Note: I decided to make this into a multi-chapter work because I liked the idea of writing a series of stories set in Finn and Rachel's sophmore summer and keeping them in one place. So each chapter designates a separate occasion where Rachel and Finn are together. Review's welcome.

P.S. You'll note that Finn mentions living with Kurt and Burt; I just assumed, following Theatricality, that he moved back in again and they're all a nice family.

The (Second) First Date

It was Friday afternoon; Finn had just got home from his last day of school. Flinging his shoes off and then placing his bag down in the hall, he made his way up to his room. He switched on the TV and slumped down onto the bed. Nothing good was on. Nothing good was ever on. He switched the TV off again and rolled over to lie down. All of a sudden he heard a ringing which prevented him from slipping into a nice nap. Turning over with great effort, he eyed the caller ID; 'Rachel'. Pulling the phone to his ear, he answered it.

"Hey Rachel, what's up?" he groaned, a little too sarcastically than he had intended.

"Hi Finn. Um...I was just wondering whether you wanted to go out this weekend?" her voice seemed tentative and nervous. He wondered whether his sarcastic tone had put her off. He sat up on his bed and smiled to himself.

"Yeah! Sure Rachel. Sounds awesome" He could hear her giggle slightly down the phone.

"Ok. Brilliant. Well I think we should have dinner at Breadstix on Saturday night. You should pick me up at 6pm and you should drop me off home no later than 9pm. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds great. I'll pick you up at 6pm." He said, the smile still etched to his face.

"Ok. I'll see you then. Bye Finn."

"Bye Rachel" She hung up first as Finn sat in his room smiling to himself. He loved being with Rachel, as she always seemed to plan their dates for him. It made his job so much easier. He lay back down again, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

Ever since his declaration of love to her at Regionals, Finn had felt nothing but appreciation for Rachel. It had been a strange year. For a while he had been mad at Puck and Quinn, but now he realised that, since the whole baby drama, he didn't have any problems anymore; they did him a favour. He didn't have the pressure of a baby to look after, and his break up with Quinn had led him towards the love of his life; Miss Rachel Barbara Berry. He sniggered to himself as he settled into a game of COD on the Xbox. He was looking forward to his date tomorrow.

It got to 5:30pm and Finn was already dressed and ready. He'd opted to wear a smart shirt-and-jean combo (that was earlier approved by Kurt) as he knew Rachel would want him to look nice on their date. He sat in the living room watching a re-run of some comedy show, as his mother stood cooking in the kitchen.

As the commercials came on, he heard his mother clear her throat.

"You know Finn; I would really like to meet Rachel sometime soon." She hinted. Finn smirked as he stood up and walked over to her. She carried on; "I mean with everything you tell us about her, we practically know the girl anyway. I'd like to put a name to a face." She smiled sweetly at her son.

"I know mom. I just want to make sure everything's good with us first. Then she can...you know...'meet the parents'". Carole chuckled.

"Ok honey." She patted his face affectionately with her free hand. He felt himself blush slightly.

"I should probably go pick her up now." He said, rushing to the door and grabbing his keys.

"Be good to her!" Carole shouted after him, as he left the house and clambered into his truck, not catching the genuine smile that lit up her face.

He sat for a moment and took a deep breath. He really wanted his mom and Burt to meet Rachel. He was sure they would love her. Kurt had already set a good word in about her, or at least he'd hoped he had, and that was before him and Rachel had even started dating. But now they were actually a couple, it would only be a matter of time. He placed the keys in the ignition and set off to Rachel's house, a flurry of pleasant thoughts rushing through his head.

As he pulled up and stepped out of the truck, he felt his heart beat a little faster. Chill it, Hudson! He thought to himself. He cleared his throat and then walked up to the door, ringing the bell and standing patiently for an answer. After a minute, one of Rachel's dad's opened the door. He'd never met either of them before, and his heart leapt into his throat as he stood on the doorstep trying to look as presentable as possible, in front of the man smiling cheerfully before him.

He had some trouble with their names too, but fortunately, he could rely on calling them both 'Mr. Berry'.

"Hello Mr. Berry." He said as politely as he could manage. "I'm here to pick up Rachel for our date."

"You're early." The cheery man exclaimed. "Please, come in." He stood aside and gestured inwards allowing Finn to walk through into the hallway. He made sure to wipe his feet before he entered the living room.

"Thank you." Finn replied. He stood there for a minute, feeling rather awkward in their nice clean living room.

"Please have a seat - Finn isn't it?" the man asked, once again in such a cheery manner.

"Oh thank you. And yes. Finn Hudson, sir." He said as he sat on the clean white couch. Mr. Berry chuckled lightly.

