Author's Note:
Sorry this update took longer than normal. I got inspired for a Oneshot and my brain was stuck on autopilot.
Thanks again for all the support for this story!
Chapter 6 - Wonderland
Puck and Rachel were in the middle of watching TV when his phone rang.
"Whaddup Joe?" Puck smirked over at Rachel. He loved getting under her skin and answering the phone so "improperly" was an easy way to do it. She rolled her eyes at him and smiled, turning her attention back to the TV.
"Tomorrow night? Yeah, I sure as hell can!"
Rachel laughed at the excitement in his voice.
"Alright man, then I'll see you tomorrow at 9 sharp!"
He hung up the phone and turned to Rachel. He pulled Rachel into a hug and then moved her onto his lap, "Guess who that was?"
"The President?" she laughed.
"No,"
"Brad Pitt," she said this with a bite of the lip holding in her giggle.
Puck pushed her playfully, "Hell no, it was Joe from the bar I like to play on Open Mike nights. His usual guy for Thursday's got arrested, or some shit and he asked me to fill in for him. It's a three and a half hour gig!"
Rachel screamed happily and threw her arms around him, "Noah that is fantastic! I'm so happy for you!" She jumped up quickly and headed towards her room.
He stood up to follow her, "What the hell are you doing," he laughed.
Puck entered her room to find her in her closet, "I have to find something to wear!"
"Um, Rachel? Do you think that's a good idea?"
"Don't be crass, I very well can't show up to your show naked."
Puck inwardly groaned at the mental picture of singing to a naked Rachel sprawled out on her bed.
"Noah?"
Oh shit, I had something to say, what was it? Oh yeah…
"No, I mean, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go out to an environment like that. Not with everything going on with Jacob."
"Don't be ridiculous," she laughed. She grabbed her favorite red dress and walked out of the closet. When she saw the concern on his face she frowned, "You're serious? Noah, that is not…I will be fine!" she smiled.
"Rachel," he crossed over to her grabbing the dress from her hands. He didn't look at it, because he was sure that he would only get distracted by another mental fantasy, "I don't want to take any chances. And I'm sure the Captain wouldn't agree to it."
"Well, then let me speak with him. Finn and Quinn will come and tell Sam and Mike to come as well. I'll tell Blaine and Kurt to come by after the show. I will be well protected and we can even have a buddy system."
"Buddy system?" he smirked.
"Yes, no one can go anywhere alone. Always have a buddy," smiled and took the dress back from him. She held it up for him to see, "Now, what do you think about this?"
Fuck
(~~~~~~~~)
"So, do you think tonight is the night?"
Quinn was sitting on Rachel's bed watching her finish getting ready for Puck's show.
"What are you talking about?" Rachel tried to feign innocence, but she knew it wouldn't work on her best friend of eight years.
"Shut up, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Quinn laughed standing from the bed. She leaned against the door frame of the bathroom where Rachel was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, "He really likes you. Finn said he hasn't seen Puck like this for a girl since high school. Granted, it was Finn's girlfriend that he knocked up, and most of the affection was because of the baby."
"Oh!" Rachel couldn't believe that she had forgotten all about that, "I can't believe I forgot about that. Do you know what happened with the baby? Does Puck have a child with a beautiful woman somewhere I don't k now about?" The genuine concern in her voice alerted Quinn to just how deeply Rachel cared about Puck.
"It was still born," Quinn frowned, "I guess they were putting it up for adoption, but something went wrong in the eighth month and they had to do an emergency C-Section. The baby was already dead when they got her out."
Rachel felt herself choke up at the story, "That's horrible," she whispered, "Poor Noah."
"Finn said after that is when Puck really became the womanizer he is today, well, was about a month ago," she winked at Rachel, "I'm gonna see if Finn is ready."
Rachel frowned at Quinn's retreating figure. The hurt she felt for Puck was overwhelming. Was it something she should talk to him about? She didn't want to push an obviously sensitive subject. It was something that he would have to be ready to talk about. Being the type of person he was, Rachel wasn't sure if that would ever happen.
