By the end of our first day, I was exhausted. Julio took us to get some deep dish pizza, which was beyond delicious, then we walked around the city. There were so many tall buildings and a river running right through them. I had never seen anything so amazing. They even had boat taxies! I could totally see myself living here. We walked for hours and Julio even took us on a speed boat architecture tour, then out to dinner.

When we got back to the house building, everyone went to their own floor.

"It's so early," I said falling on to the couch, "But I'm so tired. We did a lot."

Santana laughed as she locked the door. "We did. Did you have fun?"

"Yes!"

Santana took of her jacket threw it on a nearby chair before coming to the couch and sitting next to me. "It's a great city, right? Better than New York?"

"I really like it," I said, "I think it's tied with New York."

"Well, I do have four more days to change your mind." Santana gave me a kiss on the cheek and got up again. "Come on, we still haven't unpacked."

I followed Santana to the bigger bedroom and started to unpack when she stopped me.

"You should put your stuff in the other bedroom," she said, "You know, just in case my mom or uncle come in here."

"Oh, right." She made sense but it kind of hurt a little. This was still a secret and no one was supposed to know. I took my suitcase to the bedroom down the hall and unpacked. I hung and folded my clothes and by the time I was done, I felt like taking a shower. I grabbed my things and headed to the bathroom after telling Santana what my plan was.

I finished my shower, and felt a million times better. I heard voices in the living room and realized that Maribel was here. With a towel wrapped around myself I ran into my bedroom and got dressed for bed. I kept yawning the whole time and my eyes felt so heavy. I pressed my ear to the door and heard Maribel and Santana talking. Maribel wanted Santana and me to go with her to visit the rest of the family. Santana kept saying how she had planned on taking me sightseeing all day tomorrow. I yawned again.

I went to the bed, pulled back the covers and got in. I didn't want to interrupt them so I figured I'd just wait for them to finish by taking a quick nap. I tuned off the lamp and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, it was really dark and I felt something heavy on my chest. It was Santana. She was half on top of me, sound asleep. I could smell her hair and she had also taken a shower before bed. I smiled and hugged her closer to me and fell back asleep.

Next time I woke up, the room was brighter. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was 6:30. Santana was hugging me from behind, one hand on my boob, and her face buried in my hair. We had slept in the same bed a lot this summer and I discovered Santana was a sleep cuddler. I'd wake up to her always hugging me or practically on top of me. Always. I loved it and had gotten used to it pretty quickly. I was going to miss this too.

I untangled myself from her and went to the bathroom to wash up. I wasn't sleepy anymore. Thirty minutes later, Santana found me in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Why do you always get up so early?" Santana yawned and rubbed her eyes. She looked like an adorable zombie as she took a seat behind the kitchen counter that faced the stove. "You're on vacation, Britt."

I giggled and shook my head. "You know I can't wait to eat breakfast. It's the best!" I fixed her a plate and gave her a big mug filled with coffee. We went to sit at the table and it really felt like we were grown ups and living in our own place. I wondered if this is what everyday would be like if I came to live in Chicago. That thought made Chicago way better than New York. "You came to sleep with me," I said.

"What?" Santana finished the last of her coffee and got up to get more.

"I fell asleep in my room and I woke up and you were there." I was smiling really big. "You're a secret cuddler."

"Uh no, I'm not." She came back to the table, coffee cup full, "I didn't want you to be scared in a strange place. This place can get a bit creepy at night."

She was lying. I could tell because she wouldn't look at me and kept playing with her hands. "OK. Well, thanks."

She drank most of her coffee before she spoke again. "So anyway, today we have a busy day." She finally looked up at me with a small smile. "I managed to convince my mom that you spending a day with my boring family was a waste of your vacation. So, today, we are going back into the city and doing more exploring and I was thinking we could visit the college campuses so you can check those out."

"That sounds awesome! Hey, if I do come here for college, do you think we could live here? Your Uncle did say he's renting it out."

I saw her stop herself from grinning. She loved that idea. "That would be cool, but Britt, we still have like over a year before we start college."

I shrugged. "So, maybe he can hold it for us."

"Let's see if we actually get in to these schools first," Santana said, "I mean, we could get rejected and end up in New York or even L.A."

"Wait, I thought you were only applying to schools here?"

She leaned back and smiled. "We'll, you know, I should have a back up plan just in case. And maybe New York isn't that bad, even with the possibility of Rachel Berry being there."

