Chapter 12

Rachel was walking down the corridor in NYADA towards her first class, smiling outwardly and inwardly. She couldn't keep the grin off her face at how her weekend had been; the time she had spent with James over the past couple of days had been the most enjoyable of any days she had spent in New York over the past year. The two of them had spent a serious amount of time getting to know each other more intimately; physically but perhaps the way she enjoyed more was emotionally, not that the physical side hadn't been extremely fun.

"You look happy" Rachel looked up at the sound of Abbie's voice, smiling as she saw the blonde fall into line alongside her as they walked down the corridor at NYADA.

"Hey Abs" She replied, brushing her hair behind her ear. "How was your weekend?"

"It was okay" Abbie said with a shrug, a mysterious smirk on her face. "Though it looks like yours was enjoyable?"

Rachel felt her cheeks heat up, biting her lip embarrassed "What makes you say that?"

"That blush on your face" Abbie said with a laugh "The Hickey on your neck is another"

Rachel hand ghosted over her neck, smiling as she remembered what James had been doing as he placed the mark on her neck the day before. "It was a good weekend"

"Mmhmmm" Abbie replied and the two girls giggled. "So who was the lucky guy"

Rachel bit her lip staring it Abbie's face before she sighed and spoke; "You remember James?"

Abbie's face spread into a surprised expression, a grin on her face; "Girl, tell me you're joking?"

She couldn't help the grin that grew on her own face, shaking her head as she let the happiness spread across her body.

"Good for you" Abbie giggled, nudging her shoulder against Rachel's "So, you and he"

"Yeah" Rachel replied "Sunday, we went to his apartment and talked about how we feel"

"Well, I'm jealous" Abbie said "He was super hot and you go girl, getting him"

"Thanks" Rachel giggled. "But its more than that you know, it wasn't just the sex it was everything; it just felt special"

"Well, I'm happy for you" Abbie replied, "You deserve to be happy"

"That's sweet of you to say" Rachel said, touching the girls arm "and I am happy, James is taking me on a date tonight and he promised it's going to be the most special night of my life"

"A bold claim" Abbie says with a smile

"It is" Rachel says with a giggle, "But for some reason I know it will be, there's just this thing about him that makes me trust was he says"

"Well, I'm sure it will be and I'm sure that you'll have great fun with your new mega handsome boyfriend" Abbie teases "Just remember some of us that haven't managed to get these attractive men to run after us"

"You say it like you haven't had attention from guys while you've been in New York!" Rachel giggles "I've heard in good confidence from Tanya that you've had a variety of different men sneaking out of your dorm room in the middle of the night!"

"Scandalous" Abbie says with a smirk "I'd ask you not to spread those naughtier rumours; at least as far as my father needs to know, I haven't had a singlejui interaction with a boy this year"

"Mhmmm" Rachel giggles, "I'm sure and I haven't spent the last couple of days enjoying the benefits of my new relationship either"

"Of course not" Abbie replies laughing "That would certainly be most scandalous"

"Come on" Rachel said, managing to stop herself giggling. "We've got Ms July and I'm sure its going to be horrible"

Dance lessons hadn't been horrible for a few weeks, not since Rachel had received the notice about Funny girl and the whole class had congratulated her; of course, it still managed to dull her smile when Cassie asked about it and Rachel could only managed to say sadly that no she had still to hear back from the producers; but instead of mocking her, Cassie had reassured her that she was going to hear back from them soon.

While she wasn't ever going to be friends with Cassie, it was nice to know that she had someone to support her. That, along with the knowledge that she was going out to dinner on a date with James that night kept her going through her classes; spending a couple of minutes here and there texting him cutesy messages, not being able to contain the grin that spread across her face when she received replies from, telling her how much he was missing her and how much he was looking forward to that night.

…..

"Where's he taking you?"

"I don't know, all he said was to dress nice; not too fancy but still pick out a dress to wear" Rachel replied, smiling as she sat at her vanity watching Kurt as he did her hair. After NYADA, she had come home and told Kurt that James was taking her out that evening; and of course, Kurt being the best friend he was had insisted that he would help her pick out the perfect outfit and of course make her look "even more irresistible that he won't be able to keep his hands of you".