The trio arrived to the bar around 9:30pm just after Puck finished the sound check. He was set to go on at 10:00pm and Rachel wanted to be sure that they had the perfect seat. Luckily, Mike and Sam had made it before them and were already working on a pitcher of beer at a table right nears the small stage that Puck was to perform on.
When they reached the table, she noticed Puck talking to the waitress. She was very attractive and obviously flirting, however when Rachel caught his eye, his smile widened and he walked over, "Hey," he leaned down and kissed her quickly on the mouth, "You look amazing."
He sat down and turned towards her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close so she could whisper in his ear, "You look amazing yourself. Have I told you how much guys with guitars turn me on?" She slowly licked the outside of his ear and smiled when she felt him shudder. His grip tightened on her waist as he growled into her ear.
Rachel wasn't sure what had gotten into her. Maybe it was the daggers the waitress was sending with her eyes. Maybe it was the conversation she had earlier with Quinn about his baby, feeling the need to make him happy whatever way she could. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that Noah Puckerman brought out her inner sex goddess.
"How do you feel about guys with guitars that sing as well?" he whispered and he kissed her neck slowly.
"You'll find out later tonight," she pulled away sending him a wink. Rachel turned her attention back to their friends. Quinn and Finn seemed to be quite interested in each other's tonsils at the moment and Sam and Mike were watching the TV showing a baseball game.
When she turned her eyes back on Noah, the look in his eyes made her want to find a dark empty room and fast. His hand was rubbing her thigh roughly as he leaned in, "It's not cool to get me all worked up before I perform."
"Oh is that right?"
He nodded silently and pulled her in for a deep, searing kiss. If Rachel wasn't ready to be naked with him before, this kiss definitely sealed the deal. They were interrupted by the waitress loudly slamming their mugs down on the table. She placed the newly ordered pitcher of beer down a little softer, but hard enough for some to splash out.
"Is there a problem, Wendy?" Puck asked with annoyance.
"Yeah as a matter of fact, there is."
The rest of their friends turned their attention to the small confrontation. Rachel could see a middle-aged man that appeared to be watching the interaction as well. He did no look happy.
"I've tried numerous times to get you to ask me out and you constantly turn me down. Then you come in here with," she waved her hand around in the air, "this and expect me to not be happy?"
"Excuse me," started Quinn, "Do you have any idea who 'this' is?"
"Quinn, don't bother. Obviously this woman is not very good at reading when men aren't interested," pressed Rachel. The guys at the table laughed quietly but Quinn ignored Rachel's efforts.
Over the years, Quinn's protectiveness of Rachel got stronger. She told Rachel it was her way of making up for how shitty she treated her in junior high and high school, "THIS girl over here is Rachel Berry," the girl's eyes suddenly shot open and looked back at Rachel. Quinn smirked and continued, "That's right, Broadway star that makes more in one day than you could make in an entire year."
"I think we'll order straight from the bartenders for the rest of the night," Puck told the now lived waitress.
"Wendy," the girl stiffened and turned slowly to find the man Rachel noticed earlier behind her, "a word, please?"
The man turned and Wendy quickly followed.
Puck laughed, "That was Joe. I told him earlier you were gonna be here and he said he would be sure the entire staff would act completely professional. "
Mike snorted, "Apparently Wendy didn't get the memo."
Puck grabbed Rachel's hands, "Just to let you know, he's got some extra security here tonight too, you know, just to be safe."
"You mean you don't like the buddy system?" she winked.
"Always good to have backup babe," he kissed her cheek and chatted with Mike, Sam and Finn while Rachel and Quinn chatted about their shopping trip the next day.
They never saw Wendy again and Rachel felt kind of bad. She hoped the girl hadn't gotten fired on a mere case of jealousy. But when Puck got on stage, all thoughts of the waitress with a bad dye job escaped her mind.
