Hey Chloë, I'm just about to set off to the shop

I should be there at 12:30 so whenever you're ready after that is great x

Chloe bounced on the spot and spilled her orange juice down herself. Jesus! But it was okay, she'd taken off her jumper almost as soon as she'd left her apartment so she could cover up the stain with a modicum of pride for her journey home.

She had an hour: she could change and still collect the lunch she'd decided on in time to meet Beca, so she picked up her pace and set to winding her way back through the streets she'd previously meandered down. Her excitement added a joy to her step that turned appraising heads and earned her numerous flirting smiles… But she couldn't care less about them, her mind was focused on getting to Beca - and not looking like a disaster when she got there.

George had just started his shift and greeted her with one of the biggest smiles she thinks he's ever afforded her. "They were delicious, but you really didn't have to."

"I wanted to and you enjoyed them, that's all that matters." Chloe was a people-pleaser through and through. Well no, that's not entirely accurate, she went out of her way to be nicer to those that deserved it, and George had become her favourite doorman since that one time she'd arrived home in a more than inebriated state and he'd caught her mid-fall as she'd stumbled on the carpet - air - but she doesn't think he was looking that closely at her feet.

He'd simply swooped her back up onto unsteady legs then feigned the little tumble as his own fault when others had started to look over at them. He'd insisted on walking her to her door, with a poised arm politely behind her back in case she stumbled again. He'd been a gentleman and was yet to tell a soul that she'd been so drunk she couldn't walk straight. Since that evening they'd shared many a teasing glance to her high heels on her rare party nights out, and she welcomed that softer side of him.

But she didn't have time to stand around and catch up, it'd already taken nearly twenty minutes to walk home and she still needed to wash, change, and stop for food. She asked him to have her Hyundai brought round as politely as she could before bustling off to shower away the citrus and sweat now clinging to her skin. Less than fifteen minutes later she was clean, dry and moisturized. Putting on a quick layer of sunscreen, being sure to cover her face too, she flounced around her bedroom drawers for underwear before reapplying a small amount of make-up that made her naturally long eyelashes pop.

She dried the tips of her hair back into gentle waves then stepped into a pair of plain navy trousers. The pink and gold top matched her bright and playful mood, and it would keep her cool in the afternoon heat. Pink lipstick and heels to follow the bold colour down her form, she finished it off with a pair of gold earrings before giving herself a once over. She looked good: casually smart and suitably balanced between the tight and flowing… Not too flashy, but miles better than her previously orange-stained look.

It was a quick dash to her car that was now waiting for her out front and she was on her way. She'd be there with five minutes to spare if there wasn't a queue at Ansel's - her very favourite bakery - to collect their lunch. There wasn't, so with a selection box of viennoiseries, cookies and cakes safely resting on her passenger seat and two coffees in her cup holders, she parked outside Spectrums a few minutes early. She checked her make-up and settled her hand on her phone, deliberating over sending Beca a quick email to let her know she'd arrived.

But she didn't get the chance before a deep rumbling sound came up alongside her and she spotted Beca awkwardly leaning from the left-hand driver side across her car to call to Chloe through the open windows. Of course she'd drive a muscle car. But then, Chloe has two vehicles herself so she gave Beca the benefit of the doubt: maybe she doesn't always chug that many emissions into the atmosphere of their shared little dying rock.

"Hey, hi! Sorry if I've kept you waiting?" Her hair spilled messily around her face from the half folded angle she was having to bend at to look up at Chloe.

"No no, I've literally just got here." She waved a hand dismissively, trying for cool but feeling more like a flapping idiot.

"I'll just go park then we'll go in." She gave her a quick nod then gently pulled away and turned down the corner to what Chloe presumed would lead to private parking to the rear of the shop.

She'd already gotten out with her handbag over her shoulder and the coffees on the roof of her car when Beca came back round to her, juggling her keys, a satchel, and dress bag as she tried to appear collected.

"Sorry, it dawned on me after I'd parked that you could've followed me round to use the back door but I'd already driven off." She tried to shrug but mostly failed, scrabbling to hang on to her satchel as it slipped down her arm instead.

Beca was a vision of top to toe hotness that had Chloe's mouth drying out on her all too quickly: from the heavy boots and dark skinny jeans, to the brown long sleeved top and loose shirt thrown over it all… She looked a casual kind of sexy that screamed confidence, effortlessly flowing tousled hair framing that ever-present quirk to her lips - her utterly kissable lips that Chloe wanted to devour for days on end.

