‘THE DEAL’

The next morning, Kurt was invited to take a seat in Ari’s office. Santana gave him a thumbs up as he passed her, which was weird to say the least. The door closed behind him and Kurt followed his boss to the plush, burgundy couch.

“Let me tell you about our meeting with Blaine Anderson.” Ari recounted what had happened the previous evening after Kurt had left.

“Absolutely not,” Kurt said, after hearing Ari’s proposition. “I’m not going to come out to the whole country for a guy I’m not really involved with. Sure, I like to read People Magazine, but I don’t want to end up in it. Not for dating a celebrity.”

Ari smiled triumphantly. “Because you want to make it on your own, right?”

Kurt didn’t like the way Ari was looking at him. Like he knew something that would make Kurt change his mind about pretend dating Blaine Anderson.

“Santana told me you wrote this amazing screen play,” Ari let the cat out of the bag. “But you’re having a little trouble getting someone important to read it.”

“Everyone in L.A has a screen play,” Kurt huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘I will not be bought, I have integrity,’ he told himself.

“But not everyone works for me,” Ari reminded him. “And if I tell Dana Gordon that I found her the next Slumdog Millionaire she’s going to buy it before anyone else can.”

Kurt knew that this scenario would be a dream come true. Because like the rest of his former classmates, he was also working as an assistant to meet people who could help him get his screen plays produced. Without Blaine Anderson, if he was lucky, Ari would maybe read one of his scripts in a year or two and depending on whether he saw a role for one of his clients in it, would either bury it in his desk drawer or sell it together with an actor. Kurt silently repeated his mantra.

“The Emmys are in six months,” Ari continued unperturbed. “And here’s the deal: For the next six month, you publicly date Blaine Anderson. Flirt with him, laugh at his jokes and hold his hand. Nothing more. If someone asks you about it, you don’t talk about your private life. You don’t give them your name. Let the press speculate about you but with only your face, they’ll lose interest soon enough. The press’ not important here; it’s his fans who matter. They need to get used to seeing him out with another guy. Then, in six months,  he takes you to the Emmys as his date to confirm the speculations. Meanwhile, I get him new job and once the focus shifts to that you can quietly break up. Maybe I’ll find him something that films in Australia. You can blame the distance. Worked for me when my daughter was dating some creepy child actor.”

“And when the six months are over?” Kurt caught himself asking.

“I’m going to read your script and if it’s any good, I’ll make sure the right people get it.” He paused for a moment. “There wouldn’t per chance be a suitable role for Anderson?”

“Hm,” Kurt deliberated. “He wasn’t who I had in mind when I wrote it, but I wrote the first draft when I was still in high school and didn’t know Blaine Anderson. If he can pass as eighteen, why not.”

“Great so we have a deal,” Ari smiled, showing all of his teeth. “You make sure his coming out goes smoothly, so he owes me forever and I’ll make sure your script gets produced.”

Kurt hesitated to shake the proffered hand. Was he really going to sell his soul for a chance to get his screen play produced? But it was his baby; written during his darkest times back in Ohio, when vomiting his feelings out onto the page was the only thing that kept him from snapping. And now that Ari had mentioned it, he could imagine Blaine in the title role, might have even envisioned him had he known him six years ago.

“And Blaine’s okay with this?” Kurt asked. He needed to know that Blaine knew that this would only been an arrangement, that they weren’t actually dating. Kurt would make sure that Blaine knew his offer to be friends stood.

“Said he’s in if we can convince you to play along. Refused to be part of any scheme that kept you in the dark about it,” Ari confessed. Kurt wasn’t surprised to hear that Ari had tried to use him again without his knowledge or consent. The agent wouldn’t be where he was today if he hadn’t been a ruthless and conniving asshole.

