"She didn't get me. Youdid."

"For now," said Kurt.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you fall in and out of love pretty easily."

"I was never in love with Rachel. Not for a minute." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand. "She was just a nice girl. I had to find out for sure that a nice girl wasn't what I wanted."

"I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about him."

"Kurt, you need to get over this," Blaine said. "Jeremiah and I never had an actual date, we never kissed, we never held hands. There is absolutely noreason for you to be jealous of him. I don't even think about him anymore, except to hope that he got another job somewhere."

"You really don't think about him?" Kurt asked softly.

"No."

"Well, three months ago you said you were in love with him. How long do you think it'll take you to forgetabout me?" The tears that had been welling up in Kurt's eyes finally overflowed. "Will another three months do it?"

Blaine grabbed a tissue from the box on Kurt's vanity and handed it to him. "Is that what this isabout? You think I'm going to forget youover the summer?"

"I don't know." Kurt wiped at his eyes. "M-maybe. You're going to be at Six Flags all summer and you don't even believe that I love you, so why shouldn't you get over me the way you g-got over him?"

"That's not going to happen." Blaine scooted closer to Kurt and put his arm around him. "First of all, I do believe you, and it makes me so, sohappy. Second, I was not in love withJeremiah."

"You told everyone you were."

"I know I did, and believe me, I feel really bad abouteverything that happened. But didn't youever have a crush on someone and let yourself get carried away?"

Kurt sighed. "Yes."

"Did it seem like a big deal at the time, but now you don'tknow what you were thinking?"

"Yes."

"And is that the way you feel about me? Am I just another one of your crushes?"

"No." Kurt shiftedinto a more comfortable position and laid his head against Blaine's shoulder. "Maybe at first, but notanymore."

Blaine reached up and stroked Kurt's cheek, brushing away the last of his tears. "Well, that's notthe way I feel about you either. This isfor real."

"Why did it take you so long?" Kurt whispered.

"There were a lot of reasons."

"Like what?"

"Well, I didn't think you were even really attracted to me."

Blaine felt like he was finally gettinghis act together again after a very confusing and difficult month. He was ready to put his romanticmisadventures behind him and focus on Regionals. This could be the year the Warblers would take the top prize. Things were back to normal with Kurt, too. It was good toknow that their friendship was strong enough to survive a serious argument.

It was also good to know that despite all that had happened, Kurt still looked up to him. Although Blaine's record as a mentor was mixed at best, he was willing to keep trying. After the Warblers' test run of "Animal" it was obvious that Kurt still needed his help. Blaine would of course have helped any of the guys who were having trouble with the routine. That wasn't mentoring,it was being a good teammate. It was when Kurt explained why he was having so much trouble with his sexy faces thatBlaine saw an opportunity to offer him some extra guidance.

"I don't know how to be sexy because...I don't know the first thing about sex," Kurt confessed.

"Kurt, you're blushing." Blaine remembered the old joke about the embarrassed penguin. Kurthad compared himself to a penguin earlier, and in his uniform sweater and shirthe was black and white and red all over.

"I've tried watching those movies, but I just get horriblydepressed, and I think about how they were all kids once, and they all havemothers, and God, what would their mothers think? And why would you get that tattoo there?"

Kurt looked so flustered thatBlaine wanted to hug him, but that would have been totally inappropriate. What Kurt needed was information, and heclearly wasn't comfortable seeking it out on his own. This was something Blaine could help himwith. Blaine's knowledge of sex was moretheoretical than practical, but he'd been a regular Savage Love reader since he was fourteen. That had to count for something.

Blaine crossed his legs and, inwhat he hoped was a very casual and non-judgmental tone, said "Well then, maybewe should have a conversation about it. I'lltell you what I know."

Judging from his nervous handgestures, this offer only made Kurt more uncomfortable. "I don't...I don't want to know the graphicdetails. I like romance. That's why I like Broadway musicals, becausethe touch of the fingertips is as sexy as it gets."

He'd always thought Kurt seemedyoung for his age, but this attitude did not strike Blaine as normal for even ayounger teenage boy. It was one thing tofind porn kind of sleazy, quite another to draw the line at holding hands. Sex was a natural and healthy part of adultlife, and Kurt was nearly an adult.

"Kurt, you're gonnahave to learn about it someday."

"Well, not today." Kurt looked like he was about to either throwup or burst into tears. "I think I'velearned quite enough for today, thank you. I think you should leave."

Blaine didn't argue. He just got up and left. He'd clearly struck out again as a mentor,and he didn't want to upset Kurt any more than he already had.

As Blaine drove away from Kurt'shouse, he tried to figure out where he'd gone wrong. A few years ago Blaine would have been happyto have a trusted gay friend explain things to him. It would have saved him the trouble of doing researchon his own. He used to worry a lot abouthow closely his parents might be monitoring his Web activity.

