They will be back in LA in the next chapter. Do you guys enjoy their interactions with Jax and Adam? Would you like more Quinn and/or Rachel? Let me know!

I blow my bangs away from my eyes and pull on my suitcase for the third time in an attempt to bring it up onto my parents' front porch.

After having spent majority of our time at Brittany's house, we decided to spend our last night in Ohio at my parents' house. Well, in reality my mom decided for us. She and my dad showed up at the airport instead of Brittany's parents, so it's not like we had a choice.

I manage to pull my suitcase onto the second step and straighten up to take a break.

"How many things are you carrying in there, mija?" My mom asks. She takes the suitcase's handle and tugs at it. "Dios mio, Santana! This weighs a ton!"

My dad and Brittany walk up behind us and my dad sighs lightly. "Mujeres. You guys are so exaggerated." He steps in to help us but Brittany is quick on her feet.

"I got it," she says and swiftly pulls my suitcase along with her duffle bag inside the house.

My mom silently turns to look at me with an impressed look on her face and I give my dad a smug smile. "She got it."

We spend most of the day cleaning out my room because my mom insists that we follow our old yearly tradition and donate some things to our church. There's a lot of things in my old room that I left behind and will never use again but, well, truth is... I'm kind of a hoarder. But not over the top like those people on TV, just... the normal amount.

"What are you doing?" I ask Brittany after she tosses a pair of high heel boots into the box labeled 'trash'.

"Throwing out old stuff?"

"Not those, Brittany." I rush over to the box and pull the boots out, setting them back in my closet.

"San, they're kinda reaping everywhere. And don't you have like ten more in LA and another four in your suitcase?"

"No. I only have three pairs in my suitcase and four in LA. Well, five as soon as the new Louis Vuitton collection comes out," I smile.

"Santana."

I roll my eyes. "Brittany, I can't throw those away."

"Why?"

"Because," I state and go back to folding shirts.

"Is it because they're the boots you wore to our first high school party?"

I look at her, surprised. "You remember that?"

"Duh. You were wearing them with the red dress you loved so much. I remember because I really liked it too."

"You did?"

She nods. "Yeah. Your lady hills were like, on full display."

"Brittany!"

"What? It's true." She shrugs. "You're the one that chose to wear the dress. And you always wore those push-up bras. Did you expect me to not look?"

"Wha-" I smile. "No. I guess not."

She holds up an old pair of old Christmas socks. "These?"

"Hm.." I examine them from afar. "Yeah, those can go."

She tosses the socks in the box and smiles smugly. "Do you remember what else happened that night?"

"The night of the party?" I lock eyes with her and she nods. "Yes." I grin. "I remember."

"Sometimes I think you wore that outfit on purpose."

I snort. "I didn't. I always look hot. It's not always about you, you know? I don't just dress myself wickedly hot when I want to sleep with you. It's a 24/7 kind of thing."

"Yeah" she nods in agreement. "You wanting to sleep with me is definitely a 24/7 kind of thing."

I hide my smile by pursing my lips and playfully toss a t-shirt at her.

She laughs and tosses the shirt back at my face. "I know you wore that dress with a non-existent top half to tangle me in your sexy web because you never left my side that night. I'm pretty sure your goal that entire day was to sleep with me."

"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about." I tuck the old t-shirts neatly back into their drawer and pick up the box labeled 'donations'. "Let's take this downstairs."

"I know you planned itttt," she sings, "I thought the boobies display might have been normal but I knew everything was a setup when we got back home and you pounced on me in your car like a hungry lioness."

I bite a smile back because she's completely right. "You're crazy. Help me bring down the other box, please." I begin walking down the stairs and hear her coming up behind me.

"Britt!" I yelp when she pinches my butt.

She hurries past me to the bottom of the stairs and looks up with a smirk. "Stop lying."

After we get back from dropping off the "donations", we are welcomed back with the warm smell of my mom's empanadas.

