New story! After writing Blind Date I realised there was no way I could let go of these characters any time soon! It's definitely a good idea to read Blind Date before reading this, just so you know what's actually going on between Nick and Rachel. So, I hope you enjoy! :)
Nick was ninety percent sure that he had never been so frustrated before. Not even when his laptop went on the blink and destroyed his term paper for the final year of college. Nope, that didn't even come close to what he was going through right now. Compared to some people, his problems might be trivial, but to him, they were monumental. Having writer's block was not a good thing for an author to have. Neither was agonising over whether or not to call Rachel and finally ask her out on their second date. He had already wasted countless hours doing so, and was beginning to wear a hole in the rug as he paced back and forth on it. Every time he'd pick up his iPhone and scroll through the contacts until he found her name. Then his thumb would hover in mid-air, and his mind would decide it was a bad idea, regardless of what Blaine had told him when they met up for coffee the afternoon after Nick and Rachel's blind date.
Nick sat down on his sofa and remembered the events of the afternoon, his iPhone still tightly clutched in his left hand.
"So, how did last night go?" Blaine asked. Nick smiled at how straight-forward his friend was, Blaine was never one to beat around the bush.
"It went very well, thank you. We both enjoyed ourselves," Nick replied, not really sure on what Blaine wanted to know. He played around with the sugar packets on the table, attempting to buy himself some time.
"I don't think enjoyed is the right word to describe Rachel's evening," Blaine said, quickly continuing on when he saw his friend's panic-stricken expression. "What I mean, is that all she spoke about this morning at rehearsal was last night and how wonderful it was. She was seriously singing your praises. Well, not literally. But you get the point. She keeps gushing over how gentlemanly you were too. Apparently, you didn't go in for the kill? Only kissed her cheek?"
Nick's blush said everything, yet he still opened his mouth to reply, "I didn't want to scare her off, you know? I just-. It's stupid."
"It's not stupid," Blaine corrected, "it's actually kind of adorable. And who do you have to thank?"
Nick rolled his eyes, knowing that Kurt and Blaine would be bragging about this for months, maybe even years, to come.
"So, when's the second date?" Blaine questioned, a cheeky glint in his eyes, "and before you protest, Rachel most definitely wants another one."
Blaine had told Nick outright, and Nick knew Blaine wouldn't lie to him, yet he still couldn't muster up the courage to ask Rachel. This was pathetic. No, he was pathetic. He was Nick Duval, New York Times best-selling author, also too afraid to ask out a girl on a second date. One she was also eager to go on. Not that he could even think of anywhere to take her. She had explicitly said she wanted something a little less high maintenance than their previous date, much to his relief. However, that didn't mean that an idea was any easier to conjure up. Nick allowed his eyes to scan his apartment floor, hoping that inspiration would hit him, for either his damned writer's block, or with an idea for a date. His eyes settled on a dusty pair of inline skates, and a smile slowly began forming on his lips. When he stood up and looked out of the large window in his apartment, he could see central park from here.
"Central park plus inline skates equals one casual date for Rachel Berry," Nick murmured, grabbing his phone and pulling up Rachel's contact information. Just as his thumb was about to hit call, he froze, and panic suddenly washed over him. What happens if she thought the date was a dumb idea? Could she even skate? Would she want to risk the injury, especially with her show so close? Nick shrugged, finally shaking off all those doubts. The worse she could say was no, after all.
Rachel sat on the couch in Kurt and Blaine's apartment, pretending to listen to Kurt as he wittered on about the fashion show he was preparing for. Ever since she had been on her blind date with Nick, she had been expectantly waiting for a call from him. Unfortunately, that call hadn't happened, and Rachel was left pondering over what exactly had gone wrong. She thought Nick had enjoyed himself as much as Rachel had, he had even asked her if she was interested in a second date with him. Maybe he just asked because she expected him too.
"Rachel?" Rachel knocked herself out of her thoughts and was surprised to find Kurt stood in front of her, his hands placed on his hips. "Were you listening to me?" Kurt sighed at her silence and elegantly plopped himself down on the sofa next to Rachel, reaching out to clasp one of her hands with his own.
"Stop worrying. He will call you, he's just shy. And going through some nasty writer's block," Kurt said. "Maybe you should call him."
"Nope. No way. Nu uh," Rachel replied, "I do not want to seem desperate."
"Please!" Kurt snorted, shaking his head. "Desperate was me at the recent Versace show. You, Miss Rachel Berry, are not desperate, no matter what you do."
"Unless it involves a Tony award?" Rachel giggled, and Kurt smiled at their old joke. The pair continued their chit chat before being interrupted by Rachel's phone ringing. Rachel scrambled to answer it, butterflies exploding in her stomach when she saw it was an unrecognised number. She brought it up to her ear, praying it was Nick calling her and not some crazed super-fan again.
"Hi, Rachel? It's Nick." Rachel had to contain her squeal, whacking Kurt on the knee, mouthing Nick's name and pointing at her phone all at the same time.
"Hi, Nick!" Rachel replied, causing Kurt to wince at her enthusiasm.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date sometime next week?" Nick questioned with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"I'd love to!" Rachel replied brightly, pointedly turning her back on Kurt as he started to burst into a small fit of giggles.
"Great! How does meeting me in Central Park at Midday on Wednesday sound?"
"Fantastic," Rachel murmured, mentally going through her diary and hoping she had nothing else booked in. Their conversation ended, and Rachel threw her phone on Kurt's coffee table, happily sinking into the sofa cushions.
"See? I told you he'd call," Kurt sang, "now, let me tell you about my show, and you need to listen this time."
