Sex was never just sex, she reminded herself as she tightened the drawstrings of her grey sweatpants. She glanced around the steamy locker-room, conscious of the freshly showered women who obviously grew up in naked houses. They looked so free and confident in their bodies and here she was, waiting for the room to empty out so that she could take a shower. It was still crowded, noisy, this was rush hour. Bonnie found an empty seat on a bench where she could remove her sneakers.

"Did you hear?" a blonde said in hushed tones as she leaned over to a redhead and Bonnie's ears immediately pricked up. She was never one for office politics but something made her listen.

"Apparently Klaus Mikaelson is in town to help Hayley streamline the business" the blonde noted, digging into her purse for a tube of lipstick.

"You know what that means, layoffs" the other girl blew a tendril off her face while she slipped into a draped asymmetrical blouse and black pumps that added inches to her tall frame.

"Oh come on, don't be so negative" her friend argued and although Bonnie tried very hard, she couldn't place them in any of the departments at the paper. They probably worked on the fourteenth floor otherwise known as Moda magazine. She couldn't comprehend why they would be bothered about the office politics of the newspaper until she remembered that the paper owned Moda magazine.

"Klaus Mikaelson is the director of operations for a newspaper owned by his family. He has the mandate to do whatever he likes and I hear he's a ballbuster" the blonde picked up her brush and ran it through her hair, her eyes fixed on her friend. "We would've been better off if Elijah had come down, he's more diplomatic"

Her redhead friend waved off her assumptions with her hand and squealed, "Did you see that younger one, the prodigal son?"

"Kol Mikaelson? Hmm, he's as hot as fuck and smells like sin" her blue eyes dazzled immediately and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"The things I'd like to do to him" they continued, their office gossip now centered around the hedonistic Kol Mikaelson whom she'd had the pleasure of kissing, in a bathroom stall at Daniel's no less. She cleared her throat, unable to stomach anymore of their conversation. Her heart was pounding under the cool cotton of her white tank top, the damp fabric sticking to her shoulder blades. She tried to shake off the memory of that kiss but everytime she closed her eyes, he was there breathing against the nape of her neck.

She needed to get it together because the last thing she wanted was to become tangled up in some office scandal.

..

"How's our resident sexpert doing this morning?"

Bonnie glanced up from her laptop to find Damon Salvatore leaning against the grey felt of her cubicle.

"Salvatore" she hissed, her eyes following him as he strolled into her cubicle, "What do you want?"

"I read your new article, steamy stuff. It might make people think you know what you're talking about" he cocked his head and folded his arms. Sitting back in her chair, she watched him through a fringe of eyelashes and waited for him to finish.

"See, that's why I'm the relationship expert, I'm a qualified psychologist" he said and she pursed her lips, "what are you, some wet behind the ears bumpkin from Nebraska?"

"West Virginia, actually" Bonnie corrected him. Her article must've been better than she had imagined if the likes of Damon Salvatore were raining on her parade.

"You're such a bottom feeding Neanderthal" she said, hands clasped together as her eyes roamed over his trying too-hard-suit.

"I hear congratulations are in order" Katherine popped her head through the entrance and waved a bottle of champagne in her hand.

"Apparently your article is so good; it has Hayley soaking her panties" her brunette friend laughed and plunked the bottle on top of her desk, right next to the bouquet of wilting roses she'd bought to perk herself after the Kol Mikaelson disaster.

"Thank you, "Bonnie smiled, more than a little pleased with the reviews.

"Where did you steal the bubbly?" she asked pulling her drawer open and plucking out two paper cups which clearly excluded Damon.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" Katherine's eyes lit up as she popped the champagne, silently and efficiently like a true party girl. She wrote a column for the entertainment section on the newspaper which meant that she had the golden key to most exclusive venues in Manhattan. Bonnie watched as she poured the alcohol into their paper cups, Damon craning his neck behind Katherine. He cleared his throat as the girls lifted the glasses.

"What's the matter Damon, thirsty?" Bonnie cocked an eyebrow, dipping her finger in the champagne before bringing it to her mouth. With a snort, he left and let the two of them giggling like school girls.

"To another titillating article!" Katherine raised her glass to toast Bonnie.

"Here, here" she smiled and took a big sip. Drinking champagne during office hours was becoming quite a habit and she wasn't complaining.

