CHAPTER FIVE

Let's Get Physical

Twilight Inn Motel, Painesville, OH: Thursday, May 31

"Where are you?"

Dave stood underneath the only streetlamp in the near-empty parking lot. From where he stood, he could hear the traffic moving along the nearby interstate.

After meeting at the Hudson-Hummel residence, earlier that day, he, Kurt, Finn, and Santana had loaded their things into Kurt's Lincoln Navigator and around noon they departed for Camp Black Bear. Dave had been the one to enter the camp's address into Kurt's GPS and according to the navigational system, which sounded remarkably like Clive Owen, they were due to reach their destination by five o'clock. Nearly two and a half hours into their trip, a semi-truck carrying hazardous materials lost control and ended up on its side, shutting down both sides of I-90.

"We're at the Twilight Inn Motel in Painesville." Dave used his thumbs to massage away the dull throb at his temples. "Painesville is accurate. I have a pounding headache."

"David," Paul Karofsky spoke, worry creeping into his voice. "Are you sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, Dad. I probably just need to eat something. Santana's out scouting for food. Most of the restaurants are closed."

"And this motel," Paul spoke. "What's it like?"

"It's clean, if that's what you're asking," Dave said. "Dad – I'm safe. We're all safe. We all just need some sleep and then we'll try again in the morning."

"I hate that you missed your check-in at the camp."

"Santana spoke with one of the camp directors and apparently some of the other counselors ended up stuck behind the same accident as we were. They said it was no issue and that we can just check in by noon tomorrow."

"And you're sure you're okay?"

Dave laughed and said, "Dad, I promise I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Paul said. "It's quite lonesome here without you."

Dave lowered his head and said, "I know, Dad, but remember what Mr. and Mrs. Hummel said. Anytime you start feeling lonely, you can go over to their place."

"I know, I know," Paul said. "That was really nice of Burt and Carole."

"I think having me out of the house will do you some good."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with everything that's happened over the last couple of months, your entire attention has been focused on me, which I appreciate. Maybe it's time to focus on you. You know, get out. Go to a bar. Or to a movie. Maybe you can ask lawyerbabe3000 to go with you."

"Um, how did you know about that?"

Dave grinned at hearing the slight panic in his dad's voice. "Dad – relax. I was using your computer the other day and you were still logged into OkCupid. PS – you might want to start erasing your browser history."

"Jesus – I'm so embarrassed," Paul said.

"Dad – it's 2012. Online dating is nothing to be embarrassed over. So, hit up lawyerbabe3000 and tell her you want to meet up for dinner. But take things slow. I'm not ready for a stepmother yet."

"Okay – that's enough of that," Paul said.

Dave laughed. "Dad – do we need to have the talk?"

"Goodnight, David," Paul said. "Let me know when you leave out tomorrow morning."

Dave chuckled. "Will do, Dad. Goodnight."

Dave removed his Bluetooth earpiece and started walking towards the motel. He used his key to enter room 7. He found Finn lying on one of the two full-sized beds watching a basketball game on the TV. Finn looked up and craned his head in Dave's direction.

"Everything good?" he asked.

"Yeah – just checking in with my dad." Dave plopped down on the other bed and asked, "Where's Kurt?"

Finn gestured towards the bathroom. "He's doing his whole nighttime skin routine."

"Well, guess I won't be using the bathroom any time soon." Dave kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the other bed. "Who's playing?"

"The Celtics and the Heat."

The door to their room opened and Santana entered carrying two plastic bags.

"This place is like a ghost town," she said dropping the bags on the desk in the corner of the room. "There was only one gas station open, and it was sketch as hell. The guy behind the counter kept looking at me and licking his lips."

"Gross," Dave said. "Thanks for going out and getting us food."

Santana walked over and collapsed on the bed next to Dave. "Is Lady Hummel still in the bathroom?"

Both Dave and Finn nodded.

The bathroom door opened, and Kurt emerged wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of silk pajamas bottoms. Dave watched as Kurt moved across the room. He noticed how tight the t-shirt was across Kurt's chest and arms.

Kurt has muscles, he thought to himself. When did Kurt get muscles?

"Santana brought us snacks," Finn announced hopping off the bed. He walked over to the desk and started rummaging through both bags. "Dave, heads up."

Dave looked up just in time to catch a 20oz. Mountain Dew followed by a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. He turned to Santana and said, "You know me so well." He tore open the bag and shoveled a handful into his mouth.

"I guess we should discuss sleeping arrangements," Kurt said.

"What's to discuss?" Dave asked. "I figured you'd sleep with Finn and Santana and I will share."

Both Kurt and Santana said, "No."

"Sorry, Dave, but you snore and I'd hate to smother you in your sleep," Santana said.

"And Finn likes to kick," Kurt said. "Last time we went camping, we shared a tent and I woke up the next morning with bruises."

"Kinky," Santana said, waggling her eyebrows.

Kurt shot her an evil look.

"Fine," Dave said. "I'll share with Finn and you and Santana can share."

"No offense, but I don't think the bed is big enough for both of us," Finn said.

Dave sighed and said, "I guess I can sleep on the floor."

"Ew, no," Kurt said. "God knows when this carpet was last cleaned. You are not sleeping on the floor, Dave. Plus what about your back?"
Dave instinctively reached for his back. He had mentioned casually to Kurt that sometimes he had back pain. Years of playing hockey and football had put a lot of wear and tear on his 18-year-old body. He was surprised but not too surprised that Kurt had remembered this.

"My back will be fine. I can put a sheet down or something."

"That's dumb," Santana said. "You paid for this room, you should be sleeping in a bed."

"Yes," Kurt agreed. "You can share with me and Finn can share with Santana. It's not like they haven't slept together before."

