CHAPTER 26

I awoke the next morning on my side facing a wall. It wasn't my wall though; this wall was painted a deep grey color, the walls in my room are light pink. I pulled my hand out from under the pillow, which wasn't mine either, and felt soft silk. Silk. Last time I remembered touching silk was in my dreams. Dreams. I must be dreaming right now! I bet I'm still in Santana's studio room, listening to her sing something beautiful. That made sense, listening to someone sing always helps me sleep. Not in a way like, "You're boring" but in a calm and soothing way. Like a lullaby. Yeah, she has sung me to sleep and I should be waking up, really waking up, soon.

"Hmm, Britt.."

Well maybe this isn't a dream. Why would we both be sleeping in my dream? Yeah, definitely not a dream. I realized that the weight I was feeling on my waist was her arm draped over my stomach, holding me to her warm body as her chest rose and fell with her soft exhales. I let out a content sigh feeling so protected in her arms, but being so close to her body also made me realize that we were both completely nude still. All the memories from last night came rushing back and I instantly felt my cheeks flush knowing that those were Santana's boobs pressed against my bare back, like without a bra or anything.

"Ermm hm Brr.."

Any embarrassment I was about to feel quickly vanished as Santana continued to mumble in her sleepy voice. How could someone be so cute even in their sleep? I just had to see what she looked like, even if that meant risking waking her up. I slowly maneuvered my body within her embrace, only pausing for a moment when her arm tightened around me and she let out a puff of air, until I was facing her. Oh yeah, she was still beautiful, even more so how the silk sheets fell around her waist revealing her pointy hipbone. My eyes trailed up her side, over the grooves of her rib cage, noticing that her skin was covered in goosebumps. I carefully pinched the sheets and slid them up to her shoulder then wrapped an arm around her, hoping that might warm her up a little. I ran my hand down the segments of her spine, smiling at the softness of her skin.

Suddenly, I felt her doing the same and looked up to find deep brown eyes staring into my piercing blue. I don't know why, but I felt myself blushing again. Just a second ago I was attempting to memorize every dip and groove of her back, not realizing she had been watching me, but now I felt a little embarrassed. I felt her chest rise and fall quickly several times against mine as she snickered.

"Morning, gorgeous." She said in a low raspy voice. She made this disgruntled expression at hearing the sound of her own voice and tried clearing her throat. "Mm, isn't my morning voice so sexy?" She teased, her voice coming out sounding the same.

"Mhm, the sexiest." I giggled and stared up at her, seeing a twinkle in her eye. Even with her hair in a tangled mess and her face free of makeup, I still couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she was. "You're really pretty in the morning." I said without thinking and watched as she tilted her head to the side and laughed.

"Just in the morning?" She smirked then lifted her hand to brush away some fallen hair from my eyes. Even after everything that's happened between us, all our progress we've made, she still somehow managed to leave me speechless from the simplest things like her little touches. "Just kidding, babe." She cooed then cupped my chin and pressed her lips to mine. I grinned at the contact as her hand slid from my chin and rested on my hip. We spent the next couple minutes just looking at each other and smiling like we were telling silent jokes or something. I liked it, but what I liked even more was what happened last night. Last night. Just thinking about it gave me all these warm fuzzy feelings, and by the way she's looking at me right now tells me she's probably thinking about the same thing.

"What are you thinkin' about?" I asked softly as I watched her cheeks bunch up in a grin.

"You first."

"Mm, you." I sighed with a smile. "And last night." She smiled again then looked away from my eyes all bashfully.

"Great minds think alike then." She teased then looked up at me. "That was so-"

"Amazingly amazing?"

"Yeah, something like that." She smiled then leaned in for another quick kiss."You hungry?" She asked and propped herself up to look at the clock on the nightstand that was on my side of the bed, somewhat hovering over me, then looked back down at me with a smile. "It's almost 10:30; I could make you French toast if you want?"

My eyes widened as I whipped my head to see the time for my own eyes. "No!" I shrieked. Suddenly I realized where I was and where I had to be in 30 minutes and threw the covers off of me.

"Uh, no French toast. What about pancakes?" Santana asked sounding a little worried. I looked up to see her sitting up with the silk sheets hanging off her shoulders staring at me with a confused expression.

