Happy New Year ! How are you guys doing ?
Soooo, tell me, how did you guys like my not-so-subtle action ? I was worried not to meet your expectations, so I hope I did.
Once again, thank you for the favourites and the follows and the reviews. Modelgirl267 & Guest, I love that it gives you happy feels :)) And emmaleewhittaker, ugh. Girl, you make me blush and warm and gooey. Stop it. :)
Can't wait to hear what you guys think of this one ! Tell me if you think I'd make a good soap opera writer.
Klaus had sat on the edge of the table, his hands laying on either side of him, looking purposefully in front of him, oblivious – or ignoring ? - his phone, ringing non stop since he refused to answer it, a few minutes earlier. Caroline had scooted nearer to him, in hopes that they could maybe talk, but they neither touched nor looked at each other, and she had no idea how to get back to their previous blissful state. As it was so often the case with the both of them, they had gone from chummy to awkward really fast. But she didn't mind. She really didn't. It started to feel like their thing, something that was just theirs. A dynamic. A pattern. It felt nice, to know him enough to have that.
They both cleared their throat, one at a time, looking anywhere but towards each other. Caroline glanced at him once or twice, and found him glancing at her, too. It took her a second or two to gather up her courage and before she dived in.
"So," she started, "what now ?" He turned to look at her, silent as a stone, then stood up and faced her, putting his hands on her waist – she felt a rush of adrenaline at the slight tough, but did her best to hide it -. "I don't regret kissing you, Caroline. You're a glorious kisser."
She rolled her eyes, but felt herself blush. "You need to stop complimenting me all the time."
"And you need to learn how to say thank you.", he teased. She shoved him slightly as he chuckled and grabbed her arms. They wrestled for a second like two kids, laughing at each other, enjoying their complicity and the light atmosphere.
It seemed to Caroline that they had gone through their own roller coaster these past few days. From cordiality to trusting to jealousy and now this. Even if she admonished herself, told herself not to expect too much from the future – she always did when it came to love – she had to say it : she looked forward to the next stage of their relationship, the part where they could finally be honest with each other. She wanted to tell him everything about herself, about her past, her ambitions and her fears, and, in turn, she wanted to know all about Klaus. She didn't know if they would evolve from colleagues to couple, or if they would stay in that weird grey area between the two labeled "I work and sleep with you but don't expect me to want more.", and she simply did not care at the moment. She only wanted to know what would happen today, and she'll deal with the rest in the morning.
"I repeat, what now, Klaus ?"
"Well, I don't suppose you'd like to go home with me, do you ?"
Caroline, without hesitation, her eyes locked on his, replied : "Actually, I would like that very much."
She could tell that her answer threw him off guard, and she smiled to herself. "You're are astonishing." he declared, grinning from ear to ear. "I would have never expected that from you."
"Let me finish." She held up one finger, eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Ah. I have a feeling that what follows is not going to be quite as appealing as the thought of finally getting you naked in my bed."
"What do you mean finally ? We've known each other for like, two weeks."
"And I've been thinking about it since then."
He softly grabbed her legs and spread them to accommodate him, and Caroline's skin jolted awake. "You're disgusting.", she teased, a small smile on her lips. She tried to refrain from touching him, but his fingers dug into the soft skin of her thighs, and she had to curl her hands into fists to stop herself.
"Like you've not thought about it, too.", he whispered, and, when she didn't answer, he added, just as softly, grinning : "Disgusting." Her heart stopped when she felt his fingers slowly creeping up her thighs, and finding her panties. The fabric of her dress had gone up with his hands, and her legs were bare for all the world to see, but all she could see was him. Before he could go any further, she urgently placed her hands flat on his chest. "We can't." she urged.
"Why not ?" He was quizzical, frowning, his hands stopped moving, and rested on her lower hips. She saw how he struggled to breathe normally, how full his lips looked. She wanted nothing more than to bury herself in his embrace again, but there was something she needed to do first. She knew herself well enough to say she wouldn't know how to live with herself if she didn't.
"Tyler.", she simply stated.
He groaned, fiddling with the soft fabric between his fingers.
"He's really going to be a pain, that one." he said, as if to himself, before adding : "Fine. Text him. Call him if you have to. Just finish it. I want to kiss you again."
"I want that too. Trust me. But I can't text him, it's barbaric. No, I have to see him."
