Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee
PRESENT TIME:
Santana doesn't come back the following day to retrieve the divorce papers.
If I'm being honest, I have never been more thankful for her inability to stick to plans.
Or promises.
Instead, a messengered note - telling me that she has to attend to a company emergency in Hong Kong and will drop by as soon as she could - has been sent to my apartment before lunch.
It doesn't come as a surprise, really. Whenever Santana says she'll be home tomorrow, it could mean in two days, sometimes three, and more often than not, a week or so. All throughout our married life (technically, we still are married), she spent a lot of time away from home because of her job. I seldom complained.
Well, I seldom complained after I got used to it.
I knew even before I married her, that the life we would live together wouldn't be easy.
Santana has always been a complex person. And I embraced all of those complexities; the good; and the bad because as a whole, when you get past her masked brokenness - she's the sweetest, most loving and the most beautiful person I've ever known.
She loves to have fun.
Is impulsive.
She's a daredevil.
And yeah, a little crazy.
But really, really sweet.
One afternoon, after learning of my love for roses, she drove me around the city in an open truck filled with roses of different colors before stopping in front of the apartment building and bringing all of the roses inside the unit.
The whole apartment looked like a rose farm.
Still, one day, while walking at the park with my friends, I received a call from Santana asking me where I was. When I told her I'm at Central Park, she asked me to watch what would happen in the air. About two minutes later, planes are flying in formation. Everybody points at the sky as the planes start writing. Once done, the writing in the sky read: I LOVE YOU BRITT!
And I was so in love that a month after moving in, I agreed to her emotional, albeit obviously unplanned, marriage proposal while playing scrabble.
But she has her demons. And when she couldn't deal with them, she does what she does best.
Close herself off.
Sighing, I stand up from my couch and check my voicemail. I answer back all of the calls I've missed from last night. Well, they are all from John, so...
I sigh before calling and telling him that I couldn't make it to the poetry reading because I will be running errands for Tina's baby shower this coming weekend. I step into the shower to get ready to choreograph some more, thoughts of my past lingering in my head while the cool water cascade down my body.
/
FLASHBACK:
Three days after meeting Santana, I moved in to her apartment.
I never felt more alive and so excited. Santana created feelings in me that I had not known even existed. There was that urge, that need to always be near her. To touch her.
The days following our living together saw a lot of heated and passionate lovemaking on basically every available surface in the apartment. I had always had a healthy sexual appetite. But Santana? Insatiable.
"It's not like I'm a sex addict or something. I'm far from that. But holy mighty shit babe, I just can't control myself around you." Santana rasped out one night when we were lying down on the bed after going at it like rabbits in heat.
Days passed with Santana giving me fragments of her life. She was never big on talking and most of our 'conversations' involved sharing our thoughts, opinions and ideas on anything and everything. Everyday was about learning something new about each other.
I learned that Santana was the youngest and only daughter of William Lopez, the owner of Lima Heights, one of the leading airline companies in the country. Santana has three brothers - Edward and Henry - who worked as the company's CEO and CFO respectively; and Philippe, an aeronautical engineer who partnered with Santana (whom I learned is a licensed airline pilot although she doesn't normally fly commercial planes) in testing new designs and planes. Together, Phil and San would fly around the world, searching for and developing new technologies with their brood of engineers.
"I'm a bastard child." Santana blurted out on our fifth day together. We were on the couch, me on top of Santana while she played with my hair.
"San...don't call yourself that." I scolded her gently.
"What? It's true. I accept that. Don't you wonder why they all look so old?" She pointed at the framed photo of her family (her parents and brothers) with her mouth.
"San." I bit her ear. "You're being mean..." We giggled at my words.
"I'm being truthful. Anyway, the youngest man? Philippe? He's 39. And do you ever wonder why I don't look like them? Well, except for my old man?"
"Well...I was thinking you were a menopausal baby...And I didn't take much notice of your non-resemblance with the rest of your family members, so..."
