Chapter 21
(Beca & Chloe)
“I hate flying. It’s official.” Beca flopped onto the couch in the sitting room of their suite. Both of their flights had been delayed for weather, meaning they were just getting in at 8 instead of 3. They were starving and exhausted and frustrated. “What do you want from room service, babe?”
Chloe sat down heavily next to her. “Steak. I want steak and potatoes.”
Beca chuckled, though she was ordering the biggest bacon cheeseburger she could get and fries. They hadn’t eaten more than snacks for hours now. Fortunately, Beca’s first meeting was in the hotel restaurant for lunch; she could sleep in an hour or two. She picked up the landline and dialed room service to order dinner and a bottle of wine.
“I’m gonna shower; I feel like I smell like an airport.” Chloe leaned over for a kiss before heading to the bathroom.
Beca kicked off her shoes and propped her feet on the coffee table. She couldn’t complain about the accomodations the label had provided; the suite was huge and bordered on lavish. She heard the shower turn on and was sorely tempted to join her partner. But they were too exhausted to fully enjoy each other, so she sighed and nestled into the soft couch. She couldn’t think of a way to properly thank Emily for suggesting she simply buy Chloe’s ticket herself. There was no way she could have gone through that day by herself. And Chloe would have been obsessively worries about the weather the entire day. She owed Emily big time.
Chloe emerged in a soft terry cloth hotel robe a few minutes before their food arrived. They both dug into their meals heartily for a few bites until the edge was gone. More sedately, they talked about their plans for the next day – evening sightseeing. Simple, low effort fun after a long day of travel.
“Where do we want to have dinner? I imagine you’ll get tired of the restaurant downstairs.” Chloe sipped her wine and stole a fry off Beca’s plate.
“You have your own potatoes. Well, I guess I’ll test drive it at lunch tomorrow and see if it’s any good. If not, we’ll find someplace while we walk.”
“I want your potatoes, too. Makes sense to me; I doubt there’s a shortage of places to eat around here.” She poached another fry and returned to her steak.
After dinner, they refilled their glasses and moved back to the couch, Chloe leaning against Beca with her legs curled under her. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, letting their brains rest after the chaos of the day. Finally, Beca turned and drew Chloe into a soft, lingering kiss. “I wish we weren’t so exhausted,” she murmured against her lips.
“Tomorrow, love,” Chloe whispered back. “And we have all week.”
Beca nodded and rested their foreheads together. “I should shower while I can keep my eyes open.”
Chloe kissed her one more time before she stood. Shifting, she stretched her legs out to set her feet on the coffee table. She checked her phone for the first time in hours. There were a few pictures of the cats from Aubrey, then a few more concerned texts when Chloe didn’t check in after reaching the hotel. The last was five minutes ago. “Sorry, Bree. Crazy travel day. Got to hotel at 8, had dinner.”
“Thank god. Okay. You can tell us about it when you get home. Have fun and be safe.”
She turned on some music and set the phone down. She hadn’t meant to worry her friend, she’d simply forgotten to update them as plans kept changing. She draped her arm over her eyes.
The next thing she knew, she was waking up in Beca’s arms in bed. She felt a kiss on the back of her neck. “How…”
“You fell asleep on the couch. I carried you in here.” Beca loosened her grip around her waist so she could roll over.
“Thank you, love. I don’t even remember falling asleep.” Chloe reached up and tucked a silky lock of chestnut hair behind Beca’s ear.
Beca caught her hand and kissed her palm. “We were both pretty shot last night.” She looked at the clock on the nightstand. “We have a few hours before I have to head downstairs. Shall I make us coffee?”
“Sure, but I’m coming with you.” She collected a soft, lingering kiss, feeling the restrained heat of Beca’s desire in the kiss. “Soon, love,” she whispered before throwing off the blanket and getting up.
In the kitchen, Beca managed the unfamiliar coffee pot while Chloe looked over the breakfast menu. When they finally had their mugs, they moved to the couch, Beca wrapping an arm around Chloe’s shoulders. “So,” Chloe said after calling in their order, “what do you know about this songwriter?”
The brunette shrugged. “I know her name is Heather Bright. I know she’s around our age. I believe Theo said she plays guitar. That’s about it, really. I haven’t even heard a demo yet.” She sipped her coffee. “I imagine you’ll meet her at some point, as we’ll need to play and sing together to see if this is even viable.”
Chloe nodded. That made sense, of course. She would likely stay out of the way in the bedroom, but she would get to hear Beca sing more than just to the radio. God, how she missed her partner’s voice. She wondered what Beca would say if she asked her to sing at home.
“Well, I hope your meeting goes well regardless. Maybe if it works out, you’ll be able to record and release an album.”
Beca smiled. “I guess we’ll find out, babe.” There was a knock at the door and Chloe answered it to admit the porter with the cart holding their breakfast. Beca brough their coffees to the table to eat.
After their meal, they lounged with more coffee, the suite quiet except for the music Beca turned on. She felt surprisingly calm about meeting Heather, figuring they would know fairly quickly if they could work together; if they couldn’t get along for an introductory lunch, there was no point in trying anything else. After that, it would come down to the music itself.
Chloe leaned back against her partner on the couch, sipping her drink. She had her fingers crossed for the meeting; Beca’s three recorded song had never been used, and after over 6 months at the label, she was wondering why more effort wasn’t being spent on Beca. She wanted to see Beca’s talent taken seriously and appreciated. But Beca didn’t seem to mind the slow pace, so she didn’t complain about it.
***
Beca came back from lunch at 2, finding Chloe dancing around the sitting room to the music on her phone. The brunette grinned at her partner’s apparent good mood. Chloe hadn’t heard her come in, so she snuck up behind her, placing her hands on Chloe’s hips to dance close against her.
