After paying the driver, Kurt turned to the impressive hotel, took a calming breath, and then entered. He made his way to the elevators, and to the 15th floor, hoping to find a bathroom there to change. He had twenty minutes before he needed to be at the suite, and he wanted to use that time to dress carefully. Kurt found a bathroom quickly, and changed into his costume, making sure that everything was in place and ready to go. He perfected his hair, and stared at himself one more time. He wondered again, how exactly he had gotten here. Logically, he knew the answer, but somehow it didn’t seem to satisfy him.

He took the elevator up the remaining two floors. Kurt put his ‘show face’ on and knocked on the door. A bubbly blond girl flung the door open, as he said the first of his many atrocious lines. “Excuse me ma’am but I am looking for Elise Anderson, I have a warrant for her arrest.” His made his voice deeper than normal, and flexed the muscles of his arms. The girl giggled that annoying giggle he hears at all of these parties before saying, “Right this way… officer.”

Kurt was lead into the living room of the suite, the furniture had been pushed back away from the fireplace. About a dozen women sat around the room, and sitting on the terrace was a man with curly hair. His eyes widened at the sight of Kurt, and Kurt tried not to show his anger. He never worked parties with men, it was an agreement he made with the agency. The blond girl pointed to a woman with cascading black curls wearing a novelty veil. Kurt pushed his anger and discomfort aside to approach her.

“Elise Anderson I have a warrant for your arrest… you have been a bad girl and now it is time to pay.” He swaggered over to the blushing woman, brandishing his cuffs. He spun the cuffs around on his finger as he walked towards her, her face growing redder as he inched closer. “You have the right to remain… sexy.” Kurt said as he placed the cuffs delicately on her wrists, eyeing her to make sure it wasn’t too much. During one of his first parties, the bride nearly had a panic attack when he cuffed her, since then he makes sure to be very in tune with his clients reactions.

Once the cuffs were in place, he sauntered over to the high-end sound system, plugged his iPhone into the dock and started his playlist up. ‘Just Dance’ started blaring through the speakers and Kurt got to work. He was good at working the crowd, making sure everyone enjoyed the show (though he never approached the man by the terrace) while making sure to keep most of his focus on the bride-to-be. It was even kind of fun to watch their reactions as he tore off his shirt revealing a thin black wife-beater that contrasted lovely with his porcelain skin. As Kurt lost more of his clothes, he showed more confidence. Long ago, his self conscious nature had been practiced out of him, after two years of having women screaming for his body he finally realized he had nothing to be shy about. In his years since leaving Ohio he had filled out more. Extensive dance and strength training had given him nice definition without adding too much muscles.

Half way through his routine, Kurt kneeled at the feet of Elise, who had now been freed of the handcuffs. Kurt was now only clad in tight black boxers, he slowly leaned back so that his back was parallel to the floor and ripped the boxers off, revealing the black g-string underneath. Using only his core muscles, Kurt then raised himself back up to his knees. The party was going well, he was raking in tips better than any other party before, the ladies were enthusiastic without being too handsy, and the man by the terrace hadn’t seemed to move.

As Kurt began to wrap up his show, one of the women started to shout for him to ‘take it all off.” Kurt shot her a winning smile before saying, “Sorry, but I’m a little shy.” This caused the room to erupt in giggles, and diverted the awkward situation. As the last song played out, Kurt danced his way over to Elise Anderson, offered his congratulations, and thanked the women for a great time. He retrieved his iPod and gathered his things, before making his way to the dining area to collect the rest of his payment. The bubbly blond from the front door met him there.

“Here you go,” she said as she handed him the envelope of cash that equaled his share of the booking fee. “You were fantastic.” She then added with a smile.

“Thank you,” Kurt said, before continuing, “but you should remember the terms of the contract you signed. I really shouldn’t have performed.”

“What do you mean?” She asked clearly confused.

“My contract states clearly that I do not perform for a mixed group. No men. I would have been well within my rights to take the sum of the contract and leave, but I didn’t want to do that to Miss Anderson. Next time, if you are going to have any men at a party, you need to be upfront about it so they could find you another performer.” Kurt told her as he slid on is pants and shirt.

“Oh I am so sorry, didn’t even think about Blaine being here. I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable.” She told him.

