~Sorry for the long wait guys. hows a 10k ch to make up for it sound?
"Bikini?" Chloe asked with a raised brow. "Or one piece?" She held up both options for Aubrey to help her choose. In one hand, she held her blue and white striped bikini top and bottom. It was a simple set; the kind you have to tie at the back of the neck, back and hips. In the other, she had her one piece swimsuit. It was pure white, the v neck stretching all the way down past the sternum with practically nothing to cover her back. She had more options but these two were her favorites, and nothing less would be acceptable for her 'date' with Beca. Plus, she wanted to look hot and both were relatively.. well, hot.
"One piece." Aubrey nodded, sure of herself, as she splayed herself across Chloe's bed.
Chloe let her arms go limp. "Really?"
"Yeah, think about it, when you change, it's not one at a time, it's the whole thing at once. So, you'll be fully naked-"
"Aubrey, I appreciate your effort in trying to get me laid. I promise you, I do." She deadpanned. "But that's not something I'm worried about right now."
"I see her sarcasm is rubbing off on you." Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "Make it stop."
"Not sure I can." Chloe smiled. "Bikini it is."
"Okay, even better. The bikini is easy access-"
"Aubrey!"
"Okay, Chloe." The blonde sat up. "Enlighten me! If you don't want to get into Beca's pants tonight, why are you bringing a damn comforter, a blanket and like four pillows? Hm?" She bounced her eyebrows accusingly. "What are all those for? Extra padding?"
Chloe had a plan, one that involved plenty of cushion. It was a lot more innocent than it seemed. It was a good one if she was allowed to be cocky about it, but telling Aubrey about her love life scheming wasn't something she was looking forward to right now, especially with Aubrey teasing her like this. No, Aubrey is going to be out of the loop on this one, this is payback for not telling her about the bun in her oven that's been cooking for an entire two months. She's still not entirely over that. Nor does she think she ever will be.
"That's-," Chloe stuttered a few times. "It's not like that at all."
"Sure, babe. Sure it's not."
"Look, I would prefer waiting.. but if it happens then it happens. But I'm not trying to set things in motion or anything."
"Stop lying to yourself."
"Shut up, I'm not lying to myself." She threw a sock at the blonde playfully. "Nothing is going to happen tonight. I'm pretty sure about that." Did she stutter again? Even she didn't know.
"Sure.." Aubrey made a face before tossing the sock aside. "Just remember to use a condom.." The blonde tilted her head at stared off into the distance. "Or not." She squinted at Chloe. "Cling wrap? A plastic bag?" She smiled when Chloe chuckled. "You know what? It doesn't even matter. It's not like you could end up like me." She quipped, pointing a finger at her stomach. "It's the boy parts you gotta look out for. Dangerous, those things. They'll give you parasites."
"And that's it! The last straw. I am officially done with this conversation." Chloe shook her head. After shoving the suit into her duffel bag, she turned and happily skipped out her room to find Beca. "Beca?" She called, knocking on the brunette's door.
"Yeah, come in."
She quickly squeezed into the room and went to lie on the bed beside the backpack Beca was currently stuffing. "You done packing?"
"I think so.. swimsuit, change of clothes, towel.. that's all right?"
"Yep. I think so. Did you call Stacie and ask her if we could use her truck?"
Beca did call. And to her surprise, it didn't take long to convince Stacie to let them borrow her truck. Apparently, all she had to say was "Chloe and I are going on an adventure, apparently" and that was that. Beca didn't even have to say "please" before Stacie interrupted her, saying that they could take it. As long as it came back with a full tank, of course. Still, Beca was thankful she didn't have to beg. Begging was not her strong suit, she had too much pride for that. And it didn't help that Stacie's ego grew tenfold whenever Beca needed something from her. The tall brunette found amusement in making Beca say please. Whether it'd be for something as petty as a pen, Stacie used her height advantage to keep it out of Beca's reach until she heard the golden word. But Beca always got her back, finding trivial reasons to make Stacie run extra laps during practice, though after graduating, she had lost her authority over her and thus her reliable revenge tactic. Stacie knew what she was doing but didn't mind, it helped tone her legs she said.
"Yeah, I don't know why but she was pretty eager to let us use it." Beca shrugged, zipping up her backpack. "I could go pick it up right now, I'll just let her use my car in the meantime."
"Uh, no, Beca." Chloe reached for her hand to hold but only managed to catch a finger. Still, she held on for the sake of contact and pulled the brunette closer. "Your car is new, you don't want Stace using it. Just let her use mine, it's fine."
Beca quirked a brow. "You sure?"
"What's the big deal? I always let her use it." Chloe pursed her lips before slowly relaxing her features.. "We could go now. I wanna leave as soon as possible."
"Can't wait to get me alone, I see." The brunette popped her nonexistent collar and smirked as she playfully bounced her shoulders.
"Can't," She stood and crept towards Beca with sultry eyes. "Wait." After quickly pecking the brunette on the lips and winking, she left the room, not giving Beca a chance to even react.
Chloe pressed her whole body against the comforter spilling out of her car. It pushed back against her, she swore it did. "Fff- Goddamnit!"
"Have you considered folding it?" Aubrey blinked at her struggling friend at a safe distance.
Chloe grunted. "I don't have time-"
"Move." Aubrey shooed her away before pulling out the giant blanket. She quickly folded it into a neat, symmetrical cube, not once letting it touch the floor, and easily placed it back in the back seat. "See? Easy. Nice and snug."
"Thanks, Bree." Chloe patted the blonde's shoulder as she caught her breath. "I guess I'm just eager to leave.. Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?"
"Please, if I call, it'll be to ask if you guys did it yet."
"Oh my God." Chloe groaned at the ceiling of the lot. "Please, stop bringing that up."
Aubrey shrugged. "Hey, I'm just addressing the elephant in the room."
"Why do you care so much about whether or not Beca and I sleep together anyways?"
Aubrey shrugged again, this time with a sincere smile on her lips. "Look, I know it doesn't seem like it but.. I like her. She's good for you. And I want you to be happy. Plus I've been waiting for you two to be a thing since before you told me about liking her."
"Wait, what?"
"You really thought I was surprised when you told me?"
