A/N:
First:I would like to send a big shout out to Fakeorganisms for all the Brittiago stories. You inspired me to write my own so Thank you.
Second: This is my first fic. So there will be a few bumps along the way. So if you like it please stick around.
Finally: I will finish this fic. There is nothing more annoying than getting in to a story, only to have the author abandon it. Or update it like once a year. That really sucks.
Let me know what you think. I'm also looking for a beta. If anyone is interested please let me know.
(And I don't own Glee...and Long Live BRITTANA!)
/
"Bye Brit, Thanks for coming in today." My manager says, as I clock out of work. I wasn't scheduled to work today, but three people called out sick. And I could really use the money.
It sucks because I hate working Friday evenings. It gets really busy for some reason. I don't understand why people choose to waste their Friday's sitting in a coffee shop. I would much rather be somewhere dancing, or chilling in the park. Especially since it's April, and the weather is nice. But that's just me.
I'm glad this shift is over though. Now and can go home and just veg out. I so glad this day is semi over, because it totally sucked.
When I got to class this morning I found out that my doubles partner for my tap class broke his freaking leg. Now the professor wants him to choreograph a routine for me. Both our grades depend on it. That would be ok if he wasn't in the bottom three in our class. I don't trust him.
Secondly, four dancers who'll be in my showcase performance bailed out on practice this afternoon. SO we had to practice the routines with half the people. And to top it all off I had to go to work, only to have some crazy rocker chick throw an ice coffee at me.
I'm sticky and tired. I just want to go home, shower and go to bed. I need to sleep the rest of this day away, so that I can start fresh tomorrow.
/
As turn I the key to my apartment, I hear a very loud voice that can only belong to one Rachel Berry. I sigh as I open the door and walk in to the entryway. I'm exhausted. I drop my gym bag, take off my backpack and hang my coat in the closet. I walk toward the living room and spot Rachel pacing back and forth. She has a phone to her ear and is clearly having a disagreement with some poor soul on the other end. "You idiot! You said you could do it!" She stops and faces the window with her back to me.
"What am I suppose to do now?" she questions whoever it is she's talking to.
I don't want to be anywhere near this. I try to slowly creep my way to my bedroom but it doesn't work. She spots me as soon as I make it to my door. "Brittany, Thank God you're here!" Crap! I turn around and sigh. Here we go.
Rachel is my best friend and roommate. She can be a bit too much to handle sometimes. She may look small, but what she lacks in size, she definitely makes up for in personality. She can be very difficult to get along with. As her friend I try to deal with her craziness, but sometimes… I just want to hide from her. I'm pretty good at knowing when to get out of her way though. And right now, is one of those times. I'm really not in the mood to deal with whatever she has going on.
"Hey Rach, what's up?" She rudely hangs up on whom ever it was she was talking to. "I need a favor," she says immediately, oh no. I sigh and roll my eyes up to the sky.
"What kind of favor?" I say as she steps towards me.
"A big one… Big like I'm cashing in on every favor you've ever owed me and never returned." She says, a she stretches her arms out wide to emphasize her point.
"I returned a favor for you the other day when you made me videotape you, while you performed Mariah Carey's Hero and changed outfits 15 times. That was just cruel! I think my debts to you are paid in full."
She sighs and crosses her arms. "But you stopped before I could get the wind machine going!" she says in dramatic fashion. She's such a drama queen.
I take a deep breath. "Rachel it's a fan! A Fan, That you broke! When you dropped it off the kitchen table two weeks ago, trying to reenact Celine Dion's my heart will go on." I challenge.
"That's not the point Brittany!" I roll my eyes and scuff.
"Isn't it? You're being really ridiculous right now. Look, I'm tired so whatever it is that you want from me can wait. You can try asking me again tomorrow." I say as I turn in the direction of my room.
"It can't wait!" she says urgently. I turn back around to see the look of desperation on her face. "This is really important. Can you please just hear me out?" she begs.
I grumble out a "Fine."
She relaxes a bit. "I need you to attend an event for me."
"An event?" I say
"Yes an event. It's for Business Sense Magazine. They're honoring Santiago Lopez." She explains.
"And he is?" I question, because I have no clue what she's talking about.
"He's the CEO of The Lopez International Group. He's a major supporter of the arts. He recently donated over a hundred thousand instruments to under privileged schools across the country. I was granted an interview with him and I can't cancel. As the editor of the NYADA News, I can't let this interview slip through my hands. I had to call his people like 500 times before someone called me back.
I roll my eyes at her. "Ok, what does any of this have to do with me?"
"I need you to do the interview for me, please." She says with a pleading look in her eyes.
"And why can't you do it?" I say, clearly not hiding my annoyance with her.
She exhales heavily, "I have rehearsals for my final showcase. Justin said he could rent the auditorium tomorrow night, but someone took the time slot before he got there."
"Ok, so when is this event?" I ask
"In about two hours. You should really start getting ready." She states, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
I stare at her dumbfounded.
"WHAT? TWO HOURS! NO WAY! I'M NOT DOING IT. I'M REALLY GETTING SICK OF YOU AND YOUR INCONSIDERATE WAYS, RACHEL! NOPE NOT DOING IT!" I yell at her. She winces as she cowers away from me. Which she should! I can't believe her. I'm so mad right now. This is so ridiculous; I totally shouldn't be surprised though. She does stuff like this all the time.
"I know. I'm sorry but I didn't expect for this to happen. Brittany, I really need this. I begged for this interview and now I can't do it… I promise after this… I won't ever ask you for anything else. I promise… Please." She begs
Her pleading does nothing for me. I shake my head and look down at her.
"NO!" I say firmly standing my ground.
"Please Brittany I will do anything! I mean anything. You name it and it's done. I promise. Please, whatever your heart desires." She's full on begging now
"You'll do anything? I narrow my eyes at her skeptically.
"Anything… whatever you want." She's desperate. I think it'll be worth it. Just to see what I can get out of her.
"Okay fine. But I'll have that list of anything and everything you'll be doing for the next two months."
"Two months! Brittany, you can't be serious?" She shakes her head in protest.
"Oh yeah, I'm super serious. If you don't agree then I'm not doing you're ridiculous interview. I don't want to meet some old wrinkly businessman. I rather spend the rest of my Friday night sleeping…as pathetic as that sounds."
"Okay… fine" she pouts. I extend my arm so that we can shake on it. When the deal it made, I hear her mumble a thank you.
"No need for a thank you, because this is it. I have a life too. I do just at much as you do, if not more. Do know what kind of day I had?" she swallows and shakes her head no. "No! Of course you don't, because you didn't ask. I had a terrible day today…and you made it worst. All I wanted to do was come home and go to bed…But no! Rachel Berry always expects for people to drop whatever they're doing to tend to her and her special brand of crazy!" I pause for a moment to catch my breath and gather my thoughts.
"You're Like An Evil Step Sister!" I yell out in frustration.
She's looking at me with a shocked expression on her face. I've never been this angry with her before. Even when she ran that smear campaign against me for senior class president in high school.
