CHAPTER 61

"I don't know what I was thinking! Clearly I wasn't thinking…clearly! But you weren't there, so you can't judge me, Dad!" Kurt whined from the sofa in the Hummel living room. Burt and Carole had taken up seats across from him on the loveseat and were now grilling him for more information.

"Kurt, I'm totally confused, honey." Carole said, giving him a pitying look. "You saw Blaine go into Sebastian's apartment and then you listened to see if he left, you didn't hear him leave, but you did hear someone messing around against the walls and you assumed that Blaine would do that to you?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes! NO! Aggghhh!" he grumbled, clearly frustrated and upset. "But…what would YOU have thought? I mean, I saw him go in with Seb, just the two of them! Then I hear that…that…oh my god, I feel sick again." Kurt said, grabbing for the small trash can in front of him. Rehashing it all and remembering every thud and moan against his wall was making him nauseous all over again. His mind was aware that it wasn't Blaine at this point, but his body hadn't gotten the memo apparently. "And then when he sent those texts back to me, it was just that much more clear what had happened!" Kurt wailed, upset beyond belief now.

"Ok, I want to see these texts that 'prove' what happened in your mind." Burt said calmly, raising his eyebrows at Kurt.

"Dad…" Kurt whined.

"I need to know what Blaine said that made you so certain that a man who professes his undying love to you would change his entire demeanor in a split second and sleep with someone else, practically in your own bedroom. Hand it over." Burt said sternly.

"Ok, but first, let's go over the facts…as I knew them. Blaine was angry with me at the Dive. He came home with Sebastian, late, and they'd clearly been drinking. He went into Seb's apartment and I never heard the door open or close to signal him leaving the apartment. There was clearly someone having sex against the wall, and I heard someone say his name…loudly. I knew nothing about the cut on his hand, nothing about Hunter being there and I wasn't aware of…of Blaine having fallen asleep on the sofa. I wasn't….Dad, I didn't know. It was like the perfect storm! It all lined up and then the texts just confirmed it!" Kurt said, handing his father his phone with the text messages open.

Burt skimmed through the texts, then read through them again. Carole peered over his shoulder looking as well. Finally Burt huffed.

"Ok, I have to admit, with what you already had in your mind…with what you'd clearly already decided had gone on, I can see where this looks really, really bad. What I still don't get, though, Kurt is why you think Blaine would have done this to you at all? Kiddo, you know as well as I do that love and sex and the whole relationship shebang is about trust and communication-" Burt began, but when he saw Kurt's eyes fly open and the look of utter horror on his face, he paused. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, are you going to sit there and look me in the eye and tell me you're not having sex with that boy?" Burt said, giving him a stern glare. "Because I gotta tell you, I don't think you'd be anywhere near this upset if you weren't…if you thought that Blaine had just gone over there to get a damn Band-aid!" Burt huffed.

For a split second, Kurt felt the bottom shift out of his world. His dad…his daddy…he knew. Burt knew Kurt was doing something he, mostly likely, didn't approve of. Kurt dropped his eyes again, feeling the familiar prickling behind them. He wasn't sure what to say, but he wasn't going to lie about it. Burt had basically called him on the carpet, and he wasn't going to shy away. Truthfully, this was probably more awkward and nerve wracking for Burt, but he brought up a good point. Kurt had been fine when he thought Blaine was just going into Sebastian's place to rant or commiserate or whatever. But when the noises started, there was an immediate punch to his gut he couldn't have imagined. The cold, hard, blood chilling dread that coursed through him was debilitating. He was still surprised that Jeff managed to get him out of the apartment without having to drag him bodily.

Carole cleared her throat and stood. "I think I'll just excuse myself…Kurt looks a bit green, and I don't want to make this worse than it-" she began.

"No….no, Carole. Please. I surely don't want to embarrass you, but you're my family now, and you've always…always…been there for me. I need to know how to fix this. He's the most important thing in my life, and I'm dying here, thinking I might have already lost him. I trust you, Carole, and although I realize this isn't, by the grace of God, something we've ever all talked about, I need help…I need help from both of you to tell me how to fix this. If that means spilling my heart and soul all over the carpet in here, then it does. I trust you, and please…only leave if it makes you uncomfortable…not because you think I don't want you in here for the conversation." Carole, still standing near the love seat, walked over to Kurt and sat next to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Kurt, nothing you could say would make me uncomfortable if I knew that it was leading up to helping you in any way. I just didn't want you to be unable to speak freely because of me. If there is anything, anything at all, that I can do to help, any advice I can give, I'm always here for you, and I'm glad you know that. I love you like you're my own son, and we'll do whatever we can to help you make this right. I really enjoyed Blaine's company when we visited, and I could see the love in his eyes for you even then. Let's not let him get away, ok?" She smiled widely. Kurt choked on a sob, then chuckled, squeezing her tighter. Taking a deep breath, he started again.

