Chapter 7

Kurt manages to get home safely, but he does so without remembering the drive. He puts the car and park and lets out a ragged breath. His panic has calmed, but now he's mentally berating himself for acting like a total lunatic.

Why did I run off like that? I've screwed everything up!

He's so angry with himself for being a coward, but in that moment, when Blaine revealed that he knew who Kurt really was, he panicked. What if someone he knew had seen him perform? What if his dad found out?

Of course, logically Kurt knows that one gay 18-year-old knowing where Kurt goes to high school does not automatically mean everyone in Lima will know by sunrise that he's moonlighting as an exotic dancer. And Blaine did promise to keep it a secret. But he still doesn't like the feeling of someone connecting Kurt Hummel, the only out guy at McKinley, to Dalton the exotic dancer. He suddenly feels naked and exposed. The irony isn't lost on Kurt.

Still it isn't Blaine's fault, and Kurt really wants to see him again. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Take a chance, Hummel," he says out loud.

He reaches for his phone, planning to text Blaine to apologize when he considers that Blaine may not even be interested in Kurt. Maybe Blaine's only interested in "Dalton." He's worked so hard to keep his real life separate from his job that he didn't stop to consider that maybe Blaine would like to keep it separate too. He didn't get a chance to ask.

But then he remembers the smile Blaine gave him when he saw him walking toward him in the parking lot and he realizes it doesn't matter. Blaine's attracted to him, and whether it's because he's attracted to his stage persona or the real thing, Kurt's not going to be able to stay away. He likes seeing that smile far too much to back off now. He types out a text and sends it before he can even think about it.

I'm sorry I ran off. Coffee tomorrow?

He waits a few minutes, and doesn't get a response. So he grabs his stuff and makes his way into the house, trying to mask his disappointment in exhaustion. He may not have an audience, but Kurt is always working on his acting ability.

Blaine hears his text alert coming from his phone and fights the urge to glance at it while he's driving. His mind is still reeling from his conversation with Kurt and he definitely doesn't need any more distractions.

He's as focused as he can be on the road while replaying the scene in his mind to find out where it went wrong. Everything was normal. They were talking about music and then Kurt started singing and …

Blaine nearly runs a red light when he realizes that it was the mention of glee club that caused Kurt to panic. It finally adds up – Kurt's reaction to giving Blaine his real name, the freak out at the mention of McKinley and New Directions, the stage name.

Kurt doesn't want anyone to know he's working at Shades.

As Blaine pulls into the driveway, he barely gets his car in park before he's picking up his phone to text Kurt. He doesn't know what he's going to say or how he's going to let Kurt know it's OK that he knows, but he'll convince him to hang out with him…somehow.

When he sees he already has a text from Kurt, his jaw drops.

Kurt
I'm sorry I ran off. Coffee tomorrow?

He panics for a second before managing a completely nonchalant answer.

Blaine
Sure. What time?

Two minutes pass and it feels like an eternity.

Kurt
10:30? Lima Bean?

Blaine doesn't even hesitate before responding.

Blaine
I'll be there.

He sends the message and thinks for a minute about Kurt's state of mind. He's not sure what prompted Kurt's change of heart, but he's concerned that the other boy might still be upset. Before he can think twice about it, he types out another text.

Blaine
You OK?

He hits send and immediately regrets it. What if he's being too forward? What if Kurt doesn't want to talk about it? What if he panics again and doesn't show up at the Lima Bean?

He doesn't get an immediate response so he shoves his phone in his pocket and heads in the house to talk to Cooper. Blaine fumbles with his keys at the door and drops them twice before he unlocks the door.

Cooper's going to have a field day with this one.

Kurt's phone buzzes as he climbs the stairs to his room. When he sees it's from Blaine, his heart skips a beat. He's not sure what he's expecting the response to be, but he realizes quickly that he didn't think Blaine would forgive him so easily.

He stares at his phone, reading Blaine's response, but not really thinking about it. He wants to know what Blaine is thinking. He wants to see his face.

Because he hasn't thought this through, Kurt responds with the first place that comes to mind: the Lima Bean. As soon as he hits send, his mind is screaming at him.

Abort! Abort! You'll run into people you know!

But it's too late. Blaine has already responded.

How does he even text that fast?

Kurt's finger is poised over his phone, trying to think of anything else to say to keep the conversation going when it buzzes in his hand.

Blaine
You OK?

No.

Kurt just stares at the screen for a moment. For all his hard work at keeping people at arm's length, Blaine has managed to cut through the bullshit in just two encounters with Kurt. It's both terrifying and liberating. Kurt isn't sure which feeling is more prominent, so he sets his phone down and busies himself with getting ready for bed.

He's brushing his teeth when he hears his phone buzz again.

Blaine
Can I call you?

