Valentine's Weekend 2016: Part II.
As Nick and Jeff headed off to bed, Isabelle was just opening a Skype call to Julian; at just before midnight in New York, it was the ideal time to catch him in Las Vegas. He appeared on the screen with a big smile on his face. "Hey beautiful!" he greeted her. "How is the woman that should be on the cover of Vogue, not just in a tiny little picture on the website?"
"Tired, but exceptionally flattered by the compliment," said Isabelle with a laugh. "You know how to make me feel good. I have had an interesting day at work, and something mysterious arrived in the post."
"Ok, well that beats my routine day at the office any time. Anything that you can tell me about, or is it one of those big fashion world secrets that a mere mortal man like myself is not privileged to? I mean, are loon pants and polka dots about to make an all too hideous comeback?"
Isabelle laughed out loud for a moment, then replied, "I certainly hope not, because then I would feel quite suicidal. No, I received an invitation in the post; an invitation for a meal at the most exclusive restaurant in New York…"
"Wow! Lucky you…"
"Yes and no. You see, it came from someone who signed themselves as 'An Admirer', so I'm not as lucky as you think. I have no idea who it is, or what their intentions are. I don't think that I should accept it, just send a very polite note saying that whilst I am flattered, I am now happily attached."
"You could, and the fact that you are prepared to do so makes my heart feel all light and fluffy in a way it never has at any time before. But, if it is an exclusive place, and you could get an article out of it for the magazine…"
"I could, that much is true. I mean, even Anna has only been there once to my knowledge, and she is the acknowledged queen of fashion in this city."
"Then you should accept and go. I trust you, and I know that you would never hurt me, or cheat on me with someone else. I admit that I should be the one that is taking you out though."
"Particularly as the invitation is for Sunday - Valentine's Day."
There was a pause as Julian digested that little piece of information. "Yes, it should definitely be me then, but what can I do when I am miles away? Just no accepting roses, no violin serenades, and no ordering spaghetti and meatballs and sharing the plate."
"Ok, did you really just reference something from Lady and the Tramp?" said Isabelle as she tried not to giggle. "I promise, I will insist on having my own food, with no sharing!"
"Good. Ok, subject closed - apart from saying that if this mystery date looks wealthy, be sure to order the most expensive stuff on the menu…" Isabelle burst out laughing and Julian joined in, pleased to see that his favourite girl in New York city was happy.
As he watched from a distance, in a spare moment before his next collection duty, Kurt smiled at all that he had just seen and heard. It seemed that his advice had been good, and that the situation, which could so easily have been awkward, had resolved itself in a most satisfactory way. He had his suspicions that it would do from the off of course. Honesty was by far the most important thing to have in a long distance relationship; that and time. Honesty was the key, even if it meant that someone ended up getting hurt for their pains. There was something about the whole situation that had him intrigued, not the least the fact that when he had mentioned the invitation in passing to Wes, he had seemed to be all too aware of it. He obviously had more knowledge on the subject than he was prepared to let on; in fact, Kurt was certain that he knew who the mystery man was. He had decided not to press him on the issue; he had accepted that when Wes said it would all turn out absolutely fine, and that it was nothing for any of them to worry about, that he was telling the truth.
It was time now to make his collection he realised; that of a still young man who was dying from the cruellest of viruses. A virus that he had contracted unknowingly from someone he thought of as a friend, who had taken advantage of him when he was drunk. By the time that he had realised what it might be that was ailing him, it was too late to start any meaningful treatment. He was about to die alone, deserted by his family and the majority of his friends, not from the disease, but from the conditions he now lived in. It broke Kurt's heart, and he was only too aware that either he or Blaine could have ended up in his position, facing a lonely demise, had they been less fortunate. As he stood now and watched as the young man's body was wracked by one last coughing fit as the pneumonia finally took him, Kurt shed a tear as he observed his makeshift shelter of cardboard boxes, his sodden clothes and the skin tinged with blue by the cold. At least he would find a better existence in heaven, in a place without the harsh judgement of earth. Kurt was determined that would be the case…
The following day came, and it was a case of all hands on deck at the Spotlight as they prepared to host its second annual night aimed at singletons who needed somewhere to go and avoid all the happy Valentine's Day couples. The furniture had been moved into place the previous night whilst the place was emptier, and now all that was left for them to do was the final set up; to decorate the room avoiding any and all references to hearts and flowers, and to place the specially devised menu on the tables. The demand this year had been so high that they were starting earlier, just to accommodate as many people as they could. They were all aware of the special significance of that night; it was exactly 52 weeks since they had taken over the diner, and more importantly, it was the same time since Santana had proposed, and it seemed plain to all of them that Brittany was placing more emphasis on that than on the fact it would be a year exactly the following day. Alongside the regular staff, Nick and Sebastian had volunteered to help man the fort, as had Ethan. Dave had a match, and of course, Flint and Beats had their main job to keep them occupied on a Saturday night. Ethan had also accepted an invitation to stay overnight in the study at the big loft on the camp bed, as Trent and Rory would be in the spare room.
