Tension filled the back corner of Castle's loft. Eyes were squinting in the dim light above the table, searching for tells.

"All in, hombre !" Esposito pushed his chips to the middle of the poker table.

Next to him, Lanie gasped. Martha giggled at Ryan's encouraging nod to his partner. Beckett's leaned in, waiting for hers to make a move.

"You don't stand a chance", Castle said cockily, as he pushed his chips forward. He didn't even look at his cards again. With a 2, a 7, a Queen, all from different colors on the flop so far, there were little chances Esposito could beat his pair of kings.

Martha's turned the forth card.

"3 of spade", she said as she burned the next one. Then she fliped the river slowly, true to her drama queen reputation. "8 of hearts... Well that was an anti-climax", she said staring at the cards.

Esposito and Castle were holding each other's gaze.

"I paid to see", the author pointed out. Esposito smiled as he revealed his pair of aces.

Silence fell and everyone turned to Castle, who had liquified.

"What ? Not again !", he cried in frustration, throwing his pair of kings for everyone to see.

"Oh ! Kiddo !" Martha stroke his arm gently. "You were never very good at poker."

"Well, Castle, it's only the what ?.. tenth hand you loose tonight ?", Beckett teased.

"You're supposed to be my lucky charm !"

"I am no such thing, Castle.", she said matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes.

Her partner pouted before turning to his opponent.

"Lucky at cards, unlucky in love", he spate to Esposito, sticking his tongue out.

"I don't think so !", Esposito replied, as Lanie was leaning in for a kiss.

"Get a room !", came the collective shout.

"Guys, don't deal me in the next one. I need time, beer, and more chips to shake this curse", Castle said, getting up. "Who wants a refill ?" All hands went up and he disappeared towards the darkened kitchen. Beckett watched his retreat, telling herself not to stare at his ass.

Beckett looked at her cards and decided to fold. When her turn to speak came, she pulled a face.

"Fold", she spoke in a sigh, giving her pair of aces back. "I need more peanuts". Her companions laughed at that. Ryan lifted the empty bowl and held it out for her.

"Thank you", he said tilting his head from side to side with a mocking smile in place. She offered back her fake smile and headed for the kitchen.

Castle hadn't bothered to switch on the light. He was crouched, rummaging through his fridge for more beers. Beckett observed him longingly, pondering what she was about to do. 'First, the easy part", she joked to herself as she poured peanuts in the bowl. Then she began to slowly open the bottles of Coronas he had already put on the counter top.

"Ah !" A victory claim came from the fridge, as Castle extricated himself from it, with just enough beers for all of them. Spotting an amused Beckett, he did a double take. "They were in the back back of the fridge", he explained, holding the bottles higher.

He brought them to her at the counter then opened a new bottle of red wine for his mother. She took a step aside to stand closer to him as she worked on putting the slices of citrus into the bottles' necks. Heated conversation about big blinds and misdeal floated to them. Beckett looked up. The table's view from the kitchen was obstructed by a pillar and all their friends were facing away.

"Castle", she said softly. "I wanted to say. Thank you for the party last night. I had fun."

He turned to her, smiling brightly. She noticed his relaxed state : his hair a mess from his hand running in it over the course of the night, his shirt all wrinkled. He leaned against the bar, one hand flat on it supporting him.

"I'm glad you had fun, it was partly your birthday after all. And feel free to give me a thank you kiss", he flirted cheerfully.

It was his usual behavior, she knew he wasn't waiting for anything by saying that, except maybe another roll of her eyes. He would be in for a surprise.

She took another step closer to him, and put herself on her toes. She saw the happy surprise in his eyes. He turned his cheek to her, anticipating a chaste kiss there.

With one finger she put his face back in front of her and kissed his lips. She let her mouth linger, making it clear that it was more than a thank you peck.

Castle's mind blanked for a second, his body had frozen. When he registered what she was doing, she was already pulling away. He chased her lips with his, managing to retain their connection. He kissed her back tenderly. He felt her mouth open and her tongue tracing his bottom lip. She tasted like citrus and beer. He jolted back.

"How many beers did you have ?", he whispered, sure his voice would crack.

She looked puzzled.

"One", she whispered back.