“He was fine, just next time…” Kurt trailed off, not really wanting to rehash the conversation.

“Of course.”

Kurt left the suite and made his way back down to the 15th floor bathroom to change back into his street clothes. He glanced at his phone and saw he had two hours before he had to meet the girls. After checking himself in the mirror again, he left the bathroom to head back to the elevators. When they dinged open, Kurt reluctantly stepped inside, the elevator was no longer empty. Standing, leaning against the back wall of the elevator was the man from the terrace. He looked up as Kurt stepped inside.

There was a beat of silence before the stranger broke it. “I heard you talking to Candace, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine, we just all have our preferences.” Kurt said no longer using his deeper, dancer voice. He saw the man’s eyes widen slightly in surprise at the change. “I don’t dance for men.” Kurt added.

Kurt could see an inner struggle occurring within the other man, but waited for the question to actually be spoken. When the man did speak, the question was not what he expected, “Do gay men make you uncomfortable?” The man’s eyes were almost cold and it was unarming.

“N-no, I mean why would they… I’m gay.” Kurt almost whispered. He wasn’t sure why he was being so quiet, he had been out for over eight years.

“You are?” they stranger questioned.

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. No one ever really questioned him about his sexuality, at least once he said he was gay. Kurt was used to people assuming, away from work at least. His laughter filled the small space. “Yes, I am definatly gay, that is why I personally never dance with men. It would make it more… sexual.”

“And what you were doing in there wasn’t?” The man asked.

Kurt smiled, “No, not to me anyway, and that is what is important.”

“I’m Blaine, by the way, Blaine Anderson.”

“Oh, let me guess, you are Elise’s brother?” Blaine nodded. “Wow, that must have been something to watch then.” Kurt said as the doors opened onto the lobby.

“Yes, I can say that was the most awkward hour of my life. You know I didn’t even know they hired a stripper. Neither did Elise. I was just looking forward to a night with my sister and her friends. I mean most of them are lawyers, who would have thought they would have hired a man to take off his clothes.” Blaine laughed, and Kurt tried hard not to smile.

“You would be surprised the kind of women I dance for. The quiet housewives are the ones you have to really watch out for. One time I had to leave in the middle of a show because they tried to rip my g-string off. They are now on the ‘don’t book’ list at the agency.” Kurt told him quietly as he walked through the lobby to catch a cab.

“Hey would you want to go get some coffee and talk?” Blaine asked a hopeful look in his eye.

Kurt hated what he was going to have to say next. “I’m sorry, another one of my personal policies. I don’t dance for men, I don’t do full nudity, and I don’t mix my work with my time off.”

“But I like talking to you.” Blaine said stopping just outside the hotel.

“It’s not a matter of not liking the conversation, Blaine,” Kurt said with a sigh. “Think of it from my point of view. It is hard enough to find a decent guy in this big city without him seeing me tear my clothes off even before the first date. I won’t deny that you are a… nice looking man, but I can’t do this.”

“It’s just coffee and conversation. I know how hard it is to find a nice guy… I just would hate to lose one just because I happened to be at my sister’s bachelorette party. If I would have met you at a club, or a coffee shop, or on the street… would you have given me a chance?” Blaine asked, not moving from their spot in front of the hotel.

Kurt paused for a moment, truly considering the question, “I don’t really go to clubs anymore… but yes, probably.”

“Then, let’s just pretend that I just met you here, in front of the hotel. Hi, I’m Blaine.” He said with a smile, but his eyes were completely serious.

“Kurt, nice to meet you.” Kurt reluctantly replied, shaking Blaine’s out stretched hand.

“I know this may be kind of forward, but would you like to have coffee with me?” Blaine’s grin was now cheeky.

Kurt paused for a moment. It’s not as if he didn’t know the question was coming, but he wasn’t sure what he really wanted. “I really can’t, I have to run home and then head to another party.” Kurt watched as Blaine’s face fell, and then continued, “but if you want to go with me, you know share a cab, we can talk for a little while.”

Blaine’s eyes lit up. “I would love that!”

