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Chapter 18: Stress Relief
It was hour 19 on what was supposed to be a short stakeout and Chloe and Beca were getting restless in the Agency van. Beca was squirming in her seat trying to find a comfortable position for a nap. Chloe was listening intently in surveillance audio while keeping an eye on the warehouse in front of them. She looked over at Beca in her small seat, in the van rubbing at her neck.
"Could you sit still?" Chloe sighed in frustration.
"Sorry, my body is killing me from being cooped up in this stupid van." Beca hit the side door with the side of her fist.
"You are acting like a toddler on a road trip." Chloe shook her head, trying to focus on the screens in front of her.
"Do we have any food left?" Beca stood up, hunched over as she walked to the other side of the van. She started rummaging through the few bags they had. Chloe gritted her teeth, pushing the headphones closer to her ear, trying to block out the crinkling of bags.
"Why is there no food?" Beca whined.
"There is plenty of food!" Chloe hissed. "You're just being picky."
"What the hell are veggie chips anyway?" Beca pulled a bag out that seemed like the lesser of the evils in the bags, which included raisins, pistachios (which she hated because they reminded her of boogers), and banana chips (because who would ever want those).
"A healthy alternative to regular chips." Chloe answered quickly, hoping Beca would shut up after finding food. Beca opened the bag and popped one in her mouth, making crunching sounds that only furthered Chloe's annoyance.
"Its like a hippie market threw up in here."
"You could have gotten something you wanted, but you were too stubborn to help with the shopping." Chloe stared straight ahead, tired of Beca's complaining.
"Hear anything yet?" Beca sat back down next to Chloe, munching on the veggie chips.
"If I heard something…" Chloe slowly turned to face her, nearly growling her response. "I would've told you."
"Just checking, geez." Beca raised her hands before leaning back in her chair.
"Do you seriously have to chew so fucking loud?" Chloe ripped the headphones off and turned to glare at Beca. Beca's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing.
"Who peed in your cheerios?" Beca grumbled. "Mmm...cheerios. I would've preferred those over this shit."
"We've been trapped in this fucking van for almost a whole day and you are acting so fidgety and annoying I can barely focus!"
"Sorry for being hungry. No need to be an uptight bitch." Beca rolled her eyes, snacking on another veggie chip.
"Call me a bitch again." Chloe's jaw hardened and her fists clenched, ready to sock Beca. Beca grinned, wondering of Chloe would actually do anything.
"...Biiitch." She drawled out before tossing another chip in her mouth and crunching it extra loud, daring Chloe to hit her.
"Ugh! I swear to God!" Chloe nearly leapt across the space between them before she heard chatter on the microphone. She quickly returned her attention to the screens. Beca swallowed and scooted forward, ready for some action finally. Chloe listened in for a few more seconds before grabbing her gun, taser, and knives.
"Show time." She slid the van door open and motioned Beca to get a move on.
They ran to the alley next to the warehouse and aimed their guns at a white van, watching to see what was happening. Three men dressed in all black handed a gold suitcase to a short man, who looked like he could've passed for a teenager, but had a full beard. He inspected it for a moment before handing over two duffle bags full of money.
"That's the unknown object." Chloe nodded at the briefcase. "It's either some insane new weapon or supercomputer. Whatever it is, we have to get it out of the hands of our enemies."
"Tase?" Beca reached her right hand for her taser, while keeping her gun in her left.
"Let's get the guys in the van first. We can catch the little guy." Chloe agreed. They quickly tased the men in the back of the van, making the short one take off in a sprint inside the warehouse. The driver quickly pulled away, the doors flapping open, but the men and money were secure inside.
Beca and Chloe sprinted across the indoor balcony of an old warehouse, chasing their target. Beca was half a step behind Chloe holding onto her gun. They saw him bolt around a corner holding tightly to the gold briefcase. As they turned the corner Beca gained the lead on Chloe. They might not admit it, but they had a little competition on who was faster. Beca came to a stop as she saw him jump out a window onto the roof. There was a string of old or abandoned buildings with flat rooftops that this guy seemed to be an expert and hopping across. Beca bent her knees in a motion signifying she was about to jump to try and catch him.
"Don't." Chloe grabbed her arm. "He's way too quick. You'll only hurt yourself again."
"Oh, ye of little faith." Beca swatted her away and made a move to jump again. This time Chloe slid in front of her.
