Katherine Megan Stone (katestone) wrote in nbc_chicago, @ 2011-07-19 23:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | brendan carlisle, kate stone |
Who? Kate and Brendan
When? Tuesday evening
Where? Brendan's apartment
What? Kate and Brendan have just started dating. They were planning to spend the evening frolicking around at the Navy Pier. However, when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the new couple is forced to change their plans!
Rating? PG-13 (language)
Note: Getting started a bit early, so I can head to bed!!
Kate ran her fingers back through her hair, grabbed her lipgloss for a quick touch up then got ready to leave. She smiled at herself in the mirror then grabbed her purse and ran out the door. She was meeting Brendan at his place then they were heading to the Navy Pier where they could have fun with amusement park rides, greasy food, and a fireworks show after dark. Someone forgot to check the forecast, however, because as Kate made her way down the steps out front of her building and out to her car, a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead and the heavens opened up. "No!" Kate screamed, scrambling for her keys as she dashed to her car. Kate screamed again as she got soaked, trying to get into her car. Once inside, she moaned, her head hitting the seat as she looked down at her soaked blue dress, her wet sandals and she felt her hair sticking wetly to the back of her neck. So much for that, she thought.
Kate grabbed her phone out of her purse as she pushed her hair off her neck, dialing Brendan. Well, obviously they weren't going to the fair. They needed a back-up plan, she thought as she put in her earpiece and grabbed a clip to put her wet hair up. She wasn't about to let the night be ruined and as she tried to fix herself, start the car and call Brendan all at the same time, an idea came to her. Simple, yes, but at least it could be fun. She waited for him to pick up as she checked her reflection in her rearview mirror.
Brendan was excited - not only because a fair appealed to his inner child, but more importantly because it meant that he was going to get to see Kate again, outside work, and that was really, really exciting. He was just about ready, bopping around to a radio station and checking himself in the mirror - jeans and t-shirt, a black shirt open over it. He still didn't see anything that Kate might find attractive, but he was going to just go with it! He ran his fingers through his hair, spun to pick up his keys, phone and... his phone started vibrating in his hand.
He leaped across the room and clicked the music off, and as he did so he found himself facing the window, and the storm outside. He pouted a little and answered the call. "It's raining!" he whined into the phone instead of a hello.
Kate turned down another road, nodding her head at the obvious. "Yes, yes, it's raining," she laughed, though she was somewhat upset. "It started to pour as I was leaving my apartment. So... change of plans... there's a Chinese restaurant down the street from where you live," she started to explain. "And if you still want some company this evening, I can pick us up some delicious and greasy Chinese food and we can watch movies and... umm, watch it rain," she laughed again. "I'm so upset about the rain, Brendan! This fair was supposed to be a lot of fun! I don't want it to ruin the evening though," she said, glancing down at her dress that was clearly ruined. Still, she wasn't about to let it ruin the entire night that she had planned with him!
When she first started talking, Brendan was nodding along, his heart sinking at what he thought she was going to say next. When she mentioned the chinese restaurant, however, a slow smile played on his lips. "Oh, you're still coming to see me!" he said not even bothering to hide the sheer joy in his tone. "I thought you were calling to cancel," he admitted.
"Yes, yes, it's rubbish, but you're right, we won't ruin the evening - we'll make it fun, promise!" he told her - he had been disappointed about the fair, but knowing that he was still going to get to see her meant that at least half of the excitement was still here.
"No!" Kate declared, perhaps a little too loudly. Goodness, she didn't want him to think that she was ditching him. "No, no... we're just going to have to make some adjustments and have our fun inside!" she laughed. OK, that didn't sound bad, right, or dirty, Kate wondered, frowning a little. "Anyway, I'm going to call in an order so what do you want. I'm partial to pork lo mein and egg rolls with those little crunchy noodles that no one really knows the proper name for," she grinned. "Your job is to tell me what to order you then find a movie for us to watch," she told him. "Wait... will your roommate mind? Do you have a roommate? This is something we've never discussed!" she suddenly realized. They really did have conversations on the fly.
Brendan didn't hear the dirty side of it fortunately, and was just grinning madly even though she couldn't see it. "Brilliant! Hang about, I need a menu, I'm still confused by American-Chinese terminology," he laughed, moving to open a few kitchen drawers in search of a menu.
"Nope, I don't have a roommate, just me! Right, just get me a sweet and sour chicken or something," he said, failing on the menu front and deciding on something that was surely fairly universal, "what kind of movie are you in the mood for?" he asked, eyeing up the cupboard that contained his DVD collection warily. He hadn't dared to open it in a long time, the contents had a habit of collapsing all over the place, so he was hoping something near the front would be sufficient.
"Oh, that's easy enough," she said, turning her car off the highway. "I'm gonna have to go in a minute so I can order," she told him. "What kind of movie.. oh... umm..." Kate was concentrating on not running someone over, or worse, cursing someone out while on the phone with Brendan. "Ahh, something funny maybe? Or, oh! I know," Kate laughed, pushing her wet hair out of her face. She needed to clip her hair back better. "We should watch 'Pride and Prejudice!' That would be brilliant, wouldn't it?!" she laughed out loud. Kate knew that Brendan was not fond of Jane Austen, but she liked to tease him.
