CHAPTER 8: I KNOW THAT YOU'RE WEARY OF ME, CAREFUL OF ME
Night four
"Are you sure about this?" Aubrey asked as she watched Chloe pack her clothes in her suitcase.
"Not really" Chloe sighed. She didn't think Beca would actually agree to stay in the guesthouse with her. Just the two of them but now as she packed her suitcase she was nervous. The brunette didn't want to hear her apologies down at the beach and now they would be in a small place together.
"Do you want me to stay with you? I can tell them you changed your mind." Aubrey offered.
"No." Chloe said standing up straight to stretch her back that was tight from bending over. "I need to talk to her and this will be the best way for me to get to do that."
"By trapping her?" Aubrey asked slightly sarcastically.
"Yes" Chloe said with a nod.
There was a lull in the conversation when Chloe disappeared into her bathroom to back up her cosmetic case. She was glad to be out from under the judgmental eyes of her best friend. She stopped packing the small case when she heard Aubrey's voice from the bedroom. "So this is Beca's house?"
"It is." Chloe answered once she exited the bathroom with her personal items.
"And she has a private jet?" Aubrey questioned.
This time Chloe didn't answer.
"You knew?" The blonde asked.
"About the house … yes." Chloe said as she placed her case inside the suitcase. "The plane. No."
Aubrey didn't need to say anything, Chloe could feel her thoughts before she made them. "Does that change your opinion of her? Now that you know she's got money and that she's not just some beach bum?"
"Not at all." Aubrey answered quickly. "Actually, now … I have more questions."
"Well …if she lets me apologize and gives me another chance, maybe you'll get the chance to ask your questions." Chloe said shooting a glare at her friend before returning to packing her suitcase.
"If she doesn't want to listen Chloe, you shouldn't force her." Aubrey said sternly. "Maybe it's for the best that this all happened."
"What?" Chloe questioned quickly as she turned towards her best friend. "Why would you say that?"
"Because Chloe. We need to get back to real life. Not day dream beach fantasies of millionaires that will never be. It's probably best that it's over before anything really got started." Aubrey said softly hoping her friend would listen to reason.
"You don't even know Beca." Chloe said in the chef's defense.
"You right." Aubrey quickly agreed. "I don't."
"You don't understand Bree." Chloe mumbled as she zipped her suitcase and pulled it from the bed.
"And Beca does?" Aubrey questioned.
XxXxXx
"Are you sure about this?" Jesse asked as he crumpled his t-shirt and stuffed it into his backpack.
"Not at all" Beca said as she sat on the end of his bed.
"You could tell them that you changed your mind." Jesse suggested.
Chloe's pleading eyes flashed in front of her eyes. She didn't know what possessed her to give into the request to stay at the guesthouse with the actress but she did. Her resolve crumbled quickly with one looking into those baby blues.
"I'll be fine. It's just for a day or so until they can make some plans and get out of here." Beca reasoned hoping beyond hope that everything would go smoothly.
"Okay" Jesse sang as he threaded his arm through the strap and slid the pack on his back. "You stay here in this shithole with the girl that shredded your heart after two days and I'll go live in paradise with one of the hottest girls on the planet." He smiled thinking of Stacie.
She was not one ounce jealous of Jesse. Sure Stacie was pretty, so was Aubrey, Jessica and CR but they didn't compare to Chloe. She shook the thought out of her head quickly as she followed him out of the room and towards the door.
He opened the door only to be standing face to face with Chloe, her hand suspended in the air apparently ready to knock.
Chloe cleared her throat. "Hey" She said softly.
"Have fun." Jesse said turning back to Beca as he brushed past Chloe who looked startled by his sudden change in personality.
"I know I'm not his favorite person" Chloe said standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"Come in." Beca said refusing to reply to her comment. "I'm sorry the place is so messy but it will just have to do. Flo's crew didn't have a chance to clean up over here and Amy's not bringing any staff that aren't already here over and they are all staying over there so it's just you and me.
"No. It's fine Beca." Chloe said quickly. "Thank you."
