Keep Me Where the Light Is (part 5)
I'm so happy you're here.
It's been a long time, since I've had you near my dear.
Come on inside, get away from the cold wind
That's blowin',
Gonna let you know that…
I'm so glad you're here,
I worried about ya,
I'm so glad you're here,
After all we've been through.
I'm so glad you're here,
It's good to see ya baby,
I'm so glad you're here…
Leave your troubles out.
Yeah, they come to mind every time I see you 'round town.
Be frontin' like ya got it all together,
But I'm no better,
Baby, it's you and I forever…
…Woah love, ain't nothin' changed.
We're still hopeless together, woah
I wish you were goin' for I am doomed if you stay,
It's okay,
I need you anyway,
It's okay,
Yeah yeah,
It's okay,
I need you anyway, and
I'm so happy you're here….
(Glad You're Here ~ Macy Gray)
Sunday, July 17, 2022
10:52 AM
"Why are you so fidgety?" Brittany asked Grayson as she and Santana walked hand in hand up the sidewalk with him toward the Caliente Cab Company restaurant on Sunday morning.
"Am I?" the tall blond guy asked, taking a deep breath as he pushed up the rolled sleeves of his cotton, button-up shirt.
"Yes," Santana laughed and nodded agreement, "Calm down, Gray…these people won't bite."
"Not at first anyway," Brittany joked with a wink toward Santana, squeezing the Latina's right hand and thinking how sexy she looked in her white mini skirt and sleeveless yellow top.
"So exactly who all is going to be there?" Grayson asked with a nervous edge to his deep voice, "Besides Rachel?"
"Just several of the dancers from our show," Brittany answered, explaining further as she looked up at him over the top of her wife's head, "They're good friends of mine…and a lot of fun."
"This sounds like a big group," he grimaced slightly which was not lost on Santana.
"You'll be fine," the brunette put a reassuring hand on his strong shoulder as she walked next to him, "Just treat it like one of your Ad presentations…and picture them all in their underwear."
"I never do that," he balked, curling his upper lip.
"I know, Grayson…it was a joke. You really need to loosen up," she sounded exasperated.
The three of them stopped at the front door of Caliente.
"Come on, Gray…," Brittany laughed, linking her arm through his as they paused a second, "You're a great guy…just be yourself and they'll adore you as much as we do."
The handsome blond smiled appreciatively and opened the door for the girls to walk through first then he followed them further into the restaurant where they were greeted by a large table of jovial faces.
"Santana!" Austin Royle jumped up and hugged his best friend's spouse.
"Hi, Austin," the Latina said, sitting down in the chair that Brittany pulled out for her after Austin circled back around the table.
Brittany sat next to her wife, directly across from Austin, leaving Grayson to sit on the other side of Santana.
"Hello, Santana. I'm Brooke…Weber," the auburn-haired dancer stretched out her hand across the rectangle-shaped table, "I don't think we've officially met…but I feel like I know you well, because Brittany never shuts up about you."
"Never," Austin added with a broad hand gesture.
Everyone at the table laughed which made Brittany blush, her freckles highlighted as her fair skin turned a hint of pink.
Santana squeezed Brittany's muscular thigh under the table before reaching across and shaking Brooke's hand, telling her, "Nice to meet you, Brooke."
"This is our friend, Grayson Knox," Brittany introduced their guest.
"Grayson is our neighbor," Santana added, pointing to the quiet guy who sat to her left, "He lives in the apartment under us."
"Hi, Grayson," Brooke smiled widely with her perfect white teeth showing, tilting her head in a flirtatious manner, "We're glad you came today."
"I'm Eva," the young Hispanic girl on the other side of Austin said, giving Grayson a small wave and tossing her long dark hair back over her petite shoulder.
Santana looked down at her menu, internally applauding herself that Grayson was obviously an instant hit…physically anyway.
"Sooo…I have an announcement," Austin knocked against his water glass with his knife, clearing his throat, "I, Austin Royle…have found true love."
"What?" Brittany looked up from her menu and gave him mocked shock, the rest of the table joining in with some mumbled amazement.
"No, no…it's true…I am officially smitten," the brunette dancer played to the table of his friends with complete drama.
