Chapter 1
Blaine scrambled behind the large, plastic conference table to his usual seat beside Nick, wincing a little as his ass landed on the hard, plastic chair. "What did I miss?"
"Your father rantin' and ravin' because you were late and we've failed to secure the t-shirt account. Santana stormed out, threatening once again to quit because Brittany was fired last week, but Santana came back in a few minutes ago, spewin' her rage at Rachel," Nick whispered, though he could've screamed it and no one would've noticed, due to screams coming from both Santana and Rachel. Blaine and Nick had been best friends since Blaine had started at Anderson Advertising five years prior. They were also composing partners. "I don't know what she's been sayin' since I tuned her out half an hour ago. Where have you been? Did you turn off your ringer again?"
Blaine nodded, rubbing his temple. "I had a date, and I didn't want to be rude and get interrupted by my phone ringing in the middle of the date. You know how my dad is," Blaine said, pulling out his phone and glancing at it under the table, noticing 7 missed calls and several texts from his father.
"Oooohhhh! A date? Get lucky?" Nick asked with a wink.
Blaine shook his head. "Not particularly, no."
Elliott, the head photographer, cocked his eyebrow. "Did your dad set you up with that woman again?"
"Yeah," Blaine nodded, "But she didn't show. I don't know why I even agreed to go, to be honest."
"Because you're a good guy. But that doesn't explain the limp and that giant ass hickey on your neck. And judging by the dark circles under your eyes and the way you were rubbin' your temples, you have a hangover. So spill."
Blaine sighed. Damn Elliott and his keen observation skills. "Well, once I realized that Ms. Corzone wasn't gonna show, I was starvin'. I ordered dinner for myself and was about to eat when I was joined at the table by Sebastian."
"Not that asshole. Please tell me you kneed him in the nuts," Elliott whispered.
Blaine let his head drop into his hands. "I wish. He talked me into getting a couple of drinks, and fast forward to this morning, I now have massive migraine and a sore ass. On top of that, I'm wearing last night's clothes and I can't find my favorite bowt-"
"Alright, Ms. Berry and Ms. Lopez. That's enough. We have business to conduct, so if you want to verbally spar with one another, do it on your own time," Wes directed the now embarrassed Rachel after Santana roasted her. Wes cleared his throat and continued to speak. "I wanted to start by thanking you all for the extra work you've all put in while we've been searching for the right person to fill Mr. Chang's position. You've all given a valiant effort, but I hired a head writer because there hasn't been a successful pitch since Mike left. This is Mr. Hummel. He'll be a new addition to your team. Everybody go around and give a quick introduction before we start looking at our new campaign."
Blaine rubbed his temples again and squeezed his eyes shut as team members started introducing themselves. He had led the team since Mike's departure, and he was aware that he wasn't really cut out for that job. In all honesty, that was the understatement of the century. He wasn't even paying attention now. He didn't have a clue what was going on as Rachel started talking about herself, as if they all hadn't heard how wonderful she thought she was a million times. He started to tune out again when he heard Santana interrupt.
"Enough, Berry. Nobody cares," the fiery Latina said, glaring fiercely at Rachel. "I'm Santana, master of commercial production for our team, and I've been coming up with a ton of amazing pitches lately so don't get too comfortable with that head-writing title. Actually, I find it quite appalling that they hired yet another frank and beans to write for the fashion division of Anderson Advertising. The majority of what we sell is women's apparel."
"Kurt was a fashion writer for Vogue Dot Com before he accepted the position here, Ms. Lopez, which specializes in women's fashion. Kurt is more than qualified," Wes stated calmly. "Why don't we move right along to Tina."
"Tina Cohen-Chang, and I'm the art director," she said solemnly. "I will collaborate with you to capture the vision for the ads. If you need…"
Blaine tuned out again as Tina explained all of her responsibilities to the new guy. He'd heard it all before. After Tina, her assistants, the photographers, and some of the other people in the art department introduced themselves. Blaine was to the point where he had to pinch himself to stay alert when he heard an unfamiliar but beautiful voice, answering a question Tina had asked, and he was struck dumb. The new guy was named Mr. Hummel, and he was absolutely gorgeous.
He was sharply dressed in a slate gray blazer, a black and gray fitted vest over a white buttoned-down shirt that he paired with a tight-fitted pair of black, gray, and white dress pants. He finished the look with a black tie and a hippo brooch, which shouldn't have worked, but did. In short, Kurt looked like he should be one of the models in a commercial instead of the person writing it. He was just beautiful. Blaine was so awe-struck that he didn't notice that everyone at the table was staring at him, waiting for his introduction. That would explain why Nick had just kicked him under the table. He had been distracted by Kurt's gorgeous eyes. What color exactly were they? Greenish, bluish, gray? Ocean blue? He felt Nick kick him again.
