Hi guys! Hi! First of all, your reviews blew my mind. Are you kidding me, they were just so great and supportive and just, guh. Love you all!
Okay, so excited for this chapter, it was so fun to write. Thank you to all my beautiful betas; Alex, Miranda, Becky and my Minion. You guys are the best! Seriously!
And away we go...
"And then...he kissed me!"
"What?!" Kat nearly fell out of her stool. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Caroline says with a grin and then sinks back into the reverie she's been living in for the past 18 hours.
After parting ways with Klaus last night, her lips swollen and her heart full, she hasn't thought of anything else. Their mouths sinking deeper into each other, his hands running along the curves of her body, her fingers laced in the curls at the nape of his neck - these were the last thoughts she had before drifting off into the best night sleep she's had in weeks.
"Wow," Kat says in complete shock. "I gotta say, I didn't think Klaus had it in him."
"Oh, he's got it in him!"
"So, when's he gonna get it in you?"
"Oh my God, Kat."
\-[0]-[0]-/
"Why are you so worried about what you're wearing?" Kol asks and continues to reorganize the Spidermans on the floor in front of him.
"No particular reason," Klaus answers. He steps in front of the makeshift mirror, which is actually a glass case with collectibles against the wall. He straightens out his tee shirt and checks his pants one more time to be certain they're okay. This is the third outfit that he's tried on; all of them similar, just a different comic book hero splattered on the front of his shirt. He practically lives at the shop, so in turn, a large amount of his personal belongings are here as well.
"No particular reason?" Elijah questions behind the cash register. "I thought it was because you have a date with Caroline this evening?"
"WHAT?!" Kol exclaims. He tosses the stack of comics to the side and rushes over to Klaus. "How in the world did you get a date with her?" He points an accusatory finger at him.
"None of your busine-" Klaus begins.
"He kissed her."
"ELIJAH!" Klaus growls and snaps his head at his brother.
Kol's eyes grow as big as an Anime character's; wide, quivering and in awe of the news he just heard. A slight satisfied smirk begins to rise in the corner of Klaus' mouth. The way Kol is looking at him with admiration, you would think that he is holding the Holy Grail, or the map to the Fountain of Youth. Or better yet, some secret formula that Bruce Banner has concocted in his laboratory that helps and aids nerds in wooing pretty girls. He can tell you this much, if he was in possession of such a potion, it most definitely would have come with a label...
WARNING: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF KOL MIKAELSON
\-[0]-[0]-/
"So how did it happen?" Kat is completely intrigued by this turn of events. The longing looks and puppy dog eyes Klaus and Caroline have been exchanging since they met, have not gone completely unnoticed by her. In fact, you couldn't help but notice when you were in their presence. Star-crossed lovers, blah-blah-blah.
"I'm still not sure," Caroline giggles. "One minute I was walking away, thinking that it was hopeless with him, and the next..." she trails off reminiscing about the initial shock of his lips pressed against hers and her fingers instinctively went to touch her bottom lip.
"And next he was just planting one on you?"
"Yeah," she says dreamily.
Kat shifts in the stool behind the cash register and crosses her legs. She's never seen her friend look so ridiculous. She's been out with plenty of guys, dated the rich and the famous, but Caroline has never seemed as love struck as she does now.
"So, what now?"
"Hmm?" she asks, snapping out of her daydream.
"What happens now?" Kat asks again.
"Oh," she smiles. "He's taking me out tonight."
\-[0]-[0]-/
"Oh man, I can't believe you actually did it? What was it like?"
"I'm not going to go into detail about it with you, Kol." Klaus shoots his little brother an annoyed eye roll. He looks in the glass case again. He's changed into a pair of khakis but kept the faded X-Men shirt on.
"Ah, come on man, tell me," Kol begs for the details. "Was she all teeth and claws? Did she leave you begging for more?"
He should've gone home to get ready, but for some reason Klaus thought it would be more efficient to just change at the shop. He should've known Kol would be a complete pain in the arse. He ignores the onslaught of questions and looks to Elijah for guidance.
"What about this one?" Klaus asks him and spreads his arms out in front of Elijah.
"Well, my first instinct is to tell you that any number of Marvel shirts you put on is a far better choice than the DC collection that you own," Elijah muses.
"Not really the advice I'm looking for Elijah," Klaus growls.
"Then I assume you would like to know if what you've selected is appropriate for your date with Caroline tonight?"
"That would be helpful."
"Perhaps you should try something other than a tee shirt."
