Chapter 25
(All)
Emily parked next to Beca’s car, but hesitated to get out. Aubrey reached for her hand. “We can still cancel. They’d understand; it’s been a long, hard month for all of us.”
Emily shook her head. “Even if our plan fails, they’re family. I won’t let the label take that away from any of us.” She unbuckled and got out, taking Aubrey’s hand as they went upstairs.
Chloe answered the door with a smile and bear hugs for both of them. “Becs is in the kitchen ready to make drinks. What are you having?” They both requested margaritas, and Chloe went to the kitchen while they settled in the living room. As soon as they sat, Melody and Lyric materialized to beg for attention, which they were happy to give.
Their hosts soon emerged with four margaritas, Beca carrying two to the loveseat and taking a moment to pet Lyric while he inspected Emily’s glass. “Not for you, buddy. Let Em drink in peace.”
Emily smiled at the curious cat. “He’s good. It’s hard to ignore an affectionate animal.” It was the brightest smile Beca had seen from her since before the Vegas trip, and made her feel a little better. After a moment of pets for Melody, Beca claimed her drink from Chloe and sat in her lap.
“We were wondering if you wanted to do tacos to go with the drink,” Chloe said. “I figured we’d order in tonight so I don’t have to clean and can hang out instead.”
“Sounds good to me,” Aubrey replied, Emily nodding her agreement. Chloe called in an order much bigger than they needed, and they all sat back to wait.
When dinner arrived, Aubrey insisted on helping, following Chloe to the kitchen to help make plates they could take back out to eat in more comfort.
Since they were alone, Chloe stood close and asked, “Have you talked to Emily yet?” As of two days ago, Aubrey still hadn’t said anything to her partner about how the trouble at work was affecting her.
“No, I was waiting for her to finish with Beca first. I didn’t want to interfere while they were making progress.”
Chloe nodded her understanding, even though the delay still worried her. “Can I ask you something, and you can totally tell me to go to hell if you want?” Aubrey nodded as she moved one plate to the table. “How long has it been since she slept with you?”
Aubrey looked at her for a moment. “A couple weeks. What are you implying, Chlo?”
Chloe held her hands up defensively. “I wasn’t implying anything, but I’ll take that as a go to hell and drop it.” She moved a plate to the table and turned to make another.
The blonde sighed. “I’m sorry. That was harsh and unnecessary. I was… That thought just occurred to me this morning and I was trying not to read into it.”
Chloe glanced over at her best friend. “We both need to get those ladies drunk and seduce them tonight. It’s been a little while for us, too.”
“Chlo, we’re at your place. I doubt we’d be quiet enough.”
Chloe snorted at that. “Neither will we, but who cares? We all went to college, overhearing isn’t new to us. Besides, I’m hoping we’re all too drunk to care.”
Aubrey unwrapped one more taco for the last plate. “Deal. If it works, maybe I can talk to her at home tomorrow.” Chloe picked up two plates and gave her a smile and wink before heading to the living room, Aubrey close behind.
After dinner, Beca moved all the margarita stuff to the coffee table so she could mix refills without crossing the apartment. She took care of everyone’s glasses, then sat back on the couch, Chloe’s feet in her lap.
Intent on keeping the topic away from work, Chloe started reliving their USO tour out loud, and she soon had everyone smiling, and even Emily laughed at some of the stories. The others started adding their own stories, the tequila flowing freely. When they all had a few drinks in them, the ginger got up and turned the radio on to a dance music station. “C’mon. We haven’t danced in a long time.” She tugged at Beca’s hand until she stood.
Aubrey looked at Emily and held out a hand. “Feel up to it?”
Emily nodded and took her hand. She knew she’d been distant lately, and she knew Aubrey had to have noticed, bit she hadn’t known how to fix it. She was glad Chloe had chosen a night of drinking and dancing; maybe the alcohol and relaxation would let her find an answer.
The two couples danced their hearts out for several songs, until they needed a break and refills. Chloe lowered the volume and sat as Beca started mixing drinks, though she had to move slowly to be accurate as she was already getting drunk. She put the first two at the end of the coffee table. “You’ll have to come get them. I don’t think I can carry them that far.”
Emily and Aubrey balanced against each other till they could sit on the floor by their drinks. “We’ll just stay here, make it easier,” Aubrey said, wrapping an arm around her partner’s waist. Emily sipped her drink before resting her head on Aubrey’s shoulder, leaning close to absorb the warmth she missed, thanks to her own inability to cope at work.
Turning her head, she kissed Aubrey’s cheek. “I love you, Bree. I… I’m sorry if it hasn’t felt that way lately,” she whispered.
Aubrey looked down into her glass. She hadn’t expected Emily to bring it up, especially in front of their friends. Part of her wanted to wait, but she was drunk and lonely. “Yeah. I… it’s been… kinda hard. I didn’t want to interrupt your work to say anything…” She kept her voice low, though she didn’t much care if Chloe and Beca heard.
“I shouldn’t have ignored you, especially for this long. I should be able to leave work at work. I’m sorry, love. How can I fix it?” Emily closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against Aubrey’s temple.
The blonde looked at her best friend, who nodded her encouragement. Aubrey gently took Emily’s glass and put it aside with her own, then took her hand. “Come with me, EM. We can start to fix it now.” She stood, helping Emily up, and led her to the guest room. Guiding her to sit on the bed, Aubrey drew her into a slow, deep kiss. “Put your hands on me, love. I need to feel your love viscerally.”
