Muse

by crushed2

Brittany Pierce left everything behind in Ohio in hopes of finding a new beginning in New York City, and by everything she meant her trust in people and her passion for performing. A chance encounter with a beautiful model may just change all of that.

9. Chapter 9

Super long chapter. No time to edit but been a while since I posted so wanted to get something out there. Read at your own pace and hope you enjoy!

Santana and Brittany were set to have their first of two scheduled rehearsals in just a few minutes. Santana arrived at the club and began to do a sound check. About 15 minutes after Santana arrived Brittany tapped on the door of the club. Santana couldn't help but notice the smile that found its way to her face and the way her heart slightly raced when she knew that Brittany had arrived. She rolled her eyes, thinking to herself that if she were a puppy her tail would be wagging insanely right now. "Get it together", she thought. Her tough image of herself was crumbling right before her eyes.

She felt a little better when she reached the door and found Brittany with an equally wide grin. "At least her tail is wagging too," Santana thought.

"Hey Britts," Santana said, hugging Brittany and letting her into the club before locking the door.

"Hey Santana," Brittany said, smiling. "Did a little shopping before coming here, a few odds and ends for our costumes."

"Oh yeah, well just let me know what I owe you," Santana said, walking to a table and pulling down two chairs for them to sit in.

"My treat, the white pants suit was the most important part, just had to get a vest that matched it well, thanks for letting me take the jacket with me" Brittany smiled. "I had my mother send a couple of my costume boxes from the stuff I have stored in her basement so I pretty much had everything I needed already. I'm sure she's glad to get rid of some of that stuff. I had always intended to go pack up the rest of my things but never got around to it," Brittany's voice sort of trailed off.

Santana held out her seat for her to sit before she herself sat.

"You haven't been back home since you moved here?" Santana asked softly.

"No," Brittany said simply.

"So who do you spend the holidays with?"

"Lady Tubbington," Brittany said softly. "It's not like I've been in New York very long, there's only been a couple of holidays..."

"Britt..."

"I've gotten invitations. I've been invited back home. I've been invited by people I work with or people who were interested in dating me. I just prefer being alone with Lady Tubbington. Going home is not appealing to me at all, and when you start joining people outside of work, joining their families on holidays and going on girls trips, well, I told you how I feel about letting people close. Let them close and they want to know more about you. More things to judge you about. More mistakes to hold over your head. I still don't know how you snuck in there," Brittany smiled, trying to lighten the mood but her heart felt heavy.

"Well now that I'm in I'm never letting you be alone again unless you really want to be. I'm officially inviting you to spend the holiday season with me this year. I don't know what that looks like for Christmas and New Years yet but Thanksgiving will be Nani and her boyfriend Kevin, my aunt Gladys and my mom and their significant others. We usually invite abuela but sometimes she does these holiday cruises with some of the women from her church. It'll be a good time. There will definitely be some awesome food, all kinds of food, a ridiculous amount of food. So think about it, Thanksgiving with my family and maybe spend the night at my place afterwards. We usually do some holiday shopping on Black Friday but it's mainly for tradition now. In the past it was an event but in recent times as people have gotten crazy we usually don't go until late Friday afternoon when the crowds become manageable. It's more fun than it sounds. It's a chance for all of my favorite women to get together and spend some time together," Santana smiled. "So what do you say, Britt?"

"Sounds beautiful, but I don't want to intrude on family time."

"Nonsense. We leave the men home and we go out and then the real fun starts. Come over. We'll even let you cook with us, show off what you learned in those cooking classes. Just don't go throwing raisins in random shit." Santana smiled.

"If you promise not to put sazon in absolutely everything," Brittany joked.

"I'm part Puerto Rican, I put sazon in my jello," Santana smirked and Brittany laughed.

"Well, you've eaten my cooking dozens of times and I haven't used a raisin yet."

"I don't know, you could have been sneaky about it."

"Could have been, but you're just going to have to trust me," Brittany smiled.

"I don't know, Ohio, I mean you're super cute so I can be persuaded to allow you to get away with it, but your feminine wilds won't work on the rest of the women in my family," Santana smirked.

"So I guess that means if you ever come home with me no green bean casserole for you. Don't go questioning the Pierce cooking skills."

Santana clutched her chest. "I bet your mom makes an amazing green bean casserole," Santana fake pouted. "Maybe she would let me trade her a sweet potato pie?"

"Maybe, but you'd have to lie and say it's pumpkin," Brittany said with a straight face.

"Riiight," Santana shook her head vigorously.

Brittany laughed and Santana was happy to see her smile.

"So it's settled, Thanksgiving with the Wright family, and possibly an extra Lopez."

"So Wright is your mother's family name?" Brittany asked.

"Yup, so if I ever decided to drop the Lopez family name you could just call me Ms. "Right" I guess," Santana groaned. "Ugh, so corny and yet still so true."

Brittany laughed.

"No need to worry, though, I'm a Lopez for life. Mi abuelita deserves someone to carry the name on with some dignity. My mom went back to using Wright when she divorced my dad and so she's the only one that has that last name so she keeps it alive. Nani's last name is Dupre and even though her parents are split up my aunt Gladys never changed her last name so she's still a Dupre as well. So with the Wright name carried on by my mom I will remain a Lopez in honor of mi abuela. Trust me, I really thought of giving it up if I ever got married but I think I will hold on to it in some capacity just for her."

Brittany smiles softly at her in understanding.

"Anyway," Santana continued, not wanting to start thinking about Wolf, "so are you finally going to let me in on what song you had in mind?"

"Me against the music, Madonna and Britney. I have to be Britney, of course." Brittany smiled brightly.

"Of course," Santana smiled, "Okay, yeah, we can handle that one. Should be fun, but it will also be work. I know I said that karaoke is just fun but some of the numbers will be straight up productions as well. It's the patrons chance to get up and show their stuff, or request to do a duet with one of their favorite club performers which we usually only do for our most loyal customers, but it's also a time for the performers to just be fun and free. Let's just say you're very lucky that Nani decided that she would come last minute, because Nani is a mess." Santana rolled her eyes and chuckled at the thoughts of some of Nani's past performances. "She would come here and have these closed rehearsals with just her and Finn..."

"Nani and Finn are close, huh?"

"Not really close, per se, like I told you before they have a very healthy respect for one another. They bond over drumming and she likes how he's this giant toddler. Finn and Sugar love when Nani comes to one of the karaoke nights. Like I said, it's always a show."

"Awww, wish she was performing."

"No you don't," Santana laughed.

"Maybe she will surprise you," Brittany smiled.

"Nope, because for someone who is not a performer she is as much a perfectionist as any of us. She would not do it without practice time with her Finnocence. He's her prop guy and it's not a Nani show withouts her props." Santana rolled her eyes and Brittany laughed. "Plus, she's going to want to see every moment of our performance, I know her, that's why she's coming next week. With that being said, let's get started. We can work on choreography first and vocals later. I think we'll leave the dancer in charge of the choreo and the singer in charge of the vocals. How does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect."

"And what's the deal with the costumes? Are we playing dress up today?" Santana asked.

"No, I just brought the vest and your pants back. Let me know if the vest fits you well. My costume is at home, I have all I need, so lets get started on this choreo."

"Let's do it, Britt," Santana smiled, standing and going to find what she needed to set the music up, after about 15 minutes she had everything ready.

Brittany already knew exactly what she wanted them to do, and now that she knew that they do a little props to go along with some of the performances of the staff members (and Nani, because they adore her) she asked Santana to see if Finn could maybe do a little something for their performance. She said she would set some time up with Brittany and Finn to make Brittany's vision come true. It would be nothing extravagant, just a few things here and there, the focus would be on Brittany and Santana.

Brittany and Santana worked on choreography for about two hours until they had perfected it. Santana loved seeing Brittany as a choreographer. She could tell that the woman's dance training was far more extensive than she admits. She was focused and intense and precise. Santana had worked with professional choreographers before when she had been hired to do shows in the past, and Brittany was as demanding as any of them were. Santana found it all to be rather sexy.

Santana and Brittany sat on the floor of the small stage exhausted. Both women were sweaty and tired but happy. They had nailed it. They had decided to take a break before working on their vocals. They ordered lunch and sat and waited for their food to be delivered. Brittany decided to treat, she felt that Santana had earned it. She also loved that Santana was able to keep up. She knows that Santana has worked on some productions in the past but it made Brittany wonder how big those productions were, because she seemed very disciplined and certainly capable. Santana's talents never ceased to amaze her.

"Damn Ohio, you are a beast on the dance floor."

Brittany smiled, "It was nice watching you keep up, though. This is going to be a lot of fun."

"It's going to be more fun when I get to pay you back when we work on our vocals."

"Well I'm looking forward to meeting your challenge as well as you met mine."

"Maybe I should set vocals up for another day and make it a dress rehearsal so I can see you in your little costume."

"It's not a 'little' costume."

"What a shame."

"You don't get to see my costume before Halloween."

"It can't get here fast enough. Just to warn you, though, I look reaaallllly good in white," Santana smiled.

"And just to warn you, I look reallllly good in my costume too. It was custom made for my body." Brittany said with a sultry look in her eye.

"Hot damn Ohio, such a tease." Santana said as her eyes wandered down Brittany's body and Brittany laughed.

Just then the food arrived and the women chatted as they shared their lunch. It was less than and hour later when Santana had turned on the mics and found an instrumental version of the song so that they could work on their vocals.

Brittany wasn't a powerhouse but she could carry a tune. Santana was impressed. She could work with Brittany and they would sound really good together. She was now very excited about their performance.

"Britt, you're freaking amazing! With some work you could be a really good singer. You're good now. Shit, not gonna lie, this is all pretty hot to me."

Brittany laughed, a slight hint of red running up the back of her neck and to her cheeks. She hated that she was openly blushing but there was no way she could make it stop. Santana thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Santana really did give Brittany some excellent pointers on singing, on how to control her voice, on how to breathe and sing while dancing. Santana made sure to record her singing so that she could truly hear herself back and Brittany was amazed at how she sounded. Sure, she's not ready to work in the club with the others but she knows now that she won't suck at karaoke night. The dancing she had down, but incorporating the singing she knew would be a challenge. Santana said she would make it easier since it was a duet by filling in if she noticed Brittany struggling and layering their voices together. Still, Santana assured her that she would not need to do that. By the end of their practice session both Brittany and Santana felt even more sure that such a tactic would not be necessary. They had a very successful day of practice and agreed that they would meet for their final practice at Santana's place later in the week when Santana had the night off and Brittany returned home from work. Santana would arrange to use the community room in her building so that they could have their final run through. If they ran late into the night Santana would just invite Brittany to stay over again although secretly both women didn't want that. The temptation was hard enough to deal with when Nani was there. Without Nani there as a buffer it would be almost impossible to fight what they were feeling.

