Chapter 10

The bartender smiled and placed one of her famous Martini's in front of Santana. "We thought you fell off the planet."

"No, it's just been hard finding the time to enjoy myself with all my work responsibilities. Almost didn't make it in tonight thanks to a never ending call with the office."

"That's what you get for helping to get that man elected."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Marcia, he's not all bad."

"Tell that to his wife."

"We don't elect them for their personal lives. We elect them for their ability to help the city."

"True and I have been impressed with his commitment to social issues."

"See and who do you think gets to help keep those things high on his priority list? So with me in his camp he can't be all bad, can he?" Santana asked as she took a sip from her drink. "Wow, I forgot how much that flavor kicks you on the first sip."

"That's the universe telling you not to forgot us little people. Enjoy it. I'll be back around." As the bartender moved over to serve another patron Santana proceeded to slowly nurse her jalapeno infused martini. It was her favorite offering on the drink menu and something she hadn't enjoyed in a very long time.

Santana had first found the east village haunt some three years earlier. Back then it was one large space with little to offer but good drinks and loud music. About a year later a certain socialite had made a habit of drinking there with her then secret girlfriend. It had caused quite an underground stir amongst the regulars but Santana was always unfazed by the rich woman's presence.

Despite the whispers, regulars deserved some credit as not a single one of them went running to the media outing anyone. It turned out that was exactly what the socialite had wanted and after learning of Santana's PR work she approached her one night to ask advice. Over drinks that evening a plan was hatched. Santana worked some media magic and the biggest coming out story of the year was being mentioned in all the biggest news outlets and the bar was being mentioned as well.

Overnight the place was where women came to play in New York and the socialite soon became a silent partner in the business. A three-month remodel and a star studded reopening and it was transformed from downtown dive to downtown chic. It managed to keep it's 'all welcoming' energy but was certainly a giant step up in every way.

Thanks to Santana's part in it's transformation she always drank there for free and was able to get most of her condo down payment thanks to the consulting fee she had gotten working on the coming out story and the subsequent revitalizing of her favorite girl bar. Ironically it had been that job that had got the attention of the soon to be Mayor's team and had led her from having a life to having none at all.

The insane attention on the place had died down some which made it much nicer. Gone were the curiosity seeking velvet rope types, the nosey paparazzi, and tourists. It was back to being a place for people who needed a place to belong. In fact the last time Santana had been in, which was well before the November election cycle, she had even seen a major closeted Hollywood actress graphically enjoying the company of another woman on the dance floor. Not a single person batted an eyelash at the display and it never turned up in Page Six.

On this night the front bar was a collection of chatty types who didn't want to have to yell over the music pounding in the other two rooms. Santana always loved that about the place. There was always one room where you could still carry on a conversation without having to scream. Collections of couples, some older then others, were doing everything from taking advantage of the relative quiet in order to talk at polite distances to completely swallowing each other's faces. "Some things about the place would never change." Santana thought as she enjoyed more of her drink.

At the far end of the bar, by the entrance to one of the other rooms, Santana noticed a woman in her early 40's. She was fit, overdressed, and blonde. She seemed to be alone and enjoying the same drink Santana had been enjoying. Perhaps on a different evening Santana might have played games but she was too tired tonight for anything but a direct approach. Picking up her glass she made her way over to the woman. As she got closer Santana grew more intrigued by the confidence she was reading off the blonde. As luck would have it, when she got within a few feet, two people sitting next to her vacated their places and headed hand in hand for the door. Casually Santana moved in towards one of the seats. "Is anyone sitting here?"

The woman smiled knowingly and gestured towards the chair. "Help yourself."

The accent was definitely European of some kind but not exactly identifiable when blended with the music that was bleeding into the main room. This fact only served to motivate Santana more. She took the seat closest and placed her drink on the bar. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Is this your first time here?"

The blonde lifted her glass to her lips and took a drink. "What makes you think that?"

It was a fine balance between answering the question and sounding like she was repeating a bad pick up line. Santana decided to go with the honest and sincere approach. "It was getting so I thought knew everyone who came by this place on a Friday night. Although I haven't been here in a few months you don't look familiar to me."

"I am in New York for the week and decided to go out and enjoy myself." The look that punctuated the statement made for a very clear message.