"Oh please! Enough with the sir's and mister's. Call me Leroy." He exclaimed, laughing lightly. Finn gave a little laugh himself.

"Ok. Thank you...Leroy." It felt weird calling him by his first name, but he was glad he was getting along with him; it was important, seeing as he was intending to date his daughter and had already practically made-out with her already. Oh crap, stop it Hudson! He had to think to himself.

As he shook his head slightly, he heard the sound of someone descending the stairs; glad for the distraction he turned to see Rachel walking down slowly, her bronze legs appearing first before her slender body and that adorable face. Her appearance did nothing to stave his mind from inappropriate thoughts; she descended the stairs looking so much more beautiful than he had ever seen her. She wasn't even dressed up; she wore a simple short red frilled skirt and a pink blouse covered with a small black jacket. She looked so adult and grown up. It took all of his willpower to pull his attention away from her bare legs which were naked and silky smooth and ever so attractive. He cleared his throat as he jolted upright, standing to attention as far as he could, partially towering over Leroy. He was snapped back into reality by the incessant clapping of her dad.

"Oh don't you look precious" He emphasised the last word. "Doesn't she Finn?" He said, looking to the tall, awkward teen standing in their living room.

"Yeah" was all he could muster as he continued to stare at Rachel in a way he never had before. Rachel walked up to him and twirled a little on the spot.

"You like?" She asked, looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes. Finn swallowed hard.

"Um-yeah. You look amazing." He spurted, smiling awkwardly. He could tell she blushed and that made his heart skip a little. Mr. Berry sighed beside him.

"Oh Rachel. You look lovely." Leroy said. Placing his hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Thank you dad." She muttered. With that, Leroy started towards the kitchen.

"Shall we go?" Finn asked; once he had regained some composure.

"Yes, let's." Finn headed towards the door and opened it to allow Rachel to exit. "Bye dad!"

"Goodbye Mr. Berry, I mean, Leroy. It was nice to meet you."

"Indeed. You too. Now you kids have fun." Leroy shouted from the kitchen, as they both exited the building.

Finn walked side by side with Rachel down to his truck. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous around her at that moment; this was going to be their first "official" date and he didn't want to screw it up. Opening the passenger side door for her, he smiled and gestured to the seat.

"Thank you, Finn. I see you're still as chivalrous as always." He chuckled to himself as he shut the door and went round to the driver's side. He could remember that day when Rachel had first called him that. All those months back. He knew what it meant now, which pleased him greatly. He hopped into the driver's seat and buckled up. Looking over, he let a half-smile fall across his face which Rachel reciprocated by giggling to herself.

"What are you smiling at?" she teased.

"You just look so..." he trailed off, making her blush. Clearing his throat, he turned the ignition and began the drive to Breadstix, every now and then catching a glimpse of Rachel out the corner of his eyes.

For most of the drive, Rachel was silent as she stared out the window. This was unusual, as Finn was used to her constant voice in his ear. Not that it was a bad thing; he liked listening to her voice. It was often soft and melodic, and even if she was reciting her latest Tony acceptance speech, it was nice to hear.

"What's up?" he said, as ten minutes passed without a word from the little brunette in his passenger seat. She seemed to jump a little at Finn's words.

"Oh. Um. Nothing." She looked down at her hands and fiddled with them slightly.

"It can't be nothing. It's been ten whole minutes and you haven't said a word." Finn said playfully. "That's unusual, even for you." He chuckled to himself, but stopped once he realised that she wasn't laughing along with him. His voice went serious for a moment as he took a quick glance at her before turning his eyes back to the road; she was still silent, staring at her fidgeting hands.

"What's wrong Rachel?" he insisted, genuine concern flooding his mind. Was she nervous? Did she not want to go on this date now? What have I done wrong? Am I not dressed well enough?

"I just...I can't believe that this is happening." She said quietly, still looking down at her hands.

"What? What's happening? Is something wrong? Are you ill?" Finn blurted, an edge of panic in his voice. He heard her giggle lightly, which settled him a little bit. He was still concerned though. He wasn't sure what was up.

"I just can't believe that I'm here. In your truck. Going on a date with you." She turned to look at Finn as he slowed down in the traffic. Finn turned towards her and saw a glint in her eye that just overpowered him; the same way it did when she told him he could kiss her if he wanted to, all those months back in the auditorium. There was a pause before Finn was snapped back to reality by the honking of a car horn behind him. Rachel turned back around and faced the front, as did Finn as they carried on through the town. He tried to think of something to say in reply to her concerns but he couldn't. Instead, he kept quiet and left it at that, hoping she would cheer up through the rest of the date.