"Think of something brilliant, and I will be around in about a half hour or so, all right?" she asked. After saying good-bye, she hung up and placed the order. She pulled into a convenience store lot and ran in to grab some candy and some microwave popcorn, and a few bottles of soda. It would be just like going to the movies, she decided, leaving the store and walking across the street to the Chinese food place. Food in hand, she headed a few blocks over to Brendan's complex, parked her car and headed across the lot, bags in hand. She was fumbling with her purse and the bags when all of a sudden - yet again - the heavens opened up and she found herself without an umbrella, again. She screamed and ran for the door, buzzing for his apartment. "Oh, my god, Brendan, let me in!" she shrieked as it rained down on her.
Brendan groaned dramatically at the mention of Pride and Prejudice, although he knew she was just winding him up - "Colin Forth? Six hours? Ugh, I'll think of something," he moaned, unable to conceal his laughter however. "See you soon!" he chirped, hanging up the phone and surveying the apartment - fuck!
Half an hour, he could do a lot on half an hour - he started off fine, picking up empty dishes and moving them to the kitchen, loading the dishwasher in no order whatsoever - as long as they were hidden, he didn't care - he ran a cloth across the kitchen surfaces, he straightened cushions, he kicked random junk under the couch, attempting to put his work into a pile but failed miserably, and shoved as much of it into desk drawers as possible, but there was too much and he shoved half of it into his sock drawer - he was running out of time! He picked up the abandoned outfits he'd decided against when getting ready to go out, and the buzzer went - in a panic, he shoved them into the dishwasher, too, and slammed it shut. It wasn't looking too bad, provided she didn't look too closely. He ran and buzzed her in, a strange feeling of nerves coming over him all of a sudden as he opened the door to the apartment and waited on her.
Once she heard the buzzer, Kate burst into the front hallway, panting softly as she closed the door behind her. "Goddammit!" she exclaimed, shaking the water out of her hair. She felt like a wet dog; a stupid wet dog at that for not grabbing an umbrella. Her hair had come loose from her clip which was hanging somewhere in her tangle of hair. She could NOT go into Brendan's apartment looking like this, she decided, dropping the bags on the floor. Kate walked over to a small mirror in the hallway and grabbed her tangled mess of hair. "Well... what a waste of make-up, hairspray and perfume," she grumbled, grabbing her hair to twist up into the clip. A few pieces hung out, framing her face as she checked for smudges of make-up, wiping them away. Her dress was soaked - again - but there was nothing she could do. Her feet made a bizarre squishing sound as she walked over, grabbed the bags and walked down the hall to Brendan's apartment, knocking on the door.
The door swung open and Brendan's eyes grew a little wide as he saw just how soaked she was. "Aw, Kate! You're all wet!" he said, stating the obvious again, before wrapping his arms around her in a very inappropriately timed hug. Sure, it meant he was getting a bit soggy too, and she was weighed down with bags, but she just looked like she needed a hug.
"Thanks so much for coming all the way over," he gushed, taking the bag from her and nodding for her to come inside - he nudged the door closed behind her and lead her into the kitchen, which was adjoined to the living room. "Hang on," he told her, and he dashed off to the bathroom returning a few seconds later with a towel for her. "Do you want to borrow a shirt or something?" he asked - she was going to get ill if she just sat about like that!
Kate gave him a sad kind of smile. "I wore a dress and everything," she sighed, leaning against him as he hugged her. "I would really like to hug you properly, but I'm a hot mess," she groaned, following him into his kitchen. She set the bags down on the counter, turning towards him as he handed her the towel. "Ahh, a shirt? Probably won't do the trick," she laughed, rubbing the towel over her face. She was soaked to the bones, trying hard not to shiver. "I could probably do with some sweatpants or something, too... I mean, assuming you don't have a dress back there," Kate grinned, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. "That would scare me just a little bit," she admitted. Because it would mean one of two things - he was a cross-dresser, or there were other women that came around his apartment. Neither were appealing. "I would appreciate a change of clothes, or I'm just going to huddle against you for warmth all evening."
Brendan nodded and gave her a little pout, "Yes, I can see that! And it's lovely! But yeah, you need to change, come on!" he told her, holding out a hand for her to take, even though he was sure she'd be able to find her own way around. He lead her into the bedroom, and slid open the wardrobe door. "No dresses, you'll be either disappointed or glad to hear, depending on how you look at it, but take whatever you like," he told her, letting go of her hand to leave and let her get changed. "But you can still huddle!" he insisted, giving her a cheeky grin before leaving the room.
He headed back to the kitchen - he unpacked the bags, set out some cutlery and plates just in case they needed it, and a couple of glasses - really, it was safer for him to set them out than have her open a cupboard and have the whole thing come collapsing on top of her. That reminded him that he hadn't picked a film yet, and he moved into the living room, and cautiously opened the cabinet... then he had a better idea, shut it again, and went for his laptop, hooking it up to the TV and opening up netflix. He had a subscription, so he could let her pick whatever she liked and they could watch it without getting crushed by DVDs. Reluctantly, he searched for 'Pride and Prejudice' - damn, they had it!
"It's most certainly a good thing that you don't have dresses," she smirked over her shoulder, watching him go. Once alone she made her way slowly across his room, taking in as much as she could in the short time she would have. Kate decided that he was neat but definitely a guy in that she could see things sticking out from under his bed and there were things around that seemed most definitely out of place. She walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed a white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. Glancing behind her to make sure the door was closed, Kate stripped out of her dress, checked to see how wet her undergarments were - not so much that she would be removing them, for sure - then pulled on his clothes. The shirt hung down to her thighs and the pant legs hung past her feet. She pulled the sweatpants tight and grabbed her dress and sandals before she left his room.
