CHAPTER 35

Blaine ended up singing four more songs and Kurt was unable to take his eyes off of the amazing man behind the piano. He'd tried to get Kurt to come up and sing with him, but Kurt just shook his head shyly and smiled, keeping his gaze at the floor or the table so Blaine wouldn't argue with him. Blaine understood. Kurt wasn't one to go out of his way for attention like that, and that was ok with him. In time he'd make him realize how special he was and then they'd show it off together.

As they walked through the dining room on the way out, an elderly woman touched Blaine on the arm and introduced herself as Catherine Fowler. She complimented him, saying she thoroughly enjoyed his music and asking if he played elsewhere? He resisted telling her about Dive Deeper, as it wasn't the same kind of "playing" that she wanted, and replied that it was a "just for fun on occasion" kind of thing right now. She smiled and grabbed Kurt's hand telling Blaine that he should make a career out of it, especially with a muse as stunning at the man on his arm. Kurt beamed, but blushed as well. She had ahold of Kurt's arm and asked what it was he did in their fair city just as Aria approached the table and also slid her arm around Kurt's waist, unable to reach Blaine who was on Kurt's other side.

"Kurt is in fashion, Catherine." Aria explained. "He works with David Perry and he's the next big thing, believe me. He's too shy to tell you, but I'll say it for him. Keep your eye on this one!" she beamed.

"That's fabulous! I've spoken with David several times when we're at the same fund raisers and such….he's a wonderful man, David. Give him my regards, will you? OH! And my reason for stopping you to begin with, I was going to ask where you bought this stunning jacket, but something tells me it's your own creation, am I right?" Catherine asked.

"Quite right, ma'am….I...um…this is where I started. Making things for myself became quite the pastime when I couldn't find what I wanted on a rack. Thank you, for the compliment…it's….I'm….thank you." Kurt stammered. He was truly unused to all of this attention, but Blaine noticed that his words were becoming forced and he was looking a bit peaked. Suddenly the reason became clear. Between Aria's arm around his waist and Catherine holding his hand, and now his arm as well, Kurt was on the verge of a panic attack and Blaine needed to act fast to avoid a scene.

"Aria, it's been a great night, and we had an amazing dinner, thank you! I hate to eat…and sing…and run, but we have tickets for a show and I'd hate to be late! Thank you for everything, and it was wonderful to meet you Mrs. Fowler!" Blaine beamed, dragging Kurt away almost bodily. He held Kurt's hand firmly, yet not too tight.

Outside they strolled halfway down the block before Blaine stopped and turned Kurt to face him. Finally some color was coming back to his face.

"Ok?" he grinned.

"Blaine…I'm so sorry…I….there was…" Kurt stammered.

"Hey, no, don't be sorry. It's totally ok. I get it, you were kind of overwhelmed, and that's to be expected, right? No sweat, as long as you're ok now?"

"I'm…yeah…better, thank you. Thank you…really, Blaine. That would have been unbelievably embarrassing if I'd had…a…an episode of some sort in the middle of the restaurant." Kurt whispered, clearly still a bit upset at being unable to corral his emotions.

"Kurt….look at me." Blaine said, tilting up his chin with a couple of fingers. "I'm not upset, and as long as you're ok now, I'm ok. No harm done. And look on the bright side, you found yourself walking advertisement tonight! Ari loves you and when you make that gown for her, I'll have to pry her away from you!" he laughed.

"I think she'll have to pry me away from you….." Kurt said without thinking. Blaine's smile confirmed that he'd heard Kurt, much to his horror, and Kurt finally gave in to the urge to grin back at him. "You're one of a kind, you know that?" he said to Blaine.

"That's not always a good thing, I'm told." Blaine grinned back.

"This time it's the best thing. There's nowhere I'd rather be right now, and nobody I'd rather be with, Blaine. Thank you for dinner. It was truly outstanding. And the serenade….nothing will ever top that!" Kurt smiled.

"I'll take that as a challenge, Mr. Hummel. Now I have to come up with something to top it!" Blaine laughed. He just stood there staring into Kurt's eyes for a long minute, neither man moving or speaking, just being.