She holds her hand up to her chest taking offense to what I just said. "I know you're really upset at the moment…so I know you didn't mean that…But it doesn't make it hurt any less." She says before she storms off in dramatic fashion.
I roll my eyes and shake my head at her and her theatrics, as I finally make my way to my bedroom.
/
When I enter I begin to strip out of my clothes. Cursing Rachel Berry's name. "Damn you Rachel Berry." I grumble. I just want to sleep the rest of this day away. I tilt my head back and look up at the sky "why won't you let me sleep?" I mumble to whomever's presence exists above the clouds.
When I'm done undressing, I grab my towel and wrap it around me. As I'm about to exit Rachel knocks on the door. I open it. She looks timid "What?" I say with a bit of edge to my tone. She cowers back a little.
"I was just wondering if you wanted me pick out a dress for you wear?" she asks timidly.
She cannot be serious. She has like the worst fashion sense ever. I mean it's gotten a little better since high school. Thank god she doesn't wear those horrible sweaters anymore. She looked like she use to be home-schooled or something. I still have nightmares about that hideous blue pants suit she wore sophomore year. Talk about tragic.
"Umm…It's okay I can just." She says.
"Pick out a few dresses. Pick out all the dresses that you wouldn't wear. Cause no offense, but you have terrible taste." I say as I walk past her in the direction of the bathroom.
"Britt please be quick in there. We still have hair and make up to do." I hear Rachel yell as I twist on the hot water for my shower. I roll my eyes as I step in. I instantly relax at the feeling of water cascading down my body. It's so relaxing. I close my eyes and lean against the tile. The next thing I know, Rachel is banging on the door telling me to hurry up. Shit! I must have fallen asleep. I hurry and wash my hair and then my body. I hop out the shower, and dry off quickly.
/
When I get to my room Rachel is setting up my hot curlers and hair dryer. I look to my bed and I see the only three fancy dresses I own. I pick up the navy blue sheer panel gown. This was a gift from Rachel's dads. They bought it for me when they came to visit last year. I tried to protest because it was so expensive but they insisted. Her dad Hiram said and I quote, "every princess needs a ball gown." I'm sure he's mainly responsible for the drama queen that is Rachel Berry.
I walk over to the full-length mirror that hanging on my closet door. I hold the dress up in front of me to get some sort of visual of me wearing it. I like what I see. I'm no princess, but this dress is perfect.
I lay the dress back down on the bed and move to my chest of drawers to find some underwear. I drop my towel to put them on. Rachel squeals and covers her eyes. "Have you no shame?" she whines.
I shrug and say, "well this is my room so, you can leave."
She turns and storms out "Let me know when your ready." She says as she shuts my bedroom door.
/
I got ready in record time. I think I look pretty damn good considering my time constraints. I decided to straighten my long blonde hair and leave it down. I kept my make-up light and simple. The navy blue dress I'm wearing looks amazing. It has a low v-line and it flows to the ground. It is truly an elegant gown. It has the right amount of sexy and class. I love it.
I come out of my room to see Rachel waiting on the sofa in the living room. She looks at me and stands up. "Oh my god Brittany, you look stunning." I lower my head in shyness and say, "Thank you." No matter how mad I am at her, I still appreciate nice compliments.
All of sudden the buzzer to our apartment sounds. "Who could that be?" I question. Rachel visibly tenses and looks at me guiltily.
"It's messy." she mumbles. I narrow my eyes at her and asked again.
"It's Jesse." she says a lot more clearly this time. I stare at her dumbfounded
"Why is Jesse here? I thought we agreed that he wasn't allow back in the apartment after I caught him stealing my underwear." She shrinks and takes a step back.
"He's kind of your date tonight." She says in a low voice. I hear her clearly though. I turn from highly annoyed to extremely livid.
"HE'S WHAT? I yell as I take a step towards her. She takes another step back out of fear. She should be afraid. I don't believe in violence but I really want to throw her somewhere.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry! he was going to be my date. But since you're going in my place…he's your date." She tries to make sense of it.
I narrow my eyes and shake my head at her. "Now you owe me an extra month." I say through gritted teeth.
She winces and says, "I know, I'm so sorry." As, Jesse rings the buzzer again. I go to press the button to let him in. when I walk back to the living room Rachel hands me a black shoulder bag.
"Okay this has the list of questions your going to ask him. The notepad, the camera and the voice recorder are in there as well. Just present your I.D. and tell them Rachel Berry sent you?"
I sigh, "Yeah, yeah I got it." I tell her in annoyed tone.
There is a knock at the door and I moved to answer. Of course it Jesse. He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "Look I'm going with you tonight. I'm in no mood to deal with your creepiness. So don't even think about making some lewd comment about how hot I am. I will not hesitate in kicking you in the balls. Got it?" he nods his head in acceptance "Good…lets go!" I walk past him and out the door.
Rachel yells bye to us as we ascend down the stairs from the apartment.
On my way out the door I say goodnight to our neighbor Eddie. He's a tall African American in his early 30's. I totally smoked weed with him and his Japanese girlfriend once. He nods and says, "don't you clean up well, enjoy your night Britt."
I smile. "Thanks Eddie you too, tell Ryoko I said hi"
Jesse walks up to a waiting black SUV and opens the back door for me. He smirks as I make my way past him and into the SUV. I hear him mumble "Oh we will certainly be having a good night tonight." He's so arrogant.
I roll my eyes as he climbs in and closes the door. I slide as far away from him as I possibly can.
/
We finally arrive at the venue in downtown Manhattan. That seemed like the longest car ride ever. I really wanted to try and take a little nap before we got here. But every time I would close my eyes, Jesse would try and put his hand on my thigh. Which eventually led me to grabbing his crotch and squeezing until I saw a single tear escape from his eye. That set him straight because now he can't even look at me.
Jesse isn't the worst guy you'd meet. He's not the best either. He's just an arrogant perverted rich kid who doesn't really understand boundaries. Ever since he found out that I was a bi-sexual, he has been making it his mission to try and sleep with me. What he doesn't know is that technically I'm still a virgin. I mean I've done stuff. Major stuff actually…I've given a hand job before…and maybe dry humped one or two girls. But I've never actually been penetrated. Whenever I've been with someone, I always stopped it before it's gotten to that part. I guess because it's only been about getting off, no emotions. When it finally happens I just want it to mean something.
Jesse breaks my reverie when he opens the door and hops out the backseat. I quickly follow him out. I look around as I step onto the sidewalk. I know we're in Tribeca. I see that there is a red carpet with ropes and security guards blocking an entrance. The paparazzi are everywhere yelling out to someone named Sue Sylvester. This is complete madness. And I know that this has to be the right place.
Jesse begins walking in the direction of all the chaos. We stop when we make it to the entrance for the red carpet. Jesse presents two press tickets, to the guards. After they check our credentials we're able to walk through the red carpet.
"This is so exciting." Jesse says, as he stops and poses for pictures. The photographer's flash away, having no clue as to who the hell Jesse St. James is. I just keep walking, pretending like I don't know him either.
/
When I make it inside the event, I'm stopped immediately. "Excuse me Ms. Pierce?" a blonde woman with a short bob says to me.
