Chapter 2

It turns into a cycle that make him question her taste in men.

She starts dating a guy she meets in some high tech internet café. He makes fun of her for a good thirty minutes when she tells him that. There are some jokes about pocket protectors and nerd glasses thrown around and she gets so annoyed she actually hangs up on him. She forgives him when he calls her and leaves a super corny voicemail that he prays she will never share with anyone else.

That relationship lasted two months until he broke up with her for being "too intense". That was a three hour phone conversation that he endured to help her work through it.

Then there was Paul , the painter from Idaho. He broke up with her after three weeks because she wouldn't fuck him.

After Paul was Derek. He was a theater major that Rachel was sure she was going to marry. Turns out he would be more interested in marrying Kurt than her and that was the end of that.

When it's time for him to go home for summer he's fucking stoked because no matter how badass he tries to appear, he really missed his mom and sister. He kisses them both on the cheek when he comes inside and bounds up the stairs to drop his shit in his room. It's like he never left and all of his stuff is exactly where he left it.

The first thing he does is text Finn and Sam to tell them to get their asses to his house for some Halo. Sam reacts just like he knew he would and says he'll be there in twenty. Finn says he needs to finish his work and close down the shop but he's stopping for pizza on the way so it's cool with Puck. He can't wait to just kick back with his boys like old times.

He jumps in the shower to wash the nasty airplane smell off him and is toweling off his hair when his phone rings. He smiles when he sees Rachel's name on his caller id. She's not coming in til tomorrow and he's not embarresed to admit that he can't fucking wait to see her.

"What's up, baby?"

"I'm coming home tomorrow! I can't wait!" He laughs and shakes his head at her excitement.

"You realize you're coming home to Lima right? From New York? How can you possibly be this excited?"

"Because I miss everyone Noah! I can't wait to see my dads, and you and all our friends. I get to see my favorite music teacher for my summer classes. It's going to be an amazing summer, Noah. Just wait and see." He rolls his eyes but he can't help but feel a little more pumped up for the months ahead.

Santana throws this massive party at her parent's house while they are in Italy and invites almost everyone from their graduating class. He's only seen Rachel once in the week since they've been home and he really wants to see her again.

The time she's spent in New York has done her well. Her hair is longer and she's dressing like a grown up now. When he met up with her to get coffee three days ago she was wearing these tight skinny jeans and knee high boots and he thought he was gonna die from how hot she looked. When he told her something along those lines, she just blushed and thanked him.

He's on his way to get her when she sends him a text telling him she's running a little late and to just come up to the door. He's cool with her dads so when he knocks a few minutes later they shake his hand and let him in. Her dad Hiram asks him about Boston and they spend the next ten minutes or so shooting the shit about his courses and what he wants to do after he graduates. Both of her dads are lawyers so they tell him if he ever needs advice or help with school to give him a call. He appreciates the hell out of them both for that.

Her dad Leroy goes up to see what's taking so long and when he comes down the stairs with her trailing behind, Puck finds it hard not to stare or say something that will make her dads hate him. She's wearing this short as fuck denim skirt and a black tank top with strappy heels at her feet. She looks fucking amazing and he tells her that. Well minus the fuck because damn her dads are right there.

He kisses her cheek because he can and waves to her dads as they walk to his truck. She laughs when she sees it and he raises an eyebrow.

"What?" She shakes her head and laughs to herself as she climbs up into the cab. She waits until he's buckled before she speaks.

"It's this truck. I can't believe you still have it." He scoffs at her and rubs on the dashboard affectionatly.

"Um..it? You mean her?" This causes Rachel to laugh harder and he smirks at her as he pulls out of her driveway. "Good 'ol Nancy has never let me down." She looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nancy? There must be a story about that." He laughs and nods.

"Yeah she's named after Nancy Sullivan…you know Jimmy Sullivan's mom? She gave me a huge tip once…." He laughs harder as Rachel puts her hands on her ears and starts shaking her head back and forth.

"No..no! I don't want to know. Sorry I asked!" He's still laughing as he pulls onto Santana's street. There are cars lined up and down and he rolls his eyes. He parks behind Sam's Jeep and turns off his truck.

"Of course she invited fucking everyone." Rachel slaps his arm a bit and giggles.

"Come on, it will be fun!" He just shrugs and follows her out of the truck and up to her front door. She goes to knock and gives him a look when he just opens it. "Noah! That's rude!"

"Rachel, I have been through every entrance and window in this house. I think I can just come in the front door by now."

"That's what she said." He looks at her shocked when she claps a hand over her mouth. The look in her eyes tells him she is just as surprised that she said it as he is.

"My my my. Look what New York has done to our little Rachel Berry." She gives him a shitty look but then laughs. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Finn and Rachel in the same room after so long apart is awkward as shit.