"Movie?" he finally said.

"Yeah…can we…um….can we sit in the back and um…just….so we can whisper and not get yelled at?" Kurt asked shyly.

"I'd love that." Blaine replied, tucking Kurt's hand in the crook of his arm and heading toward the movie theater.

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6:58 from Nick: You awake yet, Pretty Boy?

6:59 from Jeff: This isn't college anymore, it's a Thursday, I have a job, and yes, I'm awake

7:00 from Nick: I'm having chest pains. I need your help.

7:00 from Jeff: What? What's wrong? Nick…cal 911 or somthig…JEsusss…..

7:01 from Nick: Let me rephrase that: I miss you so much it hurts, when I breathe the air literally stings inside my chest and I feel like shit because you're not here. Come back to me?

7:03 from Jeff: I'm going to choke the shit out of you when I see you. You scared me half to death you idiot! It's a good thing I'm so in love with you or you'd be in deep shit!

Fuck…oh fucking hell….I hit send…oh holy shit…I said it and ….oh my God….ok, maybe he won't notice? And now he's not saying anything. Nothing at all. Jesus, could I be more of an idiot…..damn it. God, Jeff, you complete jackass! Proofread before sending things like that…fuck. Ok, well, that was fun while it lasted before I scared him away!

7:06 from Jeff: *blush / cringe* Can I pull that off as light-hearted and fun still?

7:07 from Nick: No….I…..no.

Jeff took a deep breath, mentally cursing himself for his stupidity and lack of a functioning brain this morning. He'd apparently really taken Nick by surprise, and from the look of things, it wasn't a good surprise. He'd have to work hard at playing this off if he wanted to keep Nick around. It may already be too late if he was going to continue to be quiet.

7:10 from Jeff: Ok…um….Nick…I um…..don't freak out, ok?

7:12 from Nick: Jeff, I have some important things that just came up and I have to take care of them immediately. Like…now. What's your schedule like today?

Yes, ok, run away….I'll do the same and barely function through this day because I may as well have just torn my own heart out with a gravy ladle. Ok, breathe, Jeff…

7:14 from Jeff: Class all day, theater with the kids afterwards at 3:00. Home around 6 I guess. I have papers to grade and stuff to catch up on in my office so….

7:16 from Nick: Ok, I'll catch you later.

Jeff tossed his phone on the sofa and then slumped down onto the cushions himself, closing his eyes and letting out a huge breath through his nose.

"Trouble in paradise?" David asked. Jeff jolted, unaware that his roommate was awake…or even home for that matter. It wasn't often that he was home lately, spending most of his time with his girlfriend at her place. She lived closer to David's workplace, so he stayed there many nights during the week.

"I dunno…yeah, probably…because I'm an idiot." Jeff said, scornful of himself for his lack of filter. "I may or may not have said something in a text that sort of freaked him out and he took off like a scared rabbit….so….yeah."

"So you finally told him?" David smirked…."in a TEXT message? Oh Jeffie…."

"DON'T call me that…especially not now. Shit, David…..what the hell, I don't know what I was thinking!"

"You were thinking that you love him. Face it man, you do, it's been all over your face for weeks. That first weekend when you got the photo and you guys texted you were like living with a clown made of cupcakes or some shit…all sweet and pretty and grinning goofy and whatnot. It was obvious then, it's more obvious now. Dude, if he didn't already know, he's the blind one, so no harm done." David said, trying to smooth his friends ruffled feathers.

"Yeah, well apparently harm has been done. He was really odd…just basically said something suddenly came up and he bolted. I'll spend the whole day doing damage control in my head now I guess." Jeff groaned, scrunching his nose up again in irritation.

"Dude, seriously, if you feel that way, and you tell him, and he doesn't….well, I don't know, but if it were me, I'd really wanna know that we weren't on the same page now rather than later, ya know?"

"Yeah….I guess." Jeff answered, still dejected. "Ok, gotta run or I'll be late. Catch you tonight?"

