Several hours later, Kate snuggled on the couch with her book, her feet stretched out on the couch, her back rested comfortably on the cushioned arm rest, as she devoured the words on the page. His words. Her hair was lightly pulled back in a messy bun with wavy tendrils framing her face. She was finally relaxed, her mind at peace.
Just then the front door of the apartment flew open and a disheveled looking Castle stood in the doorway. Kate jumped from the sudden noise after such a divine solitude, nearly dropping her book on the floor.
"Castle!" She started to scold him but stopped short when she saw the slight slump forward of his shoulders and the frustrated look on his face. "Castle," she said more softly, "what's wrong?"
"Those women," he said through gritting teeth, "are so…aggravating!" He clenched his fists and punched the air out in front of him obviously frustrated. He stepped into the room and took off his jacket.
"Castle, I thought you were meeting with Gina. Who do you mean 'those women'?" Kate hoped she didn't sound too upset – too jealous. She didn't mean it to sound that way anyways, but she was a bit confused. But Castle seemed not to notice as he walked into the living room towards where she was seated on the couch.
"So did I. But apparently Paula decided that she needed to see me too, and showed up just after I did."
Oh, Paula, his agent. Beckett quietly released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. Then she quickly focused back on him when she realized that he hadn't finished talking.
"…thought they could tag team me. They went on and on and on, mostly just talking to each other about me like I wasn't even sitting there. I could hardly get a word in, though I don't think they even noticed. They just kept going. 'He is so impossible to get a hold of.' 'I know, he never takes my call, and then he never calls me back.'" Castle was acting out the conversation between Paula and Gina, using high pitched annoying voices and turning his head from side to side mimicking their actions.
Kate couldn't stop her laugh from coming out as she watched the scene before her. Castle plopped down on the couch next to her, now annoyed with her too. "Don't laugh Kate, it's not funny. It was excruciating. I'm exhausted."
Kate just shrugged. "Oh come on Castle, you're being a little bit dramatic aren't you? It can't have been that bad." She looked up at him as his face watched hers with disbelief.
"Not that bad?" He sat up and turned his whole body to face hers. "Are you…not that bad? Dramatic? Imagine getting interrogated by Gates on this side, and on this side…well, another Gates! Two Iron Gates, both out to let you know just how much they disliked you. That's how bad it was."
Kate paused as she flashed on the image of two Gates' both annoyed and unsmiling. Wow, she thought. If that could really happen, that wife I interrogated would have confessed in half the time it took me to get it out of her. She shuddered a bit from the thought.
"Okay, well maybe it was bad Castle, but it's over now. You're home." She smiled and placed her hand on his knee hoping he would start to lift out of his funk.
He looked at her hand, her long fingers squeezing gently, and placing his hand on hers, he softened just a bit. "You're right. They just get me so worked up sometimes. I'm better now." He smiled up at her, though she could see that it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You need something to cheer you up." Kate looked at him with a twinkle in her eye. But before she could say another sultry word, he jumped up off the couch and looked down at her with such excitement, eyes wide like a kid in a candy store.
"Yes! Ice cream!"
Before she could stop him he was bounding towards the kitchen with a new-found energy. It wasn't what she was thinking; she couldn't believe he had forgotten their deal. He must be really shaken from that meeting.
She watched him over the back of the couch as he puttered around getting out all of the things he needed. As he pulled out the can of whipped cream and the jar of maraschino cherries from the fridge, she realized that this was going to be no ordinary bowl of ice cream, he was going for the full on sundae.
As he scooped the ice cream, Rocky Road, and poured the sauce, both chocolate and caramel, a look of disbelief took over her face.
"You know," he said finally looking up at her from across the room, his voice taking on a much lighter tone, as it always did when he was about to explain something to her that he thought she didn't know, "the key to a really good sundae when you're feeling really down is to not hold back, to really just go for it and add as much of everything as the bowl will hold."
She noticed now that the bowl he was pouring colored sprinkles into was actually bigger than your typical ice cream dish. He would be sick if he ate all that, she was sure.