"Your empanadas are just as good as the last time, Mrs. Lopez," Brittany says with a grateful smile.

We're sitting at the dinner table with my parents. They've all finished eating, but as usual, everyone is waiting for me to get done. I always take my time because I heard if you eat slow you are less likely to gain weight. Brittany always told me I was crazy because food is food and it doesn't matter how fast you eat it because you're still going to eat it but I rather not take any chances.

"You know, Brittany, you girls should visit more often. Nicolas stopped complimenting my food a long time ago and it's nice to get a little praise now and then."

"I'd love that," Brittany chirps. She sneaks a hand under the table and squeezes my knee. "That'd be nice, right?"

"Mhm," I nod with a full mouth.

My dad comes back from the kitchen and serves everyone a piece of flan. "I heard what you said, Maribel. It's not completely true. Remember when you made the-"

I don't pay attention to the rest because Brittany's fingers sneak their way towards my inner thigh and I feel my smile fade into a straight line. I turn to look at her with wide eyes and she smiles as she contently listens to my parents.

"Britt..." I say, in a tone that sounds something between a croak and a whisper.

She softly pinches my thigh and forks a piece of flan into her mouth.

"...Santana." my mom calls.

I snap back to look at her. "What?"

"I asked if you're going to eat your flan."

"Oh."

Brittany snickers and casually turns to me to hear me answer as if her hand isn't misbehaving under the table.

"I- No. I'm stuffed. I actually have to make a phone call so- I'm gonna..." I point towards the foyer. "It was delicious though. Thank you, Mami."

Brittany's hand slides off my thigh as I get up and I lower my skirt to hide the red mark she left on my skin.

Once in the foyer, I take a deep breath and make sure my skirt is completely covering my thighs.. My mom - just like Bri - caught us doing suspicious stuff quite a few times during high school and if she saw the mark on my leg it wouldn't take long for her to put it all together.

I pull my phone out and dial Adam's number. It's about to go to voicemail when he answers with a tiresome voice. "Hey."

"Hi. Listen, I was going to wait till I was back in LA to talk to you, but I just want to say this now... I want to apologize. What I said was out of line. You are my brother and Jax is one of my best friends... I want the two of you to be happy, so if adopting a human stink bomb is what you guys want to do, then I'm behind it one-hundred percent." I shrug. "I want to support you guys like I know the two of you would support me."

"Thanks. Thank you, Santana. I was really hoping you would warm up to the idea," he says in the same tone.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I acted like an ass before. It just took me by surprise."

"As long as you're on board now."

"I am. Completely. And I can't wait to get back home and meet the him. Or is it a she? You didn't tell me."

"It's a she. It- It was a she."
I frown. "Was? What do you mean?" Pale arms wrap around my midsection and I feel Brittany's chin on my shoulder.

"We're not getting the baby. Not this baby. Her mom was giving her up for adoption and wanted to meet us when she saw our profile but she... She called it off when she found out that we aren't a straight couple."

"Wha- Are you fucking serious?"

"What's going on?" Brittany whispers near my ear.

"Yeah." He sighs. "Jax is taking this a lot harder than I am. He really had his hopes up."

"I can imagine... But is there nothing you can do? Have you talked to her? Maybe once she meets you she'll change her mind."

"I can't force her to meet us. She made her decision. We'll just have to wait a little longer until we find someone else."

"Adam, I'm so sorry. That bitch is crazy for not wanting to give her kid up to you guys. Any baby would be so lucky to have you and Jax as parents. But, hey, we live in California, that should help your chances, right?"

"Yeah. Hope you're right."

"I am. I always am."

He chuckles. "Thank you for calling, Santana. I really didn't want to go through this without you."

"I'm sorry I even questioned your decision."

After I end my call with Adam I let Brittany in on the news.

"Britt?" I question when she doesn't have anything to say. "You okay?"

She stops biting on her nails but keeps her eyes down. "Yeah. I'm- What if that happens to us too?"

"What?"

