A/N- *blows dust off the cover*

Disclaimer- I own nothing Glee related.

Chapter 10

I have never worked my body so hard as I have this past week.

Ever since Kitty's accident, I have been in the studio dancing day in and day out. The first couple of days were probably the toughest, seeing as how I've never danced like this before. I was getting up at the crack of dawn and rushing down to the studio to have a morning session with Mike, then after breakfast I would meet Santana and Artie while Mike worked his other job. Then when one of them had the day off I'd practice for most of the morning and afternoon. By the time I was crawling into bed every night, I felt like my body had been hit by a truck then backed over.

But I wasn't giving up on them.

Although the good thing that came out of all of this was I wasn't running into Sam as often. Our parents had been hanging out a lot more so I didn't have to worry too much about making an appearance, and Rachel had been busy with the show so everyone was pretty much occupied.

Today was Santana's day off and I was meeting her and Artie in a few minutes. The sun was barely clearing the mountains as I walked along the path to the studio and I could already feel the heat of the day bearing down on me. The air conditioning in the studio had been acting up all week so it made the room almost stifling some days. I just hoped today wouldn't be one of those days.

When I reached the studio, I walked in and found Santana and to my surprise Quinn in the middle of the room stretching. They both turned to look in my direction when they heard the door open.

"Morning Britt!" Santana smiled at me. That smile alone made waking up this early so worth it.

"Morning. Hey Quinn, what brings you here?" I ask pulling my hoodie over my head, leaving me in a tank top and shorts. I walk over to where they are and begin my own set of stretches.

"I asked her to come. Artie had to pick up a shift and Quinn is actually a semi decent dancer. Thought she could help." Santana explained, giving me a small smirk that Quinn couldn't see.

"Excuse me? Semi decent dancer?" Quinn asked annoyed, her hands on her hips and a glare pointed at Santana.

"Oh you know I love to push your buttons." Santana winked. "She's gonna help critique your form since I'll be your partner today."

My body breaks out in goosebumps at hearing I'll be dancing with Santana. These last couple of days I've been dancing between Artie and Mike while Santana gave instructions here and there, sometimes her hands would glide along my skin as she arranged my body just right. I had to fight back a grin at the thought of being in her arms all day today.

"You all stretched?" Santana asks me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Limber as can be." I tell her rolling my shoulders.

"Alright. Let's do this."

We have been going at it for hours now and I'm starting to get annoyed with myself. To my surprise, I've managed to pick up the steps fairly quickly but for some reason I was having trouble with one step and my frustration was starting to show. It also didn't help that the room was ungodly hot and I could feel my shirt clinging to my torso uncomfortably. We were taking a small break as Santana and Quinn discussed how to rectify the situation. As I chugged down my bottle of water, my eyes stayed glued to the brunette across the room. The heat had started to get to her early on and she took off her shirt, leaving her in a tight black sports bra and matching shorts. My hands shook every time they came near her waist and it didn't help my focus at all.

"Okay." Santana claps her hands gaining my attention. "Let's try something different." I shake out of my daze and look around me in confusion.

"Where did Quinn go?" She was literally there one minute ago and now she was no where in the room.

"She had to run out real quick but she'll be back. You must've really been daydreaming there or I'm working you too hard." Santana said giving me a sympathetic look.

"Oh no I'm fine. Just zoned out for a sec there. What did you wanna try?" I ask, rolling my neck to ease some of the growing tension building there.

Santana walked slowly towards me, her steps light against the glittering floorboards, until she was face to face with me. My breath caught in my chest at how close she was and the way her eyes were tracing along my face.

"Close your eyes."

I give her a confused look and in return I get a raised eyebrow. Smirking at her reaction, I just shake my head and close my eyes.

We stand in complete silence for a few seconds before I nearly jump out of my skin when her warm palm connects with my chest, more importantly, directly over my now pounding heart.

"Take a slow, deep breath for me."

I follow her instructions, my muscles quivering slightly under her touch.

"Now exhale."

We do this a few more times until I feel my blood pressure slow down and my muscles relax. Her soothing voice in my ear has all the tension in my body just evaporating.

"Now I want you to listen to your own heartbeat. Listen to the tempo as it thumps against your chest."

I do as she instructs and listen to the deep bass sound resonating from inside me.

Ba bum…ba bum…ba bum…

"Do you hear it Britt?"

"Yes."

"Move to it."

We start off with just simple steps, Santana following my lead. She whispers the 1-2 count softly between us as I focus on listening to the beat of my own heart. I feel her hand that was resting on my chest slowly glide down my exposed arm and nudge under my elbow for me to raise my arm. I feel her guide it to her own shoulder and I run my hand over the muscle there, locking my hand in place. Next, I feel her left hand take my right hand and hold them up between us, her free hand massaging over my waist and pulling me even closer. When I feel her change our direction, my eyes shoot open to see where she's leading me…..

"No no, keep your eyes closed." Her sweet breath washes over me and I instantly shut my eyes again. "Trust me."

