It's just a question of time…of lust and wine

"Forget the wine, let's order cocktails."

The index finger of my right hand dug into Santana's arm while with the other hand I perused the drinks menu. It was getting more and more difficult to read the small numbers scattered all over the paper. They started to make less sense to me as the alcohol took full effect.

"Have you ever had a Long Island Ice Tea?

Santana's shoulder brushed against mine as she leaned over to glance at the menu.

"I don't think so. What's in it? "

"Everything. Everything you need for a perfect evening", I smiled.

"Which we already have." She said.

"But we can always do better, right?"

I grinned at her, watching her face scrunch in slight confusion at my words. That was not the first comment or compliment that could imply more if she wanted it to. I left it completely up to her because I would be fine with either. Her face was so close to mine that I could feel her breath tickling my nose. We stood alone at the bar, the other guests barely paying attention to us. I had the feeling that they all were too preoccupied with their own little dramas. We could see Tina creeping around, eyeing Kurt and Blaine while, Ryder watched Marley and Jake, and Finn looked at Rachel in a way that would normally make me want to punch him in the face. But I didn't, because for once, I didn't really care. For the first time I wasn't jealous of anyone else because I had Santana's undivided attention. And I loved it. She was so loose and free and simply amazing that I had no idea how to describe the way I felt. It was so obvious that we were different from the others. We were flawless.

We weren't hanging together just because we were lonely or weren't like our friends struggling with weird relationship chaos. No, that wasn't the reason. For the first time, I realized that Santana was a constant in my life that didn't fade like everything else. As much as I had been entangled in the confusion of adolescence in the past and believed I was lost and abandoned by everything and everyone; Santana stayed. I believed, wherever our paths led us, we'd never really lose each other. I would always find her again and again.

I ordered another cocktail for use to share. It had so many different kinds of alcohol that it took us to a new level of trashed. A giggling Santana clung to my shoulder as we both laughed at the bartender and Sam's stupid dance moves . When she nearly fell over, Santana threw her arms around my waist and I put a hand on her leg to steady her.

That was the moment Sue stepped onto the stage to announce the bouquet toss which was, like the entire reception, totally useless without the actual bride. Still, nobody cared enough to complain. And with the seemingly endless supply of free food and drinks, why would they? We stood up with wobbling knees, and I reached for Santana's hand, holding it firmly. She weaved her fingers between mine and held tight and didn't let go until we were standing in the crowd to stretch our hands to catch the bouquet.

"Santana," I murmured into her ear, drunk enough to let those words slip without any control "In the event that I catch the bouquet, would you marry me?" The corner of Santana's mouth pulled into a grin. "Was that a proposal?" She couldn't suppress her amusement, which apparently was stronger than whatever surprise she felt over the fact that I, Quinn Fabray, had just proposed to Santana Lopez. I laughed with her because it was silly.

"Yeah," I said. "That's correct. Santana Lopez, will you be my wife?" I must have tried to get down on one knee, because Santana yanked me up against her when I overbalanced. "Better don't to that," she said. "The floor is really hard".

"I don't care," I insisted. "I don't have a ring for you".

I buried my face into Santana's neck. I had never done that before and was surprised at the little twist in my stomach just from standing like that with her. Santana giggled and hugged me closer.

"Don't worry, Fabray, I would marry you anyway, with or without a ring."

"But you need something that proves that you belong to meeee," I muttered against the warmth of her neck. I liked where my forehead touched her skin and I didn't want to ever move.

"Well, you could slap me again and hope it'll leave a mark," Santana said and we dissolved into another fit of laughter. "Besides, since when do you want to marry me?" She grasped me by the shoulder and met my eyes.

Always. I had no idea. In this moment, I would marry her. I couldn't find any reason why I wouldn't.

"Give that to me," I pointed to the long necklace around her neck. "I'll take this as a sign of our marriage."

"Quinn, if we get married now, we don't even have to catch the bouquet." she said because my drunk words didn't make sense, but she took off her necklace with the glass stone and put it around my neck. I smiled satisfied and drunk, stretching my hand up high.

"You're unbelievable,"

Of course Rachel caught the bouquet. Feeling queasy, I felt reminded of last year and how ridiculous this planned wedding of Rachel and Finn was. I was still glad that it had never come to this and I decided to never change my mind about their case. Rachel and Finn… this was not what you would call a healthy connection, no matter how grown up they think they are now.

They could do whatever they wanted; it wasn't they hadn't been warned.

As I squeezed Santana's hand, I realized how meaningless all this relationship and engagement stuff seemed to be. Wouldn't it make more sense to make everything a bit more relaxed? Relationships seemed so transient, and engagements seemed to be the death sentence of them. Even Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury's wedding didn't work out like it was planned. So why bother with all the drama? I decided to instead concentrate on every single moment in the present.

Today's present had a name. Santana.

"Let's dance," Without waiting for an answer she pulled me with her to the dance floor. I saw only her. We joined the other guests who danced in pairs or alone. I looked into her eyes as we were swinging in the rhythm of the music. It was so much fun. We gave into the merriment, and when the tempo slowed, Santana was the one who pulled me closer and set her chin on my shoulder. I flung my arms around her, feeling an entirely new sensation rising in me when we started to slow dance. I enjoyed it, enjoyed the pleasant warmth of her body on mine, the ease with which our bodies nestled into each other. There was no hesitation, it just seemed right.

I felt Santana's heart beating in accord with mine. I wanted to let her know that I liked being close to her. I wanted to let her know that in this moment, she was everything. I let my hands run down her sides, stroking over the silky material of her dress. She shivered slightly and pulled her head back to look at me.

