Lost then Found 5/15
Chapter 5:
The next morning Kurt woke up and saw he had a new text message. It was from Dave.
“I’m really sorry about last night. I know it’s my fault too. I’m staying at the Benjamin.”
Kurt felt a slight flutter of hope in his chest, but knew he
needed to do something grand and epic to prove to Dave that he could
just be his friend, even if last night’s “best sex of his life” montage
kept playing in his head.
He called Lance’s office and spoke to his secretary, and within a
few hours, he had convinced Lance that Dave needed to be reminded why
Lance wanted to marry him. Even though it killed him to do it, he had
convinced Lance to take Dave on a romantic weekend to The Hamptons.
Later that afternoon Dave called him,
“Kurt, you’re never going to believe it! Lance is taking the
entire weekend off and we’re going to the Hamptons for a romantic
weekend before we meet his family!”
“Really? That’s great! I’m so happy for you and Lance.”
“I really am sorry for what I said last night. I felt terrible
all morning. I do love you Kurt, more than you’ll ever know, but I’m
with Lance now and I am in love with him.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me, Dave. I get it, honestly. I
had my chance a long time ago, and I never took it. Have fun with Lance
this weekend, I have to go rehearse for tonight’s show.”
“Bye, Kurt. I hope you have a good weekend too.”
Kurt hung the phone up and cried some more. He felt weak and
stupid and just dumb. He knew he was doing the right thing, but it
fucking hurt him to the core of his being.
Fuck. He hated that he actually had a soul. Otherwise, he’d been
wooing Dave so hard right now, Dave would never think of Lance again.
Instead, he was giving his best friend what he wanted, the man who
probably wasn’t right for him.
That evening he was invited to go out for drinks with Rebecca and
Alicia, two of his fellow actors in the show. He usually turned them
down, but on that night he was feeling low and needed a few drinks to
take the edge off, so he said yes.
He was taken to the local actor hangout, and ordered a Malibu and
coke. He hadn’t been sitting there very long when a gorgeous, tall, and
smoldering man sat down beside him.
Kurt turned his attention back to his drink and thought about how
drinks were loyal. They never sleep with someone then imply they are a
whore and a terrible person, and they don’t tell them they want nothing
to do with them, but they also do take all your money and make you sick.
He suddenly realized the man was trying to get his attention.
“Yeah?”
“Sorry, I was just asking if you had a lighter.”
“I don’t smoke, sorry.”
“No worries, it’s a terrible habit, one I hope to break someday.”
“Well, we all have our vices.”
“Really? You with the flawless skin and lithe body, have vices?”
“I like to have sex.”
The man choked on his drink and started laughing,
“Well at least you’re honest about it.”
“Yeah, well, it can get me into trouble.”
“You have a girlfriend, wife?”
“Nope.”
“Boyfriend?”
“I wish, but no, I am tragically very single.”
“I’m Luke.”
“Nice to meet you, Luke, I’m Kurt.”
“So, Kurt, I take it from your mannerisms and complete lack of control and charm, that you’re an actor.”
“I am indeed. I’m in a very small off-Broadway production.”
“Oh, well any production is better than none.”
“That’s true. It plays the bills and it keeps my mind off how
terribly single I am, and how fucking expensive a single Malibu and coke
is.”
“Well, I can buy you the next one, if you’d like.”
“Well that depends. If I let you buy me a drink, what are you expecting in return?”
“I was hoping for some more details.”
“Details about what?”
“Like who you are, what you like.”
“I’ll tell you what, you leave the bar with me and go to a diner a
few blocks away and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
“A diner? Really?”
“Yeah. I’m craving chili cheese fries and a rootbeer float.”
“You’ve got a deal.”
They walked comfortably to the diner and sat down in a booth.
“So, Luke, first things first, what do you do?”
“I’m a casting assistant for ‘Rent’.”
“Really?
“Yeah, really.”
“That seems glamorous.”
“It’s really not. It’s basically looking through resumes and throwing away the uggos.”
“Oh, wow. That seems a bit harsh.”
“Well, I get to make coffee too. It’s a very glamorous job.”
“And how old are you, Luke?”
“I’m 32. You?”
“I’m 29.”
“Live alone or with roommates?”
“I live with my cat named Pavel.”
“You?”
“I live alone, no pets.”
“Why? Because you don’t like them or you can’t keep them alive?”
“It’s an extra $100 a month and I didn’t feel like spending it.”
“So you’re good with money then?”
“I do okay. You?”
“I’m what people refer to as a spendthrift.”
“So, you’re a cheap bastard.”
“I guess.”
“So I can expect that if you were take me out on a date, you’d
expect me to either order only a salad or pay for my half of the meal.”
“I’m not that cheap, Kurt. You could also order soup.”
Kurt and Luke both laughed and Kurt felt really comfortable with Luke.
They stayed up taking until 4 a.m., and Kurt realized what time it was and that he had a yoga class at nine a.m.
“I’ve got to get home, Luke, but it was really nice to meet you.”
“You too, Kurt. I hope I hear from you soon.”
Luke held his number out to Kurt, who quickly put it in his phone.
On his way out he sent him a text that said,
“I paid for dinner this time, guess you’ll have to get next, you cheapskate.”
He got a response a few minutes later,
“It’s a date.”
Kurt grinned the entire way back to his apartment. Maybe there was still hope for him yet.