Chapter 66: Winter Showcase
"You told him? Why? Why would you do that?"
Kurt had to laugh at the expression on Denis's face. His friend was appalled. "Because he deserves honesty?"
Denis didn't agree. "You've heard the expression 'brutal honesty', right?"
"You think it would be kinder to lie?"
"Yes, and yes, and yes."
Kurt grinned. "Then it's a good thing we're just friends."
"So, what did he say?"
"He said, 'I'd better get busy, because my grace period ends the minute he transfers to New York."
Denis put his half-finished bowl of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, down on the side table amid a jumble of TV and game controls. He reached over and hooked his hand into the waistband of Kurt's jeans, and pulled. Kurt let himself slide down the couch, head on the arm rest, one leg along the back of the couch, one foot on the floor. Kneeling between Kurt's legs, Denis smiled as he popped the button on his friend's jeans. "Smart man."
Brody and Kurt stood with the rest of the audience, and gave Rachel a standing ovation. Her rendition of "Being Good Isn't Good Enough" had been flawless, and "Oh, Holy Night" a genius outpouring of emotion and power. Kurt had never been so proud of his drama queen. She practically floated down the aisle, high on her performance, and hugged both of them. Rachel wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes.
Carmen Tibideaux took the stage, and they all turned to listen as her voice surged into the room. "Rachel that was superb. After the intermission, if he thinks he's ready, we will have a performance from Mr. Hummel."
Adam Crawford barely breathed as Kurt sang. He felt the pain in Kurt's voice, and needed to make it better. Don't be such as ass! It's a freaking song! But it wasn't just a song, not the way Kurt sang it. The man on stage sang as if a part of him had been broken. Who is this guy?
He hung back as the Winter Showcase ended. As the crowd dispersed, he kept an eye on the newest freshman at NYADA. He couldn't see it going any other way, Carmen was many things but she wasn't an idiot. Rachel Hot-Shot, and Brody Hot-Stuff stopped to talk to a classmate, and Adam approached Kurt. "That was an excellent performance. I'm Adam Crawford and I'd like to be the first to welcome you to NYADA."
Kurt's happy jumped from his eyes and slipped into his smile. "Thank you but I think the welcome is a little premature."
"Not if I know Carmen, and I do. I'm a senior here. And we need a voice like yours." Adam let his not so academic interest show in his eyes. "I need you."
Surprise flashed in the crystal eyes, and a smile tugged at one side of the younger man's mouth. Adam waited for Kurt's reaction, hoping… "Kurt!" Rachel linked her arm through Kurt's. "Come on. Cell-Ah-Brate!"
Kurt shot Adam a smile as Rachel dragged him away. Adam waved, as his mind tried to recall who he knew in the admissions office. He needed Kurt's number, and there was no way he was asking the Streisand wannabe!
Brody took them to the kind of restaurant that Kurt and Rachel couldn't afford. Crisp table linens, clear crystal stemware, the place even had a separate coat check room.
Rachel glanced around and whispered to Brady. "This looks very expensive."
Brady grinned. "Not for us. My uncle's the chef. I get a pretty substantial family discount."
Their waiter rattled off the evening's specials, while he shook out their napkins, and placed them in their laps. Kurt thought the light touch along his thigh was an accident, until he looked into dark eyes that said it wasn't. Dior! What was in the air tonight? I love New York!
They ate, and laughed, and talked NYADA, and Tibideaux, and the Winter Showcase. Kurt felt like he was flying, still surfing an adrenaline high from his performance. He heard the same buzz in Rachel's laughter, saw it in her eyes. The world was a champagne glass full of bubbles and he didn't want it to end. The subtle touches, and not so subtle glances from the waiter, seemed part of the whole incredible night. Kurt tracked the line of the man's body, through the black pants and white shirt of the restaurant uniform. The waiter removed their dinner plates and asked if they wanted to see the dessert menu. Kurt's fingers twitched, as he thought about unwinding the black tie, and uncovering what lay beneath the shirt.
As the waiter handed them the dessert menus, he locked eyes with Kurt, and nodded his head towards the coat check room. Kurt grinned. He watched the waiter walk away, stop another waiter, and wave a hand towards their table. He stood, and placed his napkin beside his plate. "Rache, order me the chocolate cake. Excuse me." He followed the signs for the washroom, which conveniently enough, were located near the coat check room. He waited until the girl manning the counter was busy with new customers, and slipped into the room behind the counter.
A hand grabbed his and tugged him into the far corner of the room, behind very large, very long winter coats. Dark eyes smiled into his, as fingers traced his lips. "Hi."
"You're not!" Kurt laughed into the screen.
Nigel grinned. "I am. You are looking at the new captain of the Sovereign Bank's bowling team."
"I didn't know you bowled."
"Well, I don't go around broadcasting it. A man has his pride."
Kurt smirked. "Do you have team shirts, with your names stitched on the pockets?"
"Not yet, and don't give them any ideas." Nigel tried to look threatening. "If Sharon suggests a team uniform, I'll hold you personally responsible."
"I could design it for you; a blue stripe down one side, a black outline of a bowling pin. You would look so cute!"
"I wouldn't want you to waste all your talent on a bowling shirt. Please, don't even think about it." Nigel frowned into the screen. "I mean it, Kurt. Don't even think about it."
Kurt held his hands up, surrendering. "Okay, okay, it's forgotten." He laughed at his boyfriend.
Nigel decided that distraction was the best defense. "Did Rachel survive the Winter Showcase?"
"She was formidable. She won the competition, and she deserved it." Kurt's face changed, his voice lowered, as he reached out to touch the screen. "Nigel, I wish you could have been there." He looked into the green eyes on his screen, his own eyes glistening. "Tibideaux gave me an audition tonight. No warning, just an announcement out of nowhere. I wasn't prepared at all. I didn't think I could do it." Kurt blurted out a choked laugh. "Rachel had to talk me out of an anxiety attack."
"And? Kurt, what happened?"
The crystal eyes shone with excitement and pride, and Nigel had to smile in response to such joy. "It was good. I was good. Nigel, I might actually get accepted."
"Kurt, I'm so happy for you, and so proud. What will you do? Will you leave Parsons?"
"I don't know." Kurt stared into the screen. "I just don't know."