Chloe watched Beca walk down the hallway and disappear out of sight before she pushed her key into lock and stepped inside her apartment. Once the door was closed behind her she released an excited squeal over everything that had just happened and how truly amazing the date had been.
She kicked off her shoes and scurried down the hall to Aubrey's room. She knew the blonde would almost certainly be asleep by now and wouldn't appreciate being woke up but she was too excited from the success of her date to care; she wanted to tell her best friend all about it and she just couldn't wait until morning. She pushed open the door and rushed inside, jumping onto the bed beside her friend.
"Bree!"
"Chloe?" Aubrey awoke with a start, turning to glare at her friend with barely open eyes. "What the hell? What time is it?"
"It's about 2.30."
"I'm going to kill you!" Aubrey groaned, rubbing her eyes and internally cursing the redhead for disturbing her sleep.
"But Aubrey!" Chloe whined like a child. "I just wanted to tell you all about my date."
"And that couldn't wait til morning?"
"No," Chloe replied simply, smiling broadly at the grumpy blonde.
Aubrey released a defeated sigh and rolled onto her side to face Chloe. She was certain she would find the other girl's excitement endearing if she hadn't just been rudely awoken from her sleep. "Alright then, let's hear about it."
"Oh my God, Bree it was literally the best date ever!" She squealed excitedly. "First of all Beca looked insanely hot! I'm talking magazine hot but she was still the awkward, humble, adorable Beca from my classroom. And secondly, she actually had her friend shut down the cocktail bar so it would be only us and we wouldn't be disturbed. But not in a 'I'm famous and can get anything I want' way she didn't even mention it until I asked and she said she didn't want our date being interrupted! How sweet is that?"
"That is pretty impressive!" Aubrey nodded, approving of the effort the producer had made, it showed she cared about Chloe.
"We had cocktails and we talked all night about everything. She's so funny and just amazingly interesting," Chloe gushed like a lovesick school girl complete with dreamy look in her eyes.
"Gross! You are so into her," Aubrey chuckled, giving her friend a teasing shove. "Did you make plans for a second date then?"
"No plans but we agreed there would definitely be one," Chloe grinned, recalling Beca's awkward rambling in the hallway.
"So was there a goodnight kiss?"
Chloe's grin threatened to split her face as she nodded enthusiastically. "Just a little kiss goodnight at the door but it was wonderful. I got butterflies." She sighed happily as she dropped onto the pillow beside the blonde.
"I'm really happy for you Chlo," Aubrey smiled warmly. "I'm glad the date went so well."
"Thanks," Chloe smiled. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I was just so excited from the date and the kiss, I had to tell you."
"It's ok, I'll forgive you because you look so damn happy I can hardly stand it," she chuckled.
Chloe's phone buzzed in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out knowing who it was. The butterflies in her stomach gave an excited flutter when she saw Beca's name on the screen.
'As promised I'm letting you know I got home safe. I had a really great time tonight. Hope we can do it again soon. X'
"Out!" Aubrey said sternly, pointing lazily at the door.
"What?" Chloe shrugged innocently.
"She just text you! And while I'm thrilled you've found someone you like so much it's almost 3am and I want to go back to sleep not sit and watch you smile giddily at your phone," Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You can give me all the gory details in the morning but please just go to bed."
"Alright," Chloe chuckled. "Sorry again for waking you. I'll treat you to breakfast in the morning to make it up to you."
"You're on Beale!"
"Goodnight!" Chloe hugged her friend before jumping off the bed and heading to her own room to text Beca.
The next morning Beca headed to Stacie's house for breakfast. She wasn't looking forward to the teasing but she couldn't wait to tell her best friend how well the date has gone. After all the help Stacie had given her the day before she felt the brunette deserved the details she so desperately craved. She smiled as she pulled into the drive. She had been smiling since she woke up to a sweet message from the teacher; she actually thought she might have actually been smiling in her sleep, not that she'd ever admit that.
