca's fried pickles, she added some stuffed mushroom caps to the order.

Soon Felix came to the stage and went through the same speech as he did the week before he began singing his opening song. Chloe was impressed by the host's musical ability. Once he finished, he introduced Beca. "Those of you here last week this musician. She's going to sing her original song Happier again. Put your hands together for Beca Mitchell."

The tiny singer settled on the stool much more quickly and was much more comfortable as she began to sing her song. She was able to make more eye contact with the audience. As she looked over to Chloe, she saw the redhead beaming at her as she videoed the performance. Emily had been right when she told Beca that coming to the open mic could only improve her craft. This was only her second time singing, and she already knew of things she could change to get better.

When she finished singing and made her way back to the table, she was greeted with Chloe smothering her in a huge hug. "That was amazing Becs. I believe this performance was better than last week's. I'm proud of you." The pair did their best to not interrupt the other singers as they visited during the rest of the evening. Beca had almost forgotten she had a second performance until Felix called her up.

She settled on the stool and adjusted the mic to the proper height. "Hey guys; it's me again. I decided to change things up for my second song tonight. I haven't quite perfected the lyrics on this, so I thought I'd just give you the sound." She began to strum her guitar strings as she closed her eyes to immerse herself into her music more immensely. As she sang, she began to add vocal inflections which emoted the words that she'd written but wasn't quite ready to share. Watching her was easy to see the passion behind her voice and the music that was coming from the strings of the guitar.

As she finished, she was surprised to again get an overwhelming audience reaction. As soon as she made her way back to the table, Beca was met with a squeal and another hug from Chloe. "A little overzealous, aren't you?" However secretly, the redhead's excitement made her feel warm inside, accepted.

Once Felix closed out the open mic, Lisa again came up to Beca before she and Chloe could leave, Lisa approached the table like she did the week before. "Hi Beca." Despite wondering what Lisa wanted this time, Beca introduced her to Chloe and just waited to see what the owner wanted. "Last week, Emily said you had several original songs in various stages of completion."

Beca explained that she did, but none were at a stage she felt comfortable sharing which was why she chose the instrumental version of one that night. "There's still plenty of time left this summer for me to work on them though. Especially now that I have a place to share them."

"I'm in a dilemma Beca. Felix is moving to Los Angeles, and I am going to be left without a host for open mic. Even though it's only once a week, Thursday's are important for my business. Would you be interested in coming aboard as host? The job is as uncomplicated as what you've seen: signing up people when they come in, introducing acts, as well as singing an opening and closing song." Beca looked at Chloe who shrugged her shoulders.

"It's a paid position, of course. Half of the door to start. The more people we draw, then the more money you make. Oh and since you have to come in early, your drinks and dinner would be on the house. Think about it Beca. Next Thursday is Felix's last night."

"Mom! I'm home." Beca called out to her mother when they arrived. She wandered around until she found her mom in the kitchen. "Chloe surprised me from camp. She's going to spend the night, if that's okay."

"Hi Ms. Mitchell." The redhead gave a shy wave.

Beca grabbed a few bottles of water before they went upstairs to her room. As soon as the door to her bedroom was closed, Beca found her back against the door with Chloe's hands buried in her hair. The kiss was soft at first before the intensity increased to the searing level, deep and sensual, unlike one they had ever shared before. The heat of Chloe's passion almost made Beca dizzy as she swayed, glad to have the door holding her up.

Beca fumbled behind herself to lock her bedroom door then moved both hands to hold Chloe's face. While she had relived her first kisses with the redhead and thought about them over and over, this kiss was evoking sensations she had never imagined she'd be capable of feeling.

When the kiss finally broke, both girls were panting heavily, pupils blown. Chloe had a sneaky grin on her face. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to kiss you like that Becs?" Beca placed her hands on Chloe's shoulders and gently walked her to the bed.

"I still can't believe you are here Chloe, even if only for one night." Both girls kicked off their shoes and laid down next to each other. Beca pushed herself up on one elbow and began to run her fingers over Chloe's face and neck. "I've missed you." The redhead's eyes drifted shut as Beca's soft hands drifted across her skin as she gave a quiet moan of enjoyment at the affection the brunette was giving her.