"Yeah, um." Beca felt the awkward tension between them and with the way Chloe was gripping her hands tightly together she knew the redhead was feeling it too. "You can stay in Benji's room. It's the cleanest and he really only stayed in there a couple of times before he broke his arm. Jesse's room is a mess and my room is"
"You're room" Chloe said with a smile. "Where is it? Just so I know?"
"Across the hall from Benji's." Beca answered as she led Chloe down the hallway. "From yours." She corrected. "And this is the bathroom." Beca said pushing open the door and flipping on the light. It was nothing like the bathroom she showered in last night but it was nice. Homey. The guesthouse reminded her of the house she grew up in. "Here's your room." Beca said stopping at the door.
Chloe stood across from her trying to think of what to say. Where to begin.
"There's pizza if you're hungry." Beca said looking down at her shoes unwilling to feel the pressure of Chloe's eyes on her anymore. "If you don't want pizza I can make you something. We have some food here." Beca offered.
"Pizza's great." Chloe smiled. "Let me just" she hitched her thumb over her shoulder towards the bedroom.
"Yeah, sure. No problem. See you ... see you out there." Beca stammered. She rolled her eyes to herself as she walked down the hallway away from the redhead who watched her with a charmed smile.
XxXxXx
Beca sat on the small couch with her feet kicked up on the coffee table and her laptop sat on her stretched out legs. When she opened the top, Jesse's Netflix account was still displayed. She'd thought Chloe was just going to put her bag down and come and eat but that was 20 minutes ago. She took one more glance down the hallway before typing Chloe's name into the search bar. Her thumb hovered over the enter key as she tried to decide if it was worth it. "Fuck it" Beca mumbled to herself as she pressed the button quickly. Beca read through the titles of the 5 movies that popped up.
"I thought you didn't like movies?" Chloe questioned teasingly from behind.
Beca slammed the lid to her computer down quickly and pushed it off her lap. "I was just gonna look at something on the internet and I guess Jesse was looking at Netflix earlier. I wasn't just" She started denying quickly, "I wasn't just"
"It's fine Beca." Chloe said soothingly. She'd noticed the titles of the films. They were all hers. "It's okay to be curious about me." Chloe smiled. "I'm curious about you."
"I'm not curious." Beca lied. "It's Jesse's account."
"Oh. Okay" Chloe conceded.
"I um put my sheets and blanket in the washing machine for you. I thought they'd be better than using Benji's. At least you'll know they are clean." Beca said as she went into the small side room to check the time on the washer. "I'll throw them into the dryer in a bit."
"You didn't have to do that." Chloe said as she walked around the couch and sat down on the end farthest from where Beca had been sitting. "What will you sleep on?"
"I'll just use the mattress. It's fine." Beca said pulling open the handle to the fridge and grabbing the six pack of beer that was inside. She picked up the pizza box from the counter and made her way back to the couch, sitting in the spot she was previously in, on the opposite side from Chloe. "Beer?" She offered.
"Pizza and beer." Chloe smiled as she took the bottle Beca was holding out for her. "My favorite."
"Really?" Beca laughed. "You don't seem like a pizza and beer type of girl."
Chloe bit her lip. "What kind of girl do I seem like?" She asked playfully.
"I don't know" Beca said quickly thinking it may be better to keep her opinion to herself.
"No." Chloe replied. "Tell me. What kind of girl do you think I am?" She asked desperate to hear Beca's take on her.
"Expensive wine. Designer dresses. Fine caviar. Vintage jewels. 6 course meals …" Beca listed slowly as she pulled the pizza box open. She knew that wasn't true. She knew with even the little that she did know of the actress she wasn't any of those things. She paused and decided to address the elephant in the room. No more dancing around the issue. Just lay it on the table, "asshole boyfriends who slap her around type of girl." As soon as the words left her mouth she wished she could have rephrased or taken it back all together. She saw Chloe's grin drop.
"Well" Chloe breathed. She'd thought Beca was teasing. She'd thought that they were getting back to being comfortable with each other. Until the last comment. "I'm gonna just go to my room." Chloe said softly as she began to push herself up from the couch.
