Strangers In Love
Chapter 6
"Kurt. Kurt!" a voice called as he was shaken gently awake. He blinked one bleary eye open, taking in his surroundings to orient himself. As he did, a content smile spread across his face. Waking up and remembering he was in Hawaii with a very handsome guy was the best part of every morning.
"Hey, sleepyhead. There's breakfast on the table outside. I ordered french toast. Hope that's okay."
"Ssgoo…" Kurt mumbled into his pillow in a much lower voice than usual.
Blaine chuckled, then left the room when Kurt waved him off so that Kurt could have a few minutes to collect himself before joining Blaine on the patio to eat.
He rolled back over, thinking about Blaine with another grin. The difference in their relationship from the previous morning was staggering. It may have been silly, but after just one day, Kurt felt like Blaine was one of his closest friends. He could truly be himself because Blaine embraced his quirks. Being around Blaine was fun. He had never had a friend like that, even in Rachel.
That's because you don't want to kiss Rachel, a voice in his head said, and that was the other thing. It was unfamiliar to Kurt, this deep attraction to another human. He constantly wanted to be near Blaine, and he had to be on 'round-the-clock watch of his tongue, lest he let slip how badly he wanted Blaine's mouth on his.
It was safe to say that Kurt was enjoying the way their friendship had progressed so that it actually felt like they were on the dream date that GMA intended. If anything was certain, it was that things had shifted significantly between the two men. Kurt wondered if Blaine could feel it, too.
Not long after Blaine left the room, Kurt, looking slightly more presentable but still adorably disheveled, ambled outside to where Blaine was serving food onto plates.
"What a great way to wake up," Kurt said, stretching the sleep from his bones with his arms over his head.
Blaine's eyes watched indulgently as his lithe limbs elongated, a fact Kurt did not miss. "I'm not sure there's any bad way to wake up when you're on vacation in Hawaii." Blaine's neck flushed when he realized Kurt caught him looking, but Kurt just shrugged with a knowing smirk.
"Maybe when you fall off the couch you're sleeping on," Kurt teased.
"Okay," Blaine conceded. "Maybe then."
"You know, it's not really fair for me to sleep on the bed every night. Maybe we could switch halfway through the trip?"
Blaine shook his head. "No way. I'm happy on the couch. You spend more time sleeping than I do, anyway, so based on that alone, you should get the bed." Kurt stuck his tongue out at the jibe. "How can a person even sleep so much?"
Kurt pointed to himself. "Do you see this face? It's called beauty sleep." He couldn't help but to crack a smile.
Blaine raised an eyebrow, appraising him, then nodded in satisfaction. "But if what you're saying is true...I don't sleep nearly as much as you do. What are you implying?"
"Certainly not that you aren't beautiful…" A blush bloomed on Kurt's cheeks as he trailed off, losing his boldness halfway through the phrase. He looked up nervously at Blaine, who seemed to be mulling over Kurt's blatant flirting with a blush of his own, accompanied by a small smile.
A thrill ran through Kurt at the flirty turn things had taken.
"So...what's on the agenda for today?" Kurt asked, desperate to change the subject.
Blaine, who had the schedule sitting next to him, seemed pleased when he read whatever was written there.
"Beach lounging today. Water activities later. Looks like we can choose from paddle boarding, surfing, snorkeling, or kayaking. Any of those sound appealing?"
"I would try anything. It's all new to me," Kurt admitted. "How about you?"
Blaine scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "My parents had a timeshare in Mexico growing up. I've done them all, actually."
"Of course you have," Kurt said.
"What does that mean?" Blaine asked curiously.
"Only that you're good at everything. It's not fair to us common folk."
"Whatever. I am not."
"I bet I could name anything and you'd be great at it."
"You're on. There are plenty of things I'm terrible at."
"Playing piano."
Blaine choked on his juice. "Do-over. I'm a piano performance major at Juilliard."
Kurt's eyes bugged out of his head. "Fine. Writing music."
"Uh...I'm double majoring in piano and composition."
Kurt laid down his silverware and put his hands flat on the table. "Wow. I feel immensely inadequate. This is a horrible game. Whose idea was this?"
"Yours," Blaine laughed.
"I revoke all of my game-choosing rights from here on out. I also revoke your right to be awesome at literally everything."
"You don't have to do that," Blaine began. Kurt was sure Blaine was going to dismiss his praise once again. "I'm fairly content with being perfect, thank you very much."
It was Kurt's turn to choke on his drink. After catching his breath, he took another sip to help control the residual tickle in his throat.
"Did you put alcohol in my juice?"
"Mine too," Blaine nodded proudly.
"Blaine! It's ten o'clock in the morning! Are you trying to get me drunk today?"
The returning glint in Blaine's eye was wicked.
Blaine was in heaven. Or hell, depending on how he looked at it.
