Hello, my lovely readers. More flashbacks are coming your way. On with the show…
Chapter 6: Memories of Us
"A little table for two. Candle light. Bottle of wine. You, in a short red dress. That is my version of paradise," Klaus whispered into her ear. Caroline inhaled deeply as she sat; frozen to her seat. Why couldn't she stay away from him? She knew that he was her teacher and that this would just lead to eventual heartbreak but his fingers were brushing her thigh and his lips were on her neck.
"Klaus, class starts in five minutes." Caroline rested her head on his shoulder. She felt his hair brushing her neck as he dipped closer; pressing his lips to her shoulder. Anyone could come in. At any moment they could be caught by one of her fellow students as she sat at her desk—the one closest to the window—with Klaus leaned over her. His body curved over the back of her seat. His breath tickled the bare skin revealed by her halter dress.
"I want you in my office. On top of my desk." Klaus' words made Caroline shiver. His fingers slid under her dress and she let out a moan. "I'm going to give you a project that you can complete, with my input, of course."
Caroline's mouth opened, a louder moan escaping her as Klaus' movements quickened. "Klaus!" she cried out just as he pulled away from her and moved to the front of the classroom.
Her eyes flicked to the clock. It ticked away on the wall. Klaus opened his mouth and sucked his fingers. She drew her lower lip between her teeth, biting down as Klaus smirked at her. Whoosh went the door, the air shifting as students began to fill the room. Chatter made Caroline dizzy. Klaus' head turned to the window and she stopped herself from jumping out of her seat and running to him; wrapping her arms and legs around him.
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"What are you thinking about?" Katherine asked, nudging Caroline in the ribs with her elbow.
"Nothing," Caroline snapped back, rolling her eyes and trying to focus on Rebekah's complaints.
"…I wanted to go to the little Greek place but Stefan wants Chinese. Does he never get sick of the same food?" Rebekah cried, flicking her long hair over her shoulder. "And I refer to him as cheap, once, and it's as if I committed a bloody crime."
Kol let out a snort of laughter. "Yes, Bekah, you calling anyone else cheap is a crime." He began to laugh hysterically until Rebekah threw a bread roll at his head.
"Children," Elijah said, his voice calm and his usual restraint evident as he looked at the bread roll on the floor. "Kol, pick that up and throw it away before some poor soul breaks their neck on it."
Scoffing, Kol looked at Elijah from his place on Caroline's other side. "No. Bekah is the one who tossed it. Let her fetch it."
Rebekah glared at Kol, opening her mouth to reply when Elijah held up a hand. "Kol," he said through gritted teeth.
Kol groaned and leaned over, picked up the roll, stood up, found a trash can and dumped the roll. "Thank you for that, brother; now I will be mistaken for the hired help."
"I doubt very much that anyone will ever mistake you for someone who has worked to make his way in the world," Elijah said, picking up a menu and examining it. His nose wrinkled and he set it back down. "Perhaps Rebekah was right, we should have gone out-of-town."
Rebekah smirked and Kol shook his head. "I don't see why we need to go out-of-town when we have such lovely company here," Kol quipped, sliding an arm around Caroline's shoulders and grinning at Katherine who smirked back at him. "Speaking of lovely company, where is that friend of yours…Bonnie, is it?"
Caroline grinned. "You like Bonnie?" she asked Kol who looked slightly embarrassed. "Oh, that is so cute," she teased him.
"It's not cute," Kol snapped. "I'm getting a drink." Getting up, Kol strode over to the bar and began to flirt with one of the waitresses.
"Is he even old enough to drive?" Katherine inquired, twirling her empty glass.
"He's over twenty-one but has the maturity of a five-year-old," Rebekah told Kat.
Kat grinned. "That could be fun for Bon Bon; she needs to loosen up." Her eyes traveled to Elijah and she leaned toward him. "Speaking of uptight people, what do you do for fun?" she asked, placing a hand on his wrist.
