a/n: Hello everyone! Smuckleberry is back and I hope everyone likes it. I hope everyone listens to "Sherpa" because I picked it for a very special reason. Mark Salling likes Victor Wooten and Victor Wooten is the bassist for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The song is beautiful and I love it. Anyway, I don't own the song, Glee, or West Side Story. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and please please please review!
Rachel slumped down on her couch and sipped at her lemon honey tea. The play was opening tomorrow night and she needed to rest her vocal chords as much as possible. Santana had left her a message when she got out of rehearsals telling her that she would be staying with Tina that night so that Rachel would be able to relax before her big night. But then she'd gotten Noah's text message saying that he was coming over to see her and she just couldn't say no to him, despite the fact that she had a sneaking suspicion that there was no way 'relaxing' would be on his itinerary for the night. She didn't care.
A loud knock was heard on her door and she got up from the couch. When Rachel opened the door and saw him standing there, she had to control herself. Squealing and jumping in to his perfect arms would probably just embarrass the both of them but it seemed like a really great idea. Noah was wearing an old Pantera t-shirt and a pair of old blue jeans. The low lighting in the hallway shadowed his high cheekbones and jaw, making him look so soft. "Noah," she whispered and moved to let him inside. As he stepped into the apartment, he gave her funny look and leaned down.
"Why are you whispering," he mocked her. Rachel hit him on the shoulder and laughed lightly.
"I'm saving my voice for tomorrow night. I've told you that before." Noah nodded his head and kissed her for a moment before he grinned at her.
"I knew that. I just figured you would start doing that tomorrow. So I guess my plan to have you screaming my name a few times tonight isn't gonna happen. That's alright, I'll make sure to keep you real quiet." His sinful grin warmed her to her very core and she loved it. She slipped her hand into his and pulled him back over to the couch. She pushed the play button on the remote to continue the movie she'd started earlier and giggled at the groan Noah released when he realized that it was 'Funny Girl'. It was her 'night before opening night' tradition, a Babs movie marathon. However, in all her years' worth of nights before opening nights, she'd never had a boyfriend before. She usually had her marathon with Santana even though Santana despised the movies. But sitting there with Noah, knowing that he was watching a movie he didn't exactly hate but didn't really care for, just for her, made her melt against him.
Noah placed his arm around Rachel's shoulders as she leaned into his body. She sighed contentedly as she was wrapped in his scent. Her muscles were tense from rehearsals and she just wanted to curl up in Noah's arms and not move at all. Suddenly Noah's fingers started squeezing her shoulder and it hurt enough to make her whimper. Noah turned his head with a worried look in his eyes and rubbed a soothing hand over the spot he'd just touched.
"You okay baby? Did I hurt you?" Rachel gave him a pained smile and shook her head.
"I'm just sore from rehearsals. And I've been feeling a little stressed since opening night is tomorrow. Nerves always sneak up on me at the last moment." At that, Noah moved his hand across her shoulder blades and pressed gently. She felt the knot in her neck loosen slightly and rolled her head back. "That feels so good Noah. Do it again." He pressed the heel of his palm just a little lower that time and Rachel's body arched of its own accord.
"Babe you got a lot of tension in your back and neck. I can help with that if you want me to." Rachel shot him a look of warning and he raised his hands to show his innocence, despite the grin that remained on his face. "I'm talking about a massage babe. I give a kickass massage. How bout it? I promise you'll feel better." A massage sounded absolutely divine to Rachel and she knew he was good with his hands. She slowly nodded her head and watched Noah pick the remote up to stop the movie. He pulled her up from the couch gently and led her down the hallway to her bedroom. Rachel sat down on her bed to wait as he fished his iPod out of his pocket and plugged it into her docking station. Soon, she heard the song "Sherpa" from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones filtering the room and smiled. She knew how much he liked Victor Wooten and, truth be told, she was really developing a taste for it too. The song was very relaxing but the look in Noah's eyes when he turned around made her blood heat up.
