Ashley nudged Jessica as she motioned towards Stacie who was leaned well into Aubrey's space talking quietly to her. The friends looked at each other and quietly gave each other mock high-fives so as to not burst the bubble between Jess's boss and Beca's friend.
Suddenly Jess grabbed Ashley's hand and forced them out of their seats. She dug in her purse for some money and tossed it on the table. "Hey guys, sorry to eat, drink, and run but Ash and I have some place to go."
Luckily Ashley played along. "Yeah, ummm, glad you two came out to support us." She held her hand up to her ear to mimic a phone. "Aubrey – call me! Chloe… enjoy Spring Break!"
Jessica giggled. "Yeah, don't do anything I wouldn't do." With that that pair left, leaving the other four women at the table.
Chloe turned to Beca and focused her attention on the project manager. She put a finger under Beca's chin and lifted it up. "You know, if you were a vegetable you'd be a cutecumber." She gave a giggle as Beca blushed. Their interest was definitely focused on each other
Stacie took advantage of Aubrey being unable to talk to her friend to continue with her earlier conversation with the blonde. She had been trying to list various reasons that Aubrey should allow her to take her out for dinner. "Come on Aubrey; it's just food. You have to eat, don't you?"
While Aubrey was enjoying Stacie's antics and her company, she was afraid to commit to dinner. But she didn't want to put Stacie all the way off and refuse the implied date. "How about lunch?" Aubrey was shocked to hear those words come out of her mouth.
As surprised as Aubrey was, Stacie was equally as delighted. "I have two morning classes tomorrow, but I'm typically done by eleven. I just would need time to take a quick shower. Maybe we could meet close to the studio?"
Beca suddenly spoke up. "Hey boss, have you ever tried Pilates? I mean, it's not for me, but you should try one of Stacie's classes. I think you'd dig it."
"Awesome idea pipsqueak." Stacie leaned over Chloe to give her friend a fist-bump. "My second class starts at nine-thirty. Come try it out, no charge of course. Then if you survive, I'll buy you lunch."
Aubrey agreed to the challenge and promised to show up the following morning for Stacie's class, after which they would get lunch. Stacie promised to text Aubrey with the studio details then both women said they needed to take their leave.
Until she stood up to say goodbye to Stacie, Beca hadn't even realized that she and Chloe were still holding hands. When she let go to give her friend a brief hug, she immediately felt the loss of warmth. When it was just Chloe and Beca left at the table, Beca shocked herself by instinctively reaching for the redhead's hand.
"I'm not ready to leave just yet." Chloe murmured as she snuggled closer to Beca. She turned and whispered into Beca's ear again. "About what your friend said about frying your brain…" She let her lips lightly graze Beca's lobe as her warm breath tickled the inside of her ear.
Goosebumps ran up both Beca's arms as she shuddered and laughed. "Ummm yeah. Probably." She pulled back from Chloe a bit and stared into her eyes. "God, I can't believe I ever thought your eyes would be green."
"I remember you saying something like that when we first saw each other. What's up with that?"
The pair agreed to take a walk while they continued to visit. Beca made sure the bill was settled as she continued the conversation. "It's actually not the first time I'd seen you, in Posen's office that is." The brunette pulled Chloe up as they stood. She explained how she had seen Chloe and Aubrey once outside the coffee shop down the corner from where they worked. "I must admit that I was mesmerized. Of course, I didn't know who you were at the time. I thought maybe Posen had a girlfriend."
Chloe chuckled at this comment. "Bree is just discovering herself. I'm particularly tickled that Stacie is interested in her."
"Stacie's my best friend. I trust her with my life."
"If you trust her, then that's enough for me. Bree is just now coming into who she really is, who she has been since college."
Beca raised Chloe's hand to her lips and kissed it softly. "Anyway, I saw you that morning and was just floored. You are gorgeous, cute, and everything. Honestly, I was jealous of Posen. I also saw the two of you walking one day and followed you for a bit as I headed home."
"Creeper." Chloe playfully shoved at Beca's shoulder.
