A persistent tickling near her ear nudged her into consciousness. When ignoring it failed, Santana twitched the muscles in one side of her face, reluctant to move her heavily relaxed limbs. The motion created a poorly muffled stream of giggles coming from somewhere above her head.
With reluctance, Santana peeled open her eyes, squinting against the afternoon sunlight that poured through the open curtain and scattered across the room. She only needed to turn her head a fraction further to the side to see the loose blonde hair that she had felt against her ear. With a groan, Santana shifted more fully onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow to try and extend her nap. After a morning filled with Brittany, room service brunch, and then more Brittany she was ready to sleep late into the evening.
"Santana," Brittany whined, laughter still in her voice.
"I'm sleeping," she mumbled into the pillow.
Somehow Brittany understood. "You are?" she teased. "That means your muscles are relaxed and I can do this - " Fingers tucked under her ribs. "-and it won't tickle."
Her abdomen automatically tensed at the word 'tickle' but she still didn't react fast enough as Brittany's fingers wriggled across her sides mercilessly. Santana shrieked, her body tangling in the sheet as she tried to roll away.
"Britt! Stop it!" she screeched, on her back and pushing away Brittany's hands.
The torture continued for another few seconds before it stopped and Brittany was hovering above her on all fours, her lips too close and too tempting. Santana arched her neck upwards, but Brittany shifted a fraction of an inch backwards.
"Are you awake now?" Her warm breath washed over Santana's mouth and chin.
Instead of responding, Santana hooked her hands around the base of Brittany's skull and pulled her in close, her eyes falling closed the moment their lips brushed together. Though kissing Brittany had been frequent activity in the three days since they had left Lima, after so long without it, the sensation was still enough to send Santana spiraling, her brain rapidly attempting to categorize each nuanced moment as a reminder of why she could never again go months without this. She deepened the kiss, one hand gliding down the smooth plane of Brittany's back. However, not even Brittany's tongue massaging against her own was enough to distract her when soft skin was unexpectedly interrupted by a string of fabric.
Breaking the kiss, she asked, "What the hell is this?"
Brittany paused in adorable confusion as Santana surveyed the space between their bodies. Critical areas of pale skin were covered by a tiny string bikini, in an overly bright shade of green smattered with white flowers. It would have been hideous on anyone else, but Brittany pulled it off. That didn't stop Santana from frowning in deep displeasure.
In a serious tone, Santana reminded her, "This bed is a clothing-free zone. And you, Miss Pierce, are in clear violation."
The bikini did not evaporate from her body as Santana would have liked. Instead Brittany giggled, her smile bright as she bounced a little on her hands and knees.
"That's because we're going to the beach!" Brittany announced. She paused in consideration before adding, "Plus, I'm not really in the bed, I'm more like over the bed."
"Oh yeah?" Santana challenged, locking her arms around Brittany's waist and tugging her down. Brittany didn't resist much, and Santana easily rolled on top of her, pressing her body into the soft mattress. "Beep, beep, beep," she cried obnoxiously. "Violation. Brittany Susan Pierce in violation of ordinance 551: occupants of the bed must be fully nude at all times."
It was impossible to keep a straight face when Brittany was squirming below her and laughing in delight. She broke the act, and buried her own giggles against Brittany's neck.
"You're silly," Brittany murmured, her voice soaked with unbridled adoration.
"No, I'm just really serious about certain rules." But Santana couldn't even get through the sentence without snorting.
"I can fix that. Let's get up and go to the beach." Brittany lightly pinched her hip in encouragement.
Santana shook her head and parted her lips to taste the skin over Brittany's pulse. She dropped a series of wet kisses against her neck, stopping at an angry, dark hickey that was most certainly her doing and soothing the area gently with the tip of her tongue.
"No, no, no," Brittany protested, using both hands to pry Santana's face away. "Beach."
"I can think of much better things to do today. We don't even have to leave the room." Santana tilted her head so that she could seductively suck Brittany's index finger into her mouth.
The hesitance flickered across Brittany's face for only a moment, but years of experience made Santana quick enough to detect it. She released the finger in favor of grabbing Brittany's arm and nipping lightly at the skin on the inside of her wrist. The body beneath her visibly softened. Encouraged, Santana shifted more on top of Brittany, lifting the arm in her grip to lie on the mattress above their hands and pressing her lips into the exposed armpit. Brittany's immediately moaned audibly and it was all Santana needed to know that she had won.
In only a matter of minutes, no one in the bed was in violation of the clothing rule and Santana's lips had abandoned Brittany's armpits for a better place. Brittany thrashed above her, and Santana's line of sight could just make out her tensed abdominal muscles and heaving chest. She was close. Santana curled her hands tighter around narrow hips and angled them upwards for better access. Brittany cried out loudly when Santana suckled her clit more fully into her mouth.
Brittany's body shifted and Santana glanced up to see her propped on her elbows, her gaze fixed on the movements of Santana's mouth.