The days after their rehearsal passed quickly, with Santana working at the club and modeling at the art institute on one of her nights off. With the holidays coming she would take on some extra gigs not only because she had gifts to buy her family but also because she had been thinking of buying something special for herself. She had been saving a lot, and if she could just stay disciplined she could get herself something nice as well. She deserves it, she thought. It's been rough lately, with pushing Wolf away. Just because she had successfully done it does not mean that she feels healed of the pain he's caused her yet. Still, the thought of the holidays with Brittany, the thoughts of going out and shopping for something nice for her for Christmas, it makes things feel better. She's even going to buy something for Lady T, she decided. It's been a long time since she shopped for a gift for a woman she was interested in. She doesn't really do gifts. She takes her ladies out for nice dinners, spends time with them, for their birthdays and for the holidays. She'll treat them to a meal somewhere really nice, and afterwards they would usually thank her loudly over and over (and over) again. She was always afraid that if she bought gifts, bought flowers, that women would attach a meaning to them that was deeper than she intended. So she stuck with the nice dinners, and usually when they didn't want the night to end, she'd treat them to a nice hotel stay afterwards.

Not with Brittany, though. She's already been thinking and decided that she would get her some fancy shmancy art supplies. Then she would treat her to dinner but not for the same reasons she takes her other girls to dinner. Brittany loves her cooking class, and she's always treating Santana. Santana thought it might be nice to show off her skills and invite her over, make her a proper meal like the women in her life taught her, with no expectations afterwards. Not that she ever really expected it, it just was no surprise that it usually just happened. She was excited about the thought of spending an intimate holiday with Brittany. She wanted to make it special since Brittany hasn't had a holiday in New York City. She wanted to make that up to her. She wanted to make it all better. She always wanted to make things better for Brittany.

The Tainted Angels also had their holiday activities, the toy drive and the Thanksgiving meals for the people in the community who could use a hand during the holiday season. All of the fundraisers they do throughout the year, a large part of the proceeds are for this time of the year. They provide turkeys and trimmings for 200 families. Then at Christmas they give gifts to an additional 200 kids in the community. Their third largest ride of the year is for the sick kids in the hospital. They surprise the kids with dolls and teddy bears and small toys, anything that gives them a little comfort during their stay. They talk to the families and Santana even brings her guitar and sings for the kids. She loves how they seem so happy to have a moment that lets them forget where they are and what they are going through.

The Autism ride was something Santana was very proud of. They participate in that ride largely due to Santana getting her club involved, and then later her sister chapters became involved when Big Mama and Cougar spread the word. Santana had gone to one of Nani's classes and did a little music therapy of sorts with the kids, and they responded so well to her. She kind of understood why Nani loved working with kids that some people would avoid working with. The little victories are huge victories in their lives, and when a little boy that had a lot of sensory issues actually didn't recoil in the corner with his fingers in his ears at the slightest loud noise when Santana sang Nani's heart burst open. Nani had stayed close to him, ready to soothe his anxiety and even offer a pair of ear muffs for noise reduction, but he didn't need them. Amazingly he drew closer and closer to Santana as she strummed her guitar and sang softly, knowing that some of the kids didn't respond well to anything loud. She knew she was doing something right when by the end of her time there that young boy had made his way to her lap, curiously reaching for her hands. She took them and let him strum her guitar, and later let each child who wanted to strum it do so as well, and some of them even attempted to sing like she had. She managed to convince all of them how gentle they needed to be with the instrument, and she realized why Nani needed these kids as much as they needed her. They softened her. They allowed her to be her true self and accepted that side of her, and she worked hard to bring out other sides of them as well. So Santana started that ride to raise money for Autism Awareness, and for Nani's kids.

Santana thought that maybe Brittany could come along to some of the events. Santana hadn't gone out on a real ride with the Tainted Angels since Albany. She's gone to meetings at the clubhouse and maybe a short ride with a few of her sisters but that's it. She almost can't imagine going on the next ride without Brittany, even though she knows that each time she brings Brittany on a ride she exposes her feelings for the blonde to anyone who knows her. Snixx did not bring women on rides, she simply rode the ones she found along the way. It was almost a running joke, a joke she laughed at, but deep down always made her feel so void. It reminded her of the man who had brought her into that world, and then abandoned her there over and over again for her older sisters to guide her because he wouldn't guide his daughter himself.

The last time she was at the clubhouse everyone asked about Legs. She had made an impression on them, sure, but she also knew that some of them, like Cougar, were asking because they had hopes that Legs meant something more to Santana, that she meant a new chapter in her life. She didn't have an answer for them, other than there was a chance that she would bring her along on another ride, which sort of was an answer to them. Snixx was keeping this one around, and some of her sisters were quite happy about that.

Still, Santana knew that she would need to get her hands on a bike if she were going to bring Brittany on these rides, because borrowing Wolf's bike isn't an option. During the holiday season it's not really an option anyway. His club has their own community events they participate in, and Wolf has his own girls he likes to save a seat for on the back of his bike. Santana bought that bike not only for the speed but also for the excuse. Most girls who weren't used to riding wouldn't feel comfortable riding her bike two up on a long ride. Now she sort of wishes she had something more built for the comfort of her passenger, because she wants Brittany with her, and she wants her to feel safe and secure. Santana decided that she would invite Brittany on a few more rides like the first one they had taken so that she could get used to riding her bike, after all, she had the feeling that Brittany would be around for a while after what she had confessed to her in the dark.

By the time their second scheduled rehearsal had taken place the ladies were confident that they had this thing in the bag. Santana had secured the community room in her building for two hours which wasn't an issue on a weekday and so Santana had suggested to Brittany when they planned the rehearsal that maybe they could enjoy a short swim and a sauna afterwards to relax. Brittany really wanted to but was hesitant. She was still really nervous about showing her body after what had happened with the photos, which was crazy, because some of the costumes she had to wear when she used to dance were designed to show off her body, her long legs and perfect abs. She really wanted to get over that. She really wanted the next time she and Santana were intimate to be what Santana loves, she wants her to see her. More importantly by hiding in the dark she doesn't get to see Santana, and just as Santana told her, ever since they were together she wishes she had kept the lights on. She wishes that more and more as they build up to whatever they are building up to. She's still afraid sometimes to think of what they could be. She's not afraid of the sex part, she's afraid of the other part, the part she wants more than she will ever admit. The part that wants to hold hands and walk down the street with Santana. The part that wants to roll over and wake up in her arms. The part that loves the way that Santana looks at her even when she's not flirting. The part that wants to be her girl.

Brittany and Santana sat on the floor of the community room, breathing heavily but smiling, each happy with how their performance had gone. They each sipped from their water bottles and then Santana spoke.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a list of foods to avoid for at least 24 hours before we perform. Then I'm going to give you a list of things that would be okay for you to have."

"Like what?"

"Well this list is pretty long but avoid dairy for sure. I'm finally going to get you to stop turning your nose up to my tea and honey as well." Santana smiled.

"I like tea, it's just that you always have some strange new kind you're trying."

"I'll make you whatever kind of tea you like. I'll even buy you a super cool thermos just like mine," Santana smiled. "We can totally have a tea tasting party. Whatever you like, but we're avoiding the caffeine as well."

"You're right, you do take karaoke seriously."

"You will too, when Mercedes comes in and turns into Jennifer Hudson on your ass. Each of us keep one another sharp. It's our job, and in a sense we never let each other take the night off because you never know who may come through those doors with an opportunity that may fit one of us perfectly."

"I get it."

"And I never want to outshine the person I'm singing with, unless it's some sort of vocal battle but not when we're doing a duet together. We're a team. You saw how Mercedes and I encouraged and played off of one another? That's what I want for us as well."

"That's a lot to live up to," Brittany said a little worried.

"I'm not saying you need to sing like Mercedes. Not too many people can do that. I just need you to bring your best Brittany. That's more than enough. You're amazing just as you are."

Brittany's heart fluttered. Santana always encouraged her. She never knew she needed that at this point in her life. She's thankful for everything Santana brings into her world.

"So Ohio, ready for that swim?"

"Maybe I'll just watch you."

"Do you know how to swim? I'd be glad to show you. I can teach you in 10 easy lessons," Santana smiled and Brittany laughed.

"No, I can swim, I just, I don't know, I just don't feel like it," Brittany said and dropped her eyes and Santana had a moment of understanding.

"Britt, are you afraid of me seeing you in your bathing suit?" Santana asked seriously. It startled Brittany how good Santana was becoming at reading her. She had known people for years who couldn't read her like that.

"I just..." Brittany started and sighed, and Santana spoke again.

"It's okay Britt, we don't have to..."

"No," Brittany sighed. "I would really like to, actually. I haven't in quite some time and to be honest it would be really nice. And I don't want you to think it's you, Santana. I just don't know who else is at the pool and..."

"It's okay," Santana said, sliding beside her.

"I want to go. I want to, Santana. Let's go."

"Not too many people use the pool through the week, Britt. If someone shows up we can leave. The weekends some of the kids in the building come down or people invite guests over but mid week you'll be okay."

"I'll be okay because I'm with you," Brittany said, and she meant it, even if she didn't mean to say it out loud.

"You will be, Britt Britt," Santana smiled warmly, and Brittany met her with an equally warm smile at Santana calling her Britt Britt.

"So, wanna head over there and change? I brought my suit downstairs. Yours is in your bag, right?"

"Yes"

"Great, let's go over. We'll keep it quick. Occasionally some of the tenants like to swim after using the gym as part of their workout routine. If that happens and you get uncomfortable we can leave."

"Don't worry, I'll be okay."

Santana smiled and stood, reaching out her hand to help Brittany up. They grabbed their bags and Santana doesn't know why for the life of her she did this, but she took Brittany's bag and slung it over her shoulder next to her own, before reaching for Brittany's hand. The way Brittany, despite her inner shock, just interlaced their fingers together, it made Santana's heart flutter. She simply felt the need to hold her somehow, to be connected to her, to let her know that she was safe.

