First story. Sorry if there are mistakes, I abhor proofreading.
To love in vain is haunting. It beats at my chest and pounds in my head. A dull ache washes through me at the thought of never pressing my body against hers. I'll never know what it is like to hold the one person I've passionately yearned for, and that alone will keep me up some nights. Seven years past this awakening in me, and I still feel just as incomplete as I did those first months of falling for her.
I've carried on with my life, put states between us, had companions that stole my attention but never filled the void. I always knew I would have to live without her and sometimes I go days without her crossing my mind, but I keep her. I keep her in places of my soul that I have half-heartedly boarded up, and placed caution signs around. Still thoughts of her fill me too often, and I am imprisoned agian by a debilitating love that I never asked for.
Seven years later, I am living with my girlfriend, I have a new life so far from my old one that I would not recognize that self if it were passing me on the street. What, if not this, is the cure for my unrequited passion? Why can I not banish her from myself completely? When will I stop loving her?
As I lay next to Michele's sleeping form, my mind travels to that part of me. The part that refuses to let go of Rachel. I loosen one of the boards that keeps those thoughts at bay, and peek through. I remember the her smile, her laugh, and my I can feel my heart sigh. I'm not sure why I do this to myself. I suppose I can't help it. Probably for the same reason that I have drinks with her whenever I am back in New York. I just can't help myself.
7 am on another beautiful Palm Beach morning, and I am sipping my much need coffee in the florida room. The smell of the ocean is carried in by the soft breeze, and the stillness of this neighborhood is calming.
Michele, already dressed for work, her long brown hair tied back, and her blouse not buttoned high enough, joins me.
"Good morning baby" she says, walking over and kissing the top of my head.
"You're going in early" I observe, usually she is still a sleep zombie at this hour.
"I know, Rogers wants to meet with me first thing today" she offers
"Hmmm, maybe it's about that promotion you've been hoping for"
"Well I guess we'll see. I'll text you and let you know how it goes. What are your plans for today?"
"I was going to pop into the restuarant just before the lunch rush, and try to get some work done, I'll have my cell phone on me"
"Alright, well I better get going" she says picking up her bag, and kissing me one last time before she is gone.
Michele is a junior editor for the local paper, we me three years ago through a mutual friend. As for me I manage a popular unscale restaurant located in one of the most exclusive hotels in the united states. At the age of 24 I had quickly risen into success in my field. I often get job offers from restaurants in New York, and Los Angeles, but I have had little reason to relocate.
The sound of my phone ringing breaks me from my thoughts. "Quinn Fabray" I answer. It's Mitchell, my assistant manager. He goes on about a problem in the kitchen, and I tell him I'm on my way.
When I arrive, I can hear loud bangs and yelling from just outside of the kitchen doors, I hesitantly enter to find Daisy,one of the line cooks, chasing a waitress around one of the large prep tables, holding what seemed to be a very large chopping knife.
"You whore!" yelled the cook
"Crazy bitch!" the waitress hurriedly backed away from Daisy, throwing whatever pot and pan she could find at her.
I'm stunned, and it takes me a moment to process, but before even I know it, my voice is cutting across the large room.
"HEY. KNOCK IT OFF."
"That tramp slept with my husband!" Daisy pointed at the terrified woman.
"Give me the knife Daisy" I now calmy order, holding out my hand. She does as I ask, and I pass the knife to Mitchell, who is grumbling about how he can't work with women anymore.
"That is completely unacceptable behavior, regardless of what happened between her and your husband, and I'd like for you to leave calmly, so I don't have to call the police." I told Daisy, and then directed my attention at the waitress "I should have handed her a bigger knife. You need to go too. This restaurant needs to run smoothly, I don't see how you can contribute to that."
Having worked in the food industry for almost a decade, I can't say this is the craziest thing I have ever seen, but it is certainly amongst my top five.
I spend the rest of my afternoon in the kitchen making up for the loss of one of my cooks, but am interrupted for the second time today by my phone.
"Hey Michele, how did it go?" I answer
"They offered me a promotion..." she says, but doesn't sound excited.
"Why don't you sound happy?"
"The position is for a columnist for the New York Times" she says.
"Wow Michele! That is amazing news!" I am so proud of her in this moment
"Really? God that is so good to hear from you, you have no idea how nervous I was that you wouldn't be happy" she sounds relieved, and I can hear excitement creeping into her voice.
