Chapter 4

Puck looked at Rachel and reached one hand to touch her curls, "How're you doin' Rae?" She'd been quiet on the ride to her house, thoughtful and now he was worried maybe she was thinking Glee wasn't worth the trouble.

"Trying to think of what I can sing about next week," She admitted with a half-smile. "C'mon in and have something to eat?"

"Sure you want me in there alone with you?" Puck asked her only half teasing, "Looks like Sam ain't home yet, my rep won't do yours any good."

Rachel regarded him soberly, "Obviously you don't realize exactly what effect being a perceived foster child will have on my sexual reputation." She said quietly. She began to let herself out of his truck and Puck frowned and jumped out, hurrying around the hood to help her down.

"What are you talkin' about Rae?" Puck knew the look on his face wasn't a pretty one. He was feeling fairly pissed over the implications of what she'd just said. When she didn't speak, just took her bag and began walking towards the house Puck grumbled to himself but followed her.

Inside Rachel lead him to the kitchen and pulled out sandwich makings automatically, until Puck came around the counter and put his hands over hers, stilling their work. "Rachel what did you mean?" He forced his voice to gentler tones than he felt. "I can't help if you don't tell me."

She sighed and looked up at him before pulling her hands out from under his, working on lunch meats and cheeses until he had a huge turkey sandwich in front of him and a smaller veggie one for her, "The girls today, they weren't inaccurate regarding how most people see foster kids," She said quietly. "A lot of people think that foster kids are the kids that cause trouble, that they're unwanted because they've done something wrong, otherwise they'd be adopted."

"Which is total bullshit," Puck spat the words out angrily. "Kids get stuck in foster care because one of the parents won't give up rights to the kid so they can't be adopted."

"Sometimes they are troubled children," Rachel nodded, "But generally it's a parental issue, or the kids are too old to really be a candidate for adoption. But girls in the foster system, tend to be viewed as promiscuous. Boys get called violent, boys and girls are usually considered troublemakers. That's why I didn't want Sam to admit he's the foster kid in our family."

"Sam seems pretty well adjusted, he could handle it," Puck said carefully, finally taking a bite of the sandwich and groaning his thanks a bit unintelligibly.

Rachel smiled at him and shook her head, "I know you won't say anything so I can tell you, but Sam has had anger problems for years. Football helps but he gets frustrated, that's why we have a section of the basement set up with weights and a punching bag. He's dyslexic which doesn't help the frustration level." She shook her head, "Sam's dad beat him, he beat Sam's mother to death. Stevie and Stacey were little enough to hide, or at least stay out of the way, but Sam was older..."

"Yeah," Puck said heavily remembering his first ten years with a shudder. "Sometimes you just can't get away." He sighed, "So you worried that Sam might lose his temper if he had to deal with that sorta shit."

Rachel was regarding him shrewdly and nodded, "I guess you know a little bit about anger issues," Was all she said, finally taking a bite of her own sandwich.

"Sam said somethin' 'bout his dad beatin' on him," Puck nodded finally. "My old man...he took off when I's about...ten maybe... an' every week 'fore he left, for as long as I could remember, he either hit me or he hit my ma. I couldn't go five days without hearin' I was worthless." He shrugged, trying to unhunch his shoulders from the defensive posture he instinctively assumed when he talked about or remembered his father. "A course, when he left...then everybody all over town talked 'bout what a loser he was, how I'd grow up to be just like him. I thought about tellin' Sam we had that in common but before I really could…he started to get all judgmental 'bout me flirtin' with you."

"People are ridiculous," Rachel fumed from where she sat. "As if you would ever be a loser," Dark brown eyes stared into his and she tilted her head, "You called yourself a Lima Loser when we first met," She recalled. "Noah, you aren't."