"How do you know my name?" I ask out of curiosity and fear. I hope this isn't some type of CIA setup. I keep having this reoccurring dream where I'm being probed by aliens. I'm starting to believe it's true, and that maybe the government has something to do with it.
"Hi, I'm Quinn Fabray. Mr. Lopez's publicist." She extends her hand to shake mine. I reciprocate and smile in relief.
"Oh great nice to meet yo-…"
"Oh my god, that was such a rush. In the spotlight is where I belong. I can't wait to finally become famous." Jesse says, as he comes to stand beside me. Interrupting the conversation I was having with Quinn.
"Wow and who might this lucky lady be?" he eyes Quinn with a look that I can only describe as predatory.
Quinn eyes me questioningly. I shake my head and say, "I'm sorry, I don't really know him. I think he may have snuck in." I whisper to her.
Quinn snaps her finger and all of a sudden two big guys wearing all black come to stand behind her.
"Is there a problem Ms. Fabray?" The one on the right asks,
"I'm not sure if he breached security or not. Can someone do a full on search and make sure his passes are legit?" she points to Jesse
I turn to look at Jesse and his eyes go comically wide. "She knows me, we came together…Pun intended." he says smirking at the guards.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. Why am I here with this jerk? Then I remember why…Rachel. She owes me.
Quinn looks back at me and ask, "is he with you Ms. Pierce?"
I sigh and Jesse smirks at me.
"No, he's not." I tell her and turn to Jesse with what I'm sure is a disgusted look on my face.
His smirk drops when Quinns security guards pick him up and escort him out of the building.
Quinn and I share a smile. "I'll make sure he gets back in." she says.
I chuckle lightly and say, "If you do, it'll be a disservice to every woman here."
She laughs. "Follow me." She says as she walks in the opposite direction as the event goers.
She opens the door with a key card and leads us down a hallway and up a short flight of stairs.
"Okay, so here's the deal. You have 15 minutes. No questions about his personal life. When I say personal life I mean his sexuality, whether he's seeing someone, what he looks for in a mate and so on…if you do not agree with this, than you should turn around immediately. Mr. Lopez is a busy man. He only agreed to this interview because your partner Ms. Berry would not let up." She says, as we turned the corner. wow she's serious.
Out of the corner of my eye I spot a tall muscular woman dressed in a black suit. Just like the other two security guards. She's standing next to a door. Like she's on guard. Which I'm sure she is. When we reach her. Quinn greets her.
"Hi Beiste. This is Brittany S. Pierce. Rachel Berry's replacement for the NYADA News."
"Ms. Pierce." Beiste nods.
"Now like I've said before. You are allotted 15 minutes. I've already taken a look at Ms. Berry's list of questions. Here is an updated list with all the questions that I have approved." She says as she takes a sheet of questions out of a brown leather folder she has been holding.
"Okay, thank you I say" a little intimidated. This chick is all business. She smiles and nods.
She turns back to Beiste and asks, "is it okay for Ms. Pierce to go in now?"
Beiste holds up her right hand and says, "1-minute punkin" she turns and enters the secret room. She comes out a few seconds later.
"Ms. Pierce. Mr. Lopez will see you now. But I'm going to have to check your belongings first." My belongings? Really? Who is this guy?
"Good Evening Ms. Pierce, and good luck on with your interview." Quinn says, as she turns to leave.
I hand her Rachel's shoulder bags. After she's done checking the bag she tells me she has to frisk me. Is someone trying to kill this man or something? Isn't he like old?
/
After Beiste violates me she opens the door to a private dining area. It has about 6 round tables covered with white linen tablecloths. Each table is set immaculately, all excluding the one in the middle. It only has a white tablecloth draped over it.
I stop looking around when I see a tall figure walking towards me. I'm taken back a how hot he is. No, hot is not the word. Gorgeous maybe…I don't know. All I know is, I never seen anyone as handsome as this guy. I check him out from head to toe. He's wearing a fitted black suit with a white shirt, and a black bowtie. I'm in awe.
Before I know it he's standing directly in front of me. Up close and personal. He's beautiful. He has a light brown skin tone, with gorgeous dark brown eyes and deliciously plump lips. They probably feel like clouds.
"Ms. Pierce." His voice is deep and sexy.
"Yes" I respond quickly. A little, too quickly.
He reaches his left hand out for a handshake. I quickly wrap my hand around his. His hands are huge and a little callous. They feel perfect wrapped around mine.
"I'm Santiago Lopez. Nice to me you." That voice.
My eyes go wide as I look him over once more. He's Santiago Lopez? No way! Rachel said that he was a businessman. And for some reason whenever I hear the term businessman, I think of retirement homes. Maybe it has something to do with my grandpa. When we use to visit him in the retirement home. He would tell us stories about the time he tried building and selling time machines. Needless to say, it was over before it started. He would always say that, "I was a great soldier, but a terrible businessman." I'm not sure if that is true though, because trying to build a time machine is super hard.
"Is everything okay Ms. Pierce?" he questions, with a look of concern.
"No, you're hot." I say, without even thinking. I quickly slapped my hand over my mouth so that I can't say anything else to further embarrass myself. What the hell is wrong with me? I feel like my face is on fire. Oh my god I wish the floor would just swallow me whole.
I'm finding the floor very interesting at the moment. "So I've heard." He says, with an air of amusement.
"I am so sorry." I mumble. Talking with my hand still covering my mouth.
"What was that?" He questions. I finally look up at him and he's smirking at me. God he is so gorgeous. "I couldn't really understand you." He says again as he gently removes my hand away from my mouth.
He brings it down to rest in between us. I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato right now. I bow my head again. I can't believe how embarrassed I feel. I say stuff like this all the time. Just this morning I complimented a woman on how great her boobs were. So why am I acting all embarrassed now?
Suddenly I feel his other hand lift my chin. I have no choice but to look in his eyes. His deep brown eyes, there's so much behind them…I can feel it. We continue to stare at each other. My blues getting lost in his browns, I feel like my body is buzzing. It's almost like I'm vibrating or something. I've never felt this before. I wonder if he's feeling it too.
All of a sudden he takes a step back.
"We should begin the interview now." He says, as he gestures to the plain table, that's sitting in the middle of the room.
Words are failing me at the moment, so I just nod and began to walk over to the table. Before I can even reach for my seat, he's there to pull it out for me. He gestures for me to sit. As I do, I smile brightly at his gentlemanly behavior.
He takes the seat adjacent to me. As he sits, I suddenly remember why I'm here in the first place. I rummage through the bag Rachel gave me. I produce her list of questions, the notepad and the tape recorder. I also have the list of approved questions that Quinn had given me moments ago.
I take a quick glance at each set of questions. I see that Rachel's list is a lot longer than Quinn's list. Why she thought that she could ask this man a hundred questions in 15-minutes, I will never understand. But if anyone could do it, it would be Rachel Barbara Berry.
Before I begin I look back down at the table. Making sure I have everything I need for the interview. Which is pretty much just the tape recorder. I don't know why Rachel gave me a notebook. It would be rude of me to draw while conducting an interview. I slide the notebook back into the bag and place the bag onto the floor next to me.
