The drive down the shore was not nearly as awkward as Kurt had thought it would be, they made small talk the entire way down. However, it wasn't the small talk that seemed stilted and forced. A song would come on the radio and one of them would recognize it and have a story to tell. They radio station seemed to be mixing together old and new songs, so they had some very interesting stories to tell.

"This was the first song I danced with another boy to," Blaine smiled sadly as he turned down Usher's "Yeah".

Kurt frowned and reached over to touch Blaine's shoulder simply because now he could, pressing his thumb into the muscles of his upper arm, "Bad break up?"

Blaine shrugged, "No break up at all really. We were at the Sadie Hawkins dance in my high school's gym. I'm sure I looked lovely in my overalls and straw hat. We had a themed dance, which was stupid because Sadie Hawkins is a freaking theme but no one listened to the gay kid when he said that so it was also country bumpkin themed. We danced and some people didn't like it so I really don't have the greatest memories of this song. Or that dance. Or that night. Or…yeah," Blaine trailed off, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel.

Kurt knew it was an appropriate thought given that Blaine was so upset, but he found Blaine's babbling somewhat endearing. He ran his hands over the back of Blaine's shirt, "We can change topics if it makes you feel better?"

Blaine nodded, "That would be fantastic. We are almost at the restaurant anyway."

"So what happened between you and the boy?" Kurt hoped that topic wasn't sensitive too.

Blaine grimaced.

Apparently it was.

"Well, he and I didn't really talk after the dance," Blaine said carefully, as if he was picking every word with caution, "it was the end of the year and we moved the next year so I honestly don't know what happened to him. He added me on Facebook about a year or so ago but I didn't accept the request."

"Why did you move?" Kurt asked as they pulled into a stone parking lot. Kurt looked up at the sign and saw that they had arrived. It was smaller than Kurt had imagined, neatly placed next to an ice cream stand.

Blaine laughed at Kurt's expression, "I promise you it isn't terrible. My family used to come here all the time." He offered a hand to Kurt as they walked into the small restaurant.

Kurt was shocked at the inside. The ceiling was covered in little Christmas lights that were woven together and looked somewhat like stars. A few strands were twinkling lights that kept it interesting. The tables were mostly tiny with only two or three place settings. The people who were there were all obviously familiar with the place and seemed to be enjoying themselves. They laughed loudly and were carrying on with the waitresses and even the cooks who walked around to check the meal.

"Blaine Anderson is that you?" a man said, wrapping Blaine in a hug, "Look at you! You've grown so much!"

"You have?" Kurt joked in a low whisper, "You were actually shorter at some point."

Blaine squeezed his hand a little tighter but said nothing to Kurt. "Mr. Serano! How are you?"

"Fine, fine," the older gentleman smiled down at Blaine, his light blue eyes shining, "is your father coming in?"

"No," Blaine shook his head and changed his tone a little, "just Kurt and I."

Mr. Serano looked at Kurt and smiled, "Someone special?

Kurt bit his lip and looked down. He wasn't sure how they were even going to answer that question.

"Absolutely," Blaine said with another fond squeeze.

"Well then we'll have to show him what Caf� Loren can do," Mr. Serano motioned for them to follow. "Where are you from, Kurt?"

"Lima, Ohio," Kurt spoke up.

"Right near the Andersons then?" Mr. Serano smiled, "I just assumed you two met down here."

Kurt smiled, "We did, actually."

Blaine nodded, "I work for his Aunt Meg. She has the pink house in Cape May."

"Oh Meggy? She used to come in all the time! I haven't seen her in awhile though." Mr. Serano motioned for them to sit at a small, secluded table.

"Really?" Kurt truthfully never thought Meg left the house, she always seemed to be hovering around.

Mr. Serano nodded, "Are you staying the summer with her?"

It was Kurt's turn to nod.

"Well then I hope you two have a fantastic summer," Mr. Serano said sincerely, "the greatest of love stories happen down the shore."

Blaine had a small smile playing on his lips as he looked at Mr. Serano, Kurt knew his own face mirrored the expression.