Chloe chuckled and turned to face her, draping her arms around Beca’s neck. “Dance with me, Becs,” she requested. They danced for a handful of songs before Beca drew Chloe into a deep, hungry kiss.
“It’s tomorrow,” she said enticingly, nipping the ginger’s lower lip.
Chloe nipped back with a smirk. “Yes, it is. What are you gonna do about it?”
With several steps, Beca backed Chloe against the arm of the couch, then reached for the belt of the robe she was still wearing. A tug untied the belt, and she pushed the robe off Chloe’s shoulders. Beca fisted a hand in Chloe’s hair and pulled her into a desperate kiss as her other hand trailed downward until she could circle and stroke lightly. Chloe moaned in her ear, dragging her nails across Beca’s lower back, under her shirt. Beca hissed with pleasure and sank her fingers inside her partner, who gasped and clutched at her. “Jesus Becs… fuck me harder…” she pleaded.
Beca pulled her hair harder and nipped at her neck as she strengthened her thrusts. “Let me hear you come for me,” Beca murmured huskily in her ear. Soon, Chloe was voicing a hoarse cry as she clung to Beca and trembled. Beca held her tight as she breathed heavily against her neck.
“Goddamn, Becs. Either your meeting went really well or really bad.” Chloe kissed her neck softly.
The musician chuckled. “The meeting was fine. I’ve wanted to do that to you since we got here.” Beca moved to sit, bringing Chloe with her to sit in her lap. “Heather seems nice enough. Says she describes her music as alternative rock, heavy on the guitar. She gave me some sheet music to look over.”
Chloe snuggled closer, and Beca freed the robe she had worn and draped it over her. “So, what happens tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, I look over the music and see what I think. Then we’ll have lunch again Wednesday and see if we should try it out together before we head home.” Beca stroked her hair softly. “DO you still want to go out tonight?”
“I don’t know for sure. Part of me wants to just stay in and enjoy the luxury with you.”
“Well, we have all week, so we can absolutely stay in tonight.” Beca kissed her forehead. “Think about it. I need something to drink.” Chloe shifted so she could get up and grab a beer from the fridge. “Babe, the fridge is loaded. The label really went all out.”
“Good to know we don’t have to call room service for every can of soda. Which, by the way, can you bring a can for me?” Beca brought her a can of root beer and sat back down. “Yeah, I think we’ll stay in and relax. Yesterday was hellish, and I don’t know that I want to be walking around yet.”
Beca sat with both drinks. “Totally understandable, love.
***
During Wednesday’s lunch meeting, Chloe got a text from Beca. “Can we come upstairs and jam for a bit?”
“Sure. I’ll go chill in the bedroom so you can work.”
“Don’t. Meet her and hear us.”
Chloe smiled as she sent a thumbs up in reply. Of course, Beca would introduce them; she wasn’t the type to hide her partner away. She quickly checked her hair, emerging just as the door opened to admit Beca and Heather Bright, the latter carrying a guitar case.
Beca introduced them, and Chloe offered drink for both of them, retrieving three beers from the fridge and handing them out. She kissed Beca on the cheek, then retreated to a recliner near the window, close enough to hear, far enough to not be a distraction.
Beca and Heather quickly turned to business, going over the sheet music before Heather pulled out her guitar. “Remember this would be electric guitar for performance, but I didn’t want to blast out the hotel bringing in an amp.”
Beca waved it off. “I’m very used to practicing acoustically. It’s how I learn back home.” Soon, the guitar and Beca’s voice were filling the sitting room.
Chloe was impressed. It was different from what she was used to hearing from Beca, but it suited her voice well. The second song was a bit wordy, so it took a couple tries to play it all the way through. The ginger listened and watched for the hour they worked, seeing the enjoyment on Beca’s face. She was glad to see it going well.
To her surprise, Beca turned to her while Heather packed her guitar away. “What do you think, Chlo?” she asked in a cheerful tone.
Chloe smiled. “You guys sound awesome. I can picture it with electric guitar, and I think it would blow people away.”
They both grinned as they stood and Beca walked Heather to the door, setting up one more lunch for Friday. When the songwriter had left, Beca came over and sat in Chloe’s lap. “You really like it?”
Chloe stroked her hair. “I do, but do you? That’s what the label wants to know. For what it’s worth, her music suits your voice, and you’re very impressive with lyric-heavy songs.”
Beca nodded. “I do really like it. She’ll have to work out details with the label, but I’m gonna tell them we would do well together musically.” She leaned her head against Chloe’s.
Chloe could sense how tired her partner was. “Why don’t I make tea for your throat, then you take a nap? You’re already about to start yawning.”
The brunette nodded again. “I’ll need a good night’s sleep before I record her work. Hard music like that seems really draining.” She yawned again as she let Chloe up to make tea. When the redhead returned with the mug, she accepted it gratefully before climbing back in her lap.
Chloe ran a hand through silky brown hair. “You okay, babe?”
Beca sipped her tea and nodded. “Tired. And… I miss home. I know it’s only been a few days, but I miss our cats and our friends.”
Pulling out her phone, Chloe opened her pictures and showed Beca the ones she had gotten from Aubrey and Emily of them with Lyric and Melody. Beca swiped through the photos with a smile. “Thanks, Chlo. That helps.” She kissed her forehead.
“We’ll be home with them all in a few more days. I hope you plan on taking a few days to relax after this trip.”
Beca nodded. “Since we fly back Saturday, I took Monday and Tuesday to recover. We’ll have a few days before it all goes back to normal.” She finished her tea and stood to stretch. “I’m gonna nap. Wake me up in two hours?” Chloe agreed and collected a kiss before her partner padded into the bedroom.