All of Coach Sue's years of weird Cheerios rituals could not have prepared me enough for the torture of living with the Gay-Berry twins for the past two years. No amount of naked forest wildernesses or Sue Sylvester master cleanses could ever amount to the daily tortures that I faced having to live with the only two people at McKinley that I promised myself to never speak to again after graduation but here I am: still stuck with them.
In my, and also I guess their, defence: Rachel had gotten slightly more tolerable since she had ditched those god-awful reindeer sweaters and didn't speak to me in paragraphs as much, and well Kurt really wasn't all that bad when he wasn't paired next to Rachel.
But right now, I was pissed, and they knew it.
Rachel nervously fiddled with her hands and Kurt just looked at me emotionlessly, seemingly awaiting the arrival of Snix. She wasn't far from taking over, believe me.
I huffed at them, rolling my eyes, and folding my arms across my chest. "And why are you two just telling me about this now?" I asked, untying my arms and throwing them up in the air, "it's Saturday night, who wants to sit and sing lame Broadway songs on Karaoke?"
Karaoke was a common thing Rachel and Kurt liked to do, usually once a month. They would have some people over to the apartment from NYADA and I would make sure I was anywhere but the apartment on those nights.
Rachel looked offended, "it isn't lame, Santana!"
I raised my eyebrows, because I couldn't think of anything more lame. Who wants to sit in somebodies apartment singing a song from Wicked for the millionth time, especially on a Saturday night, for…fun? "Sounds pretty lame to me, Rach!"
"You would know that it's actually not lame if you stayed for it one time, you don't need to leave!" Kurt interrupted, and I sent him a glare, "Santana, we don't just sing Broadway!"
I chuckled, "and that somehow makes it fun? I'm sorry to tell you, but you need some real fun!" Great, now Kurt looked offended. A sudden bit of guilt washes over me when Rachel sighed deeply, and I paused momentarily as I closed my mouth.
The downfall of having lived with Rachel and Kurt for two years, is that despite how much they irritate me and sometimes make me want to claw off my ears when they have impromptu breakfast performances, I may have grown a slight soft spot for the both of them. We're all each other had from home here in New York, and we've grown to rely on each other.
It was as if Rachel noticed my sudden mood switch, another downfall- she had time to get familiar with my expressions.
"Come on, Santana…" she urged, a grin forming on her face as she moved around the counter towards me. "Think of it like old times! Like in glee club, we used to have so much fun, we haven't all sang together for so long!"
She was right, we did, and the short trip down memory lane was enough for me to give in.
Also, the fact that it was too late for me to make any other kind of plans for the night so I was stuck here either way, anyway.
Rachel knew what she was doing, my sneakiness and scheming had also started to rub off on her. I smirked, "well played, Berry!" Rachel turned to Kurt and high-fived him, "I'll stay, but we need some alcohol in here to make it more tolerable. Also no Broadway tonight-"
"What? That's ridiculous, Santana, no Broadway?" Kurt laughed, and I shrugged.
"Either me or Broadway," I looked between them both and I noticed the torn expressions as they glanced to each other and then back to me, almost contemplating their decision. "Way to make me feel the love guys!"
Rachel snorted, "okay, deal. I'd rather you finally experience what Karaoke night really is…"
My eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at me with amusement and I was confused for a second before shaking it off. Rachel confused me a lot so it was just natural now for me not to question her further about it.
"I'm heading to the store for some liquor before I freshen up. Any suggestions?" I asked them, moving to grab my coat.
Kurt pulled a face, "anything but tequila. Still haven't drank it since Rachel's birthday."
"Lady Hummel, there's worst things to have happen. You should have been thankful to experience that!" I laughed at his clearly traumatised expression, flashes of three months ago when I had managed to convince Rachel and Kurt to come to a strip club with me after drinking almost two bottles of tequila. "Those girls were smoking hot!"
"Yeah, they were…" Rachel agreed and I smirked.
"See, Rachel agrees! We should go again sometime, I'd love to see you on a pole again," I suggested, wiggling my eyebrows playfully and Kurt just pushed me in the direction of the door.
I laughed and hurried out of the door, heading to the closest store that sold alcohol.
Ten minutes later, I walked into the store and went straight to the liquor. My eyes scanned the shelves and I groaned indecisively, looking between the vodka, rum and then contemplating just getting the tequila anyway.
"Do you not usually buy alcohol?" I jumped when a sudden voice came from close behind me, my hand coming to my chest in surprise. A small giggle followed the question, and the sound caused me to turn around.
