Three Weeks of Summer (part two)
Part One
They don't talk about it again over the next two days, instead falling back into their routine-the three of them hanging out by the lake all day and Kurt and Blaine going for a run at night. Blaine joining them for dinner becomes part of their routine as well-and Kurt is fine with that. More than fine, actually. He's given up trying to find Blaine's secret character flaw-there are plenty, he's figured out. Blaine hums under his breath all the time, he dances on furniture, he likes disco music and dresses like an eighty-year old grandfather. He also laughs too loudly when he gets really excited about something and he has no concept of personal space.
All of these things that should bother Kurt only serve to make Blaine even more endearing, which makes some things more difficult, but a lot of things much better.
Kurt isn't unused to having to suppress his feelings, and in this case, it's easy. They're friends for the summer. Only for the summer. In one and a half weeks, they'll go their separate ways and probably never see each other again, regardless of how many times they'll promise each other to stay in touch. That's what happens to holiday acquaintances.
So he lets himself drift, lets himself enjoy the sun and the lake and the company of his handsome, adorable cabin neighbor, and even flirts when he feels like it because Blaine always responds in the same playful manner, and after a year of not having to worry about a date for Friday night, Kurt has to admit his flirting is a bit rusty. So this is excellent practice for when he's ready to start again. It's fun, and it's entirely non-dangerous because none of it means a damn thing.
Maybe this is his form of rebounding, Kurt thinks. Just allowing himself to have this flirty silliness with a guy he could really like under different circumstances.
“You're thinking really loudly,” Blaine pulls him out of his thoughts, and Kurt smiles at him over the note pad he's brought with him to the dock this morning. He's trying to write a letter to his dad. It just seems like a good thing to do today.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you,” Kurt apologizes. He doesn't protest when Blaine grabs his legs and pulls them into his lap, massaging his calves absentmindedly.
“Then don't,” he suggests. “What's for dinner tonight?”
“Oh god, really, Blaine?” Kurt punches his shoulder, laughing. “How about you cook tonight, for a change?”
“I can do that,” Blaine offers promptly. “You should both come over to my place. I feel bad eating over at yours every day anyway.”
“Considering the fact that you always pay for half the stuff on our grocery list and wash the dishes every night, I don't see why, but it's not like I'm going to turn down the offer.” Kurt leans back, enjoying the free leg massage. “Rachel? Dinner at Blaine's tonight? What do you think?” he calls.
“Sounds okay,” she yells back from the direction of the old willow tree where she sits reading her book. She seems rather fond of the spot lately and rarely joins them on the dock anymore.
“Cool!” Blaine seems excited. “This is going to be fun!”
**
It is fun.
Blaine's cabin is almost an exact replica of theirs, same size, same shape, different furniture. Kurt quite enjoys not having to cook one night-not that he has to, back at their cabin, Rachel is perfectly capable of preparing a meal. It's just that, given the choice, the perfectionist in him prefers doing most things himself.
Blaine's not a bad cook either though, and even if he were, Kurt is sure he'd still enjoy the hell out of this night, because, after all, it's the company that counts.
As always, Rachel tries to sneak out early, but Blaine uses his ultimate weapon-the puppy dog eyes-and she agrees to stay for another hour or so.
Another hour quickly turns into three more hours and as he finally stumbles home through the dark with a slightly drunk and very giggly Rachel by his side, it suddenly occurs to him that he doesn't miss New York anymore. He hasn't gotten up at 3 a.m. to fix the toilet all week, he hasn't spent a minute worrying about voice lessons over the past few days. He feels relaxed and happy, and, okay, maybe this vacation wasn't such a bad idea after all.
“You know what? I think this vacation wasn't such a bad idea after all,” he tells Rachel, and she nods emphatically and pulls him into an awkward side-hug while they keep walking.
“Told you.”
**
Kurt doesn't know exactly what time it is, lying awake in the middle of the night, staring into the darkness of his room.
He can't sleep.
He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.
Eating over at Blaine's, laughing with him, talking with him, has been so much fun and he's felt so alive, so happy making his way back home earlier. But too much fun causes hangovers too and that's what he's feeling now-because of course, after feeling better than he has in a long time, he's reminded of what waits for him once he gets back to the city. He thinks of the classes he loves and the friends he likes and all the great things he has in his life, and then he sees Blaine's eyes, his ridiculous grin, feels his palms starting to sweat as he thinks about the way his stomach clenches every time their eyes meet.