"I um…I never really told you guys this….much…before, but after everything that's happened….oh…shit, this isn't anywhere near easy, is it?" he laughed, humorlessly, taking a deep breath to center himself. "Uh….well, you know that in high school, relationships weren't overly abundant for me, and any, erm….physical closeness wasn't really an option. Dad gave me the 'you matter' speech, and much to his amazement, I'm sure, it stuck with me. I guarded myself…I know you both know how uncomfortable it was. God this is….." he began, then laughed. "Ok, you know what, this is something I tried with Blaine. He claims that if I don't look at you, I can trick myself into thinking I'm on the phone or in another room or…whatever." Kurt said, pulling his knees up to his face and dropping his forehead to rest on his knees. "Ok, here goes…."

"I didn't date in high school. Ever. Not once, not one single date. That's not to say that I didn't want to, because I wanted what everyone else had, but it just wasn't in the cards. When Jackson came along, I was sort of shell shocked. Here was this handsome, well built, intelligent man who wanted to be in my life. I wasn't sure how to even react to it. Our relationship was…it was ok in the beginning, but it changed quickly. Quickly enough that he…uh…he didn't round as many bases as he'd wanted to right off the bat, and I'm pretty sure that's what started the whole breakdown of everything I thought we had."

Burt scrunched up his face, hoping his "you matter" speech wasn't to blame…hoping he hadn't come on so strongly that Kurt actually feared closeness. It was as if Kurt read his mind.

"Ok, dad, I can feel your face scrunching up!" he snickered, as did Carole. "Don't even think, for one minute, that you're to 'blame' for any of this. Something inside of me knew that he wasn't the one. He could never be the one, because Blaine was still out there and I know this now." Kurt smiled, but it was hidden by his knees. "Blaine's the one…." He trailed off.

"So, when I pulled away from Jax, he got angry, he pushed, he swore up and down we could be the 'it' couple of our friends, he just…he pushed too hard. He was no longer asking about me, about my day, about how school or work had gone. All he wanted to know was when…when we were going to graduate to the next level, and every time that didn't happen, he grew more and more disappointed in me. And then he became violent."

"Violent?!" Burt barked out. "DEFINE violent, please, Kurt."

"He uh…there was a restraining order…." Kurt began before Burt cut him off.

"Restraining order? Kurt, why didn't you tell us this? What in the world were you thinking keeping something like that from Carole and I? Did Finn know?" Burt said, no longer calm.

"No, I…I don't know if Finn knew…Rachel knew, but I asked her not to say anything. I didn't want to worry you, Dad. You'd just gone through all that stuff with your heart and the very last thing you needed was to think I was in danger. That being said…um…." Kurt stalled. He did NOT want to bring this up. "There were a couple of instances where he became violent, hitting me, knocking me down. One night, in the hallway of my apartment building, he was shouting at me for going out with Mercedes for dinner. It wasn't as if I hadn't asked him to go along, but he was needed late at work, so he declined. Apparently he thought I should have as well, but I saw no reason to. When I got home, he was getting out of his car in the parking lot when I pulled in, and he shouted at me all the way into the building and up to my floor. Ms. Louisa apparently called the police and they came in, just as I'd tried to get my door to close with him out and me in. He'd shoved me, pretty hard, into the living room and I lost my balance and fell against the coffee table. Remember dinner with Carole's parents? That's why I was, um…limping a bit and my arm was bruised. I didn't fall while I was moving things at work, and I'm sorry I lied to you about it. Admitting to something like that…being weak, isn't always easy. In fact, I was embarrassed."

"Oh honey, I feel like you went through all of this alone when we could have and would have been there for you! Being assaulted by someone bigger and stronger than you certainly isn't 'being weak', Kurt!" Carole told him.