"I'm sorry" Beca said quickly. She looked up at Chloe with her dark blue eyes. "Please. Just stay. Eat something. That was" Beca shook her head at herself, "so mean and I'm sorry."
Chloe stood motionless. Beca's words hurt her and she was unsure of what to do.
"Pancakes." Beca whispered. "Classic movies. Vintage records." Beca began listing as she looked up at the redhead. "Big straw hats …"
A smile broke out on Chloe's face. She could feel her heart beating quickly as she looked down at Beca who continued. "Dogs. Not cats."
Chloe giggled. She found herself sitting down slightly closer to the chef.
"And pajama's all day on Sunday's." Beca finished with a smile finally needing to break eye contact with Chloe. "That's the kind of girl I think you are." She whispered.
Chloe bent forward and reached for a slice of pizza, she pulled back with a smile "and Hawaiian pizza is my favorite" She added before placing the tip in her mouth.
XxXxXx
"What do you think is going on over there?" Stacie asked as she stood on the balcony of Chloe's former room looking over towards the guest house. "Think they've killed each other yet?" She smirked, "or they could be fucking?"
Aubrey rolled her eyes and chose not to answer.
The lack of response made her turn back towards the blonde. "What's wrong?" Stacie asked.
"Nothing." Aubrey said defensively.
"Oh come on Bree." Stacie laughed. "There is definitely something up with you." She walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed next to her friend. "What's going on?"
"I just think" Aubrey paused as she looked up at Stacie, "I just think this is a bad idea for Chloe." She admitted. "That she's bad for Chloe."
"Why?" Stacie asked her eyebrows furrowed together.
Aubrey shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't think it's in her best interest."
Stacie leant back. "And you think Luke was?" She huffed.
"No" Aubrey said quickly. "But" She stopped when she saw the look on Stacie's face. "Never mind."
"No Aubrey. Finish what you were about to say." Stacie said slightly angry but it faded quickly when she had a thought, "wait. Do you like Chloe?" She asked. "Like, you know … like her?"
"What?" Aubrey gasped. "No. No" She repeated and shook her head. "She's my best friend."
"And you love her?" Stacie questioned.
"Oh my God Stacie. Stop" Aubrey said as they both burst into laughter. "I just think" Aubrey said after the laughing died down, "That this isn't the right relationship for her."
Stacie wiped a tear from her eye. "Why not?" She asked.
"Well, for one. Because she literally just got out of an high publicized long term relationship that didn't go so great." Aubrey answered.
Stacie nodded. There was that and that was a valid point. "And two, we just happen to come to Cabo and run into a well to do chef, who sometimes DJs, who has caught the attention of one of the hottest actresses in the world, who didn't know who she was the moment she laid eyes on her?" Aubrey questioned. "I just don't buy it." She shrugged. "Why is Beca just biding her time here? Cooking for people when she owns this house? When she owns her own plane? Who is a classically trained chef? What's she running from? What's she hiding from?"
Stacie hadn't thought of it that way. She'd only seen the way they looked at each other. She'd only seen how they seemed to make each other happy. Giddy. Before Luke showed up.
XxXxXx
"No" Chloe sighed heavy into the phone. "Really Mom. I'm fine." She said trying to sound conviencing. "I just wanted to give you a heads up. I figured you probably hadn't seen the headlines yet but it's only a matter of time before you do." Chloe turned when she heard the front door open. She gave a weary smile to the brunnette who gently kicked the door closed behind her as she carried two more six packs of beer in her hands. "What?" Chloe asked when she missed what her mom had just asked her. "You know how it is Mom. There's some truth behind it but it's not like it sounds."
Beca quirked an eyebrow as she headed straight for the kitchen to give the actress some privacy in the small house.
"I didn't" Chloe paused, "cheat." She said softly. "But, I did meet someone here."
Beca blushed. She stood and closed the refrigerator and turned to look for her dog. "Tuck" She whispered. "Let's go."