And he knows this feeling isn't going to go away, it's going to get worse and there's nothing he can do about it.
He feels drawn to Blaine like a moth to the flame and he's so afraid of getting burned, but he's so tired and it's messing with his willpower and he doesn't know what to do. There's no reason for him to feel lonely, and yet he does, feels like there's a hole inside that needs to be filled, and it aches and all he can see is a curly head of hair and the gentlest smile. Not to mention very pleasantly shaped arms and a tanned chest, strong legs and the nicest ass he has ever seen (as far as he can tell, but Blaine's swim trunks cling to it quite nicely when he gets out of the lake and don't really leave a whole lot to the imagination.)
But this isn't about Blaine, he reminds himself. This is about being cheated on by someone else and seeking validation in a stranger's approval. This is about knowing that he's still got it even though it wasn't enough for the last jerk he'd dated.
It's not, it is so not about Blaine and his face and his body and that leg massage he gave him earlier out on the dock...
And now he's getting hard and he still feels lonely and close to sobbing with frustration-it's his own stupid rules that stop him from just going for it, his own stupid rules and something tugging at his chest telling him that this is a bad idea, such a bad idea, such a very, very bad idea...
Oh fuck it.
He throws off the covers and gets up, completely giving up on the idea of getting any sleep at all tonight. Maybe some air will help, maybe he'll go for a late night swim in order to cool off, clear his head, tire himself out and make all of this go away.
He's halfway down to the lake when he sees the hunched-over shape of a person under the weeping willow and he stops in his tracks, squinting through the darkness to make out who it is. There aren't that many people around and he knows he's fast enough to beat almost anyone back to the safety of the cabin in case this is some sort of axe-murderer hunting tourists for sport. He tries not to think about the fact that the tiny wooden cabin wouldn't really do much to stop any crazy person with an axe.
But then the clouds move and the moon comes out and Kurt can see... Blaine. Sitting with his back to the tree trunk, arms folded on his knees, head dropped on his arms. For a second, Kurt thinks he might be asleep, but then he moves, lifting his head and looking right at Kurt who's still just standing there, unsure of what to do.
It's too dark to see Blaine's face and what the hell is he doing out here anyway at this time of night? He should turn around, pretend he didn't see him and go back to sleep. But Blaine keeps looking right at him and Kurt keeps staring back until it becomes clear to him that turning back now would be the lamest, most impolite and cowardly thing to do. So he moves forward in Blaine's direction, heart beating almost painfully against his ribs as he goes. He came out here to clear his mind, not run into the very thing that had kept him up all night in the first place.
“Hi,” he says, as he nears Blaine.
“Hi,” Blaine answers back as Kurt sits down beside him, making room for Kurt to lean back against the trunk next to him.
“I couldn't sleep,” Kurt says stupidly, groaning inwardly at his words. Well, stating the obvious is one way of striking up a conversation.
“Me either.” Blaine sighs. “I think you have infected me with your insomnia.”
“It's not contagious, Blaine.” Kurt nudges his shoulder, electricity jolting down his spine at the brief contact.
“Well, it must be, because I slept like a baby before I met you.”
There's something in Blaine's voice that Kurt can't identify-sarcasm, maybe, or something a little desperate? “Sorry.”
“Don't be. It's a beautiful night. You can actually see the stars here. Can't see the stars in New York.”
“True.” They sit in silence for a while, gazing upwards to the black sky dotted with billions of tiny lights. It is beautiful. Breathtakingly so. Kurt has never cared less about anything in his life.
Blaine clears his throat. “You live in New York too.”
“Um. Yes?” Kurt is not sure where this is going to go.
“Can I get your number? Or are we going to go our separate ways and pretend all of this never happened?”
“All of what never happened?” Kurt asks, realizing as he says it that it might be the tiniest bit cruel. “I'm sorry,” he hastens to add. “I don't know.”
“I'd like to keep in touch,” Blaine explains. “It's fun, hanging out with you. And Rachel.”