"And where did you meet this Prince Charming, Austin?" Gianna Santoro asked from the far end of the table.
"In the middle of dance floor B at Lover Boys on Friday night," Austin replied with all seriousness.
There was an awkward pause of silence before the entire table broke into hearty laughter.
"Oh, that is definitely true love, Austin," Brooke snorted, slapping at his right shoulder.
"Did you lose your shoe as you ran off the dance floor and into your awaiting carriage?" fellow dancer Kyle Attmore poked fun at Austin's encounter.
"Hold on now…are you suggesting that it is implausible to find love on the dance floor?" Austin feigned hurt, "It is, after all, called…Lover Boys."
The table of friends laughed more.
"Do you have a date with this guy?" Brittany wondered.
"Well…he gave me his number," her best friend replied.
"Oh, so you're taking things slowly?" Grayson chimed into the conversation, "That's wise."
Everyone laughed again, making the shy guy feel a little more at ease.
"I like this guy!" Kyle stated from the other side of Brittany which brought a smile to the blonde dancer's face, pleased their friend was trying to fit in.
"I'm not missing any of the fun, am I?" Rachel Berry said as she walked up behind them.
"Finally!" Austin exclaimed.
"We were about to order without you," Gianna warned playfully.
The group told her hello, and Santana gave a side glance to Brittany when Rachel sat at the end of the table right next to Grayson instead of the only other empty chair on the other side.
"Hi," the handsome blond told her as she sat down.
"Hi," Rachel smiled, immediately noticing his pretty blue eyes, "I'm Rachel Berry."
"Yes, I know…I've seen your pictures," Grayson said softly, looking down and turning a page of his menu, "You're very beautiful."
"Oh, those silly headshots never look like the real person," Rachel told him dismissively, assuming he was in the theatre industry.
"No, I mean…pictures with your family," he smiled sweetly, "In Santana and Brittany's apartment."
"Oh?" the tiny diva was somewhat confused.
"I'm their neighbor. I'm 5C," he explained, reaching out his hand, inserting awkwardly, "Sorry…I meant, I'm Grayson."
Rachel smiled, a slight blush passing over her, and replied, "Nice to meet you."
Santana looked over at her sister and smiled knowingly, enjoying the slight smirk that crossed Rachel's face in return.
"Are you guys ready to order now?" a young waiter asked, pad and pen in hand.
"Yes, we're starving," Eva stated.
"Okay…we'll start with you then," the waiter told her, moving to her end of the table.
The waiter went around the table, taking food and drink orders. Once they ordered and handed over their menus and the rest of the table was listening to a story Gianna was telling about her husband and his recent business trip to Miami, Rachel turned to Grayson.
"So, you're the infamous downstairs neighbor I've heard Santana and Brittany talk about?" she said with an engaging smile.
"Infamous?" Grayson laughed.
"Well, I know you do a lot for them…and they appreciate it very much," Rachel expanded.
Grayson's looked touched by that sentiment, "They do a lot for me too…more than they know."
"What do you do for a living?" Rachel asked, wanting to make conversation.
"I'm in advertising."
"Oh? So you come up with commercials on television and stuff?"
"Some…mainly though, I develop print ads," he described.
"Interesting," Rachel offered, "Would I recognize any of your ideas?"
"Hmm…you know that billboard in the subway for Snickers?"
She thought a second then answered, "Oh, the one that says 'Snickers, because every day's a little nutty'?"
Grayson laughed, looking down in slight embarrassment, "Yeah…dumb, huh?"
Rachel laughed too, putting her hand over his forearm, "I think it's cute…and accurate."
"Are you nervous about the premiere Thursday?" he asked her.
"Very!"
"I have a confession…I knew who you were already, because I saw you in The Brokenhearted," Grayson said.
"Oh god…that was nearly six years ago," Rachel covered her face with her hands, "What a miserable experience."
"I saw it the night before it closed," he remembered with a smile.
"You and about ten others," Rachel self-jeered about her early, ill-fated Broadway role.
"That's not true!" he laughed, "There were at least forty other people in the audience that night."
That made Rachel cackle. "It was a small role anyway. Thank goodness I've had other shows since then."
"Well, you made the most of it, because I still remember you," he said sweetly.