"This really is great news, I promise. I need to finish some things here, and I'll meet you at home in an hour or so. We can discuss it more then"
"I can't wait! Love you!"
"Love you too"
On the way home, I picked up a bottle of champagne and flowers. I pulled into the driveway, and saw Michele's car was already there. She greeted me at the door.
"Who are those for?" she asked looking at the flowers
"My extremely talented and sexy girlfriend of course" I handed her the flowers and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Now lets pop open this booze and celebrate!"
She laughed and led me inside to the kitchen, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet. "I can't believe, I got an offer from the NY Times!" she gushed
"I can! When do they want you to start?" I asked
"Next week" she said her tone darkened a bit. "I told them I would run it by you..."
"We're going" I stated "this is a huge oppurtunity for you, and I need to get out of that restuarant."
"Why? What happened?" she asked surprised.
"I basically had to prevent a homicide in my kitchen today, I just need a change of scenery"
Michele gave me a 'What are you talking about?' look, and I filled her in on my knife wielding cook, and the adultering waitress.
"Plus I think I would really like to go back to New York, I haven't lived there in years, and I miss it sometimes."
"I can't believe how amazing you are being about this. I mean I really thought this would be some huge hurtle for us."
I down the rest of my glass and said "Yeah, I am so getting laid tonight"
Michele smiled "You bet you are. SUPER LAID tonight"
Mitchell was beyond pleased to hear of his promotion, and before Michele and I knew it we were unpacking our lives into our upper west side apartment.
"So are you going to meet up with your old college roommate?" Michele asked plopping down on the couch
"Who? Rachel? I feigned ignorance.
"Yeah, you haven't been in New York in a few years, and when you do you usually hang out and catch up and stuff"
"Do I sense a hint of jealousy?" I teased, pushing aside an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
"No, I just know you had a thing for her" she grinned and poked me in the side.
"Yes well we all have a straight girl crush at one time or another. Figures that mine would turn into the a huge celebrity" I joked. "I should give her a call though, It would be nice to get back in touch."
"Don't you have an interview tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I do, but I'm not really looking to get back into managing" I state
"What do you mean?" Michele inquired
"I'm thinking about opening a restuarant, or purchasing one. I have money saved, and my inheritance, I have the resources to maybe start something really great."
Michele smiles and jumps in my lap "BABY! That is such a great idea! Look at us, a new city, and starting new lives together, I have such a good feeling about this!" She kisses me deeply, and I gladly return.
Michele has been a bright light in a mine shaft for me, and I could not be more grateful for her.
The few days after moving to New York I had typed out and deleted maybe twenty text messages to Rachel, I just couldn't bring myself to send one. Either it sounded too dumb, or too casual, I couldn't find the right wording, and at the same time I was kicking myself for still caring what she thought of me so much.
I decided that I could put off the text message a little longer and finish unpacking. By the time it was 6pm, the apartment was just starting to feel like home, and Michele had called to say that she was going \out with some new co-workers, and not to wait up.
I opened a bottle of wine, threw my hair up, and for the first time today, took a seat in the living room. Just moments later there was a knock at the door.
"Michele, you lost your keys already?" I yelled, amused. I open the door to find that it isn't Michele, but another familiar brunette.
"Quinn?" Rachel looked shocked
"Rachel" I barely got out "What are you..."
"What are YOU doing here? Do you live here?" she asked. I notice a plate of cookies in her hands
"I just moved in a few days ago." I was saying as she put the plate down and pulled me into a long hug.
"You should have called and told me. I missed you" She said quietly
"I'm sorry, I was going to call you when we got settled" Feeling her arms around me had released the feelings I had tried to keep back all these years. "Do you live in this building?"
"I live next door, I'm 8c" she said, still hugging me.
"Can you come in? Do you have time for a glass of wine?" I asked pulling away, instantly missing he warmth
"That sounds great!"
As I poured another glass off wine Rachel took a look around, stopping to look at the pictures that were sitting on an end table.
"So you are here with Melissa?" Rachel asked
"Michele" I corrected
"Oh, sorry Michele."
"Yeah, she got a job at the NY Times"
"That is so exciting!" Rachel said her eyes scanning the rest of the apartment and then falling on me.
"I can't believe you just showed up at my door" I laughed
"I am so glad you were the one who opened the door!" She said, and I cursed myself for blushing.
"Wow, Rachel Berry, it has been too long."
"It has. What have you been up to?"
