It was a Saturday night at Residual Heat - one of the hottest clubs in Atlanta. The music was pumping. The massive crowd composed of hot people(bothdefinitions of the word"hot")were dancing to the beat. The bar had a steady stream of customers seeking the freedom that copious amount of alcohol offered. Most people would obtain their drink or ten and head back into the scrum of bodies. A few had planted themselves at the bar for a respite from the sweaty mass on the dance floor - among them were two beautiful brunette women. One was tall and leggy, wearing a sinfully short and plunging dress. Truthfully, it was a miracle that she hadn't had a wardrobe malfunction yet. The other was short, clad in a tight low-cut tank and skinny jeans. Currently, she had her head resting on her arms, which were folded on the bar. They both had knocked back an impressive amount of alcohol; the shorter one was on the road to passing out.

The taller woman nudged her friend." is the hottest chick in here?"

The shorter woman lifted her head slowly, looking like it took every bit of energy she had left to accomplish the task. Her words came out slow and with difficulty."You,Stacie. Always you."

"While I appreciate the compliment," Stacie answered,"Imeant other than me."

The small brunette dropped her head back onto her arms. She whine,"Uggghhhhh!I don't wanna play this game."

"Come on, Beca!" Stacie pouted as she pled with her friend."You'reno fun!" She began scanning the crowd, identifying potential partners for herself. When Beca continued to sit silently, Stacie threatened,"Ifyou don't play, I'm going to go find someone else to play with."

Beca raised her head a few inches and glared at her friend."Youwouldn't leave me here."

Stacie waggled her eyebrows and gestured to her crotch."TheHunter needs to hunt."

"Gross," Beca groaned."Istill can't believe you named your cooch that."

"I still can't believe you are such a killjoy," Stacie mumbled with a scowl."Youact like you're a forty year old."

"Hey," Beca sat up with an affronted look on her face."Icame out with you, didn't I?"

"Pffft," Stacie scoffed."Andyou've spent most of the night planted on that bar stool!"

"It's comfy," Beca countered.

"You're lame," Stacie replied."Youneed to get out there. Test out your newly declared lesbianocity."

"That's not a word." Beca glared and plunked her head back down on her arms. She continued, her voice muffled."Besides,I'm bi, not lesbian."

"Mmmm hmmm," Stacie said with a high level of doubt evident."Areyou planning on dating any guys any time soon?"

"No," Beca forcefully replied through her arms.

"I stand by what I said then."

For most of her 25 years on this planet, Beca Mitchell would have felt confident in stating she was straight. She dated guys in high school. She went to prom with her boyfriend. She had sex with several guys. And when she started college she got into a serious relationship with Jesse Swanson - a fellow music major at Barden University. They dated throughout their four years there. Then they moved in together after graduation. They both got jobs in Atlanta. Jesse got a job teaching music while providing singing and guitar lessons on the side. Beca worked at a small recording studio as a producer; she spent several evenings a week as a DJ in clubs around the area. They had discussed marriage - aiming to tie the knot in about two years. This was all before her.

The person in question was Kommissar - the performing name Brigette Horst, a singer who recorded her album at Beca's studio with the small brunette serving as producer. Beca didn't understand why, but whenever Kommissar would be in the studio, Beca would lose all semblance of rational thought and behavior. She stumbled over her word, blushed constantly, complimented the woman non-stop. The artist encouraged this behavior by relentlessly flirting with Beca. A child of divorced parent who broke up due to infidelity, Beca refused to act on her desires for Kommissar. But it made her wonder what was going on. After much soul-searching and many discussions with her best friend Stacie, Beca determined that she was not completely straight. Her acknowledgement of that led her to talk to Jesse about it. He exploded in furious anger: he accused her of cheating, claimed she had been dishonest with him for years, and railed about how she hadn't been invested in their relationship.