"Yeah, right…what was the song I sang?" she teased.
"Ok…maybe I don't remember that much about it," he confessed, feeling caught.
The small brunette shook her head as she smiled, "See! That show sucked."
"Ok, it did suck," he admitted, adding quickly, "…but your talent jumped off that stage, I do remember that…and when I saw your picture with Santana, I knew exactly who you were."
Rachel looked at Grayson, seeing sincerity in his deep blue eyes. Talking to him made her feel giddy, something the petite diva had not felt in a long time. She took a bite of her lunch that had been set in front of her, setting her fork back down when she felt her phone buzz inside the pocket of her skirt.
She pulled it out to see that in was an incoming call from Steve Hagler, the guy she'd recently been dating. Rachel looked to her right again at Grayson, instantly smiling, then she hit the decline button and stuffed the phone back inside her pocket.
Thursday, July 21, 2022
11:18 AM
Brittany busied herself in the kitchen Thursday morning. Her nervous energy over opening night looming less than nine hours away had her thoroughly cleaning the counter tops and the appliances as soon as she got out of bed. She even straightened the insides of the few cabinets they had in their efficiency apartment then scrubbed down the bathroom, all before eleven o'clock.
She looked over at Santana who had helped with sweeping and vacuuming as best she could but who was now napping comfortably on the couch. Brittany smiled tenderly while she stood there and studied the sleeping form of her wife as the mid-morning sunlight cascaded through their only window and rained over her. After a lifetime of knowing each other, Santana was still the most beautiful sight in Brittany's world.
The blonde couldn't remember the last time she paused inside her apartment in the daylight. Nearly every hour of her recent days had been spent in stage rehearsals and final run-throughs, especially the last couple of days. Last night, she didn't get home until after four o'clock in the morning, and still, she could only sleep soundly until about nine before the adrenaline started pumping in her veins.
Brittany took a deep breath and felt her stomach growl. Okay, Britt…you need energy, she thought…then perhaps a power nap. She laughed to herself, turning toward the refrigerator.
She bent over to look at the small interior, seeing a carton of eggs. Pulling those out, she broke a few in a bowl and stirred them quickly with a fork, adding a bit of tap water like her mom always did when she made them scrambled eggs, then she poured the yellowy liquid into a skillet and turned on the heat under it.
As she waited for those to cook, she looked in the fridge again, grabbing the milk and a block of cheddar cheese. She grated some of the cheese and tossed it into the eggs right before they were done cooking, since she knew that was the way Santana liked them best.
After she divided the cheesy eggs among two plates, she sliced a banana equally for them and poured them both a small glass of milk, turning toward Santana again.
With all the cleaning and cooking, the Latina had not even stirred. She lay on her side with the fan Grayson loaned them blowing comfortably on her. Santana had mentioned a couple of times to Brittany that morning that her energy level was lacking more and more and that all she wanted to do was sleep lately, so Brittany encouraged her to relax on the couch. Not ten minutes after that, the blonde noticed her wife was in a deep sleep, adorably snoring lightly.
The tall dancer walked over to the couch and gently rubbed Santana's back, telling her, "Honey…I made lunch."
Santana took a deep breath as Brittany's gentle nudging woke her, and her eyes fluttered opened. It took her a second, but she finally sat up and squinted to force herself further into consciousness, looking up at her wife to say, "Did I fall asleep?"
Brittany laughed and ran a firm caress down the back of Santana's dark hair, "Yeah, you did…for over an hour. Do you feel any better?"
The brunette stretched, replying, "A little, thanks."
"I made your favorite…let's eat before it gets cold," Brittany suggested as she stood and walked back toward the kitchen table.
"Do you mind if I sit over here by the fan?" Santana requested, still struggling with her internal temperature inside the warm apartment.
"Sure," Brittany shrugged, agreeably picking up both plates and forks and taking them over to the couch.
She handed one to Santana then sat cross-legged on the floor at her feet, facing her. Brittany hungrily took two bites in quick succession, savoring the taste of hot food before looking up at her wife.
Santana held her plate, perched on her legs that were tucked underneath her, with her fork in her left hand, grimacing slightly.