Fun. Kurt knows Blaine is trying to lighten the implication of his earlier request, but somewhere deep down, it still hurts. Fun. Okay. Sure, why not. “Yes, it's been fun,” he agrees coldly. He feels Blaine watching him but keeps looking up at the sky, not sure why he feels disappointed. It's not like he ever expected anything from Blaine. If anything, he has been the one to block any and all advances the other man has made during the short time they've known each other.
“I... I should go back to sleep,” Blaine says, scrambling to his feet.
Kurt feels bad in an instant. None of this crap going on behind closed doors in his head is actually Blaine's fault. “I'll walk you home,” he offers quickly and then has trouble getting up himself because Blaine's radiant answering smile does the funniest things to his knees.
They walk in silence up to Blaine's door, and Kurt is reminded of the other night, his heart fluttering in his chest in a way that can't be healthy as he remembers. “Good night,” he says quickly, starting to turn, but Blaine puts a hand on his shoulder and he has no choice but to stay.
“I'm glad we're cabin neighbors,” Blaine tells him. “You don't have to promise me to keep in touch once we get back to the city, I know that's technically not how this works. But I'm still glad I met you, you know?”
Kurt nods, his throat feeling tight all of a sudden and he swallows around the lump there before he answers. “I'm glad too.” And then he does what he never did before and pulls Blaine into a brief hug, his chest filled to bursting when he feels Blaine's arms encircle his waist and squeeze him tightly for the briefest of moments.
He disentangles himself quickly and walks away at a brisk pace, but not without catching a glimpse of Blaine's completely dumbstruck face first.
His heart is still hammering wildly and his head swimming a little as he walks up the path to the cabin, the rushing of blood in his ears so loud he doesn't hear a thing. You're stupid, stupid, stupid, he repeats in his head, barely able to hear his own thoughts through the rushing of blood in his ears. He can still feel Blaine's body against his, brief as the hug was. He's sure he has never felt anything as good in all of his twenty-two years on this earth. Solid. Warm. Fitting so perfectly in his arms like it was made to be there and oh god, that's not the way to think when he's trying to resist the urge to run back there and fall at Blaine's feet and beg him to forgive Kurt for being such an ice queen for the past week and let them have at least the rest of the one and a half weeks left here...
He's so lost in his thoughts he doesn't hear the running footsteps and the panting until it's close behind him, Blaine calling out to him breathlessly.
“Kurt! Kurt, wait!”
He turns, Blaine coming to a stop just a few feet away, chest heaving, the look on his face so intense, so full of longing it takes his breath away.
“What-”
“I know what you said the other night. I know you're not-Rachel told me you've been hurt before and you're not looking for a rebound and I understand, but I... I've tried not to think about you in that way, I really have, but I can't-”
“Blaine, what...” Kurt shakes his head, trying to come up with something, anything to say.
“Can I kiss you anyway?” Blaine begs, taking a step closer. “Because it's all I can think about. I want to kiss you so bad, please, I just want to...”
Kurt closes the rest of the distance between them, crashing their lips together with all of the pent-up desperation of the last few days.
It takes Blaine all of a second to catch up with what's going on before he kisses back, no less desperate than Kurt. They grab and pull at each other, frantic attempts to get just that much closer, hands fisting in each other's shirts as their bodies press together from thighs to chests.
Blaine tilts his head to the side for a better angle, pushing his tongue into Kurt's mouth and Kurt moans into the kiss, one hand moving up to slide into Blaine's hair, holding him in place as he deepens the kiss.
And oh dear god, he's in heaven.
If the simple act of hugging Blaine sent his mind reeling earlier, kissing Blaine is like nothing he could have ever imagined. Because Blaine's lips are firm and wet against his and he's doing the most amazing things with his tongue. He tastes of summer nights and wine and something else that must just be Blaine and it goes straight to Kurt's head and down to his dick; and he's tired and still not sure this is a good idea, but at the same time, he's so far beyond caring right now.
“Okay,” he whispers as they part for air. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Blaine whispers back and then he's kissing him again and oh wow, Kurt just knows there's no turning back anymore, not after this.
He may have an iron will, but he's still just a guy.
**
They end up back at Blaine's cabin because they don't want to part but they also don't want to wake Rachel-not in the current state they're in and with... rather urgent things to take care of, now that they're not being stupid anymore. Or now that they're being especially stupid. Kurt makes up his mind to make up his mind about that later. Because right now, thinking really isn't his first priority.
