I planned on posting this yesterday, but a crisis at work kept me from doing it. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I really enjoy reading all of your comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Aside from the mistakes, I own nothing.
"New car? I'm guessing," Rachel said, getting in the white Lexus. She was secretly thankful that Quinn didn't use the tow truck or made her wait this time around. They planned for one o'clock, but Quinn was actually thirty minutes early.
"It's just for road testing. The owner will be picking it up tomorrow," Quinn explained, starting the ignition. She looked at her and grinned mischievously. "This is one of the perks of the job. I can change cars any day I want."
"Do – do you have your own car?"
Quinn's facial expression suddenly turned serious. "Does it matter if I have my own car or not? Is this one your requirements for your suitors?"
Rachel took a deep breath. "I don't require anything from you, Quinn. This will be our last time together. I was just wondering, so you didn't have to get all defensive." The brunette shrugged her shoulders. "If you remember, I came with you last Saturday when you had the truck when I could have just not gone…"
"But you promised me that date."
Rachel sneered. "It's not that hard to break a promise."
"But you knew I could have gone to your parents and easily told them about the car?"
"First of all, if I didn't keep my end of the bargain, would you really have told my dads about it?
Quinn took a while to answer, seriously watching the road. "No, I don't think so. Not really my style."
"I thought so." The brunette honestly believed that Quinn would never do anything like that. And she couldn't explain it, but she was quite happy with the blonde's answer.
"But to answer your question earlier, yes, I do have my own car. I actually have Ferrari, but it's in the shop right now.
"Yeah, okay…"
"I do. I own a red one. It's one of my collections, Rachel. I love cars."
"Right… my dad has one too. He got it when Shell gas station had a promotion, and they gave away all these red Ferraris."
A soft laugh came out of Quinn. So the brunette didn't believe her. Good. What would the princess say if she saw all of her three expensive cars parked in the garage of her parents' mansion in Columbus? Yes, a Ferrari, a Jaguar, and a 1930 Benz – a vintage and her prized possession.
Out of the three, the Ferrari was the only one her dad bought for her brand new. Russell bought the Jaguar when one of his friends had to move to the U.K. And the vintage car belonged to her grandfather, whom inherited from his own father. When Quinn was growing up, she remembered the Benz being buried in the garage – it didn't run anymore, and her dad never bothered fixing it. But she started learning how fix cars inside and out at a very young age. She was a freshman when she first started playing with the Benz's engine, and got it to start again on the first week and after a few more weeks the 1930 Benz was fully operational.
"What are you smiling at?" Rachel asked when she noticed that Quinn had a smile plastered on her face.
The blonde glanced at her, still smiling. "I own that Ferrari I was telling you about, sweetheart," she said, just stating the facts, not really trying to convince the brunette.
"Yeah," Rachel answered with an amused smile on her lips. "And pigs might fly…"
Quinn gave a bark of laughter.
After a few minutes of silence, Quinn spoke up again. "I want to tell you something," the blonde said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Rachel immediately felt the drying of her throat. There was something in the blonde's eyes that she couldn't quite describe.
"I know this will sound crazy…" Quinn paused for a while, "but I missed you. We last saw each other on Tuesday when I gave you the pictures, and I've been dying for this day to come." The blonde stated, shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh," Rachel managed to say, blushing uncontrollably. She was thankful that she was looking out the window, and not facing Quinn, allowing her to hide her pink cheeks.
"I think you're driving under the speed limit, you should drive faster, Quinn. We don't want to keep your grandmother waiting," Rachel stated, hoping that Quinn wouldn't add more to what she just said because she was certain she would be, once again, rendered speechless. She was already a nervous wreck, and her hands couldn't seem to stop playing with the straps of her seatbelt.
Well, I missed you too… she thought but abruptly dismissed it.
"SO, THAT means you lost the bet," Quinn said to Artie. She wasn't sure if she should be sad for her cousin or what. She was taking advantage of the time while Rachel and her grandmother were in the basement, where her grandma was showing off of her classic movie memorabilia. The blonde pulled Artie to the backyard to talk about their agreement since Artie came without Jessica.
"I guess there's nothing I can do about it, right?" Artie answered, looking dismayed.
Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "Just don't forget to buy me some souvenirs," she said, teasing her cousin.
Artie took a deep breath. "I want to strangle Jessica."
"Don't say anything anymore," Quinn said, warning her cousin when she saw Rachel and her grandma approaching them.
"So tell me, Artie, what did you do that made your girlfriend break up with you right away?"Grandma Fabray asked, still walking towards them.
Quinn and Artie just exchanged glances.
"Grandma he doesn't want to talk about it, he's still pretty sore about the breakup." Quinn explained instead.
"And you Quinn, if Rachel ever breaks up with you, I'm sure it would be your fault. From what I can see, Rachel is a nice young lady."
The blonde cleared her throat. "It's not going to happen, Gran… never," Quinn said, smiling weakly then giving Rachel a look, who averted her eyes.
"Anyway… have you two decided who will be joining me on the cruise?" the old lady asked, looking at her grandchildren.
Quinn looked at Artie, who took a deep breath and said, "I'm the one who's coming with you, Grandma."
"It's good that both of you came into a decision right away. And here I was thinking that I may have to take the both of you to avoid any disagreements…"
Artie rolled his eyes, and Quinn said something right away.
"I'm letting him have this one, Grandma. He desperately needs this vacation – to mend his broken heart."
Grandma Fabray gave the blonde a comforting pat on the should. "Don't worry, Quinn, I'll take you with me next time."
Quinn was stricken with guilt. Her grandmother meant well. It wasn't her grandmother's fault if they were bored. Grandma just always wanted both of them to be happy.