"What's wrong?" Brittany asked, taking another big bite and wishing she had thought to buy bagels.
Santana looked down at the cheesy mixture which she usually loved, silently pushing around some of it with her fork.
"Santana?" Brittany prodded, noticing the Latina looked a little pale suddenly.
"Nothing," Santana waived off, not wanting to offend Brittany who had gone to the trouble of making the eggs just the way the brunette liked them. She picked up a bite with her fork and slowly brought it to her mouth, chewing cautiously. When that bite went down, Santana smiled at her attentive wife and took a few more small bites, trying to concentrate on the story Brittany recounted as she ate about one of the first act routines that required the female dancers to wear roller skates.
"Good, huh?" Brittany paused her story to ask cheerfully.
Santana gulped hard as her stomach did a flip-flop, "Uhuh."
Brittany went on with her story, finishing her banana and setting her plate behind her on the coffee table. When she turned her head back around, she noticed a distinct greenish color to Santana's face.
"Honey? Are you okay?" she asked.
Before Santana could respond or even stand to move toward the restroom, her stomach revolted violently, and she threw up all over the floor below, most of it ending up on Brittany's arm and leg.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Santana said immediately, coughing slightly and holding her plate of partially-eaten eggs. Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she looked down at Brittany whose face looked like a deer in headlights, holding out her left arm as a chunk of egg slid off onto the floor.
Brittany swallowed hard, steadying her own stomach, and said, "Ok, so no more eggs for a while."
Brittany took the plate from Santana, and the Latina started crying, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Oh, hon…it's ok. Don't cry," Brittany assured her wife, standing from the floor, "We'll get it cleaned up."
Brittany stepped over to the sink to wash her arm off then she grabbed a roll of paper towel and cleaned off her long leg, pulling off her tank top and shorts.
"I'm sorry, Britt," the brunette sniffed hard.
The blonde walked back over to where Santana still sat, placing several of the paper towels on top of the small remaining mess, telling her, "Well, I think you can add morning sickness to your pregnancy journal."
"It just happened so fast…I am so sorry."
It was clear that Santana was emotionally upset by the incident so Brittany kneeled down next to the couch, reassuring her crying wife.
"Tan, it's ok, sweetheart. Please don't let it upset you," she told her, putting her arm around her back.
Santana leaned into Brittany's shoulder, her stomach still churning.
Brittany ran a soft touch down Santana's jawline, tucking a long strand of her raven hair behind her ear, and reminded her lightheartedly, "Remember the time I got food poisoning from that Turkish place? Huh?"
The Latina let out a small laugh in response, relaxing further into Brittany's body.
"Remember?" Brittany sat back on her heels and lifted Santana's chin, smiling broadly, "I puked all over you and the bed."
"Yeah, I remember," Santana gave her a smile back, feeling a little less embarrassed, "I really liked that comforter. Too bad we had to throw it out."
Brittany laughed, "Then you took care of me the rest of the night while I slept in the bathroom."
"I had to sit inside the shower stall, because you took up the entire floor," Santana added with fond devotion.
"See! So it happens to the best of us…and it'll probably happen again in the next few months," Brittany said playfully, rubbing Santana's shoulder.
Santana nodded with a frown, her arms wrapped around her torso.
"Quinn always said that was a good sign, remember?"
"Yes," Santana agreed.
"Is there something else that sounds good that I could make for you?" Brittany asked, shifting to clean up the rest of the mess on the floor.
"Honestly…nothing sounds good," Santana wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"Nothing?" Brittany stood again to throw away the paper towels, "Maybe some toast? I don't think we have any saltines, but I can run around the corner and get you some."
"Britt…no. You should be relaxing and preparing for tonight," Santana called to her as the blonde moved across the room into the bathroom.
She returned a moment later with a can of Lysol, spraying the rug and putting down a towel.
"I love you," Santana stood up and pulled Brittany up by her elbow, hugging her, "You are officially the best wife ever."
Brittany tilted her head and smiled, "I like taking care of you two."
"Then you are officially the best mom ever too," Santana winked.
7:44 PM
"Was Brittany nervous?" Quinn Fabray asked Santana as they sat in row sixteen of the orchestra section in the Gershwin Theatre, waiting for the show to start.
