Note: Again, my apologies for missing yesterday. Life is just a bit busy with the holidays. This is the penultimate chapter, though there will be an epilogue. Happy New Year!

Best Christmas Ever

Chapter 17

The Perfect Date

Part 2

"Where are we even going?" asked Chloe for the fifth time. She was in the passenger seat next to Beca, having allowed the alt-girl to drive them to their next destination.

She had no idea where Beca was driving them and it was driving her a bit crazy. Chloe actually loves surprises, but is absolutely terrible at waiting for them.

"What part of the word 'surprise' don't you get?" Beca answered in a slightly snarky way, as she turned the car left onto a side street. Because she's turned her head towards the turn Chloe can't see the freshman's face, but she's certain that Beca's smirking.

It is her natural state.

The neighborhood Beca was driving her through looked familiar, but Chloe hadn't placed it yet. When they crossed the bridge to Conanicut Island, Chloe's eyes lit up. When Beca continued on over the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge towards Newport, Chloe was certain of where they were going.

It has to be!

"Are we going to the Gurney's Newport Skating Rink?

Beca smirked and didn't say anything, but did give a quick nod of her head.

Chloe let out a very happy squeal.

"Hey I need my hearing," Beca teased. Chloe responded by sticking out her tongue.

Beca continued to drive, using the directions Catherine had written out for her, while Chloe happily sat back and sang along with Beca's Christmas mashups she'd downloaded onto her phone. Chloe was over-the-moon for the opportunity to skate.

-~Merry Pitchm as 2021~-

"Look at these," Chloe said, holding the skates out for Beca to see. "They're baby pink!"

"You're way too excited by that fact," Beca teased.

"Baby pink, Beca!" Chloe reiterated, as if she was making a different, but just as compelling a case.

"I figured you would love them," Beca said with a grin.

"I love them," Chloe said as she hugged the skates to her chest.

"Umm-I do have to warn you," Beca said as she laced up her own skates. When Chloe looked at her, Beca sighed, "I don't know how to skate."

"You don't know how to skate?" Chloe asked, a bit surprised by this admission.

"Yeah," Beca nodded.

"Have you ever skated?" Chloe asked.

"When I was little, my Mom took me a couple times," Beca answered with a shrug. "Plus I did some roller-blading when I was fourteen…"

"Oh that's great…"

"I broke my arm once and got a concussion another," Beca deadpanned.

"Not great, but I can work with it," Chloe said confidently. "So, you're taking me out to do an activity even though it has a high risk of bodily harm for yourself?"

"Umm-yeah," Beca shrugged. "Your Mom told me how much you love skating, and well I wanted to give you a perfect day…"

Beca was cut off as she was enveloped by Chloe in maybe the fiercest hug she had ever received. "Thank you so much!" The redhead maintained the hug for probably a moment longer than was truly necessary. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe, and make sure you have a fun time," she whispered into the brunette's ear.

Her warm breath sent shivers down Beca's spine, while conversely filling her with a warmth that she was coming to connect to Chloe Beale.

"I'm holding you to that, Beale," Beca grinned. "Let's do this."

The redhead was a bundle of energy as the two women set about getting their skates on.

As soon as Chloe finished tying the laces on her skates, she stepped onto the ice, and effortlessly sped off, racing around the rink before returning back to where Beca was sitting, kicking up a shower of ice shavings as she skidded to a stop.

She makes it look so easy.

"Show-off," snarked Beca, brushing some of the ice from her jacket. The petite woman felt a hand squeeze her thigh and she looked up to see Chloe looking expectantly at her.

"You ready?"

"Would it really matter if I said no?" Beca snarked.

"Nope. Now come on, slowpoke!" Chloe grinned as she offered her hand to Beca.

Beca returned the grin and accepted the offered hand. With a wink and a pull from the redhead, Beca was balancing on two skates.

Chloe held Beca's arm as they walked, or rather she wobbled, to the entrance of the ice rink. "I promise you, you will love this, trust me. Just hang on to my arm and you will be fine."

