As this fictional summer comes to a close so does this story. I only envision 3 maybe 4 more chapters. I just thought i would let ya know. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

Chapter 15

Brittany's POV

I know a two things in my life right now with certainty. One, I have an amazing job that gives me responsibility and pride. I get to do something that I love. I get to spend time outdoors during the most beautiful days of the year. And it gives me the flexibility to do other things with my time like volunteering.

Two, that I am in love. Over the course of the past few weeks I have fallen in love. It was unexpected and I never would have guessed, but it's amazing. I wasn't looking for love but it found me somehow. I guess love has a funny why of doing that.

I guess I know another thing for certain. Now that it's August the summer is quickly going to come to a close. And with that Santana will be leaving. She'll leave and go back for her final year of college. And I'll be here. In the same spot I was before the summer started.

And therein lies the problem.

I don't know what the future holds but I know what I would like it to hold. I don't know what Santana thinks or how she feels about us and a possible future.

I do know that I love her and I don't want whatever it is that we have to end.

It's hot once again this week. Like really, super hot. Nineties hot. So that means this week at work we are doing easy stuff. Monday was easy enough. I worked the whole day at the nursery with Jerry and Sara. Well, not the whole day cuz it got too hot. We worked until two in the afternoon before calling it a day.

We worked on one of Jerry's many projects. Which had me and Sara doing stone work. One of the many jobs that I've done that doesn't really fall under the job title of Landscaper. But, that's probably the greatest thing about working with Jerry - doing tons of odd jobs. One year we built an elaborate deer hunting stand. We've done many odd projects in the past and this one is no different.

This project has us putting stone onto the addition of his greenhouse. And these stones aren't your average stones. They are all chosen by Jerry or one of us. They all have to be unique. They have to be special. They are not just that veneer stone that you slap some mortar on and slap on the wall. Or as Jerry likes to call it 'lick and stick'. These stones range in all sizes and shapes. Some are round, some are squareish. Some are as big as my head and some are as small as a pebble and fill in spaces in between the bigger stones. There are seashells and stones that Jerry stole from Costa Rica. There is even a bowling ball on the wall that Jerry cut in half.

It's a lot of work. We have to mix the mortar and chose the perfect stone for the perfect spot. When that's all set we have to attach the stone to the wall. If it's too heavy and won't stick by itself it needs to be propped up somehow. Needless to say this stone wall is a time consuming project. We've been working on it for a few weeks when we have time in between jobs and we're only about half finished. But now that it's hot it's the perfect thing to work on and not get heat exhaustion.

Today, however, I am away from the nursery. This morning I am in charge of going to some of our customer's houses and doing maintenance work. Weeding the beds, dead-heading any spent flowers, looking for anything else that needs to be taken care of. It's easy enough and not a strenuous sort of work. It's still hot though.

That's why I am happy to be going by the bay. It's typically cooler there. Well, that and I'm on my way over to Santana's house. But that's just a extra special bonus.

I can't remember if she is working the early shift or the late shift at the restaurant today. I suppose I will find out soon enough for myself. I'm almost there.

The closer I get, the stronger the little excited fire burns in my belly. Every time I get to see Santana that little fire burns strong and proud. It's excitement, and anxiety, and happiness, and love.

As I pull into the driveway I really hope that she is home. My thoughts are to do my work first. If Santana is home hopefully she will see me or hear me and come outside. If she doesn't appear by the time I get done I will ring the doorbell just to make sure that she isn't home and I didn't miss her. As I am here on work duty I should get that taken care of first.

After an inspection of her yard I get to work pulling any weeds that I see. There aren't a lot. The new mulch we put down this spring really has done it's job. The weeds are few and far between. More of my concern is the dead-heading. Being late in the year the vast majority of flowers in the yard have already bloomed and are done for the year. That's my main focus, getting rid of the spent flowers.

I'm around the back of the house. The side that faces the water. It's slightly cooler by the water but it is still oppressively hot outside. I can't wait until this heat wave breaks. There is nothing worse. There are only so many clothes that I can take off. I'm already in my sports bra and work shorts. I would rather deal with cold than this heat. You can always put more layers of clothes on when it's cold.

