Let Me Hold You

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee except a beach towel.

Quinn stood at her locker, switching out books and notebooks, checking her makeup in the small mirror. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she looked back. Finn stood there with a sheepish grin, then shoved something in her hand and took off. She looked back after him, lumbering down the hallway, rolled her eyes a bit, then looked in her hand. He had slipped her a note, slightly sweaty from being gripped in his palm. She peeled it open and all it said was meet me on stage tmrw at 4. She sighed.

She had been dating Sam for the past four or five months, since their duet for Glee Club. He had been hurt in a football game and after his recovery was sidelined most games just to be safe. Finn was starting quarterback and had recently thrown the game-winning touchdown pass to Puck to win the area tournament final, something that hadn't been accomplished at McKinley in years. She had to admit, right after the game it was thrilling to see all the attention Finn received in the hallways and in class and at lunch. In a moment of weakness, she had kissed him one afternoon in the deserted hallway but had immediately regretted that decision, especially after meeting up with Sam later that night to study their Spanish together. Sam had made her laugh with his goofy impressions (done in Spanish, no less) and she couldn't stop staring at his blue eyes. When Sam left her house that night, he kissed her softly on the cheek at the door. She completely forgot about kissing Finn.

Now, she stood at her locker, holding the crumpled up note in her hand with Finn's blocky handwriting. She knew what she had to do.

xxxxx

The next day after school, she stood at Sam's beat-up car in the parking lot, talking about their plans for the weekend. He said he wanted to take her someplace that was a surprise and hoped she liked it. They talked a little about school and their classes, Glee Club, their families. Before she knew it, she was sitting next to Sam on the front seat, it was 4:15, and he had to be at his part-time pizza delivery job at 4:30. She kissed him goodbye, a lingering kiss on the lips. When they broke the kiss, neither pulled away but just stared at one another, him gazing into her hazel eyes and her into his blue eyes. For the briefest of moments, she wondered what color eyes their kids would have. At that thought, she inhaled sharply, whispered goodbye, and slipped out of his car. She waved as he pulled away, and she turned and headed into the auditorium.

She crept through the dressing rooms backstage, then stepped lightly onto the stage. There at center stage, sitting casually on the floor next to a microphone stand, was Finn. He quickly stood up when he saw her.

"You're late," he said.

She walked onto the stage, closer to him. "I had Bible study after school," she lied. Looking at Finn now, she knew he'd always hold a special place in her heart but her heart was set on Sam Evans. "I was praying for the strength..."

"To meet me here?"

"To stay away..."

They eyed each other and slowly circled the mic stand. "Is it possible to love two people at the same time?" she asked him.

He shook his head no and whispered the word. "You don't love Sam."

She responded quickly. "I think I love Sam..."

"Your boyfriend's a boy..."

"You know that meeting you here makes me a cheater..." she said softly.

He was silent as he took that in.

"And I refuse to be a cheater, Finn. I'm sorry that I kissed you after your big win; it was wrong. We can only be friends now. I am in love with Sam," Quinn said resolutely. Finn stared at her, open-mouthed. "I've gotta go..."

She turned and fled the auditorium.

xxxxx

She rushed home and to her bedroom to escape her mother's drunkenness and to think. She shocked even herself when speaking to Finn and telling Finn that she loved Sam. That was the very first time she had said it out loud. In a way, she was angry with herself...she should've said it the first time to Sam, not to Finn. She lay on her bed thinking about Sam. Why did she blurt out that she loved him?

He always made her smile, even when she felt her worst. At first, she found him dopey, goofy, maybe a bit immature, but, as she got to know him better, she realized that he was actually very intelligent in his comedy. She also realized that he was nervous around her to begin with and that was his way of dealing with it. Eventually, though, he learned to hold conversations with her and the joking around was replaced with chatting. He could always tell when she needed to smile and the impressions would come out or some nerdy reference to Star Wars or Avatar would be made.