He grunted once more, but didn't move. She sat straighter, getting closer to him, never leaving his eyes. "You know I'm right." He sighed, but wrinkled his nose to make her smile. "Just one thing before you've got to be good."
"What ?"
He kissed her once more, taking his time, his eyes never leaving her own, pushing her towards the table with his weight, as his fingers worked quick in grabbing her underwear. He yanked it down her legs as she cried his name and slapped his arm. "Klaus !"
"I'm keeping this." he declared as he pushed her blue lacy panties in his pocket. "Now go and break up with the bartender."
She rolled her eyes and got back on her feet, trying to put some order in her mind by putting some in her outfit. "I repeat, disgusting." She held up a finger in warning."Don't sniff it."
He laughed and kissed her hair. She took her purse, and, after one last smile and eye roll, she left his office and entered the elevator, giggling like a little girl who just did something she wasn't supposed to. She hid her mouth behind one hand, but still she laughed. She couldn't help herself. She giggled all the way to the subway, even with all the dirty looks she got from the other passengers, but stopped abruptly when she heard her phone ring and looked at the caller ID. Tyler. She breathed out and answered. "Hey."
"Hey. Where are you ?"
"On the subway home, why ?"
"Just get home. Stefan is looking at me weird. I just had to answer a bunch of questions, and he still doesn't seem to like me very much."
"He doesn't hate you, Tyler. He's just protective of me. Is Bekah there ?"
"No, she has a shift tonight. Just, hurry, okay ? I am not positive he won't try and cook me."
She giggled. "I'll be there in ten."
She felt horrible for doing this to him when he was already getting attached, but she had to. She had to own up to what she did, no matter how awkward it would get. She felt so bad that she had felt so good kissing Klaus, and that she had not thought about Tyler – at all – as it happened. She needed to tell him. She couldn't not tell him and be alright with it. In itself, the fact that she had kissed Klaus did not bother her - she was bound to kiss him eventually, seeing how she felt about him -, at least not as much as the fact that she wanted to kiss him again. And again. And once more, just for good measure. Just because.
She hurried along on her way, trying not to think about her bare legs and the movements of her dress, hoping that there would be no gush of wind tonight, or at least none until she was inside. She really wanted to avoid recreating a certain Marilyn Monroe movie scene.
"Hey guys."
She found Stefan in the kitchen, cleaning, and Tyler sitting on a bar stool, fiddling with his phone. He smiled when she entered, and his smile was so infectious she had to smile back, at least a little. "Sorry, I'm late." She put down her bag and took off her shoes, but before Tyler had time to stand and come to her, Stefan appeared before her.
"Klaus give any trouble ?" He asked, pleasantly, eyebrows raised. He had crossed his arms and looked rather upset. Tyler cleared his throat, and she looked from Stefan to him.
"What's going on ?" She frowned.
"Can I talk to you for a bit, Caroline ?" Stefan grabbed her arm softly and lead her to his room -as she passed him, Caroline shot a look at Tyler, unsure of what was happening -, and closed the door. "Caroline, you know that I adore you and that nothing you do or say is ever going to change that. But right now, I just want to shake you and ask you what you think you're doing." Caroline sighed.
"Stefan -"
"You told me, not too long ago, that you had a crush on someone else. This guy, in the kitchen, isn't who you have a crush on. He isn't Klaus. Am I wrong ?"
"No, but Stefan -"
"Then I repeat, what are you doing ?"
"I know, I know. I'm going to tell him about Klaus. I am."
"You'd better."
"What do you think I should do ?"
"Well, if you think that Klaus is worth giving up this good guy who genuinely cares for you, or at least is starting to, then go tell Tyler. But if you believe that consistency is what you need, then please go kiss him, because he really seems to like you. Just follow your heart, Forbes."
"Even if my heart is telling me to choose the wrong guy ? The one that has the potential to hurt me, really badly ?"
"If your heart is telling you to choose that person, then I think he might just be right. At least for now."
Caroline groaned. "Why are you so fucking wise, Stefan Salvatore ?"
"Because I'm awesome."
He kissed the top of her head, and sent her back to the living room. She breathed out and approached the kitchen slowly, carefully. Tyler was waiting on a stool, smiling just a little.
"Hey.", he said, softly. For a second, all that she wanted to do was to hug him and forget about what she'd have to say to him. Grabbing whatever courage she could find, she opened her mouth to speak, but, to her surprise, he spoke before she could.
