Hey guys, I'm back! (Sort of.) School's started and AP physics and AP chem are kicking my butt, which means I will have less time to write. The chapter that I am working on right now refuses to write itself... or maybe it's just writer's block. I still need to work out the plot of the rest of the fic too, haha. But I thought you guys deserved an update because I took a month-long hiatus. Future updates will be slow, but bear with me! Hope you like this chapter :).
Chapter 11 Strawberries
Kate was in the mood for a movie, which is what led her to the extensive DVD collection that she was currently sitting in front of and examining.
Rick had every movie she had ever heard of and then some. The only movies she had at home were old Disney classics, a favorite genre of hers. She was particularly fond of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cinderella." They reminded her of her childhood, a time when ignorance was bliss, when she could believe in fairytales and happily ever afters.
While thoroughly perusing the myriad of DVDs, Kate stumbled on a copy of "The Sting," which happened to be her favorite con movie. Satisfied with her choice, she presented her selection to Rick.
"Want to watch a movie?" she offered.
Glancing at the DVD in her hand, Rick looked confused. "I thought you hated con movies?" he said, recalling one of her previous statements.
"Either I am an amazing liar or you can't read me as well as you think you can," Kate grinned widely. "I love con movies. The Sting happens to be my favorite."
"Mine too. Toss it in and I'll go make some popcorn."
"Okay" she said sweetly.
She fed the disk into the DVD player and pushed the right buttons on the remote. A sepia-toned Universal Pictures globe lit up the flat screen, accompanied by a catchy piano tune.
After a quick excursion to the kitchen to prepare the snack, Rick re-entered the living room with the popcorn as he whistled along with "The Entertainer."
Kate, already situated comfortably on the couch, eagerly reached out with grabby hands as Rick approached.
Assuming she was motioning for the popcorn, he offered her the large bowl.
"Thanks but that's not what I wanted," she clarified, setting the bowl on the table. Kate extended her arms and wiggled her fingers at him again.
Rick chuckled to himself, realizing it was him that she wanted. He sat down right next to Kate on the plush couch as she wrapped her arms around him, pleased to grant her embrace.
"You know, I don't like being fooled," Rick said with an upset frown, referring to her deception regarding con movies.
"What are you going to do about it?" Kate mocked haughtily.
A devilish grin spread across Rick's face. "I think you deserve some punishment."
He promptly took her by the hips and tickled her sides, a spot where he knew she was particularly ticklish. With limbs kicking in all directions, she grappled to escape his grasp, but he had a strong hold on her. Her protests were mixed with laughter as she tried to get him to stop.
"Apples, apples!" Kate cried.
Rick wouldn't relent. "That's my safeword," he teased. "You need to get your own."
More peals of laughter escaped her lips as she struggled to find a suitable word.
"Stop!" she pleaded. "Fine, cherries!" she shrieked.
He laughed right alongside her. "Your safeword is cherries?"
Her laughter subsided, leaving her with a heaving chest.
"That's the only word I could think of. Not funny!" she pushed him back.
"Apples and cherries are our safewords. Interesting combination."
She pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. Kate tried to return her breathing back to normal, but as she took a deep breath, a hic interrupted her respiration.
A confused expression crossed her face. Hic, hic, hic.
"Now look what you hic did. You gave me the hic hiccups!" she exclaimed.
He couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was when she got exasperated. "You are adorable when you hiccup."
"You… ugh!" she pushed him and tried to stand up to get a glass of water.
Rick grabbed her wrist to stop her from getting up. When she turned to face him, he looked her directly in the eye. Placing his hands on either side of her face, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply, taking her breath away. The hiccups lasted for a few more moments, but after a while they stopped.
They parted and Kate opened her eyes.
"What was that for?" she sighed.
"I think kissing is supposed to cure hiccups. Either that or scaring the person, but I don't think you scare easily. Cops see scary stuff on a daily basis. Plus, I like kissing you," Rick explained.
"Hmm, you're right. About the first bit."
"Aren't I always?"
She rolled her eyes and rotated her body to face the screen.
"Well it worked didn't it?" he said into her ear. Indeed, her hiccups were gone.
The tickle fight had left Kate sitting in his lap to watch the movie. Rick shifted their bodies to recline horizontally on the couch, stretching his legs across the seat with her body on top of his. Her head rested just below his against his chest, feeling the steady thump-thump of his heartbeat.
She reached over to the table to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl. Rick snaked his arms around her waist as Kate munched on the salty snack, occasionally raising her hand above her head to feed him a few popped kernels.
Kate then turned her attention back to the screen and frowned, as they missed the first few scenes of the movie. "Hey, you made me miss their first con!"
"Plenty more where that came from. The rest of the movie is all about setting up and executing a big con."
"I know, I know. I've seen this movie at least 10 times, but I never get tired of it. Classic pinstripe suits and slicked back hair, what's not to love? And everyone seems to have a fedora hat and an accent."
"I like the twist at the end. The whole elaborate scheme. Makes me consider becoming a con man." As a writer, he was always one for the intricate story.
"It's not that easy nowadays. People aren't as gullible and cops are actually competent, not corrupted."
