Jesse was getting out of the shower when Beca stepped inside the en-suite bathroom.
"Morning," she said in a really sleepy voice when her eyes met his.
"Good mornin'," Jesse smiled at her. "I didn't think you'd wake up on your own," he added, standing behind her and in front of the mirror.
"Me neither," she said then splashed water against her face in an attempt to get rid of sleepiness.
Jesse watched her dry her face with a towel. "Up for a breakfast feast?" he asked as he turned her around to make her face him.
"That's basically why I woke up," she said and rubbed her eye.
"I'll start on it," he patted her shoulders. "What?" he asked in amusement when she pouted.
"Your kid is making me eat a lot, I'm gonna get super fat." She shrugged his hands off of her shoulders once he laughed at her.
"You'll gain just enough weight throughout the pregnancy to make sure our kid weighs more than a kitten when they're born." He placed his hand on her belly. "Besides, I'll be here to tell you when to hit the brakes if you start to eat more than you should," he assured her.
"Is that a promise?" she asked.
"It's more than that," he paused. "It's a pinky promise." He held his pinky up and kept a straight face. Beca fought a smile then shook her head and turned on her heels.
"You really gonna leave me hangin'?" he asked, still holding his pinky up. Beca turned the shower on then looked back at him. She rolled her eyes before reaching over and interlocking their fingers.
"There." She pulled away. "Go away now I wanna shower."
"Don't fall back asleep under the shower you'd literally fall," he paused as he walked backward while reaching for the door handle. Pot was still in her system; she was feeling quite tired and lazy.
Jesse was considering to stay in the bathroom just in case she did slip since she was going through the "weed hangover" when he heard Beca call his name and looked at her.
"What's up?" she asked, frowning a little.
"I'm gonna shave," he told her. Nailed it— he thought to himself. He didn't want to leave her all alone in the bathroom yet didn't want to come off as overprotective: he knew how much it annoyed her. His excuse worked because Beca nodded.
"Okay," she said and gave him her back and pulled the t-shirt she was wearing over her head then kicked off her shorts.
He looked away from her and reached for the shaving cream.
"Hey Jesse," Beca started to say as she drew the shower curtains. "What did your dad say about us?" she asked.
They put themselves in a tricky situation: Beca told Jesse she'd lie for him so that his family doesn't give him shit because he knocked her up and they both assumed they wouldn't take it well. His mom didn't want him to get married because she thought he's not ready.
"He's pretty passive," Jesse shrugged as he started to apply the shaving cream. "I mean he's happy for us." He grabbed his razor and hesitantly asked, "do you want to call off the fake engagement?"
There was no reason for them to pretend.
Beca grabbed her shampoo bottle and tapped it against her hand, thinking. Calling it off meant having to deal with her paranoid mom which she would rather postpone until she'd have the baby because she knew she'd be busy trying to figure out how to raise another human being and whatever her mother has to say wouldn't really affect her.
"No," Beca said. She squeezed some shampoo into her palm. "Unless you want to, I don't mind if we kept this going."
"I'd rather if we stuck to the plan."
Jesse hated that his mother thought he wasn't up for marriage. And hearing Beca tell him that he's really not up for marriage made him want to want marriage for real.
He was planning on getting her back. And even though they'd be pretending to be engaged in front of their families, he figured it might bring them together. And, he was going to seize every chance he could find.
"Okay." Her answer came muffled by the shower.
"Bec," Jesse nudged her shoulder. She tilted her head. He nodded in front of him.
"Jesse, I was looking there," she frowned.
"No," he paused. "Go and catch the bouquet," he told her.
"Ew, no," she shook her head. "Besides, I'm supposed to be engaged," she shrugged.
"So, you're not gonna do it?" he doubled checked.
"Not doing it," she assured him. "Jesse, what are you doing?" she stepped back when he nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Really?" she said in boredom when he picked her up bridal style. "You gonna take me and stand with a bunch of chicks desperate to get married?"
"Uh-huh," he nodded.
"I'm still not gonna try and catch it," she told him. He dug his fingers into her thigh and dramatically sighed.
"Bec, people are watching us," he said.