"Well, I'm in New York to open a Restuarant, um Michele and I are doing well, and I am much more interested in what are you doing?"
"Hmmm lets see, I am between shows and enjoying my time off, other than that nothing exciting. So you are opening a restaurant?"
"I am going to look at some spaces this week, but I'm in the very early stages"
"How is your mom?" Rachel asked
"She passed away a year ago" I said sadly, and Rachel moved to sit beside me.
"I'm so sorry Quinn, I had no idea. My fathers didn't tell me" She said putting her hand on top of mine.
"Thanks. She was sick, but it progressed pretty quickly" I told her. "lets change the subject"
"Okay, so you are engaged?" Rachel asked, losing some of the excitement in her voice.
"Yes, we haven't started planning the wedding yet though, we've been really busy. Are you seeing anyone?" I asked, knowing the answer could hurt.
"I just got out of one actually. In fact I think you'll enjoy the story behind it." She said mischeviously.
"Really? Why?" I asked
"Well, I was working on Spring awakening, and I got invovled with my make up artist" she said taking a sip of her wine.
"Leave it to you to find the only straight male make up artist on broadway" I laughed.
"Actually they were neither" She said flatly, obviously waiting for my response.
"What? Wait. They were neither straight nor male? You dated a woman?" I can feel my voice raising and shaking just a little, and perhaps the wine had a hand in that.
"I know right? I really enjoyed it actually"
I am angry. I don't want to be but I am. All this time, I could have made a move, all this time of torturing myself with 'what if she were gay?'
"Quinn?" she is waving her hand infront of my face "You spaced out for a minute"
"Sorry" I snap back to the converstaion "So... what was her name."
I spent the next hour listening to Rachel go on about her ex-Girlfriend and how she always knew she was attracted to women but never acted on it. I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight.
The sound of keys in the door interrupted our conversation, and a wobbly Michele almost fell through the doorway.
"I'm home!" she yelled, and then glanced at where Rachel and I were sitting. "Oh good! You called her!" she said reffering to Rachel, and then she made her way over to hug the other brunette.
"Actually, Rachel lives next door. What a surprise huh?" I say, standing up to hold on to my now swaying fiance. "Looks like you had good time tonight" I laugh.
"I DID! I think I drank a little too much though" The last part was meant as a whisper.
"I better get going" Rachel said "Don't think you guys can hide from me now that we're neighbors. I expect to see you both very often!"
"Bye Rachel! I want to apologize in advance from any noises you might hear tonight" Michele said turning to me and wiggling her eyebrows. I mouth an 'I'm sorry'. Rachel clearly looked uncomfortable but laughed it off, and made her way out the door.
I spent that night asking myself what would have happened if I had told Rachel about my feelings all those years ago. I never did because I was so sure she was straight, and would never reciprocate. To find out after all this time that she might have was heartbreaking. I thought back to when I first introduced her to Michele, and thought of how Rachel was cold to her. Rachel was the warmest person I know, the girl who knew no strangers, and now I can't decide if that was in my imagination. Was our friendship back then more to her as it is to me? Was all of that flirting not just friendly interaction for her?
I didn't sleep much last night. Michele passed out as soon as her hed hit the pillow. I walk into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee to find Michele reading the paper.
"How did you sleep later than me?" She asks
"I think the better question is how did you make it home last night?" I counter playfully. Grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting at the table with her.
"I honestly have no idea. Was Rachel really here last night, or was I more drunk than I thought?"
I laugh "She was here. I can't believe out of all the apartments in New York, that we ended up in the one next door to my old college roommate"
I filled Michele in on Rachel's new found sexuality, and after she controlled her laughing she said "Wow, I always thought she had a thing for you"
"No way" is my only response. If she only knew how many times I wished for that.
"Is that weird for you? Since you had a crush on her way back when?"
"That was a long time ago" I lie
"Oh" She looks at her watch "I better get going or I'll be late. What are your plans today?"
"Not sure, I may go see some potentioal spaces for the restaurant"
"Have fun, love you, bye"
And with that she was gone.
Over coffee, I decide to avoid Rachel as much as possible. I had moved on, I have a relationship, I was starting my own business, and I couldn't afford to let my feelings for the tiny diva to get the best of me. Seeing her all the time would just make it harder.
I got dressed and headed out the door. I successfully made it out of the building without running into her, and once I made it into midtown I knew the chances of me running into her were almost non existant.
