Brendan Carlisle (bcarlisle) wrote in nbc_chicago, @ 2011-07-28 01:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | brendan carlisle, kate stone |
Who? Brendan & Kate
Where? Navy Pier, mostly.
When? Thursday, all day.
What? Their day out, continued, because we write too much.
Rating? PG-13
Status? Complete log.
Once his bill was taken care of, Kate let go of him and grabbed his hand again. "OK, you... it's my turn now. And I think my turn is going to involve food. This therefore means that the rules can vary slightly and we can wander until we find a place we like... or, we could get in a cab and we could go to a predetermined place of agreement," she rattled off, walking with him out of the store. "I want one of those mints," she demanded, holding her hand out with a smile. Out in the sunshine, Kate grabbed her sunglasses to put back on.
"Katherine?" came another voice out of the blue. Kate froze, sunglasses in hand, her other hand held out to Brendan and she felt her heart drop into her stomach. She turned on her heel, her eyes wide. "Katherine... don't you work?" the man in question sighed as he approached the pair, walking beside a very pregnant woman.
"JJ..." Kate breathed, smiling, "Mary, hi," she smiled, leaving Brendan to hug the pregnant woman. "Make him be nice," she whispered frantically as they women hugged. Pulling away, she smiled at her brother. "Hi... umm, it's my day off and... well... hi," she grinned again, feeling like a teenager caught out after curfew or something ridiculous.
"What? I'm trying to brighten his day with novelty mints!" he insisted, although they both knew there was a slightly cruel undertone. He didn't see what she was doing with the handcuffs, probably fortunate for her as it meant she avoided about a million inappropriate comments, and got a little surprise when she hugged him. "Yeah, isn't it?" he responded simply, giving her a cheeky smile as they headed out of the shop and back into the sunshine, which seemed somewhat brighter after the dark shop interior.
"Good plan, it's getting to about that time," he agreed, looking up and down the street to try and get his bearings. "Well, it's your choice. And after my choice, I think you could get away with just about anything!" he laughed, popping open the box of mints, and turning to look at her. "Oh, you do, do you? Now who's dirty?!" he asked, tipping a couple into her open hand, the name that was called not registering at first because he was so used to thinking of her as 'Kate'.
When he realised they meant her, Brendan turned slowly, smiling awkwardly at whoever it was. They looked serious, and he was standing outside a porn shop holding a packet of penis mints. This was not good, no matter who it was, and Brendan had a sinking feeling that it had to be her brother. And given what he'd heard about her brothers, he probably ought to be running. He didn't say anything, because he was afraid that the next thing to come out his mouth was going to be offering a pregnant woman a penis-shaped mint.
Kate grinned, gesturing that she certainly wanted the mints. "Oh, come on... I can live on the edge once in awhile," she smirked, peering down at the mints with a frown. "Well... they are awfully small," she giggled, about to pop one in her mouth.
Brendan was very quiet, and with good reason. JJ would take his head off, probably wanted to for taking his baby sister into a porn shop. JJ and their brother, Sam, nearly murdered Kate's boyfriend who had gotten her pregnant. It hadn't been pretty. Kate wasn't helping Brendan start off on the right foot. She quickly tucked the naughty mints into her pocket and turned back to Brendan with an uneasy smile. "Breathe," she said, nudging Brendan.
"Katherine, what were you doing in there?" JJ asked, pulling his own sunglasses down to stare at her. His wife gave him a nudge of her own and smiled pleasantly, walking up to Brendan. "Hi, I'm Mary... clearly you have not met my husband or he and Kate would not be standing there being so rude," she smiled, shaking his hand. "Kate, who is your friend?" she asked.
"Mary, John, this is Brendan; he's my... umm..." OK, Kate was almost thirty and Brendan was older then that; it felt weird calling him her boyfriend. "He's... we're... he's my boyfriend," Kate blurted out. JJ had the ability to reduce her to sentence fragments, especially when it came to her boyfriends. "Brendan, this is my oldest brother John... JJ," she smiled, "and my sister-in-law, Mary. And this..." she beamed, reaching out to touch Mary's very pregnant stomach, "is my niece... name to be determined," she smiled proudly.
Brendan was like a rabbit in the headlights, and as Kate nudged him he realised that he was indeed holding his breath, and tried to calm down a little. It wasn't easy. His mind was going at hyperspeed, desperately searching for something to say that would make it all better - should he just completely ignore the fact they had just walked out a porn shop, as if it were no big deal? Or was not mentioning it stranger than saying something? He didn't do well under pressure.
