Ch6 - STAY AWHILE
Some'll win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues
Whoa the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on
Finn felt himself jerk awake, realizing almost immediately he was wearing a HUGE smile with a little drool running from the corner of his mouth. As he began to wipe the sleep from his eyes and become more alert, he was suddenly acutely aware of the warm, tiny girl draped across his torso. The last thing he remembered was Rachel talking about her ex-boyfriend pressuring her for sex as they were watching the movie. 'Whoa.. that was some awesome dream!' he thought to himself, realizing they must have fallen asleep on the sofa while watching the movie. Had he fallen asleep mid-conversation? They both must have, since it'd been a long weekend for both of them.
He rubbed his calloused large hand in slow circles on Rachel's back as she began to stir.
"Oh.. hey there," she whispered in a slightly raspy voice while blinking her eyes to adjust to the light in the room, as her lips curled gently into a seductive smile.
"Hey beauty.. Did you have a good nap?" His warm enchanting smile nearly took her breath away.
Fully awake, Rachel sat up to look around for the time. "I did, yeah… but oh goodness! We really sort of crashed didn't we? I'm so sorry Finn, I don't know what came over me! I'm usually a much better hostess than that… Falling asleep on my guest like this is unforgivably rude."
Finn chuckled softly at her while tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Rach, it's totally fine. I guess we both fell asleep without warning. We both worked early shifts today and obviously it just sorta caught up with us." He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. "I actually very much liked the feeling of waking up with you wrapped up in my arms," he said, as his lips found hers for a warm languid kiss.
After a few moments she pulled back to look deep in his eyes and said "Mmmhmm…I could get used to waking up like that too." she yawned and added "But it is getting a little late, maybe we should call it a night?"
Seeing the wall clock that reads 11:48pm, Finn groaned but then complied, realizing they both have to work early the next morning. After another ten minutes of parting kisses and snuggles, he finally made his way out the door.
Finn quietly slipped into his own apartment close to 12:30am. He assumed by the overwhelming scent of tequila in their apartment that Puck must have either been drinking or entertaining, and decided not to turn on the lights yet for fear of what he may find. He instead went directly into his own room, quietly closing the door behind him and promptly falling asleep, with sweet dreams of the feel of Rachel's kisses still swirling in his mind.
. . . . .
Two weeks have passed since Finn Hudson met Rachel Berry. The pair have become virtually inseparable, with Finn meeting Rachel regularly to pick her up following her shift at the diner, and driving her to work when their schedules permitted. On days when their schedules conflict and they can't see one another, they spend all their break time texting or calling. Since their first amazing date, they've had three additional official date nights out, including an afternoon Cubs game (with free tickets given to Finn by his boss, with gratitude for all his excellent hard work), dinner and a movie, and a new young artists exhibition at a small gallery down the street from the diner. Most other nights are spent as romantic, quiet evenings in at Rachel's apartment, with either take out or a home cooked meal - which they often shop for and prepare together - followed by TV time, kisses and cuddling.
Meanwhile, Puck and Santana have been trail-blazing a path through the local nightclub scene and have hit a few college frats and sororities along the way. Mostly their 'dates' have consisted of drinking, dancing and sex (not necessarily in that order), with a few breaks in between for food and rest. Since Santana has her own car, she has taken Puck to all her favorite party spots (places she'd already vetted, knowing their ironclad fake IDs would not come into question), hitting every large city between Chicago and Milwaukee along the western side of Lake Michigan. Puck managed to even talk her into a three hour road trip to Battle Creek, Michigan, just because he'd hoped to meet Tony the Tiger and in his words, 'you just know the birthplace of Frosted Flakes has to be GRRRRREAT!'