Elijah looked up from his phone. He'd been busily texting, or, more likely, writing a memo about some sort of work. "I'm sorry?" he looked confused, his eyebrows rising as he looked from Katherine's hand to her eyes.
Katherine's lips pursed. "What do you like to do for fun?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side. She leaned over further. Caroline felt certain that if Kat leaned over, another quarter inch, her boobs would come out of her push-up bra. Typical Kat.
Pausing, his brows coming together while he looked at a space to the left of Kat's head, Elijah seemed lost in thought. "I read," he told her, his eyes moving to meet Kat's.
Katherine fell back in her seat. "You read? For fun? Who the hell reads, for fun?" She sighed. "Just tell me you read GQ or Sports Illustrated?" She looked hopeful when Elijah looked thoughtful again.
"I'm currently rereading Dante's Inferno," Elijah told her and Kat's shoulders slumped.
"Ah, I see I came back to hear Elijah's book recommendations." Kol shook his head. "Who would like to go play a game of pool?"
Kat jumped up. "Did you say pool? I love pool." Walking toward the table, it could not be more obvious that Kat was trying to escape the now awkward situation. Caroline looked at Elijah who had picked up the menu again.
Rebekah blew out a breath. "How is Nik?" she asked so suddenly that Caroline felt like she had slapped her.
"What?" Caroline gasped, feeling her stomach flip.
Rebekah's lips pursed. "Nik. My brother."
Rolling her eyes, Caroline sat back. "I know who Klaus is."
"Right," Rebekah smiled at her, a glacier seemed to have formed between the two women for some reason that Caroline couldn't pinpoint. "He was shacking up with you and your fiancée, yes? I haven't seen him for the past day and a half and I wanted to know if he's well. As his sister, I feel that I have that right."
Elijah set his menu down, smoothing it while Caroline searched for words. "He left. This morning."
"Oh," Rebekah looked surprised. "Really? Whatever for?"
"I guess he no longer felt welcome." Caroline pushed her seat back. "I'm going to find out what is taking so long." Walking away from the table, Caroline felt her body tighten. A metal spring had nothing on her.
"Hey, baby," a voice called from behind her and Caroline turned to find Tyler. Letting out a relieved laugh, Caroline turned around and hugged him. "Are you getting dinner here?"
"Yeah," Caroline said. "I am so glad you're here, Ty. I missed you so much." Glancing at the Mikaelsons—Caroline felt her stomach sink—the one thing she did not want to do was have another meal with Ty and the Mikaelsons. She placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder; lowering her eyelashes. "When was the last time that we had dinner, just the two of us?"
Tyler looked thoughtful, his arms sliding around her waist, a smile creeping across his face. "Let's see. Between having dinner with your family. Then my family. All of our friends. My get-togethers with the Sheriff and trying to get my campaign off the ground… I can't remember the last time we had a night on our own. Sorry, baby," he whispered, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. "I guess I should be making all that time up to you."
"Uh-huh," Caroline nodded her head with a wide smile. "I'm going to go make my excuses to Kat and we're going to get out of here."
"Sounds like a plan," Tyler said, stealing a quick kiss before she moved away from him and back to Kat and the Mikaelsons.
"Hey, I am really sorry, everybody, but Ty and I are going to get out of here." Caroline nodded in Tyler' direction. Her fiancé stood at the bar, making small talk with the guy who just served him a drink. Yes—that would help them leave faster, if Tyler took the time to chat up the locals—looking for more votes and drinking. Stifling a moan, Caroline forced her best soon-to-be-Mrs.-Mayor smile on her face.
Kol glanced at Tyler. "Why don't you lot dine with us?" he inquired.
Kat smirked up at Caroline. "Yeah, Care, why don't you stay?"
Gritting her teeth, Caroline looked at Tyler who had begun to laugh at something that a small group of Mystic Fallers were saying to him. He clapped one man on the shoulder while posing for a picture with a family. Seriously! Caroline felt herself beginning to lose her temper. Taking a deep breath, Caroline turned back to her friends. "Okay. I'll go get Tyler."