"I wouldn't' have wanted you messed up with him, Carole. He wasn't stable then and it only got worse. Another night he hauled me home from the movies with the girls and hit me in the face. That's the first time I realized it wasn't 'oh sorry I bumped you too hard and you fell'….it was intentional, and he wanted to hurt me. There was no mistaking it. He wanted me bruised and he sent me horrible taunting text messages about it…said some really cruel things. Anyway, that's when I told him it was over for good, not to come back. The next time I saw him was when he…when…that morning…in April. He was just there and…and…" Kurt paused. He was breathing heavy now, and his eyes had spilled over.

Carole was clearly upset, her eyes wet as well and Burt looked mutinous. He was ready to do some serious battle.

"Dad…we need to talk about it. I know that Carole is well aware of what happened…clinically, at least, isn't that right?" he said, turning to Carole. She dropped her eyes and nodded. "Have you told him? Does he have any idea of the details?" Kurt asked.

"Kurt, no. I can't…I'm not allowed, by law, you know that, I could lose my job, and I couldn't betray your privacy that way. God knows I've wanted to tell him, so many times, but…it's not for me to say." Carole said softly.

"Kurt, tell me. I want to know. The things that have been floating around in my head for the past year are the stuff of nightmares and I need to know, point blank, what happened." Burt said sternly.

"There's no way to sugar coat any of it dad. I wouldn't give him what he wanted…what he claimed he 'deserved' after spending all that time together, so he forced me. When I fought back, he snapped my arm…then proceeded to…to um…" Kurt visibly paled, his voice shaking. "He violently raped me and tried to choke me to death, dad." He whispered, barely audible, ending on a sob when he looked up and saw Burt's face. His dad was broken.

"Burt…." Carole said quietly, moving to his side and trying to calm him.

"I'm ok….I'm….it's not as if I didn't know. Nobody had to come right out and tell me. A father knows. I've lived with the tiniest shred of hope all this time that my worst fears were wrong, and having them confirmed…well….it's not as if I didn't know all along. I wish…." He paused, running his hand over his face and taking a deep breath. "I wish I'd known for certain….now I feel like I need to start the healing all over again, but if pales, greatly, in comparison to what I know you went through, Kurt. I can't tell you how sorry I am, as your dad, that I wasn't there to do something about it. I can't believe what must have been going through your mind, and I'm proud of how strong you were to fight back, because if I know nothing else, I know you fought back."

"I had to, dad. I kept thinking that if he killed me and left me for dead that you'd be the one with the key to come check on me…and having you find me like that….it wasn't an option. I thought it was over, there, at the end though. I was at the point where I didn't think I could take much more when I blacked out briefly….then there was noise and people and ….when I realized who they were and that they were there to help me, I let go. I knew I was going to be ok, but I couldn't focus enough to stay conscious. And through it all, I knew when I finally woke up that my dad would be there holding my hand…and you were, so for that I can't thank you enough. You know I love you, Dad, but I probably don't say it enough."

There were tears freely running down Burt's cheeks now, but he was smiling. His boy was here, he was alive and healthy and healing from the trauma, and he loved him. That was all he needed. Now, they needed to get Blaine back. He sighed loudly and shook his head.

"Ok, then, now tell me what this had to do with Blaine." Burt said, making Kurt raise his head from his knees.

"Dad, I won't lie to you. I won't even try, because I know you see right through me." Kurt laughed shyly. "Blaine and I…we've um…we've been intimate. I won't say we've had sex. I won't say we've slept together. I won't use the 'f' word that I know makes you nuts when speaking about sex. But I will tell you this…it was perfect in every way. Blaine is the most patient, caring man I've ever encountered in my lifetime, I daresay, even more than you, dad….and that certainly doesn't make him a better man, but he's the very best fit for me. It was a perfect evening, he was careful, he was so nervous, he was as anxious as I was and he let things run at my pace. Every single second…dad, he was just such a gentleman and he wanted to know what to do and what not to do and I was surrounded and bathed with love from start to finish. It was, hands down, the most amazing night of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Making love with Blaine was the most mentally intense thing I've ever been through, in the best way."

Burt and Carole both had their heads tilted looking at him with soft, thoughtful eyes, and Kurt had to smile. If he stopped to think about essentially telling his parents about his first time, he would have freaked out and run upstairs and away from them both, so he forced himself not to.

