A/N: I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to update! This week is crazy for me (Not to mention I've had the worst luck :/) I apologize. I've been trying to ignore everything going on around me and thankfully when I write I forget about all my anger/problems :) This chapter is sort of a filler chapter, I promise the next one will be more exciting. Enjoy! Let me know how it is of course! Feedback is appreciated! (Ps. I plan on getting the next one up before I leave for out of state!)
"All set?" Finn asked, turning his head to look back at Rachel as she nodded. He smiled, shutting the trunk door behind them as they entered the car Finn had borrowed from Puck.
Why couldn't we take the truck?" Rachel asked curiously as she buckled her seatbelt.
Finn shrugged. "Better gas mileage really." He said simply, starting the car.
Rachel nodded looking over at him. "I'm excited. Is it nice there?" she asked.
Finn nodded. "I think so."
"How long does it take to get there?"
"About three-ish hours." He said simply, smiling over at her. "My turn to ask questions now." He said before she could ask another.
"Why did you pack like you're going out of town for a year?" He said with a smile.
Rachel tilted her head, rolling her eyes. "It's not even that much." She said.
"If you say so."
"Why didn't you want them all to come with us?" she then asked, referring to Puck, Quinn, Tina and Mike.
"I thought I was asking the questions." Finn retorted.
"Nope, I'm back in control." She said, smiling at him.
Finn shrugged. "I wanted to spend time with you."
"There's plenty of time for us to do that, I'm not going anywhere." She noted.
He shrugged once more. "Don't care." He said flatly, causing Rachel to drop the subject. "Besides, the show isn't until Saturday."
Rachel nodded before looking out the passenger side window. "They said they were coming though."
"They are." Finn said simply. "On Saturday."
"Oh." She said, dropping the subject once more, bringing her feet up, sitting cross-legged in the seat, taking out her ipod, putting the headphones in her ear.
"Oh, I see how it is." Finn joked as she scrolled through her songs.
"What?" She said looking over at him with a smile. "I can still hear you."
"Why don't you just put it in here?" He asked, pointing towards a cord that was hanging from the radio system.
Rachel shrugged. "Do you want me to?"
"Sure." He said, handing her the cord. "I don't mind."
A song from Spring Awakening played through the car speakers moments later, as Rachel quickly began to sing along.
Finn started to laugh. "You know…I watched this part." He confessed, a grin on his face as he spoke.
Rachel's jaw dropped before snapping herself back into reality. "Of course you did though…" she said. "How nice of you to inform me that you've in fact seen the top half of my body completely naked." She then said with a chuckle.
He shrugged. "Looked pretty hot to me."
Rachel bit her bottom lip, shaking her head lightly. "Thanks." She said, returning back to singing along to 'I believe.'
He listened to her, perfectly content, excited for the entire weekend ahead.
000
"Are we here?" Rachel asked excitedly, looking wildly about as they entered San Luis Obispo's county limits.
"Apparently. That or close." Finn said looking over at her, her excitement extremely evident as she perked right up, compared to how sleepy she was acting just moments before hand.
"I am so excited." She said. "I love California."
Finn smiled, focusing on the GPS telling him where to go. "We're staying at a hotel on some beach." He said simply, acting nonchalant about the news he just told her.
"What!" she exclaimed. "We are?"
"What!" Finn mimicked through a smile. "Yes."
"Why?" she asked.
He shrugged. "That's what the guys all picked. I'm sorry, do you not want to?" he asked.
Rachel laughed. "Oh stop. I'm just excited. That's crazy!"
"So crazy." Finn said sarcastically.
"Stop!" she repeated, rolling her eyes, looking out the window, now silent.
"I'm sorry." Finn said, taking in her facial expression, now completely serious as she stared blankly forward.
"It's okay." She said simply. "Just let me be excited."
"I'm not stopping you."
"But you're harassing me for it."
Finn nodded. "I am not." He said simply.
"Yes you are." She replied.
Finn sighed. "Alright, okay. Sorry. My bad."
"It is your bad." She said simply, before looking over at him. "But it's okay."
"You just somehow manage to look cuter than you already are when you get all excited, okay? I didn't mean to harass you about it." He added.
She looked over at him, a wide smile appearing on her face. "Random burst of cuteness. I'll take it." She said chuckling as she looked out the window once more.
They pulled into the hotel parking lot moments after, and Rachel stared up, her mouth agape. "Holy…."
"Shit." Finn finished, looking up at the hotel as well, also surprised by the view.
"We're actually staying here?" she asked, looking over at him as he parked.
He nodded. "Three nights."
"I feel so bad. This had to have cost an arm, leg and a first born child."
Finn looked over at her and laughed. "Pet dog too."
Rachel let out a whistle before laughing, getting out of the car. She stretched when she stood. "I feel like jello!" she cried out, looking over the car at Finn.
He smiled as he stood out. "Let's go check in now. Get the bags later or something." He said as he walked around the car to approach her.
She nodded in agreement as Finn took her hand into his once more, as they made their way inside.
