Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect or the Characters

They made small talk before ordering, both being unusually peppy and cheerful in their conversation. There was no teasing or flirtatious harassment that had before characterized their relationship. However, it was clear as day to anyone else in that restaurant that Jesse was head over heels for the girl he was sitting across from.

Beca on the other and was being more reserved. He talked about his job and she smiled politely in return. She offered up facts about her music but nothing that would let him really see who she was.

Anytime she brought up her career and the work she had done he would grin like an idiot at the fact that she had accomplished her dreams. He talked looking directly into her eyes and was astounded that he forgot just how beautiful she was.

Amidst all of the facts however, Jesse could see that she was hesitant to really talk about anything important, and certainly this was not the time to bring up everything that had happened between them. In fact, it wasn't until the waitress came with their food that Jesse got a glimpse at the old Beca.

"For you ma'am," the waitress said as she placed a hamburger in front of Beca, "And for you sir," she continued as she put steak dish in front of Jesse, then walked away.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact the she had ordered a hamburger of all things. It was a pretty nice restaurant and this tiny woman went for a hamburger out of everything on the menu. Apparently his laugh was loud enough to be noticed by Beca because he heard from across the table,

"What's so funny?" she questioned and looked at Jesse expectantly.

"Nothing," Jesse got out, still laughing to himself, "It's just that you have an ENTIRE menu of fancy food in front of you and you pick the burger. It's so you."

Jesse trailed off towards the end of his sentence, realizing that maybe he was crossing an emotional line that Beca would find awkward.

Instead, she just smiled back at him, picked up her hamburger, and took an enormous bite from it. Then, with a mouth full of food chuckled back, "Shut up nerd."

As soon as she said it, Jesse was right back in college. She was the only one who could make a derogatory statement sound endearing, and it was just one of the many things he had missed hearing from her over the last six years.

"Classy" he joked back at her with a grin on his face.

They continued dinner and by the time dessert came Beca was growing increasingly aware of the fact that she was too comfortable talking to him. She had spent so much time trying forget him and now all of the sudden they were both talking like nothing had changed. It was dangerous.

He was just finishing up a story about some weird guy that he worked with when the check came. And as he went to go put money on the table for the bill, Beca reached out her hand,

"No Jesse, you don't have to do that. I can pay." She argued

"Oh come on Beca, there is no way that I'm going to let you pay for dinner. That goes against like every guy-code bone in my body." He joked back as he put the money on the table.

"Fine." She moped, "But next time I'm not going to let it go,".

She had said it without even really thinking about the words coming out of her mouth, but as soon as it had happened, Jesse's eyes perked up.

"Oh really?" He questioned, "So you think there's going to be a next time do you? That's pretty assuming of you Ms. Mitchell. People adore my face and I'm in pretty high demand right now. Its almost like I'm irresistible."

"I…Well..You know…I just.." stammered Beca, "I thoug-"

"Beca relax," He smiled back, "I was just joking. If you want to do this again I would be more than happy to, but if not it's completely fine"

Although the second half of that statement was entirely false when Jesse said it, he was just trying to make her comfortable.

By this time they had migrated outside to Beca's car and were both standing next to the vehicle unsure of what to do next.

"I guess that would be nice, you know, to do this again," Beca spoke quietly.

"That's what I was thinking too," Jesse agreed with a grin on his face. "How about I give you a call and we can set something up later?"

"That sounds really nice," Beca responded.

It was then that Jesse moved a little closer to her, and she could feel her heart pounding a million miles per second. Red flags were going off everywhere in her brain, but her body just stood there in a trance.

It surprised Beca when he simply wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug and held her close for a couple of seconds.

"It was really good seeing you again Beca," Jesse said as he pulled away from the embrace and started to walk away.

As he was halfway across the parking lot Beca impulsively yelled,

"Hey Jesse!"

He turned around, shocked, and responded, "Yeah?"

"Good night nerd!" She shouted

"Good night weirdo!" He shouted back.

And with that, Beca smiled to herself and got into her car.

She started the engine with a sigh and thought to herself, "What did I just get myself into?" Because as much as she hated to admit it, there was just something about that movie loving freak that she found so irresistible and to be honest, after that night, she couldn't even remember why she had spent so long trying to forget him.

Jesse drove home the happiest he'd been in a really long time. The dinner had gone well and Beca had even given him permission to call her. He was driving home on such a high because there was a glimmer of hope that he might be on the way back to winning over Beca's heart.