"What if we try to adopt and no one wants to give us a baby because we're girls?"

I hear my parents cleaning up the dining room which means they'll be moving to the living room soon, so I take Brittany's hand and pull her up the stairs to my room. I don't need to have a conversation about babies with my parents too.

Once I close the door behind me, I lead her to my bed and sit on the edge next to her. "Britt, we can't be naive and think that something like that won't happen to us because there's a chance it will. But... we'll get through it just like Adam and Jax will get through it. There's people out there that won't care that we're two will only care that their baby gets a good family. That's what really matters right?"

She nods.

"Plus, I thought you wanted to, like... have a baby. As in pushing a watermelon sized human out of a tiny cavity in your body. Which I still don't understand why you would ever want to do that but..."

"I do." She smiles. "But there's so many babies with no families to love them. Can't we have both?"

My eyebrows shoot up. "Whoa. Okay. Let's- let's slow down. Maybe we should just think about one right now, okay? Actually let's not think about any babies right now."

"But we're still having some, right?"

The fact that she seems to be set on the idea of raising kids with me after being back together for just a few weeks makes me both happy and scared.

"Sure. Maybe... I-"

She frowns.

"I mean, yes! We could. We will. But can we just not talk about it right now? Let's just worry about Adam and Jax for now, kay?"

"Yeah," she says, sadly. "I really hope they find a cute baby soon."

"They will," I say and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

She grips my hand and presses her cheek into it. "I missed this. I missed feeling your warm little hands on me."

I chuckle. "I missed it too."

"You know, imagining you with a baby kinda turns me on."

"Really? That's... kinda weird, Britt. I don't think I want you to think of me and a baby when you wanna get it on."

She giggles and holds my hand on her lap. "Well, the idea of you being nice and kind to a baby is cute and makes me love you even more. And when I feel my heart swell with love for you more than usual it makes me want to be close to you... like... really close to you."

My smile widens. "Like this close?" I ask and lean towards her until the tip of our noses are smashed together.

She laughs and pecks my lips before jumping off the bed.

"Where are you going?" I ask her playfully.

She moves to the door and locks it, then turns back to me with a wicked smile and hurries back to my bed to settle behind me. "I'm kinda glad we haven't made lady-love yet," she says before moving my hair and kissing my bare shoulder.

I shudder. "Why?"

She lays a soft kiss on my neck and says, "because now we get to do it here... in your room." She kisses below my ear. "It's romantic cause it's where we did it for the first time." She tugs on my blouse and kisses the new exposed skin. "C'mere," she whispers and pulls me down with her until I'm laying on top of her perfect body. She holds my bottom lip between her own and inhales deeply through her nose. There's a soft smacking sound when she let's go of me.

"Should I go look for some candles? I think I have some in-"

"No, I don't need candles. I just need you." She rolls us over until I'm lying beneath her and moves stray strands of hair away from my face before her gaze dips down to my lips.

"Just do it." I say, a little frustrated. "Why do you always have to tease me until I kiss you?"

She looks at me and gives me a lopsided grin before leaning down and kissing my nose. "I like it when you kiss me," she says.

"And I like when you kiss me."

She lays a pouty peck on my lips.

"How about an actual kiss?" I tease.

Her lips stretch into a smile that disappears when she lays her ear against my chest. "Your heart is so calm."

I can feel the vibrations of her voice run through my chest and it makes me get chills down my entire body. "That's good, right?" I ask as I run my hands through her beautiful blonde hair.

"Sometimes it is." She turns her head towards me and I wince when her chin digs into my sternum. "Sorry," she says with a cute apologetic face. She kisses the spot and I watch her as she slowly begins a trail of slow kisses down the valley of my breasts and onto my stomach.

She repositions herself beside my legs and lifts my blouse until it reaches the underwires of my bra. There isn't much skin exposed because my pencil skirt is high up on my waist but she leans down and kisses the area available. Her breath is so warm on my skin and her tongue is even warmer. It's hot. Definitely hot.

