Author's Note:
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving :) I'm thankful for my readers and especially my reviewers :) I have a few faithful reviewers (the -power-of-love, VoyageAsia and regularly I hate mosquitos, too), and I love their insights. I can't tell you how much it thrills me any time I get a review :) Not only does that inspire me and motivate me, it also tells me what about my story you like and dislike, so that I can tweak it. So reviewers help shape my story, definitely. That is why I wish to draw out all you quiet readers. Whoever writes a review about Chapter 21, gets a private message from me with a sneak peak at Chapter 22. That means you have to log in to review, seeing as I can't send private messages to guest reviewers, to my everlasting regret.
Chapter 21: Tell Us All About It"I'm humming as I make my way to work the next morning.
I can't help it. It's a gorgeous spring morning. The sky overhead is achingly blue, the birds are singing, the weather is warm, the flowers are blooming, and the drug dealers are out in full force, happily toting their wares. Let's face it, there's a lot to hum about. I'm happy—actually genuinely, one hundred percent happy—for the first time in—well, forever.
And not because I'm full of a high-calorie confection from the nearby coffee shop, either. But because I'm full of love.
Cloyingly sweet? Disgustingly trite? I know. I can't help it though." (Meg Cabot, Big Boned)
Blaine's alarm clock went off. It sounded strangely far away and muted. After a few moments, though, the sound became so annoying that Blaine blindly reached to silence it, but his hand encountered no alarm clock and no bedside table. He reached further, lost his balance and crashed onto the floor.
He shook his head groggily and sat up, blinking in surprise. What was he doing sleeping on the sofa in the living room? Ouch, his neck was stiff.
And then he remembered. He'd brought Kurt here after the nature walk. They had made pasta sauce together. They had watched Hoarders. They had kissed, and it was glorious. Kurt had given him a head rub, and he'd closed his eyes and enjoyed every minute of it.
He couldn't remember anything after that, so he supposed he must have fallen asleep. Not the best impression you could make on your brand-new boyfriend. Ah well …
Kurt must have tucked him in, he realised. An afghan was still firmly wrapped around his legs and torso, and it had kept him toasty warm all night.
He divested himself of the afghan, folded it in two and hung it back over the sofa. Then he stretched himself, popping the kinks in his neck, back and arms, and slouched to the kitchen. Coffee. He needed coffee.
He veered off-track when the insistent noise of his alarm clock broke through his stupor again, and went to his bedroom first, to switch the irritating thing off.
On his way back to the kitchen, his eye was drawn to a yellow Post-it stuck to his laptop screen. From Kurt, no doubt!
The note said:
Dear Blaine,
You fell asleep and I really don't want to wake you up, you need your rest! I hope you don't mind, but I ate some of the pasta dish we made together. It was really yummy, by the way. You will find the rest of it in the fridge.
I had a really great time with you this afternoon. It's good that I can go home early, though, I really need to get some work done. I've been skiving off since Friday!
Miss you already …
Love,
Kurt xxx
Blaine smiled. He'd liked the fact that Kurt had dropped everything on Monday to spend the afternoon with him. And what a lovely afternoon it had been! Kurt was his boyfriend now! They had kissed! It was everything he'd been dreaming of for years, and he couldn't be happier.
He found his cell phone and sent two texts to Kurt.
To Kurt Hummel:
Morning sunshine! Sorry I fell asleep on you yesterday.
To Kurt Hummel:
And of course it was okay for you to eat the dinner we made.
He didn't get an immediate response, so he put his cell phone in his bag and showered, got dressed, made himself some blueberry pancakes and then walked to school, humming the whole time.
After a lesson about the seasons, talking about the cycle of plants growing and bearing fruit and dying and then sprouting again in spring, and more in particular about why tree leaves change colours in fall, the children made a fall leaf wreath to take home and hang on their front door.
At noon, Blaine headed to the teachers' room with his sandwiches. Tina was there already, and it was clear that she was dying to know what was going on between Blaine and Kurt. She made a beeline for him, steered him to a table, plumped into a chair and ordered: "Spill!"