"Sorry, I would love to have French toast or pancakes with you," Her head perked up at my words and that little pout she was sporting was replaced with a wide grin. "But, I forgot I had work at 11." Her shoulders dropped again but she nodded with understanding. I hopped around trying to find all my clothes while Santana just sat in the middle of the bed laughing at me. "Hey, don't you have to be at work too? It's Wednesday.."

"Mm, I don't feel like going." She shrugged then stood up with the sheets still hanging on her shoulders. I knew I had better get my clothes on quick because I knew if she even smirked at me I'd be all over her. I quickly threw on a tank top just as she walked over and wrapped me in the silk sheets with her. "You should call out too, Noah will understand, or I'll make him understand at least." Her body was flush against mine and it took all the power in me to step away from her.

"I'm working at the other job today.." I said and kneeled down to wiggle into my discarded jeans. "I would love to stay with you in bed all day, but some of us aren't owners of record labels and have that luxury of staying home because they 'don't feel like going'." She rolled her head back with a chuckle then crossed her arms over her still exposed chest and smiled.

"Nice shirt, too bad it's not yours." I looked down realizing I was wearing a light pink tank top when last night I had on a black one.

"Huh, no wonder it fit kinda tight." I laughed and tugged it off and threw it at her. "I thought I might've gotten fat over night."

"I don't think so, I think I worked you out pretty well." She smirked and threw her sheets on the bed to also get some clothes on.

"Ha! Because it's so exhausting being a bottom." I teased and slapped her playfully on the butt just as she slid into some jeans.

"Keep teasing me like that, Britt, you're going to regret it later." She winked and set her hands on my hips.

"I look forward to it."

"Oh come on, I'll drive you home." She laughed and grabbed for her keys and purse before rushing downstairs. The car ride was short and I was a little disappointed that I couldn't be with Santana longer after having such a memorable night like last night. After a quick kiss from Santana, I was bolting upstairs hoping that Quinn would've left already to take Bella to school and maybe if I changed fast enough I'd beat her to the shop. I got ready in record time and was soon flying down the stairs with my phone to my ear and running for work.

"Christy!" I shouted too loudly into the receiver, probably scaring the girl on the other end. "Sorry, I'm rushing." I said a little less loud. "Is Quinn there yet?"

"Nope, not yet." Christy answered. "Are you okay, Brittany? It's almost 11 and you're still-"

"Hi!" I huffed all out of breath as I swung the door open and waved to Christy who was looking at her phone then back at me. "Never late!" I said still panting and went to clock in. I looked around seeing the usual customers like Heather and her friends but no Quinn; good, I beat her he-

"Well someone's definitely got that 'I just had sex and it felt so good' glow going on." Quinn teased as she appeared from the backroom with a box of lids in her hands.

"Oh my God, is it that noticeable?" I whispered to Christy but she just smiled and looked away.

"You were almost late." Quinn smirked as she set the box down on the counter and narrowed her eyes on me. I felt my cheeks heating up in that oh so familiar way while the tips of my ears started to burn."Gee, I wonder why.." I pressed my lips together and tried to disappear as I knew the inevitable was coming. "Could it be the same reasons as you not coming home last night?"

"Uhh, I'm going to-uh-go over there." Christy said awkwardly as she shuffled off to wipe down the tables in the dining area. I contemplated whether I should follow her too, but with Quinn drawing nearer I knew it wasn't an option.

"That would explain that gnarly hickey right there!" She teased and poked at a sensitive spot on my neck. I tightly closed my eyes and shook my head at the floor guiltily. Just as I was about to try and defend myself I heard a loud thump followed by a string of giggles. I looked up to see Heather with her head on the table and her friends grabbing their guts as they laughed.

"See Q, look what you did!" I whisper yelled and pointed over to the table. "You just ruined that girl's life." Quinn followed my finger to where I was pointing and laughed.

"No, you just ruined her life." She giggled then stared at my neck. "Damn, who knew Santana was such a sucker fish!"

"What?!" I huffed and went to look at my reflection in the shiny metal of the coffee machine to see my neck covered in little spots. "Shit, I'm going to get that girl!" I sighed trying to be angry yet I couldn't help but love each and every mark she had left. They were only reminders that her lips were on my skin, longer than they should've been. I ghosted my fingers along the bruises with a goofy smile until I saw Quinn join me in the reflection.