There had to be some reason whyKurt had reacted so badly to the subject of sex. Blaine had read that some people were asexualand had no interest in sex, but Kurt hadn't acted like he was bored. He'd seemed nervous. Not the excited kind of nervous either, morethe frightened kind. What did Kurt haveto be frightened of? His family alreadyknew he was gay and they were totally accepting. If any of them had overheard Kurt and Blainetalking about sex then that would have been embarrassing, but no one would havebeen angry. Kurt's house was a safeplace.

Blaine glanced at his dashboardclock and saw it was almost 6 pm already. He wouldn't make it back to campus before the dining hall closed. He'd planned to take Kurt out to eat afterthey'd finished rehearsing, but now Blaine was on his own for dinner. He remembered there was a Skyline Chili nearthe edge of town. He could stop there beforehe headed for the highway.

A few minutes later, Blaine wasseated at Skyline. He ordered coffee anda plate of chili spaghetti, his usual meal at the Skyline in Westerville. He and some of the other guys from the dormsoften went there on Sunday nights, when the Dalton dining hall served leftoversfrom the week before. Although he was aregular at the Westerville Skyline, Blaine had only been to the Lima locationonce before. This was where he'd takenKurt for lunch on the day they'd tried to talk to Karofskyabout being gay.

Maybe that was why Kurt found thesubject of sex so distressing: his run-in with Karofsky. The only remotely sexual encounter Kurt hadever had with another boy was being forcibly kissed by a violent closet case. Blaine knew that Kurt had been sad about hisfirst kiss being stolen from him, but he hadn't thought about how the assaultmight affect Kurt in the long term.

At the time, Blaine had onlythought about how Karofsky kissing Kurt shouldn't countas a first kiss. It should only count ifboth people wanted it. For about threeseconds he considered kissing Kurt himself and saying "That was your first kiss." Blaine quickly decided this wouldn't be a good idea, though. He hadn't known Kurt for very long and wasn'tsure Kurt would actually want to kiss him. They were on the stairs at McKinley whereanyone could see them, and there was no zero tolerance bullying policy here toprotect them. Besides, a pity kiss wouldonly wind up making them both feel depressed. Blaine knew that from experience.

"It's kind of funny that I gotbeat up for being gay when I've never even done anything with another guy,"Isaac had said. It was a few days afterhe'd been released from the hospital, and his black eye was starting to fade toa greenish bruise. He still had the caston his arm, of course. There weren'tmany signatures on it. Isaac hadn't beenback to school since the beating, and he didn't have a lot of friends coming tovisit him at home.

"You haven't?" Blaine asked. Isaac was so open about his sexualorientation. Blaine had assumed he musthave some experience.

Isaac shook his head. "Have you?"

"No. You're the only other gay guy I know."

"You'll probably meet a lot atyour new school," Isaac said. Blaine wasstarting at Dalton Academy on Monday.

"I don't think there are reallythat many. It's mostly guys whose dadswent there."

"There must be some, though."

"Yeah, some." Blaine shrugged. He felt bad talking to Isaac about Dalton. His family wasn't as well off as Blaine's andthey couldn't afford to send him to a private school. Isaac's mom was hoping she could get enoughleave time from work to homeschool him for at least asemester, but nothing had been decided yet.

Isaac was staring down at hiscast. He traced a circle around Blaine'ssignature with the index finger of his good hand. "Hey, do you...do you want to kiss?" He looked back up at Blaine. "I mean, to find outwhat it's like?"

Blaine did want to find out whatit was like. He also wanted to makeIsaac feel better. He wanted to make himself feel better. He leaned over and pressed his lips againstIsaac's, hoping he was doing it right and wishing that they were in love.

If they were in love, this wouldmean something. If they were in love,what had happened to them might have brought them even closer together. They didn't even really know each other thatwell, though. In a different world thenBlaine's feelings towards Isaac might have changed over time from friendship tosomething more, but their relationship had been tested too brutally and toosoon. They weren't in love, and as theirlips parted Blaine knew they never would be.

"I'm not going to see you again,am I?" Isaac said. It wasn't really aquestion.

"I'll be back at Christmas."

"You'll be busy with your family." Blaine started to deny it, but Isaac cut himoff. "No, it's okay. At least one of us is getting out of here."

All Blaine could say was "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault."

Blaine had thought it was nice ofIsaac to say that. He knew it was his fault,though. Going to the dance together hadbeen his idea and therefore his fault. It was stupid to think that one kiss would do anything to make up for that. Kissing Kurt wouldn't erase what Karofsky had done to him either. Kurt's real first kiss should come fromsomeone who loved him. Blaine decidedthe best he could do for Kurt at the moment would be to buy him lunch.