After enjoying each other's company for a bit, the pair agreed to go ahead and get ready for bed so they could visit in bed and be comfortable without having to get up later. Chloe took her turn in the bathroom first to wash her face and brush her teeth. When Beca left, Chloe changed into her pajamas and sat cross-legged on the bed, waiting for Beca to come back. As the brunette came back, she burst out laughing. "Oh my gawd Chlo. Are those the same baby yellow duck pajamas you had my second year of camp? When we hated each other?"

"Yup." She pointed to her bag. "My hedgehog slippers are in my bag."

"I have to admit. Even though I couldn't stand you, I thought they were adorable. That you were adorable." Beca kneeled on the bed and crawled over to the redhead.

Chloe scooted over to Beca and gave her a chaste kiss. "Even back then, I knew you liked me."

Beca chuckled and rolled her eyes. She tackled Chloe and pressed their lips together. Beca felt as though she could get lost forever in Chloe, the kisses like explosions of the best flavors in the universe all mixed together to make the best taste and sensation she had ever felt before. They naturally fell to the mattress next to each other as their mouths explored each other's, tongues probing.

"God Chlo, this feels incredible. This is millions of times better than kissing standing up in the middle of the woods at Camp Barden." The only response she got from Chloe was a moan of agreement, that and an increased fervor of the kiss. Beca felt like she wasn't even in her own body anymore but was in another universe. Floating. She knew the longer she and Chloe kissed, the further she would get lost in the redhead. Only through a kiss.

Chloe broke the kiss and fell back on the bed. "I think we need to slow down Becs. We have all the time in the world to get to know each other."

'I do know you Chloe." Beca took a deep breath as she left her hand drift to Chloe's breast. The redhead took an unexpected gasp before melting into the brunette's touch. Beca was amazed at how soft and supple the tissue felt as she applied gentle pressure, relishing in the reaction she was getting from Chloe.

As the pair continued their 'getting to know each other', things became quite heated. Beca was nervous because she wasn't sure what she was doing was right, but judging from Chloe's reactions, her actions weren't wrong. Chloe stopped her again. "Becs…" The brunette looked at her. "We don't have to do this."

Beca launched into another kiss, increasing the intensity along with the heat. She didn't want to disappoint Chloe. But the redhead again stopped their make-out session. "Becs, we need to slow down."

The brunette flopped over to her back, confused and uneasy that she had been doing something wrong – despite the rush of feelings flowing through her body. She realized that the redhead could be putting the brakes on things because of her own inexperience. "We don't have to wait on me Chloe. I want this. I want you."

"Are you saying this doesn't scare you?" The look on Chloe's face was serious. "Being with me?"

"Of course, it scares me. I've never been with anyone before. But I trust you. Plus, you have experience."

Chloe sighed as she sat up on an elbow to see Beca better. "No Bec. No I don't have experience. I'm a virgin." Beca's reaction told Chloe all she needed to know – this bit of information was news to the brunette.

"That's one thing Tom didn't force me to do. I guess that's another reason I thought he was so great. He acted like things were okay when I didn't want to go past a certain point. But when he dumped me, it was the biggest thing he complained about - me not putting out."

"I didn't know Chloe. I … just… I guess I didn't want to disappoint you."

Chloe put her hand on Beca's cheek. "You could never disappoint me Becs. You make me feel things I've never felt before. Lord knows I want to be with you. But more importantly, I think we should take our time. Is that okay?"

Beca was relieved and agreed that she was okay with slowing down. "We can still make out though, yeah?"

"Definitely. But for now, I probably need to get some sleep." Chloe curled into Beca and snuggled into her, feeling her warmth. Soon the pair had fallen fast asleep.

During the night, Chloe had rolled over onto Beca, her cheek pressed against the smaller girl's breast, an arm wrapped around her waist, and a leg thrown over her thighs. The warmth of her body was perfect, considering the sheets and duvet had magically disappeared. She could feel Chloe's hot breath through the thin material of her shirt. Chloe was out cold. But this time, Beca wasn't so uncomfortable.

The next morning, both girls laid around in bed, enjoying each other and the peace of spending time together, something they had never been able to do before. When Chloe's stomach started growling, they decided they needed to make a move to find some food. They were all smiles as they got dressed to go out to grab coffee and brunch.

