EDITED because there were so many mistakes it was embarrassing... not sure I got them all.
Author's note : So, no updates in a while. I have been writing but I started with chapter 5, then 4, then 3. The good news is : I'm posting them all ! I found a rhythm to this story. One chapter with humor, the next one is drama and so on. This one is humor, or should be.
Feel free to point errors to me, grammar and stuff. I'm not sure some of the sentences are comprehensible.
"What happened ?"
"Nothing Lanie."
"Hu, hu, girl." The ME shook her head. "Then what are we doing here ? Drinking."
"We're waiting for Esposito and Ryan. We're celebrating yet another case closed !" Beckett said, trying to sound cheerful.
"And you look like someone kicked your puppy because ?"
The detective glared at her.
"Or... you're the one who kicked the puppy", Lanie guessed. Beckett thought that her friend was too damn perceptive sometimes. "That's why we're in the Old Haunt without writer-boy."
"I told you. He wanted to see Alexis."
"Alexis is in Stanford. Spring break is over. Had been for a while." Too. Damn. Perceptive.
"Skype", she mumbled.
"Riiiiiiiiiiight" the ME mocked, taking a sip of her Cosmopolitan. Beckett was saved from more embarrassment by the arrival of her two colleagues. Or so she thought.
"Where's Castle ?", asked Ryan, trying to block the view of Esposito greeting his 'Chica'.
"Could you do that less... 'enthusiasticly' ?", Beckett shot at them, ignoring Ryan's question.
The two lovers grinned. Lanie arched an eyebrow : "'Enthousiasticly'... And you hang out with a writer everyday !"
"Speaking of which...", Ryan insisted.
"He's not here. He's busy. Alexis. Martha. Writing.", she answered curtly.
"Man !", the young irishman complained. "I wanted to tell him how we broke the guy with Ice-posito. It was art !"
"Real teamwork !", agreed the other detective, high-fiving his partner.
The moment their hands clapped, two beers appeared before them.
"I love this bar !", Ryan exclaimed.
The young woman who had brought the beers laughed. "You're welcome. I wanted to say hello. My shift ends soon", the barmaid explained.
"Then you have to go get another beer and stay with us. We're celebrating another solved murder !", offered Esposito.
"Ah ! The NYPD wins again ! Congrats ! But I'm sorry, I have to study." Castle had hired a few students (literature obviously) to attend the bar to help Brian.
"You sure ?", Beckett asked. She liked talking to the students. They always had fun stories.
"Yeah. Plus I'm not sure I want to stay and watch the boss doing his Tom Cruise impression... again ! Once was more than enough", she laughed. "But don't tell him I said that."
The gang looked quizzical but didn't wonder for long. On cue, Castle appeared from the downstairs office. He walked behind the bar, threw a dishcloth on his shoulder and grabbed a shaker. Then he waved at Eddy, the piano man, to take a break. He fiddled with the old fashioned stereo and one of the songs from the movie Cocktail started playing.
"Oh boy !", one of them said.
Lanie, Esposito and Ryan were grinning like mad people. For the second time that evening, Beckett's head dropped. Her forehead hit the table.