A/N: hey guys, me again! I know I have another story ongoing but I was looking for something to write whilst I plan the next chapter of Seeing Double (check it out if you like ;)) and I was looking through castlefanficprompts for a one-shot idea and this is the result. (Check out the other blog that goes with that, castlefanfics, where you can find pretty much any fanfic you like thanks to their hard work!)
update: I got like 3/4 of the way through and it was almost 5000 words, so I'm separating it into two chapters. The other chapter will be up straight away, I just didn't want one massive long chapter, so I cut it off! This chapter is T Rated but the next will move onto M.
Timing: after Kill Shot but before 47 Seconds.
"Okay okay, what about him?" Lanie suggested, pointing to a guy at the bar. Kate couldn't see the front of him but when the back of him looked liked that, she wasn't exactly complaining. His back was muscular, straining slightly against his shirt. His thighs were well defined too, filling out his pants quite nicely and leading up to one hell of an ass. Not quite Castle's ass, but good all the same. Crap, where had that come from? Since when had she been an expert on Richard Castle's ass?! She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, tonight was about forgetting he existed.
They'd been at this for over an hour now, Lanie pointing out guys in the club that she thought Beckett might find attractive, trying to get her to talk to some of them in a bid to forget about Castle. They'd been back at the precinct for a couple of months now since she returned after her shooting and it had been a good five months since she'd broken up with Josh. According to Lanie, that was more than enough time to stop using her 'recent break up' as an excuse not to have some fun. It didn't help matters with Lanie knowing she hadn't even loved Josh, apparently that meant five months was way too long. So here they were, out on a Saturday night when Kate would have much rather been in bed with a book and a glass of red, however Lanie wasn't exactly a person who took no for an answer very well.
"He looks kinda cute," Kate said, shouting to be heard above the music. The last 14 guys she had brushed off but seeing that Lanie wasn't giving up, she thought she'd have more chance of getting her to quit if she played along for a bit.
"Well then, why are you still sat here?" Lanie asked, "go and get his number!"
Oh god, she wasn't going to make her do that was she? Okay, apparently she was, crap. Okay Beckett, you can do this. It's just a guy, a hot guy, but still a guy. And you're an attractive woman, surely he'd had worse offers.. Offers? Jesus Kate, you're meant to be getting his number, not offering to sleep with him! All of these through to flittered through Kate's mind as she strode over to the bar. Positioning herself next to the guy they had been talking about, she leaned against the bar slightly as if waiting to order a drink and waited for him to notice her. She might be on a mission to get his number but she wasn't easy, she'd make sure he spotted her first.
Not twenty seconds later, a husky voice spoke to her. "Can I buy you a drink?" He asked smiling at her.
Play it cool, Kate, play it cool. "Thanks, but I'm perfectly capable of buying my own drink," she replied politely with a smile. She didn't even turn around to look at Lanie, if she hadn't been distracted by another guy, she was sure to be gloating in her seat right now.
The guy - she'd have to find out his name soon - laughed and looked genuinely surprised. "You know, most girls would have said yes, it's usually a good ice-breaker."
"For a start I'm not most girls and second, we're talking aren't we? I'd say that broke the ice just as well.." She was skating on the edge, there were currently two ways this could go, depending on the kind of guy he was. If he was anything like Josh, he'd give up and move on, realising she wasn't going to play fair. On the other hand, if he was anything like Castle, he'd stick with it, persistent until the end. Shit, when did I start comparing guys to my ex and my..I don't know what Castle is but comparing other guys to him? Not a good idea. Not like anyone could match up to him anyway. Shut up, she told the voice in her head, desperate for it to stop bringing Richard freaking Castle up every five freaking minutes.
Seemed like he was the second kind. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a smart mouth?" He asked with a smile.
Yes, they had. "More than once, occupational hazard I suppose," she replied easily. Oh this could be good, they were at a crossroads again - once he found out what she did, he'd either run a mile in the opposite direction or ask if she used her handcuffs outside of work.
