It bothered Beca just how excited she was to see Aubrey go. She liked Aubrey - usually. I mean, it had taken them a while to get there but she did care about her…a lot...when she wasn't being a raging douchebag. So she didn't want to be so pleased to see her go that she could have done a little 'Cotton-Eyed-Joe' dance - but she was; especially when, after getting ready for bed that night, she rolled over to turn off the light and was met with Chloe's excited face coming through the door.
"Just do me a favor, okay?" Her smiling ginger begged.
"Hmm?"
"Stay over there. No, no, it's not you! There was a woman behind me in line at the store today. She tripped and ran into me and all she did was kind of bump my stomach into my cart. I almost threw up all over her."
"Oh god. Yeah, okay. Over here I'm staying. Not how I want to wake up."
And while things began to slowly return to normal - or at least that new normal they had been on their way to finding before Aubrey's arrival - Chloe was far too sick for any type of intimacy, no kissing, no cuddling, no touching. As a matter of fact, over the next week Beca began to learn a new side of Chloe, one she had seen before but had never been exposed for this long at a time. Very-sick-oh-god-don't-touch-me-don't-look-at-me-I-might-be-dying-hold-me-no-don't-hold-me-I-hate-life-please-tell-me-you-still-think-I'm-beautiful-even-though-I'm-in-love-with-sweatpants-right-now Chloe.
She was fucking miserable, everything set off her morning sickness and she was generally so uncomfortable that being touched at all was too much.
Beca loved every moment of it though. Everything she read online hinted that strong morning sickness meant strong baby and she refused to believe otherwise. Baby Legacy was happening. Chloe needed it to happen and she had to admit, the idea was pretty cool to her too.
The thing was, the inability to be close only kept Beca hyper focused on what she needed to be doing. Working. Time was ticking by at an impressive rate and she needed to hop-to. She spent so much time in her studio that she was beginning to feel like a mole person, hissing whenever she saw the sunlight. She got the background music done and she had an idea of the melody but the problem was that she kind of needed lyrics before she could come up with the melody.
And she was fucking stuck.
She wasn't a goddamn lyricist; she had never claimed to be. That wasn't weird; this was why P.J. had two lyricists on staff! She needed Miles. He would hear the melody and boom, five minutes later there would be a whole song and after she tinkered for a few hours it would be perfect. She needed that boom. It was like the lyrics were running from her.
She needed them and it was impossible.
If she were being honest, she knew who she wanted to work with. She knew whose influence she wanted; but goddamn it, she couldn't have it!
Finally, a few days post Aubrey's departure Chloe was given medicine to help her, what could only be called, all day sickness and things began to even out that way, but Beca was so lost in her head that it was impossible to see where she was walking.
"It's all just freaking bad!" She yelled at no one particular, "It's all just fucking terrible. It sounds like a nursery rhyme, but bad."
She was sitting cross-legged atop the kitchen island, something she could tell Chloe did not approve of at all and though she really wanted to go outside and smoke the cigarette she had come down for. She instead was just sitting and glaring at her cabinets, huffing deeply and pretending she wasn't about to freak the fuck out. "Are you sure you don't want me to cook?"
"Nope. You've cooked every night or we have gotten takeout. I feel okay for the first time in a week so I want to cook. I want to get back to doing the things I love."
Beca was left slightly flustered by the brazen and suggestive wink that Chloe had given her just then, that was, until she saw Chloe pulling the spinach from the refrigerator. "Nooooo!" Beca groaned, "I can't, I can't eat it again!" They had some type of spinach in every meal that week, Chloe couldn't get enough. "My skin is going to turn green!"
"Beccccaaaaa!" Chloe immediately whined like she had been waiting for Beca's complaint, "I have to have it! It's like my whole body needs it! It's all I want!"
"Aren't you supposed to crave things like chocolate and potato chips? Where are the potato chips? I could get down with potato chips!"
Chloe frowned but Beca's mind was already drifting back, knowing she would not win this fight and not really wanting to anyway, "I just don't freaking understand why he won't freaking let me use Miles and Jackie. I know he's not using them right now. I already gave him a basically completed track for EZ."
She didn't miss Chloe's sly I-win smile as she began to chop, "It will come to you. It will. You just need to give it time. A week ago you didn't think the music would come to you either."
"Yeah, but that sucks too! Oh my god, it all sucks!" She flopped back, sprawling across the counter and pouting heavily. This was a thing she did, she knew it. If one area sucked then suddenly they all sucked and she was sure she should give up and possibly burn all evidence. She knew she did this but that didn't stop her from honestly feeling it.
Chloe's frowning face appeared over hers, "Don't you think you're being a little pessimistic here?"
"No?" Beca went cross-eyed trying to keep her focus on Chloe as she kissed between her eyes.
"You said that the song is supposed to be kind of slow grind sexy, right?"
"Yeah." Beca scowled. "Maybe. I don't know."
"Well, what's sexy?"
Beca scoffed, tilting her head back to look at Chloe in her tight yoga pants and stretchy long sleeve. "Yoga pants."
Chloe grinned, obviously pleased, "Okay well, it's been about two weeks since we've had sex, have you realized that?"
Had she realized it? Yeah. She had realized. They hadn't had sex for longer than they had actually had it now. Not that she was complaining or - anything - but yes, she had fucking noticed. Daily. "Has it? Hmm, no I hadn't noticed." Chloe shot her a glare. "Okay, that was a lie. I noticed."
"You better have noticed!"
Beca scoffed, shaking her head and covering her eyes.
"If you want to get lucky any time soon, that is."
"Wait," Beca's head popped up off the island watching Chloe's teasing eyes sparkle, "I'm getting lucky? When am I getting lucky? Oh god, please tell me I'm getting lucky!" She whined, scooting so her head hung off the side. She didn't even care that she was behaving like a giant baby right now; she felt like a giant baby! She wanted to flop onto the floor and kick her feet until the lyrics came to her.
"Good." Chloe's hands clamped down on her sprawled thighs, "Now take that and put it into a song."
"Taaaake whaaaaat?"
"You're sexually frustrated."
And there it was, one of those very Chloe moments where she just said something that left Beca crippled and not knowing how to respond to the brutal - truth. She just stated it as a fact and it made Beca's stomach twist with guilt. She wasn't - frustrated - she was...lusty? Maybe a little horny? Errr, she was...she didn't know, but she wasn't like, angry about it or anything...just, um, it would be um, nice...and it was occupying a lot of her thoughts and...fuck. She tried to simply keep her face schooled, but that was difficult under Chloe's knowing eye.
"Tell me what you want to do to me." Chloe continued, "Right now. Tell me and then put it into your music."
"All the fucking things!" She shouted at the ceiling.
"Tell me." Chloe insisted.
She frowned, this already had awkward written all over it. "I uh-" She saw Chloe's encouraging smile and flushed hard. Nope, she couldn't look at her while doing this. "I uh, I want to…" Fail. "I dunno, can't I just show you? I'm err, I'm not good at, um, dirty talk. What? It's weird! It's not like ordering off a menu, like hi, I'd like to touch your boobs with a side of cunnilingus, please. It's so weird!"
"You don't like to dirty talk?"
"I uh, I mean, I like it but like - 'oooh, baby I want to lick your pussy'? No! That's just- um, I don't know. I don't know how to respond to that. Like - thanks? Please do? I don't know! Does that mean you do? Like it? Errr, I mean."
"Well maybe not like that, just yeah, it can be nice, hot even."
Beca just stared, not at all surprised but - having thoughts suddenly that she was trying to hide.
"Oh my god, you're so funny sometimes, Beca." Chloe laughed, turning back to the other side of the counter. "The song will come to you. I promise."
But it didn't.
Not for another two hours anyway.
They had gorged themselves on their dinner and were lazily moving around the kitchen not really cleaning up as much as puttering, too full. Chloe was still something of an inventive cook but this kitchen experiment had turned out pretty well.
"What about something funny?"
Beca smirked, not really needing an explanation to know what she was talking about, "What like 'let me roll in your honey pot, sugar'?" She asked, teasingly shaking her hips as she sang to a wobbly tune.
Chloe let out a high laugh, "What about, 'come to the berry patch and lick my cherry'?" The accompanying gyration made it hilarious.
Beca threw her head back and laughed, letting herself dance with Chloe to the poor beatboxing rhythm that they were creating, "Hmmm, how about 'I - dum,dum,dum,dum" she sang, hopping and playing the air guitar over her head, "'I-I-Ieyeye, love to hear you laugh, it makes me happy in my - cabbage patch.'"
"'It gives me tingles - by the batch, yayayah.'"