"Hell Rae," Puck sighed, "Until I got my act together after juvie...that was pretty much what I was." He shrugged. "I started usin' my brain, started to clean myself up. Just didn't wanna disappoint my mom anymore you know? Didn't ever want my little sister to see me in jail or dead. But...yeah I know how Sam feels. I got a punchin' bag a my own. Got in plenty a trouble 'cause I didn't learn to control myself until it was almost too late. There's times I still feel that rage in me, see red dripping down over my eyes, know I gotta go hit somethin' or pump iron until I've worn out the anger."

"But you understand why I didn't want Sam to tell them he was the foster kid," Rachel asked quietly. "He's my brother and I love him. But we're trying to get his little brother and sister transferred to our dads care and that won't go smoothly if Sam gets in trouble."

"So you're okay with havin' half the school call you a slut, or thinkin' that you're fuckin' me, so long as Stevie and Stacey make it to Lima to live with you guys," Puck said slowly. "Rae..." He shook his head. "Shit this is gonna..."

"What is it Noah," Rachel put her plate in the sink and took a seat next to him. "For someone who's so badass I find you remarkably easy to read."

"All those psych courses you took to further your acting career?" Puck grinned, she'd told him quite a bit about her course load at her previous schools, offering to lend him the textbooks she still had if he wanted something different to read.

"Maybe, or maybe it's that you don't seem to keep your guard up around me," Rachel smiled. "C'mon, you can tell me. I won't laugh or anything, even if I think what you say is silly."

"Wow, way to reassure me there Rae," Puck grinned in spite of himself. "Okay, so...you know I've got a reputation for being a man slut. And part of me doesn't mind because...well I fuckin' earned that right?"

"Yes," Rachel was grinning and shaking her head and he just knew she was chalking it up to what she called boy logic.

"Yeah yeah, you can grin all you want, but I've had my share of girls but I ain't ever, I mean not even with Quinn was I ever someone's boyfriend." Puck explained, "I gotta rep for never wantin' to be tied down. I took care a Quinn 'cause I loved my daughter. Damn I wanted that baby. An' I know she's better off but I'm gonna have a hole inside me forever missin' her."

"Wow," Rachel sniffed a little and Puck looked at her, frowning in concern and she shook her head. "I just hope that my birth mother feels that way about me. Selfish but there you go."

"She must," Puck told her quietly. "I'm the smartest idiot I know and I miss Beth every day." He took a deep breath, "But, the point I was makin', is everybody is gonna think we're havin' sex 'cause a the way I'm hangin' out with you."

"Well that won't harm your reputation will it?" Rachel frowned, "I mean I know I look ridiculous in the clothes I wear to school. Maybe you shouldn't hang out with me as much?"

"That isn't what I mean Rae," Puck sighed. "Damn you ain't gettin' it. I want you to... geez I was really hopin' we'd be friends."

"Well that's what I want too Noah," Rachel smiled. "I mean...we've talked about maybe more in the future but I thought we'd settled on being friends and getting to know each other."

"You ain't wrong," Puck took her hand and studied her slender little fingers. "And I still want that. I just want the rest of the school to think that you're my girlfriend, and I'm your boyfriend." He looked up at her in time to catch the stunned and confused expression on her face. "You ain't so thrilled with the idea," He realized.

"That isn't it," Rachel said quietly. "I'm incredibly flattered that you'd put your reputation on the line for me. I'm honored Noah. I just...I don't do well without clearly defined boundaries and I'm afraid that being called your girlfriend might cause me to behave in that way. And since we've agreed to be friends..."

"Hell Rae, if you slip up and hug on me or kiss me, or really slip up and grope me I 'spect I can live with it," Puck chuckled. "I promise though, until you give me the go ahead, I'll keep my lips to myself. Don't wanna push you into anything you ain't ready for."

"Then I would be honored to be your pretend girlfriend and actual friend who is a girl," Rachel grinned at him. "And I thank you. This will probably save my reputation because if you're seen to be tying yourself down to me...especially so early in the school year..."