He motioned with his head for her to scoot back on the bed which she did eagerly. Rachel sat up on her knees when he came around to the side of the bed and allowed him to slip her camisole over her head. Noah's eyes darkened just a little bit more when her breasts were revealed and she could see him restraining himself. Of her own volition, Rachel slid her tiny shorts down her legs with her panties and she smiled up at him, fully expecting him to wrap his arms around her and ravish her body, the prospect of which sent sensuous tremors through her wearied body. But instead, Noah just ticked his head again and said in a low voice, "lay down on your stomach." Rachel did as she was told and flattened her body on the bed. After a second, she felt the bed shift with his weight and he gently nudged her legs apart to situate himself between them. She released a throaty sigh when he leaned over and his calloused fingers came to rest on her shoulders. As he went to work, she could feel the tension in her body melting away. Noah pressed his fingers into her back so tenderly that she wanted to cry. Not because he was causing her pain but from the affection she could feel in his touch.
He leaned over just a little farther and swept her hair to the side before placing an open-mouthed kiss against her skin. Rachel felt his thumbs skim down and press softly into a knot in her spine. She unintentionally released a small moan she'd been holding back when he hit the spot and heard Noah chuckle quietly in response. While his thumbs worked at the knot in the center of her back, his other fingers played at her sides, caressing the soft skin found there. "You good," he asked needlessly, and chuckled again when Rachel hummed in the affirmative. Rachel felt him going lower and when he reached the small of her back, kneading it with the heel of his palm, she felt like she'd just died and gone to heaven. Rachel almost jumped when he moved his hands over her butt and lightly rubbed the backs of her thighs. That was a spot he'd discovered one night that drove her wild and he rarely missed a chance to utilize it. Rachel's now relaxed muscles tightened once more when his fingers dipped to her inner thigh and squeezed. He ran his nails down her skin making her breath hitch in her throat. She yearned for him to keep going higher, to feel his fingers sink into another part of her body. Rachel didn't realize the sounds she was emitting until Noah trailed his hands back up her body and quipped, "I thought you weren't supposed to talk tonight?" Rachel giggled and rolled her eyes. Propping herself up on her arms, she turned her head around to look at him. One corner of his mouth was turned up in that irresistible smirk of his and his face was defiantly unshaven. Somehow, his lips looked so much softer with the scruff around them and she grasped that he hadn't kissed her near enough since walking through her door. But before she could move to rectify that, he slid back down her body and resumed his gentle massaging (read: torturing) of her thighs.
Rachel bit her lip and growled in frustration. Every time she would feel his fingers inch just slightly in the direction of where she needed him most, her windpipe would close up in anticipation. After the third time his fingers 'accidentally' slid against her folds, she groaned and rolled over. Mentally reminding herself not to raise her voice, she stared up at his somewhat surprised features. However, before she could say anything, he lowered his body over hers and kissed her with the same slow passion she would never become fully accustomed to. She felt Noah slip his hand into her hair and firmly hold her mouth against his. She moaned softly against his lips when his tongue delved even deeper. Rachel pushed her hips against his, an action that instantly reminded her that their ratio of clothes to skin was drastically unbalanced, and felt his erection straining beneath the denim of his jeans. Rachel allowed her hands to tug at the fastener, sighing contentedly when it opened with little difficulty, and pushed them down his legs. That action distracted Noah long enough that he pulled away to yank them completely off. She took the opportunity to press her lips against the hollow in his neck and bite down lightly on his collarbone. Rachel smoothed her hands over the defined ridges of his pectoral muscles and smiled through her lowered lashes. Noah pulled his t-shirt over his head and grinned down at her. His smirk told her that something snarky was about to come out of his mouth so Rachel reached up and pulled him down. Before their lips met again, she whispered, "Shut up Noah."