My eyes instantly landed on a taller blonde in front of me, her ocean blue cat-shaped eyes glimmering with amusement.
She looked at me silently, and I opened my mouth to reply, but I was taken away by her beauty and no words came out, so I quickly shut it again. I couldn't help but scan her face, trying to memorise how her sun-kissed cheeks were covered in light, barely noticeably freckles, and the way they bunched up as she began smiling widely at me.
"Anybody ever tell you it's rude to stare?" She asked me, when I stayed silent for another few moments.
My cheeks flushed and I could feel them heating up with embarrassment, "S-sorry… You're just, you're really pretty!" I mumbled slightly, feeling nervous at how un-confident I suddenly felt around this complete stranger.
I could see the rosiness appear on her cheeks and the tips of her ears. It made me feel slightly better, and I smiled back at her softly. "Thanks…" she whispered shyly, biting down on her lip and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she dropped her gaze to look at the floor.
"I do," I blurted out, and her eyes snapped back to mine. She looked confused and I frowned, "I mean, I do buy alcohol. I'm just trying to decide what is best to help me through a rough night."
"What kind of rough night?" She asked curiously, a little shrug to her shoulders before she leaned lightly against the fridge.
"Dealing with my two overly dramatic roommates having their overly dramatic friends over. There's only so much show-tunes and talk about how legendary Barbra Streisand is that I can take without wanting to drown my sorrows in alcohol." I groaned loudly, rolling my eyes and getting annoyed again at the reminder of the fact that this was now my Saturday night.
The stranger laughed a little, "and you say they're dramatic? You are being a little dramatic here, too."
"I'm not being dramatic!" I defended myself, and the blonde laughed again. She shook her head slightly, that twinkle of amusement in her eye as she looked at me made me want to make her laugh as much as I could in this conversation, before I probably never get to see her again.
She had a beautiful laugh, and an even more beautiful smile.
"You sound a liiiiittle bit dramatic to me," she teased me, and I giggled, rolling my eyes.
"Fine, maybe a little. But it's still going to be bad. I could think of better ways to spend my Saturdays than around a group of strangers." As I spoke to her, it briefly occurred to me that I was speaking to a complete stranger so randomly, something so unlike me, yet it all felt so familiar and warm.
This woman had such a strong aura that I instantly felt drawn to, and the strange feeling was weirdly welcomed and I found myself wanting to keep the conversation going.
"You know your roommates though, right?" She looked at me knowingly.
"Yeah, but-"
"So then, you're not spending your Saturday with a total bunch of strangers," she interrupted me and began to smirk. I rolled my eyes again, "your eyes will get stuck if you keep rolling them, and they are far too pretty to be like that."
My breath subconsciously hitched and I felt the dryness in the back of my throat. That unfamiliar warmth intensified and I could feel the heat back on my cheeks from her stare.
"That's kind of you," I replied softly, and I knew that I was smiling widely back at her because I could feel my dimples on full display. "But you're right, it might not be that bad, I just don't like new people. Takes me a while to warm up to people."
She frowned a little, but then caught my eye, "you don't like me?" Her words were playful and her frown disappeared.
I instantly shook my head, "I do like you." She smiled at my reassuring words but then rose her eyebrows.
"But aren't we strangers?" That sparkle in her blue eyes made me dizzy as I stared deeper into them, and I chuckled at her teasing words, because this woman was really something.
And, she was right, I did like her.
As my internal lesbian alarms were ringing, I tried to control my breathing and not make a complete ass out of myself, but it was hard when she was looking at me like that, like she was feeling and thinking everything I was.
"Somehow I've already warmed up to you," I admitted, and she pumped her fist.
"Score!" She grinned widely and I laughed loudly. "Now that we have that down, want help choosing?" She pointed to the alcohol and I nodded bashfully.
"Anything but tequila…" I told her with nod, turning to the shelves to look at what they had.
"You don't like tequila?" She asked, glancing at me out the corner of her eyes. She sounded surprised and I laughed.
"Roommates request. Bad experience," I explained as I ended up just putting a few bottles of vodka into the basket and then a bottle of rum.
"Got too drunk and threw up?" She asked.
"Nope. Took him to a strip club, he ended up on the stripper pole and I got some excellent blackmail material!" I told her, and she laughed.
"That's awesome. Why would he not want to do that again?" She asked me with a small laugh, and then picked up a watermelon flavoured rum, "you should try this if you like rum. I always drink this with orange juice. It tastes amazing, gets me drunk enough to be in a good vibe and it never gives me a hangover."