"Yeah the girls'll be bitches for a while an' the guys'll stare but if you're with me, they know they'd better not call you a slut," Puck growled the words out and tugged on her hand. "So will my fake girlfriend give me a hug? An' then we'll start on homework and our glee projects?"

"Absolutely," Rachel grinned and Puck found himself on the receiving end of a patented Rachel Barbra Berry hug, slender arms wrapped around him and her face tucked into his neck so he could smell the strawberry shampoo in her hair.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" Sam's voice was like a bucket of ice water to Puck's groin and he sighed in resignation.

Sam was still trying to figure out exactly when his life had taken a turn for crazy. Moving to Lima Ohio was definitely part of it, though the fact that he had a Broadway bound sister and two gay dads wasn't even a blip on his radar anymore made his previous definition of non-crazy suspect, at least according to the first string quarterback.

Then, far from staying away from the boy whose reputation was worse than anyone Sam had ever met, Rachel had insisted that Puck come home with them each day. They'd been practicing that song from Tangled constantly and Rachel had been teaching Puck vocal warm ups of all things, while Puck had offered to teach Rachel guitar. For two people with nothing in common but skipping a grade they were almost joined at the hip.

Then Rachel decided to leave the entire glee club, and eventually the school, with the impression that he was the biological child and she was the foster child in the Berry family. How anyone would not notice that his last name wasn't Stein or Berry while hers at least matched one of their dads was beyond his thinking. He'd come close to decking a teacher the guy had been so fucking clueless and then that bubbly blonde Cheerio had come rushing up to him babbling about practices and Rachel and he'd ended up asking what the hell she meant.

So he was a little later getting home than usual and walked into the kitchen thinking he'd hear Puck and Rachel doing scales in the keeping/music room. Instead he saw Puck with his arms full of Rachel and the weirdest expression on his face. "What the fuck is goin' on?"

Rachel didn't even bother to untangle her arms from around Puck, she just turned in the big boy's embrace, one hand creeping up to touch the bottom of his mohawk even as she regarded Sam with big brown eyes. "Noah is attempting to save my reputation," She said with a smile.

Sam regarded the way Puck's arms had wrapped around Rachel's waist and effortlessly scooted her up so she was resting on one fairly muscular jean clad thigh, her legs tangled down with his, though her feet hit Puck somewhere mid-calf. "Sorry dude but what the fuck?" Sam shook his head, "With your rep? How're you gonna save hers? Why is Rae's rep in danger?" He sighed, "I'm fuckin' repeatin' myself but what's goin' on?"

"Rae was explainin' to me the lousy reputation foster chicks end up with," Puck didn't sound happy at all about that and Sam groaned. That had slipped right by him when he'd been in the choir room. "I really don' like the idea that people'd talk about Rae like that. Did ya think I'd just leave it at that?"

"Got me on the blindside," Sam explained shortly. "I'm slow sometimes. But I'm caught up now. How're you, with your rep as a stud, goin' to keep Rae's good name intact?"

"My good name is already toast," Rachel shrugged. "Noah is simply lending me the protection of his reputation by declaring me his. If I belong to him, I'm just his girlfriend, not an indiscriminate slut the way the school would think by Monday, since they now believe I'm a foster child."

"Why did you say that?" Sam asked her, that awful feeling of rage when he realized just what she'd done coming back to him. He'd been ready to beat the hell out of someone in that choir room when they'd just assumed Rachel had to be the foster child because she didn't fit their definition of cool. "You know what people think of foster kids. Why did you do that? They think I'm cool so they may have just ignored it. They'll be worse than ever to you now."

"You haven't had to lock yourself in a room with the weights and punching bag for months," Rachel pointed out crisply. "And football will help with any excess aggression but I won't have you jeopardizing Stacey and Stevie's chances to live with us because you lost your temper and killed Mr. Schuester, ineffectual authority figure though he may be."

