Fixes
5
Melissa was lying on her bed, earphones firmly in place as she listened to blaring heavy metal music and sucked now and again on an electronic cigarette.
Chloe knocked loudly and then pushed into the room, immediately smelling the odor of strawberries and frowning a little. Melissa took off her earphones and glared at her sister, obviously expecting a fight. But, to her surprise, Chloe just crossed the room and lay down on the bed next to her, fingers laced on her stomach. "I was pretty furious at what you said at first," the older woman said after a moment of staring at the ceiling. "But then Beca asked me if I knew you weren't straight, and I realized I didn't… and I'm sorry for that. I haven't been here for you and I'm so sorry."
Melissa shrugged, drawing a little closer to her big sister to lean against her. "You've been busy, Chlo. Moving to L.A. and everything." She looked at her then, matching blue eyes holding each other's. "Sorry I was a bitch. I was scared of... of... letting you down or something. I thought it would be better if you were angry instead of disappointed."
Chloe lifted her arm and Mel squirmed into her for a hug, tucking her arm around her waist. "Honey, why would I be disappointed? You know I'm bisexual. Besides, telling your truth isn't about letting other people down, it's about letting yourself down if you want to come out and don't." She paused a moment, stroking her sister's hair. "Have you slept with anyone yet?"
"No... but like... I've made out with a few people," the younger Beale replied. "I know I don't like guys. I just... I was confused for a while. I kissed guys and didn't get what the big deal was but, then I kissed a girl, and it was... amazing... and it was kinda confusing. But I get it now."
"Mmmm... I thought kissing girls was amazing too," Chloe admitted. "Except, I also kind of liked kissing guys, so there was THAT," she chuckled.
"And you've had sex with both guys and girls, right?" Melissa asked.
"Not at the same time," the vet deadpanned and then grinned as her sister laughed and poked her belly. "But yeah, I have… and honestly, for me, sex with men can be great and all but... I enjoy sex with women more. I feel like there's a..." She paused and tilted her head. "A deeper connection maybe? Especially when you have feelings for them. I don't know. It's just how I feel personally."
"Do you have feelings for Beca? Or is she just a..."
"You probably shouldn't finish that sentence," the vet interrupted quietly.
"Oh..." Melissa breathed. "Then I'm doubly sorry, Chlo." There was quiet between them for a long moment, then the girl lifted her head to look at her sister. "Do you love her?"
Chloe blew out a long breath. "I've never been in love like this before and it's kind of crazy because I've only known her a month. But everything just feels so right." Tears welled in her eyes, and she laughed softly as she wiped at them with the back of her hand. "God, it feels so fucking good to actually say that out loud. Don't tell Mom I swore like that."
Melissa squeezed her sister's waist. "I won't… and I'm happy for you, Chloe. I really am."
"And I'm proud of you," the vet replied. "I know it wasn't easy figuring all this out alone and, I really am so sorry I wasn't here for you. You can call me any time you want though, you know? If you ever need to talk?"
"I tried talking to Zoe about it..." Mel said, and Chloe rolled her eyes. The girl laughed. "Yeah, she kinda didn't get it. Michelle wouldn't either."
"They're both as straight as they come," the older redhead agreed. "Not their fault. They just are."
They chuckled together for a moment and then just lay quietly again. "For what it's worth," Melissa finally said. "I think Beca has feelings for you too. The way she was looking at you… I think I'd class it as devouring you with her eyes."
Chloe grinned and then shrugged. "Maybe, but... she's been through a lot, and if she does have feelings for me, I don't think she's ready to express them yet."
"She'll get there," the girl said. "Just give it time." She was quiet for a moment, then she quietly warbled. "Bechloooeee."
They smiled at each other, then the older woman patted her sister's butt. "Ok, Shrimple, get up. Beca and I are taking the boys to that new fun arcade place and I'm going to need help wrangling them." She paused then and mock glared. "And don't think for ONE SECOND that I don't know you're vaping. Quit that shit."
