AUTHOR'S NOTE: I managed to write this chapter despite having a busy schedule. This chapter is also longer than usual and I'm planning to keep it at this length or more from now on. Let me know what you think! Lastly, this story managed to read 50 reviews! Thank you so much to also those who left me comments/criticisms it really means a lot to me and it motivates me to write even more. Thank you also to Marsterroo for being my beta. Alright, I won't make this long anymore, happy reading and I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter!
She continued to dab her white handkerchief on Nik's cut hoping to stop the bleeding. As she held onto her dozing friend as well as aiding Nik, she thought about how horrible this night had turned. She felt guilty for dragging her roommates and Katherine into her mess. Damon would probably be pissed at her for having Stefan interrupt whatever he was doing with a lady he had picked up from the club. She sighed silently in her thoughts, but before she could feel any guiltier, Damon and Stefan rushed to her side.
"Well, I owe you for this one Blondie." Damon said, grabbing Katherine off Caroline's arms and triggering the alarm in his car opening the door for all of them.
"Wait. You mean you're not mad?" Caroline gasped.
"Mad? No! I was grinding with this chick unfortunately she has a jealous boyfriend and the dude was about to throw a fit at me. Luckily, baby brother here pulled me out of the crowd and told me what happened. We ran outside as fast as we could." Damon explained animatedly.
"Thank you, although I'm really sorry for ruining everyone's night." She turned around and gave everyone an apologetic look.
"It's cool, Care. We've been through a whole lot worse." Stefan assured, patting her on the back and helping her get inside the car.
Damon started the car as soon as everyone was settled and buckled up. He looked in the rearview mirror catching Caroline's gaze.
"So, are we dropping off your friend? Or you know, she can stay with us at the loft. There's an extra room there." Damon smirked.
"Ummm. I think it's best for Kat to be at her place, she still needs to check in on the firm on Saturdays."
"Alright then, lead the way Blondie." Damon said, steering the wheel and driving them to Katherine's apartment.
"And we're here."
Nik and Damon looked around their surroundings obviously not used to the scene in Williamsburg. The place was filled with walls of graffiti and homeless gypsies lurking around. This is obviously not the safest place in New York at night. The duo decided to help Caroline get Katherine out of the car and bring her safely inside her apartment.
"Do you need any help?" Nik offered.
"Yeah sure, thanks." Caroline replied, avoiding Nik's intense stare.
"Alright, me and Stefan will just grab some tacos real fast, want anything Blondie?" Damon asked, unknowingly cockblocking Nik and Caroline.
"No thank you." Caroline replied.
Nik carried Katherine in bridal style silently as he watched Caroline lead the way and admired her from behind. Once they reached Katherine's floor, he brought her left arm to his shoulder while Caroline took the other. He watched Caroline struggle to search for Katherine's key inside her purse and once she found it she immediately opened the door for them to come inside.
"You can put her in bed, down the hall… gently please." Caroline said before she made her way to the kitchen to make some tea. "Do you want anything?"
"I'm good, but thanks. We wouldn't want to keep the brothers waiting." Nik replied after he left Katherine sleeping soundly on her bed. "We should get going now."
"I was thinking of spending the night with Kat, you know to make sure she wakes up on time for work and all that. I'll be home tomorrow morning. Send my regards to Stefan and Damon."
"Yes of course, I'll see you tomorrow love. Or if you're technical about it, I'll see you later." Nik chuckled as he made his way to the door.
"Thank you again Nik even though it wasn't necessary." Caroline smiled. "Take care of that wound of yours." She said wiping the blood that trickled down Nik's wound before closing and locking the door behind him.
The morning after the hectic night, Caroline was up early. She decided to make breakfast for her and Katherine. Once she was done, she went back to her friend's room to check up on her only to notice that the bed was empty and Katherine was already awake.
"Good morning sunshine, you're up early," Caroline said enthusiastically, while leaning on the doorframe.
"My head is throbbing. What happened last night?" Katherine groaned.
"Come on, we'll discuss this over breakfast and let's get you ready for work," Caroline said, dragging Katherine out of her room and into the kitchen.
"So all that happened last night?" Katherine asked in surprise.
"It was pretty intense. I'm just glad Damon and the others weren't mad at me for spoiling their night," Caroline sighed.
"Tell me about it. Although I'm really sorry about Tyler, I wish I would have been there for you to kick his butt," Katherine said, while chewing on her bacon.
"It's fine. Nik took care of him anyway."
"Speaking of, what's the deal between you two anyway?" Katherine furrowed her brow.
