Hope you enjoyed last chapter. Here is the next installment.
Kate gets out of the cab at his apartment and the doorman smiles and greets her by name. She walks to the elevator and that's when she gets nervous. She doesn't live in this building and yet the doorman knows her by name. That has to say something about this relationship. Tonight or any night in the near future could change who they are together for the rest of their lives.
The elevator dings signaling it was time to make the way to Rick's door. It feels a little awkward carrying a little duffle bag to his door. But once he opens the door with that handsome smile in his face, nothing matters to Kate other than the fact he is there smiling at her. Like the gentleman Rick is, he escorts Kate into the loft and takes her duffle to his office. She can't see into his office as usual. It looks as though he has pulled down shades. Rick pulls the office door shut behind him with a mischievous smile and walks towards where Kate stands in the living room, holding two glasses of wine.
"Hey." She finally greets him.
"Back at ya'" She smiles at him and holds out one of the wine glasses she got from the kitchen in her hand. He takes it, their fingers brushing for seconds but still sending an electric charge through both of their bodies.
"So, how would you like to start this evening my dear detective?" He hopes that she finds his tone playfully and doesn't run from calling her his 'dear detective'. It must be his lucky day because she doesn't run. She actually steps a little bit closer to him, face plastered with a look he knows too well, her thinking face.
"I was thinking we could make dinner and while that cooks we can set up things around here for the movie marathon later?"
"Yes to making dinner but I have everything ready for tonight already so...um..." He ended not very confidently. Kate wasn't sure that she liked that they would have more than a little time alone with nothing to really do while dinner was cooking. They could dive into conversations she didn't want to have. They could make-out on the couch, yeah that sounds nice, but that would lead to the conversations she doesn't want to have. Then again, they could just have a normal conversation. It isn't that hard in any other circumstance.
"So I was thinking of making deep dish mac-n-cheese with bacon bits on top. What sounds good to you?" Kate asks him.
"That," his mouth is watering just hearing about this meal, "sounds amazing."
"Do you want to make something to go with it?"
"Uh...no..." His eyes were glazed over and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Castle. Castle. Castle!" His eye bolted open, pulling his tongue back into his mouth.
"What? Sorry. What?"
"I asked if you wanted anything other than mac-n-cheese."
"What if we just order Chinese instead?" He pleads with her, not sure that he would be able to take the sight of Kate Beckett in his kitchen making him comfort food. Especially with those leggings on. They hugged her legs just the right way. Made them look like they went on forever.
"That's fine. I am excited to get this marathon started any way." Castle picks up the phone and dials their favorite Chinese restaurant.
"Yes, hi Mr. Chang. How are you?"
"Yes she's here with me." Kate then hears him laugh over the phone. "Maybe I will get lucky." He smirks at her and she gives him the classic Beckett glare. Yeah, you will get lucky tonight in never-gonna-happen-land.
"Well, we would like the usual. That's great. Thanks."
"Yes, delivery to my loft. Thanks." He hangs up the phone and smiles at Kate.
"It'll be here in 20. What do you want to do until then?"
"How about we discuss which movie we are going to watch first."
"Well, I would think we would start with the first.."
"I guess we could do that."
"Well then, why don't we discuss why you think you are going to get lucky." She is take back by her own confidence. His smile turns downward and his eyes shift to the floor. Maybe this isn't such a good topic to discuss right now.
"Forget I said that for now. We can talk about that later. After we have this amazing movie marathon weekend." She smiles extra bright for him. "Later Castle, I promise." She knows they can't put off this chat very much longer but she is here for the weekend no matter what so it can wait until they have had at least a little bit of fun.
"Do you promise we will talk about it before the week-end is over?"
"Yes, I promise." and that is enough for him right now.
"Well, could I challenge you to laser tag while we wait or would you prefer something else?"
"That's kinda Alexis and your thing though, isn't it? I don't want to take that away from the two of you." She looks down at her feet not really sure where else to look just knowing she doesn't want to look at him.
"I am sure she wouldn't mind at all. And she wouldn't find out either. She isn't home, remember?" He really wants her to just play with him. Alexis won't care, he's sure of it. Not that he would know from experience. He wouldn't dare play with anyone else other than Beckett or she. Castle also wasn't aware of the relationship that Alexis and Beckett had and how very fragile and unstable it is.
"Castle, I am not playing laser tag with you. End of story. What else do you have in mind?"
"Mario Cart and the Xbox " He secretly loves that game and hopes maybe she does too. She does of course because although they seem like two people from very different worlds, they aren't all that different.
"Yeah that sounds good. Betcha didn't know I love that game." She smiles up at him through her thick lashes, part of her face covered by a curtain of her golden brown locks.
"Let's play then." He takes a chance and offers his hand out for her to take and he is surprised when he feels her long slender fingers slide between his fingers and they link together. Hand in hand, they walk to the living room and up to the entertainment center. She doesn't want to let go of his hand. This contact is so nice and different from how they usually are together and she doesn't quite want to stop experiencing it yet. He expects Kate to let go of his hand and sit on the couch but she doesn't remove her hand from his. Instead, she squeezes his hand and smiles at him anxiously.
He smiles back and opens the drawer that contains the Xbox games and other necessities for it and finds the case for the game that is in the Xbox now and removes it and then puts it in its proper case and places that back where it was before. Then he grabs Mario Cart and expertly opens it with one hand and pulls the disk out of the case and puts it in the Xbox then powers that and the TV up. Kate has already grabbed the controllers and is now pulling him towards the couch with the biggest and most care-free smile he has seen on her face. He can't help but bask in it.
"Come on, Castle! Are you afraid to lose or something?" She is now sitting cross legged on the couch, one arm stretched up to where it is linked with his, still. He smiles wider, if that is even possible at this point.
"No, you are so going down, detective." He drops her hand and purposely sits right next to her so their thighs are brushing.
They play for a good fifteen minutes passing banter back and forth before they are interrupted mid race by the doorbell. Neither make a move to answer it, too engrossed in the game, which just so happens will break the tie for the lead. It's the final stretch and Rick is talking to his character. "Come on, speed up. Faster! go faster. "
Whoosh.
"No! You passed me at the last second? Were you waiting until then the whole time?" He looks over to where she was before but she isn't there.
"Beckett?" Then he hears the friendly chatter coming from the door and see her slender frame leaning against the opened door to his loft. She hears the delivery man laugh and then she turns her head towards Castle.
"You coming, Castle? I need the money." He nods and pulls the cash from his pocket and counts out the total and gives him a little bit of an extra tip for making him wait as he walks over to meet them at the door.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go and keep the change." Castle smiles and hands over the money in exchange for the bags of their dinner which Kate took and they both smile a final thanks and close the door as the delivery boy walks down the hall.
To be continued as soon as I get free time again! Which will hopefully be soon I just have to pull a B in my honors lit. class which end after December so I don't have very much free time between that, my other classes, and working so sorry! But you should get another couple chapters but at least one before Christmas.
Thanks for reading. Reviews are welcome!
