I Had My Reasons
So Finn and Rachel have different perspectives on that night, and so it continues. Let's see what happens now. As always if there are errors it's because I am careless and rush.
I don't own Glee or any of their characters
Rachel is half fuming half crying by the time she gets home. Finn just dropped her off and she can't help that she also feels half pissed and half sorry for him. She enters the apartment quietly and tip-toes toward her bedroom. As she walks through the living room, Santana gets up from the couch where she has been resting and waiting for Rachel.
"Hey, so how did it go?" Santana asks with a smile.
Rachel looks at her sadly and replies, "Mission accomplished."
"Wow! Was he that bad?" she takes on her morose state and assumes the experience wasn't so great.
"No he wasn't bad. In fact it was everything that I ever wanted it to be."
"So why are you not bouncing off the walls? What am I missing?"
"It was thrilling, and romantic, and just like a romance novel, and then...then he opened his mouth and all went downhill." Rachel wipes the stray tear from under her eyes.
"What happened?" Santana reaches over and squeezes her hand.
"He realized when he, you know, went in that I was a virgin and afterward he was upset that I didn't tell him." Rachel looks at Santana expectantly.
"Rachel, wait, you didn't tell him ahead of time? You know that is a big deal."
"Well, obviously, it's a big deal to me, but why would it matter to him?"
"To some it just does. So what did he say?"
"He said that if I'd told him, he wouldn't have done it. He said I should have given it away to my first love not just a one night stand."
"Whoa, brutally honest type I guess."
"Yes, but you see the embarrassing part is I didn't think it would be just a one night stand. I really felt something there. A connection of sorts. Anyway, what is done is done, I no longer have cobwebs in my vagina."
"Rachel, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. At least I'll have my hot memories."
F+R/
Rachel works as a front desk manager at a hotel in Brooklyn. She is at work looking over her uniform in the bathroom and is pleased with the result; white shirt and dark grey pencil skirt that goes to her knees. She really enjoys her job, even though some guests get on her nerves at times. She can't wait until she makes it big on Broadway and can be a difficult guest herself. The boss, Will, promoted her last Monday, which was perfect timing to get over her depression over Finn and whole V card experience. The promotion means more money and her boss promised flexibility with her auditions. It is Saturday morning exactly a week since her fateful night with Finn and she is at the desk with the clerk drinking her coffee. She actually catches herself thinking of him all the time and wants to slap herself.
The phone rings and she answers it as the clerk is checking someone out of the hotel. She answers and a hurried voice cuts her off half way through her mandatory spiel.
"Hi, who's this?" the voice asks.
"Um, this is Rachel." she replies skeptically.
"Oh, hi Rachel. This is Mr. Hummel. We met briefly a couple of months ago."
"Oh, Mr. Hummel, yes." Oh my God, the owner is calling. "How may I help you sir?"
"I hate to ask, Rachel, but I need you to go to my suite and wake up my son's lazy ass (excuse my language). He apparently has turned the ringer off on his cell phone AND the land line phone. He was supposed to meet us at his apartment in the city at 8:00 and has not shown up. Now listen, you need to take a master key and go into my suite. You need to walk in there and shake him...he sleeps like he is in a coma and the knocking on the door won't do it. If the shaking doesn't work, fill a glass with water and dump it on his head. That always works. Don't leave the room until he is standing up out of bed, ok? I wouldn't ask, but it's very important."
"Ok, sir. Will do. But...um...is he going to bite my head off? I need to be prepared."
"No, his bark is worse than his bite. Actually, if he were a dog he would be a yellow lab; clumsy and would lick you to death. Thank you, Rachel, I appreciate it." He hangs up the phone.
She looks at the clerk and explains, "Apparently prince charming won't wake up, so I have to go to the suite to wake up Mr. Hummel's son."
"Oh, I've met him before. He is engaged to be married to the cutest guy. His son is gay, you know."
"Oh, I guess I haven't been here long enough to meet him. Anyway, I'll be back in a minute."
She walks down the hallway to the elevator and presses the button for the suite's floor. While the elevator is rising, she is fuming about having to go wake up some spoiled brat that doesn't care enough to meet his parents on time.
