hey there pretty brown eyes

Chapter 6: Taking Chances

"Wow. You look amazing."

Rachel stood in the doorway of her apartment blushing wildly as Finn appraised her appearance. She took the opportunity to take in his as well. His maroon shirt had the top buttons undone and was tucked into his casual black slacks. The slacks fit him perfectly and Rachel couldn't wait to get a glimpse of what his back side looked like in them.

Finn held out the flowers he had purchased on the way to pick her up. He was nervous and holding them had given his hands something to do instead of shake. When she opened the door the shaking had stopped, unfortunately, so did his breathing. She was standing in the doorway wearing a pink long sleeved shirt and skinny jeans, her long legs accentuated by the strappy black heels. Her long brown hair had a slight curl to it and fell to the middle of her back. He wondered what it might be like to run his fingers through it. When he was able to breathe again, he extended the pale pink lilies to her. "These are for you."

Rachel blushed and tucked some hair behind her ear as she took the flowers from him. She stepped back and to the side, giving him the space to enter. "Thank you Finn. Would you like to come in while I put these in water?" He put his hands in his front pockets, nodded, and entered the apartment. She closed the door behind them and made her way to her kitchen, the flowers pressed against her nose the whole way. "I'm glad you called. I thought I may have missed my chance." Rachel was talking loud, hoping he would be able to hear her from the other room, which turned out to be unnecessary. Finn had followed her into the kitchen, unknowingly startling her.

"It's going to take more than that." She jumped slightly and then turned to smile at him. "I'm glad you said yes."

She removed a vase from the cupboard and filled it with water. "Me too." She arranged the flowers in the vase and turned to him once again. "I'm ready."

She got her purse and led him out of the apartment, taking the time to lock her door behind them. Once in the hallway, Finn held out his arm to Rachel. She threaded her hand through, linking her arm with his. They walked to the street where Finn hailed a cab for the two of them. When he gave the driver the address, which Rachel recognized as Crescendo, she turned to him

"I hope you don't mind that we are going there."

Rachel rested her hand gently on his knee. "It's fine."

Finn had tried to think of the best date possible for him and Rachel. A Monday afternoon was not a common time for a date, but with their schedules, it worked out to be the best time for each of them. After a string of text messages, Finn had found out that she wanted to cook better, so he decided that he would give her a cooking lesson. The best place he knew of to do that was at his restaurant and since they opened late on Mondays, they would have the place to themselves. "How about we get to know each other better? Do you have any siblings?" Finn asked as the cab made its way through traffic.

"I am an only child. How about you? I think you said you have a brother, are there others?"

Finn laughed. "Just Kurt, my brother. He's plenty."

"I've always wanted a brother or sister." Rachel said, focusing her attention on Finn.

Finn shook his head at the many memories he had of Kurt and them growing up together. "They are not all they're cracked up to be, trust me." It was then that he was hit with another memory of his brother. "You met Kurt once, I think."

"I did?"

"Uh, yeah. Remember the waiter that didn't seem like a waiter?" Finn rubbed the back of his neck nervously as she quietly put the pieces together. "That was Kurt. He likes to put his nose where it doesn't belong."