Twists and Turns
Kate was afraid to look at her watch, afraid to know exactly how long Rick had been under there. He'd insisted he'd done things like that a hundred times, though that assertion seemed to grow less and less plausible by the minute. In fact, the only positive spin she'd been able to put on the entire mess was the view. Every time he moved his arms, his t-shirt inched up his body revealing the skin just above the button of his jeans, and, apparently, her mind had decided the peep show was a better outcome than a sink that actually functioned because she hadn't made a move for her phone yet.
"Shit," he barked for the third time in as many minutes.
"What's wrong, Castle?" she said more concerned than ever. "I haven't heard you swear this much since Espo hid your keys to the Ferrari."
"Bastard," he grumbled. "It's just this damn thing. It's not connecting to the other thing like it should and it's driving me nuts."
"Wow," Kate exhaled in a chuckle. "I bet you could turn on all the girls with that impressive mastery of plumbing terminology, Castle."
Rick shifted his body so he could see her from his position on the floor. "Sarcasm noted, Detective. That's helpful, thanks. Now, speaking of turning on, would you please turn the cold water on for me? That's the round whatchamacallit on the right, you know, in plumbers' speak," he said, punctuating it with a playful grin.
Kate rolled her eyes stepped over his legs to the sink, her feet positioned on either side of his body. If she were to slowly lower herself down where she stood, she thought, she'd be…but now was not the time for that. She twisted the faucet and heard an immediate thud from below, Rick's body jerking against her ankles.
"Turn it off! Turn it off!" he shouted. "Dammit, I thought I had it that time." He grabbed each of her legs in his hands, which she could tell were now soaking wet, and used them as leverage to help him slide out from under the sink. She glanced down at him, his face and hair drenched, a red bump already taking form on his forehead, and he didn't say a word as he twisted from beneath her and pushed himself to his feet.
"Where are you going?" she said, watching as he lifted his t-shirt over his head and started to walk away, finding herself somewhat lost in his fresh state of undress.
"I'm going to get my phone to call a real plumber," Rick told her, the disappointment in his own failure oozing from his tone.
"Hey," Kate called after him, trailing behind into the living room. He stopped and turned, allowing her to close in. She inched up onto her toes and pressed a hard kiss against his dewy lips, her hands cradling his dejected face.
"What was that for?" he said, confused by her amorous reaction to his defeat.
"Well, Castle," she cooed, "you may not have succeeded in fixing my sink, but you finally deciding to call a real plumber definitely turned something on today."