They held hands that way, as Santana guided her to the pool area. Thankfully, as Santana had promised, the area was quiet. Once they reached the changing area which only contained three small private stalls and a restroom in a separate area Santana finally released her hand. Brittany instantly missed the feeling of her hand. It felt so soft and warm. Tender.

They left the middle stall empty, as if needing the distance from one another as they changed. Whatever was in the air felt strong, and maybe that small bit of space would stop it from feeling so intense.

Santana emerged in her bikini first, unsure if she should wait or give Brittany time to adjust to the realization that Santana would see her in a way she had never seen her before. Even in Albany she had pretended to sleep so that Brittany could gather her clothing. If she allowed her to see her now, she wanted her to see more of her. The invitation to swim, it wasn't a ruse for Santana in order to get closer to Brittany. She enjoyed using the amenities in her building just to wind down close to home. The only reason she has a membership at the gym where she met Nikki was because she attends fitness classes and would usually work out there before or after her class. Her home, her building, is her sanctuary for the most part. Her home, and the open road when she rides, and music...always music. Because of her personality a lot of people don't see this side of her. Brittany is starting to see it and understand it, she hopes. She's giving her the gift of herself, and in return she hopes to get the same from Brittany.

"Meet you at the pool," Santana said. "Take your time or change your mind. Remember with me there's no pressure, ever."

"Got it New York, see you in a few minutes."

Santana smiled and walked out to the pool. She quickly got in and began to swim slow, easy laps around the pool. She let the feeling of the water wash away the stresses of the day as she relaxed.

Brittany took a deep breath before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her waist. She went into the pool area and was happy to see that only Santana was there. She eased herself into the water unnoticed. All she could think of was how beautiful Santana was. Her dark hair and lean body cutting through the water like a beautiful mermaid. She watched the way she kicked her legs so expertly it barely looked like she disturbed the water. Brittany didn't want to bother her, and so she simply swam quietly until she reached the end of the pool where Santana now stood with her back towards Brittany, looking at nothing in quiet contemplation.

"Hey," Brittany said as she came close enough for Santana to hear her.

"Hi," Santana said, smiling softly. "Glad you could join me."

"I haven't been swimming in so long," Brittany said.

"Seems like you're doing a lot of things you haven't done in so long these days."

"It must be the company I'm keeping," Brittany smiled and Santana just looked into her eyes.

Brittany drifted closer and Santana swallowed hard. Brittany licked her lips.

"Nice bathing suit," Brittany said.

"You haven't really seen it, should I get out and show you what you're missing?" Santana smirked.

"I know what I'm missing," Brittany said. She leaned in and kissed Santana softly on the lips. Santana's arms instantly wrapped around her waist.

"Are you trying to give my security guys a show?" Santana said, tilting her head in the direction of a camera to indicate that the area was visible to security. Brittany's eyes did not bother to follow. "I think the world has seen more than enough of my escapades."

"No, I'm sorry..." Brittany started, attempting to put a little distance between them again. Instead, Santana pulled her in closer.

"That's my hang up Brittany. It's weird, I can kiss a girl in a club or in a crowd but when it's one on one, alone, especially when I know there's a camera around, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little anxiety. But I don't want to let you go, and so I won't. I want to kiss you, and so I will, because I fight through my fears now. We fight through our fears now," Santana said, pulling her in and kissing her softly. It was sweet, not hungry, and when Santana let her go she smiled gently as she looked into Brittany's eyes. "See, that was so worth the fight."

Brittany grinned.

"Those eyes are gonna be the death of me, Ohio," Santana shook her head. "You are a goddess."

"So are you."

"By the way, I like your bathing suit too," Santana winked. "Come on, doll, let's have that swim so we can get our sauna on."

The ladies swam leisurely for about 40 minutes before one of Santana's neighbors entered the pool area. Santana and Brittany greeted the man and Santana instantly felt Brittany's demeanor change. After a final lap Santana swam over to Brittany.

"Let's go have our sauna, Britts," Santana said. "Wait right here for me," Santana instructed before swimming to the stairs and climbing out of the pool.

Santana grabbed their towels and draped hers across her shoulders. Then she walked to the stairs to the pool and held Brittany's towel open, inviting her to swim over for immediate cover. Brittany smiled as Santana used her body to provide a barrier between any eyes and Brittany and when Brittany emerged Santana quickly wrapped the towel around her waist. Brittany smiled as she adjusted the towel covering as much of herself as possible as she emerged. They bid the interloper goodnight and headed towards the sauna.

The women rinsed themselves off, pulled their hair up and shared a bottle of water before leaving the changing area and heading towards the sauna. Once inside Santana got the sauna started and set the timer. When Brittany sat and unwrapped the towel from her waist Santana could have sworn she gulped audibly.

They sat opposite one another, quietly at first, before Brittany broke the silence.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For always thinking of me, for the little things that are so big to me. For bringing me a towel and shielding me, keeping any eyes away from me as best as possible. Just like you, I know it's weird, the anxiety, but just like you I'm going to work on it. I want to work on it."

"Go at your own pace, doll. Nobody is rushing you."

"It's time," Brittany sighed and then chuckled. "You know, my mom sent me my boxes and as I looked through my dance costumes some of them were barely anything at all. Nothing more than I'm wearing right now, minus the towel even, and yet I could dance in front of countless people that way. It made me think, if I were truly being honest about it, my mom isn't the only one who took dance from me. I simply couldn't be expected to perform if I had to wear certain things, if I knew some of the people in that audience had seen those pictures and were seeing me that way as I danced. Maybe I didn't dance anymore because then I'd have to admit how much I missed it. I miss it Santana. These rehearsals have been so much fun. Going dancing with you and Nani and your friends was so much fun. Even dancing with that rhythmless stranger was fun." That made Santana chuckle. "When you perform and you would come over to dance with me I looked forward to it, because it gave me just a few moments to dance freely. So while I'll probably never dance the way I used to, I thank you for giving me back some of what I had."

"Thank yourself, Britt. If you didn't want it, if you didn't miss it, you wouldn't be working so hard to keep a piece of it."

"I'm working hard for a lot of things, Santana," Brittany said and Santana felt like what she was trying to say had a lot to do with the same reason Brittany kissed her in the pool. She wants more, and it's becoming harder for her to find reasons to deny herself what she wants. Santana totally understands how hard it's becoming to hold back.

"Britt, if you want to dance again you can. I would love to see you dance how you were trained to dance. You have no idea how many nights I've sat at my piano playing something and when I close my eyes to really listen I picture you dancing. I picture playing just for you. These people, we can spend our lives worrying if they've seen us how they never should have seen us. We can sit around feeling paranoid that they are whispering about us and judging us, or we can assume that both just might be true but it's not likely to be. Then we can live Britt. We can do the things that bring us joy. We can take our power back and emerge stronger than we ever were. When you left Ohio you came to New York too afraid to even make a real friend. Now you have one, and are making even more than you even realize yet. When you came to New York, I think it's fair to say that you never imagined a night like we had in Albany, you never imagined saying what you said to me in my kitchen, you never imagined a girl holding you close and kissing you soft in a pool. Yet it happened. It happened and I hope so much more happens because of it."

Santana wanted to kiss Brittany so badly then but it just wasn't the time. Brittany is getting there, and she's going to let her navigate this however she chooses to. She's going to give the girl she's falling for that gift.

Brittany stood and it was the first time Santana could really see her fully in her bathing suit. She had been averting her eyes. She was already in the water when she first saw her, and then she quickly covered her with a towel when she emerged, a towel she kept wrapped around her until she sat in the sauna. But now she's standing, standing right in front of Santana, and she wants her to see her.

"Britt, it's already too hot in here," Santana half joked. "If you want to fool around we better go upstairs."

Brittany just smiled. "Just wanted to let you see me, Santana, more of me, that is. You already see me more than anyone ever has, anyway."

Santana smiled softly. "Thank you for trusting me."

"Thank you for seeing me, Santana."

"You saw me first, Brittany. You saw me when you painted me," Santana smiled. "Just happy I've had the chance to do so in return."

Brittany sat next to Santana and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. She linked her pinky with Santana's and they sat silently relaxing and enjoying the rest of their sauna.

Once the sauna ended Brittany decided it was best that she went home. Going upstairs with Santana was just too tempting and while she was getting better with her feelings she also remembered what Santana had said to her. She's going through some things right now with Wolf, and so she's vulnerable. This was also the first time Santana had let her know how she still struggles with being seen in an intimate setting. So she would care for Santana just as Santana always tries to care for her. She wouldn't play with her emotions as she figures out her life. Santana deserves so much more.

Brittany and Santana only saw one another once more before their performance. Brittany came by the club to see Santana's set the day before they were to perform their karaoke number. Nani would be coming in the next day so she thought that she would take the opportunity to hang out with Santana before her cousin came to town. She didn't want to take any time away from the two. Santana had said more than once how it was a rare treat to get Nani to visit two weeks in a row. Luckily for Santana, Nani's boyfriend and his friends had tickets for the Steelers vs Eagles game which is apparently a really big deal to them when those two teams play one another. So Nani would use this time to visit her own family, and Santana was thrilled about the extra visit.

When Nani arrived on Friday evening she and Santana had the chance to catch up on her week. She told Nani all about what had happened with Brittany after practice and Nani was happy to hear that they were both taking things slow and moving cautiously. She was beginning to worry less about Santana, at least a little bit less. It all caught her by surprise, Santana flirting dangerously with an eating disorder. Nobody would have ever been able to tell her that Santana would ever battle such a thing. They knew each other. They didn't keep secrets from one another. Yet Santana managed to fool her completely.

But Santana rebuilt herself, and because of that she is stronger. Nani loves the woman she became after facing that challenge. She became a woman who accepts that she can't run, that she has to face whatever comes her way. It's amazing what rises out of the ashes after a fire. She is the very definition of a Phoenix. She has been reborn, and like a phoenix she will be reborn again and again. There are times she will have to go through the fire, but Santana has shown that she can and will rise when necessary. Nani is worried because she knows that she's witnessing Santana be reborn again, after losing Wolf, as she vanquishes the parts of Wolf from herself she hates the most, the part that loves women with only the physical part of themselves. She's being reborn again, as she learns to fall in love and allows herself to fall, cautiously, for the first time since her first love betrayed her. A betrayal that ultimately brought out the Wolf in her, and almost turned her into the thing that destroyed her family and hurt her and her mother so much.

