Castle had suggested that they spend her suspension up at his house in the Hamptons. Beckett had agreed thinking some time alone with him would do both of them some good. His house was beautiful and she was marveled by it the moment she stepped out of the car. But as he gave her the grand tour, she couldn't help but notice how rehearsed it felt, like he'd given it to dozens of women before.
As they step outside, he seems to pick up on her uneasiness. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I just," she sighs, remembering their promise to communicate. "I can't help wondering how many other girls have gotten this tour."
"Right," Castle sighs. "Well I'm not going to deny that I've brought other women up here. But um," he pauses, reaching out for her hand. "None of them were you."
A smile creeps across her face as she squeezes his hand back. "Clearly, I mean I've never been up here."
He laughs. "Not what I meant, Beckett."
"Then what did you mean?" she asks, even though she already knows the answer. She just wants to hear him say it.
"You're different, Kate. A good different," he corrects quickly. "But you and I…we have something special. You're not like the rest of them. You mean something to me, really mean something. I've loved very few of the women I've brought up here, but I do love you."
Beckett presses herself against him, her arms draping around his neck. Castle's hands fly to her waist, pulling her even closer.
"You mean something to me too," she tells him. "For once, I'm not in a nowhere relationship with a guy I don't love."
"You think we're going somewhere?" he asks, his hands fisting into the back of her shirt.
"Aren't we?"
He nods, bending to kiss her.
"I think we're going to make it," Castle tells her once he pulls away from the kiss. "We have to."
She can't remember the last time she actually sat around enjoying a warm summer day. She can't even remember the last time she had tan lines. She never takes time off for herself anymore; the job has become her whole life. But she can tell already that being with Castle is going to change that. He brings out a side in her she hasn't seen in a long time. A side of her that may actually end up enjoying this time off brought about by her suspension instead of holing up in her apartment and worrying about it. There is more to life than the job, and she's finally starting to realize that again.
Beckett is just nearly asleep when she feels ice cold water splashing onto her legs and stomach. She yelps and sits up in the lounge chair, glaring at Castle. He laughs and dives back down into the water.
"How are you even swimming in that right now?" she asks once he resurfaces. "That water is freezing."
"Nah, it's not that bad. You just have to get used to it."
She rolls her eyes even though she knows he can't them behind the lenses of her sunglasses.
"Such a child," Beckett murmurs, wiping her legs off with a towel.
"If you think that was childish," Castle starts, pushing himself out of the pool. "You're going to love this."
"Castle," she cautions, as he steps toward her, soaking wet.
The cold water drips from him onto her and she stands up in an attempt to get away. But then he's on her, trying to push her into the pool.
"You're seriously twelve," she laughs, trying to stand her ground.
Beckett may be the one with police training, but Castle's stronger than she is. She's also not trying very hard to resist him. Grinning, she tosses her sunglasses onto the chair and jumps in voluntarily, poking her tongue out at him as she goes. The water is freezing as it wraps itself around her limbs. She pushes herself back to the surface as fast as she can, shivering as she pulls herself up out of the pool.
Castle laughs as he brings her a towel to drape around her shoulders. "Now who's the one who's twelve?"
She sits on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Castle joins her.
"See, it wasn't that bad," he tells her.
"Yes, it was," she says, still shivering.
"You jumped all on your own."
"You were trying to push me in," Beckett protests. "I couldn't let you have that victory."
"But it would have been such a sweet victory."
She nudges him with her shoulder. He laughs, moving to stand and offering her his hand.
"Come on, we can go warm up in the hot tub."
She eyes his hand suspiciously, not taking it.
"Beckett, I'm not actually twelve. I won't push you in again."
She stands up without taking his hand.
"Trust issues?" Castle asks, faking being hurt as he leads her to his hot tub.
Her hand snakes down to grab onto his. "Just around water."
He squeezes her hand before letting go to take the cover off the hot tub and turn the jets on.
"Stick your hand in there, see if it's to your liking," Castle says, eyeing the temperature setting.
"Wow that was dirty," Beckett laughs, glancing down at his swim trunks.
"Get your mind out of the gutter and test the water," he says, laughing with her.
She grins, skimming the surface of the tub with her fingers. She nods, allowing him to step into the hot tub first. She snuggles into his side, one of the jets hitting her lower back, and sighs with content. He skims his hand up and down her arm as her head falls onto his shoulder.
"For the record, I find what's down your pants very likable."
Castle laughs and she feels the rumble of his chest against her ear. "And we're back to being twelve."
"Please, like twelve-year-olds are having sex."
"No, they are. There was a girl in Alexis's class who got pregnant in 7th grade. It's terrifying."
She shakes her head, shifting away from him to readjust her hair in her bun. She leans back into him, placing a kiss to the spot where his neck meets his shoulder, before laying her head back down. They sit like that for a moment, in silence besides the whirring sounds of the jets. But then a question pops into her mind, one that's a bit out of left field, but she decides to go ahead and ask anyway.
"Where's the craziest place you've had sex?" Beckett asks, skimming the foam from the top of the water.
"Oh I like this game," Castle grins. "Okay let me think. Well, Gina and I did it in a bathroom once during a meeting for Derek Storm."
"During a meeting?"
He shrugs. "She excused herself to go to the bathroom and I followed her. We were still newlyweds."
She shakes her head, her bun tickling his chin.
"What about you?" Castle asks.
Beckett's silent for a moment, thinking. "A Pearl Jam concert."
"Where at?"
"The main floor," she winces.
His eyes widen and he stares down at her.
"I was wearing a very short skirt. The floor was so packed nobody even noticed us."
"You amaze me."
"Rebel Bex at her finest," she groans. "I tried to pick the lock on their tour bus afterwards too so I could steal Eddie Vedder's jean jacket."
"And did you?"
She winces again. "It's still in the back of my closet."
Castle clucks his tongue. "Detective Beckett, you're a dirty thief."
She shrugs. "I've already told you I went through a rebellious phase."
"Yeah and I thought it consisted of buying a motorcycle and getting a tattoo. Not public sex and breaking and entering."
Beckett pinches the bridge of her nose. "I never said I was proud of it."
He laughs, twisting his head to place a kiss to her temple. "We all come with a past, Kate. Don't worry about it."
She shifts out from under his arm, moving to straddle his lap. "What about this hot tub? Ever have sex in here?"
"Well I –"
"On second thought, don't answer that."
She leans in and kisses him, rocking her hips into his. One of his hands press into her lower back as the other tangles into her wet bun.
"You know," Castle starts, as she kisses her way down his neck. "Rebel Bex helped us get together."
"How do you figure that?" she asks against his skin.
"Your bike. Without that accident, who knows how long it would have taken you to tell me the truth about your shooting."
Her lips find his again as his hand on her lower back dips below the hemline of her swim suit.
"I'll be sure to thank her," Beckett says, nipping at his ear. "But right now, let's focus on me."
Castle laughs, untying the top of her bikini. "It would be my pleasure."
AN: Thanks for reading everyone! Be on the look out for my next multi-chapter summer fic!