Caroline had to force herself to not scream when she approached the bar. "Hi, everyone," she said, waving her hands at the group. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to steal my fiancé for a little dinner with some of my old friends."
Tyler smiled and shook a few more hands before he took Caroline's arm; whispering into her ear. "Baby, I thought you wanted a nice, quiet dinner, alone."
Caroline's smile was frozen to her face and she spoke between her teeth. "I did. But it seems that your collecting votes was more important."
"Care," Tyler began, stopping and pressing a hand to her waist. "You know I would give up at least…twenty votes if it meant that I could spend time with you."
Laughing, Caroline patted him on the arm. "Tyler, people are watching us," she whispered into his ear. "And if you want to win, we have to be shiny, perfect people, and shiny perfect people don't have squabbles in front of everyone at a public restaurant. Kissing Tyler's cheek, Caroline turned to lead him by the hand to the table where Kat and the Mikaelsons were paying far too much attention to them.
Caroline tucked her hair behind her ear, taking a seat next to an empty one that Tyler pulled up to the table. Now she sat next to Elijah. Yes. This could be more awkward. The one thing that would make it worse would be if Klaus showed up. Her eyes flicked to the front door as if thinking about Klaus would summon him. When he didn't walk in, she fell back in her seat, relieved, or so she told herself.
Kat looked at Tyler. "How is being a local celebrity working out for you, Ty?" she inquired, waving a waiter down. "I'd like another vodka," she told the boy.
Tyler shook his head. "I don't really think of myself as a celebrity. Being a politician is not an easy job."
"Oh, and do you think that being a celebrity is?" Kat inquired, a smirk forming.
Tyler smiled. "I'd like to be able to say that going for a massage was part of my job or taking a trip to Cancun was something I needed to do after a stress-inducing movie. My job's a little more difficult than that."
Kat opened her mouth to object when Caroline turned to Rebekah. "So, Bekah, how is New York?"
Rebekah sniffed. "Noisy and dirty. Although I would rather spend every day there than in this boring little excuse for a town."
Tyler jumped on this. "You're right, Rebekah. Mystic Falls needs to be energized. That is why I am looking forward to taking the mayor's office. Once I win, I plan on pursuing contracts to add to the growth of the city. Why shouldn't we take in tourism? Why should people constantly have to leave town to find a place to eat, to shop and to entertain themselves. What we need is competition. Like the Mystic Grill; it needs to be kept on its feet. If they see another restaurant pop up—right across the street—what are they going to do?" Tyler looked around the table. "They're going to begin to ask themselves: What can we do to stop that new place from taking all our business. This means we'll have new choices on the menu, better choices. But none of that will happen if nothing ever changes."
Stifling a sigh, Caroline wished she'd never mentioned New York. Whenever someone brought up a big city: New York, L. A. Miami or, even, Richmond, Ty began to spin out larger and larger plans for the tiny town of Mystic Falls. The idea of their town being over-run with tourists made Caroline want to bang her head against the table top.
"What of the people living here already?" Elijah broke through Caroline's reverie. "Yes. This town is rather small. But if you begin to build super-stores, gigantic shopping malls and an amusement park—you destroy the charm of the town—perhaps even the history as your contractors come in to tear down your woods and other monuments."
Smirking, Kat looked at Elijah. "You're a real old-fashioned kind of guy, aren't you, Elijah Mikaelson?" she asked, placing an elbow on the table and resting her head on her hand. She titled her head, lowering her eyelashes and allowing her hair to fall to one side.
"Yes. I am afraid I am. And you, I suspect would like nothing more than to see Tyler's dream of a Disney-esque park opening up in this city?" Elijah replied calmly, straightening his tie.
Katherine pouted. "I'd at least like it if they opened up a Sephora. It's the least they can do."
Rebekah let out a chuckle. "I, too, would like a little more variety in this town. Whenever I visit, it feels as if I have to drive ten miles to find a decent hair salon. I know that some of us do not need to maintain the same standards as all of us," she sniffed, her eyes flicking to a waitress who walked by their table. "But I need more."