When the elevator arrives, she gets out and walks to the suite's door. It is the only door without a number and the only one that has no other rooms adjacent. She takes out the master key and knocks before she uses it. Nothing. She knocks again and yells, "Mr. Hummel!" She waits. Nothing. She uses the magnetic key to get in and tentatively sticks her head in the living area yelling, "Hello." She waits...nothing. She walks to the bedroom part of the suite and notices the lump under the bed, blankets covering his entire body except the feet. She slowly goes to the end of the bed and tickles his feet with her pen. Nothing. She grabs his foot and shakes it...nothing. She grabs his leg again and shakes it harder. His barely legible mumbling makes her laugh, "Mom, leave me alone, it's Saturday!" She decides to have fun with him. She gets a hold of the blanket and pulls it off of him like a magician pulls the tablecloth off a set table. She sees him laying there on his stomach in just his boxers his face buried in his bicep.
"Mr. Hummel, your dad wants you to call him." She tells the back of his head. She waits...he snores lightly. That's it! She has had enough. She walks to the bathroom fills a glass with water and comes out. She holds it over his head and... turns it over.
He jumps from the cold and he is on all fours on the bed and when he turns his head toward her, the blood in her veins turns to ice. She sees Finn's face staring at her shocked and confused.
"Oh my God! Finn! You are Mr. Hummel's son? You are engaged and gay?" Her eyes are like saucers, her hand over her heart backing up toward the windows behind her, while he is stumbling to stand up straight.
"What? No, I'm not gay and not engaged, that's my brother, Kurt, and what are you doing in my room?"
"I work here. Your dad called when he couldn't reach you. Apparently, you were supposed to meet him at your apartment today at 8:00. It's 8:30 now. Why is your last name Hudson?"
"Shit, shit, fuck! I'm supposed to meet them for wedding tux fittings and whatever. I'm his stepson." He turns in circles looking for his clothes and while he picks up one article of clothing at a time and puts it on, he looks at her. "You really work here?"
"Yes...now that you're up, I'll leave." She walks toward the door and he calls out to her. "How have you been?"
She turns and looks at him, raises her head a little with pride, "Peachy!" and she walks out the door.
Outside the door Rachel leans against the wall next to the door frame, palms touching the wall, to collect her thoughts. Her heart is beating so hard she may go into cardiac arrest any moment. Her head is buzzing and dizzy. Oh my God! How could this happen? She slept with the boss' son. Could there be any better way to get fired? She walks toward the elevator, leans on the wall next to it to get her legs under control. She presses the elevator button and waits. Just then Finn comes rushing down the hall to the elevator half his shirt untucked, still buckling his belt, keys in his mouth.
"Hold it, please!' As Rachel gets in the elevator she pushed the "open" button to wait for Finn, there is no point in being mean.
"Thanks for waking me up!" he says looking straight ahead.
"No problem. Do you always go into a coma when you sleep?" replies Rachel looking straight ahead.
"Well, I had a little too much to drink last night so it was a little worse than normal."
They stand there in uncomfortable silence until the elevator doors open and she walks out toward the office. He walks out after her and tells her, "You know, you can't ignore me forever...I know where to find you now." She turns and looks back at him and gets really pissed now looking at that smirk on his face.
She walks up to him, "You know, if a one night stand is what you wanted, I understand. I get it! I threw myself at you. But would it have been hard to have just pretended to want my number and then just not called? You know, like a normal guy." He looks at her with eyes open, mouth slack, shaking his head sideways, like he was saying 'I don't know what to say.' "That night was everything I wanted my first time to be. And then you ruined it." He still looks at her speechless, and she says, "Great, now cat's got you tongue." She turns to go and he grabs her elbow to stop her.
She turns to look at him when he finally responds, "How do you know that all I wanted is a one night stand? You got out of there so fast and wouldn't talk to me." She looks at him incredulously now.
"Finn, I remember you saying I threw it away on a one night stand." she lowered her voice.
"Because as far as you knew at that point that's what it was. How could you have known what my intentions were? We didn't talk about it. You went to a bar, met someone, and slept with them unknowing what would happen the next day. As far as you knew it was a one night stand and you did it anyway. Why?"