She looks up at me and her eyes have changed. It's a look I haven't seen in a while but that I definitely recognize.

"Britt." I manage to say before she slips her thin fingers under the waistband of my skirt and begins to tug.

"Help me," she says as she struggles to slither me out of the tight skirt. "Wiggle out of it," she orders kindly.

I help her pull my skirt down and giggle when she tugs at it with desperation. When she finally pulls it off completely she lets it land on the floor and roams her eyes up my legs, briefly stopping at my panties and causing me to blush.

"You're staring," I say in what I hope to be a flirty tone.

She gives me a toothy grin and gently pulls my legs open so that she can lay between them. Her stomach grazes the clothed area between my legs as she drags herself upwards and my legs automatically clench at her sides. "Aren't you going to take your jeans off?" I ask, and I feel my breath has gotten a lot hotter.

Brittany doesn't answer and places her hands at either side of my bare waist; now free to roam my entire stomach with her lips.

I prop myself up on my elbows and watch how she pulls the waistband of my panties down an inch with her teeth and places a kiss on the tan line there. Her tongue dart out and it makes me inhale sharply. The hot, wet, muscle travels up to my navel and then retrieves back inside her mouth.

The feeling is so incredible and watching her do her thing enhances it so much more. It enhances it so much that I begin to feel a change between my legs.

"A- A lot of licking action," I muster with a windy chuckle. "Should I get you some whip cream?" I'm trying to be funny. Why am I trying to be funny right now?

Brittany looks up at me and smiles sweetly. "Don't be nervous."

I nod and begin to lay my head back down to relax my pulse and just enjoy what's happening, but Brittany pulls on my arm and signals for me to sit up. When I do, she removes my shirt and reaches behind my back to unclasp my bra.

For some reason I'm fighting the urge to cover myself with my arms. I feel extremely exposed. And having her still fully dressed doesn't help. But I shouldn't feel this way. It's Brittany in front of me. It's Brittany looking down at me with soft yet hungry eyes.
She seems to notice my internal struggle because she stops leering at my chest and locks eyes with me. "It's okay," she says in a kind tone. "Do you want to stop?"

"No, no. I- It's just... It's been a while."

"I know." Her eyes lose their intensity for a moment and become softer. "You're still so beautiful."

She waits until I give her a shy smile and then lays her head back down on my chest the way she had it earlier. After a few seconds, she speaks, "Your heart isn't calm anymore." She looks at me. "See? Sometimes it's good when your heart isn't quiet and calm."

I stare at her for a moment. Her whole face expression is changing back to that eager look from earlier and it makes me feel excited yet ten times more nervous.

I'm starting to think I hadn't been in a rush to sleep with her not only because of the whole Natalie thing but also because... well... I was scared. It's been a long time since we've been together and it feels like it's the first time all over again. But not really, because when she sits up and slips both her shirt and bra off, I see that her small pale breasts are as perfect as I remember them. They're as perfect as they've always been and I can't help but reach out and take hold of one of them like I did every time we did this years ago.

Her back arches a little and she lays a hand over my own, applying pressure on my hand. I feel her nipple harden beneath my palm and the muscles under my panties clench.

Feeling her body react this way to my touch reassures me. I really don't have anything to be scared of. She still wants me as much as I want her.

She lays back down between my legs and smiles when she feels my wetness against her stomach. "Looks like it rained down in your Lady Wonderland," she says. I blush and attempt to hide it by kissing her fiercely. It's true. My "Lady Wonderland" is at a code red right now which means I need more than kisses and tongue action.

Brittany seems to still remember all my signs because while she wrestles my tongue with her own she slides a hand down the length of my thigh and pushes my leg flat against the mattress. She swings a leg over my own and straddles my bare leg.

"Britt..." I say through a muffled kiss. I break away from our wet kisses and she instantly moves down to suck on my neck. "Brittany," I repeat.

