"Beca, just calm down. Everything is all set. All you need to do is go, pick up your lady love and enjoy yourself."
"In a limo? A limo Amy? I don't want to look like some pretentious asshat who signed this big music deal and gets an ego the size of…well...this car! Can't we can't something else?" Beca pleaded with her assistant as she took in the black limo pulled up in front of her place.
"I don't know Beca, it's kind of sweet. It's pretty tricked out in here," Jesse shouted out to the girls on the street and he bounced up and down, testing out the seats of the limo.
"Beca, this isn't some crazy, supped up, rim spinning, my daddy is P-Diddy, Escalade looking limo. This is classy. This is memorable. This is your ride for the night and you don't really have a say in it because I already paid Franky." Amy nodded friendly over to the driver donned in a dark suit, sunglasses, and a black driver's cap over his nicely slicked hair who was standing by the driver side door waiting for Beca to get in and settled so they could get the evening started.
Sighing the brunette looked the car over again. It wasn't too horrible. Amy was right, it could definitely be worse. And it could be kind of fun.
"And you didn't stock it with alcohol, right? She can't drink tonight. I don't want her to feel like it's a big deal so no bucket of champagne or anything." Beca moved towards the back door and watched as Jesse tested out each seat and the light settings. She couldn't help but shake her head at the guy who reverted back to a five year old when he got excited about things.
"Nope, you have some ice, San Pellegrinos, Lorinas, water, soda of any kind, and if you're feeling really fancy you can mix her a Shirley Temple back there," Amy replied noticing Beca's eyebrow quirk at the last drink option. "Now you've got me feeling like I'm sending you off to the prom. No more questions. Franky knows where he's going and what times so he's in charge really. Jesse, stop goofing around and get out."
Jesse stopped fiddling with all the buttons he saw and slid out the door. He pulled Beca over to the side a bit further from Amy and rested his arms on her shoulders, looking Beca in the eyes as she stood across from him stiffly with her arms flat at her sides. "You are going to have fun tonight. I don't care whatever crazy plans Amy has made for you." Both ignored the "oye" that Amy tossed at them. "You deserve to have fun. I'm sure Chloe deserves to have fun too. Don't be the closed off Beca Mitchell. Be the Beca Mitchell that charmed that super hot girl into agreeing to go out with the super dork that is you."
Beca blinked back at Jesse as he gave her a final shake and pat on the forearm. "Wow. Okay. Not sure where to go with that one. We kind of took a left turn into 'I can't believe Chloe actually said yes-ville' at the end there."
"Yeah, it wasn't one of my best but you know what I mean, Beca. There was a reason she said yes. You know you can be awesome just don't over analyze things. Roll with the punches. And I'd recommend being nice to Franky. If he's a friend of Amy's, who knows what crazy shit he's into," Jesse said, ending in a whisper just for Beca to hear. They both look at Amy and Franky who appeared to be comparing bicep sizes now.
Beca's eyebrows raised and nodded. "Duly noted."
"Alright pint size, let's get your show on the road. Don't worry about being out too late, you've got a good schedule that everyone is going to adhere to," Amy said as she came over to guide Beca into the limo. "You look good, shorty. Chloe will be impressed. And you will have a good time, I promise."
Beca looked down at the outfit that had taken her and ultimately one of Cythnia Rose's stylists to pick out when Beca thought she was going to have a melt down and cancel the whole thing. They decided to let her still be her slightly alternative self but in black tights, a charcoal gray dress that was form fitting and felt like jersey cotton with the exception of the area showing a little cleavage through a black nylon section at the top of the dress all topped off with one of her many leather jackets but this particular one was fitted more like a woman's suit jacket for some flair. Of course Beca wouldn't accept any footwear other than a pair of her black lace up boots. In this case, everyone else agreed with her selection. She felt a little awkward but with all the compliments she got so far she was feeling more confident. The big one was from Cynthia Rose herself who popped by the studio right before Beca left to finish getting ready at her place. CR didn't usually hassle her about her style because she would never try to control an artist like that, but it did mean something if she'd go out of her way to compliment an outfit of Beca's and she gave her approval on this one saying it was very "Beca-chic". One more confirmation couldn't hurt though.
"We are sure the dress isn't too much? The girls feel kind of exposed," Beca asked looking down at her chest.
"Beca, you look gorgeous. You will knock her socks off. Now get in the car, woman!" Jesse said poking Beca so she dodged him but moved towards the limo.
"Yeah, and it won't matter in a bit anyway," Amy said manning the door to shut Beca in.
Beca gave Fat Amy a strange look but before she could even ask, Amy shut the door as soon as Beca slid her legs in.
She found herself on her way to see Chloe again for the first time since their flight together.
"Ready or not, here we go."
