Kate didn't have to beg twice, either. After sending her purse to the back seat, she lowered herself into the slightly squashed and unrepresentative-looking, but quite comfortable driver's seat. Beckett's diminutive legs fit easily into the spacious recess, and nothing, nowhere, was in her way or distracting. Caithal smoothed the roughened steering wheel with her sweaty palm, pressed her shoe into the elastic accelerator pedal, and smiled at the pleasant memories. Once upon a time, long ago, when she'd first sat behind the wheel, she'd experienced the same strange, titillating sensation. There was the underlying anticipation of novelty, and strong excitement, and excitement, and a slight fear to overcome. And just then, as now, the foot of the salon mirror was decorated with a plastic bag with brown oily liquid.
Squinting her eyes at the cloud, Beckett sniffed diligently. Though the letters on the clouded paper were finely written, the salon already smelled softly, pleasantly, and familiarly of spices, some fruit, and another standoffish, knee-shakingly recognizable note.
"Oh, hell, you don't have to be a taster to recognize that scent! - Kate rolled her eyes dreamily.-It certainly has a dash of vanilla, a spoonful of cream, and... Coffee! Oh, damn! And how, almost to the point of madness, I adore it!"
Gracefully squaring her shoulders, she almost choked on her saliva.
- Did you like the smell? - Castle watched her reaction with a good-natured smile. He moved the curtain to the backseat, and tossed his baseball cap carelessly into it.
- I know," Kate grinned the sweetest smile she could muster. "Only coffee smells like that! Am I right?
- Oh, yes, it does!
Castle busily put the key in the ignition, turned it to "ON" and carefully examined the bright orange icons on the blue-lit dashboard. He was satisfied with the result and looked up at the girl, noting in passing the beautiful curve of her delightful lips, the almost imperceptible dimple in her ruddy velvet cheek, and the rapturously dreamy look in her expressive eyes.
- I'm all set," Castle summed up confidently, and in a slight embarrassment he hid the student card in the glove compartment. - And you really do seem to be crazy about coffee, don't you?
Beckett sulked her eyes modestly.
- Yes, I have a little weakness for it," Kate was clearly embarrassed to reveal her soul. - But I'm picky, and not all coffee is to my taste.
- I'd venture to guess what kind. I hope I don't get in trouble for this. Well, I mean, I won't get stuck in a big pot, or roasted, or something even simpler...
Rick fidgeted in his seat, and Kate glanced at him, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. And it was Castle's oversized figure. She didn't have enough room in the cabin, and the height of the seat back didn't match his ginormous height either. While Rick, puffing and panting comically, with goofy comments and funny comparisons, was getting into his comfortable position, Beckett was biting her lips, almost jumping at the top of her voice. She hadn't had so much fun in a long time, and none of her buddies could compare to Castle in that respect. In short, there died in Rick a wonderful, charming, childlike, good-hearted clown who should be treated as such.
While Rick was fidgeting noisily in his seat, and fidgeting with his concentration on the "knobs" of the climate control, Kate was absent-mindedly observing the race track. Hearing exhales of undisguised relief, she turned her head and met his scrutinizing, attentive gaze.
- Well, would you mind? - In his pleasant, polite baritone, you could hear everything at once: a sincere apology, an appropriate shyness, and even a genuine interest in the person you were talking to. You could win over almost any audience with that tone, from housewives to businesswomen, but she wasn't one of the many. And Kate squinted incorruptibly.
- Excuse me? - As if she didn't immediately understand the question. - What are you talking about now?
- About what kind of coffee you like, and how far you are in your desires," Castle's innocent expression changed to a sly one, and he squinted enigmatically.
Kate involuntarily responded with the same facial movement. For some time she studied the merry little devils jumping in his eyes, the quivering edges of his lips, ready to break into a cordial smile, and the small wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. Castle seemed desperate to flirt, and she suddenly thought boldly, "Why not?"
- All right, Mr. Castle! - Kate nodded faintly, approvingly. - You can try it! Are you ready?
- Technically I'm always ready," he joked familiarly, "and just call me Rick. By the way, you can only answer yes or no. And," and with his palms spread apart, he made a pained face, "if you see me wasting your time, hit me with the first thing that comes to hand.
- Even if it's a wrench? How about an axe? - With her lips in a tube, Kate rolled her eyes ironically; she rested her elbow on the back of the seat for comfort. - "All right, I'll think about it! Okay?
- Here we go! Are you conservative and straightforward? - Castle smiled softly, interlocked his fingers in front of him.
- Pfft," Beckett raised an eyebrow mockingly, "what's not there is not there.
Rick bowed his head in satisfaction.
- Are you attracted to classical music?
- Only in the good company of those like me, - Beckett shortly chuckled, - but noisy parties and restaurants are much more preferable.