"That being said, I trust him implicitly, with my heart, with my body, with my soul and my mind…with all that I am. Then thinking that I gave him all of that trust and he ditched it for a night with Sebastian….I was sick…..absolutely sick, stunned and shocked and I hated myself for being weak and giving all that up to him. I wasn't thinking straight, or I know the fabulous Kurt Hummel would have marched right over there and broken the god damned door down and dragged him out by his bal-…erm….hair?" Kurt ended, looking far more fired up than he had when this particular conversation had started. "I was so hurt, Dad…so hurt. His seemingly callous remarks the next morning were so unlike him, and I doubted myself again. I wondered what I ever saw in him, what I'd thought I was doing by trusting someone again and letting him in. I needed to get out, to get away…and so here I am." He said, once again dropping his eyes to his knees, eyes red, hands shaking. "Hunter told me everything, every last detail, and now I know I've lost that amazing man once he finds out what I thought of him…if he hasn't already found out, that is."

"Ok." Was all Burt said, nodding his head slowly.

"Ok?" Kurt repeated, eyebrows raised, expecting much more.

"Ok. That's all you get. I'll say this and we'll move on. Clearly Blaine is quite an amazing man, and I couldn't be more glad that you found him, Kurt. As long as he treats you well, he is welcome to our family. I only met him briefly, but I found him to be a decent guy…seemed like he really cared for you. That's the most important thing. So, that being said, how do we get him back? What can we do to help?" Burt asked. Kurt bit his bottom lip, trying desperately to keep his sobs in, but they wouldn't be stopped. He launched himself in between Burt and Carole and got all of his emotions out, readying himself for the apology of a lifetime. He only hoped he could make Blaine listen and understand…and love him once more.

"Jeff, I've said it once and I'll say it again. I don't want to talk about Kurt, not now, not for the foreseeable future. I'm not in a good place with it, and I have to start a new job tomorrow. I can't have that crap regurgitating in my head, so if you want to talk about anything else, it's fine." Blaine told him over the phone. The bombarding of texts was enough to get his attention, but his mind was set. No discussing Kurt. Not now.

"But, Blaine, it's really important that you know that he-" Jeff began again.

"I'm hanging up. I'll talk to you soon, Jeff."

"NO! No don't hang up, just….God damn it, B, you're making this worse, I guarantee it." Jeff said with a long sigh.

"Worse? You think it can get worse?" Blaine asked, incredulously. "Jeff," he sighed, long and loud. "You wanted to talk about the guys….I like to think of them as 'Trad', if you will, so spill it. What's going on?' He laughed.

"Oh, yeah! Ok, um…you know they're moving up here, right? Well, they're in town this weekend looking for a place to live…firstly, they were going to check into a hotel tonight, but I gave them your bed for a nominal fee…and Trent has to make breakfast…you remember those little crepe things he used to make with the cream cheese and the sliced strawberries? Oh my God, so freakin' good, man!-" Jeff said.

"Jeff! The point?" Blaine laughed.

"Oh yeah, anyway…so we were talking about them finding a place to live, and how cool it would be if they were close by, you know? So they stopped by to see if we knew of anything in the neighborhood, and it just happened to come up about you buying the building and taking over the third floor, etc, and how that would leave one, if not two, empty apartments to rent…so um…how about renting one of them to our bros?"

"Oh….I…I hadn't thought about that, really, but yeah. That'd be excellent wouldn't it?" Blaine said, smiling widely at the thought of his friends living nearby…really nearby. "I think that'd work out, really, don't you? Are they up for it, or is this something you thought of and decided to come at me with it first?" Blaine asked.

"No, we all discussed it and thought it would be awesome. Of course, they'd rather have Kurt's apartment since it's only two bedrooms and it'll probably be cheaper, but…um….well, with the status of things…we weren't sure…about…if….you know?" Jeff questioned.

"Y-yeah. I know. Now, more than ever, I don't want Kurt to know about the upstairs. I don't know what I'm going to do, actually. I want to go through with the plans…I really do, but if he won't move past this petty bullshit, then I don't know if we'll be together up there." Blaine said softly, sadly.

"But Blaine, if you just let me tell you-" Jeff began again.

"No, I'm sorry. I broke my own rule. Not discussing Kurt. Gearing up for class, I have my outfit all laid out. Syllabus is read. I'm going to get some rest and hit the morning in stride! Listen, you tell 'em they can sleep in my bed as long as they want while I'm gone, ok?" Blaine told him.

"Ok, another thing…." Jeff said, walking away from the group after giving them the thumbs up. "They have to be here in three weeks, you're going to be gone for all that time, but also, they'll be moving in here, either in your place or Kurt's, so I was thinking-"

"Oh God, did you set fire to anything while you were thinking?" Blaine chuckled.