"Yes, very…though she never admitted it," Santana laughed, adding with an affectionate hand on top of Quinn's hand, "It means so much that you came tonight."
Quinn smiled, "I wouldn't miss it. How often do I get the chance to see two of my best friends on Broadway on opening night?"
"I think we've crossed into the big leagues…it's crazy how many celebrities are here tonight," the Latina said with awe.
"I wish Brittany's family could have come tonight," Quinn frowned.
"I could tell Britt was a little disappointed."
"You said they're coming in August?" the blonde clarified.
Santana nodded, "Yeah, that's the first opportunity John could get time away from work."
"Well, that will just spread out the celebrations," Quinn tried to ease over the absence of the Pierce family.
Daniel and Trey Berry made their way up the row to its center to take their seats.
"Would you believe that we just saw Bernadette Peters in the lobby?" Daniel asked as he sat to the left of Santana, "She still looks fabulous."
"I saw Sutton Foster in the ladies room," Quinn leaned forward and added excitedly.
"This is incredible!" Daniel beamed.
"Did you buy anything?" Santana asked her fathers who had gone out to the lobby to look at the memorabilia counter.
"Yes, of course…," Trey answered opening their plastic bag, "We bought souvenir programs…here's one for each of you…and coffee mugs…."
"…and t-shirts," Daniel interjected, "We don't even wear t-shirts…now we own three of them!"
Santana and Quinn laughed at the older men as a deep voice said from the other side of the row, "Hi."
They turned to see Grayson standing there. He looked very nice in a fitted black suit that accentuated his broad shoulders. The tall blond even had on a fancy tie clip, and Santana noticed that he smelled nice as he took his assigned seat on the other side of Quinn.
"I'm glad you made it," the brunette told him, "Grayson Knox…this is Quinn Fabray…my oldest and dearest friend in the world."
"Nice to meet you, Grayson," Quinn smiled politely, crossing her legs at the knees and sitting back in her seat.
"You too," he nodded, looking past Quinn to Santana, "Do you think they're ready?"
"I think they are out of time if they're not," she teased as the house lights flickered for everyone to take their seat.
10:39 PM
"Rachel!" Daniel Berry called out at the open door of his daughter's backstage dressing room.
The petite star turned quickly, responding loudly over the buzz of activity around her, "Daddy!"
Daniel squeezed past two larger men clad in tuxedos, approaching his daughter with extended arms and pulling her into a tight embrace, "Dad and I are so proud of you tonight. You were absolutely sensational out there. Everyone around us said so."
"Thank you so much," she said with tears in her brown eyes, taking him by the hand and pulling him back through the small crowd, "Come here, there's something I want you to see."
Daniel followed her to her dressing room door where she stopped and pointed to its center, "Look…a gold star…just for me!"
Daniel smiled widely and cackled, "You made it, sweetheart…You're a star!"
"Alton was pleased," Rachel told him, relief in her voice, "…and, he said she was here…she actually came to see it."
"Barbra?" Daniel clarified, "We saw her when she was seated. She was about ten rows in front of us."
"How did she look?" Rachel was more excited about her idol being in the audience than about her own performance.
Daniel smiled, assuring the tiny brunette, "She looks exactly the same. Ageless."
"I can't believe it, Daddy…Barbra Streisand saw me perform on Broadway," Rachel couldn't contain her happy tears, and they trailed down her heavily made-up face, "Me…Rachel Berry."
"She saw you bring the house down, sweetheart!" Daniel hugged her again, adding, "Watch out, Tony Awards…here comes, Rachel Berry."
"There's my baby girl," Trey said as he made his way up the walkway, having no trouble seeing over the heads of the other well-wishers and theatre-industry folks who were gathered, discussing the show.
"Dad!" Rachel beamed, reaching up to hug him, "I wondered where you were."
"We stopped a minute to say hi to Brittany," Santana answered, walking up behind them and hugging Rachel, "We are so proud of you, Rach…congratulations. The show is amazing!"
The smaller brunette pulled back to say, "Thank you. I love you guys so much."
"So this is your dressing room?" Santana asked, looking inside the space that was filed with bouquets of brightly-colored flowers.
