"Come on Kurt! We're here already you might as well try something on. I've never seen you go this long without shopping." Rachel was talking loudly from behind a changing room door in the back of an American Eagle. She had dragged Kurt out to help her find some new jeans to go with her newly updated look and this was the first store they'd found within their college budget.
"I've never bought anything here Rachel, I don't see why I should start now. Besides, this is where about half of Finn's wardrobe is from. I do not want to adopt his fashion sense, thanks very much." Kurt was leaning against the wall opposite Rachel's room, waiting for her to put her own clothes back on so she could buy the two pairs she found that made her legs look excellent. Finally, she poked her head around the door with an exasperated look on her face.
"You're not gonna look like Finn just because you wear some more casual clothes every now and then. Come on, I won't take no for an answer." She grabbed Kurt's hand and dragged him to the men's clothes on the other side of the store. As Rachel started rummaging through racks and piles Kurt stood at her side placidly, occasionally accepting an item she demanded he try on. After Kurt had accumulated more than a few items in his hands he was still standing around and following Rachel but he did have to admit it felt nice to be shopping again. He'd avoided using retail therapy as a coping mechanism after October's incident but it was about time he treated himself to some new clothes. And maybe it was about time he treated himself to a new boy as well.
"Are you finding everything all right?" A decidedly not American accent asked from behind Kurt and he turned, startled out of his thoughts. The sales associate had curly blonde hair, partly covered by a floppy beanie, and he wore a casual cream henley and some jeans, all American Eagle make. He was cute and the accent just made him all the more attractive.
"Umm, yeah I think so. Uh, Rachel was just helping me pick some things out." Kurt managed to stammer through his response in a mostly coherent manner. The associate just smiled.
"Would you like me to start a fitting room for you while you keep shopping?" He held his hands out and Kurt placed the things he was holding into them.
"Sure, thank you." Kurt smiled, regaining a little bit of his confidence.
"And your name was..."
"Kurt. I'm Kurt."
"All right Kurt, I'll get these set up for you, just come find me when you're ready."
"Okay, thanks." Kurt continued to stare after him as he walked back to the fitting rooms until Rachel slapped him on the shoulder.
"He was so cute!" She whispered conspiratorially.
"I know! Now keep shopping so I can try all this on soon." The two continued to shop, Kurt now actively searching for clothes he found interesting. Just seeing the cute, British sales associate had put a new spring in Kurt's step. He was smiling and happy to be out with his best friend in a great city where he could literally shop until he broke if he was in the mood to. It's funny how British accents can make you feel like that sometimes. After another five minutes or so Kurt and Rachel had picked out another several things, Rachel also spotting a couple of cute tops where the men's clothes started turning into the women's section. They made their way back towards the fitting rooms once more, keeping their eyes peeled for the cute British sales associate who they found refolding a stack of sweaters at a table in the corner.
"You two all set? Come on back." He continued to be all charming smiles as he waved the two back into the surprisingly empty fitting rooms. Actually, the whole store wasn't very crowded but maybe it was just the fact that it was 11:00 am on a Tuesday morning. "Okay, Kurt, I've got your things in this room here. And, Rachel, was it? This room will be yours." He pointed to a room next to the one he had opened for Kurt and let Rachel come through. Kurt sidled into his room with the extra things he had picked out and almost shut the door before the associate turned back to him quickly. "If you guys need anything, my name is Adam. Just give us a shout." Adam smiled and started to back out of the fitting rooms just as a brilliant idea came to Rachel.
"Actually, Adam?" She called from her doorway. "Kurt's never shopped here before and he's very particular about his clothing. It might help to have a second opinion if you're not too busy?" Rachel pulled out her most innocent face as she glanced between Adam's perpetual smile and Kurt's embarrassed one, his cheeks slightly redder than they had been a minute ago. He knew exactly what Rachel was up to.
"I'd be happy to help. Let me just grab the rest of my folding so I can multitask." Adam popped out of the room quickly with an excited bounce in his step. It was clear that he was delighted someone wanted his help. The life of a sales associate must be dominated by rude people if they work in New York, so finding nice people would be a relief.
"Rachel, you devious little girl." Kurt smirked before he ducked into his changing room and shut the door.
"I try." You could hear the smirk in her voice. "And I think you'll thank me later."
"We'll see," Kurt smiled to himself as he started to change into a new pair of jeans and a henley similar to the one Adam was wearing. He examined himself in the mirror for a moment and had to admit that he did not look too bad. Plus the material of the shirt was incredibly comfortable.
"Kurt! We're waiting!" Rachel called from outside his door. Apparently Adam had returned silently as he waited for them to both change and as Kurt opened his door he saw both Adam and Rachel standing there next to a pile of sweaters half-folded. Rachel had donned a pair of the jeans she'd picked out earlier as well as a crocheted peplum t-shirt kind of item that looked very nice on her. Kurt's new outfit consisted of the long sleeve henley tee, a dark navy blue color, and a pair of medium wash jeans, skinny, but not skintight. Adam and Rachel had their attention fixed on him as he did a sort of awkward turn, not really used to this kind of attention any more.
"I love it Kurt!" Rachel smiled and clapped her hands together in front of her chest. "What do you think Adam?" Adam blinked at her for a moment after he had torn his attention away from Kurt, trying to register what her question was. Then his charming smile was right back in place and he was focusing it in Kurt's direction.
"I think you look excellent Kurt." Adam gulped slightly, almost managing to make it unnoticeable (but Rachel notices everything), before continuing. "The jeans fit really well."