They went to Beca's favorite café that made the most perfect waffles. "Trust me. All you need to do is pick your toppings. These waffles will melt in your mouth." As they waited for their food, Chloe connected to the café's wi-fi and sent Beca the video's she'd taken the night before so Beca could upload them to YouTube. "Make sure you video all your songs. Please? I can't surprise you every Thursday."

Beca made a pouty face which quickly cleared up as their waffles were placed in front of them. Chloe had chosen fresh strawberries with wild berry compote. Beca's was chocolate-fudge sauce. The waitress brought a huge bowl of fresh whipped cream and two extra plates. Beca split each of their waffles, putting half on the extra plates, so they could share. Chloe laughed as Beca had the largest glass of milk she'd ever seen.

"What?" Beca exclaimed. "You have to have milk with waffles." She rolled her eyes in jest as Chloe continued to tease her.

Once the girls had polished off their waffles, Beca took Chloe back to her house. They spent the rest of their time together going through Beca's music. When the redhead had visited before, they had listened to Beca's mixes where she'd created mash-ups of other people's music. This time they spent time going through Beca's journals and USB drives that had Beca's guitar music as well as her singing on the songs which had lyrics.

As they listened, Chloe was making notes. "These are the ones I think you should concentrate on first. I like what you did last night – a new song with one you've played before. I bet you could get a variety of your songs ready and blend combinations of songs each week."

Far too soon, Chloe declared she needed to get ready to head back to Camp Barden. Despite their heated make-out session the night before, their goodbye kisses were subdued. Beca felt an overwhelming sadness, more so then when she said goodbye at Camp Barden.

"It's okay Becs. Camp will be over in two weeks. Then we have a little bit of time before school starts."

"Promise you'll miss me?"

"Always." Chloe shut the trunk to her car, climbed in, and pulled out of the driveway.

Beca worked all week on the songs that were on the top of Chloe's list. She hadn't realized how many partially written songs she had until she started sorting through her music. The tiny musician also hadn't comprehended how much her songs were a part of her life. Had you asked her before the first open mic, she would have said making mash-up were the bread and butter of her musical existence.

She and Emily Facetimed on a regular basis so the younger girl could chime in on changes or ideas Beca had. She and Chloe spent all the counselor's off time during the evening talking as well. The closer the next open mic came, the more confident Beca became. If Lisa had enough faith to ask her to host, Beca knew she had to have faith in herself.

One evening, Beca was practicing when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she called. She was surprised to see her mom standing in her doorway. Of course, nobody else could be there since they lived alone in the house. "Hey mom. Was my playing too loud?"

"Dinner time." Beca put her things away then went downstairs to help her mom set the table and to finish up dinner.

"Mom, I've been playing at an open mic on Thursdays." She quietly added, "with my own songs."

"I wondered why you'd been playing your guitar so much. I'm impressed Beca. It's nice for you to be involved with something."

"Lisa, the café owner, really likes my music. She ummm offered me a job. And before you say anything – it's only one night a week." She explained what all would be involved with the job. "And I get paid. I can use that for my car." When Beca's mom didn't respond, the girl got nervous.

Beca's mom finally gave her blessing for her to work at the café. "When school starts, if this interferes with school, then you'll have to quit."

"Deal."

The next Thursday Beca went into the open mic early to let Lisa know she was interested in the job. Lisa was delighted and asked Felix to show Beca the ropes. Because they'd be busy all night once the doors opened, Felix and Beca sat in the back munching on their dinner.

"You are taking my place, huh? Big shoes to fill." When Beca's eyes widened, Felix laughed. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. You'll do great. Plus, you get lots of time to work on your music."

"Hey Felix, I want to get your opinion on something. Check this out." She got out her phone and connected to her YouTube channel. "My friends have been forcing me to upload my songs so they can hear them."

"Awesome. You have an Instagram?" Beca nodded. "You could take short clips of your song and upload them to Instagram. Put your YouTube link in your profile. Get you some more hits."

"Dude, I don't want more hits. My friends want to hear my songs, and if I don't let them, I'll never hear the end of it." She showed Felix her new mini stand she planned on using to record her songs. "I'll experiment until I get it right."