Rachel gasped into his mouth when he slid into her body. The stress-relieving qualities of the earlier massage were nothing compared to feel of Noah's skin against hers. When he raised her arms above her head and held them there, she was reminded of a couple days prior when he'd brought the handcuffs back out. Only that time, she was the one bound to the headboard instead of him. Noah lowered his head to her breast to swipe his tongue over her puckered nipple. Rachel arched her back, effectively pushing her chest against his mouth and sheathing him deeper inside her. Noah let her go and positioned his hands above her shoulders for leverage. Rachel clenched her muscles around him right as he pulled out making both of them cry out. Noah leaned down and blew a small puff of air across her heated skin before kissing her neck. The small action set her body on fire as she gripped his arms. Rachel closed her eyes to let the feel of his body wash over her but Noah would have none of that. "Look at me Rachel," he whispered. Her eyes flew open and locked with his. He brushed his thumb across her lips as he cupped her chin and held her gaze. She couldn't look away from him, nor did she want to. When he angled his body so that his pelvic bone brushed against her clit each time he thrust, Rachel bit her lip to keep from completely ruining her vocal chords. Her hips rose to meet his and she felt her body tense up on the cusp of her climax. Sensing, as he always did, how close she was, Noah rocked his hips faster as he crooked her leg over his forearm. The action spread her wider, allowing him inside her even deeper with every frenzied thrust.
Noah kissed along her jaw, gently sucking her earlobe between his teeth and biting down. Rachel's hiss at the sensation was quickly followed by a small whimper of pleasure mixed with frustration. "Say my name," he told her. "Baby, just say my name and I'll give you what you want." He thrust again and pushed his tongue past her lips, plundering her mouth in the same manner his dick was ravaging her body. All movement stopped and he pulled back to meet her curious gaze. "Say my name and I'll give you everything," he whispered against her heated skin. Rachel's nails left marks in his skin as she nodded her head. All thoughts she possessed in her mind had a thick haze of desire covering them, all but one.
"Noah," she murmured, so soft he almost couldn't to discern it from their heavy breathing. But he caught it. He slammed into her sex with an abandon she'd never felt before. Rachel tightened her grip on him, in every sense, and said it again. "Noah," louder than before. It felt good to say, to yell, but she knew which words would feel even better. "Noah I love", but before the words were finished falling from her lips, the blinding light, the fireworks, the ecstasy, all rushed over her body at once and she couldn't focus on anything but Noah. Just Noah. The sheer force of that orgasm, coupled with the sensation of his throbbing member emptying inside her, threw her straight into the waves of another one. Her body shook violently and she was positive that her eyes rolled back into her head. Noah continued to rock with her throughout the waves of bliss that kept lapping at her nervous system. She felt a single tremor as he pulled out of her and a final one when he placed his hand over her heart. With a happy sigh, Rachel tugged him against her so they were spooning and forgot all about her earlier unfinished sentence. When Noah's warm strong arms encased her body, she could feel the quick beating of his heart against her back. It took her a moment to realize that it was beating in time with hers. She turned her head back to look at him only to find him staring back at her with a satiated smile adorning his chiseled face. Noah flicked a thumb over one of her nipples and said,
"That massage definitely had a happy ending." He chuckled lowly as she playfully slapped his hand. Noah hugged her tighter and pressed his lips to her temple. His mouth warmed her skin, her heart, and clouded her mind. "Big day tomorrow babe. You're gonna knock 'em dead, or break a leg, whatever those expressions are. You'll be perfect. I know." Rachel wanted to say 'thank you' but he cut her off with a soft kiss and a murmured "go to sleep Rach". So she snuggled up closer to him and did just that.
Puck rolled his eyes for the thousandth time since picking his mother and sister up from the hotel. Rebecca was being pretty cool about the whole situation but Dianna, well she was going insane! She was acting like she'd never seen a fucking Broadway show before! Granted, he'd never taken her to opening night of a Broadway show and he'd never been in a serious relationship with the lead in said Broadway show before but still. She could at least try to calm the fuck down. He could only thank god that this time the Puckerman women were in New York, they were staying in a hotel and not his apartment.
The cab pulled up about a block away from the theatre. That was as close as they could get on opening night. He paid the driver and got out of the car, waiting for Rebecca to step onto the sidewalk so he could help their mother out. He sighed as both women slipped their arms through his and they began walking down the sidewalk towards the theatre. They were about forty-five minutes early but Rachel had suggested that they get there early to insure they got to their seats. Mike had already texted him to let him know that the rest of the group, Santana, Tina, Mike, and Brittany, was waiting outside for them. He couldn't wait to get the night over with. He and Mike had gone through hell that week trying to get everything in place for the after-party at the club. Turns out that Jason Reid had planned from the beginning to rent Chase the Morning for a party to be held in honor of the premier even before Puck had even met Rachel. Puck liked to think that, had Rachel not come to his club to celebrate that night, they still would've met at the eventual after-party. It was fate.