"I don't want to hear you whining about another shoulder injury. Downstairs, now. He's going to run out of rooftop space soon enough."
"Ugh, whatever." Beca rolled her eyes, holstered her gun and turned to sprint back downstairs, hoping they'd still be able to see him on the roofs from the ground.
They got outside and saw their target jump from a fire escape, Beca pulled her gun out again as they started sprinting after him again. Suddenly a different gray van came screeching from around the corner. The door opened and the target threw the briefcase into the back. He jumped in and grabbed an automatic gun and pointed at Beca and Chloe.
"Shit!" Beca pivoted around, grabbing Chloe by the shoulders and dragging her into a nearby alley. Her palms rested on the brick wall and they both had their eyes closed until the sound of bullets stopped. They heard tires squealing as the van drove away. Beca opened her eyes and realized her face was inches from Chloe's. Chloe gulped as she stared into Beca's eyes, forcing herself not to glance down at her lips. Beca quickly stepped back before it became awkward.
"Well, shit." Beca mumbled, putting her hands on her hips, looking out where the van had been.
"Aubrey's not going to be happy." Chloe ran a hand through her hair.
They walked out of Aubrey's office after receiving a mild chew-out. After their not so perfect mission in the caribbean where they killed two people who could have provided valuable information, they let their current target escape with a briefcase that contained an unknown, but very valuable object. They also let the sellers who gave him the briefcase get away with millions of dollars. They were told to be on stand-by as analysts searched for information to regain knowledge of the briefcase's whereabouts as well as the man who had current possession of it.
"I feel like we're in a rut." Beca fell into her chair in frustration.
"Don't get too bummed about it. I mean, its not like we've completely screwed up any missions. We just haven't been 100% perfect." Chloe tried to encourage her. Beca put her hands behind her head and looked at Chloe who was leaning on her desk. She didn't want to think about the mission for now.
"I might suggest you two take the next day or so to relax and quit being so stressed. You both seem tense and need to be ready for when we find him. Hopefully it will be within a few days." Aubrey marched out of her office and quickly past Beca and Chloe. "I'd like you two to be on your A-game next time."
"Let's go to the mat room." Chloe huffed, closing down her computer.
"Why?" Beca folded her arms.
"Its good stress relief." Chloe said as if it were obvious. Beca just rolled her eyes, but followed the redhead anyway.
Once they were changed Beca and Chloe met on the mat to work on their ninja moves, as Beca liked to put it. Chloe stretched her arms casually. Beca bounced in place a little bit. They eyed each other up before nodded to start sparring.
Chloe approached and gave a weak punch at Beca's shoulder. Beca responded by quickly hitting her forearm with the side of her wrist. Chloe smirked on the inside when Beca had a cocky bounce to her step after deflecting her light punch. Beca came back with a kick to Chloe's hip, that Chloe had deceptively allowed, even though it stung. Beca then bounced back a few steps feeling even cockier, ready to win her first sparring match with her partners. She ducked from a slow Chloe punch and then went to quickly land one on Chloe's shoulder. Before she could make contact, Chloe reached with her opposite arm and snatched Beca's wrist, making her let out a small yelp. In Beca's weakened state, Chloe quickly swiped her legs out from under her and quickly pinned the brunette on her back.
"So this is why you wanted to come to the mat room." Beca squinted up at Chloe.
"You need to stop being so cocky." Chloe looked down and gently slapped Beca on the side of the head. A strand of hair fell out of her hair tie and brushed against Beca's face. Beca just sat still looking between Chloe's eyes, not too eager to get up from her position. Chloe sensed Beca's comfort lying below her and quickly stood up.
"How bout we try something else for stress relief." Beca groaned as she got back to her feet.
"Well what would you suggest?"
"I enjoy a good bike ride around a track. Alcohol. Mixing music. More alcohol." Beca looked up, searching for ideas that she would normally do to relieve stress.
"Not exactly two-person activities." Chloe walked to her locker. Beca smirked behind her thinking about a two person activity that was always a good stress reliever, but decided against making the comment to avoid making Chloe mad.
"Two people can drink together." Beca shrugged, leaning against the lockers.
"We always do that." Chloe tilted her head like Beca was a child.
"Yeah, yeah." Beca rolled her eyes. "I could give you a ride on my bike. You'd have more fun than you'd think."