The two couples couldn't be more opposite of each other in nearly every single way, and yet found common ground in shared friendships and a deep love and appreciation for music. Finn was therefore only slightly nervous when Puck suggested the four of them have a night out together on a double date. As Finn still had yet to meet Santana, Rachel was eager to take on this challenge, provided they'd drive separately (this, she reminded herself, was the optimal solution, since she and Finn could always leave early if need be, realizing the obvious divergence in what each couple deemed a 'fun night' out).
Santana recommended a karaoke bar located five minutes from the diner called TAK Korean Bistro & Karaoke, which catered to the underage crowd until 11pm on Thursday nights. Since it was a weeknight and at least three of them had to work the following day (all but Santana actually had jobs) and because the menu included a wide array of vegan friendly selections, Rachel agreed to the chosen location.
Finn arrived promptly at 7:30pm to pick Rachel up and was greeted at her door with an absolute feast for his eyes. She was a vision in a slinky red sleeveless sundress that had little strawberries embroidered across the waistband and boosted her cleavage in just the right way. His eyes traversed beyond the rather short hem of the dress, down her tanned, sexy, forever long legs and found the hottest matching red high heeled strappy sandals he's ever seen. Her long silken locks were worn pin straight, except for the sides which were pulled into a top knot, with her bangs framing her face perfectly. Her makeup was finished with a slightly dark smokey eye and a deeper red raspberry gloss sheened across her luscious kissable mouth.
"WHOA… Babe, you look phenomenal… are you sure we have to leave this apartment tonight?"
Rachel's contagious giggle made his heart sing with joy as she replied in nearly a song "Oh Finny! You're too sweet, thank you! But yes honey, I'm afraid we really do need to go, we shouldn't be rude to our friends. I just need to grab my other earring and a shawl, be ready to leave in a flash!"
Shaking his head and licking his lips, Finn asked "Are you sure Rach? I mean, I don't know how I'm gonna stay outta trouble tonight."
She wrinkled her brow and looked over her shoulder in confusion. "Trouble? What trouble could you possibly get into Finn?"
"Beating up all the guys that are gonna be drooling over you is gonna be a full time job tonight," he replied matter of factly with a crooked grin curled up to one side, "and baby, I really don't wanna miss out on bringing you back home later on by ending up in a holding cell somewhere," he said with a slight groan as he crept up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist.
This remark earned him another heavenly chorus of giggles, a playful slap to the chest and an urgent hungry kiss on the mouth. Yep, he's definitely liking the taste of Rachel-flavored raspberries.
. . . . .
"YO HUDDY! Over here!" Puck shouted halfway across the bar as Finn and Rachel arrived last to the venue (having allowed themselves an extra fifteen minute makeout session, plus five more for Rachel reapplying her makeup).
As she eyed up Finn from bottom to top, a predatory smirk graced Santana's flawless deep red satin finished lips. "Well, well… Hobbit, you were correct. Definitely NOT a troll. I'm Santana, and you must be Andre the Giant's long lost grandson." She extended her slender hand out in greeting to Finn.
He took her hand cautiously with a slightly confused smile, "Uh, okay… not sure who that is, but nice to meet you. I'm Finn. Heard an awful lot about you, it's great we finally get a chance to meet."
"San, stop it already before you get out of control. You promised to be on your best behavior tonight," Rachel whispered through gritted teeth into her friend's shoulder.
Santana returned her friend's warning with a seductive look in her eye, "And holy hell look at this juicy little Berry… good god woman you're giving even ME a hard on!"
Puck's laughter bellowed across the table as Finn choked a laugh into a cough. Rachel's eyes went wide and she grabbed Santana's arm with a pinch of her skin, pulling her out of the booth while alerting the boys that they were off to the ladies room and would be right back. "We'll just be a moment!" Rachel said gracefully as Santana's face contorted in pain.
"OW OW OW Berry what the hell? You're gonna leave a mark, and unless it's the kind I get to enjoy a cigarette after NO BUENA!"
"SAN! Stop it now! You promised me you wouldn't behave like a.. a.. well, like your usual crass self tonight! Please don't embarrass me in front of Finn or we will leave now!"