"Twist my arm," she mumbled after taking a look around. "You can put me down."
"So that you'd run away? Nice try." He held up more steadily. "Besides, you're still thin, for now." He chuckled when she punched him in the shoulder.
"You're an asshole," she told him.
"Eyes on the bouquet, Becs," Jesse said once they reached the crowd of women that was waiting for Emily to throw the bouquet.
Beca sighed and tilted her head. She had no intention of catching the bouquet. Beca arched an eyebrow when she found Amy, Stacie, and Chloe standing there as well.
"What the- What are you doing here?" she asked. Both Amy and Chloe were married. Stacie's hunter wouldn't approve of her tying herself to one person.
"We're here for moral support," Amy said then gave her an over exaggerated wink.
"What do you mean?" Beca asked.
"Bec, get ready," Jesse called. She looked up and didn't make any move catch the damned bouquet yet it landed on her lap because 3 weirdos didn't let anyone catch it and a nerd holding her step forward while eyeing the bouquet.
Beca picked it up and fought back a smile as she looked at her friends. "I appreciate the team effort, guys."
She tilted her head to look at Jesse and playfully slapped him when she found him grinning at her.
"I basically just proposed to you and you slap me, ouch Bec," he said in mock hurt.
"You'll live," she patted his cheek. "Besides it's gonna take more than a cutesy gesture, buddy," she added.
"I know what you want," he confidently told her then turned on his heels.
"They're gonna go have a quickie," Stacie told Chloe and Amy.
"No, we're not," Beca tilted her head, hearing her. "We're not?!" she looked back at Jesse, she made her statement sound more like a question and hoped he didn't hear it.
"We're not," he confirmed. "You're getting a snack," he told her. "That's what you want all day every day. And, I happened to pack you some homemade snacks."
"Wow, I'm impressed," she nodded.
"You don't have to say it, I'll wife you," he told her and heard her let out a small laugh.
"Okay, Jesse, you can seriously put me down. I can walk," she said.
"Bec, you should tell your friends the truth about us," Jesse said, ignoring what she said. "You agreed to pretend in front of my parents. You don't have to lie to the girls, too," he continued to say. He didn't want her to lie to her parents, she wouldn't listen but he was pretty sure she didn't want to lie to her best friends.
"Chloe won't take it well," Beca told him after a beat of silence.
"She'll understand," he assured her. He knew what she meant: Chloe would tell her how stupid she's being by taking a break when she's having a baby with him.
Jesse put her down and stepped back, pulling his car keys from his pocket and unlocking the car.
"As your best friend, it's my responsibility to keep you from making bad decisions and not telling at least Chloe is a big one. You know how much it sucks to not have anyone to vent to—" He opened the car trunk and pulled a picnic basket. "I'd happily be there for you and you know that but I'm pretty sure it's not me who you need given our situation."
He handed her a sandwich.
"Okay," Beca nodded, taking it from him. "I'll tell the girls," she said, biting into the sandwich. "Later," she mumbled.
"Fuck, I didn't realize I wanted to eat," she told him after swallowing.
"You're welcome," he leaned against the car and smiled eyeing her.
Beca was enjoying a slice of cake when she saw Chloe approach her out of the corner of her eye. The wedding had officially ended. Guests started leaving. Beca was finishing up her cake while Jesse went to the restroom. His parents had left and had taken Sam with them which meant she and Jesse weren't pretending anymore.
"Are you craving cake?" Chloe asked when she reached Beca.
"No, not really," Beca mumbled. "I'm just hungry," she shrugged.
Chloe silently squealed with excitement. "I can't believe you're having a baby," she beamed.
"You'll warm up to it," Beca assured her. "Chloe, you promised," she quickly added when she caught Chloe looking down at her belly.
(Beca made Chloe promise to not come near her belly because she really didn't want any attention. Jesse's stunt put her in the spotlight but it wasn't that bad. Having people poke her belly wasn't the kind of attention she could roll with.)
"Beca, please?" Chloe pouted while holding Beca's gaze until she sighed and looked around them then stepped forward.
"No, poking," she told her.
