Okay, I know this update has been longer coming than most. Sorry about that, but this chapter just took me a while. Part of it is that it is quite long, but it was also that I had this idea in my head of exactly what I wanted and it took me a while to really get it down just the way I wanted it. Anyway, thanks for your patience, and please enjoy!

Also, I have changed the rating to "M." If you are uncomfortable and choose to stop reading because of that, I completely understand, and I think (hope) that the way the last chapter ended will leave you satisfied in at least knowing that Rachel stuck around … for Finn!

"How did this happen?" Finn asked himself. It had been the most emotionally taxing day of his life – first he had to deal with the pain of putting the girl he loved on a train and sending her away, only to experience the joy of having her back again. And now, he was standing in her front foyer with her legs around his waist, holding her up against the front door by her hips as they kissed hungrily. And she had initiated it. He was almost afraid to breathe, afraid of breaking whatever spell had come over her. He had made a vow to always respect her, but it was certainly no secret that he wanted her, and if she was the one taking the lead he would be sure to follow. He hoisted her up a little higher, resting her thighs on the tops of his hipbones, so that she was more at his eye level as he parted her lips with his tongue. Since they hadn't really done anything other than make out, he had become very familiar with the recesses of her mouth and was exploring all the places he knew she liked. He curved his right hand fully under her butt so that he could support all of her weight on that arm, her tiny figure making it incredibly easy, in order to free his left hand to slide up her back and to her head, his fingers tangling into the hair at the nape of her neck. Her hands had already made their way into his hair, tugging on it lightly every time his tongue flicked into her mouth. Suddenly he was shocked by the feeling of her teeth on his bottom lip. She didn't bite him hard, just enough to let him know that she wasn't finished pushing the limits just yet, and he certainly didn't find it unpleasurable. His eyes flew open to search her face, again wondering how they had ended up here and what had gotten into her. He must have stopped kissing her without meaning to, because she opened her eyes as well.

Clearly embarrassed, she dropped her eyes and bit her own lip. She didn't know what was she was thinking. Well, she hadn't been thinking. She hadn't meant to bite him, it just happened. It wasn't even a bite, really, just a little nip. She had gotten caught up in the moment. Something had washed over her in the truck and by the time they were in the house, all she could think about was how his body had felt that morning pressed against hers. She needed to feel that again. She needed to feel the urgency in him that she felt Thursday night in her kitchen and again that morning in her driveway, because she felt that same urgency within herself. Standing in her doorway, looking at him, she thought that maybe if she took charge, showed him how much she needed that feeling, he would forget for a little while how fragile he seemed to think she was and be just a little more … forceful.

"I'm sorry," Rachel began, growing ever more embarrassed over her little 'moment of passion' before. Finn regretted opening his eyes, realizing that the spell had been broken. He scolded himself, because if he hadn't reacted the way he had, her hand would probably still be scratching lightly over his scalp and pulling his hair and his hand would still be, well, on her butt. He lowered her gently back to the floor and moved his hands to her sides. "I hope I didn't, I mean I hope that was … It didn't hurt did it?" Rachel finally managed to form a sentence out of her racing thoughts.

Seriously, was that really what she was worried about? "Are you kidding me? No it didn't hurt. Rach, that was hot!"

"Really?" She tried to look demure, but she couldn't hide the smile creeping across her face. He knew that even though she probably wouldn't admit it, she was proud of herself. Rachel had always been innocent, a good girl, and she was proud of that part of her reputation. But, especially since she had been with Finn, she had wanted to be able to be just a little bit sexy too, without going all sad clown hooker again. "Well, in that case," she gave him that naughty smile again, making him go weak in the knees. She slipped out of her spot between Finn and the door and headed for the stairs, turning to grab the front of his shirt along the way.

His eyes grew wide when he realized where she was guiding him to, then a grin quickly lit up his face. Finn thought it was totally hot the way she was taking charge and leading everything, but he wasn't about to let her have all the fun. He wanted to follow her cues, because he didn't want to feel like he was pushing her into anything, but once he knew they were headed for the bedroom he decided it was his turn to take over. With her delicate hand still gripping his shirt, he bent down, placing one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees, and literally swept her off her feet. She gasped, then giggled, as he carried her up to her room taking the stairs two at a time. She loved how strong he felt to her, how easily he managed to pick her up and move her around at will.

