A/N- Superbowl Sunday Publishing Dump #4, I'm on a roll. Enjoy!
Quinn sat nervously in her car at the end of the driveway at the address Rachel had given her. The long drive led to a light yellow home with an expansive front lawn, full patio, and large fir tree. The blonde instantly felt inferior.
She checked her hair in the rear view mirror again before finally getting out and making the trek to the front door. The whole way there she was nervously adjusting her cardigan. Finally she rang the bell and stood waiting.
The door swung open to reveal a tall, tan, intimidating man wearing glasses, "You must be Quinn." He said giving her a once over.
"Yes sir, Quinn Fabray." She held out her hand and a small smile betrayed his face when he shook hers.
"I like this one far better than the last girl you brought here." He said to someone over his shoulder in the house.
Rachel appeared then, pushing past him while slipping on a shoe, "While I appreciate your approval, Dad, your taste in women is hardly credible."
The blonde smiled, but her grin soon turned into a blush when the man called into the house, "You've gotta see this girl LeRoy! She's adorable, shook my hand, called me sir, she's the perfect gentleman."
A shorter man came to lean against the doorframe, he had a good natured smile.
"Well if you two are done, we'll just be going." Rachel said, grabbing Quinn's wrist and leading the way down the driveway.
"Have our girl home by twelve!" The shorter man yelled after them.
"Yes Mr. Berry!" Quinn promised from the bottom of the drive.
She opened the door for Rachel and shut it securely behind her- infinitely grateful she had spent the morning washing the yellow vehicle.
They went to a drive in movie- one of the last remaining in Ohio. The movie playing was an old school horror flick which Rachel quietly disliked (she generally avoided the horror genre as she was easily frightened). But having Quinn beside her proved distracting enough that she wasn't too concerned with the movie. For the first half hour they held hands over the gearshift until Rachel excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she returned, Quinn bravely put her arm around the brunette's shoulders. Rachel easily fit there and she laid her head on Quinn's shoulder.
After the movie, Quinn drove them to a nearby park. She laid a blanket on her roof and helped Rachel climb up so they could stargaze from the top of the Jeep. After lying in silence a few moments, the brunette began tracing swirling patterns on the back of Quinn's hand.
"I'm sorry again for denting your car." She said.
The blonde smiled, "I told you not to worry about that."
"I know. Santana seemed more worked up about it than you did."
Despite their rocky start, the two brunettes had gotten along extremely well at the reservoir. They seemed to balance each other out nicely, "Santana's very, um, attached to my car."
"Why?"
Quinn took a breath, they were getting dangerously close to dealing with a subject she would rather avoid on a first date, "Well Bee is my first car and the first car any of our friends had. I worked three jobs all summer to save up money. When I turned sixteen San and I went to the used car lot and Bee was the least hideous one I could afford."
"Bee?" Rachel asked.
The blonde smiled, "Yeah. It's short for Beatrice. Santana stole my keys and threatened to burn out the clutch if I didn't agree to name her that."
Rachel laughed, "I love it. This car so suits you."
"I feel like that was an insult! This car is older than I am, the windows are hand cranked, the radio has a cassette tape player instead of a CD player. I send up a little prayer each time I try to shift out of first."
The singer didn't falter in her tracing on the back of Quinn's hand, but the blonde could have sworn she transitioned from swirls to drawing tiny hearts.
"Some things just get more beautiful with age."
A large grin grew across Quinn's face, she held her watch up in front of her face and her smile only grew as she slid down off the windshield of the Jeep, "Come here." She said offering her hand to assist Rachel in climbing off.
"Where are we going?"
"Trust me."
With her hazel eyes shining in the moonlight, there was no way Rachel could deny Quinn. Once both of the brunette's feet were solidly on the ground, Quinn reached back into the car and flipped on her high beams as well as cranking up her radio.
She pulled Rachel in front of the Jeep to stand in the glow of the headlights.
"Quinn, what are we doing?"
"Shh-" The blonde placed Rachel's hands lightly on her shoulders and settled her own respectfully on the shorter girl's waist.
A smile brightened Rachel's face when she recognized the song on the radio.
