Here's the next update, sorry it took longer than I said. Life got real and updating took the back seat. Thanks to those who've read and reviewed. This IS a Puckleberry story but angst is a part of it, so patience will be necessary as this chapter contains non-Puckleberry moments (though to be honest most of the chapters will). The story is already finished so hopefully the updates will happen as regularly as I'd planned. To those readers who don't like how I've written Rachel, Sebastian, Puck etc, don't read. To those who do, Enjoy!

Rachel woke up late the next morning and smiled against the bare chest that pillowed her head. She'd asked the man to make her forget and he'd given it his best shot. She stretched against him and he moved beneath her as her naked body rubbed against him. Her hand dipped below the sheet that covered them and he hissed as she gripped him.

"I thought you said this was a one-time thing?" He mumbled sleepily, thrusting into her hand.

Rachel attached her lips to his neck. "I figured I owed you a thank you. Besides," She paused as she kissed her way south. "We technically haven't left the bed yet, so I'm thinking this still counts as one-time."

His response was filthy. They didn't leave her room until later that evening.

Rachel stretched as she closed the door behind Craig and headed towards the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see Sebastian cooking dinner and Blaine sitting at the table. Their apartment building had been undergoing electrical updates and they'd spent a few nights here since it started.

"Well you're looking thoroughly fucked." Sebastian quipped as Rachel took a seat next to Blaine at the table.

Blaine snorted and Rachel flipped his boyfriend the bird.

"Jesus, Rachel. You realise it's like 6:30 right?" Santana asked from behind her.

Rachel snorted. "Is everyone here then?"

"Sam and Quinn will be here soon." Blaine announced before adding kindly. "Puck will be here a little later, alone."

"So get changed, Slut." San demanded, dropping a kiss to Rachel's cheek. "You smell like sex."

Rachel laughed and headed toward the shower.

Sebastian was waiting on her bed when she came back. She shook her head in amusement when she noticed that he'd already laid out her clothes.

"So let's talk. You know everyone will want to talk about it." He started as she dropped her towel and pulled on her panties.

"I asked him to make me forget. And he did. And it turns out that we're really good at sex, like really amazing at it." She told him, pulling on the wrap dress he'd chosen.

"Are you going to see him again?" He wondered, passing her some fuzzy socks.

"I might. He knows I'm not interested in dating though."

Sebastian sighed. He dropped a kiss to her cheek and headed for the door. "Dinner will be ready in a few. The others are here."

Rachel towel-dried her hair and then headed out to the dining room. She hugged Quinn and Sam, who apologized for missing the party. She sat down beside Sebastian, across from the empty chair and they began to pass around the food. It had become a tradition for them after they moved out of the loft. They met up every Sunday night for a family dinner. Sebastian usually cooked and the wine always flowed.

"So what did we miss?" Sam asked, kissing Quinn's hand.

Santana and Sebastian traded gossip as Rachel's mind wandered. She was pulled out of her reverie when she heard Santana talking about her hookup.

"She didn't leave her room until like an hour ago!" Santana yelled.

Rachel heard her front door open and close and Noah walked into the room, behind Santana.

"Seriously, Craig was just fucking drilling her. I should have just taxied home last night. I'd only just gotten to sleep this morning when she started screaming again." Santana crowed, raising her glass to Rachel. "You guys have heard her sing but, man does she like to scream!"

There was a moment of awkward silence before Sam greeted Puck and he sat across from Rachel. He cleared his throat, piling food onto his plate.

"So what are we talking about?"

Santana's eyes widened comically and Rachel glared at her friend. Santana had made her opinions on Noah's girlfriend clear.

"Rachel's new boyfriend." She replied, smirking at Rachel.

"Boyfriend?" He asked stiffly, staring at Rachel.

Rachel wiped her mouth with a napkin and stared at Santana, refusing to meet his gaze.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Santana snorted. "He should be. Anyone who can make you scream like that is a solid choice."

Rachel's teeth were clenched. Santana was pissing her off and trying to rile Noah up. She didn't seem to understand that there was nothing to rile. He was with someone else.

A calming hand found her knee and Rachel took a deep breath. She smiled up at Sebastian.

"This is delicious Seb. As always." She announced, effectively changing the subject.

Sebastian preened under the praise and winked at her. "Well my life got a lot easier once you stopped with that vegan shit."

Laughter filled the room and the tension was broken. Quinn leaned forward and smiled. "Rach, have you decided on a new show yet?"

Rachel had just finished a very successful run as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast". She'd won two Tony awards now and she was taking a bit of a break to decide what was next. She'd been off work for a month now and she was starting to itch for a new project.

"I've actually looked at a few scripts but I was thinking about taking a break from the stage for a while." She told her friends.

"So what's the plan?" Sam asked, passing a bottle of wine around the table.

Rachel was nervous suddenly. "I'm um, thinking about recording. I have notebooks full of songs and some of them aren't half bad." She grinned self-deprecatingly. "None of them are as good as "My headband" but…" She trailed off to the howls of laughter.

Sam, Blaine and Sebastian burst into a three part harmony of "My headband" to the delight of them all. Rachel cleared the dishes and shooed them into the living room while she cleaned up. She was elbow deep in dishwater when he cleared his throat behind her. Water slopped over the edge of the sink and onto the floor. Her eyes closed as he grabbed a dishtowel and cleaned the water at her feet. He stepped back and she started breathing again. He began drying the dishes as she cleaned.

"Thanks for the party." His words broke the silence as his gaze settled upon her once again.

She nodded, emptying the sink of dirty water. She refilled the sink with hot, soapy water and began again.

"Craig huh?" He asked quietly.

Rachel shrugged, dropping some cutlery in the dish rack.

"I didn't know you were thinking about recording." He tried again.

She shrugged once more and he sighed in exasperation.

"Is this how things are going to be now? Because last week you were one of my best friends and now you won't even fucking look at me." He growled with nothing but hurt in his voice.

Rachel bowed her head over the water, properly ashamed but unsure of what to do.

"Fine." He turned to go and was halfway out of the kitchen when Rachel's mouth opened.

"Noah?" She heard him pause but neither turned around. "I'm not dating him. We're just," She paused. "And I've been thinking about recording for a while now. I think it's the next logical step."

"Do you want me to get you an appointment with-"

"No!" She watched him turn around in the window reflection. "I need to do this myself. I don't need any help."

He glared at her reflection as their eyes connected in the dark window. "Right, whatever."

They stood there in silence until, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on." She lied and she watched as her dishonesty hit him.

His eyebrows scrunched together and his mouth twisted. She heard his jaw snap shut before he turned and walked away from her.

She took her time with the dishes. By the time she made it to the living room he was already gone.

Before I get attacked with more "she's being a brat and childish" messages, I promise it will be addressed next chapter. Thanks for reading.