Dirty Laundry

Thank you to the supreme writing queen aka supremeuppityone for the awesome prompts. I love them all immensely, so who knows I might get them all out : )

Prompt: The first time she saw him, his head was caught between the wall and a dryer.

Grammercy Park, NYC - 10:30pm

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Caroline uttered, not expecting the sight she'd encountered on entering her neighbourhood Laundromat.

"No, this is how I spend all my Saturday nights," the low growl he emitted was telling Caroline he wasn't in the mood to chat.

"Okay then," she murmured, raising her eyebrows curiously. There was no way this weirdo was going to mess with her perfectly planned evening.

She set to work, dumping her dirty clothes in the nearest washing machine, whistling as she did it. Most people would call her boring given Saturday nights were reserved for laundry, well her best friend Katherine, who was currently on a date, would endlessly. But she considered it the optimal time to visit the Laundromat when it wasn't so crowded. Besides the grouch in the corner, they were all alone.

"Not to interrupt your fun over there, love, but any chance you could lend a hand?"

"Excuse me?"

"Call me crazy but I assumed most people would find this particular scenario a little strange."

"Well, this is New York," she replied knowingly, adding an abundance of washing powder as was customary to rid her clothes of any unwanted grime. "So, nothing really surprises me."

"Obviously."

"Is this where I'm supposed to ask you how you came to be in this predicament?"

"Or we could discuss your fabric softener suggestions."

"Oh, that's easy…"

"Obviously someone doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm."

"Says the guy with his head stuck," she scoffed, trying to ignore just how taut his ass looked housed in those dark, denim jeans. "You could try being a little nicer Mister Grumpy Pants."

"Maybe if I wasn't in so much pain," he huffed. "Any chance you could be so kind and help me out?"

"I'll have to think about it," she teased, turning the dial and pressing the obligatory start button before taking a seat and pulling out the latest copy of Cosmopolitan to devour.

"Well, don't let me interrupt your washing party."

"Actually you kind of are," she shot back, over the pages of her much loved magazine. "I came here for some zen and instead i'm getting some whiny, English attitude."

"You're one to talk about attitude, sweetheart." Caroline rolled her eyes. She knew guys just like him and had no intention of entertaining his company. She looked at her washing machine willing it to work faster.

"You know, I do have a name."

"And surprisingly I have a face, not that you would know right now," he mumbled. Caroline had to admit she'd been curious. All she could see were some dark, blonde curls that were becoming increasingly tempting to touch.

"Fine," she conceded, dropping her magazine on the floor and walking towards him purposefully. "You've already ruined my night with your whinging so how about you tell me what happened?"

"Or you could just help free me?" At this close range she could pick up an enticing and spicy scent and was trying to ignore.

"I'll help you, when you tell me how you ended up like that." There was a long pause, Caroline knowing he was weighing up his options.

"Fine," he grumbled. "If you must know my date sort of pushed me into the wall. Caroline attempted to stifle a giggle but failed. "And you wonder why I was reluctant to confess."

"What did you do to her?"

"Why do you assume I did anything," he argued, his legs moving restlessly. "She suggested the Laundromat. I thought it was weird but kind of quirky so reluctantly agreed. The moment I touched her underwear to put in the dryer she went ballistic."

"Well, they're not called intimates for nothing," she drawled.

"I'm pouring my heart out to you and all you can do is mock?"

"If you must know, I'm waiting for the television cameras to burst in the door and tell me I'm being punk'd or something," Caroline offered, looking around the open windows suspiciously.

"Do you think I'd want my personal life telecast to millions?" Caroline shrugged her shoulders, the mystery stranger did have a point.

"Go on."

"She pushed me into the wall without warning and then stormed out, intimates in hand," he admitted sheepishly. "You're the first person that's come in since."

"Not to be rude but…"

"Oh, I think we're well and truly past that point, love."

"You don't seem entirely weak…" She was now inspecting his toned physique through his henley quite closely now.

"I'm not," he growled. "I just will never let my brother set me up on a blind date ever again."

"So, somehow this is his fault?"

"Everything is Kol's fault. I have a feeling this is his revenge for being the inferior sibling."

"Last time I checked, I'm not a family therapist," she groaned, impatiently before placing her hands lightly on his hips. "In fact, I'm going to help you. Not because I like you given you seem to have a myriad of issues which, by the way, I'm not willing to unpack."

As soon as she'd offered and her thumbs were hooked in his belt loops, Caroline knew she'd reached the point of no return. How in the hell had her washing night come to fondling some stranger's hips?

"Anything I can help you with?" He'd teased, obviously noting her hesitation and breaking her from the vortex he'd managed to suck her into.

Without a word, Caroline pulled him backwards roughly. The unexpected force she'd exerted repelling them backwards. Caroline on the cold, tiled floor and him lying on top of her body. To say he felt unnervingly good against her chest, albeit heavy, was enough to tell Caroline she needed to extract herself from the situation and pronto.

"Get off me!"

"Well, maybe if you'd given me some warning I might have been prepared," he complained, finding his feet shakily and standing up whilst nursing his obviously sore head.

"Is this how you always treat your saviours?" She huffed, finally joining him upright and placing her hands on her hips defiantly. She was expecting another witty retort but instead his crimson lips curved upwards into a sly smile and he flashed an impressive set of dimples in her direction. If she'd known he was that handsome maybe she might have rethought her tactics.

"Thank you, love," he offered simply. "It's nice to see my faith in New York women hasn't all been lost this evening." She was struggling to keep her composure, why was this idiot causing so many foreign feelings?

"I should, uh, really get back to my washing."

"I could help?" He offered. "I promise not to touch your intimates."

"Is this your line, do you just pick up unsuspecting women in the Laundromat?"

"Yes, in fact I do it for a living," he teased. "That whole dryer/wall scenario is actually one of my party tricks. You know, I don't even feel the pain anymore."

"Who exactly was this mystery date then?"

"Aurora someone apparently."

"Do you mean Aurora De Martel? You do realise she's a pro-wrestler, right? Won the female championship three consecutive years." Caroline asked in disbelief.

"Funnily enough, Kol forgot to mention that particular fact," he groaned. "Now it's all starting to make sense."

It had been an ongoing joke between them and Kol didn't let it slide during his best man speech either. Turns out you didn't need to see someone's face to fall in love at first sight as evidenced by their chance meeting in the Laundromat.