"I'd also probably end up getting scooped up like a pancake off the road." Chloe shut her locker as hard as she shut down Beca's idea.
"Come with me to the track. Watch me take a few laps and maybe see if you want a go." Beca prodded, hoping Chloe would agree even if she just got to race in front of Chloe, it would be fun. She could probably even impress the redhead.
"How bout dancing?" Chloe countered, thinking it had been awhile since she'd been dancing and remembered always loving it. Beca pondered. She was a good dancer, as she's already proven to Chloe. And it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to get to get a little physical with Chloe, especially if it was her idea. However, she spotted a rare moment where she could manipulate the redhead without her knowing.
"Ugh...I hate dancing." Beca whined.
"Oh, please you're good at it, I've seen you."
"Being good at and enjoying dancing are two very different things." Beca shot back, not a total lie.
"Please. It gives us some exercise without actually causing physical harm to each other...ideally." Chloe flashed her cheeky grin that Beca had grown to love.
"But dancing is so...I don't know." Beca started shifting acting like she felt awkward.
"Personal?" Chloe cocked an eyebrow, trying to get a read on her partner.
"What if we made a deal? You come to the track for thirty minutes. You don't even have to ride. Then we get one drink at Harvey's so I can say hi to Stacie. And then we can dance as much as you want." Beca knew this was a win-win for her, and a lose-win for Chloe, but she was masterful at making Chloe think this was a complete compromise. Chloe thought for a moment, not always willing to take the win-lose option, but she really wanted to go dancing. So she agreed, much to the delight of Beca.
Beca rode up to the racetrack where the city held small races of either motorcycles or cars. She parked in a VIP area and motioned Chloe in behind her. The manager at the track was an old friend, so he let Beca have some time alone on the track with a friend. He also figured, knowing Beca, this would be one of her ways to seduce someone, and he couldn't help but be proud.
"Thanks, Nick. We won't be long, I'm just going to go down the tunnel and get ready. Can you show Chloe here where to sit?" Beca nodded her head at Chloe as she walked up behind them from her car.
"Sure thing, boss." Nick winked. "Don't forget to wear that helmet."
"Always." Beca gave a little salute as she let her bike engine quietly purr as she maneuvered down the tunnel to get to the track.
Beca straddled her bike, Stella at the starting line and saw Chloe give her a small wave from where Nick had showed her where to sit. She couldn't see her eyes, since she was still wearing her large sunglasses as the sun was beginning to set.
Chloe was glad they were a good distance away from each other, because the blush that creeped up on her cheeks, watching Beca wearing that leather racing uniform would have been embarrassing for Beca to catch. She shifted in her seat to get as comfortable as possible as Beca revved her engine.
Beca shot her a cocky wave, and Chloe was sure a cocky smirk underneath that helmet, before she took off down the circular track. Beca slowly leaned to her left as she went around the first corner, she was still going at a slow pace for herself. The engine revved again as she started down the straightaway and started gaining speed.
Chloe was surprised at her own reaction to watching Beca speed around the track. There was a mixture of being impressed and slightly aroused. It was actually mildly annoying to her, being turned on by Beca riding that damn bike in that leather. She could never let Beca figure that out. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she watched Beca glide effortlessly around the corners, her knee nearly scraping the asphalt as her bike was nearly parallel.
After a few laps, Beca pulled the handlebars back and did a wheelie before making a harsh circle and coming to a quick halt in front of Chloe. She hopped to her feet, pulled her helmet off and raised her arms asking Chloe what she thought.
"Not bad." Chloe shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh, come on, that was pretty cool you have to admit." Beca walked over and climbed up part of the fence to get a little closer to Chloe. "Come have a ride." Her tone was sincere, almost a soft plea for Chloe to join her. Chloe couldn't deny that she was tempted, but she wasn't about to let Beca know that.
"I believe I was promised dancing?" Chloe stood. Beca quickly gripped the fence a little harder.
"Come on! One lap. I'll go slow. And you just have to tap me if I need to slow down or stop. Just try. Please?" Beca's obnoxious confidence had dissipated and she had these soft eyes looking at Chloe, pleading just to take a ride on her bike in a pretty safe environment. And Chloe wanted to.
"Let's make a deal." Chloe took a few steps down to face her better. "I'll take a ride, but you have to do all the paperwork for the next two weeks." Chloe was good at getting her own win-win situation too.
