Chapter Text
The Friday lunch dates have become a regular thing for the couple after a few weeks. Even though they spoke to each other all the time (texting throughout the day, calling or FaceTiming until they fell asleep at night) they still seemed to find something to talk about during their lunch dates.
It was during one of those dates that Beca decided to ask Chloe out to dinner, just the two of them. She wanted to do something special for herself and Chloe, so she got Jesse to convince Aubrey to watch Jamie for the night that next Saturday. Ideally, what she had planned would have been what Beca would deem their first “official” date, but she loved their lunch dates and wouldn’t consider them anything less than “official” dates. This would just be their first official “dinner” date, so it required a bit more planning.
Chloe squealed as usual and obviously agreed to go on the date. She was very excited, not only to get a night kid-free, but also to get to spend some time with her favorite person (aside from Jamie, of course). The date was planned for the night after and Chloe couldn’t help but wish time moved quicker. It didn’t help that this was presented to her during lunch the day before and she had a full load of patients that Friday afternoon. She had trouble concentrating for the rest of the day, mind full of ideas on what to wear, where they would go, what they would do. Beca told her it would be a bit more formal, like a smart-casual, kind of date. But of course, she assured Chloe that she would look amazing in whatever she wore.
Aubrey had arrived with Jesse in tow a couple hours before Beca was set to pick her up. The blonde wanted to come early since she knew Chloe would be freaking out on what to wear, how to wear her makeup, how should she do her hair, etc. Chloe hadn’t been on a date since she was with Jamie’s father, but even that didn’t require much attention since it just kind of happened. The couple was just flirting with each other but no official dating had ever been done. Then one day, he told her he was being deployed for a few years overseas the next day, one last drink at the bar turned to many drinks, one thing led to another, and they ended up sleeping together that night. He left the next morning to report for duty and left Chloe alone. A couple weeks later, she found she was pregnant and told him but he wanted nothing to do with the pregnancy. Something about not wanting to risk his shot at a promotion so Chloe just left it at that. Jamie arrived nine months later and Chloe never spoke to him ever again.
Chloe was brought out of her reverie of thinking of Jamie’s father (if you can even call him that) when Aubrey told her to blot her lips of the extra lipstick she had on. When she did and Aubrey moved away from the mirror, Chloe couldn’t help but let out a gasp when she saw herself in the full length mirror in her room. She looked amazing and she knew Beca would be impressed. Hell, she was impressed with herself.
Aubrey let out a low whistle, “Damn, Chlo. If I wasn’t already dating Jesse, I’d take you out on a date before Beca even gets here.” she said as she jokingly checked her out. “That, and if I was into women, which I’m not. Although you could turn me.” Aubrey chuckled as she went to hug her best friend.
“Thanks a lot for your help, Bree. I really appreciate it. And I appreciate you watching Jamie tonight too. You seriously are the best friend.” Chloe said sincerely.
“Of course, you deserve a night out with your girl. Plus it’s been a minute since me and my godson got to spend some time together. I was starting to miss him.” Aubrey replied.
“And he misses his Auntie Bee too.” Chloe giggled. Just then the doorbell rang.
“Well, looks like it’s time to go. Shall we?” Aubrey said as she held out her arm to lead Chloe down the hall to the door.
“We shall.” Chloe took her arm and they both headed towards the front door to meet Beca.
They ended up at a very nice rooftop Italian restaurant overlooking the city. Chloe mentioned the restaurant during their first time meeting at the beach and Beca had already promised herself, and secretly to Chloe, to go to that spot for the first date. Tonight, Beca was making good on that promise.
“Good evening, welcome to La Cucina della Nonna . Do you ladies have a reservation with us this evening?” the maitre’d ask when they walked in.
“Hi, yes. Reservation for 2 under ‘Mitchell’” Beca replied.
“Ah, yes. For 7:30pm, right on time. Please follow me.” he answered back and led them to a small table against one of the windows overlooking the city below.
Once they were seated, Chloe couldn’t help but be in awe that they were even there. “Oh my gosh, Becs. I can’t believe you were able to get us a table here! I’ve been wanting to come ever since I moved here but haven’t been able to get a reservation whenever I was free to go. This place is amazing, and I heard the food and drinks are pretty good as well.” Chloe said before she even opened up her menu to browse.