Also, he was undeniably handsome in his own unique way. She knew that the very first day she saw him, when Mr. Schue introduced him to the Glee Club after his shoulder injury. He jogged into the choir room, much like a dork, but then he smiled and she melted inside. She kept her cool facade, not wanting to let anyone know that she thought he was hot, but damn, that smile. His eyes had swept the room, checking out the rag-tag group, and he briefly hesitated when his eyes fell on her. She sat up straight, then, feeling a spark between them. He lost his duet partner, Kurt, and approached her, asking to be her partner. Being the HBIC at the time, she declined him, not really wanting to but doing so to not mar her reputation. She was convinced by Rachel of all people to do the duet with Sam and changed her mind and was she ever glad she did. They practiced their duet-he already had the song in mind-and, for once, since the pregnancy debacle of the year previously, she felt at ease around someone and let her guard down. They won the duet competition and went to Breadstix to celebrate. She sat there, prim and proper, picking at her salad, watching him carefully. He sat there, a bit hunched over, still in awe that they had actually won. He tried his Matthew McConaughey impression on her, then opened his big mouth about her predicament the year before and how embarrassed he would've been. He could tell by the look on her face in response to his statement that maybe no one had ever said anything like that to her. She was shocked, shocked that he had been so candid with her, but she let it go after he apologized and besides that blue shirt was making his blue eyes pop and she couldn't really concentrate on anything else. Of course, then he said he knew what it was like to have a secret and she blurted out so you are gay? because the rumors had been swirling around McKinley. He recoiled a bit, shocked himself at that question, and denied it fervently. In fact, all he could think about sitting across from this beauty was when did he get to kiss her? to touch her? When she slid the gift certificates into her purse and he smiled his lopsided smile she knew she was hooked.

But what made her love him was his arms. His gorgeous long muscular arms, strong arms, that held her when she needed holding. He held her when they danced together in the Glee musical numbers, he held her tightly at the Hudson-Hummel wedding reception, he held her before their sectional competition when the anxiety hit her hard about performing, he held her next to the piano when Mr. Schue brought in their winning sectionals trophy. That day, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and they swayed a bit, him breathing in her scent, both lost in their own world. He held her at Christmas when she cried, realizing it was Beth's first Christmas. And he had held her that day, before she went to talk to Finn. She had always been proud of the fact that she didn't need anyone's support; she was her own strong self and she'd do things on her own but when Sam entered her life and held her in his arms she knew it was him that she had needed all along.

She heard the doorbell ring throughout the quiet house; she had fallen asleep. It rang again; she knew her mother must be passed out. It was 10:35 according to her clock so she pulled herself up off her bed to see who it was. She flipped on the porch light and squinted through the peephole. Sam stood there blinking in the sudden light, still in his work shirt and hat.

She opened the heavy door. "Sam?"

He had a look of concern on his face, worry almost. He pulled his cap off and gripped it tightly in his hands.

"You've been crying..." he said quietly.

"I was just sleeping and..." He cut her off and pulled her to him. She smelled the pepperoni and tomato sauce and garlic on his shirt from his job. He held her tightly and after a couple minutes felt her shaking against him, then the sniffling. He kissed her cheek softly. She looked up at him, tears running down her face.

"I love you, Sam," she whispered up to him. "I wanted you to be the first to know, but...but..."

He embraced her again. "It's okay, Quinn, I know. And I love you too."

xxxxx

If anyone had asked him that night what his favorite position was, he knew exactly how to answer them. It was not a position on the football field (though he did enjoy quarterbacking). It was most definitely not a sexual position (because he hadn't been in one of those yet). It was being the person who wrapped their arms around Lucy Quinn Fabray. Instinctively, he knew that this was a girl who needed to be held, even if she said she didn't need a hug. Even though he was only 16 years and 2 weeks old, he felt the importance placed upon him when holding her. This girl he had met a few months ago who at first had been cold and distant toward him but soon opened up to him-he knew it was his impressions that did the trick-he knew she was special deep down and wasn't about to give up on her. Not at the beginning when she at first said no to singing a duet with him, not when she said it definitely wasn't a date when they went to Breadstix, not when she freaked out before their sectionals performance. And not now.

