"You keep whining about how I only text you to ask if you could buy me liquor," Beca was saying as Jesse let her into his apartment. "And to prove to you that I'm not using you for alcohol I brought this." She pulled a bag full of weed from her messenger bag. "Are you ready to get fucked up?" she asked, smirking at the look of pure surprise on his face.

"Where did you get this?" he asked and took the plastic bag from her.

"I have my ways." She shrugged and removed her messenger bag before she took off her jacket.

"So, how have you been?" he asked. He hadn't heard from her in a while which was classic Beca Mitchell. She was the kind of person that didn't like human interaction that much. And, he figured that she'd be busy with school since the last time he heard from her was around the time midterm exams started it. "How was winter break?" he wondered when her answer was a shrug.

"Cold," she curtly said. "How have you been?" she asked.

"The usual; full of excitement and joy," he deadpanned.

"What happened? Did you walk by a park and ended up reminiscing?"

"A bakery actually," he told her.

"Jesus, man," she sighed.

"I know." He nodded. "I'm making Chicken Scarpariello for dinner, should be ready in ten minutes. Are you hungry?" he was walking towards the kitchen as he talked.

"I could eat," she said as she followed him.

"I haven't cooked for a while so it might not taste that good," he gave her a heads up.

"Fine by me," she shrugged. He reached and grabbed a pack of rolling paper from a shelf where he kept spices then handed it to her along with a lighter.

"That's five points," Jesse said as he scribbled on the piece of paper on which they were keeping track of their scores once Beca placed the word SANTA, using her tiles, as they played Scrabble after dinner.

"Did he leave you presents under the Christmas tree after wiggling down your chimney and eating your cookies?" he asked while scratching his chin and he eyeing his tiles and taking a drag from their nth joint for the evening.

"No, but Grandma gave my vibrator for Christmas saying that it's the kind of toys I should be playing with," Beca casually mentioned and burst into laughter when Jesse got into a coughing fit.

"Your grandmother is one cool lady," he said as he cleared his throat.

"She's pretty awesome," Beca agreed. "Christmas at nana's always great and it actually snows back home."

"Where are you from, again?" he asked.

"Water Wonderland and Water-Winter Wonderland; The Wolverine State," she said imitating old-time announcers. "Birthplace of Diana Ross, Eminem, that serial killer who a Hollywood movie was made about… among other famous people that I can't think of right now: The state of Michigan! Aka, the greatest state in the country."

"Where exactly in Michigan? Do the hand map thing?" he requested, amused with of how proud she was of where she was from.

The hand map thing was a thing people from Michigan used to refer to places around the state because you can make an accurate map of the entire state just by using your hands.

"Port Huron." She held her left hand up and pointed at the joint of her thumb. "Where are you from?" she asked, taking the joint from him.

He laughed. "I don't think you'd want to stay friends with me after I tell you."

"No," she faked a gasp.

"Yes," he nodded while grinning at her like the idiot he was. "But my family moved to Florida when I was around seven."

"Fucking Ohio," she said in disgust. "I can't believe I'm friends with someone from that shithole… I can't believe I lost my freaking virginity to someone from that shithole."

"Hey, stop insulting my birthplace!" He threw a tile at her.

"Oh, I feel so dirty." She shivered.

"Could you stop already?" he was laughing as he spoke. "You're not really going to stop talking to me just because I'm from Ohio… who's gonna buy you liquor?" He caught the tile when she threw it back at him.

"Good point... Still, Ohio sucks," she told him before she took a drag from the joint.

He sighed, deciding not to argue with her over a stupid old rivalry between the two state caused by a football game.

She blew a puff of smoke in the air and watched him place the tiles on the board forming QOPH. "That can't be a real word," she argued.

"It is," he assured and wasn't surprised when she grabbed her phone to look it up and found that by definition Qoph is the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. He grinned when she tossed her phone the coffee table. "I don't think it's fair to use words from other languages."

"If it's in the dictionary it's legit." He shrugged. "What's the movie called?" he wondered. She frowned. "You said birthplace of Diana Ross, Eminem, and a serial killer who got a movie made about them," he reminded.

"I don't remember the title," she shrugged, forming BY on the board. "There's a scene where the serial killer gives this chubby dude a very aggressive hand job."