"I had the most amazing night ever!" Kat quickly squealed and Bonnie smiled trying to psych herself up for another of Katherine's adventurous stories. Katherine was her confident friend, the thrill seeker with a blurred moral code who happened to like dating Wall Street types. Bonnie wished she could be as uninhibited as Katherine, maybe then she'd have the guts to actually do something about Kol.

"There's a saints and sinners party at R.I.P this Thursday" she said as she made her way toward the exit leaving the rest of the champagne with Bonnie.

"What's R.I.P?"

"It's a club where morals go to die" she replied and Bonnie rolled her eyes at the obvious cliché.

"I have three tickets" Katherine yelled over the mini walls of cubicles.

"Count me in" Bonnie shouted back over a chorus of ringing telephones, computers and noisy fax machines. Maybe a party would do her some good, she thought as she leaned back against her chair. Perhaps, she'd even find some inspiration for her next article. She eyed the opened bubbly again and slipped a spoon inside it. She hoped that it would keep until home time but she had her doubts.

..

Caroline was never one to spend a work night at a boyfriend's place but Bonnie figured that since Tyler stayed in Brooklyn, the blonde would've been too weary to take a cab all the way to the East Village. She dragged a manicured finger down the post it note that Caroline had left then swung the refrigerator door open to chill the champagne. She was in the process of thumbing through a takeout menu when the intercom buzzed, jerking her awake. Checking the time on the microwave, she hesitated toward the door and picked up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Bonnie, it's me" a male voice drawled in her ear with a distinct English brogue and her pulse started up but she suppressed the anxiety in her voice.

"Who, James Bond?" she tried to sound flirtatious as heat rushed to her face.

"Is this a game we're playing, like the spy who shagged you?"

"No, more like Gold finger"

He chuckled and her cheeks flushed, happy to see she had an effect on him. "Open up, please" he said and immediately ignited a spark in her groin.

"I might get mugged down here" he protested and Bonnie giggled.

"It's the East Village, the worst they could do is drag you to a party" sighing, she unraveled her ponytail and dragged a finger along the front of her teeth.

"Let me in, sweetheart" he begged again and she groaned, picturing his dazzling smile. Swiping a tongue along her lower lip, she drummed her fingers on the wall next to the intercom and then as her heart shot to her throat, pushed the button to open the gate downstairs. She took a deep breath, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear then leaned against the door.

Slowly she unlatched the three locks on her door and pressed her forehead against its wood before stepping back. When the door swung open, she caught her breath, her eyes colliding with his.

"You look gorgeous" Kol said moving towards her.

"Thank you" she replied under her breath. His gaze slid down her body and she followed his eyes. Silently, she groaned when she realized that she was wearing an old pair of yoga pants and a tattered Guns n Roses tee-shirt.

"I brought you a gift" he gestured to the Hermes shopping bag in his right hand.

"Seems I've been getting plenty of those today" she shrugged but her eyes were already trained to the package, her mind reeling as to what it contained. As if reading her thoughts, Kol pulled out an Aztec motif printed scarf and handed it to her. While she was still entranced by the glorious silk of her new scarf, he placed another horse print scarf in her hand, then dozens of canary yellow chiffons and nautical print scarfs. Finally, he draped her old scarf around her neck, then held her there and stroked the underside of her jaw.

"You…uhm…thank you"

"Anytime" he dragged his finger down the curve of her neck, to the hollow between her collarbones.

"I'm not going to fuck you" he suddenly confessed, breathing against her neck and a ripple tingled up her spine and made her skin shiver.

"Not yet, "When his lips grazed the spot between her neck and her earlobe, she emitted a strangled moan and it took all her strength to give him a gentle push.

"Right, you're just gonna mind-fuck me until I learn to like it" she brushed her hair off her face and gave him a pointed look.

"Is that what you think this is?" his look was set between confusion and amusement. Rapidly moving away from him, Bonnie glanced back and asked,

"Isn't it?"

"No" one corner of his lips edged upwards and she smiled against her better judgement.

"What do you want from me Kol?" she asked, placing the scarves on a nearby couch.

He crowded toward her again and cradled the back of her neck with both hands, "I thought we'd already established that"

"The thing about casual sex is that it has to please both parties" she raised her chin an inch and gazed deeply into his golden brown eyes.

"Is that in the rule book?" he looked amused with her pedantic nature and Bonnie bucked up, a smile spreading her lips.