"Yes, come in…they're pouring champagne to celebrate," Rachel pulled her father by the hand, walking her family further inside.
As Rachel handed the two Mr. Berrys champagne flutes to participate in the toasting of Broadway's latest hit, Santana peeked at a couple of the cards on the bouquets, seeing one from the producer of the revival, Gail Thornton, and another from Richard Mullins, Rachel's previous boyfriend who seemed to be permanently out of the picture.
Right on Rachel's make-up counter, there was an elegant arrangement of antique garden roses that caught Santana's eye. Of the twenty-four buds, some were ivory and some were mauve with a few pale pink and peach colored ones mixed in. Gorgeous, Santana thought.
The Latina pulled the small envelope out of it and looked down at the card which read Broadway is about to get a lot brighter. Best wishes to its newest star, Grayson
Santana smiled and nodded to herself, noting aloud, "Well played, Gray."
She then looked over at her sister and smiled wider, watching Rachel in her element of being the celebrated center of attention. Santana was elated for the petite brunette who never took her eye off her ultimate goal…and to see Rachel achieve the accolades that she so deserved made Santana swell with pride.
The Latina moved up next to her family to add her applause as the show's producer led the group in a toast to everyone who worked so hard to make Funny Girla success.
Santana put a hand over her lower torso, privately thanking her own karma for allowing Brittany and her to achieve a different ultimate goal, feeling totally at peace with her professional sacrifice.
10:50 PM
Dominic Serra stepped up on a dressing room chair and clapped his hands loudly, shouting over the energy of ecstatic chorus members who were celebrating their opening night triumph in order to say, "Well done, ladies!"
"Ladies?" Austin Royle retort, looking over at fellow male dancer Adrian Dimas who shrugged with a smile.
"Sorry, my bad…Ladies and Adrian," Dominic joked which got a loud laugh from the gathered group, "Your hard work paid off…the ensemble numbers werenearly flawless."
"I agree," a deep voice added from the doorway.
The group of dancers turned to see their director, Alton Weiss, standing there, leaning casually against the frame.
"I wanted to add my appreciation for your dedication and flexibility these last few weeks," Alton said with a sincerity typically absent from his voice, "I know you each have sacrificed time with your loved ones and your social life in order to listen to me shout at you week after week, but I am pleased with the performances tonight."
They all applauded themselves and smiled at one another.
"The buzz is good…so go celebrate yourselves. Have a drink and curse my existence," Alton advocated, "Then get home and rest up to do it all over again tomorrow night!"
"Thank you, Alton," Dominic said as the intense director turned and left, "Okay, you heard the man…go celebrate!"
Austin turned to Brittany and said, "Are we still going over to Caliente?"
"Definitely," the blonde replied, "I just need to change clothes and find Santana then we'll head down there."
"Good, we'll meet you there," Austin hugged her.
"We?" she repeated, "Are you bringing this mystery boyfriend?"
The brunette dancer laughed, "No…and he's not my boyfriend…yet."
"Interesting," Brittany winked at him which caused her dear friend to blush, "See you there then."
Friday, July 22, 2022
12:08 AM
"Congratulations!" Frap called out in his glorious booming southern drawl, crossing the back dining room of Caliente to welcome everyone.
"Thank you, Frap," Brittany said, hugging her former boss warmly, then she introduced him to her fellow chorus dancers and their significant others.
"We have this whole room sectioned off for y'all," the older man told them, motioning the group inside, "Just go up to the bar and tell Eli what your drink orders are." Frap then leaned in closer to Brittany and whispered in her ear, "Everything's on me tonight, sweetheart."
Brittany grinned and shook her head, "There is a big heart in that old chest of yours, huh?"
"Shhh…our secret," Frap winked then slapped her playfully on her backside, saying louder, "Proud of you, kid!"
Everyone took seats around the various tables and enjoyed colorful margaritas from the bar, toasting the show and themselves. There was even a live band playing in next dining room though the loud beat was quickly getting to Santana, her head pounding.
She leaned over to Brittany and told her, "Britt, I think I'm going to head home if that's ok?"
"Oh sure, hon…I'll walk you," she told her wife, standing up from the table.
"No, you stay and celebrate with your friends," the Latina insisted, "I'll take a cab home."