"What kind of movie did you find?" she asked him, padding his apartment back to the kitchen. She hung her wet dress on the back of a chair and pulled her hair down, rubbing her head with the towel. She could smell the food and found herself hungry. "Thanks for the dry clothes," Kate smiled over at him.
"Well, you can choose from pretty much anything - but we do have a quality six hours of Pride and Prejudice ready for you," he told her, really hoping she wasn't about to put him through that, but he would have suffered it for her - plus, it might she'd have to stay for six hours!!
It wasn't until after he'd replied that he turned to look at her - he couldn't help but smile. There was something so completely adorable about her wearing his clothes that it practically made his heart ache. How could she even make that look good?! "You're welcome," he told her, moving to join her in the kitchen, "Can't have you catching a cold now," he told her, giving her a proper hug. "Time for food?" he asked, pulling back again. "Are you skilled with chopsticks, or can I offer you a fork?"
Kate draped the towel over another towel and returned his hug, wrapping her arms around him. She laughed softly, closing her arms as she held him for a moment. "No wait," she laughed when he pulled away, pulling him close again, "you're warm and I'm still cold and... this is kind of nice," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. His clothes were ridiculous comfortable and she didn't really care any more that her hair was wet, her dress was ruined and their plans had changed. "I'm a fool with chopsticks, so I won't be making a fool out of myself in front of you," Kate smiled pulling back though she kept her hands on his forearms. "Now, as for 'Pride and Prejudice,'" she laughed, shaking her head, "I really was only teasing. Silly man," she grinned, pecking his lips with a soft, impulsive kiss.
Brendan laughed, and let her hug him a little longer. He gently rubbed her back as if trying to get some heat into her, he could feel that she really was frozen, but he could feel her skin slowly warmer under his hands. "I've never quite got the hang of them myself," he admitted, "although I did once take part in an egg and chopsticks race... that was hilarious," he told her, in a tone that suggested it wasn't hilarious at all, and rather embarrassing instead!
"Ah, good - I like Colin Firth as much as the next man, but six hours is quite a lot of Darcy," he teased, outwardly making nothing of the kiss, but inside he was dancing. He gave her a little smile, and planted a little kiss on her lips in return. "Right, come on, we'll find something we can agree on," he told her, gathering up some food and moving through, putting it down on a coffee table, and moving to search for something a bit more agreeable. He clicked onto a list of classic movies, scrolling until something caught his eye. "How about..." he clicked on 'Gone With the Wind', the opening screenshot flashing up onto the TV screen as he looked over at her for approval or otherwise.
"Oh! I got some ice cream, candy and ice cream... oh, and popcorn!" she added, opening up the other bag. She grabbed the ice cream and put it in his freezer then grabbed the sodas to follow him. "It will be like a movie theater in here later," she promised, dropping her clip into her bag. If her hair hung loose, it would dry and maybe she wouldn't feel so cold, Kate thought, walking into his living room.
Kate let out a soft gasp, followed by a sigh of delight. "Oh, this is my favorite book and one of my favorite movies," she smiled, sinking down onto the couch beside him. Forget leaving room between them, he sat on one end of the couch and she sat on the middle cushion. She passed him the soda, something he'd ordered when they'd gone out the week previous and she figured he would like. "This is such a good movie... long, but so good. Did you read the book? Of course, it's better then the movie, but I love Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable," Kate sighed, smiling dreamily at him. "This is such a good choice," she promised him, leaning forward to open some of the food containers. "Now Chinese food will certainly warm me up!"
"Aw, you're too good to me!" he grinned - he was liking Kate more by the second! Women as beautiful as her tended to also be the ones to pick at a salad and say irritating things that were clearly lies, such as 'I have such a small appetite!' and 'I just don't like to eat!' It was highly off-putting, so he was really appreciating Kate's attitude, it meant he could scoff as much as he liked and not have to feel guilty about some poor starving woman.
He pulled the blinds closed to make it properly like the cinema, and to shut out the storm, before he sat down. "I've never read the book," he admitted, "I just like old movies. Clark Gable is beyond cool. Only he could make a moustache like that look good" he grinned, picking up a fork. "Movie stars were just way cooler back then, more mysterious and untouchable, before all the gossip mags" he said. "Ready?" he asked, ready to press play.
Kate learned forward and gave the bottoms of her pant legs a quick roll so she didn't trip over them later. She pushed her damp hair off her shoulder and reached out to grab an eggroll and some of the pork lo mein that she'd gotten for herself. "The book is much different from the movie," she explained, "but the central ideas, themes and characterizations are all still there," she added. Taking a bite of her eggroll, Kate nodded, not wanting to talk with her mouth full. She gestured towards the television, nodding for him to go ahead and start.
She settled in beside him, tucking her bare feet under her as she started in on her dinner. Now, as nice as the fair would have been, she thought, Kate had to admit that this was a perfect way to spend a rainy evening. Not many men would admit to wanting to watch "Gone with the Wind" but Brendan had been the one to suggest it and it just made her smile. She loved that they had so much in common but also that they were learning new things about one another. The movie started and they were quiet for awhile, taking in the first bit of the movie. "I would hate wearing a corset all the time," she said, leaning forward to sip her soda.
"Maybe I'll give it a try, sometime," he said with a nod, and pressing play before picking up the food she had ordered him and tucking in, happily watching the movie unfold. It was strange how comfortable he felt around her, considering this was technically a second date - not many people had a second date quite like this, but then they apparently weren't 'most people', and he liked that. He liked that things didn't have to be forced or awkward - it was just them, a whole lot of food and a good movie. It was simple, but it worked.