Kurt weighed the pros and cons. Cons: He’d end up in the press for dating a celebrity. His private life wouldn’t be private anymore. At the moment, everyone wanted a piece of Blaine Anderson, and if Kurt were at his side, he probably would be hassled by Blaine’s fans and the paparazzi. He’d probably get a lot of hate too; be it from disappointed fan girls or genuinely homophobic douche bags. He’d have to watch how he acted in public. And he’d probably be remembered as the guy who dumped Blaine Anderson after he came out for him. At least, that’s what it would look like to him. And the pros: Ari would help him start his writing career much sooner than Kurt had hoped for. He’d probably get to meet a lot of interesting people through Blaine. Fancy restaurants and movie premieres. Sure, he’d experience those things with Ari as well, but only as the assistant standing in the back. Kurt liked to think that he wasn’t in Hollywood for materialistic reasons, but he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy the lifestyle that came with knowing the right people and working for companies like Gold Standard. And he’d get to spend more time with Blaine. Kurt shook his head. Spending time with Blaine shouldn’t be on the pro side of the column. After all, he couldn’t imagine actually dating Blaine. Mostly, because the actor would surely get bored with his inexperience quickly and dump him for someone more willing to put out. No, it was better to just stay friends than potentially falling in love and getting his heart broken when the relationship inevitably didn’t work out.

The pros didn’t outweigh the cons. Kurt knew the sensible thing to say was ‘thanks for the offer, but no, I’ll find my own way’. But Kurt wasn’t always sensible. And he was ambitious. He could take being called a gold digger, as long as he got a chance to prove that he wasn’t talentless. That he didn’t date Blaine to get famous. Sure, he’d profit from the relationship, but ideally, he’d be able to show anyone who’d make fun of him that he and Blaine both got something out of their relationship.

His resolve weakened and his mantra forgotten, he reached out and shook Ari’s hand. “I hope I won’t regret this.”

Ari grinned. “Trust me. Once we both get rich from this little deal, you’re going to thank me for casting you in the role of fake boyfriend.”

Well, Kurt wasn’t in it for the money. But everyone knew that you should trust Ari’s gut.

======

Once Kurt agreed to the plan, Ari got the ball rolling immediately. While Kurt looked through the emails in his inbox, his boss called Wes Montgomery, Blaine’s manager, to set up their first get together. Kurt had decided not to tell Ari that he’d given Blaine his phone number, because he didn’t want him to know that he’d have agreed to a friendly meeting with the actor even without the deal.

“I hope you won’t forget about me when you’re rich and famous and married to Anderson,” Santana told him, her eyes clued to her own computer screen.

“Haha, very funny,” Kurt replied dryly. “You know I’m not really going to date him.”

“And why not?” Santana challenged him. “I know you have a huge crush on him and he obviously likes you to.”

“He wants to fuck me, not date me,” Kurt stated bluntly. “You know I don’t do that.”

“Who says he doesn’t want both?”

“Because he’s never dated anyone. Ari told me I’m basically his only option because he’s only screwed around with guys and never had a relationship with any of them.”

“Maybe, he hasn’t met the right guy yet,” Santana said, and Kurt had to admit it was a possibility because he’d told Blaine the exact same thing to explain why he was single. But still, they were too different. Blaine was a famous actor with millions of fans around the globe. Once out, he’d probably date one of his peers and not some unknown . Why would he want to date someone like Kurt, who was just an assistant who aspired to be a screen writer? There were hundreds of guys just like him in L.A. He wasn’t anyone special. No, it was better to keep his distance, so he wouldn’t get his heart broken.

“I’m sure he will, once he’s out,” Kurt replied before he quickly changed the subject. “How’s Lucy doing? It’s been too long since we all got together.”

Now Santana was the one on the defense. “She’s fine,” she said dismissively. “She’s in New York for a conference. Never knew lawyers had to go to so many conferences when we started dating.”

Kurt didn’t ask whether Santana thought her girlfriend was cheating on her. Her thoughts on the matter came across loud and clear in her tone of voice. He hoped she was wrong, because Santana had been cheated on by every girl she’d dated so far. Which was funny in a way, because a lot of people assumed Santana was the cheater, because she was a flirt.

Before Kurt could reply, Ari knocked on the class door separating his office from Kurt and Santana’s desks and motioned for Kurt to come join him.

“Let’s have drinks this weekend,” he told his friend before he walked into Ari’s office and took a seat in front of his desk.

His boss handed him a piece of paper. On it, Ari had written in his messy scrawl, ‘8 pm, Spago’.

