Rachel raced down the stairs and smiled brightly as she opened the door. Jesse was waiting, a smile on his face as he offered her a dozen yellow roses. Rachel beamed at him and accepted them gratefully.

"You look beautiful," he complimented, and Rachel could hear the sincerity in his voice. She blushed and gave him a once over; he was wearing simple black jeans and his combat boots, but was also donning a dark blue button up shirt, so Rachel could tell he put in an effort.

"You look quite handsome yourself," she replied, taking his hand easily. He smiled cockily.

"As usual." Rachel laughed and bumped shoulders with him as they made way to his car. He held the door open for her and she climbed in gracefully, silently thanking god she hadn't fallen in her Jesse-induced haze. He got in and started driving, and Rachel was shocked to see he was driving in the complete opposite direction of Breadstix.

"Jesse, you're going the wrong way," she told him, pointing over her shoulder. He chuckled.

"I hope you don't mind, but I told my uncle I had a date, and he said Breadstix wasn't a good idea. He recommended this café downtown. Says it's not too crowded, and tonight just happens to be 40's night. It's like a couples night for swing dancing, and I thought it would be fun," he admitted. "If you really want to go to Breadstix, though, I can turn around."

"No," Rachel said quickly, "it sounds like fun! I've never really swing danced, before, though, so I might make a fool of myself."

"I won't let you," Jesse assured, looking pleased with himself, "I know how, and I can lead you so it's effortless. Trust me, it's easy."

"I'll take your word for it," she said excitedly. "Wow, this is going to be the best date I've had in a while. Noah would always take me to Breadstix. One time, he tried to get me to rob a Quickee Mart with him."

Jesse laughed in surprise. "What you saw in him, I will never understand."

"He was sweet, in the beginning. He always bought me grape slushies, and serenaded me on his guitar. But then he just kind of… Changed. I'm glad it's over, honestly. You're ten times the guy he is," she said shyly. Jesse smiled and grabbed her hand, letting their entwined hands rest on the center consul.

"You deserve better than him."

"I know."

"Your modesty astounds me sometimes, Rachel," he chuckled, parking in front of a well-lit café. Rachel grinned and hopped out of the car, practically skipping into the shop with Jesse hot on her heels.

It was very bohemian, with paisley couches and Persian rugs dotting the room. A large dance floor sat in the very middle, and right behind it was the counter. Rachel smiled brightly and hugged Jesse enthusiastically.

"Jesse, this place is wonderful!" she squealed. He smiled and hugged back, and he leaned in to kiss her, but seemed to think better of it. "What's wrong?"

"Well, you said you wanted to go through this the right way, which means I save the kiss for the door," he explained. Rachel grinned up at him; finally, a guy who did things right. She reached up and kissed him gently on the lips, and the fireworks flashed behind her eyelids as he eagerly responded. His lips tasted like spearmint gum, and were soft yet firm as they worked against hers. Rachel reluctantly pulled away for air.

"It's sweet of you to think like that, but that's only for the first kiss," she explained, "and seeing as we already technically had our first kiss—"

"That one during West Side Story didn't count," Jesse countered. "Because that was me kissing you, and you were too busy being in awe of my wonderful kissing skills to kiss back."

"Well, then, we just had our first kiss, Mr. St. James. How was it?" she asked, trying to sound blasé even though her stomach was doing somersaults in anticipation of his answer. He fake-pondered for a moment before pressing his lips to hers again.

"It was the best kiss I've ever had in my life," he whispered. Rachel blushed and was about to respond when the person at the counter coughed irritably at them. Rachel blushed deeper, but Jesse just looked annoyed.

"Yes?" he demanded coldly. The twenty-some year old woman at the counter rolled her eyes.

"You have to order, or it's considered loitering," she said listlessly. Rachel examined the menu and came to a decision.

"I'll have the fruit salad and a lemonade, please," she ordered politely. The woman filled her order and placed the dishes on the counter before staring expectantly at Jesse. He glared at her for a minute before looking at the menu.