As soon as Rachel recovered from the surprise of being lifted into his arms and caught her breath, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and started planting kisses on his neck. They were light at first, butterfly kisses almost, but with each step she grew bolder, and by the time they reached her door she had started sucking lightly on his neck and nipping at his jaw line. "Oh … my … God," he breathed as she fumbled behind her for the doorknob, refusing to take her lips from his neck to look at the door. When he finally heard the click of the latch, he kicked the bottom of the door just hard enough to make it swing open, and kicked it closed again when they were inside the room.

Rachel giggled at Finn's attempt at privacy. "You know we're alone, right?" she breathed into his ear.

"Mmm, whatever," he moaned as she sucked his earlobe into her mouth. He instinctively closed his eyes, and had to remind himself to open them so he didn't bang the two of them into anything. He was pretty familiar with her room, but he didn't feel that he could trust his senses at the moment. When he reached the side of the bed, he lowered her gently and hovered over her, propping himself up with his hands on either side of her shoulders. He loved experiencing her rougher side, but as much as he wanted to throw her on the bed and put his hands all over her, he didn't want her to think that's all he thought of her. There was something else holding him back too. He couldn't assume that this would be the day that they actually, well, you know, but based on her current … mood … he thought it was safe to believe that they were going to get farther than they had yet. He couldn't let that happen without clearing something up with her. He had been putting the conversation off, not wanting to hurt her, but he knew that if he let things get too far between them without telling her about his mistake with Santana, that would hurt her more than he could stand. He had started unconsciously rubbing circles on her shoulder with his thumb, and she was staring up at him adoringly, biting her bottom lip.

Rachel was proud of herself. Normally every time she started, even wanted, to get intimate with Finn, some nagging fear inside her stopped her. She wasn't sure what she was afraid of, certainly not him. She thought she was afraid of the actual intimacy itself, of being completely exposed to him both physically and emotionally, and mostly afraid of being vulnerable and open. But this time, she wanted it and that fear wasn't there holding her back. She was actually being a lot bolder than she ever thought she could be, but he seemed to be loving it, and she was quite impressed with her ability to please him so far. She believed sex was about love and emotion and intimacy, not simply physical attraction, and she wanted their first time to be special and loving, but she was actually having fun being a little naughty. She decided that it was ok for sex to be all of the above.

Her stomach leapt at the tenderness he used in laying her on the bed. He was being incredible. It would have been really easy for him to just take advantage of her current mood, but instead he was letting her take the lead and following all her cues, only moving forward once she had given him a reason to. But since he had placed her on the bed, he was moving a lot slower. She had expected him to at least lean in to kiss her, but he was still hovering over her, staring at her and rubbing her shoulder. She thought she knew why he was hesitating, and she decided to help him out. Besides, he needed to know the truth about her and Jesse before things went any farther anyway. She didn't think it would change anything, but he still deserved to know. She saw him open his mouth a couple times, clearly trying to find the right words to say what he needed to say, as he studied her face. She pushed herself up on her elbows and decided to just jump right in, breaking the ice. "Finn, we need to talk."

"There's something I have to tell you," he said at the same time. She giggled at their awkward timing as he stood upright beside her bed, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring sheepishly at his feet.

"Me first," she answered, pushing herself up more so that she was sitting on the bed and leaning back against the headboard. She tucked her feet under her as she grabbed his hands and pulled him down onto the bed with her. "Ok," she took a deep breath and continued, "I never had sex with Jesse. I'm still a virgin, Finn." He only rubbed the backs of her hands with his thumbs and nodded. "What, you knew?" Rachel was actually surprised.

"Well, I mean, I didn't KNOW know, but yeah, I knew." He never broke eye contact with her.

"But how? I didn't tell anyone. I didn't have anyone to tell," she added quietly, breaking their gaze to look down at their hands. She loved that Finn was her best friend, but she also hated that he was her only friend. Sure, the other kids in glee had gotten a little nicer to her recently, but they still weren't her friends, and a lot of times she felt like they were only being nice to her because of Finn.