She moved out and moved in with Stacie. They spent the next several weeks examining Beca's history and came to the realization that the tiny brunette may not have been a straight as she believed. She acknowledged that the reaction to Kommissar was not the first time she had felt giddy and overwhelmed around a woman. She had written those responses off to being self-conscious or introverted. Stacie corrected that belief by reminding Beca how she had reacted when the two women first met in middle school."Thatwasn't self-conscious, my little friend. You couldn't take your eyes off my boobs, my legs, or my ass for the first two months I knew you." Now that Beca was aware of her attraction to the female gender, Stacie had been encouraging her to get out there and explore. Beca was not excited about the prospect. Stacie had forced her friend to join her at clubs a couple of times. Which is what led to the current situation.

"In all seriousness, Beca, I think you need to just go for it. You're building this up in your head."

Beca's head popped up again."Buildingit up in my head?! This is a major change, Stace. I don't even know how to approach a woman or … or … DO anything."

"I get that," Stacie answered with an uncharacteristic kindness to her voice."Butyou need to just close your eyes and jump. Pop your lesbian cherry, if you will."

Rolling her eyes, Beca grumbled,"Idon't know why you're being so pushy about this."

"Because if I don't," Stacie answered,"Youwill end up alone with fifteen cats."

An offended look climbed onto Beca's face. She gasped and stated,"No,I won't!" Then in a less confident voice continued,"Idon't like cats."

"That's because you ARE a cat," Stacie mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that!" Beca said."Ican do this on my own. I don't need your help."

"Yes you do," Stacie argued. When Beca scoffed, the taller brunette continued."You,my pint sized friend, are a dumbass. And, you have absolutely no game."

Beca glared at the comments. Didn't argue - just glared."Sowhat do you suggest?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Stacie got an evil look on her face. Beca winced, fearful of what was coming."Ithink you should find the hottest woman in here and just walk up and kiss her."

"No fucking way." Beca shook her head."Ain'thappening."

Stacie leaned closer to her friend and locked eyes with her. In a dangerous tone, she said,"Idare you."

Beca's eyes flew open."Youbitch."

Stacie shrugged."Thatmay be true, but the fact remains. I dare you … to go find the hottest woman in here and give her a big wet Beca Mitchell Special."

"What the hell does that even mean?!" Beca face was contorted in confusion.

"Come on, short stuff," Stacie urged."Getgoing and find someone to kiss."

Beca scowled, but she knew that she was doomed to do exactly what Stacie was proposing. For the length of their friendship, Beca and Stacie had dared each other to things. And neither of them had ever backed down from a dare. Beca had gotten Stacie to streak football practice in high school, flirt with a professor is college, and go a month without sex. In return, Stacie had coerced Beca into taking over the intercom in high school, pretend to be the in-house DJ at a club, and hide Jesse's beloved Star Wars figures. So the fact that Stacie stooped so low as to dare Beca really pissed her off. But there was nothing she could do about it, so she started to look around the crowded club.

There were clearly a lot of beautiful women all over the dance floor and the tables surrounding it. Beca scanned them. She felt she should eliminate anyone who already seemed to be paired up with a guy - or anyone appearing cozy with another woman. They may be the hottest in the room, but Beca didn't want to get her ass kicked for this stupid stunt. Her alcohol-addled brainmade it hard to focus, but she did her best. And then she saw her. About halfway across the room, she spotted two women having a heated discussion. One was tall, pretty, blonde. She also looked very uptight. The other was a stunning redhead in a short, tight emerald dress. She looked like she was trying to convince her friend of something. Beca felt mesmerized by her. She got up from her stool and walked over like she was caught in a tractor beam. The closer she got, the more beautiful the woman became. Before she knew it, Beca was standing right next to the arguing duo. The redhead was a goddess. She had striking blue eyes, wavy red hair, curves in all the right places. Beca found herself admiring the woman's tones arms, her shapely legs, her bright smile. The two women had stopped talking when Beca arrived - something she was too drunk to notice. She just kept staring at the redhead, barely recognizing that she had raised a questioning eyebrow in Beca's direction.

"Can we help you?" The blonde asked in a non-too-friendly tone.