I felt so happy that I thought I was going to burst. I got up and went to her. I leaned down and kissed her. "Awesome."

She got up and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back. "It's always good to have a backup plan." She kissed me again. "Listen, we only have four days together before you leave." Another kiss. "And I think we should have as much sex as possible before you go back."

I felt myself falling into that unicorn world again and just nodded. She did have a point. We only had four days left together before we'd be separated for six weeks. The reality of not seeing Santana for so long made my chest feel really tight. I kissed her back, harder and hooked my hands behind her thighs, lifting her. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I carried her to my room.

###

The campuses were really pretty and it looked like those old times college campuses I sometimes saw in movies. They looked pretty but neither offered many classes on TV, film or media. I couldn't learn how to be the next Oprah without those classes.

Both schools were perfect for Santana though. They both had super awesome marketing programs and she would totally be able to learn how to be the queen of commercials. She needed to come to Chicago. I didn't.

When she asked me what I thought about the schools I told her I really liked them. I didn't want to think about possibly needing to go to New York or L.A. for four years and be away from her.

The rest of the day she took me everywhere around the city. We went to the Bruce Willis Tower, the museum, and we got to go on the train. This city was pretty cool and I really liked how it was less hectic than New York.

Our last stop for the day was the giant jelly bean.

"This is not what I thought it would be," I said, a little disappointed I couldn't take a bite out of the sculpture, "It's still pretty cool but…"

Santa laughed and reached into her purse. "Here." I turned to her and she was handing me a bag of jelly beans. "I knew you'd want these."

I giggled and grabbed the bag. "Perfect." I opened the bag and popped a few in my mouth then offered some to Santana. She took a few and ate them. "This is perfect."

"Are you having fun, Britt?"

"Yeah." I ate another few jelly beans then, without thinking, I kissed her on the lips. It was just a quick kiss, no tongue or anything. When I realized I had kissed her in public, I jumped away from her. "Oh shit, sorry."

Santana's eyes were really wide and she looked around at the people around us. No one was paying attention to us but Santana looked frantic. "We should go," she said, "There's not much to this bean anyway. There's a fountain near by with people's faces on it, it's cool. Let's go see it."

She started walking away from me and I groaned. I messed up.

###

Once we got to the fountain Santana was fine. It was as if nothing had happened at the jelly bean. I had just gotten so caught up in being with Santana that I forgot the rules. It was easy to forget though. We had spent weeks acting like a couple that I just slipped.

For dinner she took me to this really cool old burger place where we just ate and played some pool. We got home a little after nine and we both collapsed on the couch. We had been out for 11 hours and we didn't realize how tired we were until we go home.

"Tomorrow we rest in the morning," Santana said, yawning, "We need to hit up some nightlife."

I forced myself to get up from the couch. "Morning rest sounds great. Walking all over the city is exhausting. I'm going to go change into my PJs."

I went into my room and changed then went to the bathroom to wash up. When I was done I went back to my room and laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

I opened my eyes to see Santana standing by the doorway, already dressed for bed. "I'm so sleepy."

She walked to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I whined, letting her take me across the hall. She took me to her room, the bigger one, and had me lay down on the bed. "I was already doing this in the other room."

She covered me up and left the room to lock up and turn off the lights. When she came back she laid next to me and immediately cuddled against me. "This bed is more comfortable."

It was. This bed was bigger and the mattress was way more comfy. I turned to my side, making Santana my little spoon. I was almost asleep when I heard her speak.

"I'm still trying," she said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Remember when I told you I was trying?" She took my hand and played with my fingers.

"I remember."

"I'm still trying," she repeated, "You didn't do anything wrong at the jelly bean. I just…there were so many people and…I'm not ready for that kind of public announcement."

I let out a breath and hugged her tighter. She was still trying and I understood that but I was getting tired of waiting. I've been waiting for years. I didn't want to tell her that it made me sad that she acted one way with me in private and another in public.

Today at the fountain just reminded me of all those times she pretended like we were just regular friends and nothing more. I knew that I had to be careful. I didn't want to keep getting my heart broken.

"I know," I agreed, sadly.

###

Santana had tried really hard to convince her mom that I shouldn't waste my vacation hanging out with her family. Apparently, there was some sort of family dinner with Santana's aunts, uncles, cousins and her grandmother. Maribel told Santana that we had to at least have dinner then we could leave.

I actually wanted to meet Santana's family but it seemed she didn't want me to met them. Maybe she was afraid I'd embarrass her or that I'd say something really dumb. I just had be careful not too talk too much at dinner.