Santana pulled away enough to murmur, "I love it when you watch me."
Her only response was a grunt of protest as Brittany shoved her face back where it belonged. But the new wetness coating Santana's chin was a clear indication that Brittany also liked to watch. Very much. She circled her tongue broadly for a few strokes before focusing back in, sucking and licking until Brittany's arms could no longer hold her weight and she fell back onto the mattress only seconds before she arched up off of it with a drawn out moan.
Santana's fingers teased shapes across her hips and stomach as Brittany caught her breath, her mouth slowly pulling away from the warmth. She swiped the back of her hand across her lips and chin, and moved up to kiss Brittany.
When their lips broke apart, Brittany mumbled, "That was very bad."
Too confident to be insulted, Santana shot back, "That moaning made me think it was very, very good."
Brittany rolled her eyes a little. "Duh, that part was good. But we're supposed to be at the beach. You, like, abducted my brain."
Santana laughed. "My powers of seduction are very real. And they proved that we can have much more fun here." She rubbed her center across Brittany pelvis suggestively.
"Nope!" Brittany said, rolling out from under her and leaping from the bed with more energy than anyone should have that soon after an orgasm. "Beach time."
"What?" Santana gaped at Brittany who was causally tugging her suit back on. "What about me?"
Brittany chuckled evilly. "Should have thought of that before you started something."
"But Britt-Britt, I'm really wet," she husked.
Apparently, Brittany had bolstered some immunity and instead of a response, Santana's swimsuit was chucked across the room, falling to the floor just short of the bed.
Brittany disappeared into the bathroom, calling through the door, "Get dressed or I'm going without you."
Santana let her head fall back onto a pillow with a groan.
But Santana was really fucking whipped and so twenty minutes later she found herself loitering in the hotel lobby over the glossy pamphlets advertising castles, museums, and restaurants as Brittany spoke with the man between the front desk about how to get down to the beach. She kept her focus half on their conversation, enough so that she would have a general idea of how to get them back to the hotel afterwards in case Brittany forgot in her flighty excitement.
"Santana!" Brittany bounced over. Though Santana preferred her naked, she couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was with her suit straps peeking out beneath her navy sundress, her arms filled by their giant beach-bag, and her long hair only restrained by the pink sunglasses perched on her head. "The beach is only half a mile down the road! I know how to get there!"
"Okay." Santana gave her a soft smile and let Brittany tug her outside by the hand. She didn't let go once they were on the street, lacing their fingers together and separating only when passing cars forced them to walk single file on the edge of the narrow street.
The walk down to the beach may have only been half a mile, but it felt much farther with the steep incline that caused her flip-flops to press between her toes uncomfortably with each step. It was easy to ignore though with Brittany's grip on her hand tightening the closer they got to the water.
"I can't wait to start our exploration of Lesbos," Brittany exclaimed. "Lord Tubbington sent me a list of the top ten attractions and we are about to cross off number seven: the beaches. We have to get to all the rest before we leave!"
"Or we can stay in the room and get reacquainted," Santana suggested mildly.
"We could have done that in Ohio," Brittany countered. "This trip for us to explore the world together. There are petrified forests here and museums and castles. Real castles, Santana!"
It was literally impossible for her not to smile after that. Still, she did point out, "I'd rather explore each other."
Brittany flapped her hand in dismissal. "There'll be time for that too."
"There wasn't this afternoon," she grumbled back, her body still protesting the release she had been denied.
Blue eyes fixed her with a dark, serious stare. "Do you really think that I won't make that up to you?"
Santana's shoe caught on a crack in the sidewalk and she nearly fell flat on her face.
Up close, the water was a shade of blue was something that Santana didn't have the vocabulary to describe and only a few other tourists occupied the beach, leaving stretches of unclaimed sand. It was breathtaking and Santana could admit to herself that spending part of this trip exploring would probably be worth it.
As soon as they reached the edge of the beach, Brittany broke into a run towards the waves, jerking Santana with her by their joined hands. She stopped before the waves could wash up over their feet and stared out over the sea.
"It's so pretty," Brittany sighed, her voice filled with breathless awe.
Santana squeezed her hand in response. "Yeah it is."
The quiet moment broke when Brittany exclaimed, "I want to swim!"
Trying to let her down gently, Santana reasoned, "There's no one else in the water, Britt. It's probably really cold still."
Brittany stepped closer to the waves and stuck one foot in. "It's not that cold!"
Santana leaned down and reached out her hand, letting the wave roll in and wash over her fingertips. "Brittany!" she squealed, yanking back from the icy water. "That's fucking freezing."
"I'm going to swim," Brittany said resolutely, before curling her lips into a pout. "Won't you swim with me?"
She shook her hand vigorously back and forth. "Hell. No."
"Please?"
That face always had the ability to lessen her resolve, but Santana this time held her ground, taking both of Brittany's hand and saying, "Babe, I love you so much and I promise I will swim with you every day when we get to Hawaii, but I am not going in that water."