"Huh. I'm adopted."
"Hmmm...So? It doesn't change the fact that you're the awesomest person I've ever met. And you look a bit like your Dad." I grinned and she playfully bit on my neck. "Ouch!"
"I look like him because he's my biological father. Sure, he's old enough to be my grandpa - he's 72 for Pete's sake. I was a product of his affair with his young secretary. They 'adopted' me as a cover up for his indiscretion. A multi-million dollar business was at stake. It would totally ruin his reputation once people learn of his affair - or worse, of his bastard child. He was the ultimate family man. Mr. Clean." San chuckles bitterly. "Everywhere I go, people look at me like I'm the luckiest bitch ever. Like I should be grateful to them because they chose to adopt me."
"Babe..." I held her face in my hands and kissed her lovingly.
"It's cool. I've long since managed to accept it."
"This may be a stupid question... but do you know your biological mom?"
"I did some digging when I was old enough to understand. I learned that my mother's name was Maribel. The last time I checked, she was in Puerto Rico. But when I went there, there was no one in the address given to me. It's like, she just dropped off the face of the earth never to be seen again."
"Have you tried again since then?"
"No. I figured she should have known all along where and how to see me. I won't beg for her recognition. I've had my fair share of that in the last 22 years." She chuckled dryly. "Gosh, babe all these dramatic bits are getting into my nerves. How about we do something fun? Huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows and before I could react, she had me pinned in between her and the couch.
/
"This sucks..."
"Only because you suck at this. Come on, San! Your turn."
"What do I get if I win in this?"
"I'll let you do anything to me. And if you lose, you'll let me do anything to you." I smirked as soon as I saw the effect of my words on Santana.
"Ugh..." She breathed out huskily. She started forming her word as she bit on her bottom lip. I smiled at how cute she was acting but furrowed my eyebrows as soon as her expression changed. She looked at me with hooded eyes before clearing her throat. I turned my gaze on the board and narrowed my eyes to read what she just spelled.
"Fu -" I stopped reading and look at Santana disapprovingly. "Saaaaaaaannnn!" I whined, feeling my face heat up.
"What? It's a legit word..." She said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Come on baby! Your turn." I shook my head and decided that a little teasing won't hurt. I spelled my word and waited for Santana to look at it.
"Cu- " San looked at me before tackling me on the couch and starting to kiss me. "You naughty girl..." She whispered. Soon, her hand was under my tank top and moving up to squeeze my breasts.
"San...b-baby..."
"Hmmm..." Her face was buried in my neck and I groaned at the sensation.
"S-San... we said...Ugh...Wait..." I sandwiched her face in my hands and made her look at me. "We said we won't do it tonight baby... I'm still sore from last night. That's why we decided to play scrabble instead, remember?"
"Uh! Yeah..." She frowned before giving me a peck. "We're playing scrabble and I'm aroused...oh God..."
"Y-yeah...I mean, I am too, but... Look, how about we just go back to the game?"
"That's a capital idea!" She cleared her throat and removed the naughty words that were placed on the board. San played seriously for about a minute until I saw something that flickered in her eyes again.
She smiled mischievously at me and motioned for me to look at her word.
'BABY'.
Okay, at least she didn't put in any more dirty words. I readily completed mine and waited for her to finish her turn. She winked at me before looking at the board.
'ILOVEU'.
I looked at her in time for her to duck her head in embarrassment.
"Too cute..." I giggled and kissed the tip of her nose. "You're too cute, you know that?"
"I'm not cute. I'm hot."
"I know..."
"Your turn!" She said and for a split second, she sounded slightly weird. I shrugged it off and decided on the word 'Bliss' for the sole reason that it was what I was feeling that now. She took a quick peek at the board and grinned.
"Clever." She beamed before working on her next word.
"That sure is one long word." I teased as I watched her take some time to complete this round.
"No peeking!" She scolded me playfully.
"I'm not!"
