Kurt's back hit the wall with a soft thud as he and Blaine stumbled through his front door, their mouths refusing to leave each other even though it had made it very difficult to get his key into the lock. He wrapped his arm around Blaine's neck and pulled him in closer, moaning slightly as Blaine's thigh slipped between his legs.

He'd hadn't felt this kind of instant attraction to someone since...well, ever.

He'd been at a dance club with Rachel and Santana, celebrating Rachel's latest role, when his eyes had locked with those of a gorgeous dark haired guy across the crowded floor. In that moment, only the two of them existed. In fact, the place could have burnt down or been raided by the police and Kurt didn't think that he would have noticed.

They came together as if pulled by a magnet and spent the next several hours dancing, their bodies draped over each other in an almost indecent fashion. Throughout the night they'd been interrupted several times by people trying to cut in, but they turned them all away without a second glance.

The need for water had finally driven them from the floor and they'd been taking a break at the bar when Blaine's friends had approached, telling him it was time to go. He'd reluctantly agreed, but had typed his phone number into Kurt's phone before he left.

Kurt had been sitting forlornly on a stool, wondering how soon he could call the number without seeming like a creepy stalker when he'd felt a tap on his shoulder. Blaine had put his friends into a taxi and come right back, unwilling to let the evening end there.

As they left for Kurt's apartment arm-in-arm, Kurt had seen Santana give him a big thumbs-up followed by an obscene gesture.

Their kissing progressed after Kurt managed to get the door shut behind them and soon they were only half dressed, their jackets on the floor at their feet, shirts unbuttoned. As Kurt took Blaine's hand to lead him towards the bedroom he ground to a halt, a horrible thought dawning.

"Please, please tell me you have a condom with you, because I'm pretty sure I'm out."

Blaine reached back and pulled out his wallet with a smile that turned to a frown when he opened a little compartment to find it empty. "Oops. It's kind of been a while and I guess I didn't replenish. That's okay. We can do...other things instead."

"I think I'm out of lube, too," Kurt groaned, thinking back to the empty bottle he'd thrown away the morning before.

"Oh. Okay. Well. I guess we could just talk or—"

"No. No way. Uh-uh. Okay, here's the plan. You wait right here while I run down to the store on the corner." Kurt slipped his jacket back on and gave Blaine a hard kiss. "Be back in five minutes."

Never had Kurt cursed his fourth floor walk-up more than during the long trek down to the sidewalk. He dashed down the street and was in and out of the store in a blink, not even taking the time to blush when the pimply guy behind the counter smirked at his two lone purchases.

He ran back up the four longest flights of stairs in history and flung his door open. The apartment was quiet and he smiled as he walked towards the bedroom expectantly, wondering if Blaine was going to be waiting for him naked in his bed.

He walked into the bedroom and stopped. His bed was still perfectly made from that morning and there was no sign of Blaine at all. A peek into the bathroom confirmed that he wasn't there either. The apartment was small and there weren't many place he could be, so after checking the bedroom closet and the fire escape, Kurt was forced to admit that Blaine had left, slipping out in the brief time he'd been gone.

Feeling slightly guilty, Kurt checked the drawer where he kept some extra cash, but the money was still there.

Had he come on too strong? Had he read the situation wrong? The only explanation was that Blaine had gotten cold feet, but why hadn't he just stayed and told Kurt that? Their connection had been so strong at the club that he must have known that Kurt would have been just as happy snuggling on the couch talking, no matter how enthusiastica he'd been about the sexier option for the evening.

Kurt sank down onto the couch and pulled out his phone, his finger hovering over Blaine's name. He should just call him and find out what had happened. Maybe Blaine had gotten a call about an emergency. Maybe he'd call Kurt later with an apology and ask if they could meet up again later.

Or it could be that Blaine had sobered up and realized that drunk goggles had caused him to go home with someone that he'd normally never consider.

Kurt turned off the phone and dropped it down onto the cushion beside him, disappointed, embarrassed, and more than a little afraid of what reason Blaine might give if he asked.

He guessed it just hadn't been meant to be.

=^..^=

"Okay, that's it," Rachel said, knocking Kurt's feet off their perch on the edge of the coffee table as she crossed in front on him. "It's been over a month. You didn't even mope like this after Eric broke up with you and you guys dated for six months. He was just a one night stand, Kurt. Not even! What was so special about him that you can't let it go?"

"There was just this connection and...Oh god, I'm pathetic. I'm one of those pitiful people you see shopping at the grocery store in their pajamas because they can't be bothered to get dressed anymore, aren't I?" Kurt stood up and crossed to the other side of the room, turning to look back at Rachel with his hands on his hips. "How do I snap out of this?"

Rachel plopped down on the couch and looked thoughtful. "I think the problem is that you didn't get closure. You need to find out why he left that night and then you can move on."

"I'm not calling him, Rachel. If there was a window during which I could have done it without humiliating myself it had long since passed. That ship has sailed. That bell has rung. That fat lady is way, way done singing. Nope, I think I just need to put myself back out there, you know? Find someone else. Maybe we should go out dancing tomorrow night."

"Sure," Rachel replied, "count me in."

Kurt headed towards the kitchen to grab a snack and missed the calculating look on Rachel's face.

=^..^=

The next morning, Kurt awoke to a tickling nose and a pressure on his chest. He pried one eye open to find Santana leaning over him, her hand holding a chunk of her hair, which she was brushing back and forth over his face.

"Rise and shine, my pretty pony. Aunty Tana is here to solve all your problems."

