A groan left Rachel's plump lips as she stirred from her sleep; the heavy throbbing in her head and the sun rays peeking through the gap in the curtains almost too much to take in her current state.
Rachel slowly sat up, her head in her hands as she tried to remember last night's events, with no idea where she was. A small gasp left her when she felt her warm, naked back press against the cold headboard behind her. She frowned for a moment, glancing over the messy room before she found herself dragging the covers off her naked body and bolting to the bathroom, to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet.
This certainly wasn't the first time she'd vomited due to a hangover, but she didn't need the vile reminder of the taste of vomit in her mouth, which made her whine.
"Never drinking again," Rachel mumbled, her voice hoarse and thick with sleep as she shifted to sit against the cold floor, brushing strands of her away from her face, when she finally felt something cold against her forehead. "What... The fuck?" She muttered, and let her left hand drop in front of her face before she froze. A ring? In place of her usual, elegant engagement ring.
"Surely I didn't... This... This is a joke, right? Santana must have my real ring..." Rachel reasoned with herself, chewing her lower lip as she carefully stood up, flexing her fingers as her face held the most perplexed expression. The ring was simple, yet there was something beautiful about it; she was sure she'd chosen this ring herself. After all, it did have a gold stars on it.
After a few moments, of ultimately deciding to keep the ring, Rachel carefully pushed herself from the floor, positive that she didn't need to throw up again. It was then that she finally registered that ache. Unlike her headache though, this ache was beautiful, and one that she'd only ever dreamt of having.
"Oh God... I didn't," Rachel muttered, before catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her jaw dropped, with her hand coming up to brush her fingers over the dark, tingling marks over her smooth skin. She'd never been marked before, and in all honesty, she liked it. She liked the idea of somebody being proud enough to claim her. But then, after a moment, she didn't know what to think. She was engaged, even though she didn't exactly know how she felt about her fiancé; after all, she'd only known the man a month, and it was her fathers insistence that she marry the man.
If she thought about it more, she'd never woken up, with such a delicious ache between her thighs.
Rachel was utterly conflicted; when she woke, she hadn't thought to glance to her side to see if anybody was beside her, not did she have a chance to with the turning in her stomach, so with a deep breath, the girl tip-toed back towards the door.
The sight she was met with made her mouth water; there, in the bed she woke up in, laid a complete Adonis - or at least, that was what she assumed from the back of him. The messy, dirty-blonde hair; the valley of his spine, the small dimples at the small of his back, the twitching muscles as he shifted a little the scratch marks down his seemingly soft skin were incredibly sexy, and most importantly, that ass, which was to die for; it all made her head spin with excitement.
Quietly, Rachel padded over to the bed, slowly sliding back onto the mattress. She knew she shouldn't. If anything, as soon as she saw the beautiful blonde man in that bed, she should have hastily pulled on her clothes and left, but she didn't.
The blonde man beside her was handsome, as far as she could tell. She'd only gotten a view of the side of his face, as she leaned over, and now, she had no doubt at all, that she'd been fucked in every possible way, by this man.
"Brody is probably going to kill me," Rachel sighed, even though internally, she was sure those marks on her neck would go un-noticed. Brody was marrying to simply get his hands on his fortune and Rachel knew it.
Rachel sat silently for a while, tracing over the simple patterns on the hotel bed sheets, listening to the quiet snore of the blonde man beside her with a small smile. It was the quiet, familiar buzzing of her phone pulled her away from her thoughts.
Quickly, Rachel crawled out of the bed, rummaging through the clothes on the floor for her cell-phone before finally, she found the device, letting go of a relieved sigh as she saw Santana's caller ID flash up onto her screen.
With a swipe of her thumb, she accepted the call, holding the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Well, if it isn't Rachel Berry... Did you have a good night?"
Rachel groaned; even through the bad quality of her speakers, Santana sounded like she was screaming down her ear. "Shh... Quit being so loud, Santana. Do you know where I am?"
"My guess is, probably beneath that blonde you were flirting with all night," Santana quipped. Rachel could tell she was teasing her; she knew Santana wouldn't assume that she'd jumped into bed with a handsome blonde stranger on her bachelorette party.
Rachel mustered up her best fake laugh, rolling her eyes as she let go of a heavy sigh. "Yeah... About that..."
"You didn't...?" Santana gasped.
"I don't know," Rachel whispered, taking her lip between her teeth. "I mean, I can't remember a thing. But I'm not in my hotel room, I woke up naked, next to this guy and my engagement ring has been replaced by a different ring... Let's just say I think I might have..."