"Nothing! I barely know Nik, he's nothing but a housemate," Caroline choked on her orange juice upon hearing Katherine's question.
"I see the way he looks at you Care, I'm pretty sure he considers you more than a housemate." She snickered.
"You have a wild imagination Kat, it's nothing like that." Caroline rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat, grabbing Katherine's plate and placing them in the sink. "You should get ready for work."
While Katherine was in the bathroom taking a shower, Caroline rummaged through her friend's closet for something to wear. She wanted to visit the firm and drop off Lexi's favorite latte as a little thank you gift for referring her to the loft. She found a sheer sleeveless top, and medium-washed jeans. Smiling she grabbed her outfit of the day.
Patiently waiting for Katherine to get out of the bathroom, she searched her purse to look for a certain business card. She found what she was looking for and held onto it tightly. It read Galen Vaughn, Senior Partner at Saltzman & Sommers. She was looking at the number written on the card and contemplating if she should give him a call. She was slowly dialing his number on her phone but erased it immediately, thinking about what happened last night, she figured he didn't want anything to do with her. Before she could do anything she'd regret, Katherine interrupted her thoughts.
"Are you going to use the bathroom?" Katherine asked, as she dried her hair.
"Yep. I borrowed some clothes, I hope you don't mind." Caroline sheepishly smiled at her friend.
When Caroline was done getting ready, she and Katherine went on their way to the law firm. They both decided to take a cab, as they were both too tired to get shoved in the subway. Caroline told the driver to drop her off the nearby coffee shop hoping to grab some coffee for Katherine and Lexi. Once she got her order, she went up to the law firm Lexi and Katherine worked at.
"Good morning Dana, can I drop something off for Katherine and Lexi?" Caroline greeted the floor's secretary.
"Sure thing Caroline," Dana smiled, letting Caroline come inside.
Caroline looked around the floor, seeing all the busy associates and paralegals carrying heavy files and obviously lacking sleep. This familiar scenario reminded her of all those times she would visit Tyler at his firm. All these lawyers roaming around made her think about her ex-boyfriend and their encounter last night even more. She was fighting the urge to cry as her emotions began to overwhelm her. Before she could even breakdown to tears a familiar accent and voice called her name.
"Caroline, it's a surprise seeing you here." The Scottish accent said.
"Galen… Hi." Caroline replied shyly.
"What brings you here? Surely you're not interested in the law scene." Galen chuckled as he admired the bashful blonde in front of him.
"I was just dropping these off for my friends and then I'll be on my way." Caroline said, pointing at the coffee carrier she was holding.
"I was actually on my way out too. How about we grab some lunch?" Galen asked.
"Uhhh yeah sure… I guess lunch sounds nice. Let me just drop these off." Caroline agreed.
"Excellent. I'll meet you down in the lobby," Galen smiled as he mouthed a "see you later to her."
Caroline went on her way to Katherine and Lexi's cubicle trying to hide her slight excitement with her impromptu lunch with Galen. She briskly walked around the floor's hallway sighing in relief as she finally reached their cubicle.
"That took you long enough," Lexi said, grabbing the coffee carrier from Caroline's hand and taking her drink. "Thanks for this Care."
"No problem Lexi, thanks for referring me to Stefan. The boardinghouse is great!" Caroline smiled, taking the last coffee from the carrier and placing it on Katherine's table.
"No problem girly, let's grab some lunch with Stef and Kat soon okay?" Lexi winked before getting back to her work.
Caroline was about to be on her way to meet with Galen when she bumped into Katherine.
"Why were you talking to that Scottish guy from last night?" Katherine interrogated as she cornered her.
"He saw me delivering your coffee and he approached me." Caroline raised her arms in defense.
"I have a bad feeling about that guy Care, remember he got us drunk last night and he was planning on taking you to his apartment." Katherine warned her.
"Relax Kat. I know last night was crazy but nothing happened between us. We were just going to grab some lunch. I promise you I'll go straight home afterwards," Caroline responded to her friend's warning.
"I'm just looking out for you. Remember the last person you dated was a lawyer and look how that turned out," Katherine warned again.
"Wow that's really sensitive of you." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I appreciate you caring for me but I can handle this okay. You should get back to your work," She scoffed and made her way out of the law firm as soon as possible leaving a speechless Katherine behind her.
Upon reaching the lobby, Caroline searched for her ruggedly handsome and charming companion. Before her eyes could wander any farther, she saw him patiently waiting for her on one of the lounges. As soon as she saw him, she smiled and walked towards him.
