Playing Hard to Get
Chapter 8
Rick had spent the first few hours planning for this epic date, making reservations that they would need. Then he changed his mind and canceled one of them though he kept the other one. Now he needed just one more item. For that, he actually needed to go there and ask them to find out what they had.
"Hi, Dad." Alexis came in after taking Dahlia outside to do her business and saw him in the kitchen starting dinner. Meanwhile, Alexis put fresh water in her bowl and poured some fresh puppy food in another bowl for her to eat.
"Are you still taking Detective Beckett out on a date?" She had heard that he was but wanted to make sure.
Rick looked at her. "Is that a problem?"
"Not at all. I happen to like the detective. She's...real. Are you still wearing that monitoring device?" Alexis was curious about that too.
"Please, don't remind me. That thing is so embarrassing. You'd think I was under arrest or something." Rick still hated it, but he was getting used to being trapped in the Precinct.
"You've been arrested before, Dad, more than once even. If Roy hadn't talked Beckett into dropping the charges, you would have had a court appearance to find out how many years you'd be in prison," Alexis pointed out.
"That was a misunderstanding," Rick maintained.
"You stole something! Right off her desk and took it out of the Precinct. That was not a misunderstanding. If you don't grow up at least a little, it will happen again, and Beckett will keep that thing on your leg for a very long time." Alexis liked him the way he was, but she was betting Beckett didn't.
Rick grimaced. "I know, just it's not that much fun."
"Then find a new way to have fun. Find a way to add Beckett to your new idea of fun. Just don't grow up too much." Alexis didn't want him to change all that much.
Rick smiled at her. "You do know who you're talking to here, right?"
"Where are you taking Beckett on this date that's costing you a cool hundred thousand dollars?" Alexis couldn't help but be curious.
"She still only wants the twenty grand, but I gave her a check for a hundred thousand. She can spend it any way she sees fit. I suggested new furniture for her entire place. Or take a nice long vacation somewhere. Maybe go somewhere and see something. I don't know what she's going to do with it." At least he'd tried.
Alexis was on to his game. "You're avoiding the question, Dad."
"Okay, okay. First up, before it gets dark, a helicopter tour of the Big Apple. Spy the Statue of Liberty, Chrysler Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, and countless other iconic landmarks."
"Sounds nice, provided she doesn't get motion sickness," Alexis warned him.
"Beckett, motion sickness? Never." He had no fear of that.
"And next?" Alexis asked. It was a good start.
"A cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education. We cook it, and then we eat it. We don't like it, that's our fault. But you know me. How bad can it be?" Rick shrugged.
"Just stick with the class," Alexis told him. "Don't try and get creative by adding something stupid like chocolate, and you'll do fine."
Rick was offended. "Are you suggesting that my two chocolate masterpieces are not masterpieces?"
"YES!" Alexis replied quickly and with authority. "Only do what the class says. Don't make Beckett throw up on her plate." Alexis endured his glare with ease. "What else?" So far, she liked it. Something exciting, something to eat, so now what?
Rick was all smiles. "Midnight movie. I've already asked, and they'll be showing Forbidden Planet."
"I love that movie! How long is it showing?" Alexis was thinking of going herself.
"Three days and today is day number one."
"Good, then you can watch Dahlia for me while I see it." Alexis was going to see that movie too.
"You're 15 years old," Rick pointed out. He definitely didn't want her out that late at night.
Alexis huffed an annoyed breath. "It's not even rated R! I've seen it before. I'm still going." One way or another, she would find a way.
"That's not what I meant, Alexis. Fifteen is too young to be out that late. Do you know what could happen to someone your age that late at night in that part of the city?"
She rolled her eyes. "You want me to go with a bodyguard or something? I'll be fine, Dad. People will exit the theater and hop into a taxi and come home. Simple and nice and safe. Besides, I have my can of mace."
"We'll discuss this later." Rick needed to concentrate on dinner right now.
"Is there something after the movie?" Alexis knew they wouldn't talk later. And if they did, she would still win.
"I was thinking Gallow Green was last," Rick said and waited for her response.
She approved. "The McKittrick Hotel rooftop. Not bad."
"And how would you know about it? You're only 15," Rick reminded her yet again.
"I can read, you know," Alexis countered. "But it sounds nice. You have to know she isn't going to remove that device simply because you took her out on one whole date," she cautioned him.
"Are you suggesting that I ask her out on another date?" Rick wasn't even thinking of that. This date was simply because his own mother had put him in an awkward position.
"Better wait to see how this one goes first, Dad. Beckett may like the simpler life."
"I can do simple." Rick saw the look Alexis was giving him. "I can. Maybe a juicy cheeseburger and a shake. You think the Happiest Hour is too much?"
"Why not try that place that's down the street from the Precinct instead of trying to get all fancy on her?" Alexis suggested instead.
Rick nodded. "I can do that. Dinner's ready, grab a plate."
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Kate opened her door. "Hi, Lanie." She let Lanie inside, and closed and locked it behind her.
"A little birdie tells me you're dating Castle." Lanie wanted to hear about every bit of it.