"Oh, I got it." He snapped his fingers. "Released in theaters in two thousand and four, Murder: written and directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Charlize Theron in the lead role," he said.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Beca responded.

"Theron got a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for her performance," he informed.

"Good for her."

"One of my favorite directors is also from Michigan," he told her while placing the tiles that formed the word JOB. "John Hughes." He grabbed the piece of paper to update their scores.

"Never heard of him." She felt his eyes on her as she pulled tiles from the bag.

"He made some of the most successful comedies during the eighties and early nineties."

"Well, I was born in the nineties."

"I was two when The Breakfast Club, my all-time favorite movie, came out," he said in response. "I didn't see it until I was like fourteen."

"Never heard of it either…Not big on movies in general." She formed the word DEADEND. "I used all of the tiles, I get bonus points, right?" She looked up. "Is there a ghost dancing next to me?" Beca arched an eyebrow at the horrified look on his face.

"What do you mean you're not big on movies?" he questioned.

"I get bored and never make it to the end," she casually said.

"You just haven't seen a true masterpiece that got you hooked," he shrugged. "Lucky for you, I'm here to give you a movie education." He paused. "I'm gonna give you a movie-cation." He then got up from where they were sitting on the floor in his living area.

"Hey, what about the game?" she asked.

"The bonus is fifty points, you win," he declared.

"That's not how it works, the game ends when there are no tiles left in the bag," she told him only to get ignored.

He came back moments later with a DVD case in his hand. He walked straight to the TV and put the DVD in the player then walked over to the couch and hopped on it. He patted the couch after grabbing the remote control.

"I won't make you sit through the whole thing. I just wanna show you the ending then I can die a hero."

His overdramatic tone was funny in her opinion but she didn't show it because even high she could keep a scowl.

"Humor me?" he had a hopeful look in his eyes as he looked into her not so pleased ones.

She sighed and she put the joint out. "All right."

He was all smiles as she sat next to him.

Jesse skipped forward to the ending and hit play, and instead of watching the ending of the movie, Beca watched Jesse because frankly, he was far more entertaining with the way he mouthed the lines.

"You're missing the ending," he noted, tearing his eyes away from the screen for a second.

"Sorry," she apologized and didn't mean it. She looked back at him when he clenched his fist the same time the dude on the screen, who a hobo had better fashion than him, threw his fist in the air.

He felt her gaze and tilted his head once the credit started to roll.

He found her staring and gravitated towards her face, closing his eyes when his lips met hers. He leaned in, even more, when he felt her cup his cheek and rub her thumb against his cheekbone.

He could blame the weed he had been smoking but pot usually just relaxed him, it didn't influence his actions. He just felt like kissing her and went for it, as simple as that.

"Um, the ending is great," she awkwardly said after she pulled away. "I'm sure the beginning is just as great." She rubbed her nose, thinking. "I should leave," she figured.

He checked the time on his watch to see that it was 10:40 pm. "Oh, wow, It's getting late," he realized.

"Yeah." She scratched her head and looked back at him. "Can I keep what's left of the pot with you?" she wondered. "I can't exactly have illegal drugs in my dorm room…" she trailed off, eyeing him.

"Yeah, sure," he nodded and leaned in when she did.

He had no idea what was going on but kissing her felt right. She had to be feeling the same way based on the soft sounds she was making as they kissed.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he mumbled, slipping his hand under her sweater and rubbing his hand against her waist as he hovered on top of her.

"Because I'm too young for you?" she mumbled back.

"No." He broke the kiss and sat up. "Because we're friends. And friends don't hook up." He rubbed his eyes.

"Actually, some friends do." She pushed herself up then sat Indian style. "I don't see why we shouldn't."

He tilted his head to look at her and had a questioning look on his face. "Didn't we agree that we don't see each other that way?"

"No, we agreed that we don't wanna date each other," she corrected.

"Wait, are you saying that you want us to have casual sex?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded.

"Why?" he asked next.

She hummed then said, "Let's see… I've given hooking up with someone close to my age a try and it was pretty awkward and embarrassing." She cringed a little. "I don't want to sleep around with every willing guy I meet until I, like, figure it out and get better at it nor do I plan to get involved with anyone romantically for reasons I don't wanna get into." She paused. "I enjoyed sex with you and you're really nice to me. You're experienced, I can learn a lot from you."