At work that night, he had been sitting outside the pizza joint waiting for a delivery to be called in, when Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman had pulled up in Puck's Jeep. Sam stood up from the curb he'd been sitting on when Finn stumbled out of the Jeep.

"Hey Salmon!" Finn laughed, looking over at Puck, who was not nearly as drunk as his friend.

"Guppy Lips, my boy Finn came to me wanting to get drunk tonight. Do you have any idea why?"

Sam was instantly on guard. Of course he had no idea why; he just didn't want any trouble at his job. He looked from Puck to Finn and back to Puck.

"I have no idea why..." he answered slowly.

Puck guffawed loudly and threw his arm around Finn's shoulders. "Seems your little lady turned down my man Finn today."

Sam was now totally confused. "What are you talking about, Puck?"

"Salmon! She said she...(burp)...loves you!" Finn slurred, pointing his long neck bottle at Sam. Sam could smell the beer strong on Finn's breath.

"So, Miss High and Mighty thought it'd be fun to smack a big wet one on ol' Finn after the game the other day. He thought it was leading somewhere and asked her to meet him today after school, which she did," Puck began explaining, still holding Finn up.

"She was with me after school," Sam replied, not wanting to believe any of it.

"After after school," Finn said, belching again, then laughing. "In the autidorium." He then broke into a fit of giggles.

"So? She's a free citizen; she can do whatever she wants to do," Sam said.

"Well, she did alright. She told Finn he could basically go fuck himself because she loved you! Now look at him," Puck said. Sam did look at Finn then. He was totally disheveled, stumbling, his hair a mess.

"Anyone can tell he's got it bad for Rachel Berry," Sam said finally.

"You leave my Jewish princess out of this," Puck said defensively.

"It's true. The way he looks at her, how they sing together. Sorry, Finn, but Quinn's mine," Sam said, smiling a giant smile and clapping Finn on the shoulder. Finn had kind of drifted off but came to then.

"Oh sure, yeah, contragulations man...she's a great girl," Finn mumbled. Looking at Puck, he said, "Take me over to Berry's." Finn stumbled back to the Jeep, deciding then would be a fine time to relieve himself.

Puck looked back to Sam. Poking him in the chest, he muttered, "You take care of my babymama. If I hear you hurt her in any way, I'll shove my balls down your throat. Wait. I'll shove your own balls down your throat. Yeah..."

Puck turned to his Jeep. "Aw man, don't piss on the Jeep dude!"

Sam stood there watching them drive away, wondering what in the hell had just happened.

xxxxx

From that night forward, Sam and Quinn's relationship was strengthened. They stood on her porch until she stopped crying, then they went inside and sat in her family room talking until he had to leave for home at midnight. She apologized many times over for kissing Finn, for even meeting with him privately. He reassured her that he understood and he accepted her apology on one condition...

"Kiss me like you mean it," he said, surprised at his courage to suggest such a thing.

They sat on the couch facing one another, and she looked at him and smiled a little. She took his face in her hands, his stubble prickly on her palms, and leaned into him, her eyes fluttering closed just as her lips touched his. She turned her head slightly, loving how his lips felt on hers. She felt his hands snake around her waist, pulling her in a little closer. She took the risk and parted her lips a bit and touched his lip with her tongue.

All he could think about was how her lips tasted like cherry, fruity and sweet. He was totally aware of his full lips and how they might overpower her dainty mouth so after thinking about cherry lip gloss for a while he switched gears and made sure not to engulf her mouth in his and that's when he felt her tongue brushing his lips. He hadn't expected that though he probably should have since they had been getting closer and closer and, god, they just told each other they loved each other. He did what felt natural and that was to open his mouth, only slightly, and touch his tongue against hers. It was soft and moist and her breath was sweet; he wondered what he tasted like? Hopefully not like the slice of sausage and green pepper pizza he had had for supper. He heard her make a noise that sounded like mmm and he jerked back suddenly.