I stopped at a newstand, I deserve a cigarette, so I bought two packs. I don't smoke often, Michele hates it, so I only smoke when I'm out having some drinks, really stressed out, and well, anytime I can do it without be caught.
"Quinn!" I heard my name and turned. Unbelievable, God is messing with me, he is doing this for his own amusement.
Rachel made her way through the busy sidewalk. "Are you still smoking?" she asked shaking her head.
"Are you following me?" I joke
"No, I'm on my way home actually. So whats with the cig?"
"I'm an adult, I'm allowed" I say almost too defensively
"Yeah well it doesn't make you look cool" she said poking me in the side.
I roll my eyes, and take another drag of my cigarette, and then put it out. "Better?"
"No, now you smell like it" she laughed "What are you up to?"
"I just met with a realtor about finding a place for my restaurant, but they can't show me anything until tomorrow"
"So you're free then?" she asked hopefullu
"I guess you could say that"
"Good, lets have lunch" she said and linked our arms, pulling me along.
When Rachel said lunch, she must have meant afternoon drinks, because we ordered meals, and stayed for four or five cocktails.
"Nice life you have, being able to get drunk at three in the afternoon" I joke with her
"Yes well that is what happens when you don't have anywhere to be during the day. Plus! I'm celebrating your return to the city" she slurrs a little.
"Are you looking for a new show?"
"Not really, I want to crossover into film, I've been reading scripts like crazy, but I can't find anything I like"
"You'll find something" I assure her, the alcohol starting to go to my head "You're really great, and beautiful, and you'll find something good" oops I need to stop talking
"You think I'm beautiful?" She asked
"No, I think you look like Danny Devito, I was just being nice" I joke, and its rewarded to a slap on the arm
"You are such a jerk!" she laughed, obviously not all that offended by it.
"Remember that one guy you dated freshman year, he looked just like Danny Devito!"
"Who? Russ? No he didn't..."
"Yes he did! He was much better that Eric from the floor below us though, that guy was weird"
"You remember all that?" she asked, and for some reason I felt like I had been caught doing something wrong.
"Sort of" I lie, I remember every guy that she so much glanced at.
"I was in such denial back then" She said staring at her glass, her eyes traveling up and catching my gaze for a moment. "Do you think we would have gotten together back then if we were both out?"
I think my heart stops in this moment, I can feel my mouth opening and closing, tryinig to spit out an answer. I try to find the right words and drag them through me, but nothing comes out.
"I don't know Rach, that was a long time ago" I answer and she nods her head, still not making eye contact with me. "Lets not dwell on the past now, lets just enjoy our rediscovered friendship" I break our silence, and raise my glass, and she clinks it with hers.
"To our friendship" she smiles.
By seven we are both wasted, stumbling to my door. We are laughing, but I'm not sure why. Before I can dig my keys out of my pocket, the door opens to a very confused Michele.
"Well it looks like you two started a little early today" she said smirking.
"I ran into Rachel, we drank a little" I said, struggling to sound sober
"Well... by a little, she means a little bit too much" Rachel chimes in and we are back to laughing.
"Did you guys eat yet?" Michele asks
"Yes, there were olives in my martinis" Rachel says completely serious
"Come on you two, I'll make some dinner, you need to eat" Michele says with a laugh, amused my our inebriated state.
"That sounds lovely, but I have a... um... I have a date coming over tonight" Rachel says and then checks for my reaction. "Next time you should come with us Melissa, it'll be a blast"
Before I could correct her, Rachel was turning to enter her own apartment.
"Dinner sounds great" I turn to my fiance "but first I really have to pee"
I didn't see Rachel for almost a week after our drunken afternoon. She was avoiding me, and she was doing it well. I can only imagine that she was embarassed about our conversation at the bar. It got me thinking though; Did Rachel have feelings for me back then? Did I miss my shot? Thoughts of her had become more frequent now, because this time I had a shot. Not that I would take it, I mean I have Michele, I love her. There is just something about Rachel that I grabs a hold of me.
"Quinn!" I hear my name being called from the other room.
"Yes honey?" I walk into the living room
"I made front page!" she exclaimed
"Thats fantastic!" I say grabbing her and spinning her around "Let's celebrate!"
"Lets get married!" she says excitedly "Lets go to the courthouse and get married"
I have no idea what to say, she takes me by surprise. WE have been together for a while now, and we had talked about marriage before, but hearing her say that gave me an uneasy feeling.
