CHAPTER 3

For the first few days after their visit with Irene Coop insisted on calling him Anthony. Every time he heard it, Blaine wanted to clock him in the head. Kyle had called him and said things were going smoothly, ahead of schedule actually, and that he should be able to move in on Friday. Unfortunately Blaine was working his first night at a new job on Friday, so he said he'd probably get his stuff in there Saturday. After all, it wasn't as if he had a ton of things to move in anyway.

Instead, he went with Kyle to the gym on Friday when Kyle got off work. It wasn't as upscale as the gym he belonged to back home, but it would do. It had a New York grittiness to it that made Blaine think of old 'Rocky' movies. He snickered at this. He mentally worked the gym membership into his monthly budget and signed up, getting his laminated card and attaching it to his keychain. It was important to him to stay in shape. He wasn't vain, but there was a burning inside him to stay strong; to never be weak again. Mentally he shivered. Memories of past encounters with guys bigger and stronger than him made him work that much harder, sweat that much more, crave that much more breathless pain. Never again.

He and Coop had gone furniture shopping, and Coop dragged his girlfriend, Courtney, along with them. Blaine referred to her as "the flavor of the month" as Coop's women spun in and out faster than a revolving door. This was yet one more reason he was happy to be moving out. If all of the walls in New York City were as thin as the ones in Coop's apartment, he was in for trouble. He'd taken to sleeping with a fan on just for the white noise. There were few things, in his mind, worse than trying to sleep while someone in the next room had wild sex; hetero wild sex at that. And Courtney was a screamer.

Sunday morning he was up early and staggered out of his room, wiping the sleep from his eyes, while heading straight for the kitchen and the coffee pot. He had his head down and made it all the way into the kitchen before the noises stopped him in his tracks. Coop and Courtney were both butt naked, Courtney sitting on the counter and Coop between her knees giving her everything he had and then some. He stopped immediately, staggered back banging into a chair, and had intended to seek refuge in his room when Courtney opened her eyes at the noise and saw him.

"OH MY GOD!" she yelled

"I know baby….." Coop grunted. "Tell me how good it is…."

"No, Coop…..oh my God…..stop!"

"What? Stop?" So he did, glancing around to see what Courtney was looking at. Blaine was stumbling around with his eyes closed, one hand covering his eyes and running into walls, doors and furniture trying to get out of that tiny ass kitchen. The bruises he knew he'd have on his shins the next day were many. Those were images he'd never lose, except maybe with extensive therapy. What surprised him the most was that Coop just laughed until Blaine made it safely back to his room and slammed the door.

"I hope you're scarred for life you little voyeur!" Coop yelled at him.

"Shut the hell up, Coop, my fucking retinas are burning , you ass!" Blaine yelled back. When he heard them return to Coop's room he grabbed a pair of jeans and a Henley and headed out the door to the coffee shop he'd found around the corner. The people who worked there were really nice and he was sad that he'd be moving away from it.

"Mornin' Blaine!" called Tony, the cheery teenager behind the counter. "Your usual?"

"Can I have a usual after only being in town three weeks? But yeah….please…..make it as strong as possible….it's been a rough morning already!"

"Dude, it's 7 am…what could have possibly happened already?"

"Well, let's just say I'm HERE, and not HOME drinking coffee because HERE there are no bare asses on the counter and I don't have to see my brother's backside in all it's glory doing things I will have nightmares about for months!"

"Oh, shit, man, that sounds hot….where, exactly, does he live?"

"Tony! Focus, man! Coffee….dying here….feel my pain, buddy! I have to EAT in that kitchen and I won't be able to erase that image for a long, long time….mortifying!" Blaine said, shaking his head.

Tony fixed Blaine's coffee, handed him his pastry and sent him on his way. Blaine sat down at a small table in the corner by the window and started skimming through a newspaper that someone had left on the table. The Sunday paper in New York was a little different than the Sunday paper in Lima, Ohio. It was like comparing Webster's Dictionary to a Highlights magazine. It could take him all day to read through it. He was lost in the local section when a big flash of red caught his attention out the window.