"Um, Castle?" She looked at him questioningly as he shook the can of whipped cream and sprayed it all over the top of his mammoth sundae.
He looked up at her with a devilish smile and said with all the charm he could muster, "Don't worry Beckett, I haven't forgotten about our deal. You'll just have to wait until after ice cream." Then he gave her a knowing wink and wiggled his eyebrows as he brought the can to his lips and shot a sweet spray into his mouth.
She gasped a little and felt the heat rush to her cheeks as her jaw dropped slightly. She actually hadn't been thinking of that. She was more concerned about how he'd be feeling if he tried to eat all that ice cream. She tried to explain herself.
"No, I…" she stammered out as he finished putting all the toppings back in the fridge and the ice cream in the freezer.
"It's okay Kate, I know, you want me," he said with that adorable impish grin that he gets when he knows he's caught her off guard.
She gave up knowing he'd never believe her anyways. And frankly she had been surprised that he hadn't walked in the door, picked her up off the couch and carried her into the bedroom immediately after getting home.
He plopped down beside her again, now with a totally opposite demeanor from the last time he sat there. "Kate?" He asked looking innocently at her.
" Hmm?" She replied, her eyes back on her book.
"Kate." He nudged impatiently at her foot, which he was almost sitting on.
She looked up at him with a light smile. "Yes, Castle?"
"Know what the other key to a really good sundae is?" He beamed a smile at her like he could hardly keep this amazing secret in anymore.
"What?" She asked earnestly.
"Someone to share it with." His smile widened as he produced two spoons.
She laughed out loud and felt the same joy that she could see on his face. She excitedly put her book on the coffee table with one hand and grabbed a spoon with the other. He curled one leg up under him as he turned his body so they could look at each other over the bowl as they ate, Lady and the Tramp style.
She put the first spoonful to her mouth and then laughed. With her mouth still full she said, "Castle, that was all just whipped cream. Is there any ice cream even in there?"
He looked down at the bowl with slight dismay as he realized he may have gone a little overboard with the toppings. "Here, let me…" his voice trailed off as he dug his spoon around the bowl trying to get a little bit of everything.
Finally when he was satisfied with his efforts, he pulled the spoon up out of the bowl and brought it to her lips. Her eyes opened wide with an anticipation and eagerness that surprised her. It was after all, just ice cream.
No, she reminded herself, it was ice cream with him.
She smiled, as she opened her mouth wide, and had just started to move into it when he pulled the spoon back quickly. "Wait!" He exclaimed. She looked up in surprise, slightly shocked at his abruptness.
He put the bowl down on his lap and reached in with his now free hand to pluck out a bright red cherry. He carefully placed it on top of the already large spoonful.
"There," he said putting the spoon back to her mouth, looking at it with pride. "The perfect bite."
Kate opened her mouth again and this time he didn't pull away. He slid the spoon gently into her mouth and her lips closed around it enjoying the first taste of icy sweetness. She pulled back slowly with eyes closed, letting the spoon slide out. Then she looked up at Castle coyly from beneath her lashes. He breathed out audibly, the desire in him growing.
Who knew eating ice cream could be so sexy? He thought.
He kept watching as Kate closed her eyes again and chewed slowly, letting the flavors swirl around her tongue. She could almost feel all the love that he had for her in this one perfect bite and she was enjoying every moment.
Castle sat transfixed watching her jaw slowly work on the cherry and he felt his breath coming faster with each moment. She moaned out slightly as she delighted in the sweetness, and knowing it would turn him on. She finally opened her eyes, heavy with desire, as she swallowed the last bit. She licked her lips softly and slowly reached her hand to his. She pulled his fingers, still sticky with whipped cream and sauce from fishing the cherry out of the bowl, towards her mouth. One at a time she put his fingers in her mouth and sucked the remaining sweetness off with her tongue. She finished with his index finger, never breaking eye contact, lightly dragging her teeth, and finishing with a kiss.
Castle swallowed hard before speaking, his voice deep and gravelly, "Best. Sundae. Ever."