As predicted, the girl rolled her eyes. "Meh." But there was a new twinkle in them as she grabbed her stuff and followed her sister.
Xx
Beca and Chloe were sitting on a leatherette sofa, laughing together as Melissa and the boys bounced like fiends on a large trampoline. Jack kept falling over and landing on his head and a couple of times, Chloe's butt came off the couch to run to him, convinced he'd broken his neck. But each time, he just giggled and started bouncing again.
"Your sister's awesome at that," Beca said, resting her cheek against the older woman's shoulder.
"She's a gymnast," Chloe shrugged. "Under all that baggy stuff she wears, she's really fit and muscular."
"She's really sweet too, the way she apologized to me."
Chloe sighed. "I feel like the worst sister in the world, right now. I should have been there for her, but I was so wrapped up in L.A. and my new job and..."
"Me..." Beca supplied.
"Us..." the redhead corrected.
"Us..." the musician repeated with a smile.
"I have to do a better job of being there for them all," Chloe went on.
"Being the eldest comes with a lot of responsibility, huh?" the brunette asked, kissing her girlfriend's upper arm.
Chloe took a breath to reply but she was suddenly interrupted by a voice she had zero desire to hear.
"Chloe Beale... and Chloe Beale's... friend?"
Beca thought it was a ridiculous question, since she was leaning against her lover with her hand on her mostly bare thigh.
Light blue eyes lifted and hardened. "Fuck off, Maura."
Beca was momentarily shocked. She'd never heard Chloe sound so cold and dismissive.
"Jesus, come ON, Chloe, it's been years. Get the hell over it," came the exasperated reply and Beca immediately felt the tension coil through her girlfriend's body, as her seldom-seen temper flared.
But before Chloe could explode, Beca got up and crossed her arms, cocking one hip. "Hi, I'm Beca, Chloe's girlfriend. And you are?"
"Maura Bradley. Chloe and I grew up together. Her mother and mine have been best friends for thirty years."
"I see," Beca replied, sweetly. Then her tone hardened a little. "Well, since Chloe obviously doesn't want to speak to you, I suggest you continue on your way and leave her alone."
"Mmmm... feisty mouse," the woman chuckled, looking Beca up and down. The musician suddenly felt like punching her.
"You don't know the half of it, Lady," she replied and with a little scoff, Maura turned on her heel and walked away.
When she was out of sight, Chloe got up. She was visibly shaking, and she looked at Beca with uncharacteristically hard eyes. "I need some air. Could you watch the kids until I get back, please?"
"Of course... but Babe, are you ok? You seem..."
"I'm fine," Chloe interrupted and then walked away.
Melissa came up behind Beca, putting a hand on her shoulder and making her jump a little. "Um... maybe give her some space, ok? Maura used to be her best friend and... she pulled some shit that Chloe hasn't been able to get past."
"What happened?" the brunette asked but Melissa just shook her head.
"That's Chloe's story to tell."
Xx
Beca kept stealing looks at her girlfriend during dinner. They were all squished together in a booth, Jack sitting in Chloe's lap, and they'd ordered enough pizza to feed a small country, but the vet had barely eaten anything and, while she was participating, a couple of times one of the boys had asked her something and Beca had had to nudge her to bring her back from wherever her mind had gone.
After dinner, while Chloe was in the bathroom, Beca discretely gave Melissa fifty dollars. "Hey, could you keep the boys busy while I talk to Chloe, please? I don't think she's ok."
The younger Beale nodded. "Take her out to the batting cages. She's a great hitter and it might help her to get out her frustration."
"Thanks," the musician replied and smiled as Melissa wrangled the boys toward the Go Karts.
"Don't tell me you sold the kids while I was gone," Chloe joked when she got back to the table. "Not that I'd blame you or anything."
"Nah," Beca grinned. "I just bribed them to get some time alone with you. Mel told me you like the batting cages and I wanted to see how sexy you look hitting balls."
