Day forty-two
00:04 am
As soon as the last word escaped her mouth Santana realized her mistake.
What the hell am I doing?
She was distracted by that blonde's gorgeous body and so she didn't think before asking Brittany to help her with the zip of the dress. Brittany was probably the most inappropriate person to ask for help to undress herself. First because she was her assistant, second because she was a girl, a nerdy one but still a fucking girl, and third because she was aware that that nerd was the only one that was making her feel in that particular way, a way she wasn't able to describe yet, but she knew it was something she had never felt before. She turned herself trying to hide her uneasiness. The room was barely lightened and that was making her feel even more uncomfortable. She stood there, in silence listening to her heart pounding so hard against her ribcage and waiting. Waiting for Brittany. She heard light steps coming closer and closer, she closed her eyes sighing and trying to gain back the control of her mind.
Focus.
She tried to think of something else, someone else.
Dying sweet puppies. Wait, seriously!? Remember to book an hour with your therapist when you get back.
She suddenly froze as she felt an intoxicating perfume right behind her. She wasn't sure if that was indeed a perfume or her natural wonderful smell.
Oh nerd, why are you doing this to me?
She felt Brittany's breathe on her neck, that made her tremble. The palms of her hands were sweaty and she was having problems to breathe normally. Santana stiffened all the muscles of her body as she felt Brittany holding her zip and slowly pulling it down. As the zip was rolling down a shiver was following the same path in her back. Brittany didn't rush it, she took her time and it felt just so good.
"Here you are." She whispered when she zip came to the end of its trail.
"Thank you." Santana managed to reply without seeming awkward and embarrassed.
Then she turned herself but she wasn't expecting Brittany to be still there, standing few inches away from her. She immediately lowered her glance in order not to look at those incredible blue eyes but it was even worse since her eyes were glued again to those incredible abs. Santana's stomach flipped and she suddenly felt again that burning wave coming from her lower limbs . She didn't have any form of defense against Brittany's hot new body, she found herself wondering how would have been to lick and taste those abs. She slightly shook her head and looked up. Brittany's glance was all over her face.
Oh god.
They stared at each other.
Fuck. This is not going to end well.
Santana was feeling in a sort of catatonic state, she was absolutely incapable of doing anything at all, she suddenly realized that she was in Brittany's hands. Brittany sighed and looked down, clearly staring at her lips.
What the hell is she doing?
As a sort of reaction, Santana looked down too and laid her glance on the nerd's sweet lips.
She had the mouth totally dry, she tried to swallow but she couldn't control her body anymore.
They were both silent, both barely breathing and both aware of what they really wanted.
A slight "oh" escaped from Santana's lips.
She felt again that unbearable burning sensation between her tights, that was enough. She just couldn't handle more, she wanted to get rid of that feeling and she wanted that moment to be over in less than a fucking second. There was only one tiny problem, she was completely paralyzed.
"Well, goodnight Santana." Brittany managed to say in one breath before turning and going into her bedroom.
Santana stood there incapable of moving for a few seconds then suddenly her brain started working again and she finally realized. All her muscles collapsed concurrently and she managed to cling to the little table next to her.
Oh god. What the hell was that again?
She knew what was that and it took her just a sec to realize that the blonde nerd had made her wet, again.
She shivered at the thought of what could have happened if Brittany hadn't gone away, but on the other hand she was confused since the first emotion she had felt when Brittany had turned was disappointment and not relief.
She took a deep breath and started walking towards the bathroom, she really needed a cold shower.
I'm not gay. I'm not gay. Oh fuck, who the hell am I fooling around?
11:00 am
Brittany followed Santana into the hall of the famous hotel Delano, one of the greatest and fanciest place she had never seen.
The hall was absolutely impressive with its high white ceilings, large massive columns and withe transparent tends.
Wow.
For the first time in her life Brittany wasn't feeling awkward or uncomfortable to be in place so distant from her real life, she was feeling good and actually she was also looking great. Since she didn't have any luggage with her, Santana had given her a black dress and a black jacket. She immediately had felt embarrassed and had blushed since she was afraid of not getting into it, but then she had put it on and with big surprise she had found out not only that that dress was fitting her but she was looking incredibly hot in it; she had also gathered her hair up in an elegant bun and she had put her glasses on. She had had the confirm of the fact that she was looking great when Santana had smiled when she had came out of the bathroom.
"Non bad." She had commented making Brittany smile.