"This is a great place to do that." Santana offered before enjoying the last sip of her martini.

"So I have noticed. Can I get you another drink?"

"I'm okay. I'm actually feeling the urge to dance. Would you like to join me?"

"I would like that very much." The blonde finished what was left in her glass, got up from the stool, and waited to follow Santana through the maze of bodies filling the dance floor.

…

The biggest song of the year was vibrating the room, bodies were moving up against one another to the beat, and everyone was having a good time. Despite the mass of humanity Santana was weaving through she could still feel the blonde's eyes on her. Normally something this easy was boring but Santana had been long over due for a fun night out. She needed to let herself go and she had found someone quite lovely willing to join her.

Finding a spot on the dance floor they began a nice respectful distance from one another and started moving to the music. Although they were a good three feet away the eye contact held and soon the distance between them grew closer and closer. The blonde made the first move wrapping her arms around Santana's waist and drawing their bodies together. "What's your name?" The blonde yelled into Santana's ear.

Leaning towards the blonde Santana got as close as possible to punctuate what was building between them and spoke her name just loud enough for the other woman to hear. Santana then remained where she was, still moving to the music, and making sure her breathe was being felt on the woman's neck. After a little while she asked the woman's name only to step slightly away from the woman's grasp before she could answer. The response to her tease was sly grin.

Dancing almost an entire song as close as they could to one another without touching built the anticipation very nicely. Unable to take it anymore Santana pulled the blonde close. They remained staring at one another and moving until the next song began when the blonde leaned in and introduced herself. "It's Amelia."

Feeling the warm breathe on her neck and motivated by their bodies pressed together Santana moved and then captured Amelia's lips. Gentle enough to leave them somewhere to go but aggressive enough to keep things interesting Santana found the kiss exhilarating. It seemed Amelia did as well as her hands started to roam and her lips parted.

It didn't take long for Amelia to lean in one more time and whisper a very inviting offer. It took even less time for Santana to lead them both out of the bar and into a cab.

...

The blonde rolled over and ran two long manicured fingers down the length of Santana's naked back. "You don't have to run off if you don't want too. The bed is plenty big enough for both of us."

Santana stood up, found her clothing, and started to dress. Turning to the woman she gave her most sincere smile. "I don't do sleepovers."

The older woman laughed at the honesty as she rolled out of bed and put on a robe that had been lying on a nearby chair. "Seems you got double lucky since I don't tend to fancy sleepovers much either."

"I knew there was something about you I liked the moment I laid eyes on you."

"Careful Santana that might qualify as flirting."

Santana took a seat on the bed; slide on her heels, and smiled. "True."

"Would you like some room service or coffee before you go?"

Santana stood and made her way towards the woman, whose name now escaped her, and then kissed her gently on the lips. "No, I'm fine. Thank you again for a nice time."

The woman smiled and stole one more kiss. "You're very welcome."

...

After climbing out of the cab a few blocks from her apartment Santana made her way into the Starbucks.

"Morning, Santana." the young manager said as she made her way to the register. "The usual?"

"Not this morning Joe. Can I just do a venti coffee?"

"Sure."

After only a moment he had poured her coffee and handed it to her across the counter. Santana pulled a five from her pocket and gave it over. "Keep the change."

"Thanks Santana. Have a nice day."

As she made her way out of the store Santana was sure she heard the other guy who was working snicker, "Someone got lucky."

Santana wasn't sure 'lucky' was exactly right but she had enjoyed herself. It had been awhile since she had an evening like the one she had. When she found herself single Santana was not entirely willing to jump into another relationship so it was always easier to keep things casual then go through the hoops of dating. Her past, frequent, casual, behavior wasn't something she was especially proud of but it had been her MO when she first started going to the bar and it had, indirectly, lead her towards a career fast track. They say things happen for a reason and Santana couldn't argue. The fact was the realistic life goals were coming true. She would cling to those and keep the rest of her life as uncomplicated as possible.

. . .

After opening the front door to the apartment Santana immediately slipped off her heels and then as quietly as possible shut and relocked the front door behind her. With more then two thirds of a cup of coffee left she then placed what was left of her drink in the fridge for later. Although it was a little after six she figured she should probably try and get a few hours sleep before tackling the rest of Saturday. Soon after crawling into bed she had, for the first time in a long time, gone right to sleep.

…