Chloe twisted the opposite direction and watched as Beca avoided eye contact with her and made a straightline for the back door, Tuck following right behind her.
"I don't know if it will last but, I hope it does." Chloe replied to her mother.
Beca closed the glass door behind her as Tuck took off into the night. She stood on the porch with her hands in the pockets of her jeans waiting for him to come back.
"She's a chef." Chloe said as she watched Beca stand outside looking out into the darkness. "No, she's not famous. She's just a regular person." Chloe hadn't planned on telling her mother about Beca, she had only wanted to tell her that some stories were going to come out. She only wanted to warn her that she'd probably be seeing her daughters face on the latest tabloid magazine the next time she was in the grocery store. But her mom was curious. She wanted to know about this person Chloe was reportedly having an affair with. She knew Chloe wasn't a cheater but she also knew that Chloe and Luke's relationship had been rocky as of late. And although she'd know that Chloe was interested in women, that wasn't something the world knew. Only her, her husband and Chloe's closest friends.
"And you like her enough to tell the world that your bi?" Claire, Chloe's mother, asked. "That's alot to put on one person honey. Especially one that you just met. And one who's not already famous, because something like this..."
Chloe knew her mom was right she didn't even need to finish her sentence. She leaned back into the couch as her mom continued.
"will make her the center of attention. Everyone will want to know every single thing about her." Claire said gently. "Is she ready for that?"
"Probably not." Chloe conceeded. "It doesn't really matter right now mom because she's pretty pissed at me."
"Why?" Claire asked.
Chloe sighed, "Cuz I didn't tell her about Luke. She found out when he showed up."
Beca heard Tuck barking in the distance. She whistled as loud as she could and called for him but the barking continued. "Tuck, Let's go dude!" She yelled again. The barking stopped and she could see him racing back towards the house. A few seconds later and the dog was sitting down at her feet looking up at her. Beca hoped that Chloe's conversation with her mother was over as she slowly turned back to the house.
"Yeah" Chloe said to her mom as Beca opened the door up and Tuck ran into the house. "I'll call you tomorrow." Chloe said quickly. "Tell Roger I said hello. Love you too." Chloe said before disconnecting the call and setting the phone on the couch next to her.
Beca walked through the house and to the kitchen. Once she heard Chloe said bye to her mom she asked, "Beer?"
"Sure" Chloe replied as Tuck came up and sat at her feet placing his head on her knees. She leaned forward and grabbed his face with both her hands placing a kiss on the top of the dogs head. "Good boy" she whispered.
Beca was curious as she rounded the couch and sat down with a plop. "Roger?" She asked as she handed over a beer to Chloe who took it with a smile.
"Stepdad" Chloe answered.
Beca nodded as she placed the bottle to her lips.
"Where did you get Tuck?" She asked making light conversation hoping it would lead to heavier topics.
"I found him." Beca answered. "I was driving to meet the contractors for another property that we have" And by 'we', Chloe now knew Beca meant 'her'. "And he was on the side of the road. Just sitting there, like he was waiting for someone to come back for him. The vet said some asshole probably dumped him." Beca shrugged.
Chloe's natural smile fell into a frown.
"Well the vet said someone dumped him." Beca corrected, "I added the asshole part." She smirked causing Chloe's heart to flutter.
"So, where does your mom live?" Beca asked thinking she was keeping the conversation light. "What's wrong?" She asked when Chloe's expression saddened.
"I feel guilty talking about my family." Chloe admitted softly.
"Why?" Beca asked quickly.
"Because of your parents." The actress replied. "I don't know what I'd do without my mom and you don't ..."
Beca interrupted her, "It's okay." Beca said sweetly. She reached forward and placed a gentle hand on Chloe's leg for all of two seconds before she had to pull it away. "I want to know about your family."
"You do?" Chloe asked with her eyebrows raised.
Beca nodded.
"Why?"