"Right, yes, hello," he said, a little flustered as he shook each of their hands in turn. "This looks a lot worse than it is. We just... wanted some... mints..." he said, hearing himself say it as he said it, and dying a little inside. What?! He frowned slightly, his heart racing - he really couldn't imagine a worse first meeting, and with his need for a thirty-second rule, it was potentially even worse. Don't offer them mints, don't offer them mints... he thought, but his mouth disagreed. "Would you like a mint?"
He was screwed. He was floundering. What the hell was wrong with him?! "I'm sorry. I have... issues."
Kate held her breath and wanted to stop him, wanted to warn him about the thirty-second rule but it was too late. She groaned, closing her eyes when he offered JJ a mint. JJ glared and Kate moved closer to him, pushing the mints aside then took his other hand. "JJ, don't," she warned, though she was very quiet with her warning.
"Let me guess; Dad has no idea about this one," he sighed, turning his eyes back towards Kate. Kate's eyes went a little wide and she opened her mouth to protest. It wasn't like she had a revolving door of boyfriends. He turned back towards Brendan, ignoring Kate. "That's my sister you took in there... you do realize that, right?" Mary pulled him back, shaking her head a little, shooting Kate an apologetic smile. "We have reservations, John," Mary said. "Excuse my overprotective husband. He forgets that Katherine is a grown woman and not a teenager. You two enjoy your day off and Kate... we expect to meet your boyfriend under better circumstances," she smiled, leading her husband off.
They were left standing alone, hand in hand, in front of the porn shop. Kate pursed her lips and turned to glance up at Brendan. "So... that's my brother... one down, one to go..." she said.
It was strange - he'd only just met the man, but Kate's brother already had the power to make him feel like a misbehaving child. His expression changed to one that was much more serious, and he nodded gravely at his comments as if he was being told off by a teacher. "Yeah.. I'm.. sorry.." he said quietly and quite seriously, not really sure that there was anything he could say that wouldn't just make it a million times worse. He just felt sick - he really wasn't that guy, and now he just looked like a pervert and a misogynist.
"Right, yeah, sure," he mumbled, giving the woman an awkward wave goodbye, and turning to Kate with a pained look on his face. "Oh fuck! I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, hoping to god that she wasn't about to just walk off and leave him standing there for being such a royal idiot. "He's going to tell your dad, isn't he?" he added, getting more agitated by the second. "Oh my god, I just blurt things out, I could hear it and I just said it, I always do that, I really don't mean to, it's the ADHD, I just talk and talk and I'm doing it now!" he rambled on, clearly pretty upset by the whole situation.
Kate turned towards him, shaking her head, but he was already pretty far gone. Brendan was babbling and apologizing, pretty much agonizing over the whole thing. "Brendan..." she tried, but he was still going. If she didn't like him so ridiculously much, she would have smacked him to make him stop. "Brendan!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hands, trying to get him to slow down. He was going a mile a minute and she couldn't bring him back. She felt really bad for him and wanted to kick her brother's ass right into Lake Michigan.
Another minute passed and he was rambling on about the ADHD now and Kate did the only thing she could think of - the one thing that she knew she could do the shut him up. She grabbed onto his t-shirt and pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his in a long, slow kiss. She had to get him to knock it off, bring him back down to earth and get his mind to slow down so he stopped freaking out. Standing right there on the street, Kate moved closer to him, moving one hand up his neck to keep him close to her, moving her mouth slowly against his, lingering in the kiss as long as they could both go without oxygen - then again, right then and there she didn't so much mind being without oxygen.
There was nothing that was going to stop Brendan rambling... except that! He really hadn't heard her saying his name, he's been so lost in his blind panic, so when her lips hit his it really took him by surprise. He gasped, frozen in position for a moment or two before he started to relax and kiss her back. His heart-rate slowed, and the rising urge to cry about it surely passed. It was a remedy, all right, and one that was certainly enjoyable. He wrapped his arms around her, and sunk into the kiss.
When they resurfaced, he stayed close - a little breathless but a lot calmer. "Really?" he asked, a little high-pitched. "I still get a kiss?" he asked, smiling a little and moving to pull her into a proper hug - he was just so glad that she wasn't running away right now. She really was a keeper if he could get away with something as downright awful as the show he'd just put on... it meant something, all right. It meant that for some strange reason, she really did like the real him, flaws and all. And that was something that took him by surprise even more than the kiss. "God, how do you put up with me?" he asked, pulling back from the hug to look at her.
