Chapter 17-Drive-in
"So what's the plan tonight, are we all going into town for dinner and then ATR?" Cynthia Rose asked as her group of friends gathered together after the final run through of their new routine.
"Wanna hit up that little dive downtown, I hear it's a biker bar..." Stacie said with a sly wink, "I'd be up for a ride"
"My cousin runs a biker bar in Tasmania...I'm the best bouncer he has...with teeth." said the Aussie.
Lily chimed in with something no one could understand, but smiled as the group looked on with interest.
"Hey guys, what do you think about a small road trip to the next town over?" The ginger asked. "There is this great old drive-in movie theatre and with Fat Amy's Scout and the Camp Jeep, and my Element, we could all squeeze in"
"Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun" Said Jessica.
"I'll head out and fill a cooler for us, got any idea what's showing?" Aubrey chimed in.
"Yeah, you never know till you get there, it's usually old movies, but they have 3 screens, so there is always something to choose." Chloe explained while briefly feeling for her cellphone that seemed to grab her attention.
"I'm in." Beca said, knowing she hated movies, but not wanting to miss out on the fun. She noticed Chloe checking out her cellphone, somewhat worrisome before sliding back into her pocket.
"Alright, sounds like a plan. Let's meet down at the car in an hour, it should take at least 45 minutes for us to get there." Chloe, ever the camp cruise director, made sure everyone was good to go, and could make it to the meeting time.
As the group broke up and everyone headed to get ready, Beca ran after her girlfriend who was heading to the car park.
"So who was that just now?" Beca asked.
"Who was what?" the ginger evaded somewhat.
"Your cellphone, you looked upset or something."
Chloe looked at the smaller girl with worry, she was so happy to have Beca in her life, but their relationship was so fragile right now, she didn't want anything to jeopardize it, and she knew hiding this could only lose Beca's trust.
Closing her eyes, Chloe stopped walking and turned to meet those big dark blue eyes she adored. "Beca, we never really talked about what happened with your Dad that day in Atlanta, and he has been texting me now for over a week. I know you asked me to keep all of this between us, and I want you to know that I have done exactly that. It's just, he seems really worried about you, and because he can't get you to respond, he is reaching out to me now."
"Figures." Beca spat out.
"Really?"
"Yeah, he refuses to respect my decision, and he is using his position to try and get his way." Beca pulled Chloe to face her. "Don't worry Chlo, I'll take care of this, I'm sorry you have been put in the middle. I should have known this would happen when I refused to accept his phone calls, and even returned his letters."
"Beca, I don't want to push, you always know that I am here for you. I really, really like you...and I want you to be happy." Chloe really wanted to understand the problems Beca had with her dad, but knew it wasn't a subject she was ever willing explore, and with Chloe working for her father, Chloe worried it would just open that old wound.
"You do make me happy Chlo, happier than I've been in a long time. And I really like you too." She gave her girlfriend a nudge, never much for going all gushy.
Chloe was the opposite, and embraced her affection and impulses. She placed her hands on the smaller girl's hips and pushed her back against her car, leaning her entire body against her and whispering in her ear seductively..." I'm really...really...happy I can make you so happy." She pulled Beca's hips tightly into her own as she kissed her ear lightly. Beca shivered with the aggressive touch.
Chloe smiled and backed away suddenly. "I need to run into town and get a few things, I'll see you back here in an hour." She winked as she pulled her car door open and got in.
Beca, still reeling from the intimate touch, struggled to regain her composure..."You are in so much trouble Beale" As she watched Chloe back out with a devilish grin on her face.
Beca had never wanted someone so much in her life, she enjoyed being on her own and never needing anyone. This feeling of craving another person was so unsettling at times, and yet so exciting for her, she adored Chloe and found herself often lost in thoughts of her new girlfriend. In true Beca fashion, she found herself drifting her thoughts to how many more weeks of summer she had left, and the familiar tug at her heart that reminded her that good things never last. And that thought lead her to pull out her cellphone.
She looked down at the 15 text messages left by her father over the past 4 weeks. The last simply reading...Rebecca, call me.
She struggled with what she wanted to say to her father, after their last meeting, she had effectively ignored his every attempt at contact. Any call made to her phone went unanswered, any letter was returned unopened. Her mother had even phoned and requested that she make an effort to reconcile, yet Beca was adamant that she was not going to speak to him. Now, she knew, it was unfair to have Chloe field her father's calls, and she needed to respond. She dialed his cell number...
"Hello, you've reached Dr. Warren Mitchell, I am unable to receive your call at this time, please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as I am able..."
Beca quietly thanked the heaven's for this opportunity... "Dad, it's Beca. I know you are trying to reach me. If you would like to call me tomorrow at 7:00p.m, I will make sure I am available to take your call. If for any reason you miss me, I will try back Sunday morning at 9:00a. We'll talk soon." with that, she ended her message.
With any luck, she would be able to isolate herself from the group, and could calm her father down a bit. As she sat quietly next to the lake, the Bellas began to gather down at the far end of the car park.
"Hey Becs! Wanna ride with us?" Stacie asked
"Well..." Beca hesitated, not wanting to offend her friend.
"Nah, she's definitely going with her favorite ginger." Cynthia winked at Beca knowingly.
"Ok everyone, let's get going" Chloe called out from her car.
"I can fit at least six of you skinny bitches in my Scout." Said the Aussie.
"Well you four can come with me in the jeep" said Aubrey.
