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Kurt honestly thought that his summer job at the Lima Bean would suck. And yeah, it kind of did. There were so many rude customers and people who recognized him from McKinley and he’d seen rats in the kitchen more than once.
The one and only perk of his job was the tall, muscled blonde hunk that came in every Tuesday and Friday at 4pm. Kurt didn’t know his name or even if the guy was gay but there’s was no harm in admiring him from behind the counter.
The man didn’t stick around for long and he nearly always had a friend with him. Sometimes on Tuesdays he would take a seat near the window but he’d leave once his friend of the day showed up.
Like now. It was a slow day so Kurt could ogle with no distractions as the guy took his coffee to an empty table and stared out the window.
Just as Kurt contemplating the pros and cons of going over and introducing himself, maybe asking if he would like a refill, a girl rushed into the shop and made a beeline towards the object of Kurt’s affections.
She talked quickly and Kurt couldn’t pick up most of what they were saying - not that Kurt was eavesdropping, of course not - but he did hear the girl say “Sam, we’re going to be late!” before they both stood and left the shop.
Sam.
Kurt smiled to himself. He had a name now. Somehow that seemed to intensify his crush.
The rest of the week came and went, with the highlight of seeing Sam on Friday and having him smile at him briefly before he left.
When Tuesday arrived Kurt still had the image of Sam’s charming half-smile in his head and he was buzzing with anticipation for four o'clock.
This time Sam came in with a boy Kurt hadn’t seen before, which wasn’t that unusual but it still caught Kurt off guard. He’d only seen Sam with three people in the last month - a mowhaked boy with ridiculously smooth skin (seriously, Kurt was jealous), a black girl that always wore bright colours and a short, loud girl who Kurt was thankful for because without her, Kurt would never have learned Sam’s name.
But this boy was new. Kurt took a quick moment to take him in - nice bowtie - before turning his attention towards Sam.
Sam ordered for both him and his friend and for the first time ever his eyes flicked down to Kurt’s nametag.
“Thanks, Kurt,” he said with another one of those charming smiles before moving down the counter to wait on his drinks and engaging his friend in conversation.
It was quite common that Kurt would get customers that thanked him by name but this one left his head reeling. All he could think was ‘Sam knows my name! The boy I’ve been crushing on for over a month knows my name!’.
By the time Sam and his friend had left, Kurt had made up his mind. He was going to make a move.
It would be a couple days before he would see Sam again so he had a little time to decide what he wanted to do. In the end he decided that he would just write his name and number on the side of Sam’s cup. As cliché as it might be, it meant that Sam could just throw away the cup if he wasn’t interested and there was no awkward rejection conversation. The worst thing that could happen with this method was that Kurt would be embarrassed for a week, tops.
What Kurt hadn’t anticipated for was that they would be rushed with customers on Friday. He was hoping that it would die down by the time Sam arrived but 4 o'clock came but no such luck. He should do it another day, Kurt thought to himself, a day where he’s not swamped and probably looking sweaty and disheveled. But he’d worked himself up and he wasn’t entirely sure that he’d find the courage any other day to ask Sam out.
Screw it, Kurt was just going to go for it.
A few customers later and Sam was standing right in front of him. He had his friend from Tuesday with him again and Kurt couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the patterned bowtie the other boy was wearing.
As soon as Sam gave him his coffee orders - ordering for his friend again - Kurt quickly scribbled a “Call me -Kurt” with his number down the side of the cup before busying himself with making the coffees.
His heart was threatening to jump right out of his chest by the time he set the coffees down in front of the two boys, giving them both a quick smile before rushing back to the till.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched Sam lift his coffee cup and - oh no.
Oh no no no.
Out of all the things that Kurt thought could go wrong, this was not one of them.
Sam had picked up the wrong cup - probably his coffee, but Kurt had been so nervous that he’d switched the cups - and his friend was now drinking out of the cup that had Kurt’s number written on it.
Kurt watched the two boys until they reached the car park outside and stood beside a pick up truck that Kurt assumed was Sam’s. They spoke to each other for a moment before Sam pointed at his friends cup. Great, they noticed. His friend read his cup before looking up and smiling shyly at Kurt, his blush visible through the windows of the shop. Kurt attempted to smile back but it probably looked more like a grimace. God, he didn’t know how he was going to explain this.
Later that night, Kurt was lying in bed, pretending to study, when his phone buzzed.
Unknown number: Hey, is this Kurt?
Kurt: Yeah, who’s this?
Unknown number: This is Blaine. From the Lima Bean.
Unknown number: Um, you gave me your number on my coffee cup?
Kurt contemplated just ignoring the texts, but that would be rude. Not to mention awkward if he ever saw Blaine with Sam again in the Lima Bean. He quickly changed the contact name on his phone before texting to find out what Blaine wanted.
Kurt: Of course, what’s up?
Blaine: Well, I was just wondering if you were busy tomorrow night?