There would be one person missing that night, and that was Mike. He had lucked out in the raffle for the person to work on the early shift that day - in return, though, he had to work the late shift the following day, so that all of the others could have a bit of romance. He had not objected as it was actually beneficial to him. Tina had early classes on Monday, and so would not be able to spend the Sunday night in the city, so the fact that the two of them could be together on the Saturday was an immense bonus. They would spend the night together in the loft, where Mike had promised to try and cook something new.
They were not the only couple that would be able to enjoy a spot of romance that night. Mason was not one of them, though - he and Jane had discussed it, and he was going to travel from the city to Yale the following day for lunch, so that they could avoid the worst of the crowds at the city's eateries. Cooper and Rachel both had a busy show schedule; Sam would be at the diner, whilst Grace would be working late at the office, to catch up on a job which she told everyone was top secret, if they queried it. Only Elspeth knew the true nature of what she was working on. That had left her with a bit of a dilemma. Josh had asked Scott to come over and stay for the weekend; have dinner together on the Saturday night, and then spend the day on Sunday doing things as a couple. Scott's parents had readily agreed to it. They had spoken to Grace and Cooper a few weeks earlier, and both had been impressed by the maturity and understanding that the young couple had of the situation. Moreover, they knew of the need to balance the desires of young love with the wishes of the concerned parent. What they did not know as they had seen Scott off on the bus to the city was that neither of those responsible adults would actually be on the premises that night; just a substitute that Grace had found, and slightly blackmailed, in the shape of Mason. He had initially been reluctant in the extreme to take on the responsibility, but Grace had pointed out that if he did not, then Scott would not be able to come. The idea that he could be single-handedly the cause of ruining Josh's night had immediately made him feel guilty, and so he had concurred, albeit with a condition of his own…
Thus it was that as Josh and Scott waited for the lasagne that the former had prepared under supervision earlier to finish cooking in the kitchen, where the table was lit by candles, and a bottle of red grape juice was deputising for wine, Mason had been joined upstairs by Seth and Roderick. They were playing computer games as they waited for the pizzas they had ordered to be delivered. All Mason had to do was head downstairs every so often to check up on the young couple, to ensure that they weren't at risk of burning the house down with cooking for starters, one reason why the dessert, zabaglione, was waiting in the fridge. He was also charged with ensuring that teenage hormones did not get the better of them, and in the heat of the moment, allow themselves to get carried away - Mason hoped to everyone holy that he did not have to intervene in that - or worse yet, Cooper or Grace came home to discover it going on without his knowledge…
As it was, neither Josh or Scott were entertaining those notions. For them, just that fact that they were trusted enough to be together on their own meant a lot. It was not something that they could have imagined happening just a few months before. The food dished up, they sat on opposite sides of the table, talking quietly, never letting the other out of their gaze for a second. Mason came to check on them, and they did not even notice that he was there. He returned back upstairs, making a mental note to clear away the pizza boxes and soda cans sooner, rather than later, just in case Grace came home early to try and catch them out.
"How are the young lovers?" said Roderick with a smile. "Behaving themselves?"
