Between Two Points - Puckurt - Part 04/?
Title: Between Two Points
Author: youaredriving aka Scarletsptember
Characters: Kurt, Puck, Santana, Other Originals
Warnings: Slash, Escort!fic, Language
Rating: MA
Summary: At twenty-six Kurt Hummel is one of the most successful club owners in LA. He has drive, a knack for business and keeps his personal life to himself. Not that he has much of a personal life seeing as he’s constantly on the move and making sure everything runs smoothly. So upon the opening of his second club, an event not to be missed, Kurt takes the advice of one of his favorite bar tenders. He hires an escort for the event to settle rumors of a damaged heart and the soulless business owner. It is either the biggest mistake he has ever made or the best.
The night had gone off without any problems, just as Puck said it would. By the time the club had closed done for the night Kurt was exhausted. He and Puck were sitting up in his office as Kurt worked on placing a new alcohol order and took inventory of the money they made for the night.
“Looks like you had a good night,” Puck commented absently.
“Definitely,” Kurt nodded with a bright smile, “Usually I can get away with a few days between orders but tonight everyone was happy to keep drinking. Plus it was the opening so I had to figure that would happen.”
Puck let out a yawn and nodded. He looked just about as tired as Kurt felt.
“Did you have a good time?” Kurt set his papers down. He was feeling slightly guilty for having Puck sit up in his office after a long night while he did paperwork, “Honest answer please? Not the one you think I’d like to hear.”
“Believe it or not, I actually did have a good time tonight.” Puck smiled, “I don’t normally get to do things like this with a client. It was a nice change to just take a breath and be who I am with someone. Plus I got to let go and be a little crazy too.”
Kurt rolled his eyes, “You weren’t crazy.”
“No but I got to pick my own drinks, dance with you, and have fun. I say that is what led to a great night.” Puck shrugged and grimaced at the jaw popping yawn Kurt let out. “You should head home. You look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet.”
Kurt nodded, “That is a great idea. Thomas, one of my security team is probably dying to get home himself.”
Puck walked shoulder to shoulder with Kurt as they made their way out of Illuminations and to Kurt’s car. Puck stopped Kurt before he could get into the car with a hand to the chest, “Let me drive.”
“You’re sure?” Kurt asked holding his keys in his hand. “I can make the drive home. I’ve done it several times before.”
“I’m sure,” Puck grabbed the keys out of Kurt’s hands, “Now you relax in the passenger seat and let me do all the work.”
Kurt didn’t speak until they pulled into his driveway and Puck parked the car and sat waiting. Turning in his seat Kurt reached out and rested his hand on Puck’s forearm. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For tonight, if that makes any sense. Usually I’m so keyed up that I make a mess out of something or another. Well spill at least a drink on my suit but tonight you made all of the bad parts more tolerable. So thank you for doing that for me.”
“It’s not a problem,” Puck shrugged. The tell-tale words Puck left off of that sentence were a kindness Kurt was glad Puck spared him. He didn’t want to hear, that’s what I’m paid for, or any variation of it. He had too much of a good time with Puck he’d rather not face that small little fact for the night.
“Well thank you anyways for being so good to me,” Kurt opened the door with Puck following suit on his side. As soon as Kurt turned towards the door he turned right back around, “Have a good night.”
“You too Kurt,” Puck waved over his shoulder before getting into his own car. He waved at Kurt a final time before pulling out of the driveway.
Kurt didn’t have much time for sleep after the Illuminations closed for the first night. He managed to snag a few hours of sleep before waking up and heading over to his first club, Spellbound, to make sure everything went according to plan while he was absent.
As soon as he sat in the car he let out a huff and grimaced at the feeling of something digging uncomfortable into his backside. He got back out of the car and rolled his lips together at the sight of a wallet tucked innocently in the folds of the seat. How he missed the beat up, black wallet the first time he got into his car, he didn’t know. But he knew enough about it that it wasn’t his. Biting into his lip Kurt tossed the wallet onto the passenger seat before getting in and heading towards work.