It especially helped that Beca was awkward and altogether a normal human: she stutters, stumbles, and fidgets. Without those little nuances Chloe would have found her intimidatingly perfect. But as it was, Beca acknowledged the haphazard way she tried to carry everything, a self-mocking quirk twitching at her lips. Yes, Beca wasn't perfect, she had flaws and she knew it; Chloe thinks it's the most human thing Beca could've done, and it was all too cute to ignore.

Chloe would kiss her until she didn't have the capacity to quirk a single half smile at her over the swollen mess those lips would end up in once she was done. "Did you want me to move?" She called from the passenger side, box and keys in hand, trying to stomp out the desire fizzing through her veins. She was only partially able to blink away the image of a parted and panting mouth smeared across Beca's face as she pinned her against her own shop front. She imagined Beca leaning uselessly against an untold number of walls, doors and surfaces, her eyes being the only things capable of reacting, which would only ever grow darker as she delivered kiss after blistering kiss to her lips in fervour.

"No no," she echoed with an acute sense of synchronicity that came over her without any active effort. "I just didn't want you to think you couldn't use the basement car park was all." So with that she shuffled her bags into one hand then pointed back the way she'd came. "First right and right again, just head down the ramp then call the elevator." But then she spied the two cups on the top of Chloe's car and her face lit up. "Oh my god, is that coffee?"

"It is, and this-" she moved round her car, wiggling the box gently. "Is lunch." It was a playful declaration that redoubled her gutter brain - half quashed thoughts of kissing Beca into an oblivion suddenly re-surged into a delicious mix of kisses and cake that she had to physically turn her body away from. She didn't trust herself to maintain eye contact and not insert her tongue between those lips, Beca's want for coffee or not, Chloe currently had more important things plaguing her thoughts.

To say that Beca was pleased was an understatement, she was starving and had been without caffeine for an hour. And the fact that it was Chloe catering to her needs turned all that into a hat-trick of appreciation. "You, are amazing." She was genuine.

Deep breaths Chlo, adda girl. "So I'm told." Chloe turned back and made sure her wink was salaciously worth seeing, and definitely referencing more than her abilities to provide food, but she busied her hands at the last moment with locking the car, retrieving one cup, balancing the box over an arm and under her bust before grabbing the second coffee from the roof. Wimp.

Beca had unlocked and was holding the main door open when she turned back to face her, looking too amused somehow. "You okay with all that?"

She was, but as she took in the sight of a tiny brunette, laden with bags and pinning a heavy door open awkwardly with a hip, she couldn't resist teasing her in return. She raked her eyes pointedly over Beca's body with a smirk. "I'm amazing - at most things - remember, but I was about to ask you the same thing: are you okay with all that?"

It was very clear that she meant to ask about her far-too-many clothes concealing far-too-much skin for her liking, but before Beca could retort or even react Chloe had planted a deliciously tender but all too quick kiss to her cheek then practically skipped past her and up the stairs: simultaneously disregarding any actual struggles and the sudden need to strip Beca free of all those clothes. Oh God, I can't believe I just did that!

Beca's breath hitched and she forced herself through a rapid blinking session, the only part of her body capable of moving, to recover from that perfect smirk, from the proposition her crotch was currently warming from… the way her skin burned as it remembered the feel of the softest lips she thinks she's ever felt get pressed against her. She kissed me.

She fucking kissed me! Right? I didn't just imagine that? Her hand found it's own way to her cheek and hovered across the feel of lip gloss. She did. Her eyes closed and her whole world went blank for a moment. Am I dead? Did I die?

A car beeped its horn on a neighbouring street. "Fucking hell!" She jumped out her skin at the startling honk, but at least she wasn't dead. She's pretty sure she's having some kind of a stroke though.

Finally she was able to offer out the eye-roll, not that Chloe could see it. She knew she couldn't because as she turned her body numbly into the building she found herself watching Chloe's arse glide up her steps. At no point had Chloe so much as glanced back to her, but eye-rolling was a habit she's yet to break, seen or not.

Breathe. And she did. She hurried through a handful of stabilising breaths then forced her bones into motion and climbed the stairs, at least she could move. She couldn't quite feel her face yet, but she had managed to reboot her body. As she made her own, slower, way up the stairs she raked her eyes over the walls numbly. For the first time in her life she was saddened by the vitruvian lines filling her sight… rather than red curls and that perfect figure sashaying up in front of her.

Dumbfounded, she let her mouth respond to a question she thinks she remembers hearing while her brain took the time to reconnect itself to her spinal cord. "Yeah, apparently that urgent errand ended up with a dress and a busier weekend that I'd definitely not planned for."