"So I settled for writing about the twisted plots. And murders."
The movie continued playing, passing the scene where the secret signal, a swipe of the nose, originated. Kate was utterly engrossed in the movie, while Rick's focus was elsewhere. His hands wandered under her shirt onto her flat belly. Rick pressed kisses to Kate's temple while occasionally taking a whiff of her hair. The sweet scent tickled his nose.
"You're not paying attention to the movie," Kate scolded.
"Yes I am. This is the train scene with Lonnegan."
The movie shifted to a train car with the main antagonist and the rest of his business friends sitting around a poker table.
"Now that's a bad guy persona," Rick commented. "Dark hair, never smiles, and that mustache. All the makings of a classic bad guy."
"I love this part," Kate announced. "I think this is what first sparked my interest in poker. After watching this movie, my dad taught me how to play Five-card draw and Texas Hold 'Em."
They watched the rest of the movie in relative silence, only a comment here and there from either party. The final twist in the plot played through and the team successfully conned their mark out of half a million. As the credits rolled, Kate stretched out her arms and yawned.
By the time the film ended, it was well past midnight.
"Do you know what I'm craving right now?" Kate asked aloud as she sat up. "Chocolate covered strawberries. They're my favorite dessert."
"Not that many places are open at this late hour… Who would sell chocolate covered strawberries at midnight?"
"Too bad. I could really use a midnight snack. And I don't feel like making them because it takes too long."
Rick contemplated for a moment as a thought entered his mind. "I have an idea. There's a 24/7 supermarket nearby that we can visit."
Not bothering to change out of their pajamas, Rick and Kate headed out the door.
Since it was mid-spring it was warm outside, perfect for a late night walk. The quiet sidewalks were devoid of people so Rick took this opportunity to hold Kate's hand, a public display of affection that she would normally not allow. He grinned sheepishly when Kate looked at him with a frown of fake annoyance, but she let it slide this time.
They went to a small grocery store that was open 24 hours a day to pick up some items. Strolling through the deserted aisles hand in hand, they ventured to the produce section. Kate picked out a nice container of fresh strawberries that met her standards. Rick led her to the ice cream aisle to grab a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup from the ice cream toppings area.
"Seriously? Chocolate syrup?" she asked.
"It's just as good as normal chocolate. Makes for a suitable substitution. Very quick and easy to make."
At the self-checkout counter, they paid for their goods and left.
Back at the apartment, they divided up the task at hand. Kate took over the cutting because she didn't trust Rick with a knife.
Even after the case with the mummy and the Mayan curse, he still managed to injure himself with a knife while cutting tomatoes. Proves how handy he can be with sharp objects.
While Rick washed each strawberry, Kate cut out the leaves on the top and sliced the fruit into halves. When all was prepped and ready, she brought the plate of strawberries and he brought the bottle of syrup to the counter.
Squeezing the chocolate out of the bottle onto one of the strawberry halves, he offered her the first taste. He fed her the dessert and she eagerly accepted it. Relishing the sweet sensation that bombarded her senses, Kate let out a moan.
"Mmm... these are delicious! You were right. Just as good as the real thing."
She held his wrist to stop his hand from retreating. Holding his gaze, she seductively sucked the chocolate from his fingers. Rick felt a desire for her burn in his loins.
"You've got a little chocolate there…" Rick used his thumb to wipe the corner of her mouth. He licked the traces of chocolate off his finger.
"Thank you," she laughed as she picked up another strawberry. "Your turn."
Kate inverted the bottle to cover the strawberry in chocolate, but it overflowed and trickled down onto her fingers. Not minding the sticky liquid, she fed the confection to Rick. Holding his gaze, she exaggeratedly sucked the excess chocolate from her fingers, giving him a devilish smile. Kate knew exactly what she was doing to him.
"Mmmm, this is absolutely heavenly," she moaned.
"By far the best strawberries I've ever had," Rick agreed, fixated on her wantonly provocative behavior.
They took turns feeding each other the remaining strawberries, generously pouring chocolate sauce over each one. As Rick fed Kate the last slice, chocolate dribbled down her lips.
"There's a little chocolate on your mouth…"
Instead of wiping it this time, he pressed his lips to hers to clean up the chocolate.
"Mmm, you taste sweet."
"You taste sweet too."
Kate licked her fingers clean of the chocolate syrup. "Hmm. We should probably clean all this up."
Rick wiped off the counter as Kate picked up the plate and bottle of syrup. She placed the plate in the sink and moved towards the fridge to put the syrup away. But before she did, she hesitated in front of the refrigerator. An idea popped into her head.
With a wickedly sly smile, she walked over to where Rick was. Standing behind him she whispered in his ear, "You know, I can think of a few more things we can do with this chocolate syrup."
He turned around with an incredulous look plastered on his face. Kate just laughed at his loss for words.
"Come on, let's go."
She stood on her tippy toes to give him a searing kiss before leading him upstairs into his room.
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
A/N: As research for this chapter, I actually watched The Sting. Awesome movie! I hope you don't think Kate is too OOC or this is too much fluff. She's just having some fun (: And seriously. Try some chocolate syrup covered strawberries. They're delicious!