"Sorry. I'm -um, Anderson, Blaine. Yeah. I'm him. That's me, um, and I do jingles, you know, music composition, and words and stuff."
"Lyrics," Kurt chuckled.
"Yeah, uh huh. Lyrics. And I, um," Blaine stammered.
"Oh God, Anderson. Way to drive home that nepotism is clearly the reason some of us are here," Santana blurted, rolling her eyes.
Nick was next, followed by Elliott and the rest of the team, although Blaine didn't hear much of it. Instead, he spent the rest of the meeting mentally berating himself for sounding like a bumbling idiot in front of the most gorgeous man he'd ever seen, not to mention that this beautiful man was an accomplished writer. Then, his mind started to wonder why someone who had written for Vogue and worked with Isabelle Wright would leave to come to their advertising firm, which didn't really have a great track record lately. He was grateful to have this gorgeous and overqualified guy join their team, but he'd definitely have to get his story as to why he had made such a drastic change.
The meeting continued with Wes introducing the new products and company that they would be creating pitches for in the upcoming weeks. He really did try to focus but between the migraine, the soreness in his ass, and the gorgeous guy sitting directly across from him, he didn't retain much from the meeting. When Wes concluded the meeting, Blaine made a beeline for the door. His head was pounding, and he had already made enough of a fool of himself today. His plan was to escape to his sad little office and pretend to be productive until his migraine went away.
He had just popped an Advil into his mouth and attempted to take a drink from his water bottle when he heard a knock at the door, startling him, which caused him to tip the bottle a little too much. "Shit," Blaine cursed as he jerked the door open, thinking that it had to be either Elliott or Nick. It wasn't.
"Excuse me, Mr. Anderson," It was Mr. Hummel. That beautiful voice was already embedded in his head. He felt the cold water dribble down his chin and chest as he proceeded to spill water down the front of his shirt.
"I'm sorry," Blaine muttered, embarrassed that he had just cursed in front of his new coworker. "Blaine. Call me Blaine. Mr. Anderson is my dad."
"Blaine, of course," the brunette said with a smile as he extended his hand toward Blaine. "The result of Nepotism, according to Ms. Lopez," Kurt teased.
"Guilty, I guess," Blaine said as he thrust out his left hand, which still was wet from the water, and the other was holding the bottle. God, all of the dapperness that Nick often teased him about was certainly absent today. "Sorry. Excuse me," he said, wiping his hand on his already wet shirt, and sat the bottle on the desk. However, in his haste to get rid of the bottle, he neglected to secure the cap on the top, and it toppled over, spilling over the papers and the company laptop on his desk.
"Dammit!" Blaine swore again, as he frantically grabbed the bottle, and attempted to clean the mess with some tissues on his desk. Kurt immediately sprang into action and came back a few moments later with some napkins and began helping Blaine clean up the water as Blaine dabbed at the keyboard with the napkins so that the water wouldn't seep into it.
"Flip it upside down," Kurt suggested. "So the water won't get down into the cracks."
Blaine did what Kurt suggested, immediately flipping it and setting it on top of several t-shirts that he had grabbed from one of the desk drawers. "Thanks."
"T-shirts," Kurt said with a smile. "So you just have those lying around on your desk?"
"T-shirt campaign a week or so back," Blaine explained. "We didn't get the deal, so I don't care about spoiling them," he said with a laugh. "When I'm coming up with slogans, I often like to try things on, so I can have an idea what the product is like, you know, to have an authentic and accurate idea of what the product's wearability is. It helps."
Kurt nodded as if he completely understood. "I get it. It's smart. Isn't that like the first rule of advertising, know your products, know your potential customers? Something like that?"
Blaine smiled. "Yeah, something like that. I'm not really sure, since you heard that I'm not particularly well-versed in the art and science of advertising."
"Me neither. I think I heard that on an episode of Mad Men or something, or maybe it was Queer as Folk , or What Women Want . I don't even know," Kurt laughed. "I'll let you get that cleaned up. I don't wanna bother you. I just wanted to see if you wanted to get a headstart on the new assignments and check out the new items. I wasn't aware when I took this position that your team was assigned intimate apparel items."
"We don't always. Last time, it was men's and women's t-shirts. You just happened to come when some of the lines we represent are getting ready to introduce their new hosiery and underwear products."
