Chapter 21 - Obsession
"No, I refuse to accept this!" Rachel huffs, crosses her arms in mock anger, and turns her nose up in the air.
Quinn laughs next to her, sitting around the square kitchen table, and drags the green card toward her pile. She only needs one more to win this round, having already won six cards - and they're playing for seven. "Come on, Rach. Don't be a sore loser," she taunts her.
Puck laughs too and says, "gotta give it to her, Rach. I don't think I've ever seen you lose at a game ever and she's got you beat." He arrived with Beth a little after dinner to drop her off with Quinn but Rachel's dads insisted he stay since they haven't seen him in a long time.
Hiram is holding Beth on his lap, eyeing Rachel go from pretend upset to really upset. He holds back a smirk.
"Dad!" Rachel turns toward Leroy with a pout, "you can't possibly tell me you really think Justin Timberlake is hotter than Leonardo diCaprio!" She picks up her red card from the disposed pile and shoves it at his face, "Leo, Dad!"
"Yeah, Rachel, but Justin acts, sings, and dances!" He tells her and then says, "besides, as much as I love Leo, I just really like to rile you up."
"First of, J.T. is not that great an actor -" she narrows her eyes at Quinn who has snorted, and then back to Leroy. "And two, I thought tonight was supposed to be about me!"
"Go ahead, Quinn. Flip the next card," Hiram instructs her. "If we allow her to continue, she'll never stop."
"Daddy!"
"And tonight is about you, child." Hiram continues, bouncing a wide-eyed Beth on his knee. "Now, shut up and let us play." He smiles sweetly, and the kidness in his eyes dismantles her.
She sighs, "fine," and then encourages Quinn to flip a card with a flip of her hand. She fixes the red ones in her hand in order of awesomeness - left to right: My First Kiss, Bach, Cotton Candy, Bombs, Mississippi River, Pigs, Boogers. "I'm just saying - it'd be nice to win." She mutters and looks at the green card on the table: 'Perfect'. She's got this one on the bag!
With a triumphant humph she slams My First Kiss face down on the table and snickers to herself. "Someone thinks she's taking this round," muses Quinn to her left. Rachel's eyes snaps toward the blonde, aware of what she's implying.
"Are you saying you won't pick me, even if I have a great card?"
Leroy takes a sip of his red wine and laughs quietly, hoping Quinn can figure out a way out on her own.
"I think I'll win this one, Rach," Puck says, over-confident, and throws his on top of hers. He leans back on his chair and puts both hands behind his neck.
"Not so fast, Pool Boy," Hiram warns him. He lifts his red cards one by one with his right hand - his left is currently holding Beth - until he finds the one he wants and it soon joins the others in the middle of the table. "I'm winning. I need this win to tie Rachel!"
"Come on, Dad! We're only missing you," Rachel pushes Leroy, who's still focused on his cards, trying to decide between two choices. "You always take the longest," she whines and takes a small sip of her glass.
"Keep calm, woman." He tells her and makes a choice. And then shakes his head, touching the other card. This is it - and wait! How had he not seen this before?! He settles on a third card, one which hadn't even been an option before.
Quinn is ready to judge their choices. She flips them over, grinning when she can spot Puck's easily. "I'm sorry, Puck, but 'Beer' is not perfect."
She discards that one and he laughs, "it is to me." With a shrug, he waits.
"Alright. Now, we have left: My First Kiss - hmm," she ponders, "Blondes- ha ha, I like this one; and, Dance." She does like dancing a lot. She considers it and then looks back at her other choices. She hums again, hand on her chin scratching. "I am blonde and I am perfect," she jokes. "And really," she slides My First Kiss up the table an inch, "are we talking about your first kiss or mine?" She looks around the table, waiting for an answer from the player of the card.
Rachel knows that if she gives herself away there's a chance Quinn won't pick her just because it's her and everyone under this roof - and around the world - is conspiring against her. But she also knows that Quinn's first kiss was actually awful, so she says, "um, mine. And may I also add, my first kiss with you." She winks playfully and notices Quinn blush even though she's trying not to.
"I don't think that counts," she tells Rachel. Oh, she totally sees what Rachel's doing but there ain't no way she's falling for that one. Except, now that she thinks about it, their first kiss was pretty perfect.
"No! Oh no!" Leroy says and points toward his daughter, then his card, "you cannot flirt your win! Come on, Quinn, blondes are perfect, yeah?" He wiggles his eyebrows, trying to appeal to her ego.