"Or you know, we could just cut to the chase and sing 'Ooooooooh, baby, please cum in my mouth, chicka-chicka-bow-bow'." Chloe let out a snort, doubling over at Beca's hip trust. Beca grinned, spurred on my Chloe's amusement; wanting to continue to be the reason why Chloe was laughing like that, "How about - 'I JUST HAD SEEEEYEX! AND IT FELT SOOO GOOOD!' Oh wait, someone already wrote that, didn't they?"
"Mmm, that would be cheating. Go get the plates."
"Damn it! Why are all the good words already taken?" Beca cried, throwing her hands up in the air in teasing frustration as she headed back to the living room.
"What's something actually sexy?" Chloe called over the sound of the water in the sink, "Are you looking for actions or-"
"I don't know, general top 40 sexiness."
"So less, 'baby, please come fuck me' and more 'oh, baby pleeeeaaaase'." Chloe released, her voice high, rough, libidinous.
Beca froze, plate still in hand, watching the soft roll of Chloe's body. She had just said that, hadn't she? Oh fuck, she had just said that. Dear - fucking - dear jesus fuck, pleeeeeease say that again, just one more time. Holy shit. All of it. Say all of it again.
"What?"
"What? I uh, what?" Beca thrust the plates at her and spun on her heels to grab the cups. Breathing. She was breathing. How was it possible to be so sexy? "Um, I don't know," she did her best to move on, clearing her mind and the flush from her cheeks, "something kind of catchy but hot like, 'let me be your queeeayeen, tonight.'"
"Damn, Bec! I thought you didn't use that voice of yours anymore."
Beca chuckled, proud of her belt, "It has its moments."
"Hmmm, 'And baby, youooououu, can be my king,'" Chloe threw back, her voice rattling the kitchen windows.
"Dayamn! I don't know if Kendra can do that. Though she's freakishly tall so I don't know, there has to be room in her for a voice like that."
"Is she really tall?"
"Totally, and her boyfriend is like 5'2 so it's kind of hilarious. I mean, I haven't seen them together a lot but I always wonder how that works. Like does he climb up her body in order to kiss her? I don't know."
"Maybe she's his jungle gym." Chloe gave her a slow wink.
"Yeah well, I guess if I had to climb someone I would-"
"Oh!"
"What?"
Chloe clicked her tongue, her hips rolling slowly and sang in her best sexy tamber, 'Climb meeeeeyh, taste meeeeeyh'."
"Oh my god, that's good!"
"What?" Chloe giggled, her hair bouncing, transforming back from seductive temptress to adorable as fuck Chloe at a speed that was disorienting.
"No seriously. That's good." She spent a second humming through the cords she had already put down, "Climb me, taste me - let me - no, fuck, errr, climb me, taste me - I'll ride - fuck, climb me, taste me, I'll kiss you - I'll-"
Suddenly Chloe was there, snapping into place in a way that reminded Beca that if she wanted to, Chloe could use her as a human stripper pole; her leg high around Beca's waist, her arm around her neck as she sang, "'I'll ride you 'til you love me, baby."
Beca stared, blinking quickly, "That's - that good-" she said in a small voice, "I mean, I think - my brain's a little," she swung her finger around beside her temple, "but good! Better than anything I've come up with. And hot, that's uh, that was, that's hot."
Chloe grinned, pretending to bite Beca's cheek before releasing her and heading to the living room.
God, living with Chloe - she had forgotten this - you never knew when the sexy was going to suddenly attack. Beca watched her go, mouth dry and heart beating fast, "Can we make that a promise, too? Chlo? Chloe? Pretty please? I'll - I'll give you a cookie!"
She couldn't get the lyrics out of her head. It wasn't right, they didn't come from her but they were good and they fucking fit!
They got the room cleaned up and then crawled into their pajamas.
"Can we watch some TV for a while? I just want to turn my brain off."
Beca chuckled, it was the exact opposite of what she could do right now, of what she wanted to do. Her brain was humming, spinning and whirling and it felt like ecstasy.
She had come up with a few lines but none of them were as good.
Ugh. Why couldn't she be like Emily? She had a whole beat working in her head, making it bob a little as she moved. But the words...no way. Fuck, even Chloe had come up with better lyrics than she had! Why was everyone else better at her job than she was?
"What?" Beca asked as she gathered a throw blanket for Chloe's legs.
"You're dancing."
"What? No way."
"You were, you were totally dancing to something in your head." Chloe cuddled into the crook of the couch with a lazy smile, "I love it."
"I mean, I think I got a beat down. Those words, your words they are so good! But I can't think of anything else." She covered Chloe, knowing the woman was always cold these days.
She loved the lyrics. She really did. But she was curious. She really wanted to know what Emily thought. It was no big deal, she just wanted to know. She wouldn't use whatever she said or anything, but it would be interesting to see. She grabbed her phone as she flopped down, letting Chloe's feet stretch into her lap and typed out a quick text, "What could come next? 'Climb me, taste me, I'll ride you 'til you love me, baby.'" She sent the text and her hands went to Chloe's cold feet, automatically rubbing.
She didn't even have to wait a minute. She clicked open her phone and read, "touch me, lust me, I'll never let you break me, boy." Her eyes popped wide. "Why? What is that?" Emily sent another right on the tail of the first.
Beca just swallowed hard, "FUCK!"
'****'
Oh goodness her back! Chloe groaned as she rolled over on the soft cushions of the couch. She needed to invest in a good mattress pad - or, wait, ugh, or stop falling asleep on the couch, damn it! Oh nooooo! She had fallen asleep! She had only meant to watch a twenty-minute show, just long enough to let her dinner settle and to pick up some steam again and then she was going to - well, fulfill the lyrics of the song.
She missed her, she missed her touch, she missed feeling her skin against her own. She had been able to see Beca's polite frustration the night before and she hadn't minded at all, she felt the same way. The medicine was working; her stomach was feeling better as long as she kept it full and stayed away from smells that were too strong. She had wanted so much. But damn it, she had fallen asleep.
She pulled herself up and felt a warm flutter when she saw a granola bar and a glass of juice on the table beside her, ready and waiting.
She was so sweet.
She finished it off quickly, uncomfortably, and then rose, "Beca?"
She climbed the stairs, fluffing her hair and stretching.
"Beca?"
Nothing, so she took the last small flight, knowing exactly where Beca would be. Though, she was surprised when she heard two voices from Beca's studio instead of the one.
"No, yeah, like that, only in a downbeat, you know what I mean? So that the 'boy' is kind of hot."
"Right, right, right, though I dunno, 'boy'? Isn't that kind of 90's pop?"
"I think that's why it's good. That shit is back in!"
Chloe bit her lip, leaning against the doorframe. Beca and Emily were sitting together at the soundboard, huddled so close over a small sheet of paper that their heads kept almost bonking every time they moved.
"I mean like, listen to this." Beca played a few quick beats, singing along.
"Oooooh, yeah! Okay, I see what you mean. Hells yeah!"
They were both so in their zone, their eyes alight that Chloe decided she wouldn't bother them. Instead she took a second to simply enjoy Beca's radiant face, the way her eyes shone as she laughed, the way her hands moved as she explained herself.
They both looked so inspired, so happy.
She sighed, running her fingers over her heart and enjoying this very pleasant, for once, tumbling in her stomach.
She would never understand how of all the people in the entire world she got lucky enough to be best friends with Beca - that she got to kiss her and be kissed by her.
"Hey lyrical genius,"
Chloe grinned again, happily biting her bottom lip; pleased, despite her determination to leave them alone, that Beca had noticed her because it meant she could lope across the room and wrap her arms around Emily in a tight hug and then around Beca, kissing her cheek, draping over her back. "Good morning, beautiful."
Beca made an awkward squawking noise but smiled, blushing ever so slightly.
Chloe nuzzled her neck. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I couldn't! You were so cute! Plus, you passed out like a nanosecond after we sat down so I figured I probably shouldn't. But look, okay, check this out, check this out!" Beca was speaking as though someone had dosed her morning coffee, so excited. She loved to see her this excited! She clicked on a thirty-second track she had already recorded and Emily piped up, singing the chorus in her light sweet voice.
"I like it! Though you need something sexier! Like, 'Climb me, taste me, I'll ride you 'til you love me, baby."
"Exactly!" Beca agreed, pointing her pencil at Emily for emphasis. "There's more. Look."
Chloe looked down at the paper and sang, "'Climb me, taste me, I'll ride you 'til you love me, baby. Touch me, lust me, I'll never let you break me, boy.' Oh, that's good! Very top 40! When did you come up with that?"
"Flashlight."
"I just - I can't do that! That super sexy raspy - thing." Emily cried, her smile huge despite the fact that her shoulders were slumping.
"Oh you totes can, just dig down in your stomach like, "'yeaaah'" she let out a sultry, rasp and felt Beca shiver in her arms.
Emily's face contorted into concentration, "Yeaaaahyah."
"That was beautiful!" Chloe cried, her arms tightening around Beca's shoulders, "I love your voice, Em."
