The June day was hot, humid and sticky. Kurt and Blaine sat side by side in lawn chairs on Kurt's patio, soaking up the warmth and enjoying their first day of freedom from exams.
"So, when do you start work?" asked Kurt. He knew that Blaine had gotten the Six Flags job that he'd wanted.
"Not until Tuesday, so we've got three full days together before I start. They're going to be keeping me pretty busy this summer."
"What do you mean? How much are you working?"
"It's three shows a day, six days a week, right up until classes start again."
"But that's like the entire summer," Kurt protested. "Will I at least be able to see you after your last show?"
"Well, the last one doesn't end until ten o'clock, and with the drive, it would probably get pretty late," said Blaine apologetically. "But," he added, noticing Kurt's glaring expression, "I don't have to do anything between shows, maybe you could come hang out with me."
"So, all the dates I'm going to have with my boyfriend this summer are going to be at an amusement park?"
"Don't forget about Mondays. I have every Monday off, so we can do whatever you want. And for the Fourth of July, they have a special performance that I'm not in, so I have that whole three day weekend off, too."
Kurt sighs. "Why are you working so much anyway? Aren't you supposed to have time to relax in the summer?"
Blaine takes his hand. "New York's not going to be cheap, Kurt, and I'm not sure my parents will be very supportive when I don't pick their first choice school. I don't want anything to stand in the way of our going there together." Blaine seemed pleased that the mere mention of New York was enough to stop Kurt's rant. "So what about you? Are you going to spend your entire summer working on your musical?"
"Well, since you won't be around much, I guess I might have to find something else to do. Dad said he'd pay me to help in the shop if I wanted to, buy maybe I can find something more suited to my talents," he said with a grin. After all, working towards getting their own place in New York didn't sound like a bad thing at all.
They spent the rest of the day being lazy, enjoying the feeling of having no assignments due, nothing to study and the freedom to just be together for an entire day.
After supper with Kurt's family, they decided to go for a walk, despite the muggy weather, both wanting to be outside after all those long hours spent indoors writing exams.
Walking hand in hand through the empty park, they were too caught-up in each other to notice the dark clouds moving in quickly. Even the sound of thunder in the distance didn't distract them from planning what they would do on Blaine's days off.
So when the sky opened up and started pouring, they were caught out in the middle of the park. Blaine quickly pulled Kurt under a tree, but even with the tree's shelter, they were soon soaked.
Kurt closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "I love the smell of rain when it's been dry for a long time. My Mom loved it too. She and I used to sit outside in this little gazebo we had and watch the storms."
"You must miss her a lot," Blaine said, pulling Kurt tightly into his arms, while trying really hard not to think of the way that Kurt's soaking wet clothes were clinging tightly to his body.
"It's been years, but there are still so many little things that remind me of her – storms and Beatles songs and a lot of her old recipes that I still use. It's good though, because I wouldn't want to forget any of those things."
Blaine holds him close, gently stroking his back as the rain continues to come down in sheets and the claps of thunder start to get louder.
Kurt pulls back, suddenly aware of how muscular Blaine's chest feels under his wet T-shirt. "Maybe we should head back. The storm seems to be getting closer."
Running back to Kurt's house, hand in hand, they are both reminded of the first day they met, on the Dalton staircase.
As Kurt starts to head to the door, Blaine says "Wait."
Kurt turns around. "What?"
"I can't let you go in without first telling you," he pauses nervously, "how incredibly sexy you look soaking wet," he finally blurts out, obviously somewhat embarrassed.
"You look pretty hot yourself," Kurt says as Blaine, now feeling more confident, pushes him back against the side of the house and kisses him passionately.
Kurt's not sure if it's the contrast between the cold rain and the heat coming off their bodies, or if it's all the electricity in the air, but this kiss feels like fire, and he doesn't ever want it to stop.
Luckily, Blaine has no intention of stopping. He loves it when Kurt's arms wrap tightly around him, pulling him even closer. It's amazing how safe he feels with lightning flashing nearby and thunder booming around them, as if being wrapped in Kurt's arms is some sort of protective bubble where nothing can touch them...until the door opens. Trust Burt to penetrate the bubble, Blaine thinks as he jumps back rapidly, trying to pretend he didn't just have Burt's son flattened up against the side of their house.
"There you are. We were getting worried. I was going to come find you and see if you needed a ride. Come inside – the storm's getting pretty close." He turns and heads inside with the two boys following reluctantly behind him. Neither one saw the smirk on Burt's face. He knew what he'd interrupted, and actually, they were pretty cute together.
Once inside, Kurt scrounged up a pair of sweatpants from the farthest depths of his closet, as well as a T-shirt for Blaine to change into. As Blaine headed to the bathroom to change, Kurt was a bit disappointed. Their clinging wet clothes had certainly left him thinking about what his boyfriend looked like without his shirt on. Realistically though, he thought as he changed into dry clothes himself, he wasn't ready to be undressing in front of Blaine yet.
They spent the rest of the night watching movies, curled up under a blanket on the living room couch. Around 11:00, Burt came downstairs. "Probably time for you to be heading home, Blaine. The storm's passed and it's getting late."
"You're right," said Blaine, jumping up. "I should be going."
As Kurt headed up to his room after Blaine left, he thought about how warm and comfortable he'd been in his boyfriend's arms just a few minutes ago. He wished he could have just taken him up to his room and fallen asleep curled up against him. There had to be a way to make that happen, even with Burt's dutiful parental vigilance. After a few minutes of thought, Kurt had a plan, one that might even get him a look at a shirtless Blaine.