The Right Time

Chapter Twenty Three

Chloe had never felt pain like this before. She was supposed to be happy- her mum was home safe, and she had saved up enough money to move out of her aunt's house- but she wasn't happy at all. Her apartment felt empty despite its small size, and she missed Beca so much that it made her heart hurt. Luckily, she still lived nearby to the town that her aunt lived in, and her mum was a half hour away, so she wasn't far from family.

Beca meanwhile had moved house too; she was in LA.
She was also living in a small apartment, but hers was in a dodgy looking part of a city. She thought about Chloe with every single breath.

It had been two months without contact when Beca decided to try and Skype Chloe. They had agreed over text the day after the break up that they would leave it at least a couple of months before talking properly; Chloe thought it was important that they had the chance to figure things out on their own. Beca couldn't wait any longer to talk to her, so she opened Skype as soon as she had finished work that day.

The brunette couldn't help but make herself look presentable before the call. Positioning herself on her sofa, she pressed the dial button. She was a bundle of nerves.

'Hey'

'Hey', Chloe replied.

Chloe was tucked up in bed, and couldn't hide her smile.
There was a moment of silence.

'How...are things going?', Beca asked.

'Um...good. I've got a new job- I'm teaching music full-time'

'Wow, Chlo, that's fantastic!'

'Thanks', the redhead beamed, 'What have you been up to?'

'This job is amazing. It's going to give me so many opportunities'

Chloe looked down at her hands, her face tensing.

'I bet you're really glad you took it'

'There are some disadvantages to it'

'Like what?'

Beca took her gaze away from her laptop screen.

'I miss my best friend'

She looked back at Chloe.

'I miss my best friend too'

A minute of quiet reflection passed.

'Are you meeting the Bellas next month?', Chloe questioned.

'Yeah, I got the text about it this morning'

'Well I suppose I'll see you there'

'You will. I promise'

The night after the Skype call, Beca dreamt of Chloe. In the dream, the redhead was kissing her all over, and Beca was making her smile by telling stupid jokes between kisses.
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The following week, Chloe shot Beca a message.

-Hope you're doing okay. Will see you soon x-

Almost instantly, she got a reply.

-Fine thank you, I hope you're doing well too. I can't wait x-

Chloe went home that night, and picked out an outfit. A co-worker had insisted on hooking the girl up with a blind date. Chloe had zero interest in dating at the moment, so it took quite a bit of persuading. To say she was feeling less than enthusiastic would be an understatement.
Settling with a pair of white jeans and a black shirt, (under-dressing on purpose), she headed to the bar.

'Hi, I'm Chloe'

'Hi. David'

The two sat at the bar and ordered drinks.
The brown-haired, older man, was eyeing her up.