Yes she had smiled but she was also so fucking confused about what the hell was going on between the two of them. Well confused was not enough to describe the situation, Brittany had absolutely no clue of what was happening and where her life was going. She knew she hated Santana or well she used to hate her, she wasn't sure about that anymore either. She hated her but on the other had she had always admired her for the capability of being incredibly flawless, plus she had started to know her and she found her interesting and sometimes pleasant. Then the last week had changed everything and the previous day had just confirmed it. Something was going on between the two of them and Brittany was too smart to deny it, she was aware that the previous night they had had a moment and that something stupid or excessive could have happened if she hadn't gone in her bedroom, but Santana had clearly made her understand that she wasn't into girls at all and that was just a good reason not to try something she could have regretted. Conversely last night she had felt so attracted to that girl and she was pretty sure that Santana had felt something too. Briefly her life was a complete mess: she was attracted to the girl she had hated most in the past and plus Santana wasn't making her life any easier. In fact from the beginning of their work relationship Santana had found every possible excuse to crash her and to make her feel uncomfortable, but then what had begun as a simple teasing had become something more. Brittany wasn't sure of what exactly it was but she was sure that Santana had started to like and appreciate her and that was jut worse. She could deal with a bitchy, bossy and spoilt girl but she wasn't ready for them to bond in that way, plus the fact that Santana was one of the hottest and sexiest girl she had ever met was just another way to complicate an already fucked up situation.
The concierge drove them across the hall. Brittany was walking looking up at those amazing ceilings.
"Wow. This place is amazing." She whispered not low enough and the man turned himself smiling.
"Thanks miss. Lady Madonna is very proud of her creation"
Brittany immediately goggled her eyes unbelieving.
"Wait? Is this Madonna's hotel?" She asked excited.
The man kept on walking and nodded silently. Brittany smiled. She couldn't believe that she was about to held one of the most important meeting so far in one of her favorite singer's hotel.
"That's cool."
She commented and then she rolled her eyes to an annoyed Santana.
"You should have one too" she added stopping in front of the elevator.
The concierge didn't turn but Santana could bet that he was smiling. She looked back at Brittany and snorted before getting into the elevator.
"Oh honey." She said. Brittany shivered at the sound of the word honey coming from Santana's amazing lips. "I have one in NY, Dubai and Hong Kong. " and then she followed the man into the elevator. Brittany took just a moment to smile and to shake her head.
See. It's impossible not to like that bitch.
They were lead into a huge conference room that was used as a meeting room. Brittany's heart suddenly started beating so fast, and she immediately switched in the anxious and insecure girl she was in the high school.
Damn. Relax, relax, relax.
She had so many reason to be nervous. First she wasn't feeling prepared enough since Santana had told her about that meeting only the day before, second she knew that was a great idea and she had really worked hard in order to complete that deal and third she really wanted to make a good impression on Santana and to make her understand what she was worth. They both got inside the room. Santana was in the front and as she opened the door and found the Asian investors waiting for them she smiled politely.
"Good morning gentlemen. Thank you for coming" she started approaching them to introduce herself. A man stood up readily and made two steps towards her.
"Miss Lopez. It's a honor to finally meet you." He said smiling and leaning towards Santana to grab her hand for the hand shake.
Brittany figured out that that little man should have been the chief of the company, that meant that he was the one Brittany had to convince. She followed Santana and introduced herself almost shaking.
"Good morning. I'm Brittany Pierce"
The man looked at her and immediately Brittany felt an awkward sensation, she couldn't describe it but she just didn't like him, he seemed to be creepy and odd. However she managed to smiled back at him and to sat next to Santana.
"So miss Lopez" he stared. "Can you better explain to me and my colleagues the reason why you made us flight all over the ocean to meet you here."
Santana smiled and nodded firmly. "Absolutely." Then she turned herself to look at Brittany.
"Ok. It's your turn now." She said making her understand that it was time to show her what she was able to do. Brittany give her a quick glance then she looked directly at the boss of the Korean company. She softly cleared her voice.
Ok, come on you're ready. You can do this.
Her heart was beating so damn fast that she could almost hear the sound of it pounding against her ribcage. That was one of those life changing situations in which you have everything to lose. But in that moment Brittany was also aware of her capability, of her past preparation and she was sure she could complete that deal. She was about to start speaking when Santana interrupted her.
"Oh…and nerd, please let me make a good impression." She added smiling. That sentence made the other men laugh, but Brittany didn't smile. Those words were like a punch in the face for her, that sentence destroyed in just one second all her confidence about that meeting. Making joke of her in front of some possible future investors was just mean and stupid. Brittany shook her head as she felt a flush of anger coming from her stomach. That was really enough. For the countless time Santana was making her feel inappropriate and insecure. In that moment she had just two possibilities: fall into her provocation and screw it up or react and complete that fucking deal that would have brought to that spoilt bitch million of dollars.