I look a Santiago and he's staring at me intently. I look back down at the table to pick up the tape recorder and press record.
I turn to look at him again.
"Ready." I ask, shyly. I don't really do shy either. What's wrong with me? Rachel could've warned me about how handsome this man was. I probably wouldn't have believed her. She has horrible taste in men. She dated Finn Hudson all throughout high school. He wasn't terrible looking, but he had man boobs. For the longest time I though he was just a very manly looking woman.
"Please proceed with your interview Miss Pierce." He says. God his voice is so sexy.
I nod and smile at him. "Okay." I pick up the list that Quinn had given me. I look at the first question. "Mr. Lopez…umm…wait a second. Why is Rachel interviewing you?"
He looks at me like he's confused and a little disappointed. " You're not a journalist are you?" he accuses.
"No, No I'm just helping out my friend. Am I in trouble?" I ask quickly. He looks at me thoughtfully.
"You have no idea what your doing, do you?" he says.
My cheeks heat up substantially. I'm thoroughly embarrassed. I thought I was before. That's nothing compared to right now. I avoid eye contact with him and do the only thing I can do. I begin to read the first question.
"Mr. Lopez, You have achieved a great deal of success. What is the driving force behind your ambition?" I'm still looking down at the list of questions Quinn gave me. Thank god I was able to say that without stuttering. I'm going to kill Rachel.
Santiago clears his throat and I look back up at him. He reaches over me and picks up the tape recorder.
He studies it before he presses the off button.
I swallow nervously. Crap this interview is over. Damn you Rachel Berry. I have never been more embarrassed in my entire life.
He stares at me intently before he speaks. "First of all I would like you to relax."
"Are you kicking me out?" I question in the smallest voice ever. I can't bear for that to happen.
"Relax Ms. Pierce, I'm not kicking you out." I look in his eyes and I know he's being sincere.
I exhale in relief. "Thank you." I smile lightly at him.
He nods his head before he says, "Now, if you're not a journalist for the NYADA news, what do you do?"
Oh boy. How is he going to react when I tell him that I don't go to school there? I take a deep breath and exhale. Here goes nothing.
"I don't go to NYADA, I actually go to Juilliard. Rachel is my roommate and I'm only here because…because she- because she's sick." I say, hoping he'll believe that last part.
He narrows his eyes and says, "You're lying."
I try to hide the fact that I'm shocked. "No I'm not." I say, finding the table at lot more interesting than this conversation.
"Yes you are…and you are terrible at It." his tone is light. Almost like he's making fun of me.
I look at him in confusion. "How do you know?"
"Because…Rachel has been calling my office non-stop for the past week. She's been bugging my assistants and Ms. Fabray about setting up an interview with me this week. We only decided to give her a break yesterday… Oh and she called Quinn and said that she had a scheduling conflict."
"I'm sorry." I say, as I look down in shame.
"Look, if you were anyone else and that's including Ms. Berry, I would have kicked you out 5 minutes ago…but for some reason Ms. Pierce, you intrigue me. So how about this, you can ask me six questions from your list here and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. After that…" "He pauses and his eyes darken a bit. "You have a drink with me at some point during the night and I'll be the one asking questions."
My stomach clenches at the sexy tone in his voice. Is this really happening right now? This sexy man is asking me to have a drink with him later. I don't know whether to be afraid or turned on. I think I'm a bit of both.
I swallow the lump in my throat and nod my head slowly in agreement. "Sure." I say, trying to sound unaffected by his proposition.
"Great…Now, shall we begin?" he says, in an even tone. He presses the record button on the tape recorder and places it back between us.
I take a few seconds to compose myself. I need to relax and stop acting like a love struck teenager. I just met this guy. He could totally be a jerk or something. But there is something in his eyes that telling me he's not.
I look back down at the list of questions, and begin to reread the first question.
"Okay Mr. Lopez, You have achieved a great deal of success. What is the driving force behind your ambition?"
"My desire to win." he simply states. I look up at him and he staring at me with an unreadable expression. Something in me sparks because I follow up his answer with "Is that the real reason?"
His eyes flare momentarily in surprise. He quickly collects himself "Ms. Pierce, I believe it is. To be in any kind of business you need to have a competitive edge to you. I'm as competitive as they come. I have over 20 fortune 500 companies. 5 of which are in the top 20 respectfully. I purchase companies to either turn them for profit, or to make them more successful than they aspired to be. If I succeed in doing that everyone wins. So, yes Ms. Pierce, I have a strong desire to win."
"If you say so." I mumble. Okay so he's totally arrogant. I guess I would be to if I were as rich as him.
"I do say so. What I say always goes Ms. Pierce." he says, as his eyes darken. Okay…and maybe he's a little bossy as well.
My face is getting hot again. I look back down at the paper and read the next question. "Who are the most influential people in your life and why?"
"My mother." I look at him, as he pauses. "She's the strongest person I know. She inspires me to always do my best. No excuses."
I am a little taken back with the sincerity of his answer. I can see in his eyes how much he respects his mother.
"That's really beautiful." I say, with as much sincerity as I possibly can.
"It's the truth" he says, without any expression. That's a little weird. I don't understand how he can be so open about something one minute and, then close himself off in the next.
"Why are you such a big supporter of the arts?"
"I believe that art in any form is a great form of expression. For some people it can be a form of therapy, whether it's an artist sharing their craft, or an audience member seeking some kind of refuge from the realities they face. I was fortunate enough to have a music program in school. Through that, I learned how to play various instruments. It's kept me off the streets and led me in the right direction."
Wow…I really didn't expect that. He's being so candid. I'm even more impressed.
"What instruments do play?" I question, smiling brightly at him. He smiles back at me. That dimple in his right cheek may just be the death of me.
"I play the piano, guitar and saxophone." He says, with a little smugness to his tone. I like it.
"That's really neat. I can't really play any instruments…I tried playing the drums once. It was a terrible experience. I'm sure Lord Tubbington stills has nightmares about it." I shutter at the memory of one of the drumsticks flying toward my poor cats face. He had to wear and eye patch for a month.
"Lord Tubbington?" he looks at me questioningly.
"Oh he's my cat."
"You named your cat Lord Tubbington?" he looks confused. I don't know why.
"Yes silly, what else would I name him?"
He smiles at me again. "It's a very interesting name."
I smile brightly at him. "It totally suits him."
"Is that so?" he asks, like he's curious.
"Totally…I have pictures if you want to see." I say excitedly.
He chuckles lightly and shakes his head, "maybe later, but you have two more question before we complete this interview."
"Oh right! Sorry." I look back at the questions. "Earlier this year it was reported that you purchased a Broadway theater. What are your plans for said theater?
"Well of course I plan on keeping the theater intact, although it's going through some major renovations at the moment. We plan on producing shows, as well as holding a Broadway boot camp for teens interested in a future on Broadway. I believe it will be great for the arts as well as the economy."
"Wow… that's awesome." I breathe.
"No Ms. Pierce, that's business. I know a good investment when I see it." He says, as his chocolate eyes darken.
