A/N - So I *just* realised I missed Thursday's update - sorry! Here's an extra long chapter for you all to make up for it! You might want to go and make a cuppa before starting this chapter, it is pretty long!
Hope everyone has had a great week... the weather is turning here in little ol' Blighty. We're going from warm, wet and windy to cold, wet and windy as we approach October. Time to break out the jumpers, sweats and thick socks (which I love). It does also mean I can get away with drinking hot chocolate before bed!
Anyway, I'm waffling as usual! A huge thanks to J for their time and patience in beta'ing my chapters. It's always, always appreciated.
.oOo. Chapter Thirty Four .oOo.
It was now a little after seven in the evening and Chloe was just putting the finishing touches to her make up. It had been an eventful day and she was tired, but she was determined to take Beca out for a meal, as she had said she would.
After the incident in the pool, Stacie had checked Beca out. Stacie said the petite brunette was fine, but she did advise Beca to go to the nearest Urgent Care facility to get checked out properly. Of course, the brunette declined to do so, stating she was fine. Chloe remembered Beca did not have health insurance, and so would have to pay out-of-pocket. Remembering their earlier disagreement over money, Chloe knew the stubborn brunette would never accept her help in covering the cost of a visit to the Urgent Care, so she let it drop.
Beca saw the concern in Chloe's eyes, and assured her that she was okay. To prove her point, she insisted that she and Chloe do their read through of Chloe's script, as had been their original plan for the afternoon. However, Beca found that all Chloe could do was watch her like a hawk, for the rest of the afternoon as they sat on the sun loungers by the pool.
"Dude, I'm fine," Beca said, pulling down on the top of her sunglasses to look at Chloe.
"I'm really sorry Beca," whispered Chloe remorsefully, her bottom lip quivering oh so slightly. She was still surprised that Beca didn't seem remotely upset with her.
With a shake of her head, Beca said, "It's not your fault. It was mine for getting freaked out by a bird."
"It was my idea to get in the pool," Chloe said, looking down at her hands, still feeling guilty.
"And I went along with it. Honestly, I'm all right," Beca affirmed, before grinning. "But I do think you are going to need to teach me how to swim in case something like that happens again. Now, let's get back to the script."
Relieved, Chloe's concern softened into a smile, "Yes ma'am."
Beca had nodded and picked up the spare script that Chloe had, the one she'd given her originally was drying out in the kitchen, and had begun to read out the words.
"So... some hoity toity leader and some snarky second in command person have just been arguing over the intercom about moving to a safer location when you... Marissa, flies in on your plane. Their line reads, 'I can request a transfer for you. Over.'"
"Aww, you can't say that sweetie. You'd miss me and my charms too much. I know you secretly like..." Chloe recited, almost word perfect and paused for effort before side whispering to Beca. "I'm now scanning the horizon, looking for hostiles. I find out and then switch to a darker, less happy voice and say 'Agent Riley. Be advised, lone hostile, approximately fifty yards west of your position, now approaching at speed in an attack deportment. Do you copy? Over.'"
"Copy. Over," Beca continued to read from the script.
"I then assess what I'm doing, make a quick plan and say 'Agent Riley, Agent Rebel, it's a Jaremise. I repeat, a Jaremise. Code one zero five. Initiating counter offensive. Good luck. Initiating radio silence. Agent Rascal Over'."
Beca nodded and settled back into the chair, reading out more of the script as Chloe recited the parts that were for her. Beca was amazed that after only a limited number of times reading through the script, Chloe seemed to have the part well memorised, save for a few words that were close enough. Beca watched her slip into character, even changing the way she smiled or held her head in a certain way as Chloe evolved into Marissa.
They were coming up towards the end when Stacie announced that the girls were in bed and almost asleep.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry Stacie," Beca called out, as she scrambled off of the sun lounger.
"What for?" Stacie asked, not looking in the least bit bothered by anything.
"For not helping with bedtime," Beca's nose twitched. The girls had come out a few times to hang out by the pool and while they had interacted a lot with them, Beca couldn't quite fathom that the day had raced past as fast as it had done.
"You are helping," Stacie motioned towards Chloe. The redhead gave Beca an appreciative smile, with a quick nod of her head.
Flustered, Beca waved her hand around, "Yeah, but I... the kids... I've been resting all afternoon."
"And that's absolutely fine," Stacie assured the shorter brunette "Honestly, it's okay to spend a little time away from your girls every now and then. It teaches them independence and to think for themselves."
"But I-" Beca was unsure how to take this advice.
Stacie decided it would be better to continue her report, which would hopefully assuage the young mother. "-I've left their collages to dry in the playroom and, Chloe... Kate was complaining of a sore finger but honestly, I think that was just a ploy to get out of going to bed."
"No problem," Chloe smiled, understanding what her tall friend was doing. "Thanks Stacie, I'll make sure to give it a kiss to make it feel better if she's still awake."
"Sure thing," Stacie grinned back. "You two had better get dressed if you are heading out for dinner."
"You still want to go?" Beca turned to Chloe.
"I do, I'd like to thank you properly," Chloe said sincerely. The concern returned to Chloe's features, as she asked, "Are you up for it?"