“The company will pick up the bill,”Ari informed him. “I’ve reserved a table in the back to make the whole thing look more intimate. Saturday night, Blaine will throw a party for his former cast mates and the crew. His excuse is that he had to miss the wrap party because he was sick and wants a chance to properly say goodbye to everyone he worked with for the past five years. He’s going to introduce you as his boyfriend, so make sure you don’t look too out of place. You want people to believe that you’ve run in his circle for a while now.”

Kurt nodded and took the piece of paper. Suddenly his palms were sweaty and his hands shook slightly. Maybe, because now it was real. It was happening.

“So, got a hot date tonight?” Santana changed the topic back to their original subject, when Kurt sank back into his office chair.

Kurt paled. “What am I going to wear? He’s taking me to Spago.”

Santana examined her nails. “What are you freaking out about? You never looked too shabby when we were in college.”

“But I buy second hand,” Kurt exclaimed, mentally going through his wardrobe. He had nothing to wear.

Santana looked up with a grin on her face. “You should tell Ari. Tell him you can’t meet Blaine tonight, because you don’t have anything to wear to a place like Spago. I’m sure he’ll send you shopping.”

Kurt narrowed his eyes. “Why are you being so helpful. What’s in it for you?”

Santana gave him her best ‘who, me’ impression but Kurt didn’t buy it for one second.

“Fine,” Santana sighed. “I may or may not have a little side deal with Anderson.”

Kurt raised his eyebrow in question.

“If my plan works, he’ll convince his publicist to give me a job,” Santana admitted.

Kurt didn’t fault her for trying to get something out of Blaine’s situation as well. He knew that she’d rather work for a PR firm, but after graduation she’d only been offered more unpaid internships and she couldn’t afford to work for free. So she’d taken a job at Gold Standard in the hopes that one day it would help her start the career she was really interested in.

======

Santana had been right. When Kurt had told Ari of his plight, his boss had handed him a company credit card and had sent him over to Rodeo Drive to pick an outfit for his date. He’d been instructed to go to Dolce & Gabana and talk to Linda. Kurt was quite familiar with Rodeo Drive, but only from a window shopping perspective. He had a subscription to Vogue so he always knew what was en vogue and then tried to find articles of clothing that matched in thrift stores and the cheaper chains. Once a year, usually after Christmas, he went to the Beverly Center for their winter sale and bought himself one designer piece. Kurt loved clothes and he knew that if he had the money he’d be on a first name basis with the sales people of Rodeo Drive as well.

Linda greeted him with a smile on her face. She was a pretty brunette who looked like she should wear clothes for a living, not sell them. Apparently, Santana had called and informed her about Kurt’s impending arrival.

“So, I understand you have a date tonight at Spago. Lucky…,” she looked at him questioningly. Kurt thought she probably didn’t want to assume.

“Guy,” he finished for her.

“Lucky guy,” she winked. “You got an idea what he’s going to wear?”

Kurt thought back to all the pictures he’d seen of Blaine during nightly outings. “I think he prefers casual clothes. Mostly jeans and t-shirts.”

“Hm,” Linda said. “Am I right to assume that he’s well known? Don’t think he’d get into Spago in jeans and t-shirts otherwise.”

Kurt nodded. He didn’t give her a name though. After all, Blaine for now, was still in the closet.

“Then I think a suit would be too dressy for you. How about a pair of fitted black jeans, twenties style black leather shoes with white accents, and a dark blue button down. I’d finish it with this vest.”

Linda showed him a gorgeous silver vest that shimmered in the sunlight coming in through the large windows.

“Sounds great,” he told her. He also decided that it would probably be best not the check the price tags on the clothes she handed him.

=====

At a quarter to eight, Kurt paid the cab in front of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills restaurant. He’d been instructed not to drive himself so he could have a few drinks with Blaine. Ari had also told him that he could arrive late at work the next day. Kurt had no plans though, to spend more than a couple of hours with the actor. The maitre d’ led him through the modern restaurant to a table in the back. To his surprise, Blaine was already waiting for him.

“Kurt, it’s really nice to see you again,” Blaine greeted him.

“It’s nice to see you again too,” Kurt replied, because if he was honest with himself, it really was. He took a seat opposite the actor.