"Chillax babe. I was only giving you a compliment, I mean, you do look seriously HOT tonight! Not as hot as me of course, but definitely a quality runner up. Does this look here mean that old Jolly Green out there is finally gonna be getting some Berry Pie for dessert later?"
"Santana Lopez this is the LAST time I'm asking you to PLEASE tone it down tonight! I swear I will never speak to you again! And..and I won't return those silver hoop earrings you loaned me, I'll pawn them!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"I would and I will! Now please, just be as close to nice and normal as possible, at least til we eat dinner, and I beg you do NOT insult Finn. He's far too nice and I don't want him thinking I associate with lunatics and sexual deviants!"
"I'm sorry but you do remember that he grew up with PUCK, right?"
"SAN…"
"Okay okay okay.. Dios mío don't get your beaded thong in a twist!"
"It's not BEADED.. that's just… distasteful."
"Oooo so it's a lacey thong..?" Upon seeing Rachel's beet red scowl and her preparation to leave the ladies room in a huff, Santana grabbed her arm and added "Alright! Okay fine, you win. I'll be all 'virginal' just for you, just for tonight. But dammit girl, you STILL owe me some details, and now having seen the size of him I TOTALLY know which ones I wanna hear first!"
. . . . .
As the boys awaited the girls' return, Puck ordered appetizers and a round of non-alcoholic beer for the table. With a long whistle he turns to Finn with a wicked grin. "She really is hot bro… how the hell did a clumsy lunk-headed grease monkey hick like you score a fine babe like Rachel fucking Berry?"
Finn chose to ignore the jabs in favor of issuing a warning. "Hey Puck, I already told you but take it easy on the language tonight huh? Rach is not a fan of.. well, YOU, in general." Puck rolled his eyes as Finn continued, "And yeah, she's SMOKIN' hot, but you are not allowed to notice, got that! And whatever you do, do NOT embarrass me in front of her, please? She's really important to me, and I don't want her thinking that I'm like, certifiable or something for being your friend."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. So… I can look, but don't touch or comment?" Puck asked with a Cheshire cat grin.
"Dammit Puck! NO, don't even look either! Shit, I already warned Rach she might need to bail me outta jail tonight, and now you are already pushing me into that happening sooner than later. Just knock it off for one night okay? Anyway your date looks pretty 'Puck-worthy' as it is, so maybe focus on her instead."
"Oh trust me man, I've already focused on that, and fine tuned it.. twice tonight so far, if you get my drift," Puck said with a waggle of his brows. "How 'bout you? Didja get a little taste of that sweet Berry dessert before you got here? I mean you guys were like half an hour late, so…"
With a punch to Puck's shoulder, Finn responded "Shut up dude! She's not like that, and stop talking about her all miser.. misoggystically – she's not like, a sex toy or whatever."
"Oh man why'd you have to mention sex toys, you know how my sex shark loves to be fed…"
"Fuck this, we're leaving."
"C'mon Hudson I'm messing with you! Loosen up already! Damn, I guess you are surely NOT getting laid yet, you're way too uptight!"
"Hey shut it dude! The girls are on their way back… And I already told you I was taking things slow with her, you know why too… so just keep a lid on it already."
"Slow. Okay. Slow can be good. And looking at those legs and lips I can really appreciate how good that speed could be…"
"Aww shit this is gonna be a loooong night," Finn exhaled with his head in his hands.
. . . . .
Upon seeing the girls approaching within a few steps of their table, Finn jumped up with a bright smile, exclaiming "HEY BABE!" Leaning down to place a quick kiss on her cheek, Finn allowed Rachel to slide into his side of the booth first. Puck simply scooted over and allowed Santana to have the outer seat of the booth directly across from Finn.