Klaus looks down at Wolverine and then back up at Elijah. "Like what?"
Elijah tilts his head and places a hand under his chin and rubs it in contemplation. Klaus is not shocked at all when the words come spilling out of Elijah's mouth. "A suit?" he says.
"I'm not wearing a bloody suit, Elijah."
"It doesn't matter what you wear," Kol interjects. "You can't cover up your nerd."
"If you don't shut the hell up, Kol. I'm going to stab you with this Game of Thrones dagger and throw you in a coffin."
"Oh so touchy, brother."
Klaus is about to follow through with his promise when the front door chimes and Rebekah and Bonnie drift in.
"Hey Bekah, did you know Klaus has a date with Caroline tonight?" Kol yells over at her and quickly dodges behind a row of comics before Klaus can get his hands on him.
Rebekah looks Klaus up and down. "You're not wearing that are you?"
Klaus lets out an exasperated grumble and turns to walk back to his office to try again.
\-[0]-[0]-/
Caroline looks at the clock and butterflies start to form in her stomach. It's closing time which means he should be here in a bit to pick her up.
They haven't seen each other since last night. After her little "About time" comment, he just laughed and kissed her again. Actually that's all they did for the next 20 minutes. All she wanted to do was drag him into the backseat of her car and have her way with him. Her emotions and physical demand were heightened by the way he smelled and by his hands gliding up and down her skin. Eventually he had her pushed up against the hood of her car, his body fitting nicely between her legs.
It wasn't until they heard the grumbling of someone behind them, that they finally came up for air. A police officer stood with his arms crossed and stared at them. It seemed their little display of affection was a bit too hot and heavy for the public eye.
When the cop walked away the two of them laughed and that's when he asked her out. She agreed, and with a single peck on the lips, he left back to his store with promises of seeing her tomorrow.
Her lower regions began to ache with the memory, and Kat was all too eager to pick up on it.
"Klausy doing naughty things in your mind right now?" she smirks.
"As a matter of fact...yes," she nods and Kat laughs at her boldness.
"Caroline, you saucy little minx."
Caroline shrugs and winks at her from over her shoulder and walks to the front door to turn the sign to 'Closed'. She flips back around and asks, "Okay, so do you think what I'm wearing is okay?"
"On the outside, perhaps," she purses her lips and nods, "but what's going on underneath?"
"Katherine," she says with a hint of annoyance.
"I'm just saying. What would it look like if the owner of a french lingerie boutique didn't showcase her own product?" Kat picks up a sheer pair of panties and swings them on her finger in front of her.
As much as she hates to admit it, Kat is right. It's not like she is expecting them to just take off from where they ended things last night but...just in case. She grabs the panties and the matching bra and races to the nearest dressing room.
\-[0]-[0]-/
"Klaus you can't go on a date looking like you do every day," Bekah scolds him. "Haven't you got something a little less...nerdish?"
"Hey! I'll have you know I have been very successful with women in this shirt," he tells her.
"Yes, and did any of those women look like Caroline?"
Klaus opens his mouth to respond but quickly closes it when he has no rebuttal. Instead he shoots a nasty glare at his obnoxious and correct sister. None of the women he's dated in the past were anything like Caroline. Not that they were ugly or anything, they just didn't have Caroline's...spark. Or body...or legs...or fit as comfortably as Caroline did last night, wrapped around his waist. No Caroline is something new, therefore, she deserves a new Klaus.
"What do you propose?" he asks Bekah.
She leans in and looks at him and then peers over at their older brother. Elijah notices and greets her stare with a "What?"
She turns back to Klaus and smiles, "I have an idea. But first, do you actually own a pair of slacks?"
\-[0]-[0]-/
Caroline busies herself in the dressing room, making sure to have everything put together the best she can. She dabs on a bit more makeup, darkening her eyes and lips before taking her hair out of her high pony and letting her curls cascade down around her shoulders.
She hears the front door chime and hollers at Kat, "Is it Klaus?" Her heart skips a beat.
"No, I don't think so, I'll let you know." They're not open anymore so Caroline hopes that Kat, if it isn't Klaus, is sympathetic toward the lingering guest and promises to be open again tomorrow. She goes back to her mirror and continues to primp.
Katherine walks toward the front of the store to tell off the obviously blind patron. The door clearly says 'Closed'. She freezes in her step when she sees a shell shocked Elijah step in.
"Katherine," his voice rings through the empty store.
"Well," she slinks forward. "Hello there, Elijah. Can I help you find something?" she feigns innocence and watches as he peers around the room nervously, but unlike his brothers can retain his dignity.
