Chapter 4

            Is this guy real?

            Kurt just couldn’t help but wonder at the colorful personality of Blaine Anderson, while staring at one annoyingly condescending, but much more annoyingly present, text he received on his phone Thursday morning.  

            “Hello, handsome! I figured you wouldn’t text me unless it’s painfully necessary, so I took the matter into my own hands and because I’m a strong willed man, I hereby ask you to accept a coffee date with me. Tomorrow at 10. Stephanie’s. Be there.”

            Okay, first of all, what the hell? That didn’t sound like an invite, but more like a command.

And second of all, Stephanie’s?         

            Kurt believed in fate and coincidence, but really, what was the chance that Blaine frequented the same coffee shop as Rachel and him? He never saw him there, and Blaine was not the kind of guy you could easily forget seeing. Or meeting. So, there was definitely something fishy about the whole situation, and Kurt had a good inkling on who might be at the root of the evil.    

            As he furiously typed to Rachel, asking her how Blaine knows about their place and how – or better who gave him his number, Sam entered the living room, looking mischievously at Kurt.

            “Morning, Kurt! What got your feathers ruffled? And so early, even?”

            “Sam, I’m not in the mood for your bird puns. Take them elsewhere.”

            “Aww, you’re no fun. But seriously, who got you upset?”

            “I’m in no mood to be fun.”

“Alright, alright, so jokes aside, why are you like this?”

            Kurt stopped texting on his phone to consider how to formulate his reply. He was a little wary of telling Sam about Blaine and his unrelenting interest in him. Not because he didn’t trust Sam, far from it, but because it was simply weird, discussing the annoying flirting habits of a guy he didn’t even know except for his name, with the ex - boyfriend he was currently living with – friends or no friends, it was still a bit weird. Apparently, he was taking too long, because Sam was making strange faces.

            “Is this about a guy, Kurt?”

            A beat of silence.

Am I this transparent?

            Shock and annoyance and something close to childish defiance were painted across Kurt’s face, causing Sam to start laughing. Obnoxiously. In Kurt’s face.

            A cushion smacked Sam in the head, making him look like a startled idiot. Then, another one, square in the face.  Just for good measure.

            Sam knew better than to bring Kurt’s wrath upon himself, so he attempted to look innocent and shot an apologetic smile in Kurt’s direction, who looked like he didn’t buy it for a second, but ceased his attack.

            “I don’t see how this would be something funny, Sam, but yes, it is about a guy.”

            “Sorry, it’s just that I haven’t seen you this worked up over someone in along time… more like forever, actually. So, who is it?”

            Kurt deflated. It was true, he hasn’t felt this nervous about another guy since his first and only date he’s been after he broke up with Sam, which was, if he was honest with himself, a little pathetic. And not to mention downright depressing.

            “You know I told you we found the guy who will be the Prince in the ballet? His name’s Blaine and he’s… pretty persistent and presumptuous. And flirty. And he just invited me – or better said asked me to have a coffee date with him. Which is nothing big or too complicated or even worth fussing over, but the way he’s acting towards me makes me a bit… uneasy. Plus, his occasional flippancy and arrogance is getting on my nerves.”

            “Kurt… I think you’re worrying too much about him. Just go along with it, see if there’s something more behind his attitude and if he’s worth your attention, then why not let him get close to you? I guess he really wants that, since he asked you out.”

            “Yes, but I…”

            “You’re afraid. And you’re denying yourself something you wanted all this time since we broke up.”

            Kurt frowned.

“Why are you bringing that up?”

            “Because it’s true. I’m not saying you should have dated every guy was available, but you just… stopped putting yourself out there.”

            “First of all, I loved your stupid ass and didn’t want anyone else. And second of all, none of the guys I met were what I wanted or needed. So, don’t make it sound like our relationship scarred me for life or something, because that’s not true.”

            “Kurt, don’t get upset. You know that’s not what I meant. But you also know that I’m right. Maybe you can give this Blaine guy a chance, before you veto his advances way before you get to know him. That’s not fair to either of you.”

            “Since when are you this relationship guru or whatever?”

            “Well, experience makes you knowledgeable, Kurt.”

            “Sam… I don’t want to mess this thing up. Blaine is my dance partner and if I lose focus of my goal, I might be trapped in some tragic love affair and ruin my career, and possibly Rachel’s… And I don’t need that pressure.”

            “Ok, then why don’t you tell Blaine that?”

            “Because I didn’t have the choice to. I’ve met him only once. And now this – coffee date. What’ll be next? French kissing? And how would I be able to talk if I’d have this guy’s tongue down my throat…”

            Kurt stopped. He hated how his mind supplied some very graphic detail of how that would be like, but chose to ignore it. Sam chuckled.

            “Well, you just go meet him, talk with him and see what happens. It’s not that difficult.”

            Right. But the thing is, it was that difficult. Blaine is distracting, to say the least. No matter what Kurt said to himself, he was drawn towards him. But despite that, he had to ignore that attraction and focus on seeing Blaine as his dance partner and nothing more. For now, at least. If they could really become something more, then Kurt would take that chance and see to what it would lead. But not now.

            Kurt exhaled, feeling already tired, and sent Rachel the text, his fury now mostly tamed into mild annoyance.

            Ten minutes later, Rachel replied with some very obvious fake innocence – I don’t know what you’re talking about. [smiley face]

            Kurt didn’t think an eye roll was enough. Rachel was so ridiculous sometimes. So he did a double eye roll.

            Well, he couldn’t do anything but wait and see if the next day will bring something good or not. But the thought of seeing Blaine for more than a few minutes was stuck in his mind, taunting him, all day long. To ease some of the stress, Kurt practiced some dance moves on the pole, until his arms and thighs hurt and all his muscles trembled with exhaustion.   

