Chapter 8
Kate, Madison and Alexandria had visited almost every shop in the mall, speed shopping was what Madison called it. An aim to speed their way through every store, and only stop when something extraordinary catches the eye.
"I am thoroughly exhausted" said Alexandria as they sat at the food court
"Me too" said Madison.
Kate however was checking her phone.
There were texts from none other than Rick.
"Gosh Kate, I'm so sorry, I just saw all of the messages I sent you last night. I don't know what made me say all of that, I truly am sorry. I'm an idiot when I'm drunk, I never believed Alexandria when she told me, but now it's proven, I can see it with my own eyes, I'm a drunken idiot."
Kate chuckled
"What's got you laughing?" asked Madison
"Nothing" Kate said, as she locked her phone and put it back in.
An hour later, Madison and Alexandria were on their way home. Kate however had texted Rick and asked him to meet her near the diner down the road from the mall.
She was seated outside the diner on a bench there when he approached her. He took a moment to admire her from afar. She was beautiful. An angel among humans. Rick absolutely loved the way her hair matched her eyes, how beautiful she looked when she wasn't aware of someone watching her. How absolutely extraordinary she was.
He walked up to her and when he stood before her, she looked up at him with a smile
"Hi" he said
"Hi" she said back
"May I have the pleasure of walking you home?"
She simply stood up and said "sure" and began walking. He fell in step with her and said
"How was your shopping spree?"
"It was fun"
"I'm sorry, I was completely out this morning, had I seen your message earlier, I'd have taken you out for coffee"
"That's alright, I found my entertainment eventually" they walked silently for a bit, both hyper aware of each other.
"So, looks like you had too much fun last night" she said with a chuckle
He ruffled his hair at the back of his head and looked away in embarrassment
"I'm so sorry about the things I said, I don't know what I was thinking"
"oh, you made it pretty clear to me what you were thinking." she chuckled
"I'm not a bad person" he explained in defense.
"I never said you were" she smirked
"I don't think of you that way..."
She looked at him in confusion, an eyebrow raised.
"I mean… I do…I mean…. this is tricky…"
She laughed and said "I think I understand"
"Good… good. Cause I really was thinking about you and I do want to kiss you"
"And you want to know if I'm a virgin?" she asked in amusement.
He was stumped
"Uhhh…"
Kate winked and walked ahead. she was enjoying this, he could see.
"The point is, I'm into you" he said.
"You made that clear to me"
"Did you find that note on your phone?" he asked.
"I did, it was hard not to find it since you put it on my home screen. It was really sweet of you though" she looked at the ground and smiled as they walked
He smiled.
"Rick, why did you tell me not to tell Alexandria that you asked me out?"
"That's a story for a later time"
"What do you have to hide?"
"Nothing... It's just…"
"What?" Kate stopped and looked at him.
"A few years ago, I dated one of her very close friends, I was stupid at the time, and did stupid things. It ended badly, and in the process, Alexandria lost one of her very dear friends"
"Oh" Kate said.
"I'm just afraid, if she knew I was into you, she may think I'll be an ass again, and she may not like me getting involved with you"
"What about you, do you not trust yourself, are you afraid you'll be an ass to me?"
He laughed. "I don't know how to explain this, but I'm going to try, you'll probably find this ridiculous..."
"Try me" she said.
"You're different Kate, you're not like the other girls I've dated before. You're smart, you're strong, you've got your head on your shoulders, you don't fall for the things I say, and mostly, you're capable of outsmarting me. You're bold, and there's a mystery to you, something behind those eyes that you don't say. You amuse me. I want so bad to be with you, and I think if you let me, I'll be super careful to never hurt you. But I'm also afraid if I screw it up, what happens to your friendship with my sister... what happens to us..."
"That's really sweet… you care for her a lot"
"I do" he said.
Kate smiled. "If... If we get together, and if one of us screws it up, I don't know about us, but I won't let that affect my friendship with Alexandria."
Rick smiled. "Thank you. She's really fond of you."
"Thank you for telling me"
They had stopped in front of her hostel.
"This is my stop"
"You stay here?"
"I do"
"You and Alexandria should have more sleepovers"
"Oh please, just admit it, you want to invite me to a sleepover of your own" Kate said with a smirk.
"See! You're super smart. Beauty with brains is a rarity these days"
She laughed.
They were silent for a moment then, just looking at each other
"You know, Alexandria already thinks you have a thing for me. She said it'll be any day now that you ask her for my number" she said to him.
"Really?" he laughed
"She said she knows all your tells."
"That she probably does. Did she sound like she had a problem with it?"
"Not really"
"If I asked her, would she tell me if you have the hots for me too?"
"She would have no idea" Kate said with a smug smile.
"Then you don't know my sister yet" he smirked.
"So… think you can give me a chance? I'd really like to get to know you better Kate" he asked.
"I'll text you" she said. She got on her toes, leaned in and kissed his cheek, turned around and walked confidently into the building, leaving a speechless, mind blown Richard Castle standing on the footpath staring after her.
Richard Castle texted Kate that night
"You never answered one of my drunken questions"
"If I'm a virgin?"
"are you?"
"why do you need to know"
"Just curious"
"Do you think your sister is a virgin?"
"ewwww! But no, I don't think she is"
"Then you have your answer ;)"
"Wow! So, how many?" he shamelessly asked.
"Rick, are you seriously asking for my 'number'? ;)"
"I'm sorry, I'm just curious. And 'number'? That implies many! :O how many?"
"You're shameless"
"You like it." he said confidently
"Goodnight Richard Castle ;)" came her reply.
AN: Leave me a review telling me what you think :)
And the reason I needed to clarify the ages was cause I was thinking of raising the rating of this story...
what do you guys think? ;)