"Hey ladykiller!" Stacie greeted her brightly when she opened the door.
"Morning Stacie!" Beca rolled her eyes at her friend.
"So how did it go?" Stacie asked. She looked like she might burst from the excitement of grilling Beca about her date. "From that great big smile on your face I'm guessing it went well!"
"It did. It went so well!" Beca grinned, stepping inside the house. Stacie gave an excited squeal; she was so happy for her friend.
"Come on breakfast is almost ready and I want all the dirty details before my daughter comes down," she pulled Beca towards the kitchen.
"Hate to break it to you Legs but there are no dirty details," Beca chuckled as she took a seat at the kitchen island. "I'm a gentlewoman!"
"Snore!" Stacie rolled her eyes playfully. "Did you at least get a goodnight kiss?"
Beca didn't need to reply, the beaming smile and pink blush on her cheeks answered for her. Stacie cheered and did an excited little dance at the stove.
"Go on tell me all about it!" Stacie encouraged, leaning on the island facing Beca.
"It was just really great. She's amazing!" Beca gushed uncharacteristically; they'd only gone on one date and already Chloe had her acting like a teenage girl, well a normal teenage girl because teenage Beca was far too broody to ever gush. "We had drinks and we talked all night, she's really funny and interesting and sweet. And oh my god she looked so hot."
"You really like her don't you?" Stacie smiled warmly. It was nice to see her friend so happy.
"I do!" Beca nodded, biting her lips together to stop from smiling so much. "It's probably crazy and completely terrifying but I do really like her Stacie."
"I'm really happy for you Becs!"
"You know what the best part of the date was?" she asked, a thoughtful tone in her voice.
"The goodnight kiss," Stacie winked playfully and Beca laughed.
"Well that was pretty great too but no," Beca smiled. "We were sitting in the bar talking, about everything, and she didn't ask me one question about work. There was no subtle digging to find out whose album I might be working on or questions about how many famous people I know. She was actually interested in the Beca side of me, not the producer side."
"That's great Becs!" Stacie grinned. She had known Beca for more years than they bothered to count now and she knew why Beca avoided dating, why she was so guarded around new people. She'd been burned in the past, more than once, by people who only wanted her for her fame or so they could sell a story. She knew the producer loved her job but she also knew how she struggled with the fame. She had suspected Chloe wouldn't be the type to only want Beca for her fame but it was nice having it confirmed.
"She's really something Stace," Beca muttered with a lovesick look on her face that Stacie had never seen before.
"So when's the second date then?" She asked shifting the conversation back to a lighter note.
"I don't know," Beca shrugged. "We agreed we both wanted there to be a second date but there's no plan made yet. I hope it's soon though."
"Shorty, please, you're Beca Effin Mitchell she's probably dying to see your tiny pale ass again," Stacie laughed.
"Anyway," Beca rolled her eyes. "I was thinking after breakfast I could take you and the munchkin out to mini golf or bowling or to one of those noisy arcade places she loves to say thanks for helping me out yesterday?"
"That sounds great!" Stacie smiled at the idea of spending the day having fun with her baby and her best friend. "Hailey will be thrilled."
Chloe was feeling a little more cheerful than usual on Monday morning, thanks in part to the adorable message she has received from Beca upon waking up. She was humming softly to herself at her desk while her students began to fill up the classroom.
"Good morning Miss Beale!" Hailey greeted her teacher brightly when she ran into the classroom.
"Morning Hailey, morning Stacie!" Chloe smiled at them. "Did you have a good weekend?"
"It was awesome!" The six year old bounced on her feet excitedly. "We got to dress up Aunt Beca because she had a date and then she brought us to the arcade on Sunday."
Stacie bit her lips to stop herself from laughing. Beca had spent a large part of Sunday making Stacie promise she wouldn't do anything to embarrass her when she saw Chloe at school but it seemed she had been pleading with the wrong Conrad.
"Wow that sounds like a fun weekend," Chloe smiled enthusiastically at the little girl. Stacie didn't miss the hint of a smirk on the teacher's face at this information.
