Long chapter, you're welcome :-)

To Feel - Part 5

I try to put my encounter with Klaus out of mind for as much as possible. It was hard to focus on school on Wednesday.

During the day, all I was thinking about was seeing Klaus in art history. I saw him like three times before class, just walking through the halls or in the cafeteria. I had never seen him just walking around school before. Maybe now that I was hyper aware of him, I was seeing him everywhere?

But there was ultimately no point in stressing over it. When I walked into art, he was sitting in his regular seat at the back of the class. He didn't look up. At the end of class he stood and walked out, never sparing so much as a glance my way.

At practice, I was also hyper aware of Rebekah. I knew she didn't know about my agreement with Klaus (or did she?), but I felt like she was staring at me more.

"You actually did it?" Elena gasps. She had been wondering why I was so antsy and I finally caved and told her. I didn't tell her Klaus would be coming over tomorrow, though.

"I said I would, didn't I?" I shrug.

"And he said yes?"
I nod.

Again, we were stretching at the end of practice. We moved away from the larger group of cheerleaders so we could talk more in private.

"And you're for sure going to go through with it?"

"Yes, 'Lena. I'm committed to this."

She sighs heavily. "As your best friend, I think it's my responsibility to tell you that you're making a big mistake."

"Thank you for your input," I reply, genuinely grateful. "But, honestly, I really think I need this. And from the couple of minutes I had to talk to him, I don't think it'll be that bad. He doesn't seem totally terrible."

"I don't know…" she trails off. "I've heard some things."

"Well, keep 'em to yourself. I already talked to him, I'm not backing out."

When Klaus comes to pick Rebekah up, I make it a point to not pay attention. I focus on stretching super well, and by the time I look up, he's gone.

I let out a breath.

Thursday isn't any better.

If anything, it was worse.

Again I had to consciously put in effort into focusing in school and not thinking about Klaus. Again, he didn't spare me a glance in class.

At the end of the day I hurried to my locker and grabbed all of my books and stuff and went out to my car.

I had turned sixteen a few weeks before and had gotten my license that same day. A week later, I got home and saw a new car in the driveway. My mom and dad had gotten it for me, and I was very grateful.

I dropped everything in the back seat and pulled out of the parking lot quickly to avoid the after school traffic.

Mystic Falls was a small town, so everything was relatively close. I lived about ten minutes away from school, so I was home in no time.

I hadn't exactly told Klaus at what time to get here, I had just told him after school. So I assumed I had maybe half an hour before he arrived.

With that in mind I did my best to tidy everything up, making sure the living room looked presentable and the kitchen was clean. I finally went into my room, making my bed and put away some of the random stuff strewn over my desk and floor.

Just as I'm finishing up, the doorbell rings.

I jump, slightly surprised. I had gotten so caught up in stress cleaning that I didn't even realize the time. As I'm leaving my room I pass by a mirror and do my best to make myself presentable.

My hair is half up in a bun so I just make sure the hair that is down wasn't too tangled. I pull my maroon long sleeve down a little, adjusting my bra. Then I dust off my skinny jeans and take a deep breath, heading down the stairs.

Klaus is standing at my doorstep. We have a glass window on our door which was usually covered by two little white curtains. They are current pulled aside.

His hands are clasped behind his back and he's looking down at his feet. When he catches sight of me moving towards him, he looks up, almost stopping me in my tracks.

I knew this before, but Klaus Mikaelson was hot.

Ruggedly, beautifully hot.

I reach the door and pull it open. He smirks.

"Hi," I breath, realizing I'm slightly breathless.

"Good afternoon, love."

Jesus H. Christ did he just say love?! And when did he get polite?

"Good afternoon," I repeat his greeting. "Come in." I step aside and open the door wider.

He nods, stepping inside. I close the door behind him.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" I fall into my default hostess mode.

"I'm fine," he shakes his head, offering a small smile.

"Okay," I nod, rolling back and forth on my heels.

"How has your day been?"

I'm slightly confused as to why he's making small talk. "It's been good. What about yours?" And why am I continuing it?

He smirks, again looking like he knows something I don't. "Rather pleasant."