Kate held onto him when he gasped, not giving him the chance to pull away or protest. Judging from the way he reacted to the kiss, she didn't think he was going to protest. The man had a talented mouth, she had to give him that. Over the past several weeks, their kisses had gone from innocent, sweet, and curious to something deeper and exploring, seeing what the other really liked and wanted. Kate, for one, wanted his mouth, plain and simple. She moved her tongue slowly against his, tasting his mouth as she kissed him. When they finally broke for air, her eyes reluctantly opened and she smiled up at him.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Kate said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. Her hand touched the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair as she held him. "Did you see my brother with his double breasted pinstripe suit in the middle of July? He's has a stick up his ass since he was twelve," she told him, sighing softly as he held her. If he really thought she was going to run after that, he was wrong. If anything, she was more scared that he would run after meeting JJ. "His bark is bigger then his bite... and please don't worry about my dad... I've already talked you up to him," she smiled when he pulled back a little. She touched his face and gestured behind her. "Come on... I'm taking you out to lunch... and I'll show you why I put up with you on the cab ride over," she winked. Kate pulled away from him and stepped closer to the intersection, hailing them a cab.
Brendan all but whimpered at her - he still wasn't convinced. It had been awful. He really, really liked this woman, and he'd just gone and made the worst first impression on her family. Did she really not mind? "I know, I know, but he's your brother, and now I'm always going to be the weird porn guy with the penis mints!" he whined, the hilarity of that sentence apparently lost on him for the time being. "I don't think any amount of talking me up is going to cover that one up!" he told her, although a small smile played on his lips as she touched his face. At least she didn't hate him.
"Yeah?" he asked, a little hopeful, the sad eyes not quite gone just yet, even despite her slightly kinky reasoning! He'd gone from 'out there' and hyper to coy and embarrassed in a matter of seconds, it was incredible the effect one man could have on him - but what was even more amazing was just how much he had to care about her already. He was genuinely worried about what her family thought of him - that was kind of a big deal! "Okay, okay... thanks for... being okay with this," he said meekly, as the cab pulled over. He reached over and opened the door for her (see, he was a gentleman, not a pervert!) sliding into the seat next to her, and waiting for her to give the destination to the driver.
"Yeah, he's my brother and that fact isn't going to change," Kate pointed out, "but you're my boyfriend and I'd really like that fact to not change, either," she said sincerely. She sighed softly, seeing in his eyes just how much the whole thing had affected him. "Listen... my father has a bit more of a sense of humor then JJ does... you just... you have to understand that..." Kate's shoulders sank just a little as she stared up at him. There was so much she needed him to understand so he could better understand her brothers. "I don't want to bring this day down by delving into why my brothers are the way they are when it comes to me and my boyfriends... they're going to be tough on you and I can't stop that... but please, just... I'm not going anywhere, and I don't want you to, either. OK?" she asked him, hoping it was enough for the moment.
He opened the door to the cab and Kate slid across, leaning forward to talk to the driver. "Navy Pier," she told him, then started spouting off a few instructions about his route and the downtown traffic. Peering over at Brendan she smiled. "Even out of work, I have to play traffic girl," she winked. Kate settled back as they pulled away from the curb, situating herself to sit beside him in the middle of the bench. "I'm sorry my brother got to you... but, I have discovered how to bring you back from a panic attack... works the same way to get you to shut up," she grinned.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere!" he insisted, a little brighter this time. He listened to what she had to say, and although he wasn't getting the full story, he could understand. Clearly, she hadn't had the best of experiences when it came to past boyfriends, and he could understand why he brothers would be protective of her - that wasn't what freaked him out.
As he slid into the car, he gave her a little nod of comprehension, as if to show that his silence was not a disagreement or a panic... he was just listening and thinking about it. "Look, I don't mind them being tough, I really don't!" he insisted. "It's not that, it's not that he got to me... it's just me. I got to me!" he told her, feeling his cheeks flush a little at what he was trying to explain. "I can be a bit of an embarrassment!" he told her with a laugh, trying to make it into a joke even though he did mean it. "I just... hate that I couldn't hold it together for you long enough to salvage even a reasonable first impression," he said, giving her a bit of a sad but awkward look. He shook his head lightly. "But yeah, enough self-pity! I do quite like your remedy," he told her with a grin.
"Good, because if you were thinking about it, I might have to protest... loudly," she beamed. Once tucked inside of the taxi and on their way to the Navy Pier, she gave him her full attention. Kate nodded along with his rambling, lifting her arm to drape across his shoulders. Her hand lingered at his neck, slowly running her fingers through his hair as he talked. Yeah, she was a touchy-feely kind of girl and seeing as she could usually get a positive response out of him when she touched him, she continued touching the back of his neck.