"Yeah, that does not look comfortable," he agreed, "and they wondered why ladies just collapsed all the time!" he laughed, "I love it when they have their random mid-party nap, like they're toddlers!" he grinned - Brendan was an unashamed feminist, so much so that half the men at the station knew better than to make anything verging on sexist jokes around him. He wasn't a prude, he liked a joke as much as anyone, but there was a fine line and you didn't cross it with him.
Kate had never really felt this comfortable about a guy before; at least not this early in in a relationship. OK, was that what this was? she wondered, sipping her soda slowly. She would have to ponder on that, perhaps bring up the subject... later, she decided. Kate laughed and gestured towards the television when the scene with the naps started. "Oh, my god, it's like the horrible show 'Toddlers and Tiaras' with all the little pageant girls running around and collapsing from exhaustion. Have you ever seen it?" she asked, turning towards him as she took another bite, waiting for a reply. "It's a terrible show about child beauty pageants and their insane mothers who dress them up like dolls and prance them around like show horses," Kate continued, reaching around in the bag for some of the sauces she'd thrown in.
He shook his head as she mentioned the show, "No, I've not, it sounds hideous," he said, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "I really hate pageants," he admitted, "what a wonderful lesson in self-worth for a little girl," he said sarcastically, "it's the most disturbing sight, really verging on child abuse sometimes," he said, remembering a story about children being given botox injections, waxes, and someone at the station had recently been talking to a woman who had given her child a gift certificate for a plastic surgeon to use when she turned sixteen. It genuinely worried him, and he supposed that it went to show that in some parts of modern society, not much had changed compared to the movie.
"You know, my entire knowledge of the American civil war is based on 'Gone With the Wind'" he laughed, as the men announced that there was a war after all.
Kate poured a packet of duck sauce onto her plate and dipped her eggroll before taking another bite. "It really is awful," she said, wiping her lips with a napkin. "Those poor baby girls have no idea what their mothers are doing to them and the mothers think they are so wonderful," she sighed, taking another sip of soda. It was nice to be able to talk to him even though they were watching a movie. He wasn't shushing her or trying to explain everything to her. It was just nice.
Settling in beside him again, Kate watched the first half of the movie progress. "My father is what you might call a Civil War afficianado," she smiled, setting her plate down once she was finished. "If you ever really want to know about the Civil War, I can set you two up on a date," she teased, sitting close beside him again. After they were mostly done eating, Kate took a chance and scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the movie. "I love this part," she said softly, watching Rhett and Scarlett dance and bicker on the dance floor. "She's such a little brat and he calls her on it."
Brendan was also glad that she didn't just want to sit through the movie in silence, for a number of reasons - it was a long movie, he had a short attention span and found it hard to sit still for that long, but mostly because he liked her, and wanted to keep getting to know her better. He nodded along with her description of beauty pageant kids, a bit of a sad look on his face about it.
He couldn't help but smile to himself when she settled in close to him, but he did give her a look of sheer horror when she mentioned her father. "Uh, I remember, your dad sounded terrifying," he said with a bit of a laugh, "maybe he'd just eat me alive for asking 'when's the bit when Rhett Butler joins in? what do you mean it wasn't fact?!'" He was half-joking, he wasn't quite as scared of her father as he was making out - if anything her brothers were going to be the hard ones to crack! Wait, why was he over-thinking about winning her family over? Oh, dear... he really did like this one! "Ha, I know, she's ridiculous, but I just can't help but like her!" he admitted, back to talking about the movie. "See, look, so effortlessly cool!" he laughed, pointing at Clark Gable as he oozed some natural charm.
Kate laughed, shaking her head a little. "No, no, you need to be afraid of my brothers," she reminded him, her eyes still on the screen as they talked. "My dad will entertain the notion of me liking someone that's intelligent, and he will definitely perk up and listen if you ask the right questions, especially those pertaining to the Civil War," she explained, tipping her head up to look at him. "Brendan... I do want you to meet me dad... I mean, maybe not this week or the next but... yeah, I'd like for you to meet him," Kate told him.
They watched the scene play out and Kate smiled up at him again. "I don't know, I went to this charity function a few weeks back with this guy that was pretty charming," she all but giggled. "Oh, and he could dance and... he was effortlessly cool," she said, shifting next to him, curling her feet under her again as she leaned against him.
"Oh, don't think I'd forgotten about your brothers," he laughed with her. "Someone intelligent? Pff, maybe I'll read the idiots guide to the civil war first so I actually have the right questions to ask. Right now, I think I have the wrong questions to ask," he joked - he realised he was talking as if this meeting was actually happening, so he was actually more glad than afraid when Kate mentioned that she did want him to meet her dad. He was sure his heart did a little skip when she mentioned it - not because he desperately wanted to meet her dad, but because it meant she wanted to keep seeing him. He didn't voice any of this, however, and just gave her a nod of approval.
It actually took Brendan a couple of seconds to realise she was talking about him, and when he did, he had to laugh. "Eh? Who was that then?" he teased. "You must've had more wine than you think if that's how you remember it," he laughed - what was she on about? He'd been anything but cool, a clown, not even cool enough to kiss her until she had initiated it. Still, whatever he had done, it had worked somehow, and as she leaned up close to him, Brendan put his arm round her and gave her a squeeze. "Are you warm now?"