"I've never slow-danced with a girl before," I said, and then added in a whisper: "I like it." The only thing that I had not perfectly mastered yet was the ability to not lie. To be entirely honest I should have added that I liked to dance with Santana in particular and not just any woman. Santana's eyes narrowed to slits as she looked at me with a mixture of astonishment and calculation. What was she thinking? I watched her face coming closer to mine, and for an instant I thought she was going to kiss me, but then she just put her head back on my shoulder. In my chest, my heart began to pound like crazy. And by crazy I mean damn crazy. It was racing so fast I thought it would jump out of my body any second. Really? I realized what I hadn't fully realized before. Was this what I wanted? Was this what I was craving for? I closed my eyes for a second, breathing in her scent before I raised my head again slowly. When she felt me detaching myself from her shoulder again she did the same and shot me a curious look. My heart was hammering in my chest. I was sure that she could feel it, too. She remained calm, no rejection was to be read in her eyes. My gaze fell down at her lips that seemed so attractive and wonderful to me, now that they were closer than they had ever been before. She tugged gently on the chain that still dangled from my neck and tilted her head slightly, hesitant, leaving the decision up to me. I succumbed to the soft pressure around my neck and bent my head forward, drawn into the maelstrom of her dark eyes. Our foreheads were touching as we looked at each other. My own desire for her warmth and closeness was reflected in her eyes. I became aware of the mystery of Santana's eyes, how they seemed to say nothing and everything all at once. They were devouring, I caught fire in them. Was this what Brittany meant once, when she said that it hurt when Santana avoided eye contact? Once the flame was ignited, it was impossible to extinguish it. I was mesmerized. I had the feeling if I broke contact, it would break me. The world lay behind those eyes, and right now the world was on fire. I approached her mouth, reducing the gap between us to less than a breath.

The world around us was stood still, and we were so far away from the others that we didn't notice that we were the ones who had stopped moving in the middle of the people and not the world. I saw Santana biting her lower lip as she lowered her eyes. This was the perfect moment. Was it really? How does one recognize a perfect moment? She was the only one who mattered at that moment, it was just me and her and everything else was blurred in a haze of colors and buzzing sounds that I barely perceived. I didn't need anyone in the world, but I wanted Santana. I didn't need a man to define me, the only one defining me was myself. I was shaking inside, unable to function, and I drew in a hasty breath before I kissed her on the lips, gently and only once and then pulled away. With my bated breath, I peered back into her eyes and found a smile, right where my kiss had left her. A spark of a moment later her lips were on mine and she kissed me back, and it was the most beautiful and most wonderful thing that happened to me since a long time. The music, the alcohol and the electrifying tension between us sucked me in completely, made me melt in her arms until I was nothing more than a non-solid something. Perfect. Timeless. I was one with the waves of pleasure swashing through my body as we kissed, again and again, soft and slow and beautiful. I was one with her.

We were the only people in the universe. I didn't know and I didn't care what time it was when we broke apart; I didn't know how many songs rushed past us while we kissed. Maybe ten, and maybe not even one, but it was not important, because time was not significant. I knew Santana and I would always have the right timing. She took my face into her hands, watching my cheeks flushing under her gaze, getting lost in it for a while. She must know what her eyes do to me, she must. I could literally see the flame in those dark pupils.

„I never slow dance-kissed a woman before," she whispered with a little smirk.

"Really?" I remembered last Valentine's Day. "But last year, you…"

"You call the dance I danced with Brittany slow?" Santana smiled, her eyes were focused on my lips once again. "Like you said before, we can always do better."

Rachel and Finn had long left the stage and it was time for some faster music. Santana decided to push me softly away from the dance floor towards the small dining tables in the corner. My head was spinning and my insides were tumbling. I could no longer distinguish if the source of the feeling inside me was the alcohol or Santana. Probably a bit of both.

"Would you like another drink?" she asked me, but I didn't feel like drinking, yet I was thirsty. For her. I shook my head, stepping closer. "No. I'd like something else," I said and with that I took her by the arms and kissed her against the table. A soft growl escaped her lips as she was giving into me and closed her hands around my neck. Her fingertips dug in my hair, scraping along the skin, making me crave for more. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip before I slipped it into her slightly open mouth. She received me willingly, pulling me tighter and kissing me back deeply. I don't know how this sudden change from soft kissing into furiously making out happened, but it felt fucking fantastic. I couldn't help but run my hands down her spine, down her lovely dress that was in the fucking way of touching her actual skin. If I knew how breath-taking it was to kiss Santana I would have done it earlier instead of wasting time with all those boys. I wanted her.

She bit my lip hard. "Ow!" I flinched back, slapping my hand against her thigh.

"Sorry," she whimpered.

"Oh shut up!" I grabbed her and pulled her back into me. She used the force of my kiss to pick me up and push me roughly from the table to the wall, which was not exactly a hidden spot either, but at least we weren't making out in the middle of the room anymore.

"To be honest," Santana managed to say in raspy voice in between kissing down my neck. "I like this way of kissing you much better…" She trailed off, getting lost in my neck again.

"Oh yeah?" I straightened up a bit, trying to catch myself. This was getting wild.

"Yeah," she growled and pushed me back into the wall, holding me in place with pressure of her hips, one thigh pushing impatiently in between my legs. "It has bad side effects though."

"Which ones are those?" I pulled her hair, making her look at me.

"No good ones, I'm not sure if you're that into that."

Her eyes were black of lust and desire. She let one single digit run from my chin down my neck and down between my breasts. I could see the fire flickering in her eyes. Holy shit. I smirked.

"That's not proving enough for you?" I returned her motion, except that I extended the journey of my finger over her dress till it reached the inside of her thigh. She shuddered.

"Get a fucking room," we heard somebody call from afar. Santana smiled, biting her lip.

"Ready to extend the party upstairs?" I held out my hand, glaring into her eyes.

"Absolutey!"