Chloe stopped just beyond the doorway suddenly feeling guilty for wanting to spend time with Beca, for taking up her time. Well, at least she hasn't slapped you. "Sorry, I can just grab my coat and leave you to it?" But she had no control over how her eyes faded at the notion. She didn't want to impose and strived for a sense of indifference, but she'd be lying if she wasn't saddened at potentially having to leave so soon.

Beca had clocked how her expression had changed slightly but it didn't matter. And after spending an hour-long drive barely containing the excited need to see her, she already had every intention of spending as much of the afternoon with the redhead as she could… those sad eyes just cemented the deal and pulled her back over the final hurdle into 'functioning' again. "Honestly it's fine, stay, please… you're a welcome distraction and most importantly - you have food!" She'd analyse the kiss later. A lot. But for now, she just wanted Chloe to stay.

Thank Christ! Chloe chuckled, her smile reaching her eyes once more. Okay, moving swiftly on then, good. She couldn't tell whether it was the playful comment of lunch, or Beca's immediate acceptance for company despite being pounced on, but either way she felt her spirits lift and her heart grow warmer.

She gave Beca a mixed smile, small, half in thanks, half as an apology for accosting her.

It took her a moment, but Beca finally scrunched up her nose and shook her head dismissively. She wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, so Chloe shouldn't either. A quick wink and a nod toward the shop was the best Beca could do to try and portray her willingness for everyone to move past it.

Chloe inclined her head gratefully before again moving through the door being held open for her - admittedly Beca stood slightly further away this time, but at least she was still holding doors and granting entry. Don't do it Beale! She continued walking, successfully not throwing herself on Beca for a second time, and b-lined straight to the 'wax table' they'd all sat at yesterday to empty her hands, arm and under-bust, then let herself into the kitchenette to wash away the small drips of coffee from off her fingers and to bring herself back under control. By the time she returned, Beca had liberated her tiny frame of all its cargo and was updating her calendar with a sigh.

"Come, eat." But Chloe was stepping out of her heels and distractedly rummaging through her coat pockets that still hung in the corner. "Oh thank god!" She threw a mini dance party for herself at finally having her keys back, before practically marching to her bag and tucking them inside safely: she was not going to forget them again. As if on cue her stomach growled louder than any thoughts of responsibility so she headed to the kitchenette for plates, pleasantly surprised to find a couple of dessert forks before also grabbing the packet of napkins next to them.

Beca tried desperately not to react at the sight of it all: Chloe had gone from caring to frantic to ecstatic, to decisive then neutral, all in the blink of an eye. "Better?" She reached for a cup and sat at her table patiently as Chloe returned, stifling the laugh but not the smile.

"Sorry, I don't like not having my keys is all." She shrugged once then climbed onto her own stool and opened the box, apparently now entirely over it and focused on sharing a lunch together.

They ate quietly at first, both too wrapped up in their own thoughts about the kiss. Why did Chloe do it, was Beca actually okay with it? What did it all mean? It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfy either. They definitely needed to talk, but Chloe thinks Beca isn't ready for that conversation. And Beca doesn't trust herself to open her mouth and not blurt out whatever her brain is farting through.

So they sip at their coffees and share small smiles whenever their eyes meet, which is often, because despite the shared mental torture, they really are both trying to simply enjoy each other's company for a few rounds of pastries.

Chloe however was too curious and mentally restless to last the whole meal in silence. "So…" But Beca's eyes were immediately bulging out her skull so she had the grace to change her question at the last moment. "Why the dress?" She offered out a small smile and a nod, trying to tell Beca she understood that that was off-limits for now.

Oh thank God! "My second mum is throwing a shindig thing on Tuesday that I've been roped into, oh, which reminds me…" Not that she'd forgotten for a second: "Are you and Jessica free Monday evening? There's a small group of us getting together and we were thinking you can meet them and hang out for a bit before next weekend. It'll kind of be your opportunity to gain the acceptance of a few of us so you can go to TTBs - if you still wanted to that is?"

Chloe wiped her hands then reached for her phone. "Cool, I'm up for it, let me check with Jess." She was, in fact, up for anything Beca could throw at her. At least she thought she was. Even though some of the photos from this morning had been… disconcerting… she'd spent a large amount of her time scrolling and thinking: thinking about her list and the parallels she could draw from the images, thinking about how she'd marked her answers with Beca in mind. Because even though some of the photos were 'heavier' in nature, it all seemed doable for Beca, with Beca.

And if Beca were to walk her through each step as gently as she'd done the day before, Chloe could very easily see herself doing even the harsher aspects of BDSM. Would very probably enjoy every second of it if Beca were to show her how. So with a sense of natural acceptance she simply unlocked her phone and dialled Jess to deal with the second part of the question.