"One of the things that you don't know about me, well I don't think anyway, is that I like to draw. On my flight to Guam, I couldn't get you out of my mind, so I made a few sketches of you. I had never gotten close enough to see your eyes. The drawings were black and white except for your scarlet hair. I needed an eye color, and I went with the typical Irish theme and chose green. And there is the background behind the green-eyed comment."
"Will you let me see your drawings some day?"
"Perhaps." Beca didn't tell her about the Ambien sketches or how she was drawing Chloe because not only could she not stop thinking about her, the redhead had invaded her dreams.
Despite the temperatures starting rise, March was still pretty chilly in the Bronx. Beca shrugged off her jacket and made Chloe wear it. Rather than continuing to walk around outside as the temperature continued to drop, the pair decided to catch the subway back to Manhattan.
Despite the loudness of the click clack of the rails and the noises of the subway car, Chloe continued her conversation with Beca. "Season ticket holder for the Knicks, huh?"
"You talked to your friends then? I can't believe Jessica didn't tell me she knew you and then snookered me out of opera tickets and another pair of Knicks tickets." Chloe giggled. "Oh it was for a good cause; don't get me wrong. I just… God I really am a creeper. Stalker numero uno right here."
"Beca, it's okay. I love all the incredibly sweet things you did for me. I didn't even suspect anything until Rosie. But you aren't a creeper. Look at me. I went to Aubrey trying to get information from her."
"You aren't mad at me?"
Chloe leaned over and let her breath linger against Beca's cheek. She moved in and gently pressed her lips against the project manager's skin, her cheek close to the corner of her mouth, and said softly, "no Beca. I'm not."
Fire shot into the depths of Beca's stomach as her heart began to race. She hadn't been expecting the kiss and knew she had to get a grip on her emotions if she wanted to have any chance to being around Chloe without scaring the redhead off. Beca swallowed a deep gulp of air and gathered her wits. As she finally got the nerve to look over at the woman still holding her hand, Beca was pleased to find the crystalline blue eyes twinkling at her without a bit of judgement.
Beca decided to be completely frank with the redhead and to jump in feet first about the situation. "I do need to be honest with you though Chloe. All those things I did in the office, they weren't really for the redhead I saw that day with my boss. It started after I had been an ass to you – twice – and threw my shoes at you, you started leaving me coffee and cute notes. You even called me on my shit when I picked those flowers out of the lobby for you."
They both laughed. "I watched you dance, you know." When Beca said this, Chloe's face turned scarlet as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "A few times with the vacuum and once you were even singing with the mop." Chloe buried her head into Beca's shoulder.
"I'm so embarrassed!"
"Don't be. The reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want you to think that the things I did at the office were for you, the redhead. Yeah – you," Beca motioned up and down Chloe's body, "are hot, but the cleaning lady has a killer personality. The night I walked in on you changing clothes and put two and two together – that's when I realized that I had to find out more about you. Maybe to even get to know you – all of you; the cute redhead and the witty cleaning lady. I'm mesmerized with both of you. That's why I asked Jessica to find things out for me." As Beca finally stopped talking, she realized that she had said all of that in one breath and she gasped for air.
"Wow."
"I practically bare my soul, and that's all you got?" Beca laughed nervously. The subway suddenly grew eerily quiet between them.
Finally, Chloe spoke. "I don't know what to say Beca. We've never really actually talked a lot, and I feel like I barely know you despite the all small moments we've shared. That was a lot to lay on me at once."
Beca dropped Chloe's hand and slid away slightly. "Ummm I'm sorry."
Silence.
Chloe reached back over for Beca's hand after a few moments, but the brunette avoided her touch. "Don't be. I just need some time to process everything you just said." After a bit, Chloe spoke again. "This is my stop. Let me know you got home okay?" Beca nodded as she watched Chloe exit the train and head for the exit.
When Beca got home, she was still trying to figure out how such a great evening had ended leaving her feeling so empty. She grabbed a beer and sat on her couch fiddling with her phone. She looked through the pictures and videos she had taken of The Tone Commandments' performance as well as the pictures taken of everyone at the restaurant. She decided her favorite was the one of just her and Chloe where Chloe had slung her arm around Beca's shoulders and pressed their cheeks together. The redhead had a magical smile.