Brittany gave her a bad glance as she wanted to make Santana understand that she didn't like that joke.
"Well gentlemen." She started. She was about to fucking faint.
Hold on.
"We all know that when most people think of fashion they think of the runways of Paris or the big designer houses of New York City, but recently and quietly standing in the sidelines and starting to claim its own spot in the limelight is the world of Asian fashion. As you know the biggest players in the industry right now are the Japanese fashion houses and the Korean fashion industry.
Over the past five to ten years the Asian fashion industry has begun to make its mark on the world. We find this to be particularly the case in contemporary fashion." She stopped for a second to check if the men were following her and they seemed to be pending from her lips.
Good. She thought before starting again with her speech.
"Today we see Korean designers having more and more impact on style. Seoul, in particular, has set its sights on becoming a hub for fashion. In the past Korean designers have kept their sights close to home but now are moving to make an impact on the global stage. Even though this means competing with well known brands, the Korean fashion houses are well positioned to make a move. The region is long known for the quality of its Asian fashion trades people and the industry is working to bring prices down in order to increase competitiveness."
Brittany was about to start explaining their offer when the main Korean man interrupted her.
"We already know these things miss." He rolled her eyes at Santana almost laughing. "…so what's your point?" he asked with the most arrogant tone.
Brittany had to punch herself mentally in order not to answer to that provocation.
You jerk.
"I was coming to that Sir. As you know your company has a lot of economic potential but still no ideas, on the other hand the S&L company is already known worldwide and it's looking for great investor in order to take our work to the next level..."
The man was about to interrupt her once again but she didn't let him . Brittany noticed a hit of a smile on Santana's face.
You're having fun, uh?
"… which basically will involve the creation of three fashion lines. The usual youths, man and woman collection and another line based on your culture and your fashion styles that will mostly publicized and launched in the Asian market."
She stopped, looking at the man directly in the eyes. She wasn't feeling afraid anymore since she knew that what was a hell of idea for their company and that little Korean man had only to thank her for that offer.
The man smiled back at her. Brittany immediately felt a shiver down to her spine.
So creepy.
"Well I guess we have a lot to discuss." He said, obviously referring to all the economic and legal bureaucracy behind a deal like that.
"Do you want to discuss it now?" Santana asked.
"Yes Miss Lopez. Are there any problems?"
"No, not at all" Santana cut it short but she was already bored and annoyed by the fact that that meeting would have lasted more than her was thinking.
02:00 pm
Brittany was sitting in a chair next to the fifth floor elevator. She had been waiting for over an hour for Santana and that man coming out of the meeting room. She yawned checking her watch once again. She had attended the first part of the meeting and the investors had seemed very determined to establish every tiny detail of that deal, then when it was time to discuss about pure economic aspect she had been asked to leave the room with the other Koreans and Santana and the boss of the other company had stayed there.
She was satisfied by the way she had managed to hold the first part of the meeting and Santana had seemed happy of her performance too. Suddenly she heard footsteps in the corridor, she looked up and see Santana and the Korean man approaching the elevator. Santana gave her a rapid glance and she smiled briefly.
"Come on. Let's get out of here." She whispered her as she passed next to Brittany.
Brittany stood up immediately and followed the other two people into the elevator, she placed herself right behind them as she didn't want to bother the two of them still talking.
But at the third floor something weird happened. Santana and the other man stopped talking probably because she was so bored by that conversation and the other man had clearly noticed that. The Korean boss turned himself to looked directly at her, Brittany froze and upheld his gaze even if she was starting to feel uncomfortable. She quickly checked the floor number.
Still 3. Come on. Hurry up.
The man got closer, that movement caught Santana's attention who turned herself to check what was going on. Brittany's heart accelerated even more as the man got a inch closer. Then he lifted his hand and slowly caresses her on the chin. That lasted only one second but Brittany lived that moment as it was lasting an entire hour, she pulled back her head disgusted by that move and looked at Santana with an expression that was a mix of disgust and fear but Santana didn't seemed to care as she looked away and turned herself again.
Well, fuck you.
"Well nerd, I guess you've done your homework" the Korean man said before bursting into a loud laugh.
Brittany's stomach flipped of anger but she stiffened her muscles and tried to stand still without doing anything stupid. She knew she couldn't do anything and the only thing she managed to do was smiling back at that creepy person.