For only learning of the gig the day before, Puck had an extensive play list.
Puck was a wonderful performer. The more beer she drank mixed with watching Puck made Rachel seem impatient for the night to end. Getting him back to her apartment was a top priority.
"Alright folks, this is the last song, and it's dedicated to my special friend, Broadway."
Rachel felt the blush creep up her neck as Puck began strumming the beginning of "Your Body is a Wonderland."
She looked over at Quinn and leaned forward, "The answer to your question earlier," Quinn smiled, "it's a yes, for sure."
As Puck was packing up for the night, Rachel's phone rang indicating that Kurt was calling, "You better have a good excuse for showing up and I won't take a post-show make out as an excuse ."
"Rachel! Oh thank goodness you are okay! You won't believe what happened tonight!"
Kurt proceeded to tell Rachel about the confrontation that Blaine had with Jacob when the latter realized that Rachel wasn't there. Jacob had begun shouting and threatening Kurt to tell him where she was. By the time security had gotten there, Jacob had run off, no one seeing where he went.
When she assured Kurt once again that she was safe and with Noah she hung up and repeated what she had just heard to the rest of the table.
"I need to tell Puck," Finn quickly made his way to Puck who was talking to Joe on stage.
"Rachel, this is getting really scary," whispered Quinn as she crossed her arms tightly around herself.
Before she could respond, Puck grabbed her, "Let's get you home."
An hour later, Puck was pacing Rachel's living room talking to Captain Figgin's on the phone. Rachel was sitting nervously flipping through the TV channels, trying not to listen to the conversation. She wasn't scared, she was mad. Jacob had threatened one of her best friend's. That was not kosher!
When Puck hung up he plopped down onto the couch next to Rachel. With Quinn and Finn staying at the guy's apartment, they were alone. But unfortunately, Rachel mood to rip Puck's clothes off and have her way with him diminished once she talked to Kurt.
"They put an APB out on him. With everything before and then tonight, it's enough to bring him in for questioning. Their also working on a search warrant for his home."
Rachel looked at him with confusion, "Why would they need that."
"Well," he scrubbed a hand over his head, "Stalker's tend to keep…mementos of their targets. Especially in the case of celebrities."
"Are you saying he could have some sort of shrine of me?" The thought send a shiver down her spine.
"It's very possible. And it really wouldn't surprise me. The Captain's been having a hard time getting the investigation started, but it shouldn't be a problem now."
Rachel had a mixture of emotions running through her. She wasn't quite sure how to handle it so she went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine.
Around 2am, Puck opened his eyes to see the TV still on and Rachel asleep, her head in his lap. He reached for the remote and turned off the TV, the movement waking Rachel up.
"What time is it," she said groggily as she sat up and stretched.
"It's late, why don't you head to bed."
She nodded and kissed him quickly on the lips, "Goodnight."
Puck grabbed the pillows and blanket that were folded neatly on the recliners. Rachel and Puck had decided that it was best for him to sleep on the couch since they really only started dating before things with Jacob became serious.
As she made her way to the bedroom, police sirens could be heard passing outside, "Um, Noah, do you think…."
Puck was just airing out the blanket to cover the couch and as he looked up to speak, the words caught in his throat. The light from the moon was shinging slightly into Rachel's hallway and fell softly on her face. She had on a ribbed gray tank top and short red cotton bottoms that fell to her upper calf. Her hair was down framing her face and a small smile formed when he seemed to be speechless because of how she looked in that moment.
He watched as she shifted from foot to foot, "You want me to keep you company?"
She bit her lip and smiled, "Yes, but no funny business. I'm too tired and I don't think I could give a very good performance."
"I want touch you, swear on my badge!" Puck sent her a salute and her giggle made his pants tighten.
He started following her to the bedroom as she walked backwards, "What if I want to cuddle?"
Hold up.
Now this is where Puck would normally get the fuck out. Scratch that, he would have been long gone before the word 'cuddle' came out of anybody's mouth.