"Aubrey, for serious, help me with this zipper! I do not want to get my hair caught in this thing!"
"Twenty five years old and can't dress herself. Are you sure, we should be letting you go out on a date, young lady?" Aubrey made her way into Chloe's room which was covered in clothes tossed from dressers and closets. Shoes pointed up and out every which way on the floor.
Chloe could practically see the cringe make its way across Aubrey's face as she looked back at her through the mirror, holding the zipper as far up as she could make it on her own. "Here, I'll get my hair out of harm's way. Little less lip and a bit more zip from you, please."
"Dr. Seuss would be proud, dear," Aubrey teased in a baby voice as she zipped up Chloe's soft yellow dress. The dress itself had natural "winkles" as it settled on her body. Chloe loved this Erin Fetherston dress but she loved the cropped blazer she wore with it more. It looked like a gray, cloudy sky and Chloe always thought it very fitting for her. She finished the outfit off with a pair of strappy black patent Jimmy Choo sandals and drop earrings with a few stacked bangles on her left wrist. She let her hair down in its natural curls which always concerned Chloe when around zippers. Aubrey always teased her but Chloe would remind her that her fear of her hair getting caught in the zipper could happen and in fact had happen already in her lifetime. She walked around for weeks with a chunk of her hair missing in 5th grade because of such a misfortune.
Once zipped up, Chloe quickly turned to give Aubrey a kiss on the cheek, making sure to leave a lip print much to Aubrey's annoyance. She grabbed her black clutch with a few minutes to spare.
"Now remember, you let me know where you are at all times. I don't need some crazy hobbit trying to kidnap you. It will be hell trying to find another flatmate this time of year."
Chloe rolled her eyes but grinned at her friend. "Yes, mom."
"Good. Now have fun, but not too much fun. No sleepovers. Make good choices."
At this Chloe couldn't hold back her laughter. "Oh, Bree, we need to get you laid."
Aubrey's jaw dropped and didn't get a chance to respond before the melody of "Titanium" floated through the air. Chloe answered with a big smile. "Right on time, someone is going for bonus points."
Beca didn't bother hiding her smile in the limo with the divider up blocking Franky's view. "I read somewhere that punctuality was a big deal to flight attendants. I thought I'd give it a whirl."
Chloe was already feeling the tingling sensation in her chest that seemed to become more frequent when talking with Beca. So, she had researched flight attendants, and took notes apparently. Adorable. "Your sources are correct, Ms. Mitchell. I'll meet you downstairs, okay?"
"I'll be here. You can't really miss me."
Chloe came down the stairs in her building to be greeted by a grinning Beca Mitchell leaning against a shiny, black limo. At first she couldn't decide what shocked her more, the ride or how Beca looked. Definitely how Beca looked. She still had her own style but it was glammed up. She loved how Beca's hair was down and kind of curly in the front and the back was down the same except she could see some braids or twists peaking out near the top in the back. And that dress. Chloe hadn't really gotten a chance to appreciate certain…aspects…of Beca which she was able to now.
"Wow. I…just wow. That's all I've got right now," Chloe said approaching the shorter girl and not hesitating to pull her into a hug.
Beca hugged Chloe back, not really expecting a hug right away but definitely not against the idea. "So you like the ride, huh? It's got you speechless and everything?"
Chloe pulled back from the brunette and gave her a wink. "Who said I was wowing the limo? You look beautiful, Beca."
And just like that, when Beca thought she was being smooth and was going to have to give Amy a raise just for coming up with the limo, Beca felt her face flush and mind go blank. "Ah…thank…thank you." She heard a giggle from the other girl and she looked up at Chloe to see her beaming back at her.
"Who's speechless and everything now, Mitchell?"
Beca had no come back but simply grinned and held the door open, motioning for Chloe to enter the limo. "Your chariot, m'lady."
The two girls got in the back and felt Franky start to drive off. Chloe looked around and took in the ambiance of the car. The lighting around the top was on but dimmed. The accent lights around the sides were on highlighting the extensive beverage and snack area. Up front there was a television that wasn't turned on. The divider to the front was up. There were all sorts of buttons and controls on Beca's side.
"Well, in case it didn't come across yet, I am very impressed so far," Chloe said looking over at Beca who had slid in after Chloe making sure to keep a comfortable distance between the two of them. "Is this your own personal limo you have all the time or…"
"No, I'm not one of those girls. I mean I've ridden in them a few times to some events and stuff but it's not a regular thing for me," Beca said twisting her fingers together trying to keep her nerves in check. "This…this was a special occasion. And in case I haven't mentioned it yet, you look…you look…"
Chloe watched as the other girl struggled to find the right word she wanted to use. Her eyebrows went up in amusement as she waited.
Sighing, Beca gave up trying for something poetic. "You look really, really nice. Really."