I took it from her with a smile, and then she reached up to the shelf to get herself a bottle, "thanks, that sounds really good. Just what I needed for tonight!"
"You need anything else?" She asked, and I looked at the four bottles I had and noted that probably should be enough for the night.
"Yeah, we've got some lemonade and coke at the apartment already, and I bought orange juice this morning too. I guess I'll have enough to make me forget that I don't actually want to be there," she chuckled as we walked to the checkout together.
"Hopefully it doesn't suck as much as you think it will!" She laughed, and I grinned.
"Are you drowning your sorrows, too? Or are you celebrating?" I asked her, when I motioned for her to pay for her drink first.
She smiled in thanks and then shook her head at my questions, "I'm just going to girls night at my friend's apartment, kind of last minute."
I loaded the drinks onto the counter from my basket after she paid and turned to look at her again. "Definitely sounds more fun. I'll be thinking of you while I try not to drink myself to a slow painful death."
"Again with the dramatics?" She laughed, and I chuckled along with her, resisting the urge to roll my eyes again. I quickly paid the cashier and thanked him, before the woman and I walked out of the store, turning to each other. "If it counts for anything, I'll be thinking about you too."
"What's your name?" I asked her, my heart skipping a beat as neither of us made a move to walk away.
She was stood only a few steps away, and now that we had stepped onto the street, her wavy blonde hair began blowing in the wind. "Brittany," she told me, a smile playing on her lips.
"Nice to meet you, Brittany. Thanks for all of your help…" I glanced down at her lips that looked so inviting for a brief second and then locked back into her ocean blues, shaking myself out of my daze when I felt my phone vibrating in my jeans pocket, "fuck!" I groaned, taking it out to see a missed call from Rachel and a few messages.
8:39pm Berry: where the fuck are you Lopez?
8:45pm Berry: did you ditch us?
"I have to go," I told her, and a small pout formed on her face and I melted at her sad expression.
"Wait, what's your name?" She asked me.
"Santana," I told her, and her face softened.
"It was nice to meet you too, Santana."
With that, she stroked my cheek, leaving my skin burning from her touch, and then walked away in the opposite direction without another word.
As I finished up making my hair slightly more presentable, my thoughts of Brittany swirled and I found myself regretting not asking for her number.
The immense feeling of comfort I had from speaking to her at the store had surpassed any other emotion anybody had ever made me feel, especially so quickly. I was never really a social person, but with her I felt like speaking to her forever. She was beautiful, probably more beautiful than anybody I knew, and I wanted nothing more than to learn and admire every inch of beauty she had.
Brittany.
God, she was beautiful and I couldn't stop thinking about her.
I hadn't stopped since watching her long blonde hair blow in the wind while she walked away. I really shouldn't have let her go. I regretted it as soon as she was out of sight when I was left with that warmth that she had filled me with and flustered cheeks from her soft touch.
When I had arrived back at the apartment, I had wordlessly left the alcohol in the kitchen and brought the orange juice and the watermelon rum back into my room. Brittany was right, it was my new favourite drink, and I drank it slowly as I changed into a fresh hoodie and some leggings.
"Santana, what the fuck is taking you so long? Everybody is here already!" A knock on my bedroom door and Rachel's loud voice snapped me out of my Brittany thoughts, and I jumped in surprise.
"Hold on a sec! Beauty takes time, dwarf," I shouted back, before putting the hairbrush down and quickly drinking the last few sips of my drink. Taking a deep breath, I put on a fake smile and walked towards the living space.
When I arrived, I instantly noticed the group of people sat around the kitchen island preparing some drinks. Rachel and Kurt, with three other girls I hadn't seen before. "Oh there you are!" Kurt clapped when he noticed me.
"Yup… I need another drink to survive this shit," I grumbled and poured myself a fresh drink, moving to get the orange juice out of the fridge.
"You don't like singing?" A voice asked and I turned to see a blonde girl sitting on a stool.
I frowned, suddenly wishing it was a different blonde.
"I do," I told her, "but I had to sing with the Olsen twins in high school for three years and now I live with them, so sometimes I value my peace."
She laughed, "I can imagine. They can be a lot."
I nodded in agreement, and actually smiled at her. She didn't seem that bad, so far, and that helped relax me a little. "Yeah, and I'm not exactly known for being a people person."
"That's you and me both. I'm Quinn," she introduced herself.
"Santana. You go to NYADA?" I asked her, lifting myself up to take a seat on the counter next to where she was sat.
She shook her head, "I go to Columbia. My best friend goes to NYADA to study dance, she's running late. She got held up apparently. Where do you study?"