The vet chuckled. "Ahhh," she said. She leaned down and kissed Beca softly. "I'm sorry I've been so distracted." She held out her hand then and the musician slid out of the booth to clasp it.
"I'm just a little worried about you, Chlo. You don't seem yourself but I'm not going to push you to tell me or talk about anything you don't want to."
They made their way to the cages and Chloe chose slow-pitch softball. She tied her hair into a loose knot and got into a helmet. Then she chose a bat and warmed up her shoulders while Beca went to add some more money to their fun card.
The vet swiped the card though the pad near the entrance to the cage and then took her stance, waiting for the first ball. As it came toward her, she stepped into it and swung but totally missed. She shook her head and waited for the second, which she hit off-face and sent into the gully. "Shit." She closed her eyes and settled herself, then concentrated on the third ball and swung, making a solid connection and sending it sailing over the roof of the pitching machine house.
"Nice," Beca grinned.
"I'm a little rusty." Chloe hit ball number four solidly, smiling as she felt herself find her groove again. Over and over, she hit, and she started a new round before she began talking. "Maura was my best friend in high school," she said, keeping her eyes on the pitching machine. "We were always together, hanging out, doing homework together, sleepovers, shopping, the usual teenager stuff." She solidly hit another ball. "And over time, as I realized that I wasn't exactly straight, I also realized I'd developed a crush on her." ::THWACK:: "But I couldn't tell her, you know? I thought she'd think I was weird or… she'd hate me or something." ::THWACK:: "So, there was another friend of ours, who I kind of confided in when we got drunk one night. She promised she wouldn't say anything." ::THWACK::
Beca closed her eyes, shaking her head as she realized where the story was probably going. "Mmmm."
::THWACK:: "Fast forward a couple of weeks and Maura called to my house one evening. She told me Jill had told her what I'd said and that she was crushing on me too. Then she said we should go to senior prom together… like as a date." ::THWACK:: "I was pretty ecstatic. I was single at the time and hadn't accepted any offers of dates so, scared to death, I got dressed up and waited for Maura to come to the house." ::THWACK:: "She picked me up, corsage and all, and we rode to the prom in a limo. As we were going inside, she rubbed my back and told me not to be nervous… that we were going to have fun." ::THWACK:: "In the gym, after a while, I noticed people looking at me weirdly and then pointing and I couldn't figure out why. But, eventually, one of the girls from my softball team realized what was happening. She came up behind me and pulled a piece a paper off my back to show it to me. The word DYKE was written on it in big old red letters." ::THWACK:: ... ::THWACK:: … ::THWACK:: "And then I realized that Maura had humiliated me, then left me alone to be with her real date and just laughed with everyone else. Practical joke, right? No big deal. Just some Carrie shit."
"Oh, Chloe," Beca whispered, grasping her fingers into the chain link fence as she watched her girlfriend quickly wipe her tears away on the bottom of her shirt and take her batting stance again.
::THWACK:: "I just left out of there, too embarrassed and devastated to even just hang out with the softball team. They'd been really kind to me when they'd found out." ::THWACK:: "Next day, Maura and I had a blowout argument and I told her to stay the hell away from me. It's been that way ever since."
Chloe stopped hitting balls and came out of the cage, taking her helmet off and putting it, and the bat back onto a hanger. Then she sat down on a bench, head bowed and leaning her forearms on her thighs. "I know it happened a long time ago, Becs… and it's probably really petty… but I don't know if I can forgive her. She REALLY hurt me."
Beca slowly moved to stand in front of her, stroking her damp hair back from her forehead. "What she did was despicable," she said softly. Light blue eyes lifted, the pain of it all still haunting them. "You don't owe her anything."
Chloe eased her arms around the brunette's waist, nodding against her stomach. Beca held her, rubbing her back gently. But then closed her eyes as Maura's voice grated instantly on her nerves. The woman was pulling a pair of batting gloves on, two cages down.