"And that's why I asked Rae to be my pretend girlfriend," Puck said reasonably. "If Mr. Stein and Mr. Berry are doin' everything they can to get your sibs outa the system and in with them and you mess it up, it don't just hurt you. It hurts them. I know how it feels to wanna kill somebody, believe me I do, but you gotta think of them. Rachel is. This is how I can help. So Rae is my fake girlfriend, only not made of plastic, with a future option for actual girlfriend if she decides she wants to deal with me."

"You are not dating my sister," Sam shook his head and folded his arms glaring at Puck. "There is no future option here. She's way too good for you."

"Samuel Evans, that is not your decision to make," Rachel snarled at him and slid off Puck's thigh to stand in front of Sam with her hands on her hips. "Noah is my friend. The best friend I've ever had. And if in the future he wants to actually date me and kiss me and I want to do the same with him then I will. It won't be any of your concern. Daddy and Dad might be able to forbid me from dating him but I doubt they would be so mean spirited."

"They don't know him, his reputation, all the shit he's done," Sam protested. "He got his best friend's girlfriend pregnant and-"

"Enough," Rachel hissed the word out like a snake. "I don't want to hear another thing about it. Contrary to what you may think Sam, Noah does talk to me. I find it laughably easy to tell when he's lying or concealing something. And the gossips at McKinley aren't exactly known for discretion so I had the entire story by the end of my second day there. Including the fact that it wasn't Noah's idea to hide the fact that he was Beth's father, it was Quinn's. I also know that the summer he spent blind drunk was after he had to give up his daughter for adoption. You know a little bit about acting out when you've been hurt. Would anyone in their right mind try to steal an ATM?" Rachel shook her head, "I love you big brother but I don't want to hear another word about Noah from you unless it's something supportive of my relationship with him."

"Damn Rae, give the dude a break," Puck muttered quietly, his voice more than a little sympathetic. Rachel turned to glare at him and Puck spread his hands in a 'don't shoot me' gesture. "I wouldn't want a guy like me dating my little sister. Eliana deserves better'n me."

Rachel frowned at him and Sam was slightly heartened to see that Puck already knew Rachel on a tear was a force to be reckoned with because the big guy flinched slightly. "We're going to be talking about this at some point Noah," She told the mohawked boy with a warning tone in her voice.

Puck just sighed and nodded resignedly, "Yeah I gotcha Rae." He took her hand and grinned in a wicked manner Sam really didn't like, and raised her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it like an old fashioned dude. "I gotta go. Eli's gonna be waitin' on me. Got an early practice tomorrow, can I come by after I do some work? Maybe we can talk 'bout our glee assignments."

"Can I come watch your practice?" Rachel asked looking at Puck and then at Sam. "I could catch a ride in with Sam and sit on the bleachers. I don't know a lot about football but it seems like a girlfriend should know something in an attempt to be supportive."

"You'll be awful bored," Puck warned. "Better bring a book or somethin'."

"That won't be a problem," Rachel grinned. "So may I?"

"Be cool to have you there," Puck grinned in a way that made Sam want to hit him a little. There was something not quite right about that grin. "But if you wanna sleep in I'd totally get it."

"I have to be up for my run anyway," Rachel shrugged. "I'll just do some laps on the track instead of on my treadmill."

"Then I'll see ya tomorrow," Puck let go of her hand after kissing it one last time and Sam must have made some noise of disgust in his throat because both Puck and Rachel looked at him in annoyance before Rachel walked Puck to the door.

Sam shook his head and began rooting into the fridge for dinner provisions when Rachel came back into the kitchen. "Sam you had better not try that ridiculous he man routine again," She announced angrily.

"Who man routine?" Sam blinked as he tried to remember exactly how much sour cream he'd need for stroganoff and if they had any tofu he could use for Rachel's portion. "Rae what are you talking about?"

"Yes, little star what are you talking about?" LeRoy Berry entered the kitchen from the garage. "We really need to get the rest of the boxes out of the garage so Dad can park in there too. If I beat him home one more time and get the primo spot he's going to beat me to death with a shovel in my sleep."