She puts her hand up in front of her and backs away. "I had my reasons. You know what? I'm not going to talk about my sex life with you at work. You know, everything you just said was correct; you're right! Feel better now? Good! Your family is waiting, bye!"
"Ugh!" Finn stomps out of the side entrance of the hotel and disappears.
Rachel returns to the front desk and looks at the clerk. "Did you know that Mr. Hummel has two sons?"
The clerk lights up and says, "Yes, Finn is his stepson. He is really cute, and straight. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. It was his stepson that I had to wake up just now."
"Did he look angelic when he was asleep? He has one of those faces that would make you think that!" Jennifer asks eagerly.
"I wouldn't know, Jennifer. I was too busy dumping a glass of water on his head to notice his 'angelic face'."
The girl looks at her weird and says, "OoooooKaaaaay!"
Rachel goes and picks up her neglected coffee and brings it to her lips. Bleh, it's cold; she walks to the breakfast area for a refill.
F+R/F+R/
Finn arrives at his apartment by 1:00 pm totally exhausted. After getting chewed out by his dad, and mom, and Kurt about being late, they finished being fitted for the suits and went to lunch. He is now back at home ready to relax.
He's been thinking a lot about Rachel this past week. When he asked her to go for coffee with him, he really just wanted to get to know her. He felt instantly attracted to her so he wanted to talk to her and then if everything went well, he would take her out on a date. Now things have gotten all messed up. He can't understand why a girl that has been saving it for these many years would just meet someone and give it up after a few hours. It doesn't make sense to him. Ok, he is going to try to fix this.
He dials the number to the hotel and waits for an answer. When the clerk answers he asks for Rachel.
"This is Rachel," she says when she get on the phone.
"Hi Rachel, it's Finn," his heart is flip flopping he is hoping she won't hang up on him. There is no response on the other line. "Rachel, are you still there?"
"Yes," he hears her voice flat.
"Well, I think we need to talk. I need to say some things and you need to listen and vice versa."
"I think we said all that needs to be said."
"No, maybe you said everything you needed to say. We need to go for that coffee we never went for."
"That's not necessary." She doesn't need his pity date.
"Fine! I'll come to the hotel and say what I need to say in front of the whole lobby, and you can't kick me out because of... well, you know."
He hears her take a big breath and sigh. "Fine. Meet me outside the hotel at 3:00. That's when my shift ends. If you are not there at exactly 3:00 p.m., I am leaving."
"I'll be there. Bye."
She hung up, she didn't even say bye to him. Ok, he will take her for coffee and explain himself and if she is still pissy after this, he'll walk away.
At five minutes to three, he walks into the lobby. He goes up to the clerk and says,
"Hi Jen," she looks at him with a smile on her face and goggly eyes in full display.
"Hi Finn."
"How have you been? The boss isn't giving you a hard time is he?" He leans his elbow on the counter to speak to her.
She leans forward to speak to him in a conspiratorial manner, "He's busting my chops, but don't say anything to him." They laugh and just then Rachel comes out from one of the offices in the back and sees him laughing with her and gets angry.
"You were supposed to wait outside for me."
"Well, I though I'd come inside to get you and say hi to Jen."
She looks at Jen and says, "Steve is here for the shift change, so I'm taking off a couple of minutes early, ok?"
"Ok," Jen responds looking curiously between Finn and Rachel.
"Let's go!" she says to him and walks ahead of him. He looks at Jen and waves bye, and begins to follow behind her admiring the fact that her ass looks great in that skirt. Good job Kurt, he thinks to himself, since Kurt chose the uniforms.
He picks up his pace to get next to her and says, "My favorite coffee shop is several blocks away. Why don't we get in the car and we'll go there."
"No need. There is a Starbucks around the corner." Her legs are moving faster than any short person's legs should move. He easily keeps up with her with his long strides and within a minute they are in the coffee shop. It's a fairly large one with a few couches toward the back. He leads her to the back by placing his hand on the small of her back, and he feels her stiffen some. At least she didn't swat his arm away like last time. Progress! She sits down and he asks her, "What would you like?"
"A Chai Tea Latte," then she adds, "Please." He smiles as her and goes to the bar. He returns a few minutes later and places her tea on the table in front of her and sits next to her on the couch, his thigh touching hers. She looks down at their thighs touching and scoots over.