"Enjoy your meal," Mr. Serano handed them menus and walked toward the front of the restaurant to greet the next customers.

"He's a really sweet man," Kurt remarked as he opened his men.

"I've known him since I was five," Blaine said with a smile, "he was part of our beach family."

"Was?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Well when my parents got divorced we stopped coming down here. But we stopped coming to Caf� Loren when my dad found out that Mr. Serano was gay."

Kurt looked over his menu, startled. "He stopped coming?"

Blaine nodded, "My dad, oh god how did he put it? Wasn't a fan of the lifestyle choices he made, I believe."

Kurt frowned, "Did he feel that way when you came out?"

"Why do you think my parents got divorced?" Blaine said as he looked through the menu. "My mom…she stood up for me. She loved me and didn't care that I'm gay. My dad wanted to send me away to a military school so I wouldn't be able to express myself, so she divorced him."

Kurt reached across the table and wrapped his hand into Blaine's, moving it out of the fist it was in, "Let's talk about something else?"

"Thank you," Blaine said quietly, only to be cut off by a woman with long red hair.

"Welcome to Caf� Loren, I'm Charlotte and I'll be your waitress. What can I get you started with?"

"Water with lime, please?" Kurt asked with a smile as he traced his fingers over the watch on Blaine's wrist.

"And for you?" she asked, smiling at Blaine. "I'll have water with lemon."

"Any appetizers?"

Kurt frowned, he hadn't even looked at the menu yet. "You know this place better than I do," he said, "any ideas?"

"Do you like calamari?" Blaine asked with a hopeful smile.

"I do."

"We'll have that then," Blaine said with a huge smile for the waitress. It bothered Kurt slightly that Blaine could so quickly change emotions. He wondered how long it had taken Blaine to perfect that action, how many times he had to cover something with a smile.

Instead of mentioning it, Kurt continued perusing the menu.

"I'm sorry to put a damper on the date," Blaine said quietly, "I should have known I would screw this up."

"No!" Kurt wanted to wrap his arms around Blaine and just hold him. "Do you know how it has been killing me that you are practically perfect?"

Blaine laughed loudly at that, "I am so far from perfect."

Kurt tried to casually wrap his foot around Blaine's ankle, just enough so that they were touching as much as possible. He was surprised at how different this all felt. It felt nothing like how it did with Paul. It was…innocent, almost.

It was the exact opposite of what Kurt thought he had wanted.

Charlotte came back soon after with their appetizers and they both ordered dinner. Kurt had decided on the pan roasted halibut while Blaine went with a more classic pan seared scallops entr�e that he had apparently ordered at least once a summer since he was younger.

When they finally settled into their appetizers, Kurt tried to come up with a topic of conversation that they both could talk about without bringing up any hard feelings. He wanted the rest of the date to be light and hopeful instead of dwelling on their pasts.

"So what is the most played song on your IPod?" Kurt asked with a grin.

Blaine set his fork down and thought for a few seconds. "Oh god, I'm not sure. I tend to get really sick of a song in the middle of it and turn it once the chorus becomes the main part of it all. But I think it would probably be "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel."

"Really?" Kurt smiled, "that's probably why you got along with my father so much. That's one of his favorites as well."

Blaine ducked his head and moved back as Charlotte came back with their meals.

"Everything looks amazing," Blaine said to Charlotte, "as usual."

She grinned, "If you need anything just let me know."

Kurt had to admit that it looked like the best food he'd had in awhile. He wasn't sure why, but he was suddenly hungrier than he'd been before the appetizer.

"What about you?" Blaine asked as he speared a scallop. "Number one song."

"Well "Defying Gravity" obviously," Kurt said with a grin, "it's a modern day classic. Even people who don't know about Broadway know the song."

Blaine looked guilty, "I actually don't have it on my IPod."

Kurt set his fork down with a clatter, "Well this date is obviously over."

"No!" Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand dramatically, "I will add it as soon as I get home. Right away."

Kurt picked up his fork, "You've heard it, right?"

"Of course I've heard it! Who hasn't? I just don't have a very big IPod so I need to switch out my music occasionally." Blaine kept his hand in Kurt's now, "I have a pretty extensive music collection so I just go by what I'm feeling."