I never attempt to open my eyes again.

She glides us effortlessly across the floor, the whole time my eyes firmly shut and the only sound in the room is Santana quietly counting under her breath. I even surprise myself when she throws in a small twirl and I land perfectly back in her embrace, our steps never faltering once.

After a few minutes, I feel us slowing down until we finally stop moving. Neither one of us moves, my eyes still closed and her body just as close as before.

"Open your eyes."

I slowly do as she said and I look straight at her. She has the most gorgeous smile on her face as she looks into my eyes.

"You were messing up before because you were focusing too hard on the steps. You just did a complete waltz with your eyes closed and no music but the sound of your heart. You can do this Brittany. You just have to believe it." Santana brought her hand up to the back of my neck and brought my head down to press her lips to my forehead. I felt my whole body shut down at the light pressure her lips were putting on my skin. She pulled back and gave me a sweet smile, her hand softly massaging the back of my neck before taking a step closer in my direction. My heartbeat picked up at that and I so badly wanted to lean in to her, to feel her lips again only this time on my own. I don't know if it was my own wishful thinking but the determined look in her eyes told me she wanted that too maybe. We both started to lean in towards each other, my hands itching to pull her closer quicker, when the sound of the door squeaking open had us both jumping back.

"Sorry it took so long. Blaine stopped me to ask about switching a shift next week." Quinn walked into the room completely oblivious to the mounting tension in the room.

I glance over at Santana and see her breathing just as hard as I am and glaring at Quinn.

"So what'd I miss?" Quinn asks, looking between the both of us.

"Umm…." I start to say, Santana's dark eyes finding mine. "We fixed the issue. I think we can continue where we left off." Santana sends me a grateful look before agreeing and walking over to the stereo.

I close my eyes and focus on slowing my breathing again, hearing Santana's voice in my head like before. What would've happened if Quinn hadn't walked through the door at that exact moment? Would I really have kissed Santana? Did she want to kiss me too?

I'm broken out of my thoughts yet again when a hand smoothes up my back and Santana circles around me, putting her back in front of me and giving me that determined look once more.

"From the top?" She asks, sneaking a wink at me.

I smile and set my hands into place.

"From the top."

Saturday morning I woke up to a text from Santana saying practice was cancelled today due to the fact all three of them had to work since it was so nice out. To be honest, I was kinda bummed about that because getting to spend the entire day with Santana was becoming the highlight of the summer for me. It also meant I was forced to spend time with my parents who commented last night at dinner that they haven't seen me as much. We decided to spend the day down at the beach since it was so hot out, even Rachel was taking a break from the play to relax. We had a light breakfast and made our way down to the water.

The beach was packed with people laying out in the sun, people swimming and kids splashing each other. Even the snack bar was more crowded than usual. We managed to find a couple of unoccupied beach chairs and set our things down. My mom and Rachel instantly laid back to soak up the sun and my dad was talking to someone sitting near us. Looking around, I saw a lot of staff members bringing out more chairs, offering beach towels, and making sure the area stayed spotless. I felt bad for them because they were all dressed in their uniforms and they had to be so uncomfortable in this heat. I was just about to turn towards the snack stand when one of the high lifeguard chairs caught my attention.

Santana was dressed in a red and white tank top and shorts combo, a red baseball cap with her hair up in a ponytail, a dark pair of sunglasses, and a whistle hanging loosely from her lips. Checking behind me to make sure everyone else was occupied, I snuck away for a minute to say hi.

She hasn't noticed me yet as I walked along the beach, her eyes focused out on the water for potential problems. I stand just below her chair and knock on the wood to get her attention. As soon as she glances down, a huge grin breaks out on her face.

"Hey you!"

"So is there any job here you don't do?" I ask her with my own goofy grin.

"Everyone that works here has to be lifeguard trained for emergencies. I switched with someone today so I could work here and they could work the dining house. In my opinion, I got the better deal today."

I look down bashfully and try to keep my face from turning bright red. Ever since our "moment" at the studio, Santana has been a little more flirtatious with me. I noticed the way she would give me these subtle touches, chalking it up to helping me get into position when dancing. Or how she would whisper something to me and her lips would graze the shell of my ear just the slightest bit. I loved every little interaction with her.

"Well, I don't want to distract you while you're working. I just came over to say hi."

"I would never consider you a distraction. But I'm glad I got to see you today."

"Me too. We still on for tomorrow?" I ask backing away slowly.

"Absolutely. I'll see you then." Santana smiled and gave me a cute wave. I returned the gesture and walked back towards my family who hadn't even noticed I was missing.

When I got to my chair, I kicked off my flip flops and stepped out of my shorts.

"I'm going out in the water."

My mom gave a brief nod that she heard me and I pulled my t-shirt over my head, exposing my navy blue bikini. I walked towards the dock that Santana and I had once hid under and I glanced over at said girl. Even though her sunglasses covered her eyes, I knew she was watching me. I'm usually very self-conscious about my body but feeling her eyes on me at that moment, I didn't have a care in the world. I stood at the end of the dock and with a deep breath I dove in head first.