"Shut it!" Jeff laughed. "I was thinking that maybe they could just stay here while you're gone and not go to the trouble of finding something temporary, moving stuff in somewhere just to move it back out in a month, you know? But it's not my place to offer that, so I wanted to see what you thought?"

"Oh…well, yeah, I guess that makes sense. I'll be gone for 6 weeks, they'll need to be in there in 3 weeks, and the upstairs should be ready in 5-6 weeks. I guess that's only logical, then, right? Tell them to go ahead and move small stuff in, but here's the thing…if they do that, you're going to have to start packing MY stuff up and getting it out of the way. I mean, it's going to have to be packed up anyway to move it upstairs. I think the boxes I used to move in are up there stacked by the railing next to the staircase if you want to see? I hate to have you do that, but there's not room for their stuff without getting my stuff out. You up for it?" Blaine asked, knowing what a task it was to pack your own things, let alone someone else's.

"I have time. Kurt had everything finished Friday for David, so we're nitpicking things to do now. I'll get started on it. Where should I put the boxes, though?" Jeff asked.

"I dunno, I guess with them doing all that work up there you can't stack them there. Can you just stack them in the corner of the living room by the closet?" Blaine asked.

"That'll work. I'll get on it. Thanks, B, for calling me. I know you're upset with me, and I really, really wish you'd let me talk to you about it."

"Nope…not tonight. Too much on my mind tonight to add any more into the mix. I understand that you're upset with me…it seems everyone is, but right now, I can't think about it…about being yelled at and walked out on. God damn it, I'm thinking about it now! I'm going, Jeff. I'll talk to you soon. G'night man." Blaine said, and without another word, he hung up.

"SHIT!" Jeff hissed.

"He still won't discuss it?" Nick asked.

"No, almost hung up on me when I tried to push it, too. Damn it, every day this goes on, the worse it's going to get! I'm going to have to just tell him. Just blurt it out or something." Jeff said, frustrated.

"I think you're right. If he waits until he's ready to hear it, Lord only knows when that'll be!" Nick replied. "Just say it, blurt it out when he's not expecting it, I guess?"

"Yep…I'm gonna have to take him by surprise for sure."

"So where are you taking me Saturday?" Maggie smiled as she, Cooper and the kids strolled along the sidewalk, the kids with their own ice cream cone and the adults sharing one. Cooper turned to look at her and found the woman winding her tongue around the frozen concoction as if it were a porn shoot and his lower half buzzed with the sight of it.

"M-Maggie…. You're doing that on purpose." He grinned

"You bet your ass I am, Anderson." She grinned back, winking. "You teased me enough last night to make this fair and I think you'll agree?"

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" he smirked.

"It wasn't bad at all…in fact, it was pretty damn great. One might say the greatest?" Maggie smiled at him, bumping his hip with her own. She leaned and offered him a bite of their ice cream, grinning when Coop's tongue swept a bite into his own mouth. "Mmmm….God, the things that tongue can do. You really outdid yourself last night, baby." She teased. "You up for round two later?"

"I..I'm…We could…yes. Yes I am." He finally managed. "But we have things to accomplish first." He smirked. "Here we are!" he said and ushered them into the store.

"You knock yourself out, Cooper. I can't afford to even stand in this store!" she laughed

"Well, that's too bad. You're going to have to at least look around. I want to buy you something beautiful to wear on Saturday. With Kurt and Blaine both gone, you'll need someone to help you out so you're not freaking out about it, so I have a friend who works here…." He said, motioning over to a stunningly beautiful woman straightening racks of clothing on the far wall. She turns, catches their eye and waves. Maggie felt a little nauseous. Was she just a friend, or had she been more in the past?

"I…Cooper, I don't feel right about that….about spending your money. I know you want to, and you mean well, but I'm sure I can manage to dress myself from what's in my closet at home, and if not, I have a week to whip something up on the sewing machine, right? It won't take that long." She says, trying to smile and lead Cooper out of the store. As she turned to look for the kids, she saw only Evee standing against the wall with her eyes covered, and she was counting.

"18, 19, 20! Ready or not, Mattie, here I come!" she squealed and then darted off between the circular racks of clothing.

"No, Evee, this isn't the place!" Maggie hissed, absolutely embarrassed now because a few women have turned to look at the noisy child. "Evee! Mattie!" she whispered, trying to find the two before they caused a bigger ruckus.