Chloe hesitated, thinking back to when she confessed to Aubrey. Her memory was fuzzy, hell it happened such a long time ago. "I guess?"
The blonde sighed. "You do this thing-it's so easy to tell when you like someone."
Chloe stepped closer, this was the first she'd heard of this. "What do you mean I have a thing? What thing?"
Aubrey rolled her eyes but decided to satisfy Chloe's curiosity. "You do this thing where when you see the person you like, you draw an extremely long breath, like you need room for everything going on inside your chest and don't let it out until either you can't hold it in anymore or you have to say something. And then you smile like the biggest smile ever, like, aren't your cheeks sore, Chloe? And your eyes light up and everything, it's weird. It doesn't go in that order though, first your eyes light up, and then you take your breath and then you smile. You have absolutely no ability to hide your emotions, it's written all over your face. All the time. And I love you for it because you have no idea."
Chloe shrunk into her shoulders bashfully. "Aw, look at you, you're such a sap." She reached forward and pinched Aubrey's cheek. "You sappy, sappy, wonderful human being."
"Okay, that's enough."
They turned as Beca returned from grabbing the last of their things, which was nothing but her own backpack and her handheld Bluetooth speakers, which Chloe had reminded her to bring a total of four times, because she definitely offered to bring Chloe's things down first - Chloe's things being all the pillows and such.
"Catch." Beca tossed her keys to the blonde and smiled in surprise when Aubrey caught it. "You can use my car but you better remember to charge it afterwards."
"Thank you, Beca," Aubrey gave a slight nod. "Really."
"Yeah, yeah."
The blonde sighed. "I should have just brought my car."
Chloe pursed her lips remembering their decision to bring Aubrey to their home. The woman was hiccupping and could barely speak a full sentence, let alone drive anywhere. She was confident they made the right decision to stuff the blonde in her car and bring her here. "You were in no condition to drive, Bree."
"I need my car, Chloe."
"We'll go with you to pick it up along with your other stuff as soon as we get back. Okay?" Chloe offered. "Wait for us to get back, we'll both go with you. You don't have to go back there alone."
Aubrey nodded. "Thanks, Chlo."
"Okay!" Beca interrupted, resting her hands on her hips. "Chloe, we're good to go?"
"Yep!" Chloe clasped her hands excitedly after offering Aubrey a sincere smile. "To Stacie's!"
"Alright. See you later, Aubrey." Beca waved her off and hopped into the driver's seat.
"Have fun you two. I'll be here all alone, watching fireworks from the apartment window, eating my hummus."
Chloe grinned in response. "You could always just go hang out with Stace and the rest of the girls, Bree. It's the holidays, you don't need to be alone when you have friends. I think it'll be good for you."
The blonde seemed to genuinely mull over the idea for a quiet moment. "Yeah, maybe.. Have fun, Chloe. And I don't just mean get laid. I mean, really have fun. It's a date. Flirt. Do your thing."
"It's not really a.. date." Chloe shrugged. "We're just getting away."
"Yeah, well have fun on your date." Aubrey smirked. "Flirt. Do your thing."
".. Thanks." The redhead sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow."
After making the trade at Stacie's parking lot and transferring their things from Chloe's car to the back row of Stacie's truck, they headed off, with Chloe behind the steering wheel this time.
Beca sighed at her phone that was connected to the car stereo. Deciding on a song seemed a lot harder now with most of her attention focused on figuring out where they could possibly be headed. She held out for as long as she could, which wasn't long at all, before giving up. She sighed dramatically. "Still not going to tell me where we're going?"
"Nope." Chloe shook her head playfully. "You'll know soon enough."
"Not even a little clue?"
"Um.. there's water involved."
Beca rolled her eyes. "Wow, and I thought the swimsuits were for nothing. You're not even going to tell me why you brought those pillows and stuff?"
"That's for comfort, duh."
Beca squinted at her curiously but decided to drop the issue. ".. Alright well," She yawned. "I'm going to take a nap if that's cool with you." She reached into the back seat to grab herself a pillow.
"Yeah, get your rest. You'll need it."
Beca narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously after wedging the pillow between the window and her neck. "I don't even think you know what you're saying half the time you talk."
"I don't mean it like that.." Chloe blushed. "Why is everyone assuming I'm trying to get into your pants? I'm the one that suggested that we don't go there yet!"
"Okay, Red." Beca chuckled, closing her eyes. "Okay."
A flash of light disturbed her empty slumber some time later. She furrowed her brows, before relaxing and letting herself fall back asleep. But there it was again, a flash of light behind her eyelids accompanied by a click and a mechanical buzz that lasted for a few seconds. It stopped before she finally blinked open her tired eyes.
"Murnin'." Chloe frowned at the blank Polaroid film. "These things take forever."
"Ew.. Throw those away, you took them without my consent." Beca mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The tail lights of the car ahead of them glowed red. Traffic on a holiday was definitely something they should have anticipated. "How long was I out?" She uttered huskily.
"Like.. an hour."
"What?" Beca blinked a few times, forcing her vision to adjust to the sunlight. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
Chloe shrugged, easing her foot off the brakes to inch forward. "You woke up early to pack, I figured you could use the nap."
Beca gasped jokingly. "How thoughtful."
"Who? Lil' ol' me?" Chloe grinned.
"Okay, this just got weird." Beca chuckled lightly. "Where are we?"
"Right now we are in.." Chloe sucked in a long breath through her teeth. "Uhh.."
"Don't tell me we're lost."
"We are not lost. Don't doubt me!" Chloe reached over and flicked Beca's nose. "We just passed Macon and we are on interstate sixteen, I think.." She squinted up at the giant green sign overhead that offered practically no useful information whatsoever. "I hope."
Beca smirked.
They could totally be lost right now. And this traffic wasn't helping the least. If Chloe would just tell her where the hell they were going, she could definitely help navigate or at least strike up a conversation regarding their plans. But Chloe seemed utterly confident and she wanted to let Chloe have her fun. If they were lost, or if they manage to get lost in the future, their trusty phones could always point them in the right direction. And this was exactly what Chloe meant when she said to trust her. It really wasn't a big deal and she didn't quite know why she cared so much earlier. She's never really gone on an "adventure" before, a road trip to an unknown destination. The thought stirred the excitement in her.