The cousins sat up talking that night like they had done so many nights throughout their young lives. The next day they went out for lunch and then went back to the apartment and got their hair and costumes ready for the evening. They grabbed their garment bags and headed for the door. Nani was excited to see what Santana and Brittany had been working on, and she was also excited to see how their relationship was continuing to grow. She likes what she's heard so far. She only hopes that Brittany will keep moving forward in her acceptance of herself. She knows that if anyone could help her through those challenges it would be Santana.

"Nani," Sugar smiled. "Love the hair!"

"Thanks Sugar, it's my 80's hair. How're you doing?"

"I'm good Nani. You come out to see the big performance?"

"Sure did," Nani smiled.

"You going up there tonight?"

"Nah, don't want to steal their shine," Nani said and Santana rolled her eyes.

"But Brittany has never seen a Nani production." Sugar pouted.

"Don't worry, every last one of them is on video, Dave makes sure of it," Santana shook her head.

"Well we have video of each of these event nights from the club as well, but there's nothing like a live Nani performance." Sugar smiled.

"Will you please stop encouraging her antics," Santana sighed.

"Keep it up Simon and I'll get up there tonight and show you how it's done." Nani said and Sugar smiled hopefully.

"I doubt it, you didn't bring your lights with you," Santana said sarcastically, remembering the time that Nani performed and had those little lights set up that you put in a child's room that spelled out "NANI" in white blinking lights. Nani laughed internally. She only did half of these antics when she performed so that she could screw with her little cousin.

"I carry those lights everywhere, they're in the back of my car right now." Nani said it so seriously that both women questioned whether to actually believe her.

"Are we the first ones here?" Nani asked.

"No, Kurt and Dave showed up early they wanted to practice their performance."

"Awww, cute," Nani said.

"Kurt finally let Dave take a break. Teaching him to dance is worse than trying to teach Finn," Sugar said and Santana laughed.

"Well we're going to go and grab a table. The diva here has to make her tea before Brittany gets here. They have this top secret performance worked out. Santana won't even let me see her costume."

"You haven't shown me yours, either."

"If I can't see yours you can't see mine." Nani said.

"You'll see it in a couple of hours," Santana smiled. "Come on, grab a seat while I get my tea."

Slowly everyone began to trickle in. Finn and Rachel showed up shortly after Nani and Santana, and then Mercedes and Sam showed up. Quinn finally came in which gave everyone a chance to sit and chat. Santana was happy that she and Brittany weren't the main topic of conversation. It was the performers chances to decide if they were going to do any duets with one another for karaoke. Of course Santana and Mercedes decided they would do a duet, and Quinn and Sam. Rachel and Kurt decided to do a number as well. Only Finn decided that he wasn't doing a second number that night. He said he would be busy setting up things for the acts and that he had already promised one of the regulars that he would do a number with them.

It was about an hour before opening when Brittany showed up. She was carrying her garment bag and a duffle bag over her shoulder. She came in and greeted everyone with a smile and Nani moved over to allow Brittany to sit next to Santana. All eyes fell on the two ladies.

"Ready Britt?" Santana asked quietly.

"I stay ready so I don't have to get ready, New York," Brittany responded just as softly and Santana smiled.

"Are you nervous?"

"Only about the singing part, I'm excited about the dancing part."

"Be excited about it all. It's fun. I'm excited about performing with you and it's in no particular order so we can wait until everyone else goes or we can go first or anywhere in between, it's up to you. Just let me know how you feel about it and we'll put our name on the list."

"We can watch a few of your friends go and then maybe we'll go. Don't want to go first but certainly don't want to wait too late. I'll let you decide."

"Well we would have to fight Rachel Berry if we wanted to go first so glad we don't need to start the night with bloodshed. She's going to put her name on that list at least 10 times tonight so let's just hope we don't descend into a total showtune hell and she mixes it up a bit."

Brittany laughed.

"We can change right before we go on so that we don't give away what we're doing. If I get any requests from a regular to perform with them, which I will, I'll let them know it will be after our performance. The only prop we have is the cane really and we're just going to play off of one another and make it sexy. That won't be hard for either of us. They're going to lose their minds when you dance Britt. You totally become this confident sex goddess."

Brittany laughed.

"I don't know about all of that," Brittany blushed.

"The fact that you don't know makes it even sexier."

Before they knew it the staff was all there and people were lined up outside waiting for the club to open. The show was just getting started when Lexi walked in and came over to greet everyone. By what she was wearing Santana already knew what she would be singing that night, especially knowing what type of music Lexi likes. After greeting everyone she went and found a seat to wait for her friends to arrive. About 20 minutes later Nikki walked in dressed as a sexy vampire with a group of people, which made perfect sense to Santana considering the number of times she has tried to suck Santana's soul out through her vagina. While Santana wasn't bothered by Lexi's presence she secretly didn't care as much for Nikki's. Nikki loved a challenge and a conquest so she knew that when the time came she would have to be blunt with Nikki that they wouldn't be hooking up again even if it cost the club a great customer. Still, Nikki was a big spender and a great tipper, and so she would put a conversation off as long as she could. Thankfully, Sophia wasn't there, and she's usually the first one to show up. Seems like Nani finally made her see the light. Santana would be lying if she said that she wasn't relieved.

Everyone was having a blast. Of course Rachel had kicked things off, and Mercedes and Sam had done a number. Some of the patrons had performed in between. It was starting to get loud and fun and Brittany and Santana were laughing and singing along when Nani tapped Santana on the arm. Santana looked up and Nani nodded towards a table where two people were seated as she waved hello at the pair. It was Tiffany and her sister Katherine. The woman smiled when Santana's eyes met hers and Santana smiled back. She hated this even though she knew Tiffany would likely be there. Karaoke night was very popular, and the Halloween show was always busy. The club hosted just a few karaoke nights per year, but the costumes made the performances that much more fun. So Santana knew that Lexi would be there, and she suspected strongly that Tiffany would be there, she just didn't want Brittany to keep meeting her fuck buddies. Realistically, it just made Santana feel like Little Wolf more and more each time it happened.

Santana excused herself from the table and went to greet Tiffany.

"Hey babygirl, long time no see," Santana smiled, grabbing the tall brunette into a big hug. She was stunning, a Greek mother and Native American father, slightly tanned perfect skin, a perfect body. She had come to New York with dreams of being a model, and had worked quite a few runway shows. She had done okay for herself, and her little sister followed her to New York with the same dream. A beautiful woman in her own right, the two had a small level of success doing what they loved.

Santana had met Tiffany at a wedding she had been hired to sing at. She had watched her dance as she sang, and she always managed to make sure that Santana's eyes were on her as she moved seductively near the small stage. When Santana went on her break the brunette made sure that she wasn't far behind. When Santana emerged from the restroom Tiffany made sure to take the opportunity to chat with her. She had pretty much confirmed that Santana liked the ladies by the level of attention she paid her when she sang as Tiffany flirted. When Santana's gig was done Tiffany was sure to find her before she left. The night ended with a passionate kiss and an invitation to dinner the next night. Dinner that night led to breakfast in bed the following morning.

Maybe she was a player, Santana thought once again.

"Hello Santana," Tiffany smiled, squeezing Santana tightly. "You look amazing as always."

"Thanks doll," Santana replied. "Hey Kat, how've you been sweetie? You two look amazing. Cute costumes." Tiffany was dressed as a sexy angel and Katherine as a sexy devil.

"I'm good Santana. Long time no see. I've missed you." Katherine smiled.

"Missed you guys too."

"Well we need to catch up soon," Tiffany said, her eyes sweeping over Santana's body.

"Shit," Santana thought. "She must be single again."

"I would love that. Come over and say hello to everybody when you get a chance. Nani is here and I want to introduce you to a special friend of mine."

Santana thought it best to put it out there as early as possible. Tiffany would get the hint and respect the circumstances.

"We will make sure we do that," Tiffany replied. "Meanwhile, looking forward to hearing you sing, as always."

"Hope you two have a wonderful time, make sure to get up there and sing a song or two yourselves."

"You know we will," Tiffany smiled.

"Well, I better get back over there I'll be going up there soon. Remember, come on over. Nani will want to say hi."

"I'll make sure to stop by. Is Nani performing?" Tiffany asked with a smile.

"No, thank goodness," Santana smiled and both Tiffany and Katherine laughed.

"Awwww, we were looking forward to a Nani performance." Tiffany said.

"Please don't tell her that," Santana laughed. "See you ladies later."

"See you soon, Santana."

Santana went back to the table where Sam and Mercedes had already left so that they could perform.

"So Britts, should we put our names on the list and change?"

"Yeah, I think it's time."

"Excellent," Santana said. She was excited about their performance. She wanted everybody to see how amazing Brittany was, how freaking perfect she was.

"Well guys," Santana said, standing up from the table, "it's showtime. We'll go change as soon as Mercedes and Trouty Mouth finish their performance. Make sure none of you guys go up before we get back. Give the drunks some time to shine."

Sugar smiled excitedly as Santana went to put their name on the list. The others in the group were also excited for the performance. Sugar, Kurt and Dave had told them how well Brittany danced and they were eager to see it for themselves. They were even more eager to witness what the chemistry would be like between the women when they performed. Not to mention the reactions from Santana's lady lovers.

This is gonna be good!

After Mercedes and Sam finished Santana and Brittany got up and went backstage to change. Neither had seen the other in their costume. They were both pretty excited, but for some reason Santana was even more excited about this whole performance.

Santana changed rather quickly and was in the mirror tending to her hair when Brittany came in. Santana turned to see her and her breath was quickly taken away.

"Britt, shit Britt you're perfect."

"Thanks Santana," Brittany said, blushing.

"Are you nervous, doll?" Santana asked.

"All I can see is you, so I'm not even thinking about the crowd right now. You look insanely hot. I love your hair like that and your skin against that white suit is stunning." Brittany swallowed hard. "Santana...," she whispered, drawing closer.

Santana pulled her in. "You look amazing Britt, like, I'm thinking all kinds of unfriendly thoughts right now." Santana blinked hard, trying to get the images out of her mind. "I'm loving how tall you are in those heels. I'm just going to make a request to you now. When it happens between us, I'm going to want you in nothing but those heels the entire time."

"Santana..." Brittany blushed and Santana smiled.

"You look great Britt, seriously. I.."