As they sat down at their table at Breadstix, Finn had to fight the impulse to scratch at the back of his neck; a nervous tick that he knew would give him away. He had no idea how this date was going to go; it'd been so long since he'd been on a proper date, let alone one with Rachel. He read through the menu and decided what he was going to order rather quickly; Rachel however, took her time.

"You'd think they would have more of a vegan selection for such a large restaurant" she criticised from behind her menu. Finn smiled to himself; she seemed to be her old self again.

"Well I suppose there aren't that many vegans in Lima." Finn suggested. She lowered her menu and glared at him for a moment, before returning to her most difficult decision.

"I suppose I could try one of the pastas. It seems to be vegan." She murmured, putting the menu back in the holder.

"Excellent!" declared Finn as he waved at a nearby waitress, who came over with a cheery smile on her face.

"Hello there! Welcome to Breadstix. What can I get you?" she said, pulling a pad and pen from her apron.

"Um, I'll have the steakhouse burger with fries and a coke." Finn said, almost ecstatic. He looked over to Rachel who eyed him sternly. "Make that a diet coke." He added.

"And for you young lady?" she said, turning her attention to Rachel.

"I'll have the vegetable pasta and a glass of lemonade please. Thank you." She had sat up straight and was delivering her order in a rather proper manner. The waitress nodded and walked away, leaving the two to their date.
Rachel glowered at Finn as he shuffled in his seat.

"Sorry Rachel. I know you're a vegan and all, but I'm really hungry." He said, as he rubbed his stomach. She huffed a little.

"Well I suppose I'll just have to get used to it." She took off her jacket as they got comfortable on the two-seater table. Within a matter of minutes, the waitress brought over their drinks.

"Thank you." Rachel sipped at her lemonade daintily while Finn took large gulps of his coke

"Thanks"

Finn suddenly felt a little awkward. He had always known what to say to Rachel before, but suddenly he didn't realise quite how to do the whole dating thing, especially with her.

"Um. So?" he mumbled, looking at Rachel, who seemed to be distracted by a loose thread on her blouse. She turned to look up at him, eyeing him to continue.

"Shame about Regionals." He was glad he picked that topic of conversation, as Rachel began relaying a rant that might take until the dinner arrived.

"You have no idea, Finn. I mean, perhaps we weren't as good as Vocal Adrenaline, but we were so much better than that Aural Intensity! We totally killed that Journey medley! I tried so hard to come up with something bad about the performance, but I just couldn't! And that's saying something, because even I can find something critical about any performance. But it was just so good!" She paused and turned towards him, placing her hands in the middle of the table. "I thought you were amazing Finn." Her voice was soft and sweet. Finn felt a lump in his throat. He took a moment and leaned over the table, cupping Rachel's hands in his own.

"Thanks. But, you were so much better." Rachel smiled as she looked down at her feet. Finn had to take a deep breath as his heart started to race. He shuffled in his seat nervously and looked down for a moment. He laughed at himself a little before finally letting go of her hands, grabbing his napkin and placing it on his lap. He didn't usually do it, but he felt he had to try and impress Rachel with his manners. As he looked back up, Rachel had done the same and she was now sitting with her hands in her lap. Finn took this chance to build up some small talk.

Within a few minutes, the waitress brought them their food, while they were in the midst of a 'thrilling' conversation about Rachel's extensive collection of leg warmers. They began to eat rather quietly, while exchanging small snippets of conversation between mouthfuls.
After a while, Rachel had turned their small talk into a conversation about relationships and Finn had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"So, why now? What changed?" She questioned, after swallowing a forkful of pasta. Finn chewed the bite of his burger quickly before answering; he didn't want to talk with his mouthful, especially in front of Rachel.

"I dunno really. It just kinda happened." He paused for thought. "I guess I suddenly realised that you were what I wanted. I felt more for you than I thought I did. I mean, I even felt like I-"

"Like you loved me?" she finished, looking at Finn deeply with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Yeah. Exactly." He smiled a little. "I know it sounds stupid, and probably not something you expected to hear, but I did - I do. I really feel something for you Rachel."

She giggled at his response, and blushed so much her cheeks were stained a rosy pink. She stared down at the pasta she was twirling on her fork. Finn stopped eating for a second and placed down his burger. As he watched her, a thought occurred in Finn's mind. He decided to go against all his inhibitions; "You know what really got to me? Got me to realise I really loved you?" Rachel looked up, her eyes begging for him to continue.

"It was seeing you with Jesse." Rachel cringed slightly at the thought of the male lead of Vocal Adrenaline that had broken her heart and, as Kurt never fails to mention, made breakfast on her head.