"Well," he began, reaching out to lift her chin so that she was looking at him again, "it was partly because you insisted on moving so slowly with me. I told myself, I hoped at least, that if you wouldn't do it with me then you certainly wouldn't have done it with him." He paused, looking at her as if for confirmation. She reached out to rub his cheek with the back of her hand then ran her fingers through his hair, smiling and nodding in affirmation. She could have sworn that he let out a sigh of relief before he smiled and continued. "But mostly I knew because I just know you, Rach. If you had done … that … with him, you wouldn't have been able to move on so quickly with me. You feel things too much, and it would have taken you a lot longer to get over him." Rachel was amazed at how he could take one of the things she hated about herself and tried desperately to hide, and not only see it but somehow turn it into a good thing. "The way you feel things, your passion, that's one of the things I love about you. You're special Rachel, and everything you do is special. Jesse just … wasn't special."

Rachel knew she was supposed to be giving him the chance to share his secret with her, but she couldn't help herself, she leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the lips, cradling his face in both of her hands. He reached up and grasped her hands, bringing them to his lips and placing a feather-soft kiss in each of her palms. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" she asked, resting her hands in his lap.

He shrugged and smiled his crooked smile, one eyebrow cocked, "I knew you'd tell me when you were ready." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm a couple of times, working up the courage to continue. "Ok, guess it's my turn now," he took a deep breath. 'Just go for it,' he told himself. "Umm, wow, ok, this is tough. Just remember Rach, no matter what I say in the next few minutes, I love you. I only love you, and I've really only ever loved you."

'Thank God I already know what he is going to say,' Rachel thought, trying to keep her face blank, 'or else I would be really freaked out right now.' She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"So, that time I went out with Santana, I actually did have sex with her," the words flew out of his mouth, rushed and pushed together. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have lied, I was just embarrassed because of how crappy it made me feel. I'm so, SO sorry."

"I know," was all Rachel said. She almost wanted to laugh at how adorable he was being about the whole thing, how sincere he was.

"So you don't hate me? Thank Go – wait, you know I'm sorry, or you know I slept with Santana?"

"I know about Santana," Rachel replied matter-of-factly. She continued watching his eyes and waited for him to continue. She was ready for the conversation to be over. Just because she knew, it didn't make talking about it any less uncomfortable.

"I, I don't understand," Finn squinted at her in confusion.

"That next day," she began, "right after I lied, well, after we both lied to each other," she hated the way that sounded, "I went into the bathroom to lock myself in a stall and cry. I felt awful. Santana and Brittany came in and they didn't notice me, why would they? Anyway, Brittany asked Santana how things went and she said, and I quote, 'mission accomplished.'" Finn's stomach churned and he rolled his eyes at what the bitchy cheerleader had said. "I was about to come out of the stall and confront her about lying, I had no reason not to trust what you had told me," Finn dropped his eyes, he felt awful about betraying that trust, "but then she kept talking. She told Brittany that she was actually kind of disappointed in the whole thing," Finn's face burned, now Santana had his girlfriend thinking he sucked in bed. It could have been true, it's not like he'd had a lot of practice, but he didn't want Rachel thinking that before he even got a chance to try. "She said that once it was over, all you did was whine – her word, not mine – about how you thought you were going to 'feel different' and how it was supposed to 'be special.' The air quotes are hers too," she rolled her eyes. "I just stayed in the stall until they left. I was too disgusted to look at her after hearing the way she talked about you." Rachel stopped talking and looked at him.

"Rach, before I say anything else, you have to know, I feel completely awful about this. Really, I feel awful about all of it. I feel awful about doing it with her, I feel awful about lying to you about it, and I feel especially awful that you had to listen to that crap." Finn reached out and lifted a section of her hair from her shoulder, twirling it between his fingers. He loved her hair, the silky feel of it, the shine, and of course the smell. "But as much as that must have sucked for you, you have to know that part of what she said is true. I did think that I should have felt different afterward, and I did expect it to be special. She may have been disappointed, but so was I Rachel. More than anything I was disappointed in myself. And I think one of the reasons I never told you was because it didn't even seem real, like it didn't count, because it didn't mean anything. And I didn't want to hurt you over something that didn't mean anything." Rachel leaned forward and hooked her hands behind his neck, pulling his face to hers and kissing him. As they sat with their foreheads pressed together, both just looking at the other's contented smile, he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him. "If you knew all along, why didn't you ever say anything?"