Outside, a tiny woman with long, straight, dark hair in a smart red jacket that flared out at her thighs was flailing her arms animatedly to a taller, slender man next to her. He had a newspaper in his hand, and was looking at it intently while the woman seemed to talk nonstop. Every now and then he'd glance up as if looking at the buildings and then back down at the paper, making notes on the paper with a pen as they walked. The man had light brown hair and the most amazing face Blaine had ever seen. His skin was….perfect. Luminous was the only other word that came to mind. He was trim, but not skinny. The vision before him looked like he'd walked out of a fashion magazine and Blaine was momentarily dumbfounded. Every item of clothing he wore, from head to toe was perfect, and looked as if it had been custom made for him. He had on a pair of smart fitting black pants that hugged his butt and hips. Peeking out from under his dark grey sweater was a red button up shirt. At his throat was a scarf that perfectly framed his stunningly pale neck. He wore black ankle boots with a slight heel. He was…..he was just…. Breathtaking….it was the only thing his mind was registering at the moment. He walked with purpose, yet seemed a bit hesitant about his surroundings, even though they were in a fairly safe neighborhood. Then he turned and looked at Blaine through the window. Blaine's coffee cup was halfway to his mouth when he caught sight of the man's eyes and OH. MY. GOD.

The coffee cup was stuck in midair, and Blaine's mouth was hanging open like a fish. He ceased breathing, and his heart just went a little crazy. Holy mother of pearl, THIS was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen in his whole life. His eyes were like tanzanite and Blaine was lost. Time hung there, suspended, while they looked at each other through the glass, neither moving. The little red whirlwind with the man continued talking, but he was clearly not hearing her. The man brought his hand up, falteringly, to his chest and over his heart, clearly by some reflex, as he didn't seem to realize he was actually moving. He curled his hand into his sweater there and just stared at Blaine.

After far fewer seconds than Blaine would have liked, giving him a hesitant grin, the man quickly, almost nervously, looked away and continued on down the street, hand in hand now with the dark haired woman. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, leaning her head on his shoulder. He visibly tensed at her touch, but then slid an arm around her back, squeezing her to him.

Blaine finally recovered himself and realized he was still holding the coffee cup halfway up to his mouth. He set it down, gingerly, on the table and continued to stare out the window where the man had been, even though he wasn't there anymore. WHAT was that? He felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of his lungs and he was hanging in a state of suspended goofiness. All he wanted to do was smile and see that guy again. Surely that was going to go over quite well with his girlfriend / wife, right?

"Deep breath, Blaine" he mumbled to himself, returning to his morning paper. "We don't have heart failure over random strangers….." but wow….just…..wow. That had knocked him for a loop, and he was absolutely WIDE awake now.

7:17 a from Blaine: Dude, I just saw the most amazingly beautiful man in the whole f-ing world!

7:18 a from Jeff: Absolutely impossible, I'm still here in Westerville. It's 7 am Sunday morning, man, what gives? You should be sleeping!

7:19 a from Blaine: Jeff, omg, he's …he's…..perfect...beautiful….amazing

7:21 a from Jeff: did you get his name? his number? grab your phone and take a photo at least?

7:22 a from Blaine: Holy crap, no I was so…just…stunned, Jeff. I'm still in shock!

7:24 a from Jeff: So what? You just let him go? Walk away?

7:25 a from Blaine: wth was I supposed to do? He walked away with his gf or wife or whatever

7:27 a from Jeff: wait, what? GIRLfriend? WIFE? You're dying over a dude that's not even gay? Sigh

7:28 a from Jeff: Oh Blaine, what are we going to do with you, anyway?

7:30 a from Blaine: I'm still tingling all over. It was like a lightning bolt hit me when he smiled at me

7:31 a from Jeff: smiled at you…ok, we're back on track

7:32 a from Blaine: meaning?

7:33 a from Jeff: what kind of smile was it? A "haha you just drank out of the wrong glass" smile? A "I can't remember your name to save my life" smile? A "I could suck on your pretty, red, luscious bottom lip for hours" smile?

7:35 a from Blaine: oh God, Jeff…don't…..public place here! I can't even think of that…and him….and oh holy hell, man…pants too tight…..Jesus, Jeffie!

7:36 a from Jeff: well, you could think of it, but it'd be hard to walk around, wouldn't it? LOL

7:37 a from Blaine: I'm so mad! I didn't even smile back! I just gaped at him like an idiot!

7:39 a from Jeff: Trent said you're an idiot, so it fits

7:40 from Blaine: Do I wanna know why Trent's at your apartment at 7:40 am on a Sunday?