"Well, it's safe to say that I did not expect that," Santana replied, raising her eyebrows. "How do you feel?"
"Besides the awful hangover? I actually feel kind of... Satisfied. I feel... Like I haven't felt like this for a long time."
"Then I'm kind of happy for you, Berry. You know, if that's even your surname any more."
"You're hilarious," Rachel rolled her eyes, "Anyway, how did things go with you last night? I think I remember you hooking up with a beautiful blonde?"
"I did. And well... I don't kiss and tell," Santana answered, the shyness evident in her voice.
"Since when?" Rachel asked in disbelief, rolling her eyes.
"Since now. Anyway, I'll meet up with you a little later, okay? Call me if you need anything," Santana offered.
"I will. I think I need to talk to this guy before I leave. See if he can tell me anything," Rachel said, turning to look over at the man.
"Sounds smart, Berry. I'll see you later," Santana replied, and with that, the girl hung up.
"Smart... Right," Rachel whispered to herself, reaching for her purse and carefully tucking her phone inside, before she made her way back over to the bed.
She didn't know how long she'd spent sitting up, simply watching the stranger sleep, but when he rolled over, and cracked open such perfect golden eyes, she was sure her breath caught.
"Morning..."
Even that hoarse, lazy voice was perfect, and Rachel found her mouth opening and closing with no words coming out, until finally she managed to stutter out, "H-hi..."
"Are you okay? Did you sleep well?" he asked.
With the raspy tone to his voice, and the way he could barely open his eyes, Rachel knew the boy was definitely more hung-over than she was. Offering him a warm smile, the brunette reached over to gently brush the messy blonde hair back, carefully chewing her lip.
"I slept fine, how about you, handsome?"
Handsome? Rachel had no clue where that came from, nor did she know where her affectionate gestures came from either, but she didn't stop, especially when she heard the adorable little purr leave his soft lips.
"Fine. I just have the worst hangover," The blonde grumbled, letting his head fall down to rest in Rachel's lap.
It all felt so natural. Rachel didn't have any clue what was going on. She felt some form of connection to this man, and she didn't know why.
"Do you remember anything about last night?" She asked.
"Not exactly. You'll probably hate me for this, but I can't quite remember your name..."
Rachel giggled, shaking her head in amusement, while her thumb delicately stroked over the shell of the blonde's ear. "It's okay. If I'm honest, I don't remember yours either. I'm Rachel."
"Such a beautiful name. It definitely fits. I'm Quinton. Quinton Fabray," he announced, bringing a hand up to rub his tired eyes.
Rachel blushed; her tanned cheeks tingeing light pink as she took her plump lower lip between her teeth. "You're a charmer, Quinton... I like it."
The way that smile lit up Quinton's face made Rachel melt, and in that moment, she completely forgot about her engagement.
"So what do you remember about last night?" Quinton asked.
"Not a lot. But when I woke up, I saw that you had scratches on your back, and I have h-hickeys, so it's safe to say that I think you and I had intercourse. I... I also have a different ring on my finger..."
"I know we definitely had sex," Quinton nodded, looking up to those mocha brown eyes with a soft breath. "But that's all I remember. If you woke up with a ring, then well... We're in Vegas. I think, we could have gotten married. Maybe there's something to tell us in our pockets, or your purse?" he suggested.
"Possibly," Rachel nodded in understanding, before finally, she began to think through everything. "But I... I'm engaged. I'm supposed to be getting married in a week..."
Quinton had no idea why, but he felt himself deflate at the brunette's confession. Although he couldn't remember what had happened completely, he felt a connection with the brunette, one that he was sure he'd never had with anybody else.
"Oh... Well... M-maybe we didn't actually get married. Maybe we just slept together... I know that isn't exactly ideal, because you're in a relationship, but who knows?"
Rachel nodded slowly. She was sure that Brody would most definitely kill her; not literally, of course. He was the one funding her current, and most anticipated Broadway production, and if she got in the way of his inheritance, he would definitely change his mind, and that would kill Rachel's chances of playing Fanny Brice. The only thing that constantly played on Rachel's mind though, was that she wasn't in love with Brody. Of course, she was attracted to him, but there was no connection though. They were both using each other, and Rachel wanted to make her fathers proud.
She hated the fact that she wouldn't be able to get to know Quinton more than she already did. In fact, she hated everything right now. She wished she had the memory of what had happened the night before, but instead, all she had to remember the experience, was the beautiful ache and the hickeys; both of which would eventually fade over time.
"Well, w-we should check," Rachel breathed, though she really didn't want to move.
