A/N: Thank you for the reviews ! I'm glad to be back. This went a little differently than originally planned. Not sure where it's heading, but I hope you all enjoy! (And remember that the baby belongs to Finn & Quinn…no F/R and P/Q in my world.)

As they drove along back towards the residential part of Lima, Puck became aware of Rachel banging her little fist on his back. He could see her lips moving, but couldn't hear anything over the sound of the motorcycle. After letting her suffer for a few minutes (he could feel her annoyance even if he couldn't see it), he finally pulled over.

"Jeez, Berry, you trying to hurt me?"

I'm terribly sorry, Puck! I hope it doesn't leave a bruise", Rachel began to apologize profusely before seeing the smirk on his face and realizing that her feeble attempts at getting his attention likely would not be leaving a mark on his skin.

"I have not been to a high school party before, but I highly doubt that my ballet outfit is proper attire for such an occasion."

"Okay, Berry to English translation…you need to change?"

"Exactly!"

Thirty minutes and stops at both Puck and Rachel's houses later, they were pulling up to Brittany's house in Puck's truck. As soon as they returned to his house, his uncle had commandeered the motorcycle…he wasn't thrilled his nephew had opted to "borrow" it.

Puck was a little surprised at the silence as they drove over to the party. Rachel Berry wasn't exactly the silent type. He could see her fidgeting from the corner of his eye. As they parked outside Brittany's house, she finally spoke for the first time since they got into the truck.

"Puck, I don't think I can do this."

"What do you mean? It's just a party. You know, drunk people and crappy music."

"It's not just a party to me! I'm walking into the lion's den. You're not the only one gets off by torturing me. The difference is that you've stopped.

"Okay, first of all, I love that you're talking about getting off. Secondly, trust me, when it comes to you, it's not the torturing that gets me off. And thirdly, you look hot and you're with me. No one will mess with you."

Puck noticed that his little pep talk did not quite have the effect that he hoped. Rachel still looked like she was ready to bolt out of his truck and run all the way home.

"Listen Rachel, I'm really sorry of all the crap I've put you through. And I get that the idiots in there haven't figured out what I have. But you're Rachel freaking Berry. You don't let other people stand in your way."

"That is true…"

"Babe, just trust me. I will not let anything happen to you in there."

"Okay, Noah, I trust you."

For the life of him, Puck could not figure out why he suddenly felt all warm inside at these words. When they reached the front door, Rachel leaned forward to ring the doorbell and Puck started laughing.

"Yea, we can just go inside, Berry."

Sensing a little remaining hesitation, he grabbed her hand as they walked inside. Rachel closed her eyes, just waiting for someone to yell about Manhands being at the party or what was Puck doing holding RuPaul's hand. And it never came. No one even noticed they were there. It was so strange for Rachel seeing all of these people without their letterman jackets and Cheerio's uniforms. She felt like she blended in far more than she ever did at school.

"Raaaaaaachellll. You're here. Santana said Quinn said Finn said that you would be coming, but I didn't think it was real. I missed you!"

"Hello Britt…umph", Rachel responded, practically falling over as Brittany hugged her.

"Wow, killer, drink much?"

"Puck! It's you too! And you brought Rachel. You two look pretty together!"

"Sorry about her, guys", Santana commented as she pulled Brittany off of Rachel. "Glad you finally got here. Puckerman takes forever to make himself so pretty, huh Rach?"

Quinn stumbled over to the group, due to supporting Finn on her shoulder, and said in a friendly tone, "Hi Rachel. Hi Puck. Finn's not doing so hot either. It's time for me to get him home."

"Noooo, whyyyyy Quinn. I'm not drunk."

"Well, sweetie, the baby's tired."

"Ohhh, Drizzle, I'm sorry. Let's go home right now."

Rachel chuckled. She had been thinking how unfortunate for Quinn to be amongst all of this mess while so pregnant, but she apparently knew how to handle things quite well.

As Puck led her to the kitchen, Rachel couldn't help but think about how the first few minutes of her first real party had been quite successful. She only chatted with fellow Glee members, but they seemed legitimately happy to see her there. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Until she heard Brittany's voice scream, "Time for Spin the Bottle!"

…or maybe it would be.

Before she knew what was happened, Rachel had been ushered into the circle by Santana, who was being surprisingly friendly. She was to her left and Puck was to her right.

The game began on the other side of the circle. Brittany got Mike. Matt got Santana. A football player got a Cheerio. Each time the bottle was spun, Puck could sense Rachel tensing up next to him. He heard her take a sharp intake of breath and not release it until the bottle landed on someone.

What the hell is going on with her? She looks like she's freaking out majorly.