Beca watched her hold her phone under her ear with her shoulder as she pottered about, clearing their plates and coming back for the box which now had only cookies left in it. Chloe returned to the kitchenette and started talking in her familiar light tones, but then all she heard was the tap running.

Chloe's voice was muffled by the walls and the sounds of water but still Beca sat and smiled to herself. It was nice to have Chloe here, busying herself around without stopping to think if she could, or should. And that reassured Beca: the level of comfort Chloe was displaying - it meant she'd been successful in her attempts to make the woman feel welcomed.

She was musing to herself how un-out-of-place it all felt; usually people conducting themselves with such a confidence in her spaces stirred a sense of intrusion within her - but with Chloe, it all felt very different… like a breath of fresh air that she didn't know she needed before now. She kissed me... It was odd, how un-odd she felt about it.

A hand waved slowly in front of her face. "-Beca? I have Jess, are you able to grab your sort code and account number, she'll make the payment now by bacs if that's okay?"

"Huh, oh, sorry, yes." Christ! Zone back in Mitchell! She sprang up and moved to her computer, Chloe close on her heels. The redhead watched her tap a few buttons and click a couple of times before she stepped aside, her bank details now displayed on the screen for her. She hadn't thought it through though, because now she was stuck in the corner with nowhere to go as Chloe leaned ever closer to read out the numbers to Jess.

It made her wonder if Chloe usually needed glasses, which was apparently a new kink if the sudden heat inside her underwear was any kind of indication. A glasses thing, that's new.

She's lost then to an internal conversation with herself. Maybe it's just a Chloe thing, also new, but you know… less specific?

Maybe you should shut up, she's close enough to hear your brain.

She's also close enough to-

"-Oh, I didn't ask," but then she was turning to Beca again, interrupting her private battle of wills. "Is it still okay for Jess to set up an account?"

She's pretty sure Chloe has no idea how close her elbow is to Beca's right boob, or if she does, Beca can't see any signs that she cares - so she tries not to either. "Of course, so just the 20 percent please." But she fails. She cares a hell of a lot about how close any part of Chloe is to her. Get closer, you know you want-

Don't you dare! You made that mistake already-

-You couldn't help it. But that thought had Beca actively shaking her head at herself.

You could, you just chose option A.

So choose it again damnit!

NO!

Her gutter-brain shrugged its shoulders at her moral-brain from across the cavern of her mind. She basically comes with her own gravity… You'll give in eventually, I can wait.

But still: be still. She has to hold her breath to keep her body from closing the distance, but she manages it. Her mind is finally quiet, she takes the moment she's afforded to again watch Chloe's profile, how she smiles, nods, squints, and readjusts her grip on her phone. She definitely needs glasses.

Beca definitely likes the images that brings forth. Her cheek is burning again and she resists the urge to caress the sport where Chloe's lips had been. Has to grind her teeth to keep her hands still.

"Great, thanks Jess. Uhuh I will. Enjoy." And then she was hanging up and squaring her body to Beca's, not bothering to take a step back when she realises just how close they actually are to each other. "Jess said the deposit should be with you within the hour, and that she'll print off the bank statements for an account. Oh! And that she's free on Monday too - any time you want us after seven will be fine."

She kissed me... Beca took a second then found her breath and voice. "Brill, I'll let everyone know and find out where we're meeting." But Chloe wasn't making a move to back out from behind the counter, and she doubted she could remain here so close to the woman and not lean into her much longer. Shake it off damnit! "Okay," she actually did shake her head a little. "Did you have any questions from last night, the list?"

That at least got her moving. Chloe turned, heading for her bag but had a change of heart, of bravery, and settled on approaching the kettle instead. From the safety of the kitchenette with the door ajar she was able to reply. "There were a few things that I'm not sure I understood well enough to consider properly, but then I also thought that maybe some of it was down to interpretation…" She kind of trailed off, her thoughts not quite fully formed enough to explain.

Beca allowed her to hide out with the kettle and took up a seat on the sofa instead, toeing off her own boots and opting for the softer cushions after food - the likelihood that Chloe would be sitting next to her rather than a table width away certainly aided her decision. If she thought about it she'd probably be able to convince herself that she was only mirroring Chloe's lack of shoes to try and subtly convey a sense of mutual comfortability. But she didn't think on it, nor did she bother to reign in her mind as it went through the motions of discarding more and more clothing from them both. Mmmm, to kiss those abs…

She had to squeeze her eyes closed to force a naked Chloe from her brain. She kissed me… After a few tense seconds she was able to rejoin the conversation with a clean head. "Interpretation?" She used the time to fire off a quick message to her group chat with Stacie and Bree updating them with an 8pm meet time while she waited.