"Yeah..."
Silently, the two slid out of bed, and Rachel couldn't help it as her mouth watered when she took in Quinton's entire naked form. To say he was big, would be an understatement. In fact, nicknaming him Adonis would be an understatement. Quinton Fabray was by far the most beautiful man Rachel had ever seen.
The leering didn't go unnoticed though, and Quinton flashed Rachel the cheekiest smile, shooting a wink at the girl as he made his way over to pick up his jeans, searching through his pockets for anything that could tell them about their night together.
Rachel did the same; emptying her purse onto the bed and spreading out the contents, arranging anything she recognised, and pushing aside the things she didn't.
"What do you have?" Rachel asked.
"I have... A receipt for a ring," Quinton answered, holding up the small piece of paper. "And... Pictures. From one of those photo booths."
The smile on his face when he looked at those pictures made Rachel internally swoon. He had the most handsome smile, and she didn't know how she was going to go forever without seeing it again.
It was when she found her copy of the photos that her face lit up as well. If anything, they looked like more of a couple than her and Brody ever had. The smiles, the silly faces, that look, and that kiss.
"What do you have?" Quinton asked, tilting his head.
"I have my copy of those photos. Then, I have..." Rachel trailed off as she unfolded a piece of paper, chewing her lip as she brushed her fingers over the document. "A State of Nevada marriage certificate, and a picture of the happy couple."
Even though she wasn't married to Brody yet, she was more than sure that this wedding photo, would show more affection than any with Brody.
"So..."
"We're married," Rachel interjected, nodding her head slowly.
"I... I guess I'll have to talk to my lawyer about getting a quick annulment," Quinton sighed, slowly rubbing his forehead.
Rachel was sure she felt her heart shatter at the look on that boy's face. He looked so disappointed, and if she was honest, she was too.
"I'm sorry, Quinton," Rachel murmured timidly.
"What do you have to be sorry for? We were drunk, it... It didn't mean anything, right?"
"No, it's not that. I mean, I think I feel something with you. It's just... The timing," Rachel sighed in defeat.
"Yeah. The timing..." Quinton nodded slowly.
"No, I mean it. You are by far, one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. And I really wish, that I could remember last night, because everything tells me, that last night was one of the best I've ever had."
"You know one thing I do remember about yesterday?" Quinton asked. "You threw your engagement ring away, after telling me that marrying him, was the last thing that you wanted to do."
Rachel froze, toying with the ring on her finger. She had no idea how she'd explain that one to Brody. In fact, she was sure that he wouldn't even notice, as long as she had a ring on that finger. She couldn't believe she'd told a completely stranger her deepest, darkest secret, either.
"Quinton, I... I have to marry him. Besides, why do you care? You're just a stranger I met yesterday. I thought it didn't mean anything to you."
"Who said I cared?" Quinton sighed.
It was more than obvious that the blonde cared, but at this point, he was simply to stubborn to admit it.
Rachel sighed. She didn't want to fight. She'd been awake for hours now, and the dull ache in her head had barely faded away.
"Nobody," she muttered, before reaching for her dress, carefully pulling it over her aching body.
"Look, I'll get an annulment. I'll do it quickly and quietly, so it won't interfere with your marriage with whatever his name is."
Rachel only nodded, brushing through her dishevelled hair with her brush, before she pushed everything back into her purse. "Okay."
Quinton sighed. His memories from the previous night were slowly coming back to him, and in every small flashback, all he saw was smiles. He'd never remembered himself happier, and he was frustrated that the girl was marrying somebody that she didn't want to. All of those thoughts quickly faded though. His head whipped around to look at the clock.
"Shit..."
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked curiously.
"I should have been at the airport an hour ago. I need to fly out for a job interview tomorrow," Quinton muttered, hastily pulling on his clothes.
"Oh... Well, you better get going," Rachel said, reluctantly.
"Y-yeah. Uh... I guess I'll... Never see you again," Quinton shrugged.
Rachel sighed again, slumping in defeat.
"I guess you won't," She mumbled. "Good luck with your interview," she breathed.
"Thank you," Quinton replied. "Congratulations on the wedding, or... Whatever."
Rachel was sure as she walked out of that hotel room, that Quinton Fabray would now forever be the one that got away. It was only at this point that she hated her desire to be on top; to please everybody. Those images in her purse said it all. Quinton had made her smile like nobody before and now, she'd never have that again, or so she thought.
A/N: Please let me know what you think of this one. I know the first chapter isn't much to go on, but there will be another update soon. Suggestions are always welcome. :)