"Dog-freaking-goneit!" Emily smacked the top of the table.
Chloe couldn't help but to be caught up in their high spirits a little bit. She laughed, "Just be silly, it helps. Try it again, 'like yeeeeeaaayah." Beca shivered again, her face turning to give her a pointed look. Chloe pulled in her lips, holding back a laugh; understanding that look on her face perfectly and feeling the gentle 'please stop doing that, I can't take it' all the way down into her core.
"Yeeeaaaahyah!"
"See that was better!" Chloe cried a moment too late, somewhat distracted.
"Yeah, but it hurt my throat!"
"Yeah well, you're talking to the woman who sang through vocal nodules for months. Plus, you know, whatever overexertion that she was doing to get them in the first place."
"It's true. I did."
"Okay so, I was thinking that we could start the whole song off really fast and hard, you know, like doom, doom, chick, doom, doom, chick, wiccka, yeah!" Beca let her hands bounce simulating the beat. "A lot of synth and clap. I mean, that's what we have now but I want it smooth, you know? Slinky."
"Okay but,"
Chloe smiled, pulling away to sit on the couch across the studio. She knew that she couldn't really help here but she didn't want to leave the enthusiastic bubble of the room; the energy felt wonderful.
She didn't mean to but she had sprawled out, comfortable and happy to be with them.
"YES!"
Chloe yelped awake.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Chloe!" Emily cried, her hands covering her grin.
"What?" She blinked, groggy. Damn it! She had freaking fallen asleep again! She knew it was because she hadn't been as strict with her cardio and yoga routine. She knew it. She was always a little more tired when she didn't do it. She was just so tired! "No, that's okay! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep! Again."
Beca had her back to her, softly beating out music on the live controller, "Ugh!" she cried, "This is great this is fucking great. Jesus, we make such a good team, Em. Dude, I don't even know if I can be doing this. Like, I think I'm supposed to prove that I can be a one-man show. I don't even know if we can be working on it at all. But this is fucking great."
Chloe grinned to herself, wondering a bit if this was exactly what Beca was supposed to be doing; finding her own way without the help of anyone in P.J.'s studio. She knew that Beca thought P.J. was getting ready to fire her but Chloe had her own ideas about where her future with 'Moment One' was heading.
"But it's fun! I forgot how much fun!"
"I know, right? I dunno, I'll talk to P.J. when I go in today."
"You think he will let us collaborate again? O.M.G. do you think he will?"
"Honestly, I don't know, Em." Beca stood up and stretched. "You alright, Chlo?"
"Of course I am!"
"Legacy's really got you sleepy over the last little bit."
"I know, I'm sorry. It can't be fun to be around." Chloe flopped onto her back and rubbed her stomach, "I need to get back to yoga. I haven't done it all week. It's worse when I don't."
Emily frowned, looking between them, "Wait, what did I do?"
"Oh you didn't hear?" Beca asked, casually, cleaning up her things, "You're not the legacy anymore. You've been promoted, kid."
"What?"
Chloe rolled her eyes but she couldn't even pretend to be annoyed, she loved the nickname and the fact that it was Beca who had come up with it far too much for that, "Beca thinks it's a girl and therefore, she will be a legacy because her mom and her aunt were both Bellas." She pulled herself up and decided she would go for a run, she needed a run. She needed to get energized.
"I still don't-what? Who?"
"The baby, doofus." Beca finally teased.
"What baby?"
"Oh!" Chloe realized, suddenly shy, "She wasn't there when I came out of the bathroom, Bec. She was on the phone, remember? She didn't hear."
"Chloe's pregnant, dude."
"What?" Emily almost fell backward out of her chair, her stylish boots flailing so badly that Chloe nearly reached out to steady her, "You are? Oh my god! You're kidding!" She let out a high-pitched, excited squeal, her hands shaking in tight balls as she bounced in place, "May I? Oh, unless that's weird for you. Is that weird? Never mind, that was totally weird, I'm sorry. Spazzoid."
"No, no, go ahead." She had been used to this before, baby bump or no, the moment everyone found out that you were pregnant they wanted to touch your stomach. She had loved it with the first pregnancy and hated it with the rest but she found now, with Emily's hands on her, she didn't mind.
"Oh, you have the cutest little bump!"
"What?" Both Beca and Chloe cried, Chloe's hands going to her stomach just as Beca's did too, the three pairs creating a ring.
"Oh my goodness, for a second there!" She took a deep breath, surprised by how hard her heart was beating. She wasn't showing, yeah, she had gained a pound or two recently but she wasn't showing. She watched Beca palm her stomach, feeling around. "There's nothing there, Bec."
But Beca was beaming, her hand flat just below her belly button.
"How far are you along?"
"Twelve weeks."
"And some change," Beca added.
"Oh my god, a baby Bella!"
"Maybe." She ran her hand down her stomach, "Don't get too excited, Emily, it's probably best not to get attached."
"But uh,"
"Oh crap, is that the time? Shit, I have to go!" Beca cried, jumping up and ripping them from their little bubble. "I have a meeting with P.J."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I need to give over everything that I've been working on with EZ."
"Oh, Bec!"
"No, I'm good."
"Oh!" Chloe frowned, "Okay."
"Errr, I think I'll be back by dinner."
"Really?"
"Yeah, don't get used to it, though. My schedule will get crazy again." She grabbed her jacket from the couch and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before she was gone.
Chloe watched her go, trying not to pout. She hated watching her leave. Then again, she supposed that would get easier when she had a job she was going to every day too, wouldn't it? Then again, by then she would be in her own apartment.
Her own apartment.
She scowled at nothing.
She probably needed to think about that soon, didn't she? The problem was it was kind of terrifying. It had gone so poorly last time. She had no idea, that was the issue.
"Hmm, hey Em,"
"Yeah?" the girl had planted herself back at the desk, scribbling on a piece of paper, thinking.
"How well do you know L.A.?"
They had - a really amazing morning. Chloe wasn't all that surprised by this, Emily was amazing, but they had made breakfast together and then sat at the island, laughing first about Bellas' stories of old and then on to other topics. Then, very much to Chloe's surprise, Emily joined her for her yoga, not exactly good at it but willing to try and fail over and over again. It was a quality she really respected in her. When they were through with that, they had a light lunch, discussing the neighborhoods of L.A. before finally pulling out Chloe's computer and looking at apartment finding websites.
Somehow Emily's cool, clear enthusiasm kept away the worry.
"What about West Los Angeles? I mean, how close do you want to be to Beca?"
"I don't know," Chloe frowned, "where is Beca?" They had pulled out a large map of all of the city's neighborhoods and boroughs, something Chloe was finding extremely helpful.
"Well, it's complicated because where we are now is Century City so she's kind of in both Beverly Hills and Westwood but if you look over here, yeah to this area, the apartments aren't bad."
Chloe scooted in a little closer, enjoying the simple sisterly contact of Emily by her side and typed 'West Los Angeles' into the search bar, "Oh these look okay! Well, I mean, they're terrifying, everything is so small for so much but it doesn't look like I might get shot which is really a plus!"
"Yeah, it's not so bad, especially if you're going to raise a kid but you don't want to be too far from Beca."
"What about this one?"
Emily laughed, "I think she'll have a heart attack if you move in there. Look at it! I think it's a renovated Motel 6. Yeah, look at the picture of the pool."
"Oooh. Maybe not."
"So uh," She could feel a sudden shift of tension in Emily's body, "totally cool if you don't want to answer and everything but uh, yea, why don't you just, you know, stay here? I mean, have you seen this place? It has like four or five freaking rooms. You could easily stay here - with Beca instead of near Beca."
Chloe chewed her lip, her head falling to the back of the couch, "I know I could if I wanted to but the thing is, Beca and I aren't together. It wouldn't be right. If I have this baby then, well, wherever we are will be a hard place to be. Babies don't sleep through the night and I'll be gross and there will be baby stuff everywhere. It's not okay to invade this place like that. This is her bachelor pad. Plus," she gave a small shrug, "I would love a little place of my own. It's been so long since I had one."
She watched Emily's mouth open slowly, her eyes showing careful caution and then her face cleared, obviously choosing to go down another path, "Where were you living when you were here before?"
"Sun Valley. Which is why I need help with all of these areas!" She could feel that Emily had more questions but, polite as ever, Emily refrained. "Oh my god, look at this one! It's so cute! Look at those windows! It looks like a little cabin!"
"It's tiny!"
"I know, but it will only be the two of us. What's a bungalow?"
"It looks like a large tool shed with window treatments."
Chloe bit her lip, laughing.
The front door flew open with a smack, making them both jump, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Beca came streaming in, sweating as though she had run from the office. "I have to call Emily! Fuck, I have to call Emily!"
"Call her!" Emily cried.
Beca rounded into the living room, surprised, and then laughed, cupping her hands around her mouth "Okay, 'Emiiiiily!'"