"Whatever, dancing is the better option and that's that," Hiram says, trying to appear like he doesn't care.
Quinn is really torn now. She doesn't actually like blondes, though. Even if she is a blonde, she is usually attracted to brunettes: Puck, Rachel, etcetera etcetera. There is one perfect blonde in her life though, and that's Beth. But with Puck as her father and Quinn's blonde hair being recessive, she knows her hair will darken. With that, she removes blondes.
"Yes!" Rachel hisses and sticks a tongue out at her dad.
He scoffs, rolls his eyes, and says, "Revert, much? You're acting like you're thirteen again." He then smiles and adds, "Besides, your girlfriend here is a blonde. You might wanna watch out how you feel about their perfection and stuff." The table erupts in laughter, including Rachel.
Using the opportunity to try to make up Quinn's mind, Rachel leans closer to her, places a hand on the inside of her arm, and says a notch above a whisper, "she knows I think she's pretty close to perfect." Her eyes focused on Quinn's profile, she realizes that she actually means that and is not just saying it to win. Damn, this woman is beautiful.
And that does it for Quinn. Because she can hear in Rachel's tone; and feel in her touch; and see in her look the sincerity of her statement. She doesn't think herself perfect; she doesn't feel it; she knows she's not. She also knows Rachel doesn't mean perfect as in a porcelain doll you put on a pedestal and worship it and it does no wrong.
What she means is: Quinn is perfect for her.
And Rachel is perfect for Quinn.
And their first kiss sure was perfect.
So she turns to Hiram with an apologetic smile and says, "sorry, she wins this one."
Groans are heard round the table when the men realize Rachel wins the round. "She did cheat," Puck says.
"Did not!" She argues. "Oh, and baby?" She looks at Quinn again. "Now I'm tied with you!" She laughs, extremely happy at that, and smirks.
"Now all you have to do is make sure you don't pick Quinn's card this round," Leroy says.
"Yeah, or you're responsible for letting her win," Hiram finishes the thought, frustration starting to show in the way he rolls his eyes.
The door bell resonates throughout the house and Rachel stands up quickly, knowing Santana and Britt have arrived. It's almost ten, but Britt just got out of work. She teaches a few classes Saturday nights at a local dance studio and has only just left work. Still, Rachel invited them and hoped they'd show.
Opening the door wide, she's taken aback by the impact of the hug Britt gives her. Instantly, she's running her mouth, excitement from the classes spilling out. "Hey, Rach! I'm so excited you've invited us over tonight. There's no way I wouldn't come. I mean, San does have work tomorrow at 5 AM but she'll be alright, right, baby?" She barely glances at her girlfriend for confirmation and then turns back to Rachel, wide-eyed and still trying to catch her breath, "Besides, it's your last weekend here and I feel like we've all grown so close and there's no way I'd let you leave Monday without saying bye."
"Thanks for coming over, Britt." She tells her, meaning every word. She has grown to love these girls as if she's known them forever. Pointing toward the back of the house, she says, "right down that way. We're in the kitchen, playing Apples to Apples."
Britt bounces away, letting the animated chatter and laughter lead her toward the rest of the party.
When Britt's out of sight, Rachel sighs and looks at Santana with a comical expression, "that one's just a ball of energy, huh?"
"Yeah," Santana says fondly, quietly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Rachel steps up and hugs Santana, feeling the need to express how thankful she is for the Santana of it all in her relationship with Quinn. She knows Santana convinced Quinn in giving Rachel a chance, pushing her just as she needed; for being a good friend, letting Quinn stay at her house while away from her mother. "Thanks for coming," she hears herself say.
Santana is shocked by the contact, but her body soon molds to the touch of Rachel. "Yeah, no problem. I would never stop hearing it from Quinn or Britt if I didn't show... so."
"I know you have work in the morning," Rachel says and starts guiding their way toward the back, "so, really, it means a lot."
"Well," Santana says, "you mean a lot to my best friend." It's her way of telling Rachel how much she appreciates her too. What? Sometimes she's really good at saying how she feels, but sometimes it just feels way too heavy. Like, with Rachel right now. Somehow, this girl makes it much more intense.
Rachel stops on her tracks and looks at Santana, the dim light coming from the kitchen their only source of light, "She means a lot to me."
