21
Arm in arm, they walked to the car. She was slow and careful when she sat, still not completely comfortable in the revealing dress. He was still shocked that she was wearing it. The driver held the door open for them both. Finally, when the car pulled away, Rick had to ask: "So is that dress solely for my benefit, or for everyone who's watching us?"
Kate smiled. She leaned against him and murmured into his ear, "Both."
He swallowed.
"You look good, Rick."
He smiled sweetly. "You already said that."
"It's worth repeating." She couldn't stop the urge and kissed him. Slow and soft and warm.
He barely moved, knowing he couldn't get into the kiss then have to get out of the car and act normal. "I thought kissing before the dance was against the rules. Hair and make up and everything. Don't want to mess it up."
She smiled. He'd been well trained by women who cared far too much about appearances. "Smudgeproof lipstick. Keep your hands out of my hair, and we're good." Her hand slid up his thigh as she kissed him again, still slowly and softly. He had his hand on her hip but didn't dare move it.
She could sense his hesitance and stilled her smiling lips. She understood why he was holding back and decided to let him know how much he was affecting her. "Sorry. You're just kind of irresistible in that tux."
He tilted his chin toward her to kiss her back, not much more than a peck. It was feeling really hot in the town car all the sudden. He quietly teased, "So, you're saying I should have started wearing tuxedos around you like three years ago? Dang, that would have been so much easier."
She laughed and settled back into her seat.
He looked at her in that way that has always made her lose track of what was going on around them and reminded her, "I love you."
Not like she could forget.
She caressed his cheek and responded, "And I love you. But I'm still going to beat you at the poker table."
"Ohoho! You think so?"
"I do. The fund will make a pretty penny off of your losing tonight." Her taunting was designed to distract them from how much they both obviously wanted to tell the driver to take them back home.
He raised his eyebrows and challenged, "The fund just might. But do you care to make a more personal wager on that?" His seductive voice wasn't helping to distract them.
Fine. She could play, too. "Oh, Ricky, you really think you need a bet to get me to do something… kinky… for you?"
Gob-smacked. What a lovely British word; it perfectly described his flustered, shocked, completely turned-on look.
The car pulled to the curb in front of The Grand Hotel, and the attendant almost immediately opened the door and held out a hand to assist Kate. The young man's eyes widened when he got an eyeful of what she was wearing and almost forgot to keep the door open for her date to get out. "Evening, ma'am," he stuttered. Oh, there's a man, too. "Enjoy your evening, sir." He watched the gorgeous pair enter the hotel, pausing for a picture just inside the doors. He didn't know who they were, but he was sure they'd make it onto the Society Page the next day.
Rick placed his hand on the small of her back as he'd gotten used to doing, but immediately jerked it away. Was he allowed to touch her skin in front of everyone?
There were society types who made the rounds, officials from City Hall, and most of the police force. There were a few photographers invited – publicity meant ticket sales, and that meant more money for the fund. But this ball wasn't as popular amongst the high society since it funded the boys in blue instead of the arts or some political cause. So a higher percentage of the attendees were connected to the Job than to Society.
So Rick didn't know where the line was. He thought he knew… then he saw that dress. Now he was clueless.
And she was enjoying his confusion. That tease.
Kate hooked her arm through his as they made their entrance. Quite a few people noticed. More than a few women distracted their husbands and boyfriends so that their men wouldn't notice. Rick heard the rapid clicking of a professional camera behind them. Surely she heard it, too. But the woman on his arm, his woman, his Kate, didn't seem to mind. She smiled and he grinned and they walked into the crowd.
"My parents went to galas sometimes. The Policemen's Ball was always my mom's favorites. Mardi Gras was my dad's favorite."
"You know, I sometimes forget that you were raised in this world. So few people on the circuit are real, but your family – wait? Mardi Gras? Can we go to a Mardi Gras party? With masks and everything?"
Kate laughed. "Sure, Castle. You just love dressing up, don't you?"
"I thought we already established that back in my closet that first night." His eyes were dancing with excitement, and his grin was huge.
"Look at how happy they look." Jenny beamed when she caught sight of their friends.
Kevin looked over and could see them both lost in their conversation. Then they turned to walk the opposite direction. "Wow." Beckett's dress. Hot.
Jenny gave him a look.
He kept staring, accidentally, but his mind was able to recover an appropriate response for his wife's sake. "I didn't realize how skinny she still is. You can see her ribs poking out. I hope she's okay."
Then he turned to Jenny and looked at her adoringly. "You, however, are perfect. Absolutely perfect." And he meant it.
"Let's dance." She pulled him out to the dance floor where the band was covering "Wonderful Tonight."
They found the mayor and his wife on the way to the casino room that opened to the ballroom. The ladies met and gushed over each other's dresses, while the men intentionally did not mention the dresses at all. "Hey, your date looks really hot," really wouldn't be appropriate, so they stuck to talking about how they needed to get another poker night together and crowing about how they'd beat the other tonight in the charity casino. They finally decided that the loser would provide the scotch for the next poker night.
"Hey, there's Lanie and Esposito." Kate nodded toward them as the mayor and his wife headed to the craps table.