"Juilliard…" I told her, and watched as her eyes widened in shock.
"That's impressive!" She said and raised her cup to clink it against mine.
I chuckled, "yeah, scholarship. I've been playing piano for years, and I was on their radar before I was even a sophomore. When they seen me sing and play the piano at our glee club nationals in senior year they offered me a full ride."
"Wow! You must be good," Quinn looked impressed, and I felt myself blush.
"Just very lucky," I laughed. "So, who are those two?"
I felt a liking towards Quinn. Not like I had liked Brittany, but in a way that she seemed quite cool and somewhat sane, considering she voluntarily hung out with Rachel and Kurt. Maybe it was because Brittany had told me that my night probably wouldn't be that bad, and that was still fresh in my mind and making me feel optimistic about these girls, or maybe it had something to do with the alcohol already in my system.
Either way, the conversation and the company had me feeling more at ease.
"That's Mercedes, she's got a killer voice. She's cool, and that's Tina," Quinn pointed from one of the other girls to the other. "She comes to Columbia too and her boyfriend is also a dance major."
"And you all just like, come here to sing?" I asked in wonder, my eyebrows raising because it just seemed a bit bizarre to me that they had come to do this together so often.
Don't get me wrong, I loved singing and playing piano brought me so much happiness and comfort, but sometimes I needed peace and Karaoke nights were definitely not peaceful- especially with Rachel and Kurt. Our glee club days in high school and Rachel's so-called parties in her Oscar room had definitely not been peaceful.
Quinn laughed, "we don't just sing, Santana. We get fucking wasted," she lifted her cup and downed the rest of her drink impressively.
"Now that sounds like my kinda night!" I agreed, following suit and finishing my drink before moving to pour a few shots for us all. "Shots!" I announced, and got the attention of everyone.
"Oh god no, we've barely even started, Santana!" I laughed and lifted the shot to Rachel, who was looking mortified. "Why do you always go straight to the shots?" She whined, stomping her foot and looking like a child who didn't want to put on their pyjamas before bed.
"Because it always gives us the best memories and the best blackmail material for when we are voting against Kurt for house chores. Quit whining and drink up! If you wanna get me singing tonight, you owe me…" I lured her in, and waving the shot glass in front of her face.
She pulled a face, "that doesn't even make sense, I hear you sing all the time."
"Yes, but not at your little gay Karaoke nights!" I countered back, and just like how Rachel knew how to crack me and make me give in, I also knew how to get her to crack and loosen up a bit.
She took the shot and threw it back quickly, shoving the empty glass back into my hand. "Oh no, this is exactly how we ended up at that strip club!" Kurt groaned, "I'm not taking that shot. Rachel, you gotta take mine too."
"What? How's that fair?" She asked, and we all looked at Kurt as he moved his glass to her.
Deciding to side with Rachel, because he was part of this mess too, I held up my hand to stop her from taking the shot and crossed my arms. Shooting a glare at him, "Rach isn't taking the shot. It's yours, we're in this shit together."
"What did I do?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.
"I'm sure you did something," I shrugged. "Plus that agreement we made when getting this apartment stated that we need to support each other. This is not being supportive, Lady Hummel!"
He frowned, "what the heck does me not taking a shot have to do with being supportive?"
"Because if you were a supportive friend, you would get drunk with me. Rach gets it, that's why she took her shot," I told him simply.
"Rachel is just scared to get Snixxed," he replied.
"So are you, so take the shot, Kurtie…" I held his glass up to him and he groaned before taking it without another word, and I smirked.
"I hate you," Kurt grimaced and I laughed.
"I promise, no strip clubs tonight!" I took my own shot and then handed one each to the three others. "I hope you're all down for shots!"
"Girl, I'm always down for shots!" Mercedes raised her glass and clinked it against the two others who also took them without complaint.
I gave Rachel and Kurt a knowing look, "see?"
"Whatever, Santana, let's make another drink and put some music on!" Rachel cheered, moving to turn on the speaker. "I'm singing first!"
Rachel was admittedly talented, and with her singing regular songs that I actually liked, it wasn't overbearing. The alcohol in my system was beginning to lighten my mood and it felt as though I was at a club. I grinned when noticing Kurt had turned off the lights and a few white strobe lights lit up the living room and kitchen.
"Not so bad, huh?" Mercedes laughed, bringing me out of my thoughts as I took in the quick change of set up in the apartment, that happened seamlessly in seconds.
"I didn't even know we had those strobe lights," I admitted with a chuckle. "This is so not what I pictured when they told me they had Karaoke nights. We're basically at a club in my apartment."