“Do you have any preference for wine or do you want to pick out the food first and order whatever goes with it?” Blaine asked, when the wine waiter approached them.

“Maybe just some water for now and then order drinks with our food,” Kurt replied. He’d barely eaten all day and didn’t think it was a smart idea to start drinking on an empty stomach.

Blaine took the wine menu from the waiter and told him their order.

“So,” Blaine smirked. “With your boss picking up the bill, how expensive do you want to make this?”

Kurt knew that Ari would do anything to keep a client happy. But as his employee he should also make sure Ari was happy with him. A lot depended on this going well, after all.

“Not very,” he admitted. “Because as you said, he’s still my boss.”

Blaine nodded and picked up his menu. After perusing it for a moment he suggested a dish. “How about we order the côte de boeuf for two with Armagnac peppercorn sauce. Unless you are a vegetarian.”

Kurt shook his head. “Sounds good.”

He was lying through his teeth. Even though his French wasn’t too shabby for someone public school educated in Ohio, he had no idea what the order meant. But even if he didn’t like it, Ari would be paying for his meal. A waiter brought a bottle of Evian and Blaine told him they were ready to order. After the waiter had left, Blaine leaned closer.

“I’ve never done this before,” the actor admitted.

“Had dinner?” Kurt joked. 

“Not like this. Not with another guy in public. At least not one who wasn’t working for me” Blaine explained.

Kurt studied him for a moment. “Were you out in high school?” he asked.

“Everyone in my choir group knew, and maybe some other guys at school suspected, but I never officially came out. The school had this whole ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. It did have a strict no tolerance bullying policy, but that mostly worked because you didn’t talk about private stuff like politics, religion, race or your sexual orientation.”

“You went to Dalton, right?” Kurt remembered an article about Blaine. “My choir group nearly competed against your choir once, but then our funding was cut and we couldn’t raise the necessary funds ourselves. What was it called again. The Canaries?”

“The Warblers,” Blaine corrected him. “It’s weird to think that we could have met in High School.”

“You probably wouldn’t have paid me any attention. I was only a sophomore when you graduated.”

“Seems unfair that you know so much more about me than I do about you,” Blaine teased him. “We have to rectify that.”

“I don’t know everything about you,” Kurt cheeks flushed. “I only read that one article where you talked about growing up in Ohio because I’m from Ohio as well,” he said defensively. After all, he didn’t want Blaine to think that he was hanging out with a total fanboy. Come to think of it, he should probably unfollow him on Twitter on the off chance that Blaine checked who was following him.

“It’s okay,” Blaine said. “Just because I’m a quote unquote celebrity doesn't mean that I’m not a fan of other celebrities. I had this really unhealthy obsession with Jack Gyllenhaal a few years ago when he was in Brokeback Mountain and when I met him at an event I nearly peed my pants.”

Kurt laughed. It was nice to hear that Blaine had celebrity crushes too. The wine waiter returned and Blaine ordered a bottle of a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. His hand, which lay right next to Kurt’s on the table, twitched, but he left it where it was. After all, they weren’t even touching. Kurt remembered his first date with a boy and how nerve wrecking it had been to display any affection in public. And he’d been a nobody. Blaine on the other hand. Kurt could feel their neighbors’ eyes on them. Kurt didn’t recognized the older couple, but they had recognized Blaine. He leaned forward in his seat, so he could whisper to Blaine.

“You have to ignore them. There’s nothing wrong with a guy going out to dinner with another guy,” he reminded the actor.

“You’re right,” Blaine agreed. “And if this was a real date, I would even hold your hand.”

So they were talking about it. “Blaine, I…” Kurt started, but Blaine cut him off.

“No, don’t. I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. Just tell me more about yourself. If people are going to believe you are my boyfriend, I need to know more than your name, job and where you are from.”

Kurt couldn’t argue with Blaine’s reasoning. “What do you want to know?”

“Just the easy stuff. Your family, favorite movie and TV shows, where you went to college, stuff I’d know if we were in a relationship.”