"Yes," Beca answered quickly, then seemed to think better of her answer. "I mean, yeah, I could eat," Beca said more nonchalantly, her shoulder automatically rising with a shrug.
"What are you in the mood for?" Chloe asked, holding out her hand for the sheaf of papers, as she stood up.
"Anything," Beca replied, rolling the script into a tube and passing it to Chloe.
"Do you want, like a pizza place, a diner, or something a little more high end?"
"Honestly you pick, I'm cool with whatever," Beca answered, unsure of what would be an appropriate response.
"Okay," Chloe smiled and held out her hand to help Beca up, even though she was perfectly comfortable standing by herself. They fell into an easy silence as they gathered up their belongings and headed back towards the house. As Chloe passed Stacie, who was watching their interaction with a huge smile on her face, she whispered. "Please book a table at my favourite place."
"No problem, Chloe," Stacie confirmed with a conspiratorial wink.
.oOo.
Chloe had gone up to her room to shower and change, poking her head around the door of the playroom to find all three girls fast asleep. She'd let Beca know that the family bathroom was hers to use and she could get changed in any of the bedrooms upstairs. Chloe enjoyed a hot but quick shower, ignoring the thoughts tumbling through her mind. She was trying so hard to keep her cool around Beca, and was grateful that only Stacie knew of her inclination towards her.
She picked out a simple cotton blouse with a pattern of tiny hearts on the pocket, and slipped into her favourite jeans. She selected a pair of sandals before noticing the state of her toes, mentally trying to work out if she had enough time to get a pedicure before filming started on Wednesday. She opted for a pair of boots instead, and simple jewellery around her wrist. She dried her hair, trying to tame the curls, before standing in front of the mirror for a couple of minutes, debating whether she should wear it up or down.
It had been so long since she really cared about how she looked for the person that she was going out with for the evening, that it gave her butterflies in her stomach. David had always said, perfunctorily, that she looked nice but she remembered that he was often looking at his phone, or watch, when he said it. He had just been saying the words that he should say, rather than what he had wanted to say.
Chloe wondered if Beca would notice that she'd spent more time on her hair than anything else. After that one throwaway comment Beca had made a few weeks ago, when she said Chloe's hair had looked nice after she'd spent an hour or so experimenting with new curling tongs, Chloe had been thrilled. All that time had felt well spent with that simple compliment.
"We're just friends. Don't blow it. It's already complicated enough," she said under her breath, staring at herself in the mirror, before deciding to leave her hair down, around her shoulders.
She was just giving herself an extra spritz of perfume when she heard Stacie talking animatedly downstairs. Knowing that meant that Beca was probably ready, she quickly tidied everything away, gave herself one last look over, and hurried back across her bedroom. She scooped up her evening purse that she'd set out on the bed, alongside a pale grey cardigan and some cash and a gift card that she'd taken out of her safe. She paused for a moment in the doorway, trying to quell the queasiness in her stomach. She was only going out for dinner... with Beca.
Walking back across the landing, she checked on the girls once more, before making her way down the stairs. Stacie's head popped round the living room door, as if she was a cat on a hot tin roof, waiting for Chloe to be ready.
"Beca's in the kitchen, getting some water," Stacie hissed, making all manner of crazy faces which Chloe didn't understand.
"Bec? Are you ready?" Chloe called out, trying to sound casual, as Stacie came into the hallway, adjusting the shoulder of Chloe's shirt and fluffing her hair. "Um, Stacie, what are you doing?"
Chloe looked at her, confused by the action. Stacie let out an exasperated huff. "Oh right... you've got on your favourite blouse, power boots, you've had me book a table at your favourite restaurant and..." Stacie leaned in towards Chloe and inhaled. "... you're wearing perfume."
"And?" Chloe batted Stacie hands away. "I usually wear perfume."
"Not the super fancy kind, you don't," Stacie grinned just as Beca came through the kitchen door.
"Wow, you look nice," Beca said, smiling as she took in Chloe's easy outfit, her eyes lighting up. Chloe resisted the urge to swoon at the sincerity in Beca's voice.
"Thank you. You look great too!"
Beca had nipped out to her car as soon as Chloe had gone upstairs to find something to wear for the evening. She didn't own many clothes and after a frantic discussion with Stacie about what she could wear, and feeling a little like Amy at the barbecue, Beca had chosen her only smart outfit.
"Am I overdressed?" Beca asked, smoothing down the front of her suit jacket that Stacie had quickly ironed while Beca was in the shower. Wearing the shirt she wore to interviews felt a little weird but Stacie had insisted that if she undid the top three, or four, buttons then it would look less formal. Beca had baulked at the idea but, much like Stacie had done to Chloe, the taller girl had just fiddled with Beca until she'd relented; though somehow four had become five buttons.
"Absolutely not..." Chloe breathed out, resisting the urge to respond with anything else.
"Don't those skinny jeans make her ass look amazing Chlo?" Stacie giggled.
"Stacie!" Beca eyes went wide, not wanting any attention drawn to any part of her body, and especially not her ass.
