Summer Skin (Part 5/6)
Title: Summer Skin (Part 5/6)
Rating: NC-17 (R for this part)
Spoilers: Up to 2x15
Warnings: College (summer vacation) AU, major Klaine, major Niff, some Nurt, Jurt, Blick bromance, explicit sex, strong language, underage drinking, angst, inside horse jokes
Word Count: 5,476
Summary: The summer after Kurt and Blaine's first year of college is filled with bonfires, sexual bickering, summer jobs, horseback riding lessons, a wedding, and above all else, romance.
Chapter Summary: Nick goes to Jeff's cousins wedding. Then it's the Fourth of July. Then it's some other stuff.
A/N: This story is part of an ongoing series that started with Great Romances of the 21st Century. It takes place at the beginning of summer, right after Kurt, Blaine, and Jeff come home from their first year of college (and Nick from his second year). A summary of GROT21C for those who want to read a summer fic but would rather not read 60K to catch up. (It's like SparkNotes for fic!)
star55 and teaboytoaliens beta this story and my life.
Songs for this chapter: "The Good Life" by Cracker
"At Last" by Etta James
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
*Stay tuned at the bottom for an announcement and a math problem. Yes, I'm serious.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the FOIL method.
~*~
June 26th, 2014
"I look like a douchebag," Nick says flatly. He turns from the mirror in his all white suit to face Jeff.
Jeff grins, trying hard not to laugh. It's not that Nick looks bad in white, hell, he could wear anything (or nothing at all) and Jeff would still feel inferior in looks, but it just amuses him when Nick gets frustrated.
"You look hot and your hair is bright blond, and I just look like a douchebag that drives an SUV and thinks it's okay to wear freaking white to a wedding when everyone knows I look stupendous in black. Why did Teresa want an all white wedding? Your cousin's out to get me, Jeff."
Jeff comes over to the mirror where Nick's standing and fixes his tie for him. "No, be quiet, you look cute."
"What about sexy?"
Knowing that Nick's having a hard time feeling attractive today, he thinks it's best to tell him the truth. "Mmm... I'll stick with cute, thanks. You kind of do look like a jerk."
Nick stares at him for a moment, contemplating making fun of him for something, but it's hard because Jeff really does look good in the light color. He's had the feeling lately that Jeff really needs the reassurance that he's into him, so he thinks of something nicer to say. "...You kind of look like a cream puff." Or not.
Jeff laughs and tilts his head to the side, resting his hand on his hip. "Is that a good thing? ...Maybe Finnel will let my cream puff self sit on top of his hot funnel cake. It'd be delicious."
Nick wraps his arms around Jeff's waist quickly and pulls him towards him. "So, you have figured out how to make me possessive, haven't you? Fuck Finn Hudson, you're mine."
It's obvious that a statement like that would make Jeff's world burst into all sorts of love explosions, but he's not done yet. He will not crumble into a million bits of love explosion bits just yet. Instead, he presses his lips to Nick's jaw and smirks softly. "Am I?"
Nick tilts his head to the side, hoping Jeff will take it as an invitation to start kissing his neck. A boy can dream. "Yes?"
Jeff slides his hand under Nick's suit jacket to rest it on his lower back. He presses his forehead against Nick's and stares into his eyes for a moment before letting his eyelids close when he feels Nick lacing their fingers together.
Nick's not sure why they're holding hands all of the sudden. He's not sure why his thumb is choosing to gently rub against Jeff's knuckles, and he's not sure why he has the strange urge to kiss him softly. It seems involuntary almost, like his body just wants to be close to Jeff's. Weird.
And that's when it hits him. Jeff is soft like Kurt.
Jeff is soft in all the ways Kurt is not; his words are soft.
Nick's pretty sure it would be physically painful for Jeff to tell someone to fuck off (a phrase that Kurt is by no means a stranger to saying).
For a moment, he hates that he made the comparison between them while standing so close to the boy that's supposed to be his boyfriend, but he thinks it's secretly a compliment to Jeff. He just needs to get the Kurt part out of there, but like all good things, it'll take time to change that.
In fact, it kind of scares him right now that instead of wanting to shove him down on the bed and fuck his brains out before Jeff's mom tells them to come upstairs and leave for the wedding, he just wants to lie down with him on the bed and be held. He wants Jeff to hold him and admire him and be perfect with him.
Please, say that you're mine.
Jeff really doesn't need to say it, though. It's more than a proven fact that Jeff is always balancing on the border of being infatuated and just being really, really into Nick.
Nick gently presses himself against his boyfriend before pulling back to put his wallet in his pants pocket. "I'll just assume that if I ever catch you eating a funnel cake, you're cheating on me. Unless I get some, too."
Jeff plops down on his bed, giggling, before reaching his arms out for Nick to lie down with him. "Are you suggesting a threesome with Finn? Is this what I'm hearing?"
Nick rolls his eyes and lies on top of him, sighing. "I have no idea why you started associating Finn with funnel cakes when you were drunk at Kurt's that one night. I think you need to cool it with the sugar."
"How about you just give me some of your sugar?"
"Jeff..."
"And we can use it to bake a cake. Of love."
Nick smirks and leans down to kiss his neck. "Do you love me, Jeff?"
Jeff bites his lip and wishes he really would stop saying things like that when it sounds like he's just trying to fool around. Love is not a teasing matter to Jeff Galven, but he doesn't expect Nick to feel the same way about it as he does. It kind of sucks. Royally sucks.
He wants to ask back "Do you love me, Nick?", but he feels like it'd be too risky. He doesn't think Nick would reject him, but he just wouldn't say anything in such a way to make Jeff feel something.
"Boys, the car's ready!"
Sometimes, Jeff misses pining over Nick, because that's when every accidental brush of hand against hand felt like it could have meant something more. Now, even when all their clothes are off and skin's pressed against skin, he feels like Nick's head is someplace else.
He's come a long way from being Nick's acquaintance in the Warblers, and now, they're on their way to his cousin's wedding. He's not too concerned with what his family will think of him, because he's sure that they'll just think Nick's his friend still. It's only on days when Nick's incredibly horny or when Jeff's around other boys does Nick actually act like a boyfriend.
I should have just taken David.
~*~
It's an outdoor wedding, and they're sitting down at the kids table, Jeff always feeling more at home with his younger cousins even though he's a few years older than them. The actual wedding itself was long and boring and filled with traditional religious stuff that Nick didn't pay any attention to. He was too busy staring over at the gazebo, thinking about his first boyfriend, Dylan.
Dylan was a junior at Dalton when Nick was a freshman. Before coming to Dalton, at his old private school, Nick had two girlfriends before he realized he was gay. He couldn't relate to his other friends in the eighth grade that were all getting girlfriends and claiming to 'love them so much'. It made Nick nervous that he wasn't feeling the same way.
Nick had some nice girl friends, but it didn't mean he wanted to kiss any of them. He did after a while, though, to see if that's what he really wanted. It wasn't. He wasn't sure if he'd ever feel anything for anybody, even the guys. As far as Nick was concerned, all the girls were obnoxious and catty, and all the guys were weird or ignorant douchebags. He didn't want to think of people that way, but he did. He thought this even when he met Dylan that first year of Dalton.
