Chapter 5:
After dropping Castle off at his loft, Kate called Lanie to meet her at her apartment. She needed to make sure that she didn't leave anything that she would need for her trip, and Lanie was always helpful when it came to things regarding fashion. She always struggled when it came to getting ready for things that involved Castle in some way as well. She supposed it was because she was trying to impress him in a way. Reflecting on it, it seemed silly to her, but that was the only logical explanation she could come up with to describe her actions.
Lanie showed up ten minutes later. Kate was busy in her bedroom packing necessary toiletries when her friend walked into her apartment.
"Kate?" Lanie called. "I'm here. Where are you?"
"Bedroom," Beckett answered.
Lanie walked the short distance to Kate's room and gasped. If Lanie hadn't known better, she would have said that Kate's room had been trashed. Clothes were piled up everywhere, and various other items were scattered randomly throughout the room.
"I need help," Kate said. "I don't know what to take with me. Castle says to bring a swimsuit for the indoor pool and Jacuzzi, but he didn't really say much else. That's one thing I definitely need. I haven't gone bathing suit shopping in ages, and I can't seem to find the top anywhere. I know it's irrational to be upset about this situation, but this makes me a little uncomfortable. I mean, I'm not his girlfriend. He even offered to pay me my weekly salary and add twenty percent to give me some incentive to go. I told him he was absolutely nuts for even offering."
"Kate, I love you. I really do, but you need to lighten up a little. The guy's just trying to do something nice, remember? He's not out to get you. He's one of your closest friends. Even though I think that paying you to go is a little on the extreme side, I can kind of see why he offered. He doesn't know what's going on with you. You've been freaking out on him quite a bit since he brought the idea up. Now, come on. Grab your purse and come with me. We need to do some serious shopping," Lanie replied.
"What's wrong with the clothes that I have?" Kate inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing except for the fact that my grandmother dresses better. Do you at least own anything from the last decade?" she said as she picked up a pair of Kate's extremely conservative underwear. "This," she emphasized, "Is scary. We need to fix this immediately. No one should ever wear this."
Kate sighed again for what seemed like the thousandth time. This was definitely turning into a nightmare. Kate grabbed her keys, purse and wallet and they both hastily departed.
The trip took longer than expected, but Lanie made sure that it was worth it. They had accumulated a mountain of shopping bags, each filled with cute dresses, tops, and pants. Lanie was slowly leading up to the grand finale: taking Kate to Victoria's Secret in order to hopefully buy something appropriate for Castle.
As they drew closer to the store, Kate suddenly caught on. She stopped dead in her tracks and would have turned and walked in the other direction had Lanie not grabbed her arm.
"No way, Lanie. I know what you're trying to do, which is both very sweet and slightly creepy at the exact same time."
"Look, Kate. It's not for Castle, okay. I mean, I'm not going to lie that the thought hasn't crossed my mind once or twice. Haven't you ever just wanted to feel sexy?"
"I don't see him being interested in me in that way, Lanie. He could have any girl he wanted. Today was a nice day. Thanks, really. I didn't really know how much I needed it. "
"I'm seriously going to smack you. Now, stop stalling," Lanie said, rolling her eyes.
Several hours, infinite amounts of protests, and hundreds of dollars later, Lanie was finally satisfied with the amount of things that Kate purchased. While Kate had been busy trying on countless outfits, Lanie had been busy buying some ensembles for Kate to sneak in with the stuff they had previously bought. Kate would kill her if she saw what she had gotten. She bought Kate a black lace bustier and matching thong that also included a garter belt and stockings. She also ordered some black stiletto heels to match and had them shipped to Castle's house in the Hamptons. They were to be delivered the next day. She also bought a blood red satin nightie for her that also didn't leave much to the imagination. Finally, she also snuck in two push up bras, one the color of sapphires, the other a vibrant green, with satin panties in both colors to match.
After shopping, they went to eat a light dinner together at Remy's and then went back to Kate's apartment again to pack. Lanie sat on Kate's bed watching her as she managed to shove all of the clothing they bought into a tiny suitcase. Lanie was busy texting Castle the whole time. She knew that they had forgotten to buy Kate a swimsuit today, so she told Castle to pick something out for her. She also told Castle that she had bought Castle a special surprise courtesy of Kate, and that he should ask her about it later.
Lanie left shortly after, leaving Kate to wait alone in her apartment for Castle to show up. He knocked on her door at exactly seven. She unlocked the door and let him in, gesturing to the suitcase she had packed.
"Ready to go?" she asked awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to say.
"Yeah. Hey, listen…Lanie told me to ask you about a surprise that you have for me. What is it?" he inquired curiously.
"Surprise? I don't know what she's referring to. I mean, we did go shopping today, but I didn't buy anything for you. Besides, I don't think Victoria's Secret sells lingerie for men," she teased.
"You went to Victoria's Secret without me? Now, that's just mean!" he exclaimed with mock astonishment. One of these days, he decided, he was going to go through her stuff to see what she had packed. His curiosity was burning intensely inside him.
Kate rolled her eyes and picked up her suitcase. Castle took the hint and opened the door for her, letting her exit the apartment first. Her then offered her an arm, which she gladly took.
This began a vacation that neither of them would ever forget….
A/N: I'm sorry if Beckett seems a little crazy. To be honest, I was honestly trying to stress the internal struggle that she is having about her feelings with Castle. I'll try to keep the angst that she feels about the situation down to a minimum so as not to annoy anyone. Much love!
As always, REVIEW!