"Look, Caroline. I'm not a romantic guy. I know what you want to say. I can tell there's someone else. And I'm talking right now, so you don't have to. I want to say that I'm not mad. I see it. You're not fully there with me when we're together. I can tell I'm not your first choice."
"I'm sorry, Tyler. It's really crappy of me to-"
"That's okay. But there's something I want you to know." He put his hands on her cheeks, softly, looking in her eyes. "I'm a good guy. A really good one. I don't play, I don't cheat. I'm committed. And right now, I like you. I like being with you. I like how you're funny, and witty, and feisty, and how you're standing on your own two feet. You are my first choice, even when I'm not. That's enough for me. But if it isn't for you, that's okay."
Caroline Held onto his arm, genuinely sad. She wanted to find excuses, to go back, to tell him what he wanted to hear. "It should be." was all she could manage to get out of her.
"But it isn't." He stood straighter, disappointed.
"No, it isn't. I'm sorry."
"That's okay. Just promise me that if he hurts you, in any way, whoever he is, you'll come to me. Don't be heartbroken on your own. I know you don't need me to hold your hand, but it doesn't mean that it's not good when someone does."
Caroline smiled softly, shaking her head a little. "You really are a good guy."
"I know. Your loss."
They both chuckled before he kissed her cheek and hugged her. "Thank you", he whispered in her ear, "for deciding to tell me. I wasn't sure you would."
"But – if you knew – why did you -?"
"Spend the night with you ?"
"Yeah."
"Because I was selfish. Because I wanted you to see how good it could be with me. I wanted you to see I would still be there in the morning." He smiled, sadly, and left the loft after one last look and one last promise. "You'll call if you need anything ?"
She nodded. She watched him go with some sadness, but her heart had already moved on. Klaus, Klaus, Klaus, it beat. She heard Stefan move behind her and wrapped her in his arms. She felt his familiar warmth around her, and she knew she could find a home with him, even when she did something wrong, even if he didn't approve of what she was doing. She was grateful to him. She stayed there, leaning against him, closing her eyes.
"Stefan ?"
"Yeah ?"
"I am so lucky to have you."
"Yes, you are." She laughed, kissed his hand and drive herself away from him. "Well, wish me luck."
"You don't need luck. You're you. He'd be a fool to turn you away."
She retrieved his address from her phone, and took a cab there. She didn't know how to get there with the subway, nor did she want the hassle. She wanted to get there fast. To be honest, she wanted it over with. She wanted to skip the awkward part, and get right to where they'd left off only two hours ago. She wanted – craved – the intimacy. But once she got to the door, she had to take a second to compose herself. Heart beating like crazy, hands slightly moist, she was so nervous that she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Surely, if her heart was about to stop, this was not the healthy choice. But she had gone so far already. She was too excited to back out. She knocked on his door, trying to keep her breathing pattern as normal as it could get under the circumstances. The seconds she had to see pass by as she waited felt never-ending, but soon, Klaus opened his door. The sight of him very nearly took Caroline's breath away. He had changed his clothes, and was now wearing dark jeans and a grey Henley shirt, which she instantly wanted to tear off him. He looked so good, almost edible. She groaned inwardly, while trying to look detached, amused.
"Caroline." he greeted, genuinely surprised. "How do you know where I live ?"
"You know my cell number, I know your address. We're even."
He laughed, happily, and the sound rang in Caroline's ears. She extended her hand flat before her. "My panties, please." He took her hand with his, and pulled her in, closed the door behind her. "No chance." He leaned in to kiss her, but she dodged him, passed underneath his arm. He turned and warned, playfully : "Caroline."
"Panties, please." She smiled, as innocently as she could, and he had to grab her waist to get her to hold still, even though she still tried to wiggle her way free. "No chance." he repeated before he kissed her, hard, and she had to latch onto him for support again, holding onto his shirt, crushing it between her fingers. She let herself go, completely, for a second or two. But there was something nagging on her mind, though, and she had to get it out of her before she could go any further. That was the deal she had passed with herself in the cab, her one condition to letting herself do what she knew was a mistake. A mistake she very, very much wanted to do, but still one by all accounts. She gently pushed Klaus away, repeating "Wait !" against his mouth. He grunted, unwilling to let her go. "I've waited enough."
"Klaus, please.", she laughed.
"Fine." He pulled away, still pinning her to him with one arm on the small of her back. "Ten seconds." She giggled. "You're a child.", she teased, and he crinkled his nose to make her smile. "Nine.", he continued.
