Seb returned Kurt's smile, trying not to make it too big. This whole day had been going so, so well. Don't blow it, Smythe.
Their meeting with the client had gone smoothly, and he had asked questions that had Kurt giving him some longer looks. Seb grinned internally, knowing Kurt had been impressed with his work. Not just a pretty face, eh?
He felt a bit like a baseball pitcher trying for a no-hitter. He was in the bottom of the 7th...just a few more throws to see if he could have a perfect game. The next 'pitch' was going to be a hard one. He had to get this just right.
Placing his documents into a folder, Seb tilted his head slightly. "So, it's getting pretty late, Kurt. I've heard there is a great place for tapas a couple blocks from here. Would you like to try it out?"
Kurt's eyes widened a little in surprise, and Seb found he was actually holding his breath while he waited for a reply. Come on, say Yes. Yes, yes, yes... Seb tried to appear nonchalant, his heart beating faster. When had he last felt like this around a guy...?
"Um, well, that's a nice offer, Sebastian. But the weather outside is...," Kurt glanced towards the windows, the snowflakes swirling fast and angry against the glass.
"...frightful." Seb finished his sentence, nodding. But my dear, you're so delightful...All day, he had to keep his expression friendly, not staring too long into Kurt's incredible eyes.
Kurt gave a pleased look back. His demeanour had definitely warmed towards Seb during the day, from distant politeness to easy smiles and light joking. Maybe by the end of a meal with a couple glasses of wine, it could move to flirting... Maybe even more.
Kurt clicked his briefcase closed. "Yes, exactly. How about next time you are in town?"
Trying to keep the disappointment from showing too much, Seb nodded in acceptance. He had tried so hard, all day, and this was much further than he'd ever gotten with Kurt before.
Getting up, he sauntered over to Kurt, sitting in the edge of the boardroom table near him, stretching out his long legs. What the hell...might as well try...
"Or you could come up to my hotel room, Kurt. We could order up room service and a great bottle of red. I promise I'd keep you warm all night." He let his eyes heat up a bit, looking over Kurt appreciatively.
Pushing back with his wheeled chair, Kurt stood up fast. "Really? You think you can be nice to me for one day and I'll hook up with you?" Grabbing his coat, Kurt roughly pushed his arms into the sleeves and yanked it into place. "I was starting to rethink my impression of you, Sebastian. But I guess my first one was right."
Sighing, Seb watched as Kurt strode out the door. There was no way he could say anything else now to fix it. Dropping down into his chair, he turned to face the window, steepling his fingers as he thought over the whole day. What could he do better tomorrow? How could he draw Kurt in more, so he would accept his dinner offer?
They said their goodbyes to the client, and Seb unbuttoned his vest, slipping it off to drape over the back of his chair. Unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt, he looked out of the window as he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.
"Hope you don't mind me getting a bit more comfortable." He turned to find Kurt looking him over, and smiled to himself as Kurt started a little at Seb's comment. Hmmm...Violet at the store had been right about that.
Kurt stood to take off his own suit jacket. "Um, no, not at all. It's a bit warm in here."
Seb nodded in agreement. Office buildings were bad for overheating their interiors when the weather got cold. But he doubted that was why there was a slight flush to Kurt's cheeks.
Sitting down beside Kurt, Seb scooted his wheeled office chair a little closer. He pointed to Kurt's papers from the meeting. "I noticed you took a lot of notes, letting me ask most of the questions. Is that how you normally work?"
Kurt blinked fast a couple times, and then his gaze dropped to the page. "At this stage, I do like to put myself in the juror's viewpoint, watching how the client interacts with the lawyer. They can't ask questions; they can only watch."
It sounded like a reasonable explanation, but Seb could swear that Kurt's eyes had lingered on him the last hour a bit more than necessary. Deciding to test it a little, Seb scooted even closer. "What were you madly scribbling away on here anyways?" He looked down at Kurt's handwriting, tilting his face this way and that with an exaggerated squint.
Chuckling, Kurt snatched up his notepad and clutched it to his chest. "Those are my private notes!"
His eyes mischievous, Seb pulled at the top of the notepad with a long finger, angling his face to peer over the top. He chuckled when Kurt's grip got firmer, his eyes flashing with mock affront.
"Ha! The way you are hiding them makes me think there are more than just work notes on there. Were you doodling hearts with our initials in it or something? Sketching my ass?" Seb leaned in closer, his grin as flirty as he could make it. Kurt smelled delicious, and he just wanted to nuzzle his face into his neck.
Kurt's chuckle sent a warm bubble rising through Seb. The way those gorgeous blue-grey eyes met and held Seb's made his breath catch. There was definitely an interested spark there. A Maybe when before there had only been a No.
Easing back a little, Seb looked down, not wanting to screw this up. "Um, seriously though, Kurt, I value your input on this case."
Looking a bit surprised, Kurt went over his views on the meeting, bringing up things Seb hadn't considered. Leaning back in his chair, Seb stretched out his long legs, and listened attentively.
Eventually Kurt started, looking down at his phone. "Oh shit, you shouldn't have let me ramble on so long. It's getting pretty late."
Sitting up straighter, Seb shrugged in response. "It was really interesting, actually. Would you like to go for some dinner and continue our talk?"
Seb found himself holding his breath again... Come on, come on...say Yes... He could tell Kurt was wavering, right on the edge.