"Brittany." Her voice is but a whisper. I can hear the surprise there too.

I look up from what I'm doing. Down on one knee bending over the flower bed. I meet Santana's eyes. "Hey." I smile when I see her in a pair of shorts and much like myself just a bra covering her chest. A towel atop her head. "I didn't know if you were home."

"I am."

I giggle. "I see that."

Santana looks down at herself. "I was in the shower. I have to work later."

"Okay." I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand. "I'm working now." I joke.

"What are you doing?" She asks looking around for any clues.

"Dead-heading and weeding. Maintenance stuff." I tell her.

"But, it's so hot out here. They make you work in this heat?" She asks folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, not really. I can quit whenever I want today. But, I should at least working until lunchtime. I'll probably quit around two. By then it's just too hot."

"Do you want to come inside for a little bit?" Santana thumbs over her right shoulder. "You look like a overheated tomato."

I'm sure that I do. I can feel the heat on my face and it's probably beat red. "Sure. For a couple minutes." I stand on two feet and wobble a little bit. Maybe the heat is getting to me more than I thought. But that's how it goes. One minute you feel fine and the next minute you feel all wobbly and like you're going to pass out. It's a sign that I need to drink more fluids and take more breaks.

I cross the back patio and follow Santana into the kitchen. She's getting a glass and then opening the fridge. "How 'bout some nice, cold lemonade."

"That sounds great. Thanks." I try not to touch anything with my sweaty body. It's gross, I know. The sweat is just dripping off of me. "It's nice and cool in here."

"Yep." Santana hands me the glass of ice cold lemonade. "Drink this." She commands.

I take the glass and guzzle the contents. It's not hard to do on a day like today. "I heard on the radio that in heat like this you are suppose to drink eight ounces of water every hour. I don't know if that's true but how would you get anything done. You would spend all of your time drinking or peeing."

Santana throws her head back and laughs. "Well, you make sure you get enough fluids today."

"Yes, mom. I will."

Santana puts her hands on her hips. "I'm being serious. I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want you passing out somewhere or getting dehydrated or heat stroke or something else just as bad. Heat can be very serious."

"I know. I work outside, remember." I know all the precautions to take. I've actually had heat stroke before where I had a pounding headache and was weak, shaking, and throwing up. It was scary but I learned my lesson from that one time and make sure to not ever push it that far again.

"Just be careful, please." Santana nearly begs.

"I will. I promise." I hand her back the empty glass. "Thank you for the lemonade kind lady." Santana wrinkles up her nose. "No. Okay. I gotta get back to work." I tell her and start for the back patio door.

"Okay. I should get ready for work anyways." Santana comments as I slip out the back door. I wave through the glass at her. She shakes her head with a goofy smile on her face.

"Can I come over tomorrow after work?" I ask Santana as I get into my truck. I start the engine and turn the air condition up.

"Sure. But my dad's gonna be here."

"Where is he now?" I know he got here yesterday. I should have seen him today when I came to do the landscaping. I didn't think twice about it though. No one's usually here when I do my thing.

"He went to Green Bay, I think. He said something about getting some parts and doing something else. I don't know."

"Oh. Well, I would like to see him but I guess we could spend time at my place." I duck my chin to my chest. I really don't think my apartment is up to Santana's standards. "If I give you the address do you think you could find it on your own?"

"Yeah. I'll just Google it." She grins into the truck window.

"Okay." I rip a piece of paper out of my work notebook and write my address down and hand it to Santana.

"Thank you." She mumbles to her self.

I eye her curiously. "What is it?"

Santana shakes her head and twists the toe of her shoe into the ground. "I was just hoping that I could- um- get a kiss before you go." So damn cute.

My smile nearly splits my face in two. "Of course." I lean out the window of the truck door as far as I can and Santana meets me. It's not a long kiss by any means. We both have things to do. I'm suppose to be working and Santana has to get ready for work. But it is a great kiss. They're all great kisses with Santana.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." I tell her. She nods in agreement. "Have a good day at work."

"Yeah, I'll try. Stay safe in this heat and stay hydrated."

"I will. I'll probably work a short day." I tell her as I reach for the shifter and shift the truck into reverse.