"Oh, good then," I reply. "So…what are we doing today?"

He chuckles, shaking his head slightly. "You aren't very patient, are you?"

"It's not one of my outstanding virtues, no."

Another chuckle. I'm glad I amuse him so much.

He holds out a hand towards the rest of the house. "Then lead the way."

"Where?"

"Wherever you feel most comfortable for this."

"Oh," I blink. We're getting down to it, aren't we? "My room, I guess."

I walk ahead of him, leading him up the stairs and into my room.

He walks in behind me and looks around, taking in the pictures on my walls, the books in my bookshelf, the homework on my desk. I watch as he looks, leaning against the edge of my bed.

"Nice room," he comments, turning to me.

"Uh, thanks," I say, then look towards the bed. "Wanna sit?" He should get acquainted with my bed since that's where it's going to happen, right?

He nods and I sat on the edge of the mattress. He sits next to me and I kick off my sneakers, turning and crossing my legs to face him.

"So, what are we doing?"

Another chuckle, another shake of the head. He runs a hand through his hair and then looks over at me.

"Today, we're going to kiss."

"Kiss?" What? But, I thought we were gonna…

"Yes, kiss," he nods. "You are familiar with the term, right?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I know what kissing is. But why?"

"Well," he starts. "Kissing is usually the first step towards physical intimacy. Once you feel comfortable kissing someone, you will most likely feel more comfortable doing…other things."

I let what he's just said sink in, and figure that he actually has a valid point. "So we're just kissing today?"

"Yes," he nods, an amused smirk taking shape on his lips.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Okay," I nod in return, taking note of how I can suddenly breathe a little easier.

"So… kiss me," he says expectantly.

"Wait, why do I have to kiss you? Why can't you kiss me?"

"You're the one asking for my…services," he adds the last part with a smirk and I snort.

"Fine," I agree. But then I don't really know what to do. As sexist as this sounds, I'd always thought the guy had to initiate the first kiss. Then again, I had proposed sex to Klaus, why should initiating a kiss be any different?

I scoot a little closer to him so that my knee is touching his thigh. He holds still, a small smirk still on his lips.

So I lean forward and close my eyes, pressing my lips to his.

The first thing I notice is that his lips are softer than I thought they would be. The second thing I notice is that Klaus, more specifically his lips, aren't moving. I kiss him for a few seconds, attempting to elicit some sort of reaction, but he remains still.

I pull away and open my eyes, looking up at Klaus, expecting him to look unimpressed.

Instead, there's a hint of a smile on his lips.

"What?" I ask, feeling very self conscience.

"That was sweet," he says, his smile growing wider.

And for some reason, his words make me feel ten times more self conscience. I feel my cheeks flame, surely turning bright red. So I tuck my chin into my chest and bite my lip, looking down at the comforter, not really knowing what to say.

"Hey," he says, and I feel his fingertips under my chin, pulling my face up so that I'm looking at him again. "That's not a bad thing."

"I didn't think it was, I just…" I didn't really know what to think. All I could think about was how Klaus had slept with other girls who were much more experienced than I, and when they kissed him, he probably didn't think it was "sweet". They were probably able to get them to kiss them back on the first kiss. "Nothing, never mind."

He narrows his eyes at me, clearly seeing through my bullshit.

"For the record, I prefer 'sweet' to 'mauling my face'."

It's like he's read my mind.

I'm pretty sure I laugh because I'm nervous and hyper sensitive, not because what he's said is actually funny. But when I open my eyes he has a small smile on his face again, and I decide to take his word for it.

"So you're saying I was good?"

His lips twitch and he speaks again. "Delectable."

Queue tomato-faced Caroline.

"That was good for a first kiss," he goes on to say. His hands drop away from my face. "Now, kiss me again, but with a little more passion."

"Passion?" I try the word out. Of course I had heard it before and knew what it meant, but I had never made out with someone passionately.

"Just kiss me and follow my lead," he says and I nod. Okay.

We're close enough now that I don't have to physically move. Without really thinking about it, I reach up and slide a hand around the side of his neck so that his hair it tickling the end of my fingertips.