Before long, Dylan was sitting by Nick at lunch every day, and Nick felt excited that Dylan made him feel nervous. He finally felt shy, and he felt himself blushing. So, Nick Owens liked guys. Awesome. Or was it just Dylan?
Nick got his first hand job at night in a gazebo. There was a park by Dylan's house, and one night, they decided to sneak out of their houses and meet there.
Hence, Nick was recently just distracted during the wedding by the gazebo off to his left side.
He remembers being excited about wanting to do everything and anything with Dylan. It wasn't so much that he liked Dylan, he just wanted to do nice things for someone that was supposedly wanting to be nice with him. After three months into the relationship, the initial spark wore off, and Nick saw Dylan the same as every other condescending, sarcastic jock that hid under their Dalton uniform. They weren't interesting and special individuals with unique thoughts, just assholes made to look and sound intelligent. Nick was bored again, but at least he knew that he liked kissing boys more than girls. That was a step in finding out who he is, right?
So, that was what he was thinking about when the music was cued and everyone stood up. He wants to be excited about life and love, but sometimes, Kurt doesn't even do it for him anymore. What's wrong with him? Why doesn't he cry at sad movies anymore or try to rock Jeff's world? Nick Owens must simply be in an emotional rut.
He knows what Jeff's expecting to come from today. Jeff wants Nick to feel comfortable around his family so Nick will ultimately always feel comfortable being with Jeff, but what Jeff doesn't know won't hurt him.
So, while Jeff's cousin Teresa was tying the knot and becoming Teresa Warner instead of Teresa Galven, Nick was thinking about porn. Why not, right?
There's doubt in his mind about being able to sweet talk Jeff's family, but as long as he stays smiling and acts on his best behavior, it can't go so bad. Maybe.
It's sunny, there are purple and white flowers everywhere, and there's a freaking gazebo for Twizzlers's sake.
Nothing will go wrong.
---
Jeff's talking to his three younger cousins at the kids table about the film X-Men: First Class. He used to read the X-Men comics when he was younger, but he hadn't seen the prequel film when it came out in 2011. He thinks the actor that plays Charles Xavier, James McAvoy, looks a little like Nick, so now he's definitely into X-Men again. He's a little too excited to find out that his ten year old cousin Jeremy has seen the film.
"Yeah, oh my gosh, Charles' and Erik's friendship... It was totally sweet. Their bromance could save the world."
Jeremy gives his cousin a confused look. "What? Who's Erik?"
Jeff looks a little insulted. "Magneto."
"Oh." Jeremy looks over at Nick to change the subject, thinking Jeff's way too into a bromance of the past. "Have I met you before?"
Nick shakes his head, looking a little tired, when really, he's just miserable.
"Are you dating my cousin?"
Nick looks at the ten year old boy that's looking at him skeptically and nods. "Yeah, hi, I'm Nick."
Jeremy looks at over Jeff. "Jon said he's a tool."
Jeff snaps his head over to the bar where he sees his brother's getting drunk with one of their older cousins. Jon looks over at Jeff and grins, acting like he knows what Jeremy just told them.
Jeff just looks back at Jeremy. "Well, he's--" He looks at Nick and smirks. "Yeah, Nick's a big jerk."
Jeremy glances at Nick and laughs. "Thought so."
Nick just looks over at the man-made pond to his right and pretends to zone out.
Dammit. No, you stupid ten year old. It's this SUIT. Who the FUCK makes me wear white? I'm going to kill them.
---
As the reception goes on, Nick's still secretly upset that some of Jeff's family seems to not like him. Nick's good-looking and knows how to make a good impression on parents--take Burt for example.
He wishes Kurt and Blaine were here. Then Jeff's family would see what a tool Blaine acts like when he's trying to be cool, and they'd all think Nick was awesome. Fuck this.
Jeff leans his head on Nick's shoulder during dinner, making Nick feel a little better about the situation. Jeff's mom glances over and smiles to herself as she lifts her fork to eat the salad. Nick notices.
Yes, Mrs. Galven, see? I'm a great boyfriend. Jeff's head is on my shoulder. He feels happy around me. Check it.
However, Nick's kind of nervous to see what the rest of Jeff's family will do.
They're all really religious and are military personnel, and Nick's pretty sure Jeff's family has like five pastors or something. Not that any of them would automatically tell him he’s going to hell for being gay, but you know, there’s always that possibility that they could wish physical harm on him just for holding his boyfriend's hand. Of course, negative assumptions don’t make friends. Besides, Jeff's all religious-like, but he never preaches his values or seems to hate himself for being attracted to boys. To Nick, Jeff's family almost makes religion seem cool.
He's just glad that Jeff's dad is too busy talking with all his brothers to come talk to him. Jeff's got seven uncles on his dad's side, and Nick's sure that every one of them would just love the opportunity to kick his ass if Nick ever broke his heart.
Jeff's dad is forty-nine with a shaved head, but Nick's seen pictures of him when he was younger in which he has bright blond hair just like the rest of Jeff and his brothers. His lips are tighter and his face is broader than Jeff's, but he has the same friendly brown eyes, however, Nick can tell that Jeff's dad's eyes have seen a lot more than innocent puppies and triumphant baseball games.
He looks at Nick and Jeff every so often and winks. Nick has no fucking idea why. It scares him. He's sure he means it to just be a friendly wink, but to Nick it means death.
Jeff snaps Nick out of his daze by talking enthusiastically to his cousin. "Lila!" He stands up and hugs her, gesturing over to Nick as he sits back down with her. "This is, um, Nick." My boyfriend that would probably look at me weird for calling him my boyfriend.
Nick wonders why Jeff didn't introduce him as his boyfriend, because by the looks of this girl and her rainbow colored hair and tattoos, she wouldn't care either way.
He decides to introduce himself. "Hi, Lila, I'm Jeff's boyfriend."
Jeff blushes and looks down slightly as Lila smirks and shakes his hand. "Oh, I know who you are... I stalk my little cousin's Facebook quite regularly. How come you guys don't have any pictures together? This guy's so good-looking in person, Jeff, gosh."
Nick smirks wide and leans over towards the blond haired boy who pretends to not exist in this moment. He taps Jeff's arm with his finger until he looks over at him and smiles. "See? I'm good-looking. She said so."
Lila smiles and steps aside to introduce the dark haired boy coming over to her. Nick sees the guy's lip ring, his shoulder-length hair, and his black and white plaid button up shirt. The boyfriend?
"Nick, Jeff, this is my friend Anthony."
Oh, hello, Anthony... Did you just get back from the 90's? Or is it acceptable to have greasy hair at a wedding? Now, do yourself a favor and stop smiling at my boyfriend.
They talk for a few minutes until the song "The Good Life" by Cracker comes on. Jeff's head snaps up. "Oh, crap! I love this song!" He immediately puts his arm around Nick's to pull him up.
Nick doesn't like the idea of dancing with him in case the family disapproves. He couldn't stand having Jeff's uncles judging him when he's right there. He pulls his arm away from Jeff and sits back down. "Dude, no."
Jeff looks at him kind of hurt but stays standing. "All right." He looks over at Anthony and asks him up to dance.
They get up and go to the dance floor, where all the cousins and some of his older relatives are. Nick watches Jeff moving his feet and swinging his arms, trying to get into the groove of the song. Some of his family are looking at him and Anthony questionably, and some are laughing at the two boys "pretending to dance together".