Brittany crashed their lips together and Santana pulled her in tight. Her legs instinctively began to move Brittany back towards the table in the dressing room, her hand grasping the back of her neck possessively. Finally, Santana stopped.

"Shit Britt. Whatever is happening I won't let it happen here." Brittany was looking darkly at Santana who all of a sudden chuckled.

"You're covered in red lipstick, Britt, and we go on soon. They will be calling our names any moment. We better get ourselves together and get our headsets on."

"Yeah," Brittany said, but she didn't want to stop. She was tired. She didn't even know why she was fighting anymore. She doesn't have much fight left in her.

"Or they can call the next act, and get back to us," Brittany said, moving forward.

"Britt, if you're ready I'm more than ready, but it can wait until the night is over. We deserve better than this. Plus, enough people have seen me have sex, I would be mortified if I gave anyone a live show."

Brittany smiled and then sighed.

"I'm sorry Santana. I...I can't even think clearly around you anymore. This is a lot."

Santana smiled, "Well then we certainly have to stop, because I need you to be clear about what happens between us when it happens."

"I will be, Santana." Brittany smiled.

"And Brittany, as much as I love the taste of your lips, you might want to stop kissing me until you're ready, because you're kind of killing me here." Santana sighed.

"You're right," Brittany said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Your lips are kind of addictive, too," Santana smiled. "Not your fault if kissing you leaves me needing more."

The ladies straightened themselves up and then faced one another. Santana straightened Brittany's tie and smiled.

"You ready, Ohio?"

"I stay ready so I don't have to get ready," Brittany winked.

"Coming to the stage...Brittany and our very own, Santana!" The two heard from the front of the club.

"Come on Britts, it's time to shut this motherfucker down." Santana smiled, grabbing the cane and straightening Brittany's hat on her head.

The ladies took the stage and Santana looked at the table where Nani and all of her friends sat. They had smiles on their faces, eagerly anticipating the performance. She caught the eyes of Tiffany, Nikki and then Lexi, who wore a slight smile. As always she knew that Lexi had her back.

All my people in the crowd,-
grab a partner take it down-
(It's me against the music)-
uh huh-
(It's just me)-
and me-
Yeah-
C'mon-
Hoh!-
Hey, Britney?-
Are you ready?-
Uh huh-
Are you?-
Uh!-

The ladies started dancing, playing off of one another. They each had a lot of dancing to do during this number since they had no backup dancers and so they had choreographed a way to keep it sexy and keep the energy up while still keeping enough breath control and endurance to sound good.

"They look good!" Sugar smiled as she watched.

"They do," Nani agreed.

"They both sound really good, too." Mercedes said.

"Brittany can dance!" Sam said.

"Maybe she can teach Finn," Kurt quipped.

"Shhhhh, I don't want to miss anything," Sugar said.

The group watched the girls perform the first half of the song flawlessly, admiring the performance. While Santana was amazing as always they were really stunned by Brittany's performance. They knew that she used to dance, but they were starting to get the idea that it was on a much larger scale than they had realized.

"Her body is amazing. Look at those arms," Kurt said.

"There's a lot of tension between these two." Quinn said.

"Well that's the understatement of the year," Rachel added.

" Shhhhhh!" Sugar said frustrated.

They continued to watch as Santana and Brittany danced with the cane. That was the portion that Santana was worried about but it went well. Afterwards they fell back into their choreography, playing off of one another. Brittany was whipping her hair and she looked raw and untamed, and the group was astonished because this was not the woman who had been coming to the club and mainly listening and laughing, barely talking. This was someone new. This was someone who has had the chains removed and who feels free.

The two finished strong and the crowd roared. Brittany and Santana waved to the crowd and exited the stage.

"Britt, you were amazing up there, even better than in practice."

"Thanks, you were too, Santana."

"You miss it, Britt, performing for people. You were so alive. Man, you were killing it in those heels," Santana laughed.

"You had on heels too," Brittany smiled.

"Not like those heels," Santana smiled. She went over and hugged Brittany, and Brittany wanted to kiss her so badly but they had just had that conversation and so she refrained. She understands, she has to stop stealing moments and still hiding. Santana deserves more. It's so easy to forget that she's going through a lot, and yet Santana is being truly vulnerable with her. She won't allow her to forget. She makes sure that Brittany remembers that she's human.

Finally the two women let one another go.

"We better get back out there. Don't want to miss Kurt and Dave's performance and we need time to change." Santana said.

The others waited anxiously for Santana and Brittany to return, still chatting excitedly about the performance.

"That performance was so sexy," Sugar sighed.

"It was, and I'm as gay as gay gets." Dave said.

"No, Kurt is gay as gay gets," Nani said. Kurt glared at her. "Not really effective when you're dressed as Lady Gaga," Nani smirked.

"Brittany is so hot," Sugar said. "They are really hot together. I thought Santana and Sexy Lexi were hot but they almost burned this place down."

"It's the abstinence," Nani said. "They're going to fuck each other into a coma tonight and somebody may not make it out of that room alive. They better go to Brittany's place. I don't want to hear all of that and I'm not driving back to Philly because they chose tonight to seal the deal."

"I'm gonna win!" Finn smiled goofily. "I chose the week of Halloween for the bet!"

"You mean that Santana hasn't been with anyone?" Quinn gasped.

"You tell me," Nani said. "Look at her ladies over there, do any of them look like they've had any of that recently? They totally look like they're on the Bachelorette waiting for a rose or whatever the hell they give out on that show."

Everyone looked around the room at Santana's ladies.

"Holy cow," Dave said.

"That's not everybody," Quinn said. "Remember the red headed girl from Valentine's day?"

"Oh, Santana said she only went home with her because red and white was the theme. Plus she said she wanted to find out if the carpet matched the drapes." Finn said.

"Was she an interior decorator?" Sam asked.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"She took her home to look at her carpet and drapes?" Sam asked and Nani almost choked on her drink.

"Please somebody tell him," Nani said.

"Somebody tell me too," Finn said.

Dave did the honor of explaining the phrase to the men. Finn looked traumatized while Sam simply looked stunned.

"So which one is the carpet and which one is the drapes?" Sam continued after a short pause.

"Mercedes, you don't have to sleep with him but at least teach the man about the birds and the bees," Nani rolled her eyes. "The hair on her head would be the drapes, Sam. I'll let Mercedes explain to you what the carpet is."

"I'd rather not," Mercedes replied.

"Anyhoo, I have no idea who this redhead is," Nani continued, "but I do not believe that she is a factor here. I also can neither confirm nor deny what Santana has done with any vaginas belonging to her or anyone else so I'm just making an educated guess here. Whatever happens between them the stupidly happy look on their faces afterwards will give them away. We promised Santana that we will trust that she is okay and that's what we're going to do. We will watch out for her the same way she would watch out for any of you, minus the violence if possible and the mouth full of dirty spanish words."

The table looked between Nani and Quinn. Of all of Santana's friends Quinn seemed to be having the hardest time trusting that Santana would be okay. From the outside looking in it seemed as if the two did nothing but verbally spar with one another but they loved one another fiercely as well. It may or may not have been Santana who let the air out of all four of her ex boyfriend's tires when she knew he had an important out of town meeting that everyone was pretty sure that he was going to celebrate the success of by banging his secretary (again). His lateness may have cost him an important client. Quinn would have never suspected Santana of the deed had she not asked how her boyfriend's tires were before Quinn even had the chance to tell her the story. Then she told Quinn that this would be the perfect time to leave him...kick him while he's down and all. Quinn told her she already had. They high fived and Santana walked away with a sinister smirk on her face but not before telling Quinn over her shoulder that at least the tires weren't slashed...this time.

Santana and Quinn were like that, they supported one another while not openly acknowledging that they liked one another. Faux contempt was their love language.

"It may not be easy, but it will be okay," Nani said to the table while looking at Quinn. Quinn shook her head softly in response.

Just then Brittany and Santana returned to the table. They were greeted with a ton of praise, especially Brittany. They all knew that Santana could perform. They had only heard that Brittany could dance. They were honestly all blown away.

"Amazing job guys," Nani said smiling.

"That was awesome!" Finn said.

"You guys were great!" Sugar said.

"Girl you can dance, you need to be on somebody's tour," Mercedes said.

"I agree. Whoever makes it first needs to snag this girl," Dave smiled.

The praise kept raining in. Soon the girls sat chatting and watching some of the other performers. Santana noticed that Nani went missing but assumed she just needed to use the restroom. Santana totally forgot all about her being gone until she noticed Finn on the stage setting up some timbales and cymbals. Santana paused her conversation with Brittany, taking on the scene with a look of confusion on her face.

"Where's Pu?" Santana finally asked the table. Everybody looked as confused as Santana that the woman was missing.

"I don't know girl, she probably went to the bathroom and ran into a bunch of people she knows. Everybody loves Nani."

"Yeah," Santana said and paused before speaking again.

"What's Finn doing?" Santana asked as Finn set up the mic next to the timbales and checked the sound level on a headset before placing it over the mic on the mic stand. She stared at him before she caught his eyes and he quickly averted his eyes.

"Oh fuck," Santana said to Brittany.

"What?"

"Pu"

"What about her?" Brittany asked.

"Nobody said anything about Pu performing to you did they?"

"No," Brittany answered. So what if she does?"

"Wait for it," Santana just sighed and shook her head. As if on cue the spotlight hit a side door. Soon Nani walks into the spotlight and Santana sighed.

"Shit," Santana shook her head.

"Yay! Nani!" The table went crazy. Sugar was smiling like a maniac and Mercedes was cheering her on. Finn had gotten behind the drum set and everyone at the table was pumped. Quinn looked at Santana and snickered.

Nani walked towards the stage dramatically. Finn was playing a drum solo intro. Nani had on a long fur coat and heels. She purposely walked past Santana and locked eyes with her, staring at her dramatically. Mercedes stared cracking up.

"I love that woman," Mercedes said.

"I imagine this is how a Nani residency in Las Vegas would be," Rachel said. "She has an excellent flair for the dramatic.

"She needs a residency in a damn insane asylum," Santana rolled her eyes.

"At least there's no smoke machine and backup dancers this time," Sam said.

"Kevin and his friends went to an Eagles vs Steelers game," Santana answered.

"So they were her background dancers?" Brittany asked.

"Yes," Santana answered. "I should have known something was up when she walked in with that big hair."