The girls looked at each other when Beca brought her gave up. Internally Beca was smacking her forehead. Externally Chloe gave Beca a big smile back. "Thank you, Beca. I appreciate that."
Trying to dig herself out of her awkward hole before it swallowed her completely, Beca leaned forward to the bar area. "Would you like something to drink? There's a little bit of everything here. And I think we've got some time to kill until we get…there."
Moving forward to get a closer look at the selection. "Woo, Lorina pink lemonade. Have you had that before?"
Beca grabbed the bottle and filled two glasses of the drink. "I haven't but I would love to try it with you." Beca handed one of the glasses over to Chloe.
The girls looked at each other for a bit, simply holding their glasses in the air next to each other. Beca would love to admit she was again trying to think of something elegiac to say but really she just found herself lost in Chloe's eyes. Even with the lights dimmed, they had their own brightness that drew you into them.
Though Chloe didn't think the silence was an uncomfortable one, she brought her glass to Beca's, breaking the silence with the clinking sound. "To trying new things."
It was the most fitting toast Beca felt she had ever been a part of. On the surface you could think Chloe was referring to her trying Lorina with her but she got the feeling Chloe wasn't just an 'on the surface' kind of girl. Beca was pretty sure she…that this they were trying… was a 'new thing' to Chloe. "To trying new things."
Both girls sipped their drinks and leaned back into the seats. Beca couldn't help but notice Chloe had shifted a little closer to her in the process. Again, not an unwelcomed action.
"So, Beca, where are we going tonight? The only way to avoid Aubrey chipping me or slipping a tracking device in my bag was to let her know where we were headed at some point."
Here was one of the few moments Beca was not looking forward to this evening. She had been debating whether or not to play it off as a surprise to Chloe and make it seem like she knew the whole time like Jesse suggested or should she lay all her cards out on the table and tell her the truth. Since she didn't feel at ease starting…whatever this was going to be with Chloe…with lies she took a deep breath and prepared to bite the bullet.
"I'm actually not entirely sure."
That was unexpected to say the least. For the first time this evening the smile on Chloe's face faltered. "What do you mean you're not sure? We are kind of in a moving vehicle, Beca. It kind of has to end up somewhere, right?"
Taking another deep breath, Beca began. "To make a long and somewhat weird story short, Amy took charge of planning this date. I wish I could take all the credit for this evening but I can't. I can only really claim full responsibility for the boots I'm wearing. That was my idea entirely. I had help with just about everything else." Beca tried to stop rambling before she said too much. She tried to read Chloe's expression which was now a blank slate looking back at her. Beca shifted gears to damage control mode. "It's not that I didn't want to or that I couldn't plan the date, it's just Fat Amy just went off and started planning as soon as I told her and Jesse about you agreeing to go out. I'm usually a pretty self sufficient person in most areas but I think they knew I was really nervous about this and wanted to help out. They are all pretty great like that. Even Jesse was trying to give me different pick up lines from movies but don't worry because I wasn't planning on using them. I was mostly just amusing him. I'm really sorry if this all sounds bad. I really…"
"Beca, breathe. " Chloe watched as the girl stopped talking long enough to draw in a deep breath and release it, relaxing her shoulders as well. "Good.," she said as she gently rubbed Beca's forearm. "I'm not upset about how this date was arranged. I think it's sweet that you were trying so hard but I hope you didn't feel like you had to with me. I do love going out and being fancy sometimes but I'm just as happy in a pair of jeans going to the pizza place down the block."
Beca finally felt her stomach settle back in its normal position after jumping up to her throat. "I just really wanted not to screw up and while there is a high potential of craziness happening with Amy planning something, I just felt like she might do a better job this time so I didn't stop her. You seemed unsure about me still and like I said, I wanted to impress you enough for you to stick around and let me actually plan something. So maybe pizza next time, if this goes well?" Keeping her head ducked as she swirled the ice in her drink nervously she brought her eyes up to look at Chloe.
Chloe wasn't sure what kind of super adorable powers this girl had but it was working on her. Normally she would be disappointed that her date couldn't even take the time to arrange their plans but with Beca she found herself not only willing to let it go but really did find it sweet that she was working so hard to convince Chloe she was worth more than one date. Chloe leaned over and bumped Beca's shoulder lightly. "Hey, don't be stealing my future date ideas, Mitchell."
Beca bumped Chloe back feeling even more relief come over her from her confession. "Wouldn't dream of it, Beale."
Chloe grinned back at her, happy that Beca seemed more at ease now. "By the way, the boots definitely make the outfit. Good choice."
If Beca wasn't Beca Mitchell, she might have reached over and given Chloe Beale the biggest hug she had ever given anyone after hearing that. But, being Beca Mitchell, instead she gave Chloe a wink and clinked their glasses together again.