Kurt
Um…sure. Give me two minutes?

Again his fingers have seemed to work independent of his brain and Kurt has responded before he's fully absorbed the situation.

Realizing his toothbrush is still in his hand, and he has toothpaste on his bottom lip, Kurt races back to his bathroom to rinse out his mouth. By the time he places his toothbrush back in the holder, his heart is racing again, and he grips the sides of the sink breathing deeply as he looks himself over in the mirror.

"Calm down. It's just a phone call," he says to his reflection. "It's. Just. A. Phone. Call."

So why am I so nervous?

His phone begins to ring and he freezes.

"Cooper, I don't really want to talk about it," Blaine pleads.

Cooper is holding him down by his shoulders and straddling Blaine's waist. It's typical big brother behavior, and probably because Cooper is still bigger than Blaine, it's continued well past their childhood. Doesn't mean Blaine's grown any fonder of it.

"Just get off me. I can't breathe!"

"Not until you tell me about what happened tonight."

"Fine, asshole…just let me up!" Blaine glares at his older brother, but Cooper just laughs.

Blaine had barely gotten through the door when Cooper tackled him. It's an old game of theirs, but somehow Cooper, even at 26, hasn't seemed to outgrow it quite yet. Blaine let out a yelp that Cooper quickly muffled with his hand.

"Shh…you'll wake up Herr Anderson," Cooper hissed at him, using a nickname they'd invented for their dad and used whenever he wouldn't let them do something fun.

Blaine has always secretly loved that his older brother teases him relentlessly because he knows it comes from a place of love. The things his dad says to him are just flat-out mean. Blaine isn't ever quite sure where he stands with their father, but Cooper has never changed. Blaine finds extreme reassurance in that, even if it does subject him to relentless Hobbit jokes and snarky comments on his hair, wardrobe and music choices. At least it's not a disapproving glare.

So when he wrestled him to the ground, demanding details about his night at the strip club, Blaine knew he'd cave. So did Cooper, but they went through the motions anyway. Sometimes it's nice to feel like a little kid again.

Cooper finally lets Blaine up and the two flop down on the sofa, both slightly out of breath.

"So…." Blaine says after a moment. "Do you want the good, bad or the ugly news first?"

"There's ugly news? Oh, give me the ugly news. I love to hear about your triumphs and all, but I live for your social anguish."

That earns an eye roll from Blaine and Cooper grabs his arm when he tries to get up from the sofa.

"Sorry…sorry. Why don't you just start at the beginning. How did you end up at that club again?"

Blaine takes a deep breath and sinks into the cushions. He might as well confess it all to his brother if he really wants some help figuring this out.

So he tells him about driving past Shades all week and his run-in with Vince on Wednesday. He tells Cooper how he almost backed out and then went in to see Kurt dance. He even tells him about Kurt dancing seductively towards him and whispering in his ear. When he gets to Kurt singing in the car, he pauses.

Cooper looks at him expectantly. "Blaine?"

"I know him. Well not know, know him, but I've seen him before. I couldn't quite figure it out before, but tonight when he sang, I put it all together."

"And?"

"And when I told him, he freaked and ran off … again."

"He seems to enjoy dramatic exits," Cooper says.

"I think you're missing the point."

"Sorry…it's just….well, isn't that like three times now?"

"It's only twice," Blaine says defensively.

"Still. Two for two," Cooper insists.

"Right. Well, he texted me right before I pulled up," Blaine adds, rolling his phone around in his hand. It sounds so much like an afterthought, Cooper does a double take before grabbing Blaine's phone and pulling up the texts.

He hands the phone back and just says, "Call him."

Blaine blinks at his brother with his mouth open. "What?"

"Call him," Cooper repeats. "He obviously likes you, even if he is freaked out a bit. Just call him."

"But…"

"No. Enough of the awkward texting and trying to have a meaningful conversation at a strip club. You two need to have a conversation. An actual conversation that doesn't end in lap dances or storming off."

"Coop, I…"

Cooper holds up a hand, indicating he's not going to let Blaine finish that thought.

"It's that simple, B, and I'm not talking about this with you again until you've actually had a conversation with this guy. End of story."

Cooper pushes off from the sofa and heads upstairs, leaving a shocked Blaine behind.

Just call him.

Cooper's words seem to echo through the darkened living room. Can it really be that simple? Blaine rolls his phone around in his hands for a few moments, and then checks the time. 1:07 a.m. Blaine might be anxious to talk to Kurt, but he's still Blaine and polite to a fault.

Blaine
Can I call you?

Kurt
Um…sure. Give me two minutes?

Blaine takes a deep breath and spends the longest two minutes of his life thinking about what he's going to say. He heads to his bedroom and closes the door.

