Sunday, July 29 –Thursday, August 2

Having succeeded in his quest to be allowed full-time access to Kurt's bed, Blaine was careful to make sure that his boyfriend didn't regret his decision.

On Sunday evening, as soon as he'd finished reading a chapter of Harry Potter, Blaine said, “Okay, it's time for lights-out.  Let's go right to sleep so we'll be sure to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work tomorrow.”

“Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Blaine?  Are you secretly a were-squirrel?”

“Nope.  I'm a love-bug.  And I know that if I don't want you calling the exterminators to chase me out of your bed, then I'd better let you get enough sleep on work nights.”

Kurt giggled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.  “Goodnight, you goofball.”

Monday morning, Kurt woke up feeling refreshed.  Blaine lay in his arms, warm and soft and surprisingly young-looking in his semi-awake state.  Kurt felt a warm rush of affection for his boyfriend.  “I could get used to this,” he thought.

The boys held hands as they walked through the early morning light toward the corral.  Knowing that none of the campers were up this early, Kurt allowed Blaine to pull him in for a kiss once they reached the gate.  A wolf-whistle from behind them announced the arrival of Zach and Robert.  

Kurt could feel himself blushing, but as he was about to pull away, Blaine grabbed his face with both hands and extended their kiss for a few more seconds.  Then, with a wink and a cheeky grin, Blaine stepped back and launched into the chorus of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.”

He finished with a bow, and Zach and Robert applauded, laughing.  Kurt pushed his boyfriend playfully on the shoulder.  “Come on, you show-off.  Lets go round up the horses.”

Throughout the rest of the day, Kurt kept finding himself glancing over at Blaine, thinking what a good team they made.  Whether they were teaching their classes or leading trail rides, Kurt loved how effortlessly they were able to work together. 

Kurt felt a huge sense of accomplishment at being able to take the absolute beginners (and some of the boys had literally never seen a horse before they arrived at camp) and bring them to the point where they could independently get their horses to walk, trot, turn, and halt.  It was even more rewarding for him to watch the progress made by the boys who spent multiple weeks at camp.  Whenever one of their students was able to pass the riding test to move on to the next level, both Blaine and Kurt were bursting with pride.

At the beginning of the summer, Ryan and David had monitored all of the riding tests.  The CHA guidelines were very clear about what riding skills the students at each level needed to demonstrate, but since each individual skill was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, there was some room for subjective interpretation.  To make the tests as objective as possible, Kurt and Blaine had been asked to mark their scores down separately, and then compare them with the scores given by David and Ryan, to make sure that they were holding the boys to the same level of performance. 

At first, both Kurt and Blaine had tended to give the campers higher scores than either David or Ryan thought they deserved.  Kurt had felt like it was a personal failure on his part if his students didn't pass the test, and Blaine was so used to seeing the positive in everyone that it was hard for him to be critical.  Ryan encouraged them to view things differently.

“You have to understand that you're not doing those boys any favors by letting your personal feelings get in the way of giving them accurate feedback.  It's not fair to your students if you send them on to the next level without the skills they need to be successful.  That would deprive them of the opportunity to develop the solid foundation they need to become proficient riders.  And the bottom line is, you're jeopardizing their safety if you pass them along before they're ready.”

Kurt and Blaine knew that he was right.  They worked hard to cultivate their objectivity when it came to the riding tests.  By the end of the third week, the scores they gave were consistently matching up with those of their bosses.  From then on, David and Ryan had allowed them to administer the tests on their own.           

This week, though, things were going to be a little different.  Kurt's father was turning 50 on Friday, and Ryan and David had offered to take over as riding instructors on Friday and Saturday, so that Kurt and Blaine could spend a long weekend in Lima.  Kurt was deeply touched by their bosses' generosity.  It was more important to him than ever to do a good job this week, so that when Ryan and David gave the riding tests on Friday they could be proud of the boys' accomplishments.

Kurt was pleased to realize that his boyfriend was taking their responsibilities just as seriously as he was.  Blaine had been surprised that their bosses were willing to give him, as well as Kurt, the time off for the birthday celebration.  He vowed to repay them by doing the best job he possibly could.

Although Kurt and Blaine had always worked hard, they redoubled their efforts this week.  They spent most of their free time discussing their students, and planning how to make their lessons more effective.  

Kurt had a remarkable ability to see each camper's individual strengths and weaknesses, and to tailor his teaching to meet each boy's unique needs.  Blaine excelled at finding ways to make learning fun, keeping their students motivated to improve.  Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.  Even Kurt, who was usually so hard on himself, had to admit that they were doing a kick-ass job.

By the time they'd finished leading their final trail ride on Thursday afternoon, Kurt was satisfied that he didn't need to feel guilty about leaving for a long weekend.  He and Blaine had earned it.