"Okay, okay." She breathed, slowly, in and out, before declaring : "I want a future." He frowned, and started to open his mouth but Caroline put the tip of her fingers on his mouth to shut him up.
"I mean with the firm. I like it there, and that job is everything I dreamed it would be. I want to stay. Can you promise me that what we're about to do here is not going to jeopardize that ?"
"Caroline, you-"
"Don't. Just say it. Say it's not."
"Of course it's not."
"Okay, be-" She hadn't had time to finish her sentence since he had started kissing her again, his fingers dancing on her lower back, but she pushed him away again.
"Do you promise it's not going to change the way we work together ?"
"I do." he breathed, before leaning in again, eyes black with desire, before she pushed him gently away one last time.
"Klaus, I mean it." He looked at her for a second before warning her : "Caroline, if you continue squirming this way, I'm going to have to hold your arms so you can't get away any more."
"Then answer me seriously and I promise I'll behave." She giggled, her face only inches away from his, and she pinched the skin just above his navel. "Stop it.", he growled.
"Tell me."
"Caroline." He became serious, kissing her nose. "My feelings for you, whatever they are, are not going to change the fact that you're someone I take delight in working with. All the things that I have said before are still valid, and they exist beside all the things I will make you yell once I get you in my bed."
"Ooh, I can't wait." She giggled, and this time, when he leaned in, she met him halfway and crushed her lips onto his with equal greed and wanting. She would be unable to say whose tongue entered whose mouth, but the result was mind-blowing, and Caroline found herself panting under Klaus. He pushed her backwards, holding on to her waist with both his hands, and Caroline was soon pinned against a wall, and against the man she wanted so much that it physically hurt her. They stood there, wrapped in their bubble, kissing with such violence that Caroline moaned against Klaus' lips once or twice. She felt him shiver as she did, and his fingers clawed on her skin. She felt so good in his arms, and she was sure that if she closed her eyes, she might actually get lost in him. He was there, against her, so warm, so close, but she felt like he wasn't close enough, not yet. She wanted to be skin against skin, she wanted to see him, to touch him, to realize that he was real and coming alive under her fingertips. She slid her hands under his shirt, fingers wandering around his waist, barely touching, but still she felt the electricity. She was yearning for more, much, much more, and her lust and desire were eating her alive. She realized that, at this point, she needed much more than she wanted; that she could only feel like herself again once she was in his bed, crying out for more. She was light-headed, and her heart was thumping in her chest. She took off Klaus' shirt, and just put her palms on his skin: it seemed on fire, and, as her fingertips explored his chest, she felt that his heartbeat matched her. Erratic, and so out of control. This simple realization unnerved her for a second, and she would have fallen where it not for Klaus holding her tight. They were both out of breath, and Caroline knew that if he didn't take her soon, she would probably lose her mind entirely. Gone, were her worries of propriety and decency and all of the rest. All that was left of her was her heart, in turn beating like a drum or dying between his arms, and her body, which had taken complete control of her. She was alive, she was awake, for what felt like the first time in a long, long time.
His hands were still digging holes on her hips, as if he was afraid that she could vanish at any moment and that he had to do anything to keep her here, but his lips were trailing kisses on her jaw, on her throat, on her neck. They were light, they were hot, and they left a little pink mark that felt like burns. If someone turned out the lights right about now, Caroline was sure she could glow from them. She bit her lip, offering him full access to her skin, only wanting more. He nibbled, grazed, sucked at it, revelling in every sound she was making under his mouth. That, combined with his tongue playing on her skin, kissing, biting, caressing, all of it had Klaus panting. Her head was leaning backwards, eyes half-closed, lips parted. She arched her back against him, and moaned his name in his ear. She saw the shudder more than she felt it, but it pleased her. She liked knowing that she could make him feel this way, and she wanted to see his reaction to everything she wanted to do to him. Her hands found the buckle of his belt, and she quickly opened it, letting it fall between her fingers. She smiled, her gaze never leaving his face. He was looking at her too, leisurely pulling up her dress.
"Klaus ?"
It was a small cry, and Caroline wondered if she hadn't dreamed it. Actually, she was quite sure she had, but she felt Klaus' body tense up against her, and saw his gaze go blank and unreadable. He had turned, very, very slowly, towards the noise. But she couldn't. She still didn't understand. She looked at him, frowning, wondering what was happening. She studied his face for a second before she turned her head towards what he was looking at. She gasped, loudly, as she realized they were not alone any more.
