Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
Her hair was drip-drying down her back, the droplets running under the towel she had wrapped around her. Half of her clothes were tossed onto her bed, her shoes were spilling out of the closet, and she only had another hour to figure out what the wear or the dark green terrycloth towel would be her outfit for the night. Maybe adding a scarf would class it up enough to count, she thought as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her first idea of jeans and a top she hadn't worn in years was next to her and she ran a finger over the silk of the shirt.
The apartment seemed so empty when she had gotten back after work. No daughter telling a long story to extend her snack time into the time dedicated to getting her homework done. Just Kate, who had needed to turn on music to fill the quiet. She had a moment of realization that this could have been her life. Come back from work to a vacant apartment, make dinner alone, go to bed without having to get up to bring Al to school. The thought her world might have existed without Al in it depressed her.
Kate leaned over the bed to the bedside table, grabbing up her phone to call Lanie. "I don't know what to wear."
"Clothing that can be taken off easily," responded the other woman.
"Lanie…"
She picked up on the warning in Kate's voice. "Okay. Where's he bringing you?"
"I don't know. He just said casual."
"You don't know? You didn't interrogate him over the location of this date?" Lanie laughed and Kate only glared at the phone as she got up to push around the few pieces of clothing still in the closet. "You surprise me."
"Are you going to help me or not?" Kate asked sharply, leaning against the closet door.
"Jeans and a nice shirt, Kate."
Kate looked over at that first outfit, nodding. "Okay. Thanks."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, girl!" said Lanie before Kate hung up.
She got up, shaking her hair out so some of the excess water dripped off, and started digging in her drawers for underwear. With the towel still around her, Kate blew her hair dry, not bothering to do anything intricate with it. It fell forward as she put on light make-up, just mascara and eyeliner and a pale pink lipstick that she dug from the bottom of the make-up bag.
The skinny jeans she wiggled into hadn't been worn for a long while and Kate was surprised they still fit. She adjusted the vee shaped neckline of the kimono-style top, plum with hand-painted metallic gold dots sprinkled over the fabric before crossing her legs on the bed with the small jewelry box in her lap. She didn't have much but she did manage to find a long gold necklace of large ovals that would work for the night.
Kate was pushing aside shoes to find the match to the black heel in her hand when someone knocked on the door. She stopped herself from running to answer it, the shoe still dangling from her fingers as she opened it.
"Hey," she said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. "Come in."
"You look beautiful, Kate" He snagged the single shoe from her hand, waving it in front of her. "But you know you'll need two of these, right?"
"Working on it." She gestured toward the couch. "Give me a minute to find its partner and then you can bring me to the mystery location."
Castle kept talking as Kate went back to search for the matching shoe. "So you haven't used those mad detective skills to figure out where I'm taking you?"
She found the other half of the pair of shoes, ducked into the bathroom to check her hair one last time, then went back out into the living room. Castle hadn't sat on the couch and was instead wandering the kitchen, tapping the heel of the shoe against his thigh. "Maybe I like being surprised sometimes, Rick."
"Good to know," he said, handing her the heel and letting her use his shoulder to steady herself as she slipped them on. "You ready?"
He took the coat she pulled down from the closet and held it out so she could slide her arms into the sleeves. "Sweep me off my feet."
They walked down the stairs after she locked her front door. As soon as they hit the sidewalk, Kate caught the glimpse of the town car, the same one that Al had raved about riding in.
"Really?" she asked, raising a brow as she looked between the car and the man next to her.
"I could have gotten the actual limo if you wanted, but I figured you'd want a subtler ride this time around."
The driver opened the door for the two of them and Castle let Kate get in first. The car had just pulled out into traffic when Castle gave her a gentle poke on the arm.
"What?"
He spun his finger in a circle. "Turn." She only blinked, studying his face for a hint of why he would want her to turn around. "Just trust me, okay?"
So she twisted in the seat, looking out the window as they passed by building. Then it all disappeared. "Rick, what're you doing?" She reached up to find out why her vision had suddenly gone black and he swatted her hand away.
"Surprising you."
After a twenty minute ride of stop and go traffic, the car stopped and she heard the door open. "Out we go, Kate," he said, giving her hand a tug toward the sidewalk. He lifted his hand when he told her about the step up onto the curb.
"Can I take the blindfold off?" She tried to feel for the knot of the fabric at the back of her head and Castle grabbed both of her hands.