We had slept in and then gone to a waffle house near by for breakfast. Julio's house building was pretty close to the city so we had a lot of restaurants to choose from but Santana knew I loved waffles. After breakfast she took me sightseeing again for a bit before we went back home.

"I'm sorry about this Britt." Santana and I had just finished getting ready for dinner and were waiting for her mom and uncle to come get us.

"It's OK," I shrugged, "I'm actually looking forward to meeting them. Your mom and uncle are super cool so I bet the rest of your family is also."

"They…some of my cousins are really great. Some, not so much. My Uncle Julio is awesome, he's my favorite. You'll probably meet my two aunts and my other uncle. They're great but not as awesome as Uncle Julio."

"What about you grandma?"

"She's great," Santana said with a smile, "She was a big part of my life growing up. I'm her favorite."

"Of course you are," I said with a laugh.

There was a knock at the door and Santana grabbed my hand. "Listen, you…we should be careful at the dinner. We can't…I mean…"

"I know." I gave her a small smile. What we had together didn't exist when others were around and by the worried look on her face, that wasn't going to change any time soon. "Don't worry."

###

I really liked watching Santana interact with her family. I had only ever seen her with her mom but now she was surrounded by the rest of her family and she seemed to be the center of attention. Everyone loved her and I saw why she wanted to come live here. We were all in the living room of Santana's grandmother's house waiting for dinner to be ready.

"How do you like Chicago?"

I looked away from Santana and turned my attention back to Gloria, Santana's cousin who was a year older. "Oh, good. I mean, it's awesome."

Gloria looked a little like Santana except she was taller and her skin was lighter. "Good. So, Brittany. It's nice to meet that girl in all those pictures Santana has on her Facebook and Instagram."

"I've seen some picture so you too," I said.

"I'm very photogenic," Gloria said with a wink. She was definitely related to Santana. "Santana never really talks about Lima or her friends. Trying to get her to talk about her life is a pain. If it wasn't for my aunt, no one would know what Santana was up to. You guys must be really close for you to hang out with the whole family for a week."

Gloria was smiling at me kinda of weird. I frowned. I always talked about Santana when I was with my family. She was my best friend and you are supposed to talk about your close friends, right? At least a mention or something. From what Gloria was saying no one knew about me and all those confused looks I got from some of the family made sense.

"I, uh, I came cause I wanted to check out some of the colleges." I felt like I needed to explain. I didn't want Gloria to think anything was going on with me and Santana. "When she told me she was coming here, I tagged along. You know, so I didn't come by myself."

Gloria nodded. "Makes sense. So tell me, what's Santana really up to in Lima? My aunt only talks about her like a proud mom. I want the real story."

I swallowed and looked behind Gloria to find Santana, but she was gone. "Like what? I'm not a gossip."

"No, no," Gloria laughed, "I'm not trying to get gossip, though if you have any, I'm all ears. Like I said, Santana never talks about her life in Lima so I just want to make sure she's OK. She and I are friends too and she can be really closed off…"

"Tell me about it," I mumbled.

Gloria smiled, she had heard me. "…and she can be very stubborn when in comes to sharing her feelings. You know?"

"I…" Gloria was talking to me like we both knew a secret but I didn't know what it was. Unless she knew about Santana and me. That thought made me panic. I didn't want Santana to think I had told Gloria anything. "She's doing fine. You know, regular high school stuff."

I was glad when Santana suddenly appeared next to me. "What are you two talking about?"

Gloria let out a loud sigh, probably upset that her chance to get information was gone. "Just getting to know your friend Brittany here," Gloria said.

"Uh, yeah," I said, "Your cousin is pretty cool."

Santana crossed her arms and pressed her lips, looking at her cousin with narrow eyes. "Don't let her annoy you, Britt. She has a knack for it."

"Whatever prima," Gloria said, "You know you love me."

"Only because it's required since we're family," Santana said.

I could tell right away they were teasing each other and I smiled. Maybe Gloria really was just worried about Santana and not trying to gossip.

Maribel came into the room and announced dinner was ready. Now I was nervous. We went to the big dinning room and everyone took their seats, mine between Santana and Maribel. I knew Santana's family had money, but with her uncle owning that building, her grandmother having this giant house with like five bedrooms and seeing the designer clothes her family was wearing, I realized just how rich Santana's family really was.

