Oh, these wonderful weekends, when you do not need to get up: still warm and soft bed, and so pleasant and serene morning negativity. Everything is still peaceful, you still dream nice and colorful dreams, in which you are not alone for a long time: they carry you in their arms, give you flowers and themselves, kiss you tenderly in the ear and chirp sweet nonsense at the same time. And sometimes...
...Kate awoke to a gentle ticklish touch: someone very insistent was guiding a satin feather down the delicate vertebrae of her back, sometimes going down to the cleavage below her waist. And the name of that someone was...
- Kas...slll... What... happened... - sleepily, smiling lazily, Beckett rolled over onto her side and struggled to open one eye. - У... us... murder?
Like a Cheshire cat, Castle smiled broadly and dreamily, without interrupting his activity.
- Better... We have a new subject...
- A new... Topic? - and Beckett lay down on her back, tucking it in, as if hinting at Castle's chest. - And you... didn't tell me anything!
- Heaven will speak for me... - and by the collar Castle pulled his shirt over his head.
They arrived at a small private airfield, of which there was plenty in the city limits of Apple: a steel control tower, a couple of different hangars, and five aviators, arranged in front of a large hangar in a row and painted in all the colors of the rainbow. And Castle knew exactly where to go: the chosen, green-orange plane looked something like a carrot in a salad leaf.
They were already expected: near the plane, busily checking his watch, some lanky guy was strolling, but when he saw the approaching car, he threw out his hand in a characteristic greeting.
Castle responded in kind, right behind the wheel; turning off the engine, he got out into the white light: the guy immediately hurried toward them.
The men shook hands, chatted about something, then Castle beckoned Beckett to him. And she slid the door shut behind her smoothly.
- I hope our plans aren't falling through? - With a proud, confident stride, Kate approached the men, tossing back her windswept hair from her face. - And we won't have to dream of the sky exclusively from here?
- No, no, darling, you have my word! - Castle hastened to assure her. - Major - the second dispatcher - is ready to be our angel on the ground. And he prepared the plane for us, considering all our wishes...
- You mean yours," she murmured, smiling to herself in anticipation, "and God promised good weather, didn't he?
She turned her gaze to Major, who nodded with a hand to his chest.
- Well, you saw the forecast, Mr. Castle, - the dispatcher squinted his eye, - everything is fine for the time being, so don't pirouette.
- I don't mind," Castle grinned wryly, turning to Kate. - "As long as you don't suddenly run out of fuel.
- And the parachute worked, - in tone with her lover, replied Kate and first proceeded to the open cabin door.
- It's cool, Castle," Beckett stared out the window like she was mesmerized. - It's so blue, and the sky is so endless. If it weren't for the fuel reserves, I would have flown like this to the edge of the universe.
...They soared through the air in a matter of minutes, and now such a different, such a unique land floated beneath their wings: a gray grid of roads and emerald-brown fields, a vast mass of forest and a railroad that pierced it: a train was marching along it somewhere, and the roofs of the cars glittered with little glints. And Kate stared through the portholes as Castle demonstrated his aerobatics to her beloved: "slides," "barrels," U-turns, short dives, which were replaced by sharp rises, and when the plane set a marked course, the suburbs stretched below: low cubes of houses, soccer fields, junctions near shopping centers and "cloverleafs" of highways, and then skyscrapers came into view. And Beckett could see the little silhouettes of helicopters on their rooftops and the tiny dots of people running toward them, and there, below, their big city was buzzing and living its life. Where their characters and destinies came together...
- That's my line, Kate," Castle grinned good-naturedly, glancing at the panel. - And I know best when to use it.
- And you propose to argue over it? - Beckett touched the corner of her mouth with two fingers.
- Yeah, more often than not, I propose, and you just join in.
- You're insufferable, Castle," she dug her teeth into the edge of her nail, "with your ego, and I know what I have to do... To make you...
- Ohoho," Castle chuckled softly, groggily yelping in his seat. - I'm pretty sure you didn't have anything like that on the flight. As far as the term "do."