"See ya later."

"Bye." With Santana waving cutely in the driveway, I back out and head on my way. I have three more stops before I can call it a day.

The door buzzer alerts me that Santana has arrived. I told her to come over anytime after six. It's like two minutes after six.

I don't have anything planned for the evening. I just want to hangout, nothing major. Instead of just pushing the button and letting Santana in the building I go out in the hallway and walk to the front door of my apartment building and open the door myself. Santana stands there looking all confused.

"I thought I would greet you at the front door."

"Oh."

"Come on." I wrap one arm around Santana and lead her into the building. "I'm in the back." I point down the hallway to the back of the building. "I can give you the tour. It's not very impressive though. And then we can talk about dinner."

"Alright. Let's see the apartment."

We stop at my door. I hesitate before turning the doorknob and pushing the door open. Santana looks around the room as we walk in. It's not a big room but it works for me. The living room consists of a couch, a tv, and an end table. To the left of the living room is the tiny kitchen. The kitchen is about eight feet by ten feet and there is a small table tucked into the corner.

"This is the living room area and this is the kitchen." I point to the kitchen from where we stand in the living room. "Back there is the bathroom. Off to the left. And the bedroom to the right." I don't bother showing Santana those two rooms. The bathroom is easy enough to find and the only other room is my bedroom. It's simple and mundane.

Santana looks around the living room and kitchen some more. There's only a clock on the wall. No photos or art or paintings or anything like that. Boring, I know.

"I like it."

I roll my eyes. "Please. How can you?"

"I like it because it's your place. Your space to do with it what you want. It's a little part of you. Can I see your room? I bet that's more Brittany-like than the rest of the apartment."

I wanna say no so bad. But something Santana said got to me a little. "Okay." I walk ahead of Santana and push the door to my bedroom open. Santana's right, it's not like the rest of the apartment. There are photographs of my family and friends. There are two photos on the wall above my bed. There are even a few posters on the closet door.

"See this room is just like you. It reflects who you are with the photos of you with your friends and this one with your parents." Santana picks up the photos of me with my mom and dad from last summer off the top of my dresser.

"Where was this taken?"

It's a photo of me in the middle and my parents on each side of me on the beach. "On the beach, on Lake Michigan. I don't remember where. But it was at one of the parks along the water."

"Hmm." Santana nods as she looks over the photograph. When she sets it down she goes over to the closet and looks at the posters there. I have a poster of a really cool decked out fire truck and one of those firefighter calendar with the half naked firefighters. "Is this from your fire station?"

The blush rises to my cheek faster than you can say blush. "Yes." With saying yes I am confirming that I am in the calendar somewhere. Santana flips through the months. Starting with the current month, August and moving towards the end of the year. She won't find me there cuz I am the month of May.

A few second pass in silence as Santana continues to look. "Oh god." She murmurs when she obviously finds my month in the calendar.

"It's embarrassing. It was for fundraising proposes so-"

Santana looks up from the calendar to me. Her eyes search my face and then she looks back down at the calendar.

"How about we go get something for supper?" I suggest, trying to get Santana to stop looking at my bikini clad body on the page of a calendar.

"Uh-huh." Santana nods, but I can tell that she is off in her own little land not really comprehending what I'm saying. Part of me is flattered and part of me is annoyed.

"Okay. Let's go." I grab Santana by the elbow and start leading her out of the bedroom. "You can keep that if you want."

That gets her attention. She stops walking and I have to stop to. I don't want to drag her through the apartment by the arm. I don't want to do anything like that. I just wanted to get her attention. I did. She crinkles her brow at me. "What?" She asks confused.

I crack a smile. She's cute when she is confused about something. "That calendar. I know, I look smoking. You can keep it if you want. It's not like I'm- using it. Those are my brothers, my fellow firefighters. Plus, there aren't any hot, sexy Latina's in it." I take the opportunity to turn the tables on her.

Santana hides her face by bowing her head and looking down at the calendar. She stares at it for a beat then closes it.

"What do you want for dinner? I thought we could go somewhere. I don't really have anything in the apartment to cook. Or we could go to the grocery store and buy stuff and then bring it back to cook. Or-"

"Can we go out?" Santana interrupts my rambling about food. For that I am thankful.