"Feels more believable too when you're a few drinks in," she agreed. "Don't get me wrong, we like to go out, but sometimes it's nice to just be around your friends and be free and have fun."
"Well fuck, cheers to that!" I raised my drink, because I couldn't agree more.
I think I was actually enjoying myself.
This was fucking insane, never did I think Rachel and Kurt would actually be turning our apartment into super secret nightclub scenes every month. If they told me that part, instead of leading with the Karaoke thing, I probably wouldn't have made excuses to leave every time.
Because into the third song and probably a couple of more drinks, I was actually enjoying myself, and thinking about how Brittany was right again. She just seemed like the type of person to be right about a lot of things, judging from how confident she was in how she spoke.
I could feel my cheeks heat up as I internally thought about the blonde from the store earlier. The fresh memory of her blue eyes and her perfect smile, I was again regretting my decision not to ask her for her number.
"What's up with you?" Quinn asked, and I knew that I was pouting into my drink because she was laughing a little. "You look like you're thinking really hard about something."
"More like someone," I told her, rolling my eyes. "I met this really beautiful girl earlier at the store and we spoke for a little while. But I didn't ask for her number. I think I really fucked up."
"Oh… why didn't you ask her?" Quinn asked me, and I frowned a little.
"I don't know, Rachel was texting me because I was taking too long and then I gave her my name and she just smiled and walked away. She looked so fucking good," I hit my hand on my forehead because the more I was telling Quinn, the more I thought how stupid I was for not getting Brittany's number when I had the chance.
What were the chances of finding her again in the city of New York?
"She got you that bad from one conversation?" She looked amused, and I felt my cheeks heat up more.
"Can't explain it. It felt like I was meant to know her, you ever had that?" I asked her curiously, worried that I sounded completely crazy to her.
It was so unlike me to be like this over a complete stranger, and it was driving me crazy. I had never been the person to make friends with people or want to build any type of relationship. All through high school, I relied on the popularity from the Cheerios to make my friends for me and I only really made anything close to a real friend when I joined the glee club, and started opening up to Rachel and Kurt. They were the only ones back then to ever get through to me, and if it wasn't for them I'd probably still be stuck far in the closet and hiding my love for music. So, me being so drawn to Brittany was odd.
It was confusing because she made me feel so much just from having a normal everyday conversation, but I wanted more. I wish I had the chance to explore those feelings more.
She smiled warmly, "yeah I know what you mean. What was her name?"
I smiled, my cheeks bunching, but then a wave of blonde appeared behind Quinn and my eyes snapped to give it my full attention. My lips dried and I automatically licked them in anticipation when an unexpected familiar tall blonde was beaming back at me, "Brittany?"
My voice came out a whisper, and my chest tightened because how was she even here? That familiar warmth that had filled my body in her presence earlier was back, and I was shocked.
"Brittany?" Quinn asked with confusion.
"Santana…" Brittany replied with a knowing smile and them sparkling blue eyes. Quinn jumped and she looked between me and Brittany with surprise, slowly putting the pieces together.
"Wait?…Brittany?" Quinn asked, and I looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm gonna, I'm gonna go sing!" She rushed out, looking between us with a smirk one last time before hurrying away and leaving me stood in front of Brittany alone.
"H-how are you here?" I asked her in disbelief, a small smile on my lips as she grinned back at me widely.
"Girls night, duh!" She giggled, lifting up her bottle of watermelon rum. "When you told me your name, I knew that you were Rachel and Kurt's roommate because everything added up, and I knew I would see you tonight. They mentioned earlier you probably would be here this time, I had to go home first after the store so that's why I'm so late."
"This is fucking crazy!" I mumbled, looking at Brittany and trying to come to terms with how she's standing in front of me, silently thanking the universe for sending her back to me.
It almost made me certain that I was meant to know her. Why else would she be standing right in front of me with that smile that had my knees weak?
Brittany smirked, stepping closer to me. "The night going better than you thought, then?"
I chuckled, "well, it was tolerable but now I just think it might be the best night of my life." Brittany tilted her head to the side questioningly. "I'm glad that you're here. I haven't stopped thinking about you."
Her cheeks became rosy and she bit her lip to stop her smile from growing. She was the fucking cutest. "You aren't the only one," she told me quietly, "how about we have a drink?"
"Oh, Brittany's here!" Rachel cheered, stumbling a bit towards Brittany and I in the kitchen. "Santana, this is Brittany!"
"I know, we actually met earlier at the store…" I explained, frowning at the interruption as Brittany took a step away from me and hugged Rachel.