He looks flirty at her and whispers, "I've been inside you. You should be to handle our thighs touching."
She stands up and says, "I need to leave."
He reaches for her hand and says, "No, please, I was just joking, trying to break the ice. It's really chilly in here." He whispers the last part under his breath.
She sits back down and he scoots a few inches away from her.
"Ok, you wanted to talk, so talk." Rachel picks up her tea and takes a big swallow and squints her eyes shut , her mouth breathing in and out. "Aaah, I burned my mouth." She curses herself for letting him preoccupy her thoughts so much she forgot to test the drink to see how hot it was.
"Are you ok, want me to get you some cold water?" He looks at her with concern.
"No, I'm fine. Continue."
"Ok, I hope I can explain this properly. Words and I don't exactly get along. Look, when we met in the bar, I really wanted to get to know you, that's why I suggested going for coffee. Then you were all so innocent one second, forward the next, and well you know what happened then. Anyway, I didn't want it to be just a one night stand, I was planning on asking you out, but the shock of finding out about, you know, kind of threw me for a loop. I thought all girls saved that for someone really special. My words came out wrong that night...they are probably not much better now, but I want you to know I do like you, I would like to go out with you, if you want to see me again. To be honest, I am not exactly sure why you are so pissed at me, but I want us to start over."
She takes in his light brown eyes, his sincerity is obvious, his small smile and cute freckles on his face. Her eyes soften then and her lips relax from the tight manner that they were in since he showed up at the hotel. She looks down at her tea, and looks back at him.
"I am not angry at YOU, you know. I am more angry with myself. I have never really been very suave when it comes to guys, and getting carried away like that was not like me...obviously. I thought that, afterward, you would be kind of flattered, but you were the complete opposite, so it hurt my feelings. Especially when you said that you wouldn't have done it if you knew," she pulls her lips to a straight line and shrugs her shoulders. "I was kind of embarrassed by the whole thing. And you are right. There was nothing about our exchange that night that hinted to anything but a one night stand."
He tries to take her hand and she pulls it away as he begins talking again, "I am flattered, but you're right. If I had known, I wouldn't have done it that night. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have seen you again, or that it wouldn't have happened a little later, after we spent some time getting to know each other. I mean, I can feel there is something there, between us. I'd like to explore it to see what it is, if you want that too. Do you?"
She looks at him, her eyes holding his gaze making sure he is not, bullshitting her and says, "Yes. But I want to make sure this is not some kind of guilty, pity date thing you are doing here to ease your conscience. Ok? You didn't know."
He shakes his head from side to side and looks deeply at her, "It's not that, I promise you. But I still want to know, why?"
"There is not really any deep rooted reason, Finn. Simply put, I got swept away by the moment; you were the first guy I didn't want to stop."
"Can I have your number, so I can call you, please?" he asks with a smile. She nods and takes his phone from the table, presses the home button, hands it to him to unlock, then takes it back, takes a selfie, and assigns the photo to her contact information. He is smiling back at her his eyebrows up in surprise. She looks at him with uncertainty, "Too much?" He shakes his head no, and takes her hand. Holding her hand, they walk back to the hotel. "Want me to drive you home?" he asks her when they get to the hotel.
"No, I enjoy my train rides, but thank you. I've got a lot to think about." He leaves walking backwards then and says, "I saw your face, you know, when I was talking to Jen...you were jealous."
She scoffs playfully at him and says, "I was not!"
"Yes, you were!" he turns around and runs toward the parking garage.
Rachel turns to go toward the train, and thinks to herself, 'did I just agree to date the boss' son?' Oh, boy!
Rachel is on the subway going home. Should she have let him drive her home? She did want to seem over eager considering inside she was doing summersaults. Hoping she is making a good decision about seeing him, she can't help but think that it would be nice to have a boyfriend. Here she goes, getting ahead of herself already. He wants to go out on ONE date...Rachel; he did not ask you to be his girlfriend! Her head is telling her to cool it. She needs to cool it! Her phone buzzes with a text...she sees it's Finn and her heart starts pounding.