"One week." Beca cocked an eyebrow.
"Deal." Chloe nodded, only planning to get one week anyway.
Once Chloe had found a jacket and pants that fit from Nick she followed Beca down to the track. She felt like a badass in leather and enjoyed the feeling. She, however, was not as excited about wearing the helmet. It was going to be a disaster on her hair and they were supposed to go dancing after this.
"Ready, Beale?" Beca threw one leg over Stella while slapping her helmet's visor down. Chloe swallowed hard, realizing that she was actually about to get on a death mobile. She cautiously put the helmet on and stood beside Stella.
Its not you, its me. Chloe thought in her head, talking to Stella. I'm sure you're a nice girl, I'm just a little scared. And I hate that your owner named you a girl. If you were a Bruno or Jack or something it'd be easier to turn you down.
"What are you doing, weirdo?" Beca turned to look at Chloe just staring at her bike.
"Nothing." Chloe shook her head and put a hand on Beca's shoulder so she could get on behind her. Beca immediately tensed at the touch, realizing that the hot redhead who was forced to be her partner would actually be straddling her voluntarily. A flurry of dirty thoughts entered her head and she took a deep breath, willing them out of her mind.
Chloe let her leg drape around to the other side of the bike and found herself mere inches away from Beca's back. She swallowed hard, knowing that now she'd have to wrap her hands around the little brunette. She hadn't exactly thought this all the way through when she agreed. Or maybe she had.
She slid her hands around Beca's waist, noticing a slight flinch from the brunette. She linked her own hands together and took a deep breath. Beca kicked down, and twisted a handle, making Stella purr to life. Chloe's heart rate jumped and she gripped a little firmer to Beca. Before she knew it, they were off.
Beca went pretty slow around the first lap, she almost fell like it was slow motion. But Chloe was holding on to dear life feeling like they were speeding around the circle. As the came to the second lap, Beca picked up speed just a little, waiting for a tap from Chloe that didn't come. She made a sharper turn, smirking when Chloe's grip tightened even more, almost making it difficult to breathe, but Beca wasn't complaining.
As they cruised across the finish line a second time Beca felt a tap and quickly came to a stop.
"Too fast?" Beca tilted her head to the side.
"No." Chloe shrugged. "Let's do two more laps. Really fast?"
"Oh... yeah?" Beca revved the engine. "You sure?"
"Yeah, just don't kill me." Chloe nudged Beca in the shoulder as they took off one more time. Beca sped down the straightaway, slowing only slightly for the curve. She then brought Stella back up to speed and kicked it up a notch, loving the hum of the engine echoing in her ears.
Trust was a hard thing for Chloe to develop. She trusted no one but herself, and even then she was sometimes wrong. She had trusted Agent Price and he was gone. She trusted Aubrey to a certain extent, but all through her adulthood, distrust seemed to be the foundation for all her relationships. But here she was, gripping on to Beca Mitchell as they sped around a racetrack on a vehicle Chloe swore she'd never even consider being on. This was trust. And trusting Beca this much might was scarier than speeding around a track on a death mobile.
They finally cruised to a stop, both feeling exhilarated. Beca let Chloe slide off first before following her. They removed their helmets and Beca looked her partner up and down.
"You look good in leather." She winked. Chloe just rolled her eyes, refusing to dignify the obvious attempt at banter with a response. Beca walked Stella to one of the back rooms with Chloe in happy silence.
"I'm going to change. Then we're going dancing." Chloe wiggled her shoulders happily.
"Ugh...I was hoping you'd forget." Beca rolled her head back, keeping up the appearance she didn't actually want to go dancing.
"I held up my end." Chloe stuck her tongue out before ducking into the area where she had left her clothes. Beca just swallowed, surprised by how wound up she was from giving Chloe a ride around the track. She knew she'd enjoy it, but she didn't know she would feel a peace she hadn't felt for a long time from driving in circles with Chloe's arms wrapped around her.
They stopped by Harvey's, as Beca requested, to grab one quick drink and say hi to Stacie. Beca held the door open for the redhead, who was dressed in a black button up blouse, that displayed her cleavage in a way Beca approved. A simple red leather jacket and a black skirt ending slightly midway down her thighs completed the outfit, and Beca took a moment to take it all in as Chloe stepped inside. Beca was wearing her favorite purple v-neck and black blazer along with her favorite pair of black skinny jeans. She wasn't exactly one for dressing up, but this was her best casual-nice outfit. She even touched up her makeup while Chloe got changed at the track to look her best for her dancing date-non-date.
