Beca's skin tingled as the hot water pinged off her body. She wasn't entirely sure, however, that it was to do with the heat. Steam quickly filled the room, and she inhaled deeply, trying to shake Chloe from her mind and instead allow the warmth to work through her body. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling the strong jets pelt hard on her chest.

"You shout it out," she hummed, flexing her neck under the hot water. "but I can't hear a word you say,"

She winced as she tried to release her stiff shoulders that ached from the cold.

"I'm talking loud, not saying much..."

She was soon warm, but found comfort beneath the shower. And here she didn't have to think about Chloe waiting for her in her dorm room. Not that anything was going to happen, she reminded herself sternly, feeling her lower stomach tingle once again. She closed her eyes, feeling the jets of water hard on her face.

Instead of the dark relief of the inside of her eyelids she had hoped for, she instead saw Chloe in her mind, her face close to her own. She was flustered, her cheeks pink from the steam of the shower. Oh god Beca, she thought to herself, what are you doing - but Chloe leant in closer and put a silencing finger gently to her lips, as if to put an end to her doubting thoughts. Beca smiled, glancing away from Chloe's eyes, and the rest of her body swam into view. It was toned, she thought. Athletic. And also wet, Beca noted with a gulp; Chloe glistened from the steam, every inch of her, from the tip of her nose to the rounds of her nipples that she could just see through the gap in Chloe's folded arms, was wet. Beca opened her eyes quickly, ignoring the twinge she felt deep in her core, and was faced with nothing more than the wall of the shower.

She took a deep breath, and turned the lever to switch off the water. She quickly rubbed her hair dry as best she could (she couldn't help but notice the towel smelled like Chloe, and it sent a tingle through her body, which she tried to ignore once again) and then dressed as quickly as possible into Chloe's sweatpants and hoody. She felt ridiculous; she wasn't a sweatpants kind of girl. And the hoody? Pastel pink. Chloe would pay for this, she thought, scooping the towel up and heading out of the bathroom and back along the corridor towards Chloe's dorm room. She counted the doors along, and knocked before walking in.

Chloe heard the knock, but was not at all prepared. She was half bent over, reaching for a screw top lid which she had accidentally flung down the back of her bed. This wouldn't have been so bad had she bothered to carry on getting dressed before serving up two tumblers of her homebrew cherry liquor, and thus losing the lid half way through the process. She found herself straddling the bed in nothing but a pair of teal knickers and bra, with her butt in the air, and pointed firmly towards the door - through which someone had just entered.

"Oh shit!" she heard Beca say, and as Chloe uprighted herself, she saw Beca swing quickly out of the room, shutting the door with behind her.

"It's fine," she called as she pulled on a long sleeved sweater over her head, and quickly threw on some shorts, "I'm decent now."

"Sorry," Beca said sheepishly. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and the last of her eyeliner still inked around her eyes. Chloe blinked stupidly at her a couple of times, before realising she was holding her towel out for her to take.

"It's fine." Chloe repeated, waving a hand and taking Beca's damp towel and clothes from her. "I'm pretty confident, about all this." she indicated to her upper torso with her spare hand. She saw out of the corner of her eye Beca glance up at the ceiling nervously, her lips pursed, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. "Here," she said, handing over one of two glasses of the liquid she'd poured out before losing the lid.

"What's this?" Beca asked, taking it from her.

"Homemade cherry liquor. My brother makes it - he's at Northwestern." she added with pride, and took a deep mouthful.

"Wow," Beca said after taking a gulp. "Jesus this stuff's strong."

"Yeah, he majored in chemistry, and they do stuff like that in lab class, apparently," Chloe waved a hand nonchalantly in Beca's direction, who nodded nervously. "It's fine, nobody's ever died from drinking this stuff."

"Well in that case!" Beca said, tipping her glass with false enthusiasm.

"You'll be fine." she winked, and swallowed the rest of her glass in one gulp. "It's not even twenty per-cent."

Beca paused, her glass half way to her mouth. Not even twenty per-cent...

"Anyway," Chloe continued, unaware, "I checked the kitchen, there's nothing been left to eat - Aubrey must have eaten out with - with someone. So it's cherries - or nothing, I'm afraid." She took Beca's half empty glass from her hand and put her own next to it, topping them both up with liquor. "Well, we could ring out, but five glasses equals your five-a-day, right?"

"Yeah, um, I'm not sure that's entirely how it works," Beca laughed. "But it's a worthy social experiment though, so I guess I'm game."

And through the bottle they drank - and quickly too - and soon enough the pair of them felt light headed and giggly, the alcohol easily taking advantage of their empty stomachs.

"And then," Chloe said, her words slurring slightly. "That's when I had to leave." She giggled. "Who does that, after like, five seconds? And in their pants!" They were sat opposite each other, on either ends of Chloe's bed. The empty bottle lay abandoned on the floor, the lid clearly no longer required. Beca laughed, and Chloe felt herself tingling.

"I am sorry, Miss Beale," Beca smirked. She reached across and placed a hand on Chloe's knee. "is talking about this making you blush?"

"No." Chloe smiled, shaking her head and looking away. "I don't blush. Ever."

Beca laughed again. "You're blushing right now." she waved her glass in the direction of Chloe's face, who ducked. "Right now, see!"