So, she relaxed, finally let herself forget about the destination, and focused on the journey instead.
Her phone was still plugged into the stereo despite forgetting to choose a song earlier. She glanced at the redhead who couldn't help smiling back. "You drove this whole time with nothing playing on the stereo?"
Chloe shrugged. "I didn't notice.."
She did notice. Not until half an hour after Beca had fallen asleep, but still, she noticed. But she liked the silence of this drive. It wasn't an unbearable quiet; one that was hypnotic and threatened to lull her to sleep. It was comfortable. There didn't need to be background noise for Chloe to be able to enjoy herself. She liked the quietness of Beca's breathing, it helped her mind wander. Plus, it would be rude to play music as Beca slept. Music inevitably led to singing when it came to Chloe Beale and once Chloe was rolling, it was hard to get her to stop. She wanted Beca to get her rest and so she happily drove in silence.
"You?" Beca didn't hide her doubt. "Didn't notice?"
"Are you hungry?" Chloe pointed to her stomach, expertly changing subjects, she didn't want to get into it. "I'm a little hungry. I packed some snacks but it's in the bag on the floor back there."
"Want me to grab it for you?"
Their eyes met and Beca knew the answer instantly judging by the gleam in Chloe's. She nodded at her with a smirk. Of course she'll get it for her. She didn't even know why she asked.
Traffic didn't seem to be moving along so much, so she unbuckled her seat belt and turned to crawl into the backseat. The clap on her backside from Chloe's hand made her shriek in surprise. She let herself fall onto the back seats as her wide eyes found Chloe's devilish ones.
"What was that?" Beca squeaked.
"Um.. There was a cop?" Chloe giggled with her lips caught between her teeth before winking.
Beca grinned back. She thanked whatever deities watched over them for the AC because watching it blow Chloe's fiery strands across her face in contrast to her lightning blue eyes that peeked over her shoulder, along with the fact that Chloe just slapped her ass in a seductive manner, definitely made her sweat a little.
"Sure there was." Beca breathed out and turned her attention to searching for food. After a few moments of silence and the occasional hum from Chloe, Beca finally found the paper bag Chloe mentioned buried under the mass of pillows and blankets. It was wrinkled and torn a little at one of the corners but it loyally held together.
She quickly leapt back into the front and secured her seat belt again, afraid if she took her time, Chloe's hand would get confident again and she could potentially see her blushing this time around. Peering into the bag, she spotted a bag of fruit gummies among some other things. She opened it and offered the small package to Chloe after setting the paper bag back down in the back. She then resumed her previously abandoned search for a song.
"Hey Becs," Chloe smiled at her with red gummies lining her lips after a few quiet moments. She had bitten them in half and licked them all before sticking them on. "Wanna make out? My lips taste like strawberries." She bounced her brows playfully as one of the gummy's grip failed to hold on and tumbled onto her shirt.
"Oh wow.." Beca sat back to admire the view. "You're so seductive."
"I'm a sex god." Chloe winked after sticking the fruit snack back where it previously was. "Come at me."
"I think I'm okay where I am. It looks like you have a really bad case of herpes." Beca wrinkled her nose as she grabbed the camera. "Smile." Chloe puckered her lips and held up a cliché peace sign as Beca snapped the photo. "You basic bimbo."
"Thank you." Chloe teased before turning to the elderly couple in the car next to them. She winked at the woman and laughed when the lady forced a smile after seeing her lips.
After some time consisting of sticking fruit snacks to their faces, cleaning off the sticky residue with damp napkins, and singing duets to an endless amount of songs, they were moving again.
"Savannah!" Beca pointed at the sign ahead that read: Savannah 1 mile. They had been driving for two additional hours and were approaching their destination. "We're going to Savannah?" Her eyes lit up with excitement.
Chloe grinned as she nodded. "Took you long enough."
"Holy crap, I haven't been to Savannah since I was a kid."
"Me neither.." Chloe smirked.
Nostalgia tugged on their heart strings as they reminisced on old times when their parents stuck them in the back seat along with bags packed with swimsuits and various road trip essentials. It wasn't too far for either of the families but far enough to make something out of it.
It was a lonely life; Beca's childhood. Lonely, but good, until the divorce, that is. Which, made it all the more lonelier. Her mother took her to the boardwalk some summers, sometimes even winters, it didn't matter when they went just that they left home. Just the two of them, without her father, even before the divorce. He was always too busy with work. Or at least that's what her mother always told her. Beca knew better. Her mother needed to get away from the house sometimes, to forget about her "husband", to spend quality time with her one and only child. And Beca was always there for her to cheer her up or at least try as much as a child could. The ferris wheel was her mom's favorite, she knew that because of the way her mother would breathe up at the top; slowly to take in the world. So, it was her favorite too, fittingly. Once the divorce was over and done with, the trips stopped happening so often, until they stopped completely. Beca found it easy to believe the reason being because the woman didn't need to get away anymore, she found no reason to search for an escape when there was nothing to run from anymore. Beca wasn't quite sure if she found it comforting or heartbreaking. So, she forgot about it all, buried it under new memories and friends. It was hard, but she did it. She didn't know why it felt good to be going back to Savannah, maybe it helped her feel like someone who cared for other people. Helped her feel like the person she used to be before she decided to build her walls and hide behind them.
Chloe smiled at the memory of her older brothers pulling her along the boardwalk and away from their parents, to go explore under the dock where all the cool creatures from the sea go to die, or making her ride the scary roller coasters because she couldn't stand there all alone to wait for them because she could get kidnapped being as cute as she was. Summer after summer they went, and with time, the big scary rides weren't so scary anymore and she learned to love them. She loved the boardwalk and cherished their trips even when their annual visits became a thing of the past. She wanted to revisit it again, to show Beca all the rides she loved and all the little shops with the best souvenirs. Or that one pillar where she and her brothers carved their names. It was a lot more innocent for Chloe, the boardwalk was nothing but warmth and smiles for her. Childhood innocence discovering everything from the scarce seashells that littered the beaches to the beautiful people who politely smiled back when they caught her eye. Ocean air as fresh as her youth. She definitely wasn't planning on visiting the boardwalk, she had a different destination in mind, but now that Chloe was reminded of all those good times, she could definitely make time for it.