“Working for one of the top labels in the city has its advantages. We bring a lot of clients here for schmoozing so it was pretty easy to get the table once I name dropped BFD records.” Beca spoke like it was no big deal. “I wanted to do something really special for you and I remembered you mentioning this place when we first met. I made the reservation the next day for tonight.” Chloe raised her eyebrow at her but kept quiet. "...Ok, this was the first night they had available so far in advance. BUT I did call that same night we met to make it." Beca spoke honestly, blushing a bit at being a bit presumptuous at that time.
“Really?” Chloe asked mischievously. “And what would’ve happened if, say, I hadn’t agreed on a date with you?”
“Well, I knew you couldn’t resist a chance to come here. Plus I knew you were pretty into me after that night.” Beca mockingly. Chloe feigned shock, her eyes going wide and a hand on her chest with the other softly shoving Beca’s shoulder. “But honestly, I’d probably just come on my own or give the reservation to Jesse to bring Aubrey. They seem to be hitting it off pretty well.” Beca answered.
“Yeah, I’m glad they are. I’ve never seen Bree so giddy and happy before. Her smiling all the time is kind of creeping me out. I’m just not used to it.” Chloe giggled.
“Why’s that?” Beca asked as the waiter came to take their order.
After they gave their order to the waiter, Chloe ordered a cocktail as well since it’s been a while and she wasn’t driving tonight, she answered Beca’s question.
“Bree’s a very serious person. Grew up in a military family, her dad was an Admiral in the US Army, so she had a lot to live up to. He was pretty strict on her and her brother, expecting perfection from the both of them. Just growing up with that kind of mentality and expectation, it bleeds into the rest of your life. When we met in college, she was hellbent on being the best in all her classes. I always saw her studying in the library or in the University Center before we became friends. She figured she needed an extracurricular to get a break from all the studying and so she decided to join the Bellas and that’s how we met. She approached everything with military precision and when we finally took over, she led the team the same way. The girls even nicknamed her ‘The Drill Sergeant'” Chloe explained. Beca hanging onto every word. She could listen to Chloe talk about the people she loved all day.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she did because that kind of discipline worked and was able to get us to the ICCA National Championships during our senior year. But she just never shook that mindset. Now she’s made partner at her law firm, but it took her a lot to get to that spot.” Chloe continued. “Just seeing her so laid back and happy now is just so weird to see, but I’m so glad she is. Jesse is really good for her. He brings out a new softer and less stressed side of her that I haven’t seen before. I’m really happy for her.”
“Well Jesse’s the same way. So I guess we all win in this situation.” Beca responded. Their food and drinks arrived soon after.
“So tell me, how did you and Jesse become friends?” Chloe asked before taking a quick bite of her Perch Risotto and letting out a small moan, “Mmmm, this is so good.”
Beca sat and stared for a few moments after hearing Chloe’s reaction. She had speared a piece of her Lobster Ravioli but stopped midway to her mouth when she heard the noise coming from Chloe’s mouth. She eventually came to and cleared her throat not to cause any suspicion that she had been in a daze.
“Ha, me and Jesse have been buds since high school. We both grew up in a small suburb near Seattle and when the chance finally came to leave, we agreed to do it together. So you know how he’s such a movie enthusiast?” Chloe nodded. “Well, in high school, he used to get bullied about it. Movies were literally all he talked about and I guess people just loved to shit on other people’s passions.” Beca said sadly and shook her head. It was like she was remembering it like it wasn’t so long ago.
“I wasn’t close to him or anything, just saw him around school and we had a couple classes together, but nothing significant. I just hated seeing people being put down just for enjoying the stuff they enjoyed. Anyways, one day it went too far. I was across the hallway from him and he was getting stuff in his locker. He opened it and a blue ink sprayed out into his face and the small movie posters he had hanging in his locker. He was more concerned about the posters than he was of his face and clothes covered in ink.” She shook her head, smirking slightly.
“While he was trying in vain to get the stuff off his precious posters, I spotted some guys a few meters down the hall laughing and secretly recording him. Jesse heard the laughing and slowly got up to gather his stuff to get out of there. I quickly made my way over to the guys, punched the guy recording it in his face. The rest of the group of bullies scattered, guess they were scared to get the crap beaten out of them by a girl.” She smirked.