The waitress came and took their orders. As they waited for their entrees to arrive, the conversation turned to music preferences. Rachel surprised Puck with her love of show tunes, while he impressed her with his extensive knowledge of jazz rhythms. "I had no idea your repertoire would expand beyond classic rock or some sort of loud metal noise and screaming Noah," Rachel joked.
"Hey, I'm an onion. I got layers," Puck chuckles back.
"Yeah you also reak and make people cry too.." Finn jabs at his buddy, glossing over the dramatic pout on Pucks face then quickly adds, "But yeah we actually both played in our middle school's jazz ensemble for a couple years, but then high school and football changed things. We stayed in Glee of course, but had to drop the ensemble," Finn added.
Santana snorted her drink and after a few seconds of a coughing fit, she looked at Puck in shock "WAIT UP.. you The Puckmeister, and you Finnessa the Giant, were both in a high school glee club? Oh, sooo many gay jokes, so little time…"
"Santana!" Rachel gasped, "that was SO inappropriate! Apologize right now!"
"Okaaay.., I'm sorry you guys were both in a gay glee club?"
Puck laughed then chimed in at that point, "San, ok yeah, it totally was gay, but like, GOOD gay, y'know? Like, we did national competitions and shit like that."
The look of disgust on Rachel's face was pretty obvious. "You really shouldn't use that word as an adjective, Noah! And San we've talked about this before!"
"Hey sugar Berry, I don't have any beef with the LGBTQ crew, I'm down with just about any flavor of the rainbow.. Even strawberries… so no offense given or taken here, 'kay?" Santana said seductively as she swiped her tongue across her bottom lip looking at the embroidered fruit on Rachel's dress like she was on the menu.
Finn remained silent while turning three shades of pink and chugging his drink in record time then quickly ordering another. Taking note of his date's fire engine red appearance, he offered "Uh.. Rach, did you want something else to drink?"
"J-just a refill of ice water please." but suddenly a wicked grin stretched over Rachel's face as she said "Oh, and maybe a RASPBERRY sweet tea." she winked at Santana then turned to Finn, grabbed him by his buttoned up shirt collar and pulled him tight against her for a euphorically hot kiss. Across the table, two jaws hung agape and four eyes bugged out as both Puck and Santana seemed to be drooling.
"Umm.. y'know, we'd LOVE to get in on that action over there, we could both be down for some Finchel Berry Delight, if you two are up for that sorta party," Santana purred, having zero affect on the kissing couple. She then looked to Puck, who'd already begun pushing against his date with hands on her hips and sliding across the booth as he mumbled "mmmm… ahh, yeah Tana, come with me for a minute, I left my uh.. something in the car.. Be right back guys."
Finn and Rachel finally came up for air and watched their rapidly departing friends disappear out of sight, then looked to each other and began laughing hysterically.
"Baby! Rach, you are SO freakin' hot… that kiss was.. WOW!"
She giggled demurely while wiping a little smudge of lip gloss from the corner of Finn's mouth with her thumb and asked sweetly "Do you think we offended them?"
He chuckled lightly and caught her small hand with his large one, placing little tender kisses on her knuckles. "Nah babe.. I honestly think there's nothing the two of us together could think of to offend those two… Anyway, I've seen that move of his before. Pretty sure they're off to have a quickie in the back seat.. or the front seat… or possibly the alley out back, maybe all three… really not real sure."
. . . . .
An hour later, the karaoke bar was in full swing with several really bad singers in a row taking the stage. Finn asks Santana "So San, you don't have a job, right? Must be nice, but how is it you can afford to live on your own?"
She winks back at him with a flirty grin, answering "Trust fund, baby. Daddy's a plastic surgeon, mommy's an alcoholic well kept real housewife of Chicago, and I'm an only child. It all worked out well for me in life's lottery, think I kinda hit the jackpot." To this Finn belly laughs and Rachel just shakes her head with a smile. "San, that's only partly true and you KNOW it… now be honest."