"It's in my rule book" she said, the overhead light dancing in his eyes making her breath hitch. Kol's fingers grazed over her chin, his thumb running across his lower lip and his gaze intent.

"Would you like to fuck me?" he asked, parting her lips ever so gently, the action tightening her chest.

"Does the thought of me inside you make you wet?" he murmured and slowly his fingers traced neck, trailing down to the swell of her breasts. "Me…hard, throbbing…deep inside your wet…"

Bonnie gasped when his hands skimmed her waist, the slipped under her tee-shirt and made her shiver, "Does the thought of me thrusting …pushing, plunging inside you…does it make you wanna cum?"

Feathering over her rib cage, his fingertips traced a line back to her breasts where they fingered her bra, "You should come out with me" he whispered in her ear, "Come have lunch with me"

"Come have drinks with me" his teeth tugged at her earlobe while he rolled her hardened nipples between his fingers, and she felt her legs give way "Come with me, Bonnie"

When he felt her body respond, he paused to rest his forehead against hers. She heard him breathe as if he was recollecting himself and then he drew back and smiled,

"Come, adventure waits" he said, stretching out his hand for her.

"Where're we going?" she stammered, her pulse still erratic. Her eyes darted from him and back to her ratty tee-shirt.

"Change clothes and meet me downstairs" he told her and shut the door behind him.

..

After carefully considering the odds of staying at home for another evening as opposed to a night out with a gorgeous English man, she found herself in a Soho nightclub with Kol.

They were seated inside a caged VIP area, lounging back on white pleather banquettes and sipping on Veuve Clicquot. Bonnie' eyes kept flicking up to the gilded mirrors and the twinkling chandeliers looming above them. The DJ was spinning some energetic house tracks and a spirited crowd was dancing inside a sunken dance floor, crowned with a glittering disco ball.

"What's your name?" Kol's voice jolted her awake. A tall brunette was seated across the mini table, chewing on a swizzle stick.

"Sophie Deveraux" she purred, directing her eyes to Kol.

"Sophie, this is Liz and my name is John" Kol placed a hand over Bonnie's knee and she gave him a nervous smile over the rim of her champagne glass.

"Where are you guys from?" she leaned closer, her eyes flitting to Bonnie.

"Do you know how to ruin a party, Sophie?"

She shook her head, her gaze sparking between him and Bonnie.

"By breaking anonymity" Kol told her before turning his attention back to Bonnie. He stroked her cheek, his gaze dancing on her face and addressed Sophie again even though he didn't turn to look at her,

"Why don't you dance with Liz?" he asked and Bonnie's pulse hastened. She already knew what he was thinking and the thought intrigued her.

"You won't be joining us?" Sophie asked, somewhat hurt by this revelation. Rising to her feet, Bonnie offered her an outstretched hand and smiled.

"He likes to watch" she told her and glanced back at Kol who nodded, raising his glass to toast them.

"I like to watch" he repeated as the girls ventured down to the dance floor.

Bonnie knew he was watching as they pushed past the crowds, strangers' elbows digging into her ribs, and the swell of the mob pushing them to the centre of the dance floor.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Sophie asked, throwing her arms around Bonnie's neck.

"Uhm…yes" she lied because she didn't want her setting her sights on Kol. They moved to the music, silently starring at each other as the champagne gave Bonnie liquid courage. Sophie's hands skimmed Bonnie's waist, slid around to the small of her back and drew her closer.

"You're beautiful" she told Bonnie and then pushed her hair off her face.

"Thank you" her voice trembled, lower lip snared between her teeth but she didn't stop moving her hips.

"I think your boyfriend really is watching"

"I think he wants you to kiss me" her confession startled her and she could tell it amused Sophie.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't kiss me because you think it's what he wants, kiss me because you want to" Sophie held her chin and Bonnie's gaze slid down to the other girls mouth. With the tip of her tongue, she moistened her lips and leaned closer to Sophie. She was petrified but a part of her wanted to experience this freedom, this free-fall and the need to kiss this stranger increased exponentially.

"I want to kiss you" she whispered, the tip of her nose grazing the girl's nose. Before she could rethink her decision and with a swelling crowd of dances around them, Sophie kissed her. Her kiss was soft and warm, almost lazy as she stroked slow fingers through Bonnie's hair.

When they eventually broke the kiss, Bonnie's eyes flickered up to the VIP cage where Kol had been watching. He was still there, a curious smile on his face as he raised his glass.