That’s what he kept saying to people in the office over the last two day. It was a bit of a joke really that he was being sent on yet another first aid course having been on one barely a year before with his previous company... but hey, if his manager was giving him two fun days out on the payroll he wasn’t going to complain about it.

So there he is, walking up to the office on the other side of town. He has been here only twice before for some meeting or another and still didn’t really know his way around. In fact, he got lost twice just driving around the business park trying to find the entrance to the car park, cursing himself for not using the sat nav. Why had he bought the freaking thing if he was too lazy to use it? Hrmph! Now he has eventually parked he is rushing a bit, as the course is due to start like now. He bolts up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Being late is just not the thing Blaine Anderson did. Not even for a course that he wasn’t going to take that seriously.

***

He was sitting on one of those comfy conference chairs that had been put into a semi circle in the middle of the meeting room, facing the mat lying in the centre. Kurt had jumped at the chance of getting on the course just to break up the monotony of his work life. Being an insurance broker was just so tediously boring and not at all what he had thought he would do with his life after graduating from college. He had had dreams of making it big on stage, singing and dancing and bringing the house down. Well.. it didn’t quite work out like that. So to make ends meet he took this job and well, it does what it says on the tin. It pays the bills. But that’s it. So anything to brighten up his tedious days spent counting the minutes go by, Kurt jumps at. So here he is, learning first aid. Well, it’s a skill for life and maybe learning how to tie a bandage properly may come in handy sometime. You just never know.

Looking around the room now though, his initial enthusiasm has taken a bit of a downturn. There is nobody he knew and the other people attending are mainly middle aged women talking about their children and grandchildren, discussing the outrageous storylines on the previous day’s soaps or how best to cook the turkey for thanksgiving. None of which were topics Kurt had any interest in discussing. They are standing in little clusters around the room, drinking their coffee and already nibbling on the biscuits. The only other guy on the course keeps himself to himself, doing something or other on his phone. It was a bit like high school, Kurt thinks with a twinge of sadness, when he used to sit in a classroom full of people feeling utterly alone.

“Okay people, could you please all take your seats so we can get started?”

After the usual kerfuffle of choosing just the right seat, the din in the room finally dies down a little to give the instructor a chance to start the training. The unpleasant feeling of being thrown back to high school continues as the seats either side of Kurt remain empty. He resigns himself to a couple of days of boredom and nestled further into the chair at the back of the room with a sigh. A different kind of boredom to his day job. That was something at least.

“Thank you all for coming. My name is Ellen Bridgewater, I have been with the American Red Cross for nearly 15 years and we shall spend these next couple of days going over some of the main...”

She can’t finish her introduction as the door is thrown open and a windswept man is rushing in.

“Sorry, sorry”

he just mumbles, whilst darting to the back of the room and throwing himself into the chair next to Kurt. Pulling the fingers through his hair in an attempt at taming the mane of black curls and taking deep breaths to slow his breathing he looks around the room from under his long eyelashes with a just a hint of a flush on his cheeks.

“Oh Hello! As I was saying...”

The instructor continues with her introduction and explains what topics they will cover but Kurt no longer listens to her. His gaze is resting on this beautiful stranger next to him. The hazel green eyes, the toned arms noticeable through his tailored shirt, and those full red lips. Oh. And those eyelashes. Wow. He watches as those beautiful eyes sweep across the room and pulls himself up short just before they come to rest on him and quickly stares at the instructor instead. He can feel the eyes on him. Heat curses through his body, from his toes to his head, settling in his stomach and setting it on fire. The look directed at him lasts a fraction of a second longer than when he had looked over the other course participants. And it makes his insides churn.

Yes. Coming late to anything was a thing Blaine really hated. And has hated his since his early childhood. Just the idea of having to walk into a room of people who all stare at you disapprovingly whilst you do your walk of shame past them to your seat made his skin crawl. The tuttering in people’s minds at his lateness was usually so loud that he could actually hear it and he would feel like sinking into the floor in shame. His strict upbringing with a heavy handed father and his high school years at a historic prep school sure may have had a helping hand with the shaping of that particular personality trait.

So being late today is no exception. He sinks into his chair trying his best to hide away so that the rest of the group would forget his lateness as quickly as possible. He glances around the room to get his bearings and feels more than sees a set of eyes staring at him. The lithe young man next to him was now looking at the instructor, listening intently. That it had been his eyes resting on him is obvious. The red that is slowly colouring his beautiful face is evidence enough. Yes. Blaine quickly turns away from this stranger to compose himself. That perfect skin, porcelain white. With no blemishes at all. A muscular chest and strong arms. Those strong large hands with these delicately shaped fingers in his lap. All lean and lithe and perfect. It set his heart aflutter and makes his breathing hitch.

***

When the introduction round gets to the back of the room, Kurt can just marvel at this deep and husky voice coming from this boy. This man. Blaine Anderson. Wasn’t that the most amazing sounding name? Blaine Anderson. Mister Blaine Anderson. And he could just hear it: Mister and Mister Blaine Anderson. Kurt Anderson. Oh, well. The guy probably is in a relationship. How could such a perfect person not be? Well, at least he’s not married. There’s no wedding ring.

Sometimes his imagination is just a bit overexcited. Over-active. Over-everything. He was being stupid. Knowing his luck, the guy probably isn’t even gay. Kurt has a thing for falling for men that are unavailable. He has a brilliant track record at that, dating all the way back to high school.

But then, this Blaine is very fashionably dressed, better than any straight man ever would. And he had definitely felt that initial glance linger on him for a second. So maybe. Maybe there is hope after all. At least, there is now a definite turnaround in the chance to get to know something of use in this course. He would get to know Blaine.