Still, a certain pair of hazel eyes burnt at the back of his mind as if nothing could possibly erase the memory of them.

***

            On the next morning, Kurt woke up with a strange feeling in his stomach. Deciding that the best course of action would be to just ignore it, he skipped breakfast and chose to read some Vogue articles, but nothing seemed good enough to occupy his mind for more than five minutes at a time in order to stop him from thinking about Blaine.

            Blaine. Whom he didn’t even know and who will probably make every rehearsal they will have together almost impossible to get through without a high amount of flirting and innuendos and God knows what else.

            Finally giving in to his nervousness, Kurt got dressed – nothing too fancy, but still fabulous, of course, just a white shirt with a red jacket and his favorite blue jeans – and went outside for a walk, until he needed to be at Stephanie’s. This way, he hoped to get less jittery and more focused, as to actually be able to use his sarcasm against Blaine, instead of just swallow it while trying to figure out if Blaine is humoring him, flirting with him or just testing him. This guy was a swirl of different emotions and it was hard to not be swept away when being hit by their force. Hopefully, Kurt thought, Blaine will be able to properly use this passionate side of him and pour his feelings into dancing.

            After passing the shop three times, Kurt felt actually more nervous than when he left his apartment. On the fourth time, after having memorized every crack in the sidewalk, Kurt stopped, a few feet away from the shop, taking a deep breath and straightening himself. He had never worked himself up this much, and now he felt rather stupid for the way his emotions were getting the best of him.

            Then, while Kurt wondered if he could just go back home, forget about everything and just invent some sort of excuse that would still allow him to look Blaine in the eye, he heard Blaine’s deep voice coming from somewhere close behind him, as if he was talking right to his ear.

            “You look lost, beautiful.”

            If he wasn’t so on edge already, Kurt would have shrieked and jumped a feet in the air, but instead of completely freaking out like that, he just gasped and turned to face the mischievous grin Blaine was displaying, as if he was somehow proud of himself. It was so annoying, that Kurt wished he would have hit him when he sneaked up on him; it would have been a totally justifiable accident. But  now, looking at his boyish wide smile, he thought that he could live with seeing that expression on Blaine’s face every day. It made him look so young, and so handsome, too.

Kurt blushed and averted his eyes from Blaine’s face. The cheeky idiot didn’t need any more advantage on him. Scolding his face into something neutral, he asked, with the most indifferent voice he could muster –  

            “Would it be too late to say that I was simply passing by, unaware of any evil scheme you planned?”

            It never hurt to be hopeful.

            Blaine smirked and then shrugged.

            “Well, I would say so. Now you have to bear my presence and whatever comes with it. But I only hope for good stuff.”

            Kurt made sure not to hide his skepticism.

            “Look, I don’t bite, ok?”

            There was a note of irritation in Blaine’s voice, and something else that sounded like hurt, which made Kurt apprehensive once more. Could he be wrong about Blaine? Is his flirt just an act?

            “If you were not coming onto me so strongly, then I would not always be on my toes around you.” The sincerity surprised Kurt a bit, but he didn’t take it back. “I’m not afraid of you, I’m just not sure what it is that you want from me.”

            “Oh. Well, that’s simple. I like you. So, I asked you on a date – coffee date, yes, but it’s a start, right?”  

            How could Kurt resist to that wonderful sparkle of hope in those caramel eyes? And good God, could those triangular brows rise any higher?

            “Ok, Blaine, then how about this: you have exactly two hours of proving yourself worthy of my company, and I suggest you make the most of it.”

            After biting his cheek in order to stop the massive grin that was fighting to form on his face, Blaine huffed in feigned annoyance.

“Man, I didn’t know that so much sass could fit into such a small body.”

“Well, Anderson, you should just take a look in the mirror and ask yourself that again.”

“I’ll have you know that looks are deceiving, Mr. Hummel, and maybe in time, you’ll see how much of a big boy I am in many other aspects.”

Kurt felt his blush in the roots of his hair, but he didn’t back down. After all, he missed having a challenging banter with someone. And Blaine was actually starting to grow on him, if Kurt were to be true to himself, but for now, he couldn’t completely trust whatever he was feeling for Blaine. Not yet.

*** 

If those two hours stretched to three, neither said anything. In fact, they both forgot about time, since they apparently – who would’ve thought? – had so many things in common. Well, except for Harry Potter, over which Blaine geeked a lot, but Kurt could easily let it slide.

On his way back to the apartment, Kurt was so caught in his own thoughts, that he didn’t actually see where he was going, he just put one foot in front of the other and only when he felt the cold metal of his keys on his palm, and faced his apartment door, he realized that he’d been on autopilot for the whole time.

This made him question his own control and mental health, but as he entered the apartment, a small smile creeping at his lips, the thought of Blaine and his warm, crazy, strong self he assured himself that there was nothing wrong with him; he’s just forgotten how it feels to think of someone so deeply, that you forget of yourself. And even if he liked to always rule over his emotions and his control, he indulged himself in this rare moment of… - he didn’t even know what to call it – maybe happiness was the best word.

Raw, unadulterated, unrestrained happiness.

Not love, not yet, he said to himself. But I can actually see it happen.

Thinking about the next few weeks, when he’ll have to dance with Blaine and let him get physically close, without letting the others see how that affects him, Kurt felt his stomach do a somersault and then fall heavy at his feet. He really wanted to get closer to Blaine, but walking on the fine line between dance partners and flirting-slash-banter-partners is going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

There you are. I’ve been looking for you forever.