Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.
Des' mom went to bed early; she had an early flight the next day. Santana was already in her room and putting on her pajamas as Des pulled her hair back and brushed her teeth.
She walked through the door as Santana was slipping a short, silky red negligee over her head. Des looked away quickly, but the damage was done. Had Santana done that on purpose?
"Which side of the bed do you want?" Santana asked, a slight smirk etched on her lips.
"I..I don't have a preference," Des managed.
Her heart was racing a million miles an hour and she gulped to keep from drooling.
"I tend to end up in the middle, so I might get really close in my sleep," Santana told her, pulling back the covers.
Des nodded, unsure of what to say.
She climbed in on the left side awkwardly. Santana crept in behind her.
Oh God, Des thought. Just keep cool.
"Can I talk to you?" Santana asked.
"Sure," Des replied nervously.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
"This bed is very comfortable..."
"I don't mean because of the bed. I mean because of me."
Des frowned. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she decided to go with the truth.
"A little," she admitted.
Santana looked at her sadly.
"I just...I guess I don't understand what this is," Des told her.
"What do you mean?"
"You told me the other day that things were different. I have to admit...I thought I saw something different when you looked at me. I just put it down as wishful thinkin' but now we're together...in your bed...and you're wearin' lingerie and I guess I'm just tryin' to figure out what's goin' on."
Santana seemed to take a second to absorb what Des had told her.
"I can't keep pining for Britt and I don't want any more rebounds. I thought I did, I thought I could wait for Britt to come back to me, but I've found something better. The biggest part of my love for Brittany was that she understood me. She made me feel like I wasn't a bad person. She was the only one who did. So when she left, yeah, I took it hard."
"I thought you left her," Des interjected.
"I broke up with her, but she went off MIT and forgot me."
Des nodded.
"My point is, you make me feel like I'm not a bad person. But you also make me feel like I'm worth something. You value me as a person for my brain and my abilities rather than what I look like. No one's ever done that before."
Des bit her lip.
"So where does that negligee come in?" she squeaked.
Santana smiled seductively.
"I was trying to seduce you. I guess I don't really know how to get what I want without using sex appeal."
Des swallowed and forced herself not to stare at Santana's chest.
"And what is it that you want?" she asked tentatively, feeling her palms sweating.
"You. I want you."
Sweet merciful Jesus!
Santana started to lean in.
What do I do!? What do I do!?
Do I let it happen?
Yes, definitely let it happen!
She closed her eyes.
No! She's your friend!
Santana was so close that Des could feel her breath on her lips.
Fuck it! Just do it!
Their lips met in an explosion of heat. Des opened her mouth as Santana ran her tongue lightly across Des' lower lip. It was better than any kiss Des had ever experienced and she never wanted it to end. She ran her hand through Santana's silky smooth hair and let Santana get into a better position on top of her.
WAIT! WAIT! THIS COULD MESS IT ALL UP!
She needed time to think but it was clear Santana wasn't going to give it to her. Des tried to think of what to do as Santana's hand ran gently up her shirt. Then a thought hit her and she pulled away.
"What's wrong?" Santana asked breathlessly. "Don't you want me?"
"I do want you. I want you very much," Des replied.
Truthfully, she wanted Santana so much it physically hurt.
"So what's wrong?"
"My mom..."
Santana frowned.
"I didn't think of that."
Des was relieved as Santana flopped back down beside her.
"I think we should slow down anyway," Des admitted.
She couldn't read Santana's face and it made her nervous. She imagined Santana putting walls up.
"I want us to have time to get to know each other in a romantic way. I want to give you time to think about what you want out of a relationship and where you want this to go. I don't want you to rush into this and then regret it later."
"You want to give me a way out," Santana replied flatly.
"I want to be with you, Santana. I've wanted that for a while. I'm just nervous because we're friends."
"So? Friends date each other all the time," Santana said.
Des bit her lip again and Santana took her hand. She kissed it lightly and looked Des intensely in the eye.
"I'm a woman who knows what she wants and I'm not afraid to go after it. I want you, Des."
It seemed her fate was sealed.
"I'm all in," Des replied.
The next morning Des rolled out of bed at 5:30 to much protesting by Santana.
"I'll be back later. I'm just goin' to the airport for no more than an hour," Des whispered.
Santana grumbled and turned over. Des dressed in the dark and walked into the kitchen.
"You're up early," her mom observed.
"I thought I'd go with you to the airport for a little bit. Ya know, say bye."
"How nice of you. I know how you detest early mornings."
Des forced a smile to her lips.
"Yeah."
They left after a cup of coffee and hailed a cab to the airport.
Neither of them spoke until they reached the airport. Des helped her mom get her suitcase from the trunk and rolled it in for her.
"So, is Dad picking you up from the airport at home?" Des asked.
"No, Cordelia is," her mother replied.
"Cordelia's home?" Des asked.
Her mother nodded and looked at her watch.
"She said she has a surprise for the family."
"And no one thought to tell me? Shouldn't I be involved?"
"Oh, don't be so touchy, Desdemona. She knows how awkward you can feel in these situations. She was planning to tell you separately."
Des frowned but didn't push the subject any further. She was too tired and had too much on her mind to worry about what her sister was going to tell the rest of the family.
Des didn't stay long. She hugged her mother and hailed a cab home. When she got there she took off her jeans and crawled into her own bed.
"Thank God for summer vacation," she grumbled to herself as she closed her eyes.
She woke up again at 10 and went into the kitchen for some cereal. Juliana was leaving as she poured her milk.
"Hey, you never came back to bed," Santana said.
"Well, I figured my mom was gone, might as well go back to my own bed."
Santana nodded but her face was unreadable.
Des bit her lip, unsure of what to do or say. Eventually she decided to deal with it later and ate her breakfast. It was clear she and Santana had a lot to talk about.
Thank you for reading! Sorry for the wait, I got impatient and started working on the SYOC story and things have been crazy. I hope this was a good chapter!