"Oh, is that why you took so long?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah.." Brittany and I responded at the same time and then we looked at each other and laughed.
"So, sorry to interrupt your catch up but Santana you promised me you're going to sing!" Rachel told me and I groaned because why would she choose now to come over and ask me to sing?
"I thought Quinn was singing?" I tried to deflect, and distract Rachel so that I could keep talking to Brittany.
"Wait, you sing too?" Brittany asked, her smile widening and her eyebrows raising. I found myself smiling back at her and nodding my head shyly under her look. "I wanna hear you. I bet your voice is beautiful, can you sing, San?"
"Okay…" I whispered, still smiling.
"Wait, what? Just like that?" Rachel looked between us in shock, and then settled her eyes on Brittany. "How did you just do that?"
Brittany just looked confused, "asked her?"
"Whatever, this is weird," Rachel drunkenly moved to take microphone from Quinn and then thrust it into my free hand. Quinn looked offended for a second before she noticed Rachel pass me the microphone, and her look changed to curiosity. I rolled my eyes and placed my drink on the counter. "Let's do your first glee solo!"
"Yes! Nobody does Amy Winehouse like Santana Lopez," Kurt cheered and looked excited as he searched for the song to connect it to the speaker.
I smirked and briefly locked eyes with Brittany, who looked back at me with wonder and awe. I winked at her as the beginning instrumental of Valerie started playing and then began singing.
Rachel squealed with excitement and clapped her hands, and her and Kurt stepped in as we immediately replicated the moves from our high school competition.
Brittany, Quinn, Tina and Mercedes were watching us and laughing, cheering loudly. But my eyes kept locking with those blue ones I was getting so familiar with tonight.
She looked surprised and her eyes never left me, I knew because I could feel my body heating up more and more under her intense stare. Between Brittany's lingering eyes and the alcohol in me, it was getting hard to keep up with the performance and I stopped to just sing the final verse.
Brittany had her hands clapping for me and a proud smile as I sang the final note, and took a playful bow when they all cheered.
"Better than ever!" Kurt cheered and high-fived me.
"Damn, Santana you've got pipes! We've got to do a duet sometime." Mercedes complimented and I blushed, but nodded at her.
"Maybe at the next Karaoke night…" I laughed and Brittany grinned.
I walked over to her and picked up my drink again, taking a big gulp. My eyes then focused back on her, and she was watching me silently. "You really are something, Santana," she whimpered, her voice straining and coming out barely a whisper.
My eyes widened, and I blushed harder. Her eyes dropped to my lips and she took a small step closer to me. I could practically hear my heart in my ears and my head was spinning, and she looked back at me with a knowing giggle.
"Are you always this nervous?" She asked teasingly.
I laughed in amusement, "is it that noticeable?" She just grinned and I rolled my eyes jokingly, "as it turns out, no. Only around you it seems to be."
"I like that," she told me softly.
"Me too," I admitted without a second thought.
I lifted myself back onto the counter to sit down, and Brittany took a seat on the barstool in front of me. She was sat so close that if I opened my legs just a little, she would be sat directly between them.
Because of our height difference, she was now practically the same height as me with me sat a bit above her on the counter. Her eyes looked directly into mine, and we slowly got lost in our own world, ignoring everything around us.
All I could hear in the background was the faint sound of everybody singing and laughing, but all I could focus on was Brittany.
I quietly sipped my drink and Brittany smiled, "how come you're not at NYADA when you can sing like that?" She asked me curiosity.
I smiled, "I go to Juilliard. They offered me a full scholarship, I would have been silly not to take it."
"Wow!" She gasped, "San, that's amazing! I definitely know why after hearing you sing, the best I've ever heard. I could listen to you sing forever."
"You're just saying that…" I blushed, and chuckled a bit when she pouted and shook her head.
"Never," she told me. I smiled and took another drink in an attempt to hide how much I was smiling around her. Brittany just grinned back at me, and raised her own drink, "good, right?"
I nodded, "definitely my new favourite." I wasn't just talking about the drink, as I looked over my cup into her eyes. She was making my body feel so alive, my senses were all overwhelmed as all I could see, hear, touch and smell was just Brittany.
It was an hour and a half later, 1:34am. Brittany and I were a few more drinks in, still more or less in a similar position.
However, Brittany was now directly sat between my legs and her forearms were resting on my thighs. She had her drink resting in her clasped hands, and my drink was loosely in my left hand as my right arm had somehow ended up resting over Brittany's shoulder.