"I was thinking you weren't going to show up," Galen said as he stood up to greet Caroline.
"Sorry, I got held up," Caroline explained.
"No worries, let's get going." Galen said extending his arm to Caroline for her to hold onto.
Galen led Caroline to his car. He opened and closed the door for his bombshell companion.
"So Caroline, you're a New Yorker, where's the best place to eat here?" Galen asked.
Caroline smiled and lunged forward to the driver's seat and whispered to his chauffeur where they were going. The chauffeur nodded and immediately started the engine to take them to their destination.
The ride was silent and Galen grew curious as to where Caroline planned on taking him. He stared at his companion on his right and admired how serene she looked while she was looking out the window. He wanted to hold her hand immediately but he didn't want to scare the blonde away. Before his thoughts could wander to what else he wanted to do to Caroline, he was caught off guard when his companion excitedly yelled.
"We're here! Mr. Chauffeur can drop us here." Caroline clasped her hands and immediately unlocked the door.
Galen was amused with his companion and smiled to himself. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door for Caroline.
"Central park huh? This is a nice choice, Caroline. Where are we eating? Italian? French? Japanese?" Galen laughed.
"Better than all the things you said!" Caroline giggled and grabbed Galen's hand dragging him to the park.
"A hotdog stand?" Galen said in shock.
"Don't say it like that! Central Park has the best hotdogs in the state. And it's supposed to be the first thing you ever try when you go to New York," Caroline said enthusiastically.
"I trust your instinct on this," Galen replied, getting the hotdogs and paying the vendor.
Caroline led Galen to one of the benches in Central Park so they could eat their meal while they enjoyed the surroundings around them. As they sat down on their bench, she watched Galen with an intense stare as he took a bite of his first Central Park hotdog, Caroline patiently waited to see his reaction.
"This is really good, Caroline," Galen said after he swallowed his first bite.
"I told you so!" Caroline exclaimed as if she just won an award.
As they continued their lunch, they also talked about the things going on in their lives. Galen explained how he used to live in London and worked in one of the most prestigious law firms but was transferred here to New York. When it was Caroline's turn, she told him about her quest of living an independent life and her settlement at the boardinghouse outside the city.
Caroline looked at her watch and noticed how long they had been sitting on the bench. She quickly stood up from her seat almost spilling her drink.
"I didn't notice it was so late already. I had a great time but I really should get going," Caroline explained.
"I had a lovely time too, Caroline. I can give you a ride back to the suburbs," Galen offered.
"Thank you, but I think I'm in the mood for the subway," Caroline responded as she threw her trash in the garbage bin.
"Nonsense. It would be rude of me not to bring you home, after taking so much of your time," Galen insisted.
Caroline knew that it was useless to argue with him, and simply nodded following him back to his car. Caroline gave his chauffeur the directions to the boardinghouse and he immediately drove outside the city. She smiled at Galen, thanking him for his kind gesture and in return he held her hand and she didn't seem to mind.
After a few minutes, they finally reached the loft and before Caroline could open the door for herself, being the gentleman that he was, Galen opened the door for her. He even walked her to the front door.
"Thank you for today Caroline. I had a really wonderful time. Maybe we could do this again, over dinner?" Galen asked.
She just blushed at his question and simply nodded. "I think that'll be great. Here's my number." She grabbed his phone from his pocket, causing him to flinch at her daring move and punched in her number. "I guess I'll see you soon then?"
"Most definitely," Galen replied, softly kissing Caroline on the cheek and smirking at himself as soon as he noticed the blonde blushing.
"I… I should get inside," Caroline said, trying her best to hide the flush in her cheeks.
Caroline closed the door behind her and was eager to go inside her room for a well-deserved rest. But as soon as she got inside the loft, she immediately saw one of her roommates who looked like he had been waiting for her the whole afternoon.
"Whose car was that?" Nik hissed.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Nik," Caroline replied sarcastically, ignoring her housemate's tone as she made her way to her room.
"Your friend called. She was looking for you," Nik said, sipping his bourbon.
"I'll give her a call later, and isn't it too early for you to be drinking that stuff?" Caroline asked trying to hide the bottle of bourbon from her housemate.
"Oh come on Caroline, loosen up a bit. I liked you better when you were intoxicated last night," Nik laughed, stealing his bourbon back from Caroline.
"Fine, do what you want Nik," she yelled, surrendering the bottle of alcohol to him. "Where are Stefan and Damon anyway?"
"Damon is god knows where, and Stefan's off dealing with one of his charities," He replied.