"Guess you finally admitted you're a dyke, huh, Chlo? You sure were in the closet for a while. Did it take Feisty Mouse to do it, or did you come out… ?"
But she gasped as she suddenly found herself shoved against the chain link fence, Beca's hands fisted into the front of her shirt. "Shut the fuck up," the musician growled. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
Maura held up her hands. "Ok, ok! Jesus, Beca. Let me go."
"You're lucky I didn't take your head off, you bitch," the musician retorted as Chloe came up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders.
"Babe, she's not worth it," the vet said softly. "Really."
"No… but, Chloe, you ARE," the brunette said fiercely.
Maura blinked and gained sudden clarity as she recognized the smirk on Chloe's face for what it was. The redhead was happy and had someone who obviously cared about her. At thirty-one, Maura had two divorces under her belt and a prescription drug problem to add to that.
"I'm sorry about prom," she suddenly said. "Chloe, I'm sorry."
"What?" the vet said, tilting her head. Beca's hands eased out of Maura's shirt, and she stepped back into Chloe's body like a human shield, reaching back to wrap both hands around the curve of her thighs.
"I'm sorry about prom night," the woman said again, shaking her head. "I rationalized it as a joke, but I knew it was cruel and I'm not proud of it. I was just afraid that someone might think that I was gay too and I reacted badly. I'm sorry, Chloe. Really."
Chloe slowly approached her former best friend. "I'm not gay," she said quietly. "I'm bisexual, but you never gave me the chance to figure that out, senior year. It was a crush, not fucking true love, and because of you, it took three years for me to let myself fully embrace who I am."
Maura nodded unhappily. "I'm sorry, Chloe."
The vet nodded. "I… I believe you, but… we can't be friends again, Maura. I need to try to let all that high school bullshit go."
"But you're the one who got out of here, Chlo," Maura said, chuckling bitterly. "You're the one who's living a life in L.A. with someone who obviously cares about her, in a career she loves. Your mom talks so proudly about you all the time. I'm still stuck here with two ex-husbands, two kids who hate me and a minimum wage job. Who won in the end, huh?"
"I can still punch her for you, Chloe, if you want me to," Melissa suddenly piped up fiercely. None of the women were sure when the kids had gotten back.
Chloe shook her head, mindful of their little brothers. "Thanks, Mel, but nah. I think Maura and I have an understanding now. Punching is never the answer."
Maura smiled slightly. "Maybe we… and Feisty Mouse here… can talk more before you leave for L.A.?"
Chloe blew out a long breath. "Ok…" she finally replied. "Come over to the house when your mom is visiting."
"Will do," the woman just nodded and finished putting her gloves on. She winked at Beca then and stepped into the cage to begin her batting session.
Chloe took Beca's hand, kissing her knuckles. "Thanks, Becs," she said softly. Then she looked at her sister. "And thanks, Mel, for being my tough baby sister… who's totally not a baby anymore. When the heck did that happen, huh?"
The musician smiled and wrapped her arm around Chloe's waist, leading them all toward the Mini Golf course. "Come on, Beales," she said. "I'm going to kick your butts at Putt Putt."
"In your dreams!" Jack yelled back and Beca grinned at his adorableness. Chloe just laughed softly and kissed her temple.
Xx
It was dark when they pulled up outside the house and Jack was already half asleep in Melissa's lap. They got out of the car and went inside, then grabbed a drink in the kitchen. "Ten o'clock," Chloe said. "Time for Beale Boys to hit the hay."
Mark tried to protest but his yawn gave him away and finally he just nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Brush your teeth and get into your pjs. I'll be up to tuck you in, in a minute," the eldest Beale ordered. "Mark, make sure your brother doesn't fall asleep in the sink please."
Melissa headed for the living room and flopped onto the couch, turning on the TV and setting it to a movie. A Golden Retriever, Duke, Beca suspected, joined her there, putting his head down on her thigh and gazing at her adoringly as she rubbed his ears. Chloe just leaned back against the kitchen table, rubbing tiredly between her eyes. Beca gave her some space and then smiled as light blue eyes lifted to meet her dark blue.