"No. Just a few more minutes then you can have your sight back." He was careful with guiding her toward the door of the correct building, a hand on her lower back.
The smell of coffee hit her as soon as the door opened. Kate couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto her face.
"Are we where I think we are?" she asked, turning toward him as he circled from behind her to in front.
"If you think we're at a coffee bean plant, the answer is yes."
Kate laughed as she pulled at the thread that hung from the cuff of her sleeve. "How utterly romantic."
He reached both hands around her head and Kate caught the scent of his cologne mixed with the light musk of sweat. Castle unknotted the blindfold and let the soft fabric fall off her eyes.
The coffee shop was empty. Someone had gone around to all of the tables and lit tea candles that flickered onto the ceiling and walls. But the only table with flowers on it was theirs, the one by the window where they had first met.
"Too cheesy?" he asked. When Kate turned from the room and looked back at him. He was nervous. His expression was calm, but the way he was running the blindfold through his hands, wrapping the ends around his fingers, screamed anxiety.
She shook her head, smiling as she unzipped her coat. "It's sweet." Kate draped her jacket over the back of the armchair but he stopped her, pulling the chair out for her. "And a gentleman."
He sat across from her and his shoes bumped hers under the table. "I guess that makes you the officer, right?"
"Funny. So," she said, leaning forward. "What're you feeding me other than coffee?"
"Would you kill me if I said dinner consists of cupcakes?"
Kate shook her head. "What woman in her right mind would say no to cupcakes? Are there chocolate ones?"
"Duh," he responded. "But first we're starting with coffee."
He got up, skirting around the counter of the shop and pulling out two tall mugs. The pot of coffee had been brewed earlier but he had set it on a hot plate to keep it warm. Without asking, he knew to add sugar and milk to her mug but only sugar to his. When she took the first sip from her cup, Castle watched her eyes flutter closed, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile around the ceramic of the mug.
Over that first mug of coffee each, they talked about the case they had just closed thanks to Castle's wild theory which held a sliver of truth. The subject of the book he was writing came up and he managed not to let the budding romance between his main characters slip as he gave her an outline of the case Nikki and Rook were solving just to see if Kate could find out the killer on her own.
And then Kate brought up Al. The girl had been talking about starting to play the piano, begging Kate to find her a teacher.
Now or never, Castle told himself.
"Kate, about Al…" He watched her face fall a little and Castle realized his mistake. People hear about a single mother on a date and abandon ship. The expression of wary distrust that took over the smiling one she wore when she was talking about Al's musicianship had his heart squeezing. But he'd already started so he was determined to push through. "I really like her. A lot."
"But you don't want her." Kate turned her eyes down to look at the coffee left in the mug, turning the cup in her hands and fighting back the tears she felt crawling up her throat. She'd had this conversation more times than she would care to admit to.
"No!" Castle said loudly, taking one of her hands from the mug and holding it between both of his in the middle of the table. "No, that's not it at all, Kate." When Kate tried to take her hand back, he only held on a little harder. "I just was wondering… I mean, I know you said her father wasn't around, but…"
"You want the story." And if she told him the story of how Al came about, she'd have to tell him about her mom and how her dad took Johanna's passing hard. Was that really intelligent, sharing all of this baggage on the first real date with him? But looking over the table at him, completely sincere and sweet with a faltering smile as she took a deep breath, had her convinced. "Can we have cupcakes while I talk?"
He let go of her hand, going back behind the counter to take out a plate of miniature cupcakes covered with clear plastic wrap, and bringing it over to the table. Kate picked out a chocolate one with a pile of frosting on top, licking the extra frosting off her fingers after peeling the wrapper off.
"Twelve years ago," she started, keeping her eyes on his even though she wanted to look anywhere but into those warm blue depths, "my mother was murdered. I was nineteen, on Winter Break from college. It was… It sucked. Really sucked. But my dad had it harder. He crawled into the bottle and didn't come out completely until about three years after Mom died."
Kate broke off a piece of the cupcake, chewing it slowly as she thought about how to word this next part. Not her best night, that was for sure. But he had asked so she'd tell the real story, not a fictional one.