Santana was perched up on a barstool going over what they needed to do with the newest bartender Kurt had hired. She turned with a wide grin before she slid a tabloid over the counter top, “I see that someone had a busy night last night.”
Kurt grabbed the magazine and let out a sigh once he saw what graced the front cover. There was a picture of him with Puck front and center with the headline of: Not Such a Cold Heart Anymore. The picture showed them both smiling and Puck’s arm wrapped around his waist. “At least they chose a good picture this time.”
“Oh,” Santana grabbed the tabloid back and flipped through a few pages and stopped with grainy pictures taken inside the club, “I have to say it gets better.”
Kurt groaned at the sight of them. They were grainy but you could tell there was more than friendly dancing going on. It looked like they were actually lovers. “Great.”
“I think it is,” Santana grinned. “Do you know how much publicity both Spellbound and Illuminations got out of this? Your lovely face graces the covers and pages of several news magazines. Plus people now see you as more than just a businessman. You’re Kurt, a guy who is just like all the rest of us out there.”
“Except I’m not,” Kurt growled out, “You know who Puck really is and I know who he is. He’s not what everyone is thinking he is to me. I’ll never get a chance to see him again and then there is going to be more trouble because of his sudden appearance and disappearance. What if all this,” Kurt gestured towards the magazines, “Messes with his work. I didn’t even think that through. Neither of us did. I mean, the whole business is based on everything remaining confidential and last night wasn’t so confidential concerning photographs and such.”
Santana reach out and rested a hand on Kurt’s shoulder, “Calm down crazy. You don’t actually see get a good look at his face in any of these photos. In the front page, the words are over most of his face and from the angle that was taken you only see that he’s looking down at you and that delicious smile of his. All the other pictures are too blurry for anyone to say what he actually looks like. And, if you ask me, it sounds like you enjoyed his company. Maybe a little too much?”
“I have no comment on that, at all, Santana.” Kurt banged his head on the counter top before he remembered the wallet that Puck had left in his car. “But that’s not all. He left his wallet in my car. What am I supposed to do with this? What is the correct procedure on returning your escort’s wallet?”
The smile Santana gave him was nothing short of evil. Kurt could all ready see the cogs turning in the bartenders head and they were all turning towards the direction of not good.
“What ever you are thinking you need to stop, I mean it, stop it right now,” Kurt warned Santana. He didn’t want to hear whatever crazy sideways plan that she was coming up with. Kurt might not know how he should go about returning the wallet to Puck. Hell, he hadn’t even opened it because he was afraid that would be considered a breech of privacy if Kurt found out where Puck lived. Maybe they’d think he was a creepy stalker or he was a freak. He didn’t know.
“You don’t even know what I’m thinking,” Santana held her hands up in the air. “And it doesn’t really matter what I’m thinking because the man in question is being led right this way by Dillon.”
“Kurt, this gentleman says he knows you?” Kurt fell off the barstool and tried to recover gracefully but there was no point. He had tripped over his feet as he headed over towards the two men.
“Dillon, this is Puck. He was my date last night,” Kurt informed security and stayed quiet while everyone who was present at Spellbound disappeared from the main room or busied themselves with meaningless tasks. Kurt reached into his pocket and handed over the wallet, “You left this in my car last night. I’m sure you already knew that seeing as you are here.”
“Yeah,” Puck scratched at the back of his neck uncomfortably.
“I was just trying to figure out what to do with it,” Kurt filled the silence quickly, “I didn’t know what to do. Should I call and let them know? Should I look at your license and mail it to you. I uh, well,” Kurt trailed off.
“You were having a minor panic attack over nothing?” Puck filled in with a soft smile. “It would have been okay either way but once I figured out I left my wallet with you that I should probably head over to get it. The whole driving without a license thing is never a good idea around here.”
“Definitely not,” Kurt chuckled to himself. He caught Puck looking at the magazines that littered the countertop and let out a groan before hastily piling them together.
“Dude its okay. I’d want to know what they were saying about me if I were in your shoes.” Puck smirked at the flushing Kurt.
“It’s just,” Kurt rubbed a hand over his forehead, “I really didn’t think any of this through.”