"From what I understand, you don't want it to be a one-time kind of thing," he said.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"This kind of relationship is tricky and you're too young to be doing it."

She rolled her eyes then got up. "You know what? Forget about it."

"Don't do that." He watched her bend to grab her combat boots. "Don't just end a conversation you started: It's annoying." She was taking a seat on the floor to wear her shoes as he spoke.

"Here's why it's tricky especially for someone who lacks experience, regardless of age." He paused to gather his thoughts for a few seconds.

"You will most likely get attached without even realizing it because sex does that to a person." He watched her stand up after she wore her shoes. "You start to wonder if it really means something. And you get yourself hurt as a result," he explained as she grabbed her jacket to wear.

"Do you really want to your first heartbreak to be because of a friends-with-benefits relationship and not an actual relationship?" he asked when he met her gaze.

"We'll stop before it starts to get to me," she figured. "We won't let it get that far."

He let out a breath while rubbing his face not sure how to respond.

"It's fine if you don't want to do it," she mumbled, grabbing her messenger bag.

"It's not that I don't want to do it, it's more like I don't want you to hurt." He sucked in a breath and exhaled. "But if you really want to have a fuck buddy you will find someone instead of me, so saying no to you for that reason wouldn't 'protect you'."

"Does this mean you're in?" she asked in anticipation when went quiet.

"I've never been in this kind of relationship before," he let her know. "I might not be the best guy for you." Beca sighed and sat down on the edge of the coffee table, facing him.

"I think you need this," she confidently said. "You've had a bad breakup and need some casual sex before you start dating again." She shrugged. "It's a win-win."

Pro: it's just sex between two consenting adults who happen to like each other physically and aren't looking for anything serious.

Con: it could ruin our friendship.

Pro: I can be her sexual Yoda.

Con: Romantic feelings can be developed.

He sighed because the biggest con was the possibility of developing feelings but that could be avoided if they communicated openly.

He'd be lying if he said that he didn't want to do it. He wanted some change. He actually needed change. Having been in a relationship for so long kept him from exploring the glories of single life that everyone raved about.

"Okay, fine, I'm in," he decided.

"Really?" she said in surprise.

"Gotta set ground rules so we don't mix actual relationship stuff with what we're going to do." He grabbed the piece of paper and pen they were using to keep track of their score during the scrabble game.

"So, we just avoid relationship stuff, whatever they are," she quipped watching him lean against the couch while he drummed the pen against the paper.

"Don't keep yourself from seeing other people." She nodded at his words and watched him write it down on the paper. "And when we have other sexual partners we make sure it's always safe," he added. "I haven't been very active so I'm pretty sure I don't have any STDs but I'll get tested as soon as possible just to be safe. We were safe, so even if I do have anything there's no chance I passed it to you."

"Well, I'd never let a stranger put his wiener inside me unless it's wrapped in a condom. And, I've started taking birth control in November," she informed. "So, lesser chances of getting the ultimate STD if by any chance the condom doesn't do its job, I guess?"

"I'm a little disturbed that you're referring to babies when you say ultimate STD," he shared with her.

"For me, they are." She shrugged in response.

"Moving on," he said deciding not to get into it. "In the brief time I've known you I can tell that you don't particularly like to talk about anything too personal."

"You talk enough for both of us," she deadpanned.

"Yeah, you need to not let me do that," he told her. "Communication. Open communication. To minimize the chances of growing attached."

"Like talk about our feelings and shit like that?" she grimaced.

"Yeah, talk your heart out," he nodded. "I'm a great listener when I'm not talking. You will hear too much as well so rest assured that I wouldn't dare tell anyone about what you say to me." He watched her sigh and said, "Do you think you can do that? Do you think you can confide in me?"

"Yeah," she said instantly. "I want this to work, I'll do what it takes." She watched him write on the paper then took it from him when he held it her way.

-No commitment.

-We don't do things couples do.

-Open communication.

"Seems good to me," she said after going through the short list. "I mean you could have just said these things instead of writing them down," she mumbled looking up.