"Hello!" Emily called back and the two broke apart into giggles, amused at their own bad joke.
"Oh my god, you two!" But Chloe was grinning as she clicked the 'contact me' button and wrote out a quick email requesting a phone call about the apartment.
"So. Em. Guess fucking what."
"Ewwwww - what's fucking what?"
"Dude! Lame!"
"Shut up, you started it!"
"Dude, you shut up." Whatever news Beca had it was making her silly and it was infectious.
"You shut up with the shutting up!" Emily grinned.
"Dude. Shut up. I can hire you."
"What?"
"I can fucking god damn hire you to help me write this song! I just walked in and told P.J. I was hiring you as a lyricist and he was like 'kay'. That's it, just 'kay'. Pretty sure he just wanted me to prove I could get my own team together or some other Mr. Miyagi shit."
Chloe swallowed down a smug grin; she knew it.
"Sooo be my lyricist?"
"So wait!" Emily cried halfway up from the couch, "I can write for you again?"
"YES!"
"OHMYGOD!"
"But dude,"
"What?"
"We need to work so fucking fast that it's not even funny."
Beca and Emily went into work mode for the next few days after that; hiding away upstairs and only coming down for meals and sometimes to sleep. Chloe had gone up before she was heading to bed that night to find both Beca and Emily passed out on the studio couch, Beca with a pencil behind her ear and the live controller unplugged and on her stomach and Emily with a pencil in hand and a notepad on her thighs.
They were working like maniacs.
Chloe didn't mind so much, she had her own things on her mind. She had loved that little apartment and while she was still waiting for a reply, she found it had been just enough incentive to get her going and she was looking thoroughly now, pouring through site after site and only mildly panicked. She had also begun to look into the paperwork she needed to complete her transfer. She was pleased with all of this but she found that at random she would grow frustrated, perhaps a little more frustrated than was necessary. She just wanted to know if she was having this baby or not! If she was then she needed a two bedroom, if she wasn't then she could find a studio somewhere for now. Should she begin looking for a job, knowing that even if she got one she might pop before end of the year testing?
She was beginning to believe in her chances, she was beginning to wonder - but she just wanted to know. And that wasn't like her, she was more of a 'hope until it's true' type of woman. It was strange for her to feel so hesitant, so untrusting. But she couldn't - she couldn't hope again. She couldn't do that. She couldn't live through another Raleigh.
Chloe had also gone back to her usual routine over the next few days and it helped. She took the medicine at night, woke up and did her yoga, ran, read, sang, danced, looked into her future. It was good, she liked it and as one day turned into another she began to see this as her vacation, her last hurrah before she began her new life which she knew, baby or not, would not be easy.
They both were really busy, and yet as the week drew to a close and Chloe was rounding in on her thirteenth week, the medicine began to really work and the exercise was making her feel more like herself - Chloe was finding that she missed Beca more and more. Beca had apologized over and over again the last few days, promising that as soon as she was passed the creating stage then song things would settle again. Chloe understood completely, it had in fact only been a few days and she wasn't upset but though they shared Beca's bed at night, Chloe was seeing even less of her than normal. Beca came to bed long after Chloe was asleep and was out of it before Chloe even woke.
She was starting to have some quite lively fantasies that seemed to hit her throughout the day at random, thoughts of Beca's lips on hers, Beca's hands on her body. By the final day of the writing process, she woke with her skin alight from her thoughts and wishing that she could simply march upstairs and take what she needed.
Which - she could - she knew she could but Beca was working.
The problem was, alive, hardworking, badass Beca, it made her twitch in a way she had only just started to discover before Aubrey showed up; twitch in a way she kind of loved.
They weren't a couple.
They didn't need to make time out of their schedules for intimacy.
They didn't!
But oh god, Chloe wanted to.
Finally, that a night she was woken by the strange metallic hiss of the bedroom door being opened. She had no idea what time it was but she heard Beca's clothes drop to the floor and a long groan as she crawled under the covers, her face resting against Chloe's back.
"Oooh, baby, it's so late. You're going to be so tired tomorrow."
"I know." Beca yawned, "But it's done. We finished the first, errm, draft. We can start recording it."
"That's amazing, Bec! Who-" but she stopped when she heard a small snore from behind her.
Apparently Beca's promises that her crazy hours were just part of this process were correct because the next morning after Chloe's usual run Beca was there, sitting in the kitchen looking bleary-eyed and drinking a cup of coffee.
"Heeeey!" Chloe grinned, kissing her temple, "I haven't seen you down here in a few days. Where's Emily?"
"I know, I'm sorry. She's at home, I told her to stay and sleep. I'll call her when I need to tweak some stuff. I know we had to kind of work like crazy if I wanted enough time to record it and mix it. I'm freaking tired. How was your workout?"
"Good, though I think I need to start doing it inside. It's cold!"
"Yeah, it does that. So listen."
Chloe's eyebrows shot up. Suddenly it was her Bella co-captain sitting there instead of Beca, her lips pursed, her fingers steepled around the cup. She had started sentences that way so many times: 'so listen, do you remember that game paddy cake?' 'so listen, I think we need sequin pants', 'So listen, DSM is gonna kick our ass unless-' 'so listen, how much do you think it would be to fly 50 Bella alum to Denmark'...
"I was thinking."
"Uh huh?"
"How would you feel about recording the song for the demo? We're calling it 'Jungle Gym' by the way."
She frowned, taking a second to smell the french press and wish, "What do you mean?"
"Like sing. Emily's voice is great. I love it, like love it, but it's so sweet. You were right, we need something edgier. I mean, your voice is just as sweet honestly, but you can get - edgy." Beca gave her a suggestive grin from behind her coffee mug.
Chloe blinked, her brain working slowly, "You want me to sing? As in - vocals - for the demo?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's no big deal really but-"
"What?!"
"Whoa!" Beca cried as Chloe let out an excited screech.
"That's totally a huge deal! Oh my god! Oh my god! Like sing - in that little booth - with a mic and you outside doing your thang?"
"Uuuuh, yeah, basically."
"Oh my god!" Chloe threw her arms around her, "That would be so much fun! Oh my god!"
"So I take that as a yes?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Chloe, not a lot of people will hear it. I mean, the artist who buys it just needs to hear a good sample of what it can sound like, so the only people who will hear you will be us, P.J. and, dear fuck let's fucking hope, Kendra."
She just nodded. Be a part of what Beca was doing? Any time, any day, yes! Plus she got to sing! "When do you want to get started?"
"Well, um, do you need to shower?"
"Today? You want to do it today?"
"Uh yeah, why not?"
She felt like a kid on Christmas morning as she showered, rushing through the task as best she could.
"Wow, that was quick!" Beca grinned at her as she came up the stairs.
"I was excited. That's not weird is it? Don't make it weird."
Beca's grin grew.
"Is that the track?"
"Mmhmm."
"Can I hear it?"
"Totally." Beca held out her headphones.
Chloe took them and instantly the smooth beat and clap filled her senses. Her head swayed; this was good. Really good. "Bec, you're so good at what you do! All of this just from that one sentence I gave you?"
"That's kind of how it works!" Beca yelled, pulling one side of the headphones away.
"I'm glad I thought of it then!" She gave her a wink and seeing Beca reclined behind her, Chloe casually flopped down, placing herself easily in Beca's lap and scooting so that her butt was beside her legs and her legs could toss over the opposite arm. "Okay so," she felt herself click into a different mode then, picking up the lyrics and glancing over them as the beat continued, "Will you sing this for me?" She could read the roughly written out music but Beca hadn't sung anything for her in a while.
"Right yeah, totally." Beca wrapped a hand around Chloe's thighs, holding her in place and pulled the headphones off, "Will you unplug that?"
Chloe listened with full concentration as Beca's voice worked through the drops and dips, trying hard not to smile when Beca caught her eye and flushed and rolled her eyes a little bit. "Yay, I love your voice, you know that?" Chloe sighed when she was done.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Beale, get to work."
"Should I run through it a few times? How long do I have?"
"Uh, take your time. The more you learn it the better it is."
"Can I have a few hours?" She had done this all the time when they were Bellas. Since she was the one who had focused on the choreography it meant that she needed to know the song five times faster than everyone else.
"Of course. Go do that weird pacing thing that you do."
Chloe rolled her eyes, "Can I stay here?"
"Sure," Beca smirked, holding a little tighter to her thighs.
She tried to focus then, reading over the words, memorizing them but what she found herself focusing on instead was the feeling of Beca's thumb lightly stroking as she listened to the track, jotting down notes. Eventually she had to give it up, standing and pacing back and forth as Beca had predicted, her feet matching the beat as she let her head bob and snap.
They ordered in for lunch, each lost in their own world as they ate and by dinnertime Chloe was confident that she could give it a try.