"I am not!" Chloe said, stubbornly. She smiled though, still, enjoying Beca's tipsy playful self.

"You are." Beca slurred. She lifted herself up onto her knees, wobbled slightly, then leant towards Chloe. She watched Beca getting closer, as if in slow motion. She trembled. Kiss her, she thought - and remembered it was not for the first time that day she had wanted to do so. Beca leant across and put one hand on Chloe's thigh to steady herself. In her other hand was her glass. "Wait." she said, to nobody in particular, and Chloe held her breath. Beca shifted her weight from her knees to the hand which rested on Chloe's leg, and leant even closer towards Chloe. Chloe felt her heart begin to race in her chest. A thick strand of Beca's hair fell across her face as she reached within a foot of Chloe's face. Chloe lifted a hand, to tuck it behind her ear - but just as she did so, Beca lurched to one side, and dropped her glass onto Chloe's bedside cabinet. Her steadying hand slipped from Chloe's thigh, and she gasped - Beca tried to pull herself upright quickly, but the alcohol stole her balance, and she lay, giggling, one side of her face pressed against Chloe's stomach, and her steadying hand somewhere near Chloe's butt.

After a second or two - which felt like a lifetime to Chloe, who had frozen, oddly paralysed by the warmth that Beca's touch was spreading through her body - Beca managed to steady herself, by pushing herself up on Chloe's knees. She blinked slowly as she did so, her face coming level with Chloe's own. They were merly inches apart. Chloe felt her stomach twist as Beca's breath - sweet from the liquor - brushed against her top lip.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." Chloe said, her voice tiny. Beca's eyes stared back big at her, her pupils wide and dark against the blue. Chloe trembled again, and Beca looked down at her arms that were covered in goosebumps.

"Are you cold?" Beca asked quietly. She lifted her hands from Chloe's knees having regained her balance, and slowly traced a line up one of Chloe's forearms. Chloe's chest heaved in response.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head a little, and nipping her bottom lip between her teeth, nervously. "No, I'm not cold." She felt anything but; a warmth was spreading, tingling in her core.

"Chloe?" Beca said, looking up into her eyes again. "Can I ask you something?" She blinked, hard as she spoke. Chloe smiled; she might be drunk, but she wasn't as far gone as Beca.

"Sure." she nodded.

"Why did you invite me to your thing?" Beca waved a hand and slouched back a little, as if to suggest Chloe should know exactly which 'thing' she meant. "You know, your dress, show thing."

Chloe didn't know what question she had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that.

"I, uh... I... I wanted to take you." she tried. "You're, um... You're my friend."

"So is Aubrey," Beca said, "Why didn't you take her?"

Chloe sighed. She would have to tell her. She wanted to tell her. She shifted a little closer to Beca, but glanced away from her eyes. She saw Beca's chest, rising and falling, a slight increase in pace the closer she inched. She looked up, and locked her gaze with Beca's. Chloe leant out, and put a hand on Beca's knee, feeling her tremble beneath her palm. "It's alright." she whispered, and felt Beca's hand on the back of her own.

They were so close, and their foreheads pressed together, and Chloe saw Beca's pink lips, dangerously close to her own, then their noses touched, and she felt warm sweet air escape from Beca's mouth as it opened slightly, as if anticipating what was to come. Chloe felt a hand on her own thigh, which slid up to her waist, pulling her closer. Their breath came in sharp gasps as the gap between them closed. Chloe closed her eyes, and instantly felt Beca's mouth on her own, her lips pressing soft and warm.

"Don't." Beca whispered, as Chloe pulled away after a moment. "Don't."

This time Chloe parted her lips slightly, and nipped Beca's bottom lip between her teeth. She felt Beca's fingertips brush up her sides, and she moaned into the kiss. Beca pressed back fiercely, her mouth opening. Chloe took the chance, slipping her tongue inside. Their mouths fought for dominance, and at the same time Chloe felt Beca lift herself onto her knees, then slide each leg around either side of Chloe's waist. She felt Beca's hands slide into the back of her hair as she lifted her head, ensuring their kiss didn't break. Her own hands toyed for a second with the hem of Beca's jumper, before she slid them up the back, and into the dip at the base of Beca's spine. Beca gasped, breaking from the kiss and moaning heartily as Chloe's fingers traced a pattern along the base of Beca's spine. Chloe smiled, and leant forward to kiss Beca's collarbone. The combination of Chloe's fingers and lips seemed to make Beca crumble, and she fell back on the bed, pulling Chloe down with her. Their heads bumped slightly as Beca landed, but Chloe decided she was to take control. She smiled, the tips of their noses touching slightly, and Beca smiled back. She had her right where she wanted her, and Beca looked like she was enjoying every minute. Chloe's insides fluttered as she adjusted her legs, now straddling Beca's tiny frame at the waist. She positioned her arms at either side of Beca's head, careful not to catch her hair under her palms. She planted a kiss on Beca's nose, then another on either cheek. Beca's eyes closed, and her back arched. This gave Chloe just enough of a chance to reach around and place a teasing brush over her earlobe. Beca shivered beneath her.

"This," Chloe whispered "is why I invited you..." She nipped Beca's earlobe in her mouth gently, and Beca moaned beneath her.

Chloe smiled, planting a trail of kisses along her jaw, across her chin, and down to the last inch of skin she could reach before Beca's hoody interrupted her plans.