"Becs! Its been awhile, how's it going?" Stacie waved from the bar as she passed a man his drink.
"Good, good." Beca waved for Chloe to take a seat while she took one beside it.
"You two are looking nice this evening." Stacie flashed Beca a wink and received a glare in return.
"Thanks." Chloe blushed. "Could I get two tequila shots and an amaretto sour?" She remembered Beca's typical drink of choice here.
"I thought we weren't drinking much?" Beca turned her head.
"Its one drink, not a whole ass pitcher." Chloe rolled her eyes. Stacie grinned at the two as she prepared the order.
"So what terrible club will you be taking me to tonight for dancing?" Beca rested an elbow on the counter, curious about what type of dancing they'd be doing. She'd be shocked if it was country, but she'd be a little nervous if it was the in-your-face, grind on your partner type too.
"Guess you'll have to find out." Chloe shrugged as she took the tequila shots from Stacie and handed one to Beca. They did a small cheers before downing the shots, feeling the rush of warmth.
"Didn't peg you for a tequila girl." Beca took a long sip of her drink.
"Why's that?"
"Usually tequila girls are more wild. You know…" Beca waved her hands in the air akways. "Woo tequila!" She mocked shouting like a sorority girl. "And you just seem more like a rule follower."
"I'm offended." Chloe couldn't help but grin while she gave Beca a playful slap on the arm. "And what exactly would a rule-following girl drink." Chloe slid her elbow along the countertop, resting her cheek in her hand, inching closer to Beca.
"Well…" Beca pretended to think as she leaned closer too. "Probably a lemon drop shot. Or a long island iced tea. You know...safe, predictable."
"So I'm safe and predictable now?" Chloe cocked an eyebrow. "I did take a ride on a motorcycle today, I'll have you know."
"Yeah, straddling the hot rider. I'll be impressed if you ride one on your own."
"Hot rider? You sure like to flatter yourself." Chloe shook her head lightly as she smiled at Beca. They sat still for a moment just looking at each other, grinning stupidly, when Stacie returned.
"Umm…" She cleared her throat, sending the two women jumping away from each other. "Sorry to interrupt, just wanted to see if you two needed anything else?"
"Oh, no, I'm good." Chloe waved her hand awkwardly. "You can stay and catch up with Stacie, I can text you the address of the club?" Chloe set some money on the counter and stood up.
"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll head out in a few." Beca nodded quickly.
"Good. Okay, I'll um...see you in a bit. Bye, Stacie!" Chloe held up her hand as she quickly ducked out of the door to get to her car.
"Well, that was weird." Stacie smirked at the door and then at Beca.
"Huh?" Beca whipped her head from looking at the door to Stacie.
"You two were totally making sex eyes at each other." Stacie leaned her forearms on the counter and shook her shoulders.
"We were not!" Beca guzzled down the rest of her drink. "Fill her up, please. Make it a double, Chloe doesn't know how to order."
"She remembered your drink at least." Stacie shrugged as she poured another for Beca. "So you're going dancing, huh?"
"Yeah. Our boss told us we needed to chill out basically and we're too stressed at work. So she wanted to go dancing." Beca acted like it was no big deal.
"So she asked you out." Stacie leaned back on the counter, trying to spell it out for Beca.
"No she didn't." Beca rolled her eyes.
"You are such an idiot you know that." Stacie shook her head.
After chatting with Stacie for about half an hour, Beca realized she should probably get going. She didn't want to stand Chloe up. And she really didn't want to have to deal with the wrath from Chloe that would follow if she thought she was being stood up. Not that it was date. She told herself.
She checked the address on her phone and was glad the location Chloe sent her was pretty close. She hopped on her bike and sped down the street. She was one of those obnoxious motorcyclists, weaving in and out of traffic, nearly causing an accident. But she was anxious to get to the club. She really wanted to dance with her partner.
She pulled up and found a not-so-legal parking spot and jogged to the door. She held up her ID and started to walk in when the bouncer grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Hold up, little lady." The bald mammoth of a man with a soul patch studied her ID and looked at her face. Beca just glared right back. She was in her mid-twenties and people still mistook her for a teenager. It was so aggravating. And the little lady comment didn't help. She was thinking of all the ways she could take him down when he finally handed it back and let her inside.