Quinn began singing along as she gently swayed, "I still believe in fairy tales, I still believe in picking flowers, I still believe in getting lost in someone's eyes, And talking for hours."
Rachel gave in and let herself be lead in their little dance. She rested her head on the blonde's shoulder and stepped in closer so their bodies were pressed tightly together. Granted it was just their first date, but after the day they had spent together at the reservoir and the drive in movie she felt inexplicably comfortable with Quinn.
"I still believe in shooting stars, I still believe in midnight drives, And butterflies you get, Right before you kiss for the very first time" As she finished that last line and the radio continued on into the chorus, Quinn retired her singing for simple humming. Both of her hands had gravitated to Rachel's lower back while the brunette's had moved to encircle her neck.
"I'm impressed Quinn, this was kind of the perfect first date."
"Only kind of?" The taller girl smirked in question.
Rachel nodded against her shoulder, "Though I did quite enjoy the experience of the drive-in movie, the horror genre is something I try to avoid most of the time."
Quinn just laughed and continued swaying. After a moment she began to pick up singing along to the radio, "I still believe that you'll come knocking on my door. When I least expect you to. You give me something I can hold. You pull me through, cuz that's what you do. That's what you do love. Yeah, that's what you do love."
As the song wound to a close, Rachel opened her mouth to compliment the blonde's singing but was cut off with a finger to her lips and a playful smirk from Quinn. Obediently, Rachel waited as the disc-jockey's voice came back on.
"Good evening Lima. That was 'Love' by Jana Kramer as requested by a Ms. Quinn Fabray. She also asked me to tell Rachel that she tried to convince the manager to play Funny Girl but he said no. I haven't a clue what that means but I hope Quinn and Rachel are having a great night!" The next song came on while Rachel froze in place, her jaw was dropped open as she stared unbelievingly at Quinn.
"How did you- But you must have- It's just- Quinn!"
"Yes Rachel?" She asked with the biggest smile.
"How could you have possibly known?"
"I'm good!" Quinn laughed.
"Nobody is that good."
"I am."
At that, the blonde pulled Rachel back to the Jeep and opened the door with a flourish, "And if I don't get you home in the next-" she checked her watch, "seven and a half minutes I will be good and dead."
Rachel hopped in while Quinn shut the door behind her and jogged around to the driver's side. She promptly threw her car into gear and peeled out of the park headed back to Rachel's house. The drive was quick and both girls smiled the entire way.
When they arrived, Quinn walked Rachel all the way to the door. They still had two minutes left before the brunette's curfew and they spent it on the stoop talking.
"Thank you, I really enjoyed myself tonight." Rachel said, shyly tucking a piece if hair behind her ear.
"So did I. Maybe we can do this again soon." Quinn hopefully suggested.
"I would like that."
"Cool."
They fell into a tense silence before Rachel reached out and grabbed Quinn's hands to hold in both her own, "You have a really beautiful singing voice Quinn. And I would know, I pride myself in my singing."
The blonde laughed easily, "Thanks."
There was a knock from the other side of the door and the distinct voice of the taller Berry man called through the wood, "This is your thirty second warning, wrap it up out there!"
Rachel blushed instantly, but pulled Quinn into a quick hug. Without thinking, when they parted she leaned up to press her lips to the taller girl's in a soft sweet kiss. Quinn was initially caught off guard but she easily melted into the kiss, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment.
They were both reluctant to part as Rachel reached up and cupped the blonde's face while Quinn's hands came to rest on her waist. Rachel angled her head slightly, allowing her to deepen the kiss. They only broke apart when they heard a loud bang on the other side of the door and one of Rachel's fathers yelled through the thick wood.
"It is officially twelve- oh- one!"
Rachel groaned in frustration while the blonde reluctantly stepped back. She smiled down at the shorter girl, "Goodnight Rach." She said, pressing a chaste kiss to the brunette's cheek before backing towards the driveway.
"Goodnight Quinn."
Rachel waited until the blonde was securely back in her jeep before she entered the house, and in turn Quinn waited at the end of the drive until the front porch light went off.