"Well, did he mention if he was going to wear a suit or not?" Kurt asked, holding her hair up behind her as he put pins on the under layers. "Because these are things we need to take into account, there's dresses that look casual but if he is, then we need one that's going to look good with his suit"

"He has dress shirts" Rachel replied, chewing her bottom lip between her teeth. "And I think I saw a glimpse of a suit in his wardrobe when he got it out for me, but I don't know"

"I still can't believe that you've already slept together" Kurt muttered with a smirk "Not that I blame you, he is hot but I thought you might wait"

"We've been dancing around that issue for weeks, Kurt" Rachel said with a smile "Part of it was that I couldn't help myself…that body and the things he can do with it…"

"Don't make me jealous" Kurt teases and they both giggle.

"But you know, we've been more than just friends for weeks" Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she spoke; "I know him so well already, that it didn't really matter about waiting"

"As long as you're being careful, sweetie" Kurt murmurs in her ear, smiling as she watches him in the mirror "I know how much you care about him, and I know he cares about you as well but make sure you don't get hurt regardless of good the sex is"

"I know Kurt" She says nodding her head. "I know you're looking out for me and you're worried because of what James has been like in the past but trust me, I know what I'm doing with him and most importantly I trust him"

Kurt gives her a smile and nods before starting to talk about how he's going to fix her hair, leaving Rachel to sit in her own thoughts as she listens to him; supplying an answer every now and then when she knows he wants one. In the back of her mind, with all the excitement she felt about being able to call James hers, she of course was very aware of the fact that the James she knew hadn't been in a relationship before and he seemed very open and raw about the whole situation. She had to not only be wary of him hurting her, but of pushing him too much; while he seemed to be just as excited and happy about the two of them as a couple, he hadn't been anybody's boyfriend in his adult years and while he was insisting he wanted to be her boyfriend; Rachel knew that at some point down the line it might hit him exactly what was going on and she had to be ready to be there and understand.

They agreed upon wearing her hair pulled into a braid, tied at the back of her head with her bangs framing her face, adding some makeup to give her eyes a smoky look and wearing a bright red lipstick. They'd already agreed upon a backless, strap free purple dress that framed her body perfectly and if she was vain enough, made her look sensational.

"I think you did too good of a job" She murmurs, turning her body to side to admire the dress.

"What do you mean?" Kurt replied with a frown as he appeared next to her.

"Well, you said you wanted to make sure James couldn't keep his hands of me" She repeated his earlier statement to which he nodded. With a blush she spoke again; "At this point I'm more worried about making sure I keep this dress on before we get to the restaurant"

Kurt laughed and she couldn't but giggle along with, biting her lip as Santana appeared in her room, pushing the diving curtain out the way.

"You look hot" Santana said appreciatively. "Good job porcelain"

"Thank you Lady Macbeth" Kurt teased, smirking. "Though Rachel is worried that she's going to be fully clothed by the time she gets to the restaurant"

"Yeah…no chance in hell you're getting there tonight" Santana remarked, squeezing Rachels arm as she smirked. "Or any time over the next 6months at least"

"Behave!" Rachel giggled, blushing furiously. "I'm sure that I can keep James' hands of me for a few hours"

"So you're planning on making out with him on the way there?" Kurt says smirking.

"Maybe a little" Rachel replies, biting her lip.

"Do what you have to do" Santana says, fixing the dress so it sits on her shoulders. "Because you've already let the boy into your panties; the least he can do is spend a stupid amount of money on you before you let him get anywhere near your lady parts again"

"Santana!" Rachel says shocked, though she can't help but grin "I'm not going to make him spend money on m e like that"

"He's rich as fuck" Santana says with a pointed look.

"His father is rich" Rachel corrects, walking over to her nightstand and collecting her handbag. "James is a college student just like me and I'm not going to let him spend his hard earned money on me"

"Alright, alright" Santana says holding her hands up in surrender, "All I'm saying is, don't put out for anything less than an uptown restaurant"

"Go!" Rachel says shaking her head as both Kurt and Santana giggle. "Go and let him in when he comes to pick me up"

Grinning at them as they leave, Rachel rolls her eyes as she stands in front of the mirror again; observing her appearance, making sure everything is perfect from her hair to her shoes. Brody never took her out for dinner and Finn was hardly the master romancer; his attempt at dinner their senior year where he had served up meat substitute instead of a proper vegan meal was evidence of that. But she just had this feeling that James was going to surprise her, take her to some place extravagant and over the top because that just seemed to be how he was around her, admittedly all they had done so far was have sex, but he made such an effort to make it as amazing for her as possible, regardless of the vast difference in their experience, that she had to wonder where he was taking her.