"Got it," Chloe grinned and placed her palm against her best friend's belly. "Oh my god, Beca," she exclaimed, feeling the small bump.
"This is so awesome!" she said removing her hand then pulled Beca into a hug."When were you going to tell me?" Chloe asked as she tightened her hug.
"As soon as this weekend is over, in one mass text with an ultrasound attached," Beca answered. "Jesse and I figured we'd wait until I'm well into the second trimester before we let anyone know," she added, pulling away.
"So, when are gonna get married?" Chloe asked and noticed how unwelcome her question was. "You did catch the bouquet," she said eyeing Beca.
"The thing landed in my lap because of your weird coordination," Beca reminded her. "And," she stretched out the word before continuing, "the whole catching the bouquet thingy is lame and doesn't mean anything."
"So, you're not getting married?" Chloe arched an eyebrow when Beca shrugged. "Why?" She frowned.
"Because we're not dating—"
"—did you elope?" Chloe cut her off.
"We're not dating. We're on a break," Beca said and braced herself.
"Sorry, a what?" Chloe said, not registering what her friend told her.
"We're on a break," Beca said, repeating herself.
"But- but you're having a baby!" She looked at her in confusion.
"I asked for a break then found out I'm pregnant," Beca informed Chloe.
"Is this some sort of a joke?" Chloe wondered because they looked like a very normal couple to anyone.
"Chloe, we have issues and I need space to figure them out," Beca uneasily said. It was very weird to talk about her problems to anyone except Jesse.
"Beca, when you and your partner have a problem you're supposed to work on fixing it together," Chloe said.
"You don't understand," Beca shook her head. "I got to a point where hearing him chew loudly or snore drove me insane!" Beca put the plate she was holding on a table near her no longer feeling like eating.
"You don't seem annoyed with him," Chloe shrugged. "I mean you're holding hands, he took you to catch the bouquet—"
"Our parents think we're engaged to get married after the baby is born... we were just pretending in front of his parents," she told Chloe, stealing glances at her because she couldn't face her. "His parents are uptight and would give him a lot of shit for knocking me up out of wedlock," she said and rubbed her forehead, deciding to leave out the fact that Jesse's mother was concerned about her son's ability to commit.
"So, let me get this straight," Chloe paused. "You broke up with Jesse. Found out you're having his baby. Decided it would be okay to lie to both your parents?"
Beca looked up and saw how disapproving Chloe was of her choices.
"I didn't break up with him I just asked for a break," Beca corrected and saw Chloe roll her eyes then sigh.
"How are you managing on your own?" Chloe asked.
"Jesse and I are still living together, I'm not alone." Beca scratched her head. "Jesse insisted we'd live together until I wouldn't need him—"
"Beca, this is really messed up. How are you supposed to get the space you want if he's living with you."
"Well, I guess you could say we're on hold until the baby is born," Beca blew a breath. "Chloe, Jesse would lose his mind if I didn't let him stay," she added watching Chloe shift her weight on her left leg and cross her arms across her chest. "I mean, he freaks out when I don't text him when I get to work. He's gotten super protective: it's annoying. You can guess how he'll become if he doesn't see me on a daily basis."
"Beca he wouldn't leave if you don't tell him to leave," Chloe said.
"We agreed he would give me space when the baby grows old enough, like, sleeps through the night, and I can actually manage on my own..." Beca looked behind Chloe when she saw Jesse make his way to them. Chloe glanced behind her for a second then took a deep breath.
"Are you having sex?" she asked.
"That's a little too personal," Beca mumbled.
"Beca, just answer me. You're living together and pregnancy increases the sex drive."
Beca didn't have say it; the guilty look in her eyes was enough.
"It's wrong. I KNOW. Jesse keeps telling me he's fine with it but I know he isn't."
"Then stopping screwing around both figuratively and literally," Chloe exclaimed.
"Chloe, calm down," Jesse calmly said, reaching them.
"My best friend is being a huge moron and you're not doing anything to stop this fucking mess!" she said as she glared at Jesse.
"What am I supposed to do? Force Beca into a relationship she's not sure about?"
"No, you could leave and give her space." She looked between them. "What you two are doing is unhealthy."