Kurt laughed. "So that means that the next time that you have a water spill, you'll be cleaning it with the women's underwear from your desk drawers."
"I beg your pardon, but those are one item I don't see myself trying on," Blaine laughed. "And you won't be finding women's undergarments in any of my desk compartments, since I'm gay."
"So no women's drawers in your drawers then, huh?" Kurt laughed.
Blaine laughed. "Uh, no. Not ever. Although my dad seems to forget this on a regular basis. However, If you do ever find women's undergarments in my desk, you might need to check and make sure I'm not wasted or a victim of Santana's rage."
"Noted," Kurt laughed. "Santana doesn't like you one bit, does she?"
Blaine shook his head. "Santana's not normally that bad. Brittany got fired last week, and they were very close. Santana is a hard worker, and she knows her stuff. She'll cool off and become more bearable, eventually," Blaine explained with a sigh as wiped the desk once more just to make sure that there was no more liquid on the desk. Then, he flipped the laptop back over and wiped the keyboard again. "She just doesn't like writing jingles any more than I do."
"Wait, so you don't like writing jingles?" Kurt asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"I love writing music, but jingles aren't really my thing. There's an art to it. The composition part is easy. I can whip out a melody quickly, but I get tripped up on the lyrics. I'm not always articulate with words."
"I can see that," Kurt teased. "That's the reason I wanted to suggest that we collaborate. I'm great with word associations and witty phrases, but I'm not so great with the melodies."
Blaine leaned against the edge of his desk, wincing a little from last night's escapades with his ex. "Music not your thing?"
"Actually, music is as much of my thing as writing or fashion. I love it. I wrote a musical once about Pippa Middleton. However, all my compositions kinda sounded the same. I almost majored in music, but I didn't get into NYADA. I ended up going to Parsons instead and majored in fashion design with a minor in journalism. I thought it would help me secure a job at Vogue. It didn't. I landed that internship, but I was mostly answering phones and fetching coffee," Kurt frowned. "At least I'll get to write about fashion in some form while I'm here."
"So we have that in common. We're doing this until we land our dream jobs," Blaine smiled and cupped his mouth as if he was about to whisper a secret. "Don't worry. I won't tell anybody that you're just a big poser."
"Says the jingle writer that couldn't remember the word 'lyrics' earlier," Kurt laughed.
"You got me," Blaine laughed. "I'm sorry that this isn't where you want to be."
"It's ok. That's how it is. You have to build your resume before you land your dream job. I'll get some experience and maybe I'll make some friends along the way," Kurt said as he headed to the door. "I better get to work before someone thinks I'm slackin' on the-"
All of a sudden, Blaine's office door burst open. It was Rachel. "Kirk, right? Tina said she saw you come in here. They got samples of the new products in the conference room," she babbled. "I'm gonna check out the new goods. Would you like to come with me? So we can get a head start on the assignment?
Kurt shot Blaine a look that said, "save me," but Blaine was having an off day, and he didn't know how to read Kurt's face yet. "It's Kurt, and I guess. Blaine, do you wanna-"
Blaine never heard the rest of that sentence because Rachel linked her arm through his and led him toward the conference room? "Friends, indeed," he laughed.
Although things had not looked promising at first, Kurt quickly made friends with the rest of the team. It was amazing how well he infiltrated the group. He and Rachel bonded instantly over their shared interests in Broadway, and he won her over completely when he gave her a make-over, and even Santana had to admit that it was a vast improvement. Blaine was surprised how quickly Kurt had won Santana over, although now that he thought about it, it made sense. Kurt was just as sharp-tongued and witty as she was. It was things like that that made Blaine realize that he had a new best friend at work.
Nick had given him shit about it at first, teasing him and saying that he had been replaced, but truth be told, they had collaborated quite a bit, the four of them. Kurt had bonded with Elliott immediately as well, but more often than not, Kurt was in Blaine's office or the other way around with Blaine knowing his way around Kurt's desk as well as he knew the layout of his own. Part of that was because he never restocked his own supplies, so he was always snatching a white-out pen from Kurt's desk or borrowing his stapler. Nick teased him that it had more to do with the fact that he had a crush on the writer.
Nick wasn't wrong. Blaine still thought that Kurt was the most gorgeous man he had ever met, and he was intelligent, sweet, and funny. However, inter-office dating was frowned upon, and dating a team member was strictly forbidden, especially since his father was the CEO. That was actually the reason that their former coworker, Mike had left. He had been dating Tina, and it was discovered. He transferred out of the department, only for him and Tina to break up just a few weeks later. However, it was a good thing that he transferred. They could no longer stand being in the room together for more than five minutes before they started fighting. It made things awkward when they did cross paths, which was precisely the reason Blaine couldn't allow Kurt to find out about his crush. Kurt had become his work partner and dear friend. There was no way that Blaine would risk losing their friendship. It wasn't worth it.
