Chapter 16:
Rachel woke before Finn the next morning and made them some coffee before heading out onto the balcony, where there was a few deck chairs. She sat on one of them, pulling her legs up onto the lounge as she took a sip of her coffee and gazed at the New York sunrise. The sunrise here was so beautiful to her, it always seemed to bring a smile to her face and today was no different.
She was lost in her thoughts as she watched the sun come up and didn't hear the glass door open. She jumped a little as a hand came to rest on her shoulder, spilling a little of her coffee on her.
"Oh, babe. I'm so sorry." Finn said, placing his own coffee cup down on the side table before taking hers and doing the same. With his hands free, he started brushing as much liquid from the fabric as possible.
She chuckled slightly and covered his hands. "It's fine, babe. I'm okay. Really."
Finn looked up at her and smiled his half smile before remembering why he came out there in the first place. "What are you doing out here so early?"
"I love watching the sunrise here in the city. Something about the way it reflects off the buildings. I've been thinking about some things too." Rachel said finally tearing her gaze away from the sunrise to look at Finn.
Finn gave her a concerned look and carefully sat down next to her on the lounge. "What kind of things?"
"I know you said I shouldn't worry about it, but I am. How are we going to afford this place, babe?" Rachel asked, taking his hand.
Finn let out a sigh and looked in her eyes. "If I tell you will you stop worrying, please?"
"Absolutely." Rachel replied with a smile.
"My dad left a trust fund for me and since I decided that I wanted to go to community college, my mom had been saving it back for a day that I would need it. It was enough to afford to pay for this place for a couple months until we get on our own feet. So you'll probably have to keep your job at the diner and I'll definitely have to get a job for when I'm not at school." Finn explained starting to ramble.
Rachel cut him off by placing a gentle kiss to his lips. "So you decided to spend the money your dad left you to start our future?"
Finn nodded. "You mean that much to me, Rach."
"I love you so much. You could have told me all this." Rachel said hugging him tightly.
He rubbed her back gently. "I didn't find all that out until a month or so before my accident."
Rachel nodded and took another sip of her coffee before gazing back out at the skyline. Finn scooted over on the chair and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head tenderly.
"What time is rehearsal?" Finn asked her softly, trying not to break the mood.
"At 3, so you'll be on your own after that until about 7." Rachel replied, leaning into his side.
"That's fine. I can start looking for a job of my own." Finn smiled as he led them back inside. "Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?"
"Did you have a place in mind?" Rachel asked, getting her things together for her rehearsal.
"I thought we could go to this little place I heard about called Vegan On The Fly." Finn replied, smiling as she zipped her workout bag closed.
"But you don't eat vegan..." Rachel frowned.
"No. But you do and I've told you before that I will do anything for you, including eat tasteless food." Finn chuckled earning a pillow thrown at him by Rachel. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
"You better be, mister." Rachel replied waggling a finger at him. She came closer to him and gave a quick peck to his cheek. "Sounds wonderful, babe. I can't wait. What do you want to do until then?"
Finn gave her a smile and placed his hands on her waist. "Well we need some things for the apartment that I haven't gotten yet, do you want to go with me?"
"Give me half an hour and I'll be ready."
Finn chuckled. "You got it, gorgeous."
They made it downtown forty minutes later and Finn dragged Rachel into a home goods store. She groaned inwardly but followed him regardless. She knew that this wasn't going to be as fun as clothing shopping but she was doing it with Finn and that meant the world to her.
He led her to the kitchen section and started looking at some cookware sets. Rachel pretended to look for a minute but eventually found her eyes wandering over to Finn's toned body. She bit her lip at the way his muscles flexed when he picked up a cast iron.
"Umm...Babe?" Finn spoke, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Rachel shook her head as if to clear the thought but Finn noticed the look on her face. "Yeah, Finn?"
"I was asking if you thought that one would be better or if you liked this one more." Finn said with a shy smile. He pointed at a red one on the shelf and then gestured to the blue one in his other hand.
Rachel stepped closer to Finn. He could feel the heat radiating off her body, she was that close. She looked at the skillet like she was examining it as Finn rested a hand against her lower back and began softly rubbing his thumb against her spine, causing her breath to catch in her throat. He smiled and kissed her forehead softly.
"I really like this one." Rachel replied breathlessly, gesturing at the one in Finn's hand. "Looks like this set will hold up better over the years."
Finn nodded with a smirk on his lips before picking up the rest of the set and placing it in their cart. "We only have one more stop to make."
"What's that?" Rachel asked curiously.
"Grocery shopping." Finn replied swiping his finger along tip of her nose with a chuckle.
Rachel groaned out loud but followed him to the front of the store to check out their purchases. She wouldn't complain if it meant she got to spend the rest of her life doing these small things with him.
Finn carried the bags out to the car and held her door open for her as she got in. He climbed into the drivers seat and started the vehicle. Rachel turned to face him curiously. "What?"
"How do you possibly know where you're going? I haven't even been in this part of New York." Rachel asked him, putting her seat belt on.
"I may have mapped out where the stores we would be using the most would be." Finn replied with a sheepish smile. "I wanted to not feel like a tourist while we settled in."
Rachel gave him a big, bright smile before she replied. "Finn, you're so sweet! Most people wouldn't have even thought of that."
"Well I didn't want to have to fight with GPS every time I wanted to take you somewhere." Finn said, reaching for her hand and holding it as he shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.
An hour later, they arrived back at their apartment with arm loads of bags. Finn started putting the things away while Rachel went to take a shower and get ready for rehearsal. He started filling the empty cabinets with the new pots and pans. Then he placed the new plates and groceries in their cupboards as Rachel finished up. She only had about an hour before she had to leave for the theatre.
Finn wrapped his arms around her after he handed her a steaming cup of tea. She let out a sigh of contentment and melted in his arms, reveling in the comfort that she always felt around him. "So you have an hour, what do you want to do?"
Rachel smirked and leaned back into him more. "I can think of something we haven't done in awhile."
Finn gently turned her in his arms. "Are you sure? I don't want to pressure you or anything."
"I'm sure, Finn. I have only ever wanted you." Rachel replied leaning in to place a soft kiss to his jawline.
Finn was surfing the internet later that night when he happened to glance up at the clock on his laptop screen. Noticing it was eight o'clock now, Finn started to get concerned. Rachel should be home by now. He picked up his phone and dialed her number, waiting for her to pick up. It went to voicemail after one ring and Finn frowned, becoming worried now as Rachel always answered her phone.
After trying her three more times and getting no answer, Finn got off the couch and grabbed his jacket and car keys. He had a bad feeling and he wanted to find his girl and make sure she was okay.
Just as he was slipping his shoes on, he heard the front door open. He turned to see Rachel come in. She was pale, tears streaming down her face and her jacket sleeve was ripped at the shoulder. Finn could see her trembling from where he sat and he moved to his feet. He was more concerned than ever now at her appearance. "Rach? Baby, where were you? I was worried."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Man, sorry this took so long to write. Life got busy and I've been working on some more fanfics. Anyway, what do you think happened to Rachel that caused her to be late and so upset? Do you think she'll tell Finn the truth? Hmm, guess you'll have tostay tuned to find out. As always, please review and let me know what you think. Until next time, 'Losers.'