She is looking at me expectantly "Are you proposing?" I ask
"Well yeah, I mean its the next step for us, and I love you, and we should go for it"
"I... um... that is a big step" I say trying to sound like I'm not panicking
"I'll be honest, this isn't really the response I was looking for, but I may have caught you off gaurd." She sounds dissapointed and hurt, and I feel terrible.
"Michele..." I begin but she quickly cuts me off
"Just give it some thought." she says "I know its a big decision"
With that she kisses me on the cheek and goes into the bedroom.
The next day is Friday and Michele had left for her day of meetings. My cigarette stash was running low, and it was time to stock up again. I started to leave the apartment, my door was barely cracked when I heard voices in the hallway.
"Don't worry Rachel, it will get better" a high pitched male voice said
"I hope so Kurt, I just don't know what I'm going to do"
"Well when the woman you've been obsessed with since college moves in next door..."
"Shhhhh... she might hear you" Rachel scolded him.
His voice dropped to a whisper and I couldn't make out what he was saying anymore.
The next thing I heard was Rachel's door close, and I made my way to the elevator.
I can't believe it, I mean I started to suspect it after the talk we had at the bar, but hearing it made it infinitly more real.
The elevator doors opened and instead of getting on I made my way to her door. No more wondering, no more uncertainty, if I am going to marry Michele, I need to do it without having unanswered questions.
My knock is loud and she answers the door almost immediately.
"Quinn..."
"We need to talk" I interrupt.
"O...okay, come in" She say, stepping aside and letting me enter. "What's up?"
"Michele asked me to marry her" I tell her and I see her face fall into a frown, but she quickly recovers with a smile.
"Thats so exciting" she fakes enthusiasm, and not well. "What did you say?"
"I haven't given her an answer yet, but before I do, before say yes to Michele, I need to know..."
"Need to know what Quinn?" She is nervous I can tell.
"I need to know if my feelings for you were ever returned"
"Your feelings?" She asks, now avoiding eye contact with me and walking into her kitchen. I follow, grabbing her arm to make her face me. When she does I can see tears in her eyes. I have my answer.
"Tell me you never loved me. Tell me the nights I spent imagining us together were in vain. Tell me this so I can be free of you Rachel." My voice is shaking and desperate, and tears are falling freely from Rachel's eyes.
"I...didn't think you felt the same way..." she says.
I let out a bitter laugh. "How could you not know?"
"I guess I was too busy hiding to see."
I take a step away from her, all of this time wasted, all of this time I could have had what I always wanted. "What does this all mean? Do you still feel the same way? Are you over me?"
Rachel steps in closer to me, grabbing me by the front of my shirt, and just as her lips are mere inches from mine, I hear her say "I love you"
Something in me melts and I close the distance between us. The kiss is deep and better than I ever imagined it would be. When we pull apart, it doesn't last for long and she attaches her lips to mine again. When we pull apart, I notice my heart beating against my chest.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she cries and holds me close
"You didn't tell me either Rach" I say. I know why she is crying, its the same reason my stomach is in a knot. Michele.
"Do you love her?" she asks
"Yes" I answer honestly
"Do you love me?"
I look straight into her eyes "Yes"
"Don't get married." she pleads "Don't say yes. I've wanted you for so long, and now that we're finally being honest with eachother... you can't just leave"
I honestly don't know what to do. I'm not very good in the answer department lately.
"I have to go, I need to figure this out" I say holding back tears, while Rachel is letting tears flow freely
Walking out of Rachel's apartment tore me apart, but I needed to take care of things with Michele.
When Michele got home that night I was waiting in the living room for her.
"Hey Baby" she greets me
"Michele we need to talk." I say. My voice must have give me away because the look on her face is of rejection already.
"Okay." She says and takes a seat next to me on the couch.
"I love you, and you I don't regret the time we shared" My words are lame, and I know it. "I need to be honest with you. Earlier today, I started being honest with myself about my feelings..."
Michele cuts me off "Quinn, if this is about the proposal, we can just forget about it until you are ready..."
"I don't think I'm going to be ready, I can't marry you... because... I have feelings for someone else"
Michele's face is a mixture of hurt and disbelief "You've been cheating on me?"
"No." I answer somewhat honestly "I love you, but I've always had feelings for..."
"Rachel" she finishes for me "I know, its pretty obvious"
Now I'm stunned "It was?"
"Yeah, I just figured it was harmless." She is brushing away tears now.