Cooper laughed and looked down into the circular racks searching for someone small and able to hide inside. Maggie was near the point of tears.

"Hello, Cooper!" says the stunning saleswoman as she approaches. "I haven't heard from you in an age, what have you been up to?" she purred into his ear, pouring it on thick when she realized Maggie was watching.

"Gina, this is my lovely girlfriend, Maggie, and we have a rather important dinner on Saturday night, so I was hoping you might be able to help us find just the right thing?" he asked politely of the saleswoman, but what caught Maggie's attention was that his eyes never left hers as she moved from rack to rack searching for Mattie and Evee. Gina noticed as well, and she didn't seem happy with it.

"I'm sure we can find something. Hmmmm, what size are you, honey, 14? 16?" she asks with fake friendliness that any woman worth her salt would pick up in a half a heartbeat.

"10, actually, and on a good day, after lots of exercise the previous night, an 8." Maggie smiled. "And after last night…" she smiled directly at Coop, his cheeks blushing adorably, "I'd say we start with 8 and hope for a 6." She smirked.

"Hmmm, yes…" was all Gina could say as she strode purposefully over to a rack of dresses on clearance, some clearly with defects or missing buttons or accessories. "Shall we start here, then? They're a bit more…affordable?" she sneered at Maggie, looking her up and down, as she began to walk away. Cooper bristled, but kept that prize winning smile as he handed Maggie his Platinum card.

"Actually, no…I think we'll start over here." He said, tugging Maggie to a wall of beautiful, bright summer dresses. Maggie caught sight of a price tag and froze, making sure Gina wasn't looking before she shook her head no vigorously.

"Cooper…no…too much. I can't. I just can't!" she whispered. "Let's just…can we just go somewhere else?" Her eyes were so wide now, checking out the price tags, that she felt lightheaded. "Matthew…Evee!" she said, "we're going to check out another store here, soon, so I need you front and center.

"Awwww, mommmmm!" came Mattie's response immediately, as he crawled out from under a rack, Evee doing the same about 8 feet away.

"Nope, don't 'aww, mom' me!" she grinned.

"I'm not done with her." Cooper stated flatly. "I'll meet you out front, ok?" he said, making it clear he wasn't up for an argument. Maggie and the kids headed toward the door, Mags glancing back over her shoulder nervously until she stepped out onto the street.

"What the hell was that distasteful display, Gina?" Cooper says heatedly. "You were a total bitch to her, and I brought her in here thinking you might help us a little bit!"

"She can't even afford to be in here, Cooper Anderson, and you know it!" she sneered. "Slumming these days, are we?"

"I can't begin to imagine what's making you so shitty today, because you were never like this with me, but I have to tell you I'm really disappointed, Gi. You let me down!" he stage whispered.

"Yes, well, she's not worthy of you. I hope you're not fucking her?" the saleswoman stated flatly, looking down her nose at Cooper. The man glanced about nervously, aware that Gina was on the verge of making a scene and he wanted to be sure Maggie was out of the store before Gina made an ass of herself.

"Oh….Oh my God, you're jealous!" he crowed, laughing.

"I'm not, I'm stating facts. You're dating down, and that's a fact. You know it and I know it, and now everyone in the store knows it thanks to your obnoxious laughing. And as if I'd still want you after you've been with someone like her. Does she even know what a social circle IS, Cooper? Has she ever stepped into a Country Club a day in her life? Jealous? No. I don't think so."

"It's ok, Gi, we're just friends, don't worry. So how about you and me, this weekend, a little dinner, some wine, some dancing….in the sheets?" he asked seductively, watching Gina's eyes shift from shitty to slutty in half a second. She smiled widely, finally getting what she wanted. All he wanted was to lure her in and then slam the door in her face now.

"You're on…and ditch the kids, eh? They don't suit you." Gina said, her bitch showing all over again, this time even more quickly than it had before. Cooper was sure he was going to have whiplash with the swiftness of her change in demeanor and her eagerness to jump into his bed…although he couldn't really blame her. Time to lower the boom…..