Beca snapped out of her haze at the question. She looked back and forth between the two ladies. She then faced the redhead and took a deep breath."Myfriend over there dared me to kiss the most beautiful woman in this club." She reached up and placed her hands on either side of the redhead's face and pulled her closer. Beca closed her eyes and planted a firm kiss to the woman's lips. She was shocked when the woman reciprocated. They kissed, their lips moving in sync together. Beca finally broke the kiss and pulled back, a goofy smile on her face. The redhead beamed at her. They were frozen in their own bubble, lost in each other's eyes.

The bubble popped suddenly when the blonde angrily snapped,"Whatthe fuck, Beca?"

Just a few minutes prior

"I want to go over there and talk to her, Bree," the redhead whined to her blonde friend.

"No, Chloe!" The blonde scowled and answered in a firm voice.

"But she's so adorable!" Chloe stared hopefully over towards the bar at a small brunette. The woman was sitting on a barstool, her feet swinging beneath. Her head was resting on her arms on the bar.

"You seriously need to get some help." Aubrey grumbled and shook her head.

"But Stacie is over there … you could talk to her." Chloe's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised, hoping this would help sway Aubrey.

Aubrey blushed and stammered,"That… is neither … here nor there … So what. You still don't need to go running after that hobbit."

Chloe pouted in response. She mumbled,"Istill don't know what your problem is with her."

"My problem is that she isn't good enough for you," Aubrey explained for the twentieth time."Youdeserve better than some wannabe DJ."

"But I LIKE that wannabe DJ."

Aubrey rolled her eyes at what was becoming a far too frequent conversation. Several months earlier, Aubrey and Chloe had gone to an invite-only party thrown by their friend Cynthia Rose. The three of them had met in college and performed in an a cappella group together there. After graduation, they all stayed in Atlanta and kept in touch. Cynthia Rose managed Bellas - a club in Atlanta. Aubrey was a lawyer just a few years out of law school. Chloe worked as a veterinarian. The party took place at Bellas, and it was packed with many of Atlanta's most prominent young professionals. It was at this party where Aubrey and Chloe met Stacie and Beca. It turned out that Stacie lived in the same complex as Cynthia Rose, and Beca was hired to be the DJ for the event. Chloe spotted the tiny brunette working in the DJ booth and was immediately smitten. She couldn't take her eyes off Beca. Meanwhile, Stacie and Aubrey ran into each other at the bar. They exchanged a few flirty comments and exchanged numbers. Aubrey returned to Chloe's side only to see her making moon-eyes at the DJ. Aubrey didn't trust people easily, and she CERTAINLY didn't trust people who performed in local clubs. With their arrogance and self-importance. They knew their job would make it easy to seduce people mesmerized by the"glamour"and"sexiness"of being in a band or being on stage. And this was NOT at all due to Aubrey getting burned more than once by falling from some scuzzy dirtbag of a performer. On top of all of that, Aubrey knew Chloe fell quickly for people and ended up getting hurt a lot. That meant Aubrey was going to do everything she could to keep Chloe from getting entangled with Beca.

If only the universe had agreed…

After that initial party, Aubrey and Chloe had now managed to run into Stacie and Beca on six different occasions. The first time was at Trader Joe's. Chloe predictably acted like a pathetic teenager. She laughed at everything Beca said, put her hands on Beca's arm, and hinted at them hanging out. Then there was a completely freak coincidence at Ted's Montana Grill where both duos arrived at the same time. Then stupid Stacie came up with the stupid idea of the four sitting together. Chloe of course jumped at the chance to spend an evening with Beca. Then there was the run-in at another club, then a Braves game, then Trader Joe's AGAIN. And now the little alt looking woman was standing right next to them kissing Chloe.