She gave him a playful smile, "I knew you'd tell me when you were ready." He laughed and lifted her off the bed, dropping her on his lap so that her legs hung down to his left. He draped his arms lazily around her waist, thinking there was no way after that conversation that they were picking up where they had left off earlier. Still, he was glad they had the conversation. Now, the next time they were in that position, whenever that was, there would be nothing standing in their way.

"Look, Rach," he began, "about earlier, that was, wow, it was awesome," his eyes got huge and she giggled at his earnestness, "but I don't, I mean, we don't …" He abruptly stopped talking and inhaled sharply as her hands slid inside his button-down to tug his t-shirt out of his jeans. He felt her lips just behind his ear and he involuntarily dipped his head to the side to give her better access. "Mmm," was all he could manage to get out when she turned her body toward his, swinging one leg over his so that she was propped on her knees straddling him.

"I love you," she whispered breathily into his ear. "I love you even more now than ever before." She pulled back to look into his eyes as she waited to see how he would respond. She knew that their conversation probably should have calmed her desires a bit, but she still wanted him just as much as before. Their honesty, the freedom from their secrets, made her feel closer to him than ever and that was a big turn-on for her.

"I love you too," he snaked his hands up her back so that they rested on her shoulder blades. He could feel her fingers curling around the hem of his t-shirt. "But I don't want to push you, you know that, right?" Even as he said it, her finger nails were snaking up his bare back. The look in her eyes told him that she was planning on doing some pushing of her own. Seriously, where was this coming from? She pulled her hands out of his shirt, and his skin felt cold at the absence of her touch. She leaned forward, again finding his neck with her mouth. He moaned softly as her fingers began working the buttons on his shirt, starting from the bottom. When she had released the top button, she slid her hands under the shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. Almost involuntarily, he dropped his hands from her back to his sides so that she could push the shirt completely off of him, then put his hands behind him to support his weight. When he leaned away from her slightly, he could see that the way she was sitting, straddling his broad lap, had caused her skirt to ride up so that it barely covered her panties and he could see all except the top couple inches of her legs. The sight was almost too much for him to handle, so he closed his eyes and turned his head to meet her mouth with his own. He brought his right hand to the back of her head, hoping to keep her attention on his lips that way. The feeling of her lips on his neck and the sight of her skirt pushed up around her hips, still burned onto the backs of his eyelids, had forced him to picture the mailman once already. He needed a break, and it wasn't that making out with her didn't make him totally hot, but he had kind of gotten used to it over the past few months so it was easier for him to stay calm. In his desperation to control his body, he didn't notice that Rachel's hands had moved from his shoulders and were nimbly undoing the button and zipper on his jeans.

Realizing that he was quickly reaching the point of no return, Finn used the hand still on the bed to push himself completely upright again. He had to make sure Rachel was really ready and that they were on the same page before going any farther. He kissed her one more time, softly, then pulled away from her, resting his hands on the tops of her legs. "I love you so much," he began, reaching up to play gently with her hair again, "and don't get me wrong, I love this. God I love this!"

"I can tell," Rachel giggled as she wiggled a little lower onto his lap.

"Not fair," he groaned. "I'm trying to be serious here, and you're making it really hard." Her eyes lit up and her mouth flew open, ready to respond to his unfortunate word choice. "Ah, no! Not a word!"His hand flew up to cup over her mouth and she resorted to giggling uncontrollably. "My point is," he rolled his eyes, starting his speech again, "I love you, and I respect you too much to feel like I'm pushing you into anything you're not ready for. This is a really big deal, and if you want to stop, I won't be mad or upset or anything; a little blue maybe, but not upset." He smiled at his own clever pun, but she only looked back at him, clearly not getting the joke. He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers and continued, "All I'm saying is, you know I want to, you know, be with you, but only when you want it to happen."

