A/N: Don't own anything. So sorry, I had writer's block, it was horrid. And work, and just excuses I know, its sad im one of those authors but shit happens. Hope you like it, and i keep dragging the date out, but i know what's happening now, so it should have a quick update, no more than a week I hope. Again sorry! Also I seem to be promoting Macy's, I don't know why.
Chapter Eleven
Since Kurt had grabbed his hand, Blaine got a little lost in the sensation, forgetting for a moment where he was. Having Kurt take charge and just take his hand took off the pressure Blaine had been worried about before. It'd been so long since he had tried to date, and he was naturally submissive, not that it meant he was in any way not capable of telling someone no, he just enjoyed having someone else take the lead. In his head it meant that he wasn't necessarily responsible for something going wrong, at least in regards to the immediate reactions. Blaine was very happy with how everything was going today.
Letting Kurt pull him along, Blaine tried to pull himself back into the task at hand. He hoped that he would actually be able to help Kurt find something that Carole would love; Kurt seemed to be very intricate when it came to picking gifts. Blaine thought it was endearing.
Blaine looked ahead towards Kurt; the sidewalk was starting to get crowded so they had to work through the other people causing Blaine to be thankful for the hand holding in more than one way. Seeing the back of Kurt for a while, made Blaine conscience of the clothes Kurt had on and how gorgeous the back of him looked, since he couldn't see Kurt's face which was just as gorgeous. The clothes were in a way casual but still very flattering for Kurt's figure, though Blaine was sure he could pull off any outfit. Maybe Blaine could talk Kurt into trying on some clothes, not that he would actually suggest anything, but he'd think about it. Blaine saw Kurt look over his shoulder a few times, so he tried to get closer.
"…obviously we'll have to stop there too. Macy's does cover quite a few different gift varieties, though if I decide to go with suggesting a new sport for them to do together; I'd like to go somewhere that sells for that specifically. That's good, right?"
Blaine clearly needed to get out of his head, and stop thinking about Kurt, and just spend time with him, but that was harder than it looked though. Blaine figured that just agreeing with what Kurt said would work, at least for now.
"Yes of course, that sounds like a great plan. Macy's isn't too far of a walk and if we see something there that you want from somewhere else, we can always look on Google for other stores."
Kurt nodded and glanced back at Blaine, before turning back to moving gracefully around the people on the sidewalk, pulling Blaine by the hand again. Blaine glanced around, looking at the various shops that lined the street, most of them were small businesses ranging from food, clothing and offices. Across the street Blaine happened to notice a small boutique, possibly a gift shop, he couldn't tell from where they were walking. He squeezed Kurt's hand to get his attention; the traffic was noisy around them, along with the hum of the crowd around them. Kurt squeezed back; he slowed down a little, gently pulling Blaine close to him, so that Blaine was walking side by side instead of behind, making it easier for them to talk. He still wanted to make sure Blaine stayed close though, so Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine's waist.
Blaine smiled to himself feeling Kurt's arm wrapped around him, it felt really nice, he was a tactile person, and it was even better getting contact from Kurt. Now that he had Kurt's attention Blaine told him about the store he had seen.
"I just wanted to tell you that there's a shop across the street, it looks like it could be a gift shop. There might be something nice in there for Carol." Blaine said as he gestured towards the direction the boutique was in. Kurt looked over, squinting his eyes into the sun; he wasn't able to really tell much though.
"We can check it out; at the very least I might find a new browsing shop." Kurt smiled at Blaine, glad that he was suggesting somewhere, because for some reason Kurt couldn't think of any stores besides Macy's. He hoped it was just because he was with Blaine and on a date, that it was just nerves and not that he was losing his touch. Of course he wasn't though, this was a date, and one that he hoped really turned out for the better, he was sure it would though.