That's what Nick was most afraid of. He's always prided himself on not giving a shit what anyone thinks about him, but if he were ever judged by a bunch of people that he was supposed to consider respectable, like Jeff's entire family, then he does have a problem with that.
I'm sorry, Jeff.
Nick sees Jeff's not even facing him anymore. He's getting twirled around and has replaced Anthony now for his little girl cousins that like to jump around him and have their long dresses flow around their little feet.
And then it hits him.
Today's not about impressing Jeff's family, it's about showing Jeff the side of himself that he's never been lucky enough to see. The wedding was for some chick named Teresa and whoever she married, but right now? Right now, Nick wants to impress his man.
Nick Owens is an ace slow dancer. Better than fucking Blaine, anyway.
If Jeff can get up in front of his entire family, then Nick should be next to him, not some fucking black haired kid named Anthony.
He gets up and puts his hand on Jeff's shoulder, making the other boy turn around startled. "May I have the next dance?"
Jeff stares at him for a moment before snapping out of his realization that Nick actually came over to the dance floor to talk to him. However, why didn't he come sooner? "You can go sit down if you're not comfortable, Nick, really. Anthony and I are doing just fine."
Nick glares and stubbornly says he wants to dance with Jeff. Anthony steps back, getting led off the dance floor by Lila. Jeff moves in closer to Nick after Nick confidently takes his hand. "I thought you hated dancing?"
Nick stands there, waiting for a new song to play. "Excuse me? Once a Warbler, always a Warbler. Did you forget?"
Jeff smirks and shakes his head. "No, I just thought you did."
Lila and Anthony rush over to the DJ, and Lila begs the DJ to play a slow love song for no special reason in particular.
The DJ announces that this next song is a couple's dance. "At Last" by Etta James shortly comes on after the announcement.
Nick leans into Jeff, smiling softly. He wants to tell him so badly that this song is the most overplayed song at weddings and he feels lame for dancing to it, but no. He will swoon Jeff like he has never been swooned before, goddammit.
Jeff's mom looks over and sees Nick put his hands high up on Jeff's waist. She sees her son laughing at him, and she thinks she sees him say something like "you're short". Jeff leans into him anyway, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck, and puts his head on his shoulder as they start moving their feet together slowly.
Jeff closes his eyes and buries his head into the crook of Nick's neck for a minute, Nick asking him why his heart's beating so fast.
"All of my family's looking at us. If they didn't know before, they know you're my boyfriend now," Jeff whispers. Nick asks quietly if he wants them to stop dancing then.
Jeff shakes his head into his neck. "I want them to know I'm with you."
"Good. I want them to know I'm in love with you," Nick whispers back, rubbing Jeff's back gently and holding his other hand on his waist. He feels Jeff tense against him, so he pulls back to make sure he's okay. Jeff's face is red and his eyes are slightly shimmering. Nick just gives him a soft smile and slowly puts a hand in his hair, motioning for his head to go back down on his shoulder. If Jeff's crying, Nick's sure he doesn't want anyone else to see. Still, Nick can't help but feel like smiling. He knows why Jeff's getting emotional. If it means a lot to you...
"I'd say it's okay to cry, but I'm pretty sure this is something you should be happy about," he says quietly.
Jeff holds onto him tighter. "You've just never said that to me before."
"Oh, and you know what I've also never done?"
Jeff doesn't know. It could be a lot of things.
Nick's suddenly bringing Jeff's head off his shoulder and holding it in between his hands. With everyone watching, he kisses him hard on the mouth and then pulls back after a couple moments. Jeff's embarrassed, but his head's spinning now and he wants more.
Nick pecks him on the lips quickly and laughs shakily. "I'm not sure if you're everyone's favorite nephew anymore."
Jeff looks at him, his cheeks slowly turning redder. "I think my mom just took a photo of us."
Nick turns his head and sees Jeff's mom with a camera by her head, and then she's smiling at them and waving. He turns back towards Jeff and laughs as the song's ending. "Oh god. ...Oh shit! I should have brought my camera!"
They step away from the dance floor, Nick with his hand on the small of Jeff's back. As they sit down by the pond, Nick can almost see the water reflected in Jeff's eyes. Jeff blushes. "Stop looking at me like that."
Nick smiles. "No, let me stare at you for a minute. I'm thinking."
"Okay..."
He notices the cute curve of Jeff's nose, the way the sun hits his hair, and how his dark eyes manage to always seem warm and inviting. Nick knows he must get his kindness from his mother. Jeff's second best friend is his mom, and Nick decides now that it's cute.
"If you don't stop staring, I might start looking blurry. Just warning you now."
No one else is like him.
Nick refocuses his eyes and laughs. "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just admiring how ugly your face is."
Jeff smiles and lies down on the grass, staring up at the branches of leaves above them on the surrounding trees. "Uh huh. That's not what your face was saying."
Nick lies down next to him and hopes that he's staring at the same branch of leaves as Jeff. "What was it saying then?" He turns on his side and rests his head on Jeff's chest comfortably.
Jeff closes his eyes just to feel the weight of Nick's head on his chest. I'm always inviting you to family events now.
"It told me not to tell you, sorry."
"My face is plotting against me?"
"Yeah, sorry."
"Oh, okay. It's okay. Not your fault."
Nick's hand tries to roam a little lower on his torso, but Jeff brings it back up to rest on his chest just in case a family member decides to walk by and sees Nick's hand drifting a little too low for a public audience.
"Hey, Jeff? Remind me that we need to have a photo shoot soon. Your cousin was right. I'm too good-looking to not be in your Facebook pictures."
...For the record, yes, he is aware that he just made Jeff fall even more in love with him, and yes, Nick is aware that he still has daydreams where he's naked in bed with Kurt. It just feels nice to feel nice with Jeff right now.
Something's bound to resolve this issue, right?
Right?
...Right?
Dammit.
~*~
July 2014
It's the Fourth of July, a holiday that causes Americans to go bat shit crazy and buy three-thousand dollars worth of fireworks to pollute the air with explosions. It's a nice day for parties and barbeques and for getting out of work early, but it's really just another excuse to get drunk and eat hotdogs. What's new?
What's new, actually, is that Nick's parents are having a big party for said holiday, and the boys have found a nice spot in Nick's backyard to watch the fireworks.
Nick has his arms wrapped around Jeff as a few fireworks go off at once, and Jeff's leaning his head on Nick's chest, staring up at the sky with concentration and interest.
Since the wedding, Jeff likes knowing that Nick is okay with being so close to him around Kurt. They've taken a huge step forward in their relationship, and now, both boys are feeling a spark that they hadn't previously felt. It's different and exciting.
As for Kurt and Blaine, they're still on their same comfortable path with bickering and then loving each other afterward. Blaine's really tired right now, so he has his face in the crook of Kurt's neck, and Kurt's telling him the colors of all the fireworks that are exploding.
"This last one was green and purple. Oh, now it's turned into a shimmering silver thingy. You're prettier though, so no need to look," he says quietly.
----
After all the random neighbors and family friends left, Nick was able to introduce his friends to expensive alcohol that only his parents drink, and now, they're all drunk in the hot tub. Jeff, in particular, is extraordinarily drunk.