We were both giggling at a story I was telling her about the time Puck and I broke into Rachel's dads' liquor cabinet back in high school.
"So, you've always been a good influence on them?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Totally!" I laughed, and she joined in, "I practically birthed and raised their wild sides."
"Well, I approve of your parenting skills. They are both hilarious when they are drunk." She laughed, and motioned with her head towards the pair in the corner, huddled together singing a love song and crying shamelessly.
"Let's hope my real children don't turn out like them. I don't think anything I have ever done is bad enough to deserve that," I joked. Brittany giggled and turned back to face me.
She took a quick drink, before putting her empty cup on the counter beside her and I followed suit, because I definitely didn't need anymore alcohol tonight. I was already drunk and Brittany made me feel even more intoxicated.
She licked her lips and that soft adoring smile was back on her lips, as she wordlessly lifted my arms back over her shoulders and then placed her hands back on my thighs, and I was swooning. The fluttering in my stomach had been constant, and I've been dizzy for the past two hours.
"If they are anything like you, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about." Brittany whispered, the end of her sentence slurring a little as she tilted her head to the side.
Her eyes were glazed over slightly from the alcohol but I could still see the softness in them.
I blushed, "Britt…"
She leaned a bit closer, her face nearing into mine and I dropped my gaze to her mouth.
I had been taking glances at her lips all night, they looked so inviting, and now that they were closer than they had been all night, I wanted them so much. "I'm going to kiss you…" she whispered, her eyes flickering up to briefly connect with mine.
My head was nodding without me even realising and I moved my hands from over her shoulders to the back of her neck, pulling her into me.
Brittany's lips were so soft against mine, the warmth of them and the taste of delicious watermelon rum on her lips made me whimper. She smiled into the kiss and her hands slipped from my thighs up to my waist. As she pulled me closer, I tilted my head to deepen the kiss and I felt like I was floating.
Kissing Brittany had my heart hammering loudly, I'm surprised she couldn't feel it because she had brought me so close to her. I was now slightly taller than her and her head was tilted back, and she let out a little moan when my tongue brushed against hers teasingly.
"S-San…" she whispered breathlessly after a few more moments of kissing, and I closed my eyes to compose myself momentarily.
I was suddenly hyper-aware of how fast my chest was rising and of how much I actually needed air, and my eyes were squeezed shut as I tried to regain control, as my body felt overwhelmed by all of the intense emotions and sensations I was feeling from kissing Brittany.
Then, I felt those warm lips grazing my jawline and pressing a few delicate kisses to my skin, and my eyes were fluttering open as I came back down to Earth. Brittany was looking at me shyly, her cheeks flushed and her lips all red, and I smiled widely, "you're so fucking sexy."
She winked, "lucky for you."
I laughed, and nodded in agreement, "yeah, definitely lucky for me." She rolled her eyes mockingly and I laughed, shaking my head at her in amusement, "don't mock me."
Brittany laughed, "shut up, Sant-" I cut her off by kissing her again and she hummed into the kiss, quickly accepting it and returning it just as passionately.
It soon turned from soft and shy, to more passionate as she deepened it. Brittany was the best kisser, she definitely knew what to do and her tongue was moving so well with mine, like we had been doing this for years.
"Hey, Brittany! I'm leaving!" Brittany and I pulled away from our now heated make out session, and confusedly turned to Quinn, suddenly remembering the other people in the apartment who we had practically ignored all night.
"On, shoot!" Brittany pouted and she looked so damn cute swaying on the stool that I giggled a little. "Quinn when did you get here?"
Quinn looked between Brittany and I with bewilderment, raising her eyebrows. "Britt, I've been here all night. But you probably wouldn't know that because you've spent all night sucking face with Santana."
Me and Brittany looked at her with wide eyes. "We haven't!" I tried to defend us, because we hadn't even been kissing for that long, and Brittany nodded in agreement.
"Can't say I'm surprised really. I should I have known you two would have liked each other- opposites do attract…" Rachel commented, coming to stand beside Quinn and gave a knowing look to Brittany and I.
"Whatever," I grumbled in fake annoyance and leaned in to whisper in Brittany's ear. "Wanna go make out in my bed?"
I could see her shiver from my words and she nodded with a darkened glint in her eyes. "I-I'm gonna stay a while longer," Brittany stuttered, turning to Quinn. "Are you going with Mike?"
"Yeah he's going to drop me and Cedes off at her place, I'll message you in the morning!" Quinn told her, then looked as Brittany nodded hurriedly and moved to lift me from the counter.