"I know," Santana reassures her. "I can see it in the way you look at her, Rachel."
"Good," she asserts with a nod and turns on her heels to continue into the kitchen. "Come on, I have a game to win."
Quinn wins the game and the next one too, Britt a close second. That one shocked everyone except for Santana.
By the time Puck leaves, Beth's been asleep for almost four hours. Santana's been sleeping on Rachel's bed, with Beth under her left arm, getting some rest for work the next morning, and Leroy and Hiram finally say goodnight to their daughter, Quinn, and Britt.
"Go on to bed with Santana, Britt," Rachel tells her while softly pushing her in that direction. "Quinn and I will take the guest room."
Britt looks torn, like she wants to both accept and refuse the offer. "Are you sure?" She asks, "I don't want to impose."
Rachel reassures her with a solid nod and a tilt of her head in that direction.
After the blonde hugs both she and Quinn, Rachel takes Quinn by the hand and leads her down the hallway to the guest room. It is about the same size as Rachel's. The bedding is a pale yellow, not too extravagant. It's actually very homey. Quinn smiles as Rachel closes the door behind her back and smirks at her. "Hi," Rachel whispers, as if she's thankful they're finally alone.
"Hey," Quinn says back and stands still on her spot, waiting for Rachel to come toward her. "Tonight was fun," she says, as she wraps her arms around Rachel's neck.
Rachel pushes herself up to the tip of her toes to be able to kiss Quinn softly, "yeah, it was."
"Even though you lost every game we played?" Quinn teases.
"Ouch," Rachel says with a pout, her bottom lip sticking out. "No need to rub it in."
Now Quinn is the one to dip her head just enough to drop a solid, sweet kiss on Rachel's lips. "I'm sorry. So, are you ready for bed?"
"No?" Rachel lies. It's late, and they woke up relatively early this morning for the time they went to bed last night. Seriously, it was already morning! She's ridiculously tired, her body is screaming for the bed. And all the excitement of the night didn't help either. She's also emotionally drained, with the bullying conversation in the back of her head, and knowing tomorrow is her last day - it's all too much. But she can't go to sleep.
Tomorrow will inevitably come if she sleeps. And she doesn't want it to be her last day.
"Rach," Quinn lifts an eyebrow effortlessly. "I can see how exhausted you are."
"I know but -"
"Tomorrow," Quinn says, a little edge to her voice - because she doesn't want this any more than Rachel does, - "will come inevitably. If you go to bed or not, and you need to rest."
"But, Quinn -"
"I'll still be here when you wake up. You'll still be here." Quinn tells her, trying and willing not to cry. Her entire face is hurting from trying to keep from tearing up. She doesn't need to go to bed like that. She'd wake up with a headache. She's not allowed to cry - she will not cry - anymore about this until Monday. When Rachel actually - shit - leaves.
Rachel exhales heavily. "I know, I know. I'm sorry - I just ruined a perfectly good night." She looks around the room, needing to find anything to distract her from the saddened hazel eyes in front of her. They look just as afraid as she feels. Damn her and her need to go back. Damn New York. Damn her dreams. Damn this girl. They've already talked about this; they've discussed their options and feelings; they know what to expect. Yet, somehow, it isn't any easier, and it is dreadfully approaching. Faster each minute.
"You didn't ruin it," Quinn says, through a smile she has to force. It's weak, but it's there. She frowns a little when she steps closer to Rachel, "I promise you didn't ruin it." She grabs her by the hand and starts pulling Rachel toward the bed. She pushes on the girl's tan shoulder, exposed by the tank she's wearing, and watches as Rachel falls on the bed. Her hair flies every which direction before settling around her head on the bed. She is always gorgeous. "I'm going to kiss you right now, okay?" She tells her, voice soft.
Rachel gulps, her entire body shivering at the thought of Quinn on top of her. She always loves the weight of Quinn on her. Still not used to having the girl want her as much as she wants the girl, Rachel simply nods and watches through heavy-lidded eyes as Quinn lifts her dress' skirt to allow movement of her legs. She throws her right leg over Rachel's waist and settles on top of her thighs. When did she get so lucky?
"Rachel?" Quinn asks.
"Mhm?" Rachel mumbles. She has no words at the moment. Her throat feels knotted and her mouth dry, but in a good way. She's dizzy, but it's from Quinn's intoxicating spell on her.