"Oh, there you are," she laughed, when he snapped out of his rambling and smiled at her. "Yeah... I have discovered quite an enjoyable way to snap you out of things," she laughed. Kate pulled him closer to her, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I'll fix it," she promised him, "don't worry about my brother or what happened back there... it's not going to ruin our day, OK?" she said softly. Her fingers slowly stroked his neck as she stayed close to him.
"No, I'm not thinking about it. In fact, I was worried you'd just give me a look of disgust and leave me standing there, with my dodgy mints and sad face," he told her, only half-joking, although he was a lot less panicked now. As he rambled, the feeling of her hand on his neck calmed and relaxed him until he felt quite like himself again. He couldn't believe she was being so nice to him after the display he'd just made of himself, but he wasn't about to complain.
His smile grew a little wider, and he practically sighed into her as she kissed him again. "Agreed!" he said, brightening even further and pressing a random kiss to her cheek. "So, where are you taking me, then?" he asked, shuffling as close to her as the seatbelt would allow, enjoying the comforting feeling of having her near.
Kate fastened the lap belt for the middle seat and rested her head on his shoulder as he kissed her cheek. She had no intention of leaving him, and in another time, that thought might have scared her... to get that attached that quickly. JJ was, of course, family and she would love him no matter what... but Brendan was special to her and she cared about him. JJ and Sam were going to have to get used to that and would need to quickly realize that he was different and wasn't going to hurt her... or so she continued to hope.
She lifted her head off his shoulder and offered him a bright, genuine smile. "We're going to head over to the Navy Pier for lunch. There's a cafe that's really nice and you eat right on the dock, watch the boats come and go along the lake," she explained. "Plus, when we're done lunch, it's a giant playground that should keep even you with your ADHD entertained," she winked playfully. The possibilities were endless on the Navy Pier. "Sound like a plan?"
He couldn't help but smile as she sat in the middle seat, clearly just to be close to him - it was reassuring, knowing that he wasn't alone, that she was falling for him, too. He didn't know how he had got so lucky, that he could humiliate her in front of her family, and she still wanted to be close to him.
"You had me at giant playground," he teased, the feeling of genuine excitement returning - he knew the area, but it had been a while since he'd ventured down that way. It definitely sounded like a plan, but then he was sure anything with Kate would have been lovely. She was right, they shouldn't ruin their whole day over it, as awful as it had been... it was done. All they could do was move on, and deal with it later. He was going to try his best not to think about it again until he had to. "See, you know me so well, already!" he grinned, pretty much back to his usual self. Although... perhaps he ought to have another panic attack later to get another snog out of her.
"I haven't been to the Navy Pier in a long time," Kate told him, her head on his shoulder as she watched the city pass by out the window. "The last time I was there, the miniature golf course was brand new... oh, and it's so beautiful down there at Christmas," she said. "I have a fear of heights, but the Ferris Wheel is most certainly worth the price of admission. Oh, and of course the carnival games... that's how you can pay me back for the parking... win me something obnoxiously cute," she smiled up at him. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this kind of ridiculous fun on a date... their first date had been fun but not like this, running around the city like children let loose on a playground.
The cab let them out at the entrance to the pier and Kate took Brendan's hand to lead him towards the restaurant. "I hope you like good old fashioned American food," she laughed. "Cheeseburgers and milkshakes, grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries, subs and corn dogs," she laughed happily. The memory of the run-in with her brother was just that - a memory. "Hey, how does my ear look?" she asked, turning her head a little for him to inspect.
The more Kate talked about Navy Pier, the more eager Brendan became, and he was finding it difficult to hide his excitement. She really knew how to turn a mood around - first snogging, now a giant playground and greasy food? She was an angel, he had decided!
After an extremely unhealthy lunch, during which Brendan rambled endlessly about portion sizes, American foods he liked and didn't like, her less-swollen ear.... pretty much anything that wasn't related to the incident with her brother. Once they'd done with lunch, he all but dragged her to the carnival games, determined to keep up his end of the bargain by winning her something. "Right, I'm not making any promises, I'm a crap shot!" he laughed - he was far too easily distracted by birds, noises, flashing lights, other people... everything... and it made it quite difficult focusing long enough even to hit a few coconuts over in a simple arcade game. "Oh, look, fluffy and pink!" he said, something catching his eye at one of the stalls - it involved using water guns to knock over targets to win a prize. "Are you going to help me?" he asked, not really waiting for a reply either way as he pulled some loose change from his pocket and inserted a coin each into two guns.