He was thinking about that as Nick and Elliott were talking about something in his office as they ate their lunch. He had no idea what the two men were talking about as he sat there missing Kurt, who had joined Santana and Tina for lunch today to catch up on some gossip. He was sitting there sulking over Kurt being absent when he noticed Elliott waving his hand in front of his face.
"Why so glum, chum?" Nick laughed.
"I'm so not ready for this meeting. Shapewear? I hate campaigns like this," Blaine grumbled.
"Shapewear is not so bad. I think it's quite sexy," Elliott countered.
"El, there's a difference between shapewear and bondage wear," Blaine laughed.
"What's so funny?" Kurt said with a grin, opening the door and searching the faces of the three men.
"Blaine was just telling us he wasn't looking forward to writing the new jingles for the new shapewear line, and then once again, Elliott chimed in with an inappropriate comment," Nick answered with a small laugh.
"Actually, I'm so excited. It's shapewear by Body Formations!"Kurt exclaimed.
"You've heard of them?" Blaine asked.
" Yes. Of course!" Kurt almost shouted with excitement. "They were featured in Vogue a few months back for their revolutionary new line of shapewear."
"Damn it! I'm tired of writing for feminine products," Nick swore. "Just because I'm a gay man does not mean I'm well versed in women's clothes. You'd think that having a gay son would make Mr. Anderson realize that."
"He'd have to acknowledge that I'm gay first," Blaine grumbled. "Although it would be nice to pitch a masculine product."
"Actually, we will be coming up with new Jingles and slogans for a male line of shapewear as well. Up until recently, shapewear has mostly been featured in women's fashions, specifically incorporated into swimsuit designs, lingerie, and undergarments, but men have never really gotten the chance to see the benefits of shapewear unless they drift over to the women's department," Kurt said defensively.
"You're speaking as if you have experience," Elliott winked slyly.
"Because I do," Kurt replied. "When I graduated high school, I wanted to go to NYADA and major in theater, but I didn't get in. I concentrated on trying to get in for the winter semester, so I took some dance classes at a local studio. I had to learn an iconic dance so I chose 'Single Ladies.' I wore a leotard and some shaping tights, although it was hardly the first time I had to wear form-fitting clothing. I was a cheerleader my sophomore year in high school, and my cheer coach was always ranting and raving about how big my ass was. I found that I actually liked what shapewear did for my body, so I started experimenting with it. I couldn't find what I was lookin' for, so I started making my own. That's when I realized that I wanted to design clothing and changed gears. I got into Parsons and didn't even bother applying to NYADA again. I had to design a collection, and mine incorporated shapewear into actual, wearable garments. Not to mention that I designed my shaper, and I still wear it with certain outfits."
"Wait, for real!" Nick blurted.
"Pictures or it didn't happen," Elliott laughed. "I can't say anything. I played Frank-N- Furter in an off-off-Broadway revival of Rocky Horror, and I know I rocked that corset. Or at least the guy that played Rocky thought so, and he rocked my world. Unfortunately, for us, the director forgot something and walked in on us, and we got replaced by our understudies," Elliott swallowed. "What were we talking about?"
Nick and Blaine were both standing there with their mouths gaping wide. Nick was staring at Elliott, and Blaine was trying to do the same but his eyes and mind kept drifting to images of Kurt in formfitting shapewear and a cheerleading uniform. Kurt, with his lithe form, his creamy, perfect skin, and his trim waist. Blaine was going to have to leave his own office before he popped a boner.
Kurt didn't seem to notice. He continued to scroll through his photos and videos. "I have something better." All of a sudden, 'Single Ladies' started blaring from Kurt's iPhone. Blaine stared at the tiny screen as if his retinas were attached to it. He couldn't look away. He had thought Kurt was gorgeous in suits, but the dancewear left nothing to the imagination.
"It was fairly uncomfortable because it tended to ride up into some places that were not pleasant. The editorials that I read said that this company strives to avoid these issues. I can't wait to see if they achieved that goal."
Blaine felt a fire burning on his cheeks, and his jeans grow tighter. "Go! I gotta, you know, bathroom. Bye," Blaine blurted, running out of the room immediately as Nick and Elliott both cracked up laughing.