"I guess" Beca swallowed trying to buy herself some time. "Because I want to know ... more about you." Beca knew she was blushing at the admission so she raised her cold beer and took a long drink to buy herself some time. "And you've already met my crazy family" She said referring to Jesse, Fat Amy, Flo and Lily. "So spill it Chloe Beale."
Chloe smiled. She liked the sound of her name coming from Beca's mouth.
"Wait!" Beca said loudly. "Is Chloe your real name? Or is it just a stage name and your real name is something like Francis or Margaret?" Beca asked quickly trying to keep herself from laughing but was unable to fight it off when Chloe's head flew back as she errupted in the sweetest sound Beca had ever heard.
XxXxXx
A few hours later and Chloe waited while Beca went to check on the laundry. "Here you go." Beca said walking out of the small room with warm bed sheets in her arms. "All clean."
Chloe smiled as she stood from the couch and rounded it. "Thank you." She said sincerely taking the ball of linens from Beca.
"Of course." Beca said backing away slowly.
They stood for a few seconds looking at each other, each unsure if they should say what was on their minds.
Beca decided against it and quickly turned the conversation into something different. "I'm just gonna clean up and then go to bed. It was a long day before all of this happened so I'm kind of beat."
Chloe nodded quickly. "Oh. Yeah of course."
Beca smiled gently as she walked the long way around the room back towards the sofa and coffee table. Chloe watched her close the lid to the pizza box and gather the few empty beer bottles in her hand.
"I'll just see you in the morning then?" Chloe said somewhat questioningly.
"Okay." Beca replied as she made her way back to the kitchen.
"Good night Beca." Chloe whispered.
Beca felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up instantly. She placed the pizza box on the counter along with the empty bottles that clanged when they came into contact with the surface. "Goodnight" She looked up momentarily to the bright blue eyes looking back at her from across the room. She watched Chloe smile and then turn and walk away, disappearing down the hallway. Beca pressed her palms flat against the counter top and leaned her weight down, dropping her head as she took a deep breath.
Chloe dropped the fresh linen's on the chair in her room. She went to the bed and pulled off Benji's sheets, balling them up and tossing them to the floor. A few minutes later and she was just tucking the corner of the top sheet under the mattress when she heard Beca's voice and a muffled bark. She poked her head out of her room to hear Beca calling for him to go to the restroom. Chloe backed into the room and dropped onto the edge of the bed bouncing slightly. She let out a deep breath. Their night had been okay. They talked about different things. Nothing important. Luke was only mentioned the one time and then neither woman brought him back up even though it was on the tip of Chloe's tongue the whole night. She wanted to explain to Beca. Wanted to see the forgiveness in the chef's eyes. She was startled from the sound of the door closing and the patter of four feet, nails tapping across the floor, heading her way. The dog appeared in the doorway and sat, looking at her expectedly.
"Tuck" Beca said warningly. The dogs head twisted around to the right towards his master.
"Sorry" Beca said as she came to a stop right behind him. "He's being nosy."
"It's okay." Chloe smiled.
"Are you okay in here?" Beca asked. "Do you need anything?"
Chloe shook her head softly. "No. I'm okay." She whispered. "Thank you." She smiled. "Thank you for everything. You didn't have to do all of this … any of this."
"I'll just be" Beca pointed her thumb behind her, "just right … in there." She said taking two steps back. She turned and walked into her room and stopped suddenly turning her head back to Chloe who was still sitting on her bed. "You're welcome Chlo" Beca said softly unsure if it was loud enough for Chloe to hear.
Chloe watched Beca disappear into her room and then call for the dog who stood and turned quickly disappearing somewhere inside the room. Seconds later Chloe heard the sounds of Beca's bed springing and then the sight of the room going dark.
XxXxXx
"Lay down Tuck" Beca found herself saying for the 4th time that night. She'd been lying in bed trying to fall asleep but it seemed every time she was close to finally drifting off to sleep the dog would get up or he would walk around the room. The sound of his nails on the wood floor making her eyes instantly pop open. He usually wasn't like this. He would usually curl up in his bed and not make a sound but tonight he was restless, just like she was. Beca was laying on her side, her eyes feeling heavy when the sound of his tag rattling against his collar startled her. She rolled forward slightly letting her face fall into the corner of her pillow when the sound of his tail beating rhythmically against the wall started she rolled back quickly. "Go to sleep" Beca growled in a low intimidating voice.