Dinner was going great and I was glad for Santana, Maribel and even Gloria for including me in the conversation since most of the family was talking to each other. There were 16 people sitting at the giant table and apparently there were many who couldn't make it toady. It was halfway through dinner that the attention turned to me.

"Brittany," Santana's grandmother, who's name I found out was Alma, said, "Are you liking Chicago?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," she said, "It's a great city. It was nice of your parents to let you come with Santana and Maribel."

This lady was kind of scary. When I first got here she greeted me and was super nice but now it felt like she was interrogating me. Calendar word. "Yes ma'am." That seemed all I could say.

Gloria got my attention and winked at me and mouthed, "Relax".

I took a breath and continued talking. "I came to see some colleges and Marib…uh, Mrs. Lopez, was really cool with letting me tag along."

I quickly glanced at Santana and she hand all her attention on her plate of chicken. I'd hope she help me out but she wasn't doing anything.

"Fantastic," Alma said, "It's good that your'e thinking about your future. I hope you liked the schools." I just nodded and smiled. "And your boyfriend, what school is he going to?"

I heard Santana drop her fork and Gloria giggle softly.

Santana finally spoke "Abuela, please don't. Brittany isn't here so we can pry into her life. She's a guest."

"Santana is right, Alma," Maribel said, "She's not one of your grandkids."

"What?" Alma asked, looking innocent, "I'm just trying to get to know Santana's friend better."

"It's OK," I said with a shaky laugh, "Umm, I'm not sure. He's still thinking." OK, so technically I didn't have a boyfriend, but I did have a standby boyfriend so that counted. Right?

"Boyfriend, really?" Gloria smirked, "Interesting. What's his name?"

"Mike. He plays football."

Santana crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. I smiled at the older lady and she smiled back.

"Good for you for having a strong man," Alma said, "Being fit and athletic is important."

I thought that was a weird thing to say. I mean, Mike being fit was nice but I didn't understand what that had to do with anything. I was athletic too.

I heard Santana groan and turn to one of her younger cousins sitting further down the table. "So, Diego, I heard you got suspended from school. What's that about?"

One of Santana's aunts did not look happy with that question. I guessed that was Diego's mom. Luckily, everyone lost interest in me and started talking about poor Diego's suspension.

###

After dinner, we all went back to the living room to hang out. I had gotten to talk to a couple of more of Santana's cousins and they all seemed really cool. The only one I didn't like was the oldest, Oscar, who I had somehow gotten stuck talking to about schools.

"Any other colleges you are applying to?" He was tall, like Finn and had dark hair and was about 25. He looked like he could be a politician. I was glad Gloria was next to me since Santana was helping her grandmother with something.

"New York and L.A," I said, "ULA, USC, NYU, Colombia or MANYU. Man, that's a lot of letters."

"I'm going to UCLA this fall!" Gloria said, "If you end up in L.A. next year, let me know. We can hang out."

"What is MANYU?" Oscar asked, confused, "I've never heard of that school."

"Oh, it's an arts and media college," I said, "Media Arts New York University. I want to study TV stuff and they're really good."

"Word of advice," Oscar said, "Go to a real college. You'll get further."

"It is a real college, idiot," Gloria groaned, "Don't be a snob."

"So, umm," I said, trying to keep the peace, "I heard there are a bunch of other family members missing."

"Some," Gloria said, "Most are spread across the country. Though, I am surprised Mario isn't here. I thought he'd come."

Oscar rolled his eyes. "He's not showing his face around here agian, I bet. Apparently he decided to be gay in his last year of college. Uncle Al caught him kissing some dude. Gross. Grandma was pissed."

I took a deep breath trying calm my heartbeat that was going really fast. Oscar had this disgusted tone in his voice that made me sad, angry and scared all at once.

Gloria rolled her eyes and gave him a dirty look. "You don't decide to be gay. God, you're such an asshole. No wonder he wouldn't return my calls. He probably thinks I'm siding with you narrow minded jerks."

"He's embarrassing the family." Oscar looked mad now. "Everyone thinks so. Plus he's going to ruin my future political chances. Imagine the backlash when they find out I have a male cousin who sleeps with men. Not to mention how disgusting it is."

Gloria laughed really loud. "Now I remember why I hardly talk to you." She turned to me and grabbed my arm. "Come on Brittany, let's got to talk to Diego. He's way cooler than this jerk."

She dragged me away before I could say anything. If most of Santana's family was like Oscar, then I understood why Santana was so paranoid about keeping what we were doing a secret.

-tbc-

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