They both made their way to the edge of the street, not bothering to go to the crosswalk, since the traffic was slow enough that walking across wouldn't be that much of a problem. Before stepping onto the street Blaine felt Kurt take his hand again, he smiled while looking to make sure there weren't any cars driving fast enough to hit them. They walked in sync so they could still hold hands while walking quickly to cross the street.
Once they made it to the sidewalk, they both moved into the flow of people, Blaine leading this time towards the store he had seen, which wasn't more than twenty feet away.
The store front was small, it had a purple awning covering the door, and the window displays were filled with all kinds of things, small furniture, jewelry, antique dolls and even clothing. Blaine was entranced by the miniature piano in the display, it looked like a toy one, but it was so well-crafted Blaine was sure it was considered an antique. Not having noticed Kurt letting go of his hand, Blaine startled when he heard his name called.
"You coming?" Kurt smirked at him, though you could see the fondness in his eyes. He was holding the door open.
Blaine shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, I really love pianos."
Blaine walked passed Kurt into the shop, the store was cool, but you could barely tell the difference in the temperature change. He could feel Kurt step up behind him by the warmth radiating from his body; of course maybe Blaine was just reaching out for Kurt's presence, either way it didn't matter. Then Blaine felt Kurt lean down to whisper in his ear. "Doesn't look like this is too popular of a place."
The place was empty save for the man at the counter, it was an older gentleman, possibly in his late fifties, and he didn't seem to have really noticed them entering the place either since he was reading a book. Blaine couldn't say anything though since he hadn't even noticed him until Kurt pointed him out. Kurt gestured to the aisle. "Let's look around, there might be something here. Normally I like to separate and conquer when I'm shopping with someone else, but I'm afraid you might get distracted by that piano again, and while Carol likes music, I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate that as much as it should be."
Blaine smiled in reply, liking that Kurt wanted to stay with him, when he normally wouldn't; and that Kurt noticed that. Blaine really did want to look at that piano again, maybe he'd come back at a different time. It'd be a nice thing to have, for both remembering this date, and also it was an adorable little piano.
Getting back to the task at hand, Blaine started to look at the items around him. The store wasn't too small, but nothing major, just about the size of most stores you'd see in a mall. Blaine wasn't sure if it was an antique shop or a gift shop, it was probably a mixture of both, since he found some old things and new.
Blaine looked around, hoping to see something that would stand out, which he did, but it wasn't something he would give as a gift to a mother figure. There were some vinyl records, which made Blaine wonder if Kurt liked listening to them, either you did or you didn't, there was hardly ever an in-between.
He didn't want to distract Kurt from his goal, but now he was curious.
"Do you like vinyl Kurt?"
Kurt turned to him; he was holding a long stem vase, running his fingers over it, probably to see if there were any cracks. It distracted Blaine from his thought process for a moment though.
"Vinyl? As in records?"
Blaine nodded, still looking at Kurt's hands on the vase, he wasn't one to turn just anything into something dirty, but it was hard to not do that when he was around Kurt.
"I never had any for myself, my mom used to though and I think my dad still has a player stored in the attic. Oh! Blaine that might be a great Christmas present for him. Unless you think that's weird, to get something that reminds a person of their dead spouse?"
Blaine shook his head, trying to process what Kurt had just said, while he was still stuck on the thought of Kurt's hands, it only took him a moment.
"Maybe, if it was something they did together as a tradition. But if it's something they just both grew up with, I don't think it'd be too weird for Carol, if that's what you're worried about."
Kurt sat down the vase he had been holding, which Blaine was glad for. "Yeah, they would listen together, but it wasn't exactly traditional, just something they did on occasion. Mom would listen more often, and I'd sing with her. I just think it'd bring back good memories. I normally get him more than one gift though too, I'll keep that in mind though. We are supposed to be looking for Carol though, I'm sorry I get distracted when shopping sometimes."
Blaine just smiled; he felt the same at the moment, though that blame was laid entirely on him not being able to focus on something that didn't involve Kurt. "I'm sorry, I just saw them and thought maybe you liked listening to them since you like music, I was curious."
