"So, my dear, are you missing your British boyfriend?" Isabelle passed over a martini glass to Kurt as she sunk down onto the sofa beside him.

Kurt took a sip of his drink, and smiled at his friend. "Mmmm, this is tasty. I thought it was a Cosmopolitan."

She chuckled. "Pomegranate martini. Just something a little different. Now quit avoiding my question."

Rolling his eyes, Kurt typed quickly, knowing his old friend wouldn't stop bugging him unless he gave her a good answer. "He hardly fits that title, Isabelle."

Her aqua eyes pinned Kurt's grey-blue. "Come on, honey. I saw you two dancing at that party. I saw that kiss. I saw him practically dragging you out the door."

Feeling the heat rush across his skin, Kurt dipped his face, giving it a second to cool. He sighed as he lifted it back up and took a sip of his drink. "That was a moment of insanity. Yes, we left together, but we didn't stay together very long." Kurt grimaced at Isabelle.

"Oh really?" Her eyes widened in interest. "Tell me more…"

It was embarrassing, but over the years, they had shared far worse with each other. "We were heading back to his hotel, making out in the back of the taxi. We had been hanging out together so much, going to so many events, getting along well. And I could see the looks he was giving me sometimes, and I was probably giving them back occasionally. It would be so easy to just get back together…"

"But…" Isabelle prompted.

Kurt shrugged. "His hands were on my lower back, pulling my shirt out of my pants, and then his hand slid over the bare skin above my waistband…and it just didn't feel right."

She waved for him to continue, as she sipped on her drink.

"Instead of feeling good, making me want more, it just felt… I don't know. But it pulled me out of it, and I kind of froze. He noticed, and it killed the mood. We ended up at his hotel, and only he got out of the taxi." Kurt had wanted to apologize, to explain to Adam, but Adam had only given him a bit of a sad look, before he shook his head and left. The next day, he had texted Adam, and they left things on a friendly note, but they didn't see each other again before he went back to London.

Isabelle reached over and put her hand on Kurt's arm. "Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. But didn't you mention wanting to talk about 'boy trouble'?"

Refilling their glasses from the pitcher on the coffee table, Kurt thought about what to say. "There's a different guy. His name is Blaine." And felt his face warm again.

Nudging his shoulder with her's, Isabelle gave him an encouraging smile. "Oh really? Only a few months out of a coma, and there are two guys after you? It's just like old times, when you were such a flirt."

Taking a big sip of his drink, Kurt set it down. He'd better pace himself. "Hardly. I'm so rusty at all this. It was just Adam for ages."

"Tell me about Blaine. Where did you meet him?" Isabelle sat back, crossing her legs and showing off some killer heels.

Kurt chuckled to himself thinking of how they met. "He helped me out when I was recovering, and we became friends. And after Carole left, we got more involved. But then I got busy with the play and …" He sighed, biting his lip.

Shaking her head, Isabelle shifted closer and wrapped her arms around him tight. "Oh sweetie, not again." Her hands were soothing on his back. She had been there all during his early years of dating. Getting involved with someone, and not being able to balance it with his crazy work schedule. She had been there, helping him pick up the pieces.

When she pulled back, Kurt's eyes were very troubled, and he nodded. "I suck so bad at relationships. I always seem to fuck things up. And now, we've been hanging out, and I feel so drawn to him. But he only wants to be friends."

"So, you were together, it ended, and then you were with Adam, or at least looking like you were with him. Does Blaine know you want to get back together?" Isabelle asked.

Kurt could feel his face flush again, and typed fast. The sooner the whole things were out, the sooner she would give him advice. Advice that he desperately needed. "After going out a few times casually, I kissed him. That's when he jumped off the sofa and said he only wanted to be friends."

Isabelle shrugged. "Well, maybe he doesn't feel that way about you anymore. Or maybe he's miffed that you were with Adam. Or like me, thinks you are still involved with him. A long distance relationship."

Giving her a considering look, Kurt thought over her answers. He'd seen Blaine give him some long looks, admiring looks, but then he would seem to stop himself. So, there was interest there, but something was not working.

"But Adam and I never said we were back together. We just went to a bunch of events and let the press take our picture. And he's been gone for over a month. No mention of us in the press at all for ages. Do you really think Blaine thinks I'm involved with Adam still?" Kurt just shook his head in disbelief.

Isabelle shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to make sure you tell him very clearly about that situation. Plus, maybe he was pissed to see you all cozy with your ex after being with him not long before that."

Tossing back the rest of his drink, Kurt sank back on the sofa. Crap. Why hadn't he thought of any of this? Maybe just knowing that they were just promoting the show had blinded Kurt to it. Or maybe he didn't think Blaine would care anyways.

"OK, I'll talk to him about it. But what if it's just that he's not interested in me romantically anymore? I had my one and only chance with him in the summer, and fucked it up?" Kurt thought this was far more likely. Blaine had probably seen the media coverage of Kurt with Adam and seen through it right away. "Is there any way I can fix it? Nate says I should 'woo' him."