"Okay, yeah, daddy IS a plastic surgeon, mom's actually a professor of Natural Science at the college where cherry Berry's dad works. No trust fund, but a well supplied bank account for right now. Parents socked away college funds but then I decided I didn't wanna go.. I needed to spread my wings and live a little. I may still go someday but for now, I'm happy just doing me."
"I'm happy just doin' you too babe," Puck whispers not so subtly in her ear and begins to ravage her neck until she pushes him away. "Cristo, tu maldito tiburón sexual – keep in your pants a minute baby, I'm talking here!"
"Babe you're so HOT when you swear at me in Spanish.." Puck growls in her ear. Rachel clears her throat and giggles and FInn looks around the bar nervously as Santana elbows Puck hard in the gut.
Santana looks to Finn and asks "So anyway, Frankenteen, I saw that YouTube video of you and Strawberry Shortcake over there from the TIPs Fest. That was a wicked hot kiss… think you're gonna recreate it here tonight?"
Finn grins widely with his beautiful dimples on display. "I mean that kiss, it was just sorta, the heat of the moment y'know?" He turns and looks lovingly at Rachel, "We didn't plan it or anything… I just was so lost in hearing Rachel's out of this world angelic voice, and the song lyrics coming from her lips really hit me here [he places his hand over his heart].. I just knew I had to kiss her right then."
Rachel coos with tears in her eyes "Awww baby, same here. I was so lost in the moment with you too, it felt like just us on stage and the whole world faded away." She leaned up and placed a sweet soft kiss on Finn's lips, and just as Finn began to wrap his arms around her to deepen it, Puck and Santana's names were called up next to sing.
"SHIT! We're gonna miss the hot Finchel porn show to go sing, that's crap timing!" Puck objected with a laugh.
"Puckerman, we can have our own hot porn show later.. Let's go sing now!" Santana snickers at him as she tugs him up and out of the booth.
Finn and Rachel break their kiss in a fit of laughter watching their friends take the stage. "This should be interesting," Finn says as he smiles against Rachel's lips. "Not as interesting as this moment alone with you," she whispers back seductively, and they get lost in each other's embrace with a searing hot kiss.
The song began playing and Santana stepped up to the mic doing a sultry shimmy of her hips while staring down Puck like a hungry python eyeing a mouse.
She began singing the first verse while dancing around Puck on the stage in a manner similar to a stripper pole dancing, swishing her hips around and bending down in front of him.
I've been a bad bad girl
I've been careless with a delicate man
And it's a sad sad world
When a girl will break a boy just because she can
Puck joined her for the chorus, letting Santana sing the last line herself
What I need is a good defense
'Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal
And I need to be redeemed
To the one I've sinned against
Because he's all I ever knew of love
Puck took the next verse solo, slowly stalking behind Santana, wrapping an arm around her waist and 'pretending' to grind up against her as she slid up and down his legs, gyrating her hips and whipping her hair back against his chest in a sultry manner.
Heaven help me for the way I am
Save me from these evil deeds Before I get them done
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand
But I keep livin' this day like The next will never come
The couple sang the rest together in harmony, continuing their very very uncomfortably sexy dancing.
Let me know the way Before there's hell to pay
Give me room to lay the law and let me go
I've got to make a play to make my lover stay
So what would an angel say, the devil wants to know
What I need is a good defense
'Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal
And I need to be redeemed
To the one I've sinned against
Because he's all I ever knew of love
Throughout their friend's performance, Rachel's cheeks had turned from flush to pink to beet red while Finn had just stared in disbelief with his mouth hanging open until he deemed it necessary to look away. He finally buried his face in the crook of Rachel's neck and said "See, I told you there was NOTHING we could ever dream up to offend THOSE two!"
Rachel giggled so hard she had tears in her eyes and Finn was out of breath laughing along with her by the time Puck and Santana returned to the table. They both tried their best to compose themselves and greet their friends with some measure of praise. "Well done, BRAVO you guys were so.. Creative!" Rachel squeaked out in between giggles. This made Finn burst out the huge belly laugh he was trying to swallow down until his face was also as red as Rachel's dress.