"So how was your weekend Miss Beale?" She couldn't stop herself from asking with a knowing smirk that had the teacher blushing ever so slightly.
"I had a great weekend!" she smiled brightly.
Beca arrived into work on Wednesday morning in a relatively good mood but was greeted with some information that quickly changed that. Her assistant reluctantly broke the news that had just came across Beca's desk. One of their sister labels had been working with Bumper Allen, an artist who, although being quite successful and for some reason unknown to Beca rather popular was a notorious pain in the ass to work with, and the producer he had been working with had just taken paternity leave that morning. The man's wife had gone into labour early and he was supposed to have finished the single before he went off but it seemed the baby had other ideas and now Bumper was refusing to work with the studios other producer, claiming him to be subpar, despite Beca knowing the producer in question was perfectly capable. The head of the label was requesting that she take over and finish the track before the artist walked away. While Beca thought he would be know great loss the parent company disagreed and made it clear their 'request' was more a polite demand than an actual plea.
"I'm sorry Beca," Kirsty said when she finished explaining the situation.
"It's not your fault Kirsty!" The DJ sighed. It wasn't her assistants fault the original producer had to take leave, nor was it her fault that Allen was incredibly difficult to work with.
"I'll get you a coffee," the assistant said, offering Beca a sympathetic smile.
"You're a star," Beca smiled back and turned to enter her office with a sigh.
Allen arrived at the studio half an hour later and Beca got down to work. This man was a nightmare; he would lose focus halfway through laying down vocals and was constantly coming up with new ideas he wanted added to the track. When they didn't sound as good as he has imagined he pouted like an over grown man baby and complained.
"I told you that wouldn't work," Beca explained through gritted teeth, her fingers rubbing her temples as Bumper struggled to understand why what he was hearing in the headphones wasn't as good as he had imagined in his head. "It's too much...noise. There's too much going on it's like an assault to the ears."
"No, you just aren't doing it right!" He insisted. Beca really wanted to punch him in the face.
"I did exactly what you asked," she reasoned. "It just doesn't work. Now if you'd like to get back in the booth and finish laying down the vocals maybe we can work on post when we have more than a verse and a half to work with."
He pulled a displeased face but made his way into the booth. Beca was grateful for a moment away from him. She queued up the music and finally they managed to get one solid run through of the song, and it had only taken almost two hours. Beca groaned at her desk; this was going to be a long ass day. After another torturous hour in the studio and sending Bumper away for a lunch break Beca finally managed to pull a few versions of the track together. She toyed with telling him that was enough for one day but she knew if she did that she would have to endure another day of this pain; it was definitely better to just power through. By the time afternoon rolled around Beca wanted to bang her head of the desk. Her phone chimed in the desk and seeing Chloe's name one the screen lifted her mood ever so slightly.
'Hey so I really hope you don't think I'm a complete weirdo but I just so happen to be in the neighbourhood of your studio and was wondering if you were free for coffee? It's cool if you're busy though, I just thought I'd ask :) X'
Beca smiled at the message, it was the first time she'd smiled since she got into work. Bumper was really starting to grate on her last nerve and absolutely nothing in the works sounded more appealing than taking a break to meet Chloe for coffee. She quickly typed a reply suggesting her favourite cafe in the area and hit the mic so she could tell Bumper they were going to break for an hour or so.
She could actually feel the stress of the day fall away from her as she walked out if the building towards the cafe. The idea of seeing her favourite redheaded teacher quickly filling her with excitement and happiness, erasing all the rage she'd been building towards the awkward artist in the studio. When she stepped inside the coffee shop her eyes quickly found Chloe seated at a table against the back wall. The teacher noticed Beca's entrance and immediately greeted her with a beaming smile and a small wave and just like that Beca completely forgot she'd been having a bad day.
"Hey," the producer couldn't help but smile too as she slipped into the seat facing Chloe.