"Um… I guess I'll have the turkey brie panini and a decaf coffee, black." Rachel scrunched her nose.

"You drink black coffee?" she asked. She had tried it before- that's how her mom drank it, and she was curious. "Ugh."

"It's stronger that way," he defended.

"It makes your breath stink," she countered. Jesse dropped money on the counter and they grabbed their food off the counter and sat on a sofa that was right in front of a coffee table. Rachel speared a piece of cantaloupe and popped it into her mouth. It was delicious.

"This is really good!" she said happily. She stuck another piece of fruit and offered it to him, and he carefully dragged it off the fork with his teeth.

"Pretty good. Not a big fan of honey dew melon, though," he said. He took a swig of coffee and smiled. "This is pretty good. I'm glad my uncle recommended it."

Rachel was too busy staring at his cup of coffee, her nose wrinkled. "I hope you're not expecting a good bye kiss after drinking that."

Jesse raised an eyebrow at her as if she had challenged him. "Oh, I'm getting a good bye kiss. Trust me, you won't be focusing on the taste of coffee." He winked at her before taking another long drink, prompting her to laugh.

"We'll see," she said, trying to sound cryptic, but she failed miserably as her speech was peppered with giggles. They ate in a comfortable silence for a while before Jesse stood and bowed slightly.

"Miss Berry, would you honor me with a dance?" he asked, gesturing to the other couples swaying happily on the dance floor.

Rachel stood up and curtsied before taking his hand and leading him to the floor. He smiled and brought their hands up so they were parallel to their shoulders. His other arm snaked around her waist while hers fell on his shoulder, and Rachel swayed them back and forth a little before mimicking the other couples, with complicated turns and twirls and dips. Rachel giggled and followed Jesse's lead effortlessly.

"This is so much fun," she laughed, gasping slightly as he dipped her again. He leaned in so close that Rachel thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he whispered in her ear.

"I'm a fun guy." He pulled her up with ease and twirled her, and on the return, when she was tucked into his side, she whispered in his ear.

"Tease."

Jesse growled and pulled her close, resuming the original position. The song ended and Rachel escaped his grip, smiling flirtatiously at him as she walked back over to the couch, Jesse close behind. She sat down and smiled innocently up at him as he joined her.

"You call me a tease," he chuckled, pulling her close and kissing her on the lips.

"Isn't this an excessive amount of kissing for a first date?" she mumbled against his lips. Jesse ceased the kiss and shrugged.

"Well, if it's too much, we can stop," he said easily. Rachel smiled.

"It's not that I want to stop, but I want to talk," she corrected.

"What about?" he asked, draping his arm around her shoulders. She considered for a moment before grinning.

"Let's play twenty questions!" she said excitedly. "Um… Favorite color?"

"Black," Jesse replied instantly. "Yours?"

"Blue, and you can't repeat the question, that's not creative!"

"Fine, fine," he repented, "What's your favorite animal?"

Rachel considered for a moment. "Cats, I guess."

"Mine too," Jesse smiled. Rachel grinned back, glad to see they had yet another thing in common.

"Okay, what's your favorite book?"

"Sounds of Sondheim. He's kind of my hero," he admitted. Jesse glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. "Whoa, we gotta get you home. It's almost curfew."

During the car ride home, they continued asking pointless questions, finding out random little facts about each other. Rachel scowled at her house as it grew closer. Jesse walked her up to the front door, looking elated and disappointed at the same time.

"Tonight was fun. I wish it didn't have to end so quickly," he said.

"I know. I feel like time flew too fast." Rachel tilted her head up and glued her lips to his, kissing him with as much passion as she could muster. She pulled away and giggled at the dazed look in his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jesse."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Rachel," he muttered dreamily. Rachel gave him one last peck on the cheek before disappearing inside the house.

That had definitely been the best date of her life.

Awww, cute and fluffy. Yay!

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Random fact: Five days until I turn sixteen! Woot :D

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Cheers!

-Harlot (who doesn't own Glee)