When Kate ate out, she didn't worry about portions, she just enjoyed her meal. She told him how she tried to always take food home to enjoy later, but when she was enjoying a good cheeseburger, like she had for lunch, there wasn't much of a chance! After lunch, she strolled around the grounds with him, sipping on the last of her chocolate milkshake. OK, rather then strolling, he was all but pulling her along. Kate peered at the game he wanted her to play as she finished her shake. "Seriously? You want me to win my own fluffy pink creature?" she laughed, tossing her cup out.
Kate adjusted her purse, slinging it across her body so she could use both hands as she sat down on the stool. "OK, I know how to do this," she said, leaning over to take her aim. "You're in trouble," she winked over at him. "All right... are you ready?" she asked, making sure he was set so she could race him. After all, there was a giant pink stuffed animal on the line here!
Brendan might have been skinny, but he could eat - it was probably all the running and hyperactivity that made him burn off anything in about two seconds. "No, I just want you to play with me!" he blurted out before really thinking about what it sounded like, as usual. he scrunched up his nose and glanced over at her - had she noticed? Of course she had, he'd just said... "Ugh, thirty second rule!" he told her with a laugh. He was already getting more comfortable around her, especially now she seemed to understand him better. He blushed less, and even though he still found himself awkward and strange he could accept that for some weird reason, she seemed to like him.
He got himself into position, gripping the gun and giving her a wide smile. "Oh, that sounds almost like a challenge!" he teased, giving her a playful nudge before the game started. "Ready! Gogogo!" he laughed as the game started and the guns started spraying water. He was smiling, trying his best to knock over as many targets as he could. If you considered it a team effort, they had succeeded - if you considered it a competition, she won. His response to losing to a girl was to turn the gun at a angle it was not meant to go to and spray her slightly with the water. He really was super mature.
Kate was definitely used to his antics at this point, but he hadn't done anything to offend her. He just made her laugh and made her realize that she could have fun while in a relationship. They hardly took one another seriously all the time, but they were close enough now that they could have their serious moments and make it out with smiles on their faces. So, him telling her that he wanted her to play with him... well, she would have let it go, but instead she dissolved into a fit of giggles and was barely able to control herself. "Oh, Brendan... you are too much for words," she smiled over at him.
"A challenge... oh, hell yes," she laughed, taking aim at the target. Once the gun started, she let out a yelp as she nearly lost control then she found the targets again, knocking over as many as she could. In the end, Kate leaped up with a cheer. The attendant working the game asked what she wanted and she gestured towards the pink one. Then, she screamed when Brendan squirted her. "Brendan! Hey!" she laughed, wiping at her shirt. She took her toy and turned to him, wrapping her arm through his so she was pressed against his side, getting him a bit wet, too. "Look, it's fluffy and pink!" she laughed. "OK, which one next?"
Brendan really didn't mind that she was getting him damp - although, it would have been a bit rich of him to complain even if he had, considering it was his childish behavior that had lead to it in the first place. "Well, as long as you're happy!" he told her, smiling so broadly that his face was liable to crack in two.
She asked him what he wanted to do next, and his eyes darted around, unable to take it all in at once - just as he thought he'd made a decision, something else caught his eye. "This is both my nightmare, and absolute heaven," he explained, with a laugh. Then, he spotted something. It was just ridiculous enough to hold his attention for much longer than any of the other attractions... but was she going to hate him for it? She'd put up with him so far, so he decided that he'd take his chances. "Right, in here!" he told her, tugging on her hand and pulling her into something proclaiming itself to be a funhouse maze. What could possibly go wrong in a maze?!
Kate stuck to his side, swinging her stuffed animal at her other side while they wandered. It was crowded, seeing as school was out, but because it was a weekday, it wasn't as bad as a weekend would be. She looked around, following his line of sight, but his attention wasn't held for long. "You're like a kid in a candy shop," she laughed, "but you probably shouldn't go in one of those, either," she smirked, giving him a nudge.
When he finally chose something, Kate froze and stumbled when he tugged on her hand. "Oh... wait..." she protested, her eyes wide. "We could get lost there... no, I could lose you... you could lose me!" she exclaimed, walking with him up the ramp. Money exchanged hands and the man at the entrance wished them luck and ushered them in. "Brendan!" she hissed, gripping his hand as the door closed behind them and they were plunged into darkness for a moment. When the lights came back on, they were surrounded by mirrors, lights, spinning wheels, sounds and twisting paths. Screams and laughter could be heard through the maze.