"Seeing you so happy and knowing I wasn't the one doing that to you. It just made me so jealous and so mad. I sang Jessie's girl to you." She smiled at that memory. "And I meant every word. And then seeing Jesse hurt you like that! It just made me so angry!" He tigtened his hands into fists as he spoke. "I thought it was just cos he was being a jackass but...I think the real reason it shook me, was because I cared for you so much and I hated seeing you so sad." He paused for a moment. "You remember that conversation we had when Jesse transferred? I told you that I really liked you? Where I shook hands with Jesse and promised I'd leave you alone?" Rachel nodded lightly. Finn's expression was stern, but emotional; his eyes seemed to say so much."Well you have no idea how much I wanted to beat that guy's face in, right there and then." And out of nowhere, she burst out laughing, falling into a fit of quiet laughter. Finn joined in and they both sat there laughing to themselves. Finn composed himself first. "I love your laugh." He smiled at her, letting his eyes stare deeply into hers. She managed to calm down at that point, staring back into his eyes.

"Finn?" she said quietly.

"Hm?" He grunted.

"I love you."

He had to struggle not to fall off his seat. He managed a smile, but inside, his heart and his mind were racing. He couldn't quite get used to Rachel's odd declarations of love. Even Quinn didn't say those words that often. To be honest, he could hardly recall her ever saying them at all, now that he thought about it. But she didn't matter; he was with Rachel now; the beautiful brunette sitting opposite him. She smiled at him, before giggling as she spoke; "You can kiss me if you want to" Cue a flashback to the auditorium. Finn laughed a little to himself as he gathered himself and swallowed hard.

"I want to" he murmured, before leaning over the table, and joining his lips with Rachel's. This time, there would be no need for a mailman. Her lips were sweet and soft as she reciprocated the kiss. Finn had to force himself to pull away from her, lest they get done for indecent behaviour in a public place. As he settled back in his seat, he saw Rachel bite her bottom lip; he found that so sexy about her. He gave her his trademark half-smile that he knew she liked.

"So. What are your plans for the summer?"

The rest of the date went rather well. Finn found himself enjoying himself more than he thought he would, and he had a feeling Rachel did too. As they left Breadstix, following a small, yet harmless dispute over the bill (Finn was adamant he would pay, but Rachel insisted she wanted to pay towards some of it, so he let her place the cash down, before picking it up himself while she went to the ladies room; he would give it back to her the next day) Finn felt Rachel's arm tug at his; he stuck his elbow out, giving her access to link arms with him. It was cold now, and the stars were clear and bright in the summer night's sky. He walked Rachel to his truck where he, again, opened the door for her and let her settle in before going round to the driver's seat and getting in himself.

"Beautiful night" Rachel said, as Finn drove her home.

"Yea. I love the stars. They're so pretty." Finn found himself saying. Rachel smiled to herself as they drove through a rather quiet Lima.

Parking up in front of Rachel's house, Finn shut the engine off and took his seatbelt off. He was about to get out when he felt Rachel's hand on his arm.

"Wait" She looked at him intensely. He turned his body towards her.

"What is it?" He questioned.

She took a moment, looking down before leaning over and planting a kiss on an unsuspecting Finn. She took the hand she had on his arm and cupped his face. Finn leant in and placed his hand against Rachel's hair, stroking it as he reciprocated the kiss. It was a strange sensation; he was feeling everything, everywhere, all at once. His heart was racing, and his mind was buzzing, but he didn't want to break the kiss. They made out like this for a while, Finn's mouth tingling from the sensation, his tongue desperate to reach into her mouth; but she got there first. Before he knew it, they're tongues were intertwined in the hottest kiss he'd ever had with Rachel. They were torn apart abruptly, though, once Finn's wandering hand hit the horn on his steering wheel. They both jumped from the surprise "honk", but kept their hands on each other, Finn's in her hair, Rachel's on his shoulder. They looked at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"I guess I should get going" Rachel said after a minute.

"I suppose you should." He said, smiling. "But I don't want you to." Finn leant in to kiss her again, planting a number of small, soft kisses on her lips. She smiled beneath his lips before pushing him lightly, breaking them apart and allowing her to get out of the truck. Finn hopped out of his side and leant on the roof as he watched Rachel walk away and up the pathway. Before entering her door, she turned and looked at him.

He shouted after her; "I'll call you" She nodded and blew him a kiss. Going against every male-fibre in his body, Finn mimed grabbing it and touching it against his heart. He watched as Rachel giggled before opening the door and walking into her house. Once she had closed the door, and he knew she couldn't see him, Finn fist pumped into the air, his body filled with endorphins; ecstatic over his second, first date with Rachel. He climbed into his truck and made his way home. The date was a success. He was overwhelmed. He had a girl he loved and who loved him too. His face contorted into a smile so wide it might have stretched his face.

This summer was going to be awesome.