At 1:09 a.m. precisely, Blaine picks up his phone and pulls up Kurt's name in his contacts. He hesitates just for a moment before pressing call. His heart flutters wildly in his chest while he counts the rings. One…..two…..three….four. He considers hanging up when he hears a ragged, "hello."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I was worried you wouldn't be awake," Blaine says quietly.

"Nope. Wide awake. Usually takes me a while to wind down after being on stage."

"Good…good. I mean, well just I wanted to make sure you were OK. You kind of ran off suddenly, and I was worried."

Blaine can hear Kurt sigh through the phone and he bites his lip to stop himself from rambling.

"Blaine …"

"Kurt, it's OK. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something I did. But I get it now."

"You do?" Kurt asks.

"Well, you freaked when I mentioned McKinley….I kind of put two and two together. No one knows, do they?"

Another sigh followed by a quiet, "Only Rachel."

Blaine doesn't know who Rachel is, but he figures if she's the only one who knows about Kurt's secret life, she must be a good friend.

"Well, your secret is safe with me," he says, smiling into the phone, hoping Kurt can hear it in his voice.

"I know. Pinky swear, remember?" Kurt laughs nervously.

"Exactly," Blaine says, flopping down on his bed. "So coffee tomorrow ... we can do something else after if you want. Spend the day together?"

"What did you have in mind?" Kurt's tone is tentative.

"Whatever you want. We can play it by ear," Blaine says. "If you get bored with me after coffee, you can leave. No pressure."

He's grinning from ear to ear now and resting his free hand behind his head.

"Sounds fair enough," Kurt replies. "I'll see you at 10:30?"

"Of course," Blaine says. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away."

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I might have heard that before."

"Good night, Blaine."

"Good night, Kurt."

Blaine hangs up the phone and sighs…actually sighs.

You've got it bad.

He rolls his eyes at himself and groans, burying his face in his pillow.

Kurt hangs up from his phone call with Blaine smiling. His apprehension has dissipated some, but there's still a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He contemplates texting Rachel but sees the clock on his nightstand and thinks better of it. Instead he sets his iPod to shuffle and hums along quietly to the music while pretending he's not thinking about Blaine.

He paces his room while his mind flits from one thing to another. First it's Blaine's eyes, then his hair, and finally his smile. He wonders how Blaine takes his coffee. He tries to guess his taste in music. He'd gotten a glimpse earlier on Blaine's iPod, and he knew the Adam Lambert song Kurt had danced to, but what did he listen to when he was sad? Or when he was heartbroken? Or when he wanted to dance around his room like a fool?

Kurt laughs at the thought of Blaine dancing. He imagines him hopping around frantically and looking incredibly adorable doing it.

Then it hits him. He's left out the most important thing about tomorrow's "date." Wait, is it a date? Because that will effect Kurt's decision.

What am I going to wear?

Even though Kurt is sure fashion doesn't mean as much to Blaine as it does to him, he still wants to make an impression. He tries on at least five pairs of pants before settling on a pair of dark jeans that are both casual enough for coffee, but tight enough for a coffee date. They're also versatile enough that he would be dressed appropriately for almost anything they might decide on after coffee.

The shirt is another matter altogether. Ultimately, he settles on a simple black t-shirt that he will layer with a slightly dressier button-up and a light weight sweater. That way he's got options and layers are never a bad idea for spring in Ohio.

Satisfied that he's prepared a suitable look for his coffee date with Blaine, Kurt finishes getting ready for bed and wraps himself up in his comforter.

Kurt rolls around in his bed trying to get comfortable. He can't relax enough to sleep, so he pulls his journal out of his desk and writes until his hand cramps. At around three in the morning, he turns out the light and manages to finally fall asleep.

He sits bolt upright in bed at 5:30 a.m. and reaches over to set an alarm for 9. There's no way he's oversleeping tomorrow when he's meeting Blaine for coffee at 10:30.

He only lasts until about 8:15, though, and heads downstairs to throw together a quick breakfast that he most likely won't eat. While he's waiting for his toast to pop up, he texts Rachel.

Kurt
Guess who I'm having coffee with today?

Rachel
Kurt, it's too early for riddles.

Rachel
Wait…is it Blaine? Please tell me it's Blaine!

Kurt
; )

Rachel
OMG! Where? When?

Kurt
No way…you're not crashing.

Rachel
: (

Kurt
Don't worry, I'll fill you in later…promise.

Rachel
I'm so excited for you! You have to call me right after!

Kurt cleans up the remains of his breakfast from the kitchen and heads back upstairs to get dressed for his date with Blaine. He spends a little longer than normal on his hair and applies a bit more cologne than he normally would. Otherwise, no one would suspect that Kurt is flying high as he makes his way to the Lima Bean on a bright Saturday morning.