#honestgrins

Her mind was wandering during the rest of the show even though she tried to focus on the other dancers, and she eventually just resolved to watch everything on the DVR later. She usually did it anyway to take notes, but she would especially need that observational period today considering how distracted she was. It felt like much too long before she was saying goodbye to Katherine, who she shared her dressing room with, and falling into the familiar pattern of her post-show routine. She carefully stowed her costume for the night in the closet for one of the wardrobe assistants to pick up once she left, and pulled on a light cotton robe, settling herself on her vanity chair to remove her makeup. She looked up from her last lipstick-stained cotton swab when she heard movement behind her, and let a huge smile bloom on her face when she saw who it was in the mirror.

“Hey,” Caroline greeted, pulling out her earrings and setting them on her dressing room table. She made eye contact with Klaus in the mirror, her heart skipping in her chest when her memories of the night before came rushing back. Caroline had recruited him to run through a few ideas she had for her and Tyler's finale choreography, and that turned into Klaus talking her into doing some...other athletic activities. They’d nearly gotten caught tangled on the floor of the studio, having lingered too long for lazy kisses and whispered promises. It was only when a janitor unlocked the door to clean that she realized it might be best to get some sleep before the show the next day. 

All of the fantasies he'd planted in her head "for later" seemed to rush back to her at once when she saw his face.

“All right?” he asked, leaning against the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back. He'd ditched the suit jacket from earlier, and she could see the cords of his necklaces peek through from under the collar of his dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Yeah. I think it went okay."

"Better than," Klaus complimented, entering the dressing room and closing the door gently behind him. "You made Lockwood look like he actually knew what he was doing."

"Thanks!" she said brightly, standing up to face him as he approached, letting him peck her lightly on the lips before continuing, turning back to finish up her makeup removal, though keeping eye contact with him in the mirror as much as she could. "We practiced a lot."

"I know. And once you get through tomorrow night, you'll only have another week."

"Don't jinx it. Weirder eliminations have happened," Caroline reminded him with a stern look that melted into a smile when he pressed his chest against her back, his arms wrapping around her waist. She tipped her head to the side so that he could press a light kiss to her neck. "Hey! I'm trying to take my makeup off and change."

"Apologies, love. Far be it from me to inhibit your goal of undressing."

"Careful or I might ask you to leave."

He chuckled, letting go of her and taking a few steps back, grabbing the chair Katherine used at her vanity and pulling it over to sit. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the week?"

"Other than rehearsals, you mean?" she asked, throwing the last makeup wipe in the trash and reaching to pull her hair into a high ponytail. "Not really."

"I want to take you out, then," he said, fiddling with his phone as he observed her for any hint of a reaction. "Dinner?"

"I'd love to." 

"Perhaps tomorrow?  To celebrate the only chance you have at getting the trophy since I was so unfairly eliminated?"

"Very funny," Caroline drawled, putting her toiletries in the cabinet by the mirror and turning around with her hands on her hips. "I don't understand how someone who lost can stay so arrogant."

He gave her a dimpled smile. "One of my many talents."

"Ego isn't a talent," she pointed out, reaching into her closet where she kept her tote that held her street clothes. "I am surprised that you haven't pulled out some supposed-to-be-charming line about how you almost hope I'll lose tomorrow so that you have an extra week with me. Kudos for that."

"I hardly think you'd find that charming, Caroline."

"Exactly. Hence 'supposed-to-be-charming'," she said. "And is that what you are? My boyfriend?"

She felt a little silly when she heard the obvious satisfaction in her own voice, but the giddiness of a crush being returned, of finally having Klaus after the agony of being in denial for so long, was an intense relief she hadn't known she needed.

"I should hope so," he said slowly, though his tone had grown guarded in a way she found she didn't like. "I'd take you any way I can, of course, but--"

"Yes. I want to date you," she interrupted quickly, regretting giving him any more reasons to doubt that she wanted him. "Sorry, I was just teasing."

"It's all right."

Her hands were shaking slightly and she stuck them in the pockets of her robe to mask it, though she doubted Klaus had missed the gesture from the dart of his eyes towards the movement. "No, it's not. I'm...I'm sorry. Like, obviously I didn't owe you anything, or anything, but I never exactly said I wasn't interested because I was. Interested, I mean. It wasn't fair to you. I was just like....scared, you know?"

"Of what?" he asked, looking more curious than annoyed. "You can't possibly think that I'd reject you?"

"No, but a little part of me thought you might like the challenge, or whatever. That I might just be a game to you. And then I'd have to see you all the time on the show and that would be awkward, and I love my job, and I didn't want..." she trailed off, realizing she'd been babbling slightly. "But I do like you, Klaus. A lot."

"Do you?" he asked, his trademark jerky dimpled smirk making an appearance.

"Yes. Even though you have an ego the size of a small country."

"And here I thought that was part of my charm," he teased, standing up and taking a few steps towards her, reaching to ease her hands out of her pockets and tangling their fingers together. "I've always fancied you, Caroline. I thought I'd made that clear, but I never want you to doubt that. I'll remind you as many times as you need me to."

"That makes me sound like an insecure crazy person," she said, wincing even as the words came out of her mouth. Saying it aloud only made it sound worse. "Like, I don't want to need you to...to reassure me or whatever."

"You're not a game to me, Caroline. I do not fault you for considering the possibility, but I intend to convince you to put your trust in me and to keep it."