Day 1: Take a Chance on Me (Abba)
A/N: Hi, all! I'm super-excited to be doing the Klaine Valentine's Day Challenge again this year. Hope you enjoy!
"Morning, Kurt!"
Kurt looked up from his desk at the boisterous greeting. He couldn't help but break out into a wide grin at the sight of his very chipper friend and co-worker, Blaine.
"And a good morning to you. What has you so extra-bouncy this morning?" he replied.
"Well," Blaine walked around the desk to Kurt's side, perching himself on the edge of the desk and peering around conspiratorially before leaning in close. "I have in this folder something very exciting and dangerous. I'll share with you, but you have to promise to keep it on the DL." He clutched a manila folder tightly to his chest and had dropped his voice to a stage whisper.
Kurt could barely contain his laughter. "On the DL, Blaine? Really?"
Blaine broke character, leaning back and dropping his shoulders. "Aw, come on, Kurt. You're no fun," he pouted.
"Ok, ok. Fine. Show me the contraband, Lefty. I promise not to squeal to the cops," Kurt said with an old-school gangster drawl.
Looking around furtively once more, Blaine put the folder down on the desk and flipped it open dramatically.
Kurt studied the piece of paper inside the folder. His brow furrowed in confusion as he tilted his head one way and then the other. "Um, what exactly am I looking at?" Kurt asked, pointing at the blank grid on the page in front of him.
"Superbowl Squares!" Blaine exclaimed, far too loudly for someone who was supposed to be hiding something. At Kurt's blank expression, Blaine realized some additional explanation would be necessary. He hopped off the edge of the desk and turned around, leaning down close to Kurt.
"It works like this. You see, we have the name of one of the teams written across the top, and the other written along the left side," he said, indicating each team's name with his finger, brushing his arm against Kurt's in the process. "You pick a square, or two, if you like, and write your name in it. Then, once all the squares are filled, Jeff and I will randomly draw numbers from zero to nine and write them across the top and down the side. At the end of the game, if the teams' scores end in the two numbers that match your square, you win!"
When he was finished with his tutorial, he turned to look at Kurt. His breath caught in his throat with a little "Oh," as he realized just how close they were. As he retreated to a more respectable distance, he couldn't help but notice the faint flush on Kurt's cheeks that he was sure hadn't been there a moment earlier.
Kurt cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly in his chair, turning his attention to the empty squares as if they held the answers to the secrets of the universe. "Um, oh…okay, yeah," he muttered. He smoothed a non-existent wrinkle out of the corner of the page and asked, "So what is it I'll win if I play?"
"It's $5.00 per square to play, and we're selling 100 squares, so the winner gets $500.00! Isn't that great?" Blaine proclaimed proudly.
Kurt glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Isn't that illegal?"
Blaine chuckled. "Relax, Kurt. It's an American tradition." He produced a pen from his pocket with a flourish, holding it out to Kurt. "Go ahead. Take a chance," he whispered.
Kurt stared up at Blaine, locking eyes with him. After a moment, he smiled slowly and took the pen without breaking eye contact. "Okay, Blaine. But if the feds come after me, I won't hesitate to sing like a canary." Returning his attention to the paper, he twirled the pen a couple of times before choosing a space and writing his name boldly across it. He handed the folder, the pen, and a $5.00 bill from his wallet over to Blaine.
"Does this make you my bookie now?" he questioned cheekily.
Blaine answered with a wink that made Kurt blush once more. He started to leave, but then spun around abruptly as he remembered one other question. "I'm going to see you at Jeff's Superbowl party on Sunday, right?"
Kurt's face fell momentarily before he schooled his features. "Oh, um, no, I don't think so," he replied. "To be honest, I had my fill of football back in Ohio, and I decided that I didn't need to subject myself to it anymore. It's just not my thing, you know?"
Blaine couldn't help but let his disappointment show. "But it won't be the same without you," he whined.
Kurt sighed, battling with himself. Truly, there was nothing he'd enjoy less than spending an evening watching a football game. But if Blaine was going to be there…
"You know," Blaine mused aloud, moving back to sit on the edge of the desk once more, "I'm not necessarily all that excited about the game, either."
"Blaine, you were all hyper about the Superbowl Squares five seconds ago," Kurt retorted incredulously.
"Sure, that part is fun," he shrugged, "and I like the food, and being with people, and some of the commercials, but as for the game itself? I don't actually like either team, and I'm not rooting for one over the other. So, what do you say you come over to my place instead? We'll make some awesome appetizers, play some board games, and keep the TV on in the background to watch the commercials and the halftime show?"
Kurt turned in his chair to face Blaine directly. "I can't have you do that, Blaine. You'll miss the party! You go; I'll be fine. Honest. It's not like I'm spending Christmas alone or anything. It's no big deal."
"Kurt," Blaine placed his hand over Kurt's where it lay on the desk, cheering internally when Kurt didn't try to pull away, "believe me when I say that spending the evening playing games with you sounds much more fun to me than going to that party. I mean it," he insisted, slightly curling his fingers around Kurt's hand, nearly holding it properly now. He smiled softly and echoed his prior statement. "Go ahead. Take a chance." On me, he added to himself.
The bright smile on Kurt's face was enough of an answer for Blaine.
Later that afternoon, Blaine caught up with Jeff to hand over the completed sheet of squares. "Here you go, Jeff. Oh, by the way, I won't be able to make it to the party after all."
"What? Why?" Jeff complained.
Blaine didn't want to tell Jeff the reason for his change of plans, not yet. "I'm sorry, but an opportunity of a lifetime arose and I couldn't pass it up."
Jeff laughed. "Geez, when you put it like that…" He playfully fake-punched Blaine in the shoulder. "Whatever, man. Won't be the same without you. All I know is that you're going to miss out on the best night ever!" he hollered over his shoulder as he walked away.
Blaine shook his head and wandered back towards his desk, catching Kurt's eye across the office. He waved, and nearly tripped over his own feet at the adorable little wave Kurt sent back. Missing out on the best night ever? "Don't bet on it," he whispered to himself.
A/N: I don't usually participate in the Superbowl Squares game at my office, so if I got the details wrong, please forgive me. I think I got the gist of it, though I know sometimes they do prizes for quarter scores and halftime scores, etc. I didn't think it was worth getting into that much detail here. After all, Kurt and Blaine are going to have a date! Who cares about squares?