"Come on you two, out the door you go," Stacie urged, waving her hands towards the front door.
"Is this really okay?" Beca asked Chloe as they brushed past Stacie, who was staring at them both like a proud parent. "I'm sorry, this is all I have."
"You look amazing, honestly. And I do hate to say it, but Stacie has a point about those jeans."
"Oh God!" Beca's face flushed.
"We'll be back, probably around eleven," Chloe turned to Stacie.
"No rush on my part, I've got some college prep to start," Stacie nodded.
"After you..." Beca said, holding the front door open as Chloe swept through it, keeping her head down to try and hide her rosy cheeks.
"Have fun you two," Stacie grinned. She watched them both walk over to Chloe's car before she shut the door.
"You sure you don't want to take my car?" Beca quipped, as Chloe unlocked her Range Rover. At Chloe's insistence, she'd moved her car off the street and onto the driveway before she'd taken the girls to the park, not wanting anyone to report an unknown car not having moved all day to the security service.
"I'm happy if you want to drive..." Chloe said, with her hand still poised on the key fob.
"I doubt very much if you'd want to get in my car."
"If you'd prefer to drive, that's fine by me," Chloe locked her car again.
"Hollywood darling gets driven to a restaurant in an old beater? I can see the headline now!" Beca laughed. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to be happy in a beaten up old car."
"Someone like me?" Chloe tilted her head towards Beca for a second, her eyes narrowing at the comment.
"Ah, shit," Beca balked. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just you've got all these nice things at your disposal and I've... well, I've got nothing nice."
"The only thing that isn't nice about you Beca is the fact you keep commenting on our differences. In truth, we're not that different, you and I. I was just lucky to get a break early in life and you are still waiting for yours. I can't apologise for that," Chloe said plainly. "We'll take your car."
"I'd have to move a load of junk off of the front seat," Beca muttered, a little sheepishly.
"Then we can walk, if you'd prefer. It's about a half hour walk from here," Chloe offered. She had already lost the brief look of annoyance.
"I'm sorry. I'm being a jackass. For probably the tenth time today."
"Why did you think I tried to drown you earlier?" Chloe leant in towards Beca a little, and winked ever so gently.
"Oh! Now it all makes sense!" Beca breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't ruined the mood for their evening out with her moment of jealousy.
"What will it be?" Chloe nodded towards her car, and then towards Beca's.
With a bit of chagrin, Beca gave a sheepish smile, "Well, I mean, seeing as you know the way..."
"Okay, but next time you're driving. So you'd better find somewhere to store your stuff!"
"Deal," Beca grinned and Chloe unlocked her car, and walked around to the driver's side, quickly slipping into the seat.
"Do me a favour please?" Chloe asked as soon as Beca had clipped in her seatbelt.
"Sure, anything," Beca replied quickly.
"Stop thinking of yourself as having nothing, okay," Chloe said earnestly. "There's more to you than your past and what you've to show for your hard work."
"It's hard for me," Beca admitted.
"Why?" Chloe asked, selecting the reverse.
"I've never had anyone really look out for me, not for a long while anyway. I mean, Luke is great and I'd be nowhere without him, but he doesn't really get it either, sometimes."
"I understand that," Chloe nodded, lifting her hand to press the button on the upper console for the gate to start rolling back. "But just because people have money, doesn't automatically make them better people, or happier, or anything."
"Yeah, okay. I get it."
"Keep an eye out for any paps as we leave the house," Chloe nodded to the end of the driveway
"At this time of day?" Beca's eyebrows shot up.
"This is their favourite time of day," Chloe explained. She went on, "I start filming in a couple of days so every man and his dog is out for the preschedule photo."
"Is it hard living constantly under scrutiny?" Beca asked honestly.
"Is it hard? Yes, absolutely," Chloe said, backing out of her driveway. "I'm judged on everything, by everyone." She said it with such resignation, it pulled at Beca's heartstrings.
Beca gulped down a small knot in her throat and stole a glance at Chloe to see if she was still mad at her, but she didn't seem cross as she put the car into drive.
"Do the paps annoy you?"
"Not anymore," Chloe shook her head gently. "Some are vile but most are just trying to make a living. I try to be nice to them for that reason."
"Must be so weird," Beca stated.
"Honestly, you get used to it."
"Earlier, in the park, I swear someone was taking photos of us," Beca remembered.
"Really?" Chloe narrowed her eyes. She did not like the girls being photographed without her permission.
"Yeah, I was pretty glad I brushed my hair earlier before taking the girls to the park," Beca replied, trying to make light of the situation.
"Did you see anyone with a lens?" Chloe questioned, needing a little more information.
Shaking her head no, Beca answered with a frown, "No, it was just a feeling."
"If you are feeling uneasy, we can always arrange a plain clothed bodyguard to come with you. Did you feel as if someone was following you too?"
"No, it wasn't anything like that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Beca tried to reassure her friend.
"No, it's okay, I was just asking. You do kind of get used to it... the photographers, I mean. It can be tough at times, always having to look your best before you get stuck in the 'Ugly Celebrity' section of US Weekly."
"I can't imagine you've ever been in there," Beca chuckled.