"I never meant to hurt you" I said
"I know, but you did." her tone is cold "Are you leaving me?"
I nod, and she stands up and says "I think you should leave"
My bag is already packed and my hotel room is already booked, so I get up and go. Before I close the door behind me I look at Michele and say "I'm sorry" and close the door behind me.
As much as I want to knock on Rachel's door, its too soon, I need a little space.
As my luck would have it, the hotel didn't have any smoking rooms available. I threw on a sweatshirt and sneakers and headed outside smoke. In the elevator ride down my phone beeped, letting me know I had a text message.
Are you okay? it was from Rachel
I ended things with Michele I typed back
I got off the elevator and made it to the front of the hotel, and lit a cigarette before checking the next message.
Where are you?
Staying at the Hilton. I respond. I want to see her, everything in me wants to be close to her.
Oh. is her only response
Will you come? I send back
I don't get a response right away. I'm finishing my second cigarette, when I decide that she may not respond at all.
I've checked my phone five times by the time I got back to my room. Was I wrong to think that things would work out between us? Maybe she is scared, maybe it is too real now and she is doubting her feelings. I lay down, and try to sleep but I know that won't happen tonight.
A knock on my door sounds, and I know it is too late to be housekeeping. I open the door to find a very nervous Rachel.
"Hi" she says
"Hey"
"Can I come in?"
I step to the side and let her enter. "Sit down make yourself comfortable"
Instead she wraps her arms around me, and I return the hug.
"I love you" she says and kisses me "I love you" again when she pulls away
"I can't believe after all of this time I get to hear you say that" Even with everything that had happened with Michele tonight, I am still the happiest I've ever been.
"You still haven't really said it back though" She points out.
"I love you Rachel" I say "I've loved you for a long time."
Before I knew it my lips were on hers, our bodies pressed together. Everything that had been building for so many years was coming out in every stroke of my hand and kiss placed on my body. We moved towards then bed and everything from then on seems like a dream I've had to keep myself from having for so long.
I was inside of Rachel, watching her body arch in pleasure. She had never looked more beautiful than when I was making love to her.
We lay on the bed, the clock reading well into the morning hours. We slept in after a long night.
"I have to be completely honest with you" Rachel said.
"Okay" I said, waiting for her to tell me she didn't want to be together
"That girl you dated sophmore year, I ran her off" she admitted
"Chloe? How did you do that?" I ask amused
"I told her you were mine, and if she didn't back off I was going to hold her down and shave her head"
"Oh my god, Rachel, that explains why she wouldn't even make eye contact with me after she broke it off. She was terrified of you" I say laughing
"You aren't mad?"
"Not really. I didn't really have feelings for any of the girls I dated while we were roommates. I just did it to distract myself from my feelings for you" I tell her and she kisses me.
"Good, because I did the same thing to Rebecca, and I told Jennifer that you worshiped baby jesus' pet cow, and instead of praying you just mooed to a stuffed a cow at night."
"She bought that?"
"I guess" she shrugged. "I couldn't stand seeing you with other women, and it was easier to be crazy than be honest with you. You are just so beautiful and smart, I didn't think you would feel the same way"
"I loved you from the day we moved in and you made that three page long list of acceptable roommate activities and behavior."
"Hey, that list was good... and color cordinated!"
We both laughed. We had some really great memories from college.
"When did you know you had feelings for me?" I ask
"The first night actually"
"The night I came home drunk? That was embarrasing"
"No, it was cute. You stumbled in, trying to be quiet but once you saw I was awake and at my desk, you started singing, and you pulled me up to dance with you. Do you remember the song?"
"Yeah." I say and then start singing Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars, let me see what spring is like on jupiter and mars
"I knew there was something special about you then, I knew you were like no one I had ever met."
"I should have came home drunk more often" I joke
"Maybe we both should have, this may have happened earlier"
We fall into a comfortable silence and I play with her fingers.
After a while Rachel speaks "Quinn, are we together now?"
All I can do is smile. How had my life take such a dramatic turn. "I would like that a lot"
"Me too. So, you are my girlfriend now?" She asks unsure.
"Only if you'll be mine too."
"I'll think about it" She says faking seriousness
Instead of answering her back I jump up and straddle her. "Say you're my girlfriend" I demand
"Make me" she challenges
I start tickling her, and she thrashes around the bed.
"Say it!"
"Okay, okay, I'm your girlfriend!" she gives up.
I smile proudly at her. "I win"