Kurt stuck his hand out and hailed a cab. He could see Blaine bouncing on his heels out of the corner of his eyes and barely suppressed his smile. He didn’t say anything else until after they crawled into the cab and he had given the driver his address. “So, you know what I do for a living Blaine, what do you do?” Kurt finally asked.

“I teach music at a small arts academy. I also play gigs a couple of times a month, trying to develop my own sound.”

Kurt looked at him for a moment, trying to see if he was real. “You sing?”

Blaine smiled, “Yeah, and play piano mostly. Although, I have been working on teaching myself the guitar and bass. I would love to learn to drum too, but well, not really something I think my neighbors would enjoy.”

“My step-brother is a drummer, I, myself stuck to the piano and voice of course.” Kurt added nonchalantly.

“You sing?” Blaine asked with a smile.

“Yes, I studied Musical Theatre at NYADA.” Kurt told him, not really expecting a reaction.

“You went to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts?” Kurt nodded, “That’s really impressive… but then why are you not on the stage, on Broadway?”

Kurt sighed, “You mean why am I a stripper,” Blaine looked like he was going to protest, but Kurt cut him off. “After I graduated, I auditioned every chance I got. I am… unique, and while it was great for getting me into NYADA, it didn’t mean that I fit into just any role. I’m talented, I know I am, and that is not me being conceited, but I don’t know, I guess I never found a middle ground in auditions. If I was just myself, I was too flamboyant, if I tried to tone it down or butch myself up, I was too forgettable. I wasn’t being cast. I couldn’t really find work, what with the economy, and with my degree. My friend Santana, she was dancing and I started out working as her escort. The managers kept trying to get me to dance. When my roommate, well ex-roommate was cast in her first big show, she decided to move out and I needed to find a way to cover my rent. That was two years ago and I have been dancing ever since. I still try and audition, but now no one really takes me seriously.”

Blaine sat there looking almost dumbfounded. He blinked a couple of times before speaking, “I don’t understand, why wouldn’t they take you seriously?”

“I take my clothes off for a living, even in the theatre that is not looked highly upon. The thing is, when I am dancing, that is not me, it is more of a role than I have ever played. I go into a party and I am the cowboy or the police man, I am that straight man that wants nothing more than to grind on those ladies. I have to be. But casting directors don’t see it that way. They see it as that is the only talent I have. It’s like they tune me out after they read my resume, but I can’t leave it off because then I have nothing after I left school. Kind of a Catch 22.”

The cab pulled up in front of Kurt’s building. “Well this is me, do you want to come up, or are you going to head out?” He asked, trying not to get his hopes up too much that Blaine may actually want to spend more time with him.

“I would love to, Kurt, but only if you want me to.” Blaine answered with a shy smile.

“Come on.” Kurt said, grabbing Blaine’s hand in one hand and his bag in the other. Kurt led them up to the 5th floor. “Sorry, the elevator’s broken.” He apologized as they rounded the last turn in the stairs before his landing.

Kurt opened his apartment and let Blaine enter before him. He noticed Blaine surveying the room. The living room was painted a bright white, but all the furniture was black with red accents thrown in occasionally. “I love it.” Blaine said with a bright grin.

“Make yourself at home. I just need to grab my computer. If I don’t finish my paperwork now and send it in, I know it won’t get done. You don’t mind if I count my tips with you here?” Kurt asked, suddenly uncomfortable again.

“Not at all.” Blaine told him making his way to the couch.

Kurt asked Blaine more about his job as he started sorting out the various bills the girls had been placing in his clothes all night. His eyes widened silently as he noticed that it wasn’t just ones and fives those women had been tipping him with. Tens, Twenties and even a couple of fifty and hundred dollar bills were thrown into the mix.

“Oh my god!” Kurt exclaimed, interrupting Blaine who looked at Kurt with confusion.

“What?” Blaine finally asked, when it didn’t seem that Kurt was going to explain further.

Kurt looked up from the floor where the money was spread out in front of him. “Your sister’s friends… I have never… never had tips like this before. This is insane. There has to be at least $4000 dollars here, just in tips. Blaine, who are these people?”

“Most of them, like I said are lawyers. I think most of them also come from wealthy families.” Blaine said, not meeting Kurt’s eyes. “I mean… my family… well let’s just say we never went without. Most of those girls were the same.”

Kurt just gaped at him.

Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It’s not something I like to bring up, honestly. I work hard for what I have, and besides the furniture in my apartment, which I have had since I moved out, I have paid for everything. But… yeah, my parents have money. It’s not something I usually bring up on a first date though.”

Kurt laughed, “Well it seems, like we are both breaking our rules tonight then. So… why don’t we break a few more.” Kurt smiled cheekily at him. “Let’s break some more first date rules, this can be our anti-first date.” Blaine looked at him skeptically, “No, listen. Since we really can’t do a proper night out, let’s do everything not considered proper. Well, not everything,” Kurt amended, “but like… tell me about your worst breakup.”

Blaine laughed, “Alright… um, well I guess it would be in college. I was at NYU and living in the dorms. I was dating this guy, his name was Brett. He was a history major; tall, blond… I came home from classes early, because my music theory class was canceled, only to find him screwing my roommate… my roommate who happens to be straight, or at least said he was. They didn’t seem to notice me when I walked in… so I walked over and poured my coffee on them.” Blaine laughed seeing Kurt’s face. “Don’t look so shocked it had gone cold, I didn’t hurt them. But, I might have forgotten to close the door behind me when I walked out.”

“Wow, so what did you do, I mean did you still live with your roommate?” Kurt had to ask.

“No, I moved back home for the rest of the semester until I could get another room assignment. We only had about a couple of months left in the semester so it wasn’t bad.” Blaine chuckled. “Ok tell me yours.”

“That’s easy. I started dating Jay in the spring semester of my freshman year at NYADA. He was a sophomore. Things were going pretty good, it was my first relationship, and it was puppy love. But oh, I thought it was the real thing. He was my first for pretty much everything. Anyway, the first show of the fall semester was going to be West Side Story. We were talking about a week before the auditions about what parts we wanted to go for. When I told him Tony, he laughed and said I would make an ‘adorable Baby John or Action.’ Oh I was livid.”

“So you broke up with him?” Blaine asked.

“No silly, even better. I wanted so badly to prove him wrong. I wanted that role. Now, I would have been happy if he would have gotten it, but damn it I was going to fight for it. I asked the stage manager if the scaffolding was going to be left up that they were using to paint the backdrop, when she told me yes, I started working. By the time it was time for the auditions, I was ready. I strutted out on the stage ready to wow them.” Kurt was getting more excited telling the story, he was now standing up gesturing, his face lit and animated. “I sang Maria, oh, but I didn’t just sing, no I climbed the scaffolding, swung around it while I was singing, just really using it to show Tony’s elation at meeting his dream girl. I had so much fun and it was amazing. We both were called back for Tony. He actually tried to tell me not to feel bad when I didn’t get the role. But when the cast list was posted, I was Tony and he was Action.”

Blaine was just as into listening to the story as Kurt was in the telling of it. “What happened? What did he do?”

Kurt smiled, but it was an impish smile. “I was thrilled for myself and hugged him. I was looking for him to be just as excited for me as I would have been for him. I am all for healthy competition, but not at the expense of my relationships with people. But he didn’t even pretend to be happy for me. I will admit, I was kind of a bitch about it. When I saw his reaction, I might have said something along the lines of, ‘Oh Honey, you will make an adorable Action.’ It was not one of my prouder moments, but at least I will admit it.” Blaine laughed along with Kurt. “Well he didn’t talk to me for a week, and when he did, he told me, ‘I forgive you’. That was it, I let him have it, in front of everyone too. I told him off for not being supportive and how I realized that he never really believed in me or my success, broke up with him in front of the entire cast. I then, turned to the director and assure her that this would not affect my performance, and she had no reason to worry.”

“Did it affect the show?” Blaine had to ask.

“Not on my end, Jay was given multiple notes, that if he couldn’t act like we were from the same gang, maybe they could find another Action. But I learned my lesson, I didn’t date anyone from the school again. It is just entirely too small, and filled with too much drama as it is.”

“Where did you meet guys then?” Blaine asked.

“Oh, I tried going to bars and clubs, but I just ended up not really liking it. I never really dated much.” Kurt shrugged. “What about you?”

“Oh, I dated a few guys from school. Not really much for picking up guys at bars either. Okay so what other first date taboos should we cover?” Blaine asked.