"Daddy," Rachel smiled at her dad. "Love your tie and shirt together, very unattorney like," She teased with a grin. LeRoy maintained that dressing like a lawyer, thus a conservative, didn't have to be unfashionable.

"Thank you baby star," LeRoy wasn't to be deterred Sam realized after a moment. "Now I caught who man routine and I'm guessing that Sam has done something of which you disapprove."

"My friend Noah is going to pretend to be my boyfriend in order to protect my reputation," Rachel said quietly. "Sam doesn't approve."

"Why does your reputation need protecting?" LeRoy asked loosening his tie and taking off his jacket as he removed a beer from the fridge.

Sam listened with half an ear as Rachel explained the events of glee club that afternoon and the discussion, obviously glossed over, that she'd had with Puck when he'd brought her home and the decision they'd made together. Part of him wondered exactly what it was she was hiding that she and Puck had talked about or done while he hadn't been there, but he was aware enough to know that Rachel was already irritated with him. Prying into what she considered a private conversation wasn't going to help his case.

Rachel sighed as she got out of the shower. Dinner had become a discussion of how school was going and why Rachel was wearing outfits that consisted of a ridiculous combination of sexy and prim. Explaining everything that had gone on, her plan to deal with it and how she'd shielded Sam from any negative connotations had been exhausting.

"Rachel we did not raise you to lie about who you are, not even when it shields someone you love," Hiram had been particularly angry.

"Dad, the damage was done the minute I set foot on school grounds looking less than fantastic," Rachel argued. "I'm forever branded as a loser. Even with Noah as my friend and Sam as my brother, I doubt the slushies will stop. According to Noah being in Glee won't help my case there."

"So you're basically exaggerating your perceived status," LeRoy had summarized quietly. "Since everyone has assumed the worst you've allowed it and taken any insult heaped upon Sam to yourself as well."

"They assumed I was the foster child," Rachel repeated. "I didn't want Sam to be...put through the explanation. It's none of their business what happened to his family. If they're decent people underneath the stupidity they won't mention it again. If they're not, well I'll find out soon enough."

Hiram hadn't taken the entire idea very well, that his little girl was being bullied because of her clothing and intelligence of all things, made him want to march down to the high school and have more than a few four letter words with the instructors and principal.

Sam had explained with a sigh that it would do very little good and would likely make Rachel more of a target. "According to the guys on the football team most of the teachers look the other way, the only ones who don't are the cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester and our coach, Sharon Beiste is her name. They're both fairly strong women, but Sue tends to use her power to get what she wants and Beiste doesn't speak up much. Still, they see shit going down they do something which is more than some of the so called 'nice' teachers do."

Rachel sighed again and wrapped a towel around her hair. It would be nice to run outside, it hadn't been safe in Chicago despite their nice neighborhood and she hadn't had time to do it before school since she'd had dance classes. Absently toweling herself dry she made a mental note to think of a different color than blinding yellow for her room. Tossing the towels into the laundry basket she combed through her hair and sprawled onto her bed. There was nothing like the feeling of soft clean sheets against her skin.

A grin flickered over her lips as her phone rang and grabbed it to see Noah's name on her caller id, "Noah, how is my favorite pretend boyfriend?" She laughed into the phone.

"I'm good Princess," His voice was warm. "How's your night goin'?"

"Daddy and Dad have heard everything that happened this week," Rachel sighed. "Dad had to be talked out of raising hell at McKinley."

"Yeah that wouldn't help much, teachers'd start givin' you shit on top a the kids," Puck agreed. "So what're you doin'?"

"Not much," Rachel looked down and nearly blushed as she realized she was completely nude and talking to a boy on the phone. Thank God they weren't in the age of automatic video streaming. "I just, uh, hmm..." Now she did blush. How would she put the phone down to put something on without explaining to him what she had to do?