"Quite a few times actually," Chloe mirthed. "They like to get me when I'm on the phone, screwing my face up, or when I've just come out of the gym. You show me anyone who looks good when they've just done two hours sweating like a goober."
"A goober?" Beca didn't recognize the word. Her tone showed how humorous she found it.
"I dunno, it was something David used to say," Chloe laughed as they reached the end of her road. She turned left and continued driving on.
"So, where are we going this evening?" Beca asked.
"It's just a little place I know," Chloe explained. "I should probably warn you it's really dark inside."
"Why?"
"Well, for one, it's private and we shouldn't get bothered too much. Plus happy hour runs pretty regularly... wait, you like Mexican, right?" Chloe asked.
"I do."
"We're almost there," Chloe announced, turning down Fulton Street.
"Already?" Beca asked.
"I told you it wasn't far," Chloe winked as she pulled into the parking lot of Casa Vega. "Do you like margaritas?"
Beca shrugged, "Um, I don't know. I'm not sure if I've ever had one."
"Then you should definitely should try one," Chloe suggested happily. "Casa Vega's are pretty good, you should get one of the frozen ones."
"I'll give one a go," Beca remarked, looking up at the building as Chloe parked her car. "As long as you promise not to take advantage of me while I'm drunk."
"Um, sorry, did... sorry, what?" Chloe blustered out.
"I don't want any pictures of my drunk ass on your social media," Beca said, oblivious to the flush creeping up Chloe's neck, as she casually spoke. She caught Chloe looking at her and quickly imitated what she thought would be a drunk pose.
"That's awesome!" Chloe said happily, opening her door. She was slightly relieved that Beca didn't know her true thoughts. "Shall we?"
"Yeah, sure."
They walked together towards the entrance, the luminous restaurant sign buzzing slightly in the early evening air. Arriving at the canopy that covered the front door, Beca hesitated as she pulled on the handle, unsure whether to hold the door open for Chloe or go first.
"After you..." Chloe said, reaching out with her hand to hold the door, taking the decision away from Beca.
"Thanks."
"Mmm hmm," Chloe smiled at her.
Beca stepped into a dimly lit hallway, surprised at the almost empty lobby. She felt Chloe lightly lay her fingers on her back, urging her to step forward a little as a member of staff approached from, what Beca decided, was a black hole.
"Reservation under Conrad," Chloe smiled as the greeter stepped forward, already running his finger down the reservation list.
"Yes, of course," the response came back.
"Thank you."
"My name is Jose. Is this your first visit to Casa Vega?" The greeter asked, looking to Beca, who immediately looked to Chloe, thinking that he was talking to her. Chloe smiled broadly in response and tilted her head back towards Jose and waited for Beca to speak.
"Um, yeah," Beca finally managed to get out.
"Welcome and thank you for joining us this evening," Jose said, as he gathered up a couple of menus. "I'll point out the places of interest on our tour this evening."
"Um, okay," Beca said suspiciously, unsure what was going on.
"Don't look so scared!" Chloe whispered as Jose turned around for a second, looking over at the restaurant behind him. "He's kidding."
"If you'd like to follow me, your favoured table is free this evening, Ms Beale."
"Thank you Jose, it's lovely to see you again," Chloe said, urging Beca forward as they began to move down the corridor. It wasn't until she moved her fingers on Beca's back that Beca realised her hand had been there the whole time. She felt her cheeks flush at the thought of it. "This is my good friend, Beca Mitchell."
"A pleasure to meet you ma'am," Jose bowed slightly as he spoke.
"Um, yeah, you too." Beca couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever called her ma'am and she didn't quite know what to think of it.
"Beca is going to be a superstar one day Jose, mark my words," Chloe smiled as they walked down the short corridor; the walls covered in picture frames containing news articles, photographs of famous people and finger painting drawings.
"I should ask for your autograph right now then," Jose mused, stopping at a booth at the back of the restaurant. "The lovely Adriana will be your server this evening. Enjoy."
Jose slid two menu's down onto the table before bowing again and was gone before both Beca and Chloe had sat down. Beca shrugged off her jacket, folding it as neatly as she could before laying it on the seat beside her.
"Do you want that hung up?" Chloe asked, noticing what Beca was doing.
"Oh, no, it's okay."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I don't like my stuff going too far away without me," Beca nonchalantly said, eyeballing Chloe a little to see if she'd react to what she had just said. To her surprise, Chloe just nodded and picked up her menu, brushing off Beca's comment.
"So, what's good here," Beca asked, looking around the room.
"Honestly? Not much..." Chloe mused, looking over the top of her menu at Beca.
"Huh?" Beca drew back a little as Chloe laughed.
"The food used to be aca-amazing here but it's not as good as it used to be."
"And we came here, because..."
"Because it's low key, we'll get left alone to our own devices and I usually get good service," Chloe explained. "Adriana serves the booths at the back and it's usually where they dump the ones they don't want disrupting the rest of the diners. The food is okay, honestly but I come here because it's a little bit of familiarity."