"No, I stayed here last night because I have to go to Atlanta today, remember? Be gone for a few days. Will you be ok while I'm gone? Should I leave you a few chic flicks and chocolate to drown your sorrows until I come back?" David joked, lightheartedly.

"Naw….I'll be ok. Just gonna get some stuff done tonight around here. I need to put some things in storage and clean up. Pretty sure while I was gone a bomb went off somewhere in here." Jeff said.

"I don't have to catch my flight until this afternoon, I'll work on it too. Don't worry, Jeff, he'll come around. He clearly feels something for you…I mean, shit, just from what little you've told me he sounds pretty smitten?" David was trying pretty hard to be supportive but Jeff was too lost in his own thoughts to see it clearly.

"Have a good flight, man…I'll catch you when you come back." Jeff said, stumbling out the door in misery.

"Hey?" David said from right behind him. He tugged Jeff into a hug and they bumped foreheads together and David looked him straight in the eyes. "He's the fool if he's not overjoyed that you love him. It's HIS loss, you hear me?" he said, pulling Jeff in quickly and giving him a wet smacker on the lips.

"Jesus, David, what the actual fu-" Jeff squealed out before David shoved his hand over Jeff's mouth.

"Language my friend…." He said, nodding out the door to the kids in the parking lot getting in their mom's car. "I love you like my own brother….from anotha mutha, of course" he said, and winked. "Don't let this get you down. He'll come around and things'll be fine, you hear me, white boy?"

Jeff was grinning like a loon now, but he nodded his head in agreement. "I hear ya. Thanks man, have a good trip. We need to go out when you get back."

"Sounds like a plan. Go fill some young minds, my friend. I'll see you soon! Now get out!" he said laughing and slamming the door behind Jeff.

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"So what do you think, Kurt?" David Perry said, sweeping his arms around and smiling widely at Kurt. "It's almost there. We're moving right along, yes?!"

"It's amazing, David, really…Oh my God, where did that come from?!" Kurt yelled out in astonishment. "There was a wall there last time I was here!"

"Yes, well, I decided we needed more room…for a library, and surely for changing rooms, because if we're going to be fitting models and whatnot, well, I'm not running some sort of house of ill repute. There will be no blatant exhibitionism here!" he laughed. "We needed the room, so I arranged to have the rest of the floor!"

Kurt was beside himself. The loft truly was coming right along. They were on the top floor of an old warehouse only 13 blocks from his apartment, so the walk was do-able if he wanted. They had installed skylights per David's request, the elder man having stated that natural light was an absolute must. Kurt agreed wholeheartedly. Some of the walls went all the way up to the ceiling, but most were only about 8 foot high, with another 4 feet open to the ceiling. The air flowed better that way and they also could ignore dealing with the ductwork in the ceiling. The walls were a nondescript taupe, Kurt having picked it out for its plainness. David was a little surprised, but Kurt's thought was that he didn't want anything at all to take away from the magnificence of the clothing they were showing off. Each employee would have ample opportunity to pick a color for an accent wall in their own space, though, as Kurt knew the importance of being able to do your own thing.

"Sooooo, today's the big day, Kurt. You have to pick an office. I won't tell you which one I've already got my eye on, but if you pick the same one we'll flip for it!" David grinned.

Kurt took a moment to walk the floor, seeing every point of the loft from where he'd be sitting if he chose this or that space. In the end, he chose the corner farthest from the main door to avoid noise and distractions as much as possible. David looked happy and Kurt could only assume they'd picked different spaces.

"So far from the action, Kurt!" David laughed.

"Far from distraction, ringing phones and noise!" he countered. "You're dealing with the people, remember, I'm dealing with the fashions! Greatness cannot be interrupted, David!" he joked.

"I shouldn't be surprised at all that you chose the corner with the biggest window and the morning light. You're probably one of 'those' people who enjoy getting up and facing the day with a big smile on your flawless face!" David said, laughing.

"I'm a morning person, it's true. Not always smiling, though, that's for sure." Kurt responded.

"So what's put that enormous grin on your face this morning, then?" David pried.

Kurt rolled his eyes upward with another grin and scrunched his nose up. "I had a date with Blaine last night…you remember…Adonis?"