"Felt right to write them down." He shrugged. "Should we shake hands to seal the deal?" he asked as he tossed the pen he used on the coffee table.

"I think getting right into it is how you seal this sort of deals," she opinioned and stuffed the paper in her jacket's pocket.

"Makes more sense," he nodded in agreement.

"Then let's get into it, shall we?" she asked while putting her messenger bag on the floor.

"There's that bossy attitude." He grinned lazily at her when she climbed on his lap.

"Medicinal Marijuana is legal in Michigan," Jesse said as he hopped on the couch after getting rid of the condom. "You got the pot from Michigan," he figured and shook his head when she held the joint she was smoking towards him.

"Grandma has a weed card," she informed, taking a drag then placing the joint in the ashtray to pull her sweater over her head. "And she was a grade A hippie back in the seventies. She lets me smoke pot because believes it helps you deal with stress and anxiety." She picked the joint and brought it to her lips.

"How did you manage to fly with weed safely?" he wondered as he grabbed the remote control and began flipping through channels.

"I just put the bag in a shampoo bottle," she blew the smoke then stretched.

"Beca, you could have gotten in serious trouble." He tilted his head to look at her.

"I've done this before."

"How many times?" He arched an eyebrow.

"I have snuck weed in my suitcase for two years now, whenever I'd visit Dad," she told him.

"You got more balls than most men do," he said in admiration. "But you shouldn't do that anymore. You're in college now, they will start checking your luggage for drugs at airports especially when you're traveling from a state where weed is legal," he reasoned with her. "I'll hook you up, okay?"

"Thanks," she thanked him, smiling at him.

"Yeah, sure." He leaned in and placed a peck on the crown of her head.

"So, did she work at the bakery?" she asked after she finished tying her shoelaces

"No," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"You're not gonna make me guess until I get right, are you?" she asked.

"The bakery made cupcakes that she could eat despite nausea. I used to go there every morning and buy them for her," he told her as he fixated on the TV screen.

"Nausea?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Morning sickness is the term but I don't like it because the nausea wasn't just in the morning... it's not accurate." He shrugged.

"Wait, do you have a kid together?" she questioned.

He shook his head. "But I did knock her up senior year in college."

"I'm sorry," she apologetically said.

"It's okay." He shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be." He paused, tilting his head to look at her. "Sometimes, I think it was for the best that we lost the baby. We weren't ready to be parents. Hell, I don't think I'm ready to be a parent and I'm at an age everyone expects me to want to be one."

"Well, screw social norms, man. No, one should do something just because everyone expects them to do it."

"Like getting a college degree?" he said knowingly.

"Not that I actually care, but it's socially acceptable to not go to college just not in my father's books," she deadpanned.

"Well, I see where he's coming from." He shrugged. "He's a college professor. Makes sense that he'd want you to have a college education."

"I know," she sighed.

"Hold on." He frowned. "Why did you get dressed? Are you leaving?" he asked, realizing she was fully clothed unlike him who was sporting a pair of boxer shorts only.

"Yeah," she nodded and pulled one final drag from the joint she had been smoking before she put it out.

"It's late, spend the night over." He sat up when she stood up.

She shook her head while exhaling the smoke and wearing her messenger bag. "I really can't stay."

"But…Baby, it's cold outside," he sang then grinned when she rolled her eyes.

"Do you see a bib around my neck?" she asked as he stood up.

"You're supposed to say 'I've got to go away.' Then I would sing 'Baby, it's cold outside'," he sang. "Then you'd go 'This evening has been' and I cut you off singing 'Been hoping that you'd drop in'." He expectantly looked at her waiting for her to sing with him.

"I don't know the words," she told him with a shrug.

"It's okay, I can sing both parts." He proceeded to take her hands in his as he continued to sing both parts and gave her a pretty decent performance where he showed off his dorky dance moves and danced with her—it wasn't much dancing as it was twirling her around.

When he finished, he was down on his knees with his arms opened wide open because Jesse Swanson got carried away.

"Are you done?" she asked while holding back a smile.

He took a moment to think then nodded and stood up.

"This was really entertaining, but I'm still gonna leave." She patted his cheek.

"Damn it!" he grumbled in mock annoyance. "All right, then wait until I put some clothes on and drop you off to campus."