"Oh okay, so-"
"-Good evening ladies, great to see you again Chloe.," Adriana stepped forward just as Beca was about to speak, laying down a tray of nacho's, dip and little taquitos and sliding it into the middle of the table with practised precision. She set down a jug of iced water before pulling out a little notebook from her pocket.
"Hi Adriana, how are you? This is my friend Beca," Chloe introduced Beca politely.
"Nice to meet you Beca," Adriana nodded, before asking. "Can I start you off with something to drink? Or should I just ask what flavour margarita you'd like?"
Beca's eyes shot to Chloe's for a second before she looked blindly at the menu, searching for the soft drinks.
"Um, I'm not a big drinker so maybe... Chloe, can you just order for me?"
"It's okay, take your time," Chloe said calmly, sensing the unnecessary tension rising in Beca.
"I can recommend a blended margarita..." Adriana offered. "It's frozen and I can ask Alejandro to go easy on the pour so it won't be as strong for you."
"You like mango, Becs?" Chloe asked, seeing Beca getting more flustered.
"Um, yeah."
"We'll take two blended mango margaritas please," Chloe confirmed, watching as the server scribbled the order into her notepad.
"Great, thanks. I'll be back with those in just a couple of minutes."
"Thanks Adriana."
"I'm such a dick," Beca moaned as soon as Adriana was out of earshot.
Chloe reached out and laid her fingers over Beca's hands, "No, you're not."
"I so am. Clearly I can't even order in a restaurant."
"Hey, don't be silly," Chloe dismissed Beca's fears.
"I'm not used to being in restaurants."
"We've got time to change all that," Chloe smiled. "You'll just have to come out on lots of dates with me."
"Um, dates?"
"Friend dates," Chloe quickly corrected herself.
"I mean, I know you copped a feel earlier..." Beca mused, glad of the change of subject.
"Still thinking about that huh?" Chloe giggled.
Beca's ears pinked up as Chloe's eyes sparkled under the dim lighting. Despite her, as she jokingly referred to it a couple of times over the afternoon, near death experience, she could still remember the look of worry, concern and panic on the redhead's face as she'd grabbed at her to get her to the side of the pool a few hours earlier. It would have been almost comical if she hadn't been so afraid at the time.
Beca cleared her throat which only made Chloe grin all the more as she reached for the jug of water, pouring some quickly for the both of them and pushed the glass towards Chloe. The simple action made Chloe blink a couple of times, as if what Beca had done was something new to her. Chloe couldn't remember David ever doing such a simple thing for her. Beca decided not to worry about it and watched Chloe pick up a couple of chips and a scoop of salsa.
"What are you in the mood for?" Chloe asked.
"Sorry, what?"
"To eat," Chloe mused and Beca's ears pinked up again. She'd been distracted thinking of Chloe's hands on her chest earlier.
"Oh, is this not dinner," Beca asked, nodding towards the food in front of them.
"No, this is just... don't stress about it. If you aren't hungry, we can just have drinks. Or I can order a few things for you. Remember, this is on me... well, actually, it's on David as I'm using a gift card that he bought for this place so..."
"I trust you to order for me."
"Awes," Chloe paused as Adriana swung by with their drinks. "Thank you."
"Are you ready to order?" Adriana asked.
"Yes, we'll just have my usual, to share please."
"One round?" Adriana confirmed.
"Yes, please."
"No problem. I'll ring that up for you now," the waitress scribbled in her notepad before smiling broadly and leaving them to their drinks.
"Cheers..." Chloe held up her glass towards Beca, who swiped up the other margarita and clinked it with Chloe's drink. "... here's to great things happening to you this year; health, wealth and happiness."
"Um, yeah, cheers," Beca nodded, taking a sip of drink, her eyes widening at the flavour. "Hey, this is pretty good."
"I make a pretty good margarita at home too," Chloe grinned. "If you start liking them, we can have the girls round for a few drinks one night and turn it into a slumber party. Which is just a cover story for everyone getting too drunk to drive home and falling asleep on my sofa."
"Yeah, that, um, sounds-"
"-like your worst nightmare?" Chloe laughed at the brief moment of panic on Beca's face.
"A little bit," Beca admitted as she set her drink down on the table. "I'm sure you don't want to be hanging around with me all the time. You've got tonnes of friends who I am sure are missing you."
"Missing me?" Chloe questioned, trying to keep her face straight.
"Yeah, I know you've got loads of friends but you've barely seen any since I've been around."
"Been keeping tabs on my social life, have you?" Chloe mused, surprised that it was something Beca had noticed. In truth, she kept her real circle quite small.
"I mean..." Beca's face flushed but she decided to blame the alcohol. "... actually, I don't know what I mean."
Chloe laughed lightly before reaching for a small taquito.
"Try one of these," she said to Beca, holding it out towards her.
"What is it?"
"It's like a mini taco," Chloe said, already moving the bite size tortilla piece towards Beca's mouth. To her surprise, Beca leaned forward and took a bite.
"Hmmm, pretty good," she said as she tucked the food into her cheek for a second.
Chloe wiped her fingers on a napkin and placed them on her lap. She watched Beca for a few moments.
"Sorry to talk shop for a second, but do you have your schedule for this week with you," Chloe said, needing to tear her eyes away from the way Beca blinked as she chewed the food.
