A/N: Wow! Thank you SO much for all the amazing reviews!! They inspired me to update sooner than I usually would. So thanks again! Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual. :)


Kate watched Castle and Melissa dancing together, and frowned.

Damn Castle. He had invited her here, to "show her off" as he liked to say, and then he goes and abandons her for his ex-girlfriend. And hadn't he promised that he wouldn't leave her alone? Of course she had denied that she feared being left alone, but the truth was that she was terrified.

She was fine at the precinct, fine with police officers, and fine in a morgue. But if you put her with a bunch of rich people, she was terrified. She was out of her comfort zone and she hated it.

Beckett sipped her drink as she watched Melissa and Castle. The song began to come to a close, and she sighed a sigh of relief. Castle pulled Melissa off the dance floor and began walking towards where Kate was sitting.

"Oh, Ricky, I've missed you so much!" Melissa was laughing and smiling, hanging onto Castle's arm as they walked towards Kate. "We just have to spend more time together!"

Castle stopped a few feet away from where Kate was sitting, and she got the odd feeling that he didn't know she was there.

"Melissa," Castle turned to her, so that his back was facing Beckett. He pushed Melissa off of him gently. "Stop, okay? We're not together anymore."

"But we should be." Melissa smiled. Her eyes flickered to Kate and then back to Castle, who seemed completely unaware that the detective was sitting less than four feet away and was listening to every single thing that they said. "Unless there's someone else?"

"There's no one else." He said.

"Are you sure?" Melissa prodded, doing her best to look like she was about to cry. "I mean…I saw you dancing with that Beckett woman."

"Kate and I are just friends." Castle said too quickly.

Beckett, who had been eavesdropping, felt her hopes die. It was childish to have a crush on Castle, really it was. But hearing him say that they were only friends still hurt her. She had been sure that he was going to kiss her, and she had felt so comfortable in his arms.

"Really?" Melissa asked. "You looked like you were going to kiss her." It was like she had read Kate's mind.

"I just got caught up in the moment." Castle said, looking away from Melissa. He had never been a very good liar, and he didn't want her calling him out. "The music, the dancing, it just seemed like the perfect moment to kiss her. I know I probably shouldn't have but it's just Kate. I doubt she'll ever even think about it." He shrugged. "I only did it in the heat of the moment. I don't have feelings for her."

Melissa smiled, knowing that she had just won. Kate's face fell and the detective grabbed her purse and shoved people out of her way so that she could get to the door. It was only when she got outside that she realized Castle had driven her here. Damn it.

Her cell phone hadn't fit in her purse, so she had decided to leave it at home. She didn't figure she would need it. To make matters worse, it was beginning to rain and there were no taxis in sight.

Beckett crossed her arms and began to pace back and forth. What was wrong with that man? He was going to kiss her because it felt like the perfect moment to kiss her? He didn't even have any feelings for her. If there was one thing that Kate took seriously, it was relationships. She had thought that maybe Castle would too, if only the right woman came along.

Castle always hit on her and she always rolled her eyes, knowing that he wasn't serious. But his compliments always made her smile. She liked knowing that she was playing hard to get with him. She liked that he wanted her, but she wouldn't give in. She liked being the one in control.

But it was all fake. Nothing he said was even remotely true. Damn Castle.

Kate felt a stinging sensation in her eyes and didn't realize that she was nearly crying until her vision began to fog up. She blinked quickly, trying to get the tears to go away. There was no way in hell that she was going to cry over this guy. He was nothing to her except for an annoying jerk.

"Kate?"

She heard her name and turned around. Of course Castle would be standing there. Every element in the universe had to gang up against her, didn't they?

"What do you want?" She snapped.

Castle was confused as he walked towards her, but hid it with a smile. Kate had to suppress a shiver as the wind began to blow as a storm approached. "Trying to pick up men outside the party isn't a very good idea, detective. And besides, you're too good for them." He grinned at her and winked.

Beckett had to restrain herself from yelling at him, or breaking into tears. She decided to focus on the anger.

"Save your crap for someone who cares, Castle." She growled and turned away from him. "Leave me alone and go back to your girlfriend."

It wasn't a surprise when he just walked closer to her. "Ex-girlfriend. Beckett, I don't understand. Are you angry that I danced with Melissa? Look, I'm sorry. I—,"

"I don't care that you danced with Melissa!" Kate exclaimed, spinning on her heel and looking straight into his eyes. "I don't give a damn what you do with Melissa. Go have another unsuccessful marriage. I don't care. I just want to go home!"

"Who said anything about marriage?" Castle asked, trying not to raise his voice and finding it difficult. "Why won't you tell me why you're so pissed off? What happened? Was it me? Personally, I thought the night was going pretty damn well!"

"There's nothing wrong. I just want to go home!" She yelled and turned away from him.

The wind picked up and the rain began to fall harder. Castle didn't reply, and Kate stood there with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She was freezing, and couldn't stop shivering. There were still no cabs anywhere.

A few minutes later, Kate felt something slide onto her shoulders. She was confused at first, and then she realized that it was Castle's jacket.

"C'mon." He said, not looking at her. "I'll take you home."

Beckett bit her lip and then followed him to the car. She unconsciously hugged the jacket closer to her body. She hated herself for liking the way his jacket felt around her.

The car ride was silent. Both of them stared out the window until they arrived at Kate's apartment building. Castle parked the car and then looked at her.

"Won't you at least tell me what's wrong?" He asked. He looked so sincere that Kate almost forgot why she was angry. "Please?"

Beckett looked away from him. "Nothing is wrong. I'm fine. I guess I was just caught up in the heat of the moment."

Without waiting for his response, Kate shrugged his jacked off and got out of the car, making her way to her apartment.


Castle was completely confused. He just didn't understand that woman. What had he done to her? Was she angry because of the almost-kiss? What was it?

A horrible thought struck him as he waited impatiently at a red light, watching the rain. What Kate had said about that 'caught in the heat of the moment' stuff…she couldn't have heard him, could she?

And more importantly, why would she get so upset if she did hear him? It's not like she actually had feelings for him.

Right?

Castle sighed and hit the gas a little too roughly as soon as the light changed to green. Why did life have to be so complicated? And, more importantly, why did women have to be so complicated? If she would have just told him why she was angry then he could have…well, he didn't know, but he could have done something.

Castle hated knowing that he caused Beckett to get upset. It was one thing to tease her and deliberately make her angry, but it was another to make her angry without trying. He truly cared for her and he hated everything that caused her pain. Especially if it was him.

Whatever he did, he was going to make it up to her. He would make sure of it.


Melissa sat smiling as she watched couples dance and sipped her drink. Everything had gone so smoothly. The detective had run out, and Melissa knew that she would have Castle all to herself as soon as he got back.

Melissa's smile widened as one thought went through her mind: I win.


A/N: Reviews are love! (Review please) :D

Also, if this story every suddenly stops being updated, I'm really sorry. I've been having a lot of computer problems lately (it started smoking, not kidding!) and I'm not sure if it's going to crash or be okay or what. So if I ever just stop updating for months, then please forgive me. The story definitely isn't dead and it WILL be updated when/if my computer gets fixed (if it even breaks in the first place). But let's just hope that doesn't happen :) So...thanks again!