She begins moving up and down on my leg and the roughness of her jeans is a relief on my center. Her breasts are pressed down on my own and the feeling of her body moving over mine turns me on even more. The friction against my hardened nipples is not enough anymore though. I need more. I need to feel and see her entire being. I need her.

Brittany picks up the pace on my leg and her breathing by my neck gets heavier. I know she wants to take her time, but she needs more too. I know she does.

"Britt..." I grip her shoulders. "Take your jeans off."
She hurriedly sits up to unzip her jeans. I notice a small dark spot on the leg of her jeans and look away embarrassed. She doesn't seem to notice though. She pulls her panties down along with the underwear which surprises me because I thought she wanted to take this slow.

As if reading my mind she says, "I can't wait anymore."

I smile and nod in agreement because I can't wait anymore either. She finishes undressing and doesn't give me a chance to admire her body because she bends down and lays a trail of soft kisses down the inside of my thigh until she gets to my middle. She kisses me over my sticky panties and I feel my muscles tense beneath the cloth.

Her face gets lost low between my legs and then comes up along with her tongue, making me tightly grip the duvet.

"I really don't need whip cream," she comments.

I suppress a laugh and watch as she kisses me one last time before slowly pulling down my underwear and throwing them over her shoulder. She stares at my center for a moment and I begin to feel the my uncertainty creep up again. Her stare makes me wonder if I've changed down there in some way since the last time.

I reach down to touch myself - or maybe cover myself - but she quickly grips my hand and shakes her head.

She sits on her bent knees and pulls me up by the waist until my knees are also bent and I'm somewhat sitting on her thighs. "You're so, so beautiful," she whispers as if she knew I had worried about my appearance a second ago. She drags a hand down my stomach. "And I love you so much." She reaches my wetness and slides her fingers along the length of it causing me to tightly wrap my arms around her neck. I close my eyes and focus on the soft fingers caressing me and the soft sucking motions on my left nipple.

She kisses my sternum and I open my eyes to find her dark blue irises staring up at me. I lean down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss and gasp against her mouth when I feel her fingers sneak inside me. She pulls them out and then pushes them back in, forcing me to jolt off her thighs and onto my shins. I lay my temple against hers, but she pulls her head back and presses her forehead against mine.

"Santana," she calls as she continues the rhythm between my legs. I recognize that tone. She wants me to look at her. She wants us to connect at all levels. As always, she doesn't want this to be just sex. Neither do I.

I fully open my hooded eyes and lean back to look at her. She smiles and as a reward pushes her fingers deeper than before. I make a high pitch sound and begin a rhythm of my on her fingers. I feel the build up inside me growing and fight the urge to press my body against hers and burry my head in her shoulder.

"Fa. ," I beg in an uneven tone.

Brittany grips my waist tightly and speeds up the movements of her fingers. She adds her thumb to the mix and begins massaging my most sensible area.

I throw my head back and begin moving faster against her hand. I'm making noises I haven't made in years and building up like never before. I feel Brittany's wet tongue on my chest again and I gasp loudly. I pull her towards me and hug her fiercely as the lower half of my body makes wave like movements against her.

"I love you," she whispers between kisses to my chest.

I remain pressed against her, trying to form words and tell her I love her back, but I can't hear myself over the pounding in my ears as my blood pressure goes back to normal.

She chuckles at my incoherence and holds me tight. "I love you, Britt," she says in her best impression of me.

I giggle against her neck and pull back to kiss her. "I love you."

"I know." She smiles.

I kiss her one more time before slipping off her thighs and directing her to lie down. When she does, I finally get to scan her body and smile when I see some very well done natural art work on her mons pubis. "It's a heart," I think outloud.

"I thought you'd like it." Her ears are pink now. "I practiced for a while to get it right."

I snigger at her sudden bashfulness. "Nice work." I kiss her mound. "Very artistic."

