Better Late Than Never - Chapter 10
Finn/Brittany
A/N: A new chapter is finally here! Unfortunately my brain was not cooperating for a while when it came to writing, but I'm happy to say that the rest of the fic is plotted out and I really enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully you do as well. As usual, any sort of feedback is appreciated. I'll be jumping into chapter 11 this weekend and I'm excited to write what happens with these two for the remainder of the fic.
Finn wasn't a dancer.
Anyone who knew him in high school learned that as soon as he joined glee club, and no matter how long he was a member, his dancing didn't improve much. So he was absolutely sure that Brittany knew what she was getting herself into when she suggested that they go to a dance club for their second date. She was the one who suggested more dance lessons before they went on the date, so for a few nights, he'd gone over to her apartment after she finished work for the day and attempted to learn from her. Most of the time he just stared at her while she demonstrated for him and had no idea what she was wanting from him when it was his turn. If he managed to get through this date without ruining their relationship, he would consider himself really lucky.
He was just worried that he would embarrass her. She was amazing and he absolutely wasn't. There would probably be people standing around watching them and laughing because he was so bad. Or, worse, he could injure himself or someone else.
"Finn, the cab just stopped."
Finn snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Brittany, nodding slowly as he reached for his back pocket to fish out his wallet.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something," he replied sheepishly. He paid the driver and thanked him before getting out of the vehicle after Brittany. Once he was on the sidewalk next to her, he shook his head and inwardly told himself to stop freaking out. He reached down and threaded his fingers through hers. She wanted to be there with him, right? That was all that mattered. Relaxing a bit, he looked down at her. "Let's go dance, Britt."
=/=
As soon as they entered the club, Brittany was ready to dance and dragged him into the middle of the dance floor, any protest from him dying on his tongue. He was still trying to get used to the pulsing lights. There were people all around them and he was a little nervous to dance in front of so many people, but he took a deep breath and did his best to use their personal lessons to keep himself moving to the rhythm. His arms were limp at his sides for the first few moments, afraid that one movement would have someone on the floor clutching their nose. That memory from glee club was still fresh in his mind. But soon enough, he began to lift them up along his sides a little as he shuffled his feet, trying to recall a couple of things he remembered from Brittany's lessons. It was all awkward, but he was trying to be a good date for her.
Then Brittany was suddenly closer to him and he swallowed roughly. It was already hard enough for him to focus, but with Brittany dancing against him the way she was, his steps were even clumsier.
"You're amazing," he said suddenly, not even thinking about his words.
With the way she beamed up at him in response, he was glad he hadn't thought about it.
He could see the people behind her dancing, but she was better than every single one of them. It was obvious that this made her happy. Her cheeks were flushed, a small smile playing on her lips, and the flush on her cheeks - if that was from his words, he didn't know - made her sexier than he'd ever seen her.
"And you're beautiful," he said with a grin, sliding his hand up from her waist to her hip.
Brittany looked so delighted as she gazed up at him and it made him want to tell her everything he thought about her. Before he could get started, her arms winded around his neck and he couldn't think of anything other than that feeling for the moment.
"Want to get a drink?" She asked a few minutes later, slowly swaying to the music, moving her hands down his chest and grabbing his hands in hers. "We can go find somewhere to sit and talk."
He quickly nodded and they walked over to the bar, ordering their drinks and heading over to a small booth. Finn was glad for the break from dancing. An embarrassing amount of sweat had already collected on his brow. Wiping it away with the back of his hand as discreetly as he could, he sat down.
The way Brittany scooted across the seat to press against him made him realize how much better a booth was than the table they'd sat at on their first date.
That made it a little difficult to think and they were supposed to be talking. He took a sip of his drink to give himself a second to think. It also made it easier not to just kiss her right then and there.
"How's work?" He settled on the question, knowing that it was lame. It was the only one he could come up with at the moment. But he did want to know more about it.
Brittany beamed over at him, her happiness lighting up her entire face.
"It's so great, Finn. The kids make me feel wonderful. When you teach them something new, they get super excited that they can do it, and that's just so awesome. They'll clap or cheer when they get a new move down. It's the cutest thing ever actually." The smile was still on her face as she paused. "I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing. There isn't anything else for me."
Finn was sure everyone knew that Brittany would be a dancer or at least have some sort of career with dance involved, and it was obvious that she had found the job for her.
"So are you happy with it?"
