So sorry that this has taken so long!

Chapter Six

Night Changes

Three days went by before Rachel saw Sam again. She had gone to the nearest Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping and was strolling down the cereal aisle when she spotted him. He looked good in a pale blue, striped V-neck t-shirt and grey skinny jeans. Her eyes automatically fell from his broad shoulders, down his well-cut torso and his muscular arms. He was still as model like as ever but it wasn't just his body that she was drawn to. His beautiful green eyes weren't on her but were studying the box of lucky charms he was holding with all the seriousness of an actor studying his lines. His large lips were pursed and she had a flicker of memory of her lips brushing against his, almost swallowed whole from his kiss. Sam was mothing short of gorgeous but that still didn't mean that she was in any rush to take things further with him. She began to turn and head to the next aisle over for tinned food, deciding to come back for cereal once Sam was gone but just as things seemed to never go her way recently, Sam had spotted her and called out her name. There was no way that she could continue on without looking like she was rudely ignoring him.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" She plastered on a fake surprised expression as she pushed her cart towards him. "I mean besides from shopping obviously".

He gave her a not-so-subtle once over before answering her. Yes she knew that she wasn't looking her best in yoga pants and a loose sweater but since Jesse's interview came out she hadn't been in the mood to put much effort into her appearance. Especially since her agent wouldn't stop calling her repeatedly to remind her of Jesse and that she would need to make a statement at some point or another since the press wouldn't stop calling for a comment. "I'm just picking some things up since my kitchen is kind of empty at the moment and I'm going to get fat if I keep ordering pizzas".

Rachel looked him over again and doubted that there was even an ounce of fat anywhere on his perfect body. She on the other hand was positive that she had gained about five pounds since she had returned to Lima. She hadn't been keeping up with her work out routine and hadn't been in any mood to stick to her strict Broadway diet. It wasn't as if she would be taking on any roles anytime soon and this was her vacation. She wanted to enjoy herself and forget about Jesse, not remember the way that he had treated her and their marriage. He used to be in total control of her diet and it only got worst after Eric was born. He was strict with her regime, telling her she would never get another role if she kept on being 'pudgy'. She hadn't told Kurt he had said that, knowing that he would blow up at his remarks over the baby weight she had gained from carrying his and Blaine's son.

"I doubt that's a problem for you" Rachel smiled at him. "You look good, Sam. I know that I can't say the same thing about me but I have no one to impress".

"You look great, Rachel. You look natural" Sam replied immediately and she felt her entire body come alive at the way that he looked her. She made sure to keep her expression neutral, however, not wanting to give away her reaction to his attention. There was absolutely no way that she was going to let herself get suckered back into a relationship with Sam. She wanted to open her heart again but this was just a recipe for disaster. She would be going back to New York eventually and Sam would still be here. How would this ever end well for either of them? "And I read that article in people. Jesse's an idiot for letting you slip away and a bigger idiot for saying all those obvious lies about you. If I ever see him I promise I'll punch him in the face".

Rachel shook her head, still smiling and ignoring the way her heart pounded in her chest at his words. She hadn't felt defended in a long time, not since Finn. "Thank you, Sam, but that really isn't necessary. Look it's been nice seeing you but I really better finish my shopping and go home". She began to turn away from him again but he called out her name for a second time.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call you after that night but I've been busy and I wanted to give you time to think".

"Its fine, Sam, honestly. I wasn't expecting anything more to come from it".

"Let me take you out on a date".

Rachel paused and looked at him sceptically. "I really don't think that's a good idea".

"Do you still refuse to believe in love?" Sam asked her, his green eyes piercing into her own, right into her soul.

"I believe in love, Sam. But I don't think this will end well for either of us if I do decide to jump back into something with you. I don't want to get hurt again, Sam, but I don't want to hurt you either".

"You won't hurt me, Rachel".

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm already hurting and there's nothing you can do to make it worst".