Kurt smiled and put his hand on Blaine's arm rubbing his thumb across Blaine's bicep, which significantly drew Blaine's attention. "Blaine you don't have to be sorry, I would have been the same way, in fact seeing you admire that piano earlier distracted me from the task too. I just hide it better."
Blaine blushed, enjoying the feel of Kurt's hand, and how Kurt was interested in what he liked too. "Thank you."
Kurt laughed a little, "I'm not sure that really warrants a thank you, but you're welcome. Back to the current gift fiasco, what do you think of this vase?"
Kurt picked up the vase he had been holding before, handing it to Blaine. The vase was lovely, crystal, with intricate details of lilies, carnations, and leaves. It wasn't too fancy, and the price was cheaper than what Blaine would have expected.
"It's gorgeous; does Carol get a lot of fresh flowers?"
Kurt thought about it for a moment. "I'm not actually sure, oh I don't even know if she likes gardening, and really it's too late in the season for most flowers to be picked anyways. That's a terrible gift idea."
"Kurt that's not terrible, it's just not the right one. This is why I'm here with you, so you can bounce ideas off of me. This is only the first shop too; we have the rest of the day to find the perfect gift for her."
Kurt titled his head to the side and smiled at Blaine softly appreciating everything he just said. He really wanted to kiss him right now, but that might be a bit much in a store, while the clerk might not being paying too much attention, Kurt also didn't want their first kiss to be in some random shop where someone could stop them. Instead he went for another option because he couldn't control the urge for more contact, and he didn't want to, Kurt hugged Blaine tightly, though he could feel the hard glass of the vase squished between them.
"Thanks Blaine, though you're here for more than just bouncing ideas off of, I want to spend time with you too."
Blaine tried to pull his arm that was holding the vase out from between them, while using his other arm to hug Kurt back. While it wasn't the best hug, Blaine still enjoyed being this close to Kurt, and yes he may have inhaled the smell of Kurt just a little bit, but nobody had to know that.
Kurt pulled back quicker than he really wanted to, because of the vase. "Sorry about that, couldn't really help myself."
Blaine's cheeks grew red. "Um, you're welcome, and you really don't need to be sorry about the hug, I enjoyed it too."
Kurt smiled at Blaine, and gently took his hand. "Okay, so I'm going to go with a no on the vase, seems too impersonal, I know everyone loves getting flowers, but you buy someone a gift they wouldn't normally buy for themselves. Or at least that's how I normally look at it."
Blaine nodded. "I feel the same about it as well."
Setting the vase back down where Kurt had picked it up, Blaine started to move around the shop some more, Kurt following him. They spent about twenty minutes browsing, each picking up a few things to show the other, but not really finding anything that Kurt liked enough to buy. Deciding that he wasn't going to find anything in this shop Kurt got Blaine's attention.
"So since we haven't found anything, are you ready to try a different store?"
Blaine nodded. "Sure, whatever you want."
"Okay, but I'm trying to be polite here Blaine." Kurt said with a grin.
"Oh of course, I'm fine to leave though." Blaine replied, he loved having Kurt say his name, made him feel special for some reason.
"Great."
Kurt offered his arm to Blaine, who took it with a shy smile. They walked out the door, Kurt gesturing Blaine to go through first.
"So are we just heading towards Macy's and maybe stopping at places on the way?"
"I think that'd be a good plan, I mean I'm not even sure if Macy's will have what I want, seeing as I don't actually know what I want. But it's a big store so I'm hoping."
Walking in the direction they had been going before they had taken this side trip, Blaine took it upon himself to grab Kurt's hand this time, and it couldn't hurt to be a little more forward. He was hoping it would show that he was just as invested as Kurt was, just more shy about it. Blaine didn't look over to see Kurt's reaction but he did feel a gentle squeeze so he figured that was good.