This is the first time Elijah has stepped foot in the little shop next door. He now sees why his insatiable brother has not been able to stay away. "Yes, you may," he nods at her and takes a step toward her. "Would you care to accompany me to dinner?"
"I don't know," she moves even closer. "What did you have in mind?"
"Dinner," he states again.
"Obviously, Elijah," she rolls her eyes. "What makes you think that I want to have dinner with you?" She crosses her arms and tilts her head.
"There has been much discussion about Klaus and Caroline's date," he nods toward their shop, "that I thought it might be nice to have an evening out with you as well."
She uncrosses her arms and lingers around the table of panties, looking down at them and lightly fingering the satin. "Are we going to talk about what happened last night?" She doesn't move but only glances up at him for his response.
"If you'd like," he nods.
She's quickly realizing that Elijah, although thorough in his assessments of others, does not spend much time explaining himself in depth. "Are you expecting the night to end the same way?"
"If you'd like," he says again.
A delicate smirk begins to play on the corners of her mouth. As much as she tries to deny it, the guy's gotten under her skin. "Alright," she finally tells him.
"Excellent."
"Let me just let Caroline know I'm leaving," she says but turns back to him. "Elijah?"
"Yes?"
"What the hell are you wearing?"
He inhales sharply and looks off in the distance, "I don't want to talk about it. However, I would like to stop at my place and change before we go out."
"Or we could just stay there," she says suggestively.
"If you'd like."
\-[0]-[0]-/
Klaus takes a deep breath and looks down at his attire. Poor Elijah was practically accosted out of his clothing, as Bekah stripped him from his shirt and tie. He left the shop shortly after, wearing only his slacks and Klaus' Wolverine t-shirt underneath his suit jacket. No doubt he is racing home to discard of the shirt for another dress shirt.
The jacket and slacks would have been too large on him to complete the outfit, but the crisp white shirt didn't look half bad after the sleeves were rolled up. He feels like an idiot, but Rebekah insisted that he didn't look like one. She used the words " very dashing" and he only hoped that she was right.
He knocks on the door before entering Caroline's shop. The shop is empty, no Katherine in sight. He's actually relieved. He is nervous enough as it is, he didn't need Katherine's honesty to go with it.
"Caroline?" he calls out.
"Hey, Klaus," he hears her call out from the back. "I'll be right up."
"Alright," he calls back. He doesn't move from the front door. He glances around nervously, still feeling like he's peering at all of Caroline's intimates. His eyes land on a lacy little number that's displayed amongst the panty table. He swallows a lump in his throat, thinking about what Caroline would look like in something like that.
He's not expecting things to go exactly like last night, although...he wouldn't oppose.
"Hey," he hears her say and glances up.
This is the part in the movie where the strings begin to swell and the romantic music sets in.
He starts at her feet; a pair of strappy heels that link around her ankles start the show before his gaze moves up her body. Flashes of their first encounter with her in her short shorts and black heels come to his mind, but they were nothing compared to the image before him now. Perhaps it's the dress; a pale blue, strapless delight that hugs her curves, elongates her legs and causes his fingers to itch in need to reach out and grab hold of her.
"Hi," she says again. Her heart is pounding out of her chest as she takes him in as well. He's wearing a pair of fitted black slacks, a white button up shirt rolled up to his forearms and a sleek dark blue tie. "You look great," she compliments.
"You're stunning," he returns.
She looks down at her attire and back up at him. "Thanks," she says shyly. "Let me just grab my purse and coat and we can go."
She walks to the counter to retrieve her items and when she turns back to him he somehow has managed to sneak up on her. He peers down at her before cupping her cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear. "Really, Caroline, you look breathtaking."
"Thank-" she starts to tell him again when her mouth is captured by his.
Soft and sensual, his lips lightly graze against hers. Her body begins to tingle and her knees start to buckle as he masterfully glides his tongue forward to part her lips. They spend a moment longer in the embrace before he pulls away and smiles. "Should we get going?"
She nods and bites her bottom lip.
Or we can just stay here, she says to herself.
I'm with you Caroline. Maybe you should just stay there. I mean, come on...he's dressed up all fancy for you. As my dear friend Alex would say, "Forearm porn gets me every time!" Bahahaha!
Anyhoo, I can't say enough about how much I adore your reviews! They mean so much! So take a minute, absorb the forearm porn, Kalijahness, Klaroline goodness and send me a little review on what you thought!
Until next time...