Chapter 52

"Quinn Fabray that is you," said Kitty far too loudly as she made her way over to them. People turned their heads at the commotion. Kitty definitely liked to be the center of attention and she forced everyone to be right in the spotlight with her, just by her loudness. "Hard to recognize you without a straitjacket. I'm just playing girl, don't make that face. Glad to see you free."

"Hi Kitty," Quinn said at a far lower volume and with much less enthusiasm. "It's been awhile."

"Not since Sam's wedding, seems like forever ago."

"Yeah." Quinn hoped she looked friendly and that the tightness around her lips was actually formed into the shape of a smile. "You look great though considering." She paused and tried to look contrite, even as she was snickering on the inside. "Sorry about your divorce."

Kitty tussled her hair and shrugged. "Some things aren't meant to be."

"Must be hard though, fourth divorce under your belt, not even thirty."

It was a sucker punch but Quinn couldn't stop herself from throwing it. Kitty's tumultuous love life had been the hottest topic among the people in her graduating class, dating and marrying a steady stream of rich older men in rapid succession was bound to get tongues moving. She was one of the most infamous graduates of McKinley High, until Quinn's latest drama that is. Cheating on your fiancé with his cousin, conceiving a child, then endangering said child, blew Kitty's exploits out of the water.

"It is hard, thanks for caring, but I keep my chin up, and I find strength in knowing things could be worse. I could have your life for instance, lost the kid, lost the man, last known address the crazy house."

"I don't think we've met, I'm Artie Abrams," said Artie, clearing his throat and extending his hand.

"MM hello. Quinn's handsome attorney, you look even better in the flesh," said Kitty letting her eyes sweep over Artie flirtatiously. "Kitty Wilde." She took his hand and held it as she spoke. "Are you here with Quinn?"

"As a matter of fact I am. She's my date." Artie smiled as he dropped Kitty's hand and put his arm around Quinn affectionately

"Always land on your feet don't ya? You have those suckers lined up."

Quinn wasn't sure if Kitty meant that as an insult or a compliment, her toothy grin never dropped, no matter the words coming from her mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh just that I get all the flak about always being on a man hunt and you're the one that has never been seen without a man on your arm."

"That's not true. I'm single now."

Yet when she thought about it, she realized there was a hint of truth to Kitty's nasty insinuations. She had never been without a date, a suitor, a potential love interest since high school. Before coming to Lima, boys were not on her radar, and the ones that noticed her were pigs, mixing hateful taunts with their catcalls. Losing the dark makeup and baggy clothes and smiling more than she scowled probably had helped her social life immensely, after that the men flocked to her. Quinn still struggled with how her outward appearance made men blind to her inner assets. It was strange at first to go from being virtually invisible, to being the object of so many attentive eyes, but once she got used to the attention, she discovered the perks of looking a certain way and embraced them. Like everything else in life, every positive came with a negative, so while she got to enjoy freebies and the attention that came with her looks, she also had to deal with the preconceived notions and the judgment, like Kitty's comments tonight, or being painted as a morally challenged bimbo by the press.

"Artie you're a lucky man to slide in there during one of her rare unattached moments."

"I feel lucky to be with Quinn tonight," said Artie smiling down at Quinn.

"And the night is still young. Think of how lucky you'll feel later when she's tipsy and very frustrated because Sam didn't have the decency to give her the time of day. I bet…"

Artie opened his mouth to respond, but Quinn stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. She could handle Kitty, just as she always had.

"You're calling me a slut?" Quinn asked interrupting her mid insult. "I'm not the one that was dating an eighty year old man."

"He was seventy-five, and what we had was very special," replied Kitty, her smile widening at the subject. "And unlike Sam Evans, he was available to be with me."

"There is nothing going on with me and Sam," Quinn said hoping she sounded convincing.

It was so hard not to let her feelings for Sam show. Smiles tickled her lips at the very thought of him. Even now when she was scared that his silent treatment would go on forever, she couldn't help but smile at the sound of his name. Sam loved her and wanted to be with her. How could she not be happy about that? All those impossible dreams were so close to coming true.

"I just figured you and Sam were a thing, especially after last night."

"I guess you saw that photo," said Quinn bowing her head.