"At least this year she didn't borrow your bike and ride in singing "When doves cry" like she was Prince," Kurt said with an amused look on his face. "Finn released two pigeons in the bar that he caught outside for the performance. Took us all night to chase them back outside when the club closed."

"In Nani's defense Finn was only supposed to set them up in cages on either side of her," Dave clarified.

"At least she didn't bring in those little lights that spelled out Nani and set them up behind her on stage," Quinn said smiling.

"She said she keeps them in the back of her SUV, I'm sure they're available upon request," Santana rolled her eyes.

Nani finally made it to the stage and stood dramatically in front of the timbales. Finn stopped playing his intro and Nani let her fur fall to the floor which instantly cued her music. As soon as Santana saw the outfit she knew what song she was about to do, after all Sheila E. is her spirit animal, but when she heard the intro and saw Nani pull out a pair of glow in the dark pink neon drumsticks from who knows where her suspicions were confirmed.

Nani started playing along to "The Glamourous Life" by Sheila E. As theatrical as Nani was Brittany was actually impressed. The woman could play those timbales and it was actually kind of hot, Brittany thought, and her voice was actually pretty good just like Santana had said.

"Santana, she's actually really good," Brittany said.

"It's the extraness that kills me. She's the Liberace of female drummers. I mean, the entrance, the glow in the dark drumsticks... there's a lot happening here."

Brittany laughed, "She certainly has her own style. Showmanship must run in your blood."

"Don't blame that crap on the Wright genes."

Nani made her way through the song and people were cheering at how well she played the drums. Santana actually loved to watch Nani perform, it was the theatrics that made her roll her eyes. Still, she would not admit how much even the theatrics made her chuckle when she was alone. She had a reputation to maintain, and she could not openly co sign Nani's shenanigans. She was just happy the woman had the talent to back it up.

Nani reached her solo in the middle of the song and played those timbales with such a passion that everyone there could see despite being a jokester about the whole thing that she took pride in performing. Brittany couldn't stop looking at how fast those drumsticks were moving, and at how proud Finn looked while watching her play. Brittany understood the mutual respect thing Santana was telling her about between the two. Towards the middle of her solo she really started feeling it.

"Did she just kick the cymbal and throw glitter in the air?" Santana shook her head astonished.

"Yes she did and she was magical," Sugar smiled.

"She's a damn fool," Santana said and Mercedes laughed. "Where the hell did she pull that glitter from? She's like David Copperfield up there tonight."

As the song came to an end Finn joined in and they ended in a rousing drumming display. It went on for about 30 seconds before Santana sat scowling at Finn hoping he would look her way.

"She's about to do a 15 minute solo at the end of this song and I dare somebody to stop her. She will not let Finn out drum her. I'm going to kill him if he doesn't stop, seriously Rachel." Santana scowled. "If he looks your way you need to give him the cut off sign. Pu is about to declare a drumming war on his ass and Mercedes and I haven't even gone up there yet. Just remember you've only sung four times tonight and he's cutting into your singing time."

The threat of less singing time seemed to light a fire under Rachel. When Finn inevitably looked her way and smiled she signaled for him to cut it out. Nani acknowledged Finn's surrender by banging the timbales in an artistic frenzy and then throwing the drumsticks on the floor to end the performance. She then looked at Finn who rushed over to pick her fur up from where she had dropped it behind her and placed it over her shoulders. Nani then walked dramatically off the stage and past the table where everyone was cheering loudly. She looked at Santana with a straight face and mischief in her eyes before walking out the same door that she had came in.

"That was amazing!" Brittany said clapping with the others.

"That was psychotic," Santana said, clapping along because she had to admit that Nani always put on an entertaining show. Brittany laughed.

Once Nani's epic performance was over Rachel went up to sing while Finn took away the timbales. Soon Nani made her way back to the table, accepting praise along the way from patrons and Santana's ladies.

"Nani!" Sugar screeched. "You are the best."

"Thanks Sugar. Can't wait until your finale tonight," Nani smiled and Santana glared at her. "How'd you like it Santana?" Nani smirked.

"It was an experience," Santana said. "Where did you get the fur, from one of Sugar's daddy's friends who find things that fall off of trucks?"

"It's fake. I don't want any PETA problems and you know that grandma advocated for the animals too."

Santana chuckled.

"You were great as always Nani," Mercedes chimed in and Santana let out a sigh and smiled. She was always proud of how good Nani was and Nani knew it. Everyone knew it.

"Yes she was," Santana said, "but must it always be such an extravaganza? It's just karaoke, Pu." she sighed.

"One night only bitches. I have one night to show you how to put on a show. By the way you all can use any of my old ideas, I have plenty of new ones," Nani smiled and everyone laughed.

"Look whose up next," Quinn said, pointing to the person making their way to the stage as Rachel made her way through her song. The others looked over and saw Lexi approaching the stage.

"Oooooohhhh, a Sexy Lexi song, yay!" Sugar said.

Santana gulped hard. She knew if Lexi were performing, her bare midsection showing, this was going to be good. Lexi loves dancehall music. It was the way she would whine on the dance floor that first made Santana notice her all of those years ago. The way she moved her hips almost made Santana seasick. She was just so smooth and sexy with it, and instantly Santana was reminded that she hasn't had sex in quite some time and her last time was with Nikki who is no Sexy Lexi.

"Hey Mercedes, when are we going to do our thing? Should we check the list now?" Santana asked.

"We should be up soon. You know I'm always ready girl."

Santana tried to decide if she should use the restroom first and get away from watching Lexi but she didn't want it to be so obvious that she was running. Plus, she didn't want to be rude to Lexi. She could only hope that she wouldn't start leering. Thankfully, she hasn't had any alcohol yet, although suddenly she wouldn't mind a drink.

Santana stood and found their names on the list and then she returned to the table. She informed Mercedes where they were on the list. She could handle this, just like she would handle Tiffany and possibly Nikki when they went up there.

Lexi and those hips, though... memories.

Fantastic fucking memories.

Rachel finished and then Lexi took the stage. "Pon the replay" by Rhianna began playing and Lexi began singing and dancing. Brittany had to admit the woman could move. She could certainly see what Santana saw in her. Sexy Lexi is an appropriate name for her.

That bitch.

Santana's throat went dry, and damn, was it suddenly hot in there?

And there it was. Lexi started to whine her hips and damnit she knows Santana loves when she does that shit! Not that it's her fault. If you sing a dancehall song you're going to whine. Santana's just glad that this song is tame because she has seen Lexi do things with those hips on a dance floor that have driven her crazy. Lexi dancing was a sight to behold.

Still, it was halfway through the song when Santana realized it. A lot of what she was feeling was anticipating how her mind, her body would react. She didn't hate what she was seeing but it's what she wasn't feeling that shocked her.

She didn't feel like taking Lexi back to her house and doing all of the dirty things she could think of to her.

It was the first time that she had seen Lexi whine and not felt that way. She had to stop and ask herself an important question.

Was her vagina broken?

There was no throb, no inappropriate moisture, nothing. Just appreciation for a beautiful woman which made no sense because she and Lexi could tear up the sheets. All she knew was one thing...

...she and Brittany better work out, because the girl is ruining her for everyone else.

Brittany watched the performance and she sensed the turmoil in Santana. It was then that she made a decision. She wasn't sure if she was going to do it before, but she had come prepared. Now she knew that she would.

Challenge accepted.

Once Lexi's performance ended and Brittany watched Santana cheer enthusiastically one of the regulars requested a duet with Quinn, who went up and sang with him. Afterwards Santana and Mercedes would be going up and so Santana took a moment to speak to Brittany.

"Stick around Ohio, you're about to discover another of my many talents," Santana smirked.

"There she is," Brittany said and Santana laughed.

"I know you missed her," Santana said.

"Sorely. Arrogant Santana is kind of hot."

"I'd do her," Santana said before standing. "Come on J Hud, time to show the peasants how to do this shit." Mercedes stood and followed Santana to the side of the stage.

Soon Santana and Mercedes hit the stage, and "Doo Wop (That Thing) started to play.

Brittany was mesmerized when Santana and Mercedes started rapping. She never ceased to be blown away by their talents. Brittany understood why Santana loved her job. This place was special. It was such an outlet for creative talent. All of these creative energies fed off of one another. Tonight proved that to her more than ever. That one performance made her miss what she once loved. It made her truly miss dance. It made her realize that no amount of painting or cooking could ever replace the feeling that dance gave her.

Nani watched the twinkle in Brittany's eyes as Santana performed, she noticed the way Santana smiled coyly at Brittany as she rapped. Once again Santana had a club full of her lovers but she was only performing for one of them, the one that she had only had "intimate contact" with, whatever the hell that was.

When the performance was over Santana returned to the table and flashed a confident smile at Brittany.

"Nice," Brittany said, smiling at the confidence that Santana was displaying.

"Told you your girl had flow," Santana said confidently.

"Yeah, Mercedes did great," Brittany said smiling.

"But it wasn't Mercedes that your eyes were glued on," Santana said. "I saw you seeing me, girl."

"You are too much," Brittany laughed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, I won't give it to you all at once, doll."

"There she is," Brittany said and Santana smiled.

The entire table was watching them, even if they couldn't all hear what they were saying. After their little exchange Brittany complimented Mercedes on the performance and then excused herself to the restroom. Nobody thought anything of it when Finn excused himself shortly after.

Santana took that moment to go and tell Lexi how great she thought her performance was and to check on her. Lexi was chatting up some beautiful girl who apparently appreciated Lexi's magical hips as much as Santana once did. Santana slid an arm around Lexi's waist as she walked up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Awesome as always, doll. You okay over here?"

"Hey Santana, yeah, I'm good."

"Great. Just wanted to check on you and say hello. If you need me you know where to find me. Stop by and say goodnight before you leave, don't just sneak out on me now."

"Nope, I won't do that."

"Okay hun. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later, Santana."

As Santana made her way back to the table she stopped and spoke to Nikki and her guests for a moment and then checked in on Tiffany and her sister. Then Santana made her way back to the table before Brittany returned. While she waited for her she enjoyed a performance that Mercedes had done with one of the regulars and then she enjoyed a performance by Kurt. She was starting to wonder where the blonde had slipped off to as she watched Finn moving things around the stage. After a few moments the host said something that made Santana do a double take.

"Who here is ready for some more Britney?!"