"So what are you listening to right now?" Kurt knew he was digging, but he needed to get any information he could about Blaine while the boy was in a particularly sharing mood.

"The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Pretty Things, Pink Floyd, The Creation, The Move, Traffic, David Bowie, King Crimson, and of course Roxy Music," Blaine listed them off easily. "I also enjoy some Katy Perry occasionally."

"One of these things is not like the others," Kurt laughed loudly.

Blaine blushed again, "Like I said, my tastes really have changed a lot in the last few years essentially. What about you? What's on your IPod that would shock me?"

Kurt leaned forward and dropped his voice, "I'm sure there's a lot about me that would surprise you, Blaine. I went through a Mellencamp phase."

Blaine nodded, "Not so surprising given your father."

Kurt took that as a challenge. He found himself not caring if Blaine judged him based on what was on his IPod. "Lately I've been listening to Bruno Mars, The Killers, The Beatles, Coldplay, and bands like that mostly."

Blaine looked faintly surprised, "I have Veggie Tales on my IPod," he blurted before turning the most brilliant shade of red. "Oh my god I cannot believe I just told you that. Forget I said it. Please. Forget."

Kurt couldn't even speak because he was trying to keep himself from smiling. "Veggie Tales?" he said eventually.

"I am mortified," Blaine mumbled, "Oh my god, I am mortified."

"If my lips ever left my mouth," Kurt sang lightly, "packed a bag and headed south…"

"That be too bad, I'd be so sad," Blaine laughed. "Oh my god, you know them too?"

"My mom was big on Sunday school," Kurt said dryly, "those things follow you around." He paused for a second and couldn't help but make fun of Blaine for a little longer, "So what exactly is your excuse?"

Blaine shrugged, "I found them on YouTube one day and kept listening to them. They made me laugh all the time. I even tried to get my show choir to sing "Dance of the Cucumber" but they wouldn't let me."

Kurt snorted into his plate, "You have got to be kidding me."

Blaine shook his head, "I cannot believe I told you that. I can't believe it. At all."

Kurt looked down at his plate and sighed, "I'm full." He decided to give Blaine a break on the song thing.

"Me too. I was planning on being super romantic and splitting dessert but I can't even function right now," Blaine motioned to Charlotte so they could get the check. "Care to go for a walk?" Blaine asked while slipping Charlotte his credit card.

"You know, I can pay," Kurt argued.

"I know you can, but I asked you out."

Kurt seethed a little. He didn't want Blaine to think that he had to pay for him. He was quiet until Blaine signed the receipt and they walked out of the restaurant.

"Care to tell me why you're upset?" Blaine asked as he once again threaded his fingers into Kurt's and steered them toward the sidewalk away from the car.

Kurt sighed, "I just don't…I don't want a repeat of what happened with Paul. I don't want you to think that you have to pay for me. I want us to be equals. I feel like…like where I went wrong was acting like I didn't know as much as Paul."

Blaine pulled Kurt closer and instead wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, "You didn't do anything wrong, Kurt. He was just…he was a jerk. You need to know that I'm not going to do anything like Paul did. God, if you want to wait a little but until if doesn't hurt as much, I can do that. I can wait. As long as you promise not to date someone else in the mean time. Oh god, I mean…not like I'm trying to tell you what to do. I didn't mean it like that at all. I just meant that I waited this long, I can wait again…but I don't want to wait for something that you don't feel. I will still be your friend even if you don't…if you don't feel for me what I feel for you." Blaine started to pull away from Kurt to put distance between them.

Kurt immediately wrapped his arm around Blaine's waist and held his close, "Stop that. You know I feel a lot for you Blaine. Meg warned me about taking time to recoup after Paul. And she's right, it's only been a little over a day since all that…but Blaine I've had feelings for you for weeks. I trust you, I'm just afraid of what will happen if I do the same things."

Blaine nodded, "I know. I…at least we both have the advantage of this not being our first relationship? I mean, it's been awhile for me but I still think we'll be better off."

"You had a boyfriend before?" Kurt had never heard of the boy before.