Her eyes popped open when she heard a faint whisper. "Okay. I'm sorry."
Beca turned her upper body around to see Chloe retreating back into the darkness. "Wait Chloe." Beca said quickly. She saw Chloe stop. "I didn't know it was you." Beca rattled off, "I was talking to Tuck."
Chloe turned so that she was standing half in the hallway and halfway in Beca's room, her left hand sliding up the doorframe as she leaned against it. "I couldn't sleep."
Beca pushed herself up on her elbows as she looked up at the redhead.
"Just nervous I guess." Chloe whispered.
"Nervous?" Beca asked.
"Just about everything that's going on." Chloe said softly. She pushed herself off the doorframe and took a tentative step into Beca's room. "The press can be relentless."
Beca didn't reply. She just listened. She watched Chloe enter her room. She watched the actress try to decide if she was allowed to sit down. She watched as Chloe made a decision and sat slowly on the very edge, purposefully giving Beca space.
"I'm just afraid of all the things they will say about me." Chloe admitted.
"Why do you care?" Beca asked, her voice gravelly.
Chloe shrugged. "Sometimes I don't". She looked to Beca who remained propped up on her elbows. "But" Chloe rubbed her chin nervously, "I don't think anyone likes when people says mean things about them. Especially to millions of people who don't know me. The real me." Chloe smiled gently. "But not just mean things. Untrue things."
Beca nodded slowly as she listened to Chloe. She could see the vulnerability in the woman.
"I'm sorry. Go back to sleep … I'm just being" Chloe shook her head, "I don't know a wimp or something." Chloe stood from the bed and chanced one more look down at Beca who was just staring at her. She took a step and heard Beca's voice.
"Do you want?" Beca began to ask slowly not even sure of why she was making the offer "to stay in here? With me?"
Chloe looked from Beca's eyes to the full size bed and smiled. "You don't have any sheets or anything."
Beca looked away from the actress and down at her bed. No sheets. No blanket. Just her sweat pant clad legs that were crossed together to keep warm. "No. I don't" Beca answered with a smirk. She turned her head back up to Chloe who slowly walked out of her room and assumingly across the hall. Beca laid herself back down and rolled back to her side when she heard the sound from across the hall of Chloe getting back in bed. She let out a deep breath and crossed her arms tightly across her chest, closing her eyes.
"Wanna share mine?" Chloe whispered.
Beca's head snapped back quickly towards the door. Chloe didn't wait for a reply as she spread Beca's blanket, the blanket Beca washed and gave to her earlier that night, over the bed. Half of it landing on Beca. She watched as Chloe put a knee up on her bed. The springs squeaking slightly as the actress crawled up and laid herself down next to her. Beca rolled back over and held her breath.
"Thank you." Chloe whispered as she turned her head to the right to see the back of Beca's head.
Beca slowly released the breath she was holding. "Umm hmmm" She hummed.
Tuck had calmed down and was breathing soundly. She was finally warm now that Chloe had brought her blanket back. And she was getting used to the thought that Chloe was just on the other side of her. It took a little while but she was finally able to decipher the difference between Tuck's deep breaths and Chloe's. Both having seemed to fall asleep and now it was her turn. Beca took a deep relaxing breath and let her eyes close, finally resolved to rest. Her breath hitched when the bed jostled. She felt Chloe's warm hand on her arm. Her fingers gently closing around her bicep and then something pressing up against her back, right between her shoulder blades. She turned her head slowly only to see red hair flowing behind her. Chloe's head was pressed up against her and surprisingly Beca was okay with it. She turned back away from the actress and let herself relax and finally fall asleep.
AN: Progress maybe? Hope you guys are still enjoying the story. Let me know, I'd love to hear from you.
Title Song Cred: Olivver the Kid, BBBlue