It's my turn to lay between her legs now. I know I won't have to do much foreplay by now, but I don't want to rush it. I kiss her lips, her neck, her shoulder. She lays an arm over my back and I take the opportunity to kiss the area near her armpit where her arm meets her chest, causing her to let out a tiny moan.

I kiss down over her right breast and work my mouth on her nipple, remembering how she likes me to be gentle on that area. I cup her other breast with my hand and massage it as she begins moving her pelvis against me. "I love your breasts," I mumble. Her "art" tickles my leg and I smile when she places her hands on my shoulders and gives me an encouraging push downwards. "San."

I let go of her pink flesh with a wet popping sound and slowly run my tongue down her long and lean stomach, making her abs contract. I look up at her and she's staring at me expectantly. I move my index finger down the outside of her center and watch as she gasps. Her legs bend at the knee and she wordlessly lets me know she's ready for more as she spreads her legs open a little wider. I look down between her legs and notice that she's definitely ready.

Brittany pushes her hips upwards. "Santana."

I dip down between her pale thighs and dart my tongue out teasingly. Her hips jut upwards again and she lets out a moan - or maybe a whine - I run my tongue slowly up the length of her wetness and she fights against herself not to capture my head between her thighs.

"Santana." This time it's definitely a whine.

I stroke her moisture one more time and then carefully push two fingers inside of her. Her hips press hard against the mattress and her brow furrows as she looks down at my hand.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

She nods. "I- I need..."

"Okay." I know what she needs. I bring my fingers back out and push them back in, starting a controlled rhythm.

"Sa..s..san," she tries calling.

I thrust my fingers in deeper and pick up the pace. Brittany flops her head back down onto the pillow and lays an arm across her mouth to keep herself from being loud. I smile at the gesture because it was a normality almost every time we had sex in this room.

I see her squeeze her eyes shut but then she snaps them open and looks up at me.

She just reminded herself about her eye contact rule.

I smirk at her and lower my head to kiss her mound. She let's out a muffled whimper and quickly slaps a hand over her mouth.

She has already started moving against my hand, trying to match my movements, so I bend down again and suck on the swollen nub that's begging for attention. She moans against her hand and raises her pelvis up holding it against my mouth. I slow the movements of my fingers but don't stop until her hips slowly lower back down.

I look up at her and find that her hand is still over her mouth and her eyes are closed. "Britt?" I slip my fingers out from her and lay down next to her. "Are you okay?"

She removes her hand from her mouth. "I waited so long for this." She opens her eyes. "Years."

"Did I disappoint?"

"No," she quickly answers. "I just- I was always sure we'd find our way back to each other... We always do. But there was a time when I thought I might have been wrong."

"You mean because of your pregnancy?"

"That and Liam. And just... other stuff. When we started spending time together, I thought maybe the only thing we were ever going to be again was friends." She looks at me. "But now that we're actually together again... It's kind of crazy..." She grins. "You were so great though. As always."

"Thank you," I chirp. "You weren't so bad yourself." I lean down and kiss her.

"Here." She pulls on the not so neatly done duvet and throws it over us. "You know how I said that it had rained on your Lady Wonderland?" She starts as she curls behind me, holding me close against her.

I chuckle. "Yeah?"

"Well, since I caused it, I think I should be given like, a hurricane name. Like Hurricane Brittany. That hasn't been an actual hurricane yet right?"

"I don't think so," I answer, laughing. "But it has now."

"Britt," I whisper near her ear. "Wake up."

Brittany pulls the covers over herself and shakes her head.

"C'mon, Britt. My mom made breakfast. I can smell it." I tug the blanket off her face. "Brittany."

"Ten more minutes," she mumbles.

"Five. No more than five minutes." After I pull on some clean clothes, I kneel by her side of the bed. "Don't take long okay? Remember that we have to go get Tubbs."

She nods once and I kiss her lips before walking out the room and down the stairs. "Mami! Did I ever tell you your food is the best smell to wake up to?" I round into the kitchen and halt at the entrance. "Oh... Hi."

