CHAPTER ONE

CAROLINE

Caroline squinted against the sun that streamed in through her curtains. A small groan fell from her lips as she braced herself for the inevitable wake up call from her twins.

Every morning at seven o'clock sharp, Lizzie and Josie burst through her bedroom door. They'd jump on her bed, oftentimes on her, until she rolled out of bed to make their breakfast. Most mornings they'd present Caroline with a list of the foods they wanted for their morning meal. Most mornings, Caroline ignored them and presented them with something far more healthy.

That morning, though, the alarm blared and the girls never arrived to wake their mother. The woman rolled over to read the date on her phone screen to find that, yes, it was Saturday. Alaric had the girls on Saturdays, which meant Caroline was free to do as she pleased on her own time.

As she went about her morning routine, Caroline thought of the different ways she could spend her day. It had been a long while since she'd had so much free time. Between the school, the girls, and Alaric, there was no time for her personal needs. Caroline days were often spent in pajamas on the couch while she watched bad reality TV. As she shrugged on her jean jacket, she decided it was time to do something different. It had been a while since she'd been out and about in Mystic Falls. She settled on the park, and she'd walk; the weather was far too nice to drive.

Her walk brought her down past the temporary house of Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert. She hadn't seen her friends in over a year. After Stefan passed away it became impossible to spend time with them. She saw Stefan's ghost in Damon's eyes and heard his laugh in Elena's voice. The only thing that came from their friendship was pain. Stefan was gone and they were reminders of that. The occasional text was all that that remained of their once strong relationship.

The park was around the corner, and once she concluded the moment, she headed right for it.

The trees and flowers drew her in like a moth to a flame, and it wasn't long until she found her favorite bench. She sat and let out a heavy, long awaited sigh. Everything had been piling up on her shoulders as of late and this time alone was what she had needed.

It was nice to do nothing for a few hours. As she sat, Caroline watched families play in the grass. She wrote in her journal and reread her old journals. As the sun began to set, she decided to walk around the park to keep herself awake. She had gotten lost in her head and was content with doing so, when a firm voice interrupted her thoughts.

"—blonde lady. Watch and learn, Sammy," the voice had said. It sounded as though the speaker had been trying to whisper, but it didn't quite work out that way.

Someone approached her, but she tried to convince herself that this person was going to walk past her without a word. She was wrong.

"Excuse me, miss?" they called out.

"I'm a bit busy," she replied as she quickened her step. It was supposed to be her day, she didn't want to talk.

"You dropped this."

Caroline turned around to scold the stranger for their lie. The man she saw was far more than she'd anticipated. The maternal warning she'd planned to give had gone out the window, along with her self respect.

"What did I drop?"

The handsome stranger held out his hand and grinned. "This."

Caroline grinned. The line was clever, even she could admit that, and he was handsome.

"Nice," she replied.

"I'm Dean, and you are beautiful."

"Caroline. A bit confident, are we?"

"I appreciate beauty when I see it. Have a drink with me?"

Caroline tapped on her chin and hummed, as though she had to think about whether she wanted to spend time with him.

"Make it worth my while?" she questioned.

"I'll do my best. Where your nearest bar?"

Caroline pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the Grill and turned to head toward it. She could hear Dean's footsteps behind her, and that made her smile. She knew this wasn't like her, and she'd regret it later, but she figured that was a problem for future Caroline.

Caroline was a few shots in. Everything was a bit more blurred than when she came in. She was certain Dean looked even more attractive. He was as drunk as she was, even more so, and it showed. Their childish game of "Never Have I Ever" had turned into a competition. Both parties thought they were the obvious victor, but the true winner was a mystery. Between their initial drinks and the shots that followed, it was impossible to tell.

Caroline had moved closer to Dean over the hours and found he'd rested his hand on her thigh. In her sober state she would have moved it, but she didn't see the point. She was single, alone, and in need of a good time. Stefan wasn't going to come back and she knew he'd want her to enjoy her life while she had it.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Dean asked, leaned in close to Caroline's ear.

All the woman could do in response was nod as she stood to pull him from his stool.

Caroline and Dean rolled around in the woman's bed with their lips pressed together . It was only a matter of minutes before both got unclothed and on display for each other. As they fell against the sheets together, everything else melted away. They were lost in the heat of their passion, everything was right.