Bechloe - The Girl Next Door

Chapter II

It was ten to six and Beca was looking at herself in the mirror. She decided to dress a little nicer for her dinner with Chloe. Instead of looking like a lumberjack, Beca opted for her nice pair of dark jeans, fancy pointed boots, and a nice blouse. Beca was still questioning why she decided to dress differently from what she usually did but there was something about Chloe that made Beca do things differently. Even though she only met the redhead for a few minutes, Beca wanted to be different around her and perhaps, for her.

Standing out the front of Chloe's house, Beca was nervous. She wasn't sure why but it took her a good minute before she knocked on the redhead's door. It felt like forever until Chloe answered it.

"Hello!" The redhead beamed, dressed in jeans and a floral shirt.

She looked beautiful.

"H, hi!" Beca smiled.

"Come in!"

"Thank you." Beca walked into Chloe's house and it smelt delicious but Beca couldn't figure out what it was.

"Just head on down to the kitchen," Chloe told her.

"Okay." Beca did as requested and walked down the hall, which was identical to hers, and into the kitchen.

The kitchen was the same as Beca's but brighter since Chloe decorated it with pictures, flowers, and bright tea towels. Chloe's kitchen didn't surprise Beca since Chloe did come across as one of those people who liked pretty things such as flowers and pictures of puppies in teacups and all those sorts of things.

"Take a seat." Chloe prompted.

Again, Beca did as requested and sat at Chloe's kitchen table that was set up for dinner.

"Wine?" Chloe asked.

"Sure."

Chloe smiled and poured Beca a glass of red then went back to cooking.

"Sorry, dinner's taking a little longer than expected. Give me about five minutes," Chloe explained.

"No, that's fine. It smells really good. What is it?"

"Chicken pesto with penne pasta."

"Sounds great."

"So, Beca, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Ah..." Beca hesitated since she wasn't one to share much about herself if anything at all. "There's not much to know about me."

"Nonsense! Everyone has their own unique story and I want to know yours. So tell me about yourself. You wouldn't have moved here if not for a purpose."

"Fair enough," Beca chuckled.

"Come on. Spill."

"Okay," she laughed again.

Gee, she's pushy, Beca thought.

"Well, I moved down here from New York to become a music producer."

"A music producer? Wow! So does that mean you write your own music or that you're just going to be working with people who write music?"

"No, I write my own music. I want to be a world-famous artist."

"Wow! That's incredible! Will I be able to hear one of your originals?"

"Ah... I don't really share my music with anyone. It's quite personal."

"Well, how are you going to be a world-famous music producer if you won't let anyone listen to your music?"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"It just is. I don't know everyone who will listen to my music so it won't bother me as much as letting you listen to it and hearing your opinion."

"So, you don't want your music to be criticised by individuals but want it to be praised by a whole group of people."

"I guess you could put it like that..."

"I get that but you've got to start somewhere."

"I suppose."

Chloe smiled and finished cooking dinner and served it onto two plates before placing them down on the table.

"Here you go!"

"Wow!" Beca looked down at the beautiful dish in front of her. "Are you a chef or something?"

"No, but I do enjoy cooking."

"I can tell."

"Well, I hope you enjoy it." Chloe sat across from Beca and the two began eating, Beca absolutely loving the dish Chloe just prepared.

"So, what's there to know about you, Chloe?" Beca asked.

"Well, I moved here from Georgia to become a vet."

"A vet?"

"Yes. I love animals and I wish I could just move to a big farm so I can live there with a thousand dogs."

"So that's your big dream? To live on a farm with a thousand dogs?"

"Pretty much. It's so hard not to just take them home from work. My work colleague took such a good photo of me and this little puppy the other day... Here..." Chloe grabbed her phone and showed Beca a photo of a puppy tucked into Chloe's scrub pocket.

"Okay, that is a little cute," Beca confessed.

"I know, right! So cute. Premature puppy. She was so small..." Chloe looked at the photo before putting her phone away.

"I can see."

"We have to keep looking after her until she's properly grown and healthy. Right now she's very undernourished and weak so she's not going anywhere."

"I would hope not," Beca chuckled. "So, how long have you been a vet for?"

"Oh, a few years now but I love it."

"Does it get hard?"

"Some days are tougher than others that's for sure. The worst thing is when people come in with a really sick or old animal and we have to put it down. Or, if an animal has died or has been hit by something and we have to try and save them before they die... That's though."

Beca could see the sorrow in Chloe's eyes when she said it and it made Beca feel a little upset, too, which again, wasn't like Beca at all.

"But on the bright side, when we can make sick animals well again that's always rewarding. That and giving animals away to loving people who really want a pet. We had the cutest little girl come in the other week and she was absolutely besotted with this little puppy that we nursed back to health. She squealed and played with it for a good hour before her parents decided to adopt the dog right then and there. That was a good day."

"So do you find being a vet to be rewarding then?"

"Oh, for sure. There are ups and downs in whatever you do but there are always more ups being a vet."

"Well, as long as it makes you happy."

"It does. It's the best job ever."

Beca smiled at Chloe's enthusiasm. She had never met anyone like Chloe before and as the night went on, she was amazed at how upbeat and optimistic the redhead was. They spent hours talking to each other about themselves and about random things. They learned a lot about one another that night and for the first time ever, Beca wasn't uncomfortable talking with Chloe about things. Usually, Beca would leave any social situation she was in to be alone and work on her music but with Chloe it was different. She stayed and spoke to Chloe for hours on her living room couch. She wanted to stay and talk.

What has she done to me? Beca thought.