"Yeah, but if I am being completely honest, they are so sweet that as I was watching them, I swear that I could feel my teeth rotting…"
That statement brought an immediate burst of laughter from the other two. "I can imagine what it was like all too well," said Seth. "I ended up losing count at Dalton of the number of times that I walked in on Colin and Edward just gazing at each other, or holding hands… Maybe I am cynical because I am single, but I had to bite my tongue half the time to fight the urge to just shout out 'Do you have to?' Luke and Duncan are over that sickeningly sweet stage, thankfully."
"I hope that you aren't saying that they are at the squeaking bed spring stage instead," said Roderick, earning himself a scandalised look from the other two.
Seth shook his head, and continued, "No. I think that if I even heard that kind of sound once, I would move as far away as possible. I know they do, you know, but they do it in utmost silence, at least when I am at home. Tonight though, given that they are having a romantic dinner for two… lets just say that I am glad you invited me to stay over."
Mason grinned, at least until Roderick started to sympathise with Seth, telling him how hard it had been for him at McKinley, watching as first Mason and Jane, and then Spencer and Alistair had gone through the first flush of love phase. Mason blushed, but did not interrupt his friend. He knew that at the start of his relationship with Jane, he had been every bit as nauseatingly sweet as the two boys downstairs - at least, Madison had told him so, on more than one occasion. Anyway, the other two were both just single and jealous. He resolved there and then to see what he could do to alter that fact in the next few months, if for no other reason than to be able to mock them for being sweet themselves.
In the kitchen, two young men were finishing off their dessert, and talking about their plans for the following day. Since Josh had been forced to flee Bergenfield a little over seven weeks ago, they had not had a chance to really see each other outside of school. Scott had been waiting for him at the bus stop on his first day back at school in January, and had walked with him into the school buildings. People knew that something big had happened to Josh over the vacation; it might be suburban, but Bergenfield functioned like a small town when it came to the art of gossip and the rumour mill. What had surprised Josh was the complete absence of bullying, or even any comment on his new family situation. Ms Ramirez had such a powerful influence over the entire student body, and they all knew that she would not tolerate anything being done. At lunch, a few kids had come over to offer their support, including the wide receiver on the football team - his parting words, "Scott's a lucky guy…" had left them both agog at the potential inferences they could draw from that phrase.
Outside of school, it was much harder. Josh could not risk staying late in Bergenfield, and a visit to Scott's home would be risky in the extreme, unless his parents were in the house - and that in its turn would lead to restrictions being placed upon them. Scott's folks were also against him spending every weekend in New York, as he would have done if he could, so in the last weeks he had only been over twice during the day, and on both of those visits they had been supervised by Elliott. So this time alone together, with the adult supervision being only a year older, and hence extremely understanding, was precious. Hands were held, and soft, tender kisses shared. Anything other than that was for later, in the relative privacy of the bedroom, and not in the middle of the kitchen where anyone could walk in at any given moment.
As for Luke and Duncan, alone in their apartment in Bushwick with no risk of Seth coming home, there were no such qualms. They could put the bolt on the front door, draw the curtains, and do whatever they liked. They had eaten well, Luke having been given access by Nick to his recipe for Fettuccini Alfredo. Ok, so it was not as good as Nick's and the kitchen might have ended up looking like something had exploded in it. Ok, so they had ended up with splashes of sauce all over their faces, but so what? After all, it was fun licking those splashes of sauce off each other's faces afterwards. For dessert, Duncan had managed to perfect a chocolate fudge cake, which he served up with a rich chocolate sauce, which created even more splashes to be licked up. There was still a lot of sauce left after they had eaten their cake, and they both agreed that there were things other than faces that it could be licked off… Their passions inflamed, the dirty dishes were abandoned on the dining table, clothes left scattered in the hall, and they repaired to bed, to make the most of the privacy they had. Much as they both loved having Seth as a roommate, sometimes it was nice to have the space to themselves…
As they relaxed afterwards, Duncan spoke. "Luke, I am going to ask you something right now, and you don't have to give me an answer right away, although I hope that you do… There is an old tradition of hand fastening that I have been reading about, where a couple pledged themselves to each other, but did not swap a ring, or anything like that; they were not quite engaged, but they were definitely together. I was wondering if you would consider embarking on that tradition with me. After all, I want to be your husband one day, and I see this as a good place to start."