"Okay, I'm done." She said softly and moved to sit closer to me on the couch. "Why did you put it in the mid-." I stopped as soon as my eyes trailed on the word, or rather, words.
'WILLUMARRYME'
I looked at Santana questioningly and her eyes twinkled with love and adoration. "Are you...I-Is t-this..." I gulped.
"Will you marry me, Britt?"
"Are you serious?"
"Very." I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Britt?"
"Yes...Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" I answered loudly as tears started to fall down my face.
"I love you." San whispered lovingly as she brought our foreheads together.
"I love you San. This is so crazy..." We giggled and kissed each other leisurely, the game completely abandoned.
"So...when do you want to get married?" She asked as soon as we took a break from kissing.
"I don't know...Soon?"
"Hmm. Is right now too soon for you?" My eyes widened at her suggestion.
"What?! Of course it's too soon. Even for us. I have to tell my parents first and I want them to be there for our wedding." I pouted.
"How about this...You call them now and tell them we're flying tomorrow to Boston. I'm gonna talk to your parents and ask for your hand in marriage. Meanwhile..." She stood from her spot and smirks. "I'm going to my parents and inform them that we are getting married. And while you're on the phone, call your friends too. Everybody you want as part of the entourage." She muttered while walking towards our room to change.
"What date do I tell them hon?!" I shouted.
"25th of this month. That's a Saturday." She yelled back.
"What?! That's in two weeks!"
"Yeah. And that's the longest I could wait for you to be my wife." She shrugged.
"Can we plan that fast? I mean, I would marry you now, but I want my parents there. But can we accomplish everything in two weeks?"
"We can. Anything is possible. I know the best people. Think about what and how you want the wedding to be like, okay? We'll talk more about it really soon. Now I need to go see my parents. You call yours! Oh! And don't wait for me anymore, okay? They will surely have lots of questions and suggestions, so it may take a while."
"Okay."
"Love you Britt!"
/
"Babe...babe, wake up..."
"Hmmm..."
"Britt, baby, wake up..." I heard Santana whisper in my ear.
"San?"
"Yeah, baby..."
"What time is it?"
"Uhm, 1:52 am..." She said guiltily.
"Really, San?" I groaned.
"This will be super quick, I promise. Come on, open your eyes again sweetheart..." I did as told but closed my eyes again when the sudden light from the bedside lamp hurt my eyes. Slowly, I opened them again and focused on an excited Santana already in her sleepwear. She was holding on to a velvet box. "Well, the proposal was unplanned, which explains the absence of a ring. So I went to look for one. I want you to have this even if it's about seven hours late..." She smiled sheepishly as she opened the box revealing a diamond laden ring. Quickly, she grabbed my hand and put it on my finger.
"San...it's so beautiful." I whispered in awe.
"Not as beautiful as you. Not even close." She breathed out.
"I love it. But I love you more."
"Glad you do. And I love you too. Now go back to sleep babe. Our flight is at 12 noon."
"Where'd you get this? I mean, shops were closed many, many hours ago." I wondered.
"I had my ways." She smiled devilishly. "Now sleep. I love you."
/
Santana and I got married exactly a month after I moved in. My friends said I was crazy for jumping into it so fast, but as soon as they saw how much San and I love each other, they told me, 'Now we understand.'
I wanted a small and simple wedding. San, with the help of her bestfriends - Puck and Kurt, added elegance, intimacy and magic in it.
It was definitely the best and happiest moment of my life until that day (because if I'm being honest, the days following the wedding were also the happiest days of my life).
The days following our engagement were super busy days. We flew to Boston for San to formally ask for my hand in marriage. My parents were instantly crazy over my fiancee and they even moved to New York (in a hotel suite, a few blocks from the apartment, that San booked for them for a couple of weeks) to assist us on the wedding preparations. Thankfully, Mama Mia was pushed back to a later date to give room for a special run of Les Miserables.