Blaine laughed, "Oh yes. Jeremiah."

"That's all I get?"

Blaine laughed, "He basically did the same thing Paul did to you. He started dating me so I would go to senior prom with him. We went…we um…" Blaine trailed off.

"You what?"

"We had sex and then two weeks later he dumped me because he wanted to enjoy his last summer before college," Blaine said bluntly.

Kurt was stuck between feeling bad for Blaine and feeling bad for himself.

He would never be Blaine's first.

"Oh," he said eventually, "I'm sorry." Kurt had no idea how Blaine felt about the situation now.

"I'm over it," Blaine simply replied, "it took me awhile to get over it but eventually I did. He apologized later but I never saw him again."

"There's still time," Kurt said a bit darkly. He didn't want to have to fight someone for Blaine – though he gladly would.

"I was a freshman at the time," Blaine laughed, "I doubt he even thinks about me now."

Kurt stopped, "He took advantage of a freshman and he was a senior?"

"I wouldn't say he took advantage of me, I was willing at the time." Blaine didn't seem to be too broken up about it. "Mind you, I probably wasn't in the best mindset at the time being that I'd just…I just left my other school."

Kurt took a deep breath, "Let's stop talking about ex boyfriends."

"Jealous, I'll take that into consideration," Blaine chided.

Kurt couldn't help but smile. He usually hated when people teased him, and he'd even hated it when Blaine did it at first. Now he loved it. He wanted Blaine to tease him so he could tease right back.

"Let's go sit on the beach," Kurt said as he pulled Blaine toward the water.

"Kurt Hummel wants to go on the beach? I would have never thought." Blaine ran to catch up and they both walked quickly to get to the water.

Blaine immediately kicked his shoes off and rolled his pants up higher so he could run into the water.

"Why isn't anyone on the beach?" Kurt asked as he dared to do the same thing.

"This beach doesn't have guards so not as many people come here." Blaine explained, "it's mostly a private beach for people who live in those houses."

Blaine walked into the water, "Oh my god! It's so warm!" A smile broke out on his face, "I'll have to tell my brother how warm it is. He won't believe it at all. Every summer we came here and he would complain about how cold the water was."

Kurt smiled and tiptoed into the water as well, still not feeling really secure about any of it – especially now that he knew there was no lifeguard.

"Hold my hand?" he asked, reaching across the water to Blaine.

"Of course," Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled him out further into the water.

Kurt immediately let go of Blaine's hand and wrapped both arms around his torso, sighing when Blaine wrapped his around Kurt's waist and held him.

It didn't matter that his pants were getting wet.

It didn't matter that seaweed was hitting his legs.

He didn't care that a few drops hit his face.

He felt happy and secure, something he never thought he would actually feel.

It amazed Kurt that it really didn't feel any different than it normally did. They were still talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. They were still flirting and joking around like they normally did.

But it was still so, so different at the very same time.

Blaine was touchier, more intimate in the smallest things. Kurt thought he found out more about Blaine in one date than he had the entire time they were friends.

The word innocent once again crept into Kurt's mind. Everything felt like it was supposed to for a relationship that would last, would simmer for a while.

Not like the quick burning he felt toward Paul at the beginning that had faded before they even were a week in.

Blaine looked over and Kurt and smiled lightly, "Can I kiss you?"

Kurt wanted to be sexy and intriguing but instead broke out into another giddy smile. "Please."

Blaine leaned in and pressed his lips firmly against Kurt's, nose bumping gently into Kurt's. Blaine twisted in Kurt's arms and wrapped them around his neck, leaning against him. Kurt pressed a little more firmly, effectively parting Blaine's lips and brushed his tongue against Blaine's.

It was like something lit beneath them.

Blaine pressed against Kurt harder, and Kurt fisted his hands into Blaine's shirt. Their teeth clacked together and Blaine was mussing Kurt's hair but they weren't paying attention to that.

When they pulled away Blaine was breathing heavily and Kurt felt slightly weak as he tried to breath normally.

Kurt grinned at Blaine – maybe they wouldn't be so innocent for long.