000
"I cannot believe this." Rachel said, looking around the hotel room.
Finn looked around too. "I can't either." He said, flabbergasted by how large it was. He was even more shocked at the view they had of the beach and water from the balcony. It was breathtaking.
Rachel had already made her way out towards the balcony, leaning her arms down on the railing as she looked out. "I've never in my life seen anything like this." She said as Finn approached her.
He smiled. "Now you have." He said simply, looking down at her. The sun was pretty much gone by the time they arrived, and now, standing before him in the moonlight, she looked absolutely stunning.
They stood in silence for a few moments before she turned her head to look up at him. "Thank you for all of this." She said quietly, a soft breeze hitting her as she spoke.
Finn nodded, wanting more than anything to hold her at that exact moment, to watch the waves crashing on the shore below them, talk about nothing for the remainder of the evening. However, Rachel evidently had a different idea. She turned to him suddenly. "We should go down there." She said.
"Right now?" he asked. "But…I'm tired."
Rachel shrugged. "Come on!"
"The guys should be here soon though too…"
"What's with the excuses?" Rachel then asked, scrunching her eyebrows.
"They aren't excuses."
"Yes they are!" she said with a laugh, turning to go back inside. "But it's okay, I'll go by myself." She said.
Finn turned his head, looking after her as she walked. "Wait!" he yelled, running in behind her. "Okay, fine. I'll go."
"I'm not begging you to." She said. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"What if something happens?" he shot back, looking at her.
Rachel laughed. "Don't be so paranoid, I promise nothing will."
"How do you know? I'm going with you." He stammered.
"Suit yourself." She said, smiling as they headed out the hotel door together.
000
Finn looked over at her as they sat in the sand next to each other, the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline in the background as he listened to Rachel talk about the number of things they should do during their stay at the hotel. He leaned over, kissing her on the cheek as she spoke, causing her to stop.
"What?" she asked quietly, a smile forming on her lips.
"Nothing." Finn said quietly back, his head still inches from her face. He smiled, leaning back up as he put his arm around her. Rachel smiled at this gesture, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked out at the water.
"Finn?" Rachel said quietly.
"Hmm?"
"This is perfect." She whispered.
Finn smiled, not saying anything. He felt like this was one of the most romantic moments of his life. Just then his phone started ringing.
Rachel leaned her head up, allowing him to take his phone out. "This would happen right now." He said, looking down at the screen before answering it.
"Hello?" He asked. "Oh hey! Yeah, are you all here? Oh you guys are? Oh that's cool. Yeah, I don't know. I'm feeling kind of tired. Yes, she's here. Hold on." He said, bringing his phone down to his shoulder.
"It's Jeremy. They're all here. They want to get together with us. What do you say?" He asked looking at Rachel, his eyes wide as he shook his head no.
Rachel looked at him confused as she squinted her eyes. "Wha…"
"Yeah, I don't think so. She's really tired." Finn then said into the phone. "Yeah, all day tomorrow is cool you know that. Yeah, for sure. Alright. See ya man." He said, hanging up quickly.
"Did you just blow them off?" Rachel asked curiously.
Finn nodded. "I didn't blow them off….I just don't want to do anything …with them." He said.
Rachel smiled widely. "You blew off your friends for me?" she asked.
He smiled. "Maybe."
"You shouldn't do that." She said, shaking her head.
"It's okay, Rachel. It's not a big deal. They're not going to be heartbroken." He said looking at her. "Seriously, it's cool."
She shrugged, letting it go.
They headed inside shortly after, Rachel's heart fluttering, knowing she would be sleeping next to him that evening, and the next few evenings. It made her nervous, but extremely happy all at once. "I'm going to change." She said as she grabbed her pajamas out of one of her bags, heading to the bathroom.
Finn nodded, quickly stripping off his clothing, leaving him in nothing but his boxers and white undershirt. He then jumped into the bed, making himself comfortable. He wasn't lying when he talked to Jeremy on the phone; he really was exhausted.
He closed his eyes, the comfort of the hotel bed completely consuming him.
"Hey sleepy." Rachel said, his eyes flying open once more as she planted a kiss directly onto his lips.
Finn held her there for a moment, his large hand rising to the side of her face as she hovered over him, their kiss lingering for a few moments before she pulled away slowly.
"I didn't even hear you come out of there." Finn said, watching her as she hopped into the other side of the bed, cuddling herself up under the sheets.
She turned her body towards him, facing him, both of her hands resting on the side of her face. "What do the guys want to do tomorrow?" she asked tiredly.
Finn shrugged. "Who cares what they want to do. What do you want to do?" he asked sweetly, looking into her large brown eyes.
Rachel smiled. "Have fun."
Finn smiled before planting a kiss on her cheek. "Then we'll have fun."
"Okay, good." She said quietly, closing her eyes.
They talked for a while longer, kissing every here and there, Finn's large body close to hers as they spoke and laughed. It wasn't long until they were both asleep, their bodies cuddled close together.