“Oh… let’s see, religion?” Kurt asked. His grin impish again.

“Well, I guess I would be agnostic. I can’t say there isn’t anything bigger out there, but I don’t really know. I guess part of me wants to think that something is out there, but I’m not religious.” Blaine said sheepishly. “You?”

“I’m atheist. Maybe I am just bitter because so much bad stuff happened when I was younger. But it is actually more comforting for me to think there is nothing out there.” Kurt told him. He wanted to be completely honest.

“May I asked what things you are talking about?” Blaine surprised him by asking.

“We’ll since we are breaking the rules, yes….” Kurt talked to the stacks of money as he gathered them back up. “My mom died when I was eight. She was everything to me. I think that was when I lost any faith I had that there could be a god. I still needed her, and she was gone.”

“How?”

“Car crash… so we didn’t even get to say goodbye. Then when I was sixteen, my dad had a heart attack and nearly died. This, on top of the bullying at school, it was rough time.” Kurt trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

When Blaine spoke, Kurt could hear the understanding in his voice. “I was bullied too, but ended up transferring to a private school in Manhattan. Things were better, but I get it, I mean if my parents wouldn’t have had the money… who knows what would have happened to me.”

“Okay… what do your parents do?” Kurt asked wanting to leave his bullying in the past and out of mind.

“My dad is the CEO of a large umbrella company that has businesses in auto parts, fashion, jewelry. Pretty much if you can think of it, they have a division that covers it. My grandfather founded the company. And my mom, she runs a catering business. How about your dad?”

“Well, he owns a Tire and Lube shop in Ohio, where I am from. My stepmom, Carole, is a nurse. They married when I was sixteen. Besides Elise do you have any other siblings?”

“Elise is the oldest, and then I have an older brother, Micah, he works for my dad. Are you an only child?” Blaine asked.

“I have a step-brother Finn. We are the same age, he’s back in Ohio working for my dad in the shop. Okay you ask a question first. Remember something that you wouldn’t normally ask on a first date.” Kurt told him, rather enjoying this unorthodox ‘date’.

Blaine smiled, “Let’s see… what do you want in the future? Do you want to settle down, get married, have kids?”

“My plan when I was in High School was to be married by 30, so yes. I want that. I want to have someone special to come home to every night. I am a hopeless romantic. I want to love and be loved by someone until we are old and grey. I DO want kids, but I can’t decide whether I would rather adopt, or use a surrogate. I do like the idea of giving a child a home that doesn’t have one, but I also like the idea of a child that looks like me or my husband. I hated growing up as an only child, so I would like at least two. Oh and I would like to live outside the city, but close enough to where I could still work here. I want my kids to have a yard to play in, but to be able to experience New York. Your turn.” Kurt laughed.

“I would love to be married, though I never planned the perfect age to do it.” Blaine chuckled. “I would like kids, but haven’t really thought about the how of it. I grew up in the city, so it never really occurred to me how different it would be to grow up with a yard. I think I did okay. I’m not sure how many kids I want to have.”

Kurt smiled at him, he couldn’t help it. Even though Kurt was emphatic that this was NOT at date, he was having more fun than he had had in a long time on any actual date. “Still your turn to ask a question.” Kurt told him.

“Okay, so still questions you wouldn’t ask on a first date?” Blaine asked. Kurt answered with a nod, slightly worried by the mischievous look in Blaine’s eyes. “Okay, top or bottom?”

Kurt couldn’t help but notice the blush rising on Blaine’s face. He was sure it was mirrored on his own as he answered. “Well, honestly, both. And when I mean both, I don’t just mean that I am good with either… I want both in a relationship.” Kurt paused, trying to gather his thoughts as he played with the hem of his pants. “I think that is one thing that is great about being a gay man… you can have both, and they are so different. I want a guy who is just as versatile as me.”

Blaine laughed causing Kurt’s head to shoot up, sure the other man was laughing at him until he spoke. “Oh my god, that is so me. Seriously, where have you been all my life?”