Chloe exited the highway and made a few turns once inside the city as she mumbled quietly to herself, reciting the words of her father whom she had spoken to the day before "Passed the boardwalk, follow the gravel roads, you'll know once you get there". The words were too quiet for Beca to hear.
About another half an hour passed and Beca could tell they were getting close to their destination. With every passing second, the anticipation grew in her chest. She remembered these roads, these street signs and buildings. They were different but the same. Familiar shapes and angles but different words and colors decorating them. Still, she knew, they led to the boardwalk. Soon, the view of the ferris wheel and the smell of corn dogs and the fresh ocean threw Beca back into her nostalgia trip. She definitely had to visit her mother soon.
Beca watched the swarm of people crowd the dock and beach, most with smiles on their faces and something in their hands; ice cream cones, bottles of sunblock, sand buckets and drinks. This was the epitome of a summer on the beach. And Beca was ready for whatever was to come. They got closer and closer to it with every passing second until they were there.
Beca furrowed her brows when Chloe missed the turn to pull up into the lot, but up ahead was another entrance.
Chloe missed that one too.
Soon, they were driving away from the boardwalk, away from the people, away from civilization. Towards isolation upon unpaved, gravel roads.
"So, we're not going to the boardwalk?" Beca asked, watching the rides in the mirror shrink with each saddened breath she took.
"We are, later though. I just want to settle somewhere away from all the people. It's not a far walk."
The car came to a stop a few minutes later, facing nothing but sand and tall grasses that danced with the hot summer breeze.
Beca was confused when Chloe slowly inched forward, into the grasses that obscured their view of more grass and sand. She weaved the car between the small sand dunes until the ocean finally came into view again. Still, the car crept forward, down the slight slope, and into a u-turn so that the trunk faced the ocean, before coming to another stop.
Beca glanced around the beach. They were alone on both sides for quite some distance, no one wanted to venture this far away from the dock. She figured the boardwalk was the main attraction for this holiday, judging by the dense crowd she could see from there. She figured it would be quite the sight at night when the lights illuminate the sky.
Slowly, she turned her attention back to the redhead beside her who was sporting the brightest of smiles with her chest puffed out like a proud pigeon.
"So, what do you wanna do first?" Chloe chirped as she pulled the keys from the ignition.
"First?" Beca tilted her head from side to side in contemplation before her eyes settled on Chloe's lips.
She leaned closer as if the redhead's mouth drew her near like she was under some hypnosis. Closer and closer until her seat belt locked and refused to give her any more slack, just an inch away from Chloe. She tested it a few times, leaning back and forth, trying to disable the lock but was disappointed each time when she stopped within breathing distance of the redhead's lips. Her struggle prompted a giggle from Chloe who was having the time of her life.
Chloe leaned in and brushed the tip of her nose against Beca's, smiling at the sense of control she had over the tiny brunette. She felt Beca reach forward with her lips but was stopped just short again.
"Meet me halfway." Beca whispered.
"No."
"Why are you such a tease?" Beca whispered against Chloe's skin as their eyes met. She heard a click from below and glanced down at Chloe's hand that had just unbuckled her seatbelt.
"What did you just call me?" Chloe dared with a raised brow.
Beca smiled, leaning closer to Chloe's lips as she threw off the strap. She could practically feel them under hers. They just about touched before Chloe leaned back, kicked the door open, hopped out, and shut it, leaving her alone with her puckered mouth. ".. Goddammit."
"Hurry up!" Chloe shouted from outside.
She followed the redhead and sat down next to her on the trunk bed. "So, this is what we're doing? A day at the beach?"
"Pretty much.." Chloe sighed contently. "What do you think?" She asked, wincing an eye due to the bright sun.
"I think.." She glanced out into never ending ocean ahead and smiled. "You should have told me so we could've bought a bucket to make a sand castle."
Her response got a chuckle out of the redhead. "I regret it already."
Beca watched Chloe's eyes dart between her own and the ocean. "So, this your idea of a first date? No dinner and movie. A three and a half hour drive to spend a whole day at the beach?"
"Not really.." Chloe admitted. "But we don't need to get to know each other. I know you don't like movies and fancy dinners. I don't want to waste our time and money on something you won't even enjoy. And you should know by now that you and I," Chloe leaned closer, even going so far as to shoulder the brunette playfully. "We do things differently."
Beca smirked, averting her eyes back towards the sea. You and I. Yeah, she liked that. "Yeah.."
"Let's go swimming." Chloe whispered excitedly as she kicked her shoes off into the sand.
Beca watched her hop off the trunk and rip off her shirt as she whirled around the side of the car, revealing her almost bare torso for half a second before the truck obscured her view. And what a great view it was.
The sound of ocean waves rolling in before getting pulled back into the sea was as calming as it was hypnotic. Before long, Chloe was done changing and already dashing towards the water in a simple striped bikini. Beca laughed as the redhead screamed the second she collided with a wave, yelling obscenities she didn't know Chloe cared for.
"Come on in, the water's fine!" Chloe hollered, neck deep in the water before getting engulfed in another tide.
"Didn't sound like it!" Beca shouted back. She was a bit hesitant to follow the redhead, hell, she could barely swim in a pool, let alone the ocean with waves to drown her and weird ass ocean shit to step on.
She grinned when she spotted Chloe's fiery head popping out of the water.
"Don't make me come get you!" Chloe threatened, half gurgling salt water. "I'm gonna come get you!"
"Uh," Beca shook her head and waved her off. "I'm okay, thanks! You do your thing!" She swallowed hard when Chloe emerged from the sea. Making her way to her and taking her sweet time too.
Chloe shook the water out of her red hair as she fixed her bikini bottom. She slipped her fingers in both sides of the back to pick her wedgie, biting her lip when she noticed where Beca's eyes were trained. She chuckled at the ridiculousness of what she was doing, there Beca was, staring at her so intently and barely breathing as she was struggling with her wedgie. Sex god. She laughed to herself.