With a small smile, Kurt nodded. "OK, Sebastian. I'd like that. Have you been to Brava Bistro yet? They have great tapas."
"No, that's sounds great." Even if he'd eaten there three times a day for years, Seb would have said that. Heart pounding, Seb stood up and rolled down his sleeves, buttoned the cuffs and slipped his vest and suit jacket back on. Kurt's eyes seemed to follow a lot of his motions.
Hmmmmmm... Maybe if this dinner went well, Kurt could watch him doing the opposite in a few hours. The thought of those blue eyes watching as Seb slowly stripped, taking his time, started a slow burn down deep. A curl of arousal that was never far from the surface when he was around Kurt.
And most surprising was that the more time he spent with Kurt, the stronger the desire grew. With most men, it would have faded long ago. Seb would have shrugged and said 'Next!' But since he'd been coming to the office the last couple weeks, he hadn't even bothered arranging for a hook-up.
"So, where did you live before moving to Boulder?" Seb sipped his Shiraz, feeling pleasantly full and relaxed.
Kurt was showing the signs of the wine he had been sipping, his laugh easier, and talking more freely. Seb was going to exploit it, get everything he could out of his attractive dinner date.
An embarrassed look flitted across Kurt's features, and his gaze dropped a little. "Well, believe it or not, I moved to New York originally to go to a performing arts college."
"What a waste of time!" Seb chuckled, a knee-jerk response he immediately regretted.
Oh shit.
Kurt's expression flared with surprise and hurt, and was quickly replaced with the icy bitch face. "Yeah, well, it turned out that way. I ended switching to a different school after a couple years."
But Seb's one little comment had killed the feeling he had worked all day to build.
*** Next day ***
"So, where did you live before living in Boulder?" Seb tried to keep relaxed as he tried the question the next day. He had been lucky enough to get Kurt out for dinner again.
Kurt's embarrassment flashed over his face, and Seb could tell this was a sensitive issue for him. "Well, believe it or not, I originally went to a performing arts college in New York."
Seb raised his eyebrows, nodding. "Wow! I never would have guessed that. So, you trained in dance, or acting?"
Some of the tension in Kurt's expression eased a little, but not entirely. "I took classes in those subjects, but my major was singing."
Ten inappropriate responses flashed through Seb's mind, and he settled for the mildest. "You have a very distinctive voice."
Chuckling, Kurt took another sip of his wine. "Perhaps a bit too distinctive. I realized that I would have a hard time finding work once I graduated, unless it was the sassy gay friend of the female lead or something."
"But still… to move your whole career path from the arts to law. That is a huge change." Seb found himself leaning forward, not having to feign his interest at all.
Biting his bottom lip a little, Kurt seemed to turn inwards a little. Seb could tell he was thinking about his past. What had happened when Kurt was only twenty or so?
Seeming to make up his mind, Kurt met Seb's eyes steadily. "There was a gay bashing not far from where I lived at the time, and the victim was left in a coma. It hit me pretty hard, with some similar stuff I had dealt with during high school. One night, I had an argument with a friend and stormed off. That fight and everything else just had built up in me…so when I saw a young guy being beaten up, I rushed in to his defense. And ended up in the hospital myself." He shook his head slowly, his eyes dipping down to where his fingers were toying with his cloth napkin.
Holy crap. Seb stared at Kurt's downturned face, totally at a loss for how to respond. He had never been around anyone gay bashed, and had tended to hang around with sporty straight guys growing up. "Um, that's awful, Kurt. But I can understand how that could happen. Get caught up in the moment like that."
The answer must have been OK, because Kurt lifted his head, searching Seb's green gaze. "My father and my friends all yelled at me, thought I'd acted stupidly. But it made me realize how long I'd been fighting that type of shit."
"And you quit your program just like that?" Seb found he couldn't look away from the intense look in Kurt's eyes, baring so much, being so brave.
Kurt shook his head, a wry grin on his full lips. "I finished up the semester. But that fall I was at NYU, majoring in psychology, mostly focused on behavioral science and criminology."
It made Seb feel a bit shallow, knowing he had only gone into law because of the money and prestige. Loving beating a good opponent, proving he was smarter, more ruthless. Kurt's reason for going into the field was so much better.
"So, you are actually trying to make the world a better place?" Seb said softly.
Shrugging a shoulder, Kurt still looked a bit vulnerable at all he had revealed. "My father ran a tire and lube shop, and became a congressman to stand up for gay rights. Fighting to make better laws for various minorities."
Seb's parents had always been mostly into getting more wealth and power. Whoever had the most stuff when they died won, right? Seb dropped his gaze, fumbling for a comment, a reply. And was stuck for words.
"Hey, sorry for bringing up all this heavy stuff." Kurt tapped a hand against Seb's forearm, giving a small smile when he looked up. "So, have you seen the latest Star Wars movie?"
The conversation moved onto lighter topics, and Seb felt more comfortable keeping up his side of it. He was glad to know all this about Kurt, filing the information carefully away in his mind, but knew he wouldn't go down this path of questions again, asking Kurt about his past.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Hi everyone! Happy New Year. Sorry it's taken so long to do this update. I was willing, but my muse was on a holiday. This story is proving to be more challenging to write than I anticipated, but I am still committed to finish it, even if my progress is slow.