"Finn, I promise, you're not pushing anything. I want this to happen, especially now, after all we've just been through." She had loved him for a long time, but she didn't realize until that day just how deep that love was. She felt a need to celebrate that, to mark it somehow. "This just seems like the perfect time, and I'm ready."

"Yeah?" He tried to hide the eagerness he knew was probably showing on his face, but her smile told him he hadn't succeeded. She didn't say anything in response; she just bit her bottom lip and nodded at him. He had been more than happy to follow her lead up to this point, but now that he knew it really was safe to move forward, it was his turn to have some fun. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her body tighter into his, and cradled the back of her head in his other hand as he crashed his lips onto hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth. She moaned her approval, gripping his hair tightly in one hand. This time, when her teeth grazed his bottom lip, he only tangled his hand into her hair and squeezed her waist closer to him.

When Rachel's lips started moving along his jaw line once more, he tightened his grip on her a little more and stood up, her legs swinging around his waist almost automatically. "What the? How did you …" Finn stammered as his jeans fell to a heap around his ankles.

"Guess I'm just good like that," she breathed into his ear before turning her attention back to his collarbone.

"Oh, you're good alright," he laughed mischievously, causing her to look up at him. "But I hope now you're ready for payback!" Rachel's eyes widened and she wondered exactly what he meant by 'payback.' She felt his hands shifting behind her. He moved his left hand up immediately between her shoulder blades and the other down to the waistband of her skirt as he clumsily worked off his sneakers and kicked off his jeans. He fiddled with her zipper, which was fairly difficult with only one hand. He managed to work the zipper down an inch or two, hoping it would be enough to loosen the skirt enough to slide off. She was so tiny, it shouldn't be difficult. He turned to face the bed, and, keeping his left hand squarely planted on her back to keep her from falling, placed his right hand in front of him to brace them both as he fell forward onto the bed. When Rachel was solidly on the bed, Finn ran his hand lightly down the side of her face and leaned in for a kiss, stopping just as his nose brushed hers. He turned his head quickly and leaned down to place his lips mere millimeters from her ear, "Mmm, not yet," he whispered, standing up.

Her eyes grew large and she gasped, dropping her hands, which had been moving to cradle his face. She lowered her chin and looked up at him through her eyelashes, a look that usually got her whatever she wanted from him. "Nope, not this time missy," he smirked at her and shook his head. He placed both of his hands on the outsides of her knees and began inching, slowly and lightly, up her thighs. He stopped when his fingers were just grazing the hem of her skirt. He stood unmoving for nearly a minute, grinning like a fool and watching her face. She looked as if she would cry, only she didn't look sad. Part of him wanted to keep teasing her, but another, very specific part of him, wanted him to continue just as much as she did.

Rachel couldn't understand what he was doing. She knew that he wanted this just as much as she did, she had been holding him off for months. But as she studied his face, the word 'payback' flashed through her mind and she realized that he was actually enjoying this. He was having fun torturing her. 'Well, I'll make him regret that.' Suddenly she felt a small tug as his fingers tightened around the hem of her skirt and she involuntarily lifted her hips while he yanked the skirt off her and tossed it across the room. 'No I won't,' she amended her previous thought. The truth was she was enjoying herself way too much to care that he was teasing her a little.

"So sexy," he murmured as he took in the sight of her gorgeous legs, followed by simple white cotton panties, then about an inch of that super smooth skin just above the elastic of those panties, and finally her almost-too-short gauzy blouse.

Rachel's face glowed with embarrassment and she propped herself up on her elbows. "Please don't make fun of me," now she actually did look sad, "I mean, I was supposed to be over two hours away from you right now. I didn't see any problem wearing my nerd-girl panties."

Realizing that she had misunderstood him, Finn leaned over her propping himself up on his hands so that he was only inches from her lips. "Baby, I wasn't being sarcastic. You are crazy sexy right now." He kissed her tenderly on the mouth, brushing her lips with his tongue.

Her eyes lit up a little, "Really? Are you sure?" He reminded himself of just how fragile she was and how scared she probably was and made a mental note to stop playing around so much. He thought sex should be fun, and he knew it would be, but he also wanted her first time to be sweet, and gentle, and loving. They would have plenty of opportunities to mix it up a bit once they were more comfortable with each other in that way.

