After the drain of Knockout, I want to loosen up a little. So this one's lighter fare. Enjoy, mes amis.
Swaz hie gat umbe
Swaz hie gat umbe,
das sint alles megede,
die wellent an man
allen disen sumer gan
Those who dance round and round
are all maidens;
they want to do without a man
all the summer long
The Old Haunt didn't often do bachelorette parties, but as both Jenny and Kate knew the manager, he had quietly agreed, pencilled it into the book as a private party, and simply "not remembered" to mention it to the owner that the bar would be closed for a ladies' night.
And it had started out fairly quietly, but as the evening wore on, the combination of fruity shots, Cyndi Lauper, two really cute young bartenders, a disco ball, and Jenny's cluster of college-age cousins (Brandi and Mandi and Andi and whatever their names were; they all seemed to end in i's) had turned it downright raucous. It was warm inside the bar, and Kate found herself shrugging off her jacket, leaving her in her tank top, and she knocked back another shot and laughed as one of the younger bridesmaids very un-subtly slipped her phone number to a grinning bartender. Somehow the party of twelve or so had at least doubled in size. Even Jenny, who generally didn't drink a lot, had let loose.
Kate signalled the bartender for a glass of water and took a sip, feeling her slight dizziness start to subside. It had been a long time since she'd had this much to drink. Or this much mindless girly fun.
"Hot in Herre" came over the speakers and every girl in the bar whose name ended in i shrieked and headed for the dancefloor. Kate finished off her water and took a peek at the time. Almost midnight. Work tomorrow, so she probably wouldn't stay much longer.
Over the clamor of music and laughter, no one even heard the bell over the door. So no one realized it had opened until Cooki and Bunni started shrieking that the stripper was here. And Kate turned to discover a terrified Richard Castle struggling in vain to stop six women from unbuttoning his shirt and slipping one-dollar bills unto his back pockets.
It was probably just the alcohol in her blood that kept her watching the scene for a few more minutes before she took pity on him and went to his rescue. It certainly wasn't any sort of prurient enjoyment of watching him get systematically stripped of his shirt.
But when he let out a yelp as Betsi stuffed a dollar into his back pocket and took the opportunity to sneak a pinch, Kate finally decided to put him out of his misery, heading to the front of the bar and shooing away the tipsy co-eds. He followed her to the bar obediently, picking money out of his clothing with a scared face. "The hell. I own this place."
She rolled her eyes. "Castle, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Lanie texted. Said you needed a ride home. She didn't mention I would be doubling as the entertainment."
Kate tried very hard not to laugh. And only a few tears escaped her eyes. Lanie was a very, very good friend. "Castle, I could've just taken a cab."
He shot her a baleful look. "Well, excuse me for trying to be chivalrous. I nearly lost my virtue trying to rescue you."
"Your 'virtue?' Heaven forbid, Castle."
"I just got mauled by a lot of very drunk women. All in the effort to ensure your continuing safety."
"My knight in shining armor," she shot back, leaning back on her elbows against the bar, almost not catching the way his eyes flicked downwards covetously before he hastily look back at her smirking face.
"Exactly. I think a bit of a thank-you is in order, Miss Beckett," he huffed.
Well…she'd had a few drinks. And he had always had the tendency of stretching her patience thin anyway.
So with a catlike smile that had knocked him over since the first day they met, she reached into a pocket, fished out a folded dollar bill, and before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned way into his personal space, relishing the sudden catch in his breath, the hitch of muscles as she steadied herself with a hand just a hint too far up his thigh. Tilting her head, she let her breath fall onto his ear, seeing the flick of his pulse against his skin, and bob of his throat as he swallowed unsteadily.
"Thank you, Rick," she purred, letting her fingers trail up his thigh to tuck the money into his pocket, letting her cheek just barely brush his (ohGod his stubble rasped against her cheek and something inside her twisted) as she pulled back, looking up through heavy eyes to see him staring at her with an open mouth and eyes that made her shiver because it was supposed to be a joke but the way he was looking at her, she knew he was thinking things that would make her blush.
"Uh – you're welcome." He swallowed, looking away, re-buttoning his shirt and running a nervous hand through his hair.
Kate glanced at her phone. It really was getting late. "Actually, if you're still offering, I'll take you up on that ride."
"Sure thing."
On their way out, her phone buzzed. It was from Lanie. You're welcome for tricking him into crashing, by the way. Hope you took the chance to tip him too.
She bit back the smile as she slid into the passenger's seat. Castle settled into the driver's side, turned on the ignition and put on his seatbelt, before turning to her.
"Please don't tell the guys any of this happened."
Kate just gave a throaty laugh and turned to watch out her window as they drove down the street. Richard Castle getting mistaken for a male stripper was the cherry on top of a perfect night.