“Didn’t think any of what through?” Puck asked as he took a seat at the bar and grabbed the trashy magazines and began to flip through them.
“What if this messes with you? I mean, you have to work and what if something gets out about what you do? How is all this going to affect you?” Kurt rushed out, “I mean, I’m always in this sorry excuse of news but you?”
“Hey,” Puck chuckled, “I knew what I was getting into when I took the job. I knew there would be photos of me out there, granted I hoped they would be a little better quality than this but I understood what I was getting into. Personally I don’t have a problem with any of it. Everything is fine.”
Kurt nodded, “Sorry about all this? I’m usually more put together and not as frantic but sometimes I can’t help it.”
“It’s cool,” Puck shrugged Kurt’s apology off as he pulled a card out of his jacket pocket. “I’ve got to head out, a few errands I need to run, but if you decide you need me again just call. I don’t give this card out much but I figured since I had such a good time and you’re a decent guy it would be okay for you to have this.”
Kurt took the card and took in the extra set of numbers, and extension he could get through the lines quicker with. He rolled his lips together before extending his hand, “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
Puck let out a hearty laugh as he shook Kurt’s hand before backing towards the exit, “I mean it if you need me call.”
Kurt nodded, “Will do.”
As soon as the door shut Santana attacked. She plucked the card out from between Kurt’s fingers, “Now tell me something Kurt.”
“Oh god, what now?” Kurt rested his forehead on his arms.
“Are you going to make use of this phone number or are you going to be the usual Kurt Hummel and do nothing about having such an attractive man offer himself up to you?”
“I don’t know,” Kurt huffed out a breath before he grabbed the card back from Santana and tucked it in his wallet, “I won’t know for a little while probably so how about we drop this.”
The next two weeks weren’t easy for Kurt. Why he thought that he would catch a break for once in his life, well that would be too much life right for that to happen. Instead by the end of the first weekend Illuminations had opened up, the amount of magazines wondering what happened to Kurt’s arm candy doubled from when they speculated about if he had a heart or not.
He should have figured he would have opened up a new can of worms as soon as he closed the other. That was just about the way his luck was going these days.
“You know,” Brittany said as she wiped the bar top for the umpteenth time, “If you and your man just made one more public appearance then maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. Or maybe use the philosophy you used in high school.”
“And what was that Britt?” Kurt asked.
“Fuck em’,” She grinned at the outraged look that crossed Kurt’s face, “Seriously. You might not have been thinking that but the rest of us felt like that’s what you were thinking. Does it really matter what they’re saying about you? No, you just let it needle at you until you can’t take it. So stick to your guns and hide your love slave in the basement. Or give in and take him out again.”
Everything in Kurt was screaming at him to let Brittany in on the secret of who Puck really was. Then maybe she’d have some insane words of wisdom that magically pointed him in the right direction. He knew better to do that though. Brittany would let the cat out of the bag without intentionally meaning to do so and then the paparazzi would be even worse.
“What?” Kurt rolled his eyes, “I should just tell him, ‘hey hon, would you like to come and hang out with me while I work again? Be a little bored, maybe have a few drinks while you’re at it?’ I just bet he’d find that so entertaining.”
Brittany snapped the towel at the air in front of Kurt, “I’m not saying bring him here or anything like that. I mean like a real date. Bring him out for dinner and if someone just so happens to catch you two out and about then maybe things will work out for the best?”
Kurt tapped his fingers on the bar top and hummed underneath his breath. She might have a point.
“I don’t know though,” Brittany continued to chatter on, “I mean look at me. I don’t have a girlfriend or a boyfriend so who am I to be giving out advice? Ask Santana, she’ll have an answer for you.”
“No,” Kurt corrected her in horror, “She’ll just tell me to get him in bed and that’ll fix all my problems.”
Brittany chuckled, “You have to admit, it does hold a certain appeal.”
Despite the fact that Kurt shouldn’t admit to the appeal it would have to get to know Puck on a more intimate level, he really wished he had met Noah Puckerman in a different set of circumstances. Maybe then things would be different and he wouldn’t have ever had to pretend that he had someone willing to be with him in front of the flash of a camera.