"Oh really? So what do you do?" He asked and then added, "I'm Ethan, by the way."
"Kate," she replied. Ethan...hmm, it suited him. "And I'm a cop. Detective, actually, in homicide."
Here it came, the moment of truth. "Wow, that's pretty interesting! Why homicide?" Okay, not the answer she was expecting. Jesus, if she didn't know better she'd have thought Castle had put him up to this. She was dressed in a really bad excuse for a dress, it stopped just below her ass cheeks and was ridiculously tight, a phone box red colour and made of a silky material. And he wanted to know why homicide and not other places she used her handcuffs, that would have been an easier freaking question to answer.
She raised her eyebrows, "are you a writer?" She asked.
"Uh, no. Should I be?" He asked, confusion flashing across his face. It was really a rather handsome face, he was square-jawed, with gorgeous brown eyes and high cheekbones, a shadow of stubble dashed across his chin. Definitely not someone she'd kick out of bed.
She sighed. "Normally when I tell people I'm a cop, they either run in the opposite direction or ask about my handcuffs. A writer once asked me completely different questions and I haven't been able to get rid of him for almost four years now, it just came as a bit of a shock that you asked why homicide." She hoped he hadn't realised she had avoided his question. Why couldn't she get Castle off of her mind? She was pretty tipsy right now, her and Lanie had polished off more than enough alcohol tonight and yet Castle was all she could think about. "Sorry, I really do need to get back to my friend," she smiled apologetically, she couldn't continue this conversation right now, she needed Lanie to help her get Castle off her mind.
"Sure," he replied, "no worries. Here," he pulled out a card from his jacket pocket and gave it to her. "Here's my number, give me a call, I'd love to know why you're a cop in homicide one day," he said with a smile and she smiled back before walking back to Lanie.
"Girl, you were gone ages! Wait, what's wrong? Not gay, is he?" Lanie asked, noticing the expression on Kate's face.
"No, not as far as I could tell," she laughed. "I can't forget about him, Lanie."
"Who?"
"Castle. He's constantly on my mind even when I've more that enough to drink to forget about him but it's not working!" She whined.
"Sex," Lanie said and Kate shot her a bewildered look. "You need sex, it's the only way to forget about Castle."
"I don't know.."
Lanie seemed intent on convincing her, and ordered them more cocktails as her persuasion technique. An hour later and they were both giggling at their table, telling stories of embarrassing moments when they were teenagers.
Lanie checked her phone and smiled at the message she had received. "Javi?" Kate asked with a grin.
"Yeah.." Lanie replied with a grin.
"Right then, well you're going to make a cop very happy tonight and I'm going to go home and collapse into my bed!" Kate said, finishing off her drink and standing up to leave. "Come on, let's go find a cab"
They got into separate cabs, Javi's place being in the opposite direction to Kate's so it made no sense to share one. Lanie climbed in first, muttering something about Kate should call Josh and that he'd be up for some fun. Kate waved her off with a smile and was about to get into the next cab when she decided she wanted to walk instead, the fresh air would clear her head a bit.
Perhaps Lanie was right, maybe she should call Josh for some fun? Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts clumsily and hit dial on what could possibly be Josh's number. She wasn't entirely sure given that she couldn't quite see straight but let it ring anyway.
"Hello?" He answered, sounding surprisingly awake for 3 in the morning. Ooo, perhaps he had just got back from a shift at the hospital..
"Josh! Hiiiiii! How are you?" She asked, giggling like a schoolgirl.
"Uh Kate? This isn't-"
"Anyway, I'm on my way home and I'm lonely so I was thinking you could come over..I'm wearing that red dress you like.." Wait, shit, it was Castle that liked that red dress, not Josh.. "Well, that might not be you..actually I think that was Castle but hey, you like red too, don't you?" She rambled, not letting him get a word in edge ways. "And my underwear matches.." She added as flirtatiously as she could in her current state.
"Kate, where are you?" That didn't sound like Josh, that sounded like Castle. Oh god, even when she was phoning her ex for drunk sex at 3am she couldn't get Castle off her mind.