She had one unread text which she had avoided reading because she knew who it was from. She finally decided to rip the bandage off and see what the woman had to say.
From Cute Redhead: I'm home. For what it's worth, I had a great time tonight.
That made Beca feel even worse. She had a good time, too, until she'd word vomited about how she couldn't stop thinking about a woman she'd seen twice on the street or how she'd really enjoyed things the fucking cleaning lady had done for her – like Beca was someone special. Chloe was an angel and probably did those types of things for everyone. "I'm an idiot." Beca decided that talking out loud when she was upset was a better way for her to work out her feelings.
Despite the ridiculous aching pain she felt in her chest, Beca didn't want to keep Chloe up wondering if she'd made it home.
From Tiny Project Manager: FYI – made it home
From Cute Redhead: You okay?
From Tiny Project Manager: [thumbs up emoji] G'night
Her phone rang almost immediately. Chloe. Beca pressed ignore.
From Cute Redhead: Bec?
From Cute Redhead: Bec please pick up. I'm sorry.
From Tiny Project Manager: for?
From Cute Redhead: Reacting the way I did. You don't deserve that.
All Beca could do was think about all the reasons she never let anyone get close. She squinched her eyes shut to try to keep the tears in. When she couldn't, she roughly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
From Cute Redhead: Bec? I'd really like to talk to you. Please.
From Tiny Project Manager: Not tonight. I'm headed to bed.
From Tiny Project Manager: Maybe tomorrow. G'night
Chloe was devastated at how she had reacted with Beca. Even worse, she couldn't believe she got off the subway, leaving things unresolved with the project manager. Relief coursed through her body when she received the text that Beca had gotten home okay. But that same elation had crashed when Beca refused to talk to her, to allow her to explain.
After looking at the time and ensuring herself that it wasn't too late to call her best friend on a Saturday night, she called Aubrey.
"Hey Chloe, are you just now getting home?"
"Kinda."
"Must have been a hell of a night." Aubrey teased. She was tickled that Chloe might have found an interest other than school and church, especially now that a capella season was over.
"I think I fucked up Bree." Chloe sniffled.
"Are you crying Chloe?" Aubrey got a non-committal sound as a response. "What's wrong?"
Chloe shared what all she and Beca had talked about and how Beca had explained when she first had seen Chloe. She also told Aubrey about listening to Beca talk about watching her dance and sing at work. When she relayed the part about Beca making the connection between Chloe the redhead and Chloe the cleaning lady, the redhead was in full blown tears.
"Chloe, take a deep breath. Breath. Listen to me. Calm down. Shhhh." Once Aubrey had Chloe settled, she tried to find the root of Chloe's anguish.
"I didn't know what to say to her Aubrey. After everything she told me, I had nothing. I stopped talking. It was like she could feel my angst. She stopped holding my hand and moved away. Slightly but she still moved away. Then my stop came up and like an idiot, I got off. Told her to let me know she got home safely and left. Now… she won't talk to me."
"That's why you are upset? She won't talk to you? Well why in the hell did you get off the subway then?"
"I don't know Bree! I told her I needed time to think about what all she had said."
"But WHY?" Aubrey was beginning to get frustrated because she didn't understand what was going on.
Chloe gave a deep sigh. "Aubrey, I only have a few months of school left. Then I don't know where my life is going to take me. I might go directly into practice or take a residency to prepare for board certification. I barely have time for myself. Do I really have room to date someone?"
"My god Chloe. You two have honestly just met. Give Beca a chance. She really likes you."
"That's just it Aubrey, that's part of the problem. Beca… she already has a well establish job. You say she likes me. But what do I have to offer her? I'm only the woman who cleans her office." Chloe was almost whining at this point.
"Oh god Chloe, just stop the pity party. You have a lot to offer. We, your friends, are always telling you that. Any woman would be lucky to have you in her life."
"Okay then why won't Beca talk to me, let me apologize?"
"Look you didn't hear this from me, but you know the other day when Stacie and I had brunch? She gave me a little insight into our tiny project manager. She doesn't trust easily. It sounds as if she opened up to you tonight – a lot. Then by just getting off the train without talking, you slammed that line of communication closed."