"You sure?" Brittany was feeling a bit drunk, but she was with it enough to worry, "At least let me wait with you until you get one…come on."
The blonde grabbed Santana by the hand and pulled her toward the front of the restaurant to hail a cab.
"I'll be back," Brittany hollered to the gathered group.
Quinn returned from the restroom that was down in the basement, walking back over to the tables.
"Where's Brittany and Santana?" the young professor asked Grayson who was hanging out longer than he wanted with hopes Rachel would show up.
"Santana wanted to go home," he informed her, "She said to tell you she'd see you in the morning at your hotel before your train leaves."
"Oh ok," Quinn grimaced, knowing that didn't sound like her friend, ending a night of festivity early.
"Brittany will be right back," Grayson assured her.
Quinn nodded and went over to the bar, leaning into it to steady herself a bit and ordering a fresh swirled margarita from Eli, the bartender.
"Careful now…the margaritas here are strong," a deep voice said, coming up next to her.
She smiled as she turned her head, but her expression froze in place as she looked up into a very familiar face.
"Quinn Fabray…what the hell are you doing here?" the masculine voice asked in mild shock.
"Puck?"
"Small world, huh?" Noah Puckerman smiled, leaning over to give her a hug.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her face full of confusion.
"My band is playing here, last night and tonight," he pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb, "We're at Fast Eddie's in the Village Friday and Saturday."
"I thought you were on the West Coast," Quinn stated, "Something about fishing cruises?"
"Rich people will pay a lot for you to take them out in a fancy boat so they can catch a fish," he winked.
"How did you end up here?"
"I did the fishing all day, partying all night thing for a few years…even squeezed in some surf tournaments that I won…," he recounted, "…but then a few of my boys were putting together a band and needed a lead guitarist…so here I am."
"Here you are," Quinn smiled at him, "I almost didn't recognize you…you grew out your Mohawk."
"Yeah, it was blond too until six months ago," he laughed and rubbed his hand through his thick brown hair.
"Blond?" Quinn laughed at that image, "No way!"
"I swear…look, I have a picture on my phone," he pulled out his cell phone and thumbed through until he found a picture of himself on a big white boat, holding up a large fish, "See, told you."
"Oh god," Quinn laughed harder, looking up at his recognizable boyish grin, easily remembering the adolescent who got her pregnant when they were sophomores at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.
"It was bad, huh?" Puck admitted.
"Yeah…don't ever do that again," she turned when Eli handed her a small glass with red and green swirled liquid inside, telling him, "Thank you."
"What can I get for you?" the bartender asked Puck.
"Dos Equis," he told him then accepted the dark colored bottle of Mexican beer when Eli handed it to him, throwing down some cash on the bar, "Thanks, man."
"So what's your story…what puts you here tonight?" Puck asked turning toward Quinn.
"Rachel's premiere was tonight…she's in a new revival of Funny Girl…so is Brittany," Quinn said proudly.
"Oh cool…how'd it go?"
"Rachel was absolutely brilliant," Quinn responded.
"I'd expect nothing less from Berry," Puck said affectionately, "She was born for that role."
"She should be here soon…she'll tell you all about it."
"Oh I'm sure of it…every moment…in nauseating detail," he joked.
"She has not changed," Quinn smiled widely.
"Neither have you, Quinn," he paused, "You're just as beautiful as ever."
"Thanks," the blonde blushed and took a sip of her drink to help cover it.
"How's Cate?" Puck tried to be cordial, inwardly still as jealous as ever of Cate Boyd, having been rejected by Quinn when the blonde started dating the older girl.
"Cate and I broke up actually…long story," Quinn took another drink of the frozen concoction, casting her gaze downward.
"Ok…well, listen…I've got one more set to play then how about we sit down and you give me whatever version of the story you feel like telling?"
Quinn took a deep breath and leaned into Puck, squeezing him tightly, remembering for a brief moment what it felt like to be young again. "I missed you, Puck…I'm really glad to see you."
The tall brunette squeezed her back, a flood of feelings washing back over him, "I missed you too, Quinn…very much."
Author's Note: This was a long chapter so I hope it made up for the update being a couple of days late.
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