Together they carefully stepped out onto the slippery ice, Beca maintained a death-grip on Chloe's arm for balance. Once they were fully on the ice, they stayed close to the railing, and slowly started making their way around the rink.

"Here, come this way," Chloe said gently and skated them both a little bit away from the rink's entrance. Chloe tucked them into a corner out of the way of the other skaters so she could begin teaching Beca the basics like how to move and how to stop. Chloe moved them to the side up against the railing so people could get on the ice behind them. The redhead instructed Beca to hold onto the rail behind her, which the smaller woman does with a death grip she fears may leave tiny finger indentations.

Chloe slowly skates backwards a few feet away from her, "Look! See? Super easy. You barely even have to move your feet," she explained to show how easy it is to move safely on the skates.

"Chloe Beale! You get back here right now!" Beca ordered. "Don't you dare leave me!"

"Never," Chloe assured Beca. She smiled sympathetically and skated back towards the brunette, reaching out for the railing on either side of Beca's waist. "Don't worry, I would never leave you, Becs."

This statement, seemingly so simple, was laced with a deeper promise, not missed by the young freshman. Beca looked into Chloe's eyes and felt a calm wash over her. Because of course Chloe would never leave her.

Ever.

For a moment they just stood there on the ice, letting the other skaters move around them. The two young women just stare into each other's eyes and let the world move in silence around them. A little nervous under the intensity of the moment Beca licks her bottom lip, pulling it between her teeth, drawing Chloe's gaze at the movement and she feels heat start to fill her body.

Just then another skater stumbled behind Chloe, which caused the redhead to fall forward into Beca, bringing their bodies flush together. Beca quickly reached around Chloe, and gripped her around her shoulders to keep the redhead from falling. Chloe brought one arm around the smaller woman's waist, while the other grasped the railing behind Beca to steady the both of them.

"I'm so sorry," the other skater, a middle aged man, apologized profusely.

"It's…it's fine. We're fine," Beca assured the man with a slight wave as he rather clumsily skated away. Watching him, Chloe giggled, which Beca joined in with. Neither Chloe nor Beca made a move to separate away from the other. Chloe's arm was still tightly gripped around the brunette's waist and Beca's hands still clutched the senior's shoulders. Slowly Beca felt Chloe slide back just enough to bring her head around to look at her, keeping the arm around her held tight.

"You ok?" Chloe asked with a soft smile as she looked over the petite woman for any signs of an injury.

"Absolutely amazing," was Beca's sarcastic reply. "I wasn't aware ice skating was such a contact sport," she added dryly with a roll of her eyes.

Leaning forward, Chloe brought their foreheads together and dropped her voice to what Beca could only describe as a sultry purr, "Oh, it can be, but it's not the best kind of contact sport I know, Becs," Chloe finished the flirtatious comment with a wink.

Glancing down at their close proximity, partly to cover her almost permanent blush, Beca was reminded of the time at hood night when Chloe had declared they were going to be 'Fast Friends'. It seemed Chloe was a bit prescient.

"So…" Beca said, trying to break the tension, tapping out a nervous rhythm on the back of Chloe's shoulders.

"So…" Chloe responded, and Beca's breath caught as she felt the word leave Chloe's lips and brush across her cheek.

"Well I must say, Beale, if this was some elaborate scheme to get me in your arms…" she let the comment hang in the air like an offering of sorts. It's an attempt at flirting. Beca has never been good at flirting, with anyone, but add to the fact that she's flirting with her best friend, and it gets more complicated. Yet it doesn't feel difficult at the moment. Something about flirting with Chloe, whom she has now realized she is in love with, well that is definitely new and uncharted territory, but not difficult.

Beca also knows that flirting is one of Chloe's many talents, so she is not disappointed when Chloe's eyes brighten and her smile turns mischievous. "And what if it is Ms Mitchell?" Chloe asked as she pulled Beca a little tighter to her.