Finally, it was Puck's turn. As the bottle spun around and around, he finally realized it.

Oh, shit. She's never kissed anyone!

Puck understood now. She's never been kissed and she doesn't want her first kiss to be with some random dude in front of all these people who torture her.

His eyes had been locked with Rachel's, but suddenly he saw them go wide. He looked down. The bottle was pointed right at her. She didn't look quite as freaked out as she had when there had been the possibility of having to kiss a random football player. Puck didn't stop to consider why he found this to be a relief. Still, she did not look like she wanted to do this.

"Okay, everyone, the Puckerone thinks that it's time to up the ante on this. I'm changing this to 7 Minutes in Heaven."

He figured that by the time that much time had passed with them in the closet, the party would have moved on to something else. This way, Rachel wouldn't have to kiss him in front of everyone and she wouldn't have to spin the bottle herself.

"Wait, what is that? What is that?", Rachel squeaked out frantically as Santana pulled her off the floor and ushered her towards the storage closet in the kitchen.

She felt Puck standing right behind her. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Trust me, Rachel" as the door slammed closed behind them.

Rachel stood in the dark.

"Noah?"

"Right here, babe. Just looking for the lig…"

And then there was light.

"Um, so I'm not sure what's happening here, but I get the sense that this heaven thing involves sexual intimacy and I really don't think that it would be appropriate for us to…"

"Chill out, Berry. I get it. You've never been kissed and didn't want your first kiss to be in front of all those people. So, this was me finding a way to stop that from happening. Don't worry. I'm not gonna defile you in a storage closet."

"Then why are you taking your shirt off?"

"They'll be swinging that door open in about 6 minutes and we've got to at least pretend something happened in here. Mess up your hair or something."

"Okay..."

And then they just stood there for a few minutes, unsure what to say. Rachel was embarrassed about Puck knowing her little secret…not that it was exactly shocking. For his part, Puck had never been in a closet without making out with a girl, so he just didn't know what to do.

I'm sorry about all of that seduction crap recently. If I had known that you were so inexperienced, I wouldn't have agreed to our little arrangement."

"Why ever not? It is a professional agreement, plain and simple."

"Rachel, you've never even been kissed. You want to tell me that when you've thought about someone kissing your neck like I did today, you weren't thinking of someone you actually liked in a romantic way."

"Well, sure, but you're someone that I could…I mean I can't say that I minded…I mean…", Rachel began before stopping herself from speaking.

"Mind what, Berry?", Puck smirked as he stepped into her personal space. Rachel couldn't tear her eyes away from his smooth chest that was right at her eye level.

Is she saying that she does think of me in a romantic way? And why do I kind of like the idea of that?

"Well it's just that you've been so nice to me lately and I could certainly think of worse people to have nibbling on my neck. Jacob, for instance."

"Ugh, don't ruin the mood talking about that douche."

"I just meant that your arms are rather lovely and I think that I wouldn't mind your hands touching me and I'm going to stop talking now because you're staring at me like you think I'm crazy."

"That is so not what I'm thinking right now. I'm thinking about how fucking turned on I am right now by you."

"No you're not", Rachel whispered barely audible.

"Yes I am. You're beautiful, Rachel. And talented and sweet and all that other crap that I didn't think I liked, but I apparently do.

He likes me?

Rachel swallowed hard. The tension in the air was thick and she knew that if she just said the word, Puck's lips would be on hers.

And then the door swung open. "Time's up."

Mood…effectively ruined.

Puck and Rachel stared at each other and both realized the moment had passed. When they walked out the door, it was as if they left it all behind. Neither was willing yet to consider how things could change if what they thought and said in that room weren't forgotten as soon as they crossed the threshold. Things couldn't change. It would be too much of a risk.

A few hours later, Puck was pulling up to Rachel's house. They had spent the rest of the party hanging out with each as if nothing had happened. Rachel found that she actually liked spending time with some of the people at the party, especially her fellow Glee members.

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Puck. I've realized though that perhaps I'm not ready yet for the role in that play. I think I need a little more life experience before I tackle the role. Besides considering the role includes nudity, they probably wouldn't let a 16-year-old audition anyway. So while I appreciate your assistance, I don't think I'll need these lessons anymore."

Nudity? Well, damn…

By the time Puck recovered from his shock, Rachel was already out of the truck and about to close the door.

"For the record, if you were in that play, I would so be in the front row."

Rachel shook her head in amusement.

"In spite of your ridiculous haircut and insistence upon sexualizing every little comment, I think I'm going to miss spending time with you."

In the blink of an eye, the door was closed and Rachel was heading up the walkway to her house. Puck waited until she was safely inside before driving away. It wasn't because he liked her or anything. It wasn't.