The Night That Changed Everything

16.

(Santana's POV)

"Good morning sleepy head" I say as a slightly tired and hungover Brittany staggers into the kitchen. "Sleep okay?" I ask as I hand her a freshly brewed cup of coffee. "Yeah, like a baby. I don't even remember getting upstairs to bed though? And I woke up in my underwear" she says all confused. "Well, you went to the bathroom. You were gone for ages, you eventually resurfaced with three more bottles of wine. I warned you it was strong stuff but you insisted." I chuckle, as I am reminded of just how much of a drunken state she had gotten into. "So how did I get upstairs? After watching the sunset, I can't remember much" she says rubbing her temple with the tips of her fingers. "I had to carry you" I tell her. "Carry me? Really?" she says looking at me up and down. "Can I help you?" I say with a little attitude as I notice her checking out the size of me. "You think just because I'm a little on the short side, I couldn't lift you?" I ask Britt as she is clearly underestimating my abilities. "Hey look, I can't remember a thing...I have to believe you." she says winking at me.

"What do you think to a beach day today?" I ask curiously. "Yes! It's been ages since I have just laid out and done nothing but cook in the sun all day..but wait, where the hell is there a beach in Wyoming?" Britt says closing her eyes as if she is imaging herself doing just that. "Well, it's not quite a beach, it's a national park. Heard of Colter Bay?" I ask her as I fire up my Mac to show her. "Yeah I think so...but isn't that like 4 hours away?" she asks, thinking it might be too much. "4hrs, 42 minutes" I respond. "Road trip and swimming all in one day" she says with a child like happy smile on her face. "So is this our second date?" she asks, her tone becoming a little more serious. "It can be, if you want it to be?" I say back. "I do" she says shyly, biting down on her lip. "Well Miss Pierce, I better go get ready for our second date." I say with a wicked grin on my face.

---

Around an hour later I am ready to go, Brittany is still getting ready so I decide to go down to the garage and bring the car out front ready to go. A few minutes later I am stood against the bonnet of the Land Rover as I watch Brittany tackle her ginormous bag out of the front door, as well as holding a beach towel, a beach ball, her hat and sunglasses. All things you would assume she would have put in the bag, so lord knows what's in there. "Need a hand?" I chuckle as I watch her fight against the bag. "Nope...I...got it" she says finally managing to get a seemingly firm grip on everything. "oh" she says looking disappointed. "Oh? Wh-what's wrong?" I say, trying to hide the panic in my voice, what have I done wrong? "I umm...nothing" she says shaking her head. "No come on, what's wrong? I need this day to be perfect" I say. "It's nothing, I just thought maybe...we could take the jeep?" she whispers, looking down hiding her small tears. "The Jeep? Sure, we can take it, I just got this one because I didn't want to upset you...yanno after yesterday" I say sheepishly, careful not to upset her. "I'm fine, I'd really like to take the jeep please" she says giving me a warm smile.

I hop back into the Land Rover and go back down into the garage to swap vehicles. In no time, all bags are flung in the back of the jeep as we hit the road. It's only 8:00am, so we'll get into Colter Bay around midday. Perfect time to start off with some lunch before our day really starts. We have a long road trip ahead of us, plenty of time to really get to know one another. "So Britt, do you not have any siblings?" I ask her, striking up conversation. "I do..well I did. I had a brother, but he died when he was four. I was six, he was super sick. I remember knowing something serious had happened and it meant he was in heaven with my grandpa. But I never fully understood the weight of it until a few years later." I am taken back at how open Britt was right off the bat. "Oh wow, I am so sorry" I say, reaching my hand over to hers giving it a light squeeze. "It's okay, as a kid you're pretty resilient. You bounce back quickly and find it easier to deal with things."

"What about you? Any siblings?" she directs the question back at me. "Nope I am an only child." I say, sadness taking over the tone of my voice. "Would you have liked siblings." I see Brittany instantly mentally slap herself for asking the question. "I'm sorry, that question was probably too much, how fucking stupid am I?" she says scolding herself. "Don't do that. Don't chide yourself, it's actually nice to be asked. But yeah it would have been nice. Sometimes it was kinda lonely growing up on your own." I explain. Britt has turned so she is facing me, it's a nice feeling to know someone is invested into you and your personal life. Not just the celebrity status.