"I told you she won't take it well," Beca said to Jesse in both hurt and bored tone.
"Chloe, I'll do that when it's time for me to leave," he gave her a small smile. "I'd pack and leave tomorrow if I knew Beca would be okay on her own. Beca works a lot and doesn't eat enough. She needs someone to nag her about her eating habits and working too much. Not that I don't trust Bec to take care of herself but I know it would be tiresome. And, you can't tell me not to because it's my baby too that is growing inside her." He told himself that he wouldn't get worked up but when he saw Beca clearly hurt by Chloe's reaction he couldn't help but let his over-protectiveness get the best of him.
"I can't let Beca deal with pregnancy on her own. You've been through it, Chloe, it's not all rainbows and sunshine." He felt Beca place her hand on his arm and dig her fingers in an attempt to get him to let it go. He had one thing that he still had to say so he did. "We can put aside our difference for the sake of our baby."
"Jesse," Beca pulled his arm to get him to shut up. He did.
Chloe sucked in a deep breath then exhaled loudly.
"Babe." They heard Tom call. "I found it." He shook the toy his daughter lost and threw a tantrum over it then fell asleep in her father's arms while he looked for it.
"Great," Chloe sighed and took Grace from him and held her.
"Can I?" Beca asked while pointing at her sleeping niece.
"Yeah," Chloe nodded. She handed Beca Grace and stepped back. "You're not going to wake her up?" Beca asked as she eyed the sleeping toddler.
Chloe shook her head. "Nope. She's pretty worn out." She took her bag from Tom and then held his hand.
Beca rested her cheek against Grace's head that was on her shoulder.
Jesse extended his hand and stroked the toddler's cheek.
"The wedding went well, huh?" Tom said as they started making their way out of the venue.
"Yeah, and the cake's top notch," Beca said then glanced at Jesse to check on him. He was eyeing Grace with a small smile on his lips. He looked like he had calmed down.
"You guys set a date yet?" Tom asked.
"Nope," Beca answered while Jesse just shook his head.
"Oh you gonna wait until you have the baby?" he guessed.
"They're not getting married, Tom," Chloe told him.
"Weird, I thought I heard something about an engagement." He frowned.
"There's none of that," Chloe said, sounding more accepting of her friends' situation. She took Grace from Beca once they reached the parking lot. "Call me," she said and held Beca's gaze until she nodded.
Chloe turned around and put Grace in her seat once Tom unlocked the car.
"Bec, wait here," Jesse said to Beca, realizing that he parked a little too far since the parking lot was somehow emptier.
"Okay," she nodded.
Chloe glanced at Jesse who was making his way to the rental he rented for the weekend then looked back at Beca.
"Chloe, don't worry about him," Beca nodded at Jesse as she watched Chloe.
"You weren't kidding about the over-protectiveness. He's like a mama bear... he's—"
"—don't say it," Beca interrupted.
"— he's your daddy bear," Chloe continued anyway making Beca cringe. "On a serious note, though, do you really need him to be around or are you just letting him stay because you don't want him to leave?"
"Chloe, I... I don't know," she shrugged. "I can't tell between hormonal stuff and what I want!"
"Oh, boy," Chloe dramatically sighed. "We're gonna have to talk about all this." She pointed at Beca.
"Yeah, okay," Beca nodded.
"I should go now. Don't want your daddy bear to think I'm upsetting you," Chloe said seeing Jesse approach in the rental.
"Don't call him that," Beca said watching Chloe stepping inside the car.
"I'll call him what I want," Chloe said over shoulders.
Beca blew a breath and watch Tom drive off then tilted her head when Jesse stopped the car in front of her and rolled down the window.
He was studying her face and looking for any indication that she was bothered.
"Hey, I'm sorry I convinced you of telling Chloe," he apologized once she got inside the car. "I didn't think she'll blow up in your face."
"It's fine, Jesse," she told him as she fastened her seat belt. "She's just worried and I don't blame her," Beca shrugged looking up.
"Okay," Jesse smiled at her then turned the radio on before he drove off.
AN: So, watcha think of this? Whatever it is you think leave it in a review below. Thank you for time and until next time.