/
Reality crept in about half a year into our marriage. Santana started working longer hours everyday as their company acquired additional planes and started looking into creating new destinations and routes. But it was okay. I understood that she has responsibilities. And San tried really hard to make time for me. She would randomly schedule 'Brittany times' where she would fly the Lopez private plane and whisk me away somewhere romantic.
But William suffered a stroke a few weeks after our first anniversary and his doctor advised him to take it easy on the business matters. His children were entrusted to make sure that the company would run smoothly despite his absence. Sometimes, San wouldn't come home for two, three days because of tests, meetings and conferences across the country (sometimes even out of the country).
I didn't complain. In fact, I understood even more. It wasn't Santana's fault.
But a wife could only take so much.
"San, it's opening night of Chicago tomorrow." I whined over the phone. I haven't seen her in eight days and it was taking its toll on me.
"Babe...there's something wrong with some of the parts. Phil and I are hard at work with three more engineers but we have yet to fix it. I'll try to fly tomorrow morning hon."
"You've been there eight days!" I snapped.
"Three days hon. We were in London and France first before we came here in Ireland and this is the second plane we had to test." She muttered soothingly.
"Still eight days!"
"Look, Britt, baby, I'll try my darnest best to get this done so I could fly home tomorrow, okay?"
"I would really be very pissed if you don't."
"I love you."
"I mean it Santana. I'll be really mad at you."
"I know baby." She sighed. "But I gotta do this. And I mean what I said too. I love you so much." A faint smile started to grace my lips but I shut it down.
"Okay."
"Say it." I could make out a pout at the other end of the line. "Say you love me babe. Because I love so much." She teased. "Come on! Say you love me, say you love me..." She started to sing that Alicia Keys and Beyonce song.
"Fine. I love you."
"Say it again?"
"I love you, San."
"I love you Britt. And I miss you so damn much."
"Then come home."
"I will hon."
/
Santana came home two days later.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. We -."
"Save it. You said you'll be here." I said sullenly as I threw a pillow at her.
"I was on my way to the airport hon, but one of the pilots had to attend a family funeral. I had to fly that plane, Britt..." She reasoned, looking really apologetic and tired. "Please, baby, I'm so sorry..."
"I don't want to hear it. Not tonight. I'm tired and I don't want you anywhere near me tonight."
"But babe...I missed you so much!"
"Well you lasted ten days without me. So enjoy another one."
"The couch babe?" She looked sadly at me.
"Well the floor is big enough too." I rolled my eyes at her.
"Can't I sleep in the spare room?"
"If you could find the keys, be my guest."
"Ugh..." She groaned. "Can I at least get a kiss?"
I shut the door to her face.
/
I was deep in slumber when I felt a hand stroke my hair.
"San?"
"Hey."
"How did you... I locked the door..." I furrowed my brows in confusion.
"I used hair pins..." She said sheepishly.
"Not cute. I told you I don't want you near me tonight."
"I know. And I'm not trying to be cute. It's just too hard to know that you're ten, twenty steps away and I can't touch you. Let me just kiss you please? Just one kiss and I'll go back out there..." She pleaded and I almost gave in.
Almost.
"I'm mad at you."
"I know. Rightfully so. But baby, I really was on my way home but I got that call. And I know sorry's wouldn't cut it. And I can't do anything about what happened. But I know that I would make it up to you because I couldn't stand this look you're giving me. I feel so bad Britt. Believe me... I -." I cut her off with a kiss to stop her ramblings. "You caught me off-guard there babe. Do it again." She teased and I raised my eyebrow at her. Without a word, she grabbed my nape and crushed our lips together. "God, how I missed you..."
"Go to sleep, San. It's late."
"Okay." She jumped out of the bed, but I caught her hand just in time. She looks at me with questioning (and hopeful) eyes and I shook my head.
"Come sleep next to me."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now move before I change my mind." She swiftly jumped back on the bed with me and wrapped me in her arms.
"God, I missed you so much..." She whispered.
"No funny business. I'm still pissed at you."
/
Will finish reuploading all the chapters of this story in a while!