The sidewalk got more crowded as they walked, because it was later in the day, and also most of the stores were open now, and there were street vendors set up too. Noticing that Blaine thought it might be a good place to look, he loved to look at street vendors, most of the time he could find really interesting stuff. Of course there were people who tried to con you, but Blaine liked to think he was good at telling the difference between real and fake. Maybe Kurt liked to look at them too; he'd mention it just in case. Unless that would take too much time away from the reason of this shopping trip, though it couldn't hurt to casually mention it.
"So Kurt what do you think of street vendors?"
Blaine looked over at Kurt to watch his expression after he asked; his face was pinched, almost scowling. That made Blaine a little nervous; he hoped he hadn't screwed this up already.
"I'm not really one for street vendors, I seem to have really bad luck with them, and buying stuff that doesn't work."
That surprised Blaine, he would have thought would be good at seeing that kind of thing, him being in the fashion industry. "Really?"
"Yes, I mean not the knock-off stuff, I can't spot that a mile away. I mean the everyday things, which people are trying to sell for their own personal business, like new products. Though you don't really see those types too often anyway, but I seem to always find them."
Blaine smiled. "Well I'll be there this time, and I've never had a problem with something I bought. At the very least, you might see something that you could buy in a store instead."
"That's a good idea, Blaine you're just full of those." Kurt grinned over at him, squeezing his arm a little.
They walked another block before they got to most of the vendors, neither wanted to split up, but also didn't want to spend too much time there, in case it was a waste. To make it quicker, they didn't listen to the seller's spiel, which Blaine normally would pay complete attention, so this ignoring them was weird for him.
There were a couple of things that caught Kurt's eye, a simple charm bracelet, some perfume, though it was a knock-off anyway, a gorgeous picture frame; none of it could really work as a single present though. Maybe he could bring together all of them, in a gift basket, most of the time Kurt thought they were impersonal, but if he put the basket together himself, it'd mean more.
"Blaine I haven't found anything significant yet, but what do you think about maybe a gift basket?"
"Well those are normally impersonal to me, makes it seem like you don't put thought into the gift. I get those for my brother."
Kurt smiled. "I was literally just thinking that, but I mean if I make one myself, it'd mean more. I could buy the different things I liked from here, because they were small, and then just arrange them in a basket."
Blaine's face brightened at the idea. "Oh! That sounds great then, and you wouldn't even necessarily need a basket, maybe a new makeup bag or a purse."
"Blaine that's a great idea, it's a good thing we are doing this together!"
Kurt walked back to where he had seen the charm bracelet to buy that, showing it to Blaine first to get his opinion, it was only twenty five dollars and he was relatively sure it was real silver. Plus he could always barter a bit for a lower price.
While Kurt was negotiating the price, Blaine was thinking about what Kurt had said. Not only was he actually helping, Kurt was complimenting him, and holding his hand, and touching him casually. It was the best thing, and it was only the first half of the day, he couldn't wait until the end of the date. Well he could because he didn't want it to end, but also he was hoping for a kiss. In fact Blaine was really hoping that Kurt would walk him home, and maybe possibly back him up against his door, so that they were pressed so close together and Kurt would lean down to Blaine's ear, and breathe into it. Then maybe he would press his lips gently against his ear, sliding down until he was at his lips and then he'd pause briefly, maybe waiting to make sure Blaine wouldn't pull away. Of course Blaine wouldn't, and he'd also get impatient because he couldn't wait to feel Kurt that close. But he wanted Kurt to make the move, so Blaine would just wait, maybe pressing forward just a little, breathing deeply in anticipation. Eventually Kurt would surge forward and just claim Blaine's mouth like he owned it, like he owned Blaine and it would be so perfect, and last for long minutes, but eventually it'd end, because Kurt is a gentleman and wouldn't take advantage on the first date. He'd want to, and so would Blaine, but they'd wait, for at least one more date, and if that date happened to be the next day, nobody had to know that.