He soon learns that Blaine's mouth is indeed incredibly talented as he lays completely naked on cheap holiday home sheets, Blaine's head between his thighs and his orgasm approaching so quickly he can't do anything to suppress the obscenely loud moans ripping from his throat.
He may have touched himself once or twice thinking about Blaine over the course of the last week, muffling his sounds by biting into the pillow, but this is Blaine in person, doing the most amazing things to his dick with those lips and that incredibly skilled tongue.
“You have to...” Kurt gasps, tugging at Blaine's curls. “Blaine, I...”
Blaine understands, replaces his mouth with his hand and holy sweet hell, that's not bad either. His grip is firm and sure and oh god just right, just like that and Kurt's hips buck off the bed and he cries out as he comes, his whole body feeling like it's made of nothing but toe-curling, white-hot pleasure.
“Oh god.” He's sweating, still on fire and tingling all over with delicious aftershocks, body slumping back into the mattress. “Oh god, Blaine, that was...”
“Fuck, Kurt,” Blaine groans, leaning down so he can kiss Kurt hungrily while shamelessly rutting against Kurt's thigh and fuck, that's kind of hot. “God, please, I need...” he pants heavily and Kurt rolls them over so he's hovering above Blaine, his hand wrapping around Blaine's erection tightly to set up a fast rhythm.
Blaine moans loud and brokenly, thrusting up into Kurt's fist, his fingers digging into Kurt's shoulders almost painfully as his body tightens, his eyes squeezing shut. It only takes a couple of strokes before he comes all over Kurt's hand, the look on his face the sexiest thing Kurt has ever seen in his life.
They lie together side by side, Kurt feeling too orgasm-stupid and worn out to move at all. So when Blaine kisses his chest and asks “Stay here tonight?” he just nods and falls asleep smiling.
**
Kurt wakes up early because Blaine moves a lot in his sleep and keeps kicking him in the shins. He sighs, the soft light peeking through the curtains telling him it can't be that long after sunrise.
“Blaine,” he complains, and after not eliciting any kind of reaction, tries again a little louder. “Blaine!” He touches his shoulder and shakes him a little for good measure. “Wake up.”
“Huh?” Blaine blinks up at him, a slow, lazy smile spreading across his face. He shuffles closer to Kurt so his back is pressed up against Kurt's chest and buries his face in the pillow again. “Morning. Sleep, 's early.”
“I can't sleep with you kicking me all the time,” Kurt explains patiently. “And anyway, I thought I'd head home before Rachel wakes up and starts calling whoever because she thinks I've been kidnapped over night.”
“Nooo,” Blaine whines, reaching for Kurt's arm and tugging it to his chest, effectively pinning Kurt to his back. “Stay. Warm.”
Kurt can't help it, can't contain the giggly, morning-after kind of happiness rising up in his chest, the kind you usually don't feel after one-night stands. Which... is that was this was? He doesn't want to think about it now, not now, not yet, there's still time, instead places a series of feather-light kisses on the back of Blaine's neck, enjoying the scent and feel of sleep-warm skin under his lips. This, this is what waking up should feel like every single morning and he decides not to care if he can only have it this one time. He's going to enjoy it while it lasts.
Isn't that what holidays are for, after all? So this thing between them may come with an expiration date. Doesn't mean he can't enjoy it.
**
“I told you.”
Kurt can't stop grinning, he can't even bring himself to be annoyed at Rachel dancing around him, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Okay, yes, you did.”
“I told you, I told you. God, I'm so happy for you.”
Kurt rolls his eyes, shakes his head. “Oh my god, calm down. Not even I am that excited about this and I got to have sex last night.”
“You did.” Rachel stops, standing in front of him with a proud expression on her face. “You really did. I expect you'll be sleeping over there from now on? You guys at least have to keep having dinner with me, I don't want to be-”
“Whoa, slow down.” Kurt holds up a hand to cut her off. “I don't even know if we're going to keep doing this-” And that's when it hits him-he doesn't want to stop. He doesn't want to stop seeing Blaine, he certainly doesn't want to stop sleeping with him while they're here. Not that he's worried about that... Blaine seemed perfectly fine with the way things were going, judging from the enthusiastic round two they had engaged in this morning after finally managing to wake up completely. And Blaine had been the one to ask Kurt whether they could keep seeing each other in New York, even before they had sex last night. Still...