"Yeah, about that…see, I was right. You ARE jealous, Gina, and it's very distasteful on you. As if I'd take some obnoxious, conceited woman like you into my bed when I could have her instead. That woman outside, Maggie? She's warm and sweet. She honestly cares about people and works hard for every little thing she has. She loves me for me, and not what's in my bank account. In fact, she has no idea what's in my bank account…she couldn't care less and has obviously never asked. She's beautiful and so genuinely kind that she just draws people to her. She has ahold of me, heart and soul, and I'd move heaven and hell for those two kids. They beautiful, they're bright, they're fun and they're hers….and if I can manage it, someday they'll be mine, too. Oh, and Saturday night we're meeting my mom for dinner at Aria's. You know why a man generally introduces his girlfriend to his mom, right? Gnaw on that for a while, why don't you. You won't need to worry about her coming into your store anymore. We'll find somewhere else to spend our money. And I'll be sure she spends every dime I have if it makes her smile. Good day, Gi." Cooper said with a grin and walked out, only halfway surprised when a middle aged woman high fived him with a snicker and a flirty glance as he passed her, and with a look down her nose at Gina, she left the store as well.

7:32p from Blaine: Jeffie, you around, man?

7:33p from Jeff: I'm here, how was the first day on the job, dude?

7:35p from Blaine: It was the most amazing thing ever. I'm hating myself for turning the job down now…really. I mean, my sole purpose for not taking it was so that I wouldn't be away from Kurt, and now…well…whatever. Don't want to talk about it.

7:37p from Jeff: You'll have to talk about it eventually. No time like the present?

7:38p from Blaine: Nope. He ditched me for no reason, and I'm still angry about it. If there had been a valid reason, I'd be ok with it, accept it, but- DAMN IT, JEFF, not talking about it!

7:40p from Jeff: I think that's a mistake. There are things you need to know. It will change your whole outlook on it.

7:42p from Blaine: Nope, not interested. That's not what I texted you for anyway. I need a favor? Are you home?

7:44p from Jeff: yep, Name it.

7:45p from Blaine: Apparently the staff takes turns making something sweet to leave in the teacher's lounge each week…two staff members at a time, etc. They have a kitchen on site and I guess it was Karen's week to do it, and nobody told me, so I was going to whip something up tonight. Can you get my mom's recipe for Freckle Bars out of that box on the kitchen counter and send it to me?

7:50p from Jeff: Hell to the no, bro! I'm not giving you the Freckle Bar recipe so you can make them for someone ELSE and not me, are you nuts?

7:51p from Blaine: Dude, c'mon. I need to make sure everything I need is down in the kitchen. It's a simple recipe, the easiest thing to make and I'm short on time. I already have papers to grade. C'mon, man!

7:53p from Jeff: Screw you man. I'll give you the recipe, but you better make me some when you get home!

7:54p from Blaine: Deal! Did you find it?

7:56p from Jeff: Yeah, here goes, ready?

7:57p from Blaine: Hit me!

7:57p from Jeff: 5 eggs, 2 ¼ cups of sugar, beat that until thick

7:58p from Jeff: add ¾ cup of oil, ¾ cup of peanut butter, mix all together.

8:04p from Blaine: Dude, I know that's not the whole recipe. Where'd you go?

8:05p from Jeff: Nick's not being cooperative…he wants…erm….some sugar? LOL He's very…..sajfksadfksdjfj convincing….at times.

8:06p from Blaine: NOT in my kitchen! You two are as bad as Cooper….nasty. RECIPE, JEFFREY!

8:08p from Jeff: add 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¾ teaspoon of salt.

8:10p from Jeff: Pour into greased jelly-roll pan and sprinkle with 1 cup of chocolate chips. Kurt thinks you slept with Sebastian Friday night and that's why he's angry as hell. You need to call me right away. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until they're golden brown on top. Cut into squares after they cool.

8:15p from Jeff: Please don't be angry with me.

8:20p from Jeff: Blaine?

8:40p from Jeff: Blaine, please….. It explains a lot, doesn't it?! Call me.

A/N Sooooo, well...there you go.

FYI, this is a legit recipe for Freckle Bars. They are SO good and so easy to make if you want to try the recipe. I make them all the time :) Make sure to use a jellyroll pan and not a brownie pan, though! And measure the oil first, then the peanut butter so it just slides right out of the cup :)

As always, thanks to Christine for making sure I don't sound like an idiot.

And thanks to Jen for listening to me rant this week...I appreciate it :)

Gearing up for another big hit of snow here in the Midwest. If that includes you, be careful out there!

What are you guys reading? Anything good? Share? Have a great weekend you guys! Thanks for sticking with me. Love you guys!