Kurt laughed dryly. “The easy stuff, huh? Fine, I’ll give it my best. My birthday is on May 27. I’m going to be twenty-four. When I was seven my mom got diagnosed with a brain tumor. I barely went to school that year and in the end I had to repeat the second grade. She died when I was eight. When I was seventeen, my dad remarried. Her name’s Carole and she’s a lovely woman.  She’ll never replace my mom, but I love her a lot. She had a son my age, but he died shortly after we graduated from high school. I had plans to move to New York with a friend after graduation, but after Finn, that was his name, died, I decided to go to Ohio State instead to be closer to my family. I transferred to UCLA after my sophomore year and lived here since.” Kurt didn’t tell him the reason behind his transfer.

Blaine starred at him wide-eyed. “If I’d known this would be your answer, I’d have asked you a different question.

“It’s okay. I’ve come to terms with everything that’s happened. That doesn’t make it hurt any less, but I’m okay with talking about it. How about your family?” he changed the subject. He already knew a lot about Blaine, but you never knew how much truth there was in articles about celebrities.

“Um, okay. I have an older brother Cooper, he’s ten years older than me and also an actor. Maybe you’ve seen his Free credit rating today dot com commercials.”

“Really?” Kurt exclaimed. “How did I not know that? The jingle was my ringtone back in high school. Don’t judge me,” he added when he saw the look on Blaine’s face following his revelation.

“I’m not,” Blaine promised. “I just thought that you’ve probably never watched straight porn.”

“What?” Kurt, who’d just taken a sip of water, nearly spit it across the table.

“Nothing,”Blaine waved him off. “I’ll tell you another time. This isn’t first date material.”

“Okay,” Kurt replied, but he’d be lying if he said he could follow Blaine’s train of thoughts.

“My parents split when I was fourteen,” the actor continued. “My mom promised it had nothing to do with me, but my dad asked her for a divorce a couple of weeks after I’d come out to them. He wasn’t happy. Said that in his business he couldn’t afford a gay son. My dad works as a financial advisor for a republican senator.”

“Yikes,” Kurt said. “How’s your relationship now?”

“Nonexistent,” Blaine revealed. “He paid for Dalton until my graduation mainly because in his circles it looked good when your kids went to private school. His secretary sends me a card for my birthdays, but she’s not as good at faking his signature as she thinks. I know it’s her that signs them.”

“And your brother?”

“My dad cut him off when he dropped out of college to pursue a pipe dream. He contacts Cooper from time to time, but Cooper refuses to take his calls out of loyalty to me. At least that’s what he says. But I know he doesn’t take them because our father is a grade A asshole.”

“I’m sorry?” Kurt asked.

Blaine shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. It brought me and my mom a lot closer. I’m not sure we’d have the kind of relationship we have now if my dad hadn’t bailed on us. And that’s all about my family. My favorite movie changes every other week, my guilty pleasure are trashy reality shows and while I love to read, I never read a book twice. Too many good books out there to waste my time on re-reading.”

“Not even Harry Potter?” Kurt teased him. “I’ve heard you say that you are a huge Harry Potter nerd.”

“Harry Potter doesn’t count. One always has to make time for HP,” Blaine said earnestly.

“Did you always want to be an actor?” Kurt changed the subject again, just as their food arrived. He cut into his meat while he waited for Blaine’s answer. Tender and the right amount of spicy. It was delicious. He nearly moaned.

“Music was my first love. I never saw myself as a rock star, more as a singer songwriter. When I moved out here, it was to make music not to get discovered as an actor. But I fell in love with acting while I was on Loser. Probably because I got to sing as well as act. And now, I wouldn’t want to give up either. How about you, did you always want to be an agent? Is that something kids aspire to?”

Kurt snorted before he remembered where he was. “Gosh no. I don’t want to be an agent at all. I majored in screen writing. But it’s pretty impossible to get a job as a writer straight out of college. So for now, I work for Ari. I get to meet a lot of important people, and once I’ve paid my dues, he’s going to put me in touch with the people who can give me a writing job.”

“Cool. You’ve written anything you’d let me read? I know a lot of people too,” Blaine said, but Kurt shook his head.

“Nothing that’s ready for public consumption,” he lied. “But I spend a lot of my free time writing, and hopefully I’ll have written a few good spec scripts by the time Ari’s putting me in touch with people.”

“Best of luck. And like I said, if you need any help, I know producers.”

