Okay, Kate, I guess now is the time, she said to herself. Standing in her cozy living room, Kate let the realization sunk in that Castle would arrive at her place really soon, and he wanted to talk about….the kiss….and more…?
"OH MY GOD", Kate exclaimed into her empty apartment, how will I explain myself? He must think that I am out of my mind…. Kate continued her inner ramblings. Countless thoughts came and passed by, only to lead to one and the same conclusion: Kate was looking forward to meeting with Castle.
If she was honest with herself, the anticipation of seeing him brought butterflies to her stomach and Kate suddenly felt like a love-struck teenager again. Still, she could remember this wonderful kiss she and Castle had shared – granted, it happened spontaneously, a distraction to list the guard, but, nevertheless, Kate couldn't stop thinking that there was more than just that. Castle must have felt it, too, she pondered, I could see it in his eyes, feel it in the way he kissed me…
Standing there deep in thought, Kate lost count of time, when suddenly, there was a soft knock on her apartment door.
With shaky legs, Kate approached the door and reached for the doorknob, slowly turning it and opening her apartment for her visitor. The first thing she saw was – red? , What is this? Kate asked herself, he brought me - flowers? That's so sweet…
In front of her face, she was met with a huge bunch of red roses that quickly spread a sensual scent all over her apartment. Above the flowers, she could see Castle's smiling face and her heart melted instantly, the remaining worries and concerns in her mind crumbling bit by bit.
"Hello Castle, so great to see you, please come in", Kate begged him inside.
"Yeah, thanks. And, oh, these" – he pointed at the roses with his the hand that held the food bag – "are for you"
Rather clumsily, he handed her the flowers and made his way to her kitchen counter to place the bag with the Chinese food on the table.
"Hey Castle, why don't you grab us some plates and silverware while I'm giving these lovely flowers some water, ok?" Kate asked him with a shy smile.
"Sure, no problem Kate. I hope you are hungry, I'm afraid I bought a little too much food on my way here…. " Castle stated sheepishly, looking at the huge brown bag in front of him.
"No worries, Castle, I didn't expect anything less," Kate smirked, "and, it's no secret that I am a fan of left-overs. Kinda gives my fridge a right to exist, you know…?"
After having said that, she headed to the cabinet which contained vases and other stuff she rarely used. Rick did not hesitate and began opening the bag, his mouth watering at the scent of the food he had selected.
Kate, in the meantime, busied herself with getting a fitting vase for the flowers from her kitchen cupboard. With decisive movements, she poured water into the vase, put the flowers inside and turned around to place the vase on her kitchen counter.
Castle, on the opposite side of the kitchen, was busy emptying the brown paper bag and began to gather a considerable amount of food boxes on the counter in front of him.
Just as he had finished his task, he quickly turned around to grab some plates and cutlery from the corresponding cabinets.
BANG,
their heads and bodies collided in the middle of her kitchen, both of them frozen in their movements, and the vase that Kate was holding in her hands fell on the kitchen floor and bursted into dozens of broken pieces of glass, the water splashing around their feet, so that Kate and Castle suddenly stood in the middle of a chaotic puddle of what used to be a filled flower vase…
Unable to resist, they locked their eyes and stared at each other. The chaos at their feet remained unnoticed by both of them, their minds clearly focused on more important tasks right now.
There were no words needed. Slowly, Rick lifted his arms and cradled Kates face in his warm hands. Tenderly, he stroke her cheeks with his thumbs and gave her a loving smile. Reacting by instinct, Kate couldn't help but letting her hands move to his neck, holding him, and returning his beaming smile.
Bit by bit, like magnetic pull, their heads minimized their distance to each other, and then, when their lips finally met, Rick's and Kate eyes were eventually closed. Overwhelmed with emotion, a firework of desire and attraction was burning in their minds, making it impossible for both of them to pull away from the other. They stood there, in her kitchen, in the middle of broken glass and a puddle of water, red roses at their feet, holding each other frantically, kissing passionately. Time didn't seem to exist anymore and everything else around them seemed forgotten…
When the need for oxygen became unbearable, they reluctantly pulled away and gave each other a look that left no doubt…
" So, Kate, about what you said earlier – now, is my mouth intoxica….." He couldn't finish his bold statement, being interrupted by Kate's swollen lips that were pressed on his own rather demandingly.
" Oh Rick, I can tell you, I am already addicted" Kate replied in a seductive voice. "Now, how about we find out how the rest of your body tastes…"
Needless to say, the Chinese food remained untouched that night…