Beca pinched herself, literally. It hurted. She wondered why the hell Chloe was chuckling to herself, she swore everything was happening in slow motion. Either way, she loved that smile. And that body. And that face. Hell, the whole woman, really.
Beca's lips curved into a grin the closer she got. Until she was there.
Chloe planted her hands on the trunk bed somewhat forcefully, on either side of Beca. "Change." She demanded, holding her chin low so she could glare into Beca's indecisive eyes.
".. I wanted to eat first-"
"Change." She repeated, leaning closer so that her hair was now dripping on Beca's shirt.
Beca hesitated, her eyes couldn't help glancing down at least once-twice at Chloe's glistening chest. She couldn't breathe, so she coughed a few times to get her lungs working again. "Uh, well, I was goi-"
"Do you need help?"
".. I-I'm sorry, what?" Beca tilted her head in confusion. She must've heard wrong.
Chloe smirked. "Do you need help? I could help if you want."
So, she heard right. Great.
"I-," She stammered. "Y-No. No, I don't. I don't think-"
"You don't think?"
Beca chuckled nervously. "What- What are you doing? Dude.. I can't deal with you." She shook her head before settling with a smile. "I'll change, okay? Just don't look.."
"No promises. I've seen you naked before.." Chloe leaned back to give her room to slide off the trunk. "I gotta admit I miss the view."
Beca blushed as she tried not to rush into the car. There was no way in hell she was changing out in the open where Chloe could see and potentially, endlessly comment on in the future.
Changing inside the car was .. fucking hard. She hit her elbow against the window more than once and her knees on the glove compartment even more times. Not to mention how long it took to get her damn skinny jeans off. After getting her swimsuit on, a black one piece with cuts to show off her waist, she counted to three and hopped out the car. The second her feet touched the sand, she heard a whistle from the redhead, causing her to roll her eyes on instinct to distract herself from the blush forming on her cheeks. As she reached back into the car for the sunblock, Chloe's voice came from behind.
"Want me to get your back for you?"
She slowly turned to face her. "I think I got it."
Chloe raised her hands in surrender as she back pedaled away. "Just trying to help."
They made their way to the sea once Beca was done applying the sunscreen. Chloe had a permanent grin on her lips, she playfully shouldered the brunette who retaliated in equal force.
Beca planted herself down on the sand once they reached the water, close enough to feel the tide reach her knees but not much further.
"You're not going in?" Chloe asked from above.
She squinted up at her. "Yeah, I will. When the waves decide to calm the hell down."
Chloe wrinkled her nose in sympathy before dropping herself next to her. "Wanna make a sand castle in the meantime?"
A smile graced Beca's lips.
They did all they could with the tools they had, which were nothing but their bare hands. Half an hour they spent pouring all their effort into making a castle which ended up looking more like a mountain pass than anything. Still, pride swelled in their hearts as they stuck blades of tall grass into the peaks and small sticks in its surroundings to form a border. It wasn't a small feat; building their beautiful knee-high fortress, and they rewarded each other with a kiss when they deemed it finished.
"I'm hungry." Beca mumbled as Chloe smiled at the Polaroid she just took of them lying beside their mighty castle.
Chloe stood and brushed the sand off her side before pulling the brunette up. "Let's go find some food then."
They locked up the car after grabbing a few things; their phones and a twenty dollar bill that Chloe stuffed in her top, and began their trek. Beca wouldn't be herself if she didn't make a stripper joke about the fact.
"So, you did choose exotic dancing over teaching children."
Chloe gave her a smug look, seemingly unimpressed. "What can I say? The tips are just too good to pass up." She countered, softly pushing Beca towards the ocean. She giggled when Beca rushed back to her side, trying to avoid contact with the cold seawater.
"Don't." Beca warned after seeing Chloe's eyes light up like she just had the greatest idea ever. "Don't you dare."
Chloe went to block her path as Beca tried to swing onto the opposite side of the redhead. "Where are you going, Beca?" She pulled the smaller girl in her arms as Beca shrieked.
"No! Chloe, it's cold!" Beca swung her arms wildly, narrowly missing Chloe's face a few times. "Chloe!" She screamed as Chloe's arms tightened around her waist. "I can't swim in the ocean!"
"I got you, beb." Beca's limbs were wrapped around her now, holding on for dear life. Chloe felt the water submerge her ankles as Beca weighed her down. "Oh my God! Let go! You're heavy, Beca!"
"Chloe-Chlo!" Beca squeezed her tighter when she felt her foot dip into the sea. "Baby, please-"
Chloe stopped and tilted her head.
Baby? Baby. She didn't quite know how she felt about that. On one hand, Beca just called her "Baby" and holy shit, if that wasn't monumental then she didn't know what was. But on the other, she found herself kind of rejecting the name in a way, they established their pet names years ago; "Beb" she liked that, it was homey and familiar. But, then again, that was what they called each other when they were just friends. Maybe they should make the transition? But did any of that even matter? Chloe was probably thinking too much again, as always. And Beca just opened the door to a whole new world of possibilities. Possibilities being, well, being able to call Beca "baby" back. Exciting stuff.
"Baby?" Chloe raised a brow teasingly.
"Is-" Beca glanced between the freezing blue sea below her and the warm blue eyes trained on her. "Uh- Yeah.. B-Baby? Beb? Please? Don't do this." Her foot was submerged now, the water was up to Chloe's knees and Beca couldn't climb any higher. She was losing time and space and her muscles were starting to give out. Chloe was starting to bend at her waist from her weight and if she didn't convince Chloe to set her down on dry land soon, then she'll be underwater within less than a minute.
She jumped the gun and planted her lips on Chloe's, kissing her as frantically as she could as she felt herself being slowly lowered towards the water. Still, she held on. "Chloe, don't-" She whispered desperately against Chloe's face.
"One more kiss?" Chloe teased before Beca's lips came crashing on hers again. She grinned against Beca's kisses that were practically only coming into contact with her teeth. She let out a giggle against Beca's mouth.
Beca felt Chloe take a step and stopped to look at her. She stared at her with wide eyes as Chloe bit her lips.
That step was taken in the wrong direction; towards to ocean, away from the warm and dry sand. The water was halfway up her calf now.