"He's not so much for being articulate, is he?" Kurt laughed.
"I think he ate something too spicy again," Nick said, trying not to laugh. "Poor guy has IBS.
"Yeah, if it stands for I Be Strokin'," Elliott tried to get out but he was laughing too much.
Nick elbowed Elliott in the ribs. "That's an awesome leotard, Kurt. I'm kinda relieved that you know so much about this stuff because it's not really my thing. Blaine tries to encourage us to try things on, but I think I'm going to sit this one out. It sounds like Elliott doesn't have any objections, nor do you."
"As I said, I hope that this line is a success. It could be revolutionary for women and men alike," Kurt said. "But we need to head on or we're going to be late."
Once again, Blaine was late to a mandatory meeting, and his tardiness was due to an embarrassing situation. However, this time might have been worse. He just had to wash cum out of his very expensive Brooks Brothers' suit pants. He hadn't meant to let it reach that point, but he couldn't make his erection go down. Damn Kurt and his sexy videos. Never before had he jerked off in his father's company's bathroom, but he couldn't very well go to the meeting with the biggest erection that he'd ever had.
He couldn't very well go into the conference room in front of Kurt, his father, and all of his colleagues with a very obvious wet spot on his pants either, so he did the only thing that he could think of. He raided the small supply ofclothing items from the line they were going to create ads for, but there was nothing in his size or that was not overtly feminine. Well, there was, but it wasn't suit pants. All that was there was a pair of sleek shaping tights. They said men's small on the package, so Blaine tore open the package and pulled them on, and boy did he regret it because those things would not slide off so easily. He had tried several times when he heard his cell ring.
"Where the hell are you, Blaine? You need to get in the Conference room this instant," his father demanded, "or you will work in the mailroom for the next four weekends. Is that clear?" Mr. Anderson shouted into the receiver."
"Crystal. Coming," Blaine said with a gulp. If his father only knew how true that was about five minutes ago. He had no choice but to go in like this.
Maybe nobody would notice. He tried to sneak in. Santana and Rachel were arguing so maybe he'd catch a break.
"We can not use that as a slogan," Rachel yelled.
"Come on! It's clever," Santana sassed back.
"I'm sorry but I think the company will hate, 'We're not your average hose,'' Wes said, his head resting in his palm.
"I'm pretty sure that women do not want to be called hoes," Wes countered, "but I like that you're trying to connect with the product."
Blaine tried to close the door behind him quietly, but apparently, the door wasn't in a compliant mood. So much for trying to sneak in.
"Damn, Anderson! Look at those legs," Santana catcalled. "I'm strangely turned on right now.
"What the hell, Blaine," Mr. Anderson hissed. "Is this some kind of joke?
"Um, no, I was just, uh trying the product. It said men's tights."
"I wouldn't ever be able to have sex again after squeezing into those," Elliott laughed. "And I've been in tighter situations.
All of a sudden, Kurt stood up. "Body Formations: Because getting dressed should never put you in a tight spot."
"Oh my God! Kurt, Yes! That's it!" Rachel shouted so loudly that Blaine jumped, but he found himself nodding.
"Good work, Kurt," Wes smiled warmly. "I think we have a good jumping-off point, although I don't think it's exactly what they are looking for. I suggest that you all continue exploring some of the sample products so that you all will be prepared for the pitch. Be ready to present what you have come up with next Tuesday."
"Damn, Blaine! Speaking of a tight spot, you better peel those things off carefully. You gotta be careful with your own hose." Santana laughed.
"Blaine, what do they feel like?" Tina asked.
"They're tight, but I grabbed a small. Maybe next time, I'll try a medium, because apparently, I have more curves than I realized," Blaine laughed nervously.
"Next time, Blaine, I suggest you leave trying on the shapewear to a private venue," Mr. Anderson said with a sigh. "Or to the women."
Nick fake coughed into his elbow, "homophobe," but Mr. Anderson didn't seem to decipher it.
Elliott whispered to Nick, "You think that he'd be more worried that his son would damage the hanging berries."
George forced a smile and cleared his throat as if to signal that the side conversations needed to cease. Immediately, you could hear a pin drop. "I appreciate you taking the initiative, son. Maybe you and Mr. Hummel would like to head the committee for 'Body Formations. I called this meeting because I need a few representatives to go pitch an ad to the company in Columbus. You will be joined by Ms. Chang, Ms. Berry, Ms. Lopez, Mr. Duval, and Mr. Gilbert. You'll be there for three days. You will meet with the company's reps on Wednesday in order to get more background about each product and to explore more of the products in their line. You'll have Thursday to work on any tweaks your presentation will need. Friday will be the meeting with the company's directors. This meeting is paramount to landing the account. And we have to get this account. There's some big event going on next week, so you all better book rooms now," he warned. I'm counting on you all. "I'll let Mr. Montgomery fill you in on the rest of the details.