Tyler nodded. "I'm happy to know I can count on you ladies' support." Picking up a menu, he looked at it for a second before setting it down. "Everyone else ready to order."
Feeling disappointed in her friends' support of Tyler's plans for the town; Caroline got to her feet. "I'm going to powder my nose," she told them. She walked back to the bathroom and went into a stall. Leaning against a wall, Caroline closed her eyes and thought back.
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"Lovely," Klaus whispered into her ear.
Caroline grinned, turning to look up at him. "You think so?" she asked him, looking back at the painting she had begun. She'd always been a perfectionist and she had a feeling that becoming a painter was not one of her many talents.
"Yes." Klaus said, tucking her hair behind her ear and looping his arms around her waist. "You're catching the sun's rays," he told her, his lips brushing her neck.
Caroline closed her eyes, feeling his body pressing into hers. She sat on a high stool in a studio with a set of wide windows that allowed the sun to flow through a room.
"I want to paint you, love," Klaus whispered into her ear.
Caroline glanced back at him, tugging at her bottom lip. No one had ever wanted to paint her. Well, not no one. Just no one who actually knew how to paint. Her heart skipped a beat. "Okay," she said, easing off the stool.
"No. Stay there," Klaus told her, placing his hands on her jean clad thighs, pushing her, gently, back onto the stool. She watched him go across the room, to grab another easel and a black canvas. He set his up in front of hers. A wicked grin appeared on his face. "Just a few, minor adjustments," he said. He approached her, slowly.
Again, Caroline felt nervous when Klaus stood in front of her. He placed his hand on the top her shirt and began to unbutton it. "Klaus," she protested, placing her hands over her chest.
"Trust me, darling," Klaus said, pressing a tender kiss to her lips.
Relenting, Caroline dropped her hands. Klaus popped one more button before pulling her shirt over her left shoulder. Then he unbuttoned the bottom buttons, pulling it outward to show just a tiny bit of her stomach, allowing the flap of her over-sized shirt to fall over her right thigh. He reached up and unclasped her hair clip, moving her curls so they fell around her face before pulling the rest of her hair back up.
"Now," Klaus moved behind her. "Look at your canvas, like you're really thinking about what you are doing here, Caroline. Bite you lower lip for me. Gently. Place your hand here." He took her hand and placed it on her right knee. "Yes. Very good. Now, tilt your head just so," he titled her head to the right. "Just a little bit. Yes. Perfect." Rounding her, he examined her position while she tried not to laugh. "Now, just stay like that for the next hour."
"Hour?" Caroline cried out, lifting her head.
"Love…" Klaus exhaled, his eyebrows rising, a smirk appearing. "Please…"
Sighing, Caroline titled her head again. "You are so making this up to me later."
"I will spend hours making it up to you," Klaus retorted with a wide grin.
Caroline's eyes followed him while Klaus collected paint and brushes. A smile began to form on her face. She loved this. She loved him. She planned to tell him that one of these days. Knowing her, she'd probably blurt it out tonight, while they were in bed. She could not wait to see the look on his face.
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Tears began to slip down Caroline's face and she buried her face in her hands. "Damn you, Klaus," she moaned, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. Why couldn't he have just stayed the hell out of her life?
Caroline forced herself to leave the stall and to splash cold water on her face. Kat was right. She was beginning to look like Carol Lockwood. The woman who looked back at her did not look like or feel like Caroline Forbes anymore. She looked resigned, sad and lonely.
Grabbing a paper towel, Caroline dried her hands and walked out of the bathroom. She knew that what she needed—what she and Tyler needed—was to get out of Mystic Falls for a week or two. Yes. A little vacation would get them back on track. And, who knew, maybe by the time they got back, Klaus, and all the stupid memories he was bringing back would be long gone.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answers to guest reviews:
Guest: There is another chapter of "Through His Eyes," posted today.
Guest: I've been around. Welcome to the party! We will definitely see more of married Klaroline. Thank you for the lovely review.
Peace,
Jessica