"Fine," Brittany grumbled.
"Let's find a spot to sit, okay? We can get our tanning on." Santana lead them to an empty patch of beach, far enough back from the water that they wouldn't need to worry about incoming tides.
Santana pulled a large towel out of their bag and spread it across the sand. Her eyes automatically stopped focusing on the task in favor of staring when Brittany striped off her dress and tossed it in the vicinity of the bag along with her sunglasses and sandals.
"I'm still going to swim," she announced.
Raising an eyebrow in doubt, Santana decided against arguing. "Whatever you want. But put on sunscreen first." She dug the bottle out of the bottle of the bag.
"I don't need it," Brittany assured her.
Santana chuckled and tugged Brittany down between her legs, pouring the lotion onto her hands and spreading it over her shoulders. "Yes you do. Remember cheer camp sophomore year? I don't want to sleep with a lobster for the next three days." She worked her hands under the straps of Brittany's suit, careful not to miss any spots.
"From what I remember, you had no complaints," Brittany giggled, taking the sunscreen to start working on her front.
"True," Santana agreed. There was never a time in her life when she had complained about sex with Brittany. It was still worth mentioning, "But it's not the same when you hit me every time I touch your back."
With two sets of hands, they completed the task quickly and Brittany turned to drop a kiss to her lips before tearing off towards the sea. Her screech carried across the relatively quiet beach as the cold water washed over her feet and ankles. Instead of turning back, she splashed further forward, squealing as each wave rolled in. Santana shook her head with affection. Brittany was the best kind of crazy.
Still watching Brittany as she splashed in the surf, Santana pulled off her own dress to reveal her bikini and settled back against the towel. It wasn't quite hot enough for a beach day, with the breeze carried in from the water, but in the sun in was warm enough to be pleasant. She tilted her head back for a moment and closed her eyes, reminding herself that this was real life. That she was vacationing in the Greek isles, the daily stressors of New York evaporated away by Brittany, her girlfriend Brittany, who had somehow become even more perfect.
The smile that had been permanently etched onto her face for days vanished for a moment when she looked back up and couldn't immediately spot Brittany. But before the panic could fully set in, Brittany emerged from under the water like a goddess, drops of water falling away from her silhouette. It took Santana's breath away.
After a couple minutes of diving in and out of the waves, Brittany waded out of the water and back towards Santana. Her arms were wrapped around her body and as she got closer, Santana could see that her teeth were visibly chattering. Pulling a towel out of the bag, Santana stood up to greet her, pushing her sunglasses onto her head so that their eyes could meet.
"Cold?" she teased.
Brittany nodded rapidly. "You look warm."
"Nu-uh," Santana said immediately, holding out the towel in front of her like a shield. "Dry off."
Brittany didn't argue as Santana wrapped the large towel around her. When her arms uncrossed from her chest to reach for the edges of the fabric, Santana could see that she was definitely cold. Though her hands continued to fuss over Brittany, rubbing down her arms and lifting her hair off of her neck to squeeze some of the water out of it, her gaze fixated on the way Brittany's left nipple was perfectly centered in one of the flowers patterned on her suit.
"Like what you see?" Brittany asked, her attempt at a sexy tone undermined by the fact that she was still shivering.
"Always," Santana responded, dropping Brittany's damp hair and letting the towel hide her hands as she curved teasing under her breasts.
Brittany trembled, but that may just have been from the cold.
"Do you want to go back to the room and take a hot shower?" Santana asked with some concern.
Brittany shook her head furiously. "It'll take me another two days to get you to leave again."
Laughing, Santana sat back down and Brittany settled beside her, their shoulders brushing together.
"Was your swim worth it?" Santana asked.
"Totally," Brittany assured her.
Santana shook her head a bit in disbelief. "I can't believe you actually put your head under."
"Santana," Brittany said seriously. "It doesn't count if you don't."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Her response was chattering teeth, and Santana looked sideways at Brittany. Her body was shaking ever so slightly, the line of her jaw tense to keep the shivers at bay. Her lips were starting to take on a blue tinge, and that was the final straw for Santana.
"Brittany," she murmured.
Blue eyes blinked at her curiously.
"Come here." She opened her arms.
"Really?" Brittany's whole face lit up.
"Yes, really," Santana confirmed. She didn't think she could bear to watch Brittany shiver any longer.
Brittany let the towel fall from around her shoulders and climbed into Santana's arms. Santana took her turn to shiver as her damp girlfriend pressed against her, but she reached for the abandoned towel, pulling it around both of them to trap the body heat. She tucked her head onto Brittany's shoulder from behind, kissing her cold cheek and breathing her in, loving the way the smell of her skin mixed so perfectly with the sand and salt water.
The sun slowly started to warm them both up and Santana waited patiently, perfectly content to stay like this forever, with Brittany in her arms, watching the waves roll up onto the sand.