Kurt smiles over at him, amused by Jeff's ranting about how in elementary school, his class had to color elephants in purple whenever there wasn't a gray crayon, and how that "pissed me right off. I knew at two years old, two years old, Kurt, that elephants were gray, but by golly, the teacher in first grade wouldn't go to the freaking supply closet and get those crayons. I tell ya..."
"Hey, Jeff?"
Jeff looks at Kurt, his face red from drinking and his eyes bright and interested in everything that's going on. "Hey, Kurt!"
Blaine laughs and looks over at Nick, happy to see that Nick's arm is safely around Jeff's waist. He can tell that Jeff's happy tonight not just because he's drunk with his friends, but because Nick's been a good boyfriend lately.
Blaine scoots over to Kurt to try to be a good boyfriend and wrap his arm around him in the hot tub, too, but before he can, Kurt's standing up in the hot tub and wrapping his arms around Jeff's neck. Kurt grins. "Jeff, darling, you look so cute right now. May I kiss thee?"
Jeff bursts out laughing and puts his hands on Kurt's arms to drag him down towards him. "Why do you always try to kiss me? Do you have a super secret crush on me, captain? I think you dooooo."
Kurt smiles and crawls into Jeff's lap, Nick and Blaine moving away from their boyfriends to make room for them to do whatever the hell it is they're about to do.
Blaine smirks over at Nick and Nick just nods. Make out. Go.
Jeff's hands go to Kurt's back under the water to hold him up. He smiles up at him as Kurt leans his face down to Jeff's. "I'm your captain?" Kurt whispers.
Jeff nods, continuing to smile at him. "I'm also the captain."
Kurt starts stroking Jeff's hair. "Then Blaine and Nick are our sailors."
"Right-o, chap."
Blaine lifts his leg up in the water to put his foot on Kurt's back. "Kiss."
Kurt snaps his head back and punches Blaine's foot off him. "That's disgusting, get your foot off me."
He sees that Nick and Blaine are close together in a corner of the hot tub, acting like they're about to see something really great. Kurt's horny now, but he doesn't feel like putting on a show. I already am the show. What more do they need?
He gets off Jeff and just sits next to him, staring blankly at Nick and Blaine who now look annoyed. Jeff puts his head on Kurt's shoulder and closes his eyes, looking like he's about to fall asleep now, all the excitement having got to him after the fireworks were over.
Nick likes how shirtless Kurt and Jeff both are. He thinks it'd be really awesome to fuck Jeff and somehow have Kurt suck his dick at the same time. Life is so unfair.
Blaine and Jeff both yawn at the same time, and suddenly, Nick is reminded of how little he's talked to Kurt in the past month. Blaine and Jeff should go to bed. Yeah.
Blaine grants his wish my yawning a second time. "Allll right, guys... I'm going to sleep." He starts getting out of the tub, and then Jeff decides to follow his lead.
"Wayyyt a min-uht, Blaine. Help me out, bro."
Blaine reaches his arms out and helps to lift Jeff out of the hot tub. Jeff grins and latches onto him. "Thaaaanks, Blaaaiine..."
Kurt and Nick both watch them start walking away without even saying anything to the other two. They both look at each other in the hot tub questionably. That was way too easy.
...Wait. Shit. Why are we thinking about the same thing?
They both turn to watch their boyfriends go inside the mansion from the door leading into the basement.
"Wanna make out?" Nick asks, his arms stretching across the side of the hot tub.
Kurt rolls his eyes but sits closer to him just because there's too much space between them now.
"Is that a yes or no?"
"It’s a no. You’re drunk, I'm drunk, and my dick is drunk. Therefore, no."
Nick sighs, reaching his foot around the bottom of the hot tub to find Kurt's foot so he can try to pull him over to him. Kurt moves his foot away on purpose. "What the hell does that mean? Doesn’t Blaine say that?"
"Yeah. It means my dick doesn’t feel like having sex anymore. It’s drunk."
"That doesn’t make any sense. When I’m drunk, all I want to do is have sex."
Kurt smiles and decides to sit next to him now. "...And talk about the Pythagorean Theorem, don’t forget about that one. But hey, it charmed me into sleeping with you, so you may be on to something with that."
Nick tries to remember what he’s talking about but fails. "Are you talking about Halloween? Because before we were back in your room, I really don’t remember what I did."
Kurt sighs and presses his arm against Nick's, not liking that it automatically makes his body feel warmer and on edge. "Yeah, I know, you were a douchebag then, but I didn’t realize it."
Nick looks down at their arms touching and frowns softly. "I’m not a douchebag. Your boyfriend is the douchebag."
"How so?"
"For existing."
Kurt smirks, leaning into him a little. "Yeah, no. You're the one joining a frat next week. Why'd you even decide to do that? Isn't it weird for juniors to randomly join frats?"
Nick shrugs and slowly wraps an arm around him, letting himself believe that the alcohol is enough of an excuse to do this. "No, it happens pretty regularly. I just want to experience something new. I'm bored there, besides, I need to live up to my family's reputation."
"Of wearing collared polo shirts and golfing? Please, Nick. Your family's cooler than that. You have horses."
"Yeah, but if I'm in a frat, maybe I'll start caring about school more. You kind of have to. I need to keep my GPA above a 3.5 now, not like it wasn't, but now it has to stay up." Stop talking about school. Get with him.
Kurt starts tracing small circles over Nick's forearm. "Yeah, so I'm still right, though. Being in a frat makes you a dick. You're going to become a dick, Nick. Dick Nick."
Nick's not sure why he's nodding, but his head's getting tired of wanting to stay up, and his lips want to be by Kurt's, so his head's leaning closer to Kurt's every few moments.
Kurt just sits still, knowing very well that if Nick kisses him, he won't be able to not kiss back. He won't be able to tear himself away, and he'll end up doing something he'll regret. He thinks about just pressing his hand to Nick's crotch, how easy it would be right now to jerk him off or go to the side of the house and tell Nick to fuck his brains out, but then Nick decides for him and gets out of the hot tub. "I know. You're right. Not tonight."
Kurt reaches out of the tub to grab his hand. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too."
Part 6
----
Only one more chapter left!
So, this chapter was pretty Niff happy. I may or may not apologize for that, but at least they're working out now, right? For now, anyway.
Also, I know on the poll it said "If you make Summer Skin end well, I might be okay with it ending", but since it's going to end horribly and everything will be messed up, I guess it just means there's going to be a sophomore year story to clean things up. *nods* Sorry for anyone that wanted it to end, it'll be over before the internet dies, I promise.
Next chapter will include more sex than all of these combined, and it'll be the gang wrapping up the summer kind of deal. (So, they're a gang now, apparently. The NBJK crew.)
I will spoil some of the things that happen in the sequel with a quick math lesson:
Anyone remember what FOIL does to your terms? First, outer, inner, last. Need more of an explanation? Here we go:
NBJK = (N + B)(J + K) =
First - N x J
Outer - N x K
Inner - B x J
Last - B x K
(Put into simplest terms) = NJ + NK + BJ + BK
(Now, circle your answer or it will be marked wrong.)
This is why the abbreviation is not NJBK or any of the other ways. This way, when thinking about pairings in terms of the FOIL method, we can all come to the conclusion that as long as it is in NBJK form, Nick and Blaine will never have sex, likewise, Jeff and Kurt will never have sex. I hope that made some sense. /okay done.