"We didn't get any clothes to sleep in from your room," Quinn informs her and starts to lean forward. Rachel isn't really listening to her anymore, she knows, because Rachel is nodding with a dumb - but completely endearing - expression on her face. "And that means we'll either have to sleep with the clothes we have on right now..." she leans another inch forward.
Rachel is getting impatient. It seems that all Quinn is doing is talking and not kissing her, and she's never been a patient person. She's sure Quinn is saying important things, but she's too focused on the lips moving to hear the sounds coming out. She feels like a bad girlf - friend, a bad friend, but how can she pay attention when Quinn is so hot - literally and figuratively - and on top of her? She gets on one elbow and shakes her head, finally listening the last word out of Quinn's mouth.
"...underwear." Quinn finishes and now she knows she has Rachel's attention.
"Wait, what?" Rachel breathes out, smothered by the desire in her voice.
"Were you even listening, Rachel?" Quinn asks, voice laced with frustration - it's a lie; she's not really upset. "God, I'm here blabbing and blabbing and you're not even paying a-" She's cut off by the way Rachel cups her neck and pulls her down on her mouth. Their lips immediately start moving against each other. Rachel leans up the rest of the way and snakes her other hand under Quinn's arm, over her shoulder, and holds tight to the girl. Rachel's lips are tingling with need. She swipes her tongue over Quinn's bottom lip, and Quinn in turn, opens her mouth, tilts her head, and lets Rachel suck her tongue into her mouth.
When they break from the kiss, to breathe - hot pants falling from each set of soft lips - Rachel says, "you told me you were going to kiss me. All other words were not heard after that." She giggles a little and wiggles her eyebrows, "except for maybe... underwear?" She caresses Quinn's jawbone with the pad of each of her thumbs, and threads her fingers in the blonde hair.
Quinn rolls her eyes and snickers, "of course that's all you heard."
"You going to fill me in, baby?" Rachel asks and starts gliding her lips over the path her right thumb had taken - up the jawbone, over the outer shell of her ear, down the neck, over the shoulder, across the collarbone, and finally Quinn's bottom lip. Rachel is obsessed with the feel of Quinn under her fingertips. The way her skin gives and her muscles flutter.
She tilts her head the opposite way for Rachel to have better access and commits the touch to memory, "I said - you never got us clothes to sleep in. So we'll either have to sleep with what we have on, or sleep in our underwear."
Yeah, Quinn is trying to kill her. Her eyes widen before she has the chance to stop them and then slowly they drag down Quinn's face and settle on her chest. "Just underwear?" She asks, already imagining that in front of her. She's seen Quinn in her bra only and - fuck, it's hot as hell. She won't be able to sleep; she won't be able to keep her hands (or mouth) to herself.
"Yeah, dummy." Quinn giggles. Rachel is obsessed with her giggle too. Quinn rolls off her with a last kiss to Rachel's cheek. It's a hard peck - it makes Rachel's head move violently, and they both laugh. Rachel rubs the spot, feeling how hot she is at the thought of feeling Quinn's naked skin against her.
"What are you doing?" She asks, when she realizes Quinn is off her and away, walking toward the bathroom.
"I'm going... to... pee...?" Quinn tells her, confused. "Can I?" She asks and turns back completely around to stare at Rachel. She has a smirk on her face, and Rachel wants to wipe it off with her lips. She knows the effect she has on Rachel and she's gloating in it. It's not Rachel's fault she's obsessed with Quinn! It's her fault! It's Quinn's fault for being irresistible, and funny, and witty, and kind of bossy, and a little irritating, and always beautiful.
"Oh, yeah, duh. You can do whatever you want." She says, and lays back on the bed with a thud. "Just hurry back." She mumbles and opens one eye to check if Quinn heard. She did. Groaning, she throws her right arm over her face, embarrassed at all of this. She never gets this embarrassed. Especially not around Quinn, but just look at her!
The door slams shut and Rachel allows her eyes to drift close. She doesn't really know how long she stays like that for, but she didn't think Quinn was gone that long. Except, next thing she knows, Quinn is shaking her lightly. "Hey," Quinn says. "Let's get you out of these clothes, okay?" She's trying to be gentle, and the quality her voice takes assures Rachel that Quinn is doing nothing more than caring for her at the moment.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she gets out. Her voice is already hoarse from sleep, and Quinn smiles.