"Today was a long week," the vet said. "But thank you, Beca, for everything."
"I didn't do anything but lose my temper… twice," the brunette replied, somewhat sheepishly. "And I would've let Melissa punch Maura. Not a great example for the boys."
Chloe chuckled softly. "It still means a lot to me that you stood up for me like that, Becs." She straightened then. "What do you want to do? Watch a movie down here or go to bed?"
"I kinda want to snuggle on the couch with you for a while. Chill with Melissa."
"Ok," the redhead smiled. "Come on."
They headed into the living room and Chloe sat down on a loveseat, pulling Beca into her lap and then kissing her softly. Melissa sniggered and shook her head. "You two are way too gross," she teased. Then she took a breath. "Do you think maybe…" She trailed off and Chloe lifted an eyebrow at her. "Could we go on a double date maybe?"
Chloe's eyebrow lifted higher. "Keep talking."
"I've been seeing this girl and… she texted me a little earlier to say she'd like to, you know, go out on a proper date on Friday night but…"
Beca smiled. "You need a little moral support?" she ventured.
"Yeah, maybe." Melissa blushed. "You know… no big deal. I just think… it would be easier to be ourselves in a restaurant with an older same-sex couple there, you know?" She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Beca nodded soberly. "Chloe, we definitely have to support the baby gays. It's our solemn duty."
Melissa playfully flipped her off, making her laugh.
The vet's face eased into a beaming smile. "Go ahead and arrange it," she said to her sister. "Pick somewhere nice for Friday night where we have to dress up. It's on me, ok? But you're not wearing any baggy shit." She narrowed her eyes. "And no alcohol."
"Uh… Babe, I don't think we brought any dress up clothes, did we?" the brunette asked.
"Mom has stuff. We can improvise."
"Cool," Melissa replied with a beaming smile that was so much like Chloe's, it made Beca smile happily. "Thanks, Guys."
"Hey, Sweetie?" the older woman said then. "Do Mom and Dad know?"
Melissa sighed and shook her head. "Can you please help me tell them? I'd like it to go better than my coming out to you did."
"Tomorrow, Shrimple," Chloe replied with a chuckle. "I promise."
And Melissa just grinned.
Xx
It was three in the morning. Beca was woken by frantic knocking at the bedroom door, and she sighed as Chloe also stirred in her arms. There was another series of knocks and Chloe sighed this time. She pulled back the covers and padded to the door to unlock and open it. Then she scooped her youngest brother up into her arms and carried him back to the bed to sit in her lap. "What's up, Honey?" she asked softly. "Bad dream?" She glanced back over her shoulder as Beca gently rubbed Jack's back.
"There's a monster under my bed," he replied, rubbing at his tear-streaked face with one hand as he clutched at his big sister's t-shirt with the other. "I ran here and barely made it alive."
Chloe tried very hard to not smile and bit her lip instead. "Oh no, that's awful, Buddy. You want me to come and get it for you?"
"Can I just sleep in here with you and Beca?"
Chloe looked back over her shoulder again and smiled as Beca nodded. "Sure, you can sleep in here with us. Do you need to use the bathroom before you go back to sleep?"
Jack nodded shyly so Chloe stood and carried him to the ensuite. "Go on," she said and waited outside for him to finish, flush and wash his hands. "Good boy." Then she took him by the hand and brought him back to the bed. She climbed in, settled back into Beca's arms and then smiled as Jack climbed in and snuggled against her chest. She tucked the bedcovers back into place and then kissed his forehead. "Love you, JackSparrow."
"Love you, Chlocifer. I miss you," the little boy replied sleepily, and the vet's breath hitched in her chest. He was asleep a moment later and Chloe just hugged him closer.
"He ran past every other room in the hallway to come to you," Beca said softly. "That so sweet, Chloe."
"Yeah," the redhead murmured in reply. "He's my sweet boy."
