A/N: Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I was busy graduating college and getting acquainted with my new city. Hope you enjoy!

"Hey, Santana!" Brittany said. Santana thought she noticed Brittany's voice grow unsure as she gaped at her from inside the room.

"Uh," Santana stumbled. "Hey, Brittany!" Santana tried to think of something more to say, but every tip on getting-to-know-each-other conversation escaped her as she took Brittany in. Her dark wash jeans clung to her legs and her belly button was peeking out from beneath her flowing coral colored blouse.

At a loss for what to say or do next, Santana glanced behind her towards the clock that sat on top of her desk. It wasn't 8 pm yet, not even close. She was supposed to have 10 more minutes to get ready. Sure she was dressed, but she didn't have all her things together. Realizing that her silence and strange behavior was turning a relatively innocuous situation into a disaster, Santana turned her attention back towards Brittany.

"I'm sorry I'm early," Brittany said. She sounded apologetic, but something about her smile made Santana think that she wasn't completely sincere. "The walk over here is shorter than I thought, and I didn't expect to get in so quickly."

Every dorm entrance on campus was kept locked at all times. Only residents had access to their dorms. Brittany shouldn't have been able to even be in the building, not to mention at her door.

"How did you get in?"

Brittany shrugged. "Got lucky, I guess. Someone was leaving just as I was got here."

Santana nodded in understanding, realizing how obvious the answer to the question was.

"So," Brittany said, her hands loosely clasped together in front of her body. "Did I interrupt your pre-date beauty routine?"

Santana instinctively rolled her eyes at the playful smirk Brittany was giving her. She hoped that Brittany wouldn't take it the wrong way and was glad when she laughed. Santana also couldn't help but notice that Brittany referred to this as a date. It had to be a date if she was supposed to have a pre-date beauty routine, right? But Santana didn't want to get too excited. A friend-date was a kind of date too, after all.

"Here, come in," Santana said, realizing that they were both still standing at the door. "I just have to finish getting my things together."

"Awesome. No rush, though. I'll give you 'til 8," Brittany said with a wink.

Santana let out an exaggerated fake laugh and rolled her eyes again as she slipped her phone and wallet into her purse. "Alright, we can go now."

"Wow," Brittany said looking down at her wrist. "You made it right before the deadline!"

Santana didn't respond, choosing instead to open the door for Brittany. "So, can I ask where we're going tonight?" Santana asked as they made their way down the hallway.

"Well, I was going to tell you…" Brittany said, her voice drifting off at the end.

"But what?"

"But now I think it might be fun to make it a surprise."

Santana could see Brittany growing more enthusiastic about the idea as she relayed it, but she was having none of that.

"Oh no, no, no," Santana said, her pace slowing. "I don't like surprises."

"Oh, come on," Brittany said as she grabbed Santana's hand and pulled it forward. "This will be a fun surprise! I'll even let you guess on the way."

Santana had no intention of guessing where her own date was for the entire car ride there, but she couldn't bring herself to say that. Not when she could feel Brittany's skin against her own like this. She'd do whatever Brittany wanted if it meant that they could keep touching like this.

"Okay," she said, trying to force some reluctance into her voice. "Let's go. We need to get our drink on."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Brittany said, holding the front door of the building open for Santana.

"So, do you go off campus a lot?" Brittany asked as they walked towards her car.

"Not really," Santana admitted. "My roommate and I go to Johnny Rockets for burgers every now and then, but other than that, not really."

"So you've never been to a bar off campus?" Brittany asked as if Santana was telling her that she'd never seen rain.

"Nope."

Santana didn't see what the big deal was. Most people she knew didn't go off campus often, especially not to drink. Drinking at bars was expensive on a college budget. Buying light beer from the liquor store was much more fiscally responsible.

"Wow," Brittany said, still stunned. "Then I really have to show you a good time tonight, huh?"

Santana felt the heat growing behind her cheeks, and tried to gather herself before responding. "I guess so," she finally said. "If I don't have fun tonight, I'll never go off campus again."

"Then we're just going to have to have the best night of our lives."

"This is it," Brittany sing-songed as they pulled into a tiny parking lot off of a side street. The bar's old red brick exterior made it stand out against the more modern buildings on the block. It was small; in fact, it was one of the smallest bars Santana had ever seen. As Santana got out of the car, she glanced around the building looking for a name.

"Welcome to Norva's," Brittany said as she locked the car and started walking towards the entrance. "Home of the best drinks in town."

"Is that so?" Santana asked. She'd never even heard of this place before.

"Absolutely. What's your favorite drink?"

Santana had to think about that one. She normally just had shitty light beer or whatever mixed drink Chelsea made for her. They were always good, but she never bothered to ask what was in them.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I like anything sweet."

"Really?" Brittany asked, quirking her head to the side.

Santana felt herself begin to flush under the scrutiny, however lighthearted it was.

"Yeah. Why, what's wrong with sweet?"

"Oh, nothing at all," Brittany replied. "I just didn't take you for a sweet cocktail girl, is all."