"Rae you all right?" To give him credit Noah sounded concerned over her sudden unease, "If you're busy I'll see ya tomorrow."

"No, I'm not busy," Rachel groaned, "I just need to put you on speaker for a second, all right?"

"Yeah that's cool," He sounded bemused but agreeable enough and Rachel muttered a quick 'thank god' under her breath while she clicked to speaker and began to pull open her drawers. "Okay, now you got me curious Rae, what are you doin'?"

"Just a second," Rachel pulled an oversized teeshirt over her head. "All right," She clicked off speaker. "I'm good to go."

"What'd you have to do, hide your stash or somethin'?" Puck chuckled into her ear, a low wicked sound that made her belly tighten.

"No, don't be ridiculous Noah, I don't have a stash," Rachel laughed at him. "Guess again."

"Well, I didn't hear you talkin' to anybody but me, an' you don't know many other guys so I guess you didn't have to sneak out some other dude," Puck speculated. "Not to be gross or anything but I know that girls use the toilet too Rae."

"Noah!" Rachel giggled in amused disgust, "Eww, no, I wouldn't answer the phone if I was in the bathroom."

"Right, forgot I was talkin' to a classy chick for a second," Puck chuckled again and Rachel nearly groaned at the pull she felt in her belly at the sound. "Hmm...well I guess if you were busy...having a private moment so to speak you wouldn't have answered the phone either would you."

"Is that a question?" Rachel teased, a grin spreading her lips.

"You're a tease," Puck laughed again. "Damn that's sexy," He huffed out another surprised laugh, "Why is it I find you teasing me sexy when any other girl I'd be irritated?"

"I'm special," Rachel informed him with a hint of snoot in her voice. "Can't you tell Noah?"

"I know you're special, I ain't even ever been a pretend boyfriend for a girl before, let alone wanna be a real one eventually," Puck retorted. "But I noticed you never answered me." His voice lowered as if he didn't want to chance anyone interrupting his conversation with her. "Were you touchin' yourself Rae? You know how hot that is right?"

"Well Noah," Rachel heard her voice go an octave lower than usual in a completely involuntary manner and smiled slightly, "I'm almost sorry to tell you no, I wasn't. But I'll definitely keep in mind that you consider it hot." She tilted her head, "On a side note, would it be unusual for a girl to find a guy masturbating hot?"

"Dunno," Puck was grinning, she could hear it in his voice, but he still had that low raw tone that made her feel as if someone was tugging on the nerves between her thighs. A slow ache low in her belly that made her nearly squirm at the sound. "Never cared what another girl thought. Do you think it's hot Rae?"

"Only if it's a guy I like, and he's thinking of me," Rachel almost whispered. "So am I weird Noah?"

"Nah," Puck's voice had gone even lower. "I think it's one of the sexier things I've ever heard." Rachel heard him take a deep breath and matched it with one of her own. "So," He sounded as if he was trying to take the topic off of sex. "What were you doing when I called Rae?"

"You're trying to lighten the mood because you know I'm not ready to do anything more than be your friend right now right?" Rachel asked forcing her voice to sound as normal as possible. That wasn't easy because she could feel her vocal chords nearly trembling.

"Yeah," Puck agreed. "Hot as it is to...talk about... probably ain't a line I should be pushin' right now."

"Yeah," Rachel nodded even though he couldn't see her, "Tempting but unwise." She took another deep breath. "But..."

"But?" Puck sounded as if he was smiling, "Rae, I'm halfway across town, even I, with my stud status, can't attack you through the phone."

"I never thought you would attack me Noah," Rachel retorted. "You have far too much self-control for that." She sighed, "I simply think telling you why I needed to put you on speaker would be far too...titillating to tell you. It would be unkind."

"Rae, babe you're killin' me here," Puck groaned. "What could you possibly have been doin'?"

"I wasn't doing anything Noah," Rachel rolled her eyes; "Really you are so persistent."