Rating: NC-17 (R for this part)
Spoilers: Up to 2x15
Warnings: College (summer vacation) AU, major Klaine, major Niff, some Nurt, Jurt, Blick bromance, explicit sex, strong language, underage drinking, angst, inside horse jokes
Word Count: 5,476
Summary: The summer after Kurt and Blaine's first year of college is filled with bonfires, sexual bickering, summer jobs, horseback riding lessons, a wedding, and above all else, romance.
Chapter Summary: Nick goes to Jeff's cousins wedding. Then it's the Fourth of July. Then it's some other stuff.
A/N: This story is part of an ongoing series that started with Great Romances of the 21st Century. It takes place at the beginning of summer, right after Kurt, Blaine, and Jeff come home from their first year of college (and Nick from his second year). A summary of GROT21C for those who want to read a summer fic but would rather not read 60K to catch up. (It's like SparkNotes for fic!)
star55 and teaboytoaliens beta this story and my life.
Songs for this chapter: "The Good Life" by Cracker
"At Last" by Etta James
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
*Stay tuned at the bottom for an announcement and a math problem. Yes, I'm serious.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the FOIL method.
~*~
June 26th, 2014
"I look like a douchebag," Nick says flatly. He turns from the mirror in his all white suit to face Jeff.
Jeff grins, trying hard not to laugh. It's not that Nick looks bad in white, hell, he could wear anything (or nothing at all) and Jeff would still feel inferior in looks, but it just amuses him when Nick gets frustrated.
"You look hot and your hair is bright blond, and I just look like a douchebag that drives an SUV and thinks it's okay to wear freaking white to a wedding when everyone knows I look stupendous in black. Why did Teresa want an all white wedding? Your cousin's out to get me, Jeff."
Jeff comes over to the mirror where Nick's standing and fixes his tie for him. "No, be quiet, you look cute."
"What about sexy?"
Knowing that Nick's having a hard time feeling attractive today, he thinks it's best to tell him the truth. "Mmm... I'll stick with cute, thanks. You kind of do look like a jerk."
Nick stares at him for a moment, contemplating making fun of him for something, but it's hard because Jeff really does look good in the light color. He's had the feeling lately that Jeff really needs the reassurance that he's into him, so he thinks of something nicer to say. "...You kind of look like a cream puff." Or not.
Jeff laughs and tilts his head to the side, resting his hand on his hip. "Is that a good thing? ...Maybe Finnel will let my cream puff self sit on top of his hot funnel cake. It'd be delicious."
Nick wraps his arms around Jeff's waist quickly and pulls him towards him. "So, you have figured out how to make me possessive, haven't you? Fuck Finn Hudson, you're mine."
It's obvious that a statement like that would make Jeff's world burst into all sorts of love explosions, but he's not done yet. He will not crumble into a million bits of love explosion bits just yet. Instead, he presses his lips to Nick's jaw and smirks softly. "Am I?"
Nick tilts his head to the side, hoping Jeff will take it as an invitation to start kissing his neck. A boy can dream. "Yes?"
Jeff slides his hand under Nick's suit jacket to rest it on his lower back. He presses his forehead against Nick's and stares into his eyes for a moment before letting his eyelids close when he feels Nick lacing their fingers together.
Nick's not sure why they're holding hands all of the sudden. He's not sure why his thumb is choosing to gently rub against Jeff's knuckles, and he's not sure why he has the strange urge to kiss him softly. It seems involuntary almost, like his body just wants to be close to Jeff's. Weird.
And that's when it hits him. Jeff is soft like Kurt.
Jeff is soft in all the ways Kurt is not; his words are soft.
Nick's pretty sure it would be physically painful for Jeff to tell someone to fuck off (a phrase that Kurt is by no means a stranger to saying).
For a moment, he hates that he made the comparison between them while standing so close to the boy that's supposed to be his boyfriend, but he thinks it's secretly a compliment to Jeff. He just needs to get the Kurt part out of there, but like all good things, it'll take time to change that.
In fact, it kind of scares him right now that instead of wanting to shove him down on the bed and fuck his brains out before Jeff's mom tells them to come upstairs and leave for the wedding, he just wants to lie down with him on the bed and be held. He wants Jeff to hold him and admire him and be perfect with him.
Please, say that you're mine.
Jeff really doesn't need to say it, though. It's more than a proven fact that Jeff is always balancing on the border of being infatuated and just being really, really into Nick.
Nick gently presses himself against his boyfriend before pulling back to put his wallet in his pants pocket. "I'll just assume that if I ever catch you eating a funnel cake, you're cheating on me. Unless I get some, too."
Jeff plops down on his bed, giggling, before reaching his arms out for Nick to lie down with him. "Are you suggesting a threesome with Finn? Is this what I'm hearing?"
Nick rolls his eyes and lies on top of him, sighing. "I have no idea why you started associating Finn with funnel cakes when you were drunk at Kurt's that one night. I think you need to cool it with the sugar."
"How about you just give me some of your sugar?"
"Jeff..."
"And we can use it to bake a cake. Of love."
Nick smirks and leans down to kiss his neck. "Do you love me, Jeff?"
Jeff bites his lip and wishes he really would stop saying things like that when it sounds like he's just trying to fool around. Love is not a teasing matter to Jeff Galven, but he doesn't expect Nick to feel the same way about it as he does. It kind of sucks. Royally sucks.
He wants to ask back "Do you love me, Nick?", but he feels like it'd be too risky. He doesn't think Nick would reject him, but he just wouldn't say anything in such a way to make Jeff feel something.
"Boys, the car's ready!"
Sometimes, Jeff misses pining over Nick, because that's when every accidental brush of hand against hand felt like it could have meant something more. Now, even when all their clothes are off and skin's pressed against skin, he feels like Nick's head is someplace else.
He's come a long way from being Nick's acquaintance in the Warblers, and now, they're on their way to his cousin's wedding. He's not too concerned with what his family will think of him, because he's sure that they'll just think Nick's his friend still. It's only on days when Nick's incredibly horny or when Jeff's around other boys does Nick actually act like a boyfriend.
I should have just taken David.
~*~
It's an outdoor wedding, and they're sitting down at the kids table, Jeff always feeling more at home with his younger cousins even though he's a few years older than them. The actual wedding itself was long and boring and filled with traditional religious stuff that Nick didn't pay any attention to. He was too busy staring over at the gazebo, thinking about his first boyfriend, Dylan.
Dylan was a junior at Dalton when Nick was a freshman. Before coming to Dalton, at his old private school, Nick had two girlfriends before he realized he was gay. He couldn't relate to his other friends in the eighth grade that were all getting girlfriends and claiming to 'love them so much'. It made Nick nervous that he wasn't feeling the same way.
Nick had some nice girl friends, but it didn't mean he wanted to kiss any of them. He did after a while, though, to see if that's what he really wanted. It wasn't. He wasn't sure if he'd ever feel anything for anybody, even the guys. As far as Nick was concerned, all the girls were obnoxious and catty, and all the guys were weird or ignorant douchebags. He didn't want to think of people that way, but he did. He thought this even when he met Dylan that first year of Dalton.
Before long, Dylan was sitting by Nick at lunch every day, and Nick felt excited that Dylan made him feel nervous. He finally felt shy, and he felt himself blushing. So, Nick Owens liked guys. Awesome. Or was it just Dylan?