"Camille ?"
Caroline felt Klaus' grip on her loosen, and she took the chance to stand up straight, but there wasn't much room, as he still hadn't moved. She looked from the blond girl in the door-frame, slowly closing the door behind her, to the man her heart was beating so fast for, and who she still had her hands on. She didn't understand what was happening. She registered the look of pain and betrayal in the girl's eyes, but she couldn't get why. Only when she felt Klaus move away from her, only when she heard the words coming out of his mouth - "What are you doing here ?" - did she know there was something very wrong here. The other woman chose not to answer, but simply took a few steps forward and looked Caroline in the eye, but spoke softly, as if she didn't know how to be angry. As if she wasn't hurt.
"I'm sorry, but could I have a moment alone with my fiance, please ?"
Caroline felt like her heart fell and finished in her stomach. She felt sick. "What ?" she whispered, blankly. She looked at Klaus, whose eyes did not move from the girl.
"Ex-fiance." he stated, and extended an arm before Caroline so that she would be trapped and stay where she was. "What ?" she repeated to herself.
"I don't accept that, actually. You don't get to walk out on me. Not like this. Not ever."
Her voice was soft, pleasant. She held herself straight, fierce and proud, as if she knew all the attention fell on her wherever she went, as if she was used to it. She was gorgeous, and tall, and her eyes shined. Caroline realized, with a little pang in her now dying heart, that the two of them, the two women standing in the room, the two women competing for Klaus' attention, looked so much alike. She saw herself in Camille, even if she was sure Camille couldn't see anything past the home wrecker look Caroline would now carry with her for a long, long time.
"Camille." Klaus' low voice felt threatening to Caroline, but Camille waved it away. "Don't Camille me. We've been together for seven years, Nik. Seven years. That's a long time for you to think you can just throw it away on a passing fancy. To think that I wouldn't try to stop you. You don't get to leave for New-York, telling me you'll come back as soon as you can, that you'll come back home and that we will marry in the spring next year, and then be back after a week, one miserable, flimsy week, and – and – and just say you changed your mind !"
She was surprisingly calm, while Caroline felt fear rise in her stomach and panic travel through her veins. Her head ached, and all she wanted was to leave, but she had to lean on the wall for support. How did she get here ? How did she find herself in such a situation ? She tried to stand tall, tried not to wobble on her feet. She forced herself to breathe, in and out, slowly, as Klaus and Camille went on.
"Camille, we weren't – aren't – in love. We're wrong." Klaus pleaded. She scoffed.
"How can you say that, Nik ? How can you look at me and say that we are wrong ? We are not wrong ! We are just easy. We belong together. We fit. We are simple, but that doesn't mean we are not in love !"
"I don't feel love for you, Camille. I feel like you and I are just tolerating each other because we have been told to !"
"Is that how you justify your actions ? Is that what you told that poor girl, there ? She looks like she's seen a ghost, Nik, look at her."
"Leave Caroline out of it." Klaus growled.
"Is that her name ?" Camille's attention shifted from Klaus to Caroline. "I am sorry. I wish you hadn't been witness to any of this, but I couldn't stay away any longer. I couldn't stay quiet and watch him leave me without doing anything. Nik and I are getting married, I'm sure you understand my surprise in finding, well, you here."
"I didn't know." Caroline's words felt like torture out of her mouth, and Camille frowned. "What ?" she inquired, before turning back to Klaus. "You didn't tell her about me, about us?"
"I have to go." Caroline blurted out. All of these words, all of them, turned her organs to shreds. She had to leave. She straightened her dress, and took a few step forwards before Klaus grabbed her arm.
"Don't leave, Caroline. Just, wait. Please." He looked at her, but Caroline couldn't see past her own pain to register his. She yanked her arm away.
"Don't touch me. You have a fiance. You are engaged. Seven fucking years, Klaus. Oh my God." she cried, half-running towards the door. She looked at Camille and whispered before leaving : "I am sorry. I am so, so sorry."
"It's not your fault, but I appreciate it." Camille smiled at her sweetly. She heard another plea from Klaus, but decided to ignore it with as much dignity as she could.
"Caroline, please."
After one last look at Klaus, Caroline turned her back on him and left the penthouse, slamming the door behind her. She couldn't go any further than the lift, though, and let herself fall to the floor, her hands covering the shout coming out of her mouth, tears running free down her cheeks.