"You sure? You can't have paper in there."
"Can we, I don't know, blow it up and tape it to the window?"
"Sure."
They spent a little while goofing off then, trying to deal with the printer.
"No not there! I want to be able to see you."
Beca rolled her eyes but did as she was told, an embarrassed smile on her face.
"Okay," Beca nodded, "how this works-" she paused, grabbing Chloe by the hips and teasingly walking her into the isolation booth.
"Hey!"
"Okay, so what you're gonna do is put these on."
"Okay."
"And then I'm going to be out there."
"Okay."
"And you're going to sing."
"Okay." Chloe bit her lip, amused.
"And then you're going to hear through those."
"Okay."
"Great."
"Awesome."
"I'm going to kiss you now because you're very cute."
She felt a smile crack, "Okay."
The kiss was fast, purposely fast as though Beca knew if she lingered too long she would - linger too long.
"So your stomach feeling better then, yeah?"
"Oh yeah, loads."
"That's – that's good. Because for a minute there you couldn't handle being kissed - like at all."
"I'm sorry. Do you want one more for the road?"
"Uh, yes please."
"Okay, come here then."
Beca did, all sunshine-y grins.
Mmm, she had forgotten how much she liked this; the way their lips fit, even in a kiss as chaste as this one. She let her hand trail lightly over Beca's jaw and heard a small grunt of satisfaction.
"Right and - err, right." Beca jerkily turned in a circle twice, as if she wasn't sure where the door was and then wobbling ever so slightly she started toward it, "I'm uh, I'll be the one out there."
"Right there?"
"That's right, in that chair."
"Oh, that one? Okay."
"Shut up."
Chloe laughed again.
"Right." Beca flopped down in the chair activating the mic, "So I think let's sing through it a few times and then we'll start recording if you feel comfortable, okay? This doesn't have to be perfect or anything."
"Okay."
It felt so strange, so official as she pushed her free ear back into the monitors. "I never thought I would do this!"
"Well, just have fun for a few minutes. Oh come on, I know you. I know you want to."
"Okay!" So Chloe did, letting her voice trail and flip, bouncing in front of the mic until she got it out of her system.
"Okay. Ready?"
The sound of the music flooded her ears and she began to sing.
And she found it was easy.
Perhaps it was all the Bellas performances.
If she was tentative at all at first it was just for a moment before she absolutely lost herself, checking the printed sheets every now and then but honestly trying not to because when she did she found Beca's eyes on her and - that was distracting, usually leading to an 'oh shit wait' or something along those lines and each time Beca's amused grin grew.
"Okay, this sounds great, really great. I knew I made the right decision." Beca said, after the first few times through; slightly distracted as she chewed the end of her pen.
Chloe beamed, proudly.
"How do you feel about recording? Don't worry too much because I can piece things together, so it doesn't need to be perfect."
Chloe shrugged, "I'm not worried." She had complete faith in their ability to work together when it came to anything music related – or – anything, really.
"'Kay, hold on a second." Beca came into the booth, her eyebrows drawn tight in concentration as she fiddled with the mic, adjusting the height. "This could sound better if we were at the studio but oh well, I think we'll be okay."
"It's better we're not at the studio."
"Hmm?"
"Well, you are in your pajamas. That is a definite benefit."
"Touché."
"Plus, then I couldn't do this." Chloe pulled her in, giving her a resounding kiss so sudden that Beca let out an untamed girlish little giggle.
"Oh god!" Beca groaned, covering her suddenly inflamed face, "That was so lame! Stop looking at me! I did not just do that."
"But I liked it!"
"Nooope. Not okay."
But she had liked it; the surprised struck-stupid look on Beca's face had been far too alluring. She nudged at the bottom of the hands covering Beca's face until they moved enough for her to take her lips again.
Oh noooo, that delicious tight ache in her lower belly caught fire and before she knew what she was doing she was pulling Beca in closer, parting her lips so she could brush lightly against her tongue.
Beca needed to get this track done, she had to. Stop, Chloe, stop!
Instead, she let her hand slide under the back of Beca's shirt, pressing it flat against the small of her back, reaching further. She could feel Beca's hesitance, her knowledge that if she gave into this they would be distracted completely and it frustrated her. She gave a little annoyed groan, her hand closing on Beca's back so her nails scratched across her skin. She felt Beca's breath hiss, puffing fast against her face and then Beca was kissing her back, her hands unable to find where they wanted to settle in her fury, first wrapping in her hair then sliding down her arms, then up her spine.
"Oh!" Chloe pulled away hard, their lips disconnecting with a pop.
"Right!" Beca huffed, "Supposed to be- err - damn it." She turned on her heels and marched from the room, her lips and ears flushed. "Ready?" She barked but Chloe shook her head, waving her hands and trying to catch her breath. "Damn it!" Beca cried again, watching her lightly bounce back and forth.
"Wait, are you mad?"
"No!" Beca pulled her legs under her in the chair, her face falling into a pout, "I'm - other things."
Chloe let out a long sigh, that wonderful tension doubling. They had to go to bed sometime tonight? Right? Get through this and then she would make it bed time.
"Okay." she huffed again, "I'm good. Let's go."
The feeling in the pit of herself only helped the song, honestly. They began again and she sang her heart out in the way she had always loved.
"Damn, okay try taking like half a step back from the mic."
"Okay like this?"
"Um, I'm not sure, give it a go."
She only got through a few bars before Beca's voice came again, surprisingly shallow and raspy, "Dude you gotta - you gotta stop."
"What?" Chloe frowned; why was Beca's face all funky like that? She looked like someone had just jabbed her in the eye with a hot poker.
Beca's fingers flexed in the air, as though she was trying to grab the words that didn't want to come out. "Stop the dancing - have to stop - the dancing - I can't concentrate. I'm supposed to be doing this but you're saying like - really inappropriate things and I can't even - do the - button pushing - stuff right now."
She grinned, sucking lightly on her bottom lip, "I'm distracting you?"
"I'm only human!"
"What's distracting you, Bec?" She asked, bouncing in place and teasingly wiggling, pleased with the way Beca's eyes followed her every movement.
"Stopit!"
Chloe just laughed.
But now that she knew - she kind of couldn't stop it. She could feel Beca's eyes on her hips, on her thighs and it was driving her wild. She wanted to stay still, to sing the song and all of that but she couldn't.
"Oh mygod, Chloe! What are you doing to me? Stahp!"
"What's wrong, Bec?" She asked during a musical interlude, hiding her mirth behind an innocent look of concern.
"I just can't even-oh my god, what the-auuuugh-"
Her obvious frustration only fueled Chloe's fire, enjoying the way Beca chewed her bottom lip as she let her whole body roll. She got to the chorus and watched Beca's face fall slack as she hooked her thumbs in the tops of her stretchy yoga pants, slowly rocking and swaying her hips as though any second they were going to fall to the floor.
Biting the inside of her cheek she turned, letting her butt pop a few times, enjoying the fact that Beca had gone silent. She swayed, scooting her pants down ever so slightly so they were just below her hipbones, just past the line of appropriate. Her hands ran up her stomach, pulling her shirt with it as she rolled, popping and gyrating. Maybe she should take something off and give Beca a little bit of a show.
The problem was that each teasing move filled her with her own fire, building her own desire drop by drop. There was nothing quite as stirring as knowing how Beca was feeling; knowing it was what she was doing to her.
Too long, it had been too long. She couldn't concentrate. She could feel her eyes on her like a caress, making her heart rate pick up, making her skin tingle.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder, ready to give her a wink before actually getting serious - their bedtime was calling - but Beca wasn't in the chair.
She frowned, her dancing stopping as she looked around, "Um-"
Beca was coming through the door, her face serious.
"Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Chloe laughed, already backing away from whatever revenge Beca was here to get, "I'll behave, I'll be good!" She braced, ready to run, ready to jump on her depending on what the situation would require.
"Now? Now you want to behave? Now that I'm here? You're an asshole, you know that, right?" Beca growled as she began to pull her long hair up into a messy bun.
The sight sent a jolt through her belly, remembering that bun. It was funny, but she had seen it a million times before. It had never been anything special, just a casual way for Beca to keep her hair from her face while dancing or studying…but now...
Chloe let out a laugh, about to tease back, to tickle, maybe dance some more but she ran out of time. Beca was there, everywhere. She felt herself jerked by the back of her neck and their lips connected; Beca's mouth almost bruising, her grip on her waist tight. Chloe whimpered out a long hot sound, her own version of the embarrassing little giggle Beca had made and she would have flushed, would have said something but Beca was pressing her backward so fast that she wasn't sure she was going to stay upright. They tripped a bit over the chair behind them, having to navigate around it, laughing against the other's lips.