"I'm going to kill Javi," Kate muttered. She was going to skin him alive if she could figure out how to do it.
Lanie looked around. "Where's Lilly?"
"Sleeping. I think I wore her out playing with her."
"All right. Now tell me about this date." Lanie got back on topic since she couldn't play with Lilly.
"It's not a date. Castle paid me to buy him so I could save him from a date with someone else," Kate explained patiently.
"So he's taking you on a date instead of some strange woman. It certainly sounds like a date to me. Has he told you what to wear on this date? Should you get all dressed up again or wear jeans? Knowing Castle, you have to look nice." Lanie was hoping for a very grand place. Something Kate would never do.
"He said I should dress casually, so yeah, I was thinking of a pair of skinny jeans."
"Interesting." Not what she was expecting, but still, she was going out on a date with Castle. "Then wear a see-through top with it."
"Lanie! It's a date. I mean, it's not a date, and I'm not having sex with him. What are you trying to do?" Kate demanded since it sounded like she wanted her to get laid.
Lanie tried again. "I'm trying to help you have fun. Fine, don't have sex with him, be a prude. You could at least make his eyes pop out of his head. I've seen what you've got in that closet, and some of those clothes need to go."
"Castle's a playboy, Lanie. He's probably having sex with someone right now, another conquest so he can add a notch to his bedpost," Kate countered.
Lanie rolled her eyes. "You don't know that, Kate."
"Don't I? That man had sex with his ex-wife, sex with his interior decorator, he bragged about getting laid so many times because of a Sleepless in Seattle moment, and that's just the few he has bragged about."
"And you haven't?" Lanie snorted. "Or have you conveniently forgotten about that Rebel Becks time? How many one-night stands did you have before Will came along and then left you hanging dry?"
"At least I don't do it and brag about it to anyone that will listen." Kate shook her head. "No, Lanie. A single date that's not a real date, and that's the end of it. Then it's back to normal where I have to put up with a 9-year-old strung out on sugar."
"Fine, turn yourself into a prude. But remember, no one will want to date you if you don't want to have fun, and from my perspective, Castle is fun." Lanie took her leave of Kate to let her think about that.
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"Oh, I really shouldn't do this." She just knew if she wore that, she would send the wrong signal. At least it was a little chilly outside, so she would wear a light coat to ward off the coolness of the night later.
Then she heard her door's buzzer. He was here, and it was too late. Kate looked at herself, adjusted her strapless bra, and looked again. Castle had said casual, and Lanie had suggested see-through, so she had done both. She wore skinny jeans that were a light blue that showed off her long legs, the best solid white strapless bra she had, and a completely see-through top with tiny five-petal flowers sprinkled on it. She could see everything that the bra didn't cover.
It was too long for her arms. She could hide her hands inside the sleeves if she wanted, and it went down to her butt. She had chosen a twisted white cord with a silver clasp for a belt and had stuffed what she would need in her pockets, so she didn't need a purse.
"Oh, boy." Kate took a deep breath and hurried to the door. She checked to see if it was him and opened it.
Now both of them were standing there in amazement. Good god, but he looked handsome. Okay, what he wore to the Precinct was nice, but now he looked nice and damn sexy.
Rick couldn't take his eyes off that white bra. It was literally all he could see. "You look amazing."
"Thank you, Castle. You look wonderful too." Kate could see those shoulders better, and he had a broader chest than she realized.
"Has Alexis come and picked up Lilly?" Rick inquired. "She said she was going to."
"She did, and Lilly bounced all over the place. I just need my coat, and we can go." She saw Castle had a light coat over his arm for later. But she chickened out and put hers on so it covered her a little more.
Kate hoped she was ready. God, what had she done to get to this point?
Rick put his free arm out for her to take, and Kate looped her arm through his and closed and locked her door, and went with him. Downstairs she saw a town car waiting for them. Not a taxi. At least it wasn't a limo.
"So where are we going?" Kate couldn't help but be curious.
"Six East River Greenway," Rick told the driver since he had it all memorized for this.
Kate knew sort of where that was. It was the docks, so she was thinking a boat or maybe a dinner cruise. Whatever it was, it didn't sound so bad.
"Liberty Helicopter! We're going on a helicopter tour!?" Kate stared at him in a bit of shock.
"Are you scared, do you have motion sickness?" Rick would have to think fast if she said yes to either.
"No, it sounds like fun. I've never actually been in a helicopter before," Kate told him as she took his arm and went inside.
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It was a big helicopter, and they sat in the back with another couple split upfront. It was fun, only lasted 20 minutes, and they never got all that low. It was pretty much just one long 20-minute ride that was mostly a sightseeing tour a few thousand feet high.
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"Two Twenty-five Liberty Street," Rick told the driver. That told Kate they were going to the Battery Park area.
"Brookfield Place?" She couldn't think of anything in this building that could be a date location. She found out once they reached the third floor. "A cooking class?" Kate actually smiled at him. She liked this even better than the helicopter tour.
There were three couples. Each couple took the class, and they cooked together. Given what Kate had on, she expected Castle to be staring at her tits the entire time. Yet, throughout this class, and even while they ate what they prepared, Castle never took his eyes off hers. She was conflicted about it.