She slipped through the door and looked around for the redhead and saw her swaying her upper body to the music while nursing a small drink at the bar. Beca took a moment to smile at how relaxed Chloe seemed. She was usually so tense and by the book, she was looking forward to seeing her partner let her hair down. She took a deep breath before approaching Chloe and then gently tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, partner." Beca winked.
"Hey!" Chloe actually sounded excited. Beca wondered how much she actually drank. She also couldn't help but wonder what a little liquid courage could do to the slightly uptight redhead. Chloe quickly finished off her drink and grabbed Beca by the wrist, pulling her to the dance floor.
Beca was caught off guard, but quickly caught up. She glanced around to take in her surroundings. The music wasn't terrible. They were good songs with a heavy base and and too much techno/remix added. But she could tolerate it. She thought she could probably do better though. Chloe was dancing and seemed like a totally different person. She seemed free and happy. She lacked inhibitions, and not just because of a little alcohol. This is what Chloe would've enjoyed in another life. She would've loved going to clubs and dancing the night away just enjoying being young. But she had to be an agent. And Beca couldn't help but feel a twinge of remorse for the girl. Beca, herself, had never felt like she had ever missed out on anything until she saw Chloe dancing in that club. Maybe there should've been more for her too. More than the military. More than the Agency. Maybe making better music than what was being blasted through the speakers. She wondered briefly, what they both would've been if they had been "normal."
"Beca?" Chloe asked as she kept dancing, holding on to Beca's wrist. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just not…" Beca looked at Chloe who just stared back. "I'm not a great dancer."
"Such a liar." Chloe scoffed. "I've seen you dance remember?"
Beca grumbled under her breath as she started dancing along to the club remix of Camila Cabello's "Havana." Chloe smirked as Beca danced awkwardly, knowing she could do better. So So she wrapped on arm around Beca as she swayed her hips and swung her hair back and forth. Beca couldn't help but smile so she let her body relax and started dancing with her. The song changed to "Love Me Harder" by Ariana Grande and the two agents started dancing freely. Beca put her hands around Chloe's waist as she started dancing closer. She realized she was acting how she would act with other women she would go on dates with. Chloe just grinned and stepped into Beca, their bodies now flush together.
Who are you and what have you done with my partner? Beca thought to herself.
After a few more songs, the song changed to "Titanium" by David Guetta. Chloe's eyes grew wide as well as her grin as she wrapped her other arm around Beca. Surprised herself, by her own moves, she was wondering if she shouldn't have had those extra drinks while waiting for Beca.
"Wanna know a secret?" Chloe whispered in Beca's ears. Beca inhaled sharply, trying to ignore what Chloe's breath on her skin was doing to her.
"What? You're secretly a double agent and you've lured me here to dull my senses into a false sense of calm and kill me?" Beca let her thumbs move up and down on the small of Chloe's back.
"Yeah." Chloe nodded. "You caught me."
"Well, damn. And here I was thinking we were actually bonding."
"We are bonding, dummy." Chloe couldn't bite back her smile anymore. "No...what I was going to say is that this song…" She tilted her chin, and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, continuing to hold her arms around Beca's shoulders. "It's my lady jam." She whispered.
"Dude! What?" Beca took a half step back, not knowing whether to burst out laughing or burst through the doors running away. "You're not about to...you know?" Beca glanced down with a horrified look.
"God, no!" Chloe giggled uncontrollably and bent her head down, keeping her hands firmly on Beca's shoulders. "No, my lady jam needs to be a slower more acoustic version. But I still love this song."
"Lady jamming sounds like a way to relieve stress." Beca pondered out loud.
"Oh yeah." Chloe nodded in agreement.
"I prefer regular jamming though." Beca shrugged as she held onto Chloe when they moved to the music. Chloe shot her a slightly confused glance so Beca continued. "Jamming. To Music. I like to make mixes remember?"
"Oh right." Chloe shook her head like she was frustrated with herself for not remembering. Beca just nodded again and they danced close during the rest of Titanium. Beca felt a rush with Chloe's hands being on the back of her neck. It made her feel like all the little hairs were standing up. So she wasn't about to end their dance prematurely.
"Do you want to go do that instead?" Chloe cocked her head to the side as their dancing slowed.