She hit the wall with a cry, sensations exploding as she pulled Beca in by the shirt, her back arching just so more of her could press against Beca. Her mouth popped open, chuckling but Beca didn't seem to mind, brushing her lips against her smile, softly licking across her bottom lip before she gave a little breathless, almost disbelieving laugh of her own. The little laugh did wonders to Chloe's head, making her pull her in by the neck.
Kissing should always include laughter. She was sure of that.
All she could feel was the brush of Beca's tongue, the way that it dipped deep, pulling with its inward curl sounds that she hadn't known she could make. She loved the way that Beca's body pressed into hers; the way her hands moved selfishly, cupping her breasts, squeezing her ass not because it felt amazing for Chloe but because Beca needed it. It turned everything within her to liquid.
She knew they were supposed to be working, she knew they had very little time and the longer they took the longer before they could get into bed - but why put off for bed what she could do right now?
Her hands snaked under Beca's shirt, pulling it over her head so fast that Beca yelped and then her lips found the soft skin of Beca's shoulder, her neck, her lips, sucking on her lip studs until she heard a loud keen, one that was answered with her own as Beca pressed a thigh into her.
"Mmm, Bec," She cried, her hand reaching to unclasp Beca's bra as Beca pulled off her shirt and reached down, pulling one of Chloe's thighs up, giving herself better placement. "Oh! I missed you!"
Beca gave a little grunt, lost in Chloe's throat, her kisses softening for a moment as she whispered, "I missed you too, baby. Come here."
Okay, okay, maybe she understood the whole 'baby' thing now. The word hit her stomach, stirring a feeling of possession that made her whimper and press into her. Beca's response was a powerful, pressing kiss that made Chloe's knees weak.
The bra finally fell to the floor and Chloe didn't waste any time, wanting to feel her skin under her hand, pulling her in.
Beca let out a cough and a snort, "Ugh, your hair just went up my nose!" She stopped, wiping at her face. "Gah, it's everywhere! Why - always - every -where -"
Chloe chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her close and teasingly shook her lions made of red, making Beca splutter some more and laugh. Chloe's smile ghosted over Beca's bare shoulder, her lips working down Beca's chest, listening to Beca's private chuckle and waiting for it to turn into a whimper. Only, suddenly her hands were above her head, Beca's body rolling hard once and everything went hazy. Beca's hands pressed and Chloe understood, turning her palms so they were sandwiched between two of the pads along the wall, holding them up.
"But Bec." She cried out as she felt hands slip under her bra, pushing it away as a soft chuckle floated from Beca.
"Ohgod, what's funny?" She tried to keep still but she couldn't, her hips bucking against the thigh as Beca's lips closed around the light pink of her nipple.
"This." She felt her tongue curl and Chloe was moaning again; gasping as little 'oh's' and 'aaahhs' fell from her lips. "And it's not funny, it's drool-worthy."
Her hands came down of their own accord, closing tightly in Beca's hair, holding her to her, pulling her in so that she was pressed against her, giving her a moment of relief from the mounting sensations in her lower belly. "Oh! Oh, aaaah, do that again."
Her mouth popped open, alarmed by what came out as Beca knowingly moved. Oh, she needed more. She needed more of her.
She held tight to her as Beca peppered kisses and tiny bites up her neck to her jaw, settling on her ear, bringing Chloe up to her toes with a particularly strong roll of her thigh.
"Chloe?" Beca's voice was small, timid.
"Hmm?" Even that closed mouth response came out unsteady, desperate.
"I want to fuck you."
The words slammed into her like liquor. Her hands closed tight on Beca's shoulders, her head swam, and for a moment she couldn't get enough air; she gasped, her breath hitching again and again. The quiet assurance in Beca's voice did amazing things to her body and even better things to her mind. Chloe had a freak side, anyone who had slept with her for very long knew she did, but Beca - oh god, she had never said anything like that before. Her body gave another roll and Chloe cried out, her face falling so that they were cheek to cheek, her fingers digging into Beca's hair.
Then a small, less sure "Is that okay?" brushed past her ear and she was a puddle.
She nodded fast, her arms closing around her; she wanted to respond but she couldn't seem to form words of any kind, especially when she felt Beca's feather light fingers slide into her pants, gently touching her.
Beca let out a high, choking whimper.
"Oh shit, Bec, oh god, oh, Beca,"
She felt another little laugh rumble through Beca's throat and furiously sucked it away, latching on to silence herself as she felt Beca roll into her, sliding, pressing.
Oh god, oh goodness, she was good at this, how was she so good at this?
She didn't know, and right now she didn't care, all she cared about was Beca, her little grunts, her moans, the way she was making her feel. "More. Harder."
This feeling wasn't the same as it had been with Nick, this sense of being filled. She didn't think she could ever get enough of it, being filled by Beca in this way. By Beca - she felt a long deep moan float from somewhere inside of her at the thought, this was Beca moving this way inside of her, her Bec. Oh god.
Beca let out a shutter and moved fast, bouncing them, slamming them.
"Oh god Bec, my - my -" she pulled her face back to hers, kissing her with everything she had, her hand cupping her jaw, caressing her cheeks, her eyebrows, the side of her lips.
It was always too much in all the right ways.
Her fingers fumbled for a moment at the waist of Beca's sweats. She just wanted to feel her, to be connected more than they already were. She slid down into Beca's arousal and nearly came undone. She loved this effect, this physical response that Beca gave her. It was so flattering, so touching that she had been able to do this to Beca's body. She loved it. "Oh shit," She squeaked, opening her eyes and focusing hard on the opposite wall, trying to push away the impending wave. "Baby, you're so," she gasped in wonder instead of finishing her sentence, her face falling back to Beca's neck.
The response was low, so soft that Chloe felt the rumble of it from Beca's throat more than she heard it, so soft that she was sure Beca hadn't even realized she had said it out loud, "That's what you do to me."
Oh god. "Beca-"
"Don't come for me yet, Chloe."
She wanted to laugh, her head rolling back to the wall. She wasn't sure she had a lot of choice about that. "What? Why?"
"Because I don't want you to yet."
She felt Beca lean down, taking the most sensitive part of her breast into her mouth and her body jerked; rising. "Bec, I can't – I,"
Beca paused, making Chloe sob out a cry but all she did was pull the chair from behind them, hooking Chloe's thigh over her own and resting her foot on the bottom foot hold. She felt Beca's free hand, forceful, speaking for her, pressing Chloe's fingers against herself.
For just a moment Chloe felt an overwhelming sense of worry, "I don't - I don't know if I know how like this." She chewed her lip, feeling her inexperience. It was rare – she had been able to intuit most of this but - "The angle…"
"Please." Beca pressed her fingers again and Chloe felt everything turn upside down, Beca's passion hitting her hard. She grit her teeth, stifling the sound that wanted to pull from her lower belly as she surrounded herself in Beca, letting their moans intertwine.
Magic.
She stroked, watching Beca's face, "Like this?"
"Mmm," Beca nodded, moving in such a way that told Chloe to copy her.
"Like that?"
"Yeah." Beca nodded fast, her lips parting, her flicking gunmetal-blue eyes turning to midnight. "Yeah, that's good, Chloe." She caught her in a kiss, the kind of kiss that made Chloe's equilibrium tip; her center of gravity becoming the lips connected to hers.
Chloe let out a whimper, when Beca released her from the kiss and held on to her tight. "I love touching you like this."
She held her tight as she let her pace match Beca's, breathing in her skin, leaving sloppy, open mouth kisses up and down her throat, holding so tight to the shore because Beca had asked her to.
It became harder and harder with each move, each stroke, each sound.
"Fucking shit, ohmygod, Chloe, fuck!"
She didn't know what she was doing, not really, but she pulled and pressed, copying Beca; breathing deeply, purposefully slow but she could feel each twitch in Beca's body, each spasm and clench. "Talk to me. Talk to me, baby."
"Nu - now - I'm - shit! FUCK!" Beca cried into Chloe's throat, her whole body pressing, burying herself, and that was all Chloe could take. She felt Beca begin to shake and she drifted away with her, holding her close, spinning.
"Oh god, Bec, I lo-, fucking I lov, I lo-" she felt Beca's lips close on hers, sloppy and hard but she didn't care. She rose and rose, her hands clutching tightly to Beca, who held her to the ground as it continued on and on and on. She felt Beca sag against her, spent, but she just held tight, her muscles on the verge of cramping as she rolled through her orgasm.
"Jesus, Chlo."
"I can't- I can't sto-" she let out a final wail into Beca's neck and came crashing back down, swearing.
Chloe went limp, unsure if she could hold them up.
Oh! Nope, they laughed as together they slid to the floor, a tangle of arms and legs.
"That was your fault, you know!" Chloe gasped when she could get her voice back.
"I'm a rock star apparently then. That was really freaking long."
"Yeah you are." Chloe chuckled, kissing her thoroughly, languidly allowing herself to brush against her, tasting her, taking her in.
