The large man behind the counter winked as the boys walked in, "You have company today Kurt. The usual?"

Kurt blushed and nodded, "Yeah."

Before Kurt could dig his wallet out of his pocket, Blaine ordered.

"And a medium drip, together, please."

The man behind the counter, an older man with silver hair and a healthy-sized belly, let out a hearty chuckle, "You got it. Six twenty-five." He took Blaine's card and added a giant muffin, on the house.

Taking a seat toward the back of the little shop, Blaine asked, "So you come here often?"

"Every day. I watch the sunrise from the beach, before it gets too crowded and noisy. It's like my own private show."

Kurt took note of the fact that when Blaine smiled, the corners of eyes wrinkled a little. It was infectious and he couldn't help smiling too.

"Actually, my favorite is when it rains."

When Blaine was confused, his nose scrunched and his head tilted a little, like a puppy. Equally noted, Kurt grinned to himself.

"People here are allergic to rain. It's not like we get anything more than a sprinkle, but the beach is always dead on those days. Even if the clouds block the sunrise, you can still feel it 'cause the beach warms up. And the sand gets just a little bit damp so it's cold between your toes, but not wet."

Blaine rested his chin between his hands and listened to the blue-eyed boy talk. When Kurt's coffee was ready, he went to get it from the counter.

"Thanks," Kurt said shyly, he wasn't used to having guys do things for him. It was nice.

They talked about living in California, Blaine had graduated the same year as Kurt and was living with his best friend Wes, the friend who had interrupted the other day. He was going to AMDA, the college for performing arts in L.A. He wasn't close to his family, except his older brother Cooper, since he'd come out. Kurt thought about his own father, and promised himself he'd call later. They picked at the muffin and sipped coffee and laughed and shared stories, until Kurt's phone rang. Kurt looked down at the caller i.d. and frowned,

"Sorry, I should probably take this."

Before Blaine could tell him it was fine, Kurt was on the phone,

"Hey. - What time is it? - Sorry... - Well I'm out, feed yourself. – Whatever... - I already apologized. – Look, I'll be home soon. Bye."

Blaine could tell whoever was on the other end wasn't happy, if Kurt's side of the conversation or the yelling from over the phone was any indication. Kurt hung up and sighed,

"I have to go, it was nice."

Unsure of if he should ask about the call, Blaine just hummed in acknowledgement. The voice had sounded like another guy. Was Kurt living with a guy? They hadn't gotten to Kurt's living arrangements in their conversation. Blaine lived with Wes. It didn't really mean anything. Still, Blaine felt uneasy. The way Kurt had answered the call seemed different.

"Um, that was...?"

Kurt licked his lips and searched for an answer, "The boyfriend. Ish."

"Ish?"

"Well, no. Not ish...I, uh," Kurt tried to find words, suddenly feeling guilty for shamelessly flirting with Blaine without mentioning him, "yeah, we've been together since the summer before my senior year. Mostly since then. I dumped him after, like, four months but he threatened to kill himself. His parents heard and he even got arrested and watched overnight. No one knows if he was serious. But it was still really scary. So, just, the boyfriend I guess. No ish." Kurt shrugged, playing with the hairs at the bottom of his hairline nervously.

"Oh."

"But, um. Thanks for the coffee," Kurt concluded hastily, putting down his phone again and collecting their mugs and plate.

Kurt took them to the black bin and stacked them carefully on the pile of dirty dishes before making his way out, waving to Blaine without making eye contact.

--

Later that afternoon, Rachel asked Kurt where his phone was. He told her he'd accidently left it at the café that morning. Truthfully, it wasn't an accident, but he'd really enjoyed having coffee with Blaine and he hoped- really hoped- that he hadn't just scared the other man away. Rachel offered to go with him to find his lost phone, but Kurt declined. Instead, he asked to text it from Rachel's phone.

12:10pm

hey. if you find this phone please text this number back. thanks.

12:13pm

kurt? this is blaine. you left your phone on the table this morning.

Kurt smiled.

12:13pm

shit. i'm sorry. thanks for saving it for me..

12:14pm

dont worry about it :)

12:16pm

so..i guess i should get that from you sometime.

12:16pm

or you could leave it at the cafe for me

12:17pm

how about tomorrow? i only have afternoon classes anyway

12:18pm

yeah. that sounds good.

12:20pm

cool. see you tomorrow :)

12:22pm

see you tomorrow :) and thanks again

12:22pm

dont worry about it :)

"That suuure is a lot of smilies Mr. Hummel."

Kurt turned bright red and tried to take Rachel's phone back from her, "Rachel!"

"Ah-ah," Rachel grinned wickedly, "you have some explaining to do."

"...But you can't tell Liam."

"Of course," Rachel rolled her eyes.

She'd never liked Liam, since before the two even dated. Or broke up. And especially not after they got back together. Sure, he had a captivating Australian accent, dark skin, and excellent shoulders, but he was a dick. As soon as they met him at glee-camp the summer before senior year, the boy had tried to keep Kurt to himself, doing his best to exclude Rachel from any events they went to. She did her best to accept it- Kurt had never had a suitor before, save Karofsky... sort-of. But the boy was more of a diva than she was- the bad kind. Honestly, she couldn't care less if the Liam really did follow through with his threat, and didn't understand how Kurt could.

"Okay... Remember last week when you performed at the beach?"

"Uh-huh," Rachel nodded, sitting at full attention.