The elevator run seemed to be endless but finally after infinite and unbearable seconds the doors opened and the three of them got out of the elevator.
"Miss Lopez it was a pleasure to meet you. See you in a month to sign the deal. " the man said stretching his hand to say goodbye.
Santana smiled back and grabbed his hand for the handshake.
"My pleasure." She replied but before the man could pull his hand away she held it even tighter, the Korean immediately looked up at her confused.
"One last thing" she said and then she turned to looked at Brittany. " Touch her or call her nerd one more time and I swear not only I'll break our deal off but I'll make sure you won't sign any other contract in the us for the rest of your life."
Then she smiled politely. "Is that clear?" She ended.
The man nodded wordlessly and then almost run away.
Brittany couldn't believe of what had just happened. In just a second she passed from hating that bitch to loving her for standing up for her. She giggled silently and started following Santana out of the hotel still staring at her smiling. Santana turned herself.
"What?" She asked.
Brittany tried to stop smiling but she couldn't. "Nothing"
"I'm the only one who can call you nerd." She explained before leaving.
05:00 pm
Brittany was looking out of the plane window reliving the past two days. That days had been absolutely amazing and she was a little bit sad of going back home. She had had so much fun and she had also managed to help signing a very important deal that luckily would have improved the income of the S&L company but most of all she had had some amazing time with Santana. The way that girl had protected her at the hotel was something that was proving that Santana was caring about her a little bit.
"So, ner…" Santana stopped for a second. "…Brittany, are you still mad?"
Brittany turned her head to look at her. "What? Mad?"
"Yes for the fact that I called you nerd in the meeting."
You can bet that I'm mad, stupid.
Brittany slowly shook her head looking down.
"I'm not mad Santana" she cut shortly.
Santana didn't reply as she didn't want to face that conversation and that thing shook Brittany just enough to start talking again.
"There is just one thing that I don't get." Santana was staring at her, she had caught her attention.
Good.
"In the past weeks you had all the chances of mocking me and making me feel like shit, and actually you succeeded most of the times, but today…" she stopped for a second to gather her ideas "…why putting me in a situation like that? You're the first person that will benefit from this deal so I really don't get the reason why you crushed me even before starting."
Santana smiled a little and nodded.
"Well Brittany, it's very hard for me to explain this but I'll try my best.."
Brittany shivered at the thought of all the mean things Santana could say.
"…when I hired you I thought you were one of those annoying nerds, which you're by the way, and so I knew that mocking and teasing you every time would have been so much fun but I don't know how every time you managed to avoid or respond or just deal with my provocations. So what had started as a simple game had become something more, I was really interested to see what your limits were and surprisingly they are far far away from you."
Brittany's heart skipped a beat, she couldn't believe those words.
"..take yesterday for example. I was absolutely sure that you were the most wrong person on the planet to shoot that stupid commercial and then you managed to surprise me once again and trust me it's very hard to surprise me. You're smart, clever, funny and for what I've had the pleasure to find out also beautiful.."
Beautiful.
".. but there's one thing that I don't get about you."
Brittany barely managed to stutter. "Which thing?"
"You're so talented and no matter how hard I try to put you in difficult situations you always manage to get away with them..so why are you so insecure and clearly not aware of how much you're worth?"
That question hit Brittany as a punch in the face. She knew that the answer was only one.
Because of you.
"Well..I..ehm..I really don't know."
"Is it because of your high school experience?"
Brittany couldn't uphold Santana's steady gaze anymore and she looked down.
"I guess." She said softly.
"Were you bullied or something?"
Brittany nodded. "Yes.. there was this girl..I don't know why but she crushed my self confidence and once you've lost it, it's very hard to find it again."
"You shouldn't have let this person ruin your life." Santana stated.
"It's easy to say. I bet you've never been bullied."
"No but…"
"But what? You can't understand what it feels like if you haven't lived it." She almost screamed.
"Wow nerd. I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you in this way." she replied quickly.
"See? This is just a joke for you. I bet you were one of those people bossing and bulling everybody back at high school."
I know you were.
"Well yes, but it was just to gain some respect. Plus I haven't done anything bad, I just threw food and stuff against other people and I used to mocked them occasionally. Nothing special, you know."
"Nothing special to you!" she said loudly, Brittany was so fucking mad in that moment. How couldn't she realized what a bitch she was?
"I swear that those things you've just told me are enough to make a person feel bad about herself." Her heart was beating so fast and she wanted so bad to tell Santana the truth about their past but for some reasons she couldn't. It was like she didn't want to admit it in front of her.