The meeting went on for several more hours as Wes showed them samples and pictures of all the products they might get to represent. Blaine's head was spinning. He and Kurt were in charge of the pitch. His dad had never trusted him to lead one before. Either he had gained faith in him recently or it was his final shot to prove to his father that he wasn't an absolute failure as a businessman. Granted, he had never wanted to be a businessman in the first place. He sighed heavily and sunk back into his office chair.
"Earth to Blaine. Did you catch any of that?" Nick asked, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. They were sitting in Blaine's office, with Elliott checking travel sites to find the best deal on flights while Nick looked at room possibilities at the hotel that had chosen. Both of them had asked Blaine questions, and Blaine hadn't responded to either of them.
"Of course he didn't, or he would have objected to you and Kurt rooming with each other for the conference next weekend."
At that remark, Blaine seemed to snap out of his fog. "Wait, you're rooming with Kurt? Did he ask you? Do you think he's upset with me? Damn, I need to go check and make sure that he and I-"
"Blaine, relax," Elliott laughed, patting his friend's shoulder. "He asked me for financial reasons. He's staying an extra day because his dad doesn't live that far away, but he has to pay for the room out of pocket, you know. You gotta talk to your dad about the way they reimburse company expenses. Making us pay upfront and then only paying half of the costs."
"Nothing doin', man, because it was your drunk ass that got the policy changed in the first place, for charging your minibar costs to your room. My dad almost fired both of us for that, because I didn't stop you. But there was no way that I was going in that room, not based on the way you and that guy were screaming and rattling the walls. I'm never sharing a wall with you again, you kinky bastard. Don't think it was lost on me that you didn't have a belt the next day," Blaine laughed.
"Says the guy who came into a mandatory meeting this morning in shapewear tights because he soiled his pants at work. And don't think that I forgot which of us just last month showed up hungover and limping because you hooked up with your sleazy ex. I hope that he wore a condom, cause you know Sebastian doesn't care about where he sticks his dick," Elliott said seriously.
"You know how anal Blaine is about protection. Get it? Anal" Nick laughed. "You did, right?"
Blaine playfully rolled his eyes at his coworkers."It's no wonder that they hired a writer if that's the best you got. And yes, I got tested like I usually do after I hook up with someone. It's not like it's something I do all the time. Before that, you guys knew it had been months. It was just a horrible lapse of judgment, stemming from a combination of too much alcohol and being stood up. That next morning wasn't that great either, well until-"
"Kurt waltzed in, and you met your new wet dream. Actually, tell me your room number so I don't end up sharing a wall with you either. It's like living next door to a mobster with the number of f- bombs you drop in the throes of passion if it's anything like you were on the last trip. And if you are like that with your own lightsaber, 'Hands' Solo, then I'd be afraid to be next door when you have actual company. Although now, it's perfectly fine to jerk at work, apparently. I don't even want to know why you squeezed into those tight-ass pants. Care to explain?" Elliott teased.
"No, actually, Gilbert. I'm not explaining a damn thing," Blaine laughed. "And save that cleverness for the trip. Where are we going?"
"Columbus. Dude, you just totally tune out when you're in meetings, don't you?" Elliott chuckled, shaking his head. "One of these days, you'll pay attention to the small details."
"Wait, Columbus, Ohio? Kurt's dad lives in Ohio?" Blaine exclaimed. He practically sprung from his seat and began pacing nervously back and forth, his feet rubbing the carpet so quickly that had the floor been carpeted, one could've felt an electrical spark from the friction building between the soles of Blaine's feet and the floor.
"Yes, Columbus, Ohio. That's where the Body Formations headquarters is located. What other Columbus did you think it could be?" Nick asked curiously, shrugging his shoulders.
"There are over twenty Columbuses in the U.S, although I'm ashamed to admit that I only know that because I booked a ticket to the wrong Columbus once. I'm sure that Columbus, North Dakota is lovely, but I had to run back to the ticket window and book another flight, and the desk clerk talked to me at such a loud and slow speed that I know that she must've thought I was the biggest idiot in all of New York," Blaine chuckled.