"Hey Blaine, what are you looking at? And you seem flushed, it is starting to get warm, we can stop somewhere with air conditioner if you want."
That being said just made Blaine flush more; embarrassed he had let himself get so carried away in his fantasy, in the middle of the street, with Kurt right beside him. He was so glad he was wearing tight pants today.
"I'm okay, sorry. It's probably just standing in one place for too long."
Kurt smiled, he held out his hand for Blaine to take, and started walking again. "That's good, I'm done here, and I got him to go down a few dollars, so we can go get that picture frame, and then head to an actual store."
"Ok sounds good, didn't you see something else too though?"
Kurt nodded, "Yes, but it was knock-off perfume, and I want the real stuff, I'm lucky that Carol likes to change up what she wears. Honestly I think it's because I send her free samples in the mail all the time."
"Ahh, yeah I wouldn't want to get her that either. How many samples do you get?"
"Ummm, well it depends on what we get sent; we have a room for samples, from clothes to shoes, perfumes, anything that we could possibly put in the magazine. Though most of the time I don't bother with them, I am one of those people who only use one type of cologne."
Blaine filed that information away for later. "Good to know, but what about the clothes and shoes?"
"Well that's more me not wanting to just take stuff. I have before, mostly during the times we have to do a clean-out, or if Isabell wants us to wear them for advertisement purposes. But I try not to take advantage of it too much."
Blaine admired that, most of the people that worked there probably looked forward to that, the free stuff; it was kind of amazing that Kurt didn't take advantage of it. "That's very noble of you, I'm sure most people would."
Kurt laughed a little. "Oh yes, Santana does all the time, and I don't look down on her for it, she has to wear the clothes most anyways, and it is really better that she wears them so much, because good advertising."
Blaine just smiled in reply, he didn't know Santana really, just what he heard from Dani and Kurt, and he wasn't even sure what to say to that.
They arrived to the place that Kurt had found the picture frame, it was a five by seven size, but the design on the side was just so pretty, Kurt really wanted it for Carol. The frame was wood, painted white, but it had an olden look to it, the edges were showing the color of the wood, but it didn't look like it had been made that way. It'd go so well with the décor that was in the den at their house. He hoped that's where she would use it, but maybe he could hint at it when he gives it to her. They only spent a few minutes at the table, Blaine actually focusing, instead of fantasizing about Kurt inappropriately.
"Okay, so with that finished, how about we stop and get some coffee, I know it's only been a little over an hour, but I need it."
Blaine laughed in response. "It's perfectly fine, I could use some too. I'm just as bad about it, I'll drink all day, in fact I normally do."
"Well that's great then, just another thing we have in common." Kurt said smiling, they started walking, there was a Starbucks on the way to Macy's, and well there was a Starbucks on the way to almost everything in New York.
They had to walk a little further to get to the Starbucks, or at least the one that Kurt was sure he knew the location of, the place was extremely crowded, but they both needed a caffeine fix and didn't mind waiting. Once they got there, Blaine thought about offering to go wait in line for both of them, but Kurt beat him to it, in a way.
"Okay, so the line is long, and there aren't any tables to sit at for one of us to wait, so logically we should just wait in line together, that way we can still talk, sound ok?"
Blaine smiled, seems like Kurt thought of everything. "Yeah, and we both can cool off a little from the sun."
They walked into the building, Blaine enjoying the temperature change because while the blazer was fashionable it was also warm in the direct sunlight, moving straight to the line. "That too, you are probably boiling right now, but fashion doesn't understand temperature. I have mentioned how great you look in that haven't I?"
Blaine smiled, trying hard not to blush, if Kurt was going to keep complimenting him like this, then he'd really have to work on the whole blushing thing. "You did, but thank you again. It's always nice to hear. I said the same to you, right? I hope I did, because I thought it a lot. I mean, well you just look amazing all the time." Blaine babbled.