Blaine chuckled. "Can I at least eat my sandwiches first?"
Chelsey joined them at their table, and she and Tina said in unison and very firmly: "No."
Chelsey took Blaine's hand and squeezed it excitedly, bouncing up and down in her chair. "You know you want to talk about it. Come on, Blaine, give us details, please. You can't just turn up out of the blue with a yummy stranger and hold hands with him and everything, and then leave us guessing. Who is this Kurt? When and where did you meet him? Is he your boyfriend? Have you guys kissed yet? Have you had sex yet? Tell us all about it, come on!"
Blaine grinned widely. "Okay, okay. Actually, Tina has known Kurt for much longer than I have, so for more in-depth information, you'll have to pump her. Anyway, I met Kurt at the book fair last Friday. Tina introduced us. And then Kurt forgot his phone at the fair and I found it, and he came to pick it up on Saturday, and I kind of invited him to Tina's Halloween party on Sunday. He came to the party, and we talked for hours, and it was wonderful. And then I invited him to come along on our nature walk, and Robby was being nosy, as usual, and asked all sorts of questions, among others if Kurt was my boyfriend, and he said 'Not yet', so I asked him. So yes, we're boyfriends now. And yes, we've kissed. No more than that, though, Chelsey. We're taking it slow."
Tina and Chelsey both squealed.
"I'm so happy for you both," said Tina. "Seriously, I've been meaning to introduce you for years, but neither of you is very sociable. I think this is the first time you've come to a party of mine, and the same goes for Kurt, so thank goodness for that book fair. I always knew that the two of you belonged together. You're both true romantics, and you like the same music and the same television programmes. And you both love to read and to cook. I'm sure you'll be one of those couples who finish each other's sentences and feed each other titbits when you go out for dinner."
"Rather like you and Mike then?" asked Blaine slyly.
They all laughed.
"So when's the next date?" inquired Tina.
"I don't know," said Blaine. "Maybe this weekend? I haven't heard from him yet today."
He checked his cell phone, but there were no new messages. He felt a bit disappointed, but decided to send Kurt some more texts.
To Kurt Hummel
Last afternoon was magical.
To Kurt Hummel
I love spending time with you.
To Kurt Hummel
When can I see you again?
He hoped he wouldn't have to wait until the weekend. Maybe he could drive to Lima after school one day and surprise Kurt.
The afternoon passed quickly, with a maths lesson that taught his third graders some money skills. Basically, they all pretended to go Christmas shopping, buying presents for their family and friends. The presents were an assortment of books, CDs and toys Blaine had priced with a sticker.
Blaine gave the children real money to shop with, one dollar bills and an assortment of coins: half-dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. Half of his class played the role of cashier, the other half were shoppers, and as soon as the shoppers had finished their purchases, the roles were switched and the former shoppers took to handling the cash register.
Blaine encouraged the shoppers to count the dollars and coins aloud for the cashiers, and helped both parties whenever necessary. They did remarkably well. With the incentive of getting a present and not paying too much for it (shopper) or getting the exact sales price for a certain item (cashier), counting and adding and subtracting proved a lot more interesting and rewarding.
He rewarded them for their hard work by taking his guitar and inventing a silly song about a man going Christmas shopping and everything going wrong. The refrain had very simple lyrics they could all sing along to, and between fits of giggles, the children sang along lustily.
That concluded the school day, and Blaine brought his class to the schoolyard, straightened up his classroom, helped Chelsea carry a few boxes of Thanksgiving decorations to the Round Room and then waved goodbye and went home.
As soon as Blaine stepped off the school grounds, he checked his phone again. No messages. Kurt wasn't having second thoughts, was he?
Okay, one more text, and then I'll wait until after business hours. He's probably hard at work. Doesn't he take any lunch or coffee breaks, though? Ah well … I'll give him until 6 PM, and then I'll call him.
To Kurt Hummel
Kurt?
Author's Note:
Want a sneak peak at the next chapter? You know what to do ;)