"Wow, I didn't realize there were so many. I knew that sometimes people get Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio mixed up, but I didn't realize that there were so many cities named Columbus. Hmmm, I wonder how many of those cities have petitioned to change that, since people found out what a jerk that guy was," Nick said, as he checked the amenities for the rooms he was researching. "Hey, the Nationwide Hotel has two rooms on the same floor, a couple of conference rooms, a pool, a business station, a gym, and free breakfast. The girls have booked their room already. But I need to book fast. There's some big event in Columbus that same weekend, some music Festival. Blaine, do you want me to book them?"
"Yes, Please," Blaine replied. "I can't believe that it never came up that both Kurt and I are from Ohio. Maybe I can stay back with him, and go visit my mom. She moved back to Ohio after the divorce. I could check up on her and maybe Kurt and I could fly back together instead of him flying back on his own. That'd be amazing."
Nick shook his head. "Do you really think that's a good idea? You and Kurt being alone together?"
"We're alone in my office together all of the time," Blaine replied, shrugging his shoulders. "What's the big deal?"
Nick shook his head repeatedly. "So you aren't goin' to address the gargantuan elephant in the office, aka, the massive sexual tension hangin' over the two of you every time you and Kurt are in the same room?"
"What sexual tension?"
"Oh puh-lease, you might as well be Moses, the way you're floating in 'de Nile,'" Elliott laughed.
"Oh, good one," Nick said, fist-bumping Elliott. "Come on, B. There's a reason that you changed your major in school to music composition, and didn't stay in Theater Arts." You wear your heart on your sleeve," he added. "We've all seen it from day one." Elliott nodded in agreement.
"Look, nothing will happen. I just want to see my mother and help Kurt save some money," Blaine fibbed, but his red cheeks and the way his gaze avoided his friends' eyes gave him away. Damn! Maybe they both had a point.
"Blaine, you and your mother hardly say anything significant when you two do talk. We all know this isn't about her," Nick replied, sighing. "Look, you know the policy."
"You mean, the policy that was started because of you and Jeff? That policy?"
"Shut up," Nick muttered, laughing. "That was different. We're engaged now. He's my person."
"Yes, rub it in yet again that you're happily taken while we're singe," Blaine laughed. "But you guys should know that yes, even though I find Kurt very attractive, I won't make a move. I wouldn't jeopardize his job with the company, or mine for that matter, because dad would fire me in a heartbeat."
"Agreed. George Anderson is a hardass, man," Elliott laughed.
"Do you guys ever do any work or do you all just sit in Blaine's office and pretend to be productive," Kurt laughed as he walked in the door and took his usual seat across from Blaine. "What are we talking about?'
"Elliott was just saying that the other 'Mr. Anderson' is a hardass." Nick said.
Kurt nodded. "That he is. He's nothing like you, Blaine."
"Did you just say I had a soft ass?" Blaine said, giving Kurt a pouty face.
"Hell no. You could bounce a quarter off 'dat ass, especially after you shove it into a pair of shapewear tights," Kurt laughed. "But if I hadn't known that he was your dad and if you two didn't look so much alike, I would never guess that you two were even related, let alone father and son," he said honestly.
"You think we look alike?" Blaine questioned, cocking his head to one side in confusion. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended."
"Hey, Mr. A. would be good lookin' if he didn't scowl so much," Nick shrugged. "Or threaten to fire us. And would it hurt him to purchase some tweezers? He's got Peter Galliger eyebrows. You better watch out. The eyebrows are angry," Nick chuckled as Blaine playfully swatted the back of his head.
"Most people say I 'm a spittin' image of my mom," Blaine smiled, turning his attention back to Kurt as if he was still trying to figure out Kurt meant by his previous statement.
"I've never met your mother so I can't really say one way or another, but you do have the same eyebrows as your father. You also have the same facial shape and dare I say, the same smile, although you smile a hell of a lot more than he does. Do you have a picture of your mom? I bet you got your eyes from her," Kurt said with a smile as he waltzed over to Blaine's desk and pulled up a chair next to the curly-haired man.
"Of course I do," Blaine smiled. He pulled up a picture on his phone. "Isn't she gorgeous?"
"She's beautiful, Blaine. I see what you mean. With the eyes and the hair and those eyelashes. Your hair is darker, but you two definitely look alike."
"Speaking of my mom, the guys said that you are spending an extra day in Ohio to see your dad," Blaine blurted.
"Yes, my step-mom and my dad. They live in Lima, and Columbus isn't that far away. But how does that relate to your mom?" Kurt asked.
"She lives in Westerville," Blaine replied. "I was thinking about renting a car and going to see her. Would you like to rent a car together? You could drop me off in Westerville, and then you could keep the car and pick me back up. We could even catch a flight back together. I could share my air miles. I have tons."