Suddenly, Rebecca flew off of his arm and took off running in the direction of Tina and Santana. Puck looked at his mother, half expecting her to do the same thing but she didn't. Instead, she looked up at him and smiled.
"So Noah, have you talked to Rachel today?" Puck groaned, already not in the mood for any questions about the progression of his relationship with what his mother considered to be the perfect woman. Not that he would argue that point but he hated discussing anything with Dianna. She always managed to get more out of him than he wanted to divulge.
"I talked to her this morning when we woke up but she had to leave early for last minute rehearsals. She called me at lunch and we talked some then. So yeah, I talked to Rach today." Dianna just laughed at his agitation and decided to push her son just a little further. You know, for her own amusement. It was one of the joys of motherhood she rather valued.
"Have you told her that you're in love with her yet?" His response caught her off-guard, not to mention completely messed up the irritation game she wanted to play.
"Nope, but when I do, it's gonna be awesome. She doesn't have a show next Thursday so I made reservations at Per Se for dinner. I'm going to tell her then." Puck smirked at his mom, happy at the stunned look on her face, and chuckled a little. "What? I can be all romantic and shit. Have a little faith in your offspring Ma." Before she could say anything, he handed her off to Tina and stood over beside Brittany and Mike. As they all walked through the doors of the theatre, he saw a familiar face behind the security desk. The old asshole security guard that he'd met on the day he'd rather forget looked up as they walked past. Puck knew by the look that the geezer shot him that he definitely remembered who he was. He couldn't help himself as he raised his hand and waved somewhat obnoxiously at the man. (He really couldn't remember the dude's name. Bill? Jim? James? Asshole? Yeah, that one sounded about right.) Asshole's mouth dropped open a little bit and Puck laughed out loud before he could stop himself. It was fucking awesome.
The usher led their group down to their seats and Puck realized that they were pretty damn good seats. He wasn't sure how many strings Rachel had had to pull to get seven kickass tickets on opening night to one of the most anticipated revivals in theatre history (so he still read a couple blogs but at least he steered clear of the ones that said anything about their relationship). But then he thought about how much Jason would totally go straight for Rachel and realized that she probably didn't have to pull too many strings. Once everybody sat down, Puck took his cell phone out to check the time and turned it off once he saw that it was still about twenty minutes before curtain. As he was slipping it back into his pocket, he saw Jason walking up the aisle in their direction. Puck thought that was just a little weird because isn't the director supposed to like, be backstage on opening night?
"Puck, thank god you're here. Rachel has been asking for you and I'm starting to get a little worried that she might not go on tonight." Puck stood up at that and stared at the other man.
"What do you mean she might not go on? Is she nervous? What's wrong?" Rachel was uber-professional and he knew how excited she was over this role. There was no way in hell that she wouldn't go on. But the worried expression on the young director's face was a little troubling.
"I don't know honestly. She's been fine all day and then when I went to her dressing room for a costume check, the poor thing was shaking and she just kept asking for you. I don't know what else to do. Can you please come back to her dressing room and talk to her?" Puck nodded his head and followed Jason down the aisle and up the steps that lead to the stage. Just on the other side of the curtain, Jason took off down a very short hallway with only two doors. One said Austin DeFore "Tony", the other said Rachel Berry "Maria". Jason knocked on the door softly and said, "Rachel honey, I've got someone for you sweetie." After a second, the door opened a little and Puck heard Rachel's voice.
"Noah?" Puck pushed through the door into the dressing room. He didn't like how vulnerable she'd sounded just then.
"Baby I'm right here, what's wrong?" Looking at her finally, something was off. She was dressed in this old-school pink dress and her hair was half up with little curls at the ends. Rachel looked like she was hiding something. Puck heard the door shut behind him and then all of a sudden, a smile broke out over her face. Puck's brow furrowed. "Okay what's going on? Jason said you were shaking and shit. He was really fucking worried about you Rach." Rachel just shook her head and placed her arms on the back of his neck.
"Jason's fine. We had to come up with something that would get you back here in a hurry." Puck cocked his head to the side, confusion setting in.