"Yeah, candy shops are extremely dangerous," he told her, quite seriously - he had experienced both a toy and candy shop in one trip one time, and it had practically given him a migraine once he'd calmed down again.
"Oh, we're not going to get lost!" he told her, apparently very confident in that assertion. Almost immediately after saying it, however, he rounded a corner and found himself face to face with... well, himself. It was a dead end, apparently, and he turned to give her a look that was a mixture of glee and confusion. "So, maybe we hold hands really tightly in here!" he suggested, giving her hand a little squeeze and changing direction, just pulling her with him, further into the madness that lay ahead.
She laughed when she saw his face in the mirror around the corner. "Please, don't hurt yourself," she asked of him, taking his hand as they wandered away. There were, literally, bells and whistles everywhere. Kate reached out to touch a spinning wheel, but found herself touching her own hand in the mirror. "This is so weird," she breathed, looking up at the contraption that was actually hanging above them. "I mean... this really is magic," she laughed.
Around the next corner, Kate found another mirror that intrigued her. She was adventurous and squeezed his hand before she let go and wandered over to the mirror. Frowning, she watched her body change shape from teeny and wide to tall and narrow. Kate laughed out loud, turning around to watch her butt disappear. "Great mirror," she laughed, turning to find him. Well, somewhere between letting Brendan's hand go to making it to the mirror, she must have gone down another corridor without realizing it, because the only thing close to Kate was herself. "Oh no... Brendan!" she exclaimed, reaching out, making sure she didn't collide with a mirror as she tried to retrace her steps. "Brendan! Where are you?!"
Brendan was ridiculously happy to see the amazement in her eyes. It seemed like she had found some childlike wonder in the maze, and that was a good thing as far as he was concerned. He was thinking about how something as simple as smoke and mirrors could be so amazing, and he just didn't notice that she'd let go of his hand. He was examining his face in a particularly confusing mirror, turned to speak to her and found... more of his own reflection. He did a daft spin on the spot, and just saw himself reflected back over and over.
And then he could hear her calling his name, and feeling with his hands he tried to move in the direction of her voice. "Yeah, I'm here..." he told her, figuring out a way back through the maze, but managed to just get himself more lost. He turned, trying to go back the way he had came, but instead he just smacked his head against a wall. "FUCK!" he swore, rather too loudly as he realised there were probably a lot of children in earshot. "Kaaate, I told you to hold my hand!" he whined, hoping she could still hear him.
Kate let out a whine, tried to laugh at the situation but it wasn't working. "Brendan!" she exclaimed, turning around again. She let out a scream when she saw someone else in the mirrors. Clearly it was a child, jumping up and down, trying to be taller. She held her hand to her heart and turned again, feeling her way around a corner. She was met by a few wheels and moving floor. "Brendan... find the moving floor," she told him, walking across it into a darker room where the mirrors looked like they were moving. "Stop cursing!" she exclaimed and this time she laughed.
Kate turned around, seeing herself distorted and upside down. She walked up to the mirror and her image changed again, right-side-up and eyes huge. "Wow.. Brendan!" she called out to him again, trying to lead him to her, instead of continuing to wander. "You OK?" she shouted, turning back toward the way she'd come. If she kept her eyes on the moving floor, she might be able to spot him and grab him.
"Find the moving floor?!" he repeated, finding the whole concept completely baffling. "Find the moving floor..." he repeated, looking at his perfectly still bit of floor and trying to follow it toward her voice. The initial panic had given way to uncontrollable giggling, as long as he could hear her he didn't feel too anxious about the whole situation. He felt his way along the mirrors, and then had to step aside to allow a child to run right past him with absolute ease. The part of the wall he was leaning on moved, the mirror swinging to reveal... a moving floor!
He saw her, and reached out to grab onto her wrist, pulling her toward him. "Hey! Yeah, I'm ok!" he told her with a grin, before pressing his lips to hers in a firm kiss, his arms moving to wrap around her waist. The kiss was reflected all around them, in a variety of angles, shapes and sizes, and for some reason that just made it even more incredible.
"Yes, the moving floor," she insisted, watching the small child run away from his panicking mother. Kate frowned, turning towards the moving floor, waiting for him to come through. She wasn't even sure how she'd gotten through it, but staying still seemed like the best solution. It was quiet and the quiet made her heart pound in her chest. The children were gone for the moment and the mirrors seemed dark. "Where are you?" she called, but found her voice quiet, maybe a little scared.