“Well for the first 18 years Lima, Ohio, and the last 6 right here in New York City.” Kurt said jokingly trying to dispel the all too familiar feeling of falling. This wasn’t the right time after all, this wasn’t a date, really, and he wasn’t about to fall for a man when just an hour ago he was grinding and stripping for his sister. Kurt looked down at his phone and sighed, “I need to get ready to go meet the girls.” He paused for a minute, trying to decide if this was going to be too much. “Would you want to join us? I mean I would be working, but mainly just making sure they are alright and things don’t get out of hand.”

Blaine seemed to think for a moment. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an inconvenience? To be honest, I don’t think I am ready to say goodbye to you yet.”

Kurt felt the blush reappearing on his face. He hadn’t blushed this much since before he left NYADA, but rather than being embarrassed by it, he kind of liked the fluttery feeling Blaine was giving him. Another surge of confidence ran through him as he answered truthfully, “While you may be distracting, you are the best kind of distraction I could think of. Come on, I am meeting them a couple of blocks away.” Kurt hurriedly put away his unfinished paperwork (Blaine was a great distraction after all) and grabbed his bag again before leading Blaine out of the apartment.

“I will warn you, don’t take anything the girls say to you seriously. I have known them a long time and they like nothing better than to embarrass me… so let’s just say this is a continuation of our anti-first date. I would never submit a first date to Santana and Brittany.” Kurt laughed as they made their way to the street.

“I have a few friends like that, maybe I should call them and have them meet us there.” Blaine’s laughter joined in.

Kurt smiled over at Blaine, enjoying the way his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “I think two crazy friends are enough for one night. Tell me a little about your friends. What makes them so crazy?”

“A few a wild partiers, those are mainly old high school and college friends. Then there are my work friends, just the main drama that comes with people in the arts, you know how that is. There is a new girl at work that I swear has decided I am destined to marry this friend of hers. She seems a sweet girl, but I really don’t know her well enough to trust her to set me up. You know?” Blaine shrugged.

“Yes, I have long since banned all my girls from trying to set me up. When they do, it never ends well and then I feel doubly guilty for not liking the guy.”

Kurt steered them into a small coffee shop on the corner. Almost immediately a tall blond pounced on him, bringing him into a hug. “Kurt! I haven’t seen you in so long.” She cried kissing his cheeks.

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh, “Okay Brit, just let me breath, I promise we will have plenty of time to catch up before the party.” A tall Latina approached them, more subdued.

“Hey, porcelain, who is the boy toy?” She asked.

Kurt extracted himself from Brittany’s hold and turned to Blaine. “This is Blaine, he has agreed to be a second escort for you tonight. Blaine, this is Brittany and Satan… Santana.”

Blaine greeted the two women and offered to get them all coffee before heading out. Once he had everyone’s coffee order and headed to the counter to order, the girls started in on Kurt.

“Okay, so who is the new boy?” Santana asked, raising an eyebrow at Kurt.

“Just… someone I met tonight.” Kurt tried to evade the question.

“So you brought a date?” Brit said slowly.

“No, I brought a… well a… not a date.” Kurt finished dumbly.

Santana leveled him with a gaze that would have had most people shaking in their boots. “What do you mean by not a date, Hummel?”

“Just that, it’s not a date; he’s not a date… yet.” When her glare intensified he tried to explain. “We met… we’ve talked… I think I might like him… but it is complicated. If this was a date I would be breaking so many of my carefully laid rules, and I don’t know if I can do that.”

Brittany smiled at him, her smile that seemed to light up any room. “But Kurt, if you like him, why not just go out with him?”

“he’sseenmedance.” Kurt mumbled, hoping they wouldn’t hear and would drop the subject.

Santana’s face became cold again. “I thought you didn’t do that. Listen Kurt,” her gaze turned softer, as did her voice. “I know you are lonely when it comes to man love, but just be careful, alright?”

Before Kurt could answer, Blaine appeared with their coffees. They began walking again, chatting amicably between sips of coffee. Kurt was relieved that neither girl offered up embarrassing antidotes from High School or beyond. Soon they made it to the apartment building the ‘party’ was being hosted at.