The old lady switched her attention to Artie. "Come with me; tell me what happened with Jessica. Maybe there is still a chance for reconciliation…"
Quinn was in the middle of thinking about what kind of stories Artie will have to tell their grandma, when she heard the brunette speak up.
"I feel so bad for him." Rachel said to Quinn once they were alone. "But I noticed their coldness with each other during the party… would it be okay if I ask you the cause of their break up?"
"I don't really know what happened. Artie didn't tell me. I just hope he'll forget about her during the cruise."
"Well, then," Rachel said shrugging her shoulders, facing the blonde. A slight smile played at the corners of her lovely mouth. "I'm proud of you…"
"Why?" the blonde asked, while her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Everyone wants to go on a Caribbean cruise, but here you are just letting your cousin take it from you. And I'm sure it would really help Artie forget about the break up."
Quinn couldn't find it in herself to give a reply, knowing that she just lied to two people. And she felt a pang of guilt once again.
Rachel didn't say anything when she noticed Quinn was taking a different route, instead of the one to her house. Somewhere deep inside her, she wanted to spend more time with the blonde, and didn't want the day to end. She promised herself that she would forget about the hazel eyed beauty after today.
Not too long after, Quinn stopped the car on the side of the road in front of a clearing with a great view, and turned off the ignition.
Rachel forced herself to look around the surrounding. Her heart was beating erratically.
"Thank you…" Quinn said.
Rachel switched her attention to the blonde, understanding what Quinn was trying to say.
"It's okay." The brunette shrugged her shoulder.
"It's only right after all the work that you did on my dad's car."
Silence permeated the car once again, causing Rachel to suddenly feel claustrophobic. She could feel the tension between them. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of anything to say.
Quinn broke the silence again. "Why didn't you say anything when I took a different route?"
Again, Rachel shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know…"
"Do you really want to stop seeing each other after today?" The blonde asked softly.
YES! Rachel wanted to answer out loud, but for some reason the word wouldn't come out of her mouth. She glanced at the blonde and they both talked at the same time.
"Quinn…"
"Rachel…"
Quinn raised both of her hands. "Okay, you first."
"This is crazy, we shouldn't have gone here. Our communication should have stopped the moment we left your grandmother's house… There's nothing to talk – "
"I didn't want everything to be over after today, Rachel," Quinn said, interrupting the brunette's litany, and then glanced at the other girl. "And… about that kiss – "
"Don't!" Rachel interrupted, panicking. "Don't say anything about that, please…"
"About that kiss, Rachel…" Quinn repeated, ignoring the brunette's plea. "Did you mean that kiss as I meant it?"
"Quinn, I don't want to talk about it," Rachel stated, trying to open the door… she felt like she was suffocating. But the door had the child's lock. "Open this –"
"Answer me, Rachel," Quinn said, placing her hand on the brunette's knee.
Rachel's breath caught in her throat. She was surprised to find herself both scared and excited by the throbbing of her leg underneath Quinn's palm.
What do you want me to say? Her mind screamed. You're panicking, Rachel. Stop… just calm down…
"Tell me, it meant something to you." Quinn said, slowly pulling her hand away, never breaking eye contact.
"It was nothing, Quinn," she answered directly, trying very hard to sound convincing. The truth was, that kiss really meant everything to her. It was the reason why she agreed to be with Quinn again in the first place. She was indulging herself for the last time because she knew she would have to put an end to whatever intense feelings she had for the blonde. Quinn was a girl and not her idea of a perfect partner. And on top of everything they didn't have anything in common. What would her friends say if they found out about their relationship?
"Have you forgotten that it was all an act? You should know better than that. You asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend for two Saturdays, so I did. So why are you interrogating me, Quinn?"
"You're lying," she whispered, inching closer to Rachel. Then she put her finger under her chin and tilted up her face, forcing the brunette to look her in the eye. "Now tell me again, that the kiss never meant anything to you," Quinn commanded.
"I—it w—was just a kiss."Rachel said, stammering. "W—w – why make a big deal –" The brunette didn't finish what she was about to say. Quinn's mouth settled over hers in a gentle and hesitant kiss, giving her time to move away.
Rachel did not. Instead, she parted her lips slightly… shyly allowing Quinn's tongue to gently touch the seam of lips… then thrusting it inside her mouth, tasting the sweetness
Don't think of anything...Don't think… Rachel commanded herself, fully aware that her thoughts would put an end to everything. And she didn't want the kiss to end. But Quinn ended the kiss, leaving her wanting more.
"Now tell me again that you didn't mean that kiss…" she said, her voice low and raspy.
Rachel couldn't find it in her to answer. Her heart was pounding crazily. Just like that, it took a simple kiss for her to finally recognize her feelings.
Simple? No, the kiss was anything but simple.
So what if Quinn was a girl? Love transcends gender boundaries after all. So what if they didn't have anything in common? So what if they belonged to the opposite sides of McKinley's social spectrum? Quinn might not be her idea of a perfect suitor but…
But what about her date with Finn tomorrow night?
The memory of Finn woke Rachel up from her reverie. Yes. Finn was the one she wanted to be with, not Quinn. She shouldn't allow a kiss… or two kisses to change her mind about everything.
Rachel took a deep breath. Suddenly confused, switching her eyes to the beautiful view in front of her.
"Don't force me to say anything that I might regret later, Quinn," she said, glancing at the blonde.
"Just because we kissed…"
"Rachel—"
"Please take me home," she said in a determined voice.
Quinn didn't say anything after that. She straightened herself in the driver's seat and started the ignition.
Don't hate Rachel too much; she's just a teenager after all… so let's give her a break.