The crowd hooted and cheered before Brittany walked confidently onto the stage. She had on a blue wrap around dress and short boots accentuating perfect long legs. Santana's mouth literally watered. She also answered her own question in that moment.

Nope, her vagina wasn't broken.

The music started and "I'm a Slave 4 U" started to play. Finn walked up behind her, removing the wrap around dress from her revealing Brittany in the tiniest Britney Spears inspired costume she had ever seen.

"Oh my Dear Lord," Santana said and every eye at the table shot towards her.

"You okay," Nani asked, smiling.

"I don't know, am I breathing?" Santana asked Nani seriously.

"I think so," Nani laughed.

"Just make sure I keep doing that, please." Santana whispered to her cousin.

Brittany showed no signs of the things that Santana knew plagued her. She danced on that stage and sang with everything she had in her, and she did it in a costume that showed so much of her glorious body. Santana was amazed. Just a couple of days ago she needed to be shielded just to get out of the pool. Now here she danced, her full dance training on display, and every eye was watching her and cheering her on.

Once again everyone at the table commented on how amazing Brittany was as a dancer. It was Nani who somehow knew without knowing everything exactly what she was witnessing.

"You've helped her find herself again, Santana, and this is her way of thanking you."

Santana knew that Nani was right.

Brittany finished strong, singing and dancing and looking Santana straight in the eyes. All eyes were glued on Brittany until she finished and exited, and those eyes all instantly fell on Santana.

"Excuse me," Santana said, before standing and making her way backstage.

"Santana's going to have intimate contact with that young lady," Nani said while shaking her head, and everyone stared at her confused by her choice of words.

"I'm gonna win!" Finn said, having made his way back to the table just in time to declare victory. Quinn stood up and headed backstage to fix her hair before her next performance.

Santana found Brittany just before she reached the dressing room.

"Hey," Santana said.

"Hi," Brittany replied shyly.

Santana stepped into her space.

"You're killing me, Ohio" she whispered softly, leaning in. Her lips were almost touching Brittany's even as she fought herself.

"Just close the gap, Santana.."

The words barely left Brittany's mouth before Santana crashed their lips together. Santana pressed her against the wall and moaned into the kiss. She let her hands roam down to Brittany's ass and brought their hips tightly together.

"Let me take you home, Britt Britt."

"Yes Santana, please..."

Brittany stopped mid sentence. She looked over Santana's shoulder with a look of horror in her eyes. She pulled away and Santana looked at her confused. Santana turned and saw Quinn standing there. Santana released her ass and as soon as she did Brittany walked quickly away and into the dressing room.

"Well that is the true definition of gay panic."

"What the hell Lucy, why are you creeping around?" Santana sighed.

"I'm not creeping around, I came to get ready for my next performance. Looked like you were getting ready for something too..."

"Fuck you"

"Seems like I'd have to get in line."

"You ma'am, are a hater. A hater and a cock blocker. No you're a cunt blocker. No a clit blocker. Yeah, you're a fucking clit blocker Lucy."

"And you love the closet gays, Santana."

"It's why I adore you, Lucy."

"Go Santana. Try not to turn this one into a stalker, and if all else fails there's at least three of your other lovers out there waiting to ease your pain tonight."

Quinn walked away and Santana sighed. She knocked on the door of the dressing room where Brittany was.

"You okay, Ohio?"

"Yes Santana, I'm okay."

Santana waited and Brittany didn't open the door. Santana just sighed.

"Everything is okay. In case you were worried Quinn is not the type to say anything to anyone about what she saw."

"I'm not worried," Brittany said through the closed door. Santana knew that the woman was terrified.

"You were outstanding out there Brittany, and it wasn't lost on me how much it must have taken for you to do that alone in that costume. You're winning Britt. Just keep winning. I won't get in the way of that."

Santana turned and walked out of the door. She found her way back to the table with her friends. When she sat down Nani saw the look on her face and knew something was going on with Santana.

"You okay?"

"I'm fabulous, Pu."

"You want to talk? We can leave at any time, just know that."

"Nothing to talk about."

"Okay," Nani said. She would leave it alone. Santana watched as Quinn took the stage. She knows that Brittany should have returned by now but she likely was finding the courage. She had been seen kissing a woman. Sure, she had kissed Santana countless times and Santana had restrained herself countless times. Santana knows that she's not a tease, she understands that she's working up the courage, but Santana at the end of the day has to consider her own needs as well. She had to think. She almost gave in tonight. While Quinn's timing sucked for Santana it was actually perfect. Brittany is clearly not ready. Maybe she will never be ready.

Brittany finally returned to the table and Santana didn't want to keep asking if she was okay but she also wanted to know. Everybody was so excited and fawning over her performance. It took a while for her to reach her seat and settle down. Shortly after she sat down Santana decided to go ahead and ask.

"Are you good? I can call you a cab if you're uncomfortable."

"I'm okay Santana."

"Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you."

That was it. They left it alone. Quinn finished her song and then Santana granted a request to perform with one of her favorite patrons at the club. Shortly after she returned to the table Sugar jumped up to perform.

"Shit," Santana said.

"Time for some Sugar shots." Dave said as Kurt and Mercedes stood up.

"What's a Sugar shot?" Brittany asked.

"A Sugar shot is a round of Sugar's most potent concoction. We tell her to make a batch for us before karaoke night starts. We don't tell her that the reason is because it will help us make it through her singing. Even the non drinkers amongst us never turn down a Sugar shot. Most of us make it a double. Thank goodness we managed to convince her that she needs to go on after most of us have finished up for the night and it's mainly the drunks left, because those drinks are going to leave some of us pretty tipsy. Plus, some of us are gonna want to call it a night once she fouls up the stage."

"It can't be that bad."

"Just make sure to accept your Sugar shot, Brittany. You'll be in trouble if someone else steals it and if you let it sit too long, somebody will steal it."

Mercedes and Kurt returned to the table each carrying a full tray of shots. When the regulars saw Sugar approach the side of the stage there was a mad rush for the bar. Everyone at the table grabbed a shot and Santana handed Brittany one. Quinn returned to the table just in time to grab her shot. She and Santana's eyes met and they each downed their shot.

Sugar sang and Brittany never heard anything quite like it. Still, she kind of enjoyed it in a weird way. Everybody deserves a creative outlet, even people who sing like Sugar does. Before the song ended though, as promised, she had taken that second shot. All Santana could do was laugh.

Santana was two shots in when Tiffany came over and she finally had the opportunity to introduce her to Brittany. The timing maybe wasn't the best, because she had noticed Brittany falling into her shell, but Brittany still managed to be as charming as ever so nobody else could tell that she was struggling with something. Nobody but Santana, who knew her better than anyone there. Clearly, she was becoming uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was meeting yet another one of Santana's girls or if it was what Quinn had seen. She had a feeling it had more to do with what Quinn had seen, even if meeting yet another of Santana's girls didn't help. Santana wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or the fact that she had the chance to think about what had happened as the night moved slowly on, but all of a sudden she felt the cold sting of rejection. She knows it's not about her, that it's about Brittany's mother most of all, but she all of a sudden didn't know how to take the feeling of someone being ashamed to be with her. When Santana reached for the third shot Nani stilled her hand.

"Are you okay Santana, for real?"

"I'm ok Nani."

"I'm not your mother, I'm not gonna sit here and baby you. You need me, I'm right here. No matter where I'm at in the world, if you need me, I'm always right here."

Nani let go of Santana's hand who paused before she took the drink and brought it to her lips. She downed it in one shot and sat back in her seat and sighed.

The scene kept popping into her head, coupled with the fact that Brittany was next to her as quiet as she could be. She had finally done it, finally invited Brittany to go back home with her for more than just "intimate contact". Brittany said yes, and then 5 seconds later ran from her like she had the plague. She was starting to feel the alcohol, and she was feeling a little angry and maybe even embarrassed. She watched as Tiffany performed with her sister. Tiffany was no singer, but she knew how to have a good time. She and Kat were having the time of their lives, and all of a sudden a smile did cross Santana's face. She promised Brittany to be a friend that was always there, but she owed her nothing else. They were not a couple. They stole kisses sometimes and that's it. Santana owes her nothing in terms of who she is intimate with, and Brittany owes her nothing either.

Santana stood and Nani, Brittany and Quinn all took notice. The others were lost in the night, feeling the effects of their own Sugar shots and enjoying the show. Santana was on her way to talk to Lexi when Nikki cut her off.

"Hey babygirl," Nikki purred.

"Hey Nikki."

"You were hot up there baby. You look amazing in white. What are your plans for the evening. It's been a while."

Santana paused for a moment. "What about your guests?"

"They can fend for themselves. You ready to get out of here?"

Santana swallowed hard. "How about you buy me a drink, doll, and we figure out the night after that?"

"Nothing to figure out. I'm going to have that drink with you, then I'm going to take you back to my place and ravish you. I'm gonna do all of the things you love until you pass out from exhaustion."

Santana knew from experience that Nikki could back up those words.

Lexi watched the scene carefully. She knew that Santana was on her way to talk to her. Their eyes had locked and Lexi knew exactly what she needed in that moment and Lexi was ready to give it to her.

Santana needed a friend.

Lexi stood and she walked past Nikki and Santana and over to the table where Nani and Brittany were sitting. She had a seat in the chair that Santana had previously occupied. She leaned in close and spoke to Nani.

"She okay?"

"No," Nani answered.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but her heart and her head are in an argument right now, that much I know."

"Don't worry, I've got her." Lexi said.

"No, looks like Nikki has her tonight."

"Nani honey, if it's between Nikki and I, I can win that match every single time."

Nani smiled knowingly. "Well you better work fast, because the alcohol is not on your side and she's about to be served another one."

"I have all of the time I need, Nani."

Lexi turned to talk to Brittany.

"Hi"

"Hello" Brittany was wondering why the hell Lexi would be talking to her. They never say more than 2 words to one another.

"I'm leaving with her, but nothing is going to happen, I assure you."

"She can do what she wants, we are not a couple."

"Yes, but she shouldn't and so she won't, not with me. I won't let that happen and I doubt that she would either. She's just hurting and confused right now. She really is my friend, Brittany, and so I'm going to protect her from anyone who isn't thinking of her first tonight like a real friend would. Better she leave with me so Nikki doesn't get her hands on her while she's hurt and vulnerable. That bitch is always prowling in the shadows looking for an opportunity. She makes me sick and it has nothing to do with jealousy. I just hate her type."