"Beyond happy. I've never been this happy, ever. Everything came together and it's the best thing in the world." She sent him another smile then grabbed his hand. "That's how I know that this kind of job is right for you, teaching people how to do something. If it doesn't make you feel good, we'll find you something else together, okay. I want everyone to be as happy as I am."
That was the best thing about Brittany really, Finn realized. She cared about other people more than anyone else he'd ever known. And somehow just knowing that she wanted him to be that happy made him believe that she was right about the job.
"Well, I do have you to thank again for helping me get a job." He lifted his drink, and grinned at her. "To Brittany, the nicest woman and best dancer I know. I don't know what else to say because speeches are hard, but thank you for everything."
The giggle that escaped her lips caused his grin to grow as he took another sip of his drink.
"Thanks. You know, you're the first person who has ever really called me a woman." She shrugged, but he could tell that meant something to her. And it meant something to him, too. She was an adult with a job and an apartment and she was living alone in a big city without anyone's help. She was an adult. She was a woman. That was just one reason he found himself falling for her.
Being with her was relaxing and it felt natural, and he could only hope that he somehow made her feel the same way. It was easy and hard at the same time because he was still constantly worried about coming off as a moron, but that was part of the excitement of dating again, he guessed.
"I can't wait to hear about your job. Will you call me Monday night? You can tell me all about it." Brittany looked over the rim of her glass, taking a sip of the brightly colored concoction. She sat it down before continuing. "I know you'll probably want to call Puck and Rachel first, but -"
"No," he interrupted quickly, shaking his head fast. "No, I'll call you when I get home. First thing." Sending a smile over to her, he shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be doing much, but I want to tell you all about it. Just promise you won't get bored when I call you."
Brittany giggled and nodded her head. "Promise."
They sat there in silence for a few moments as they finished their drinks. Brittany tilted her head to the side and a huge smile formed on her face. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and slid even closer to him, her lips close to his ear. "Let's go dance. I love this song."
=/=
"Do you wanna come in tonight?"
Brittany leaned against the door and tipped her head back to look at him. Their hands were still intertwined as they had been the entire walk to her place. Finn really didn't want to stop touching her.
Nodding slowly, he smiled at her as she pushed the door open and pulled him inside her apartment. It was dark inside and he tripped over his own foot, quickly righting himself and hoping that Brittany hadn't notice.
"Do you want a drink?" Her voice took him by surprise for some reason and suddenly the light was turned on, illuminating her face. There was something about the way he could really only see her shoulders and face that made him think of a dark bedroom
He had to get that thought out of his head immediately.
"A drink, yeah," he sputtered quickly. "Sounds great."
Brittany smiled before gesturing to the couch and dropping his hand. He stood there and watched as she walked into the kitchen. Then he walked over to the couch.
"You were great tonight, Finn. I hope you weren't too nervous or anything. I totally couldn't tell if you were."
Before he could even gather his thoughts, Brittany was back with two glasses and sat them down on the coffee table before settling next to him. Very close. Just like that he wanted to kiss her again.
"You're always great. Amazing even."
He knew she probably heard that sort of thing a lot given her job, but the way she smiled made it feel like it meant something coming from him. It was the way her nose crinkled in the cutest way and there was a twinkle in her eye.
She slid closer to him then, turning her body to face him. Then she was kissing him. Her lips were soft against his almost as if the few seconds she'd spent in the kitchen had given her time to apply some sort of balm. But he was pretty certain that was just her. And she tasted awesome, a mix of her last drink from the club and just... Brittany.
Placing a hand gingerly on her waist, Finn turned his body to face her more fully and began to return the kiss slowly. It felt nice to know she wanted to kiss him now. Especially when he'd been thinking about doing it all night.
She deepened their kiss a bit, an arm going around his waist and her hand splaying across the back of his shirt. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and the way she pressed closer to him almost caused Finn to lose his breath.
She was an amazing kisser to say the least.
Any nervousness he was feeling from their date simply faded away at the feel of the tip of her tongue caressing the seam of his lips, and he eagerly opened his mouth to allow her entrance.
They continued kissing for several moments and both of his hands made their way to her waist. He groaned lowly at the loss of contact when she pulled away to breathe. Opening his eyes, he looked at her and smiled softly.
"I'm really glad you came in tonight," came from her swollen lips, a small contented expression on her face.
Lifting a hand to cup her cheek, he stroked the skin there and gently pulled her back to him for another kiss.
Coming in was the best decision he could have made.