Chloe, of course, was beaming. This was all she had been dreaming about for the last several months. And this was what Aubrey had been dreading. Chloe had already fallen for Beca, but Beca had seemed kind of clueless about everything. Aubrey had been counting on that situation to continue. Alas, it was not to be. And what made it worse is that it appeared that Beca didn't realize who she was swapping spit with. Chloe would be crushed when she realized that Beca was just acting on a drunken dare and didn't actually feel anything for the redhead. Aubrey needed to do some damage control.

"What the fuck, Beca?"

Beca and Chloe popped out of their bubble at the comment. The small brunette looked back and forth at the two women in front of her."Aubrey?Chloe!?" Beca's eyes flew wide when she realized just who she had kissed. Meanwhile, Chloe's face fell when she put the pieces together. That lit a fire in Aubrey's chest and she revved up to unload on the no-good piece of shite who was hurting her friend.

A vibration on her wrist drew her attention away from the ladies in front of her. She glanced down to see a text on her Apple Watch.

"Let them be. Beca needs to do this."Aubrey flicked her eyes up to the bar and saw Stacie staring at her with her eyebrows raised. The tall brunette gestured Aubrey over with a movement of her head. With trepidation, the blonde left Beca and Chloe and strode to the bar.

Neither Beca nor Chloe noticed Aubrey's disappearance. They were still staring at each other. Beca was suddenly quite sober.

Chloe lowered her eyes and softly asked."So… you didn't know it was me? You were just kissing someone for no reason?"

Beca swallowed deeply and cleared her throat. She guided Chloe further away from the dance floor so they had a small amount of privacy."Um… I … So Stacie … she dared me … I was supposed to kiss the most beautiful woman … "

Chloe brightened at the comment, but her voice was still tinged with sadness."WhileI do appreciate that, I'm a little bummed that you didn't recognize me."

"I am a little drunk," Beca explained."ButI'm not upset that it was you."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

Beca looked around, trying to get her thoughts together and get the guts to say what she needed to say."I… I … I really like you," she started."Ihave WANTED to ask you out, but … I was … I was scared. Like terrified." Chloe's face brightened, but she stayed silent, thinking that Beca needed to work through her feelings."Ihaven't been out with a woman. I have kind of been through a personal journey the last few years. I have just been so scared to do anything. Stacie has been pushing me to get out there. I think this was kind of her way to make me do something. So … in some ways … this was a good thing? Cause then I actually made a move … with you?"

Chloe couldn't help but smile at how adorable Beca was being."Soyou call that a move?"

Beca looked at her in surprise."Imean … yeah. I kissed you."

"No, you kissed some random beautiful woman in the club on a dare," Chloe replied, her eyes sparkling."Youdidn't make a move on ME."

Beca scowled."Areyou screwing with me?"

"Not yet," Chloe answered with a smirk."Butlet's see how you get out of this mess."

"Uhhh," Beca looked like a deer in the headlights."I'msorry? That I didn't realize it was you. But I really do think you're the most beautiful woman in the room … the most beautiful woman in every room, really." She took another deep breath."AndI am glad that it forced me to get out of my head. I would really like to take you out some time … if you want to go with … a dumbass."

Chloe laughed out loud."Thatwas pretty smooth … for someone with absolutely no game."

"You're not wrong," Beca admitted."So… would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Would you like to go out with me?"

Chloe pretended to think about it for a minute, taking pleasure in how Beca squirmed waiting for an answer."Isupposed I could do that. You do think I'm beautiful after all. And you're a good kisser."

Beca nodded with a big smile."Coolcool cool."

Chloe stepped closer to Beca, enjoying at the flush that quickly spread over Beca's face and upper chest."Youknow … you could have asked me out like … two months ago. I've been hinting at it each time we ran into each other."

"You were?" Beca stepped back in surprise."Well,like I said … I'm a dumbass."

Chloe reached up and grasped Beca's arms, pulling her closer."Yes,but an adorable dumbass."

Beca scowled."Hey,I'm not adorable. I'm badass."

"Sure you are," Chloe replied with a slight nod.

"Can I kiss you again? For real this time?" Beca asked.

Chloe leaned close to Beca's ear and whispered,"Idare you."