"I guess I need to prove it to you," he replied almost in a whisper, sliding one hand behind her head and the other under her blouse and around to the small of her back. He brought one knee onto the bed between her legs and leaned in farther, forcing her to relax back onto the bed. Her hands caressed the sides of his face and his hand moved up her back to work her bra clasp clumsily as his tongue again explored every inch of her mouth. Having finally successfully unhooked her bra, he leaned back and searched her face. "Umm, Rach, do we need, I mean, do you have …"

"My dads put me on the pill on my 15th birthday, just in case. And you're my first, so unless you think Santana …"

"No, I'm good," he didn't want her to have to finish that sentence. And he really was good, shortly after he and Rachel had gotten back together he went and had everything checked out. He had hoped this moment would come eventually, and he didn't want Rachel to suffer yet again because of his idiotic mistake.

"Then I think we're good," she strained her neck to bring their mouths together again. As they kissed, he brought his hands to her top button, opening it gently and slowly. When he moved on to the next button he brought his kisses just under her chin. And with each button, he moved even lower, until finally he was unbuttoning the bottom button of her blouse and kissing the hollow between her breasts, which were still covered by her bra, but only barely since he had unclasped it and it had shifted during his slow opening of her shirt. He raised his eyes to look at her, wanting to make sure she still seemed to be enjoying what he was doing. Her head was thrown back and her eyes were closed. He smiled and told himself he must be doing something right.

She had expected to be anxious, even uncomfortable, when they made love for the first time. It was a huge step, after all. But all she felt was amazing. Physically, what he was doing felt incredible and sent chills all over her body. Emotionally, she felt loved and protected in a way she never had. She lay on the bed with her eyes closed, trying to just take in everything was feeling. She felt his hands slide around to her back, forcing her shirt to open even wider. She opened her eyes when she felt him pulling her up off the bed. "You good?" he whispered, kneeling between her legs and holding her up.

"Amazing," she whispered back. They had both become very serious. Very happy, but very serious. He watched her face carefully as he moved his hands to her shoulders and grasped her shirt loosely. She nodded at him, and he brushed the shirt down and off her arms. He didn't wait for permission to remove her bra, but he watched her carefully, ready to stop at any sign that she was uncomfortable. He couldn't help but shift his eyes when her breasts became exposed.

"Wow," he sighed, then looked to her face quickly. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her feelings again, but this time she was smiling. She seemed to be getting that he just wanted her no matter what, and because he loved her he thought everything about her was perfect. Although, to be honest, he had always thought she was hot, even before they got together, and he knew he wasn't the only one. He saw the way other guys at school looked at her when they thought no one was looking. It didn't make him jealous, he knew she loved him too much to even consider what another guy thought, but it made him damn proud that he was the one lucky enough to get her. He placed his hands on her hips and kissed her sweetly on the mouth, "I love you," he said almost too quietly for her to hear. Then he lowered his head and started planting kisses down the front of her right breast. He paused when he got to the nipple, and she could feel his hot breath on her very sensitive skin. She could see the goosebumps popping up on her arms out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if he had any clue what this was doing to her.

When he closed his mouth over her nipple, she sucked in a gasp of air and reached for the hem of his t-shirt. He moved away from her breast just long enough for her to pull the shirt over his head, then he moved quickly to take her left nipple in his mouth. 'Have to keep things even, right?' he thought. She had been trying to watch him, but she dropped her head back onto the bed and squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a chill start at her toes and move all the way up her body then down her arms to her fingertips. As he began moving his mouth back up her chest toward her throat, he took one hand off her hip and used it to brush a strand of hair from her eyes then propped himself up on his elbow. With his other hand he hooked two fingers into the waistband of her panties and tugged slightly, pulling them down just a few centimeters at the side. He kissed her again, sucking her bottom lip gently into his mouth. "Still good?" he whispered against her mouth. Instead of answering, she simply lifted her hips off the bed, allowing him to slide her panties down her legs and onto the floor, flicking off her flats when he reached her feet.

