So this chapter is a bit short and there may or may not be a cliffhanger at the end so don't be too upset if in fact there is (there totally is). Thanks for all the amazing reviews thus far. You guys are amazing! Chapter 7, let's do this.

Rachel's POV:

So, last night I definitely learned that alcohol does in fact give me as they say "liquid courage". Maybe a bit of that was just my being protective of the newfound friendship that Santana and I have come to develop recently. I assumed that being outed in such a manner would have upset her more than it upset me, but that wasn't the case last night. The moment I slapped Finn, I realized that I cared about having more than a friendship with Santana. I realized that I was in love with her. Last night was definitely a night that I would remember for the rest of my life…

I went over the night again in my head and smiled.

"Rachel! That's enough, let's go!"

I couldn't exactly tell who was yelling, but I assumed it was the person holding me back so I couldn't get my hands on Finn. Normally I don't condone violence of any sort, but I just snapped. Nobody talks to Santana like that. Not my Santana…

"Quinn, I've got it from here. Thanks for that Q."

I was then being ushered out of the house, still quite upset.

" Seriously Rach, for being so short, you're extremely feisty."

I was so furious. I didn't register the voice until I felt that familiar hand press against the small of my back and lead me outside towards her car.

"Well he shouldn't have done that Santana! He had no right to do that to you."

Even though we were both alone inside of Santana's car I was still seething, I couldn't stop the words that were coming out of my mouth anymore. Then when she looked over at me from the driver's seat after starting the car, I saw yet another expression that I hadn't seen before on her. She looked almost as if she was in awe, and it made my heart skip a beat. Why does she have to be so darn beautiful?

"Thanks for sticking up for me in there Rach. As much as I would have liked to 'come out' on my own terms, it feels kind of nice to finally have everything out in the open."

She smiled that smile that just seemed to make me melt. God, those dimples…

"Whatever the case Santana, I don't like the context in which he was speaking to you. I know it wasn't my place to yell at him like I did, and I apologize for that. But when I saw the way he was speaking to you and the look of sheer panic on your face afterwards, I simply snapped. If he talked to me that way, I could handle it, but he can't talk to my… my Santana like that."

The words were out of my mouth before I could attempt to stop them. Oh god, I called her "my Santana". Maybe she didn't catch that part. She is driving, and the music she has on is relatively loud at the moment.

I figured she definitely didn't catch it when there was nothing but silence on her end, but this is Santana we're talking about here. She somehow hears everything.

"Your Santana, huh?"

She looked over towards me as she pulled into my driveway, and I audibly gulped.

"I just meant that… well you're… you-"

I didn't have any time to try to stutter out the rest of whatever it was that I was going to say because before I know it, Santana was over the center console and straddling my hips, her head almost touching the roof of her car.

"I think I like the sound of that Rach."

She practically purred out those words against my ear and my hands automatically went to rest on her hips.

Before this went any further, we needed to talk about what was going on between us, and I was determined.

"Santana, I think we need to talk."

She looked down at me with concern etched on her face as she opened my door, stepping out of her car, and waited for me to get out as well.

"What's wrong? Did I do somet—"

I smiled and pressed a finger to her lips.

"No, of course not. Let's just go inside and talk."

Santana reluctantly followed me into the house as she sat at her usual place on the sofa, but I sat on the chair right beside it so our, proximity wouldn't get in the way of me saying exactly what I needed to say.

"Look Rach, if we were going too fast in the car I can slow d-"

I smiled over at her consideration, but slowing down hasn't exactly been on my mind recently, but I still held my hand up for her to stop talking.

"No, it's not about that. I just thought that we could clear the air about exactly what's going on between us."

I mentally prepared myself for what I was going to say next, but I realized how much easier it is to be talking to her when I'm close to her, so I moved to that familiar spot next to her and grabbed her hands intertwining out fingers. That felt nice.

"S-Santana, I don't know how you're going to react to this news, so I'm just going to put everything on the table so to speak. I… have feelings for you Santana. In fact, I've realized recently that I'm in love with you, and I don't know if that's something you want to hear, but it's something that I certainly needed to say."

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. Maybe I shouldn't have told her so soon. Tears pooled up in my eyes and I had to get away from the crushing silence. She was only silent for a few seconds, but every second felt like an eternity, especially since I was telling her something of that extent. I couldn't take it anymore and I stood to walk away but she grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down onto the sofa.

"Wait, Rachel. Don't walk away from me like that. You didn't even hear what I have to say."

I figured it was time for the "it's not you, it's me" speech or she would nonchalantly explain how she wasn't interested in anything but a mere friendship with benefits type of relationship, so I waited for the letdown. I just couldn't bring myself look into those eyes.

"Rachel, look at me."

She grabbed hold of my chin with her thumb and forefinger and directed my face towards hers, exactly like I had done to her when we shared our first kiss. As I looked up at her, I couldn't hold back the tears that spilled from my eyes.

"Don't cry, Estrella."

She gradually leant forward and kissed away every tear that fell from my eyes until I was no longer crying anymore.

"Don't" she kissed me briefly on the lips "cry".

I looked up at her as she pulled back slightly and rested her forehead against mine and smiled, grabbing my hands tighter in hers.

"I love you too Rachel…"

The words hung in the air for a while, and I couldn't even move. I couldn't look away from Santana and she didn't look away from me. I didn't expect those words to be coming out of her mouth.

"This is the part where you slap me and tell me you don't really love me."

The thought of me doing either of those things was the furthest thing from my mind, so I did the first thing I did think of.

I pulled her against me and hungrily kissed her. The kiss was searing. I kissed her as if it were the last time I'd be kissing those lips. I was past the point of needing to be close to her… I had to be close to her.

Santana smiled into the kiss and slid her hands up my waist, until she was then reaching underneath the front my shirt and drawing patterns lightly up and down my stomach with her fingers. I pulled away from the kiss, looked into her eyes smiling adoringly. I needed to hear those words again, so I would know this was really happening.

"Say it again Santana." I said as I kissed my way down her neck.

She craned her head back and pressed her hips against me, directly against my core and it felt like a jolt of electricity surged through me. After she grabbed onto my waist to steady my movements she lifted my face to meet hers and I looked up to meet her gaze and she slid one of her hands up to rest behind my neck as she pulled me into yet another kiss. She then kissed me from my mouth to my jaw, up to the shell of my ear and pulled my earlobe gently with her teeth just before she whispered…

"I'm absolutely, positively, in love with you Rachel Berry."

That was all I needed to hear. That was all I wanted to hear. I grabbed her hand, pulled her off the couch, and led her upstairs to my bedroom.