Puck pulled into the parking lot, still holding Rachel's hand. He'd never let it go the entire time he was driving. In fact, he kept looking over at Rachel, unable to believe she was actually here in his car. He thought she was gone forever, but here she was, sitting next to him.

He turned off the car, getting out and opening the door for Rachel before reaching into the back seat grabbed a small gym bag. "I thought Kurt was insane for telling me to bring this, but it makes sense now," he laughed, putting an arm around Rachel's shoulder.

He was still feeling a bit awkward around her. They had spent three months apart, and he'd seen pictures of her with him in every magazine. He didn't want to know, but he had to: did she sleep with him?

Puck glanced down at the room number before leading himself and Rachel to room 1006. He put the key in the door before pushing it open.

Wow, they really had splurged for them. It was an actual suite—Puck had never stayed in such a nice hotel room. There was even a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries with whipped cream.

Rachel placed her hands on his chest once he'd shut the door and stood on her toes, kissing him once. Puck dropped the bag to the floor, his arms wrapping around her.

Rachel and Puck stood there, kissing for a few minutes before Rachel pulled away. "I owe you an apology—no, I owe you more than that. I owe you an explanation," she said, looking up at him.

Puck nodded his head. "Yes, you do. But let's get comfortable first, those shoes have to be killing your feet."

Puck lifted Rachel up and sat her on the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees, slowly taking off her heels. She smiled down at him, a light blush coloring her cheeks. He reached into the bag, handing her an oversized tee-shirt of his along with a pair of boxers. "Here, you can change into these," he said before he stood up and kissed her forehead.

Rachel watched as he stripped out of the khaki pants and button down shirt he'd worn to the dance, pulling on a pair of gym shorts and a wife beater. Her cheeks went dark again as she looked at his chest. She'd missed seeing him practically naked in her room—well, a hotel room this time.

Puck walked over to her, chuckling as he saw she was still seated on the edge of the bed in her dress. "You're supposed to change into this so you're more comfortable," he teased, taking the clothes out of her hands before reaching around behind her back. He grasped the zipper, slowly pulling it down.

The straps of her dress fell off her shoulders and she looked up at him, biting her lower lip. "Noah…"

"Don't worry, babe. I promise nothing inappropriate tonight. It just doesn't feel right with all this shit hanging over us. I'm here to listen to you tonight." He pulled her to her feet, letting the dress fall to the floor.

Rachel pulled the boxers on while Puck slipped the shirt over her head. She pulled her arms through the sleeves before climbing into the bed, patting the spot beside her.

Puck seemed to hesitate before climbing in next to her, lying down with an arm draped over her. "You know, you look very sexy in my oversized shirt," he laughed, his hand running up and down over her stomach.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to give me a few of your shirts so I can wear them when you come over," she teased, hoping she'd get a chance to. What if he was mad after hearing her explanation?

Puck smiled a little, leaning over and kissing her cheek. All he wanted right now was to fall asleep with her in his arms, but he couldn't. Not yet. He had to hear what she had to say. If he didn't hear it now, he never would.

Rachel rolled on her side, facing him on the bed. She took his one hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "Noah, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her eyes looking away from his.

"I thought I said I wanted to see your eyes all night," he murmured, a hint of teasing to his voice. She looked back up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Rachel, please," Puck pleaded. "Please don't cry. I don't want you to be upset." He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"I'm just…I'm so sorry for what I did," she sobbed, her head buried into his chest as her hot tears stained his shirt. "I never meant to hurt you. I was just being a selfish bitch and never even thought about what you would think," she cried, her makeup running down her face. Thank god Kurt wasn't here—he'd kick her ass.

Puck rubbed her back reassuringly, kissing the top of her head. He'd wanted to make her feel bad, lay on the guilt about what she'd done…but she was doing that herself and it was making him feel like shit. His girl shouldn't be crying about something like this. It wasn't right.

"Rachel, please stop crying," he begged, the sound of her sobs breaking his heart. "I'm not mad anymore, I promise. I forgive you. I just…I want to know what happened in Los Angeles…between you and Jesse," he whispered.

Rachel looked up, wiping her eyes. Puck couldn't help but laugh—she looked like a raccoon with her ruined makeup.

"What's so funny?" she sniffled, her eyes red from crying.

"You just look silly with your ruined makeup," he teased, kissing her lightly. "But really, I do want to hear about Los Angeles. Please, tell me everything. I can handle it," he promised, though he wasn't sure how he'd be able to handle it if she said she hooked up with St. James.

"Nothing happened between us," she said, sitting up and looking down at him. "Honest. We worked together writing the script during the day, and he took me out with his friends at night. We kissed once, but I was really drunk and pulled away as soon as I knew what I was doing. I felt like I was betraying you, even though you said you didn't want me anymore."

Puck laid there silently, taking everything in. Okay, so she'd kissed him once. That wasn't so bad, especially since he'd been reading about sleepovers in his apartment.