If you told Puck two months ago that he would not only cuddle with a girl, but would do so without any chance of getting laid? Well, let's just say he would have laughed in your face and then punched you in the nads for good measure, or if it was a chick he would simply just laugh in her face.
But here he was, following the most wonderful person he's ever met in his entire life to her bedroom so he could wrap his arms around her and fall asleep to her breathing.
Damn, he seriously had it bad and loved every second of it.
(~~~~~~~~)
Puck woke up to the sounds of "Walking on Sunshine," in his ear. He didn't have time to appreciate the sleeping beauty in his arms before she jumped over his torso to turn it off. The fact that once Rachel hit the button to turn it off and muttered an apology, then sliding slowly back down, made the blaring of Katrina and The Waves worth it.
He wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from moving past her head on his chest, "Do you always wake up to such cheerful music," he mumbled while leisurely running his fingers along her spine.
"As a matter of fact, it's all 80's all day radio, it gets me motivated since most of the time it's a song that I can't help but dance to."
Rachel could feel his heart beating against the skin behind her ears. The soft touch of his fingers along her back made her leg wrap around his and pull herself slowly to straddle his stomach. Placing both hands on either side of his neck, she looked down at him and saw the darkness in his eyes grow.
"Thank you for staying with me last night," she whispered.
He nodded before reaching his hand behind the back of her neck. He guided her face towards his, their lips meeting halfway. He kissed her hard, breathing in long through his nose, memorizing ever second of her on top of him, the feel of her lips being on his, and foregoing any worry of morning breath when his tongue licked along her bottom lip just before she opened her mouth.
Puck guided himself to sit up, his arm still wrapped around her waist, her core hitting his full erection. She moaned lowly when she feeling it. His other hand buried itself into Rachel's long hair and tugged gently it. His lips moved to her neck, sucking lightly on her pulse point.
His hands moved up and down her sides, slowly moving towards her breasts. When he made significant contact, Rachel ground down into his lap causing a low growl from Puck's throat.
Rachel's hands moved from the back of his head where she was scratching her nails lightly over his short hair, to the bottom of her tank top. She lifted it quickly over her head, his lips latching on to one nipple while his hand rubbed the other breast, the thumb running over the nipple.
"Noah, shirt," was all she could manage to spit out. He got the message crystal clear and moved quickly to pull off the white tshirt.
Puck rolled Rachel onto her back, his lips moving to the other nipple. Rachel ran her hands up and over his shoulders, pulling him closer. His kisses moved further down to her stomach, his tongue making a circle around her belly button.
He reached up slowly so his fingers wrapped around the top of her shorts and pulled down. He groaned, realizing she wasn't wearing anything underneath, "You are unbelievably fantastic," muttered once he threw the shorts to the floor.
"Noah, please…" she begged.
Rachel was already soaked as he ran a finger from her folds up to her clit causing her to arch her back. Moving his mouth over her center he licked slowly up, making the same journey as his finger. She grabbed the back of his head as her back arched once more. Her eyes moved down to his, "Condom, now, drawer," she waved her hand wildly at the table next to the bed.
He quickly moved to the bedside and pulled the drawer open. He fumbled slightly grabbing the foil package. When she laughed at his impatience, he told her to shut the hell up and laughed.
Pulling her legs around his waist, he opened the wrapper and guided the condom down his dick. He leaned over and kissed Rachel deeply, pushing slowly into her.
Groans came from both of them once he was fully inside. Puck kissed her forehead, then her nose. He pulled out slowly and then back in, moving faster with each stroke. Rachel pressed her heels into his ass holding him to her.
She comes undone moments after he reaches to rub her left nipple between his thumb and forefinger. As she clenched around him he spilled into the condom, falling onto his forearms, resting his head on her chest.
Once they have both caught their breath, he moves up to lie next to her. He removes the condom, throwing it in the waste basket by her bed. Pulling her to face him, he pushed hair behind her neck, "Best. Wake-UP Call. Ever."