iv. All I Want Is To Be With You Always
Finn was in the zone.
He had gotten out of bed when he heard Rachel leaving for her morning yoga class. Gathering his books and laptop, he set up at the dining room table, even turning off the computer's wi-fi and his phone.
New York City requires all teachers to obtain a master's degree by age 25. After his first year of teaching 7th-grade social studies, Finn enrolled in a two-year program at CUNY that scheduled the bulk of the coursework in the summers. He would be finished with his second summer (with only the fall semester to go!) as soon as he turned in this paper.
Two pages down, six to go.
He barely even heard Rachel arrive back at the apartment.
"Mmm... Helloo Mr. Hudson," she whispered seductively in his ear after sneaking up on him from behind.
"Oh, hey!" He turned to kiss her quickly and went right back to typing.
"How's the paper coming?"
"Good," he replied absently without looking up from the screen.
"Good." Her response was not filled with the enthusiastic encouragement she usually provided when he was doing schoolwork.
Crap, she was upset. (Why the hell was she upset? Crap.) "Is something wrong, Rach?" he asked cautiously.
"I'm just surprised that you're so intent on finishing your paper considering it isn't due 'til Monday and today's only Friday." There was a hint of concern (or was it suspicion?) in her voice.
"Uh, well I have a big weekend coming up since I'm going to your show tonight and to the cabaret café tomorrow and the guys are having that fantasy football draft on Sunday. Don't want to have to miss any of that." He made sure not to elaborate any further so he didn't give away any hints as to why he planned to swing by her afternoon singing gig the next day.
"Okay," she said simply. "Well I have some stuff to do around here until I have to leave for the theater, but I'll try to stay out of your way."
After forcing a smile she sat on the living room floor, stretching. He couldn't help but steal glances as she bended and flexed her endless legs, and twisted her small torso from side to side. And he obviously had to peek over the top of his laptop screen when she reached her arms above her head and her chest jutted out into the air. Finally, after 15 minutes she made off for the shower, winking at him as she passed by.
He realized then that she wasn't upset.
She was horny.
Five-and-a-half pages to go.
Apparently, she was trying to kill him.
Fresh from the shower, she walked past him wearing only a towel, retrieving a glass of water from their small open kitchen. Her wet hair was loose around her shoulders, causing droplets of water to slide down into the crevice between the exposed tops of her breasts as she sashayed back to the bedroom.
He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to snap himself out of it and get back to his stupid paper.
Five pages to go.
Moments later, Rachel emerged, dressed only in underwear, and started doing dishes. He couldn't help but smile at her panties, which were black with gold stars. Even after all this time she had never stopped being herself, and Finn loved all the little details that made Rachel who she was.
It also didn't hurt that the panties made her butt look even more awesome than usual.
Finn thought of the mailman for the first time in 5 years in the hopes that it would help him concentrate.
Four-and-a-half pages to go.
He managed to re-focus his brain back to the computer screen, but just as he was getting back into full concentration mode, he heard her singing.
Even over the sound of the running water and swooshing sponge her silky voice filled their small apartment and poured into his eardrums. Every time he heard her sing, Finn felt the same exact way he did their sophomore year. His entire body felt like it was somehow more alive, the beating of his heart more determined and every nerve ending of his body standing at attention.
They really had been tethered since then.
Four-and-a-quarter pages to go.
Fuck it, he thought after staring at the blinking cursor for a solid minute, completely under the spell of her beautiful voice.
It was probably totally weird that after all of her half-naked prancing, the sound of her voice is what did him in.
He hit "save" and stood up from his chair, scooping her into his arms without warning and carrying her off to the bedroom.
"I knew I could break you eventually," Rachel said with satisfaction, looping her arms around his neck and catching his earlobe between her teeth.
Thirty minutes later they laid quietly in bed, and Finn knew he should feel content with her small body pressed up against his side and her small hand lightly stroking his stomach. He was nervous though. He really wanted to follow his original plan and surprise her at work the next day.
But he just couldn't wait any longer.
After giving her a long, sweet kiss, he gently eased her aside so he could reach over to his nightstand drawer. Rachel eyed him curiously and sat up a bit, pulling the bedsheet up over her bare chest.
Finn pulled out the small velvet box but tried to conceal it while he re-situated his lower body under the covers. (It was bad enough he was doing this in bed after sex; he didn't need his whole… business … literally hanging out there.)
"Rachel…" he began shakily, displaying the box and flipping it open to reveal the simple round solitaire set in a gold band engraved with stars.
Her eyes went completely wide and her mouth fell open. "Yes! Yes, Finn, YES!" she squealed, tackling him down onto his pillow.
A/N: So yeah, I realize it's a little inconsistent to write one snippet (iii) in which Rachel is completely oblivious to that fact that her body is distracting Finn, and then have this one in which she's doing it on purpose. But I hope you'll all forgive me.