As they climbed the stairs, Kurt filled Blaine in on the important details. “Basically, we are here to make sure the girls stay safe and the men stay in line. The rules are basic, no touching. If things seem to be getting out of hand, we intervene. Brittany only dances with Santana when she needs a partner, so we really have to watch out for her, she isn’t as good at reading the crowd and knowing who to steer clear of. Santana can hold her own, but the agency doesn’t like the dancers confronting the men, says it is not good for their image. That is why we are here. It is mainly just a precaution, and usually having an escort here is enough to keep the trouble at bay, but you never know.”

Blaine nodded, and seemed to be taking in everything Kurt said. Kurt stepped forward and knocked on the door. A burly, balding man answered the door, Kurt in his lower voice announced with authority, “We are here from NYC Entertainment, is James Grant here?”

Kurt walked into the apartment, leaving Blaine in the hall with the girls, after accepting the envelope of cash for the girl’s payment, he plugged up Santana’s iPod, turned up the music and started the show. Blaine walked in and stood next to Kurt as the girls danced around the crowd. Kurt was on edge, the men in the room all seemed to be drunk or on the verge of it, and that never boded well for a smooth show. He glanced over at Blaine, hoping he could pick up on Kurt’s anxiety without him having to voice his concern. The shift in Blaine’s posture told him the message had been received loud and clear.

Fifteen minutes or so after the girls started their routine, just as the first layers of clothes began being shed, one of the men, a small blond fellow, pinched Brittany’s butt as she shimmied it in front of him. Blaine jumped as Kurt’s deep show voice bellowed, “Hands to yourselves gentlemen, or the show is over this is your last warning.” Brittany flashed him a grateful smile quickly before she returned to the routine, moving away from the offender.

As Brittany’s bra sailed back towards Kurt and Blaine, a tall, muscular brunette, stood and grabbed Brit by the waist, ready to thrust his hips into her. Kurt was on him in a flash, wheeling him around and away from the startled Brittany. The other man was fast though and threw a punch, connecting right with Kurt’s nose. Before Blaine was half way across the room to the ruckus, Kurt had the man on the floor, his arm twisted expertly behind his back, a booted foot pressing to the middle of his back. “Girls, go get dressed, Blaine grab the iPod, this show is over.”

Blood was dripping down his face, and bruises were already forming under both his eyes, but none of the other party guests moved. Brittany and Santana grabbed their discarded clothes and dressed in the kitchen as Blaine grabbed the iPod and everyone’s bags. Kurt stood in the middle of the room not releasing the other man as he spoke to the crowd. “Now the girls were ready to show you a good time, and have a little fun, but your friend here couldn’t follow the rules. If anyone has any tips they would still like to share with the ladies, please bring them to me now.” A few men stepped forward, glaring at their friend on the floor and thrust bills into Kurt’s waiting hand. “Thank you, gentlemen,” Kurt said as he released the man at his feet. “Hopefully next time, the girls can finish their show.”

Blaine could see Kurt’s stormy eyes were hard and furious as he led the small group out of the apartment. Blaine began to speak, but Kurt held his hand up silencing him until they were safe on the street again. Kurt then turned to Brittany who was curled up in Santana’s arms. “Brit-Brit are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft and gentle. She nodded slowly, tears in her eyes. “Come on, let’s get you home alright Boo?”

Kurt grabbed Brittany’s free hand and gestured for Blaine to follow them. They walked down the streets of New York, Santana with her arms around Brittany, Kurt holding the blonde’s other hand with Blaine walking beside him. After a few blocks Brittany broke the silence, “I like holding your hand Kurt they are always so soft.” He smile was soft, but true.

“I keep them soft just for that reason, holding hands is always nice.”Kurt told her, squeezing her hand lightly. He almost jumped as he felt another hand twine itself with his. Kurt looked over at Blaine as his heart beat somewhere in the region of his throat.

Once they made it back to Santana and Brittany’s apartment, Santana said, “We should probably get you something for your nose. Are you alright?”

Kurt in his concern for Brittany had almost forgotten about his throbbing nose, but the pain came back in full force. “I don’t think it is broken, so I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, you go take care of Brittany, I have just the stuff I need back at my place.” He gave each girl a hug and kiss on the cheek before releasing them to go back to the apartment, making sure they had their cash for the night.

As they walked up the steps to their building, Brittany turned around with a smile, “Nice to meet you Blaine, I hope you get to go on a date with our Kurt, I see the way you look at him… and it’s nice to see someone looking at Kurt that way.”

Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand as he said, “I hope I get to, too. Kurt is an amazing man.” Brittany smiled once more before allowing Santana to steer her into the apartment building. “Let’s go get you something for that nose.” Blaine said with a soft smile. “You were brilliant tonight, the way you handled that crowd, that barbarian…” Blaine’s words trailed off, like he was at a loss with what to say next.

“Well, it’s a good think I made such great tips tonight, because I don’t think I will be dancing for a while, I’m sure my face is going to look hideous tomorrow, I can already feel the bruising.”Kurt said, trying to make light of the situation. He felt the long ago controlled blush creeping back up his neck.

“Never, Kurt. I don’t think you could ever look hideous.” Blaine’s voice was quiet, almost reverent. Kurt couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on his face, or the full flush from appearing on his cheeks as he led them the rest of the way back to his apartment building.

Kurt wasn’t surprised when Blaine followed him into the apartment, but he was when he followed Kurt into his small bathroom. Kurt grabbed an older washrag from the bottom of the pile and ran it under the hot water, but Blaine took it gently from his hands murmuring, “Here let me.” Blaine gently wiped the dried blood, from off Kurt’s face, who caught his eyes lingering on his lips. Once the blood was cleared, Blaine’s slightly calloused fingers gently probed the area around Kurt’s nose. The delicate roughness made Kurt’s heart race in a way it hadn’t in such a long time. “You’re right, I don’t think it’s broken, but you should probably get some ice on it anyway.” Blaine’s deep whisper made Kurt’s racing heart stumble.

“First, let me put some arnica on it, it should help reduce the bruising.” Kurt found himself saying, though he had no idea how he had formed such an articulate sentence. He then forced himself to turn away from Blaine’s lingering hazel eyes, to search through his medicine cabinet to find the right tube.

As Kurt gently rubbed the gel under his eyes and across his nose, he caught Blaine gazing at him in the reflection. He was afraid he would see a hungry, lustful look in Blaine’s eyes, but the look while intense, was soft, almost loving. He felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes at the sureness in Blaine’s eyes. He saw a flicker of concern pass through those hazel eyes as he noticed the tears. “My nose still hurts a bit.” Kurt said, trying to play it off.

The two went into Kurt’s cramped kitchen, where he grabbed an icepack from the freezer. “Coffee?” he asked, before pulling out two fresh mugs and pouring the still warm coffee from earlier into them.

“If I would have known it was going to be one of those nights, I wouldn’t have invited you along.” Kurt told him as they sat back down on his couch. “Usually, escorting the dancers isn’t such an adventure.”

“I’m glad you did. I can’t really say it was fun, but I’m glad I could be here with you now.” Blaine said.

Kurt took another sip of his coffee. “So, would you want to have a real first date?” Kurt asked, not daring to look Blaine in his eyes.

“I would love that.” Blaine said, once Kurt’s eyes were on him again he continued. “Hey Kurt, I wanted to talk to you about something. I would have told you earlier, but, well my friend just texted me the details while I went to order our coffee. I didn’t want to tell you about it until I knew more.” Kurt shot him a confused look, Blaine was rambling and while it was adorable, it didn’t really help Kurt to understand what he was talking about. “A couple of my friends from High School, they are starting a theatre company, and they are holding auditions for permanent members, this Friday. I’m not telling you this because I want you to change anything, but I know you really don’t like dancing. And this could be just the opportunity you were waiting for.”

Kurt took Blaine’s hand, caressing the back of it gently with his thumb. “Blaine, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to become part of something just because they are your friends. While I would love to be a part of something like that, I want to earn it.”

“Then earn it Kurt, I won’t tell them I know you or that I sent you. They are open auditions and I would never presume you would accept a role that you didn’t earn. In fact, if you want, we won’t even go on out ‘first’ date until after the audition. That night, I can pick you up from the theatre and you can tell me all about how you blew them away. How about it?” Blaine said slowly leaning in towards Kurt.

“I think that sounds like a plan.” Kurt said.

Blaine smiled, “Great, can we indulge in one small First Date tradition?” As Kurt nodded, Blaine closed the distance between them, into a slow, gentle, lingering first kiss.