From the sun beating down on the surface, the water was pretty warm and felt really good. I swam out a little further to stretch out my muscles before coming back in towards the beach. I brushed my hair back behind my shoulders and squeezed out the excess water, the breeze against my wet skin making goosebumps appear. I turned to look at Santana to see if she was still watching me and frowned when I noticed her post was empty.

Well….

Not entirely empty…..

Her clothes were still there.

I look back at the water just in time to see Santana emerge from the water. Her blood red bikini causing my jaw to drop and my eyes to comically pop out of my head. It was like everything was moving in slow motion as she walked towards me, the water running off her skin. I felt my mouth go dry in seconds.

She came right up to me and grinned at my expression.

"This sun is a killer today, huh?"

She winked at me and proceeded back to her post, her clothes sticking to her frame as she put them back on and settled back into her chair.

I walked slowly back to my family and dropped down ceremoniously into my chair, my mind replaying the last two minutes over and over again.

This girl was going to be the death of me this summer.

The next day was even hotter than the last. The studio felt like a hundred degrees even with the windows all open. Santana said they had put in a maintenance request to have the A/C fixed as soon as possible. The heat wasn't the only problem that day though.

Kitty decided to come watch the rehearsal and give her opinion on how well we were doing. Or more like how I was doing. I had been going fine the first couple rounds, little corrections needed here and there, but by the fifth time, even I was ready to strangle the blonde.

"Have you guys even practiced at all?! You look like four stumbling drunks that can't walk in a straight line!" Kitty yelled from her spot near the mirrored wall.

I could see the frustration on everyone's faces, especially Santana's as she when to reset the song once more. We all got back into position and waited for the opening beat to begin. I had barely taken two steps before Kitty was yelling again.

"Blondie you're already two seconds behind! Start again and this time try doing it right!"

Mike ran his hands angrily over his hair as the music once again was reset. I clenched my jaw and took my position again. This time I didn't even make a move before she was yelling again.

"Are you deaf or are you really this stupid?! What part of start on the beat can you not comprehend?"

I snapped.

"Well why don't you get up here and show me?! Oh wait! You can't because you're a selfish bitch who tried to take over and ended up falling on your ass!" I screamed back.

The room was eerily quiet as everyone looked at me in shock.

"What did you say to me?" Kitty asked glaring at me.

"You heard me. I'm doing YOU a favor by helping out and I don't need you calling me stupid. I've been busting my ass here all week and I don't need you to tell me that I can't do this. Because if that's the case, I don't need to do this." Without another word, I turn on my heel and storm out of the studio.

I'm not even by the theatre yet when I hear the door slam behind me again and footsteps running towards me.

"Britt wait!"

Santana moves in front of me and puts her hands on my waist to stop me.

"Hey, please stop. I'm so sorry about her. She was completely out of line talking to you like that."

"Be honest with me. Am I really as bad as she says I am?" I ask, looking down at the ground.

A hand on my cheek tilts my head back up to look directly into angry brown eyes.

"You listen to me. The four of us had been working on that routine for months before you came along. You learned the whole thing in a week. A week Brittany. I said it the first time I met you and I'm saying it again. You are an amazing dancer, even without training. No one could've done this except you. And Kitty sees that and it's pissing her off. If anything, the more mad she gets the better you should feel." The snarky smirk at the end of her speech made me chuckle. "I need you Brittany. We all do. We can't do this without you."

I huff as I kick at a loose stone on the path.

"Okay I'll do it. But if she opens her mouth again I'm gonna stick my fist in it." I warn her jokingly.

"Oh I'd gladly pay to see that." Santana laughs as she loops her arm around my lower back and directs me back towards the studio. "The way you went off on her was also really hot just so you know."

I tripped going up the stairs at her words.

We both walked back inside and find Artie, Mike and Kitty talking low. Kitty looks back at me and her lips curl up in a smirk.

"You done throwing your little tantrum?"

I go to open my mouth but someone else beats me to it.

"Get out."

Everyone looks at Santana.

"Excuse me?" Kitty asks sarcastically.

"You heard me. Get out. You had no right to talk to Brittany like that and if you're lucky, she won't report you and get your ass fired. You forget, she's still a guest here." The way the blood drained from Kitty's face made the smile on mine grow even bigger in satisfaction. "You brought all of this on yourself. You have no one to blame but you. So get out of here so we can get back to work."

Kitty looked at Mike and Artie for backup but they were too busy looking down at their shoes. Without a word, she picked up her crutches and limped out of the studio with the door slamming behind her.

"Thank you." I whispered to Santana.

"I won't let anyone talk to you like that again. I promise." Santana surprised me by leaning in and ghosting a quick kiss on my cheek before moving over to the stereo once more.

For the rest of the rehearsal, I swear I could still feel Santana's lips on my skin as we did the whole routine perfectly.

We were ready for this competition.

And I was ready for so much more with Santana.

A/N- I'm still here…=)