"I know, baby. Just, help me out a little." She giggles as she strains to pull Rachel's shirt off. She lets it go over the side of the bed and then crawls toward Rachel's legs hanging off the bed. They don't touch the floor from where she is, and Quinn bites back laughter. Carefully she unbuttons Rachel's jeans and then drags the zipper down. She looks up at Rachel - eyes closed and frowning, breath starting to get shallow, mouth slightly parted - she licks her lips (and makes Quinn want to lick them too), - and her neck is starting to flush. "Don't get any ideas, Rach." Quinn jokes and says, "We're going to sleep."
"I know -" Rachel starts, and clears her throat. It's just how close Quinn is to her, and how her hands feel doing what she's doing. Her body is the one reacting - her brain is going bezerk, and her heart feels like it wants to crawl out of her through her throat. "I can't help it if this is how you make me feel." She admits and sucks in some air as Quinn starts to roll off her jeans. She arches her back to lift her hips and give room for the jeans to come off.
Once those are off, Quinn takes in the sight in front of her. Rachel Berry, laying on the bed with her arms over her head, eyes closed still in concentration. Her body is stunning, and Quinn is finding how hard it is to keep from touching Rachel where she wants to touch her - everywhere. The taunt abs are exposed and stretching, sleek and inviting. Her breasts are pulled up together and they look delicious with the way the bra is pushing up against her. Suddenly, she feels like she's mirroring Rachel's look when she was taking off her jeans. She can feel herself get hot, she bites her lips not to lick them, and has to steady her breath.
Rachel opens her eyes and can't help but smirk at the way Quinn is looking at her. Like she wants to... "you look really sexy right now," Rachel tells her before she can help it.
Quinn shakes her head and turns around, "Well, have you seen yourself?" Her head falls as she tries to reach for the zipper behind her. She's kind of shaking from the vision and she can't seem to grasp the damn thing.
Rachel watches her fumble with it and with enormous effort, she makes it to the edge of the bed, where she sits and orders, "let me," with a soft tap to Quinn's hand. She drops her hand to her side, and then she grabs it with her other hand, and then she fidgets with her fingers.
The zipper glides down and Quinn's spine comes into view, all pretty skin and warmth. Rachel wants to kiss her back, and she wants to run her hands all over it like she does it when they're making out, but she wants to do it from here. She knows that as soon as Quinn drops the dress from her shoulders, past her hips, and her ass comes into view, she's going to lose it. But she can't lose it. They can't lose it. So she scoots back toward the middle of the bed and falls back.
"Thanks," Quinn says with difficulty. All she really wanted was for Rachel to take her, turn her around, and throw her on the bed. "I'm going to turn off the lights."
Flawless. It's the only word she can think to describe the girl in front of her right now. She moves so gracefully across the room, every muscle of every limb moving and it's so hot. Just watching her walk - geez. She's seen Quinn walk so many times already. But never like this - never almost naked. Before the room goes dark, Rachel watches as Quinn turns around to look her in the eyes, and she soaks.
They don't say anything after that. Quinn does this little race thing back to bed, and Rachel giggles at her when she jumps on the bed. The room is cold now that they're both only in their bra and panties, so they scurry under the blanket and pull it over their heads. Their giggling starts to subside, and even in the dark, Rachel can see her eyes perfectly. Her eyes, and her nose, and her mouth, and the way her nose scrunches when she laughs.
Not wanting to get carried away, Rachel pulls the blanket back down and kisses Quinn goodnight, "Goodnight, you. I'll see you in the morning."
Quinn's eyes flutter open after Rachel's lips part, leaving behind cold, and she whispers into the air in front of her, "goodnight."
They lay on their backs for a while. It's quiet, and neither is asleep at first. Rachel is still tired, she yawns, but she can't really will her brain to shut down knowing how close Quinn is and how dressed she is not.
She sighs, exasperated, and then says, "fuck it, come here." She wraps an arm around Quinn's waist and pulls on her side, rolling her close and flush against her front, to feel the girl on her skin. This is how they sleep clothed, and she really needs it tonight. Quinn settles against her, her head falling to rest against Rachel's chest. "Much better," Rachel says and feels Quinn giggle as she slides her arm over the one Rachel has on her stomach.
She feels Rachel kiss the top of her head and relaxes much further into the girl, her body finally screaming how much she needs to sleep. "Much." She admits and soon after, they're waking up to a new morning.