The drinks were really hitting them both by now, but that didn't stop Isabelle from pouring them both another one. She giggled. "Woo? Woo, woo, woooooooo….."

Kurt grinned at her. "You sound like a drunk owl." His dry comment sent her into a fit of giggles, and Kurt joined in, shaking with his almost silent laughter. It felt good.

Reaching over to a side table, Isabelle grabbed her iPad. "Let's see what this all knowing machine says." She googled 'how to woo a man', and was giggling hard at the results.

"Come on, I need advice…" Kurt nudged her shoulder.

Isabelle raised a hand, and looked up from the screen, giving him a laughing glance. She looked back down at the screen, reading aloud. "Guys love it when you look up at them. It makes them feel 'manly'. So tilt your chin down, and flash him a couple sultry glances…" She followed the instructions, her chin tilted down, and giving Kurt a look with a lot of fluttering eyelashes.

Copying her, Kurt tried to keep a straight face as they gave their most sultry stares to each other.

"Stop, stop, you are making me hot!" Isabelle giggled, waving her hand near her face and scrolling back down the iPad screen. "Kick it up an octave… men are naturally attracted to lilting, high-pitched voices…"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Got that already, honey." His voice app was made from his old voice, and it was pitched high enough.

"Yeah, and this one is talking about how to get gorgeous, glowing skin…you can check that one off too." Isabelle grinned at her friend, enjoying the way he blushed a little again at the compliment, his color already slightly heightened from the booze.

Kurt slapped her arm playfully. "OK, OK, enough telling me stuff I do already. I need to know what else to do."

Isabelle held up her glass in a toasting manner. "This article also recommends pomegranate juice…. It's supposed to increase the sex drive. Some study showed that men kissed more passionately after drinking it than the guys who didn't."

Setting down his empty glass, Kurt puckered up his lips, moving towards Isabelle. She was giggling and pushing him away, almost spilling the rest of her drink in the process.

"Kurt! Stop it! This is serious." Isabelle tried to keep a straight face as she sat up on the sofa and set her drink down, a little giggle still escaping as she went back to the iPad. "Oh, here's one I dare you to try. Pre-party with yourself. If you get turned on (or even orgasm) before your date, the signs of arousal, like full lips, pink cheeks and the pheromones you emit when turned on will all work on him in primal ways."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "So, I'm going to 'fly solo' before he arrives, give him juice, and look at him funny. And this, along with my voice and skin, will send him into a frenzy over me?"

Setting down the iPad, Isabelle sat back and leaned against him "It was on the Internet. You know it's always right." She nudged him with her elbow. "Do you have any pictures of him on your phone? I want to check out this guy who has you in such a tizzy."

And they cuddled together, looking over the pictures. Isabelle commented lots on his curly hair and big eyes, oohing and ahhing.

…

Looking over his tiles, Kurt considered his next move carefully. And then he laid out three tiles with blue symbols on them on the table.

"OK, four points for you." Blaine jotted down the score on a pad of paper, and looked at his tiles as Kurt drew more from the drawstring bag.

Taking a sip of his mocha, Kurt watched Blaine as he was concentrating on his game pieces. It was a safe way to look his fill as Blaine was so occupied, letting his eyes travel over his messy curls, his long dark eyelashes, the fullness of his lower lip. Taking in the well-washed red plaid shirt over a white tee, the material fitted enough for Kurt to be reminded of Blaine's lightly muscled chest and arms. He looked so good in the soft afternoon light.

"Kurt, it's your turn." Blaine smiled, with a teasing look that sent a flare of awareness through him.

Pulling his attention back to the game, Kurt looked to see what Blaine had done in his last move. Grinning, Kurt was able to finish a line of squares and get extra points. "Qwirkle." He typed, and wasn't surprised when his voice app had to revert to the default voice. He had never said that word before in his life. But it was their first time playing the game.

Blaine chuckled at hearing the old American accented voice, the one Kurt had used before Sam revamped Kurt's voice app. "Hearing that voice reminds me of getting to know you back then. Arguing over that murder documentary and trying to convince you to go public about waking up from the coma."

"That was such a weird phase of my life. Just working with all the health professionals, seeing if I could regain my strength. Hanging out the Hannah and you so much. Barely leaving the apartment for months." Kurt just shook his head.

After setting down his next tiles and writing down his score, Blaine waved at the server walking by to refill his coffee. "You've had a pretty amazing year. Lots of changes." His warm brown eyes met Kurt's, easy and friendly. Crinkling a little in the corners. Adorable.

The board game café was mostly empty on this cool Monday afternoon. Blaine was between projects, and Kurt always had Mondays off, so it seemed like a perfect time to check out the various games on their shelves.

But Kurt couldn't relax and just enjoy the time with Blaine. The conversation with Isabelle kept popping into his thoughts. He thought of how to bring it all up, discuss it.