Lanie's emerald green dress was studded in beads and sequins and showed off all her curves. Javier looked like he believed himself to be the luckiest guy in the room. His classic black tux was simple. He wore the bow tie that he hated, but Jenny told him to wear it.
Castle bumped his shoulder. "Hey, Javi, you clean up nice. Lanie, beautiful as always." He kissed Lanie's hand, always the charmer. She loved it.
"Back off, bro. You got your own – whoa." They all laughed when he noticed Beckett. Lanie expected him to react, so she didn't get mad. Kate looked damn good, but Lanie knew Javi preferred her curves.
"Where do you have your gun and badge?" Espo was sure she wouldn't be without them, but there was no place to hide them in that dress.
"Who says I need a gun? I could kick your tail, even in this dress. And the badge is in here." She held up her clutch.
They played a few hands of blackjack until they heard that the dance contest was about to start.
Javier puffed up and took Lanie's hand. "Prepare to lose, all of you." They strutted onto the dance floor like they really knew what they were doing.
"Can Espo really dance?" Rick asked, somewhat surprised.
"They've been taking lessons." Kate smiled like she knew a secret.
"Oh… did they get engaged and nobody told me?"
"Nope. But I suspect that it's not far off."
"Huh." Rick grinned with her. "Would you like to dance?"
The emcee announced what the three dances would be, and they were three that Kate was pretty sure she could handle.
"Um, sure. I'm rusty, though."
"Well, if you can make yourself follow my lead, we'll be fine. At least, we won't be embarrassed."
Not leading had always been the hardest part of dancing for her. But she would try. She had a feeling it might be easier to follow with Castle.
She offered her hand, and they walked onto the dance floor. Anyone who hadn't spotted them by then certainly did now.
One gentleman in particular noticed Kate's revealing dress, but noticed even more that his wife's eyes seemed to pop out of her head. He wondered why. "Who is that?"
"That's my best detective."
"And you're surprised by his girlfriend's dress?" The man looks handsome enough to get a girl like that.
"She's my best detective. That's Beckett and Castle."
"Oh. Ohhh. Wow." He smothered a laugh and looked at his wife while she gawked at the pair on the dance floor. How did she miss that they were together? They are so clearly together. "I take it they're a couple?"
"Apparently. Huh."
He chuckled and took her hand. "Well, Victoria, would you like to dance, or stare at them?"
Oh yeah, they had been walking out onto the dance floor.
There were around forty couples dancing. The waltz was pretty easy, so even novices could manage it. Castle caught sight of his daughter and her beau and watched to make sure the boy kept his hand in the proper place high on her back. Rick also knew his mother wouldn't be dancing – she was too busy being the center of attention in the casino. But Bob and his wife were dancing, as well as Gates and her husband. They whirled around, cameras flashed from the edge of the dance floor, and he tried to not focus on Kate's warm skin under his palm.
As the dance ended, he smirked, "You actually let me lead."
"Don't sound so surprised, Castle. I've been making the effort for a while now."
"True enough." The 4/4 rhythm began. "Foxtrot?"
She smiled, her lips tight. They wouldn't be winning the contest, but she did want to dance. The foxtrot was similar enough to the waltz to be manageable, but different enough to be a little confusing. About a third of the couples left the dance floor before the song began. Kate and Rick danced, enjoyed themselves, and did well enough to not be embarrassed. Somewhere during the foxtrot, while she laughed at him trying to be suave and not step on her toes, they forgot they had an audience. They were free with their smiles, and he stopped focusing on how her skin flushed under his touch. He focused on how much her eyes lit up when she laughed.
Then came the tango. The same 4/4 beat, but such a wonderfully unique dance.
Kate had always loved the tango. Her parents would do it, and she made her daddy teach her when she was ten. She hoped to grow up and have a man look at her the way her dad looked at her mom while they danced.
Castle decided he had to learn the tango when he saw James Bond do it. Because it was just awesome.
Over half of the remaining couples left the dance floor before the third dance started. Javi looked at Rick and mouthed, "You're going down, man."
Rick just smiled. He didn't care about winning the contest. He was content to dance with Kate and have her smiling in his arms.
Perhaps it was poor judgment to dance such a sexy dance in such a public venue. But, if they were making their relationship known, it was a hell of a way to make a splash. The way they were completely lost in each other's embrace, the way that they couldn't stop smiling even when they tried, the way they laughed together at a misstep, the way his hand slid low on her back a few times without either of them seeming to notice; it told everyone that Rick and Kate had finally jumped in together.
"They're pretty good."
"Yeah. But Javi and Lanie are better."
"They look really happy."
"Yeah, they do."
The Ryans, the Gates's, and Alexis and her date all had nearly identical conversations at pretty much the same time.
The music ended, and Kate wanted to kiss him, but they had the attention of the room – well, they and the nine or so other couples. He gave a small bow and she a small curtsy to be proper, then they grinned and clapped along with everyone else.
A/N: This was getting too long, so I decided to cut the ball in half. More tomorrow!
Please review! They're addictive like ballroom dancing. It really is incredibly fun, even for the rythmically challenged like me. But I swear the hardest part is letting the guy lead!