She was glad he was looking at her and yet all the pictures in the paper showed him with young blonde women, she was thinking, given that the photos were all black and white and they all had big tits, to really big tits. Her tits were not her strong point. Her legs were, and she knew it.
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The following address told her they were going to see a midnight movie. She knew this location. She had been here before.
"Forbidden Planet! I love this movie!" Kate did it before she could stop herself – she kissed him. She had planned on it being a quick kiss, but she found that this kiss sent something through her. It wasn't just a simple kiss.
This was where Castle finally showed he was still a kid. He got them both sodas and popcorn that they shared, and he got M&M's that he shared with her too.
More times than she could count, she found her hand reaching for popcorn while watching her most favorite movie in the world, and her hand would end up on his or vice versa. She held out her hand, and he would drop an M&M in it for her to enjoy.
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Kate thought the date was over. "Thanks, Castle."
"We're not done yet," he said. Granted, it was almost 2:00 am, but he still had plans.
"Not yet?" Kate was shocked. This time they did take a taxi since he had dismissed the car.
"McKittrick Hotel," he told the driver.
He wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking, was he? Get a room together and have sex? She should have known better. He really was a damn Playboy.
"We're going to the rooftop, so take your mind out of the gutter, Beckett."
"Oh." Now she felt terrible. She had automatically thought he was thinking sex, and he wasn't.
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"Gallow Green." She could say she had never heard of this place before. However, stepping inside, she wondered why. It was gorgeous! It had green plants everywhere, though there wasn't a large sitting area. It was rather private and unbelievably pretty.
They had fried Calamari and Northern Lights, made of Tequila, pomegranate juice, citrus, and soda.
Kate wasn't watching how drinks Castle had, but she was nursing drink number 4 when a staff member told them they were finally closing and had to leave.
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Kate was smiling wide and was hanging onto Castle as they walked into his building from the taxi. She had to come here to pick up Lilly before going home. But she had really loved her date that wasn't actually a date.
"Coffee?" Rick offered once they were inside.
"Sure." She needed to kill some of this buzz she had from far too many Northern Lights. They must have made them extremely strong. She had done shots of Tequila before, but these things were killer.
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Kate blinked blearily and tried to focus. It was just that nothing made much sense. All she saw was skin. Moving an arm showed that it wasn't her skin. She also felt pretty warm. She was next to a body, and it was naked or at least topless.
Looking up, she let her mouth fall open and swallowed her reaction. It was Castle, and he was topless. That had her looking down. He wasn't topless – he was naked!
HELL, she was naked! Oh my God! No, no, no! It wasn't possible! She'd had sex with Castle! What had she done!? Had she invited him back to her place? Kate moved her head and realized that this wasn't her bedroom. Certainly not her bed, and a picture of a lion was on the wall looking at her.
Kate looked at how she could extract herself from him and off the bed, hopefully without waking him. She did not want to have a conversation about them sleeping together. Better that she just ignored this had ever happened. It took her a little work, but she was finally out of bed, and he was still sleeping. Curse her eyes, but they landed on his family jewels. SHIT, he definitely had a reason to live.
But that wasn't the point. Kate had just made herself another notch on Castle's bedpost. That was something she had told herself she was never going to do, and yet she obviously had.
What she needed were clothes. Panties, pants, coat, shoes, but where in the hell was her bra!?
An open door turned out to be an enormous bathroom with a nice big tub, and an equally large walk-in shower. Still naked, she looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, naturally. Her lips didn't look bruised or anything. Her breasts didn't look like they were marked, but maybe. Fingers at her core showed that she had been wet down there, but she didn't feel damaged, so she must have been willing.
Turning so she could see her butt, she clapped a hand over her mouth. She had marks on her ass! Where the hell had those come from? Trying to run a finger to trace them, she came up with a rough idea of a hand print that was faded but still a bit visible. "He spanked me!?" Yeah, Kate knew she could do kinky, but it had been a while since she had done anything like that. Thankfully her ass didn't burn, so they hadn't done that.
Kate got dressed and not wanting to make any noise, left her shoes off. She still had everything in her pockets, so getting home would be easy enough.
Shoes in hand, she tiptoed out of the bathroom and saw Castle was still asleep. But as she reached the bedroom door to escape this room, she saw it. HOW THE HELL HAD HER BRA GOTTEN UP THERE!? Her face blazing, she grabbed it and closed her coat around her since she was pretty much topless. Her top was completely see-through.
Tiptoeing out of the bedroom, she eventually went into the living room. She was definitely in the loft and not her apartment.
But then a voice greeted her. "Good morning, Detective." Turning to look, she saw Alexis sitting at the breakfast bar.
OH, GOD! Her walk of shame and who spotted her? ALEXIS! It couldn't be Martha. No, it just had to be Alexis, and here she was carrying her shoes, her bra, and trying to keep her coat shut around her, all at the same time.
Could this possibly get any worse?
"How was your date with Dad?" Alexis could see everything. Except what was under the coat.