Right now I'm not sure if he's actually talking about business, or something else. The idea of it being something else makes my pulse quicken and my thighs clench. This man has mesmerized me from the moment I set eyes on him tonight, and now I'm not sure how I'm suppose to leave after this.
I shake myself out of my reverie, and look for my last question. I don't want to ask him anymore these boring questions, so I put the sheet down and look at him.
"Okay, enough of the boring questions." I pause, trying to come up with a good question to ask him. "I got it!" I say out loud.
He has a slight smile on his face.
"Okay, if you had 48 hours of freedom, where you wouldn't be allowed to think about work, or do anything work related what would you do?" I smile, proud of my question.
"I wouldn't know where to begin…I haven't taken a day off from work…ever." He says.
I'm shocked. "Never?" I question, "Not even when you were sick?"
He smirks, "I don't get sick Ms. Pierce."
"You don't get sick?"
"I don't get sick. I take my health very seriously." He states in a serious tone.
I nod, "well… so do I, but I still get sick." I pause briefly "So you if you could have 48 hours off, what would you do?"
He shakes his head and smiles, "You don't give up do you?"
"No, Not really."
"Okay, well I guess I'd spend it at sea. No cell phones, or any other forms of technology. Just me and the open sea."
"That sounds relaxing." I say in a soft tone.
"It does." He says as we stare into each other's eyes. I really don't want our time together to end. I wish I could ask him my own set of questions. Like do you have a girlfriend? Can I kiss you? What's your favorite ice cream?
Santiago breaks our eye contact, as he looks down at the tape recorder. He clears his throat and says, "Well Ms. Pierce, I believes that concludes our interview."
"I guess it does." I say, as I pick up the tape-recorder and shut it off.
As I'm placing everything back into the bag, I suddenly feel a wave of disappointment. I don't really want to leave this room. I want to get to know him more. This feels really strange because I've only just met him.
A moment later, the door opens and Beiste appears. She clears her throat and says, "Excuse me Mr. Lopez. Miss Pierce." She nods to me politely "Your due at your table in 5 minutes sir."
"Thank you Shannon, I'll walk Ms. Pierce out in a moment." She gives us a slight nod and exits the room.
Santiago turns back to me "Ms. Pierce, it was truly a pleasure. May I escort you out?"
"Yes, thank you." I give him a half-hearted smile. I'm still a little bummed that my time with him is over.
He gets up from his seat and offers me his hand. I happily take his hand in mine, as use my other hand to grab my bag from the table. We make our way to the door hand in hand, and I have the biggest smile on my face. I love the way his hand feels in mine. Before he opens the door, he stops and turns to face me. "I trust you'll stay for the festivities, and have that drink with me." He says.
"I'm looking forward to it." I say, not hiding my excitement. I can't wait. Maybe I can get to know him better. Maybe we can become friends, or more. I doubt that anything like that will happen though. He wouldn't possibly go for someone like me. I'm not very smart, I work at a coffee shop to pay rent for an apartment I can barely afford and I want to dance for a living. I doubt that's what he's looking for in a woman. He's just a nice guy to even want to hangout with me.
"Well, shall we go Ms. Pierce?"
"Yeah…But you know, you can call me Brittany."
"Is that what you prefer?" he questions
"Yes. Ms. Pierce makes me feel old, and I don't want to feel old… It makes my bones ache." I shrug.
He smiles down at me. "Well in that case Brittany, have a wonderful evening." He says, as he turns around and opens the door. He gestures for me to walk out before him. he's such a gentlemen.
When we walk out into the hall, we see Beiste standing in the spot she was in before I walked into the room.
I turn to face him and he looks at me like he want to say something, but doesn't know how too. It takes him a few moments before he says, "Did you come here alone?"
"No. I came with a friend…but he sort of got kicked out. I'm not sure if he was allowed back in or not."
He looks at me confused. "He was being inappropriate, so I told Quinn that he snuck in." he looks a little surprised "Yeah I know, I'm pretty sure Quinn knew I was lying, since I'm not very good at it." I say, with a smile on my face.
"So, your friend is a he?" he questions.
"I wouldn't really call him a friend. He's kind of a perv." I try to say jokingly. I see his eyes fill with a bit of anger.
"Then why did you come here with him?" I'm a little taken back by his question, because I don't know the answer to it. Then I realize that I didn't have a choice in the matter.
"He was actually Rachel's date… I didn't know, until about 2-minutes before I left the apartment." I say, feeling the need to explain the situation to him.
"Well, if he has been let back in, I'll be sure to keep and eye out for any inappropriate behavior." He assures me. I automatically believe him. There is just something in his eyes that makes me want to believe everything he says to me.
"Thank you"
He nods. "Okay…well I think we should join the festivities now. Thomas here will escort you to your table." Thomas? Who is Thomas? I turn around to see another big guy, dressed in a black suit. Where did he come from? Is he a ninja?
"Where'd he come from?" I question.
Santiago shrugs and says, "He was around."
"He's totally a ninja."
"You may be right." He chuckles softly. We share a smile. "Well, this is where we part, enjoy the rest of your evening, Brittany."
I nod. "You too, Mr. Lopez"
"You can call me Santiago." He smiles that dimply smile of his. I think my heart just stopped. "See you later Brittany."
I may have to ease up on Rachel a bit, because even though nothing will come of this. I'm pretty sure I just met the most amazing man in the entire world.
Our moment is broken when we hear Shannon talking lowly into her earpiece.
"We'll be out shortly. I'll give you an ETA when we begin moving."
Santiago clears his throat a little. "I'll see you later Brittany." He nods to the ninja behind me.
"See you later." I smile. I turnaround and begin walking with the silent ninja. He has yet to say a word.
I can tell Santiago is watching me walk away. So I turn to look back to him and wink. That's totally my thing.
"So… how'd you become a ninja?" I ask, the silent ninja as I turn back around.
"A lot of training and hard work ma'am." …And he speaks!
"Awesome."
/
Thomas the ninja leads me into a grand ballroom. It's absolutely stunning. The first thing I notice is the dance floor. I wonder if Santiago can dance? He looks like it.
We walk through the sea of tables and suddenly I realize that I'm like the only person not seated, along with Santiago of course.
We finally make it to my table, and Thomas helps me to my seat. "Good evening Ms. Pierce." He says, and quickly disappears. I look around and notice that nine other people are seated as well, including Jesse.
"Robot." Jesse mumbles under his breath. I shake my head.
"He's a ninja. Not a robot…Hater."
"I'm no hater beautiful. I sure I get more trim than that guy. In fact…my place or yours tonight?" I roll my eyes at him. Operation ignore Jesse St. James is now in progress.
Suddenly I hear the woman on the other side of me gasps, "Oh my god there he is in all his glory." She says dreamily.
I look around to see who she's talking about. I'm not surprised when I see Santiago walking towards his table. I smile, because she's right. In all his glory is correct.
He walks up to the rectangular table that's placed at the center of the room. I notice that people are already seated there, seven people to be exact. He smiles and greets everyone. He gives a hug and a kiss to the older woman seated next to him. I assume that she's his mother. They share a strong resemblance, although her skin tone is a little lighter than his.
