Guest: Yes. It did and still does have a point. I'm sorry if character interaction and development is too subtle a story driving tool for you.
gllover22 Thank you. I can't help but think that the Rachel who told Quinn in the first season that girls wanted sex just as much as guys did would grow up to be pretty unabashed about it. & that the Quinn who got flustered by that would grow up to be a little reserved still.
Rinsedryrepeat The plot of the story is the development of their relationship. Sex is a pretty important element of that. & yeah the last few chapters focused on that, because that's what was happening in the relationship. I'm aware that isn't to everyone's tastes. However I don't see why you feel the need to post on a story that you have not previously taken the time to post on, just to tell me you're not reading anymore.
Guest That's about two chapters away, so almost there. :)
LaurenKnight13 Thank you. I'm glad you're still enjoying it. The kinks conversation is a few chapters off however. A few other things to get through first.
wkgreen Yep, kinks can be lots of fun. :)
Chapter 22
Quinn had promised she would keep her hands to herself. And though it was tempting to see if Rachel would actually tie her to the headboard if she didn't, she refrained from actually testing the threat. Instead keeping her hands splayed out innocently against Rachel's back, fingers lightly drumming a rythmn along the the curve of her spine and simply enjoyed the warmth and weight and comfort of the body curled into her side.
"Quinn," Rachel said softly, shifting against her.
"Mmhmm?"
"Hands."
Quinn's fingers froze in their movements and she took stock of their positions, thinking that maybe they'd strayed unintentionally, sliding down too low on her back or along the curve of her breast. But no, they were both resting in the middle off Rachel's back.
"What? I'm not touching you anywhere I shouldn't be."
Rachel propped herself up onto one elbow so she could peer down at Quinn, eyes squinted in a warning stare and lips turned down in a faint frown. And Quinn just couldn't help herself from craning forward and capturing those lips in her own.
She'd promised to keep her hands to herself. She never said anything about her lips.
"Quinn," Rachel warned, placing a hand on Quinn's chest and pushing her back down against the mattress.
"Hey, you said hands. You never said anything about-" she cut herself off as she surged upwards once again and pressed her lips against Rachel's, grinning lightly as the other woman huffed a faint laugh and didn't pull away.
She was just about to press her luck and slide her tongue against Rachel's mouth when a knock echoed through the apartment.
"Fuck." Quinn dropped back down to the mattress with a sigh. "That better not be Santana, cock blocking me again."
Rachel laughed lightly and shook her head. "I don't think it's Santana. She doesn't just show up when we don't have plans. Besides, nobody is cock blocking you because we were not about to have sex again."
Quinn arched an eyebrow at Rachel, who arched one right back. She was pretty sure that she would have been able to convince Rachel to go one more round but now they'd never know.
"You need to move," she said. "You need to move and change your number. Because between phone calls and people showing up at your door-"
"Hush, you." Rachel placed a hand on Quinn's cheek and patted gently before pushing her head to the side. Her fingers lingered against Quinn's cheek for a moment and then withdrew as she slide out of bed and tugged at her clothes, straightening out the rumples from laying down as she strode across the room.
Quinn let out a loud, long suffering sigh and rolled out of bed as well. She followed the sound of Rachel's light, mocking laughter down the short hallway towards the living room, rounding the corner just in time to see Rachel pull open the door to a tall, stunning, willowy red-head who smiled a beaming smile and stepped right into Rachel's personal space to lean down and brush a quick peck against her lips.
Quinn's stride faltered and she stumbled to a stop, arm shooting out to catch herself on the back of the couch.
"Hey, baby," she cooed softly as she pulled back. "I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd drop by some brunch. Lunch. Whatever. I know how hectic Sunday's can get for you, two shows and all. And I know sometimes you get so caught in things that it's hard to find a moment to eat. So."
She thrust a brown takeaway bag and a coffee cup towards Rachel, who's hands closed around them automatically.
"You might want to check your phone," she added as she slid her now free arms around Rachel's waist loosely, her actions speaking of comfort and familiarity. "I tried calling you a couple times this weekend."
Quinn didn't know who she was but she knew what she was and her breath caught in her throat as she watched the exchange and waited for Rachel to do something, to extract herself from the embrace, to push the woman away, to demand she unhand her, something. Anything but stand there within the circle of another woman's arms.