She heard the door slide shut followed by Kurt yelling for her to "Come out because her super hot date was there". Taking a last glance at herself, she smothered her hair down with her hand; making sure it stayed in the braid bun before walking out of her room towards the dining table.

Her breathe caught in her throat when she saw him, stood sideways on laughing at Kurt and Santana who were stood further around the corner. He was wearing a tuxedo, an honest to god tuxedo and she couldn't believe how handsome he looked. He was freshly shaven and his skin seemed to glow, jesus what the fuck was happening to her as she stared at him for several long moments until he turned and gazed at her.

"Holy crap" He murmured, his eyes roaming up and down her body "Rach, you look….god you are stunning"

She blushed furiously, letting out a giggle like a embarrassed little girl, before biting her lip as she walked towards him, smiling as he extended his arm and she took his hand, allowing him to pull her close to him as his other hand came up to rest against her shoulder, his knuckles brushing over the exposed skin as he drunk her appearance in.

"Hi" She said, taking a deep breath as he leaned in and kissed her softly, lips pressed against hers was a sensation that something she never wanted to give up or forget; the tenderness but also the raw electricity that it generated.

"I am the luckiest guy in the world" He murmured as he pulled away, kissing her cheek gently as she gripped their joined hands with her free one. "You are so unbelievably beautiful"

"You're wearing a tuxedo" She said, eyes checking him out, rising to his face again to see him wearing a smirk "I didn't know you owned a tuxedo"

His smirk only grows and he leans forward to kiss her softly again; "I was worried I'd look underdressed next to you…and unfortunately even with a tuxedo on I still do"

"You look perfect" She said reassuringly, though the blush on her cheeks deepened. "You look sexy"

He smirked at her again, opening his mouth to speak when Santana interrupted them;

"Oh jesus, would you two just get a fucking room?"

"On that note, I think we should leave" James said laughing as he squeezed her hand and pulled it closer to his body. "Kurt you did a hell of a job buddy"

"Your welcome" Kurt replied with a slight bow of his head "Don't keep her out too late and remember to be good"

"I won't" James murmured, his eyes twinkling as he glanced back at her. "You ready to go beautiful?"

She nodded, grinning as James leaned over and kissed her once more before leading her towards the door of the apartment, Rachel turned back to Kurt and Santana's smiling faces and waved with her free hand.

"Don't wait up!"

…..

She'd half expected to find that he'd rented a limosine for them, but was pleasantly surprised when only a simple taxi cab was waiting for them. James had laughed at her when she'd told him that and he asked her if she'd wanted him to rent one because he would do and she had to quickly dismiss his idea, telling him that she didn't want him spending too much money on her. He'd smirked at her and leaned in, his breathe introxicating as it drifted over her ear.

"You should have told me that before I reserved us seats at this restaurant"

The look on his face had been enough for her to consider jumping him in the back of that taxi, and she probably would have done if it wasn't for the drive. Maybe it was good idea that he hadn't gotten a limousine ; they'd have never made it to restaurant.

She spent a large part of the journey trying to figure out where he was taking her, looking for landmarks out the window as he told her about work that morning and how his review classes had been going.

"Why do you keep looking out of the window" He murmured and she turned back to him and giving him a shy smile.

"I'm trying to see where you're taking me" She replied and he smirked at her, that stupidly sexy smirk that made her damp.

"Where do you think I'm taking you?" He asked teasingly, his hand resuming his slow motions over the exposed skin on her leg.

"I was hoping Sardi's" She replied, biting her lip "But we passed by that way like, fifteen minutes ago? So now I don't know"

"You really think I'd take you to Sardi's?" He laughed and she frowned at him.

"What's wrong with Sardi's?" She asked affronted.

"Nothing, I'm sure it's a great place" He replied, wetting his lips with his tongue "But it lacks imagination"

"I love Sardi's; its perfect, being surrounded by all those potraits of famous broadway performers and-"

She didn't get chance to finish as he felt James' lips against her own, moaning into his mouth as he stopped her from talking for a few seconds. "Exactly"

"Sardi's is the perfect place to take you" He murmured, touching her cheek tenderly with his fingers. "But it's also the most obvious and least inventive place and I think you know by now, I'm anything but boring"

"Definitely " She replied, blushing as she remembered how he had done amazing things to her in bed over the previous few days, teasing her and doing things to her body that she'd never expected. "Where are we going then?"

