Stay With Me

A/U. Story title from the song "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith.

Sometimes what you want and need are one and the same. Finn wanted her. Finn needed her.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Songs are the property of the writers/singers. Glee characters are the property of Glee.

Chapter 7

Going into the last 2 weeks of conditioning camp, Finn was in excellent playing shape. The only problem he has noticed was some slight soreness in his right shoulder from the repetitive throwing drills.

He had been stopping by the therapy room per Dr. Isaac's instructions to have Rachel apply heat and massage to his shoulder to help keep the soreness at bay. And she had been right. She was an excellent therapist. Most of the guys requested her over all the other therapists. This caused a slight feeling of jealousy from Finn, especially if she paid too much attention to any one player. He tried hard to cover it up, pushing the feelings to the back of his mind.

He and Rachel would steal kisses when no one else was around. Sometimes they became quite heated, breaking apart before they went to far and risked getting caught. They both knew it was wrong but the feelings that were gradually increasing between the two was becoming to hard to deny.

His relationship with Stephanie had been cooling down over the past several weeks. He hardly ever called or texted her now. And when they did talk, she would go on and on about his lack of interest in his Broadcasting degree and in their future together. He did his internships at the local radio and television stations. What was she complaining about? "Finn, instead of that stupid bartending job you should be working at a radio or television station. Football is all well and good but, let's face it, playing in the NFL is a long shot. You need to be realistic, Finn. You are so handsome and would like so good in front of a camera." Then she would let out that loud cackle of hers. (Why hadn't he noticed before how fucking irritating that laugh of hers was).

He had tried his hardest to fight his growing feelings for Rachel. But she was right there. He saw her every damn day. They would talk for hours; Rachel encouraging him to follow his dreams, to work hard towards his goals, to embrace his passion. She wasn't always trying to tell him what his dream was or what his passion was.

And she was just beautiful. She was a tiny little thing but man, that body! Long legs, nice butt, (breasts were kinda small but what the heck), long, shiny brown hair, soft olive skin, and those eyes; dark, chocolate, huge, hypnotizing. Not to mention her plump, oh-so- kissable lips. To top it off, she was sweet, funny, compassionate, adorable. What a package.

Well, Stephanie was due back in 10 days. He had until then to take a serious look at their relationship and see if he wanted to continue being with her. But now, he wasn't even sure he even liked Stephanie, he definitely didn't love her.

For now, he just spotted the woman that was constantly on his mind, alone in the whirlpool room, restocking the supply cabinet. He eased up behind her and put his hands around her waist.

"Finn Hudson, I would know the touch of those big hands anywhere," she said, turning and smiling up at him. Standing on her tiptoes, she kisses him lightly on the lips. He tries to pull her in closer and deepen the kiss but she pulls back. "No, Finn. Rob is just down the hall and he'll be back in here in just a minute."

"Come on, Rachel. Just one kiss, please?" he begs.

"I just gave you one, Finn," she says, placing her hands on his chest.

"Oh, come on Rach, that was just a little peck." He pulls her back in. "I need one that will last me at least until tomorrow."

Sighing, she gives in and kisses him deeply but pulls away as soon as Finn tries to prolong it. Smiling, she says, "Look Finn. That's all you are getting for now." She turns and finished placing the towels into the cabinet and closes it.

Turning around again to face Finn, she says, "What are you doing the rest of the day anyway? Your favorite playground pal is busy chasing behind my roommate."

"Well, I'm driving Matt and Keisha to the airport later. They are flying to her hometown for the long July 4th weekend," Finn says.

"Oh, that's right. She told me she's from a town outside of Atlanta. Waycross, Georgia. The two of them are so quiet. Does Matt even talk when I'm not around?"

Finn laughs."Yeah, he's a cool dude. But, very quiet compared to Puck," Finn answered. "So, what are you doing tonight? And if it has anything to do with you-know-who, I don't want to know."

"Well, I have class after I leave here, then I'm going out with you-know-who."

"Ahhh! What did I tell you, woman," Finn jokes. She laughs.

They look up and Rob is coming in the doorway. "Hi, Finn." Turning toward Rachel he asks, "Finished up in here, Rachel?" She nods.

Finn headed towards the door. "Well, I'm outta here. Talk with you two later. Have a good long weekend and see you Tuesday."

Later, Rachel sat soaking in the tub as Michael Buble' played on her old cd player that Finn had called a relic. She closed her eyes, thinking about her plans with John tonight.

Their relationship was in somewhat of a holding pattern. Cool, maybe lukewarm but not quite cold yet. They still went out on dates when he wasn't on call or she wasn't otherwise busy. But John had become so...so formal. She guessed it had something to do with his career.

Their dates seemed more and more like business meetings. Planned agendas. Their lovemaking was familiar, routine, safe; almost like they were following a script in a play. Everything about their relationship was safe. Plain and simple. They hadn't had sex in weeks. Maybe it didn't fit into his schedule. Stop it Rachel, that was not nice.

Things between them had seemed fine. She had been content. Content until she had met Finn Hudson. Spending so much time with Finn, her feelings for John had changed. Finn was fun, spontaneous, enjoys the little things in life. He had taught her not too always take life so seriously.

It didn't hurt that Finn was also gorgeous; very tall with a big, strong body. He had that sexy brown messy hair, those beautiful amber eyes, light dusting of freckles across his nose, and that smile that set off those heart-melting dimples.