Nick got his first hand job at night in a gazebo. There was a park by Dylan's house, and one night, they decided to sneak out of their houses and meet there.
Hence, Nick was recently just distracted during the wedding by the gazebo off to his left side.
He remembers being excited about wanting to do everything and anything with Dylan. It wasn't so much that he liked Dylan, he just wanted to do nice things for someone that was supposedly wanting to be nice with him. After three months into the relationship, the initial spark wore off, and Nick saw Dylan the same as every other condescending, sarcastic jock that hid under their Dalton uniform. They weren't interesting and special individuals with unique thoughts, just assholes made to look and sound intelligent. Nick was bored again, but at least he knew that he liked kissing boys more than girls. That was a step in finding out who he is, right?
So, that was what he was thinking about when the music was cued and everyone stood up. He wants to be excited about life and love, but sometimes, Kurt doesn't even do it for him anymore. What's wrong with him? Why doesn't he cry at sad movies anymore or try to rock Jeff's world? Nick Owens must simply be in an emotional rut.
He knows what Jeff's expecting to come from today. Jeff wants Nick to feel comfortable around his family so Nick will ultimately always feel comfortable being with Jeff, but what Jeff doesn't know won't hurt him.
So, while Jeff's cousin Teresa was tying the knot and becoming Teresa Warner instead of Teresa Galven, Nick was thinking about porn. Why not, right?
There's doubt in his mind about being able to sweet talk Jeff's family, but as long as he stays smiling and acts on his best behavior, it can't go so bad. Maybe.
It's sunny, there are purple and white flowers everywhere, and there's a freaking gazebo for Twizzlers's sake.
Nothing will go wrong.
---
Jeff's talking to his three younger cousins at the kids table about the film X-Men: First Class. He used to read the X-Men comics when he was younger, but he hadn't seen the prequel film when it came out in 2011. He thinks the actor that plays Charles Xavier, James McAvoy, looks a little like Nick, so now he's definitely into X-Men again. He's a little too excited to find out that his ten year old cousin Jeremy has seen the film.
"Yeah, oh my gosh, Charles' and Erik's friendship... It was totally sweet. Their bromance could save the world."
Jeremy gives his cousin a confused look. "What? Who's Erik?"
Jeff looks a little insulted. "Magneto."
"Oh." Jeremy looks over at Nick to change the subject, thinking Jeff's way too into a bromance of the past. "Have I met you before?"
Nick shakes his head, looking a little tired, when really, he's just miserable.
"Are you dating my cousin?"
Nick looks at the ten year old boy that's looking at him skeptically and nods. "Yeah, hi, I'm Nick."
Jeremy looks at over Jeff. "Jon said he's a tool."
Jeff snaps his head over to the bar where he sees his brother's getting drunk with one of their older cousins. Jon looks over at Jeff and grins, acting like he knows what Jeremy just told them.
Jeff just looks back at Jeremy. "Well, he's--" He looks at Nick and smirks. "Yeah, Nick's a big jerk."
Jeremy glances at Nick and laughs. "Thought so."
Nick just looks over at the man-made pond to his right and pretends to zone out.
Dammit. No, you stupid ten year old. It's this SUIT. Who the FUCK makes me wear white? I'm going to kill them.
---
As the reception goes on, Nick's still secretly upset that some of Jeff's family seems to not like him. Nick's good-looking and knows how to make a good impression on parents--take Burt for example.
He wishes Kurt and Blaine were here. Then Jeff's family would see what a tool Blaine acts like when he's trying to be cool, and they'd all think Nick was awesome. Fuck this.
Jeff leans his head on Nick's shoulder during dinner, making Nick feel a little better about the situation. Jeff's mom glances over and smiles to herself as she lifts her fork to eat the salad. Nick notices.
Yes, Mrs. Galven, see? I'm a great boyfriend. Jeff's head is on my shoulder. He feels happy around me. Check it.
However, Nick's kind of nervous to see what the rest of Jeff's family will do.
They're all really religious and are military personnel, and Nick's pretty sure Jeff's family has like five pastors or something. Not that any of them would automatically tell him he’s going to hell for being gay, but you know, there’s always that possibility that they could wish physical harm on him just for holding his boyfriend's hand. Of course, negative assumptions don’t make friends. Besides, Jeff's all religious-like, but he never preaches his values or seems to hate himself for being attracted to boys. To Nick, Jeff's family almost makes religion seem cool.
He's just glad that Jeff's dad is too busy talking with all his brothers to come talk to him. Jeff's got seven uncles on his dad's side, and Nick's sure that every one of them would just love the opportunity to kick his ass if Nick ever broke his heart.
Jeff's dad is forty-nine with a shaved head, but Nick's seen pictures of him when he was younger in which he has bright blond hair just like the rest of Jeff and his brothers. His lips are tighter and his face is broader than Jeff's, but he has the same friendly brown eyes, however, Nick can tell that Jeff's dad's eyes have seen a lot more than innocent puppies and triumphant baseball games.
He looks at Nick and Jeff every so often and winks. Nick has no fucking idea why. It scares him. He's sure he means it to just be a friendly wink, but to Nick it means death.
Jeff snaps Nick out of his daze by talking enthusiastically to his cousin. "Lila!" He stands up and hugs her, gesturing over to Nick as he sits back down with her. "This is, um, Nick." My boyfriend that would probably look at me weird for calling him my boyfriend.
Nick wonders why Jeff didn't introduce him as his boyfriend, because by the looks of this girl and her rainbow colored hair and tattoos, she wouldn't care either way.
He decides to introduce himself. "Hi, Lila, I'm Jeff's boyfriend."
Jeff blushes and looks down slightly as Lila smirks and shakes his hand. "Oh, I know who you are... I stalk my little cousin's Facebook quite regularly. How come you guys don't have any pictures together? This guy's so good-looking in person, Jeff, gosh."
Nick smirks wide and leans over towards the blond haired boy who pretends to not exist in this moment. He taps Jeff's arm with his finger until he looks over at him and smiles. "See? I'm good-looking. She said so."
Lila smiles and steps aside to introduce the dark haired boy coming over to her. Nick sees the guy's lip ring, his shoulder-length hair, and his black and white plaid button up shirt. The boyfriend?
"Nick, Jeff, this is my friend Anthony."
Oh, hello, Anthony... Did you just get back from the 90's? Or is it acceptable to have greasy hair at a wedding? Now, do yourself a favor and stop smiling at my boyfriend.
They talk for a few minutes until the song "The Good Life" by Cracker comes on. Jeff's head snaps up. "Oh, crap! I love this song!" He immediately puts his arm around Nick's to pull him up.
Nick doesn't like the idea of dancing with him in case the family disapproves. He couldn't stand having Jeff's uncles judging him when he's right there. He pulls his arm away from Jeff and sits back down. "Dude, no."
Jeff looks at him kind of hurt but stays standing. "All right." He looks over at Anthony and asks him up to dance.
They get up and go to the dance floor, where all the cousins and some of his older relatives are. Nick watches Jeff moving his feet and swinging his arms, trying to get into the groove of the song. Some of his family are looking at him and Anthony questionably, and some are laughing at the two boys "pretending to dance together".