"What are you talking about? You go on stage in like fifteen minutes Rachel. Tell me why Jason came out to my seat, looking worried as hell, and told me to come back here to talk to you." Rachel mumbled something under her breath but then replied,
"Because I asked him to. That's why. I have something that I feel is very important to tell you and I didn't think you would come unless you thought something was wrong. I've given this quite a lot of thought and, to be honest, at first I was content to just let it happen when it was ready to happen but now I'm not and I really need to tell you before I go on that stage tonight." Puck shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around the insanely fast run-on sentence she'd just spouted out and coming up totally blank.
"English please." Rachel took a deep breath and gently pushed him down onto the couch against the wall.
"I love you Noah." Puck froze in his spot and stared up at her. She shifted from one foot to the other, nervous at his silence. "Could you please say something?"
"Um, you're really messing shit up right now." He knew he'd messed up big time because of the look on her face. "Fuck, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that," Rachel held her hand up to stop him.
"Don't Noah. I tell you that I love you and your response is that I'm messing things up. Thanks a lot." Her eyes started to well up and she went to turn away from him. Puck jumped up from the couch and grabbed her shoulders so she had to face him.
"Hey, I said I didn't mean it like that. You weren't supposed to say it first." Rachel dabbed at her eyes and replied with a hurt expression,
"What is that supposed to mean?" Puck scratched his head and breathed out before answering.
"It means that next Thursday, I was going to take you out to a fancy restaurant, we were gonna have an awesomely overpriced dinner, and then over dessert I was gonna tell you that I am pretty much head over ass for you. But then you go and say it first so yeah, I'd say you messed up my plans a little bit." Rachel looked up at him with the tiniest of smiles on her face. Puck breathed out slowly and took her hands in his between them. "Can we try this again?" She nodded her head and bit her lip.
"Since I know it'll bother you, I want it to go on record that I said it the first and second times." Puck remembered back to that night in the club when he thought he'd heard her say it but he hadn't wanted to bring it up in case he'd been hearing things. He chuckled just as the lights flashed off and then back on. He knew that meant that she had to get on stage.
"I guess I can deal with that. Rach, I love you." Rachel made a tiny noise that sounded like it could have been a squeal if it'd been louder and smiled.
"I love you too Noah." Puck smiled really wide. He hadn't realized how much hearing her say it, when he was prepared for it of course, was really fucking awesome! He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, gently because he was afraid he would mess up her make-up, and found that he couldn't stop smiling. Rachel seemed to be having the same problem. Puck pulled his lips away from hers and looked down at her for a moment.
"I should probably get back out there. Um, break a leg babe." Rachel was snickering as he opened the door to leave the dressing room. When he turned around to find his way back out to the audience, he found himself face to face with Jason. He pointed his finger at him accusingly and said, "I've got half a mind to charge you double the price on the party tonight just because of that little stunt." Jason just smiled all wide and nodded his head.
"I would happily pay it knowing that I had a hand in furthering the relationship of Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman. Just promise me that when you two are telling this story in a magazine interview one day, you'll be sure to mention my name." Puck shook his head and couldn't help laughing.
"You're insane dude. Now help me figure out how to get out of here so I don't miss the damn show."
The show wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. There was a lot of freaking dancing for no reason, the main use of percussion in the whole thing was people snapping, and the guy playing Bernardo looked like a total douche bag. But the fact that Rachel looked so amazing in every single one of her scenes made all those things completely trivial. The chick playing Anita reminded him a lot of Santana which he found absolutely hilarious. But then Rachel would come back on stage and he would forget everything but her. It was like a light just kind of shined down on her and everything else blacked out. Then he realized that it was an actual spotlight shining down on her and he felt just a little dumb. Whatever, his girl was incredible and it wouldn't be the last time he felt a little dumb over her.
During intermission, he stood up so he could stretch his legs and noticed Mike doing the same thing at the other end of the group. Mike took his phone out and gestured for Puck to do the same thing. Puck took his phone out and turned it back on just in time to receive a text message from his friend. *I have a bet with the girls about when the sappy confessions of love are gonna happen. Help me out dude.* Puck laughed out loud and typed out his response.