Finally Chloe was coming back out, a mug in each hand, a prominent shyness about her. But she was at least still talking. "Well yeah, I guess… I get that there are obviously clear definitions for stuff, but I feel like the 'willingness' side is something different - less definable perhaps."

"Introspection?"

"That's probably a better word for it." Chloe tilted her head to the side, taking a moment to run through her thoughts as she absent-mindedly handed a cup over.

But Beca didn't like not being privy to those private workings, so she actively tried to push the conversation forward. "It's vital that you know yourself Chloe, that you take the time to really consider how things might be… so you can better decide if you want to explore, or avoid." She squeezed her mug to keep herself from reaching out. "What are you pondering over?"

Chloe brought her eyes back and focused herself better in the present, in the conversation. "Take Jess, last night she'd said that there's things with Tommy that she wasn't willing to do, but with other's she would, has… I get the sense that all this needs to be measured against not only ourselves, introspectively, but with a clear partner in mind. Which makes me think that it's also up for how we interpret that bigger picture to be?"

Beca was nodding along slowly, she could see where Chloe was coming from, does wholeheartedly agree with how important considering the partner is when preparing for a scene, but Chloe's words had sparked a different point of interest for her. "You're single I recall," subtle Mitchell, "and Jessica has Tommy to consider all these things with, so how did you approach it, without a known partner I mean?"

Of course she'd pick up on that, Beca was too attentive, too intelligent, to allow for certain titbits to slide past her. "It was a bit of a multifaceted approach with wine." But deep down she knew that answer wouldn't be enough, so she sank into the space next to Beca and began mentally preparing herself for the next question in the hopes that she could explain herself better, and come out the other side not looking like a buffoon.

"Care to elaborate?" She made sure to keep her tones gentle and patient as she took stock of the frown on Chloe's face.

Okay. She set her mug down, sucked in an empowering deep breath and tried to balance herself between not over thinking anything beyond just getting some words out and to not sound like a masturbating pervert. "I did a quick 'definitely not' work through, but then I was struggling, so Jess suggested I forget about any partner and just try to consider it all as if I were alone, or as if there were two Me's in the room." There, that was actually a good answer. But Beca was waiting to see if she had anything else to say, and with the long pause she started to wonder if she was sounding like an autosexual obsessed idiot so started rambling to try and redeem herself. "But I couldn't get the idea of it being your list out my head, and given that you've been so great with the candles and wand already, I started thinking about what else I'd be willing to try with you." You're such an idiot, but she'd said it now. "Sorry, not like in a pervy way, just… I don't know, as an educational intro I guess?" Liar. "And your super hot, so that helps." Kill me now.

Beca had heard and watched it all keenly. Chloe was all hands and darting eyes, blushing and nervous energy. But watching her panic through the conversation didn't sit well so she tried to reign in the happy eyebrow now high on her head and opted for comforting words over some selfish confirmation. "Oddly, that makes sense. You don't have a partner, and your first encounters have been with me, so I don't think it's an unusual way for you to consider trying more things, if you can't mentally be with yourself." she was purposefully trying to be understated, but never quite forgetting she kissed me…

She actively left out commenting on her own hotness, she'd keep that little nugget for future reference though. Because she wanted Chloe, and Chloe thinks I'm hot! "Stop guessing though, know yourself, and tell me if you don't want to talk things through. You won't offend me, and being honest is important."

"Sorry-"

"-Don't be." She cut in, extending her hand to grip Chloe's knee this time. "I get that it's a hard thing to talk about, I was new myself once… Everything you're feeling I've probably been through, your doubts and even eagerness, it's all stuff I've felt… I understand okay?"

She waited for Chloe to relax a little and offer out a nod in reply. "And I actually think it's healthy to imagine the details. Despite what friends and family might say, we all spend quite a bit of time imagining ourselves on both sides of a sexual encounter… it's..." She bobbed her head from side to side trying to find the right words. "Na-"

"Narcissistic?"

Her small smile was genuine. "I was going to go with 'natural', but that at least explains why you frowned at yourself just then." Because you can wholeheartedly fantasize about yourself without being a narcissist. Just as long as you can also successfully fantasize about being with other people, she honestly doesn't think it counts.

"Thanks, I genuinely thought I'd be better at talking about sex and BDSM and all this." Because she'd never really experienced this level of shyness before. Jess would probably think she'd had a lobotomy if she could see her now.

I can't believe I kissed her, just like that, bam! She felt herself smile regardless. I kissed her. And she's still here.