Kate laughed, nodding a little. "If you really are interested, I'll set up that date," she said. The movie was progressing into the Civil War when Scarlett decides she needs to go home and Melanie has her baby. "It's almost half-time," she grinned, stretched a little. She turned towards him at his question and nodded. "Definitely warming up. And... starting to feel my sweet tooth kicking in," she grinned. Kate leaned up and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, maybe being a bit of a tease, but she wasn't trying to tease, just leave him wanting more.
She pushed herself away from him as the movie came to intermission, gathering up their plates and things. She quick paused the movie and smiled over her shoulder. "I'm dying to break into the candy," she laughed, wandering into the kitchen to clean up a bit. "I'm just going to load all of this into your dishwasher, if that's all right," she called out of him, throwing away all of the trash before she took care of the dishes.
Brendan nodded, mostly watching the movie, but he did hear what she said - he figured the less he acknowledged the prospect of meeting her father the less terrifying it would be. "Good," he said, as she mentioned she was warming up. If her intention was to leave him wanting more, it was definitely working. He even sighed slightly as she moved away - he had to consciously stop himself from having bad thoughts sometimes. She'd move a certain way, or give him a soft kiss like she had just done, and his brain would go into overdrive - really, it was quite distracting!
"Uh huh," he mumbled at first, not really registering what she was saying, he was still too busy getting his mind out of the gutter. Suddenly, he remember, and jumped to his feet, his stomach giving a bit of a flip - the dishwasher? "Oh, eh.. no, no, I can get it.. I mean, it's... broken?" he stuttered in a bit of a panic, but he knew he was too late in thinking something up, and was now just hovering, bracing himself for how much of an idiot he was about to make of himself.
Kate didn't mind if his mind wandered into the gutter; let's be honest here... her's had, too. She was wearing his clothes, for crying out loud and she'd been in his bedroom with less then she was wearing right now. Her mind had been in the gutter for a bit. She grinned to herself, rooting around in the Chinese food bag for fortune cookies. "Hmm, what's that?" she called out, piling the dishes up to put in the dishwasher. "Oh, don't be silly... if it's full, just say so," she laughed, thinking he was embarrassed because he hadn't emptied the dishwasher. "I hate folding clothes. We all have our... quirks," she finished, opening the dishwasher.
"Huh..." she paused, seeing clothes in the dishwasher. "Well... I've heard of steaming your clothes to get wrinkles out, but this is something entirely new, Brendan," she smirked, peering around the corner to look at him. "Dishwasher's broken?" she grinned.
Brendan gritted his teeth together into a forced, awkward grin as the door opened and revealed a pile of clothes. And then she made a joke, and he just gave up and burst out laughing - it was just such a ridiculous situation. "Yeah, it might not be broken when I stop hiding clothes inside it," he joked, running a hand through his hair, a bit embarrassed about the situation, he was sure he could feel his cheeks flushing, but at least she was being good-natured and humorous about it.
"Um, yeah, that's not a quirk, you just rang the buzzer and I was holding them, and I... panicked?" he admitted, still able to laugh at himself, at least. "Anyyyway, what do you say we leave these dishes here, have some ice-cream and pretend that I'm not a crazy person and you didn't just see that!" he asked her - almost begged her, in fact.
When he laughed, it was contagious, and Kate couldn't help but laugh. She set the dishes in the sink, nodding along as she shook her head, still laughing. "Oh, Brendan... you just got yourself a check-mark in the 'typical guy' category. All right... I will indulge you," she smiled, closing the door to the dishwasher, "and move on with the evening." Kate stepped away from the counter and walked over towards him. "I'm going to ignore what just happened, because you look so adorable when you blush," she beamed, lifting her arms to drape over his shoulders, "and yes, it is a quirk. I'm going to be checking your dishwasher the next I come over," she warned him with a smile. "You know... maybe I'm crazy too, because I kinda want to make out with you right now," she laughed, but then again, she wanted to do that all the time, anyway.
Brendan was glad she found it so amusing - that sort of strange behavior might have made a lot of women rethink wanting to spend time with him after that, but not Kate, they were just standing in his kitchen laughing like a couple of crazy people.
"Good, I'd appreciate that..." he trailed off and raised a hand to touch his own cheek, it really was a little bit warm, but he didn't have much time to think about it before she'd wrapped her arms around him. "Really? Maybe you are crazy, but I'm not going to complain," he told her. He moved to kiss her and stopped short, leaving her hanging right in the perfect position waiting for a kiss. "No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly," he quoted, even giving her a little bit of an accent to go with it. He smiled, and wrapped his arms around her in return, "I can't stick to that, though, not cool enough," he added, moving back again and pressing his lips softly against hers.
"Mmmm, I know I'm crazy," she laughed, peering up at him. She smiled when he leaned in to kiss her and she tipped her head back a little, her eyes fluttering closed. Then nothing happened. She opened her eyes and stared at him, her mouth open in shock. "Brendan!" she chided, though she laughed at his attempt at Rhett Butler's Southern accent. "Oh, you..." she shook her head and curled her arms around him, kissing him back. The movie could wait, Kate thought, moving closer to him, feeling how warm he was as he held her. Not that she was really cold anymore, but he was just warm and comfortable and seemed to just fit, she thought. Kate lifted her hand, running her fingers back through his hair, something she'd wanted to do for awhile, then again there was a lot she'd wanted to do for awhile, but she restrained herself, sighing softly as she continued to kiss him. His mind might have been in the gutter earlier, but she wasn't far behind.