"Um, I probably, uh, need to get home, you know, the parents..." he stammered, blushing furiously and looking down at his hands in his lap. She gazed back at him, seeing the rosiness of his cheeks, his eyes darting up to hers now and then.

"I'll walk you to the door, Sam," she said quietly, standing and offering her hand. He took her hand and let her lead him through her house to the front door, so thankful that he was behind her and she couldn't see the bulge in his pants. At the door, he stood stiffly in front of her, holding his hat in front of him.

"So, I'll call you tomorrow?" he asked her.

"That'd be great, Sam," she purred, leaning in to kiss him again. "Do you think I meant it?"

He was dumbfounded and then realized she was talking about her kiss. He smiled. "Definitely."

xxxxx

They quickly became the 'it' couple at McKinley. Sam's confidence was boosted, especially on the football field where Coach Beiste let him run more and more plays, gearing up for the next year. Deep down, he wanted to knock Finn out of the quarterback position during the next season. He knew Quinn would be on the sidelines cheering, and he wanted her to be proud of her boyfriend on the field. They walked down the halls as if they were royalty but really they were just very happy with one another and almost always had smiles plastered on their faces. He carried her books for her, pecked her on the cheek when seeing her off, left notes in her locker. She would surprise him during his study hall or lunch and always slipped her tiny hand into his whenever they met up.

On Valentine's Day, Sam took Quinn to Breadstix where he shyly presented her with a tiny promise ring. She was beaming as he slid it onto her right ring finger. It was cold in February in northern Ohio so after dinner they went back to her house and watched movies until he had to be home by midnight. They both squeezed into a recliner. He kept catching her staring at her right hand and the little ring. What she didn't know was he had gone to the pawn shop and hocked his guitar to get that ring. She thought his wages at the pizza place had bought it, but, no, all that money was going to his parents and that wasn't very much at all.

By watching movies, that meant they were making out in front of something on the TV. Her mother was out and if she had been home she'd have been secluded in her master suite, drunk. It always started innocently enough, his arm around her shoulders, she tucked into his side. Then, one of them would kiss the other and it'd fire up rapidly. They were getting to be more handsy with each other, more exploring, to Sam's never-ending delight. He had been lucky enough in the past to brush her boobs while tickling her one night but this night, Valentine's Day, while they were kissing each other's faces off, she reached for his hand planted on her hip and brought it up to her chest, lightly placing it on a breast. He looked at her in shock, his lips blood red from the kissing and his mouth agape, looking from her eyes down to his hand and back to her eyes. He gulped.

"This is-is okay?" he whispered.

She nodded in the affirmative. He kissed her again, urgently, leaving his hand in place over her sweater, feeling her with his fingers and squeezing gently. He felt the rise in his jeans but couldn't concentrate on that at the moment...not when he could feel her hard nipple underneath a couple layers of fabric. He shifted a bit to give himself some room below the belt and when he did the rub of the rough denim against his erection made him grunt into her mouth. He was mortified.

"I'm s-sorry," he mumbled, still squeezing her boob.

"S'okay, Sam," she whispered back to him. He watched her in a nearly comatose state as she reached up to the top button of her cardigan sweater and started unbuttoning it. He was still squeezing her boob the entire time.

"There," she said after unbuttoning four buttons. "How's that?"

"Umm...that's great, Q," he replied. She giggled a little, then took his hand off her boob, his mind screaming noooooooo but then she moved his hand inside her sweater. He held his breath. He felt a different kind of material, maybe lacy, dainty, triangular, and somewhere in his hormone-fueled mind he finally realized his hand was touching her bra. His hand shaking, he ran his thumb up and down over the hard nub he felt underneath her bra, then cupped her entire breast in his hand, sucking in his breath as he did so. Only one layer of clothing kept him from actually touching her boob…did he dare it? Suddenly, he felt brave, very brave (probably from the throbbing in his pants), so he slid his fingers up the strap to her shoulder, then carefully placed his fingers under the strap.

Before pushing it down, though, always the gentleman, he asked her, "Can I?"