Kurt giggled, Blaine was so adorable. "Yes Blaine, of course you did. Thank you."
They talked a few minutes about somewhere else they wanted to go, if they wanted to stop for lunch or just wait until they were finished. The line went quicker than they thought, but then again it just could have been because they were distracted by each other. Kurt placed their order, not really thinking much about it, just getting what he normally did, and then Blaine the same thing as before and paid for both of them.
Blaine was surprised, but also really pleased that Kurt had remembered, even if it was only two hours ago. They moved over to the side to wait for their order to be filled. It took less time than expected, but this place was probably used to being constantly busy, so prepared for it. Taking their drinks, Blaine wanted to add some sugar to his so he walked over to the condiment station, Kurt following behind after realizing they weren't going out the door yet. He had just about been to say something to Blaine, when he turned and he wasn't there.
"Oh Blaine sorry about that, I didn't even think." He said sheepishly.
"It's okay, I should have said something first."
Kurt shook his head. "Maybe, but I could have asked too, instead of just assuming. I did see you put some in your coffee this morning. I guess I'm just in a shopping mind-set."
Blaine smiled towards Kurt; he finished up putting sugar in his coffee, and stirred it quickly. "Its fine Kurt, it's not like you walked out of the store."
Kurt flushed a little, thinking about if he had of been talking to Blaine, when he wasn't even there, that would have been embarrassing. "True, could have been worse."
Blaine just laughed, finishing filling his coffee. "Okay, I am done."
"Great, let's go." Kurt placed his hand on Blaine's back, which Blaine didn't think he'd ever get tired of that. After getting on the street, Kurt paused for a moment, taking a drink and looking around. There were a couple of small shops that had some deals on purses, but it was kind of in the opposite way, so he wanted to run it by Blaine first.
"So I was thinking about the purse idea you had, about instead of a basket, I'd just put everything in the purse. I know a shop, well more than one, that has name-brand purses, but it's a little cheaper than going to the mall. That way I could put more stuff in it, you know? It's in the opposite way though, what do you think?"
Blaine contemplated it for a moment, he didn't mind the extra walking or the extra time it might take. Plus having Kurt use his idea was really flattering too. "Whatever you want to do, I really like the idea, because while you could use a basket, you can't show it off as much as you can a purse."
Kurt grinned at him, loving the way he thought. "Blaine, I think you and I, are the prefect shopping buddies." Though Kurt wanted to say more than that, he thought he'd wait a little longer for more, probably on the next date.
Blaine couldn't stop the blush from that, but really Kurt shouldn't say stuff like that, because Blaine could read into that, especially since he was ninety percent sure Kurt valued a good shopping buddy in a boyfriend. And him being Kurt's boyfriend was kind of a crazy idea, a great one, but if that actually happened Blaine would be so surprised; happy but still surprised.
Since they had decided on where to go, Kurt started them in the correct direction, the store he was thinking of was about four blocks away, which really wasn't that far, but they'd already been on their feet for a while now. They kept up a steady conversation, talking about what kind of purses Carol owned, what kind she might want. Kurt hadn't gotten her one in a long time, while he knew a good purse when he saw one, because of his job, he didn't shop for them often; Santana wasn't one for using them, at least not bigger ones, so he rarely thought of them for gifts.
While discussing the types of purses Kurt wanted to get, Blaine thought about something he hadn't before. "Kurt, I don't really know how to ask this, you know without it sounding weird. Maybe I'm just being weird, it could not be weird at all, and it's probably not."
Kurt just smiled, "Blaine the question?"
"Right, sorry. Do you have a price limit, because I know designer purses can get pretty high?"
"Oh, well no that's not weird, kind of important, but I guess since we are going to be dating it might be weird to ask about that in a way. But the answer is, not really. For one I get a discount from most places, and I don't have to worry too much about cost when it comes to designer things. Not that I want to spend more than a thousand, actually I think I'll try to keep it below fifteen hundred as a whole on the gift."