Too drunk and guilty to care where they were, Emily pulled at Aubrey’s shirt till she stripped it off. Grabbing a fistful of blonde hair, she pulled her into a fierce, desperate kiss, her other hand fighting with the button on her jeans. Aubrey helped unfasten them and push them off. Emily pulled her down to straddle her lap, raking her nails across her back, making her arch and moan. The brunette grazed her teeth over one pebbled bud as her finger found its mark to stroke lightly. Aubrey breath hitched as she dug her nails into Emily’s arms. “Em… please…” she begged quietly.
Emily sank her fingers inside her, thrusting slow and hard. She pulled her partner into an aggressive kiss, muffling her groans of pleasure, until Aubrey threw her head back with a guttural cry as she came. Emily caught her before she could fall, lowering her gently to the sheets. “I love you, Aubrey. I’ll prove it till you believe me again, and I’ll never make you doubt it.”
***
Beca tilted her head curiously as Aubrey led Emily away. Chloe reached for her hand. “We should talk, babe.” Beca’s head whipped around, her eyes wide with concern.
“Did I… Chlo, did I do that to you?” she asked, her expression dismayed.
“Kinda, but it was also my fault. I told you to work at home in the evenings. But… it went from evenings to all the time. If you weren’t working on one, you were with the other, even on weekends.”
Beca drained her glass and set it aside so she couldn’t drop or break it. She clenched her fists in her lap as well as her jaw. How had she not seen it and fixed it weeks ago? How could she have done that to her Chloe?
The ginger’s hands on her fists made her look up. “Becs?”
Beca gazed into sky blue eyes that were, somehow, still full of love. “You stayed.”
Chloe blinked. “Of course, I stayed. I love you, Beca Mitchell.”
After another intense moment of eye contact, Beca reached for Chloe and pulled her into a hungry, desperate kiss. Chloe gripped her shoulders, leaning into the kiss. “Beca… take me to bed,” Chloe whispered urgently against her lips.
Beca stood carefully and held a hand out for Chloe, who joined her with another kiss. Slowly, they made their way to the bedroom between kisses of increasing heat. Near the bed, they crashed back together in another breathtaking kiss before rapidly undressing each other and falling onto the bed. Beca leaned down to nip and bite her neck and shoulder, drawing quiet moans from her. The ginger dug her nails into Beca’s arms as she felt a soft, gently thumb brush over one taut peak. “God, yes,” she hissed. “Remind me what you can do to me.”
Beca reached down to stroke and circle, lowering her head to replace thumb with teeth and tongue. Chloe clawed her back, groaning loudly as she felt Beca’s fingers inside her. She lifted her hips to meet each strong thrust until she gave a ragged cry and clawed again.
Beca wasn’t done. She dragged her nails down her sides, then kissed and licked a trail down until she could delve with her tongue, Chloe reaching down to pull on her hair. “Jesus fuck, Becs…” she panted, groaning as she felt Beca’s fingers again. Soon, she was whimpering and trembling as she came again.
Shifting, Beca gathered her into her arms with a soft kiss. “Never again, Chlo. I’m never bringing work home like that again. I don’t ever want to hurt you again. I love you, Chloe Beale, and I will never stop loving you.”
***
Emily winced when she woke up Sunday morning; they hadn’t bothered to turn any lights off in their drunken state and the bedroom seemed awfully bright. It was the headache that had woken her up. She had spent a few hours proving herself to Aubrey, and there was no other way she could be up at 7.
Aubrey was soon groaning beside her, her own head pounding. She pulled the blanket over her head, and Emily followed suit. Aubrey tucked her head against Emily’s shoulder. “Ow. My head hurts,” Aubrey whispered.
“Me, too,” Emily replied the same way. “Want me to go start coffee?”
“No. Not yet. I want you here a while yet.” Aubrey snuggled closer, and Emily held her tighter.
“I’m wherever you want, love,” Emily murmured. She wasn’t stupid; she knew sex wasn’t the answer to everything. But she was determined to earn Aubrey back in full. So she would do whatever she had to do.
Aubrey tilted her head to kiss Emily’s jaw. “Babe, you don’t have to enslave yourself to me. Things happen. We talked, it’s okay now.”
“No, it’s not, Bree. I basically abandoned you because I was spiraling over work. That doesn’t just go away. I have work to do.”
Aubrey kissed her forehead. “Just don’t run yourself into the ground over it. It really is okay.” She had a feeling it would be a while before Emily let herself off the hook.
***
Chloe woke up to a stream of muttered expletives from Beca. Keeping her eyes closed, she rolled to face Beca. “Coffee,” she murmured.
“On it. One sec.” Beca yawned and stretched mightily before sliding out of bed. She pulled on a t-shirt and sweats. “Okay. Coffee. Here I go.” Taking a deep breath, she headed for the kitchen.
Giggling quietly at Beca’s show of endurance, Chloe threw clothes on and followed. Together, they got the coffee started, then stood leaning against the counter, giggling and kissing.
Aubrey and Emily appeared just as the coffee maker was stopping, and Aubrey grinned at the way they were acting. Her head hurt, but she figured it was worth it after last night, and figured Chloe would agree, from the looks of it.