There it was again, that little skip of his heart as they kissed - Brendan was normally the kind of guy who got really bored with kissing. In fact, there were many kisses he'd spent thinking 'when is too early to pull away?' or 'dear god why won't they stop!' Not with Kate, though, far from it, he could have kissed her all night. She smelled good, she tasted amazing, the way her body felt beneath his hands and the way her mouth moved against his lips... it was incredible. And then she ran her fingers through his hair, and he felt a shiver run through him - how did something so simple have such an effect on him? He certainly wasn't complaining - in fact, he had to keep reminding himself that it was only a second date and not to get carried away! He was pretty sure he'd never had to control himself quite so much around a woman. She was making him feel like a teenager, all nerves and excitement bundled together - but nerves weren't present in their kisses anymore, they were more confident, he was more sure of himself and of them... they were going to have to have that conversation soon, weren't then? He hated that conversation.
She could feel his warm hands through his t-shirt - ahh, there was a strange thought. He was touching her, but through his own shirt, hmmm, that was kind of hot, Kate thought, smiling against his lips. It might have only been a second date, but all those conversations over coffee and snacks at work had to count for something right? All those times she'd made excuses to visit him in his office had to add up to another date, right? Oh, so was this a third or fourth date? Her mind was racing a mile a minute and she could hardly breathe.
Kate had to pull away for a breath and she stared at him, her eyes a little glassy. "OK... wow..." she sighed, not making a move in the slightest to leave his arms. "So, maybe we're just a little crazy together then?" she smiled. Her heart was pounding, she could feel that her cheeks were flushed and thank goodness she hadn't been wearing anything but chapstick because lipstick would have stained his lips at this point.
Brendan could feel her smiling against his lips and it warmed him to know that she was happy. He smiled fondly at her as she pulled back, and he lifted a hand to run his fingers across her reddened cheek. "Who's blushing now?" he teased, although he probably wasn't much paler himself as he noted that she had actually said 'wow' in response to their kiss. Wow about covered it - they were good together, that much was clear. There was a lot to be said for a good kiss, a lot hung on the kiss early into a relationship, if that's what this was - and they were certainly good at the kissing part.
"Yeah, maybe more than a little. We could be dangerous," he said with an excited sparkle in his eyes. Really, he thought they worked well - his personality seemed to amuse her, or at least she humored him where others would lose patience. And he'd seen plenty of neurotic, over-analysing crazy come from her already, and he wasn't at all freaked out by it, rather he found it strangely endearing. "I... think we could be good together," he said - he always had so many thought running through his head, maybe it was about time he shared some of them rather than leaving her guessing.
"Very dangerous," she nodded in agreement. Kate could still taste him as she ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. Kate smiled softly at his words, nodding slowly. Sometimes, her thoughts ran away with her and she let her brain take over, as opposed to just listening to the rapid beat of her heart. She was almost thirty and she'd been down so many roads with the guys she'd dated, and nothing seemed to feel right like this. "I don't want to play games," she told him, "I've played so many games and... I don't want that with you," Kate said, touching her forehead to his. She sighed softly, closing her eyes as she existed with him for a moment. "Good, crazy, dangerous... it's all what I want," she told him. "You, I want you, Brendan," Kate confessed, though at this point, that was - hopefully - pretty obvious.
Brendan was also guilty of letting his thoughts run away with him, and that's what they were doing right now - he could hear what she was saying, and he could feel himself nodding in agreement, but his head was elsewhere. He knew that he wanted her, too, he knew that they could be good together, great together, he knew that she was just the most perfect woman he'd ever met. So why was his heart pounding so hard? He'd not been good at relationships over the past eight years, he'd screwed girls over, not intentionally but he'd always managed to get scared and run. It wasn't that he wasn't completely over his ex, he was, he'd developed an understanding and had got to the stage where he could think about it without going crazy. Trust, however, was a difficult thing to rebuild - but he supposed it took time, and the problem was, he'd never given any woman the time to gain his trust. He swallowed, and nodded again, even though he must have looked like a total weirdo considering this was all inside his own head and not aloud. He decided that he just had to give Kate the time.
"I have no idea why you do, but I want you too. I think you're amazing," he gushed, his expression softening into something much less serious. "I don't really do games," he added, and it was true. He'd never paid much attention to all the unwritten rules of relationships - who was meant to call when and what order things were meant to happen in. He preferred to just go with the flow. Sure, that flow had been not so good in the past, but he was feeling hopeful. Something just felt different with Kate.
They were over thinking it, right? It was too much thought and not enough feeling. The problem was that in Kate's experience, when you felt too much and forgot to think, you got hurt. She'd been a young, naive college girl and had been devastated by and older graduate student. Kate had learned to play the relationship game, but that didn't work either. Now, years later, Kate just wanted to throw away the relationship book and take a chance with him. "I don't take chances, Brendan. I over analyze things and go over things in my head until they sound perfect... but with you... I don't mind getting soaked and missing out on the fair," she smiled, "I didn't mind ruining a dress and ending up in your sweats... I'm a hot mess and you don't even seem to care or maybe you're just nice and overlooking how horrid my hair is right now," she smiled softly, pulling away enough to study his features. "That's why, Brendan... you wonder why, but that's why." She was quiet, watching his eyes for something, anything that would let her know that he wasn't about to run.
Brendan opened his mouth to say something, but she suddenly started to explain things to him, and he listened, pretty dumbfounded by what she had to say. He'd never had anyone say anything quite like that to him, and he wasn't sure how to respond. He felt surprised, but pleasantly so - it was a strange sort of compliment, and it seemed to serve to prove that she wasn't just with him on some flight of fancy - it made him realise that maybe it was a big deal to her, too.