Xx
Thanksgiving morning. Chloe woke first and checked the clock on the nightstand. It was only a little after seven and she smiled happily. Jack had slipped back out at some point, probably to sneak downstairs and see what food was being prepared. Beca was breathing softly against her hair and Chloe hummed contentedly as she turned over and pressed herself into her girlfriend's chest.
A little sleepy smile lifted the musician's lips. "So…" she murmured, eyes still firmly closed. "The million-dollar question… when was the last time this bed saw any action?"
Chloe giggled and buried her face into the smaller woman's neck. "Don't ask… the answer is too embarrassing."
Dark blue eyes appeared; their eyebrows hiked. "Oh, now I DEFINITELY need to hear that story."
Chloe sighed but she was still smiling. "There's no story. The answer is… never."
"Never?" Beca repeated in surprise.
"Never," the vet nodded. "I left home for college when I was seventeen. I haven't lived in this room much since, so I've never had sex with anyone in this bed."
"I… surely you've brought people home with you since then? Spring break… or any break?" the musician said incredulously.
Chloe just shrugged. "Nope. There's never been anyone I wanted to bring home."
The brunette's eyes softened. "So, not only am I the only person you've brought home to meet your family, which is such an honor… but I also get to pop this bed's cherry with you?"
Chloe's eyes darkened as her heart picked up a little. "Cocky, Ms. Mitchell."
"You love it, Doctor Beale." Beca captured Chloe's earlobe between her teeth and then suckled it softly.
"Mmmm…" the redhead nodded. "I do." She exhaled then as her girlfriend's fingertips wandered down her chest to barely brush her breast. "But if we do this, Beca, we have to be really quiet. The kids..."
"Mmmhmmm…" Beca was already pressing her gently into the mattress and she ducked down to lift the redhead's shirt and then bite softly along the faint ridges of her abs. She felt Chloe's fingers lace into her hair, but the vet didn't make any sound other than a soft exhale… until Beca licked a path from her navel up to her sternum, then took a sharp right to nibble on an already hard nipple. Chloe squeaked and Beca grinned into her breast as she continued the playful assault. She felt Chloe's hips buck and suspected that being silent was maybe turning out to be more difficult than the vet had thought.
"You know," the brunette said softly as she switched to the other breast. "You have a killer body, Chloe. I wanted to fuck you the first moment I saw you." Light blue eyes widened but Chloe still didn't make any sound as her girlfriend nudged her thighs apart. "I lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling while I wondered what you looked like under those scrubs." She eased Chloe's underwear to one side and brushed her fingertips against her folds. "I wondered what you'd taste like and feel like when I slipped inside you." She explored a little deeper and felt Chloe's clit peek out against the pads of her fingers. She caressed it slowly and chuckled as the redhead's hips bucked again. "I wondered what your beautiful face would look like while you rode out the waves of your orgasm." Chloe gasped and her right hand moved to her mouth. She bit on her knuckles and exhaled raggedly around them. Beca got onto her knees, slipped her fingers inside her girlfriend as deep as she could and bit down on her shoulder, definitely leaving a mark. "But you know what? All the thinking and fantasizing I did…" She rubbed the fingers of her other hand purposefully against the redhead's most intimate bundle of nerves and twisted her fingers inside her, stretching her gently. Chloe whimpered and bit on her knuckles again. "Everything I thought about, everything I longed for…" She curled her fingers, dragging their tips along Chloe's walls with every retreat as she suddenly picked up her pace. "Pale in comparison to how it really feels when you come around my fingers." She ducked down then and put her mouth on her girlfriend, sucking hard on her clit.