- But that doesn't mean I didn't think about it," and Beckett jokingly threatened Castle with a finger. - Young, hot blood, a fountain of hormones, and a longing to be wanted-all those things were in me, then, but there wasn't a proper boyfriend. For the sake of which I could go to the collapse of inhibitions.
- And now? - Castle licked his lips carnivorously.
- Yes, now.
- It's so much easier for me to get over myself now.
- Because I'm around? - Castle tilted the plane slightly, and the Brooklyn Bridge appeared in the distance.
- And you. And it's a miracle you seduced me into this trip.
- Sounds like fun, but since I'm at the helm, it's up to you, Kate. And we still have time to have a rich celebration of our day off!
Kate put her hand to her chest in appreciation.
- You know, Castle... Ever since we got married, I've been in a constant state of celebration. Even in spite of my hard work, even in spite of the time when you and I were hanging by a thread, and when we were faced with serious moral choices.
- And I was the one who helped you make it? - His eyes were now serious and penetrating. - This isn't a joke, is it?
- No," Beckett rolled her eyes softly. - Just when the upstart Castle was exactly where he belonged. And the way he covered me with his body, and the way he confidently held the gun in his hand-it all spoke volumes about the right decision. And I am eternally grateful to you, Rick, for having you.
- I'll be corny, but it's fate, Kate. It only happens once in a lifetime. Yes, sometimes it's hard to navigate the intricacies of a mate's nature, and you have to go through a lot to be faithful. Through strong winds of disappointment and frowning grayness of loneliness, lightning mood swings and storm clouds of rejection and resentment. And the rosier, the sunnier it is to realize that the person for whom you went through fire and water, still accepted your sincere emotional impulse, believed in you and opened his heart... his soul... And the boundless feeling of happiness that you mentioned - yes, it's as boundless as the blue behind the portholes. Where you can rise above the storm, pierce the clouds, and turn the cockpit of an airplane straight to the sun, beaming against it and listening to the hum of the turbines. An air harbor, Kate, is not like a water harbor, but that makes it no less beautiful.
- Like love?
- Like airborne love? Absolutely! Can you take it from here?
She clicked her belt buckle, and Kate ruffled Castle's hair in passing as she headed for the parlor. They'd known each other by now. And now it was her turn to do him a favor.
Beckett placed a folding table to starboard, and then the nearby refrigerator chest revealed to her the secret of its contents: champagne, grapes, washed strawberries and cream, chocolates, tangerines, and ripe, juicy apples were worthy of their company, and Beckett set about serving. She flurried meticulously and carefully, smiling to herself and her anticipations, and when Castle put his arm around her waist from behind, she only held it lightly.
- Kaasl? Who'd you put at the helm?
- Some dude... called "autopilot"... By the way, I forgot to introduce you!
Kate turned to face Rick, arms outstretched, sticky with fruit, and he pulled her against him.
- I'll get over it," she said, and reached out to him tenderly, reverently. - What's the second part?
- Figure it out for yourself! - Castle could barely restrain himself from tearing the blouse on her breasts for passionate, unrestrained kisses and let go of his wife's supple waist with apparent reluctance, but the lack of time and space in the cabin dictated their terms.
A few minutes later the swanky upholstered seats on the port side were arranged into a tolerable bed and covered with a fitted sheet, and then Castle sank into a seat next to the food, opposite Kate: The feast started small. The cork slammed and the champagne sparkled in the glasses, the container of strawberries opened with a slight squeak, and a light plume of foam splashed over the berries, creating a mouthwatering slide. And the lovers fed each other, gently and eagerly, and kissed across the table with glasses in their hands, and sticky creamy trails adorned their closed lips. And then they were suddenly hot, and Beckett whimpered familiarly, impatiently, as Castle pulled her clothes off. And she helped him, and saw his arousal, and desired his passion.