"What I wouldn't do to have that much power. Look around…there's easily a hundred women in here right now, all willing to worship him." He pauses. "He's probably banged half the women in New York by now…I guarantee he's taking somebody home with him tonight." Jesse whispers beside me.
All of a sudden I feel angry and a little jealous. Angry because Jesse doesn't know what he's talking about. Santiago isn't that kind of guy, and Jesse shouldn't be talking about him like that. I'm Jealous at the thought of Santiago bringing anyone home tonight but me. Even though I know that the chances of that happening are slim to none.
"Shut up." I whisper through gritted teeth.
"Its true… if I wasn't so awesome myself, I would totally want to be that guy." He whispers back
"You and awesome should never be used in the same sentence…ever" I say.
"I'll have you one day."
I roll my eyes and scoff "Yeah, in make believe world. Where reality doesn't exist."
We're broken out of our banter when we hear a deep voice come through the speakers, and It's Santiago. Everyone directs their attention to the center of the room where he's standing.
"Excuse me everyone. I wanted to say a few words before our dinner comes out." he pauses. "First I would like to say thank you all for coming out tonight and sharing this evening with my family and I… I would also like to thank Sue Sylvester and Business Sense magazine for honoring me tonight." He pauses for a second time "This is truly a great honor, that I cannot accept without acknowledging the people who have contributed to my success. I would like to thank my mother Mrs. Maribel Lopez-Puckerman for your continue love and support, to my step-father Dr. Joseph Puckerman as well as my siblings. But I know The Lopez International Group would not be where is today without the contributions of Michael Chang Jr. and all those employed with L.I.G… Thank you all and have a great evening." He smiles his million-dollar smile.
Everyone stands and give him a round of applause.
"He's so dreamy" a brunette woman adjacent from me muses. She has that love struck look in her eyes. I roll my eyes in annoyance. What's with these women?
/
I ditched Jesse as soon as dinner was over. He was being more obnoxious than usual. It probably had something to do with six out of the ten people at our table being women. I pray for whoever ends up going home with him tonight. Even his hands.
The ballroom has turned into a full-blown party. There's amazing music being played by a live band, and waiters coming around with cocktails. I danced for a little bit, but I got tired of turning down every guy who would ask me to dance. I would usually never turn down a dance partner, but I was only in the mood to dance with one person tonight. Santiago…
That's never going to happen though, because he's been too busy chatting and posing for pictures with other important people. I'm sure that I'm the last thing on his mind tonight, especially in a room full of beautiful rich women. I'm sure they can offer him a lot more than I can.
That's why I'm sitting here at the bar, sipping on my fruity cocktail and comparing myself to all these women. I'm sure I'm the only person in here that works at a coffee shop. After I finish my drink, I should probably just leave. I'm sure Santiago has forgotten about having a drink with me anyways.
I wait a little while longer before I decide to leave. I drain the rest of my beverage and place the glass on the bar. As I gather my things that have been resting on the seat next to me, I hear a deep voice behind me say,
"Going somewhere Brittany?
I turn around to see Santiago walking up beside me. "Hi" I say. Feeling like I've been caught doing something wrong.
He walks up to the bar and stands next to me. He leans down to whisper in my ear. "Are you going to answer my question?" his deep voice tickling my ear.
"I-I was…um" I can't seem to form the words to say, that I was about to leave.
"Were you leaving?" he questions knowingly.
I give him a tight-lipped smile.
"But we agreed to have a drink later." He says as his dark eyes bore into mine. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.
"So, you were just going to leave?"
"I thought you forgot, so…" I say as I look down at the barstool sitting in between us.
"How could I forget something I was looking forward to?" I look up at him a little taken back. Why would he look forward to spending time with me?
"Don't look so surprise Ms. Pierce."
I smile. "It's Brittany…Bitch" I state jokingly. He cracks the biggest smile I've seen so far. It makes my smile grow even wider. I feel like there are a million little butterflies swarming around in my stomach.
"Well Brittany, I trust that you will be staying now?"
I continue to smile up at him, as I go to reclaim my abandon seat. He follows suit and takes up the seat next to me.
"What would you like to drink?"
"A pomegranate martini please" I say sheepishly. He probably thinks its super girlie. Which it is.
He turns to the bartender and orders our drinks. "A pomegranate martini for the lady and a Scotch on the rocks please" the bartender nods in acknowledgement.
He turns back to me and looks at me questioningly before he says,
"Has your date gone rogue?"
"He's not my date. I thought I already made that clear Mr. Lopez?" I say with a little edge to my voice. Not liking the fact that he is referring to Jesse as my date.
He smirks at my mini outburst. He's totally messing with me. "And I thought I told you it was Santiago?" he says. And I'm blushing. He's so charming. Kind of like prince charming, but I'm sure this isn't a fairytale. It can't be. Can it?
Santiago breaks my musing when I hear him speak. "So Brittany, where is this inadequate soul, that is not your date? Surely he's no gentlemen…leaving you all alone at the bar." His eyes darken a little.
I scuff. "Trust me…I'd prefer if he'd leave me alone for the rest of my life."
The bartender returns with our drinks. "Really? Well… that can be arranged." He smirks and takes a sip of his scotch.
"What can be arranged?" I ask, having the slightest clue as to what he's talking about.
"This Jesse guy leaving you alone." He says.
"Are you like in the mob or something? Because I use to watch the Sopranos, I know what you mean when you say stuff like that." I pause, and look around to make sure no one else is listening. "I don't want Jesse knocked off. He's not that bad." I say in a very low voice.
Santiago's eyes go wide in shock. "What? No! That's not what I meant." He says in a startled tone. "I think you've watched too much TV."
I smile at him. "You were joking weren't you?"
I chuckle "Of course silly." He smiles and shakes his head in amusement.
"Brittany, you are something else." and I'm blushing for what seems to be the thousandth time since I've met him. And that was like three hours ago.
"So… I believe I'm suppose to be asking you a few questions."
"I believe that was the agreement, even though we didn't shake on it." I shrug trying to act nonchalant.
"Well Brittany, I believe that a persons word is their bond…so I trust you'll honor our agreement." He says in a serious tone.
"Well, when you make it sound so serious…I don't have much of a choice now do I?"
He looks me dead in the eyes and says, "No you don't."
I'm a little startled by his statement. He's so direct. I break eye contact with him and move to have a much-needed sip of my drink. It calms my nerves a bit. I might need to order another one, if he continues being all serious.
"So what do you want to ask me?" I say after I put my drink down.
"Let's start off simple…where are you from?"
I relax a little, because that's an easy question. "Lima, Ohio" I say.
"Lima, Ohio. Never heard of it…is it like, a one stop light town or something?" He teases.
"It has a few stop lights actually."
"Okay so, you are a small town girl, who left for the big city to follow her dreams of attending Juilliard too?"
"To dance." I say a little above a whisper.
"I know." He has a pleased look on his face.
"How did you know?" I ask curiously.
"Well first, you're a terrible liar, so there's just no way you could be studying drama. Second you told me you couldn't play an instrument, so music was out of the equation. Unless you sing, but I'm sure you would have disclosed that earlier if you did. And finally…I saw you dancing a little while ago on the dance floor." he smiles, as he goes to take of sip of his scotch.