"Sam…"

"Rachel, listen to me" Sam followed her as she turned down into the next aisle, his pace keeping up with hers. She guessed it helped that she was half his size and his strides were longer than hers. "I don't want either of us to spend the rest of our lives wondering what if. I think we could be something great together and I really want you to give us a real shot. You don't have to leave for New York right away. We can just take our time and see where it goes. There's no deadline hanging over our heads this time, Rachel. Please just give me a chance".

She wanted to say no, she really did. Her brain was screaming at her to say no, that she would only end up hurt again and that she was making a huge mistake. Her heart was yelling another thing entirely, telling her that he was the only one that had treated her right since Finn and that she deserved a chance at happiness after all that she had gone through. Her lips moved to say no but then she made her first mistake by looking into her eyes, his beautiful green eyes that were full of hope and optimism and she found that she couldn't strip that away from him. She had to protect him the way that nobody had protected her when Jesse had preyed on her need for love.

"Okay but I'm not promising you anything in the long term".

"I will take that but I'm not promising that I won't try to change your mind" Sam smirked back at her and she felt herself smiling automatically.

"I guess that I will be seeing you around…unless you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"I would love nothing more" Sam immediately responded.

After that, they parted ways and Rachel finished off her shopping including getting some things to make for dinner with Sam that night. At the thought of eating an intimate meal alone with him in her apartment, butterflies started fluttering about in her stomach. Rachel made a vow right now not to overthink things and just to enjoy the time that she had with him. She deserved to be romanced after all the crap that Jesse had just put her through and she was going to enjoy every minute of it without any more angst putting a damper on her love life.


Before dinner that evening, Rachel had a lot of preparation to do. She had a long soak in the bathtub with her favourite vanilla scented bubble bath and spent a long time waxing and shaving. She left her long thick locks down in loose waves that fell past her shoulders and slipped into the new dress that she had stopped off to buy from one of the few but expensive boutiques in town before she had arrived back to her apartment after grocery shopping. It was a mid-length sleeved chiffon dress with an elaborate lacy flower pattern on the bodice in shades of grey and black. She wore it with a pair of silver Luna platform Jimmy Choo heels that showed off her freshly painted grey sparkly toe nails. Her make up was mostly natural with foundation, bronzing pearls and some light eyeshadow.

Shortly after she had put dinner in the oven and grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge, there was a knock on the front door. She felt her heart leap in her chest and tried not to hurry too hastily to the door. She opened her and her heart immediately stopped as she realised who was at the door and it wasn't Sam.


Sam knew that he could be vain sometimes. However he liked to think that it was for a good cause, after all, it took a lot of work to keep himself looking this good and he wanted Rachel to be able to salivate over him because he knew that she would look gorgeous without even trying. That morning at the supermarket, she had looked effortlessly beautiful in her yoga pants with her hair thrown up into a hastily thrown together while Sam knew that if he walked out the house without doing his usual beauty regime that he'd look like a half dead corpse. So that was why he started to get ready hours before he was due to go to Rachel's. He put on his best suit which was comprised of a matching silver jacket and pants set, a light blue dress shirt and a matching tie. He carefully styled his blonde hair and made sure that it was neatly combed before putting on some Armani cologne that Mercedes had sent him as a birthday present last year.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at Rachel's apartment complex – it was Lima after all and everything was basically clumped together since it was such a small town – and knocked on the door. He waited for a few minutes before beginning to frown. Had Rachel changed her mind? Was she not ready for this after all? However after knocking again the door finally opened but it wasn't who he was expecting to see on the other side. "Hello Sam Evans. It's been a long time".

Sam looked past the door to see a distraught looking Rachel sitting on the sofa in the living room. When she saw him she began to get up. "Err…Rachel, what the hell is he doing here?"

"There's no need to be like that, Sam" Sam glared at the figure before him, his stomach squirming as he knew whatever he was doing in Rachel's apartment probably wasn't good. "After all, you are about to be the centre of my new story?"

Jacob Ben Israel might not be a geeky, repulsive, afro-haired menace anymore but he was still a creep who Sam could recognise almost instantly. Sam could tell from the toothy grin that he was shooting at Rachel and then back at Sam that he was about to stir up some trouble.