"Yeah, I bet she'll just love that."

"Quinn.."

"Come on, I've got some makeup in my purse that you can use to cover those things up."

Minutes later I emerged from the bathroom with a well concealed neck and a big smile. Other than Quinn grilling me earlier, I was having a pretty great morning so far. I mean, waking up next to Santana would be enough to keep me in a good mood for the rest of the day! Even with it being as slammed as it was, and having to deal with those super creepy customers with strange twitchy behavior, the extra flirty old men who didn't realize that I was gay, or even the really rude customers that complained that their iced mocha was too cold wasn't such a downer for me. However, looking up from the coffee machine to find someone different staring at me like I was a ghost was sort of weird. I mean, it's winter time; everyone's as pale as me, no need to stare!

"Caramel Frap for Mason!" I called and slipped on a cardboard sleeve around the warm cup and waited patiently for the customer to come over. I sighed when the younger looking guy approached me with the same dumbfounded look that I kept seeing from everyone else.

"Thank you." He breathed with an awestruck smile and slowly spun around to leave. I stared after him confused as to why he looked at me like I had scared him or something. I quickly found Quinn standing next to me staring out at the full shop and every so often someone would glance up to me with the same star struck look, I just didn't get it! Was it the 'I just had sex and it felt so good' glow that kept the customers staring at me? I hope not, that would be embarrassing.

"Q, why does everyone keep looking at me?" I asked quietly as I kept my eyes on scanning the customers' faces. "Do I have something on my face?" My hand darted up to my cheeks as I started to brush my face of anything that might've been there. "Oh God, is my hair sticking up? I bet it is, why didn't you tell me?" I bent down to stare at my reflection in the metal but saw nothing but Quinn giggling. "I-Is it the glow? Is it that noticeable?"

"Britt, no." Quinn laughed. "I have no idea what's got everyone staring at you honestly. Maybe you're just super pretty today? Yeah, I'm gunna go with that."Quinn shrugged and walked over to wipe up some spilled coffee. I looked down at my reflection trying to see what others were seeing. It couldn't be that I was extra pretty like Quinn said because I hadn't done anything different; I barely had any makeup on besides the concealer on my neck and my ponytail wasn't as neat and tidy as it usually was. Maybe that was it! My messy ponytail was what kept the customers staring at me! Yeah, that made sense.

"Hey, I'll be right back!" I said to Quinn and hurried off to the bathroom. Once inside, I undid my ponytail and ran my fingers through my tangled hair then pulled it back up to a very neat and tidy ponytail. I looked at myself in the mirror and patted down any fly aways then tied my hair back up. I turned my head to the side then to the other making sure that my ponytail was definitely not stare worthy. "Nope, looks normal." I said to myself and went back out to stand behind the counter just as Christy walked by. "Christy! How's my hair? Is it okay? Nothing's sticking up or anything right?" I guess by frantically asking her questions until she finally answered wasn't really a smart thing to do when I was trying to not draw more attention to myself.

"Brittany, your hair is fine. What's going on with you today?" Christy asked worriedly as she walked back to her register. "You're acting really weird.." I let out a sigh and shrugged as I walked back to my previous position at the coffee machine.

"Everyone else is the ones acting weird.." I muttered under my breath after I looked out and still saw people staring at me.

"Hey Britt!" I looked up to see Kurt walking over sporting a charming grin and something rolled up in his hand. He looked to his left and waved to Quinn. "Hey girl, we definitely need a ladies night again! You're the funniest drunk ever." He teased while Quinn just smiled with an eye roll. He walked right up to Christy and gave her his order then went to stand by me. "Huh, well someone's looking a little different today." Kurt commented.

"Ugh, just because I had super awesome lady sex last night with my super hot girlfriend doesn't mean everyone has to stare at me!" I groaned while Kurt just stared at me with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Ignore that." I sighed and started over. "Hi Kurt, you're in a good mood." I said with a small smile as Christy handed me his cup and told me the order.

"I'm always in a good mood, my dear, especially when the gossip magazines come out with extra juicy news that I'm somewhat interested about." I quirked an eyebrow up at him as I capped a lid on his drink; he didn't really strike me as a gossip magazine reading kind of person. "Here, take a gander." He laid out a magazine on the counter and there, on the front page was-

"Holy shit, does this mean I'm famous now?!" I asked, still staring at the picture taken of me and Santana in the middle of the park kissing a few days ago. "This explains so much.."