"I'm sorry?" Chloe whispered through a guilty grin.
Her heart stopped. "Oh, you bit-"
They fell into a wave- a cold, freezing tide, as Chloe lunged into the water. Beca screamed as much as she could underwater, the saltiness coated her mouth and she sputtered and cried out once she finally emerged.
"Fuuuck!" She gurgled and coughed. "I'm breaking up with you!" Another wave crashed into them, making Beca scream out again in a flurry of curse words. "I wasn't ready!"
Chloe made her way to the brunette, laughing shamelessly. "I had to- I'm sorry."
"Auugh!" Beca screamed at the sky. "Fuck!" Every muscle in her body was flexed, trying to fend off the cold. "Sorry, my frozen ass!"
Beca treaded back to the sand as Chloe followed close behind. She collapsed into the warm grains, burying her arms deep within them in an attempt to absorb the heat.
"You good?" Chloe asked, still chuckling.
Beca watched the water from her nose drip onto the sand below and gritted her chattering teeth. "I'm far from good.." She stood and faced the redhead who didn't seem bothered by the cold of the ocean. "I'm gonna get you back. I swear I will."
Chloe laughed in her face as she shivered angrily. "I'm sorry, I'll buy you food? However much you want, as long as it's under twenty bucks." She reached for the brunette's hand and smiled when Beca didn't pull away. "Come on."
They were content with the joining of their hands. Neither wanted to let go and somewhere in the time it took them to get to the boardwalk, they began swinging them wildly just for laughs. Very nearly dislocating their shoulders in the process.
Their hands stayed locked together as they weaved through the mass of people in search of food. They settled on corn dogs and drinks after enviously watching a small child munch on his like the world was ending tomorrow. After buying their food, they spent some time on the dock, just watching the waves crashing into each other and talking until they both were finished. Chloe even showed Beca where her name was carved under the dock, half of it was covered in barnacles now but it was still there, proudly waiting for Chloe's return. In return, Beca took her on a ride on the ferris wheel. They didn't kiss at the top. "Too cliché", Beca said. Chloe happily settled with a kiss to Beca's cheek and blushed when Beca did the same.
They decided to return to the boardwalk later and made their walk back to the truck as the sun sunk lower in the sky.
Beca sat beside their sand castle as Chloe pulled out the comforter and pillows from the car and tossed them into the truck bed. She watched her intently as she climbed into the trunk, laying out the blankets and propping up the pillows as neatly as she could.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to make a move tonight." Beca called out.
"Think what you want to think.." Chloe glanced over her shoulder. "Do what you want to do."
Beca hesitated before deciding to change the subject. "You really expect me to sleep out here?"
"Yes." Chloe smiled to herself, finally allowing herself to sit against the cushions. "You have to admit, I'm super romantic."
"If you say so." Beca stood, brushing the sand from herself before climbing into the trunk to sit with her. She crawled slowly to her, stopping just shy of her face. "It's gonna be cold at night."
"If you get cold just scoot closer to me." Chloe licked her lips proudly and smirked. "I'll keep you warm."
The sun was setting now, and as the sky got darker, one by one, the rides and booths lit up their stands to illuminate the boardwalk in the distance. The ferris wheel flickered to life, acting as the beacon of attraction, emitting a whole spectrum of colors.
The two girls were sitting in the trunk, tired from- not so much swimming- but more so splashing and dunking each other in the sea. Even burying each other in the sand and seeing if they could get out on their own, it was a lot harder than they thought it would be. The container of mixed berries Chloe had packed in the morning was half gone and so was the cool whip they used as dip.
The lower the sun got, the more Chloe seemed anxious. She constantly checked the time on her phone, only stopping to sing along to the music playing from Beca's bluetooth speakers or to chat with Beca.
It's not every day Beca gets frustrated with Chloe. The last time she could recount being angry with Chloe was when they were at the lodge. And most of that frustration had more to do with herself than with Chloe. So, it seemed unfair for her to count that. She wasn't anywhere near angry now, but she had to admit that Chloe constantly looking at her phone was a bit annoying.
"Why do you keep checking your phone?" Beca reached for the device. "You promised no interruptions. Remember that?"
Chloe smiled, keeping the phone as far away from Beca as she could. "I'm just checking something." She said softly against Beca's ear.
"Every thirty seconds?" Beca crossed her arms and pouted. Her arms were just a little too short, apparently. "What are you checking?"
"None of your business."
Beca gasped audibly, bringing her hand to her chest. "Well, excuuuse me."
"Relax, I'm just checking the time." She smirked.
"Is there someone else? Is she hot at least?" Beca joked. "Can we at least have a three-"
"Stop!" Chloe yelled, clasping her hand over the brunette's mouth to shut her up. She didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of Beca's teeth gnawing at her palm but she was not going to let Beca finish that sentence. "Don't you dare."
Beca fell over as Chloe's weight shifted onto her, still, she couldn't stop laughing. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She muffled before realizing her hands and where they were placed on Chloe's body.
"Threesomes? You're gross."
Slowly, her hidden smile turned hesitant. She grazed her thumbs on either side of Chloe, rubbing softly on her waist. "Could be fun?" She joked before feeling the redhead's hands press slightly harder than before against her lips.
"I'm not good with sharing."
She glanced at Chloe's free hand that was propped on the cushion beside her head. Her fingers were stroking her brown locks.
Her nails were shorter than usual. Neatly clipped.
They met gazes and Beca blushed furiously. Her heart was pounding, pump after pump, the blood rushed to her face, thankfully mostly hidden under Chloe's palm. Still, no one was to say Chloe didn't physically feel the heat radiating from Beca's face.
There was a long quiet beat. The waves crashed against the shore. A woman screamed at the chill of the sea in the distance. No breaths were taken between the two.
Chloe pulled herself off the brunette and smiled. "Sorry.." She blushed, pushing her hair behind her ears as Beca propped herself on an elbow.
"You know, you say.. these things but," Beca licked her lips before looking into Chloe's eyes. "Everything you do says otherwise."
The redhead hesitated. "What do you mean?"