Luke smiled, and taking Duncan's hand, he replied. "Yes, Duncan O'Hara, I accept your hand. After all, I think we both agree that we are pretty much stuck with each other, and making it semi-official in the way that you have suggested - well I like it a lot, so it is no problem at all…"
There was much less in the way of love and romance in evidence in a bar in Princeton that night. All that could be found there, in all honesty, was lust. The crowd was large, all waiting in anticipation for the show to begin; more importantly, they were waiting for the high point of every Saturday night for over a year now; the appearance of the most lucrative act in the establishment - The Preppy Boys. Backstage, Flint and Beats began to prepare for the show; tonight they intended to showcase a few new moves in their routine, aimed, as always, at titillating the crowd. Almost crossing the line, but never actually giving them what they wanted. Both of them were also increasingly aware that their days as the popular double act were numbered. With final exams for both of them looming in just a few months, and with them, the end of their time in Princeton, these nights in which they both now revelled in the adulation of the crowd would have to cease. It would be out of the question for them to travel back and forth from New York twice a week just to put on a show, and their future employers would not appreciate it in any case. They had informed the owner of the bar of this, and had reminded him on numerous occasions now, but he was not keen to discuss it, or face that reality. After all, the crowd that the two of them attracted had boosted his takings, and had increased the tips of their co-stars. It had been one of them that had made the comment that Beats had overheard the previous night. He had spent the night thinking about it, and he had decided that maybe he should broach the idea with Flint.
"So, not many more nights when the two of us sit here, side by side, putting on our make-up, old friend…," he began, and at once he got a laugh from Flint.
"Do you know, if you had said that the two of us would ever be sat here, next to each other, putting on make-up, eighteen months ago, I would have been concerned as to what drugs you had been taking. Now - well it still shocks me just how much this has become normal to me. I mean, Warbler Wilson would have had a fit if you had ever suggested to him that he was destined to become a stripper…"
"We all change as we get older; I still feel so responsible for dragging you into all of this world…"
"It was my choice at the time, and now, I would not change a thing; it got my mom off my back, in a round about way, and it was a magnificent icebreaker with Izzy. I hate to admit it, and still can't believe I am saying this, but I am really going to miss this."
"And to think that when I started, and you found out…"
"Yeah, I admit it now. I was in the wrong."
"This place is going to miss us when we go. We have made it quite the hit. I overheard the other guys discussing it last night, and they are of the opinion that once we leave, this place is going to lose so much business…"
"There isn't any other option, as you well know. We have to leave, and put the act behind us. We will both be working proper, full-time jobs, hopefully, and we won't be able to do this as well, not even just once a month." Flint realised that Beats was looking at him curiously, and so he explained. "The idea was put to me that we could return and perform, in suits rather than a school uniform, on the last Saturday of each month. I declined for both of us as politely as I could. I should have discussed it with you, but I thought you'd agree."
Beats nodded. "Oh, I do. It just wouldn't be a wise idea at all." He paused for breath, then took his chance. "However, I have had a thought. I only took this job in the first place because I needed to keep myself clothed and fed after I lost the other one. It's still a harsh world out there, and there must be other young guys out there, in a similar position to mine, with our kind of background. Maybe not two best friends, necessarily, but two guys who need a way to earn cash, and who aren't afraid to show everyone exactly what they are made of…"
"What on earth are you suggesting?" said Flint, pausing in the application of the last of his face powder, his expression slightly scandalised.
"Well… if the diner can have a talent contest, then why can't we? Why don't we find our replacements; the next generation of Preppy Boys. We wouldn't even need to just find two…"
"Are you really suggesting that you and I should advertise for, and then audition, strippers? I mean, doing it ourselves is one thing, but encouraging other people into the business - it's different! It's almost like being a pimp!"
"I know, I know - but I keep thinking, if it hadn't been for here, and I had still be in need of the money, then who knows what lengths I might have gone to to earn it?" he stopped, as he realised that Flint had gone quite pale under the face powder at this words, and the implication he was making. "If we can stop someone going there, then aren't we doing a good thing?"
Flint, much to his own shock, found himself nodding along in agreement. Would it really be so bad to find a new pair of guys to replace them here? In fact, it might even turn out to be fun…