"Oh, good !", he said, still in a hushed tone. His arms encircled her waist and pulled her body flushed to his before she could react. Their lips met once more, this time with more passion. Beckett pulled back reluctantly. "Maybe we shouldn't do that here." Her head motioned to the poker table. But everyone was still engrossed in the game.

"Well. They'll find out eventua..." He let the word die, his eyes widening. "Please, tell me it's really not just a thank you kiss for the party last night."

She took his hands still placed on her back and separated them from the small of her back. His face was showing an emotion somewhere between scared and hurt. "It's not a one time thing. And them knowing, I don't mind. Eventually. Them seeing, I do." She pecked his lips to reassure him before leaving the kitchen.

She picked up the peanuts' bowl and some beers and left the kitchen.

"You're coming ?" she asked him without a look back, missing a smile that could have lighted up a galaxy.

For the rest of the night, neither of them could concentrate, loosing hands after hands. For once in his life, Castle, the always perfect host, couldn't wait for his guests to leave. Except for one, obviously. Finally Lanie's stifled a fake yawn. Her hand wandered to Esposito's thigh, getting his attention. They shared a silence conversation.

"I'm calling it a night, I'm beat", he offered just afterwards, fooling no one. Ryan then just plain yawned. Martha mumbled something about young people being no fun anymore and declared she was calling it a night too.

Castle sprang to his feet. He refused help cleaning up saying he would have time in the morning.

As everyone were gathering their coats, he sneaked next to Beckett. Making sure none of their friends were in earshot, he whispered in her ear :

"Stay".

It was a bold move and his heart was hammering in his chest. She stilled and for a moment he thought she was going to shoot him. He couldn't see her face properly.

"Can't", she whispered back, moving away.

He tried to school his features to hide his disappointment and the fear that he had gone to far. But then she gave him a wistful smile from the other end of the room.

"Ready for you ride back, Ryan ?" she asked loudly.

"Yep !", the young man answered.

Castle didn't know if he felt more relieved or frustrated by this turn of event.

He bid goodbye to everyone at the door, staying on the threshold a little longer than necessary.

"You okay, kiddo ?" His mother asked from behind. He turned around.

"Never better", he replied. She gave him a look.

"In this case, I'm off to get my beauty sleep." She whirled with her Martha's flair, heading upstairs.

Beckett and Ryan were walking to her car when the young detective decided to take a gamble. He was about to start a conversation with his boss he knew she wouldn't like. Beckett was very private, but he couldn't help himself.

"I can take a cab, you know ?"

"What ?"

"I can take a cab and you can drive home... or not..."

"What ?", she snapped. The two detectives looked at each other above the roof of Beckett's Crown Vic. Ryan looked sheepish, suddenly uneasy with his choice. If Beckett's frown was any indication, he was sure to be on traffic duty for at least a month after that. But then he thought about Jenny and what they had. He wished every one of his friends had the same happiness. He was not backpedalling from this.

"Listen, Boss", he slipped the title hoping to lessen the impact of his butting in on her love life. "This is none of my business. But the man's been waiting for four years. It's obvious he's whipped. And you, well, I don't know, but everybody sees there's something there too." He was aware he was babbling but couldn't stop. "And after what I saw tonight, it's even more obvious. And it's really stupid to... hum.. Just because I need I ride home doesn't seem to be a good reason to not, well, you know..."

Beckett's eyes were huge and she was blushing.

"Wha.. What did you see exactly ?" she interrupted. She was feeling awkward and so was he.

"You and Castle... in the kitchen."

Her head collided with the roof of the car. "Everyone saw that ?", came the muffled question.

"Hum, no I was the only one kinda facing the kitchen... And, actually, I just caught a glimpse. We were playing, I was playing, really paying attention to my cards. I basically saw nothing." So much for not backpedaling.

Beckett's head lifted. There was a shadow of a smile in her lips, amusement over the uneasiness of her colleague. Ryan smiled back at her.

"I can take a cab", he repeated.

She was contemplating the offer.

"I won't tell and I won't tease... if you stop calling me honey milk", he added.

She gave a short laugh.

"Deal" She threw him her car keys. "Drive yourself home, Ryan."

He caught them and strutted giddily to the other side of the Crown Vic. He loved playing cupid.

Author's note : Should I continue ? This place seemed to be a good place to end, but I don't know. Tell me what you think, please ?