Brittany shook her head slightly, and part of her was thankful even if she wasn't sure why. She was never going to be strong enough to do anything other than fuck Santana in a dark room. She needed to stop playing games with her. Still, deep inside she just wants another chance, and maybe Lexi of all people will be the one who makes sure she gets one.

"Listen, I don't know you and I don't know what's going on between you two but I'm rooting for whatever is best for Santana. I know Santana likes you a lot, and I like Santana a lot. She's been through hell so do me a favor in return for the favor I'm doing for both of you tonight, whether you know it or not. Face what you need to face, or cut her loose. She's hurting, and she's really too good of a person to go through this for so long. She's an adult and she may play this game with you forever, but just because she can doesn't mean that she should, and just because she believes that you're worth waiting for doesn't mean you should make her wait forever. I usually mind my business, but sometimes a person really should speak up. Tonight I have her and will get her home safely. By tomorrow you should really figure out what you would like the two of you to be. Goodnight Brittany. Get home safe."

Lexi stood up and kissed Nani on the cheek.

"See you soon, Nani. Don't worry. Enjoy the rest of the night. You were a boss up there tonight girl."

Nani smiled. "You were too, Sexy Lexi. Goodnight, we'll talk soon."

Lexi stood and walked back towards the table where her friends were and she sat keeping an eye on Santana as she finished her drink with Nikki. She would wait to see what Santana would decide to do before she intervened. She could already tell that the alcohol had Santana feeling loose and free. She was laughing and Nikki was finding every excuse to touch her. Soon it seemed as if they were getting ready to say their goodnights and Santana stood. Nikki held out her chair and stayed behind to say goodnight to her own friends as Santana went back to the table where Nani was.

"I'm gonna call it a night, if you don't mind. Can you get Brittany home for me?"

"I'll look after her Santana." Nani wanted to step in but Lexi said she would handle it. She didn't want to mother her and she knew when Santana was horny and hurt Nani would have to fight with her to get through to her. Lexi was the right person for this particular job. Santana turned to Brittany.

"Hey Brittany. I'm gonna check out. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't..."

"Just forget it, okay? Don't want to talk about it, like ever. Nothing to talk about. Nani is gonna get you home. I'll call you tomorrow..."

"Yeah. Santana?"

"Yeah Britt?"

"I'm sorry too," she said sadly.

"For what, Britt?" Santana moved close to Brittany's ear and spoke softly. "I've met a million girls like you, I've just never fallen in love with one before."

Britt was shocked. "San, what are you saying? What did you say to me?"

"Nothing" Santana said, losing her courage. "It doesn't matter anyway. It doesn't change a thing."

Brittany stood up and pulled Santana a short distance away from the table.

"What are you saying, Santana, please?"

"Nothing Britt."

"Say it again, Santana."

Santana kissed Brittany on the cheek.

"Goodnight Brittany." Santana said softly before turning to walk away, leaving Brittany standing there trying to process what Santana had said to her.

Santana stopped to say goodnight to Tiffany before making her way back to Nikki. Lexi had seen enough. Nikki stood and reached for Santana's hand but Santana instantly took her hand and placed it on the small of Nikki's back. She didn't want to hold hands with her. She wanted to take her home and fuck her senseless and forget that Brittany wanted her but only in the dark. She was a source of shame for her, and maybe she just needed to forget about it altogether. At least she told her how she felt before she throws it all away.

Lexi stood and stepped in their path before they could leave.

"Got a minute, Santana?"

"We were just leaving." Nikki interrupted.

"I asked Santana for a moment, you can go ahead and leave with your friends if you like." Lexi said. "Santana, come talk to me baby."

Lexi's voice was oozing sex. Santana looked at her bare abs and licked her lips. What the fuck was going on? Her inebriated mind couldn't keep up.

"Yeah Lex, we can talk. Nikki, give me a moment, doll. Can you walk your friends out please and then we can leave? I'll meet you out there in a moment."

"Yes Santana, but let's not waste too much time," Nikki said seductively.

"Absolutely not," Santana said, her eyes running over Nikki's body as she turned to catch up to her small group of friends who were making their way through the crowd.

"What's going on, Lex?"

"Let me take you home tonight, baby."

"What?" Santana said. For some reason her eyes fell to the table where her friends were all watching the scene unfold, all except for Nani and Brittany, who were in their own world, chatting.

"I want to take you home with me tonight Santana, for old times sake."

"Ummm, I would love that but I need to get a raincheck, doll. I already promised Nikki I would see her home tonight."

"Santana, who do you really want to go home with. You want a night with Nikki, or you want to come home and play with Sexy Lexi? She may get you off, but nobody can give you what you need tonight like I can."

Lexi had a point. Nikki was sex, just sex. Lexi was her friend. They had history and they have cared for one another in many ways, and afterwards with her was always quite nice. They would laugh and talk sometimes, and Santana could really use a night like that. It wasn't a question who she really wanted to go home with but she didn't want to embarrass Nikki after she had said yes.

After all someone had done that to her tonight and it fucking sucked.

"I...Nikki..."

"Let me handle Nikki baby. You sit down and wait right here. Don't you move. I'll be right back for you okay honey?"

"Okay Sexy Lexi," Santana smiled.

Lexi pulled out Santana's chair and she plopped down in it. Lexi walked outside and looked for Nikki. She was hoping that her friends were already gone and they were. She didn't want to cause any issues between Nikki and Santana, she knew Santana wanted her to keep spending money at the club, and so she would have to let her down gently.

"Hello Nikki. Listen, Santana is not herself tonight. Sex just isn't what she needs right now, we're going to hang out a little and talk things out."

"Who are you to say what she needs, or to imply that I can't give it to her?"

"I can't speak for her, but she's not in a great space tonight and if you care for her you will understand that. If you don't care for her as anything other than a piece of amazing ass then there really is no need to spare your feelings. I'm going to take care of her and give her what she really needs tonight...support. Listen, that room was full of Santana's ladies tonight but she's only interested in one these days and it ain't me or you and we both know it. Still, I'm her friend, so I have more to offer her than an orgasm although I've never failed in giving her one of those either just for the record. She's a person, not some conquest. You can't buy and sell her Nikki. She likes having you come through and see her perform, the club appreciates the business and your support of the artists, but Santana is not a whore. The money you spend, you're paying for a wonderful night out being entertained by talented people, you're not paying for her company because it's not for sale. That money will never buy you a night with Santana and if it could you and I both know you wouldn't be interested. You love the chase. So I hope you continue to enjoy coming here because it's an awesome place with very talented people. Maybe you can even become a good friend to her because a person can never have too many true friends, but Santana is trying something new, and that doesn't include you or I. So tonight I'm taking my old friend home to show her the kind of love she needs right now and I hope you two have the opportunity to discuss this further when she is feeling better and not full of booze. Get home safe Nikki. Santana will call you. Trust me if you go back inside you'll end up getting embarrassed because she has already chosen what I have to offer over what you're offering tonight or she would already be in your car by now. Goodnight Nikki." Lexi turned and went back into the club leaving Nikki standing on the curb.

Nikki's ego made her want to challenge Lexi, but the human being in her knew that she was right. She has seen the struggle in Santana's eyes and anyone can see it's not only about some girl. Santana's going through some things. She doesn't know what it's about because they don't talk about anything important and she's not a psychologist. Still, Santana is a nice girl. If Santana were a little older maybe she would get to know her better but the eight year age difference is exciting and fun but she's already been through the types of growing pains that Santana is experiencing and she has no desire to relive them. Showing off her young, sexy conquests is nice but there's no need to hurt her. Coming to watch her sing, seeing more of her as a person, she has come to discover more about Santana than any of her other trophy girls and she knows that she's an amazing person. She will give her this night and put her ego aside. If she were being honest with herself Santana is the kind of girl she would settle down with if they were in the same place in life. But they're not, and Santana is clearly trying to grow and like with anyone growth can be a struggle. She saw it when she came to her table, she's seen it for weeks now, and all of a sudden she feels like shit for never, ever asking Santana a simple and sincere question... are you okay?

Nikki decided to call it a night, and maybe take a moment to ask Santana that question the next time she saw her.

Lexi returned to the table and found Quinn sitting with Santana and Santana trying to shoo her away.

"Hey Quinn," Lexi said. "Can I have a few moments with Santana."

"Lexi, she's not feeling very well. She's drunk even if she doesn't look like she is. I don't know how Nani doesn't see it but she needs to take her home. She won't talk to anyone, she's just sitting here staring at these people sing."

"Nani is letting her make her own decisions, and you need to do the same Quinn. I'm about to take her home with me, and I'm going to take good care of her..."

"Lexi..."

"You don't know my motives Quinn, and you don't have to. Santana and I go way back. I care about her and even though I don't have to prove that to anyone Nani knows it and she believes it and I'm sure that's the real reason Santana's coming home with me tonight and not being dragged by her hair to Nani's car."

"Lexi..."

"Let her fail so she can succeed, Quinn."

"What do you mean?"

"Goodnight, Quinn." Lexi wrapped her arms around Santana's neck and kissed her on the cheek. "Come on baby, I can't wait to get you home."

Santana smiled, "Sexy Lexi, did you kill Nikki so you could fuck me tonight?"

Lexi laughed, "You must be really drunk huh San?" Lexi kissed Santana on the cheek again. "Since when does Sexy Lexi have to kill anyone for sex?"

Santana laughed, "Especially not tonight, after I watched you whine those hips."

"Don't worry mami chula, I've got something amazing planned for you tonight."

"Gotta go, Quinn," Santana said, popping up out of her seat.

"That's my girl," Lexi purred. Lexi placed her hand on the small of Santana's back and led her towards the door. "Goodnight Quinn. Please tell everyone they were amazing tonight and we will see them soon."

Lexi led Santana to the curb and waited for the valet to bring her car around. She was happy to see that Nikki had left, she didn't feel like dealing with her any further than she needed to. As they waited Lexi felt Santana's hand wander to her ass.

"I missed you, Lex."

"You miss fucking me, I've been here all along." Lexi smirked.

"You know we're more that that Lex, but I do miss fucking you."

"Easy to say when you're not getting any."

"But that changes tonight," Santana said, pulling Lexi in. Lexi smiled and looked into Santana's eyes.

"Everything changes tonight, baby."

"I can't wait to get you home, Sexy Lexi."

"I promise you Santana, it'll be a night you won't forget."