"I still think you look good!" he protested - he really did, there was something quite sexy about her standing there in his clothes, but he was trying to stop his mind from going down that track again. He sighed softly, looking a little bit sad for a second as he realised the truth of the matter - here was a beautiful woman, a woman he got on so well with, who he enjoyed spending time with, who he knew in his heart was different and could be amazing for him... and he was actually trying to think himself out of a chance at happiness. It wasn't that he was a serial heartbreaker or anything - in that moment he realised that it was only himself he was hurting, it was self-destructive and he had to stop it. He just had to give her a chance. He smiled, "I think we both think too much," he admitted. "So, will we throw caution to the wind and give it a go?"
"See, that's what I'm talking about," she laughed, wrapping her arms around him as she hugged him. She sighed softly, listening to him speak again. "I think it's too late for throwing caution to the wind... we're already in this," she said softly, "we were just thinking too much for awhile there," Kate laughed, closing her eyes as she hugged him tight. Here they were, both thinking that they weren't good enough for the other and yet that the other was too good for them. Huh, what a pair they made, right?
She held him for a long moment, breathing in the scent of him, then she pulled back, holding him just at arms' length. "So, this means two things... one, I'm confiscating these clothes until further notice," she winked, thinking they would make good pajamas for her, "and two, you do have to meet my dad now," she said, nodding seriously.
Brendan sighed with relief, and hugged her tightly in return. "Yeah, you're right," he told her. It was easy to get lost in thought, but over-thinking it was pointless when the obvious truth was right there in front of them. "Thank you," he said softly, giving her cheek a gentle kiss before she pulled back.
He laughed as she said she was confiscating his clothes - that was cute. "They look better on you anyway," he told her with a smile. Then she mentioned her dad and he could feel the nerves rising again, but he managed to just about mask it. "I hope you don't mean literally 'now', we have a whole half a movie to watch still! And snacks! I mean, he'd be welcome to join us, but I hope he knows what happened in the first half, I'm rubbish at summarising," he teased.
Kate shook her head, rolled her eyes and gave him a shove towards the couch. "No, he will not be joining us. I didn't bring enough candy," she smirked, grabbing the bags of candy and the pint of ice cream. "Ben and Jerry only have 'Half-Baked' in pint size and that's barely enough for two," she said, rooting around in his drawers for spoons. Once she had them, she made her way back towards the couch. "Besides," she sighed, sinking back down onto the couch beside him, "I do not think my father would like to be sitting in your chair over there while I might just try to take advantage of you on the couch later," she grinned, trying to see if she could catch him off guard. She liked when she flustered him. Kate tried oh-so hard to act cool as she scooped up a bite of ice cream and put the spoon in her mouth, glancing over at him for a reaction to her naughty comment.
Brendan laughed as she gave him a shove, and he went willingly toward the couch, feeling a lot more relaxed again. Funny, after all was said and done, he really didn't know what all his worrying was about half the time. "Ah, your favourite, I'm surprised you're even going to let me have some!" he joked about the ice-cream she'd mentioned on their first date.
He smiled over at her as she joined him on the sofa, and then as she made her comment it changed into a grin and a soft laugh. "Okay, maybe no more talk of fathers tonight, hmm?" he suggested, although he could feel that his cheeks had already started to flush again despite his seemingly cool words. That was the curse of being pale skinned! "Are you prepared for this?" he asked, nodding back toward the TV.
"Hey, I know how to share," Kate insisted, holding up a spoon for him. "You can't have a lot, but you can at least see why I like it so much," she grinned, taking another bite before she held it out for him to try. "I also have licorice, M&Ms, sour candies and gummy bears," she grinned, "full proof that I have an insatiable sweet tooth," she warned, opening the bag of M&Ms to start in on.
At his question, Kate gave him a look thinking for a moment that he was asking her if she was ready to take advantage of him. She gave him a look, waggling her eyebrows a little before he gestured towards the television. Kate burst out laughing, realizing that her mind was in the gutter. "Yeah! Go ahead, yeah," she laughed.
Brendan spooned out some ice-cream as she offered it to him. "How kind of you, I promise I won't get greedy and steal it all from you," he teased, popping the spoon into his mouth and giving the ice-cream a try. He gave her a nod of approval for it. "Tasty," he grinned.
"Aw, wow, you're my kinda girl, bringing me sweets and everything!" he laughed. "I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself, but I try not to have too much sugar often," he said, completely contradicting this statement by taking some M&Ms off her. "Hyperactivity, you know. You think I'm tiring normally? You don't know what you'll have unleashed," he only half-joked. He raised an eyebrow back at her as she waggled hers, and gave a soft laugh with her as he realised what he'd just said sounded a bit dodgy. "Aye, calm down!" he teased, giving her a cheeky grin before pressing play and setting the movie in action once more.
Kate swapped him the bag of M&Ms and took back the pint of ice cream. "Glad you enjoyed your bite. This won't late," she smirked, taking another bite. Of course, this meant she would have to put in some extra effort at the gym this week, but it was worth it, she decided, taking another bite before she set it aside for a few moments. She liked it when it was getting melty anyway, and that would take a few minutes. She licked her spoon and looked over at him enjoying the candy.