"Yeah my ma says stubborn, but persistent works," Puck chuckled. "You gonna tell me? If you weren't doing anything what was the deal?"

"If I tell you, you can't get mad at me about the result," Rachel warned him. "I've tried to head you off."

"All right, I swear you're blameless," Puck promised. "You're not responsible for the effect you have on me, even if you are the hottest little Jewish American Princess I've ever met in my life. Any response I have to you is my own fuckin' fault."

"All right," Rachel paused a moment without meaning to and then took a deep breath, "Really Noah, with all this deep breathing I'm doing I ought to be dizzy by now," She remarked shaking her head.

"Hey Rachel, if you don't wanna tell me you don't gotta," Puck sounded belatedly reassuring, as if he was worried he'd actually upset her. "Let's talk about somethin' else. How 'bout music?"

"I'm not..." Rachel shook her head at herself, "You should know that I'm not ashamed of my body. I'm very comfortable with it. I've worked hard to stay in shape and I think of my body as an instrument, just like my voice."

"Yeah, I got that," Puck's voice was cautious but still friendly, as if he wasn't sure where she was going with this but he was fine with whatever she wanted to say. "Kinda got that from how comfortable you are walkin' round school in those cute little skirts an' those awesome socks and heels."

"When they reach above the knee to mid-thigh they're called stockings Noah," Rachel corrected him with a prim little smile and listened to him groan slightly in his throat. "Why would you make that sound? Do I irritate you when I make a correction like that?"

"Nah Rae," Puck sounded as if he was straining to sound normal. "I just love that tone a voice you use when you correct me."

"Sam says I sound like a school teacher or a librarian," Rachel blinked in surprise. "You fantasize about those professions?"

"Okay so first of all, Sam don't think a you like I do," Puck pointed out. "Second of all, since I've fucked both a school teacher and librarian I don't need to fantasize 'bout 'em." He took a deep breath, "An' that ain't what you sound like to me Rae," He told her quietly. "You just sound so sweet an' controlled when you talk like that. Makes me wanna... taste you. Make you lose control."

"Taste," Rachel frowned her confusion, "You want to kiss me?"

"Damn Rae," Puck chuckled, that dark low tone was back in his voice and Rachel nearly groaned at the sound of it. "Of course I wanna kiss you," He admitted. "But I said taste. You think about that for a while, lemme know when you get it."

"All right," Rachel sighed and remembered what she'd been trying to tell him. "Anyway, you agree that I'm comfortable with my body at school. That comfort extends to my conduct at home as well." She waited a moment and shook her head, "Noah, I got out of the shower about ten minutes before you called. I was just lying on my bed enjoying the feel of the sheets against my skin." Puck didn't say anything and for a moment she could barely hear him breathing, "Noah? Are you all right?"

"Damn," Puck's voice sounded almost strangled it was so low. "Rae, are you tellin' me, that when you answered the phone you were stark naked, lyin' on your bed? An' while you were talkin' to me you put somethin' on?"

"Yes Noah," Rachel told him primly. "When you called me I was completely nude. Now I'm wearing a teeshirt and nothing else." She smiled when he groaned, "Do you need me to let you go...so you can have a private moment Noah?" She asked teasingly.

"I dunno what's a bigger turn on," Puck groaned, "That prim little tease of a voice or when you're tryin' to tease me an' you sound so fuckin' confident Rae."

"You didn't answer my question," Rachel smiled into the phone. "Noah?"

"Oh my god," Puck nearly moaned into the phone. "You want me to Rae? You want me to have a...private moment...thinking a you lyin' on that bed?"

"Hmm...if we're only pretend boyfriend and girlfriend, should we even be discussing this sort of thing," Rachel wondered, "Sounds like it's a little past our limits Noah."

"Yeah it is, but I'd be doin' it anyway, just a little later in the evenin' an' you wouldn't know," Puck admitted. "What about you Rae? You ever do that?"

"Now and then," Rachel grinned wickedly. "Should I let you go Noah?"

