In the confusion following Amy’s capture in the bear trap, Beca caught Emily’s attention and motioned for her to move away from the campfire. It got dark quickly away from the fire, but Beca seemed confident and Emily trusted that she knew what she was doing.
Soon enough, the trail led them into another clearing, this one lit by the half moon and stars above. Emily saw how the moonlight reflected off Beca’s deep blue eyes, and her breath caught in her chest. She’d never seen anyone’s eyes look so otherworldly. Beca stopped and looked up at the moon, leaving Emily wondering what was up.
“So, you really want to work with me?” the young songwriter asked, figuring that was the only reason to have come out here to talk.
“I really do,” Beca replied quietly. “I’ve heard you singing that song all year. I have ideas.” She brought her eyes down to look at Emily, who was leaning against a tree.
Emily couldn’t meet those intense eyes for long and looked down at her sneakers. “I’m flattered, Beca. I… don’t know what else to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. But,” she paused, stuffing her hands in her back pockets and looking down shyly. “Your talent is only part of why I want to work with you,” she admitted softly.
Something in Beca’s voice made Emily look up. Her heart pounded. Was this happening? She didn’t dare hope, even as she stood, transfixed, as Beca slowly stepped closer. When Beca put a hand on her hip, gently coaxing her even closer, Emily draped her arms around her neck.
When Beca kissed her, it was soft but confident and lingering. Emily leaned into the kiss, and she couldn’t suppress the quiet whimper that escaped her when Beca deepened the kiss. She had been dreaming of this since she’d met Beca at hood night.
Finally, Beca pulled back just a bit. “I’ve been wanting to do that a long time,” she murmured, fractions of an inch from Emily’s lips.
“So have I,” Emily confessed, a bit breathlessly. She could distinctly feel the spot covered by Beca’s hand. She wanted nothing more than to steal another kiss, but settled for trailing her hand through soft chestnut hair. “Beca, I…”
“What is it, Em? You can talk to me.”
“I don’t want to just be a year-end fling. I have… my feelings are stronger than that. Please don’t start anything you plan on not following through on.” Emily bit her lip. Was she asking too much of the senior?
Beca raised her other hand to lie along Emily’s jaw. “You could never be just a fling. I don’t do things halfway. If I didn’t think we could work, I would have kept my mouth shut.” Closing the gap between them and stepping yet closer, Beca claimed a long, deep kiss full of promise.
Emily gripped her shoulders, never wanting it to end. Beca tasted of smores and smelled like wood smoke and the younger Bella was drunk on her. “I could kiss you all night,” Emily breathed.
“Another night. We can’t tell the others yet.”
“Why?” How could she live with the Bellas, including Beca, and keep this hidden.
“It would distract from Worlds, and I’ve already done that enough. Em, we have to win, for your sake and all those who come after. I have to give us the best chance we can get.” She looked into Emily’s hazel eyes. “Can you understand? Can you… can we be together anyway? The minute they announce us as champions, I plan on kissing you regardless who’s around.”
Emily nodded, then rested her forehead against Beca’s. “Yeah, we can do that. We’ll make it work. But… please…” She hesitated.
“Please what?” Beca encouraged in a whisper.
“Kiss me again. Before they come looking.” She was pulled into a breathtaking kiss, Beca pinning her against the tree and pressing against her. Every place they touched was on fire, and Emily wished they weren’t sharing a tent with the whole group. She wanted rid of the clothes separating them so she could spend hours touching the college senior who inspired and motivated her so strongly.
Caught up in Emily, Beca ignored where they were and slid her hand under Emily’s shirt, just far enough to splay her fingers across her lower back. She could feel Emily’s urgency ratchet up which fueled her own fire, and she wondered where they could hide.
Before Beca could think of something, they heard people trampling closer. “Beca? Emily?” came Chloe’s voice.
“Where the hell did they go?” Stacie asked.
With a last nip to her lower lip, Beca backed up a few steps. “Over here,” she called, even as her eyes remained locked with Emily’s.
Chloe and Stacie appeared out of the darkness and stood, hands on their hips. “We could have used help getting Amy down,” Chloe said, her tone exasperated.
“Sorry, Chlo. We were talking about Emily’s song.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes at her best friend but didn’t argue. “Come on. Aubrey found us rooms for the night. We’ll have to double up.” She started leading the way back.
“Emily and I can share. We have a lot to talk about with the collaboration.”
Chloe looked surprised, but just nodded, and when they reached the fire, she relayed it to Aubrey. Aubrey handed a key to Beca and gave her directions to the room. Emily followed quietly, unable to believe Beca had pulled that off so smoothly. She kept her hands in her pockets to resist the urge to reach out before they were behind closed doors.
With the door closed and locked behind them, they stood looking at each other in the dim yellow light of a single exposed light bulb hanging down over them. “Did I move too fast?” Beca asked. “I mean, we really could talk about the song…”
Emily stepped forward and pressed a finger to Beca’s lips to hush her. “I don’t care about the song right now,” she murmured before leaning close for a desperate kiss, her hands framing Beca’s face.
Needing no further convincing, Beca grabbed her hips and back her up to the low, narrow bed. Slowly, between fiery kisses, they got each other undressed and into bed. Beca raised a hand to brush a thumb over one taut peak, drawing a low moan from Emily. Taking her cues from Beca, Emily mirrored her actions, fascinated and turned on by the sounds and reactions she elicited. When Beca’s hand slid between her thighs to stroke gently, she gripped Beca’s shoulder with a gasp. “Beca…”
“Want me to stop?” Beca whispered in her ear.