"I do remember, the stunning man next door! And I can only assume it went well?"

"For the most part. Mrs. Fowler was squeezing my arm for so long that I …..OH! I am supposed to tell you that Mrs. Catherine Fowler sends her best. I met her last night at Aria's with Blaine. She's a delightful lady."

"Aria's? Hmmmm, this Blaine must do quite well for himself. He may have had to make that reservation the morning he saw you on the sidewalk to be able to get a table?" David laughed.

"He um…actually, Aria, and her husband Zayne are good friends of Blaine's…and his brother's as well. We didn't actually have a reservation I don't think, but she ushered us to a table without question." Kurt blushed.

"Well well, Kurt…do I detect a hint of pink in your cheeks?" David teased him.

"Probably, damn it!" Kurt laughed. "I'm so easily read it seems. It was an amazing night….simply dinner and a movie, but easily one of the most enjoyable of my short life."

"Well, any man that thinks enough of you to take you to Aria's and foot THAT bill….he's a keeper!"

"We um…actually, we….it was free. She made Blaine play a few songs though in return for dinner." Kurt laughed.

David's eyes grew wider. "Oh…he must be pretty good at playing then?"

"Simply amazing…and so very talented. His voice could melt butter. It's truly mesmerizing." Kurt said dreamily.

"Well, I say he's a keeper for now. I can see that he makes you happy, so you keep him happy and all will work out as it should, right!?" David said with way too much enthusiasm. "I hope the evening was topped off with at least an astounding goodnight kiss?" he joked.

"Uh…he….I….." Kurt suddenly stumbled through is words.

"Goodness, Kurt, I'm sorry, clearly that was too forward of me. I do apologize!" David said, seeing that Kurt was clearly distressed at the subject. "Well, I'll leave you with this stack of furniture catalogs and you can pick out your office necessities. I'll have Irene order whatever you need this afternoon when she comes in." he nodded at Kurt and walked away.

"Irene?" Kurt asked.

"My sister…she's the designer I told you about. She hasn't done work for the public for years, but she's still sharp as a tack. I told her you'd have this under control and she needn't worry about your choices as she seems to have done with anyone else, myself included. Apparently I have 'no taste whatsoever' in furnishings. She's still the same pain in my ass that she was growing up!" he laughed, leaving Kurt to his catalogs.

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Blaine woke to bright sunlight streaming in through his window. Clearly he'd forgotten to pull the shade last night before he fell into bed. Still, the clock read 10:30 am and he needed to get up and get some things done before he slept the day away. He was still charged from his date with Kurt the night before. He seemed to think things had gone well….for a while anyway. Then he remembered the end of the night.

Kurt invited him in after the movie and they had coffee and talked for a bit more, but Kurt had an appointment to keep this morning, so the evening wasn't their normal "well into the morning" that they'd had previously in Blaine's living room. Before leaving, Blaine paused at the door and told Kurt he'd had a fabulous time, and asked if Kurt would care to do it again soon. Kurt agreed, blushing, as always, and Blaine turned to leave….but then thought better of it.

"Kurt?" he said, turning back in the hallway.

"Mhm?"

"If I leave here, tonight, without kissing you, I'm fairly certain I may disintegrate. I'd settle for you kissing me if ….if that's not too forward? I know that when I touch you...um….it's not…." He stammered.

Kurt stepped forward and bit his bottom lip, grinning at Blaine. "I'd like to try that." He whispered in the hallway. Blaine stepped closer and Kurt's breathing sped up just a bit. Blaine's back was to the wall in the hallway and Kurt approached cautiously, slowly, and stood so close he could almost hear Blaine's heart beating. Leaning in slowly, he kept eye contact with Blaine until he felt their noses touch softly and his eyelids fluttered closed. Blaine's lips were so unbelievably soft that Kurt thought for a minute he'd swoon. The kiss started out softly, Blaine's hands down at his sides, fisted, and the poor guy trying really hard to keep them there. 10 seconds in and he was shocked to feel Kurt's hand on his cheek, pulling him into the kiss…pulling him closer. He parted his lips slowly and his tongue darted out to slip over Kurt's lips which caused Kurt to gasp slightly….which undid all of Blaine's brain cells. Out of instinct, his hand came up to Kurt's face and he suddenly felt overwhelmed with desire to just take….take.…and take more. The kiss was deepened by both of them, but when Kurt leaned in and Blaine's hand slid around his waist, the bottom fell out. Kurt jerked back, clearly in a panic and nearly stumbled over his own feet. Blaine felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him. The sheer panic on Kurt's face, the visible fear, had him reeling.