"Do what?"
"Show me how you make mixes." Chloe suggested. Partly because she was getting tired and sweaty in this club, and partly because she was genuinely interested.
"Okay." Beca said without thought. She'd never shared her little hobby with anyone before. She was a little shocked she agreed so easily. But she felt like she needed to get out of this club with Chloe's hands on her or else she might do something she'd regret.
A little while later Chloe met Beca at her apartment and Beca led her upstairs to her mixing room/bedroom. Beca scooted her chair out of the way and turned on her monitors and board. She unplugged the headphones so they could both hear.
"So on this screen." Beca pointed back and forth between two bars of music. "I mix bass and melodies. Sometimes I put vocals of one song over another's melody; sometimes I mix the two songs together in a mashup. There's lots you can do." Beca started getting more and more excited and Chloe couldn't help but be amused and intrigued by Beca's passion about music.
She started zoning out as Beca continued talking about all the details of her programs. Chloe was more interested in watching Beca's eyes and hands as she got excited about talking about something.
"So...Beale?" Beca smirked. "Your eyes look kinda glazed. Sorry if I was boring you, I just get over-excited sometimes."
"No, not at all. Its just interesting to watch you be so...passionate about something."
"Oh, yeah, I mean. Its just cool. Something to take my mind off stuff." Beca started mumbling nervously and fidgeting.
"Wow, is the ultra cocky Beca Mitchell actually getting shy?" Chloe felt her body moving closer to the brunette.
"Shut up." Beca quickly lifted her headphones to place over Chloe's ears. "Listen. Tell me what you think?"
Chloe watched Beca for a moment as they stood close together, before she heard the music come on. She couldn't call herself a music buff or anything, but what she was hearing sounded really good. Stuff she'd probably want to listen to in the car, bath, making dinner, just about anywhere. It was really good. She was bobbing her head and tapping her foot and she caught sight of Beca wearing a wide grin, watching her enjoy the mix.
"That's pretty impressive, not gonna lie." Chloe slid the headphones off and handed them back to Beca. Beca set the headphones back down while maintaining eye contact.
"You know, there's one other...activity I like to do to relieve stress." She looked down at the ground and then back up to Chloe.
"Oh? And that is?" Chloe raised an eyebrow innocently as she stepped a little closer.
"Well...it involves two people. And it can be fairly exhausting."
"Well you're always boasting about what peak physical condition you're in." Chloe rolled her eyes then noticing they were just inches away.
"Oh, I am." Beca smirked, glancing down at Chloe's lips. There had been multiple opportunities that Beca had thought of kissing her redheaded partner. The day she met Chloe, she had wanted to plant one on her. And there wasn't a day that went by since their "fake honeymoon" that she didn't think of that kiss by the pool. Which, she was quite certain, Chloe kissed her back with as much fervor. And now, after spending the whole day together on what felt like one big date, they stood here face to face. The whole idea behind the day was getting stress relief, as directed by Aubrey Posen. And there really was only one thing Beca could think of that would really relieve her stress. And she was looking right back at her.
Chloe just kept her baby blue eyes fixed on the steely blue ones looking back at her. They had had more than a few intense moments in their relationship. Mostly due to the nature of their profession. She had felt an attraction growing for Beca for awhile and was having a harder time resisting it. She couldn't help but wonder at this point, why was she resisting it so hard? Beca made plenty of comments about how she might be interested in Chloe, but she couldn't be sure if that was sincere or just Beca being her cocky self that she is with anyone. She had wanted Beca to make the first move if it was something she wanted, but standing her in front of her, she couldn't help but think maybe she just needed to take that step and be the risk taker.
Beca took a deep breath, clenching her teeth. She was seconds away from closing the small gap between the two. Chloe's eyes frantically looked back and forth between Beca's as she finally decided to resolve this tension. She closed her eyes and was just about to lunge forward when a loud ringtone jolted them both back a step. Beca shook her head like she was clearing the cobwebs out as she fumbled through her pockets to find her phone that was ringing. She looked up at Chloe, who looked quite frazzled. She knew she had to answer it. It could be the Agency with details on their target. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she prepared to answer it. Chloe looking just as frustrated.
Fucking phone….Beca grimaced to herself.
A/N: I've got a Beca-style cocky smirk on my face with my tease game at the moment. Don't worry! It'll happen soon ;)