“No. Dear god, don’t stop, please,” Emily pleaded quietly. She moved her hand to echo the older woman and was rewarded with a quiet growl. Instinctively, they slid their fingers inside each other simultaneously, Beca pulling Emily into an intense kiss as they thrust and moaned. Soon, Beca was throwing her head back with a strangled cry as Emily whimpered and shuddered against her.
Beca wrapped her arms around Emily and held her close as she trembled. “Are you okay, babe?”
Emily smiled up at her as she panted. “So much better than okay.” She buried her face in Beca’s shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. With her most immediate need met for the moment, she had questions. “Becs, what are we? Like, friends with benefits? Are we dating?”
Beca kissed her forehead gently. “I would like us to be dating. An exclusive couple. If that’s what you want.”
Emily smiled and kissed her softly. “I’ve wanted that for a long time. I was just too intimidated by your talent to say anything.” She looked into Beca’s deep blue eyes.
Beca brushed a stray lock of hair from Emily’s face. “You are every bit as talented, Em. You’ll see as we make more music.” There was a knock at the door, and Beca cursed quietly. “Who is it?” she called.
“It’s Chloe, who else would it be?”
“One sec, Chlo.” With one more soft kiss, Beca got up and found a t-shirt to throw on and answer the door. “What’s up?” She held the door open just enough to show her face.
“You’re acting weird. Can we talk?” Chloe crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sure.” Beca stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut behind her, making Chloe frown.
“What’s going on? You’ve been squirrely since Stacie and I found you.” She lowered her voice. “Since when do the two of us not share when we travel?”
Beca sighed. “I’m sorry, Chlo. We just… it’ll all make sense soon, okay? Can you trust me?”
Chloe studied her best friend’s face a moment before nodding. “Okay, Becs. I trust you.” She claimed a quick, tight hug before walking down the hall to the room she was sharing with Amy.
With another sigh, Beca went back inside to find Emily watching her, her head up on her hand and the sheet tucked under her arm, barely concealing her. “Everything alright?” the songwriter asked with concern.
Beca stood there staring a moment. “Uh, yeah, it’s fine. I… damn…” She strode across the room to collect a fierce, deep kiss. She couldn’t resist the freshman now that the gates had been opened. Beca crawled forward, forcing Emily onto her back as she knelt over her. Tilting her head, she nipped and kissed her ear and neck, each hitched breath and quiet moan spurring her onward.
Emily gripped the shoulders of Beca’s shirt as the sheet was slowly pulled away so Beca could slowly trail kisses across her body. Each soft kiss was like lightning in Emily’s nerves, and soon she was breathing hard with pent up need. “Becs, please… I need you…” She groaned louder when she felt Beca’s tongue on her. Moments later, she arched as Beca slid her fingers inside her, rolling her hips to meet each thrust. “Jesus Christ,” she burst out before giving a hoarse cry as she came.
Beca shifted to lie next to her, gathering her close in her arms as she panted and shook. Stroking Emily’s hair, she said quietly, “I may have underestimated the effort to hide this from everyone. I don’t know if I can keep my hands off you now.”
“I don’t really want you to, even though I understand the reasoning. Surely we can’t be that distracting.” Her head pillowed on Beca’s shoulder, Emily fiddled idly with the fabric of Beca’s shirt over her heart.
“I think maybe you’re right. Some of them may be a bit surprised, but I don’t think it’ll be a big issue after the first day or so.” Beca turned her head to kiss Emily’s forehead. “What do you think, babe? We walk out of here hand in hand in the morning and everyone can just deal?”
Emily smiled. “I think that’s perfect.”
***
They spent half the night talking and making plans. Beca was about to graduate, which made things a bit more complicated. For the moment, Beca had a job waiting for her at Residual Heat, so she would be local. Her dad had been so happy she finished college, he had already found her an apartment.
“We can go there anytime you want once I move in. I’ll get you a set of keys, even.” Beca softly traced the lines on Emily’s palm with one finger. “I know you’ll have homework and papers and studying, but the rest of the time…”
Emily interrupted with a soft kiss. “The rest of the time we spend together. I’m looking forward to it.” Beca’s face lit up with a smile and Emily couldn’t help but kiss her again.
They didn’t wake up until someone pounded on the door. “Come on! We have to get on the road.”
“We’re coming. Two minutes,” Beca called back. She and Emily scrambled to dress, then paused to look at each other. Beca extended a hand. “Ready for this?”
Emily grinned. “Very ready.” Taking Beca’s hand, she took a deep breath. Together, they headed out to the bus and their waiting friends. Chloe spotted them first, and her open-jawed expression made everyone turn and look. There were whispers, a few pointed fingers, and a loud cheer from Amy.
Chloe walked up before they reached the group. “So this is why you were acting weird. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to distract any more from Worlds. I figured I had done that enough already.” She glanced at Emily. “We were gonna keep it quiet till then, but… well, there’s no way I can pretend anymore.” Emily squeezed her hand.
“I hope this doesn’t change anything,” Emily said quietly.
Chloe looked back and forth between them a few times, then threw an arm around each of them. “Congrats, guys. But we really need to get on the road.” At that show of solidarity, the other Bellas cheered as they piled on the bus.