That's what Nick was most afraid of. He's always prided himself on not giving a shit what anyone thinks about him, but if he were ever judged by a bunch of people that he was supposed to consider respectable, like Jeff's entire family, then he does have a problem with that.
I'm sorry, Jeff.
Nick sees Jeff's not even facing him anymore. He's getting twirled around and has replaced Anthony now for his little girl cousins that like to jump around him and have their long dresses flow around their little feet.
And then it hits him.
Today's not about impressing Jeff's family, it's about showing Jeff the side of himself that he's never been lucky enough to see. The wedding was for some chick named Teresa and whoever she married, but right now? Right now, Nick wants to impress his man.
Nick Owens is an ace slow dancer. Better than fucking Blaine, anyway.
If Jeff can get up in front of his entire family, then Nick should be next to him, not some fucking black haired kid named Anthony.
He gets up and puts his hand on Jeff's shoulder, making the other boy turn around startled. "May I have the next dance?"
Jeff stares at him for a moment before snapping out of his realization that Nick actually came over to the dance floor to talk to him. However, why didn't he come sooner? "You can go sit down if you're not comfortable, Nick, really. Anthony and I are doing just fine."
Nick glares and stubbornly says he wants to dance with Jeff. Anthony steps back, getting led off the dance floor by Lila. Jeff moves in closer to Nick after Nick confidently takes his hand. "I thought you hated dancing?"
Nick stands there, waiting for a new song to play. "Excuse me? Once a Warbler, always a Warbler. Did you forget?"
Jeff smirks and shakes his head. "No, I just thought you did."
Lila and Anthony rush over to the DJ, and Lila begs the DJ to play a slow love song for no special reason in particular.
The DJ announces that this next song is a couple's dance. "At Last" by Etta James shortly comes on after the announcement.
Nick leans into Jeff, smiling softly. He wants to tell him so badly that this song is the most overplayed song at weddings and he feels lame for dancing to it, but no. He will swoon Jeff like he has never been swooned before, goddammit.
Jeff's mom looks over and sees Nick put his hands high up on Jeff's waist. She sees her son laughing at him, and she thinks she sees him say something like "you're short". Jeff leans into him anyway, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck, and puts his head on his shoulder as they start moving their feet together slowly.
Jeff closes his eyes and buries his head into the crook of Nick's neck for a minute, Nick asking him why his heart's beating so fast.
"All of my family's looking at us. If they didn't know before, they know you're my boyfriend now," Jeff whispers. Nick asks quietly if he wants them to stop dancing then.
Jeff shakes his head into his neck. "I want them to know I'm with you."
"Good. I want them to know I'm in love with you," Nick whispers back, rubbing Jeff's back gently and holding his other hand on his waist. He feels Jeff tense against him, so he pulls back to make sure he's okay. Jeff's face is red and his eyes are slightly shimmering. Nick just gives him a soft smile and slowly puts a hand in his hair, motioning for his head to go back down on his shoulder. If Jeff's crying, Nick's sure he doesn't want anyone else to see. Still, Nick can't help but feel like smiling. He knows why Jeff's getting emotional. If it means a lot to you...
"I'd say it's okay to cry, but I'm pretty sure this is something you should be happy about," he says quietly.
Jeff holds onto him tighter. "You've just never said that to me before."
"Oh, and you know what I've also never done?"
Jeff doesn't know. It could be a lot of things.
Nick's suddenly bringing Jeff's head off his shoulder and holding it in between his hands. With everyone watching, he kisses him hard on the mouth and then pulls back after a couple moments. Jeff's embarrassed, but his head's spinning now and he wants more.
Nick pecks him on the lips quickly and laughs shakily. "I'm not sure if you're everyone's favorite nephew anymore."
Jeff looks at him, his cheeks slowly turning redder. "I think my mom just took a photo of us."
Nick turns his head and sees Jeff's mom with a camera by her head, and then she's smiling at them and waving. He turns back towards Jeff and laughs as the song's ending. "Oh god. ...Oh shit! I should have brought my camera!"
They step away from the dance floor, Nick with his hand on the small of Jeff's back. As they sit down by the pond, Nick can almost see the water reflected in Jeff's eyes. Jeff blushes. "Stop looking at me like that."
Nick smiles. "No, let me stare at you for a minute. I'm thinking."
"Okay..."
He notices the cute curve of Jeff's nose, the way the sun hits his hair, and how his dark eyes manage to always seem warm and inviting. Nick knows he must get his kindness from his mother. Jeff's second best friend is his mom, and Nick decides now that it's cute.
"If you don't stop staring, I might start looking blurry. Just warning you now."
No one else is like him.
Nick refocuses his eyes and laughs. "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just admiring how ugly your face is."
Jeff smiles and lies down on the grass, staring up at the branches of leaves above them on the surrounding trees. "Uh huh. That's not what your face was saying."
Nick lies down next to him and hopes that he's staring at the same branch of leaves as Jeff. "What was it saying then?" He turns on his side and rests his head on Jeff's chest comfortably.
Jeff closes his eyes just to feel the weight of Nick's head on his chest. I'm always inviting you to family events now.
"It told me not to tell you, sorry."
"My face is plotting against me?"
"Yeah, sorry."
"Oh, okay. It's okay. Not your fault."
Nick's hand tries to roam a little lower on his torso, but Jeff brings it back up to rest on his chest just in case a family member decides to walk by and sees Nick's hand drifting a little too low for a public audience.
"Hey, Jeff? Remind me that we need to have a photo shoot soon. Your cousin was right. I'm too good-looking to not be in your Facebook pictures."
...For the record, yes, he is aware that he just made Jeff fall even more in love with him, and yes, Nick is aware that he still has daydreams where he's naked in bed with Kurt. It just feels nice to feel nice with Jeff right now.
Something's bound to resolve this issue, right?
Right?
...Right?
Dammit.
~*~
July 2014
It's the Fourth of July, a holiday that causes Americans to go bat shit crazy and buy three-thousand dollars worth of fireworks to pollute the air with explosions. It's a nice day for parties and barbeques and for getting out of work early, but it's really just another excuse to get drunk and eat hotdogs. What's new?
What's new, actually, is that Nick's parents are having a big party for said holiday, and the boys have found a nice spot in Nick's backyard to watch the fireworks.
Nick has his arms wrapped around Jeff as a few fireworks go off at once, and Jeff's leaning his head on Nick's chest, staring up at the sky with concentration and interest.
Since the wedding, Jeff likes knowing that Nick is okay with being so close to him around Kurt. They've taken a huge step forward in their relationship, and now, both boys are feeling a spark that they hadn't previously felt. It's different and exciting.
As for Kurt and Blaine, they're still on their same comfortable path with bickering and then loving each other afterward. Blaine's really tired right now, so he has his face in the crook of Kurt's neck, and Kurt's telling him the colors of all the fireworks that are exploding.
"This last one was green and purple. Oh, now it's turned into a shimmering silver thingy. You're prettier though, so no need to look," he says quietly.
----
After all the random neighbors and family friends left, Nick was able to introduce his friends to expensive alcohol that only his parents drink, and now, they're all drunk in the hot tub. Jeff, in particular, is extraordinarily drunk.