"You were - loud. Like really fucking loud."
"Was I?"
"You couldn't tell?"
"I was a little distracted."
Beca let out a satisfied little hum and pulled her back in for another searching kiss.
"This is another benefit to being at home." Chloe chuckled, finally pulling off her bra which was stuck around her armpits and let Beca cuddle into her chest. "Can I just stay like this for the rest of the song?"
"Sure," Beca laughed, kissing down her chest, "if you want to just keep repeating this over and over."
"Mmm, yes please."
Beca grinned, reaching up and tracing her top lip, "Hmm, I love the way your lips do that."
"Do what?"
"I don't know. Your top lip kind of goes up in the middle. Right there. Sometimes."
"It does?" Chloe frowned, covering her lips with her palm.
"Don't misunderstand me, I like it. I always have. It used to distract me all of the time in Bellas rehearsals. Do you remember when Flo was trying to teach me how to do a flip?"
"Oh god!" Chloe cried, "You almost broke your ankle, I told you it wasn't that easy!"
"Well, it could have been! But you kinda turned around and looked at me right when I was about to jump and your lip did the thing." Beca blinked for a second, seeming to realize what she had just said, "I didn't just admit that, did I?"
"You almost broke your leg – before the Kennedy Center thing – before the president- because you were looking at my lips?"
"No!" Beca cried, hiding her face, "I just - really like your lips."
"Oh my god, Beca!"
"Shutupshutup!"
Chloe let out a low sound of pleasure from her chest, "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had just kissed me?"
"I uh, I actively try not to, cuz, yeah."
Chloe chuckled and took her lip then, nibbling lightly on the bottom. "I almost did once."
"What?" But the word came out muffled as Chloe had taken her lip again, refusing to let it go, watching the way that Beca's eyes half rolled when she sucked.
"Ummhmm, we were at a Treble party and I was playing Truth or Dare with Stacie and Cynthia Rose." She watched Beca's stunned face, "They dared me to walk up and make out with you. Something about you being particularly….prickly…that week. I can't remember."
"And you didn't do it?"
Chloe's face twisted, remembering her heart pounding as she had started across the floor toward Beca, "No, I lost my nerve. I got about halfway to you and you looked back at me. You were laughing and I," She shook her head a bit, "I made out with Stacie instead."
"Oh my god, I remember that! I remember seeing it! The twenty-one year old in me is still pissed."
"Really? Even now?" Chloe trailed a finger under Beca's jaw, giving her the best kiss she could to make up for her lapse in judgment so many years ago. But just like so many other of their kisses, one kiss turned into another and soon Chloe was holding Beca to her, listening to Beca's soft cries into her chest as she touched her, as she brought her to climax again there on the booth's floor.
They did finish the song that night, they did. It just wasn't until very late and by that point they were both so spent that it was impressive anything was done at all.
They fell into bed with twin groans, sharing a few kisses before falling into a deep, content sleep.
Chloe woke late the next morning, slightly sore but happier than she could ever remember; she loved this simple, basic happiness. Beca wasn't in bed beside her but that didn't surprise her, not with a song to mix and edit.
She got up and pulled on her workout clothes, making quick work of a snack before going down to the second floor. Her body ached and groaned as she descended the many flights of stairs, her muscles the best kind of sore; the kind that made her feel alive and slightly aroused.
She couldn't help but to remember the night before as she pressed, warming up, letting her back bow toward her knees until her stomach and her thighs were flush, delighting in the resistance, in the pull. It had been different the night before; less cautious...Beca had been less cautious.
She walked her hands forward, following with one angled foot, tensing and releasing as she spread, her arms coming up and out as she settled into a comfortable second Warrior.
She didn't know if Beca previously had been slightly afraid to take her or if she had just been trying to be respectful but Beca's unbridled passions had been…she moaned as she stretched her arm down, twisted her body to the side and opened her chest into an extended triangle.
And she was always surprised by her own actions, by the things she said and did when Beca touched her that way, by the confidence that Beca gave her. She had never been shy, she had always been confident; confident about her voice, confident about her talent, about her body.
She walked her now mat bound hands to the side so she could press her body flush against her triangled right leg, taking a few deep meditative breaths. She sighed, peacefully happy as she went up on her toes for a second before bringing her left leg up and into a standing split, crooking her elbow behind her leg to keep it languidly in place.
But Beca - she had made her confident in her ability to touch her the night before. Her eyes closed as she planted her hands and brought her other leg up over her head, balancing into a split handstand. She focused for a moment, looking for the comfortable balancing spot and settled in, releasing a long breath. She remembered the way she had felt when Beca had gone rigid the night before, when she had felt her close around her fingers. She moaned, her face pressing into her arm. And the length of her own, the intensity of the orgasm – unprecedented. She moaned again and slid down into a plank, her muscles humming approvingly.
The night before had been amazing and she couldn't wait to do it again.
Soon, please, she thought, humming with satisfaction as she planted her forearms in the mat and sprang back up, her legs high over her head and slowly pulled in, crossing them midair into an inverted lotus and biting her lip. Very soon.
She felt great as she climbed the flights of stairs back up to the condo, her breath coming fast by the time that she reached level twenty. She felt warm and stretched, her sore muscles worked out. She decided to make a large breakfast as she let herself in, her stomach beginning to rumble threateningly.
She worked fast, worried about the impending nausea and then ate as she carried a second plate up for Beca.
"Oh my god, that smells awesome, I'm so hungry."
"Good!" She spent a second beside her, leaning ever so slightly into her shoulder as she finished off her own plate. "How's it going?"
"Auugh, you're all sweaty."
Her eyebrow popped more a moment as she grinned.
Beca just rolled her eyes, "Great. It's going so fucking great. I uh, I totally found the thing that's going to put it over the top. I still have to do some tinkering, okay a lot of tinkering, but I'm so stoked - err, I mean, I think it's going to be-"
"The tits?" Chloe grinned.
"Precisely."
"Okay, I'll leave you to-"
"Actually, Chlo, you should listen to this."
"Oh?"
"Yah, come here." Beca took Chloe's empty plate and put it aside. "Here."
Chloe pulled on the headphones, pleased that though the song was not yet done, Beca wanted her to hear it.
"Ready?"
She nodded and Beca clicked it on.
It was strange hearing her own voice in this way, surrounded by the music Beca had created. Yeah, there had been times in college where Chloe had sung in a few of Beca's mixes, but never like this. Sometimes she liked it, feeling a moment of pride here and there and other times she felt her face flush red as she cracked or skipped into a note. Well, she wasn't using her voice like she had in the past, was she? She felt her mind begin to drift a bit at that thought; she was going to have to get back in shape that way. She worried momentarily about that until the sound of her own shrill laughter caught her attention again as she cried over the recording, 'I'll behave, I'll be good'. Her mouth popped open in shock, knowing what she was about to listen to.
"Oh my god." She lowered herself into Beca's lap, dumbstruck, barely noticing that she almost sat in Beca's plate of food. "Oh my god!" She couldn't stop listening, it was so - hot! Her hand fell to Beca's knee between her legs and for just a moment she felt like a cat in heat. "Ohmygod!" she cried again as the sounds picked up, her sharp voice crying out and Beca's softer, responding grunts and moans; their very own call and return.
"Is that what I sound like?" Chloe laughed, turning toward the woman who had made each and every one of those sounds come from her mouth. "Nice!"
"If you don't say so yourself?"
"Mmm." Chloe's mouth closed on her bottom lip, sucking lightly, watching Beca's eyes twinkle with mischievous light.
"No! I can't! I caaan't! Ican't,Ican't,Ican't,Ican't! Seriously, how is this even possible? How are you even freaking possible? Aren't you tired? I need lunch and a freaking nap and a cigarette, oh god, I need a cigarette."
Chloe just groaned, flipping her hair over her shoulder so it cascaded over them and continued to kiss along Beca's jaw.
"And pee, I have to pee! How do you not have to pee?"
She just let out a noncommittal sound, closing her lips around the soft part of her ear.
She did, actually, she needed a nap and lunch too but she couldn't help it, she was lying naked on top of Beca and therefore things needed to be happening...for what would be the sixth time since that morning...each.
It was late afternoon and thus far they, well Beca really, had done absolutely nothing for the track, not since Chloe had climbed into her lap, moving ever so slightly on Beca's leg as she listened to their moans through the headphones. It had been the sexiest thing she had ever heard, but what had been even sexier was the hungry look it gave Beca's face. There had been something else there, she had seen that look that Beca used to get right before she and one of the Bellas pulled off a good prank but it had been hidden, buried under a need so strong that Chloe hadn't been able to get her clothing off fast enough. They had spent an hour in the studio's computer chair before finally moving downstairs to the bedroom.
"I'm just - I'm not going to respond. I'm just - I'm going to play dead. Like a bear."