"Oh my God, Blaine! Are you serious? That would be amazing. Thank you," Kurt squealed, as he launched himself into Blaine's arms in a massive hug. "I haven't been home in a while. I didn't think that I could afford it. If I could get a discount on my airline tickets, that might really help."
"No problem. You'd be savin' me the headache of havin' to sit next to these guys on the flight home," Blaine chuckled.
"Funny, I would've guessed that you had forgotten that Elliott and I were even still here," Nick said, shaking his head. "I booked the rooms, so you guys should be all set. I haven't booked mine yet, because I don't know if Jeff can go with me. He may not be able to get off."
"Sounds like a performance issue. You might wanna get that checked out by your urologist," Kurt laughed.
"Good one," Elliott laughed, fist-bumping Kurt. "I got the plane tickets booked, round trip for all of us, but you and Kurt will return two days later. Do you want to just rent a car at the airport, or will someone come and pick you up?"
"What do you want to do, Kurt?" Blaine asked.
"Dad will pick me up from the airport and bring me back. It's a thing we do so I'm good. We could just take a shuttle or an Uber to the airport if you want."
'I'll just get an Uber, then," Blaine said, shrugging his shoulders. He turned toward Elliott, "Were you able to apply my air miles?"
"Yep. You got a free ticket out of it, and the company will reimburse half of the rest. Plus, you paid with your credit card, and you got more airline miles for purchasing the tickets. I'll send my part to your . Nick, how much does the room cost?"
"El, yours is $400 for both nights. Kurt, yours is a little more because of the extra night, and Blaine is a room snob."
"I'm not a room snob. I have just learned the hard way that I do not want to share with either you or Elliott because I've been sexiled way too many times. Plus, I'll be bringing my acoustic guitar so that I can compose a jingle or two if need be, and you both fuss about the noise. Kurt, that won't bother you, will it?" Blaine asked.
Kurt shook his head no. "Of course not. I'll probably be right beside you, helping you write. I can't wait to see you at work. I told you that your compositions are amazing, but I haven't gotten to hear any of them yet."
"This trip will be so great, Kurt," Blaine said, grinning at his composition partner. "Actually, You can just room with me that last night, and that way, we don't both have to pay for separate rooms."
"Yes, that'd be amazing. Thank you, Blaine." Kurt smiled. "I can't wait. We can try to write a song, and you can explain how to play the guitar, and…"
Nick shook his head. "I told you It's like we aren't even here."
Author's Notes: I wanted to once again say thank you to everyone that had a part in helping me write this. Gleefulpoppet made the incredible cover art. She had to change it three times because I kept changing characters and titles. You are an amazing artist. you can see the art on Tumblr here. .
I also need to say thank you to Nine of Hearts for prompting this. I hope I did it justice. I think this is my favorite story I've ever written, and I have you to thank for that. The original prompt is at the bottom of the notes.
Calliopemelpomene was my beta for this, and she had her work cut out for her. She asked me if I ever quit writing, and I had to tell her no. It's ten o 'clock the night before this is due to be posted and I'm still making revisions. All the mistakes are mine. If you haven't checked out her story yet, you are missing out. It's called, "Reprise," and it's her first story. It's definitely worth your time. Here's the link: /works/38731071/chapters/96840018
Kellyb321 gets a thank you because she was the first person who saw the song after I wrote it. Not to mention, she heard me grumble when I told her I was struggling with the plot. girl, you are my muse.
Lastly, I need to thank the mods over this bang. It was so well-organized. I know I drove you crazy because I was panicking that I couldn't write this story in 10,000 words and only three months' time. As I said, I was finishing it tonight, so yeah, I was right about the second one. Running an event is no small task, but you both made it seem effortless. You ladies are amazing.
The Prom-us still has 6 more fabulous chapters. I posted several this weekend, and I will post one every day next week until they are all posted. For those who are unaware, I started an event called the Klaine Roulette Challenge. Fourteen amazing Klaine writers and I wrote a fic, one chapter at a time. It's fake dating, everybody. It was a blast to write. I hope you'll check it out.
That being said, this is my last new fic for a while. I had some major things go down lately, and I don't have much time to write. I do intend to work on Zoom Mates since summer has arrived, but I want to finish "Prater the Gator first- the children's book I'm writing to accompany it. I do not know how to work on one project at a time. That being said, I'm not saying goodbye to you, Klaine, or to my fabulous readers. You guys are all amazing!