Just checking to make sure this is your real number :)
She laughs and types back...
Of course it's my real number, silly.
Finn:
So when do you want to go out? Do you work tomorrow?
Rachel:
No, but if we do it tomorrow, it would have to be fairly early...I have school Monday at 8:00 and I have to get my beauty sleep.
Finn:
OK, be ready at noon...casual. And I didn't know you wanted to do it again tomorrow...fine by me;)
She types furiously...
Are you going to make me regret this?
Finn:
No...sorry, I just...sorry. No more dirty flirting...got it.
Rachel:
So, what are we going to do tomorrow?
Finn:
It's a surprise...talk to you later!
Rachel:
OK
When Rachel arrives home she sees Santana with Cami, her girlfriend on the couch the t.v. on.
"You won't believe what happened to me today!" Rachel plops between them on the couch and turns toward Santana.
Santana looks from Cami to Rachel and flips her longs black hair over her shoulders. "We were in the middle of something really steamy here Rachel."
"No problem, you can continue after I'm done." They roll their eyes at her but Rachel is oblivious to them, "So. My boss, not Will but the owner, calls me this morning to have me wake his son up in the suite because he couldn't get a hold of him. So, I'm expecting young Mr. Hummel, engaged and gay, but when I go into the suite to wake him up by throwing water on his face" their eyes widen like saucers, "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Hummel told me to do it, guess who Mr. Hummel's son turned out to be?" She looks at them expectantly. They shake their heads and shrug so she continues, "Finn!"
Santana still shakes her head, "Who is that? Oh...the giant!"
"Stop calling him that. Anyway to make a long story short, I am going out on a REAL date with him tomorrow."
"I thought you never wanted to see him again." Santana gives her a quizzical look.
"Well, I didn't want to see him, because I thought he didn't want to see me...but he does…so, I do."
"I am happy for you Rachel, but be careful, ok?"
"Ok, now I am going to go to my room and play the music really, really loud so you can continue with your antics. You have an hour...or you can just go to your bedroom not have to worry about privacy issues."
Later that night, Rachel is on her bed watching t.v. and begins dozing off when her phone buzzes.
Finn:
Goodnight, Rachel
Rachel:
Goodnight, Finn!
Rachel's heart is pounding. She is liking this Finn way too much. What if she gets used to all this attention and then turns into Mr. Hyde again? If she thought about him so much after one night, how much would she think of him if she spend many nights. Ugh! Here she is thinking of this as a long term thing. He asked her out on a date...that's it. Geez, Rachel, get your head screwed on straight.
F+R/F+R/F+R/
Locking his phone, Finn gets off his couch and walks to his bedroom. He thinks back to today and is glad things turned out as they had. He really feels like this could turn out to be the relationship he's been waiting for.
He gets, in bed and puts his phone on the night table. He has been thinking of her non stop since he met her in the bar. She is a little feisty and he likes that...she won't take any of his shit. Still he has felt so bad for ruining her first night. He picks up the phone once more.
He types his message to her:
BTW I didn't apologize for ruining the other night for you...I'm sorry.
He waits for her response...and waits...she probably is already asleep. He puts the phone back on the night table, and snuggles in for the night. Maybe he'll dream about her like he did last night. Just as he is about to nod off he hears the buzzing of his phone. He grabs it and looks
It's ok...
He types:
No, it's not...I promise I will make it up to you. See you tomorrow!
Ok.
F+R/F+R/
Rachel is amazed what a warm day it is today. It's only April, but the temperature today in unseasonably warm. For her date she decides to wear a pair of black form-fitting capris with a black sleeveless mock turtle neck light knit shirt and low heeled lack sandals. She has her hair up in a high ponytail with large curls bouncing when she walks. Her make up is understated: pale pink lips and nude eyeshadow. As she inspects herself she is pleased; she is channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn. She brings a white light-weight cardigan sweater just in case. She has no idea where they are going, so she went with an outfit that would work in many different venues.
She hears a knock on the door and leaves her bedroom to get it. Santana is sitting on the couch reading a magazine when Rachel opens the door for Finn.
Santana comes to where Rachel is and introduces herself to Finn.