- Ha!" Castle rubbed his palms together in satisfaction, then, in feigned deep thought, touched the tip of his nose with his index finger. - I'm sure you're no stranger to a sense of humor, and you are deafeningly popular with men. You guessed it, didn't you?
Intuitively knowing what he was getting at, Kate bit her lip cheerfully, but it was hard to believe that a stranger could guess her tastes by preference so offhand.
"Hmmm! - Beckett pondered tensely, yet continued to smile benignly. - And this Castle is an uncommon personality! Intelligent, polite, persistent, sociable, knows how to make people feel and has a remarkable acting talent! In his daughter, as you can see, he does not dote on her, and all without any pretense! So maybe I should play a little more? There must be some mystery in a woman, after all!"
And Kate answered evasively, "Almost!" to which Castle instantly and confidently blurted out:
- I get it! You prefer lattes!
Admitting defeat, Beckett rounded her eyes in a daze. Not counting on the right and lightning-quick conclusion, she involuntarily looked away. Keeping her hands on the steering wheel, she absent-mindedly fumbled with her fingernail at a patch of leather. She leaned back in her chair and, after a pause, continued in a slightly bewildered tone:
- Are you always this shrewd? Trying to know everything about everyone?
- I'm a writer," he explained in a soothing tone, "I collect characters, collect fates, then use them in my books.
Then Rick smiled slyly:
- What were you thinking?
- My opinion stays with me, okay? Anything else you want to know, mister?!
Feeling in the girl's voice a subtle firmness, Castle guiltily pressed his head into his shoulders.
- Sorry again for unpunished waste of your precious time, but I'm used to bring everything to its logical conclusion. Will you allow me, or should I shut up?
Kate sighed softly, even doomfully, and Castle took it as a signal to go on.
- Are you studying? - he asked softly, almost in a whisper.
Another low sigh.
- Rich family? A prestigious college?
Kate frowned, wondering how to get from words to deeds, but seeing her interlocutor's genuine interest, she sighed again.
- Law school," Kate's gaze lingered on the dim nameplate of the steering wheel, then shifted to the dashboard. - And just as firmly as my parents, I decided to become a lawyer. Along the way, I'm studying modern art, philosophy, and history.
- Ho-ho! - With a playful clap of his hands, Castle became childishly animated. - I love stories! I can tell my own stories, but I'll save them for a proper moment!
Rick's eyes sparkled dazzlingly, and he folded his arms across his chest with an adorable smile. He tapped his fingers on the folds of his elbow, leisurely licked his weathered lips, and instantly changed the subject:
- Have you ever driven a car before?
Castle was charming beyond all comprehension, and to refuse him, even considering the brevity of the acquaintance, would be the height of ingratitude. But Kate could not decide how to behave with him. Now it made her both angry and nervous, but, of course, without any outward manifestations. And, by the way, I wonder how Castle tolerates rejection and non-acceptance from women? Like a real man: firmly, patiently and with dignity, or, under a mask of good-naturedness, holding a grudge for a while, then vindictively takes it out on the first woman he meets? Damn, what questions arise here! It's a problem bigger than Fermat's theorem! Hmmm!
And Kate frowned at the glowing speedometer scale.
- I had to. I used to have a learner's permit," she frowned even more, "but on the way back from the weekend, we got into an accident. Unfortunately, my mother was the hardest hit, and while I was in the hospital for three weeks, all my "deadlines" "successfully" passed. When my mother was discharged, I already wanted to return to driving school, but my father resisted. Especially when our car was sold under plausible pretext, his fears became apparent. However, my father reassured me by saying that he would only let me go back to school if he felt he could bear it. Of course, I was my father's model daughter.
- Yes, the pre-story of returning to the car world looks very, very sad, but the end is expected to be fantastically fun! Just one step, and one hundred percent driving skills in your pocket, right? - Castle grinned softly ironically.
- Yes, but very, very tiny. Given all the surrounding circumstances, I was on my way to driving school.
- I see, - having changed the position of the body, Castle put his fist under his head, leaning his elbow on the headrest. - Then please, enlighten me, what part of your skills does not require repetition.
- Ha!" smiled Kate reservedly. - Probably the most equidistant from the center. Is there anything else you can learn here?
- A lot," Rick's sly gaze kept Beckett's eyes on her, monitoring her reaction to his every word, "like how to hold the wheel, for instance. And manage to twist it properly, too!
- The right way to turn it? - Kate laughed so loudly she almost choked on her cough. - What's the big deal that I can't do it?
- Yes, you can," Rick explained, very calmly and intimately, as if he were giving a lecture, and Beckett wanted to hear more and more of him. - Put your hands on the lower hemisphere of the steering wheel and imagine that you are touching something nice and familiar. How's that?
Turning her hands slightly, Kate ran her palms over the soft, wiped skin a few times.