And then her blood ran cold as she remembered a piece of conversation from two night ago, they'd been talking about dating and exes and Rachel had told her about the woman that she'd been seeing. The one that she knew that she should end things with but hadn't yet. Because the sex had been so good.
Quinn had known that Rachel wasn't technically, strictly single and she'd gone for it anyway. She'd pushed that fact aside and let her attraction and desires take over. She got caught up in the fantasy that had played through her mind in the moments before their first kiss, feelings, emotions, a relationship and she fell into bed with a woman who wasn't free to be hers. She'd let herself believe that this was building up to be something real.
And Rachel had let her. Had encouraged her, with soft, affectionate smiles, warm, flirty eyes and seductive, intimate touches. It her like a punch to the gut, a vice around her heart. She'd laid herself bare for Rachel, told her that this wasn't something casual to her and Rachel had strung her right along.
Tears burned hotly under her lids and she blinked them away. No. That couldn't be true. Rachel wouldn't do that to her. Rachel wouldn't lead her on, wouldn't let her think that this had the chance of becoming something if it did not. There was something between them, something deeper than just the physical attraction. She'd felt it. Had been feeling it for two days. The conversations, the intimacy. It wasn't one sided. Rachel had been feeling it too.
She swiped the back of her hand hastily against her eyes then found her footing and crossed the room swiftly to sidle up behind Rachel.
"Hey, babe," she husked softly, letting her lips graze Rachel's ear just slightly. "Who's this?" she slung her arm around Rachel's waist, fingers curving around her hip and dipping under the hem of her shirt to find the comforting warmth of her skin. Even though she was talking to Rachel, she kept her gaze locked on the interloper standing at the door.
Rachel cleared her throat and shifted. But it wasn't towards Quinn's touch though, instead she inched forward and away.
Her heart dropped and her stomach churned but Quinn kept her gaze steady and her face impassive.
The woman's eyes never left Quinn's as a nasty smile played across her lips. "Well, I can see why you didn't call me back this weekend," she said with a sneer, finally pulling her gaze away to let her eyes flit quickly up and down Quinn's body before turning her attention back to Rachel.
Quinn struggled not to bristle at both the once over and the dismissial. She really hoped that the burning feeling in her chest wasn't manifesting itself across her features. Or if it was that the blush of shame and discomfort would be mistaken for a flush of rage.
She searched her mind for something to say, some scathing, witty retort that would send the other woman reeling but that had never really been her forte. Santana had been the master of the barbed tongue and Quinn had wielded her power through icy stares and intimidation. Neither of which would have any effect in this situation, she was well aware.
"I should have known," the woman said with a low, long suffering sigh. "I'm tired of the games, Rach. The constant push and pull. Your need for attention and affirmation all the damn time. You can't go running into other women's arms whenever I get busy and can't devote all my time to you-"
"Don't," Rachel cut her off with an edge to her voice and a shake of her head. "I'm not doing this again with you." She raised a hand to forestall whatever comment was about to spill forth from the other woman's lips. "This isn't some cry for attention," Rachel continued. "It's not some attempt to make you jealous. This is me moving on. We don't work," Rachel added. "We tried twice and we don't. What happened the other day was a mistake. And I'm sorry if you thought it was something more than it was."
Quinn couldn't help the smug grin playing at the corners of her lips. She let it spread as the red-head's eyes flicked over to her as she processed Rachel's words.
"You say that now," she said, "But you'll be crawling back to me when this one turns out to be a dissapointment." Her words were bold, cocky but Quinn could hear the defeat in her voice, could see the glimmer go out in her eyes.
"I don't think so," Rachel said softly with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry-"
"Save it." The woman cut her off. "You want to be done? Fine. I'm done. Just, give me my stuff back and I'll go. You'll never have to see me again."
"Your stuff?" Rachel's brow furrowed in confusion and then her eyes widenend slowly, almost comically as realization set over her. She cut her gaze to Quinn, who was a second or so behind in catching up.
It was only when the red-head's deep green eyes settled on her, glittering maliciously that Quinn's brain made the connection. Slowly she pulled away, her arm dropping from Rachel's waist to fall heavily at her side as she took a step to the side.
"Quinn..." Rachel reached out to her but Quinn stepped out of arms reach.