"People keep staring at you?" He asked as I handed him his drink. I took the magazine in my hands and flipped to the page were more information would be given. I was shocked to find that there was a 2 page spread about Santana with pictures of her and some with the both of us from our dates or just walking around. I glanced down at the caption of the city park kiss and read:

Co-Owner of New York's famous record label SnixxJuice, Santana Lopez, seen exchanging a sweet kiss with a new beautiful blonde bombshell. Looks like NYULagone Medical Center's head surgeon, Brooke Petterson, has been given the boot.

"Brooke's the head surgeon at one of the most prestigious hospitals in New York?!" I gasped as I read through the caption and looked up at Kurt. "What the hell?" He just shrugged like it was nothing.

"Really Britt, you've got to start reading up on your tabloids." He laughed then pushed the magazine down to the counter so that we could both look. "Still can't believe you didn't know Santana was co-owner of SnixxJuice, that girl is always in the magazines! Well, only when she's seen out with her significant other. People love seeing a successful lesbian all out and proud." I just shook my head in disbelief. I work at a coffee shop and I'm a choreographer at some bar, how could I even compare to the head surgeon? I can't. No. Brooke sucked as a person and the public knew nothing about that. I am good for Santana, no matter what job I may possess. "Oh, I'll show you my favorite one." He said cheerfully and quickly flipped to a page where there was a blown up picture of Santana and I standing in the rundown parking lot of the bakery where we got Bella's birthday cake. "You two are so cute together!" I smiled down at the page and couldn't help but agree.

"That was the day we became official." I pointed out with a grin.

"In a creepy looking part of town with hobos hanging out on the corner?"

"Yeah, it was pretty unexpected."

"That's romantic."

"Sure was." I replied with a wink and looked back down at the picture. I flipped back to the 2 page spread and noticed a more recent picture.

"Kurt, you're turning my girl into a slacker!" I heard Quinn call as she drew near. "Good thing we're not busy any more. What are you two looking at anyway? Porn?" Quinn teased as she walked over to look at the magazine. "Holy shit B, you're in a magazine!" She nearly choked out and turned the magazine to face her. "Woah, Brooke's a-"

"Yeah, I know.." I sighed and tilted my head to look at the newest looking picture. "Th-this is from this morning.." I said pointing at the bottom picture of me walking out of Santana's apartment following her out to the car.

"Ha, look what it says!" Quinn laughed and pointed to the caption.

Miss Lopez seen with the nameless blonde bombshell once again leaving her apartment in the early hours of the day. Walk of Shame anyone?

"How did they even get this one, it happened only this morning!" I said after reading where Quinn's finger was pointing.

"Who knows!" Kurt shrugged the pointed to a different section. "But look at this one!"

Reports say that neighbors heard many questionable noises during the night. Seems like the budding relationship between the two is a little more serious than we thought!

"WHAT?!" I gasped and snatched the magazine to read for myself. "That's impossible, she was pretty loud but-"

"Oh gross, stop." Quinn laughed.

"But she lives in the penthouse suit, there's no way anyone could've heard her."

"That's impressive." Quinn commented with a smirk.

"What?" I asked confused. "The penthouse or the other thing.."

"Both." She shrugged with a laugh. "Look at little Britt-Britt, making girls scream and what not. I'm so proud. " I rolled my eyes at the comment and looked to Kurt.

"Well actually, it says here that neighbors mostly heard Santana's name being called.." The two broke out in a fit of giggles while I felt all the blood drain from my face and the tips of my ears feeling like they were burning off.

"No, that's wrong!" I tried to defend myself but I knew it was useless. I thought back to last night and I swear it was Santana being more vocal than I was. At least, that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. Yeah, Santana and I are definitely going to have a talk about this later.

A/N Sorry not as long of a chapter as the others, just wanted to give an update while I had the day off. Love all your suggestions of how you want Brooke to be 'taken out'. I think I've got a pretty good idea of how I want things to end that'll incorporate a bit of everything, but that's not till later. Let me know what ya'll are thinking! ( :

Also thank you to everyone who wished me luck on my finals, such sweethearts!