Rachel also felt guilty. She had wrongly seduced John the night after she had first kissed Finn in her kitchen, trying to rid herself of her growing feelings for Finn. It didn't work. All it took was one look or touch from Finn and all her defenses where shredded, she turned into putty in his hands.

They both knew they shouldn't give in so easily to their desires. But some things were so hard to fight, beyond your control. There was a strong attraction between the two of them. Whenever she was near Finn or even thought about him (which was a lot), she felt this strong pull, tugging at her heart. How can a human fight that?

So she knew, at this point, she could not sleep with John. That last time left her feeling completely unsatisfied, unfulfilled and empty. So completely guilty and filled with remorse. But maybe, if she tried harder, they could get back to some semblance of where they once were. Besides, Finn had a girlfriend.

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She sat across from John at the restaurant, sipping on her white wine. "John, you have got to stop spending so much money when we go out. You can't afford this on your resident's pay."

"Oh, Rachel. Relax. I'm fine. We hardly get this opportunity and I want to spoil you. So how's your internship coming along? I miss seeing you at the hospital. But now you spend all your time around all of those big jocks. Should I be jealous ?

"Please. That's all they are too. Big, hulking jocks. Its just my job to help keep them on the field. But, I'm learning a lot working with Dr. Isaac and Dr. Penning, too."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Dr. Penning is working exclusively with the sports department now. Speaking of which," John continued, placing his hand on top of Rachel's,"I'm leaving in the morning for my final interview with the team that I'm joining at Duke. That's why tonight is so special."

"Oh, really? That's great but John, I wish you could have given me more of a warning. When will you be back?"

"Well, the hospital has let me off rotation for a week. So, I'll probably be back next Thursday or Friday. I will need time in Durham to look at apartments and condos, tour the facilities, meet with the other surgeons I'll be working with, that sort of thing," said John. He raised his hand for the waitress to bring their check.

"And," he went on, "when I get back, I want to sit down with you and have a serious talk about your plans and any decisions you've come up with about our future."

Rachel choked slightly on her roll. Taking a sip of wine, she signals John that she is okay. "Well, I've been so busy, I haven't really started looking at graduate schools, yet. But, I promise you, Duke is still on my list. (Oh Rachel, you are so in denial). I still have time because most schools aren't taking applications until September anyway."

"Well, don't wait too long. Duke is very selective and only have limited spots. You finished? Let's get out of here, sweetheart."

They walked to the car, holding hands and chatting lightly about their week. John then drove them to her apartment.

Sitting on the couch, Rachel knew that he expected to continue their date in her bedroom.

Complaining of cramps and not feeling very romantic, Rachel curtailed any plans he had of spending the night in her bed. She walked John to the door and kissed him goodnight. He reluctantly left, disappointed, but she gave in to his request for her to make it up to him once he returned.

She went into her room and changed into her pajamas. Lying in bed, she immediately texted Finn:

'You awake?'-RB

'Yea, what's up?'-Finn

'Nothing. Just got home. Can't sleep'-RB

'Maybe because it's just 11pm. Dumped the Doc so soon?:) -Finn

'Funny ha ha. Is Puck there or over here? Do I need my earplugs?'-RB

'They're here. That's why I'm in my room playing video games'-Finn

'Hey, answer your phone'-Finn

Rachel's phone started ringing. "Yes, Finn. I didn't want to talk. I'm just checking on Kayla really."

"Liar. Listen up. We are rehearsing in the morning. Why don't you and Kayla come by? We need an audience to listen to us go over a few songs and give us an honest opinion of how we sound," Finn said, hopefully.

"Okay. I'd like that. I'm sure Kayla will come to. And you do know Finn, I can brutally honest." They both laughed. "What's a good time?"

"Say about 1or 2?"

"Okay. Where do you rehearse?"

"In one of the guys' basement. Good acoustics and he soundproofed it. I'll text you the address in the morning before we leave out. It's not too far."

"Okay. Well, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. Goodnight, Finn Hudson."

"Good night, Rachel Berry. See you tomorrow."

Finn was glad Rachel had texted. It let him know that she was thinking about him, even after her date with you-know-who. It gave him a warm feeling, endearing her even more to him.

Feeling guilty and remorseful, he had called Stephanie earlier. She had gone on and on about some big July 4th party she was going to Monday on the lake with her old high school friends. It was being held at one of her parents' wealthy friends' summer home on the lake. Her parents were also wealthy and didn't mind spending their money spoiling her and themselves, too. Stephanie didn't have to work, she just did it for the experience and to help with her application to law school.

She got pissed because he said he was going to a pool party Monday with Puck. She thought Puck was still single and on the prowl and thought it was 'inappropriate' for him to hang out at the pool with Puck and "a bunch of man hungry girls. You just remind all of those hussies that you are taken. You hear me Finn?"

What right did she have to be jealous? Lake party? Pool party? Same thing. He wasn't even going to tell her that Puck now had a girlfriend and her and her roommate were going to the party too. Some details he just kept to himself.

Now that he thought about it, this would be the first time he would get to see Rachel in a bathing suit. Would she have on a bikini? Of course she would. One thing Rachel Berry was not and that was a prude. Not with those super hot short shorts she always wore, or those skimpy, body-hugging tank tops of hers. Not to mention those tight mini skirts she favored. Oh, yeah. What color was her bikini, he wondered, as he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.