"It's a nice place that I heard from a buddy" He supplied, "He's training to be a chef and this is the best vegan restaurant in New York"

"You're not a vegan" She murmured, frowning slightly "We could have gone to a normal place and-"

"And what? You could order a salad?" He said with a slight smirk "I'm taking you out remember, and besides I happen to love the taste of vegan"

Rachel felt all the heat pool between her legs as she watched his tongue lick his lips and god he was so stupidly sexy that she couldn't help but lean forward and press her mouth against his in a open kiss, entangling her tongue with his as she leant towards him, arching into his body as she felt his hand cup her bum, causing a groan to escape her throat.

"Delicious" He murmured as he trailed soft kisses towards her neck, nibbling gently on the skin as she felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as he continued his actions for a couple of minutes before he stopped, kissing the spot softly. "You're perfect"

"And you're too good at getting me to purr like a cat" She replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"One of many talents, babe" He smirked, his eyes glancing away from her for a moment. "And here we are"

Rachel eagerly looked out of the window, her smile turning into a frown as she saw what looked like a standard row of buildings, an alleyway lit by lights on the wall in between two of them; climbing out of the car when James offered her his hand and gripping it tightly as he paid the driver before turning to her with a smile on his face,

"You ready to go in?"

"Are you sure this is…safe?" She asked nervously, walking closely to him as he led her down the alleyway

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you" He said reassuringly, one of his hands resting in the small of her back as he led her forwards. "You trust me right?"

"More than anyone" She murmured, smiling at him.

About halfway down the alleyway, there was a doorway with a man stood outside, who smiled at them warmly before pushing the door open as they approached,

"Good Evening Sir, Miss"

"Evening" James replied, leaning her into the building and she couldn't help the gasp as she saw the interior. The room was a foyer with a bar but it was decorated in the most impressive manner she'd ever seen, rich green wallpaper adorned the walls, bordered by golden curtains. She could see further into the restaurant, dozens of circle tables in a large hall decorated with beautiful white silk cloth and romantic candles where there were several couples dining.

"Like it?"

"it's beautiful" She murmured, kissing him. "It looks expensive"

"My treat" He said with a wink and turned to the bar to order. "Can we have two glasses of Champagne please"

"Of course, sir" The gentlemen behind the bar replied, bowing his head.

"I'm 19" She murmured, turning to whisper in his ear as she watched the barman turn and walk towards the bottle.s James nodded at her and kissed her softly.

"It's cool, just don't tell him that" He replied with a wink.

They waited for around fifteen minutes for their table, sat on the beautiful couches in the foyer as they sipped their drinks until a gentleman wearing a shirt, tie and waistcoat came to collect them. The restaurant menu seemed extravagant and after ordering she couldn't help but feel as though the restaurant was way beyond the price range of a college student.

"I missed you today" James said after a few seconds, sipping his drink

"You did?" She asked shyly, watching as he nodded at her.

"Like crazy" He replied "I wanted to come and find you at NYADA but I wasn't sure when your lunch break was. But then I was worried that I was going to come across as weird attached boyfriend which would have been really bad because we've only been together for three days"

"You could have texted, I'd have liked to of seen you today" She said with a smile "And I missed you like crazy too, I nearly came straight to your apartment after classes"

"You could stay tonight if you want" He murmured, his hand reaching for hers across the table. At the way her smile faded, he quickly spoke to cover himself; "Or you know, you don't have to; I don't-"

"I can't, not tonight" She said with a smile.

"Are you feeling…sore?" He asked with a concerned look in his eye.

"No, I'm not and I'd love to, but I don't have anything to wear for NYADA tomorrow" She said with a giggle,

He nodded at her, smirking as he squeezed her hand. "So how was it today?"

"Classes are winding down, making sure we're ready to move on to next year and everything" She said, "But I did have the weirdest thing-"

...

The food was delicious, Rachel practically moaned when she bit into her meal; gaining a laugh from James as he teased saying he thought he was the only person able to get that reaction from her. With a blush on her face, she managed to tell him behave and tucked into her food; enjoying the fact she could just sit there and enjoy spending time with him, it felt so free and natural and it made her feel incredibly lucky.

