A/N: The rating on this chapter is more like an M, but I tried to keep it in the T range. Let me know if you disagree. I don't like writing rated M stuff, but I know I often reach the line. These characters have a mind of their own, and as I sat down to write I didn't have a plan in mind. The story just took on a life of its own... (Or you can blame my pregnancy hormones, haha)
Boot camp is intense, and the musical numbers are far more complex than the ones in the first movie, but Anna is happy to be surrounded by her friends every day. It doesn't allow for much alone time with Skylar, either. She doesn't want things to move too quickly between them, because she feels they still need some time to get to know each other. Plus, his relationship with Camp has only just ended.
And so they spend the next few weeks doing choreography, and singing, and recording, and harmonizing. Sometimes they work together, and other times they are in separate places. When they do see each other, they talk and flirt, and their interactions always leave her with a smile on her face for hours afterwards.
Skylar wants to see more of Anna, but he knows it is probably for the best that they are so busy. He is considering asking her to dinner, but he isn't sure if she'll think it was too soon, and so he waits for the right time.
It's the last day of boot camp, and Skylar's group finishes up early. He's walking around the set when he hears the sounds of the girls' rehearsal taking place. He decides to go over and watch for a little before heading back to the hotel.
Anna is in the middle of the group, her voice loud and clear and her pitch perfect as she sings. The others are harmonizing with her, and he stops in his tracks, just loving to listen to her sing. She smiles at him as she continues with the choreography, and when the number finishes he applauds for them. She walks over to him and grabs a bottle of water from a nearby table.
"That was really great," he tells her.
"Thanks," she replies.
"So I was wondering," he begins nervously, "If you'd like to have dinner with me sometime? I know I just broke up with Camp a few weeks ago, and I hope you don't think I'm rushing into things, but I'd really like to spend some time with you, just us."
She smiles at him, his nervousness is adorable, and it's sweet of him to worry. "I'd love to," she responds.
He grins, "When?"
"How about tonight around seven?" she answers, "We can order room service in my suite. This way we don't have to worry about drunk bastards assaulting us and paparazzi taking our pictures."
"Sounds perfect," he replies. "I'll see you then."
That evening she paces around her hotel room, searching through her closet. She has no idea what to wear. She thinks it's a date and normally she'd dress up, but this is just dinner in her room. She decides on a denim skirt and leggings paired with a dark green top. She leaves her hair loose around her face and applies her makeup carefully.
At exactly seven o'clock, she hears a quiet knock on her door, and she opens it to reveal Skylar, dressed in dark wash jeans and a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His eyes scan down her body, noticing that her shirt shows off her cleavage nicely. He quickly returns his eyes to her face, not wanting it to seem like he's ogling her.
"Hey," she says, opening the door for him.
"Hey," he smiles at her, and she feels her stomach flip, "I still can't get over how huge this place is."
"Are you hungry?" she asks him, "Because we can order now if you want."
He nods and she hands him the room service menu. Once their selections have been made she picks up the phone and places the order. She turns back to him and says, "So I thought we could watch a movie while we wait for the food. Sound good?"
"Dinner and a movie?" he jokes, and she nods. She leads him over to the television and they both sit on the sofa. She starts flipping through the pay per view movie options.
They laugh when they see that The Breakfast Club is an option. "Let's just focus on being us and not Jesse and Beca for one evening," he says. "Lord of the Rings?" he asks.
"I kind of think if you're going to watch one, you need to watch them all in order," she replies.
"You like Lord of the Rings?" he asks, surprised.
"I love it. I watch the entire trilogy every year," she replies seriously.
"I knew it! You are a closeted nerd!" he teases her.
"I wouldn't say it's a big secret," she laughs, "I'm pretty out there with how weird I am. I can't help it if most people don't get that I'm joking most of the time."
"Your Twitter is hilarious," he agrees, "Even if you don't follow me."
"You don't follow me either!" she pushes him lightly on the shoulder.
"I don't have to," he answers, "Your page is public for anyone to see."