The open mic went well. Felix let Beca take the lead on most of the activities needed to make the evening work. She was confident she would be able to run the next Thursday fine on her own. As she and Felix were helping clean the tables, Lisa brought them both envelopes. Felix stuffed his in his back pocket and gave Lisa a hug goodbye.

"Don't be a stranger Felix. And don't forget me when you're rich and famous." He laughed at his now former boss and left.

Beca looked in the envelope and saw it was full of cash. "Ummm Lisa, what's this?"

"Your cut of the door. I told you. Half is yours."

"I just helped today Lisa. I wasn't expecting to get paid tonight." She tried to hand the envelope back.

"Nope, it's yours. Half the door. You earned it."

When she got home, Beca uploaded her performance videos and messaged her friends to let them know it was ready. Emily called her not too much later after she sent out the message.

"Hey Ems."

"Beca! I love your songs. These were splendid. I can't wait to hear more."

The tiny musician grinned back at her friend. "Oh did I tell you? I work at the café now. Felix is moving to Los Angeles, and Lisa needed a host for open mic." She gave her the details and let her know her mom was cool with it since it's only one night a week.

"Great! I've been dying to ask but was hoping you'd bring it up yourself. What's going on with you and Chloe?"

Beca's already large smile expanded even further as she blushed. "I'm sure you know she surprised me last week, with the pictures we posted and all. We talk every night."

"Then things are good, right?" Beca nodded. "Aunt Josie asked about you the under day. She said to tell you she said hello."

As the days passed, Beca marked them off, one by one, on a calendar which tracked the time until she would see Chloe again. She and the redhead continued their nightly phone chats. The last set of campers leave the following day which was Sunday morning, and the staff was done with camp shut down on Tuesday.

Chloe and Stacie had driven to camp together at the beginning of the summer. The pair agreed that Stacie would drop Chloe off at Beca's then drive Chloe's car home. After Beca worked the open mic on Thursday, she would take Chloe home on Friday.

When the counselors arrived, Stacie announced she was ready for some real food. They decided on Thai which was something they didn't have much of a chance to eat around Camp Barden. And rather than delivery, they decided to go to the restaurant so they could relax and enjoy the meal.

"I've been seeing your YouTube vids Shorty. Pretty impressive." Stacie dragged a shrimp spring roll through the bowl of peanut sauce and took a bite. "I'm glad you've been going to this open mic."

Chloe slid her arm through Beca's. "She's not just going Stace, she's the hostess."

"Oh I didn't realize. Congrats Becs. Moving on up in the world. Impressive." She popped the rest of her spring roll into her mouth. "Keep uploading your music. I dig it."

When Beca showed up early to work on Thursday, she was excited to introduce Chloe to Lisa.

"And Chloe is…?"

"I'm Beca's girlfriend." Chloe's response was swift as her smile shown bright and broad. Beca was stunned by Chloe's response to Lisa's question. Girlfriend? They had never talked about it. They had talked how neither of them wanted to see anyone else, but hearing that Chloe considered them girlfriends was surprising.

"I kind of figured that," Lisa responded. "I remember you came a few weeks ago and how Beca's face lit up when she saw you. You are a lucky girl Chloe."

"I'm the lucky one," Beca managed to squeak out.

"I saw something online Beca." Lisa pulled out her phone and opened up her YouTube app to show Beca's channel.

"Oh, I guess I should have asked. My best friends… and Chloe… don't live close enough to come every week. They want to see my songs though." She suddenly got worried that Lisa might not like her uploading her performances. "I'm sorry. I should have asked."

"No apologies needed. I like it, and apparently so do others. You must have a lot of friends."

Beca took the phone and looked at the subscriptions on her channel. "Ummm no. I'm not that popular."

"Oh," Chloe interrupted, her voice chipper and bright. "We've all been sharing with our friends. They love it."

"Well so do I," Lisa responded. "Can you create one of these for the café? And one of those picture sites, an insta-thing?"

"Instagram?"

Lisa nodded. "We can figure out a way to video each performer and upload videos of those who sign a waiver. It would be a great way to promote the café."

"Ummm sure. I guess. Let me think about how to do it, and I'll let you know."

When Lisa wandered off to finish getting ready for the crowd about to come through her doors, Beca and Chloe started in on their food. The open mic host scooted forward and shoved her foot between Chloe's legs. "Girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah, girlfriend."