- Yes, it looks like a hoop wrapped in cloth.
- Well, no one's going to ask you to do waist circles," Castle took his hand off the headrest with a serious face and a frequent blink. - We'll make it simple. You twist the steering wheel back and forth gently. Do you feel any resistance?
- You bet I do," she listened to Castle's every word, biting her lips in excitement, Kate had all but forgotten she was late. And Castle intuitively felt it.
- Good, that's how it should be. Now the most difficult thing is to remember how to change gears, - Rick was busily watching his student, and explained what he said with short gestures of his hands. - The hardest part is not looking at the lever, but following the road. We look in front of us, while the hand makes short brush movements. Always be in neutral, gear shifting is done in steps, from lower to higher gear when you increase speed, and chaotically when you decrease. Here, it's important to remember what is the danger of shifting into reverse gear while running, and what the consequences can be, I don't think it's necessary to explain.
Castle blurted out the whole phrase in the same breath. He panted a little, swallowed viscous saliva and continued:
- When you change gears, imagine how a spring-loaded ball moves along a narrow channel. It's clearer and simpler that way.
- Easy," Kate clutched the frosted knob of the lever until it squeaked, stubbornly avoiding looking at Castle. As if she was avoiding something that went against her personal notions of men and their surroundings. Now the success of events depended solely on Castle's ability to keep her distance. Fondling Kate's tense gaze, Rick gently placed the palm of his hand over hers. Hesitating with a treacherous shiver somewhere between her shoulder blades and lower back, Beckett turned her attention to his fingers. Big, long, strong, covered with abrasions and smudges of grease, they gripped her thin hand so gently, as if they were holding a glass ball.
- Attention! - quietly but confidently commanded Castle. - Squeeze the clutch! Now shift smoothly - one, two, three, four!
All gears worked accurately, and when the lever returned to the neutral position, Kate realized that not a little sweat. Sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades and down to her waist, her blouse was sticking to her shoulders and pulling unpleasantly. Even Beckett's shaking fingers seemed glued to the matte plastic.
Struggling, smiling artificially, Kate took a cautious breath. It seemed simple, easy, but why was it so complicated and awkward at the same time? She glanced at Rick, who hastily withdrew his palm, for which he received an appreciative nod. Letting go of that dainty, delicate hand was beyond his strength, but he pulled himself together.
Seeing Kate blowing on the wet palm with relief, Castle ran his own across the upholstery of the chair.
- You know, Rick," said Beckett with feigned calmness, still experiencing his touch, "your manner of explaining and showing reminds me of dancing lessons.
Ironic wiggling his eyebrows at this unusual comparison, Castle only grinned.
- We are almost a couple, Kate, and in case you haven't noticed, we dance with our hands and imagination. What are you supposed to do? This old lady's box is a little loose, but if we take our time, we'll do just fine. All right?
- Deal! - Kate answered in tone with him and impatiently reached for the ignition, but Castle gently and quickly intercepted her hand.
- Uh, whoa, whoa! Did you miss anything? - he folded his arms across his chest, squinting his right eye.
- Oh, yes," Kate complained of her forgetfulness and slapped her forehead guiltily. - I didn't fasten my seat belt!
With an affirmative bow of her head, Castle smiled patronizingly:
- A lot of people forget at first, you're not the only one!
Then he added a little more quietly:
- But in time, Miss Beckett, the need to buckle up will become a habit for you.
- Call me Kate, or else I feel older than my years," she adjusted her belt to her own, and with a beautiful movement let her braid down over it.
Her gesture was so graceful and unique that Castle, snarling at her student out of the corner of his eye, almost choked. The already tight, thin blouse stretched the belt even tighter, the clear outline of her breasts as if to challenge his stamina obscenely. And Castle didn't risk answering it. He wiped his forehead with a noisy exhalation and hid his gaze in an embarrassed way, trying not to notice Kate's winning smile.
- What? Is something wrong, Mr. Castle? - she grinned happily, and cocked an eyebrow merrily, staring at Rick's crimson cheek. - Is there something wrong with my belt adjustment? Anything else wrong, maybe?
- Uh, n-no, not at all," Rick mumbled, unsure how to get out of the ambiguous situation. It was the first time he'd been so embarrassed and confused in front of a woman. - Actually, given the ten-mile-per-hour speed limit, you can't even wear a seat belt.
- So, what, I could ride without a belt? What else is there to do around here? - Beckett grinned, enjoying the little comedy, but for some reason Castle was in no hurry to participate. He only puffed and snorted and kept wiping the sweat that broke out on his temples.
- Anything, but supervised," Rick was clearly backing away under playful pressure, "and don't forget to release the parking brake. Please!
- Deal! - Beckett narrowed her eyes slyly, and then, unexpectedly for Castle, she asked a question that had long been on her tongue: "And what kind of coffee do you prefer?
