Chapter 3

One week later, Stacie dropped off Bella at Aubrey and Chad's house on the way to her date.

The doorbell rang, and Aubrey went to answer it.

"Stacie, come on in," Aubrey said.

"Hey, thanks again for watching Bella while I'm out on my date tonight," Stacie said gratefully.

"No problem. Happy to help. I'm glad you've finally settled down and started to date. Although I am curious as to how you two met," Aubrey said.

"It all started a couple of months ago," Stacie reminisced, prompting a flashback.

"This one day after I dismissed my class for the day, the parents picked up their kids as usual. And it turned out the father of one of my students was a divorced dad with a 7-year old daughter. Anyway, this one day, he gave me his number and asked me to consider going on a date with him. I thought long and hard about it. I never had an actual date before that meant something. I mean, even when I was a sex magnet back in college, there was only one guy I did have feelings for, and I couldn't do anything about it. So, after thinking long and hard about it, I thought, 'You know, if this works out, maybe it wouldn't hurt for Bella to have a stepfather,'" Stacie said.

"Okay. Well, if it works out, we'll all be happy for you," Aubrey said. "So, who was this one guy you liked in college, and why couldn't you do anything about it?"

"It was Donald from the Treblemakers. And I couldn't do anything about it because when you led the Bellas, you had that rule where we weren't allowed to date Trebles," Stacie remembered.

...

"Stacie, the Trebles don't respect us, and if we let them penetrate us, we are giving them our power," Aubrey explained.

"Not a good enough reason to use the word 'penetrate'," Amy chimed in.

...

"Okay, that was then. But do you also remember Beca lifted that rule when she took over as captain the following year?" Aubrey reminded her.

"It wouldn't have made a difference. You and he graduated the same year," Stacie fired back.

"Well, he's probably moved on by now and what's important is that you have, too, by dating this guy," Chad reasoned, chiming in.

"How many dates have you gone on with him?" Aubrey asked.

"This is my fifth one," Stacie said.

"Then that means you've given him a chance," Aubrey said.

"And it's like my dad once said, 'When you give people a chance, you just might be surprised by the results,'" Chad added.

"You're right. That does make sense in a way. Thank you so much for this talk. I should get going, or I'm going to be late. Bella, you be good for Aubrey and Chad, okay. Mommy will be back in a couple of hours," Stacie said, kissing her daughter goodbye.

"Have a great time on your date, Stacie. And don't worry, Bella and Finn get along quite well. I'm sure we won't have a problem," Aubrey assured her.

"Thanks again, Aubrey. I'll see you in a bit," Stacie said as she went out the door.

Thirty minutes later, Stacie was at an Italian restaurant with her date. His name was Kyle Masterson.

Stacie arrived as Kyle was waiting for her.

"Hey, babe. So sorry I'm late," Stacie said apologetically.

"Hey, don't sweat it. You didn't keep me waiting that long," Kyle said.

"Well, that's a relief. It's sometimes hard for me to get a sitter for Bella," Stacie said.

"I know how that feels. It's the same way for me with my daughter Kim," Kyle agreed.

"So anyway, shall we decide what to order?" Stacie asked, opening her menu.

"Yeah, I was thinking about ordering the spaghetti with meatballs," Kyle said.

"Cool. And I just might stick with the penne," Stacie said.

After their waitress came and took their order, they made conversation for a moment.

"So you know how you've brought up the Bellas on our first few dates?" Kyle asked. Stacie nodded yes. "I was thinking maybe I'd like to meet them one day."

"Well, if all goes well, you'll get that chance. The Bellas have been like a second family to me since college. And lately, the only way guys have been added to our big family was if they got married to one of our fellow Bellas. And that's been the case with three guys so far," Stacie explained.

"Really?" Kyle asked.

"One of the ladies in our Bella family was a Bella before I started college, and she wasn't an official part of our family until very recently," Stacie said.

"How'd it all happen?" Kyle asked.

"It's a long story. This one Bella, named Alice, was captain the year before my freshman year at Barden. I never met her recently. Aubrey, who led the Bellas during my freshman year, found Alice working at a Starbucks," Stacie explained.

"Interesting story," Kyle said as their food arrived.

They both ate their food and continued to talk. Afterward, the waitress brought the check over.

As Stacie was prepared to pull her wallet out of her purse, Kyle stopped her. "No need to bother, I got this," he said, taking out his credit card.

Once the bill was paid, the two left the restaurant.

"I had a great time tonight, Kyle," Stacie smiled.

"Me too. I'll call you later, alright?" Kyle said as the two shared a quick kiss.

"Bye," Stacie said as she got back into her car on her way to go pick up Bella.

Another 30 minutes later, Aubrey was reading Bella and Finn a story while waiting for Stacie to return.

"...And they all lived happily ever after. The End," Aubrey said, closing the book. When she finished the story, the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it.

"Hey, how'd it go tonight?" Aubrey asked.

"Very well. He's been telling me he's interested in meeting the Bellas one day," Stacie recapped.

"Well, I think that can definitely be arranged," Aubrey said.

"Did everything go well tonight?" Stacie asked, stepping inside.

"Yep. Bella was very well behaved. I just got done reading her and Finn a story," Aubrey reported.

"Hey, Bella. Were you a good little girl for Aubrey and Chad?" Stacie asked.

"Yeah!" Bella responded.

"Good. Well, come on, we gotta get you home. It's almost bedtime. Thanks again, Aubrey," Stacie said.

"Always happy to help," Aubrey said.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get going, or else Bella will be up past her bedtime. So, I'll call you later, alright?" Stacie said.

"Yep. Have a good night, Stacie," Aubrey said as Stacie went out the door and headed home.

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