"Oh yeah?" Chloe chuckled.
"Yup." Beca's body went limp under her, her head rolling to the side as she refused to move.
"Is that a challenge?"
Beca just laid there, lifeless.
"Alright," she answered, her voice sad as though it was Beca who were forcing her hand. She pretended she did not see one of Beca's eyebrows twitch up with intrigue, softly cupping her throat and gently, so gently she knew Beca's body wouldn't know how to register it, ran her tongue from collar bone to ear. She felt a slight shudder run through Beca's side but she just continued, running back down her throat, between her breasts, down her stomach until she got to her belly button, where she plunged in. She heard Beca's breath hitch and swallowed back a satisfied grin, moving over a hip, down her thigh, along the outside of her knee and to her ankle; where she left a small love bite before starting her way back up. Beca's eyes were closed as she got to her belly button again, closed tight, her lips between her teeth. Chloe swirled once and continued on, this time harshly closing her lips around a nipple and listening, victorious, as Beca let out a cry, her whole body writhing under Chloe.
She crawled up the rest of the way and gave her a quick Eskimo kiss, "If I were a bear, you would be dead."
"If a bear could do that to me then I think we would be having a very different conversation."
Chloe made a face, leaning in to take a kiss.
"I would be booking Jimmy Kimmel as quickly as possible. I really do need the bathroom. If I promise to take a hall pass and come right back, can I go without getting detention?"
Chloe pretended to think about it so Beca laughed, tossing her off.
This was a great way to spend the morning...and afternoon. She knew that soon Beca needed to rise and when she did she would probably have to work like a maniac but she hoped Beca thought it was worth it. She sure as hell thought it was worth it.
Beca was back in a minute, pausing just inside the door to lean against the frame.
"What?"
Beca just smiled and crossed her arms, giving Chloe a warm look that she had seen so many times before, Chloe's very own special smile, "Still just getting used to this sight."
Chloe flushed, toying with the ring on her finger and giving Beca a side glance.
"What?"
Chloe bit her lip, "You're naked."
Beca's eyes shone as she gave her that all-teeth honest laugh, "Don't tell me that you're still not used to liking that. I mean," she looked down at herself, "it's okay I guess, whatever, but-"
Chloe rolled her eyes, pulling back the blanket and giving her a challenging look, "Don't talk about that body that way. Currently, it's kind of my favorite."
"Currently!" Beca cried, flopping in, "As in, maybe tomorrow that won't be true anymore?"
"What? No!"
"What about next week? Will it be your favorite again? Next month? How long does it have?" She cried, "Oh my god, you bitch! You're totally going to move on to a new body!"
"That's not what I meant!" Chloe wailed, jumping and twitching as Beca teasingly leaned over her, biting the ticklish spot on her side, "No, no, no! Ahhh, let go! Nooo, I love it, I love it, it's totes my fav, it's totes my fav! Aaahh!"
"Where is this new body?" Beca cried, continuing to spider her fingers over Chloe's ticklish spots, nibbling here and there, "I'm gonna kick its ass! Where is it!?"
Chloe shrieked and squirmed, grabbing Beca's smaller body and flipping them around in a move so fast that it left Beca breathless.
"Holy shit, how did I get here? The room is spinning."
"I don't know, Bec, you just went flying! What happened?"
"Oh my god, shut up." Beca laughed, climbing up her and teasingly biting her throat.
Chloe yelped and then cooed as Beca's playful bite turned into a soft, gentle sucking, "I thought you were hungry."
"I am. I'm about to get something to eat."
"Mmm," Chloe ran both hands through Beca's hair, lightly scratching her scalp, pressing her lips in harder.
"Gahhh! FUCK! Ow!"
"Oh shit, oh no! Hold on. Don't move!" Chloe frowned as she tried to free Beca's hair from the prongs of her engagement ring. "Oooh, I'm sorry." It finally was liberated but not without taking a few strands of Beca's hair with it.
Beca frowned, pulling Chloe's hand to her and studying the aquamarine and diamond ring. Her expression changed then, clouded over like a thunderstorm. "Well, Nickie was right." Chloe gave her a small smile and held it up to her face. "It does match your eyes."
She watched the shadow deepen. "Hey, what's wrong? Where did you just go?"
"Hmm? What? Nothing. Nowhere." Beca's eyes rolled but Chloe wasn't fooled.
She ran her finger across the suddenly tense brow, waiting.
Beca huffed, "Do you remember the day he gave this to you?"
She did, very well actually, of course she did. Nick had been working on three cases all at once so she hadn't seen him for a few days. Finally he had called her, asking her to meet him for lunch at a small bistro not far from her apartment. She had shown up, pleased that he had thought of her and wanted to spend his small amount of free time with her; they hadn't been dating all of that long. It turned out that Nick and his team had just won a big case and he 'couldn't hold it in anymore'. He had picked her up, swung her around in a circle and brought the ring box out from his suit pocket insisting, 'when you know, you know'.
Chloe had thought she would never find happiness like she felt in that moment. Nick had been everything she thought she had wanted; he was witty and dry, funny and sweet. It was funny, but now she could see that those traits had already lived in someone else.
Of course, Nick hadn't been able to stay. They had eaten a quick meal and then Chloe had gotten in her car and - she let out a small laugh, seeing the painful irony of their past yet again, "He proposed to me and then I spent the entire afternoon with you. I got engaged and I ran to you."
"It was an awesome day, though." Beca chuckled. They had decided to play hooky and drive down to the Santa Monica pier where they had eaten junk food until they thought they were going to be sick, spent hours on the rides; Chloe had even decided to take a short trapeze class on the pier, which Beca hadn't been able to watch.
"It was. It was a good day."
The momentary sparkle died away again, "It was a really hard day, though."
Chloe could tell that even through this confession Beca was putting on a brave face, trying not to show how hard it had actually been. "Because I was engaged." She wasn't asking, now that she understood their past relationship better she already knew.
"A little bit. I just remember having the same thought over and over again, especially when I got a few beers in me."
"What was that?"
"I just-" Beca's face flushed. "I got a little - drunk and-"
"That's right. I forgot. We fought, didn't we? All the way back home." She remembered the stiff silence now, feeling hurt that Beca had turned on her on a day as special as that one, not understanding at all why Beca had gone cold as she sometimes did.
"Yeah. I just," she puffed out a sigh, "I hated it so much. I hated that after freaking everything he had - fucking lassoed you."
"What? What do you mean?"
Beca scowled down at the ring, looking at it like she despised it. "You and Nick are getting divorced, right?"
"You know we are, sweetie." She frowned, wanting to wipe away the unease in Beca. She opened her mouth to ask what she could do but Beca spoke.
"Then-" she watched, captivated as Beca lifted her fingers, kissing the fingertips and then the knuckles. She saw her face, so serious suddenly, and felt her heart pick up pace. She could feel the significance in the air, she knew that - something - was about to happen but she didn't understand.
She watched, lips parted in surprise when Beca closed her fingers around the engagement ring, twisting it slightly and slowly sliding it off. She was transfixed by the emotion written across her best friend's face. She saw Beca's eyes flash to hers and then carefully she began to walk the wedding band down her finger until it could slip off and away.
It was so small, such a small thing to do but Beca's eyes spoke volumes.
Her heart was thudding, her eyelashes fluttering as she felt a wave of something hit her, something indescribable as Beca leaned over and placed both rings on the nightstand.
Beca let out a deep, resonating sigh, her head falling to Chloe's chest, "Oh my god, I've wanted to do that for years." She brought Chloe's naked hand to her lips and kissed the spot where the rings had previously been.
She felt the kiss like gentle fire and heard herself gasp.
She could feel Beca softly running her lips back and forth, holding her hand tightly as she took it and pressed it over her heart.
"Beca." She hadn't meant to say her name and was slightly embarrassed to hear the shutter in it.
Beca's head popped up, a question on her face but Chloe ignored it, pulling her, needing to feel her lips, needing to feel her. Beca let out a surprised sound as Chloe wrapped herself around her, her legs and arms closing tightly, holding her in place, holding her to her as she kissed her with a passion she couldn't understand.
All Beca had done was remove her rings.
It was such a small, silly thing of such little significance. She had taken the bands of metal from her and she had held her bare fingers to her heart and yet - she felt as though she were suddenly alight, her body bowing into Beca's trying to close any and all distance, trying to absorb her.
Beca pulled away a fraction of an inch, her face searching, "I don't – what?"
Chloe shook her head, startled when she realized her eyes were burning, growing damp, "Just - just kiss me. Please."
Beca nodded, her nose accidentally bumping into hers and she reached, searching for her lips again.
She didn't understand it.
Beca had taken her rings off.
Nothing more.
So why did she suddenly feel so… claimed?
Hey ya'll, for those who are wondering 'Jungle Gym' is not a song, just some fun lyrics I made up!