"Hi, I'm Santana. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Finn. Nice to meet you too." He looks at Rachel, "I guess we better get going." He puts his hand at the small of her back (did Rachel mention how much she loves that?) and as she walks out of the door, Santana grabs his shoulder and puts her index finder and middle finger in a V near her eyes and then turns her hand toward him in 'I'm watching you' gesture. Finn looks back at her and she gives him a cold stare.
As Rachel and Finn walk down the stairs, Finn tells her, "I think your roommate doesn't like me very much."
"Santana is a little over protective. I am excited...where are we going?" she looks at Finn expectantly.
"You'll see." As they walk out to his car, he stops her just as she is about to go into her car he stops her, "By the way, you look gorgeous!"
Rachel raises her black sunglasses, puts them on and tilts her head, "Thank you!"
She gets into her seat and Finn walks around to the driver's side. He gets in and prepares to drive off. Rachel looks at him and asks, "You live downtown, why do you have a car?"
"Because my dad has me going everywhere in the city to earn my fake salary for my fake job. I kind of go and sit in boring meetings with managers from his hotels and such. Take back the notes to him, meet with the accountants, etc. You can call me a glorified gopher." He looks a little bitter about this. "I'm not complaining...he paid for my college, and with the salary he pays me I can have my own, very small, apartment and have money left over for other things; and it is a legitimate position...I got it after the last guy quit, so for now, I'm ok with it."
She nods her head in understanding. "When did your parents get together?" My real dad was a military officer that died in a car accident after coming home from deployment. I never knew him, and it was just my mom and me for a long time. When I was nine, Kurt and I were in a class together at school, in New Jersey, our parents still live there, and during a school event they met. The rest is history. He is the only dad I have ever known. His opinion matters and I really love him like he is my real dad. How about your family?" he asks and glances her way. He wears an olive green Henley shirt, dark jeans, sleeves pushed up his forearms with aviator sunglasses on, and her eyes are feasting on his good looks. She has to pinch herself to make sure she is here with him.
"Well, I am from a small town in Ohio. Lima. It's where dreams go to die." She laughs, "It seemed dreary to me when I was growing up there, but now when I go visit, I realize it feels like home, you know. I wanted to leave there so badly, but now, I wouldn't mind going back there to live when I get old and gray."
He looks as her and smiles. She continues, "Anyway, the most unique thing about me is my family...I have two gay dads." He smiles, "Really? Kurt would be thrilled to meet you and pick your brain about being raised with your dads. He's getting married to his boyfriend soon, and I am sure that one day soon they'll want to add a child to their family."
"I would love to answer any questions they may have. Anyway, I imagine it's not any different than any other family with two parents. They were ultra supportive with lessons for me in the arts from a very young age. I worked really hard at getting accepted to the dramatic arts school I attend; It's going to be a little scary when I graduate and have to make do for myself."
"You must be very proud of yourself!" he says and she detects a note of envy in his voice.
"I am. I sacrificed my social life for it...as you already know...in high school, but it was all worth it."
Soon they pulled to a place that Rachel had heard of before, but had refused to ever go to because it was the ultimate romantic place for dates...The Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Finn parks in a nearby lot, walks to her side to open her door, and goes to the back to open the trunk. Inside there is a small picnic basket and he picks it up and takes her hand with his free hand. Her eyes are hidden behind her glasses and she has a hard time keeping her lips from trembling. He is excited like a little boy in an amusement park when he says, "Come on, I love this place...you have the best views of the city from this side." She grips his hand tighter and he looks down at their hands and smiles. He knows it was the perfect surprise. They slowly stroll down the Promenade taking their time looking around.
"So tell me," Rachel asks unsure of his reaction. "What did you get your degree in? Why aren't you doing what you went to school to do?" She knows he may be a little sensitive about it, so she adds, "But if you aren't comfortable sharing yet, it's ok...I understand."
"No it's ok. I got my degree in communications because I wanted to be a sports analyst on t.v., local news at first and eventually ESPN. I know what you are thinking! I stumble trying to express myself, but, with sports I don't have that problem."
Her eyes widen and she perks up. "I can totally see you doing that. You have the looks for t.v., you are tall, and as long as you know your sports stuff, I think you would be great. So why aren't you doing that?"
