Twenty Over Thirty || manxman

IV - The Ideal & The Flawed

James awoke the next morning with one thought only.

Kurt Callahan.

And as that name floated through his mind, he found a smile coming to his lips as he stretched and sat up out of bed. That kiss had probably been the best thing he'd felt in a long time, and given it'd come from someone so open, confident, and mysterious only fueled James' need to know more about Kurt Callahan. He wanted to know what the young man's life had been like before coming to America, find out what exactly made him who he was, but on a lustier side of things, James wanted to kiss him again, and again, and again.

When he spotted the gifted roses on his nightstand from the evening before, James took them in hand and moved out of his bedroom to the kitchen. From a top cabinet above his stove, he grabbed down a tall vase he never used, filled it with water from the sink, and placed the flowers inside. He smiled at the duo arrangement and set it by the window in his living room. Opening the curtain a small way to allow light to come in, James looked outside as well.

Down in the parking lot in front of the building, he caught sight of Kurt getting ready to drop into his car, the same car that's been in his personal space the past two days. So it was him.

Without thinking twice, James hurried for his door and went out, closing his hands on the guardrail to the stairs and leaned over a little. "Kurt," he called down.

After a second, the young man appeared at the bottom of the steps. He was dressed in a dark gray shirt, slim black jeans, and his cellphone was pressed to his ear.

Gesturing patiently for James to give him a minute, he replied back into the receiver of his phone, and said, "Yeah, well, you've caught me at a bad time Danny, I've got to go. You're going to make me late for me job." There was a pause for a moment, and then he went on. "Listen, Danny, how's about you stop acting like you've always had my back when you haven't. You might be my brother, but you don't know me at all, and if you honest to god think I would lie about something like that, then I guess that proves whose side you're on. Now, I'm hanging up. Goodbye."

Kurt ended the call then and sighed, obviously frustrated before looking back up to James on the second floor. "Your brother not someone you want to talk to, right now?" the older man asked.

Shaking his loose fringe out of his eyes, Kurt started up the steps towards his neighbor, "I'll call him later," he said, and then an impish smirk curved his lips. "Good morning, I see you've managed to slip outta bed without bothering to get dressed."

James could feel the blushing of his cheeks once Kurt was stood just one step below him. "I tried to catch you before you left and didn't think I'd have time to throw on a shirt."

"Oh, I'm not worried about it or anything. I think I prefer you half-naked. Did you come out here looking for a repeat of last night?"

Unconsciously, James raised a hand to his lips, images of their kiss quickly entering his mind. "Um, no, I just thought I'd see you off to your first day at work."

"That's too bad," Kurt took the last step up, now toe to toe with the older man, "I was looking forward to it the second I saw you."

When the young man leaned into him, James stepped back, covering his mouth with a hand. "I haven't brushed my teeth yet," he warned, "Sorry."

Kurt slipped his hand into James' then and circled him around to his apartment door, "Then how's about you get that done so I can have me farewell kiss?"

James couldn't fight the tingly sensations rippling through him as Kurt walked with him back into the apartment. While the young man stayed in the living room, James went back towards his bedroom. "I'll try not to take too long," he said, "Don't want you to be late on your first day."