I'm completely baffled by everything he just said. That was almost calculated. I see why he's so rich and successful…nothing gets past him.
Wait…he was watching me?
"You were watching me?"
"I told you I would keep an eye out for inappropriate behavior."
"Thank you. But I can take care of myself." I say, because I don't want him thinking that I'm some weak little girl.
"That maybe true, but as long as I'm present you won't have too." There he goes, acting all serious again. I just take another sip of my martini.
"You know, my sister just got into the dance program at Juilliard as well." he smiles. I can tell he's proud of her. That makes me happy. "That's awesome, is she excited?"
"Yeah, she's really excited. She would like to be on Broadway one day."
"Is that why you bought that theater?" I question.
"Besides the fact that it's a good investment…maybe." He shrugs
"That's really sweet, and supportive." I say, this just makes me like him even more. What an amazing thing to do. I only wish that my family was as supportive of me, the way Santiago is of his sister.
He shrugs like it's not a big deal. But it is. "I wish that my family was as supportive as you." I tell him.
"He looks at me with concern. "Your family isn't supportive of you?" he questions.
I shake my head. "No, Not really. Like my mom has been to two or three shows in my entire life maybe. She doesn't really oppose to it like my father, but she's never in the stands cheering me on or anything. The only people who really seem to care is my little sister, and my aunt holly." I speak truthfully.
"I'm sorry to hear that Brittany. But at least you have you sister and your aunt." I can tell he's being sincere.
"Thank you,"
Santiago opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by Jesse coming up on the other side of me. "There you are gorgeous… ready for me to take you home so we can start the real party?" he says as he puts his arm around my shoulders.
I tense up a little, but I quickly remove Jesses arm from around me. I roll my eyes at him and turn back to Santiago.
He is shooting daggers at Jesse. He does not look happy.
I turn back to Jesse, "Jesse I swear if you don't leave me alone, I'm going to physically hurt you." I say through gritted teeth.
He smirks at me and takes a step back " I love when you play hard to get beautiful."
Our attention gets directed back towards Santiago as he clears his throat. His eyes are dark and he looks pissed.
"Mr. St. James, hasn't anyone taught you how to treat a lady? If not, I know a few people who will gladly give you a lesson." Santiago says in a chilling tone.
I feel the tiny gap between Jesse and I become bigger. I turn to see that Jesse has indeed taken a few steps away from me.
Oh Excuse me, Mr. Lopez. I didn't see you there." Jesse sounds intimidated. This pleases me.
I turn back to Santiago, and he has yet to take his eyes off of Jesse.
"So, does that mean you can just approach a woman anyway you see fit?"
I hear Jesse swallow.
"Mr. St. James. I want you to listen to me very carefully... I know people, very powerful people. There are no limits to what I could do to you." He pauses so that he can smirk "Now, I know that you have aspirations to be on Broadway, to perform. In fact, I've seen you perform once…you have talent. But that won't matter when I'm done with you. The only career you're going to have is, that of a male prostitute servicing gentlemen callers only. Now, that maybe the best option for you anyway, seeing as though you don't have much of a dick to begin with."
My eyes grow comically wide. Whoa…what the hell was that? I'm looking at Santiago in shock. "Santiago…" I say, to try and get him to stop.
He's about to say something else, but I put my hand on his right leg and squeeze lightly. He concedes as he picks up his drink and polishes it off.
I turn to Jesse and say, "I think it's best that you get out of here."
Jesse nods in agreement, but before he goes he whispers to me "Do you think he's gonna get his goons to come after me?" I'm a little confused because he sounds like he'd be thrilled if that were to happen.
I just shake my head. "Get out of here."
"Okay, but how are you getting home?"
"Don't you worry about it." Santiago says from his seat, right next to me.
"Okay then, Goodnight." Jesse says as he walks away from us.
I turn back to Santiago and look at him disappointedly "What?" he asks with a hint of guilt.
"Are you serious?" I say in disbelief. I get that Jesse is an ass sometimes…well most of the time. But all that was really unnecessary.
"About?" he asks, as if the whole thing with Jesse didn't just happen.
"You know what about…I can take care of myself. I don't need you trying to protect me from Jesse, of all people. Yeah he's a little sleazy, but he's never actually done anything to hurt me. I know how to handle him, and that wasn't the way." I say, frustrated at his behavior.
He's stunned by my words, but quickly regains his composure. "Does he make you feel uncomfortable at times?" he counters.
"Well yeah but…"
"Then I have no regrets." He says, as he cuts me off.
He gets up from his seat and pulls his phone out of his breast pocket. He seems to be writing a text or something. I hope it isn't some type of Broadway hit on Jesse. I keep that in my back pocket for when he decides to go back through my underwear drawer.
When he's done. He looks at me and says, "I'm taking you home."
I look at him confused. Take me home? I begin to think back to what Jesse said earlier during dinner "I guarantee he's taking somebody home with him tonight." I frown at the thought. "Who says I'm going home with you?"
He eyes go comically wide and his mouth hangs open. He quickly finds his words and says, "Who said I wanted to take you home with me? All I said was that I'm taking you home." He pauses "To your home…"
I flush. I'm more than embarrassed. How could I think that? Like he would ever want me anyways.I can't believe this is happening. I'm so embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry. I just thought…never mind." I pause and shake my head. "I'm so stupid…I'm sorry. I should probably go now." I mumble. As I attempt to get up, I end up stumbling on my dress. Thank god Santiago's there to catch me. This just adds to my embarrassment. What is wrong with me?
I feel Santiago tighten his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer to him "You're not stupid Brittany, and I'll only take you home if you want me to." He whispers in my ear.
My body temperature rises. I'm so hot I feel like I might pass out. Is it possible to feel both turned on and embarrassed? I just need for this day to be over. I never felt so many conflicting emotions before. It's making me so confused. Or maybe it's Santiago who has me confused.
He pulls me out of his embrace and makes sure I'm able to stand on my own.
"Will you accompany me across the room? I would like to say good night to a few people."
I'm still reeling from what happen a moment ago. I really need to cool off first. "Can I order a glass of water first." I ask, avoiding eye contact.
He gets the attention of the bartender and orders me a glass of water. "Are you okay?" he asks, his voice laced with concern.
"Yeah I'm fine."
The bartender hands me the glass of water, and I down it. It's so refreshing. I only feel slightly better though. I think I just need to go home and go to bed.
When I'm done, Santiago offers me his hand, and I take it. I feel like there is an electrical current running through my body again.
/
As we walk to the opposite side of the room, I try to regain my composure. All of a sudden I feel like I'm being watched. I look up and notice that practically every woman in this room is watching us. They all probably think I'm going home with him. I don't know how I would feel if I did end up going home with him.
I'm broken out of my musing when we come to a stop. Santiago let's go of my hand and I notice that we're in the VIP section. I also notice that some of the people who were sitting at his table during dinner are here.