"Uhhh.. Thanks, I think?" Puck spits out sarcastically with a twisted smile. "Like, what the hell is wrong with you two?"
"Nothing man, nothing at all.. Seriously, you were both really great up there, it was a really interesting song choice.. Appropriate for you both! We uh.. We thoroughly enjoyed the show!" Finn tried his best to sound sincere but somehow it was not playing that way, so he whispered in Rachel's ear "Please tell me that she taught you those dance moves?"
Rachel let out a bubbly laugh and breathed her reply so only Finn could hear "Actually, I taught her most of those moves."
Finn immediately leaned back in a stunned stupor, staring into Rachel's eyes for a long beat trying to decide if she was as serious as she sounded, and when he decided that yes, she was, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a minute. Then he leaned back to her ear and grunted "I think it's time for us to go… to hell with singing in public, I want you to myself, NOW."
With that, Rachel turned to Puck and Santana – who were both staring back blankly in anticipation – smiled sweetly and announced "Sorry guys, Finn isn't feeling very well, so I think we're going to have to cut the evening a little short and say goodnight." She did her level best to suppress the laughter that was once again building in her belly, but was not doing a very convincing job.
In an effort to play along and back his beautiful date's cover story, Finn added "Yeah, uh, sorry guys I have a sudden headache and um.. I - I, well, w-WE both gotta work tomorrow anyway.. But uh, we'll do this again another night, it was totally fun though! And yeah, thanks again for that awesome show up there, you were both terrific! G'night!"
As Finn stands up stuttering through his very unconvincing farewell apology speech, he dropped some cash for his and Rachel's share of the tab on the table, while Rachel slid out of the booth and quickly hugged Santana goodbye, apologizing again and waving to Puck. She grabbed Finn's hand and they both quickly made their way out the door toward the parking lot.
"What the hell just happened?" Puck asks, while still staring in the direction of the exit his friends just vaporized out of.
"Ah, I'll tell you what happened," Santana murmured into Puck's ear as she slid her hand up his inner thigh "we just made them horny as HELL. We're too hot for our own good Puckerman." Puck grinned and grabbed his own wallet out of his pocket to finish paying the bill so they too could quickly make their getaway.
"So Tana, about making that porn show you promised me earlier…"
. . . . .
A/N:
SONG CREDITS:
Chapter title: Journey - 'Stay a While' from the 1980 album Departure
Chapter intro lyrics excerpt from Don't Stop Believin'
Pucktana's Duet: Fiona Apple - 'Criminal' from the 1996 album Tidal
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Just a lil' sumthin sumthin to feed you hungry Finchel monsters, hope you enjoyed?
Next Chapter of SIMP is proving to be a bit of a challenge, but it's quickly evolving… this one, I already had in progress was much more fun and so much easier to finish, so I thought I'd give you a little Pucktana/Finchel double date fun to chew on until I figure out exactly what the heck I'm doing with the other story.. LOL. And since I'm having that bad tooth situation remedied with oral surgery tomorrow, this might have to tide you over for a little while.. But fear not, more finchelicious goodness will be coming eventually! (And maybe FFN will finally fix the rest of their broken server problems by then?)
THANKS FOR READING! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!
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Oh – also, a response to a review which made me smile when i needed it…
"Guest" Review chapter 1 . Aug 17: "Just so you know...there is no 'South Detroit'. That would be the Detroit River. They took poetic license with the song."
LOL– Okay GUEST, I s'pose Steve Perry has now been corrected, and thank you for this delightful insight - also for whatever reason I really had a tremendously good giggle at the image of them all suddenly falling into the river while performing :-D … but I also think you can appreciate how I'm not about to try and re-write the lyrics to 'DSB' …so we'll just take it for the trope/fallacy it already is and continue to go with it! ;)