"Kurt….I didn't….I'm sorry. My mind said don't touch and my heart said 'oh God, please…' I'm so sorry…." Blaine whispered, feeling ashamed at his total lack of control.

"It's….it's ok…I'm…just….." Kurt stammered. He was retreating to his door, but never took his eyes off of Blaine for a second. "Th-thank you for d-dinner…and…..I'll um….I'll call you …ok?" he managed to squeak out, the fear so clear in his features that Blaine felt suddenly sick to his stomach. His head drooped and he closed his eyes, shaking his head, and heard Kurt's door click shut.

"Christ Jesus, Blaine, what the hell…." He chastised himself.

"Well that was a fun little display." Came the snarky comment from the stairs, and Sebastian followed it up, making Blaine want to punch the wall. It couldn't have been anyone else tonight….of course not.

"Smythe, I can't tell you how much I'm NOT in the mood right now." Blaine said, the tone of warning clear in his voice.

"Oh and by the look and sound of things, Kurt isn't in the mood either. What did you do, bite him?" Seb sneered.

"…you fucking kidding me, man? It's all because of…because he's…he was…..Shit!" Blaine sputtered. "It's not my story to tell and I won't ruin his trust that way."

"From what I saw and heard Monday morning, I thought he was pretty into you. I was even gonna back off a bit, but then….then I realized that apparently my ex boyfriend has been spending time on the phone and in the apartment of Mr. Hummel here, and I'm not at all opposed to saying I don't like it one little bit. I think perhaps you should assess where you're going with this Blaine, because surely you could use those lips on someone else….someone that would certainly appreciate them so much more than Hummel apparently does." Sebastian said callously, but still with a flirt in his voice.

"Sebastian….I…there's a lot you don't know about. He's….it's complicated. As for Hunter…I'm assuming it's Hunter that you're referring to…Kurt is allowed to have friends if he…." He trailed off. Suddenly he realized where he'd seen the man in the hallway…the one who was meeting Kurt the other day. He was the "other half" of the sex on the steps the first time he'd seen and met Sebastian in the hall. No wonder he couldn't place him right away. He hadn't gotten a clear look at him through the peephole…just a glimpse. It was, however, enough to know that the model in the hallway and the man in Sebastian's arms that night were one in the same. He was beautiful, handsome and witty. He was available. He was clearly sex on a stick. And he was apparently spending time with Kurt. Just. Awesome. And why was that ok? Why did Kurt not have issues with some people…..but always with Blaine?

"…just saying that from the sound of things, he's not adverse to Hunter spending as much time there as he wants….yet you touch the guy and he acts like you're poisonous." Seb said, raising his hands outward at his shoulders and sauntering backwards to his door, eyebrows raised. "Just sayin'…." He smirked, passing Blaine quite closely in the hallway between the wall and the railing, the back of his hand barely brushing just a bit too close to Blaine's hip. He smiled that damn meerkat grin and closed the door in Blaine's face.

A/N - Thanks to everyone who's been reading. There's been quite a lot of stuff going on in my real life, and I'm just now getting back into what takes my mind off of everything else! Thanks for sticking with me :)

Special thanks, as well, to all of those who sent well wishes and sympathy at my dad's passing. Any little bit of comfort helps when something like that happens, and I was touched to hear from so many of you.

I appreciate the reviews more than you know. I try to reply to each, at least to say thank you...so if I didn't reply to you, your PM may be turned off? But know that I saw it, and I'm grateful that you take the time to say anything at all!

Hope you're all having a good weekend? :D