I follow closely behind Santiago, as he walks up to the woman I assumed was his mother earlier. Santiago clears his throat. "Excuse me Mom, Joe, I'm going to head out now. I have to drop Miss Pierce off at her place and get on a flight to California."
"Oh honey do you have to leave now? We've barely even seen you tonight." His mother says, as she gets up to hug him.
"Maribel he's a mogul. He doesn't have time for us little people anymore." Joe teases.
"Oh mi amor, que deseo para ti de dedicar más tiempo para su familia" I have no clue what she just said.
"I do mommy. I've just been really busy. I promise I'll be at the next family dinner, okay?
"Okay mijo, este es tu novia. finalmente llegamos a conocer a alguien. ooh ella es muy bonita. cuál es su nombre?" she looks at me in excitement.
Santiago looks at me and back to his mother.
"No, mom. This is Brittany Pierce. She goes to Juilliard. Were just friends and I offered to give her ride home, that's all."
His mother eyes him skeptically. She then turns to look at me. "You go to Juilliard? Our Grace just got her acceptance letter last week." She states proudly.
"I know Santiago told me. Congratulations, it's a wonderful school."
"Yes, it's the best. We're very proud. Let me get Grace and you too can maybe talk about what she can expect and what classes she should take-" she's interrupted by Santiago.
"Mom, we really don't have time. I have a plane to catch and Brittany needs to get home.
"Honey it won't take long." She dismisses his plea and walks over to a teenage girl sitting in the corner, playing on her smart phone. Her brunette locks covering her face.
Maribel returns with a smiling Grace. "Honey this is Brittany Pierce. She goes to Juilliard. I thought maybe you two could have lunch one day and talk about what you can expect next year."
I look to Grace and smile. She has an excited look in her eyes. "Totally" she says.
I smile at her enthusiasm.
"Okay well Brittany, I would love if we could all exchange numbers, so we can set something up." Maribel says.
I look up at Santiago to try to get some kind of read on how he feels about this. He smiles and nods. But before I can even take my phone out, a guy with a buzz cut comes and joins our little circle. He has his arm wrapped around Quinn, Santiago's publicist.
"Hey what's going on over here." He says, "Me and my future baby mama, is feeling a little left out." Quinn rolls her eyes at him. She looks around and her eyes darken a little when they land on me. Okay, I don't know what that's about.
"And who might this be?" he says, as he looks at me.
"Brittany, excuse my brother Noah. You've already met Quinn Fabray. You've met my mother Maribel and my sister Grace. Behind them is my step father Joseph." He pauses and looks back to Grace. "Grace I think that you and Brittany should exchange numbers now, because we really need to get going."
I nod in agreement. "Yeah, and maybe one day we can meet up at Juilliard and I'll give you a super top-secret tour. I'll show you the places you won't get to see on the little guided tour they'll give you in July." I say
Graces eyes light up in excitement. So does Maribel's as they pull me away to take all of my contact information.
After a while Santiago comes over to us. "Excuse me ladies, but we really must be going now."
I nod and say good night to the Lopez ladies. Santiago gives his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Before he could stand completely she whispers something in his ear. He looks at her in shock and shakes his head. "Good night mom. I love you."
"Goodnight son"
Before we leave Maribel says that she can't wait to have lunch.
We say good night to everyone and head outside through a back entrance.
/
When we get outside, Beiste is standing in front of an SUV. When she sees us, she opens the door to the backseat. Santiago helps me in. I love when he touches me.
When I'm inside, I notice that he doesn't follow. He stands outside and talks to Beiste. When he's done he slides in beside me.
"Thomas, we are dropping off Ms. Pierce first." Thomas? I look up to the drivers seat and see Thomas for the first time since I got in the car.
"You really are a ninja. Your powers amaze me." I say.
"Thank you Ms. Pierce." He nods from the rearview mirror.
"I live in Williamsburg."
"Brooklyn. How hipster of you." Santiago says sarcastically.
"Yeah. My neighborhood is pretty awesome." I say, ignoring his hipster comment.
"For some reason I can't imagine hipsterville being awesome." He says as we pull into traffic.
"It's Brooklyn not hipsterville…you should totally come and experience the awesomeness. I thank you would love it."
He scuffs, and in a sarcastic tone says, "I doubt it."
"You won't know unless you try." I tease.
/
The car ride was pretty uneventful, except for me falling asleep on Santiago's shoulder. At some point he wrapped his suit jacket around me.
So here we are now, standing outside my apartment door.
I told him that he didn't have to walk me to my door, but he insisted. He made an argument about me possibly falling down and breaking my neck in my haze of sleepiness. I like that he's so concern for my well-being.
"So here we are." I say, gesturing to my apartment door.
"Yes here we are." He replies.
"Thank you for being so nice about the interview."
"No problem. You were pretty good after you relaxed a bit."
I bow my head in shyness. "Thanks" I say.
"So did you enjoy your evening?" he asks
"Yeah. Especially the part where we got to hangout." I say, his eyes light up a bit.
"Yeah, I enjoyed that part as well." He says, staring in to my eyes with so much intensity.
We stand there staring into each other's eyes for what seems like and eternity. I really want to know how his lips feel against mine.
"Well…Brittany, it was a pleasure meeting you tonight. I hope to see you again soon."
"Definitely. I'm totally having lunch with your mom and your sister, so..." he smiles.
"Well you should probably go inside now. I don't want keep you out here all night."
I nod "and you have a plane to catch, so you should get going."
"I'll go as soon as you get inside."
I smile "Well, goodnight Mr. Lopez." I say as I turn around to open the door to my apartment.
"Good night Ms. Pierce." He says teasingly
I turn back around and smile. "I'm not leaving until you go inside." He says.
"So that means I can keep you hear all night?" I tease
"No. That means if you don't go inside soon, I'll be forced to take you in there myself." He says, as eyes darken a little. One can only hope.
"Goodnight Santiago" I say again before I turn around and open the door to my apartment.
He's still staring at me with those dark eyes. "Goodnight Brittany" he replies.
I step in and close the door behind me. I look through the peephole and he is still standing there looking at the door.
He smiles and waves at the door and says, "Go to bed Brittany."
"Are you psychic?" I say through the door.
"No, now go to bed." He tries to sound serious. I laugh.
"Have a safe trip."
He smiles and says, "Thanks." And walks off.
I sigh and turn to lean against the door. I didn't expect for my night to turn out like this. I never expected to be so enamored by someone like Santiago Lopez. He's captivating, in every sense of the word. I just wish we got to spend more time with each other. I really hope I get another chance to see him again.
When I finally make it to bed, I feel a little restless. When I think back on this crazy day that I've had, it sort of doesn't seem real. As I fall asleep, all my thoughts go to Santiago and how amazing he is.
/
Let me know what you think. I'm also looking for a beta. If anyone is interested please let me know.
Translations: From Google Translation
mi amor, que deseo para ti de dedicar más tiempo para su familia.
my love, I wish for you to devote more time to your family.
Mijo, ¿es tu novia. finalmente llegamos a conocer a alguien. ooh ella es muy bonita. cuál es su nombre?
Son, is this your girlfriend? We finally get to meet someone. ooh she's very pretty. what her name?