Author's Note: Hi, all! Sorry it's been a while; real life intervened. ;-) Following please find the next chapter.

Chapter 14

"Oh, shit!" Noah thought, quickly moving against the wall where the door would conceal him (if opened).

"Ruben," Blaine hastily called out, "w…would you mind bringing the bagels in here, first? We've kinda got our hands full right now." The moment the key turned in the lock, Blaine and Kurt, who had been quietly necking, had hastily abandoned that activity in to resume cutting up fruit, which they had begun before their focus shifted to each other.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Rachel step into the kitchen. He quickly exited the bedroom, noisily opening the bathroom door, and sauntered toward the living room as if he hadn't a care in the world. He had just situated himself in the Morris chair when Rachel reentered the living room, noticing him.

"Oh, hi, Puck!" she greeted him. "I didn't see you when I first came in." He grinned and nodded his head in the direction of the bathroom. "Oh…I understand," Rachel confirmed. "If you'll excuse me for a minute, I want to get something from my room." Noah watched her as she walked away, entering the bedroom and closing the door behind her. He smiled to himself, contemplating how he would break the news that her charade was at an end; at least, with him.

Although Noah had concluded that he wouldn't publicly expose Rachel, he could certainly have a little fun at her expense. The four friends were eating lunch, making relatively innocuous small talk when Noah slyly interjected, "Say, Blaine, do you remember that girl Louise Collins back in Ann Arbor?"

"You mean 'Easy Louisie'?" Blaine responded, chuckling.

"Yeah, that's the one," Noah replied with a smirk.

Blaine commented wryly, "She was quite the prom-trotter…with one talented mouth…if you catch my drift. Whatever make you think of her?" Kurt's eyes widened in astonishment and Rachel turned her face away as she began coughing to cover her extreme embarrassment.

Noah, who had been watching Rachel out of the corner of his eye, felt a mixed reaction to her obvious discomfort. On the one hand, he enjoyed watching her squirm; that had been his intention from the outset, after all. What surprised him, though, was that he found her embarrassment cute and somehow endearing. Puck, the guy who had consciously avoided "nice" girls like the plague had apparently stepped aside for Noah, the man who was falling in love with just such a woman.

A still-smirking Noah replied, "No particular reason; I saw somebody the other day who reminded me of her."

Blaine mused on the subject a moment, "I wonder what became of her…" innocently continuing a topic that had served its purpose.

"Last I heard, she married the assistant principal at Detroit Central High School," Noah answered.

Blaine nodded in understanding, concluding, "Yeah, I guess even the wild ones settle down sooner or later."

"I suppose they do," Noah agreed. "Back in college, 'jazz babies' like her were a lot 'a laughs, but they're a dime a dozen. He paused briefly, being sure to catch Rachel's eye before continuing, "Eventually, a man wants more than a silly little flirt who'll sit on anybody's lap and ply them with kisses and empty flattery."

Blaine dryly commented, "That about sums up all the women you've been with since I've known you, Puck."

Noah nodded in agreement, replying, "Very true, Blaine; very true." Realizing the topic of conversation had more than worn out its welcome, Noah changed the subject, confirming, "By the way, we've found our club." After accepting congratulations from Rachel and Kurt, he turned toward Rachel and smiled, continuing, "Blaine's already been there; are you fellas interested? I'll take you by after the game."

Unnoticed by Rachel and Noah (who were both attempting to appear nonchalant while making eye contact), Kurt and Blaine surreptitiously glanced at each other, an imperceptible look passing between them. "How about it, Ruben?" Noah asked pointedly.

"Sure, Puck, that'll be great; thank you," Rachel responded, turning to Kurt and inquiring, "Won't it, Kurt?"

Kurt looked apologetically at Rachel, quickly adding, "I'd like to, Ruben but…um…I promised my dad I'd be over for dinner tonight. Maybe another time?"

"Sure, no problem, Kurt," Noah replied, as Rachel paled at the thought of being alone with Noah.

"If you'd rather wait and go another time, I'll understand," she offered, hoping against hope that Noah would rescind the offer.

Thinking, "This may work out even better than I thought," Noah replied, "Nonsense. I'd like your opinion of the place…from a performer's standpoint."

Rachel nodded, acknowledging her acquiescence, and lunch continued.

