Chapter 55

They had shared meals before. They had shared meals alone before. They had shared meals alone before since meeting up again in New York. Of course, what they hadn't done was shared meals alone before, since meeting up again in New York, after confessing they were wanting to be more then just friends. It was for that reason Quinn was seriously considering a glass of wine with lunch. She couldn't very well follow through with that plan because she had hours of work left to do back at the office but the thought was there.

Having beaten Rachel to the restaurant she settled on a bottle of Pellegrino for the table and her smart phone to keep herself busy while she waited. Quinn was afraid if she didn't keep busy she might lose her nerve and run away. It was only lunch but it was probably the most important lunch she ever had.

...

Kurt was pretty happy with how the audition had gone and was even happier when Santana actually took his call. She wasn't sure getting away to eat was going to happen but she was still going to try. So Kurt went to her office, as instructed, to see what the plan was going to be.

Upon arrival a rather bookish looking receptionist, wearing designer clothing in very dower colors, called back to Santana's assistant. After getting permission she then brought Kurt back to Santana's office.

When he entered Santana pointed to the sofa across from her desk while she barked something, Kurt couldn't make heads or tails of, to someone on the phone. When she was done barking she hung up, looked at Kurt, and shrugged.

"We're ordering in?" He asked, assuming from her demeanor he knew the answer.

"We are ordering in." Santana replied.

...

It was lunch. No big deal. It would be a nice way to turn a miserable morning into a much better afternoon. Who was Rachel trying to kid? Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She made her way through the door of the restaurant, to the host stand, and then followed one of them over to the table where a very gorgeous Quinn Fabray was seated drinking a glass of water like one would after spending hours in the desert with an empty canteen. The sight caused Rachel to calm, as she was now certain she wasn't alone in being nervous.

Brushing the host away, Rachel took a second to watch Quinn unobserved. Rachel had looked at that face more times then she could count and yet it was like she was seeing Quinn for the very first time. Despite Quinn's adorable enjoyment of her ice water there was such a posed beauty in the way the blonde held herself that Rachel found it a bit unbelievable that someone that striking wanted more then just friendship.

The admiration didn't last very long as Quinn glanced up and caught Rachel staring. Caught, Rachel glanced away from Quinn briefly, and then smiled back and moved to the table.

As she grew near Quinn stood, smiled, and moved in Rachel's direction. The first date jitters rose up as Rachel wasn't sure what to do next. They were planning on keeping things private for now but did that include keeping their greetings platonic when no one they knew was around? Then there was the matter of the rest of the world. Was Quinn comfortable with Rachel showing her affection in public? Not to mention if this was their first date, was kissing really appropriate?

Rachel's mind whirled until she found she was standing mere inches from Quinn. Looking into the blonde's eyes she thought she saw the same questions staring back at her so Rachel decided to split the difference. Pulling Quinn close she gave her a very intimate hug, making sure the length of both their bodies touched but as she pulled away a friendly but still affectionate kiss on the cheek was as far as she took things.

She hoped she hadn't over or under estimated as she took a seat across from Quinn's chair at the table. "Sorry I'm a tiny bit late. I decided to walk down and ran into someone I knew."

The smile on Quinn's face remained as she took her seat again. "I was running late as well. Just got here myself."

"I'm glad you weren't waiting long."

"Not long at all."

"Good."

"Good." Quinn agreed and then burst out laughing.

Rachel relaxed as the laughter broke the ice. "We're over thinking, aren't we?"

"Seems so."

"How is it I can stand on stage in front of two thousand people a night and you can stand in front of a courtroom and neither one of us can manage a first date?"

"Is that what this is?" Quinn said giving Rachel the most adorable and yet sexy look she had ever seen.

"Isn't it?"

"It is. I guess we just aren't in our element yet." Quinn offered while reaching across the table.

Rachel took hold of the hand as it got within her reach and immediately knew she was blushing for the second time.

...

"You are so in your element here?"

Santana glared at Kurt. "What does that mean?"

"Making calls, balancing the workload, people bringing you what you ask for while other people take messages for you. This is exactly the kind of work you should be doing."

"I guess that's a good thing since it's what I do." Santana said adding cream to her coffee. "How was your audition?"

"It went remarkably well. Hopefully it leads to something."

"I'm sure it will pan out."

"Thanks Santana." Kurt said sounding surprised.

For what?"

"Having something nice to say. You realize you are doing that a lot lately."

"What's that mean?"

"It means no one ended up thrown off the roof last night."

The statement resulted in a very raised eyebrow from Santana. "I can be civil."

"And you were. Tell me to mind my own business if you want."

"Mind your own business."

Kurt smirked. "You realize that will make for a very dull lunch."

"Just eat your sandwich."

...

Quinn took another bite of her lunch as she decided she was going to focus on the fact they were merely two old friends spending time together. "So how was your morning?"

"It was okay."

"Just okay? That doesn't sound good."

Rachel looked Quinn straight in the eye and seemed to be trying to deflect something. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing."

"It's really stupid. I went and read an industry site I know better then to read. Someone, who sounds like they are on the show, decided to take some anonymous swipes at me."

"Who does that sort of thing?" Quinn asked shaking her head.

"It's my own fault for going and looking for reactions to my departure."

"Don't let it get to you. You'll be done with the show soon enough and then can move on to better things."

A lovely smile came over Rachel's face.

"What?" Quinn asked surprised by the reaction.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"I just like being here with you, like this. That's all."

Quinn knew what Rachel was getting at but couldn't help but tease. "Lunch? Had I known that was the secret maybe I would have suggested this sooner."

Rachel picked up her water glass. "No, you wouldn't have."