When he appeared and grabbed her, Kate jumped, wheeling around to face him. "Oh, my god... that was..." he cut her off and pulled her close, kissing her hard. Her knees felt like they were about to give out and she might swoon right there. He'd kissed her before, but most of the time, Kate had initiated the kisses. This kiss was different and she didn't want it to end. She lifted her arms, holding him close to her as his arms wrapped around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just make out the reflection of him holding her, locked in each other's arms. Kate sighed and melted into him, breaking the kiss long enough to breathe and tip her head the other way, sealing her mouth to his in another heated kiss.
For the moment, Brendan forgot that they were in the middle of a very confusing maze with strange mirrors all around them. All he cared about was her lips, her body heat, her hands holding him to her... and just when he thought she was pulling out of the kiss, she started it up all over again. There was certainly none of that first-date uncertainty with them anymore - if anything, he felt like an overly hormonal teenager. Grown adults snogging each others faces off in the middle of an amusement attraction?! That just seemed to make him love it even more - she was willing to let him get away with that kind of nonsense, in fact she seemed to actually enjoy it!
His fingers were tangled in her hair, holding her close, unwilling to break the kiss... it was only the giggles of passing children that pulled him back to reality. He pulled back from her to find some kids squeezing past them, laughing, looking at them as if they were insane. Brendan had to laugh a little at that, and gave them a little nod of acknowledgement. "Eh, good day!" he said in a rather mocking tone. He dropped his hands from her hair, and made sure to grab onto her hand. "Well, it's going to take us a year to find the exit!" he told her, as if nothing had even happened.
She moaned softly in the back of her throat, feeling her hair come loose from the clip as his fingers moved up her neck and into her hair. Not that she was about to complain, not when his kisses and a touch like that from him could send tingles straight down her spine. Clips be damned, she thought, her own fingers clenching at the back of his shirt as she all but clung to him.
Now, Kate liked children, but at that moment she wanted nothing more then to send them on their way and pull Brendan into another dark corner. As it was, Kate just smiled, her cheeks flushed - for a number of reasons - and her hair tousled. Taking his hand, she sighed softly, reaching up to pull the clip out of her tangled hair with her other hand as they walked through the maze. "Maybe if we follow those giggling children, we'll stand a better chance," she suggested, tugging for him to follow. It seemed that the kids found that idea amusing as they keep turning around to giggle and point in their direction. "Well, at least everyone is enjoying themselves," Kate laughed softly, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment as they walked.
"Good idea!" he agreed, this time making sure he didn't let go of her hand as they worked their way through the maze - there were a lot of laughs to be had before they did reach the exit, and by the time they hit daylight again Brendan felt pretty disorientated. He noticed that she'd lost her toy, and after telling her how poor Henry (yes, he'd named the elephant!) was going to be lost in a maze of mirrors forever, he made it his mission to win her another toy. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, winning her another toy, eating candyfloss (a bag for her, a small piece of it for him!) and generally being big kids.
He enjoyed her company. He liked that they were out and about, having fun, laughing together, being silly... it helped for things not to be too heavy and serious. It was when women were overly serious with him that he felt like running. With Kate, it really was the first time he'd felt comfortable with a woman in years. He was sad to see the day come to an end, as they headed back his car, joined hands swinging between them as they laughed and chatted. "Now, I want you to take good care of this one, okay?" he was telling her, in a jokingly-patronizing tone about her new toy.
The second animal that Kate ended up swinging around was a monkey, that Kate had turned around and named Henry II. "He will be the new king," she laughed, kissing his cheek after having received her prize. She was sad to see the sun starting to sink low over the city, long shadows being cast as they walked back to the car. It was quite a walk from the Pier, but Kate didn't care. They just talked and bantered and laughed the whole way back, holding hands and enjoying the early evening.
Kate had let her hair hang down around her shoulders after leaving the maze and she reached up and pushed her hair back from her face as a breeze blew around them. Arriving at the parking lot, Kate smiled over the top of his car at him, then climbed in, settling beside him in the passenger seat. The drive back to her apartment wasn't fun; traffic was horrendous, but it just led to them fiddling with the radio, laughing over more stories and antics until they arrived outside of her building. She unbuckled and turned toward him. "I had a really great day," she smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. Suddenly, she was having an internal debate: should she ask him up, or not? She glanced at the clock on his radio, noting that it was late... for her, seeing as she would be up at three in the morning. Kate just smiled over at him, reaching for his hand. "I hate for this to end, but... the alarm goes off at three in the morning," she said softly.