"Good morning, Santana," my grandmother greets from her seat at the table.

"Santana, Abuela came by to have breakfast with us before you leave." My mom says and waits for my reaction.

"Oh," I repeat as I serve myself and Brittany some breakfast. "Where's Dad?"

"He had to make a run to his office but he'll be back in time to drive you girls to the airport."

I join the two of them at the table and awkwardly pick at my food. When I look up, my grandmother speaks.

"Did you have fun in New York?" She asks casually.

"Um... Yeah." I nod. "It was great."

"I never told you, but that's where I met your Abuelo."

"Really?" I ask, surprised. My grandma never talks about my Abuelo. He died before I was born and all I know about him is that he was Dominican like her and he died of heart failure.

She nods. "When I left my country, I moved in with my aunt in New York for a while. Your Abuelo lived next door with his cousin and I hated them because they would sing and play the guitar almost every night." She pauses and the corner of her mouth twitches upwards. "One night, I got so fed up that I went over there, in my nightgown and all, and told them to keep it down or else." This time she chuckles. "Your Abuelo laughed and pulled me inside. He yanked the guitar from his cousin and played the most beautiful song I'd ever heard. Nothing compared to those awful sounds his cousin made. After he was finished, I didn't know what to say, but he had a huge smile on his face and he told me, 'If you can't beat them, join them. Same time tomorrow.'"

"Did you go back?" I ask with curiosity.

"Yes. I did for some reason. We began dating a few weeks after... I guess sometimes you end up falling in love with the person you least expect."

"I wish you had told me that story before. It's nice to know something about Abuelo."

My grandmother smiles at me but she quickly becomes serious when there's a shy 'hi' coming from the doorway.

"Britt." Unlike my grandmother, I feel my face light up when I see her standing by the door, her hands gripping her sweater nervously at her sides.

I wave her over and signal to the seat next to me. "I served you breakfast," I inform her once she's sitting down.

"Thank you," she smiles and keeps her eyes down as she digs in quietly.

"Santana," my grandmother calls. Her voice back to being heavy and serious. "Tell me more about your job."

"Um..." I say. She caught me off guard. It's surprising how interested in me she seems today. "I work in a record company. I assist with the editing of music."

"She just got a promotion not too long ago," my mom adds proudly.

My grandmother takes a sip of her coffee. "That doesn't surprise me. Santana is a natural born leader. Which is why I wonder why you're assisting and not directing other people."

"Well, I can't start at the top. I'm working my way up. I hope to be a music producer. They work with musicians on making their albums and supervise the development of their music."

"Does it pay well?"

"Yes, extremely."

"That's good. All the money your mother had to pay for your education should pay off."

I'm starting to dislike the way she's speaking to me now; as if I need to meet her expectations, so I decide to drop the conversation.

"Mami, guess who's going to be making movies when we get back to LA?"

My mom's eyes go wide and she looks at Brittany. "Really?" She asks with excitement. "Are you going to quit dancing?"

"Oh..." Brittany finishes chewing her food. "No, I'm not quitting. I'm not really making a movie. I'm just going to help out on a set."

"Yeah, as in help make a movie," I clarify.

"That's sounds like a lot of fun, Brittany! Be sure to let me know when your movie comes out. I'd love to see it."

Brittany smiles appreciatively. "I will."

"Cuanto paga eso?" My grandmother asks.

Brittany gives me a worried look mixed with confusion.

"Please speak English," I tell her.

"Eso es lo que pasa cuando no tienes una educacion," she says almost angrily. "Tienes que trabajar mil trabajos."

"She's not doing it for the money," I explain, trying to keep my cool.

"Santana, no se que estas haciendo con ella. Aparte de que es una mujer y lo que estan haciendo es un pecado, no sabe lo que quiere. Estas perdiendo tu tiempo."

I slam my fist against the tabletop and they all recoil in their seats.