Santana was about to answer but Brittany kept speaking.
"I know you were a bitch even before starting working with you but I wasn't expecting you to be so superficial."
As soon as Santana heard those words she froze and she opened her mouth surprised and confused.
Brittany blushed since maybe that was a little too inappropriate and for sure it wasn't a nice thing to say.
"Oh.." Santana whispered lowering her gaze. Brittany immediately felt guilty about that.
Fuck.
"Look Santana I didn't mean to.." but Santana didn't let her go on, she lifted a hand to stop her.
"It doesn't matter. I guess I deserved that."
Brittany felt even guiltier.
"Really I don't think you're.." but Santana stopped her once again putting her hand on Brittany's one. At that touch she felt tingles from her hand to her arm and then spreading into her body.
"Brittany." She said quietly. Brittany swallowed silently she could already feel her mouth dry.
"It's okay really." She added smiling, probably helping her to overcome the award moment. Their hand were still touching, Brittany looked down and with her thumb she softly caressed the side of Santana's hand.
Santana quickly pulled back her hand and giggled.
"Plus I love when you're talking dirty with me." She added winking at her.
Fuck. It's so hard to hate her.
08:00 pm
The private plane landed on time and it took just a moment for the two of them to be out of the airport. Brittany followed Santana through the security check till the airport's exit. The usual black car was waiting for her and behind it a limousine was probably waiting for her big star. Brittany felt immediately disappointed at the idea of saying goodbye to Santana. She didn't know why but she didn't want than day to be over. She would have gladly exchange her wonderful single studio for the double suite in Miami, the room that Santana and her had shared for just one unforgettable night.
"So.." Santana said stopping right in front of Brittany's car.
Brittany stopped to and looked up at her without saying anything. They stared at each other for just two seconds but it was enough time for Brittany to realize that Santana didn't want to leave her either, but luclily, before Brittany could have said something stupid, Santana broke that silence.
"Good night." She said smiling.
Brittany nodded. "To you too. And thank you for these two days."
Santana giggled. "Oh, my pleasure."
Brittany's stomach flipped once again.
Ok you need to go away from this girl.
Santana had already turned and was approaching the limousine when Brittany called her to say one last thing.
"Oh..and Santana.." she paused waiting for the other girl to stop and to look at her. "…about the nerd thing."
Santana nodded. "I know. You won. It won't happen again."
Brittany smiled. "Actually I don't mind you calling me nerd."
Santana let escape a sort of surprised laugh.
"Really?"
But Brittany didn't answer, she just smiled back and waved her head briefly before getting into the car.
10:00 pm
Finally home. Santana gather her hair up in a sloppy bun. She wasn't caring at all about her aspect, all she wanted was to drink a glass of wine and make a long relaxing bath. She really need to switch of her mind for some minutes, or at lease she needed not to think about the person that had recently shook her perfect life. She was feeling exhausting not for the work trip itself but for the constant and unsuccessful attempt of hating Brittany. The thought of that blonde wearing the red swimsuit hit her once again and her mind drove her immediately to the view of that amazing hot body.
Fuck, what's wrong with me?
She had never had problem of hating and crushing people mostly because she had never really liked other people in her past but now everything was so damn different. She knew she was attracted to that girl but there was something more, something she was trying to deny with all the forces. The situation was clearly out of control and she just couldn't face it alone, she needed to talk to somebody about that thing but unfortunately she didn't have so many friends to talk to. Actually she realized that maybe that blonde hot nerd was the only person she was feeling comfortable with.
I'm screwed.
She thought getting into the kitchen. She took the bottle of Californian with wine from the fridge.
"Thanks god you'll help to forget my problems." she whispered at the cold bottle.
She opened the first drawer next the oven to look for a corkscrew but instead she found a picture of Brittany.
Oh, are you fucking kidding me?
She snorted and took the picture, behind it Brittany's curriculum was still stapled. As the first time the laid her eyes on that picture Santana smiled at it and then unconsciously started browsing the other pages. All that was indeed impressive for a 24 year old girl.
Then she suddenly froze, her muscles stiffened all together simultaneously and her heart started beating so damn fast. She felt her hands' palm getting sweaty and she was also having problems to breathe normally. She felt like she wasn't able to move or do anything at all a part from staring to that line.
High School (2003 – 2007): McKinley High School, Lima, Ohio
Santana's world collapsed in just one second
happy new year guys!
And Chrissy happy b day!
hope you liked!