I lean in and capture his lips again, starting the kiss just like I started the first one. The difference this time is that he kisses me back, and I almost pull away because I hadn't been expecting it.

But instead of pulling away, I scoot closer, lean in a bit more.

And his hands are resting on my waist.

After a couple of seconds, I feel his hot breath against my lips, his tongue swiping over my bottom lip.

And everything is so warm and wet and heavenly that I moan into his mouth, which apparently Klaus likes because I feel his fingers flex into my sides and he presses against me even more.

Then, as easy as breathing, I slide onto his lap, straddling his legs, never pulling away from his lips.

It's a heady feeling, kissing Klaus Mikaelson. He runs the tip of his tongue down the center of my pallet, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine. I nip at his lips and stroke at his tongue with my own, his response evident as his grip on me tightens and his chest rumbles with deep moans.

Suddenly his lips are no longer on mine, but they're on my jaw, behind my ear. He sucks gently on the skin there, and I tilt my head a little to give him better access.

"When breathing becomes hard," he mumbles against my skin, skimming the side of my neck with his lips. "You can move to kiss your partner here," he stops right where my shoulder meets my neck, lavishing the little area of skin with his kisses. "Or here," he says as he moves to my collar bone, the scrape of his teeth causing me to gasp in surprise. "It allows you to replenish your oxygen."

My fingers are woven into his hair now, and I scratch his scalp lightly with my nails, causing him to bite down a little harder on my skin.

I give his hair a little tug, his head falling back and away from his ministrations on my neck.

"Screw oxygen," I say before latching onto his lips again. I can tell he likes my abrasiveness because his arms fully encircle my waist, and I'm pressed completely against him. Well, he told me to be passionate.

And we kiss like that for a few minutes – all tongues and teeth and heavy breaths.

But I can't keep it up because I already feel like this is turning into a more physical territory, which is something Klaus had said we weren't going to do today.

He seems to pick up on it too, because after a while his arms loosen around my waist and he brings one hand up to cup my jaw, his thumb running back and forth over my cheek.

I get what he's communicating immediately, slowing the kiss down before pulling away.

I sit back on his lap and open my eyes. His eyes are still closed.

He's taking deep breaths, keeping his eyes clenched shut, so I waited for him to…finish whatever he's doing.

When he opens his eyes, I bite my lip. Nervous habit.

"Well?"

"That was…definitely not sweet."

"Was it okay?"

"Okay? Caroline, that was…more than okay. That was good. That was great. We can definitely cross kissing off our to-do list."

I'm assaulted by a round of nervous giggles.

When I come to, I stare down at my lap. More like Klaus's lap.

Then I looked up at Klaus, feeling myself flush. Again.

"Sorry," I apologize, scrambling off his lap and back onto the safety of my bed. "I got a little carried away."

"There's no need to apologize, sweetheart." His voice was so goddamn smooth.

"Okay," I say, not really knowing what else to say.

"Alright," he nods, getting to his feet.

"You're leaving?"

He tilts his head to the side, the ever present smirk returning to his lips. "We kissed didn't we?"

"We did…"

"And that was all I had planned for today."

"Right," I nod, trying not to sound disappointed. A quick glance at my bedside clock lets me know that Klaus has been here for almost an hour. "I'll walk you out?"

He steps aside, sweeping his hand in front of him. "Lead the way."

I stand up too, leaving my shoes by my bed and just walking through the house with socks. I walk back down the stairs and lead him to the door, opening it for him.

"When are we going to meet again?" I ask as he gets to the porch.

"When are you available?"

"Next Tuesday I don't have practice," I comment, thinking about other days when we can meet.

"Tuesday it is."

"But wait, aren't you busy or anything? We can meet on some other day?" I know he's just agreed to meet on Tuesday, but I feel like I'm not taking his own schedule into consideration.

He shakes his head. "Tuesday is fine."

"Then I'll see you on Tuesday."

"Have a good weekend, Caroline," he nods before walking off my porch. I close the door, and lean against it and think about how great of a kisser Klaus is.

Next chapter spoiler: "Come over here and warm me up, then."