For the next few minutes, they both focused on their meal. The wine, like the beef, was excellent and Kurt didn’t protest when their waiter refilled his glass.

“So what’s our back story?” he broke the comfortable silence. “Ari told me you want to introduce me at a party this weekend.”

“You’re right, we should probably get our facts straight,” Blaine agreed. “How long do you think we’ve been dating?”

Kurt deliberated for a moment. “It’s probably still pretty new. That would explain why you haven’t mentioned me before. So, I don’t know, a couple of weeks,” he suggested and Blaine nodded.

“How about we met in Ohio? Everyone knows I always spend the holidays in Ohio with Cooper and my mom. Were you there as well?” Kurt nodded. “Okay, where could we have met?”

“My dad owns a car repair shop where I help out when I’m back home. Maybe you had car trouble and I’m the one my dad sent out to look at it. We started talking, discovered that I live in L.A too, and you asked me out for coffee to say thank you for the help. I argued that you didn’t have to buy me coffee because you were paying for the service anyway, but you insisted and I agreed to have coffee with you at your mom’s place because you don’t like to go out in Ohio, because the fans there are much more, let’s say enthusiastic than the ones here,” Kurt spun his tale.

“I like it,” Blaine smiled. “Because the only ones who could verify the story are our families, and at least my family would never talk to the press.”

Kurt tried to envision his dad give an interview. He laughed. “Yeah, mine neither, though I’m certain that Carole would love to gossip about it in her bookclub if I was dating someone famous.” He sobered. “Come to think of it, I should probably tell them about you before they hear it from someone else?”

“Everything?” Blaine asked. He looked worried, so Kurt shook his head.

“No, this is between me, you,  Ari, Santana and your entourage. No one else has to know this isn’t real.”

“I agree. So I should tell my mom too. She’ll probably insist that I bring you over the next time I’m in Ohio.”

“My dad too. He’s always badgering me about my lack of relationships. Which is funny, because back in high school he was all like, ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about boys’ and now he’s all ‘when are you finally going to bring a boy home’.”

“My mom’s the same,” Blaine smiled.

Why was he fighting this again? Kurt asked himself. Because it wouldn’t last, he reminded his heart. It’s better to just be friends. A waiter cleared their now empty plates.

“Dessert?” Blaine asked.

Kurt thought that he shouldn’t. But he and Blaine still had things to discuss before the party, so he agreed. They ordered panna cotta and creme brûlée to share. After the waiter had taken their order, they continued working on their backstory.

“Alright, so we met over Christmas, had coffee, had a good time, exchanged phone numbers and you told me you’d call once you’re back in L.A. I didn’t think you would, because you’re a famous actor and I was working in the mail room of a talent agency. To my surprise you did and we had dinner at your house. I met your friends,” Kurt said.

“You were the first guy I liked enough to introduce to my friends, so I planned to take you with me to my wrap party. But I got sick and had to miss it and that’s why I’m throwing this party,” Blaine took over. “In the meantime, you got promoted at ‘Gold Standard’, I was looking for a new agent and so you set up a meeting with your boss. I signed with him, because now I can see you even more than before.”

“It’s a good story,” Kurt said. “And it totally could have happened had you had car trouble in the Lima area.”

Their desserts arrived and they stuffed their faces with creamy goodness. Afterwards, when Kurt had signaled the waiter that they wanted to pay, Blaine pulled out his phone and called Jeff.

“Hey Jeff, can you pick me and Kurt up in fifteen. He’ll tell you where to go.”

Kurt looked at Blaine in surprise. “You don’t have to drive me home. I could have taken a cab.”

“That would be a waste of money when I have a driver,” Blaine argued and Kurt had to agree that Blaine was right. “And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t take you home after a date?” he added with a wink.

“A twenty-first century one,” Kurt deadpanned.

After paying the check, also with Ari’s black AmEx, Kurt looked at Blaine questioningly.

“How do you want to do this. Do you want to draw attention to us when we walk out?”

Blaine eyed the other diners before he shook his head.

“I think Santana is right. I shouldn't go public before I’ve told the people I’ve worked with for the past five years.”

“Whatever you want,” Kurt smiled easily.

