Studio 22

Chapter 9:

Chloe:

"That's when Jesse barged in and saved me." Beca ended the story, laughing. Her laugh was so contagious that I had to laugh too. It was nice, getting to know her outside of work.

"Do you have any embarrassing stories from middle school?", she asked.

"Oh, tons. I was so awkward in middle school. It would take too long to tell you." I chuckled.

"Okay. Then what is your happiest memory from school?" Beca questioned and I had to think about it.

"When it was finally over I guess."

School hadn't been a pleasant experience for me most of the time.

"Why is that?"

"I was bullied most of the time... I didn't wear the fanciest clothes; I had braces and suffered from acne. I was overweight and their target number one. My senior year when we were on a field trip, the boy I liked wanted to be alone with me. We were staying in a camp by a lake. He led me away from everyone into the bushes by the shore. He leaned in and I was so excited to have my first kiss with him...But instead of kissing me, he pushed me into the lake. All his friends were watching, laughing at me. For him it was just a joke. I was a joke to everyone." I paused and sighed.

"Chloe, that's terrible. Wow. Kids can be so cruel."

"Yeah. After high school, my acne slowly faded and my braces came off. I lost 75 pounds by dieting and lifting weights, and went from being the girl he didn't want, to being the girl he couldn't have. Six years later, here I am, not even into men anymore."

"That is one hell of a story."

We sat in that coffee shop for eternity, talking about our past, the world, about literally everything. When I looked at my wristwatch, my eyes widened.

"Beca, we have to go. We're going to be late for work." I hastily told her.

"Okay, I'll just go use the restroom real quick before we leave.", she said while getting up and walking to the restrooms.

When she came back, she just smiled at me. "Ready to go, Chloe?"

"Let's go."

                                       ~

A few days later I was on my way to work. I wanted to push the door to Studio 22 open, but it was locked. I tried again- nothing. Still locked. I went to try the back door, when a sign caught my eye. It said that Studio 22 would stay closed tonight. I rummaged through my bag, trying to find my phone.

"Hey, Chlo." I was startled by Beca's voice behind me. I turned around and looked at her.

"Hey, uh-, I just wanted to call you. Why is there a sign saying that the club will stay closed tonight?"

"Because it will be.", she stated.

"What? Why?" I wanted to know.

"Do you trust me?", she answered with a question.

"I do. Why?"

Beca didn't answer. She silently moved behind me and suddenly I saw a black blindfold in front of me. She carefully tied the fabric around my head and took my hand.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?"

"Shh. Just trust me."

We got into her car and she started driving. It was a about an hour later when we stopped. Still blindfolded, I had no idea where we were. Beca got out and walked around the car to help me. Once I was standing next to her, she wrapped her arm around my waist, leading the way. Moments later I heard something. Some kind of crackling, like... a bonfire? Where the hell had she taken me?

"Ready?" I was more than ready to get rid of this blindfold. I nodded and she slowly removed the blindfold from my eyes.

I gasped in shock, "Beca...." I covered my mouth with my hand. I was speechless. I turned to face her and she just smiled at me. I was standing at the shore of a lake. A little bonfire crackling to my left, a blanket with a few pillows on it lying on the ground next to it. There was a charcuterie board on the blanket as well.

"Come sit with me." Beca said while positioning herself on the blanket. I sat down next to her, facing the lake. For a while none of us said anything. I scooted closer to Beca and placed my head on her shoulder. She smiled at me and wrapped her arm around my back. We sat like this, watching the quiet lake and the stars, drinking wine and eating cheese, for God knows how long.

"Why did you do all of this?" I wanted to know later that night.

"You told me that some jerk from school pushed you into the lake instead of kissing you.", she explained.

"And what does this story have to do with you setting up this surprise for me?"

"This", she gestured to the bonfire, the lake and us, "is your do-over." She looked into my eyes and brought her hand to my cheek. I couldn't believe she had done this just because of a stupid story from my past. Her hand gently caressed my cheek, her gaze still locked into my eyes. She inched her face closer to mine and my heart started racing. I closed my eyes and leaned in. Beca pulled me closer and sealed our lips together. The kiss was tender at first, but our feelings took over in no time. The first time since Thea and I had broken up, I was genuinely happy. I was so happy in fact, that I thought my heart would jolt out of my body and explode in the sky like fireworks. I melted into the kiss with Beca, nothing else relevant than just her soft lips on mine. Her one hand on my cheek and the other around my waist, pulling me closer. Oh, what would I have done to make this moment last forever. Just her and me and the lake and the stars. I had dreamed about kissing Beca since day one and now it was finally happing. And it wasn't lips barely brushing against each other or a quick kiss in a coffee shop. No. This was a real kiss. A real kiss with real feelings. Real desire.

After we parted I grinned from ear to ear. Beca smiled at me, removed her hand from my cheek and grabbed a blanket. She unfolded it, pulled me into her side and wrapped the blanket around us. I enjoyed her next to me, her body radiating heat. I gazed at the stars spread across the sky like glitter and got lost. I wasn't thinking anything. For the first time in months, I could just enjoy the present moment, without being troubled by any doubts. I let my head fall to Beca's shoulder and sighed.

"You okay?" Her soft voice comforted me.

"Yes. I'm more than okay." I lifted my head to plant a kiss on her cheek and smile at her before putting it back on her shoulder.

Beca drove me home a few hours later. She parked her car in front my apartment complex and got out with me. We walked to the door together, our fingers intertwined. We came to a stop in front of the door and turned to face each other. Beca kissed me goodbye and wanted to go, when I grabbed onto her shirt to pull her back. I crashed our lips together, my desire taking over.

"I know I was the one to say we should take it slow, but maybe we can move a little faster?" I breathed out, catching my breath after the kiss.