“What do you mean?” Rachel looks at him like he's just grown a second head. “You like him, I know you do!”
“I just...”
“And he likes you too, that much is obvious, he's done a much worse job of hiding it than you have this past week...”
“...we don't even know each other, this is all happening so fast...”
“...and I know you well enough to know that look on your face, you got it bad, Kurt. Just admit it.”
“I don't really feel like talking about this anymore,” Kurt decides. “Can't we just... all keep hanging out together and pretend nothing has changed?”
“As long as you don't start fixing the shower in the middle of the night again, fine by me.” Rachel shrugs, looking slightly upset with him. “But you're not breaking that boy's heart. If you have to dump him, at least let him down easy.”
Kurt gives her an exasperated sigh. “Who said anything about dumping? I'm just trying to tell you not to plan our wedding yet. Jeez. I hardly know him.”
“All right.” Rachel looks happy again, slapping him on the back and winking at him conspiratorially. “Then let's go meet him by the lake and you can spend some more time getting to know him. As long as you keep it PG while I'm in the vicinity.”
“And why are you even worried about him? I'm your best friend. You should worry about my heart getting broken. What kind of a friend are you?”
Rachel laughs, “The kind who will destroy that guy if he breaks your heart. I just wanted to make sure you don't go and fuck it up first, all right?”
**
They don't talk about it, but after that day it's kind of clear to them that Blaine won't be leaving before they are.
Amazingly enough, nothing really changes at all about the way they spend their days together at the lake. Rachel is still with them all day, they still laugh and talk and go for swims together and have dinner every night.
The changes are subtle and almost insignificant-there's more kissing now, there's the fact that Kurt keeps his legs in Blaine's lap when they're sitting together or that Blaine rests his head on Kurt's stomach when they're lying in the sun sharing stories about New York and classes and growing up in Ohio, there's hand-holding and cuddling and things like Kurt slapping Blaine's ass when his swim trunks cling to it so very temptingly, and Blaine spending almost half an hour rubbing sunscreen onto Kurt's back because he can't stop touching his skin. The biggest change is probably the move of Kurt's toothbrush and skin care products, which take up permanent residence in Blaine's bathroom. Because there's also sex now, amazing sex, actually, which usually leaves Kurt too boneless and happy to even think about going back to his own bed in the middle of the night.
For a fleeting moment during his morning shower after their second night together, Kurt remembers that he doesn't do this. Not that he's never done this before, but generally speaking he's just not the type to sleep with people he barely knows, let alone move in with them. It should feel way weirder than it does. He feels like he's known Blaine longer than just a few days-it's just so comfortable.
It can't last, he's well aware of that. They're too different and yet so very much alike at the same time. He shakes the thought quickly, surprised at how easy it is to do so. He can let himself have this now. He's allowed to have a little fun. Maybe these are his wild days. He hasn't really had them yet.
By the time they have a week left at the cabin, he feels more relaxed than he ever has in his life and he can't seem to stop smiling, ever.
By the time they have two days left, he starts worrying.
**
“I've been thinking.”
“About what?”
It was Blaine's turn to drive into town and buy groceries, so Kurt and Rachel are sitting out on the dock by themselves, the day nice and sunny just like every day over the past few weeks. “I think I want to take a detour on the way back. I want to visit my dad.”
“Oh, that's a wonderful idea,” Rachel agrees. “I'd like to see my dads too.”
“Just for a few days, we have a little time before the semester starts again.”
“We'll have to check with my dads' friend, tell him he'll get his car back a few days later.”
Kurt nods, feeling better now that it's decided. He really does miss his family.
“But we wanted to offer Blaine to travel back together,” Rachel reminds him. Blaine has his own car, but they cold have met up on the road a few times, make a sort of road trip out of it.
“I know, I just...” Kurt sighs. It makes sense in his head, but he's pretty sure he can't put it into words Rachel will understand. If he has to end things with Blaine, he wants to do it here, wants to make the memory of this a thing contained in itself, forever separate from his actual life in the real world. A magic escape that will exist only in sunshine and the smell of sun-dried grass and wet earth. “I don't know when I'll have the chance to visit again. Better take this opportunity right now.”