7:41 a from Jeff: He's not, I'm at his place

7:42a from Blaine: More visions I don't want….wth man, is there something you wanna share with your best friend or anything?

7:43 a from Jeff: Huh? I don't

7:44 a from Jeff: Noooooooo! David wanted the apartment last night….big date or something…some anniversary or another…I just crashed here!

7:45 a from Jeff: Trent wants to know why you don't think he's good enough for me bwahahahahaha

7:46 a from Blaine: what? No! that's not where I was going with that….I'm not going anywhere with anything…..actually, I am. I'm going home. I have to finish packing. Moving in a few days! Wait til you see my place….SO awesome!

7:47 a from Jeff: can't wait man….we'll all be up next month! You got room?

7:48 a from Blaine: Way more than I need…..can't wait to see you guys!

7:48 a from Trent: Dude? WTF, I know he's your best bud and all that, but what am I, chopped liver?

7:49 a from Jeff: Bwhahahahaha, Trent's got his snark on, you're in for it now!

7:50 a from Blaine: Trent, no, it's not…that's not….you know I love you man. I was surprised, I wasn't thinking….

7:52 a from Trent : Oh I think you WERE thinking…and what exactly were you thinking of Blainers?

7:54 a from Blaine; What? No….no, don't take me there. I've been ridiculously scarred this morning by Coop and flavor du jour, I've encountered the world's most perfect specimen of manhood and let him walk away, and I've been surprised by my best friends with ….with…..visions of things I didn't see coming, and it's not even 8 o'clock on Sunday morning. Cut me some slack, man!

7:55 a from Jeff: He's pouting now….

7:56 a from Blaine: You have my blessing, Trent. Feel free to recapture the lost "spin the bottle" days at Dalton and, for God's sake, DON'T get it on video this time, and if you do, DON'T send it to me!

7:58 a from Trent: Oh….oh THAT'S what you were thinking…oh…..no….Noooooooooo…..not…no.

7:59 a from Jeff: Trent just turned 15 shades of red and scrambled off into the bathroom. What did you say to him?

8:00 a from Blaine: You up for some fun?

8:00 a from Jeff: You know it

8:01 a from Blaine: ok, grab the Redi whip from his fridge, because we both know it's in there…..find a banana, a cucumber, a carrot, anything like that, and knock on the bathroom door. Tell him you left him something out there and walk away. Stand close enough so I can hear what he says!

8:03 a from Jeff: I'm so terrified right now, and I will NOT ask, but I'll just trust you on this one…..

8:06 a from Jeff: ok, here goes…calling you, pick up!

Blaine's phone rang then, and he picked up.

"Dude, this gives me the creeps, do I want to know?"

"Nope, you don't, but if you ask really nicely, I'm sure one of the Warblers still has video somewhere…"

"No!...nope…..just gonna….. Trent…bud…hey, I left you something…can you just open the door real quick…..?"

"Go away!" Trent snarked

"Um….ok, leaving this out here, then…..and walking away now….." There was a short silence, followed by the sound of the door clicking open on the end of the line.

"BLAINE ANDERSON, you asshole!" Trent screamed in his highest, bitchiest voice.

Blaine and Jeff dissolved in a fit of laughter, Tony glancing Blaine's way from behind the counter.

"Blainers, he's back in the bathroom muttering something about getting even…I'm gonna go….sending Wes a text to see this video! "

"Thanks, Tony! I'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure!"

"Take it easy, Blaine, and take pictures next time, eh? Give a guy somethin' to look forward to why doncha?" he teased.

Blaine walked home with a second cup of coffee for himself and two for Coop and Courtney. He grabbed a couple of pastries as well, figuring he owed them that much for interrupting this morning. He snickered to himself remembering how Coop didn't miss a beat. Voyeur…..real funny. As if he was spying into Coop's bedroom. What Coop didn't understand was that seeing heterosexual couples having sex was NOT a turn on to him….in fact, it was just a step or two below walking in on your parents going at it. Oh God, now he felt nauseous.

"Clear your mind, man! Think of beautiful blue eyes and that gorgeous smile….that body….wow." he grinned to himself. He knew that wasn't something he'd forget for a long, long time. But let's face it, this was New York City. The odds of ever seeing THAT guy again were slim and none!