"Hi," Chloe smiled brightly at Beca, her blue eyes twinkling and releasing a swarm of butterflies into the brunette's stomach. "I'm so glad you came. I wasn't sure if you'd be busy or not."
"I'm glad you invited me," Beca replied shyly.
A waitress appeared to take their order, a caramel latte for Chloe and an Americano for Beca, and quickly hurried off to get their drinks.
"So what brings you to my neck of the woods? I mean besides the obvious stalking me." Beca asked playfully.
"I'm not stalking you," she chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I was at the music store around the corner. You would not believe the amount of music stands elementary school kids go through. I'm pretty sure the school is keeping that place in business."
Beca laughed as Chloe launched into stories of some of the more ridiculous ways the kids had managed to break music stands. The conversation was light an effortless and it was exactly what Beca needed. While they talked it struck her just how much she enjoyed Chloe's presence; there was just something about being around the other woman that felt right.
"So I don't suppose you're free Friday night?" Beca asked, their coffees almost completely gone by this point.
"I might be free," Chloe smiled coyly. "Why?"
"Well I'm going to be DJing at the Bunker on Friday night, I kind of owe Luke a favour," she smirked, knowing Chloe knew why she was indebted to the bar owner. "I was wondering if you and Aubrey would maybe like to come?"
"I'd love to!" she replied without a second's hesitation.
"Yeah?" Beca said with a grin that lit up her whole face.
"Of course!" Chloe nodded. "How could anyone turn down an invitation to see DJ BMitch in action?"
"That's great! I'll get Luke to put you guys on the VIP list. It's nothing fancy really, just means you won't have to queue to get in and you get access to a private bar and dance floor," she explained with a shrug.
"It sounds awesome Becs," Chloe reached across the table to cover Beca's hand with her own. "I'm sure Aubrey will be excited too."
Beca was incredibly disappointed when she checked her phone and realised it was time to head back to the studio. She would much rather stay in the coffee house enjoying Chloe's company than go back and continue to battle the overgrown child that was Bumper Allen.
"You need to leave?" Chloe asked, noticing the frown on Beca's face.
"Unfortunately," the DJ sighed.
"I should probably get going too," Chloe nodded.
Beca insisted on paying for the coffee, despite Chloe's protests, and ordered another cup to go as well as a latte for Kirsty. They both hesitated as they headed towards the door, both wanting to prolong their parting.
"Thank you so much for inviting me out to coffee," Beca said when they eventually stepped out onto the street. She looked deep into Chloe's eyes, hoping the teacher would understand just how much she meant it. "You have no idea how much I needed this."
"I'm happy I could help," Chloe smiled and gave Beca's hand a squeeze. "You know I'd be willing to make myself available anytime you're in need of a distraction."
"I might just hold you to that offer Beale!" Beca fired back with a smirk.
"I hope you do," Chloe winked, enjoying the blush that it raised on Beca's cheeks. "So I'll see you on Friday night?" she asked, wondering how much she'd get to see of Beca if she would be working.
"Definitely!" Beca grinned, looking forward to another opportunity to see her favourite redhead.
They finally reached the point where they had to say goodbye. Chloe leaned in and wrapped her arms around Beca before placing a gentle kiss to the brunette's lips. The action made Beca's heart flutter and Chloe's own heart raced at the idea that if things kept progressing the way they had been, she might be able to kiss Beca like that all the time. Maybe it wasn't quite as wonderful as the previous kisses they had shared but it was more than enough to get Beca through the rest of her day without resorting to murdering Bumper.
A/N: I'm really sorry if this chapter seems a little short and maybe a bit filler-y but in the last week or so life has went batshit crazy so I just wanted to post something so you all know I'm still working on this. I have some big ideas for the next chapter and I want to do it right so I hope this tides you over while I work on that. It will probably take longer than my usual no more than 1 week promise but I make a new promise that I will aim to have it up in no more than 2 weeks!
Thanks again to everyone who is reading and following and reviewing! You guys rock!