"Don't you ever get tired of just staying at home doing absolutely nothing?" Caroline questioned, approaching her housemate closer and sitting next to him on the couch.
"On the contrary love, I've been pretty busy lately," Nik replied arrogantly.
"And what is occupying the great ol' Teflon slacker?" Caroline said, imitating Nik's accent.
"I can show you if you want," Nik said, standing up and gesturing for Caroline to come follow him upstairs.
Caroline had nothing better to do so she decided to follow Nik upstairs. As she walked behind him, she felt nervous and felt her cheeks heating up. Nik was leading her to his bedroom. Before Caroline could have any more dirty thoughts about her housemate, Nik opened the door, revealing what he had been up to.
Caroline gasped at the beauty in front of her. Nik's room was filled with canvases, paint and unfinished paintings. She slowly went inside and touched the finished work on Nik's table.
"Did you do all of these?" Caroline asked, shock evident in her tone.
"I also did the Central Park painting in the living room, not that you would notice," Nik replied sadly.
"Well they're really beautiful. Are you going to sell them?" Caroline asked again.
"Sort of, I'm holding a gallery show a few months from now, let's just hope someone will be interested in buying all of these," Nik responded.
"Why don't you transfer your art show to London? I'm pretty sure you'll get a lot more exposure there? Besides, a lot of hipsters have their own work going on in this city, you'd be surprised by the number of curators buying their shitty work," Caroline suggested.
"Well, I'm tired of impressing the same curators over and over again in London. I think I want a challenge this time," Nik smirked.
"Wow, arrogant much," Caroline laughed.
Caroline continued to survey Nik's room and the rest of his paintings. His room wasn't particularly tidy but she figured it suited his artistic personality. She browsed the stack of paintings found in the corner of his room and admired it. As she continued lifting and browsing the rest of Nik's paintings she found something that caught her eye.
She was holding a medium sized canvas with a lone wolf howling painted on it. Caroline couldn't really tell why, but out of all the paintings she'd seen from Nik, this was her absolute favorite.
"Found something that you like?" Nik asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah, I guess this one's my favorite out of all your works here," she replied, lifting the wolf painting for him to see.
"Now why on earth would you like that?" Nik asked again.
"I can't tell either, I guess there's something lonely about it," Caroline responded. She noticed how Nik's expression changed from curiosity to sadness and he immediately gulped down the remaining contents of his drink.
"I'm sorry, I think I hit a nerve there," She apologized, placing the painting back in the stack.
"No it's alright. If you like that painting so much why don't you keep it?" Nik offered.
"You're giving me one of your paintings… for free?" Caroline replied, her eyes gleaming in enthusiasm.
"Sure, I wasn't planning on adding that painting to my gallery anyway," Nik shrugged.
Caroline was absolutely thrilled and grabbed the painting again rushing to Nik's side about to give him a hug. But she stopped on her track only to realize the small space between them. Katherine's words from this morning rang inside her head, I see the way he looks at you Care, I'm pretty sure he considers you more than a housemate.She could feel his breath and his smell lingered on her nose. She suddenly felt so weak in the knees, getting lost in his musky scent. She was about to close the gap between them when her phone rang.
Upon hearing Caroline's phone ringing, Nik let out a frustrated sigh. He also noticed how Caroline cursed when she saw the caller I.D. of the person who interrupted them.
She ignored the call and seconds later; her phone was bombarded with numerous text messages.
"You should answer that love, wouldn't want to keep your date from this afternoon waiting." Nik said, trying his best to hide the jealously in his voice.
"It's just Tyler, God, why can't he just stop bothering me?" Caroline yelled in frustration. "And to think I still have a bunch of my things in his apartment," she groaned.
"I could help you get it back from him, Caroline," Nik offered.
"Well, I really could use someone to carry my things," Caroline laughed. "Are you free tomorrow morning?" She asked.
"Need I remind you that I'm a Teflon slacker?" Nik smiled. "Of course, I'd be willing to accompany you, wouldn't want you getting lost in the city." Nik joked, pinching Caroline's arm.
Caroline shoved Nik's grip from her arm. "I happen to know the city, Nik, I just need you for your car." Caroline huffed, turning her back on Nik and making her way to her bedroom across the hall.
"And you better wake up early tomorrow!" Caroline yelled from across the hallway.
And that's it for this chapter! Please do take time to review as I would really like to know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions. You can also find me on tumber at xxblondieblueeyes and on twitter as teenurweenur. Thanks again for tuning in to this story!