"Guess that just leaves you and me Beca" the ginger smiled. "and we'll take the cooler and extra blankets. Aubrey, you lead the way."
The drive was alot of fun for everyone, windows down and songs carrying on in each vehicle. The summer evening was perfect, the sky clear and warm, but not terribly humid. Beca snuggled up against Chloe the whole way, her hand resting on her upper thigh, how natural their attentions had grown.
The drive-in was like something straight out of the 1950's. Settled in the middle of a large field, a person sitting in a small outhouse like building take $5 per car, and advising which screen played which movie. As explained by Chloe, the movies weren't exactly new releases. Screen #1 was playing Twister, Screen #2 The Breakfast Club, and Screen #3 Jurrasic Park. Aubrey quickly ran from car to car to see which screen they would head to...after much debate, everyone decided on Twister.
As they found three prime spots next to each other, they backed the cars in. Amy popped open the back of her scout and propped the door open with a two by four. The blankets were laid out and each girl settled in for the feature to begin. Amy and Lily took off towards the refreshment stand, and returned with three buckets each of buttered popcorn. As the sun went down the screen lit up with the opening cartoon, and the final cars started filling the open slots. From a few spaces down the familiar sounds of the Trebles echoed the vacant drive-in.
"Well, well...who do we have here?" Bumper mused at the cars full of Bellas. "Is their room in there for us ladies, you all look so cozy."
"Back off...Bumper" Aubrey warned.
"What's the deal, we can all hang out, I mean we've brought refreshments!" Donald said as he opened a cooler filled to the brim with beer and wine coolers.
Aubrey immediately shot a disapproving look, and glared warningly at her charges.
"Come on Aubrey, let us cut loose a bit." The Aussie urged on her comrades, and they all joined in to help soften the heart of the Overprotective Camp Director.
"Fine..but I am not cleaning up any vomit." Aubrey finally acquiesced.
"Yeah, unless it's your own right Posen." Bumper smirked.
"Shut it." Aubrey pointed directly into Bumper's chest.
"That was aka-akward" The Aussie whispered to her group.
As the movie began, and everyone had taken their spots, Beca looked around for Jessie, but couldn't find him.
"Hey Guys, where's Jessie tonight?" Beca asked the group of Trebles.
"Oh, he had a hot date with someone from back home, she came up late last night." Donald replied.
That was news to Beca, she should have known about anyone Jessie was interested in, and wondered when this had begun. She guessed that she had been so caught up in her own summer fling, she hadn't bothered to notice what was going on with her best friend. She made a mental note, and would text him later to meet up.
At that moment she felt her phone vibrate, and looked down at the message. It was a voice mail from her father. She quickly gave a listen.
"Rebecca Grace Mitchell, I have been worried sick. I know you are angry with me, you made that abundantly clear in our last meet, but I do expect enough respect from you to respond when I contact you. I will be coming up to meet with you in person tomorrow at your camp, you said you would be available at 7:00pm, so I will meet you there and we will go for dinner...together. I WILL see you at 7:00p.m."
Beca immediately felt her chest tighten...her breathing began to get heavy as she thought of that last meeting with her father, she didn't need to have that kind of a scene in front of her friends and co-workers. She reached in her laptop bag pocket to grab her emergency pill bottle, but her hands were getting tingly and she struggled to get the pocket open. Chloe caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and immediately went to Beca's side.
"Beca, listen to me, sit back and breathe baby, listen to my voice and concentrate on breathing in and out. That's it, just breathe." Chloe grabbed the bag, and quickly found the pill bottle and handed a small pill to Beca. "Here put this under your tongue and let it dissolve, don't swallow, just breathe. Good Babe, your doing great, just look into my eyes and focus on your breathing."
Beca slowly started to calm down, her breathing evened out, and she was able to control her racing thoughts. "I think I'm ok, a little dizzy though."
Chloe knew that movies weren't Beca's thing, and whatever just triggered this, was way more important to address. "Hey guys, Beca's not feeling too good, I think we'll head back, can you all squeeze into the other two cars?"
"Yeah, sure...Becs you ok girl?" Cynthia called out.
"Yeah, just feeling a little sick to my stomach, sorry to be a flake guys." Beca explained, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"No worries, we'll be good, see you guys back at camp." Aubrey called back over the crowd.
"Beca, give me a second, I need to give something to Aubrey, I'll be right back" Chloe ran over to Aubrey and whispered in her ear.
"Hey Bree, Beca's having a hard night, and the pill she just took is going to knock her out pretty quick. I think instead of heading back to camp, we'll just head up to my folks cabin from here, you know how close it is."
"Uh, huh...I remember it well." The Tall blonde responded with a sly smile.
"No seriously, I think she could use a good night sleep, and the house is stocked for the summer. It might be nice for her, we can be back tomorrow afternoon."
Aubrey knew better than to fight this point, it only made sense, and Chloe wanted her Beca time. "Yeah, that's cool, it's everyone's free weekend anyway. Just Chloe, be careful, you're starting to get in deep you know."
"Yeah, I know, but this is different Bree, she's different." The ginger smiled back at her girlfriend who reclined in the passenger seat of her car.
"Yeah, Different is the word I'd use too." Aubrey remarked sarcastically.
Chloe just rolled her eyes at her friend. "Bree...we will be back tomorrow, now you're sure you can handle this crew on your own?"
Aubrey raised an eyebrow..."Aca-excuse me?"
"Right...my fault, later oh..captain my captain." The red-head gave her a hip bump and was off towards her car.