Blaine couldn't help it, he was a little stunned, first about getting a discount, but then I guess that's a little expected because working for vogue has to be a big deal. Also he's sure Kurt has a pretty important job, based on him being on speaking terms with the editor, Blaine just had a crazy moment of feeling like Kurt could be someone's Sugar Daddy, and didn't that just put lovely thoughts into Blaine's head. He really needed to stop thinking about these things in public; well he probably shouldn't do that in private either. Wanting to not seem too affected Blaine just said, "Okay."
Kurt bit his lip, hoping that wasn't too much to spend on a birthday present, but he liked to spoil his parents, and he had the money to do that now. "Hope that doesn't sound like too much, I just like to give them things, I don't spend nearly as much on myself, and I'm good at budgeting and saving. My parents are important to me; I want to show them that, even if they never know how much I spend on them."
Now Blaine felt bad, he didn't for one second thinks Kurt wasn't careful with his money, he wasn't thinking in that way at all. "Oh Kurt I'm sorry, I was a little surprised yes, but I shouldn't have been, you have a job a Vogue! Of course you have money to spend on presents like that. I'm sorry if I insinuated something bad."
Kurt smiled, even laughed a little. "This is kind of weird, so we're just going to move-on."
"Yeah, okay. As long everything is okay?" Blaine was a little worried he had said something wrong.
Kurt pulled Blaine to him, by his arm. "Don't worry, you're perfect. Now that's the shop right up there, I have good faith in this store, so I really think we'll find the perfect purse for Carol."
…
Two hours later, Blaine and Kurt were sitting outside a small café, Blaine had taken off his blazer and was now showing off his impressive biceps in a tight black polo, though that could just be Kurt's opinion. They had a handful of bags under the table, Kurt thought that he had everything; he had ended up getting seven different things, including the purse. They had a bit of a discussion over which purse to get, Blaine had wanted to go with the Michael Kors tote, it was a bright pink, and Kurt liked it but it was on the small size. Kurt had wanted a larger size, and a less vibrant color, because Kurt knew Carol would use it more often, even though she did like pink, the size was more of a factor in the decision. The bag they ended up with was by Kate Spade, it was a pale blue tote, with a few compartments inside.
The perfume they got was Flora by Gucci. There was a scarf, that was a black and white watercolor design by Calvin Klein, and maybe Kurt had found a scarf for himself that he couldn't do without, but only Blaine knew about it and he was very indulgent. Kurt also got her a new iPhone case, he figured it was something practical and she could probably use one. There was also a gift certificate to Godiva, because Blaine saw the store, and really wanted some chocolate and Kurt thought it'd be a lovely gift. Some of the other bags were for Blaine; he had wanted to stop at Nordstrom to look at the bowties after having seen some in the display. At the moment they were discussing if Kurt should put anything else into the gift.
"So we have seven gifts including the purse, you didn't quite spend what you had thought, but I think everything goes together really well. Is there anything you wanted to add?"
Kurt groaned, he honestly couldn't think of anything, but he felt he needed to do something more, he just didn't know what. "I don't know, I mean seven is a good amount, but I feel like I'm cheating. I know I'm not, but there's nothing really big there, you know?"
Blaine nodded a little and smiled. "Well I understand how you are feeling, but when you think about it, that purse is $500 dollars, so that's a pretty big thing. All of it is stuff she can use too, I mean you could get some sunglasses if you wanted, or maybe a gift certificate for a day spa where she lives?"
"I know you're right about the purse, I just keep thinking of it as the wrapping and not the actual gift."
"That's very expensive wrapping"
Kurt laughed, "Yeah. And the day spa might be a good idea too, the places in Lima aren't expensive, and while I would go to Columbus myself if I was stuck in Ohio, I'm not sure if Carol would bother with the trip. I will check online when I get home. I think that means we are done with the gift shopping. It went quicker than I thought, wow."