"Yes…"

Holding his breath again, he slowly pushed the strap off her shoulder and let it fall to her elbow. Looking back at her chest, that side of her bra was now gaping open. Later on, at home, he would think of how he had seen his first live-in-person booby that night, but, at the present moment, he was stunned.

The light from the TV cast a whitish glow on them, making her breast look pale. It was smallish but he was fine with that. In fact, he thought it was the most perfect boob he'd ever seen. Her nipple was erect and pink and when he moved the bra completely out of the way goosebumps followed his light touch. He realized he was staring at her boob intently, so he suddenly looked up at her and caught her biting her lip nervously.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" he mumbled, moving to replace her bra to cover her.

"No, it's okay Sam…really…" she said, noticing his hesitation.

"Okay…" he whispered, kissing her. If he watched himself touch her, it'd be all over in his pants, he was pretty sure of that.

Gently, he placed his hand on her breast. Her skin was soft, as he had expected. He rubbed her slowly, not sure of what she wanted him to do. He felt her hardened nipple and took it between his thumb and index finger easily. This elicited an excited moan from her, right up against his lips, and he shifted uncomfortably. His dick was hard, probably harder than he had ever been, and it was trapped between his thigh and abdomen and the shifting was causing nearly unbearable friction. He didn't care though…his hand was on Lucy Quinn Fabray's boob…bare boob…and whatever happened, happened.

Not too long after that brazen thought, it did happen. He pressed his hand against her, French kissing her hard and fast, and before his mind could catch up to his body he felt it in his pants. He stopped kissing her, his hand stopped, everything stopped as his body shuddered next to hers. He squeezed his eyes shut, afraid he'd find her laughing at him.

She loved making out with him. He was such a gentleman and actually polite when they got close. Pressed up against him in that recliner that night, she decided to let him touch her boob. She knew he had been yearning to do so and that night felt right to her. It felt so good that she encouraged him to take it a step further. Of course, she felt him moving around next to her and she was well aware why he was shifting around. He had worn skinny jeans that night so she knew he had to be feeling somewhat trapped, but she didn't want to push things that far. She hadn't meant to moan into his mouth but damn his hand on her did things, tingly things, to her and when she felt him pressing his palm to her, then felt his body rocking just the slightest bit she let the moan escape. Then, everything came to a halt. He was shaking next to her, his eyes closed tightly, his hand stopped on her boob…then she could smell it and knew what had happened.

"Uhhh…" He heard himself make a noise, but he was again mortified to the nth degree and didn't know if he actually said something or not.

"Maybe we should slow it down some," she said quietly.

He still wouldn't look her in the eye, so she kissed him on the lips, wrapping her hands around his neck. Resting her forehead against his, she said, "It's okay, Sam."

He finally moved his hand from her breast and pulled her strap back up to her shoulder, then covered her with her sweater.

"Umm…I probably need to get home now…" His cheeks were flaming. This was the worst but wait she said it was okay. "Umm…I'm sorry…"

He stood up and waited for her to stand up. She did and threw her arms around him.

"I love you, Sam Evans," she said into his neck. Her breath on his skin sent shivers through his body.

"I love you too, Quinn Fabray," he replied, closing his eyes.

He hugged her again at her door, then went to his car. Driving home, he felt the front of his jeans. What had felt like a gallon of jizz was only a small spot, thank god, and he finally allowed himself to rethink what happened that night.

He got home, let his parents know he was in, and retreated to his room. He stripped out of his clothes and put on fresh boxers, then lay down on his bed to continue thinking about Lucy Quinn Fabray. When he finally fell asleep, he slept soundly until nearly noon the next day. That was the last night of good sleep he had before his world came crashing down around him.

A/N: This story is going to be co-authored by me and GleekFreak13. It's for the most part canon and begins during Silly Love Songs during S2 except Sam and Quinn never broke up. This story will explore more of how Sam dealt with his family's financial disaster and how Quinn was there to help him cope with it and eventually how Sam helps support Quinn. We're rating it M for future mature situations and language. Thanks for reading and reviewing!