“You're absolutely right,” Rachel answers and Kurt knows she probably doesn't even hear him anymore because she's busy scrolling through songs on her iPod.
Good. He doesn't want to talk about it anyway. He's made up his mind about this.
**
He wakes up early that last morning, takes in Blaine's sleeping form next to his with a hollow feeling in his chest.
This, this is why he didn't want to do this in the first place. Because he always gets attached to the ones he has to let go. Story of his life.
Rolling onto his back, he closes his eyes again, wishes there was some way to have it all.
Three weeks of knowing him and he still hasn't found the thing about Blaine he was expecting to uncover sooner or later-that flaw that proves his theory. So maybe, just maybe, he was wrong. Maybe not everything he wants is always out of reach.
But it's too late now-they have an agreement. Never look back. Well, they haven't talked about it in so many words, never said that those three weeks were it, but it was sort of implied after Blaine asked for Kurt's number and Kurt didn't give it to him.
Blaine never asked again.
Kurt feels Blaine next to him, the warmth of his body, and feels the silent reproach tugging at his insides-you haven't asked him either.
Blaine stirs, his body stretching and twisting like he's looking for something until he turns around and finds Kurt by his side, curling into him and wrapping his arms around Kurt's chest in a tight, sleepy hug. He stills then, relaxing and slipping back into sleep like it was just Kurt's absence that woke him.
And Kurt aches with a feeling he can't quite identify-a little bit of longing, a quiet kind of sadness that makes his bones heavy and his heart clench. And something else, something wild and daring that scares and surprises him, makes him hug Blaine back, cradling him against his body like he's the most precious thing in the world. It's crazy.
It also won't go away.
He takes the opportunity when Blaine is in the shower, finds a little scrap of paper and a pen, scribbling away hastily before shoving the thing into Blaine's pocket. His heart is beating double-time, his palms sweating. This is a bad idea. He starts packing up the few things he has scattered around Blaine's room, working quickly, eyes wandering back to Blaine's pants with the note in it every few seconds.
He's about to go and remove it when the bathroom door opens and Blaine steps out, towel wrapped low around his hips, steering straight for his clothes. Well, fuck. Kurt jumps back like he's been caught, answers Blaine's almost shy smile with one of his own.
Okay, then. What's done is done.
They're awkward around each other that morning, barely touching, dressing in silence.
Blaine has decided he's going to leave too today, so he starts packing as soon as he's dressed, and Kurt rushes back to his own cabin to help Rachel gather all their stuff and get it out to the car.
He doesn't even bother being careful with his belongings, just wants to be done with it, and then he races back over to Blaine's, sitting on the steps outside while Blaine loads his bags into the trunk of his own car.
So. This is it.
Kurt doesn't quite know what to do, what to say. He doesn't even know what he feels anymore.
Blaine, finally done and ready to leave, looks at him, shoulders lifting in the tiniest of shrugs as if he's saying don't ask, I don't have a clue either.
“I guess I have to go,” Kurt says, getting up slowly.
“Yes.” Blaine takes a step closer. “I guess you have to.”
“Blaine-”
“I know.”
Another step closer and he can feel the heat radiating off Blaine's body, closes his eyes as Blaine's lips meet his own in what is supposed to be nothing more than a quick peck. The world falls away in that moment, a surge of longing spiking through Kurt's body that makes him let out a breathy moan as Blaine chases his lips, pulls him tight against his body to kiss him more deeply. He kisses back hungrily, eager to commit this all to memory: the way Blaine feels and smells and tastes and the way he holds him like he never wants to let go.
They do have to let go eventually, though-it's how the summer was always going to end.
They are still staring at each other when Rachel walks up to them, asking Kurt if he's ready to leave, the pity in her voice only making Kurt's throat feel even tighter. No he's not ready. He's not ready for this to be over.
But it is.
With a last hard kiss to Blaine's mouth he tears himself away, and the look on Blaine's face cuts into his heart like a knife. His eyes are shining and Kurt feels the tears prickling behind his own.
“Bye,” he says, not sure what else is left to say.