"No," Puck disagreed. "Rather be a little frustrated an' talk to you some more," He told her with a groan. "Less you want a little phone sex," He added teasingly.

"That would really be pushing the boundaries," Rachel giggled. "Haven't we already talked about how I don't do well without clearly defined rules and boundaries?"

"Part a me just wonders what it'd be like Rae," Puck confessed in a husky voice. "To hear you go over, to know you're touchin' yourself. An' I wanna kiss you so fuckin' bad right now."

"Hmm... I know we should be friends only for a while," Rachel sighed, "But I really... Noah I really wish you were here with me now, I want you to kiss me."

"You can't tell me shit like that Rae," Puck groaned. "I'll climb that damn tree outside your window and come right inside," He admitted with a sigh. "I gotta tell your dads to trim those fuckin' branches or I'll be way too tempted."

Rachel sighed and wished she could just throw caution to the wind, "Noah, maybe I'd better let you go." She suggested gently, "Before I do something stupid."

"Stupid? Like what?" Puck sounded intrigued and amused at the same time, though that husky raw quality to his voice had yet to fade.

"Like unlocking my window," She retorted with a moan. "And we both know that would be really, really stupid."

"Yeah," Puck groaned. "Yeah it would. Leave it to you Rae, to have one of the only houses with mature trees in the yard when it's a new damn subdivision."

"It's part of why Daddy wanted the house, for the shade trees," Rachel shook her head with a grin. "I should let you go Noah."

"You gonna be thinkin' a me Rae?" Puck asked and Rachel couldn't stifle the moan on her lips at the feel of his voice tugging her nerve endings. "Damn Rae you sound so fuckin' hot."

"Hmm...Noah your voice...just...teases me," She admitted quietly. "You...make me a little...crazy."

"It's so mutual," Puck groaned in her ear. "Okay Rae, I'm gonna let you go. And I'm gonna think of you."

"I...might be doing the same thing," Rachel confessed. "I hope you'll like thinking of that?"

"Yeah," Puck groaned again. "God yeah I will. Gonna think about how you taste Rae, my hot little Jewish American princess."

"Taste," Rachel finally got it..."Oh my god Noah," She breathed. "You're...so... Noah you are so wicked."

"But I'm damn good at it baby," Puck teased. "Hang up the phone Rae, an' think a my fingers an' my tongue where ever you put your hands. Promise me that?"

"I promise," Rachel agreed. "You promise me the same?"

"God yeah Rae," Puck groaned. "Okay, count a three baby, hang up the phone."

"Noah," Rachel forestalled him from disconnecting, "I'm going to take off my shirt now."

"Oh my god," Puck groaned. "I'm gonna come over and trim that tree down myself tomorrow," He swore. "Hang up on me now baby, before I lose my mind."

"Good night Noah," Rachel said in her prim little voice. "I'll be good if you will."

"Night Rae," Puck was sounding a little strained as they disconnected the calls.

Rachel pulled off her teeshirt and set the phone on her nightstand. A shudder traveled over her skin and she sighed and turned out the light before sliding between the sheets of the bed. One hand traveled down between her thighs as she thought of Puck's voice. Shivering she began to stroke and pluck at the sensitive flesh there. Just the thought of him got her aroused; she thought with a mental moan, the sound of his voice, heated by the idea of her naked, was enough to drive her crazy.

Long tense and abruptly relaxed minutes later Rachel realized she'd moaned Puck's given name as she'd finally achieved release. Part of her wondered what it had been like for him. Maybe someday she'd find out. Sighing a bit she turned onto her side and finally sank into sleep.

Author's Note: So these two are heating up fast… teenagers. What're you gonna do? But Sam doesn't seem exactly thrilled with the developing relationship.

Hope you guys like where this is going. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, comments or great thoughts. I'm always interested in hearing what you think.

And once again, the views on foster children are not my own and are the grossest and most stupid widely perceived stereotypes.