Beca let out an amused breath. "Uh, let's see." She sat up beside the redhead and counted on her fingers. "You said you wanted to wait but then you go and you promise me no interruptions and you've been good on your word so far. You packed that bikini. You slapped my ass earlier." She chuckled lightly. "You tell me we're spending a night under the stars and claim to be super romantic. You asked me if I needed help changing. You packed a shit load of cranberries, and I only know about that because my cousin had a urinary tract infection once and she told me about their other.. capabilities." She grinned and pointed at the redhead's hand. "You clipped your nails.. extra short." She said softly, watching the blush grow on Chloe's cheeks. "Not to mention when you told me: do what you want to do.." Beca lowered her voice into a whisper. "Now, how am I supposed to interpret that, Chlo?"
Chloe glanced back at the ocean, the sharp but steady gaze Beca was giving her was suggestive to say the least. Not to mention the fact that Beca was calling her out on literally every subconscious decision she had made leading up to this moment. It was quite thrilling if she was being honest. She wasn't planning on this by any means, it just sort of turned out this way. Pure coincidence? Maybe? She wasn't even sure if she believed that. Of course she wanted Beca, in every way she could. Maybe, under all the fake innocence she was hoping-praying that something would happen. Then she wouldn't have to tell Beca to stop this time. And she wouldn't have to stop herself either. Maybe, when she told Aubrey nothing was going to happen, she was lying to herself too. Maybe she had been giving Beca mixed messages in hopes the brunette would figure out how to decrypt her signals and do something.
"Now, tell me.." Beca leaned in closer to whisper against her ear. "What do you want?"
She met her eyes before letting out a shuddering breath. ".. You know what I want." She quietly breathed out.
If Beca wasn't so close to her lips, she's certain she wouldn't have been able to hear her.
She marveled in the feeling of Chloe's breath on her lips and her thighs under her palms. She didn't want to blink seeing the reflection of the ferris wheel in Chloe's eyes. The bright colors shining through the night captured in Chloe's steady gaze. The lights brought something forgotten back into her train of thought. "Crap.. That reminds me." She pulled away and hopped off the trunk, circling around to lunge into the car.
Chloe took the time to catch her breath. She glanced around nervously as she composed herself. Did Beca just reject her after coming on to her? What just happened? "Shit.. shit, shit." She whispered to herself.
Beca returned a moment later with a long rectangular box in her hand and a lighter in the other. "Come here." Beca waved her forward and walked off, stopping a few feet away from the truck.
"What is it?" Chloe croaked out of her dry throat as she approached the brunette.
Beca quickly smiled at her as she opened the box and pulled out two sparklers, tossing the box aside. She handed one to the bright eyed redhead and kept one for herself. "You said you've never celebrated The Fourth without lighting something so I got these from Stace. Didn't wanna let your tradition die because of me.. Surprise?"
Chloe smiled down at the stick in her hand. "Stacie gave you these?"
"Yeah.. well, I told her to hide it in the car before we got there." Beca nodded proudly. "You know," She stepped closer to redhead as if to tell her a secret. "You were right, Lily had some illegal ones and they're probably going bat-shit crazy with them right now." She licked her lips. "I figured they wouldn't miss these little ones." She sparked the lighter, holding it out for Chloe. "Light away, Red."
Chloe grinned with her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "And I thought I was romantic." She lit hers, holding it to the tiny flame Beca held in her hands and chuckled as the stick sparkled in the night sky, shooting little explosions of white light between them. "I usually use these to write on the concrete but there's only sand here." She stared, transfixed by the glittering of the firecracker as she waved it in the empty space between them.
Beca smirked as she lit hers and stuck it into the sand. "I got an idea." She emptied out the box and held the sparklers together, using the one she lit to light the others before sticking them all in the sand, each about an inch away from the other to create a sparkling bonfire. "I mean, I'm not patient enough to light these and then wait for them to die one by one."
Chloe fell to her knees to place hers among the rest and jumped back up, running to the truck to turn up the volume of the music still playing, kicking sand in the air in her haste. She quickly returned to Beca's side and grabbed the brunette's hand to skip around their makeshift flame. Chloe occasionally stopped skipping to sing to Beca passionately. The brunette watched her intently, captivated by the swivel of her hips and the sway of her body. Periodically, they spun each other under an arm and chased each other around the center pyre. Sometimes even jumping over the cluster of sparklers joined together by interlocked fingers. Ridiculous was the word Beca used to describe Chloe's 'rain' dance, as the redhead claimed it to be. She stopped the redhead to show her how it was really done, stomping in the sand and waving her tiny arms toward the sky, kicking the grains into the air with the drop of her feet. Here and there they caught each other's eyes, neither wanting to blink or look away but inevitably doing so. Dismissing the sight of one another seemed insulting in a way, no, they had to look. To watch the smiles grow on their lips, reaching all the way up to wrinkle their glistening eyes. To see the way they blessed the tense air between them simply by moving, tossing their hair to and fro', just as sloppily as they were graceful. To witness the way the bright clusters of stars and galaxies, floating from billions of light years away to shine upon them, the core of hundreds if not thousands of stories and legends, seemed to fade into the background, humbled, like white noise compared to the other's presence.
It was.. magic, they would bet on it.
Much too soon the song ended and they gave in to the exhaustion. One more leap over the sparklers was all they could manage before tumbling to the ground on their knees and leaning back to fall into the sand. They chuckled at the sky, in disbelief or in amusement, they didn't know, all that really mattered was that they were happy.
Beca flipped over, wrapping an arm around Chloe, to watch the sparklers die out. Chloe watched it upside down, occasionally relaxing the strain in her neck to look at Beca above her who she knew felt her eyes on her. She was content when the brunette dragged her eyes away from the light to meet her soft gaze. They watched each other breath, counting the exhales like a ticking time bomb. Three, inhale, exhale. Two, inhale, exhale.
She stretched up and raked Beca's hair back slowly and gently, tucking some behind her ear.
One.
Inhale.
She reached up with her lips with as much purpose as she thought possible, pulling her face closer and pressing her lips onto Beca's.
Exhale.
Beca muffled delightedly under Chloe's thorough kiss, and she felt herself melting at her touch. It was gentle first but quickly turned desperate. Soon, Beca was the one pinned against the sand until Chloe ended it to stand. Beca took her offered hand and was quickly pulled up into another bold kiss.
