Predator

Chapter Twenty-Three

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"Hey Rach, come in, quick."

Will ushers me into his apartment. The last time I was here was roughly four months ago when I cleaned and made venison casserole under the supervision of his ex-wife. I hope he doesn't mention this.

"I hate sneaking around like this," I grumble. "It makes me feel like I'm a criminal or something."

"Well I don't know what to tell you, other than we won't have to do this after two years," he chides.

"I know."

His hand runs down my arm, lacing my fingers with his and he leads me into the living room. We sit down on the couch; he pulls me under his arm against his chest.

"I'm so happy," he whispers, his breath tickling my ear.

"So what are we going to do?" I ask him.

Will sighs. "Well, we can't go out anywhere, at least not in Lima. We could watch a movie," he suggests. "I have a DVD of Funny Girl, I know that's your favorite."

I manage a grin. "Yes."

He gets up to go to the entertainment center, pulling the movie out. "So, uh. I never got the chance to ask but, how's Quinn taking it?"

I roll my eyes. "She hasn't spoken to me all week. But she vowed not to tell, so I guess we're good."

"Oh." He turns away from the TV for a moment and looks at me confusedly. "I still can't understand how she instantly knew I was the father. We were just kissing, for all she knew that could've been completely unrelated."

"She knew I had feelings for the guy," I explain. "And I told her about what happened after the Christmas concert. I always spoke about you vaguely so I guess she just put the pieces together."

Will presses 'play' and returns to his spot on the couch. "I'm just glad it was her waiting out there," he says, "and not your parents or anybody else. I don't think they could've been so easily swayed."

I shrug, leaning back into him. "Well, Quinn understands where I'm coming from. She's known about my feelings for you for awhile now."

He wraps his arms around me, holding me closely as the overture begins. My ear is pressed against his chest and I can hear his slow, staccato breathing. He's fingering the tips of my hair, which is strangely soothing. His arms are so warm...

"Rach."

My eyes fly open. The first thing I notice is the blue menu screen of the DVD player on the TV; the movie has been long over.

"I slept through the whole thing?" I ask incredulously.

He chuckles. "You didn't even stay awake long enough for the first song. But I nodded off too, somewhere after the second act."

"How long have we been-"

"I don't know, I just woke up."

I twist my head to catch a glimpse of his wall clock- it reads 9:12.

"Damn!" I sit up straight. "I was supposed to be home ten minutes ago!"

I reach for my purse in a hurry, heading out. "Rach, wait!" Will calls. I stop and turn impatiently.

"Rachel, I've been thinking about all of this. I think you should quit your job," he tells me. "It's not fair that I only get to see you Sundays, and Saturdays after four with your church."

"Temple," I correct. "And I can't quit, I need the money."

"So let me give you the money," he argues. "Your dads don't have to know. Besides that, you've missed all of the after school glee rehearsals since taking it."