And he threw her on the bed, and entered her with force, shaking and twisting, and moved inside her faster and faster, squeezing her in his arms, and she thrust her pelvis at him, wriggling into the pillows, scratching her back with her nails, screaming her head off, until the unrestrained, shattering peak came. And they both trembled and shrieked in every way, breathed frequently and kissed afterward, long and tortured, until the anxious voice of the dispatcher broke into the harmony of coitus:
- Ryder-3! Ryder-3! Answer the tower!
- Damn... what bad timing... - Castle struggled to get away from Kate's sticky body and rushed to the commander's chair with his hand lightly covering his groin.
- Ryder 3 here," he answered, barely catching his breath. - What is it?
- A storm front is coming toward you, much faster than expected, and even if you turn around right now, you'll still be at its mercy.
- Ryder 3 has accepted! Let's go back! - Just smiling like a sour cream-eating cat, Castle wiped away his smile in a flash. He turned to Kate, who was already shoveling a pile of their clothes, and commanded:
- Five seconds for the dash, and the navigator's seat is yours!
The pleasure of sex was gone, and Beckett, quickly dressed and tweaked her hair, began to put the cabin in order: she put away the dishes, garbage and unfinished wine in the lockers of the locker, brought the bed back to its original form, and while Castle did not see her, she crossed his back. She didn't know what a pilot Castle was like in a situation like this, she didn't know if they would land without incident, but she firmly believed in God and her lover, who in his pristine, "Adam" form was already gripping the steering wheel with one hand and flicking the blinking toggle switches with the other.
- Get in, quick! - peeling away from the beeping scoreboard for a moment, Castle peered into the cabin and brushed aside his clothes, which Kate was holding out to him. - No time, Beckett, no time!
She crumpled her clothes under her arm and, holding her hand over her pectoral cross, made her way to her seat. On the way, her right shin bumped hard against something, but she still reached the handrail to rest her body in the chair. I glanced out the side porthole, fixing the buckle, and the blue sky was gone. The black-gray wall of clouds, with its jagged shreds and menacing pinnacles, was looming up in front of them, posing a grave threat. A light drizzle began to fall, and then the drops became heavier and heavier, and thunder rumbled. The airplane shook violently; twisting and bright, with the power of tens of thousands of joules, lightning flashed, and the plane was at first abruptly tossed and also abruptly dropped into the "pit".
- Oh, hell, Castle! - nervously exhaled Kate, struggling to control the spasm and clipping the headset to her ears. - You got any easier options?
- Left it in the car... in the drawer, Castle kept his eyes on the dancing dashboard hands. - Do you believe me, Kate?
- I never did," and her hand gently touched his wrist: he let go of the handle for just a split second to bring his fingertips together, and grasped the spongy rubber knob again.
Driven by a confident and fearless hand, the plane took a deep turn, descending toward the ground, and Kate allowed herself to adjust her shoulders: such a soothing, such a tonic proximity to Castle was the best and right thing to keep her going. And nothing frightened Kate anymore - neither the frantic chattering of the plane, nor the lightning striking nearby, nor the squall wind that threatened to throw them from the sky - everything seemed so ordinary and insignificant, temporary and insignificant, that when, after a long dive, the dispatcher sent them to another airfield, Beckett allowed herself a little smile: the test had been passed with honors.
The rain came down in a thousand streams as the airplane pulled up to the hangar. Well-versed in navigation Castle slowed the machine inside, shut down the engine and even managed to joke with the dispatchers before leaving the cabin. And the mood of his beloved was so high that he was about to leave the plane almost naked: he was held back in time by Beckett.
And they laughed while he dressed, long and happy, and even exchanged kisses and handshakes. And then, while waiting for a cab, over a cup of coffee, they shared their fresh impressions.
- What an unsightly sky it is now," Castle noted quite seriously, looking through the window at the slanting streams, "first it lures me in, and then it shows my ass. How should I treat it then? What actions to plan for the future?
- What are you: afraid of losing his friendship? - Kate rolled her eyes with a chuckle. - Strange that you're still not aware of the vagaries of the weather. But anyhow, even behind that gloomy, earthy veil, the sky will always be blue, and when the rain passes, it will smile on us again...