"Well, I am planning on it, but at the same time, I'm afraid that if I try and I fail, I'll have to face up to the fact I have to choose another career and well, I guess the longer I put it off, the more I put off the risk of failing. And I need to look a little older; I still look so young. Does that make sense to you? Kurt says I'm chickenshit for not going through with it now. What do you think?"
Rachel really considers his question before she answers. "Well I can see both your points of view. I know going out there and putting yourself out there is scary, but it can also be a learning experience. Even if you fail the first time, it doesn't mean it's the end, you know. If actors did that they would never have a career. But you also have to be mentally ready. You have to believe you can leap tall buildings in a single bound! You have to keep on trying over and over again. Only you can judge when the time is right for you to go for it!"
He stops then, and moves to face her. "Thank you for not being judgmental."
They continue walking in comfortable silence for a few minutes until they find a small grassy area with trees for their picnic. Then they get there, Finn spreads out the tablecloth, and helps her sit. He then leans over and removes her shoes from her feet, and he sits and removes his. He takes out the food he so carefully ordered for her and for himself, thank God he had ordered several veggie dishes and she could eat. The time flew by and finally he opened a tiny bottle of champagne hidden in the basket and poured some for her and then for himself.
"We have to hide this, open alcohol is not allowed here, so here." He lifts his plastic airplane cup and she lifts hers. "Happy first date!" She smiles and she repeats, "Happy first date!" and smiles brightly when she realizes what is implied: more dates. They clink their plastic cups and take a few sips while looking at each other. A few minutes later when their drink is done, he places all of the trash in a near by trashcan, and packs the picnic basket. He sits back down and looks at her.
"Thank you," she whispers to him. "This was really great!" and she leans over and gives his a small shy kiss on the lips.
"You're welcome!" he whispers against her lips." The time has flown by and she realizes they have been here for hours...the sun is going down.
"I guess we should go home." she says regretfully.
He grabs her hand and says, "Not yet...there is something you have to see." He puts his shoes back on while she does the same, and they stand up. He shoves the tablecloth into the basket and they walk together to the railing of the promenade. He puts the basket on the ground next to him and stands behind her his elbows resting on the rail on either side of her arms his hands covering hers and threading together. He leans close to her and puts his head next to hers, places a kiss at her neck and whispers, "Wait for it..." and a few moments later he points, "...there!" She looks across at the beautiful view of the skyline when it happens; the sun goes down behind the buildings creating the most beautiful sunset view Rachel has ever seen. She gasps and and looks at him happily. She smiles and says, "It's so beautiful! I have to take a picture. She takes her phone out of her pocket and takes the photo. He then takes the phone and holds it out for them to take a couplie with the Manhattan skyline behind them. Rachel is beaming...could he get any cuter? Their faces are pressed together cheek to cheek for the picture and after he snaps the photo he turns his face to smile at her their lips are mere inches from each other. His smile slowly fades and her eyes close instinctively when his head descends toward her. Their lips meet and their kiss deepens, tongues encircling each other in a sensual dance. Her arms go around his waist and his arms are at her shoulders pulling her upward to him. The kiss lasts for a few moments and slowly they break apart again.
He cups the side of her head with his hand, and rubs his thumb across her lips. Both a little breathless, they stand looking at each other for a few seconds. He then picks up her hand and bends over to pick up the basket. "Time to get you home, Sleeping Beauty!"
She smiles at him and nods as they walk to the car. The car ride is quieter than earlier, but she is reveling in the emotions from her date. This was the most perfect date she has ever experienced and she replays all the moments to commit them to her memory. Later, as she walks her to her front door, he gives her a sweet goodnight kiss and bids her goodbye. A perfect gentleman. She smiles as she walks in and waves to him through the crack of the closing door as he has paused at her stairwell! She closes the door behind her and leans against it and closes her eyes. She will remember this day for the rest of her life!
A/N: In case you didn't figure it, the setting of their first date is where I believe Cory's and Lea's matching sunset pics were taken that they posted on twitter back in 2011. I went to the Brooklyn Promenade many, many years ago and have a photo that is similar to theirs but not identical, so I am not positive that is the same location. Either way that photo inspired the location of their first date in this story.