"No need to apologise," Beca said, reaching for her purse to retrieve her phone.
"Just remembered that Stacie has a date on Thursday night and I was going to ask if you could watch the girls if I'm back from work late. My in-laws are coming Friday afternoon for the weekend so that's covered anyway."
"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Beca nodded, going through her phone. "I've got Avalon on Friday night so yeah, I can work on the set at yours on Thursday evening."
"Great, thanks."
"Yeah, no problem," Beca locked her phone and slipped it back into her purse. "Say... if your in-laws are here for the weekend, do you..."
"What?" Chloe asked, as Beca just stopped talking suddenly.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Beca looked anywhere but at Chloe, her features suddenly quite sheepish.
"Anything you have to say matters," Chloe said, reaching for her drink and taking a healthy gulp.
"I was just going to ask if you wanted to come watch me work at Avalon on Friday. But you'll probably want to see your family or you'll be back from work late or something."
"I'd love to come and see you work!" Chloe almost squealed, setting down her glass but catching it on the raised placemat and nearly spilling the remainder. "I've been waiting for you to offer! Trent and Helen won't mind, they're really laid back people and I'll see them over the weekend anyway! Yes! I'd love to come!"
"Sure, yeah, okay then. I'll sort out some tickets. How many do you need?"
"How many do I need?" Chloe repeated, slightly confused.
"Yeah, did you want to bring your friends, make a night of it, that sort of thing?"
"Oh my gosh, yes!" Chloe reached over the table, grabbing Beca's hands and squeezing them. "I guess six would be awesome! The guest list for Avalon is a mile long. We've tried to get in before, a couple of years ago but I gave up waiting."
"Happy to oblige."
"See, even someone like me can't get in to see your gig!" Chloe lightly teased, finally letting go of Beca's hands. Beca's cheeks pinked up a little.
"Oh, and Alex asked if she could come and see me work some time."
"Did she? Oh wow, well, that's great," Chloe's lip quivered a little and Beca's eyes narrowed at the slight movement.
"Yeah, I'd be happy to show her around but not if it makes you uncomfortable." Beca's words grew quieter as she spoke, till she was basically mumbling.
"Why would I be uncomfortable?" Chloe asked, her head tilting to the side, her smile posted back on her lips.
"Because I know how I feel watching Jessie with you," Beca admitted with a sigh, looking down at her hands. "It's hard watching the child you raised love another mommy just as much."
"Bec, she doesn't love me just as much as you, you know that. This is all exciting and new but you'll always be so incredibly important to her. She may not realise and understand it all now, but one day she will."
"Did you know she's grown two inches since she's been living with you?" Beca asked, looking up at Chloe briefly.
"No, I didn't."
"All that good food and fresh air... I failed her so freakin' badly."
"Hey now, don't say that!" Chloe's heart ached to see Beca looking so upset. "No one is to blame here and the five of us are doing really well right now."
Chloe decided to forget their little spats in her statement.
"Just because she's shot up in the past few weeks doesn't mean anything. Kids grow at random times. Alex hasn't gotten taller for at least six months. We'll turn around tomorrow and she'll be a six foot tall model, you'll see."
The last remark caused a small smile on Beca's face.
"Her dad wasn't all that tall so doubtful."
"I always think Alex is so like you, in so many ways, it scares me a little," Chloe admitted, thinking of the tiny, feisty little brunette. "I'm really happy she has you to understand her properly. I don't think I ever really did, not in the same way as Kate. And for her to ask to see where you work, that's a big thing for her."
"I thought it might have been. I know they don't have a clue really what's going on but it really is for the best that they are with you. You can give them so much more than I can and probably ever will be able to."
"See, I don't agree with you there." Chloe said earnestly. "I have a feeling that things will get so much better for you soon."
"Maybe if I stop turning opportunities down..." Beca quipped.
"That would help!" Chloe mused.
"I wonder what it will be like when you meet someone new," Beca wondered out loud. "I don't imagine you'll be single for very long. It's going to be weird having another person who they need to spend time with, especially if David pulls his head out of his ass out and wants to see them more as well."
"I'm not planning on finding someone new," Chloe said, almost untruthfully. She wasn't prepared to admit just yet that she liked Beca.
"But you will one day."
"No," Chloe shook her head gently. "I've got my girls, and that's enough for me right now. I also really enjoy sharing them with you, and don't want anyone else involved in that for a while."
Beca squirmed a little in her seat, not entirely uncomfortable with Chloe's words.
"Call me selfish, but that's how I feel right now," Chloe continued. She reached out for Beca's hands again, holding them tightly in her own. "We'll be okay; you, me and the kids."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Beca said quietly.
"Sorry to interrupt ladies," Adriana said, looking slightly guilty as she laid the tray of food on the tray between the two. She knew she'd just disturbed a moment between them.
"It's okay," Chloe said brightly, dropping Beca's hands. Beca marvelled at the way she was able to switch emotions so easily, almost sniggering when she realised that's why Chloe was paid millions of dollars, because she was so good at it.
"Anything else I can get for you?" Adriana asked.