"Blaine, there's been something on my mind lately. Something I wanted to make sure we were on the same page on." Kurt finally typed, just needing to start somewhere.

Blaine's eyebrows rose, and he leaned back in his chair, his hands cupping his coffee mug. "Sure, Kurt. What is it?"

Looking down at his phone, Kurt paused before he started typing, editing a little before he hit Speak. "It's about Adam. About when he was here back when the show was opening, and we were doing all that promotional stuff for it…"

Blaine seemed to still, and the warmth in his eyes faded, becoming a little guarded. He scoffed. "What about it, Kurt? Your message was pretty clear. I'm not an idiot."

Kurt nodded in return. See, he was right. Blaine had seen right through their media act and knew it was just promotion for the show. He'd bug Isabelle later.

"Good, good. And he's back in the UK now anyways." Obviously nothing was going on with a guy in a different country.

Blaine nodded. "Yes. And you are keeping out of the media now."

Kurt lowered his brows in confusion. "Well, it's certainly nothing like before. But if I go out, I'm not avoiding the media or anything." The show was well established, and Kurt had done enough self-promotion for now.

"Yeah, you didn't seem to shy away from them taking pictures of us together." Blaine said, looking at Kurt assessingly.

Kurt shook his head. "It didn't bug you, did it?" Blaine's comment brought up memories of when their zoo pictures had been online, and he hadn't wanted to be identified in them. Maybe he just wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

Blaine shook his head, slowly. "No, as long as you are OK with it. Does it bug you to see pictures of Adam with other guys in the press?"

Raising his eyebrows, Kurt shook his head. "No, not at all. He has his life there, I have mine here. He's probably back to going out with that tennis guy again." He shrugged a shoulder, trying to come across as nonchalant. He hadn't even bothered looking at what Adam was up to these days. And he certainly didn't want Blaine to get the idea that he was upset that Adam was seeing other men.

Blaine looked back down at the board game, placing a few red tiles down. He didn't seem to have any reaction to what Kurt had said at all. Kurt had basically said "Hey! I'm totally available and here if you want me!" But it didn't seem like Blaine cared.

Pushing back his chair, Kurt went to the washroom before the tears escaped his eyes. Fuck. It's too little, too late. Blaine might have had feelings for me before, but they are gone now.

...

I followed your advice and talked to Kurt. -B

Really? What did he say? -C

I basically repeated his email back to him and he confirmed it all. Adam is back in the UK and they seem to have an open arrangement that they can see other people. -B

Woah! And he wants you as a bit on the side? -C

Well, we didn't talk about that exactly, but he's been really attentive and flirty around me lately. -B

I wonder if I can get my wife to agree to something like that. -C

Haha… dream on. She'd kill you first. –B

I'm still shocked that Broadway's big star for all those years is into something like that. - C

Gay couples don't always follow straight rules. Open relationships aren't that uncommon. I've even seen it with musicians and artistic straight people I've worked with. - B

So, are you actually considering this?! Being the 'other man'? -C

No, I know I'd end up getting hurt, not being his one and only. :- ( -B

I'm sensing a 'but' at the end of that sentence ... Or should I say 'butt', as in the legendary butt of Kurt Hummel? (_|_) -C

Blaine chuckled at Cooper's text, and sighed as he typed the next message.

BUT I can't deny I'm so, so attracted to him. He's gorgeous, funny, sexy, smart, talented, brave… -B

It took a while for Cooper to answer.

So, at Christmas, should we set a couple extra places? One for your boyfriend, and another for your boyfriend's boyfriend? – C

Fuck off, Cooper. – B

Blaine put his phone back into his pocket and walked slowly back to his apartment, still trying to process the conversation with Kurt at the café. He was just so casual about it, like it wasn't that weird to talk about his boyfriend being in another country and going out with other men. So, they just date whoever they want when they are apart? And they just hang out together when they can, no hard feelings or jealousy?

In a way, it made sense. Kurt's schedule was pretty intense, and he had a hard time taking time off during a run of a play. Adam seemed to work in various areas, and travel a lot. It must be impossible to be in a regular relationship together.

Maybe that partially explained how Kurt was in the summer. All intense with Blaine for so many weeks, but then letting it all fade away when his attention was grabbed by the show. If Adam and Kurt had an open relationship before the accident, maybe Kurt was used to just having short term, intense relationships with other guys like that. Maybe it hadn't meant as much to Kurt as it had to Blaine.

But as Blaine thought back on that time they had been together, all those long, intimate conversations were what really stood out. Kurt had been so open, so vulnerable. He hadn't acted like it was something casual with Blaine back then.

And he didn't seem that way now either.

Sighing again, Blaine rubbed his hands over his face, feeling frustrated. He was too attracted to Kurt to just be his friend. But he couldn't handle being in a poly relationship either, even if it meant being with Kurt. That only left one other option, and he didn't like that one either.

...

-A/N: OK, you are probably tempted to bang the guys heads together about now. I must admit I've always liked British sex farce plays...and there might be a little of that here.