"I'm going to crash from a sugar high," she sighed, reaching into the bag for a few pieces of candy. She grinned when he told her to calm down but she was giggling again and she knew she looked ridiculous, waggling her eyebrows as she popped more of the candy in her mouth. Kate laughed and bounced a little on the couch before she settled in on the couch again, not hesitating a moment as she rested against him, watching the second half of the movie progress.
It was long, no doubt, but as the movie progressed, Rhett and Scarlett continued to torment each other more, and it was entertaining. Another half hour and Kate had given up on the candy, finished her soda and had wandered off to put the ice cream back into the freezer. "Are you hiding anything else bizarre in your cabinets?" she smirked, walking back into his living room.
Brendan didn't really do gyms, but he burnt so much energy off during the day, from his morning run to running around on the job, he managed to stay just as scrawny no matter how much junk he put into his body. It couldn't be good for him, though.
"I'm just going to be restless and annoying," he told her, before giving her another cheesy grin. "Not too different from normal, then!" he said with a laugh. She was being silly, and he had to admit that he was enjoying it - he waggled his eyebrow back at her for a few seconds, and then put on a mock-serious face. "Behave, Katherine!" he told her, but ruined the teachery effect by following it up with laughter. He put his arm around her again, enjoying the feeling of her weight against his side as the movie progressed. There was something very relaxing and comfortable about having her with him, which was not a feeling he was used to.
After a while, she moved, and Brendan shifted a little to look over the back of the couch at her. They'd eaten so much candy, he felt like he had a dizzying headache, but in a sort of fun way. "Ummm, probably. Things that I think are normal might be bizarre. I think I have a sock drawer full of work at the moment," he told her with a grin - it was funny because it was true. "And there are dishes in the oven. You know, as opposed to the dishwasher, where I keep my spare clothes."
"You are hardly annoying," she laughed, running her fingers back through his hair, sort of a ruffling of his hair as she grinned. "You do amuse me though and seeing as we've eaten through nearly an entire bag of M&Ms, I think we're going to be bouncing off the walls together for awhile," she laughed. She bounced on the cushion a little then paused, her eyes wide when he called her by her given name. "Katherine... Katherine?!" she exclaimed, gasping in shock until he pulled her close again. "Brendan... I don't know your middle name, but I would so middle-name you right now for calling me Katherine," she laughed, nudging him when he laughed. OK, so they were being silly and naughty and ridiculous - it was fun, she decided instantly.
In the kitchen, she glanced around at his cabinets, though she didn't touch anything. Not tonight, anyway. "Hey, it's your apartment... I'd hate to see what you think of my organization," she laughed. Kate did a little hop and a skip, making her way back through the kitchen to the living room. She leaned against the back of the couch, hovering over him a little. "I had too much sugar," she whispered, her eyes dancing. "Most normal adults get intoxicated... we get sugar highs," she laughed, leaning over the couch, cupping the back of his neck to pull him in for a kiss. "Mmmm, you taste like chocolate," she smiled, kissing him again.
"I'm glad you think so," he smiled back at her, enjoying the feeling of her hands in his hair. The smile grew wider as she made a comment about their joint sugar high, and he gave into laughter at her reaction to hearing her full name. "You're out of luck, I don't have one," he told her, sticking his tongue out at her cheekily.
"I don't make a habit of this unique storage system. It was a moment of mad panic," he told her, smiling at her over the back of the couch. "I think you must be super organised, am I right? To-do lists and alphabetising?" he asked - he thought he had her figured out, but maybe she would surprise him. "It's fun! And I bet we'll feel better for it in the morning," he laughed. She caught him off guard with the kiss, but he certainly wasn't complaining. In fact, he shifted slightly to face her more directly, kneeling up on the couch and reaching to run his fingers softly through her mostly-dry hair. "So do you," he replied, happily sinking into her next kiss - now that they knew where they stood, the kissing seemed even better - more confident, more potential... oh, his mind was going bad places again.
"How can you have no middle name?" she laughed. "I mean... how did your mother scold you when you were little? I can remember my mother scolding me, using my middle name... which, by the way, I'm not about to slip up and tell you," she teased as she rose from the couch to leave the room.
After deciding against checking his cabinets, she shook her head. "No, I live comfortably but... I would never let you look under my bed," Kate warned, leaning against the back of the couch. She liked the teasing, the flirting, and oh, yes she liked the kissing. When he knelt up, it brought them face to face and she moved closer to the couch, the only thing separating them at the moment. Kate sighed, her neck arching when he touched her hair. She never thought of herself as sensitive in that regard, but maybe it was just him. Something was different when he started to kiss her this time, not that she was complaining, it was most certainly a good-different. The couch was definitely in the way, Kate thought as she moved her hand from his neck, her arms winding around him as she held him more possessively. Kate's mind wandered, thinking she could spend significant amounts of time kissing this man.
"I don't know, I wasn't christened either, and for some reason they always seemed to say that as if it was related somehow. Maybe they were just lazy?" he suggested, with a shrug. "I suppose she'd just use my surname," he said, as she moved away. He was glad for the change of subject.
"Why, are there monsters?" he asked, just being silly.
During the kiss, the couch was definitely getting in the way, but it was pretty much all that was stopping him from jumping her, so perhaps it was serving an important role in the kiss after all. Really, he didn't know how she did it to him - even with a couch inbetween them, he was like putty in her hands, just melting into it. After some time, he pulled back just a touch for air, and smiled at her. "You're missing the movie," he whispered, although he made absolutely no move to turn around and look at the screen. "You gonna come round here?" he asked, although he hoped she realised he no longer meant for her to come round and watch the movie...
To Be Continued...