Again, a big thanks to everyone who reviewed. It made me really happy to see that people like the story so far, and amused me to no end seeing how surprised so many people were that I am only 15. Now what are you waiting for? Read!
He picked up a shell and tossed it into the ocean with a little more force than necessary. Dragging his feet through the cool sand he stood up in search of something else he could throw. The night had been a sleepless one; his mind just wouldn't shut down and let him relax. So at 3 am he had gotten out of bed and tried to clear his head with a walk, now it was five in the morning and he was still out here. Since he had been sitting here angrily tossing whatever he could find into the waves for hours he had depleted the supplies of rocks and shells within reaching distance. He walked down to where the water met the sand and dipped one foot in testing it then jumped back when the shock of the cool temperature hit him.
He'd been feeling that way a lot lately, shocked. When he'd finally figured out what she had been trying to tell him before he left one could say he was definitely more than a little bit shocked. When she told him that she'd broken up with Demming right before his going away party the pieces were just beginning to put themselves together. But when she said that Demming just wasn't the one she wanted it all made sense, she was about to tell him that she wanted to give them a shot but then Gina showed up and she backed down. How stupid could he be? He knew she didn't want to tell him to have a great summer, but he just disregarded it thinking it probably wasn't that important. Well, it had definitely been important.
Then he had been shocked when he realized what he was saying to her last night. After he had put all of the pieces of the puzzle together he couldn't stop himself, the words poured out of his mouth of their own volition and he was powerless to stop them. But telling her had felt right; it was something he had to do. After all, she was going to convey the same message only a month ago. She probably wasn't going to use the word love but she had been trying to tell him the same thing; that she wanted a relationship with him. So at some point not too long ago she had wanted what he told her last night, but what if she didn't anymore? What if he had driven her away for good? His feelings were completely exposed. He was standing in the middle of a wide-open field with no place to hide, and she was standing by the trees that made up the start of the dark forest. She could choose to come join him out in the open or run and hide in the darkness of the forest, and he had a pretty good idea of what she was going to choose. He saw three things in her eyes last night before he left, surprise, fear and something he couldn't put his finger on. He hadn't waited around to identify it in fear of what it might turn out to be. What if she ran away from him now? He didn't think he could handle that. Damn, he should have just waited a little longer, until she was ready to make that leap again.
He found a large stone, picked it up and hurled it into the ocean omitting a loud grunt in an attempt to let out some of his anger at himself. He just couldn't control his damn mouth could he? He just had to tell her everything and most likely push her away for good. He ran his fingers through his already messy hair trying to gather his thoughts. He couldn't take back what he said now so he would just have to deal with it. But how exactly would he deal with it? He couldn't play it off like it had meant nothing to him; he knew that would just make her angry. The only other option was to find her at some point and talk to her about it. That's what he would have to do, talk it out. God, he really had matured since she showed up in his life.
He started swaying back and forth with the wind as he watched the waves crash onto the shore to their own rhythm. Suddenly he felt something collide with his side and the next thing he knew he was falling. What the hell? He was lying on the sand while the same something that had ran into him was sprawled across his chest. He looked up to find himself staring into extremely familiar green eyes.
"Kate?" He mentally chastised himself for not calling her Beckett; it was a sign that something had changed between them. But something had changed between them, in fact a lot had, and he couldn't just pretend it hadn't.
"What are you doing out here so early?" She still wasn't saying anything so he tried to start a conversation. He would have stood up but she was still lying on top of him making no move to get up. After a few moments she still hadn't spoken so he just stared back at her. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, staring into each other's eyes while her eyes occasionally darted down to his lips. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head, as if she was trying to come to a decision. He felt his chest tighten and his breathing hitch when she bit her lip in that undeniably sexy way, whenever she did that he was so close to losing control. He didn't think he could take much more of this, her body was flush against his. He was almost praying for her to speak, to distract him from the way he reacted to her.
Her eyes lit up as she seemed to reach the decision she had been trying to make, and before he knew what was happening her lips were on his. Her oh so soft lips. After the initial surprise he reacted, kissing her back with everything he could muster. Her tongue ran across his bottom lip, requesting entrance. He opened his mouth to hers as their tongues teased each other. Their lips' movements were slow and sensual, the opposite of their relationship. Everything they did was flirtatious and fiery. Their witty banter, the playful gestures and even the way they caught killers. But this was different, their kiss was full of, dare he say it, love. When the need for oxygen became too great to ignore he reluctantly broke away, staring again into her twinkling green orbs.
"Well good morning to you too." He raised an eyebrow at her as she got up off of his now heaving chest. Rolling her eyes she extended her hand to him and he took it letting her help pull him up off of the ground. After it was clear she wasn't going to respond to that he tried again.
"Is that how you apologize to every guy you knock over?" He could tell she was trying very hard to hold in the smile that was playing at her lips.
"Yeah Castle," she lost the battle as she grinned, "but it sure confuses some guys when I just get up and just continue running after."
"So you were going for a run, huh? Isn't it a little early?" He looked down to check his watch; it was 5:30 in the morning.
"I didn't exactly sleep well, why are you up this early?" She gave him a look that told him everything he needed to know about her lack of rest.
"Well," he began, "I didn't exactly get much sleep either. I've actually been out here since three."
"Guess I should have gone running earlier then." She was smirking now.
They both turned back towards the house and started walking. He wasn't exactly sure where that kiss left them so instead of taking hold of her hand he lightly brushed his fingers against hers every few strides hoping she'd get the hint. And true to her detective form she figured it out, lacing her fingers with his as they continued walking down the beach.
"You were right Castle," she said after a few minutes of companionable silence, "the view is better during sunrise."
"You know," he replied, "you are allowed to call me Rick."
"Hmm Rick," she tested the name, "I suppose I might be able to get used to that." She faked an annoyed sigh as she turned towards him stopping their movement. He looked at her expectantly as she took a deep breath.
"Hey Rick?" She seemed uncharacteristically nervous now. He took her other hand in his free one in an attempt to make her more comfortable.
"Yes Kate?" He asked as he stepped a little closer to her.
"I love you too." She closed the distance between them, giving him another soft kiss before breaking away with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Race you back!" She exclaimed and took off down the beach. There was no denying that this woman was a constant surprise, completely unpredictable. But he was beginning to figure her out, if only a little bit. His eyes strayed from the back of her head to her perfectly toned ass, what could he say he was male after all?
"Eyes up kitten!" She yelled out as she continued running along the shoreline. He let out an amused chuckle and sprinted through the sand trying to catch up to her.
Come on, review! Did you like it? Did you hate it? I hope you didn't hate it but whatever your opinion is you should tell me. Also, any suggestions you have are always welcome, I do have the story pretty planned out but I can definitely fit things in if people want to see them.