"I never felt anything for Jesse. He broke my heart—why would I want to be with him again after he humiliated me in the parking lot sophomore year? I thought he was the love of my life back then, but what I felt for him isn't even a fraction of what I feel for you." She reached down and took Puck's hand again. "I love you, Noah. I never stopped loving you. I thought about you every night."

Puck looked at her, a goofy smile on his face. "Really?"

"Really," she said. "Jesse knew I adored you. He's the one who planned this whole thing with Kurt. He paid for everything—the plane ticket, the dress, and I'm assuming the hotel room as well. You should be thanking him; without him, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, I still hate the guy for taking my girl away from me for three months," he muttered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I missed you so much when you were gone. I went over to your house after our fight to apologize, but some lady said you guys had moved. I thought she was full of shit, so I sat outside your house until Kurt came and told me you'd called from LA."

"Were you mad?" she asked.

"Furious," he answered. "It wasn't that you'd moved—it was that you moved and changed your number without telling me. I felt like you were cutting me out of your life. I considered taking a road trip to California to let you have it, but Sam told me how much gas would cost, so I decided on an angry Facebook message. I never actually sent it," he added.

Rachel smiled a little, snuggling close to him, her feet tangling with his under the covers. "Well, you're not mad now, right?" she asked.

"For the thousandth time, no," he laughed, his nose brushing against hers. "I have you back, we're together in a hotel room, and you still love me. Nothing could be better than this."

Rachel smiled, letting out a content sigh as the two teenagers cuddled on the bed. Of course they'd have amazing make up sex, but not now. She liked just lying in bed with him like this. Feeling his arms around her small frame was comforting.

"Rachel?"

"Yes, Noah?"

"Does this mean you're coming back to Lima, or are you just visiting?"

Rachel bit her lip. She had no idea, to be perfectly honest. It was all spur of the moment—she hadn't even talked to her dads about what was going to happen if the plan was successful. "I don't know," she finally said. "I never discussed that with anyone. I don't even know how long I'm in town for," she added.

Puck seemed to be thinking something over in his head, his one hand moving up and down her side. "Well, you're at least here through tomorrow, right?" he asked.

Rachel smiled and nodded her head. "I assume so, unless Kurt plans on whisking me back to California early tomorrow morning."

"Great. Then you can come over for dinner with my family. Ma's been begging me to invite you over since we were rescued. I think she wants to convince me you're the perfect girl to marry," he joked.

Rachel smiled, pecking his lips. "So you want to have the obligatory meeting the parents dinner?" she teased.

"Only if you're up for it," he responded, his hand continuing to move over her waist.

"Well, I suppose so. I just hope you mother doesn't hate me for corrupting her son's innocence or something like that," she said, making a face. Granted, Puck hadn't been innocent in a while, but his mother could have thought he was.

Puck let out a laugh. "You don't have to worry about it, Rachel. Ma loves you, and she's going to love that I'm finally dating a Jewish girl. We'll be lucky if she doesn't have the wedding invitations written up by the time we get there tomorrow," he joked.

"She loves me?" Rachel asked.

"Well, yeah. She's part of the reason I asked you out back during sophomore year. Well, her and a weird dream I had involving you coming through my window dressed as a Jewish angel."

"Jewish angel?"

"I'm not making sense, am I?" he asked.

Rachel shook her head. "None whatsoever. It doesn't matter—I love you even when you have gibberish coming out of that adorable mouth of yours," she teased.

Puck rolled his eyes at her, kicking her foot lightly with his under the blankets. "So does that mean you're coming?" he asked, his hand moving under her shirt and up her back.

Rachel let out an involuntary shiver. "Noah," she warned, moving closer to him on the bed. "I want to keep things PG tonight."

"My hand will stay away from your front, I promise," he said, his fingers trailing over her spine. "So can I tell Ma to count on an extra person for dinner?" he asked, his lips ghosting over hers.

"Yes, you can," Rachel whispered, her mouth inches from his. "Noah?"

"Yes?" he murmured, one leg hitched over hers as he pulled her closer.

"Can we stop talking about your mother?"

Puck let out a laugh before kissing her, seeming to answer her question. He reached over a second later, flipping off the lights in the room.

xxxxx

Rachel awoke the next morning to sore and swollen lips as well as an empty bed. She looked over at the clock, groaning when she saw it was after ten. She and Puck had stayed up past one kissing, hence the swollen lips.

Last night had been…well, it had been amazing. Rachel couldn't have dreamed up a better reunion between her and Puck.

After he flipped the lights off, the two had lied in bed for a while, just talking while Puck's hand continued moving over her back. She couldn't remember at what point she lost the shirt, but a little after midnight she'd let him move his hand from her back to her front.

After that, he'd spent the whole time exploring her body, murmuring how much he'd missed it in between kisses. Rachel finally had to stop him and insist they go to bed when his hands started pulling at the boxers she was wearing.

After slipping the shirt back on, she'd settled back in his arms and attempted to fall asleep, though her mind was still buzzing, every neuron firing rapidly as she continued feeling his hands on her.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was Puck murmuring in her ear how he wanted to come out to LA with her after graduation, how he wanted to be with her forever.