*unless you guys bet an hour ago before the show, you all suck at gambling.* He watched as Mike read the text message and realized what it meant. Then he watched as Mike's phone was passed down the row and each girl read the message. Apparently Dianna had been reading over his shoulder when he typed the message out because suddenly she was clapping her hands over her mouth and looked like she was about to cry. And he knew that those tears had nothing to do with the show because it hadn't got to the sad part that he'd been told was coming. Still, he looked back at her and asked, "What?" Dianna waved her hands and replied,
"Oh nothing honey. I just really love this play. And Rachel is just lovely. Don't you think she's lovely? I love her as Maria." Puck shut his phone back off and rolled his eyes.
"Ma, you just said the word 'love' four times in one breath." Dianna smiled and wiped at her eyes. The lights flashed on and off again as she said,
"Did I? Must be this play." He rolled his eyes for a second time but decided to drop it. He didn't really feel like talking about that with his mom. Puck just wanted to watch his amazing girlfriend kick ass on that stage.
As the curtain went back up, he wondered why he'd always been so against the idea of falling in love. With Rachel, it was pretty damn easy.
The club was absolutely packed. Jason had basically rented out Chase the Morning for the night of the premier for a cast and crew after-party. There were a lot of fucking people in that cast and crew. Jason went all out for this thing too. A limo picked them up from the theatre to take them to a club. At first, Puck felt a little weird being in a limo with five other people and being the only straight guy. Austin and his boyfriend were on one side of the car. Puck and Rachel sat on the other side. Jason and his fiancée Kurt, who also happened to be the costume designer for the play, sat by the door so they could exit the car first. But he figured if it wasn't weird being around Santana and Tina all the time, then it shouldn't be weird being around those guys. Besides, Rachel always talked about how awesome Kurt was and all the stuff he'd been through in his life. And as long as Austin wasn't after his girl, like he'd originally suspected, Puck figured he was alright too.
Puck looked across the club at Rachel. She was dancing with the rest of the girls and she looked so beautiful. He felt like he could watch her for the rest of his life. Thinking back, he was really fucking happy that he hadn't run that first night he and Rachel had slept together. He couldn't imagine life without her. And, now that they'd said those three not-so-terrifying words to each other, it seemed even more fucked up than ever to even think about not having her with him. Rachel walked over to the bar and smiled at him. Puck now recognized the warmth in her eyes for what it was, for what it had been all along, love. He just hoped to god that she saw the same thing when she looked back at him.
"So are you going to dance with me or what?" There was the tiniest bit of a slur in her speech so he knew she was a little buzzed. She was always pretty cute when she was buzzed. He took her hand in his and lead her back out on to the dance floor. The music slowed down and Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck. He'd never heard slow music in his club before. But Jason had hired his own DJ for the party so that meant the music wasn't what it usually was. Just as his hands were pressing into the gentle swell of her curves, Rachel looked up at him. "Santana and Tina are leaving for Canada tomorrow." Puck nodded his head and chuckled into Rachel's hair.
"Yeah, Tina's been so excited all week about that stupid Torture Garden thing that she hasn't shut up while she's here at work. I'm surprised Santana was up for it." Rachel just giggled and shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck.
"Santana got it through work as a present for Tina. One of the models with the agency is one of Torture Garden's body suspension girls. She was able to hook them up." She broke out in another fit of buzzed giggles at her own pun and then met his gaze again. "My fathers got married in Canada." Puck laughed again and shook his head.
"You've told me that a couple times babe. It's gonna be lonely in that apartment of yours without a roommate for a couple days. You should just come stay with me. My place is closer to the theatre anyway." Rachel started drawing circles on the back of his neck.
"Noah, you probably shouldn't ask me these sorts of things when I'm drunk. But it does sound like a good idea. Ask me again in the morning. Okay?" Rachel laid her head against his chest as they swayed to the music like a couple teenagers. Puck carded his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"Deal babe. You were incredible tonight." He felt her sigh against his chest as she kept drawing those little circles on the back of his neck.
"Thank you Noah. I love you." And that time, because he knew for a fact that she said it and he wasn't hearing things, he said it back. This love thing didn't seem so hard after all.
a/n2: PLEASE REVIEW!