The first ballgame was close, ending in a narrow victory for the Yankees. Sam and Rachel were elated, having quickly bonded as lifelong Yankees fans. Noah and Blaine commiserated over their defeat, vowing victory in the second game. Kurt, never much of a sports fan, glanced at his watch, remarked that he was expected at his dad's for dinner, and bid his farewells, looking pointedly at Blaine as they shook hands.

Shortly thereafter, Blaine checked the time, announced that he was meeting an "old family friend", and also left the ballpark, leaving Rachel, Sam, and Noah eagerly awaiting the start of the second game.

"I could really go for a beer," Sam announced. "Can I get you guys anything?" he offered.

"A beer would be great, thanks, old man," Noah replied, turning his attention to Rachel, who suddenly brought back to the moment, added, "A Coca-Cola will be good for me; thanks Sam!" She reached into her pocket to get her wallet when Sam stopped her, explaining, "Don't worry; this is on me." He headed out to the concession stand, leaving Noah and Rachel alone for the first time all day.

Noah had observed Rachel during the game and was both surprised and amused at her genuine enthusiasm. Ordinarily, the women he knew showed little interest in sports. "You love the game, too, don't ya'?" he mused.

"Yes, I really do," she admitted with a warm smile. "My father's been a Yankees fan since before he became a citizen. He's taken me to ballgames since I was a little gir…er…kid. It was something we could share, and he passed his love of the game onto me. Why do you ask?" she inquired, looking quizzically at him.

"Um…no reason…I guess it's kinda nice to meet another fan. Just wait until the next game, though," he cautioned. "The Tigers are gonna clean up, mark my words." As Rachel and Noah began a good-natured debate over the merits of both teams, Sam returned with their drinks. They each thanked him, pausing momentarily to quench their thirst on that warm afternoon.

Sam glanced at his watch, remarking with a grin, "I may have to leave before the game's over; I've got a date with my beautiful doll tonight."

"You're seeing Lucille tonight, Sam?" Rachel queried.

"No, I'm heading over to Mercedes' later," he admitted. "Since Jesse St. James has been occupying Lucille's time while he keeps his eye on her daddy's money, she's been rather preoccupied. In fact, I have a feeling she may be breaking things off with me in favor of him. I'm sure our mothers will be disappointed, but it's copacetic as far as I'm concerned," he concluded with a wry smile.

"Jesse St. James the detective?" an incredulous Rachel inquired.

"Yeah, that's him; do you know him?" Sam queried.

"He's a friend of Elliot's," Rachel replied, receiving a blank look from Sam and a curious stare from Noah. "Elliot…our roommate…he works at 'Madam Satan's'…"

Sam nodded in understanding (or so he thought), replying, "I'm sure in his line of work, he has a good many acquaintances."

Rachel shook her head, clarifying, "No; friend…as in sleeping over and staying for breakfast kind of friend."

Sam's immediate incredulous expression gave way to laughter. Once he had composed himself, he flippantly commented, "That is too rich!" elaborating, "Last New Year's Eve, Lucille disappeared for a while. When it was time to leave the party, she was nowhere in sight, so I began searching for her. I eventually found her…having a private 'petting party' with a couple of her college sorority sisters. Those two sound perfect for each other…and I'll bet neither suspects!"

"I'm not surprised," Noah commented sardonically. "Lucille's gotten quite chummy with Santana's friends. So," he slyly continued, eyebrow cocked and eyes brimming with interest, "give me the low down…how was it?"

Catching Noah's eye, Sam winked, wolf-whistled, and grinned widely, confessing, "Exactly as you'd imagine, Puck...and more."

Noah nodded in understanding, a devilish smirk on his face. Facing Rachel and capturing her eyes in his, he posed, "What do you think of that, Ruben?"

Spending time in the milieu that was "Madam Satan's", Rachel had become significantly less naïve regarding all types of relationships and wasn't terribly shocked by Sam's revelation. "Sounds like another day at work to me, Puck," she deadpanned before turning her attention to her soda, helping herself another drink from the bottle.

Author's Notes: A prom-trotter is somebody who attends all of the dances and parties within their social milieu.

Bear in mind, at that time, people didn't attend a ballgame in jeans and t-shirts; men would have worn a jacket and tie, and most likely a hat of some sort.