Chloe's hand gripped into Beca's hair, and after only moments, she arched her back off the bed, mouth open in a silent scream of ecstasy. Then she curled into the brunette as the waves continued, pulsing through her body, blowing her pupils wide open and finally ripping a quiet but desperate groan from her as she bit her bottom lip. Her breathing had turned to ragged gasping and she shook her head as she tried to catch her breath. "Fuck, Beca," she said quietly into her girlfriend's neck as Beca retreated and eased them over onto their sides. Chloe's body vibrated every now and again as it came down from its high and Beca held her, smiling as the gentle caress of her damp fingertips along the sensitive skin of Chloe's back caused her lover to squirm and giggle.
And the words lay heavily on Beca's tongue. The look in Chloe's eyes when they came face to face and gazed at each other made the trio want to spring from her lips. When Chloe smirked sexily, obviously pleased with herself that she'd managed to stay quiet, Beca wanted to scream them from the rooftops.
Instead, she swallowed and arched an eyebrow. "Impressive, Doctor Beale," she said instead.
"The quiet or the orgasm?" the vet asked, voice slightly scratchy.
"Yes," Beca grinned.
The vet nodded. "Becs, that was fucking incredible. BUT my knuckles are going to be all bruised to hell."
"Worth it?" the musician asked innocently.
"Oh, totes!" Chloe exclaimed and then they both collapsed into laughter.
After a few minutes of snuggling, Chloe pulled back the bedcovers and disappeared into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Beca hiked herself up on one elbow, frowning a little. Surely, they didn't have to get up yet?
Then Chloe was back and dragging her out of the bed to lead her into the bathroom, carefully locking the door behind them. The vet slowly lifted her shirt off over her head and then wiggled her underwear down her legs to step out of them. She let Beca ogle her body for a moment and then slowly stalked toward her. "Off," she ordered, and Beca's eyes widened as she got out of her shirt and sleep shorts just in time for her lover to shove her into the stall and under the hot water. Chloe pushed her against the cool tile wall, pinning her hands above her head, and pressed her thigh between Beca's, ducking her head to kiss her deeply.
"My turn to fuck you," she growled into the smaller woman's ear and Beca's knees almost gave out.
"Wait… wait…" she panted, anxiety suddenly crashing over her. "Slow down, please, Chloe… please…"
And then she was in her lover's arms, gentle hands caressing into her hair as the water cascaded over them. "Baby, I'm sorry," the vet said softly. "I didn't think." She stepped back and out of the cubicle. "I'll just shower when you're done," she said, then unlocked the door and went back into the bedroom.
"But…" Beca blinked, then her legs moved, and she followed her lover to find her leaning on her chest of drawers with her head bowed, dripping on the floor. "Chloe?" Light blue eyes lifted and Beca almost gasped at the pain in them. "Chloe," she whispered and went to her to pull her into a hug. "Fuck, Chloe, I didn't mean… I wasn't pushing you away, I swear."
"It's ok. I screwed up," the redhead replied shakily. "My fault."
But Beca shook her head and eased back, lifting Chloe's chin and forcing her to make eye contact. "You did nothing wrong," she stated. "I WANT you to slam me against the wall and fuck me until I can't stand."
"But…" Chloe swallowed. "You…"
The musician smiled. "Just keep reminding me it's you when you do it because…" She took a deep breath, savagely shoving down the fear inside her. "I'm in love with you, Chloe, and I want you to be the one who makes me feel. Even if it's a little bit of fear. I'm my bravest self with you holding me." For a long moment, the redhead couldn't breathe, and she wondered vaguely if she was having her own brand of anxiety attack. But then, Beca was kissing her gently. "Breathe, Baby."
Chloe gasped in a breath and her heart began to ease its thunderous pounding in her chest. Her face crumpled into tears, and she pulled her lover closer, burying her face in her damp skin and kissing her neck. "You… you're in love with me?" she asked, almost incredulously.
Beca nodded, finally allowing herself to admit her feelings. "I love you and it's terrifying, Chlo… but you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me too," the vet replied, face beaming now. "I love you too, Becs. So much."
Then they grinned at each other and Beca dragged her girlfriend back into the bathroom. The lock snicked shut behind them.
In hindsight, Chloe wasn't sure they were very quiet.