Finn paused for a moment to catch his breath upon seeing his girlfriend completely naked for the first time. "You are amazing," he said to her, but he wished he could think of a word stronger than 'amazing.' He lowered his body on top of hers enough to feel her skin against his, but not so much that he put any of his actual weight on her. He balanced his weight on one arm, propped on his elbow, and ran the other hand slowly down her arm. He could feel the goosebumps on her skin, a result of their bodies coming into contact without the barrier of clothing. He moved his hand from her arm to her face, caressing her cheek softly and kissing her tenderly on the lips. "Open your eyes, Rach," he requested quietly.

She did as he had asked her to do, not wanting him to think that she was not happy with what they were doing or that he was doing anything wrong. It was just that she kind of felt the way she did when she was singing – her emotions were almost too much for her to take, and closing her eyes helped her feel it all. When her eyes opened, she saw his staring back at her. He smiled then kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose. She giggled in spite of herself at the cute gesture. His hand, which had been cradling her cheek, moved slowly down her body. She drew in a sharp breath as his hand passed over her breast and his thumb brushed her nipple. He lowered his face to kiss her ear and neck as his hand continued moving down her torso. His hand stopped when it reached her hip. Rachel knew that Finn had wanted to have sex with her for almost as long as they had been together, so she could only assume that his hesitation was out of concern for her. Hoping to assure him that she was ready and encourage him to let his worries go, she slipped one hand into the back of his boxers and scratched her nails lightly over his butt. She held back a giggle when she saw that it was his turn to get goosebumps. She tangled her free hand into his hair, using the leverage to direct his mouth back to hers. Before he could react, she drew his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked it sensually.

Finn wanted to make love to Rachel more than anything in the world, and his body was screaming at him to just move already, but he remained conscious of the fact that it was a really big deal for her, for them. He reminded himself to move slowly. In part, he was giving her an opportunity to stop him if she needed to, but he was also enjoying taking his time and getting to know her body. He knew that this would be something he would remember. But apparently, Rachel's body was starting to get as impatient as his. He may not have been the brightest guy, but there were some hints he could take. When she slipped her hand into his boxers and clutched his hair, he got the message. He again began moving his hand lower. When his fingertips reached the extra-soft skin between her thighs, he was surprised at the wetness already present.

Rachel could feel Finn smile against her lips when his hand finally moved between her legs. She wanted to smile back, it felt incredible, but it seemed that she had lost control of her body. Instead she bit her lip and whipped her head to the side. She stopped tracing patterns on his butt with her fingers and clutched his boxers, trying to pull them down. She whimpered quietly when she realized she couldn't reach far enough to move them more than an inch or two. She heard him let out a short laugh at her obvious frustration as he stood, hunched over slightly so as not to have to remove his hand from her body. She turned her head forward so that she was facing him, watching him remove the last thing that remained between them. She found him adorable as he struggled to shed his boxers with only one hand, still playing her body with the fingers of the other. When he finally managed to slide the underwear down enough so that they fell to the floor, her eyes grew and she held her breath momentarily. How was that supposed to go in there? But before she was able to worry about the logistics any more, he knelt on the bed, pushing her legs a little farther apart with his knees. He leaned back over her and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I love you so very much, Rachel Barbra Berry," she had lost track of how many times he had said those words since they got back to her house, but honestly, she couldn't hear it enough.

Never breaking their eye contact, Finn removed his right hand from Rachel's warm center and grasped himself, positioning himself at her opening. When he had found the spot he was looking for, the entrance that would allow him to become a part of her, he removed his hand and slipped his arms under her body. With one arm around her hips and the other looped behind her shoulders he pushed his hips forward, entering her slightly. As he continued to push into her body, he lowered his face so that his cheek rested lightly against hers. He heard her inhale sharply when he pushed slightly harder, moving into her a little more deeply. "I'm so sorry baby," he whispered, his mouth brushing against her ear as he spoke. He knew it was supposed to hurt the first time for girls, he had done his research – he had wanted to make sure he did everything right when she let him be with her, whenever that time came – but that didn't change the way he felt when he felt a tear roll out of her eye and onto his cheek. He couldn't stand her being in pain for any reason, not even this. He lifted his face from hers and touched his lips to the corner of her eye, right where he had felt the tear. He didn't really move his body at first, giving her time to adjust to the feeling and to the size of him inside her. He continued kissing the side of her face, determined not to let another tear touch her cheek. When her face had relaxed and she seemed to be more comfortable with what she was feeling, he began to move inside her. He moved very slowly at first, only slightly rolling his hips against her.