"That you should've opened with hot chocolate and extra marshmallows. I'm easy Beale, but I'm not cheap," Beca flirted while she dropped her hands to Chloe's lower back, but not removing them. One thing that she's learned about Chloe is that she loves physical contact. And Beca has a feeling it's especially true when Beca is the one to initiate the contact.

Okay, maybe I can do this flirting thing.

"I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work," Chloe said in a sure voice.

Beca's breath caught. Maybe she wasn't that good at flirting. "I…I mean I was just…" she began, looking down and starting to remove her arms from around Chloe.

"You are trying to get out of skating by distracting me with your womanly wiles," Chloe interrupted, tilting her head while raising an eyebrow.

Beca lets out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. Secretly she felt a sense of relief more than anything. Keeping her composure, she made a show of rolling her eyes. To hide the quiver in her hands, Beca rested them on Chloe's hips. She pushed ahead with her flirting, "Oh yes. My womanly wiles. You caught me," she finished with a dramatic sigh.

This brought a chuckle from the redhead. She looked over her shoulder, and suggested, "Okay I think we are ready to try and skate around the rink."

"What? Really?" Beca asked, a bit of trepidation returning to her voice.

"Uh-huh," Chloe nodded. Her smile resembled that of the proverbial Cheshire cat with a noticeable sparkle of mischief in her eyes. "Oh and Becs," Chloe slid forward slowly, pushing Beca up against the boards with her body. She lowered her face to within inches of Beca's, "You don't have to come up with intricate ploys to woo me."

Chloe then pushed off, skating backwards, her hands pulling Beca with her.

-~Merry Pitchmas 2021~-

Chloe slowly pulled Beca out of the corner of the rink, and started to move into the flow of the other skaters. Beca wobbled a bit as they skated. She held tightly onto Chloe's arm. The redhead kept their pace slow and steady, not caring what other skaters were doing.

Truthfully, Chloe didn't care about any other people. She was just pretty happy to be sharing one of her favorite activities with Beca.

On the fourth lap, Chloe suggested, "I think you're ready to let go of my arm."

"No, I will fall," Beca shook her head.

"I'll never let you fall," Chloe whispered, the conviction in her words promising even more, beyond just skating. It made Beca feel weak in her knees. "Only when you're ready. But know this, I'll continue to hold your hand," Chloe promised.

"Do you trust me?" Chloe asked.

At Beca's nod, Chloe slipped in front of Beca, so she was skating backwards in front of the petite brunette. The redhead carefully traced 'C' shapes with her blades across the ice, propelling her backwards. As she moved backwards, Chloe drew Beca with her, gently pulling on hy slender hands.

They continued to skate, but the redhead noticed Beca kept looking down at her skates. She squeezed Beca's hands as she instructed, "Hey Becs, look at me."

It took some coaxing, but Beca slowly raised her eyes from the ice where she had been staring at where she was placing her skates up to see Chloe's smile.

"Trust me, it is a whole lot easier if you don`t look at what you`re doing," Chloe informed her young friend.

"What?" Beca made a doubtful face. "Really?"

Chloe chuckled at how often Beca was uttering those words. "Yes. Otherwise, you`re trying to control too much. You need to loosen up." Chloe wiggled her eyebrows in a close approximation of how Stacie does it when she's emphasizing her sexual innuendo. It brought a light laugh from Beca, and a small smirk to Chloe's face.

Beca chuckled, "Right, thank you very much."

Chloe laughed with her, "I don`t know why you would be complaining, I'm simply asking you to look at my face as long as you want."

This caused Beca to lift her head, as she was letting her attention drift back down to the ice. She cleared her throat, and replied, "Yes, that could work, I do enjoy that view, it`s just that…" Beca yelped and stumbled slightly as her right skate hit a divot in the ice.

"Don't worry, I've got you," Chloe assured Beca, and Beca knew it was true. She continued to look into Chloe's vibrant blue eyes, and felt more of the tension melt away.