"I'm walking back to my apartment, I'm nearly there actually. I'll see you in twenty,' she hung up giggling, taking her shoes off and walking barefoot the last few blocks to her apartment. She rode the elevator up and let herself in, fumbling with the key and the lock for a few minutes before managing to get the door open. She left it unlocked for Josh when he arrived and dumped her shoes in the lounge, pouring herself a glass of wine. More alcohol, that would help her forget Castle.
Castle was torn. He could tell Kate hadn't meant to call him, she had been calling him Josh for a start - that was a problem in itself, the woman he loved was trying to call her ex for drunk sex but had called him instead. But at the same time, the woman he loved was somewhere on the streets of New York at 3 in the morning, drunk and alone and he'd be damned if he didn't do something about that. Making his decision, he grabbed his keys and his cell and hailed a cab to her apartment, looking out for her on the way in case she wasn't back at her place yet.
He tossed some money at the cab driver, not bothering to wait for change, and headed into her apartment building.
He rushed into the elevator after paying the cabbie and impatiently waited for it to reach the right floor. He knocked on her door but there was no answer, so he tried the handle - unlocked. He walked in slowly.
"Kate?" He called out, "are you here?" He wandered around her apartment, checking the lounge and the kitchen but with no sign of her. The Kate he knew wouldn't have left her door unlocked if she wasn't here, not in a million years. Opening the door to the bedroom, he almost passed out when he saw the sight in front of him. She was stretched out on her bed, her dress a heap on the floor - she had been right, he loved her in red - but that wasn't what he was looking at. She was on her bed in nothing but her lacy red bra and matching panties, staring at him with arousal evident in her eyes.
"Wait," Kate said, sitting up on her bed. "You're not Josh.."
"And you're not wearing any clothes," he replied, grabbing her dressing gown from the back of her door and throwing it to her.
"What, you don't want me naked, Castle?" She whispered seductively and he clenched his fists at his side to stop himself from pinning her to the bed and making sure she knew just how much he wanted her naked. "Thought this was all your dreams come true."
Now she was pushing it. Before she could realise what was happening, he had her on her back and her wrists were pinned above her hand by his hands. "No, Kate, in my dreams you're coming home with me after a long day at work, not accidentally calling me when you want sex from your boyfriend." And just as quickly, he was off of her and walking out of her bedroom, leaving her shocked and panting, still lying on the bed.
She didn't hear the front door go so she assumed he was still here. Pulling out an oversized jumper from her drawer, she pulled it on over her underwear and stumbled out to find him, still feeling a little tipsy. And entirely not ready for the conversation he was probably going to want right now.
She found him sat on her couch, staring into space. "He's not my boyfriend," she said quietly and he twisted his neck to look at her.
"Sorry, I just assumed with the call I got which was obviously meant for him that you two were back together," he replied coolly, not giving anything away that suggested how he felt.
"Yeah, sorry about that," she said sheepishly, "probably shouldn't be allowed a phone when I've been drinking.."
"Well, now that you know you called the wrong number, I'll get out of your hair and let you call the real Josh this time."
She was confused. "Why would I want to call Josh now?"
"I don't know, Beckett, maybe because you were meant to call him in the first place. It's just I'd rather not be here when he turns up, thank you very much."
"I'm not calling Josh. I don't want Josh. The only reason I even contemplated calling him in the first place was because Lanie suggested I do it to get my mind off-" crap. She couldn't finish that sentence. She might still be under the influence of alcohol but she wasn't going to admit that she had been planning on sleeping with Josh to get him out of her head.
"Why did Lanie suggest it?" Castle asked, he knew Kate, knew that she told Lanie everything and she had stopped herself just then, afraid to say something she shouldn't.
"I..um, ah, it's nothing-"
"You know I could just call Lanie, right? I'm sure she'd love to tell me.." He teased, pulling out his phone.
"Yeah, well good luck with that, I think she's a little busy with Espo right now," she counteracted with a grin.