"Why does my stomach always clench when you say that?" he asked, his voice still gravelly from sleep.

"Because you don't appreciate the honesty and awesomeness I bring to this friendship, but that's okay, I accept that about you. Now, up up, out of bed. You've got a phone call."

Kurt glanced over at his phone, which was lying quietly on his bedside table.

"Nope, on Rachel's phone. Come on." Santana tugged on his arm until he gave up resisting and followed her into the living room.

Rachel was sitting on the couch, talking animatedly to someone on the other end of the line. "Oh good, here he is now." She held the phone out to him with a giant smile and Kurt stared at it like it was snake. "Don't worry, it's not Blaine."

Kurt took the phone and held it up to his ear tentatively. "Hello?"

"Kurt!" a voice rang out in his ear. "This is Kaplan from the morning show on The Zoo FM. Your friends Rachel and Santana called and told us about your prematurely ended date from last month and asked us to help you maybe get a First Date Retake."

"First...what?"

"Once a week we put someone on the radio who had a disastrous first date, but doesn't know why. We then call the other party and ask what went wrong. Hopefully, we can get you two crazy kids together to re-do your first date. We've got Blaine's number, so let's give him a call, shall we?"

Kurt turned around to glare at Rachel and Santana, not sure if he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him or them more. "Thanks Rachel, this is so much better than calling him myself."

Rachel shrugged and smiled innocently while Santana just cackled.

Before he could figure out a way to get out of it, Kurt heard a ringing sound and suddenly there was Blaine's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi Blaine! This is Kaplan from The Zoo FM and we have a listener who called in about a date he had with you. I guess things didn't go so well and you bailed and now he's kind of wondering why. Do you have a few minutes to talk with us?"

Kurt shook his head violently. No, it wasn't him that called in. Why were they making it sound like this was his choice?

"So we've got Kurt on the other line and he said you guys really hit it off at a dance club and eventually things led back to his place, but when he slipped out to buy some condoms you took off. What's up with that?"

Kurt winced at the mention of condoms and wondered what the odd were that none of his co-workers listened to the Zoo morning show.

"Oh," Blaine said with a nervous laugh. "Kurt was great, but when we got back to his place I just kind of realized that maybe we weren't really compatible, you know? It just wasn't going to work out."

The pit dropped out of Kurt's stomach. This was his worst case scenario, actually. That there had been something about him that had driven Blaine away.

"Come on, you have to give us more than that," Kaplan cajoled. "Did he have bad breath? Did you get to his apartment and find out he was a hoarder? What?"

Blaine sighed. "No, I just think that he was into some stuff that wasn't quite my style."

Kurt cocked his head to the side. What?

"We're intrigued. Go on."

"Okay, well. After he left to go buy — to go to the store, I picked up my jacket and wanted to hang it up, so I went to the hallway closet and when I opened it I found...paraphernalia."

"What, he's into drugs?"

"No! No. The closet with full of..." Blaine's voice dropped to a whisper, "bondage gear. You know, rubber suits and blindfolds and stuff like that. I don't want to judge — to each their own, you know — but that's really not something I'm into personally and I just thought it best for everyone if I made a hasty exit. I'm not a big fan of confrontation."

Kurt's eyes had widened at the words "bondage gear", his eyes racing towards his closet door. Santana let out a loud bark of laughter and he could have sworn he heard her mutter "I knew it. It's always the quite ones."

"Kurt, Kurt," Kaplan called, bringing his attention back to the phone. "Is this true? Were you bringing our little innocent Blaine here back for an evening of fun in your dungeon?"

"Oh. My. God. Blaine, no you misunderstood." Kurt decided to ignore the DJs and speak right to Blaine. "I'm a costume designer for a theater and those were costumes I'm working on for a new play. I'm not into bondage, I swear."

"Kurt, it's not a problem if that's what turns you on," Blaine said reassuringly. "You just need to find someone who's into the same things. I'm sure there are clubs that you can—"

"No, no clubs, no leashes, no ball gags. Costumes. That's all there are. I swear. Here, my friend Rachel is here, she can tell you." He held the phone out to Rachel with a pleading look.

Rachel took the phone and walked towards the closet as she joked with the DJs about what her dominatrix name would be. She opened the door a sliver and peeked in, then laughed.

"It's just rain coats! Black rubber raincoats with weird smiley faces painted on the back. And the blindfolds are really just those night masks, like those you get on a plane." Rachel pursed her lips and shot Kurt an exasperated look. "Really, Kurt that theater is way too strange. You need to get back to Broadway and away from this experimental stuff. You'll never win a Tony for costume design if you—"

"Focus, Rachel," Kurt huffed impatiently.

"Oh, right. Sorry to disappoint your listeners, Kaplan, but all this stuff really is harmless. Between you and me, I have a feeling Kurt is pretty vanilla in the bedroom, actually."

"Hey!" Kurt protested while Santana collapsed over the arm of the couch with laughter.

"Well, it's true!"

Kurt wrenched the phone away from her. "Blaine, do you believe me?"

Blaine laughed and the warmth that Kurt remembered from that evening filled his chest. "Of course. I'm so relieved. I really, really liked you and there have been so many times over the past few weeks that I picked up the phone and almost called you."

"Even though you thought I wanted to tie you up with a dog leash?" Kurt teased.

"Yes, even though."

"Alright, then," Kaplan interrupted. "Now that everything is out on the table I have to ask: Blaine, are you will to go out with Kurt again and give him a second chance to at a First Date Retake?"

"Absolutely. And Kurt, I wouldn't object if you brought one of the night masks with you. For science."