After a few more laps around the rink Beca was feeling much more comfortable, and truly getting the hang of it. She was no longer wobbling or needing to hold onto both of Chloe's hands. Now Chloe was at her side again, and she only held the redhead by her right hand. They both looked so beautiful in this moment, her red and brown hair blowing in the breeze, their blue eyes so different, yet so similar as they lit up like the Christmas lights strung around the rink. And Beca displayed a carefree smile as she felt the rush of gliding across the ice.

A few more laps, and they both found their rhythm with the other. The two young women moved in sync as only two people who know each other so familiarly and lovingly could support the other. There was no need for either of them to say a word, it only took a look, or a gentle squeeze of a hand for Chloe to warn Beca he was about to change in their direction, or for Beca to warn Chloe there were people approaching behind him.

Together they safely navigated the stream of people moving around the rink, and soon everything around them began to fade. Beca felt like she was being led through a dream, gliding across the ice as if she were floating across the sky.

-~Merry Pitchmas 2021~-

Chloe took over driving them back home. She again took them through Wickford Village, on their way home, though it wasn't on the way home, so she could show Beca more of the lights. With the sun having set, the Christmas lights in the village were even more spectacular. In the town square, there were colorful Christmas lights displays in all kinds of shapes. There was reindeer pulling a sleigh with Santa Claus inside, and the large Christmas tree decorated in multi-colored lights.

The old church next to the town square had a truly beautiful nativity scene; one of the nicest Beca had ever seen, with all the classic figures and angels, and more. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Chloe had put on a 'Celtic Christmas' on her Pandora. The music just seemed so perfect for the visual displays they were seeing. Beca couldn't help both smiling and feeling tears begin to well in her eyes. Memories both sweet and bitter wove their way through her head.

They continued to drive, but Beca noticed that they were going a different route than they had driven in the morning. She was about to look over to Chloe, to ask about this, but a new set of lights caught her eyes. She looked out her window instead and gasped quietly. The house they are driving past is nearly overwhelming in its holiday display. The house is decked out in strings of lights, with Santa and his reindeers scattered across the lawn and lit up candy canes lining the walkway.

Looking up the street Beca noticed that the whole neighborhood, both side of the road are like this.

One house is lit up like a winter wonderland, only using white and blue string lights. Glowing blue and white snowflakes hang from the branches of their trees. Matching snowflakes cling to the sides of the house, looking as if they'd been embroidered on.

Across the street is one decked in golden string lights that cover every tree, and the house. There are angel figures in the lawn, and the words, 'Merry Christmas'.

The house next door has a mixture of lights and giant inflatable figures. It was quite the menagerie of inflatables, which included Santas, Penguins, Polar Bears, and Snowmen.

Another house is a rainbow, the actual structure covered in multicolored string lights. There are large spheres lit up in blue on the lawn. One tree is wrapped in pink. Another green. The mailbox is tangled in red. The driveway is lined with yellow. Next to the doorway there's a rainbow PRIDE flag on a pole. The front door has a lit up sign that read, 'Happy Holigays'.

This caused Beca to giggle to herself, Chloe joined her. "I like that one too."

The smile Chloe gives Beca is one for the books, and it just adds to the warmth in Beca's chest. The young alt-girl knows she'll remember every detail of this day for the rest of her life. She has to. This is one of those perfect moments.

Maybe that's why Beca finds herself begin to say, "Mom used to do this with me. You know, when I was little. It was my favorite. I remember being so excited to get to ride around, and see all the pretty lights. Mom and I would drive around for what felt like hours. Later I realized we often went for these drives after Mom and Dad had one of their arguments. We went on an especially long drive when Dad left. She'd put in a cassette tape, and we would sing along as we went. I could always tell when she was having a bad day because we'd listen to it twice." Beca hoped Chloe didn't hear the way her voice cracked at the end.

Chloe didn't say anything, but instead reached over and took Beca's left hand in hers. She gave a small reassuring squeeze, which brought a small watery smile to Beca's lips.

"We can head home, or we can…" Chloe said softly.

"We can keep going for a little bit more," Beca suggested.