They spent the next hour talking, about their last couple of days as well as getting to know one another more. In the time they'd known each other, James had never really told her about his family and childhood outside of short mentions of wanting to be like his Dad and sport. She'd filled him in pretty intensely about her own childhood and family members, Shelby included, weeks previous but his own situation had seemed more painfully and she hadn't wanted to pressure him. She was hoping that now they were involved, He'd open up to his childhood.

She chose her moment as he took a sip of his wine. Putting her own glass down, she smiled briefly before opening her mouth; "Tell me about your childhood"

James swallowed and moved his glass away from his mouth, smiling at her amusedly; "What do you want to know?"

"Everything" Rachel replied, shrugging her shoulders and biting her lip. "I don't really know much about that part of your life"

"Alright" He says, licking his lips. "I had a pretty standard, normal childhood; I wasn't an overachieving dance champion at 3 years old sort of guy"

Rachel giggles along with him laughing, reaching forward and taking his hand in hers. "I just want to get to know you better and everything about your life"

"You're adorable" He replies, leaning forward in his seat and starts to rub his fingertips over their joined hands. "Like I said you know, my childhood was normal; I played sports from the age of like seven. I loved being outdoors and I'd spend hours with my Dad when he was home just walking around the parks"

"It sounds lovely" Rachel notes, enjoying the way he holds onto her hand and gently rubs soothing motions into her skin. "Did you have a good relationship with your parents?"

"I think so" He nods "My mom and Dad both worked a lot but I always knew they were there when I needed them. I never felt neglected by them and if they did have to be away then I had Sarah our nanny"

"You had a nanny?" Rachel teases resting her arm on the table to support her head.

"Laugh it up" He chuckles "But yeah, until I was ten. She was nice and also the one that taught me how to play piano"

"When did you start?"

"When I was seven" He says, "My mom thought that it would broaden my interests. I'm not so sure that it worked"

"You never connected with music?" She asks curiously. Music is such a large part of her life and she couldn't imagine not feeling that bond in your life.

"I have favourite bands, I have favourite types of music but connected with it?" He asks, pursing his lips. "I don't think so, I was a sports guy and my parents were very logical people they didn't do things on emotion and I can tell by the look on your face you're thinking I don't like this guy at all"

Rachel giggles along with him, squeezing her hand in his reassuringly "No, I mean it is a little weird to hear because music was always something so deep to me that I can't imagine not being bonded. So you never really appreciated it?"

"I haven't ever appreciated the deeper meanings behind songs or music" He says shaking his head. "I like music and I like listening to music but that's as far as my interest stretches"

"So, you wouldn't be interested in coming to hear me sing in a few weeks?" She asks, widening her eyes slightly. "There's this showcase at the end of term for some students to perform and I've been chosen to, so if you want"

"I'd love to" He replies, giving her a warm smile

"Really?"

"Yah, of course Rach" He says, staring at her pointedly and she can see the swirl of emotion in his eyes "You're my girl and I want to support you in everything"

"I'd love you to come" She replies, not being able to help the stupidly happy grin that appears on her face as she leans forward and kisses him, enjoying the way James instinctively smiles against her lips as he kisses her tenderly.

"I can't wait to hear you sing" He says, winking at her.

"So tell me what your favourite bands are" She asks, reaching for her glass as James leans back in his chair

...

They stay in the restaurant for around another forty minutes as they share a bowl of ice cream and fruit; Rachel giggling when James tries to feed her with a spoon. The whole way through the evening has been perfect, she thought that there would be more awkwardness between her and this guy that she had known as a friend for two months but there was none; All she could think about was how natural it felt to sit holding his hands, kissing him over dinner and casually running her foot up and down his leg teasingly.

After James had paid, laughing away her attempts at putting some of her money towards the bill, they got a cab back to Bushwick and got out a few blocks away from her apartment so they could walk hand in hand, enjoying each others company for a little longer. It was the perfect night and she spent a good few minutes kissing him outside her apartment; loving the dominative and yet soft, affectionate way that his lips and mouth worked against hers.

"You want to come inside" She murmured, turning her lips away slightly to get her words out; her hand already fiddling with the buckle of his belt.

"Mhmmmm" He replies and she feels him nodding against as he starts kissing her neck; causing her to groan and rustle in her bag for her keys as she felt James' hands on her bum softly. It had been a beautiful night, and it was nowhere near finished.

...