"Thanks." Kurt smiled back at Adam as brightly as he could manage without looking obnoxiously happy about the fact that this super cute British guy was giving him compliments. There was an awkward beat where the trio just kind of looked at each other and then:
"Alright you two, next outfits!" Adam shooed them both back into their rooms and thus began the procession of trying on clothes. They each took turns judging the outfits of the others as they came out and Kurt decided on a pair of jeans as well as two henley shirts and Rachel added the peplum top and a sweater to her pile. Adam had good-naturedly gone along with their antics and given honest and flattering opinions on which pieces he thought suited each best. Most of the time, he couldn't keep his eyes off Kurt and Kurt returned the favor as often as he could as well.
"Kurt, do you trust me enough to grab just a few more things for you to try?" Adam asked when Kurt had announced that he was on the last outfit that he had picked out, Rachel having finished with her things a few minutes earlier.
"Yes, yes I do." Kurt smiled warmly at him.
"Great, I'll be back in just a minute." As soon as Adam had left the room Rachel rushed up to Kurt and initiated a whispered conversation.
"Okay, you have to ask for his number!"
"What! Rachel, we just met the guy. And I don't even know if he's gay. It's not exactly a question you just ask a guy!" As much as Kurt would love to maybe go out to coffee with this guy he was not about to chance embarrassing himself by asking out a straight guy.
"Please, Kurt. He has been checking you out this entire time. I'm pretty sure he's gay."
"He was looking at me because you asked him to help me pick out what clothes looked best. It's his job, it has nothing to do with him being interested in me."
"Well there's only one way to find out! Just live a little. We're in New York, you deserve to have some fun!"
"Rachel, I-" Kurt cut off as Adam walked back in with a small pile of clothes which he proceeded to hand to Kurt.
"If you hate it don't be scared to tell me. I won't be offended." Adam shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall opposite Kurt. Kurt had to admit it made for a very pleasant picture. This guy could model for the store so easily.
"I'm sure I'll love them." Kurt ducked back into his room and changed quickly. The new outfit consisted of a pair of dark wash jeans, skinnier than the ones he had tried on before, a white v-neck tee, and a white oxford with red pinstripes. Kurt had to admit the clothes looked great on him. Adam had quite the eye for style. He played around with the buttons on the shirt for a minute before he decided to leave them all undone and he rolled up the sleeves passed his elbows. Overall it gave him a very relaxed, very sexy look. The v-neck was tight enough to show off his body just a bit but it was nothing over the top, and the jeans were just tight enough that they hugged his hips and bum quite nicely before giving his legs a little more room.
"Adam, just so you know, you are responsible for it when my dad tells me I've bought too many new clothes again." Kurt called before he swung open the door to reveal the spectacle that was himself. Following his instincts Kurt leaned his shoulder against the door, imitating Adam's hands in pocket move, while crossing his ankles. Now Kurt was the one painting a pleasant picture while Adam just stood there in silence for a moment. Rachel was off to the side grinning like an idiot at the pair of them.
"Well Kurt I am happy to take the blame if it means I can see you looking like this." And there it was, a direct, unmistakable flirt. Adam was flirting. Adam was flirting with Kurt. Adam the cute, blonde, charming, British American Eagle sales associate was flirting with an increasingly excited Kurt Hummel. It was time to break out the big guns.
"I've gotta say you have a great eye Adam! I love the jeans." Kurt emphasized the latter statement with a swivel of his hips as he turned around to show off the back. He peaked around his shoulder with a coquettish grin just in time to catch Adam tearing his eyes away from Kurt's butt.
"Well, I love the jeans on you." Adam returned his flirtatious smile. Just as Kurt was about to shut the door he heard Adam mutter under his breath. "And you have a great ass." Kurt smiled to himself the whole time he was changing back to his old clothes and Adam' s outfit was added to the pile of things he was buying. Now that he had confirmation that Adam was in fact, interested, all he had to do was somehow muster the courage to do something about it.
He didn't have to worry though. As soon as he finished changing Rachel dragged him up to the counter where Adam proceeded to cash them out. Rachel purchased her things first, handing over her rewards card and spelling out her new school email for coupons. Because Kurt had never shopped at American Eagle Adam signed him up for a rewards card of his own (which Kurt was positive would see good use as long as Adam worked here). The last piece of information needed for the rewards program was his number and as soon as Kurt had given it, Adam shoved a bit of blank receipt paper towards Kurt. "You wouldn't mind writing down your number for me one more time, would you?"
Kurt smiled at the smooth, inconspicuous way of asking for his number and wrote it down gladly. Feeling a spurt of bravery he also scribbled down a smiley face with a call me added next to it. Without looking at the paper Adam quickly pulled it off the counter and slipped it into his pocket, hoping his manager hadn't seen him hitting up a customer for their number while he was working.
All too soon Kurt and Rachel were back on the streets of New York, heading towards a nearby Starbucks to pickup some coffee for the return journey to Bushwick before both of their night classes. As he was paying for his nonfat mocha coffee Kurt pulled out his AE receipt with the intent of sticking it in his wallet to file back at the apartment and he noticed, scrawled across the top Adam Crawford with a phone number and his hours for the rest of the week. Kurt folded up the receipt carefully and put it in his pocket quickly, without Rachel noticing. Although she did notice the wide smile spread across Kurt's face the rest of the afternoon, and evening, and right up until the moment they parted ways to their separate classrooms at NYADA.