Sorry about the delay, but I had writer's block. Stinks, but oh well. Anyways, here's chapter three!
Chapter 3: Ryan and Carter
I tried on many outfits, but none of them worked for me. I called Kate and she helped me out. I didn't tell her what the occasion was, just that I was going out. I arrived at Richard's apartment door, wearing a short black coat that covered my dress. My long hair was curly, with a portion of it pinned in the back of my head.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A red haired, blue-eyed girl in her teens answered it. She was pretty, but without being too pretty.
"Hello, miss." I said.
"Hi! My name's Alexis Castle. Are you looking for my dad?" She looked at me.
"Your dad?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, Richard Castle?" Alexis said, looking slightly confused.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just didn't expect famous Richard Castle to have such a pretty daughter." I replied, smiling at her. She returned my smile.
"So you must be the infamous Serena Carter. Richard has been talking non-stop about you." A red-haired woman in her mid-fifties waltzed in, wearing a white dress that suited her well.
"Oh, what has he told you?" I asked, a bit afraid.
"Oh, that you're beautiful, charming, feisty, and sexy. By the way, I'm Martha. Richard's mother, if you can believe it." She smiled at me.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs.-" I began.
"Just call me Martha. If you start calling me 'Mrs.' then everyone will want to. That'll lead to men leaning away from me, instead of – " She was cut off by Richard coming downstairs.
"Hello, Richard!" I said, smiling at him.
"Serena! You clean up very well." He smiled back at me, holding his arm out. I took it and we started to leave.
"Wait!" Martha quickly gave Richard a kiss on his cheek.
"Dad, don't be home too late! 10:30 at the latest, okay?" Alexis said.
"Yes, daughter. I promise to be good. Don't wait up, mother." He kissed Alexis goodbye.
"It was wonderful to meet you two. Bye now!" I smiled at them.
"Bye, Serena!" Martha said, waving with one hand. The other held a glass of red wine.
"Bye, Dad! Bye, Ms. Carter!" Alexis grinned at us. Richard closed the door.
"All right. Let's go!" He led me out.
"Thanks! You're actually very sweet, Richard." I smiled at him again.
"You sure do smile a lot, Serena." Richard said.
My smile faltered.
"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this. Especially with a beautiful woman, such as yourself." He gently side-hugged me. My smile returned.
"The reason that I smile a lot is because now I have a reason to," I said. Richard returned my smile.
A few moments later, we were eating at a restaurant. I had taken my jacket off and Richard had widened his eyes. I was wearing a tight fitting blue sequined dress that went to my mid-thighs. Richard fixed his blue striped tie and his navy blue jacket.
"Richard, is this too weird for you? Eating dinner with a living corpse?" I said, taking a sip of wine.
"No. Because I know that the 'living corpse' is a hot one and I find her very interesting." He replied. I blushed, cursing myself the whole while. Then I realized something.
"Richard? You've been so kind to me this whole time. Is there anything you'd like to know regarding my death?" I said, more quietly as the waitress cleared our dessert plates away and gave Richard the check.
"Actually, there are several things we'd like to know. However, all this can be arranged for tomorrow." He looked at me. The waitress collected the check and went away.
"You want me to come with you to work tomorrow?" I said, excited.
"Yes. If you want to." He returned.
"I'd love to!" I smiled at him.
"Perfect!" He toasted me. He drove me back home and walked me to the door. I unlocked it, letting him in.
"Are you all right being on your own tonight? You're welcome to camp out at my place, if you'd like. I'll even sleep on the couch and be your watchdog." His offer was kind and I knew he meant well, but I shook my head.
"Actually, Kate wanted me to stay with her, but thank you so much for the offer. She's coming in like ten minutes. You're welcome to stay until she arrives!" I said, gesturing to the chairs.
"I'd better not, Beckett and I don't see eye to eye. So I'll be off then." He gave me a kiss on my cheek and left.
I smiled, touching the tingly spot where his lips had parted with my skin. I didn't say anything about that to Kate, when she picked me up. I kept the whole date to myself. The next morning, I woke up earlier than Kate. I took a shower and pondered through my closet. I decided to wear a tight black skirt, a white polo blouse and a thick black belt around my waist.
That day, I met two men. One of whom I recognized before Kate spoke his name.
"Hello again, Kevin!" I said, smiling at him. He turned red, which contrasted with his dark hair and eyes. He wore a blue shirt and dress pants with black shoes. The other cop echoed his look.
"Javier Esposito. Pleased to meet you." We shook hands.
"So, how do you and Ryan know each other?" Kate asked.
"He was my date to senior high school prom. My dad almost made him cry. It was rather amusing to me," I explained, grinning at Kevin's mutinous expression.
"You two?" Richard said, laughing.
"No way, a beautiful woman like you and Ryan? Ha! That's priceless!" Javier high-fived Richard.
"Okay, all jokes aside, we do have some questions about your death, Serena." Kate said, although she smiled.
"Okay, go ahead and ask." I replied, catching Kevin's eye.
"To begin, what happened?" Kate asked.