Watching Rachel take a drink Quinn knew the brunette was right. She never would have suggested anything remotely like a date because Quinn was so paralyzed by her feelings. "No, I wouldn't."

"But I'm glad we are making up for lost time."

"Me too."

It was then that Rachel's phone rang. "Sorry." After pulling it from her purse she glanced at the caller id, seemed to take a second, pushed a button, and put the phone away. "I'll call them back."

"Rachel, if it's important…"

"It's not. So tell me more about how your day has been so far." The brunette said continuing to enjoy her meal.

"All boring lawyer stuff."

"But it's 'your' boring lawyer stuff and it can't be any more boring then my theatre stuff."

"Some of my boring lawyer stuff is your boring theatre stuff." Quinn joked.

"By the way, any idea when you they are going to need me for all this?"

"I'll know more soon. We should plan on meeting soon at my office to discuss the series of events that led to his firing."

"Whatever you need. Just remember I have shows Wednesday during the day. The rest of my weekday schedule is open but I would love to leave Monday free if I can."

Quinn smirked. "A wide open schedule, huh?"

Rachel looked up from her plate with concern on her face. "I didn't mean to seem like..."

Quinn reached over and captured Rachel's hand. "Hey, hey, I'm teasing."

Rachel seemed to calm as she lied. "I knew that."

"No, you didn't."

"Okay, I didn't." Rachel laughed.

Quinn put a soft smile on her face to keep the mood light as she let go of Rachel's hand. "Well, I have taken note of your schedule and will make sure to plan accordingly. Speaking of schedules seems I got an invite to join Samantha, Brittany, and Mercedes for your show Thursday night."

"You don't have to sit through it again if you don't want too. You should just join them for dinner."

"Do you not want me to see it?" Quinn said a little worried that she was maybe rushing things, especially in mixed company.

"No, I mean of course I do, it's just that you've already seen it plenty of times."

Quinn was moved by what sounded to be the real reason Rachel had offered her an option to skip the show. It felt wonderful to have someone put her first for a change. The sweet offer brought something unexpected out in Quinn. She leaned forward and kept her voice low. "But I haven't seen it since everything changed between us."

Rachel Berry blushed for the third time that afternoon but this time it was the most beautiful thing Quinn had never seen before.

...

There it was. The unstated but very present flirtation Rachel had wondered whether or not would turn up. Warmth washed over her as she imagined all of what Quinn had said in that one short sentence. The acknowledgement of what had changed between them led to memories of Sunday and then Rachel's imagination took things further. She was certain those memories were now written all over her face. Grabbing herself another sip of her water she couldn't help but feel a little silly.

"You are so adorable when you get flushed like that." Quinn said leaning back in her chair but keeping solid eye contact with Rachel.

The intensity of the look wasn't helping Rachel recover from where her mind was trying to take her and neither was her accidental glancing at Quinn's soft lips.

Quinn must have caught on because she smiled and then it was almost like looking in a mirror. As Quinn began to blush, her eyes broke contact and glanced down seemingly mimicking Rachel's observation of the brunette's lips.

The two women went silent for a long time not noticing the restaurant, the food, or the noise around them. They just took their time admiring one another and as a result Rachel had never felt more alive. Rachel had also never felt more vulnerable which was why when she felt tears welling up she did everything she could to push them away. It was too soon to risk chasing Quinn away with Rachel's sappy romanticism. There would be plenty of time to reveal that Rachel still had that piece of her personality. It was just very carefully locked away in order to protect her heart.

...

"I know your day is crazy." Kurt said as he started to put on his coat. "But I was thinking of going out this evening. Any interest in grabbing a drink somewhere after you get out of this place?"

Santana looked up from picking up their lunches. "What do you have in mind?"

"One of the usual places. A couple drinks, some old stories, a few laughs, maybe meet some new people."

"Are you asking me to be your wingman tonight?" Santana laughed.

"More likely I will end up being yours. Could be fun is all. Like when we were both first in the city."

"Can't be too late, long day tomorrow."

"Works for me."

Santana seemed to consider the offer and then nodded. "I'll call you after I get home and change into something more appropriate for an evening out."

"What? Your tailored Prada doesn't qualify as evening wear."

"Not at the kind of places you like to hang out in."

Kurt couldn't help but laugh because Santana was absolutely right. "Call me and I will tell you where to meet me." Picking up his bag he made his way out of her office without waiting for her response.

It was slightly manipulative of him but he knew Santana needed to find a life and since he needed to find one as well who better for her to look for one with then him.

...

The check was paid after much wrestling back and forth with it. In the end Quinn had won because Rachel had gotten the dinner on Sunday night. Walking outside Quinn could feel spring in the air.

"So, I guess I will see you Thursday night?" Rachel asked with a slight hesitation in her tone.

"Absolutely. Thursday night. I will also call you about setting up a time to talk about the case, that is as soon as I have more to go on."

"Great."

"Maybe Sunday after your show we can go out and do something?"

Rachel leaned in and wrapped her arms tightly around Quinn. The height difference was evident and yet they both fit so perfectly together. It was especially evident when Rachel whispered back her answer. "I would like that very much."

Chills ran through Quinn's entire body as she felt Rachel's breath on her neck and her body pressed against her. Throwing caution to the wind Quinn pulled back slightly and captured Rachel's lips in a soft, slow, gentle kiss goodbye.

It wasn't long but it still lingered perfectly. The two women separated and Rachel looked at Quinn in a way that made her go weak. "We'll talk soon."

Quinn nodded back as Rachel turned to go. With Rachel going in the opposite direction of Quinn's office, the blonde fought the urge to watch Rachel disappear from view by pulling out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts she located the number she was looking for and called it.

...