She felt herself being ushered towards the trunk and quietly yelped in surprise when Chloe pushed her against the truck bed a little rougher than she expected. By now, most of the sparklers were burnt out and the few remaining were fading away until.. darkness. The only light being from the moon and stars and the boardwalk, all seeming so far away.
Chloe's lips moved down to her neck as she lifted the brunette onto the platform by an arm around her waist and another gripping her thigh. She restrained herself as Beca pulled away to scoot herself farther into the trunk and smiled when the brunette reached over to turn off the music.
Beca was really glad Chloe decided to bring the comforter now. She beckoned her closer with a finger and inhaled a sharp breath when the redhead's hands landed on her calves, slowly sliding up to her knees- thighs, as she crept closer. Chloe easily fitted herself in the newfound space between Beca's legs and smiled as her head drifted down to Beca's torso.
The tickle of Chloe's lips on her waist made Beca giggle lightly. She scooted herself up more to prop herself against the car as Chloe mouth met hers again.
They both tasted salty, probably from the ocean, and their lips were as chapped as ever but neither could find it in themselves to care.
The kiss soon became rugged, harder each time they came back for more. Until Chloe's hand slipped under the brunette's swimsuit at the cut on her waist. Her fingers reached upwards, towards Beca's breasts. She stopped just shy of them to bend herself lower for leverage. There was a pause before suddenly, her entire forearm was hidden under Beca's bathing suit and her hand was massaging the soft skin underneath.
"Do you wanna take this off?" Chloe breathed out against her lips.
The question caught Beca off guard. She was surely on the verge of unconsciousness. Chloe was nothing less than intoxicating. She didn't think things could be this good. Where's the catch?
She shouldn't have asked herself that.
Considering the circumstances, the thought of getting Chloe naked, or herself naked in front of Chloe, or hell, even both, was extremely terrifying. What if Chloe didn't like the way she did something? What if Beca didn't like the way Chloe did something? No, that's impossible, Chloe is practically a goddess, everything she does is perfect through Beca's eyes. Maybe she should try to snap out of her Chloe-is-perfect-daze soon. Later. But Beca on the other hand, was.. inexperienced, and suddenly very nervous. Chloe could definitely not like something and let it go unsaid because that's the person she is. No, no, no. Beca had to be prepared. Beca had to work out. Beca had to moisturize. Beca had to get the sand out of her cracks and crevices. Beca had to go get a wax.
Stupid, Beca. Why didn't she think of doing all of that before?
She turned away from the redhead's lips and tried to wriggle away.
"Whoa, whoa.." Chloe asked closely, pulling her hand away. "Are you okay? Did I go too far? I'm sor-"
"No. It's not anything you did- I'm just," She panted nervously sweating now. "I'm not a first date kinda gal." She struggled to meet Chloe's gaze and frowned. "I'm sorry."
First date kinda gal. Chloe knew that wasn't the reason for Beca to stop. But she really didn't want to push Beca any further. What kind of person would she be if she questioned that?
Chloe smiled, leaning closer to search for her eyes. ".. Bec-"
They jumped in fear when the sound of cannons cracked through the crisp night air, followed by a rainbow of colors illuminating the sky and the shattering of the explosions through the night. The sonic boom rattled their chests as they finally looked up.
They literally felt the explosions as they shot from the boats floating in the distance. It made their hearts pound faster like the pops recalibrated their cardiac rhythm. Chloe settled herself beside the brunette and together they watched the lights flash and fade against the night sky with linked hands. She rested her head on Beca's shoulders and sighed contently as Beca wrapped an arm around her, not bothering to let go of each other's hands.
In the distance they heard cheering, most likely from the people at the boardwalk. Between them was only eager breathing. No words were exchanged in fear of distracting from the beauty they were witnessing.
It was over much too soon and they were left staring into the stars in silence.
"Imagine if we were doing it while that was happening." Beca joked. "Would've been pretty cool.. aesthetically."
Chloe chuckled lightly, glancing back at her. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to fully perform without getting distracted."
Beca scoffed. "Oh, please. I would demand every ounce of your attention."
"You're so conceited sometimes, do you know that?" Chloe laughed.
"Yes." She squeezed Chloe's hand when the redhead turned away. After locking eyes, she smiled sweetly. "Hey, this was really nice.. All of it."
"Yeah?" Chloe grinned when Beca nodded. "I think so too."
"I'm," Beca hesitated, swallowing hard. "I'm glad we're doing.. this." She gestured between them before running her nervous hands though her stringy hair. "It's really, really nice."
Chloe blushed under the brunette's sincere eyes. "Sucks that we waited so long." She pecked her cheek before scooting down a little and pulling the blanket over herself. Beca followed her lead.
"Hey, Chlo?" Beca whispered, not bothering to turn to the redhead.
"Yeah?"
"I appreciate the romantic gesture and all, sleeping under the stars, but.. I am definitely not going to be able to sleep out here in the open without being a little paranoid and cold. I'm gonna be honest with you, this is a little impractical."
Chloe sighed, seeming more relieved than offended. "Me neither. Plus, my swimsuit is still damp and sandy.. This was a better idea in my head, I promise."
"How about we just change and sleep inside the car instead?" Beca hesitantly suggested.
"That's a really good idea."
Without incident they both changed, taking turns holding up a towel for the other to get dressed behind. As soon as they were both done, they stuffed themselves in the backseat of the car, fitting comfortably together on top of the layers of pillows and cushion they decided to keep with them. Beca had quickly and easily learned to find comfort and safety in Chloe's arms. The kind Chloe was familiar with when she was in hers.
"Hey, Beca?" Chloe whispered against the brunette's neck after they finally got comfortable.
"Hm?"
"I'm glad it's you.." Chloe paused. "Whatever struggles we had to go through to get here. Where we are. I'm glad it turned out this way. 'Cause I like this.. a lot."
Beca closed her eyes. "Me too." She smiled to herself after feeling Chloe's hesitant lips on her neck.
"Goodnight, Beca."
"Goodnight.. Chloe."
~BASE. NUMBER. TWOOOO!