"No," Chloe replied, looking over the table for anything that was missing. "I think we're good. Thanks Adriana!"
"Enjoy!" Adriana said, as she backed away from the table.
The next hour was taken up with Chloe getting Beca to try the different foods on the platter in front of them. She caved pretty quickly when Chloe just began piling everything up on her plate, declaring everything to be her favourite, and Beca noticed that she took real joy in sharing this with her.
Beca was on her fifth margarita, Chloe having switched to water as she was driving, when she sat back for a moment, to give herself a rest. She looked over at Chloe, catching herself staring at the redheads eyelashes and how they fluttered so much when she talked. She couldn't deny that she thought Chloe had such beautiful eyes. She looked down at her mouth and noticed a small smear of sauce to the side of Chloe's mouth.
Smiling slightly to herself, she instinctively reached out with the napkin in her hand across the table, and gently wiped it off. She was surprised though, as she touched Chloe, that her friend almost leaned into her touch, however brief it was.
"Sauce," Beca said by way of explanation, pulling her hand away.
"Thanks," Chloe breathed out, loving that Beca instigated the touch.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about the girls, music and food. It reminded them both of the time when they were in the ICU, all those years before, when the conversation just flowed easily. Adriana came over at one point to remove their leftovers, offering to box them up for them to take home.
"Chloe, you might want to use the back door to leave this evening?" Adriana said, placing their takeout boxes and the check in a small brown leather folder onto the table at the same time.
"Why?" Beca asked, her speech being slightly slurred and a rather ridiculous grin on her face the obvious giveaway that she was slightly tipsy.
"There's probably a crowd out the front," Chloe explained.
"Whadda they want? Why are they here?"
"There's probably someone famous here..." Chloe quipped.
"Who?" Beca said, quickly sitting upright and looking around in such an adorable way that Chloe's heart swelled in size.
"No idea. Come on, I think it's time we left."
"I had..." Beca started to say as she began to stand up, surprisingly steady for someone who looked like they were about to keel over. "... a really nice time tonight."
"I did too Becs," Chloe said honestly. She looked down at her watch and was surprised to see that three hours had passed so quickly.
"Hey, we paid?" Beca asked, a little louder than she needed too. "Ssssh Beca."
Chloe stifled a giggle and pointed at the gift card she'd tucked into the check wallet.
"Sly," Beca nodded appreciably. She took two attempts to pick up her jacket and three goes at getting her arm into the sleeve, looking adorably cross.
"Oh my gosh, you are a mess!" Chloe laughed, giving Beca a hand.
"You're never a mess," Beca issued her compliment as they made their way towards the other side of the restaurant. "You're just the right amount of non messy."
"I'm thinking I like drunk you!"
"Who's drunk?" Beca asked, spinning around. Chloe just shook her head.
They made their way out of the back of the restaurant, Chloe having used this exit a couple of times before, and it led straight to the parking lot. Looking over her shoulder as she walked towards her car, Chloe saw quite the crowd waiting out at the front of the restaurant, a couple of them wearing 'I Love CB' tee shirts.
She unlocked her car, made sure Beca could get the door open on her side and slipped into the driver's seat, laying the leftovers box onto the seat behind.
"How does this... why does this not feel right?" Beca asked, the seatbelt caught around the back of her head for some reason.
"Let me help you."
"You're really pretty, you know that, right?" Beca hissed out as Chloe leant over to fix her seatbelt into place. Beca reached out a finger and bopped Chloe on the nose.
"And you're really drunk, aren't you?" Chloe tried really hard not to laugh as Beca just grinned at her.
"Liddle bit," she slurred, pinching her fingers together.
Chloe shook her head, made sure there was no one around her car and started the engine. The noise caught the attention of a small group of teenage girls who turned in unison when they saw the lights of Chloe's car come on.
"Aww, crap," she grimaced as a group of about ten girls came charging towards her car, all yelling and waving their arms. She backed out of the space quickly, knowing from experience what was about to happen.
"Who's making all that noise?" Beca blindly looked around.
"Don't worry, just have to navigate around a few girls in the middle of the parking lot."
"Tell 'em to fuck off."
"I can't do that Beca," Chloe said, trying not to laugh as Beca slumped against the window, her face pressed up against the glass. She turned as the first girl reached her car, thumping on the window to get her attention. Chloe heard the tell tale bangs around the car as the girls reached out to touch it, knocking the paint work with their bags and zips.
She waved at everyone through the window and tried to move the car forward slowly so as not to hurt anyone.
"Hey Chloe, I love you!" She heard from somewhere towards the passenger door.
"Can I have an autograph?"
"Can I be in your movie?"
"Hey, who's that woman with her?"
Realising that she wasn't going to get very far until she spoke to the group, she huffed under her breath before turning on her best smile and rolled down the window. She was met with a series of shrill screeches and so many hands coming through the window at once as the group thrust their phones in her face. She blinked against the flashes and tried to ignore the screaming as Beca slumped down into the seat, growling a little.
"Okay ladies, I've got to be heading home," Chloe said politely. "It's lovely to meet you all."