They walked out into the pleasantly warm night air together, chatting amicably about the delicious meal they had. Kurt was the first to spot the lone paparazzo, camped out opposite the restaurant. The man was looking at his phone though, and before he could look up and discover Blaine, Jeff pulled up along the curb. Blaine opened the door for him and Kurt climbed into the back of the expensive looking black BMW.

“Where to?” Jeff asked as he pulled back out into the traffic that never seemed to cease in L.A no matter what time you were driving through the city.

“41 Landfall Avenue,” Kurt told him and leaned back into the comfortable leather seats. He liked his car, because he’d bought it with his own money after getting the job at Gold Standard, but compared to Blaine’s luxury ride, it was a piece of crap. He’d sold the car his dad had given him for his sixteenth birthday because it just needed too much gas.

“Ey, ey captain,” Jeff saluted him and turned right onto Wilshire Blvd.

“So, what time should I arrive at your party?” Kurt turned to Blaine.

“I’d like you to be there before everyone else arrives, so maybe around seven,” the actor suggested. “If that’s okay with you.”

Kurt nodded. “I just hope I won’t embarrass myself in front of your friends. It’s possible that I’m a huge fan of Loser Like Me,” he admitted.

“I won’t hold it against you,” Blaine teased him. “And I’m not worried. You must have met tons of famous people working for Gold Standard.”

“Actually, you are the first,” Kurt confessed. “When we met, it was only my second day working as Ari’s assistant.”

Blaine looked at him in surprise. “Well, then I’m honored,” he joked. “But still, you’ll be fine. You handled yourself great with me and Santana told me you are a fan.”

Kurt groaned. He was going to kill Santana the next time he saw her. Ari would survive having to pick another assistant so soon after firing his last batch.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about that,” Blaine assured him. “I told you, I’m a fan of a lot of actors and musicians as well. I’m flattered.”

“Still, she shouldn’t have told you. Not when I was trying to play it cool.”

“I thought, you were a prostitute. I think that’s way more embarrassing.”

“You’re right,” Kurt agreed. “What you did was way worse,” he teased Blaine, who pouted.

“Hey, I apologized for that.”

The car stopped in front of the apartment complex Kurt lived in. It didn’t feel like fifteen minutes had passed. Blaine looked out of the window and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You live in a frat house?” he asked in disbelief.

Kurt snorted. “As if. Can you imagine me in a fraternity?”

Jeff turned around. “I’ve been to some frat parties, so no. You should take this as a compliment though.”

“Then why’d you go, if you don’t like the people?” Kurt wondered.

“Hot chicks, man,” Jeff replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “College girls are the best. One nearly convinced me to give school a try after all.”

“Got it,” Kurt nodded. “Well, that’s me,” he turned to Blaine and pointed at the apartment complex on the other side of the street. “I’ll see you Saturday at seven.”

“Looking forward to it. Though I’m also kinda scared shitless,” Blaine admitted.

“If those people really are your friends, your sexuality won’t matter. And those who don’t accept it, well, take it from me, those are the kind of people you don’t need in your life anyway,” Kurt assured the actor.

“True,” Blaine agreed. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

They didn’t hug or anything. Kurt was glad, because even after the evening they’d spent together, they didn’t really know each other yet. And he wasn’t a hugger. The only people who were allowed to touch him where his dad, Carole, Santana and his friend Mercedes, who he’d also gone to high school with. He put telling her about Blaine on his mental to do list, as she was living in L.A as well, trying to make it as a singer. She would definitely be pissed if she found out from the news.

‘Drinks tomorrow night?’ he texted her, after closing his front door with his foot and falling onto the couch. Fortunately, the living room was empty, his room mates either out partying or still at work.

I have big news - Kurt

Bigger than the new job? Now I’m definitely interested - Mercedes

Mercedes texted back immediately, and Kurt could just imagine her poking her boyfriend Sam and trying to get him to speculate with her.

See you tomorrow then? - Kurt

Telling Mercedes would be a good test drive before he called his dad and Carole about his ‘new relationship’. If he could lie to one of his best friends, he’d be able to do it to his dad too. Not that that was something to be proud of. But as long as he wasn’t hurting anyone with his lies. And it was just a little white lie. Why would anyone get hurt?