"It was just brilliant," he agreed, smiling over at her. Truth be told, he really didn't expect to be asked inside. It had been a long day, and he knew that she got up stupidly early when she worked - plus, it was still early days. She had slept over once, but that had been purely circumstantial (hadn't it?). He gave her a look of absolute horror when she mentioned the time she had to get up at. "Jesus, Kate, that's not the morning, that's nighttime!" he told her with a laugh. "I don't know how you do it, it would just kill me, I think!" he admitted, although he doubted that she was surprised to hear it. He had to set an alarm for his afternoon shift, and even at that he was still grumpy as hell until he had a little caffeine in his system. He supposed that you just got used to a certain pattern and your body went with it.
He wondered for a minute whether or not he should walk her to her door, and eventually decided that he should. "Right!" he said, to no one in particular, and unbuckled himself, got out the car and was round at her side within second, opening the door for her. Who said romance was dead?! He was being a proper gentleman, although maybe the effect was ruined slightly by how smug he was feeling about it.
"Yeah... brilliant," she smiled, liking the way he said the word. Kate knew she was right to not invite him up. There was a lot unsaid between them, a lot they hadn't told one another, that much she was certain of, and it could wait for another day. She wanted to end the day on such a good note. "Well, it's morning for someone that has to be on the air at five," she laughed, shaking her head a little. The truth was, when Kate was asked to spend time on the afternoon shift as a fill-in reporter, it threw her off and she hated it. Getting up at three in the morning was natural for her.
She was just about to lean across the console to kiss him when he was pulling back and... getting out of the car... what? Kate spun around, peering up at him with a look of wonder in her eyes. When was the last time a guy had gone out of his way to get out of the car just to open the door for her... scratch that, no guy had ever even opened a door for her. She took his hand and climbed out of the car, searching for her keys as she walked with him to her door. Kate turned to him and smiled. "Thank you... for everything today. I'm so glad you talked me out of staying in bed all day," she grinned. OK, now Kate wanted to kiss him, but she wanted him to kiss her first... he was really good at that, when he took the initiative. Now, she was just standing there, holding his hand and willing him to do it before she just jumped him right there outside of her building.
"With hours like that, I wouldn't blame you for staying in bed all day," he teased lightly. "But really, I'm so glad we were both off today," he said - he was gushing, and they'd reached a standstill at her door. He felt strangely coy all of a sudden, which was ridiculous considering he'd been quite happily kissing her in the middle of a maze. He smiled at her and gave her hand a little squeeze.
"Goodnight," he said softly, leaning close to her, his free hand lifting to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, then lingering there for a moment as he just looked into her eyes for a few seconds. Then he kissed her - deeply and confidently despite his slow start. She just tasted amazing, felt incredible... he always just felt like he melted right into their kisses, and they always left him wanting more. With anyone else, he lost interest quickly - his ADHD just made his attention wander and soon enough he'd be bored, desperate to pull back almost as soon as he'd started. With Kate, there was none of that - he committed to the kiss fully.
Kate laughed softly, feeling that momentary shyness creep in. She felt like a teenager for a moment, shyly waiting for whether or not she should just go inside, or wait till the boy kissed her. Brendan didn't make her wait too long, though, as he reached out and touched her hair, his knuckles grazing her cheek as he tucked her hair. Kate lifted her eyes, sighing softly when she saw his deep brown eyes staring back at her. When she'd told him that it had been his eyes that had first attracted her to him, she hadn't been kidding. When he kissed her, her eyes were open for a moment until they slid closed and she slid into his embrace, her arms wrapping around his as she sunk right into his kisses.
Right... maybe she should ask him up... just for a little bit? Just for a tour... a kiss... a few kisses? Her brain was short-circuiting and she couldn't process much beyond his mouth, his warm mouth, firm yet soft and... he was driving her crazy. She could almost feel her knees buckle, her body pressed close to his, though she pulled back enough to breathe. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was heavy as she looked up at him. "Yeah... OK... good night..." she smiled, reluctant to go as she held him a moment longer. "Oh... damn..." she breathed, pulling away to unlock the outer door of her building. Kate turned and looked back at him, smiling. "Good night," she grinned, waving just a little.
And then she was gone, and he was giving her a daft little wave through the glass door, his cheeks warm, and his breathing still a little shallow. He waited until she was gone, and then his grin grew even wider. Oh, he liked her! He more than liked her. Maybe he was getting carried away, but he really just didn't care. He had a smile on his face, and a little skip in his step as he headed back to his car. He got into the drivers seat, and just sat there for a few minutes, replaying the better parts of the day through his mind before driving off, smiling like an absolute fool about it all.