"Ditto," she answers. "Besides, now I can just text you or call you, or just see you if I want to. I don't get people that are always just using social media to communicate with each other. I mean, it's completely out there for everyone and anyone to see."
He pauses, wondering if this is a jab at his relationship with Camp, but decides it probably isn't, "I know what you mean." She turns to him, a wayward curl of hair falling across her face, and he instinctively tucks it behind her ear. It's such a simple gesture, and he can't help but notice the way her cheeks flush slightly. She turns her attention back to the screen quickly.
"The Wedding Singer?" she asks him.
"Oh definitely," he replies, happy that she chose a comedy. It's something they've both seen a dozen times and the familiarity of it puts them both at ease. They're quoting lines and singing along with the songs when they hear a knock on the door.
"Room service!"
Their food is beautifully arranged on the table for them, and they sit down to eat.
"I'm embarrassed to admit this," Skylar says in between bites, "But the first time we met I thought you were way out of my league. I mean, I was nobody, and you were famous. I thought you were attractive, of course, just didn't think I had a shot with you."
She almost chokes on her food, "What? Are you kidding me?"
"Yeah," he replies, "And then I started getting along well with Camp and we became friends. And then when she got divorced it just made sense for us to start dating. And I was happy for a while, but lately things had been hard. We were always in different places and it was taking a toll on us. And then I realized I wasn't the same person that I was when we started going out. We'd somehow changed in a way that made us grow apart."
"I get that," she answers. "It's nearly impossible to have a relationship with anyone with my schedule lately. I'm always headed off somewhere to film, or attend some awards function, or charity event, and I think it would be really difficult to be involved with me."
"You don't think you're worth the effort?" he asks her.
"I don't know," she answers honestly.
"I'll be the judge of that," he says, and again her stomach does a little flip.
"With Edgar, there was the age difference," she says, "And then our schedules never aligned, and it was getting to the point where marriage seemed like the next step. But for some reason it didn't feel right. I mean, I still care about him and think he's a genius in what he does, but I didn't feel confident about our future. It was mutual when we ended things, but it still hurt. And then for a while I didn't want to get involved with anyone, because I didn't want the same pattern to repeat itself. And frankly, I was too busy."
"And how about now?" he asks.
"And now," she pauses, knowing she's about to be brutally honest with him, "I find myself needing to know if this attraction is because we're playing lovers in a movie or if it's real."
"Don't say lovers," he quotes Beca. "Oh, and it's real," he says matter-of-factly and with confidence, and for what seems like the umpteenth time that evening, she has butterflies in her stomach.
They finish eating and return to the sofa to watch the rest of the movie. Only now she can't focus on it anymore. She can feel his eyes on her, but she keeps her gaze fixed to the screen. Her heart is pounding wildly in her chest and she swears he's going to be able to hear it. She feels his fingers playing with the ends of her hair, and turns tentatively to face him. His eyes are darting rapidly between her eyes and her lips, and when he leans slowly toward her she knows what's going to happen. His lips peck hers lightly a few times before he pulls back, wanting to gauge her reaction. She smiles nervously at him, threading her hands in his hair and pulling his mouth back to hers. She can feel him smiling into the kiss, and when his tongue skims her bottom lip, she opens her mouth to him. His hands grip either side of her tiny waist, and he pulls her flush against his body as their tongues tangle together. They kiss for a long while, and when he finally breaks the kiss, they're both breathing hard as he leans his forehead against hers.
"Camp is an idiot," she blurts, and he laughs. Because God, this boy can kiss.
"Believe me, it was never like this with her," he answers.
"Never?" she asks.
"Never," he says softly, and his voice sends shivers up her spine. He can't explain this connection to her that he feels, this electricity between them, but it's setting every nerve ending on fire. He resists the urge to just take her, right here and now on this sofa. He's never felt like this before, about anyone.
He's staring at her with such intensity and she returns his gaze, kicking off her shoes before standing and straddling him. She pushes him back against the sofa and captures his lips again with her own, kissing him hard. He's already incredibly turned on by her, and now it's becoming painfully obvious. She grinds her hips into his, and he groans.