The friends talked a bit longer, Aubrey suggesting some things Chloe might do to help the situation. Once they hung up, Chloe definitely understood things a lot better and felt like she had a grasp on what to do next.
After a few beers, Beca decided to take a hot, relaxing shower before bed. She started warming up with water while she went to pick out a worn-out comfortable t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. She slipped into the steamy shower, letting the hot water beat down on her shoulders. The more her bathroom fogged up, the more the tension slid out of her body.
Beca was curious about why Chloe had called so soon after leaving the subway train claiming she needed time to think. She was almost beating herself up for not answering the redhead's call, but Beca was confused at what she had done to illicit such a reaction. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. Thinking that Stacie was calling to brag about her lunch date, Beca quickly shut off the water, grabbed her towel and reached out to punch the speaker button on her phone.
"Hey Stace."
There were a few moments pause before someone on the other end spoke. "Beca?" It was Chloe. "Beca please don't hang up."
Beca blinked away the tears that sprung forth as she kicked herself for being so weak. "I won't. But I'm just getting out of the shower. Give me a minute? Actually, how about I call you after I dry off and get ready for bed?"
"Will you?" Chloe's voice sounded small and unsure.
Beca was stuck between being frustrated at herself for answering the phone without checking caller ID and being desperate wanting to talk to Chloe. "Two minutes. Max." She hung up, plugged her phone up by the nightstand and got ready for bed.
She heard a few text messages come in, so she checked before calling Chloe back.
The first message was a picture of a German sausage. Then a text.
From Cute Redhead: Forgive me for being a brat? I'm the wurst.
Beca couldn't help the smile that came to her face as she crawled between her sheets and texted back.
From Tiny Project Manager: Do you want to do this by text or still want me to call?
Beca's phone immediately rang. This time she answered. "Hey."
"Hey back." Chloe's voice was soft and timid. "Thanks for calling back."
"You called me silly." Beca didn't like this version of Chloe. She liked the happy-go-lucky redhead and not the one who sounded like she was fearful of an abusive father. "It's going to be okay, you know." She was trying to reassure Chloe as well as herself.
"Is it?" The redhead was afraid to say much of anything in fear of running Beca off.
"Yes Chloe. Like you said tonight at lunch, there are some things we need to talk about. Maybe there's just a few more things we need to talk about than we thought."
"I'm sorry Beca."
"I know."
"Leaving like I did was wrong. It felt bad, still feels bad."
Beca asked why she left then. Chloe admitted that she didn't know. Beca found herself steering the conversation in other directions just because she couldn't stand sad-Chloe.
"You said you feel like you don't know me." Chloe found herself relaxing in Beca's smooth, calming voice. "How about we do something to fix that? NOT involving pumping our friends for information." Beca hoped the honest smile she had on her face was coming through in her voice. She felt herself forgiving Chloe without even knowing what had happened only because she was certain that she'd find out soon enough.
"I'd like that."
Beca decided to pull out her last ace and suggested they meet for breakfast at Sarabeth's East. She had to pull the phone away from her ear when Chloe's excited squeal came screaming through the phone. "Beca! That's my absolute favorite restaurant." The redhead paused before announcing, "okay damn it. What else do you know about me? This is so unfair." Beca could absolutely visualize the pout on the redhead's face.
"That's the last thing your friends told me. Promise. From here on out, it's just you and me babe." Beca found herself actually laughing out loud at Chloe's reaction.
"Okay Ringo Starr. See you tomorrow."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Beca hung up the phone feeling like she could actually get a good night's rest now that she had talked to Chloe. Of course, they hadn't sorted things out, but she knew they would. She set her alarm to make sure she made it to the Upper East side restaurant on time. She then flipped through her pictures again to locate the one she had decided she liked best.
From Tiny Project Manager: [image]
From Tiny Project Manager: Thought I'd share my lock screen pic
From Cute Redhead: Awwww I'm stealing it
From Tiny Project Manager: G'night Chloe
From Cute Redhead: XO
A/N: Damn I hope my updates weren't too close together. This is what happens when one takes a whole week of work. She gets caught up in the writing world. Gobble Gobble!