Kurt cringed. The guy was actually interested in him. He felt so guilty, kind of leading Blaine on like this. But how was he to let him down? “Sorry, I meant to give my number to the guy you were with not you, funny story, huh?”
Although, maybe Blaine wasn’t so bad. Kurt had never really paid much attention to the boy other than to admire his bowties but it wasn’t every day that Kurt got a text from a single gay guy who was interested.
Besides, he wanted to head off to New York with a little bit of dating experience. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea.
Kurt: I’m free. What did you have in mind?
Blaine: I was hoping you’d like to maybe have dinner with me?
Kurt: That sounds good. Did you have a place in mind?
Blaine: There’s only really one decent restaurant in Lima. Do you know Breadstix?
Kurt: Of course.
Blaine: Great! Do you want to meet there tomorrow at seven?
Kurt: Seven works. See you tomorrow, Blaine.
Blaine: See you tomorrow, Kurt :)
Kurt groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. He really didn’t know what to feel. Excited for his date? Frustrated that his message didn’t get delivered to the person it was intended for? Embarrassed that he had agreed to go out with someone he didn’t really know?
It was too much for a Friday night, Kurt decided. So he ditched his attempts at studying, jumped into his pajamas and decided to rest up for the big day ahead of him tomorrow.
Dinner with Blaine was nothing like Kurt had expected it to be.
He met the boy outside the restaurant - which was a surprise in itself because Kurt had just assumed that they’d meet inside and he hoped Blaine hadn’t been waiting too long. Blaine was wearing a bowtie, a classic red one, devoid of the patterns he usually sported. He was also holding a red rose and Kurt could feel his face heat up as he approached despite the bitter night.
“Hi,” Blaine greeted shyly, and God, how had Kurt not noticed this boy before? “This is for you,” he added, holding out the rose.
“I - thank you,” Kurt said, his voice high and breather and if he wasn’t so taken aback by Blaine’s chivalrous behavior, he might have been embarrassed. He gently plucked the rose from Blaine’s fingers and held it close to his body.
Blaine grinned at him. “Shall we go inside?” Kurt just nodded, so Blaine turned on his heel and opened the door for him.
Breadstix wasn’t the kind of restaurant that needed a reservation or anything, so they chose a booth near the back of the restaurant and waited patiently for a waiter.
“I’ve gotta say,” Blaine spoke up almost immediately after they sat down. “I’m a little surprised that you put your number on my cup. I mean, I thought you were absolutely gorgeous, but I also thought that you only had eyes for - I thought you weren’t looking at me.”
Kurt blushed and guilt bubbled up inside him. He clear his throat, took a sip of water, stalled, wondering if Blaine was actually expecting him to say something back.
“Well, um,” Kurt found himself saying, his mouth apparently not listening to his brain. “I kind of - the cup - God, I don’t know how to say this without sounded like a complete asshole. I was trying to give my number to - well, to -”
“Sam,” Blaine finished for him, his face falling.
“I am so sorry,” Kurt said sincerely. “Seriously, I don’t know any guy who would wait out in the cold for me or give me a rose and you look like someone who just stepped out of a 50’s romcom.” He took a breath. “What I’m trying to say is that you seem like such a nice guy and I really don’t want you to walk out on me because I can really see this being something, you know?”
And as soon as Kurt said it, he realized that it’s the truth. Sure, Sam was nice to look at and Kurt had fantasies of them being together but he can actually see him and Blaine being together.
For a second, Kurt thought that he screwed everything up but then Blaine looked up at him with a small, shy smile.
“I can really see us being something, too.”
Kurt breathed a huge sigh of relief just as their waiter shows up. They place their orders and Kurt strategically steered the conversation away from Sam. By the time the food shows up, they’ve already discovered so many things they have in common and are having a very heated debate about the best song choices for Nationals.
“Wait,” Kurt stopped, hold up a hand to pause Blaine. “Your Glee club is going to Chicago in a couple of weeks for Nationals and you’ve not even chosen a set list?!”
Blaine laughed and shrugged. “I guess… We try to be spontaneous.”
Kurt blinked. “There’s a thin line between spontaneous and stupid, Blaine.”
“Oh yeah?” Blaine smirked. “And you writing your number on a coffee cup? Which one is that?”
Kurt blushed and looked away. “A mixture of both. I won’t call it stupid because it did land me a date with you.”
It’s Blaine’s turn to blush as he looked over at Kurt with a fond smile, which is sort of ridiculous because they’ve known each other for less than a day. Honestly though, it kind of feels like they’ve known each other forever.
They’re both a little disappointed when their date comes to an end. Blaine, ever the gentleman, walks Kurt to his car. It’s getting late and Kurt knows his dad is waiting up for him even though he told him not to so he really should be getting home but all he can think about is whether or not Blaine is going to kiss him. Or if he should kiss Blaine.
They meet in the middle.
With shy smiles and giddy laughs, they say goodbye, promising to meet up soon for a second date. Kurt gets in his car and can’t help but think to himself, that turned out far better than he was expecting.