"You're killing me here," he tells her as she starts kissing his neck.
She runs her hands down his chest and he moans, pushing her hips down onto him again. "I think maybe we just need to do this, and see if it goes away. You know…the tension."
"Are you sure?" he asks, because even though he desperately wants her, she's important to him.
"God, yes," she mumbles as his lips attach to her earlobe, sucking gently. He stands, and she wraps her legs around his waist as he carries her to the bedroom. He lowers her to the bed before kicking off his shoes and climbing on top of her, returning his lips to hers. She's undoing the buttons on his shirt, and he helps her, shrugging it off and depositing it on the floor. She admires his well-defined chest and abs, tracing her fingers lightly over his muscles as he tugs her shirt over her head. She shimmies out of her skirt and leggings and scoots up the bed, pulling the duvet down and sliding under the bed sheets. He's down to just his boxers when he climbs in next to her, placing the condom that was in his jeans pocket on the nightstand beside him.
"You came prepared," she notes, grinning.
"And hopeful," he admits, before reaching for her and pulling her on top of him. He removes her bra easily, and it joins the rest of their discarded clothing on the floor. He wants to savor every moment with her tonight, so he slows down their pace, rolling them over and pressing her into the mattress.
He makes love to her, and it's passionate, and hot, and intense. They pour all of their pent up emotions into every kiss, every touch, and even though neither of them are virgins, it is unlike any other experience they've ever had. Afterwards, he's lying on his back with her curled into his side as they try to catch their breaths.
"Wow," she breathes.
"Yeah," he agrees. He pulls her closer to him, placing a kiss to her temple, "You're beautiful, you know that?"
"You're not so bad yourself," she smiles, kissing his chest.
"So what do you think? Did you get it out of your system?" he jokes even though he's kind of afraid of her answer.
"Nope," she replies, smiling, "Guess we'll just have to do it again."
He laughs, pulling her on top of him and kissing her soundly on the lips, and he still feels it, stronger than ever, the sparks flying between them. "So sexy," he breathes into her mouth, and she breaks the kiss, looking down at him.
"No way," she replies. "Cute, maybe. But not sexy."
"You really don't get it, do you?" he asks, but before she can answer, he's doing that thing with his tongue again and she can't think clearly.
And then they're on to round two.
"So you really hoped you'd get lucky tonight," she teases him, referring to the fact that he'd brought multiple condoms with him tonight.
"It's something I'd been hoping for since I met you," he admits, and again she blushes.
He pauses, unsure of whether she wants him to stay the night or head back to his own room. She notes his expression and says, "I'd love for you to stay, but unless you want to face a barrage of questions from the girls tomorrow morning, it might be better if you left. They've developed this annoying habit of waking me up insanely early and harassing me with questions about whether we've hooked up or not yet."
She pouts as she says this, and he laughs, "Ok. I'm not sure I'm ready for that," he says.
"Would it be ok if we kept this on the down low for now?" she asks hesitantly, "I'm a really private person and I don't want to broadcast our relationship just yet if it's ok with you."
"Yeah definitely," he agrees. "I'll be cool, I promise."
"Good," she smiles at him as he stands, gathering his clothing from the floor and dressing.
"So does anybody know that I came here for dinner tonight?" he asks.
"Not that I know of," she answers. "I didn't mention it to anyone, did you?"
"Nope," he replies, leaning back over the bed and kissing her. "Goodnight gorgeous, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok, goodnight," she replies, already feeling a little cold without him next to her.
"I had an amazing time tonight," he says over his shoulder as he disappears through the doorway. She waits until she hears the door shut behind him, and then rolls over in an attempt to get some sleep.
Her body is still humming with thoughts of his hands and lips on her, and she groans, throwing her pajamas on as she gets ready for bed officially. She picks up her phone and glances at tomorrow's filming schedule.
She smiles when she realizes she's going to be spending most of the day with Skylar, acting like she's in love with him.
It's turning out to be easier and easier with each passing moment they spend together.