"I transferred from Stanford to NYU to look after Dad. It was a lot for me to handle. I had just made detective, trying to fit in with the others at the precinct and prove myself. Dad was in and out of AA and I was never sure when I'd go visit him if he'd be sober or passed out on the couch." She felt Castle take her hand again, rubbing his thumbs across the thin skin on the back of it. "So one night, I stopped at the bar next to my apartment at the time and got drunk. Very drunk.
"I brought a man up to my place and, well, you know," she said with a little smile. "One thing led to another. I kicked him out the next morning. Never learned his name or where he lived or anything." Kate bit off another piece of the chocolate cupcake then cupped the mug that was still warm from the coffee. "And then, nine months later, there was Al."
"And the man, he never came back?" Castle asked, not letting go of her hand. He could feel the slightest trembling in the muscles and began to run his fingers over the tendons.
Kate shook her head. "No. I don't think I'd want him to come back. Anyway, it's been just Al, my dad, and me since then. Dad cleaned up after Al was born, she has a family from the precinct." She smiled and Castle could see the undertone of sadness in the expression. "Rick, no one has stuck around as long as you have that hasn't been with us from the beginning so you're already ahead of most people. Just… if you're going to leave now, at least say goodbye to Al yourself. You're her friend, one of her only ones, and she deserves to hear it from you." He hadn't spoken, so she glanced up. "What?"
"You think I'm going to leave?" he asked. He hadn't touched any of the cupcakes or his coffee since she started talking.
She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Everyone does, Rick."
"I'm the exception." He removed one of his hands from around hers to tilt her chin up from where she was gazing at her half-eaten cupcake. "I'm not going anywhere."
Kate opened her mouth to protest, saying that all of the men in the past five years had said the same thing, but he placed a finger over her lips.
"I mean it. You're going to be stuck with me for a long while, Kate, so get used to it." Now he did take a cupcake, broke the top off of the bottom and made a sandwich with the cake pieces. "Come on. We can split the rest of the cupcakes between us."
Castle found paper plates in a cabinet, took down a handful to divide up the cupcakes, insisting that Kate take a few more since he was sure Al would want some. He downed the last of their coffee, washing the mugs in the sink before placing them upside down on a towel to dry.
"How did you even get this place to ourselves?" she asked as he locked the coffee shop behind them with a brass key on a piece of ribbon that he took from his pocket.
"Oh, I know people who know people."
The town car had appeared out of nowhere and Castle opened the back door for her again. On the ride back to her apartment, they argued over which plates of cupcakes went with who since Kate wanted the one with more chocolate but that plate also held the red velvet cakes that Castle wanted. She caught the driver smiling and laughing silently at them from the rear view mirror as they traded cupcakes between the plates. Things seemed so normal, as if the conversation about her one-night-stand turned five year old daughter hadn't affected their little relationship. Even if Castle wasn't planning on going anywhere, Kate was suddenly determined not to let him go. The one man that understood and accepted her past wasn't allowed to leave without her fighting for him.
When they got to her building, Castle insisted on walking her up to the apartment. He carried one of the plates of cupcakes she was claiming; the other hand had inched its way around her waist, a gentle weight that didn't try to pull her closer. Just there.
She unlocked the door, kicked her heels off toward the living room, and turned to take the cupcakes from him to put on the counter. He had already put the plate he carried on the polished surface, moving back toward the open door. Kate placed her plate next to his, taking off her coat to toss it over the back of the couch.
"Rick, tonight was great," she said, her bare toes curling against the wood in the hallway.
"Just great?"
His grin had her smiling as well. "Fantastic. Wonderful. Amazing." She kept adding adjectives as he waved his hand, urging her to continue. "Magical."
"Better." When he stepped forward, careful of her bare feet, Kate didn't take a corresponding step back.
He gave her a moment to move away before he ducked his head down. One hand cupped her cheek, the other rested on her upper arm. Again, not pulling her closer, just present. Castle slowly brushed his lips over hers, once, twice.
Kate could taste the sweetness of the sugar from their dinner of desserts as kissed her gently.
Then he let her go, moving back so he was in the hallway. "Goodnight, Kate. Until tomorrow."
When Castle closed the door behind him, the last thing he saw was Kate's lingering smile as she watched him leave.
The apartment was still quiet so Kate could only assume Castle had somehow contacted her father and Al was over there for the night. She changed out of the jeans and shirt and into ratty leggings and a tanktop, curling up under her blankets.
For the first time in over five years, she truly felt that a date had gone well.
Thank goodness it was with him, she thought as she faded into sleep.