"Well, we won't know unless we try.." He unlocked his phone and made a slow process of bringing up Lanie's number and going to dial it. Every time he touched his screen, he alternated it with a look to Kate, seeing how far he would get before she broke and told him what Lanie had said.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you all night," she blurted out and immediately covered her mouth with her hands.
He put the phone back in his pocket and surveyed her for a few minutes. She hadn't meant to say that much, he could work that out. The way she had pressed he hands to her mouth as if to stop the words from flowing out was kind of cute and so was the blush that was forming on her cheeks. God she was beautiful. He hadn't expected her to say anything like that, he thought it would be something to do with the PTSD she was just getting over, not him.
"Wait, so you were going to sleep with Josh to forget me?" He asked and he followed her with his eyes as she walked to the lounge and sunk onto the sofa, bringing her legs up underneath her.
"Oh god, it sounds awful when you say it like that," she groaned and he could help but laugh. He moved to the lounge too, joining her in sitting on the sofa.
"Well yeah, it does but I think I prefer it to you and Josh being back together."
She was sobering up pretty quickly, her head felt less fuzzy and she could see straight. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be safe behind the wheel of a car, but at least now she only felt a bit tipsy, she felt happy and she knew she'd answer whatever he asked right now and she wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. "You do know I'm never getting back with Josh, right?" She asked, her voice laced with concern, as if it were vitally important that he knew this.
He shrugged. "I don't know, I mean I figured you broke it off for a reason.."
"How'd you know it was me that ended it?" She asked, she was pretty sure all she had told him was that they had broken up during her three months of recovery, she hadn't gone into details.
Castle let out a small laugh before answering. "Because Josh would have been an idiot to break things off with you and he doesn't seem like the idiotic type. Dammit Kate, you're perfect."
"I'm not," she whispered.
"You are to me," he replied and she blushed again.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, looking at him as if she'd only just found him here and he hadn't seen her in her underwear in her bedroom. Focus, Castle. No, not on Kate in her underwear..he couldn't help himself though. He had known she had one hell of a figure, she'd worn a few revealing outfits around him before but seeing her like that, Jesus Christ the woman was sex on legs. So fucking beautiful and she didn't even know it.
"Er, I've been here a while.."
"Yeah, but why? Surely you figured I er, called you by mistake, so why did you come over?" Realisation dawned on her face. "Did you come over because I called you for sex thinking you were Josh and you thought you could get lucky?" She accused, eyes flashing with anger.
"No no no, oh god Kate of course I didn't!"
"Well why are you here then?!"
"Kate, the moment I saw you I threw your dressing gown at you, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. Still doesn't explain what you're doing here though, does it?"
"No, it doesn't and I'll get to that, I just need you to know that I categorically did not come over here because I knew you were expecting Josh, okay? I would never, ever take advantage of you like that, I promise. I'm not going to lie, seeing you practically naked on that bed and restraining myself from taking you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I couldn't, not when I knew you weren't expecting me and most certainly not when you were drunk, okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. God, I'm sorry, Castle, I know you, I know you'd never do anything like that but I put two and two together and came out with five, I'm sorry."
"Hey, you don't need to apologise, okay? Anyone would have thought the same in your situation! Now, you wanna know why I'm here?" She nodded again. "You called me, at 3am and said you were walking back to your apartment, I could tell you were drunk and there was no way I would be able to sleep not knowing if you got home okay. I also didn't want you to think Josh had stood you up when he didn't show, I assumed you hadn't figured out you called me by mistake."
"You were worried about how I would take it if my ex didn't show up after I offered myself to him on a plate?" He nodded. "God, Castle, how can you be so..so..noble? Seriously, the way I was acting I probably could have passed a prostitute and you came over to see if I was okay?"
"Don't you dare make yourself feel bad for what you did," he growled, "you hear me? I don't care if you want to sleep with every man in the city - okay, well I do - but if you wanted to then I wouldn't stop you. Don't ever feel bad for going after what you want, okay?"
"But I don't want him, I want you."