"Sure thing." I hold out my hand for her to take. She does and we make our way out to my truck.

We went out and had a nice dinner. At a nice restaurant. I had a wonderful time. The meal was good and the company was even better. Some might call it a date but we didn't put a label on it. It's just me spending time with Santana and Santana spending time with me.

"What do you wanna do now?" I glance to the left quickly before focusing back on the road.

"Britt, I'm too stuffed to do anything. Can we just go back to your place and rest a little."

I chuckle. "That was a very good meal. And I'm very stuffed."

"Yeah." Santana groans.

I pull into my parking space and shut the truck off. "I don't even think I can get out." Santana grumbles from next to me.

I look over at her and she has her head rested against the window. "I could carry you."

"Britt. No. That would be worse I think. It's a lovely gesture but I think I might burst."

I laugh again. "Okay." When I get out of the truck I go around to the passengers side and open Santana's door for her.

"Thanks, Britt." She slides down out of the truck onto her feet. I shut the door and follow Santana over to my apartment building.

I plop down on the couch and Santana soon follows, plopping down right next to me. "I'm never eating that much again." She whines. I flick the tv on. I don't even care what is on the screen. I just did it for the background noise. The volume is low so we can still talk if we want to.

"So, when can we hang out with your dad."

"Britt. I don't wanna hang out with him. Well, that's a lie. Cuz I totally love my dad and am a huge daddy's girl. But, I want my hang outs with you separate from my hang outs with my dad."

"Why?" I don't understand why she can't do both at the same time.

"Because I can't do this." She rolls onto her elbow and kisses me on the cheek before giving me a big, wet kiss on the corner of my mouth and then leaning back.

"Oh."

"You could come over on Saturday though. If you really want but just for the afternoon and then maybe we can do something Saturday night, just you and me."

"I like that idea." I nod. "I want to spend as much time as I can with you in the next couple of weeks."

"Hmm. Yeah." Santana hums.

I'm not sure what she is thinking. Or if she is thinking the same thing that I am. In a way I think she is.

"What day do you leave?" It's a question that I've wanted to know for a long time now, but have been too afraid to ask. I don't want to know the answer. But I need to know the answer to prepare myself. I know that we probably have less than three weeks but I don't know what Santana's exact plans are yet.

It's sad to think that this might be all over soon.

She takes my hand in hers and sets them in her lap. Santana rubs her thumb over my knuckles gently. It's a lovely gesture but not the answer to my question.

"Summer gonna be over soon. Well, not the season but your summer is gonna be over." I mention with a shrug of my shoulders. I'm trying to act casual about it, but it's eating me up on the inside. In reality, I'm just a big mess of emotions.

"I know." Santana says sadly. "I leave the sixteenth." She tells me but I don't think she really wanted to.

I look over at her and study her features. Her face hard in thought but steady and strong. I was hoping we had a little more time than that. I do the math in my head. That's actually less than two weeks from now.

"Can I ask you something? If you don't want to answer that's okay."

"Uh- I- guess." She stutters out. She looks a little scared.

"Okay. So summers almost over. What happens now? Was this thing that we have going on, was it just like a summer fling? Or was it something more. For me- uh- I think it was something more than that. I mean I hope it can be something more than just a summer fling."

"Oh." Santana is surprised by my question. She chews on her bottom lips as she formulates a response. The longer she takes it doesn't look good for me. "I guess, no, I know that this summer was absolutely amazing. I think it was the best summer of my life so far. I got to experience things that I've never done before. I got to see some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. I got to live by myself, on my own, for the first time in my life. I got my first real job and got to live the way I wanted to."

She squeezes my hand a little and makes tiny circles with her thumb on the back of my hand. "I broke up with my boyfriend because I finally realized that we would never work out no matter how many times we tried. I met a bunch of new people. And I met you, Brittany."

She finally makes eye contact with me. "You have changed how I think about things, about life. You have made me really think about what I want and who I want to be. You have changed my thoughts and views on life and love. And because of all of that I fell in love this summer. This, us, is more than just a summer romance. It's more than just some fling. It's still new and scary but that's okay because I still want to be with you. Even after I go back to college. I want to continue this relationship. I love you, Brittany."