“Bye.” Blaine looks like he wants to say more, mouth opening and closing like the words just won't come out. “Kurt, I-”
“I know.” Kurt takes a step back, needing to get out of here quickly. If he doesn't, he'll cry, he knows it. And he doesn't want the summer to end in tears, he wants to remember all the fun he's had with Blaine.
Blaine just nods, hugs Rachel goodbye, and then gets behind the wheel, starting the car and driving away. He stops where the driveway meets the road, just for a moment, and Kurt thinks (hopes, prays) that he's changed his mind, that he's coming back (even though it wouldn't change a thing, their two weeks are up and they can't turn back time). But then his car starts moving again, fading into the distance with Blaine in it, faster than Kurt's aching heart can let go of him.
“We should leave,” Rachel reminds him, touching his arm carefully, as if she's afraid he'll break under her touch.
He turns his head, smiles at her in what he hopes is a cheerful manner. “We should.”
**
Rachel takes the first shift driving and Kurt stares out the window as the lake disappears, unable to speak. He can't.
“Ready for Ohio?” He asks eventually, and Rachel looks at him thoughtfully in return.
“You're doing it again,” she comments.
“What's that?” Kurt asks, slightly annoyed, because, seriously, what now. Can't she just pretend he's okay just this once?
“Pretending it doesn't affect you at all.”
“Maybe it really doesn't.”
“Oh, Kurt.” Rachel pats his hand in a mix between condescending and loving. “What am I going to do with you?”
Kurt sighs, rolling his eyes at her. “Okay. Not this again. Please.” He reaches for his bag, searching for his book or his iPod or something to entertain himself with so that he won't have to listen to this and, most importantly, won't have to think of hazel eyes and curly hair and sun-tanned skin against white sheets and lazy afternoons with a warm body slightly smaller than his own curled around him. Deciding that reading might be the best thing to do, he takes out the book he brought along for the car ride (car sickness has never been a problem for him), opening on the page where his bookmark is sticking out from between the pages.
Except... this isn't his bookmark at all.
“What-” He pauses, all the blood draining from his face before rushing back in a hurry, making him blush, a slow smile spreading across his face as his stomach flips.
“What is it?” Rachel glances over to him curiously, trying to see what Kurt is staring at.
He shows her the gum wrapper, just a crinkled piece of paper, but it's the hastily scribbled note on it that makes him smile. It's a series of digits followed by a few words: hope you find this and use it. I really like you and I really want to see you again. Blaine.
“Aww.” Rachel grins happily, bouncing in her seat. “He gave you his number. See? I was right all along! Please, please tell me you're going to call him. I don't mean to be pushy or anything, but you two are so cute together, I've never seen you as happy as you were during the last few weeks...”
Kurt starts laughing, doubling over with it until he can't breathe and he's happy, so happy and this is the best summer ever.
“What's so funny?” Rachel inquires, looking slightly puzzled.
“I slipped my number into his pants this morning when he was in the shower,” Kurt answers, a little out of breath, wiping at his eyes. “I just... I didn't think he'd want to...”
“And that's why you're stupid and should always listen to me.” Rachel sighs, punching him in the arm. “I told you!”
“Yes, whatever.” Kurt gives her a quick side-hug because he really loves her (he loves everything today) before he goes back to staring at Blaine's message. He has a feeling he'll be loving everything for a very long time.
**
Text from Blaine:
Guess who?
Kurt stares at the text, lying on his back on his old bed back home in Ohio, and grins widely.
Text to Blaine:
You found my message. Great. I found yours too, I was just about to text you first.
He doesn't have to wait more than a few seconds for a reply.
Text from Blaine:
I won! When will you be back in NY? More importantly, will you have coffee with me?
Kurt does his best not to squeal, he's not a thirteen-year old girl, after all.
Text to Blaine:
In three days, and yes. If you'll have dinner with me.
Text from Blaine:
Only if I can call it a date and you won't tease me about it.
Kurt rolls over and presses his face into the pillow, unable to stop grinning like an idiot. A date. All right. He can live with that, if he absolutely has to. It's going to be fine.
He has no trouble sleeping that night, and if all he dreams about are lazy kisses and a curly-headed boy with the sunniest smile in the world, that's fine too.
The End