Rachel sat up in bed, her bottom lip in her mouth as she chewed on it. Had he been serious, or was he just rambling in his sleep like he'd done every night on the island? She wasn't sure if she wanted him in LA with her. If he came out, she'd never make it to New York.

"Baby, you up?"

Rachel's head snapped in the direction of the bathroom where she spotted Puck's muscular back in the doorway. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and she could hear the sounds of a bristle being dragged over his teeth.

She smiled, climbing out of the large bed, her wavy hair a mess from him running his fingers through it over and over. She joined him in the bathroom, picking up her toothbrush before starting to brush her teeth.

Standing there in the bathroom beside Puck, it struck her how oddly comfortable the scenario was, as if she could see herself doing this every day. She could envision a future between her and Puck. With Finn and Jesse, Rachel could never see past the next week. But with Puck, she was picturing an entire lifetime between them.

"What's on your mind?" Puck asked after spitting in the sink, wiping his mouth on a towel, looking down at her as he spoke.

Rachel shook her head before spitting into the sink and stealing the towel from him, wiping her mouth as well.

"It's nothing," she said.

"You look like you're deep in thought," he commented, leaning against the bathroom wall while his eyes scanned her petite frame, eventually coming to a stop on her face.

Rachel bit her lip, the minty taste of the residue toothpaste that lingered on her lower lip invading her mouth. "I was just thinking how comfortable this feels right now. How…how I could see myself doing this every day for the rest of my life."

"Doing what, brushing your teeth?" he asked.

"Standing next to you in the bathroom and brushing my teeth with you, waking up in a bed we shared…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, that's the plan," he said, looking away from her as he smoothed his Mohawk, examining it in the mirror.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"You know, getting our own place and living together once we're older."

"You mean get married?" she asked, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Puck let out a laugh. "Fuck no. I said live together, not get married. I mean, do I really strike you as the marrying type, Rachel?" he asked, not even looking over at her. "Besides, after my dad left, I kind of gave up on the whole idea of marrying. It's stupid."

Rachel felt her stomach drop. He didn't want to get married. Not ever. Ever since Rachel had been a little girl, she'd always pictured her wedding day. She'd never pictured a life of living in unwedded bliss with her high school sweetheart in a cramped New York City apartment. The fact that Puck didn't want to get married…well, that would take a while for her to get over. But, she'd lost him once. She wasn't going to lose him again over something like this.

"Yeah, marriage is stupid," she agreed with a shaky voice. She could taste the lie on her tongue, but she put on a show face and attempted to make it sound convincing. She didn't want Puck knowing she wasn't okay with his future plans of them living in sin until the day they died.

Puck placed a kiss on her forehead before walking out of the bathroom, gathering up his clothes from the night before, pulling them back on. "Get dressed," he called to her. "I promised to drop you off at Kurt's before I headed back home," he said. "You can keep that on if you don't feel like putting the dress back on," he added.

Rachel nodded her head slowly, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. She wasn't even going to attempt to straighten out her appearance now. Kurt could do that once she got to his house. After all, if she was meeting her boyfriend's mother and sister, she had to look nice.

Rachel picked up her dress and heels, deciding to just walk to his car barefoot. It wasn't that far of a wlk, after all.

After checking out of the room, Puck led Rachel to his car. She climbed into the passenger's seat with ease, the dress and shoes from last night sitting in her lap.

Puck started the car and drove towards Kurt's house, both of them staying silent.

Rachel just couldn't understand how Puck never wanted to get married. She thought everyone wanted to get married. Well everyone did…just not the boy she was in love with.

Maybe she could change his mind? Right, like changing Noah Puckerman's mind was a simple task. He was almost as stubborn as her, a trait that irritated her when they were on the island.

Puck pulled into the driveway at the Hummel house, putting the car in park and turning the ignition off. "Rach?" he asked.

She turned towards him, her eyes meeting his. "Yes, Noah?" she asked.

"Is something wrong? I feel like you've been giving me the silent treatment since we left the hotel."

Damn him and his ability to read her like a book. Rachel put on a show face, smiling up at him. "No, nothing's wrong," she lied. "I'm just tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep." She unbuckled the seat belt and opened the door to the car. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"I'll pick you up at seven," he sighed, not sure what was going on with Rachel at the moment. She wasn't herself, and he didn't know why. He also knew he'd never get her to tell him why she was acting weird.

Puck gave her a quick kiss on the lips, smiling up at her as she fixed the shirt of his she was wearing. She really did look sexy in it.

"Okay, I'll see you them," she murmured quietly.

"I love you," he called after she turned her back to him.

"I love you too," she promised before disappearing inside the Hummel house.

AN: Okay, so I'm babysitting all weekend. And by all weekend, I mean ALL weekend. So I won't have a chance to write until Sunday night at the earliest.

Also, I'm expecting about five more chapters plus an epilogue in this story. Reviews are love :D