By the time they returned from dinner the cocktail party was well under way, and neither of them had a chance to go change. Of course, they'd eaten at a classy restaurant and the dress code for the party wasn't any more formal than what they were already wearing. They followed the sounds of the music and the murmur of a large gathering of people, and stopped at the doorway, taking in the scene before actually joining in.
There was an open bar at one end of the room and a dance floor at the other end. Between the two were several tables where the participants were all chatting and discussing their day and plans for the next. Castle smiled over at Beckett.
"Thank you for a very nice dinner."
She echoed the smile.
"You're welcome."
"Save a dance for me later?"
"Sure."
"Hey, Rick!"
They'd been spotted. The ranger who had had him sign the book earlier was grinning as he walked over with several others.
"Bobby," Castle greeted him. "How's the party?"
"My wife wants to fly up here and jump your bones," the ranger told him, shaking his head, amused. "What's up with that?"
Castle shrugged, giving him his best innocent look.
"I've never met her, I swear."
The others laughed and he was taken off with them to join a large group of people – some of whom were holding copies of his books and others holding drinks. Before Beckett could feel left out, another group of people had spotted her, many of them cops who had been on the driving courses that afternoon. They swept over and gathered her into their group, chatting about the afternoon and telling those who hadn't been there about how she'd schooled them on the courses and boasting about what'd they'd do if they had another chance on the course. One of them – a street cop from Portland Oregon – offered her a drink and she sat down at their table, joining into the conversation easily, watching the other side of the room occasionally to see what Castle was up to.
OOOOOOOOO
The table Castle had been led to was surrounded by chairs, but he didn't have much chance of using it. Tasha had given him only enough time to chat with a couple of people before claiming him for a dance and after that his dance card was fairly full as other women joined in on it. Some simply wanted to take pictures with him, now that it was widely known that he was famous, while others wanted a chance to dance with him because of his looks and charm. He didn't mind, really; he was used to it – only with people who were a lot more heavy-handed about it usually. But when they kept pressing drinks on him between dances he declined them, choosing instead to nurse a beer. He didn't feel like getting drunk – especially with Tasha and a couple of others lurking in the background.
After a few hours, he decided it was about time to call it a night – even though the party showed no sign of stopping any time soon. He had danced with probably every woman in the room – except Beckett, who had been dancing with someone every time he'd looked for her – and had managed to fend off more than one not so subtle invitation to take the dance upstairs. He was ready for a chance to relax, and that meant the hot tub as far as he was concerned. But first, he was going to have one last dance.
Beckett had been discussing differences in police procedure with Adam Anderson and a couple of the Seattle detectives when she felt someone brush a hand against her shoulder. She looked up and saw Castle standing by her chair, and he offered her his hand as soon as she turned.
"Dance?"
She hesitated but smiled and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet and then out onto the edge of the dance floor. The DJ was playing a slow song, and he pulled her into his arms easily, stepping into the easy rhythm of the dance smoothly.
"Are you having a good time?" she asked him.
He grinned.
"Yes. You?"
"Yeah. I like the people here."
Castle looked over her head at the table that she'd been sitting at and saw that Anderson wasn't the only guy who was watching them dance. He looked back down at her.
"They like you, too."
She smiled, looking over his shoulder at the same table he'd glanced at, and then relaxing against him a little more.
"Jealous?"
"What? Me?"
She grinned, because now he was the one who answered too quickly.
"Yes. You."
He smiled, too, well aware that she was teasing him and not minding a bit. As the song ended, he pulled away, but kissed her hand lightly before letting her go.
"I won't deny it, because I'm not a good liar. I'll see you later, okay?"
"You're going to bed?"
"Going up to the suite."
"I'll-"
"Can I cut in?"
They both turned and saw that Anderson had joined them, holding his hand out to Beckett. She smiled, and looked at Castle, who winked.
"I'll see you later."
"Definitely."
He left her and Anderson to their dance and waved goodnight to a few people on his way out the door.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Beckett didn't stay at the party much longer after Castle left. She danced with Adam once, and then joined the Texans as they taught a small group of people how to do a line dance to a quick country song. It was fun, but she was ready to call it a night, too, and told everyone goodnight before they could talk her into staying. She waved off the offer of one last drink with the group and headed for the elevator, humming cheerfully as she went up to the suite.
She hesitated at the door, wondering if she should knock or something – just in case Castle had company with him – but she decided that if he did, he would have left some kind of way for her to know or at least he'd have taken the party into his room, so she should be all right going into the suite itself.
When she walked in, however, she was surprised to find him soaking in the hot tub, leaning back against the curved side with his eyes closed and a drink in his hand. The jets were going full force, and the noise of it probably was the reason he hadn't heard the door open or close. She walked over, wondering if he was asleep or just relaxing, and cleared her throat when she was close enough that she thought he'd hear her. His eyes opened immediately, and he smiled when he saw who it was.
"Party's over?"
Beckett shook her head.
"It's still going full speed, but I was ready to call it a night."
"Alone?"
She smiled.
"Maybe."
He sat up a little and she frowned, realizing that his swimming trunks were draped over the back of one of the wooden backed chairs at the table.
"Are you naked?"
He grinned.
"Maybe."