Blaine gave a little half smile, he was glad they had accomplished what Kurt wanted, but he was also a little disappointed that meant the date was over. It was only a little after one o'clock. They did still need to finish their meal, though he was almost done and it looked like Kurt was too. They had spent hours together, but Blaine was just being a little greedy, he loved spending time with Kurt. He hoped Kurt felt the same way.
Kurt cleared his throat to gain Blaine's attention.
"So I know we've already spent most of the day together, but we spent most of it trying to pick a gift for my step-mother; I want to talk to you more about us and maybe we could finish this up and go somewhere else for dessert?"
Blaine smiled brightly. "Kurt that sounds fantastic, I was just thinking about not wanting to end today."
Kurt grinned triumphantly. "Great, normally I would suggest a walk, but we've been our feet all day. I know I could use a rest. I'm probably indulging myself with dessert, especially since we had some earlier today."
Blaine shook his head a little. "Kurt you had one piece, I might have indulged, but it's Godiva, I don't honestly know how you ate just one. Also eating dessert once in a while isn't a bad thing. I'm sure you eat healthy the rest of the time."
"I do, and really I'm just trying to keep the fact that I love dessert hidden from you." Kurt said this in spite of himself. He had a horrid sweet tooth; he blamed his father for it.
"It's not something to be ashamed of; even if you weren't in perfect shape you shouldn't be ashamed of enjoying something you love."
Kurt smiled, flushing a little about Blaine saying he was in perfect shape. "Thank you Blaine, though you do sound a little like an inspirational poster, not that it's a bad thing."
Blaine blushed at that. "Sorry."
"Don't be, I find it adorable and really sweet." Kurt said while reaching over the table and squeezing Blaine's hand, it'd been at least ten minutes since they'd touched, and really that was too long. "I'm actually finished with my food; we can get the check and go if you're done too?"
Blaine glanced down at his food, he could eat more, but since it was mostly gone, he'd just enjoy dessert a little more. "Yeah I'm done, do you have an idea for a place for dessert? I usually just get ice cream if I want something sweet, or chocolate."
Kurt nodded, he stuck his hand up to get a waiter's attention to bring their check. "I do actually, we'll have to take the train, but the place is just off the station, so not a far walk."
Blaine nodded. The waiter walked over asking if they needed anything, Kurt just replied they were ready for their check. Once the waiter was gone with Kurt's card, Kurt checked the time on his phone, he didn't want to get to the place he had in mind during peak hours. It was only 1:27, so it'd be a bit of a slow time, or it was normally, you never really know with restaurants.
While Kurt was dealing with the check, Blaine was thinking about the amount of bags they had. It wasn't really a problem for Blaine to carry them, but if they spent a while talking, he didn't want to burden Kurt with having to watch them while they were talking.
"Kurt."
Kurt was signing the receipt for their check. "Hmmm."
"I was thinking, I know it'd be an extra trip, but do you think maybe you want to drop your bags off at home, just so you don't have to worry too much about them. Unless it doesn't bother you?"
Kurt smiled, looking up after signing his name. "That's a great idea Blaine, I hate having so many bags at my feet. I usually don't stop for more than coffee when I'm shopping, but I got hungry." Kurt laughed at himself.
"Okay, great. Is wherever we're going far from your apartment?"
"Actually it just so happens to not be, it's not on the way or anything as simple, but it's not on the other end of Manhattan either. So since we're done here, let's gather our stuff and head to the station."
Blaine went to grab all the bags, not wanting Kurt to have to carry anything; Kurt just smiled at him, taking some of the bags from one of Blaine's hands.
"Really Blaine, if you carry them all, then we can't hold hands, and wouldn't that be terrible."
Blaine blushed, though he hadn't thought of that and was glad Kurt had. Kurt placed his hand in Blaine's and they both started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the subway, both with smiles on their faces.