A few tears slide down my cheeks. "No. Don't cry. Did I say something wrong?" Santana turns and wipes my tears away with the thumb of one hand.

I shake my head. No, she certainly didn't do anything wrong. She did just about everything right. "No. I love you too."

"Okay. Then-"

"These are happy tears." I sniffle. I can't believe I'm crying right now. "I probably look like an overdramatic crybaby."

"No. Not at all." Santana says to me. When I look at her again she takes my cheek in the palm of her hand and presses her lips to mine. She kisses my bottom lip a couple of times before sitting back. "Is that better?" She asks with a coy smile.

I nod and smile. "Yeah." The room is quiet while I think. It hasn't soaked in yet but I feel a lightness in my chest that wasn't there before. The show on the tv goes to commercial and it's louder than the program was. It shakes me back to life. I blink at the tv a few times before shifting on the couch so I can face Santana better. "So, what happens next?"

"I don't know really. I don't want this to end when I leave but-"

"Like you said, it doesn't have to." I speak up.

"But Brittany I'll be like three hours away at college and more if I'm at home in Ohio."

"People have long distance relationship, right? We could do that. We could talk everyday, and text, and email. Whatever. I'm not very good with a computer but I could learn. You could teach me." I take both of Santana's hands in mine. "We could totally do that. I don't want to give this up. I want to be with you. Actually-"

I let go of Santana's right hand and get up from the couch. I take a step back and kneel down on the floor with one knee and hold Santana left hand tight and kiss the back of it. When I look up from her hand, Santana's eyes are wide and alarmed. "Britt- what are you-"

"Santana Lopez, I want to make this official. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh my god." She covers her mouth with her other hand. Her eyes relax and then they crinkle around the edges. I hear her laugh but can't see the smile on her face because her hand is in the way. "Brittany." She laughs my name. "You are too much sometimes. Get up."

"Not until I have an answer." I stare her down until she shakes her head.

"Yes, god, yes. Now get up here."

I stand up and sit down in her lap. I wrap my arms around her neck. Santana meets me halfway. When our lips meet its like everything just fits into place. Santana has one hand on the small of my back, the other on my thigh.

I wrap my lips around her bottom one before pulling it away from her face and letting go with a little pop. I alternate between bottom and top before licking my tongue into her mouth and running it along the roof of her mouth.

"Mmmm." Santana hums.

"I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you have to go." I tell Santana. "Will you stay over tonight?"

"I would love to. I just have to call my dad and tell him that I won't be home tonight." She kisses me on the cheek and pats my thigh with her palm. That's the signal for me to get up.

"He won't have a problem with it?" I ask suddenly afraid that I have done something wrong.

"No. I am an adult. He can't do anything about it. I'll just tell him I'm staying over at a friends house. It's not untrue. I'll just leave the part out about- well- you now." Santana smirks at me as she reaches for her bag on the kitchen counter. She pulls her phone out and dials.

I listen as she talks to her dad. Sometimes life seems so surreal. Right now is one of those times. I haven't processed anything that has happened in the last hour yet. How in last than two weeks Santana will be gone. Or how I now have a girlfriend. Or how we are going to make a long distance relationship work.

"Okay." Santana is standing in front of me. I am still sitting on the couch. Her phone call is apparently over. "All settled." She extends her hand to me. I take it and Santana helps me to my feet. "Let's go to bed."

"It's only like eight." It's probably one of the dumbest thing I could have said.

"So."

"So, isn't that kinda early for sleep?" When am I saying these things. Santana walks us through the apartment to my bedroom.

"Who said we were sleeping." Santana looks over her shoulder and smiles sneakily.

"Santana Lopez, what are you suggesting?" I play along.

"Well, I was hoping we could get undressed and climb into bed and-" She leaves me hanging.

"And what?"

"Cuddle." It's not what I thought she was going to say but I won't argue with it. I would love to get in bed and just curl up with Santana.

We stop in the middle of my bedroom. "Okay." I start unbuttoning my shirt first. I am standing opposite Santana. She watches my movements as I start undressing and I watch her as she slips her jeans down her legs.