Finn looked over at Santana and flushed a fierce shade of crimson.

"Fine," Santana said as she hopped up from the bed. She walked over to the small table between the two beds and yanked open the top drawer. She pulled out the Bible she found there and held it up. "But we are sleeping with this between us."

"Well," Kurt said. "That's settled. I'm exhausted so how about we call it a night. We have a long day ahead of us."

"I'm going to brush my teeth first," Finn said heading towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to call Brittany and let her know that we're in the middle of BFE," Santana said making her way to the door.

Once Finn and Santana had left the room, Dave looked over at Kurt who was busy munching on an Oreo and asked, "Um, Kurt – are you sure about this?"

"Sure about what?"

Dave watched as Kurt's tongue darted out of his mouth to lick the cream from the chocolate cookie.

"Um, us you know …" He looked over at the bed.

"Oh, David, don't be silly. It's a bed, not a marriage proposal." Kurt took a sip of Diet Coke. "Besides, my dad snores louder than anyone I know so your snoring is not going to bother me."

Dave nodded and took a swig of Mountain Dew.

Kurt plucked another Oreo from the pack. "You know, I can't believe we're going to be camp counselors."

Dave looked up at Kurt and grinned. "Yeah, me, too. I'm hella nervous. The last kid I was around was my cousin Cody and he hates me."

"You have nothing to be nervous about, David," Kurt said. "Everything you've been through this past year has prepared you for this role we're about to take on. Trust me, those kids are going to love you."

"You think?" Dave asked.

"Of course. What's not to love?" Kurt shrugged and popped the Oreo into his mouth.

Dave lowered his head and prayed that Kurt could not see the blush creeping across his face. Dave Karofsky was not a religious man but in that moment he silently thanked God that he would get to spend the entire summer with Kurt.

Dave finished off the bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and polished off the rest of the Mountain Dew. He waited for Santana to finish with her shower and then he grabbed a few items out of his bag and headed into the bathroom. He locked the door and wiped the residual steam from the mirror. In the harsh fluorescent lighting of the claustrophobic bathroom, he glimpsed an exhausted 18-year-old man in the mirror.

He ran his fingers along his jaw. Since leaving the hospital, he had really started to let his facial hair grow out. He had briefly considered shaving until Kurt had complimented his goatee a few weeks ago. After hearing that, Dave had vowed to never shave again.

Dave showered, dried off and changed into a Black Flag t-shirt and a pair of red nylon shorts. The lights were out in the main room and he could hear Finn snoring lightly. Dave set the alarm on his phone and plugged it into the outlet near his side of the bed. He took a deep breath and pulled back the covers. He slid into bed, careful not to disturb Kurt and lie flat on his back.

His heart was pounding in his throat as the reality of his current situation settled in. Being in bed with Kurt Hummel was something he thought and dreamed about often. He looked over and saw that Kurt had turned and was now facing him. Dave wanted to reach out and stroke his cheek. He wanted to pull Kurt over to his side of the bed. He wanted to press a kiss to his forehead and fall asleep with him in his arms.

Dave quietly scolded himself for entertaining such thoughts. Kurt Hummel was his friend. Nothing more. Nothing less. Thinking of Kurt as anything more than a dear friend would ultimately lead to heart ache and that was the last thing he needed to deal with right now.

Dave closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. Tomorrow would be the beginning of a new chapter of his life and he was both thrilled and terrified to see what awaited at Camp Black Bear.

Within five minutes he was sleep.

Dave opened his eyes to intense sunlight coming through the window. He yawned and blinked away the sleep from his eyes. He went to sit up but became aware of the heaviness on his chest. He looked down and could hardly believe what he saw. Kurt's head was on his chest and his arm was draped over his stomach.

Dave went rigid. He was cuddling with Kurt, or rather Kurt was cuddling with him. Nope, this isn't real, he thought to himself. This has to be a dream. Or a nightmare. He squeezed his eyes shut, counted to ten in his head and slowly opened them.

Kurt was still there, curled against Dave's body as if Dave were a body pillow or large stuffed animal. Dave took a deep breath and inhaled. Kurt's hair smelled like green apples. Dave wanted to reach out and run his fingers through that hair but thought against it. He wanted to savor this moment for as long as he could.

I do not deserve this, he thought to himself as he relished the feel of Kurt Hummel's body against his own. Seconds turned to minutes. An hour past and Kurt still clung to Dave. Aside from needing to pee, Dave was the most content he had been in quite some time. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Except his alarm. Dave's phone started to vibrate on the floor next to their bed and then The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" started playing.

"Shit," he whispered to himself as he attempted to reach for the phone without rousing Kurt.

Kurt yawned against his chest and started to squirm against him. Kurt's hand absentmindedly rubbed his belly. Dave closed his eyes and felt all the blood in his body rush to his groin.

"Turn it off," he heard Santana call from the other bed.

Kurt buried his face into Dave's chest and groaned. He slowly lifted his head and asked, "What time is it?"

Dave sighed and said, "Time to get up."

Kurt pressed his face back to Dave's chest and said, "I don't wanna get up."

"Why is that so loud?" Finn groaned.

Dave turned and leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his phone. He disabled the alarm and let his phone drop to the carpet.

Kurt slowly lifted his head and looked around and then slowly rolled over onto his back. He stretched and Dave heard the bones in his body crack and pop. Dave slowly sat up in bed and saw that Finn was lumbering towards the bathroom. He looked over at Santana who somehow managed to look hot despite having a severe case of bedhead.

"I get bathroom next," she said reaching for her phone.

Kurt reached for the remote and turned on the TV. He then turned to look at Dave and asked, "How'd you sleep?"

Dave rubbed at the back of his neck and said, "Like a rock."

Like a fucking rock.