Finn gives him a fucked up look when he walks in with his hand on the small of Rachel's back but he just nods in his direction. Dude has been broken up with this chick for months, no way is he gonna feel like an asshole for bringing her.

Rachel sees Santana so she kisses his cheek and tells him she'll meet up with him after she "mingles". He makes fun of her for using the word "mingles" and she fake pouts as she walks away. He can't help the way he checks her out as she leaves. The mini skirt is not helping the feeling he's had all night like he wants something to happen with her. If he's being honest with himself, he's been having that feeling since he was sixteen.

He's grabbing a beer from the fridge when Finn comes up to him.

"Dude are you and Rachel going out?" He rolls his eyes as he closes the fridge door and pops open his beer.

"Going out? What are we in 8th grade?" Finn shakes his head.

"Come on dude, you know what I mean. You guys are here together, what's up with that?" Puck just shrugs.

"I'm not here with her, I'm just here with her. Don't you have a girlfriend anyways, why do you care who Rachel is here with?" Finn grabs his own beer but stuggles to get the cap off and Puck laughs as he pulls his keys with the opener back out of his pockert and throws them to him.

"I don't care. Well, I don't know. There was just always something with you two. In school…it was like she was always drawn to you."

Puck's still trying to figure out what that means when Finn nods at him and walks out of the kitchen.

They spend the next few weeks swimming in her pool and drinking iced coffee in his room. He knows everyone in their group of friends think that they're fucking but he doesn't really care. He likes spending time with her, more than he's ever liked spending time with anyone.

His ma is eating this shit up too. She came up to him two days ago talking about how sweet Rachel is and how glad she is that they are still friends. He just rolls her eyes and tells her to give it up because he's not marrying the girl.

He can't say he doesn't think about what it would be like to be with her again.

They are sitting on his bed one day when she streches her arms over her head and yawns. He's checking her chest out as she holds her arms high above her head and almost doesn't notice when she raises an eyebrow at him.

"Like the view?" If he blushed, he probably would now. He just got caught checking her out and now she's ragging on him? It's like a totally different Rachel. He knows how to play it though, and the only way he ever plays it is cool.

"You know me baby." She just rolls her eyes and leans back against his bed.

"I'm bored. Let's do something." He's just about to say something dirty when she laughs and shakes her head. "Not like that, you perv."

He grins as he gets comfortable next to her.

"So what did you have in mind?" She just shrugs and he rolls his eyes. "You can't say 'let's do something' and then not have any ideas on what to do. That's lame."

"Let's sing something." He groans and it causes her to laugh. "I'm serious! I need to practice and you…well…you need something to do. Come on…please?" He's grabbing his guitar in a matter of seconds and she laughs and claps as she moves to sit by his side on the bed.

"What do you want to sing?" He starts playing a song that he knows she loves and she grins as she starts to sing.

Lyin' here with you so close to me.

It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe.

Caught up in this moment.

Caught up in your smile.

He starts singing next and it's hard not to notice the way she's looking at him. She comes in with him at the chorus and he knows she loves the way their voices are blending. He's just about to start his second verse when she pulls the guitar out of his hands and straddles his waist. His hands instintively go to her waist and before he realizes it her lips are on his. She kisses him hard for a full minute before he pulls away.

"Rach…what are we doing?" She just shakes her head and kisses him again and he can'd find it in him to care why they are doing it, just that it's actually happening.

He forgot how good of a kisser she was but remembers the times they did this back in high school when she playfully bites at his lip. She's more aggressive now and he thinks that's probably due to her being more experienced. That thought just pisses him off because he knows she's been with other guys, and that's the last thing he should be thinking about right now.

They don't have sex but they make out for a few hours until she tells him it's probably time for her to go home. He gives her a kiss goodnight and watches her drive away until he can't see her car anymore. He has a hard time falling asleep after that. All he can think of is how perfect she fits with him and how fucking sexy it is when she says his name.

He thinks he might be falling for her. He wonders if she's feeling the same way.

"Noah, we need to talk about last night."

Those words are the last thing he wants to hear right now. He just woke up from an amazing dream that left him half hard and now she's on the phone telling him they need to talk. Those words never lead to something good.

"Okay…" He hears her take a breath and he never thought he'd be on the receiving end of this conversation. She's talking and he thinks he should probably be fully listening to what she has to say.

"And I just think that we took it a little too far. This is the first time I've really been single, and I think I was feeling nostalgic and I don't know…what do you think about it?"

It's gonna kill him to say it but it's obviously what she needs to hear.

"Yeah, I agree. We're friends, Rach. Friends can make out sometimes, it's no big deal." He tries to make it sounds light and she sounds relieved. He's glad she feels better but it fucking kills him to have to say that.

"Thank you for understanding Noah. I just love you so much, I don't want to lose you as a friend." His eyes close on their own when she says the words and he takes a deep breath.

"You won't lose me. Don't worry about that."

He doesn't think he's ever spoken truer words in his life.