"What were you expecting?" Santana asked, stopping right outside of the bar entrance. She was genuinely curious. How could Brittany possibly think that she'd be able to guess what someone's favorite drink was after knowing them for such a short amount of time.

"Oh, I don't know," Brittany said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe a whiskey sour or rum and coke or something like that."

Santana took a second to think this over. She had never had either one of those drinks. Except that one time when she accidently took a sip of her father's rum and coke thinking it was just regular coke. She remembered instantly realizing that she should have known better. Her mother would have never allowed soda to be so openly present in their house.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't really drink mixed drinks that often, so I don't know really know one from the other. All I know is that I like things that are sweet."

"Me too," Brittany said as she reached to open the door for Santana. Santana wasn't sure, but she could have sworn Brittany glanced down at her lips when she said it. The idea that Brittany thought of her lips as sweet sent a shiver down Santana's spine. She figured that meant that this had to be a date. You don't look at another girl's lips on a friend-date. In fact, Santana could only think of three reasons to look at another person's lips: if there's food on them, if they're wearing pretty lipstick, or if you want to kiss them. Santana knew she didn't have any food on her mouth, but she had to admit that her lipstick was pretty nice. She'd just have to wait and see how things played out.

Inside, the bar was dark and cozy. Everything that wasn't wood paneling was forest green colored. But Santana was grateful that they didn't have any Valentine's decorations up. Santana followed Brittany to a booth near the back of the room.

"Welcome to my favorite booth at my favorite bar," Brittany said as she sat down and shrugged off her jacket. "I mean, every booth is good, but we'll actually be able to hear each other speak back here."

Santana nodded in response as she looked around, trying to take in as much as she could. She wanted to understand why Brittany loved this place. The best way to get to know someone is to get to know the things they like. Or something like that.

"Do you know what you want yet?" Brittany asked.

Santana looked up to find Brittany bouncing slightly in place while biting down a smile. She was doing a horrible job of concealing her excitement, but Santana thought that just made it even more adorable.

"Not yet," she replied as she reached for the drink menu on the table. "And it may take me awhile. I don't even know what they have."

"Can I order for you?" Brittany asked, leaning in even further. "I promise I'll pick the sweetest thing on the menu."

"Well, maybe not the sweetest thing."

Santana was shocked at the high-pitched noise that came out of Brittany's mouth. She clapped her hands together and beamed in Santana's direction. "Okay, okay," she said after a moment, interrupting her own excitement. "Let me think."

All that could be heard for the next minute was the sound of Brittany's fingers drumming against the table as she looked to the ceiling in thought.

"Oooo, I know!" Brittany exclaimed. She hadn't even so much as glanced down at the menu. "How about a Love Game?"

A Love Game. Perfect for Valentine's Day, Santana thought. "What's in it?"

Brittany dismissed the question with a shrug of her shoulders. "A bunch of alcohol you've never heard of. You'll like it though; it's sweet," she said with a wink.

As if knowing they had finally decided on their drink orders, a waitress came by their table a few moments later. Brittany excitedly ordered Santana's Love Game and a Cosmopolitan for herself.

"This is quite a… unique place," Santana said, taking another look around the room. She couldn't say she didn't like Norva's, but she was finding it hard to figure out. It was a bar. The only foods on the menu were appetizers of fries, chips, or nuts. Still, Santana had never seen so many booths at a bar and she had certainly never had a bartender come to the table to take her order, at least not for her first drink. But she supposed that she really didn't have that much experience in bars.

Brittany chuckled. "I guess so. It's definitely special."

The word "special" stuck out in Santana's head. It was a strange way to describe a bar, even if it was your favorite.

"Yeah? How do you mean?"

Brittany's chin fell towards her chest as she shrugged. "Someone I cared a lot about the person who introduced me to Norva's, so it'll always have a place in my heart. And on top of that, the drinks are amazing," Brittany added, lightening the mood.

"Speaking of," Santana said as she spotted the waitress heading towards them with two drinks in hand.

After thanking the waitress for their drinks, Brittany pressed Santana to try hers. And when she did, she knew there was no going back. This was her new favorite drink. It was sweet with just the right amount of tangy. Best of all, she could only taste a hint of alcohol. She couldn't put her finger on what kind of alcohol it was. In fact, she couldn't put her finger on any of the flavors in the drink. It was a confusing swirl of deliciousness, and she told Brittany just as much.

By the way Brittana bounced up and down on the other side of the booth, anyone would have thought she personally made the drink.

"How's your Cosmo?"

"Pretty good, you wanna try?" Brittany said, pushing the drink across the table.

"Mmm, no thanks. Cosmos always make me sick for some reason."

"Ooo," Brittany said, scrunching her nose up in a mix of pity and disgust. "Can't have you barfing on the first date, can we?"

Santana shook her head and hid her smile behind a sip of her drink. And there it was: this was a date.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Updates will definitely come more frequently now that I'm settled in. As always, reviews are appreciated! :)