"One photo, one photo, yeah?" A tall girl at the back said, pushing her way forward. Before Chloe could take a second to smile, the girl took a selfie and walked away.
'Please, thank you... anything would be nice,' Chloe thought to herself.
"Who's that?" A blonde girl reached into her car and pointed at Beca.
"It's my friend."
"Does she have a name?" The same girl asked.
"She does," Chloe smiled but didn't want to give anything away. She looked over towards Beca and for a fleeting moment thought she looked a little green around the gills.
"What is it?"
"She's not feeling great, so I've got to get her home, okay ladies?"
"I feel fiiiiiiiine," Beca whined, opening half an eye.
"Urgh, she looks like she's about to puke!" One girl laughed and Chloe began to see red. She was used to everyone treating her in this way, but she wasn't about to let it happen to her friend too.
"Okay, I gotta get home. I've got to go and see my babies!" She called out.
"Awwww," the group chorused, all turning to smile at each other and it was usually enough to get people to move along.
"Bye everyone, lovely to meet you all," Chloe said, rolling the window up and moving the car along. A couple of girls followed alongside her until she reached the road, taking photos of her car which she had no doubt would be on Instagram within seconds.
"Sorry about that," Chloe turned to Beca to apologise but Beca was already asleep and snoring lightly in the passenger seat.
'How is that even comfortable?' She giggled to herself, before remembering that Beca slept in her car quite a lot. As she turned the corner, Beca's head rolled over onto the window again. Chloe couldn't resist raising the window up and down a little bit as Beca slept, causing the brunette's head to move with the glass.
Arriving back at home, she waited on the street for a second or two as the gates rolled back. Instinctively she looked up and down the street for anything amiss before pulling onto her drive and switching the car off.
"Hey, we're home," she gently nudged Beca who stirred surprisingly easily.
"What day is it?" Beca mumbled, smacking her lips together a couple of times. Chloe refrained from racing out and touching the sleepy face. "Are the clocks set?"
"Come on, we're home," Chloe repeated, feeling weird that she was calling it home in front of Beca and liking the fact that Beca wasn't saying anything about it.
"Yesh, clumming," Beca looked over at Chloe with one eye open.
Chloe popped open her door, quietly closing it behind her before pulling on the back door to reach in for the box of takeout that she'd laid on the seat a few minutes earlier. She walked around the car and pulled on Beca's door, immediately throwing a hand out and almost dropping her purse at the same time as Beca nearly fell out of the car. Chloe hadn't banked on her leaning on the door.
"Hey, where'd the wall go?" Beca hissed, looking blankly around.
"Come on, it's time to get inside," Chloe tugged on her arm to get her moving.
"Thanks," Beca said, as she got both feet onto the driveway. Chloe pushed the door closed, seeing more than one new door dink on the paintwork. "Hey, I have a question?"
"I hope I have an answer for you."
"Do you think aliens are real?"
"Do I think aliens are real?" Chloe repeated.
"Yeah, I mean, no one knows for sure, right? I could be an alien for all you know," Beca stated quite proudly as they approached the front door.
"I guess so..." Chloe pondered where this conversation might be going.
"I mean, if it's just us, and we fuck this up, it's over. Forever," Beca sighed heavily, leaning on the trellis for support. She laughed suddenly. "There was this stupid film that Jesse used to watch, some Irish twatwaffle movie that I couldn't understand but it was something like bloodsucking aliens invading Earth and the only way to defeat them was for everyone to get drunk, wear gold sequins capes and throw potatoes at the aliens. I dunno, I think I made up that last bit. Anyway, what do you think?"
"I think that we need to get you drunk more often!" Chloe said, reaching for Beca's hand and tugging her inside.
"Is that 'cause you want to take advantage of me?"
Chloe's face paled as she pushed the door closed but Beca was already walking into the lounge, her comment long forgotten. She heard a bang and then a thump and followed Beca quickly into the room to see if she was all right. Shaking her head, she couldn't help but pull out her phone and snap a picture of Beca. She'd walked into the coffee table, fallen over it and landed, ass up in the air, on the colourful, deep pile rug.
Beca groaned, "Owww."
"Delayed reaction, you're fine."
"Where is Stackie?" Beca asked.
"Stacie?"
"Yeah, what I say?"
"She's probably in bed upstairs," Chloe slipped off her boots.
"I should go, let you go to bed..." Beca mumbled, still not having moved from where she fell over.
"It's okay. We can sit for a bit if you like," Chloe offered.
"I'm pretty tired. I think the front seat of my shit-mobile is calling," Beca slurred out.
"You can sleep in your car on the driveway if you want to, or you can sleep in my guest room on a nice mattress. It's your choice," Chloe chuckled, avoiding the temptation to offer Beca to share with her.
"I'll just stay here," Beca said, her face still buried in the soft rug.
"Suit yourself," Chloe mused, with a shake of her head. She batted the light switch and the room darkened immediately, save for the soft glow of the light on the fruit scented plug in, in the far corner. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Hey lady," Beca said, twisting herself around awkwardly until she flopped on her back.
"Yes?" Chloe hesitated at the door.
"Don't I get a good night kiss?"
.oOo.