They lay there like that, on her kitchen floor, the only sound their muffled breathing and the electric hum of the refrigerator. Esposito stared at the ceiling as he tried to get his breath back, his heart thundering like a freight train.
'Wow. That was...' Meredeth searched for the right word. 'Unexpected.'
'I'll say.' Esposito ran his hand over her back. 'I do have a question, though.'
'Sure.'
'What is up with the tattoo?'
Meredeth propped her chin on the fist she'd planted lightly on his chest. 'It's the call number on my mother's chopper.'
Touched, Esposito shifted kiss her, then realized the delicate position he was still in. 'Mind if I, you know, take care of...' He gestured vaguely, hoping she'd understand.
'Oh, by all means.' She rolled off of him, stared at the ceiling as Esposito disposed of the condom as she drummed her fingers on the belly that refused to go flat no matter how much exercise she did. He didn't seem to mind, though; in fact, he rather liked the fact that she wasn't a pencil, or the fact she'd had the same cup size at almost thirty-one as she'd had at nineteen. Pleased with herself, she stretched her arms upward, absently ran a hand over her neck. It had been well worth the wait, until they couldn't wait. Who knew the dedicated cop was such a bad-ass in bed? Or on floor, she corrected herself with a snort. She couldn't help herself, began to laugh hysterically. It wasn't that funny but at the moment it was the best damn thing in the world.
Esposito came back from the bathroom to find Meredeth rolling from side to side against the fridge in a fit of laughter, and shook his head at her. 'What's so funny?' he asked, sitting beside her as she wiped tears away.
'I was just thinking if that's what you're like on the kitchen floor, what'll happen when we actually make it to a bed?' Meredeth hummed lightly to try and get her senses together as she sat up, her back against the refrigerator door.
'I think we might die. But it has to be the number one way to go.'
'Not a bad way to end a six year drought.'
Esposito stared at her in blank shock. 'Six years? You mean the last time you were with a guy was when you were...'Esposito counted on his fingers. 'Twenty-five? Not just no sex, but no...anything?'
Meredeth sat up, suddenly very aware she was completely naked. 'Wiping that shock off your face would be helpful right about now, but yes. It has been almost six years since I've had anything more than a good-night kiss on a date.'
Esposito stared at her, trying to wrap his brain around this news. 'You'd never guess it, believe me. But...why?'
'Like I said, I've had really shitty luck with boyfriends in the past, and sex is something I've never treated lightly. When I met you, I don't know, it just...felt right.'
'Well, if we're into truth-telling, this is where we'd have ended up on our first date had I not gotten called in. But that being said, I'm glad we waited.'
'Really?'
'Yeah. Mostly because then I could surprise you by ravishing you on the kitchen floor.'
Meredeth snickered. 'Could be worse. We could have really gone for the cliche and been in the back seat of a car.'
'Or a cheap motel.'
'Or strip poker, which...oh Christ. What time is it?' Meredeth craned her neck to read the time on the microwave clock. 'Fuck me!'
'I thought I just did.'
'How did we spend an hour on the kitchen floor?' Embarrassed that it would be painfully obvious why they were late when she was meeting his friends for the first time, Meredeth began to gather up her clothes. 'Get up, we'll be lucky to make there by nine.'
Esposito watched her, flustered and pink-cheeked. She wasn't just beautiful, he thought, but hilariously cute when mortified. Rather than redressing himself, he grabbed his pants to fished his phone out of his other pocket and took it along with his wallet in one hand, grabbed Meredeth's wrist with the other.
'Come on.'
Meredeth arched an eyebrow at him when they made it to her room, tossed the clothes in the direction of her closet. 'Why are we in my room? Your friends are going to send out a search party.'
Esposito kissed her, tossed her lightly on the bed as he dialled a number on his cell. 'Castle, it's Javier. We're going to be a little late, so don't wait for us to start. Why? You're the writer, use your imagination.'
He hung up on Castle's splutter with a satisfied grin, tossed the phone over his shoulder into the pile of clothes Meredeth had dropped on the floor and crossed to his girlfriend. 'Done.'
R&R&Enjoy.