When I am down to just my panties and bra I go over to the bed and fold the blankets down. I slide in and wait for Santana to join me. She does not even a few seconds later. I pull the covers up over us. Even though it's hot outside it's cool in my apartment with the air conditioning running.

I wrap an arm around Santana and pull her to my body. I place a kiss to her temple with a smile. "Now what?" I whisper.

"I don't know."

"I thought you were in charge?" I ask while I run my fingers up and down the length of her arm. Her skin is so soft and smooth.

"It's your apartment." She counters.

"This was your idea." I mention.

"Right. How about we just cuddle for a while. No talking. At first. Just sharing time together in each other arms." Santana scoots down a little and rests her head on my chest. "I just want to be with you."

"I agree." I kiss her on the top of the head. "Can I tell you something?" Santana nods against my chest and hums. "I love you."

Her cheeks bunch up as she smiles. "I love you too, Britt-Britt." I feel her wet lips on my bare skin after she speaks.

I hold Santana tighter and graze my hands up and down her body. Slow, soft, and caring. Some days I can't believe I have this beautiful, amazing girl. She the most surprisingly wonderful woman I've ever met.

I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks with Santana and for what the future could hold after that.

"Bam! I win." I yell and do a little happy dance.

"No fair." Santana whines.

"It's totally fair, Santana. Brittany won fair and square." Mr. Lopez tells his daughter.

"Yeah, but she's played ring toss before and I haven't." She pouts and stomps a foot against the ground.

"I guess you'll have to practice then." Antonio tells his daughter. He pats her on the shoulder and walks over to the patio. "I think I'm gonna head inside. You girls can keep playing. Lord knows Santana needs the practice."

The man walks inside the house and I go over and collect all the rings. "Wanna play again?" I ask Santana while I walk over to where she is standing.

"NO." She folds her arms over her chest and pouts.

"Someone's a sore loser." I tease.

"Am not."

I laugh. I want so badly to kiss that pout off her face but can't. "What if I let you win?" I ask.

"There's no fun in that." Santana comments.

"Okay. We can take a break." I go over to the table and pick up my lemonade and take a healthy drink. Once I set the empty glass and the rings in my hand on the table I take a seat in one of the chairs.

It's a nice Saturday afternoon. It rained in the morning but now it's sunny and breezy. Santana invited me over for lunch and to spend some time with her dad this afternoon. We had a really great lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs that Mr. Lopez cooked on the grill.

It's a little odd. I'm not sure if I should call him Mr. Lopez or Antonio. I've never used either before today, not that I can remember. Maybe one time in the past when I was talking with him about his landscaping I might have used his first name but I can't really remember. I talk to a lot of people it's hard to remember all their names sometimes.

Today I used Mr. Lopez when I thanked him for my lunch but he insisted that I call him Antonio. The thing is, I'm not speaking with him as a landscaper, I'm speaking with him as Santana's friend. Well, that's what he thinks. He doesn't know about me and Santana yet.

"How come you don't tell your dad about us?" I ask Santana when she sits down next to me.

"Shh. Brittany." She hisses.

"He's inside." I wave her off.

Santana scowls. "It's not that I don't want to. It's that I'm not ready to. There's a difference."

I know there's a difference. I'm not stupid. "Okay." It's all I can really say. It's not up to me. I promised I wouldn't push and I can't. It's still very early in this relationship. And if Santana doesn't feel ready to tell her family yet than that's fine.

"What do ya say we skedaddle on out of here?" Santana suggests. "I've had a great time this afternoon with you and my dad but now I think it's just you time."

I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

Santana frowns. "Don't do that."

"Why?" I ask.

"Cuz."

"Cuz why?" I keep a straight face when I ask.

"Cuz I said so." Santana says with more authority.

"Cuz you said so why?" It's getting harder and harder to keep a straight face the longer this little game goes.

"Brittany, stop." She whines and puts her hands palms down on the patio table.

"Brittany, stop." I parrot with a smirk.

"God-" Santana chuckles and shakes her head. "Let's go say goodbye to my dad."

I drop the act. "Okay." I wait for Santana to stand up and let her go inside the house before me.