Rose for a kitten
Kat reached into her locker, carefully pulling out the scarlet flower. She stared at it, not believing that it was what she thought it was. She was examining the petals and didn't even hear the person come up behind her. "What's wrong? You look confused." Kat looked back at Carter. His gaze turned to the flower. "Where did the rose come from?" A frown crossed his face.
Kat turned to face him. She shut the locker and leaned back against it. "I don't know. It was in my locker." She thought about it for a moment and then finally spoke. "Maybe Richard gave it to me." She saw the frown on Carter's face become a scowl. "Maybe it was Emily, or perhaps Thom."
"I don't like that list of options." Carter was obviously displeased, and Kat was sort of enjoying the reaction. "What exactly is your relationship with them if you think they'd be giving you a rose?" Kat could hear the edge of annoyance in his voice.
Kat decided that, while it wasn't always smart to push her luck, she couldn't resist. "Well, I think you're already aware of Richard's attraction to me. Thom has shown quite a bit of interest in me. I mean, I've seen him looking at me in the locker room. Emile flirts a lot. Even felt me up a couple of times." Kat could tell that she was just about to push it too far, but she decided to pull it back a bit. "Though I know that I don't want it to be any of them."
Carter didn't ease up. "Then who do you hope it's from? Jorge?" He was tense and was breathing deeply. Kat didn't even bother to look up from his chest, which she was staring at without attempting to hide it.
Kat tore her gaze from his body and looked to his face. "I want it to be from you." Carter seemed to relax a bit. Kat smirked, glad to see that his anger was fading. "In fact, I don't care who gave it to me. I'm just going to pretend that it was you." Kat reached out, setting a hand on his chest. "Oh Commander, you shouldn't have." She smiled as she moved the rose to her face, sniffing at it.
Carter looked down at her hand and Kat could see the argument behind his eyes. He liked the contact, she knew he did, but he also knew that it was inappropriate. His gaze looked back to her and he didn't speak for a few moments. She felt his hand move to her side for just a second before it was pulled back. "I didn't give it to you, Kat."
Kat rolled her eyes. "I know that. I said I'm going to pretend you did. Can't you just play along?" She leaned a bit toward him, putting more pressure on her hand. She could feel his heart through the thing shirt that separated them.
Carter shook his head. His own hand moved up, settling on her wrist and forcing her hand off of him. "No, Kat, and you know it." Kat frowned and Carter took a step away from her. "If you find out who gave that to you, do tell me. He and I will have to have a talk." Kat nodded and Carter took the rose from her hand. He looked it over, examining the stem. He broke it off part of the way down and then slipped it behind Kat's ear. She smiled at the gesture and Carter turned, moving to his own locker.
Kat decided not to push her luck and moved out of the locker room, smiling happily. Carter may not have given her the rose, but she had no interest in who had actually given it to her. In her mind, there was no question that Carter had been the one that gave it to her.