Flash forward to March and herehe was in the same Skyline, still worried about Kurt. Blaine wished he hadn't pushed Kurt so hard toconfront his bully. It had seemed likegood advice, but his judgment had been clouded by his own regrets about notstanding up to bullies at his old school. If Kurt hadn't followed Karofsky into thatlocker room then Karofsky probably never would havekissed him. If he'd never kissed Kurtthen he never would have threatened to kill Kurt to keep him quiet. Karofsky might havebeen content to continue shoving Kurt in the hallway and making hateful remarkswithout ever taking things any further than that. While Kurt had never blamed Blaine for whathappened with Karofsky, he probably couldn't help butassociate him with the assault. Nowonder he didn't want to talk to Blaine about sex.

The only upside to this situationwas that Blaine was now certain Kurt was totally over his crush. A month ago Blaine sure wouldn't have turneddown an informal sex edlesson from Jeremiah. He'd been dying for Jeremiah to teach him aboutsex, preferably via hands-on instruction. No, if Kurt were still at all interested in Blaine as more than a friendthen their conversation would have gone very differently.

"Well then, maybe we should have a conversation about it. I'll tell you what I know."

I don't...I don't want you to tell me." Kurt blushed delicately, but when he lookedback at Blaine his eyes were filled with desire. "I want you to show me."

Blaine stood up and took Kurt in his arms. He could feel the heat from Kurt's bodythrough the layers of their uniforms. "Whatdo you want me to show you?" Blaine murmured in his ear.

"Everything," Kurt breathed. He arched his back and pressed his hips against Blaine's. His need was obvious. "Please. I don't even know how to begin."

"Like this," Blaine whispered, and kissed him very gently. Then again, not so gently. Then a third time, as hard as he could, theway he'd kissed Rachel but this was so much better than kissing a girl. Kurt's hands were kneading the back ofBlaine's neck as Blaine unfastened Kurt's cardigan, the buttons coming undoneeasily at his touch.

"This is really hot."

Blaine blinked up at thewaitress. "Excuse me?"

"Your coffee." She pointed at the cup she'd just set down onthe table. "It's really hot, so becareful. Your spaghetti'llbe up soon. Do you need anything elseright now?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks." Blaine took a cautious sip of his coffee. The waitress was right, it was very hot. He'd better let it cool down for aminute. He'd better let himself cool down for a minute. All this thinking about sex had gotten himworked up and confused. He needed tofocus on what to do about Kurt, not let himself getdistracted with ridiculous daydreams.

The setlist for Regionals could be changed. They hadn't sunk much rehearsal time into"Animal" yet, and although the girls from Crawford County Day School hadenjoyed it Blaine wasn't sure the song was right for Regionalsanyway. Thad had suggested Rod Stewart's"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" asmore likely to appeal to middle aged judges than a Neon Trees song. Blaine had also been thinking about Maroon5's "Misery" as a potential opening number. Blaine could handle lead vocals on either song. Kurt could be kept in the background wherehis discomfort with doing a sexy routine would be less apparent.

Kurt's discomfort with sex itselfwas not really any of Blaine's business. They were just friends. Blaineresolved to back off and not try to give Kurt any more advice that he hadn'tasked for. He didn't want to make Kurtfeel any more uncomfortable about sex than he already was. What Kurt liked and what he was willing totry were things Kurt and his future boyfriend could work out themselves.

However, if Kurt did want to havea boyfriend someday – and Blaine was certain that he did – he needed to knowthe basics about sexual health. In alittle more than a year Kurt would be heading off to college. It was his dream to go to school in New YorkCity. He was going to meet a ton of gayguys there, and they weren't all going to be well informed or even necessarily concernedabout Kurt's safety. Kurt needed to knowhow to protect himself from sexually transmitted diseases. It was too dangerous for him not to know. If Kurt wouldn't look for information on hisown and he wouldn't listen to Blaine then someone else was going to have totalk to him. Someone Kurt trusted.

By the time the waitress arrivedwith his chili spaghetti, Blaine had considered and rejected several of Kurt'sfriends. Mercedes would probably agreeto help, but she'd be embarrassed. Finnwould be even more embarrassed. Based onwhat Kurt had told him about Finn's history with Quinn, Finn was also sufferingfrom some pretty big gaps in his own understanding of sex. Rachel could always ask one of her dads totalk to Kurt, but Blaine didn't think Kurt would appreciate having Rachelinvolved. Their friendship had atroubled enough history as it was. Besides,it seemed weird to go to someone else's father for advice about sex.

There was no getting aroundit. Blaine knew who had to talk toKurt. The only person Kurt was sure tolisten to, the only person with the right to tell Kurt he had to learn aboutsafe sex for his own good, was Mr. Hummel. As intimidating as the idea was, Blaine was going to have to ask Kurt'sdad to talk to Kurt about sex. Well, bestto get it over with before he lost his nerve. If Blaine hurried, he could probably still catch Mr. Hummel at the tireshop before he closed up for the evening.