“Anyways, Jesse saw and smiled at me to thank me, but then he slowly frowned when he saw the AP (assistant principal) walking down the hall behind me.” Beca then ducked her head and grabbed the back of her neck. “I ended up being suspended for 2 days and got 1 month’s worth of detention. Jesse heard and ended up bringing me my homework after the first day of my suspension and he thanked me for standing up for him. We ended up hanging out together that evening playing video games since my parents were out of town and I liked the company. We’ve been best buds ever since.” Beca finished.
“Wow! I didn’t know I was dating such a hero. That’s really sweet of you Becs.” Chloe smiled and reached for Beca’s hand on the table. Beca turned her hand over to intertwine their hands together. “Yea well, sometimes I regret doing anything because since then, he hasn’t been able to leave me alone.” Beca chuckled. Chloe just feigned a heated glare at her. “I’m kidding! I love him like a brother, I’m an only child so it’s nice to know I have someone like him who has my back no matter what. He’s family.”
Chloe couldn’t help but melt at how Beca described her relationship with such a dear friend. She could only hope that Beca would describe their relationship with such endearment. “You’re so sweet. I’m sure Jesse’s happy to have you around.” she responded.
“Oh, the poor guy would be lost without me.” Beca laughed. “All his ‘game’ and social skills are thanks to me. If it wasn’t for me stopping him from going off on movies, he wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone other than other movie geeks. I know we’re in LA, but not everyone loves to talk about movies all the time.” she finished.
“Anyways, enough about that dork. How was the rest of your day?” Beca asked, changing the subject.
Chloe just giggled, “Well, I think it’s very sweet how you guys have stuck together for so long. But my day was pretty good. Just full of check-ups and vaccination updates, nothing too serious today thankfully.” she answered. “Jamie was a bit of a handful this evening when we got home though. I think something happened at daycare and he was still hopped up on that adrenaline when we got home. I couldn’t get him to settle. I hope Bree and Jesse aren’t having too much of a hard time handling him.” Chloe said as she subtly tried to look at her phone on the table.
“You can call them, you know. Just to check up on him. I don’t mind.” Beca reassured.
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so obvious.” Chloe responded, blushing a bit.
“He’s important to you. Go ahead, call them. It’s pretty late now, so he’s probably asleep or getting ready for it. I’ll still be here when you’re done.” Beca said. “Thank you, Becs.” Chloe said as she got up to go to the restroom area to call Aubrey. Beca just watched her leave while taking another sip of water.
Chloe dialed Aubrey’s number as she reached the restroom’s comfort area. “Hey Bree, how’s everything going?” she asked.
“Well, after about the third time watching Toy Story, he finally settled down enough, and Jamie’s doing well too.” Aubrey jokes, insinuating that Jesse was the one who was hyped up and watching Toy Story all night. There were chuckles on both ends of the call.
“Just kidding, but seriously, everything is fine. Jamie handled dinner, bath time, and bedtime really well, basically went to bed as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn’t even need a bedtime story.” Aubrey detailed the night. “Jess and I are just watching a show in the living room. Why are you still on the phone with me? Go and enjoy your date, don't leave her hanging.” she giggled.
“I will Bree. She actually told me to make the call. I guess I wasn’t so subtle in checking my phone all night. She’s so sweet and this night has been amazing so far.” Chloe replied dreamily. “I just wanted to call to make sure everything is alright.”
“Well we’re all good here. Go back and enjoy. Don’t worry about us, we’ll stay as long as you need.” Aubrey reassured her. “Thanks Bree, I really appreciate it.” They said their goodbyes and hung up.
When Chloe returned to the table, Beca was just returning the check to the waiter, she saw Chloe and smiled. She immediately stood as Chloe approached, “Hey, I just finished paying the bill. Is everything ok back home?” Beca asked and Chloe nodded. “Great! Well, if you’re still up for it, I was hoping you’d join me at this cool lounge not too far from here. They’ve got live music and it’s pretty chill.” Beca asked, grabbing the back of her neck, indicating she was nervous asking. She just didn’t want this night to end yet.
Chloe giggled at the bashfulness of Beca and just leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’d love to check it out with you. I’m having such a great time, I’m not ready to go home yet.”
“Really?” Beca brightened up, “Me too.” she smiled. “Ready to go?” she asked as she offered her arm to Chloe. The redhead just smiled and looped her arm through Beca’s and they made their way through the restaurant and back down and out to the car.