"You want your things back?" she sneered, stepping away from Rachel and tugging at the button of the jeans she was wearing. "Fine. Take 'em and get out of here."
"Quinn." Rachel's hand closed over her wrist but Quinn shook her off.
She yanked the material down over her legs and tossed them towards the woman standing in the doorway. "There."
"Quinn, stop it!"
She pulled the shirt up over her head, turning it inside out as she did so and tossed that as well. "You've got what's yours. Now go. Go and leave Rachel the hell alone."
She stood in the entryway a borrowed bra and panties, chest heaving and stomach churning with anger and humiliation and trying not to flinch as hard, shrewed eyes raked took in her stretch marks and scars.
She took a step forward, into the red-head's personal space. "She's better than you and you're manipulations," she hissed.
"And what makes you think that you're the one who's worthy of her?" was the reply hissed back at her.
Rachel stepped in between them, pulling them forcibly apart before Quinn could reply. "That's enough. You, go." She shoved the woman towards the door. "And you-"
Quinn didn't let her finish. She stepped back with a sneer and then spun around, heading for the bedroom to find some clothes.
"What the hell was that?"
Quinn whipped around at the sound of Rachel's voice. "What?" She swayed slightly from her rapid turnaround and put a hand on the clost door to steady herself.
Quinn's eyes widened as she took in Rachel's stance, arms crossed, shoulder's set, jaw tensed and nostrils flariing and realized that the other woman was pissed. Quinn was confused, why was she pissed? "What the hell was what?"
"That...that pissing contest that you just engaged in out there."
"Pissing contest Oh, that's elegant. Nice way to describe the fact that I was defending you," Quinn shot back, temper stirring in response to the flat, hard tone in Rachel's voice and the anger glinting in her eyes.
"I don't need, or want, you to defend me-"
"Well then you might want to try actually doing it next time." Quinn turned slilghtly into the closet and tugged out the first pair of pants that she laid a hand on, wiggling them up her hips and hopping around ungracefully because she refused to have this argument in her underwear. She'd been vulnerable enough this morning and she was not about to stand there and have Rachel coming at her like this, attacking her, when she wasn't even fully clothed. "What about us? Huh? Are you capable of defending that?" She yanked a shirt on over her head, a peasant style blouse that fit snuggly around her breasts but flowed just enough so as not to stretch uncomfortable across them.
"What are you talking about?" Rachel's arms uncrossed and her brow furrowed.
"I'm talking about the fact that I walked out into the living room five minutes ago to the site of you kissing another woman."
"I didn't...she kissed me."
"And you did nothing to stop her. You didn't tell her no or push her away or-"
"I was stunned. She blinded sided me into inaction."
"For a second. Maybe two, sure. Then she had her arms around you. And you did nothing. You said nothing." Quinn blinked against the tears that burned her eyes and the lump in her throat at the memory of walking out into the room and seeing Rachel with that woman.
"So you decided that it would be all right to come over and what, claim me?" Rachel countered. "You remember why I broke up with her in the first place don't you? Because she was possessive. Jealous."
"No. No. It wasn't like that." Quinn shook her head as she closed the distance between them. "I was just-"
"Trying to show up my ex," Rachel interrupted before she could reach out to her, before she could explain herself. "Calling me babe? Sticking your hand up my shirt?"
"I didn't stick my hand up your shirt. It's not like I grabbed your boob or something. I just..I just..."
"You know what, no. I can't do this right now. I have a show to get ready for. You need to go."
Quinn's jaw dropped and then snapped shut and she stared at Rachel, dumbfounded. "You..you're kicking me out?" But Rachel had stopped listening, she'd already disengaged from the conversation, the argument and was moving around the room, collecting her cell phone and purse and grabbing a pair of shoes from beneath the arm chair in the corner. Before Quinn could even marshall some kind of response, before she could even fully catch up to the situation, Rachel was stalking out of the room.
Quinn followed slowly behind her, for the first time since she'd stepped foot in this apartment on Friday, not staring at Rachel's ass as she walked away but instead gazing sullenly down at the carpet beneath her feet as she made her way through the living room towards the door. She slipped on her shoes from the night before and turned her head, her gaze falling upon Rachel's back as she leaned against the counter beside the coffee maker.
Quinn's mouth opened once. Twice. A third time before she let it fall shut, shook her head and slipped out the door.