Kurt smiles over at him, amused by Jeff's ranting about how in elementary school, his class had to color elephants in purple whenever there wasn't a gray crayon, and how that "pissed me right off. I knew at two years old, two years old, Kurt, that elephants were gray, but by golly, the teacher in first grade wouldn't go to the freaking supply closet and get those crayons. I tell ya..."
"Hey, Jeff?"
Jeff looks at Kurt, his face red from drinking and his eyes bright and interested in everything that's going on. "Hey, Kurt!"
Blaine laughs and looks over at Nick, happy to see that Nick's arm is safely around Jeff's waist. He can tell that Jeff's happy tonight not just because he's drunk with his friends, but because Nick's been a good boyfriend lately.
Blaine scoots over to Kurt to try to be a good boyfriend and wrap his arm around him in the hot tub, too, but before he can, Kurt's standing up in the hot tub and wrapping his arms around Jeff's neck. Kurt grins. "Jeff, darling, you look so cute right now. May I kiss thee?"
Jeff bursts out laughing and puts his hands on Kurt's arms to drag him down towards him. "Why do you always try to kiss me? Do you have a super secret crush on me, captain? I think you dooooo."
Kurt smiles and crawls into Jeff's lap, Nick and Blaine moving away from their boyfriends to make room for them to do whatever the hell it is they're about to do.
Blaine smirks over at Nick and Nick just nods. Make out. Go.
Jeff's hands go to Kurt's back under the water to hold him up. He smiles up at him as Kurt leans his face down to Jeff's. "I'm your captain?" Kurt whispers.
Jeff nods, continuing to smile at him. "I'm also the captain."
Kurt starts stroking Jeff's hair. "Then Blaine and Nick are our sailors."
"Right-o, chap."
Blaine lifts his leg up in the water to put his foot on Kurt's back. "Kiss."
Kurt snaps his head back and punches Blaine's foot off him. "That's disgusting, get your foot off me."
He sees that Nick and Blaine are close together in a corner of the hot tub, acting like they're about to see something really great. Kurt's horny now, but he doesn't feel like putting on a show. I already am the show. What more do they need?
He gets off Jeff and just sits next to him, staring blankly at Nick and Blaine who now look annoyed. Jeff puts his head on Kurt's shoulder and closes his eyes, looking like he's about to fall asleep now, all the excitement having got to him after the fireworks were over.
Nick likes how shirtless Kurt and Jeff both are. He thinks it'd be really awesome to fuck Jeff and somehow have Kurt suck his dick at the same time. Life is so unfair.
Blaine and Jeff both yawn at the same time, and suddenly, Nick is reminded of how little he's talked to Kurt in the past month. Blaine and Jeff should go to bed. Yeah.
Blaine grants his wish my yawning a second time. "Allll right, guys... I'm going to sleep." He starts getting out of the tub, and then Jeff decides to follow his lead.
"Wayyyt a min-uht, Blaine. Help me out, bro."
Blaine reaches his arms out and helps to lift Jeff out of the hot tub. Jeff grins and latches onto him. "Thaaaanks, Blaaaiine..."
Kurt and Nick both watch them start walking away without even saying anything to the other two. They both look at each other in the hot tub questionably. That was way too easy.
...Wait. Shit. Why are we thinking about the same thing?
They both turn to watch their boyfriends go inside the mansion from the door leading into the basement.
"Wanna make out?" Nick asks, his arms stretching across the side of the hot tub.
Kurt rolls his eyes but sits closer to him just because there's too much space between them now.
"Is that a yes or no?"
"It’s a no. You’re drunk, I'm drunk, and my dick is drunk. Therefore, no."
Nick sighs, reaching his foot around the bottom of the hot tub to find Kurt's foot so he can try to pull him over to him. Kurt moves his foot away on purpose. "What the hell does that mean? Doesn’t Blaine say that?"
"Yeah. It means my dick doesn’t feel like having sex anymore. It’s drunk."
"That doesn’t make any sense. When I’m drunk, all I want to do is have sex."
Kurt smiles and decides to sit next to him now. "...And talk about the Pythagorean Theorem, don’t forget about that one. But hey, it charmed me into sleeping with you, so you may be on to something with that."
Nick tries to remember what he’s talking about but fails. "Are you talking about Halloween? Because before we were back in your room, I really don’t remember what I did."
Kurt sighs and presses his arm against Nick's, not liking that it automatically makes his body feel warmer and on edge. "Yeah, I know, you were a douchebag then, but I didn’t realize it."
Nick looks down at their arms touching and frowns softly. "I’m not a douchebag. Your boyfriend is the douchebag."
"How so?"
"For existing."
Kurt smirks, leaning into him a little. "Yeah, no. You're the one joining a frat next week. Why'd you even decide to do that? Isn't it weird for juniors to randomly join frats?"
Nick shrugs and slowly wraps an arm around him, letting himself believe that the alcohol is enough of an excuse to do this. "No, it happens pretty regularly. I just want to experience something new. I'm bored there, besides, I need to live up to my family's reputation."
"Of wearing collared polo shirts and golfing? Please, Nick. Your family's cooler than that. You have horses."
"Yeah, but if I'm in a frat, maybe I'll start caring about school more. You kind of have to. I need to keep my GPA above a 3.5 now, not like it wasn't, but now it has to stay up." Stop talking about school. Get with him.
Kurt starts tracing small circles over Nick's forearm. "Yeah, so I'm still right, though. Being in a frat makes you a dick. You're going to become a dick, Nick. Dick Nick."
Nick's not sure why he's nodding, but his head's getting tired of wanting to stay up, and his lips want to be by Kurt's, so his head's leaning closer to Kurt's every few moments.
Kurt just sits still, knowing very well that if Nick kisses him, he won't be able to not kiss back. He won't be able to tear himself away, and he'll end up doing something he'll regret. He thinks about just pressing his hand to Nick's crotch, how easy it would be right now to jerk him off or go to the side of the house and tell Nick to fuck his brains out, but then Nick decides for him and gets out of the hot tub. "I know. You're right. Not tonight."
Kurt reaches out of the tub to grab his hand. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too."
Part 6
----
Only one more chapter left!
So, this chapter was pretty Niff happy. I may or may not apologize for that, but at least they're working out now, right? For now, anyway.
Also, I know on the poll it said "If you make Summer Skin end well, I might be okay with it ending", but since it's going to end horribly and everything will be messed up, I guess it just means there's going to be a sophomore year story to clean things up. *nods* Sorry for anyone that wanted it to end, it'll be over before the internet dies, I promise.
Next chapter will include more sex than all of these combined, and it'll be the gang wrapping up the summer kind of deal. (So, they're a gang now, apparently. The NBJK crew.)
I will spoil some of the things that happen in the sequel with a quick math lesson:
Anyone remember what FOIL does to your terms? First, outer, inner, last. Need more of an explanation? Here we go:
NBJK = (N + B)(J + K) =
First - N x J
Outer - N x K
Inner - B x J
Last - B x K
(Put into simplest terms) = NJ + NK + BJ + BK
(Now, circle your answer or it will be marked wrong.)
This is why the abbreviation is not NJBK or any of the other ways. This way, when thinking about pairings in terms of the FOIL method, we can all come to the conclusion that as long as it is in NBJK form, Nick and Blaine will never have sex, likewise, Jeff and Kurt will never have sex. I hope that made some sense. /okay done.