Chapter 4

Awakening with a start Santana took a moment to get her bearings before reaching over to grab her cell phone from the nightstand. There was a gentle glow peaking around the corners of her bedroom curtains and she rolled her eyes in disgust. The light meant it was morning and that meant that she was awake before her alarm. Turning her cell phone over in her hand she groaned when she saw the time. It was an hour and a half before she had to get up.

There was no point in trying to go back to sleep so she climbed out of bed, deciding to begin the day. Before jumping in the shower she popped her head in to check on Quinn. Sure enough, the blonde was sound asleep despite the morning sunlight streaming into her room. Even under normal circumstances Quinn always managed to sleep with the windows only covered by thin sheer fabric. Santana preferred nearly blackout curtains on her windows and would never understand Quinn's way of sleeping especially when it came to privacy. Thankfully for Quinn the building was tall enough and the apartment was facing west which would make it difficult for anyone, without a high-powered telescope, from looking in.

After taking a shower Santana threw on her work cloths and grabbed her gym bag. She attempted to make coffee but quickly realized she didn't have enough to make more then one cup. Being that would never get her through her morning and her roommate was going to need it when she got up Santana left what was left in the bag for Quinn. Instead she grabbed a quick bite to eat and a glass of orange juice. She would stop for her caffeine fix before getting a workout in.

Grabbing her purse and phone, Santana sent Quinn a short text letting her know she would be home late and then left for the day.

Quinn woke to a gentle buzzing from her phone, which was lying next to her head along with her purse and her key ring. She found this odd until she remember the two Martinis she had at dinner. Yawning she reached over and checked her phone to see the time only to find a text from Santana saying she would be home late.

Placing her keys in her bag, the bag on the floor, and her phone on the nightstand Quinn noticed a tall glass of water. Santana was looking out for her. In an attempt to quench her thirst Quinn took a drink and it seemed to do the trick. After finishing almost two thirds of the glass she yawned again. Stretching like a cat, rolled over, and hugged a pillow close to her body.

Thankfully Quinn had taken the rest of the week off knowing a celebration with Santana would mean at least one day of rest and the divorce going through would mean part of her would want to dive into work but the rest of her would need the emotions to settle. The side looking for calm and stability had won out and although she was very new to the firm they had graciously agreed to give her the time to deal with things.

Today was Quinn's first day as a single woman in a lot of years and as the realization sunk in she decided this first day could wait to begin. There would be plenty of time to deal with her feelings in the late morning hours. She hugged the pillow tighter and opted for a few more hours of sleep.

The idea of anything more seemed a bit much but nothing beat grabbing a Venti at the neighborhood Starbucks. Santana was in this location so often, and typically at the same time of day, that the staff would always welcome her by name. Today was no exception. Being that she was also a creature of habit, always ordering an Americano, the drink was actually handed over to her the second she reached the head of the line. She thanked the petite redhead behind the counter and handed over her card to pay for it.

"I got this one today Santana." The tall, twenty something, morning manager said as he waved off her card.

"Thanks Joe."

"You're welcome. Getting an early start today?"

Santana knew he was flirting but she didn't mind. It did her good to know she still had it. "Things piling up at the office so I thought I would dive in."

"Well, don't work too hard."

Santana smiled at him and then moved over to the other counter. Adding a splash of milk and half of a packet of sweetener she gave it a quick stir and then placed the lid on. As she turned to leave time stood still. Standing third in line was a petite blond who was maybe nineteen at the most. She was wearing her hair up in a ponytail, had a bag slung over her shoulder and gym clothes on. She was hardly a mirror image but certainly captured a moment in time that was more then ten years old. Perhaps it had been because of the conversation with Quinn the night before that a small part of Santana wanted to stay in that moment but her brain knew better. She took a sip of her coffee and left the past behind as she exited the shop.

When she finally reached the gym the foot traffic in the area nearby was nearly non-existent. She only hoped it meant she would have her pick of workout options. When the elevator door opened though Santana was highly disappointed. The place was packed with New York's most wealthy, bored, social elite who must not have had any important events to be seen at the night before because they were all there at such an early hour. Scanning the room Santana's only option was the stair climber. She reluctantly made her way to her least favorite machine and began.

As she finished her first ten minutes, Santana started to look forward to the winter thaw so she could go back to running outdoors instead of using the damn machine. Most cardio machines had an element of redundancy. Santana was no more likely to go anywhere running on a treadmill then she was climbing steps to nowhere but the stair master had an added annoyance because it was a metaphor for life. A person could climb, and climb, and climb but stay stuck on the same rung. At least with the treadmill she could tune everything out and just go. The stair master required her to keep her eyes on things in a concentrated way or she could miss one of the steps and fall on her ass, yet a second metaphor for life she didn't need to reflect on.

When she reached the twenty-minute mark something caught her attention at the front of the room. The blonde, coffee drinker was beginning a workout with one of the trainers. Trying to ignore the thoughts that the young blonde's presence stirred began by staring at the digital display; that lasted about two minutes. Santana then loaded up one of her louder play lists on her ipod and still the thoughts remained. With twenty more minutes to go Santana sighed, turned off the machine, and decided work would be better for her the working out because she could bury herself in work.

As she made her way to the locker room to change Santana thought to herself, "Damn Quinn for bringing up the past."