He didn't speed up the tempo of his movements until her hips starting rising to meet his gentle thrusts. He moved both of his hands to her shoulders, then down her arms, only stopping when he reached her hands. He grasped her hands, their fingers interlocked, and pushed them up beside her shoulders so that he could keep his grip and still support his weight on his forearms. She was so tiny compared to him, and he was kind of terrified of crushing her or hurting her even more. He liked the feeling of their hands intertwined in that way, like every part of them was molding together and he leaned over to kiss the tips of every finger on one of her tiny hands. When he finished, he moved to go to the other hand, but he was stopped by Rachel meeting his mouth with hers. The feeling of his lips on hers, their tongues dancing together between their mouths, sent a heat wave through both of their bodies.

Rachel began moving her hips faster, pushing harder against him. The pain had begun to subside and she was really enjoying the feeling of Finn inside her. When they reached a steady rhythm, moving together at a regular pace with her thighs pressed against his sides and her ankles crossed behind his back, Finn released his grip on her hands. He slid his hands back up her arms and pushed one under her head, cradling her head and clutching her hair at the same time. He moved the other hand down her body, pausing momentarily to roll her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She smiled against his lips in spite of herself, and she felt him smile too. This time it was his turn to gently nip her bottom lip. After playing with her breast a little more – he liked doing anything that made her feel good – he moved his hand lower. She moaned and wiggled her hips against his hand when he reached the dampness just above where their bodies came together. 'Jackpot,' he thought. She seemed to finally have moved past the initial pain and was enjoying herself as much as he was.

They made love for much longer than Finn had feared he would be able to. Once he figured out some of the things that really got her going, he lost himself in pleasing her and didn't focus much on what he was feeling. When he felt her begin to get tighter around him and dig her nails into his back, he felt that all too familiar feeling. But when he looked at her face, with her head thrown back and her eyes squeezed shut, a low moan escaping her lips, he realized he wouldn't be needing the mailman or any other tricks. He began moving faster inside her, and when he knew he couldn't take any more and he was about to lose control, she screamed and let out her breath in short gasps, pushing him over the edge. Physically and emotionally spent, he collapsed on top of her. She worked her fingers into his hair, running them in random patterns over his scalp. Suddenly conscious of his weight on top of her, Finn rolled onto his side next to her, draping his arm lazily across her flat stomach.

"Mmm, thank you," he murmured into her hair.

"What?" she almost snapped at him, whipping her head to the side to face him. Was he seriously thanking herfor sex?

"Thank you for loving me enough to let me be the one," he continued talking into her hair, running his fingers lightly up and down her side without lifting his arm from her stomach. "And for being my 'one'."

She smiled, she should have known better than to suspect him of being cold or insincere. He just didn't always know the best way to express himself; words weren't his strong suit. But when she just gave him a chance, let him work it out between his heart and his mouth, he usually had better things to say than anyone else. "So, it counted then?" she asked, only half joking but trying to keep her voice light.

"Oh, it counted," he nuzzled deeper into her hair and kissed her shoulder. "I've never felt anything more real or more special in my life."

Ok, I hate to beg for reviews, but I really need them on this one! I would absolutely love to hear what you all think. I wanted it to be descriptive and vivid, but not trashy, so let me know if you think I accomplished that, and if not, suggestions please! Also, I know I changed up my format a bit by having this whole chapter cover both of their POVs rather than giving each individually then bringing them together, but it just seemed really appropriate for this milestone event. I hope that didn't throw things off.

On a side note, updates for this story may slow down just a bit because I am about to start another one. I didn't want to try to do more than one at a time, but I got this idea in my head the other day and it refuses to go away until I get it on paper. My goal is to update both stories about every four days or so (I know this chapter took longer anyway, sorry about that!). I hope you don't give up on this story, and I hope you will jump onto the other one with me too!