"Speak English! It's rude to speak Spanish in front of someone who doesn't understand it. You taught me that! And you just finished telling me you can't choose who you fall in love with. The same happened to you and Abuelo. Why would you-"

"Don't you dare compare me and Santiago to you and this girl! We were not a sin! And you might think this is okay because your parents don't seem to care, but I will never be okay with it. I will never accept this!"

I stare at my grandmother with disbelief and anger, my teeth tightly clenched together. "It's a good thing I stopped yearning for your approval a long time ago." I take Brittany's hand and get up to leave. "Where are your car keys?" I ask my mom.

"Santana, let's talk about this."

"Mom!"

She sighs sadly. "Hanging by the door."

"We'll be back in time for Dad to take us to the airport."

We walk to the front door and I snatch the keys off their hook.

"Santana, we shouldn't leave. You should talk to her," Brittany suggests.

I pretend not to hear her and take my jacket from the coat hanger. "Here." I say, holding it so that she can slip her arms through it.

She shakes her head. "You wear it."

"Brittany, please," I beg before helping her put it on.

When we drive up to her parents' driveway, I take a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Brittany. I'm sorry we still have to deal with this."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." She slips a comforting hand over my own. "And it was mostly all in Spanish, so I didn't really understand."

"I won't ever let her near you again, okay?"

"San, she's your grandmother. You can't keep her away."

"I can. I will, Britt. I'm done trying with her. I don't care how many people I need to cut ties with so that you don't have to witness or hear anything like that again... I love you. And you'd do the same for me, I know you would."

She squeezes my hand and leans in to return my affection with a gentle kiss.

When we get inside we join the Pierces in their weekly waffle Sunday breakfast and Mr. Pierce quietly slips me an extra waffle when he notices I'm not in the best of moods. After we're done eating we go find Lord Tubbington.

"He's being doing better," Jamie informs us when we find him on top of Brittany's bed. "He still doesn't do much but he started eating more."

"See, Britt? I told you he loved food way too much to stay away from it."

Brittany smiles at me and lowers the cat into the carrier. "Do you think he'll be okay? It's kind of a long flight."

"He'll be fine. Plus, I'm sure he'll enjoy the new cushion I bought him."

"He will," she says gratefully and pulls me in for a kiss.

"Really?" Jamie asks incredulously.

I laugh against Brittany's mouth and pull away to bring Jamie in for a group hug.

After we say our goodbyes to Brittany's family we drive back to my parents' and quickly carry our luggage out to my dad's car.

"I heard what happened with Abuela," my dad comments when we're on our way to the airport.

"Dad, please. If you're going to tell me how wrong I was to speak to her that way and blah blah blah then you should just save it."

He gives me a stern look through the rearview mirror, not amused by the way I responded to him.

"Sorry," I murmur.

"I wasn't going to tell you that. I was actually going to let you know that even though I'm not happy that you guys screamed at each other that way, I understand why you said what you said to her and she was wrong to tell you those things about..." He looks back through the mirror and flicks his eyes between me and Brittany.

Brittany frowns a bit and turns to look out the window.

"Anyways," he says, "you did what you had to do."

"Wow... Dad. I never thought you'd turn against her for me."

"I'm not. I'm not against anyone. But I know what it's like to be in love and... when you're in love you need to protect that person."

I turn to look at Brittany who is still facing the window. "Yeah you do," I say and slip my hand into Brittany's. She turns to look at me with gloomy eyes and I kiss her hand before resting my head down on her shoulder.

Spanish to English

Cuanto pago eso? - How much does that pay?

Eso es lo que pasa cuando no tienes una educacion. - That's what happens when you don't have an educacion.

Tienes que trabajar mil trabajos. - You have to work a thousand jobs.

Santana, no se que estas haciendo con ella. Aparte de que es una mujer y lo que estan haciendo es un pecado, no sabe lo que quiere. Estas perdiendo tu tiempo. - Santana, I don't know what you are doing with her. Not only is she a woman and what you are doing is a sin, but she also doesn't know what she wants. You're wasting your time.