"It was very nice to meet you, maybe next time we can actually talk some more, but right now- I gotta go!" I rambled, waving at Quinn and grabbing Brittany's hand in mine as I began pulling her to my bedroom. "Rachel and Kurt, if you wake me up singing in the morning, I can't help if Snix comes out to play."
Brittany laughed and waved adorably to the others in the room as I pulled her away, a massive smile on her face. I resisted the urge to laugh at how cute she was, and briefly looked at everyone who was just staring at us in disbelief.
I pulled us from the room and as soon as we were out of sight, and round the corner, Brittany pushed me up against the wall.
"I love your sweet lady kisses," she mumbled as her mouth found mine.
I gasped against her, kissing her back eagerly, and gently guiding her backwards into the direction of my bedroom.
Waking up the next morning, I was surprised at how fresh I felt considering just how much I drank last night. But then, I remembered Brittany saying that she never got a hangover after drinking that particular drink.
Brittany. Suddenly, everything came back and I blushed when registering my surroundings. My naked body pressed into Brittany's, her arms around my waist and when I fluttered my eyes open, I could make out all of our clothes scattered across my bedroom floor.
I giggled a little, and turned around in Brittany's hold, not expecting for her to be looking right back at me with a smile on her face.
"Good morning," she breathed out, her arms tightening around me and pulling me closer to her.
"Good morning to you, too," I told her, "you been awake for long?"
She shook her head, "about ten minutes. You looked too peaceful for me to disturb you, and I figured you would be tired because we didn't sleep until late…" Brittany's sentence trailed off slightly and her cheeks were turning red.
I chuckled at her, "and whose fault was that?" I teased her and she laughed.
"Just as much yours at it was mine. I'm sure you were the one who invited me in here to make out with you," she responded, and I shrugged.
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it was you that was saying "oh, San, don't stop" after round three," I told her playfully and she rolled her eyes at me, but the smile on her face made me giggle.
"Last night was amazing," Brittany said, her eyes shining and I nodded in agreement.
"It was, you're amazing," I replied, reaching up to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as if fell in front of her eyes.
Brittany looked at me with amusement and leaned in to softly peck my lips, and I couldn't help but hum against her at the unexpected, but welcomed, contact. The kiss was chaste, so soft and delicate, but it still gave me butterflies.
My hand lifted to stroke her cheek as she pulled away, "sooo…" she began, "how was your first Karaoke night?"
I grinned, "weirdly enough, I'm quite sad that I waited so long to come to one of them. I have a funny feeling that I'll be at the next ones though." Brittany chuckled at me and I sighed softly, "you want to have some breakfast? I can take you home after or we can cuddle if you don't have any plans."
"I'm always up for cuddles," she winked.
"Here, I'll get you some clothes."
"Oh great! You two are alive!" Kurt clapped as Brittany and I walked into the kitchen, to find him and Rachel sitting at the island. Rachel had her head resting against the counter and her hair was all disheveled.
I chuckled a bit at the sight of her, "Don't be so dramatic," I told him.
"Santana, too loud," Rachel groaned, lifting her head up from the table.
"You look like shit," Brittany commented simply.
"Ha!" I cackled loudly at the comment and Rachel huffed at us.
"How do you both not have a hangover, I swear you both drank more than I did?" She asked us.
"Britt has all of the secrets!" I told her, wiggling my eyebrows and they both grimaced. Brittany hit my arm playfully and I giggled, motioning for her to sit down. "Any preferences?"
"Pancakes!" She cheered, then frowned. "You know how to make pancakes, right?"
I nodded my head, "I make the best pancakes!" She beamed at me and I giggled, turning to grab the flour from the cupboard and a mixing bowl.
Kurt looked at me with an eyebrow praised, "can I have pancakes?" He asked. "You haven't made us pancakes in forever!"
"No," I told him.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Because you're not Brittany," I responded with ease and went back to adding the ingredients into the bowl. Brittany chuckled and I looked at her briefly, she bit her bottom lip and I tilted my head curiously.
She shrugged, "San, please make him some pancakes. Then we can bribe them to leave and give us some alone time."
I contemplated what she had said, because it would be beneficial to have them leave the apartment for a while and give Brittany and I some alone time. I looked between Brittany and Kurt, "fine!" Kurt smirked at me and I pointed the whisk at him, "but you both leave for minimum of two hours and call when you're on the way back."
"Deal…" he replied, then nudged Rachel, "maybe them two being a thing will be a good for all of us."
I smirked, locking eyes with Brittany across the room and noticing how my heart picked up.
Brittany and I was definitely a good thing, and I couldn't wait for it to become an even better thing.