Kurt, clad only in a small pair of swim shorts (though admittedly, the ones he wore were smaller), was sprawled out on a lounge chair next to him on the beach. Under the pretense of browsing magazines, Blaine spent much of the morning staring in wonder at the beauty of shirtless Kurt. As the morning stretched in into early afternoon, the drinks were freely flowing, and Blaine forgot to be subtle with his glances. On multiple occasions, Kurt caught him looking, causing Blaine to blush furiously and look away. It was payback, though, when Blaine found Kurt pretending to be asleep behind sunglasses, but really staring at him instead.
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm feeling slightly intoxicated right now, and I can't bring myself to care."
Blaine understood. The buzz of the alcohol warmed his stomach and all but removed his sense of dignity. He felt the character he had been playing slip away, gradually replaced by happy, sappy, drunk Blaine.
He was having the best time on this vacation date, loving every second of getting to know Kurt, and flirting with him. Especially the flirting.
"Kurt," Blaine brazenly admitted, "I am so glad I'm here with you, and I'm so thankful you came up with the idea of me acting, because I really like talking to you. You're pretty great."
Kurt smiled at the compliment, then frowned. "Are you still acting?"
Blaine nodded apologetically. "I have to. You make me nervous. You are way hotter than any other guy I've talked to, and you flirt with me. Regular Blaine would shit his pants talking to you."
Kurt laughed loudly, but his expression was still conflicted. Blaine wondered if he shouldn't have been so honest, but again, his filter was essentially gone. He reached across the gap between their chairs to hold Kurt's hand, which grabbed back, squeezing lightly. It felt so right that Blaine's chest grew warm and he felt a little floaty. Still holding on, both boys drifted off to dreamland.
That is how their camera crew found them later in the afternoon.
Waking up to a cute boy's hand in his and finding that he was still pleasantly buzzed from the drinks he'd had earlier was probably the most fabulous way to wake up, according to Blaine.
He noticed the familiar cameras and smiled, shaking Kurt's hand slightly.
"Hey guys," he greeted.
"Looks like things are going well here," one of the men teased. "Who's ready to get in the water?"
"Five more minutes," Kurt mumbled sleepily.
Abruptly, Blaine was out of his chair, scooping up Kurt and throwing him over his shoulder to carry him toward the ocean. Kurt squealed all the way, suddenly very much awake.
"Please don't throw me in," Kurt begged when Blaine was waist-deep. "I trust you. Don't break that trust by betraying my wishes."
Blaine, touched, set him down gently, feet first, and opened his mouth to say something, but Kurt knocked his legs out from under him, effectively dunking him under the water.
Spluttering, Blaine surfaced.
"You did not just do that!"
Kurt was smirking evilly, but his grin was quickly wiped away as Blaine retaliated, lunging toward Kurt to pull him down as well.
Soon, both boys were drenched and laughing so hard their sides hurt.
"Truce?" Blaine finally called, holding out his hand.
Kurt shook it, trying to catch his breath. "Truce."
With a goofy smile, Blaine shook his head vigorously so that water sprayed everywhere.
"Your hair," Kurt said quietly, looking at Blaine like he'd never seen him before.
Blaine ran a hand through his curls, silently cursing his mother for passing it down to him. "Oh I know, it's awfully unruly. Thank you, genetics!"
"No, that's not what I was going to say at all," Kurt looked down shyly.
"Oh! What then?"
"Never mind," Kurt slowly backed away a couple steps, wading through the chest-deep water.
"Tell me," Blaine matched him step for step.
"Nope."
"I'll make you," Blaine continued his pursuit.
"You'll have to catch me first!" Kurt dove into the water and swam away.
Blaine shrugged, diving in after him and taking off.
Kurt was fast, but Blaine had countless hours of practice swimming away from Cooper's torment. He had a hold of Kurt in 30 seconds. Kurt was slippery, though, and he wriggled out of Blaine's arms as quickly as he was caught. The chase-catch-wriggle cycle continued until they were out of breath again, and they collapsed against each other on the sand.
"Quality footage, guys," the cameraman called out, holding his thumbs up, which sent Kurt and Blaine into fits of giggles again.
Blaine felt amazing. Rejuvenated, refreshed, and the most carefree he could remember being in the past few years. The sun beat down on his face, the sand was hot under his back, the waves lapped at his toes, and above all else, Kurt was by his side. He turned his head to the beaming boy next to him.
"You make me feel like a kid again. That was so much fun. Thank you."
Kurt's fingers wrapped around his. "You're right. That was the most fun I've had in a long time."
Kurt found himself being pulled up by the hands to a sitting position.
"I hope you're ready for more," Blaine said in a singsong voice, nodding to the pile of equipment to their left. "It's time to learn how to kayak."
It had been another amazing day in Hawaii. Kurt had continued to goof off with Blaine while they tried the various water activities, and they were so exhausted from their day of fun in the sun that they promptly fell asleep as soon as they returned to their room. That evening, they ordered food for delivery and camped out on the sprawling double lounge in their private cabana to eat, drink, and watch the stars.