If only they had paid more attention, not let themselves get so caught up in each other, ignoring their surroundings then maybe the photo never would have happened. It complicated things so much, made people talk, probably jeopardized her freedom, but a part of Quinn also was glad the picture existed. Forever captured was their happiness, their love, so apparent that even perfect strangers could see it. There would be other pictures, other chances to be close, Quinn was hopeful of that, but almost losing Sam also forced her to remember the finite nature of human life, that moments were fleeting, and lost as quickly as they were made. So she cherished that snapshot that had the power to wreck her life, send her back to the hospital, keep her away from her daughter and Sam, because it was a symbol of a moment she treasured. Quinn had to hang on to every bit of good that came her way these days, since there were no guarantees she would get more.

"Who hasn't?" Kitty's eyes lit up. "I bet half the people here are waiting for a showdown between you and the wife."

"That's not going to happen. Mercedes and I have no reason to fight." They had plenty of reasons actually, but Kitty didn't need to know that.

"If you were all over my husband like you were in that photo with Sam, I would kick your ass without a second thought."

Sex wasn't even on her mind when it came to Sam, well not that much. Through the course of most of their relationship sex, attraction, that undeniable chemistry had kept her drifting toward Sam, most of the time something physical happened when they collided, caresses, kisses, really good sex, but now all of that seemed secondary, an afterthought. Sure she still wanted him, it took all of her willpower at the hotel to not throw reason to the side and let him make love to her the way he so clearly wanted to, but just being around Sam was enough for her now, having him up and talking, looking at her with those slanted eyes, flashing those lips. Sex would be great, but just having the right to go up to him and hold his hand, or kiss his cheek seemed like everything to Quinn now. She wanted that intimacy, that bond, she wanted to be the one. The only one.

"Sam and I are just friends. Everyone knows that," Quinn said dismissively.

Kitty probably was exaggerating. Mercedes and Sam had been very visible all night, showcasing their perfect marriage and renewed love, Quinn highly doubted that most guests suspected he was still being unfaithful. Even she was starting to worry that Sam looked too happily married, too caught up in his role as husband. The lines between pretend and real were blurring from where Quinn stood, and it bothered her to see Sam so at ease with Mercedes, which was pretty much counterproductive to her needs since the better Sam and Mercedes got along the better the chances for her freedom. Yet with every passing hour, Quinn's ability to squash her jealous thoughts, and keep her eyes on the big prize, was getting hard to accomplish.

Kitty put her hand on her hip and raised her voice as if she were broadcasting to all the nearby guests. "What everyone knows is that you two had an affair and made a baby. It's not a stretch to think that the affair would still be going strong."

"I've heard about all I can take," said Artie, who had been silently by Quinn's side up to this point. "I care about Quinn too much to stand here and continue to listen to you trash her. A greedy hotel employee sold one misconstrued photo to the gossip blogs and suddenly Quinn is accused of sleeping with a married man. That's not right. I know that Quinn is not interested in Sam Evans and I can prove it."

Quinn looked at Artie in surprise. What was he up to?

"Oh really?" asked Kitty brushing her blond hair out of her face as she leaned forward. "Do tell."

Artie eased closer his dimples peeking on his face as he smiled. He smelled like aftershave spicy with a hint of sweet, not overpowering, just enough to linger, to penetrate, to seduce. Inches away from her face, his eyes fading from brilliant blue to almost gray, like some mesmerizing parlor trick. He moistened his lips and took a breath, before he leaned in the rest of the way and pressed his lips against hers. Pulling her closer, her body sweeping his, she could feel his firm chest and hard abs hidden beneath his shirt. Quinn wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her eyes shut and her lips part because that's what you do when you're being kissed. And she was being kissed, very well, soft strokes of his tongue against hers, minty and warm, deeper he pressed, his kiss becoming more intense, like he was asserting his dominance, commanding her full participation. Letting Artie take control, she relaxed into him, kissing him back with matching intensity.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she could hear a voice telling her to back away, to make him stop, to think of Sam. And she was thinking of Sam and that kiss she saw him give Mercedes, and those voices disappeared the longer the image of the two them lingered. Sam was obviously willing to go the extra mile to keep her out of the hospital, why shouldn't she do the same? They all had sacrifices to make. This kiss was nothing more than an act of self-preservation. At least that's what she told herself as she continued to kiss her attorney right in front of Kitty Wilde.
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