"I would love too," Chloe smiled.

-~Merry Pitchmas 2021~-

After about an hour and a half of their traveling down colorfully lit residential roads, Chloe pulled the car into her parent's driveway, and parked the car.

They both walked in silence to the front door, each laden with their purchases from earlier in the day. When they were about ten feet from the door, Chloe suddenly stopped, and set down her purchases. This caught Beca off guard and she stepped back to Chloe.

"Umm-Chlo? Is everything okay?" Beca asked with a bit of concern.

The redhead had been thinking about this the whole way back from Newport, it was one of the reasons she had driven around. Chloe had made the decision she would get her answer before they were home. Now just short of the front door, she was literally out of time to get her answer to the only real question she had. There could not be anymore fear or dithering

With the tension mounting, her pulse quickened, and yet everything felt like it was moving in slow motion for Chloe as Beca's eyes began to search her face.

What is she searching for?

Is she looking for signs of resistance?

Or maybe permission?

Does she want to give permission?

And permission for what, exactly?

But she knows. She knows she knows. And just like that it is like a veil was lifted from her eyes and she realizes she is in love with her best friend. She guesses she has always known, in the back of her mind. If she were a betting man, which she isn't, then she would say that by the look on Chloe's face the feelings are definitely reciprocated.

The redhead smiled sheepishly, a faint blush dusting her cheeks before she shook her head and asked, "Beca, was today a date?"

An amused smile pulled at the brunette's lips. It was strange how certain and confident the freshman felt at this moment. "Yes Chloe, it was a date."

"Oh good, I was hoping it was a date," Chloe sighed with relief. She then adopted a bit of a mischievous smirk. "You know Becs, at the end of dates that have gone well, I like to end it with a kiss."

"Was this a good date?" Beca asked with a knowing smile.

"It was the best," Chloe answered honestly. "It was perfect."

"Oh that's great! Because I really want to kiss you right now," Beca breathed out.

Chloe smiled playfully. She was relieved she didn't scare Beca away, and, mostly, she was excited that Beca wanted to kiss her. Because the truth is Chloe had wanted it since Beca had auditioned for the Bellas.

She wanted it so much, but Chloe needed to make sure Beca really wanted this too.

"Do you really?"

Beca looked up into the redhead's eyes again, biting her lower lip and nodding quickly and quietly.

"Well." Chloe got close enough to feel Beca's breath on her face. "Why don't you do it?"

Chloe saw Beca ponder on it for a second before she pushed her body forward and pressed her lips against Chloe's.

At first, this was all that it was, Beca's lips pressed against Chloe's, as both women were a bit hesitant. Until Beca brought up her hands and gently cupped hloe's cheeks, while Chloe brought her hands to the back of Beca's neck.

From there, their lips began to move gently in tandem, each aware that this was the discovery of new territory for the other.

When their tongues finally brushed against each other's, after what felt like an hour's worth of kissing, Beca pulled back a little, her forehead resting against Chloe's, their noses touching.

"Was that okay?" Chloe asked, a bit nervous what the answer might be.

"Better than okay," Beca replied as she nodded before pulling their lips together again. This time she's a little less shy, and a lot more assertive. Her arms had her almost hanging on Chloe's shoulders as Chloe herself wrapped her arms around Beca's waist. They each pulled the other's body as close as it was humanly possible. They were smiling and sighing and both just couldn't believe this was happening.

Beca ran her hands through Chloe's red hair, her tongue slipped past the senior woman's lips. Chloe let out a quiet moan. Their kiss is soft, but not too soft because both have been waiting for this for too long not to be full of passion.

The two young women break their kiss for oxygen, and Chloe sighed.

"I love you, Beca."

Beca's eyes widened at Chloe's words.

-~Merry Pitchmas 2021~-

Note: Can you guess what happens next?

Just a quick plug, if you have kids, or just love an animated movie with awesome music, go see 'Sing 2', it Rocks! I took my youngest to see it yesterday, and we both absolutely Loved it. Oh, and it's my birthday!