"How many drinks is this for today?" Kurt asked Blaine as they clinked their glasses, toasting to Hawaii and meeting each other.
"Eight? Nine? Not so sure…" Blaine trailed off, deep in thought about his mixed drinks while Kurt set their empty dishes on a tray on the ground.
"What should we do tonight?"
Kurt pressed his lips together in consideration. "Let's play a game."
Blaine scoffed, remembering the game they played earlier that morning. "Okay, but you don't get to choose."
"Oh yes I do. You reserve your right to continue being amazing at everything, so I reserve my right to choose the game."
Blaine's eyes rolled up to the sky. "I am not amazing at everything." But his voice was resigned, knowing that it was pointless to argue Kurt on this point.
"Says the guy who can hold a headstand for an indefinite amount of time on a paddle board…"
"So maybe I have a few tricks up my sleeve. But I can't even hold a conversation with a stranger."
Kurt's eyes lit up and he thrust a fist into the air. "Yes! There is something you're not good at! I mean," he amended, placing a hand on Blaine's forearm. "I'm sorry that you have so much anxiety about talking to new people, but I am so glad there's something you can't do. It's good to know you aren't a robot."
Blaine moved his arms jerkily in a bad robot impression, sending Kurt into a bout of laughter.
"There's another thing you're horrible at!"
"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to find a piece of paper lying around the room keeping track of all of my flaws?" Blaine joked.
"Shit! I'll have to remember to hide that…"
They each took another swig of their piña coladas.
"So. Kurt. What's the game we're playing?"
"Truth or dare?"
"No way. Are we in eighth grade again?" Blaine laughed in disbelief.
"Hey," Kurt defended his choice. "Isn't today all about throwing back to when we were kids? Why not, Blaine?"
"Okay, then," Blaine leaned forward into Kurt's space, both hearts stuttering as he did. "Dare."
"I dare you to take two shots of tequila."
"Easy." Blaine ran back into the house and returned with three shots. Two for him, one for Kurt.
"This is your dare, not mine!" Kurt protested.
In a courageous gesture, Blaine held out the underside of his arm to Kurt, showing him the line of salt.
"Still want to turn it down?" His voice was suggestive. Kurt knew an arm was a relatively innocent body part, but as he licked the salt away, Blaine's arm suddenly felt like the most erotic body part of all time.
Kurt allowed Blaine to reciprocate as he took his shots, perfectly mimicking the shiver that ran through Blaine when he licked his arm.
So the game went. Neither wanted to be the first to choose truth, as it felt like a cop out, so dare after dare was handed out, the sexual tension between them growing as the night went on.
When Kurt had called their butler to ask for him to deliver lube and a mega pack of condoms, Blaine had gone skinny dipping in the ocean, Kurt had joined another couple's candlelit dinner, and Blaine had streaked down the beach (Kurt's dares had a real penchant for getting Blaine naked), they settled back down into their cabana with a bottle of champagne that was being passed back and forth between them.
Blaine leaned back against the wall of pillows behind him, and Kurt followed suit. Their arms brushed together, and Kurt felt his heart start to race. He heard Blaine's breath catch in his throat, as it had been doing all day every time they touched.
The day had been perfect, and he suspected that Blaine had something - everything - to do with it. Two days ago, he had promised Rachel he would give Blaine a chance. Now, his heart was the one that didn't have one. How rapidly Kurt was developing feelings for Blaine was scary, but for the first time in his life, he was ready to embrace the fear.
Taking yet another leap of faith, Kurt rolled onto his side, propped up on his elbow, close enough that his hair fell into Blaine's face. Blaine wet his lips, and his eyes were shiny and bright beneath his alcohol-heavy lids, staring back at Kurt with a magnetic freshness and vulnerability. If nothing up until then had proven it, Kurt now knew he was a goner.
"Truth or dare?" Kurt whispered.
"Truth." Blaine's low voice sent shivers down his spine once again.
"Wrong. Dare. I dare you to kiss me."
Blaine shuddered. "I don't think that's how you play," he breathed.
Kurt's lips were an inch from Blaine's. "Fine. Truth. How badly do you want to kiss me?"
Blaine couldn't answer. He was frozen in place, the sound of his heavy breathing filling the air.
"Show me," Kurt prompted.
Blaine found his voice. "You're not allowed to take two turns in a row."
Moving in slow motion, Kurt kissed Blaine's cheekbone. "Ask me, then."
Blaine's hands snaked their way around Kurt's waist, reveling in the heat they discovered through his thin shirt.
"Truth or dare?" Blaine asked, pulling Kurt closer yet.
"Dare." Kurt's voice came out even steadier than he had hoped.
"I dare you to kiss me so hard I forget my name."
Closing the distance between their faces, Kurt eagerly fulfilled the dare, punctuating the perfect day with a perfect ending.