Sixth Wheel

Play Time

"Get him, no, not him!"

"Ha, ha, you're no match, baby girl!"

"No, you stupid motherfucker, I said grenade, not rifle!"

Esposito had to laugh at Meredeth's vicious swearing. After he'd finished his shift, during which time he'd been bombarded with calls by Castle and Ryan wanting to know why he hadn't told them about his girlfriend, Esposito had taken his bag from his locker and hopped the train to Yorkville instead of his own city block. It was his first day off in almost three weeks, and he was planning on spending it with his girlfriend on one of her flex-days, as she called them. She'd greeted him at her door with a warm kiss, the kind that made him block out the rest of the world, and the tantalizing offer of chocolate oatmeal muffins and the latest copy of Halo Wars. It certainly beat cold pizza and a rerun of Deadliest Catch alone in his apartment, and had the added bonus of seeing Meredeth in her comfies, as she called them - pale green scrub pants and a skimpy grey tank top that made him thank God for her figure.

Now, an hour after they'd sat down with the game, Esposito felt the last remains of the day's paperwork drudgery drift away as he listened to Meredeth's rants at the animated game characters. She was by no means an expert player but her enthusiasm was entertainment enough for him. With a few clever keystrokes, he sneaked up behind her sergeant and blew its head off, signaling she was out of extra lives. Pouting only a little, Meredeth tossed her controller to the table.

"You suck."

"No, sweetcheeks, that'd be you. Pay up."

"Alright, what do you want?"

Esposito gave her a toothy grin, rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I've been staring at a computer screen for most of the day, and my shoulders are a little tense."

"Typical male." Meredeth playfully rolled her eyes; she could be called many things but a sore loser wasn't one. She gave him, her couch, a considering look. "Okay, come on."

She took his hand to pull him to his feet and led him into her room. The minute he was inside, and she closed the door, Meredeth let out a shuddering breath. She knew there was no reason to be nervous with him in her room and yet...well, he was a guy, after all, he was bound to think certain things, right? Hoping her hands wouldn't shake, she went to her bedside table. "Strip down."

Obliging her, Esposito looked around the room as he pulled off his shirt, then pants. The walls were slate blue, the east dominated by a large window, and her bed was the size of a lake - an old-fashioned brass headboard overlooked the queen size mattress covered in Egyptian cotton of soft midnight blue. On the bedside table was an old-fashioned Tiffany lamp with pale blue and yellow stars in random patterns. He flopped face first onto the sheets, ready to pass out on the spot.

"Hope you don't mind, I..." His words died off as she began to work some sweetly scented lotion into his aching back. "Oh, sweet singing Jesus. Oh that's almost better than sex."

Her hands were like magic, soft of texture but sure of purpose as they worked and kneaded into his skin. Esposito let his brain drift, thought about how else she might use those clever hands and felt his body respond as he fleetingly imagined her all dolled up like one of Lady Irina's girls, then on some remote tropical beach in a skimpy string bikini, sipping rum drinks and bronzing in the sun. He could have sworn he even smelled the suntan lotion.

He lifted his head, sniffed. "What is that stuff you're using? It smells like the beach."

"It's extra virgin coconut oil. Good for baking pastries, softening skin, and..." she leaned in closer, just to really drive home her words "-other erotic activities."

"You are trying to kill me, aren't you?"

Meredeth laughed, continued the task at hand. "Why? You thinking naughty thoughts?"

"Can't help it." He twisted, grabbed her wrists and pulled her down beside him, making her laugh as he began to nuzzle at her throat. The laugh turned to a satisfied hum as he pressed his lips to her throat, breathed deep the scent of her skin. "You're wearing a top like that and using that fancy oil on me, a man's bound to think triple-x things."

"Well..." Meredeth trailed off as she kissed him, felt the solid weight of him press her into the bed. He wasn't tall but he sure was built; she ran her hands over the impossible tone of his arms, his shoulders as she felt the hard evidence of his arousal press against her. "I certainly can feel that."

"As much fun as that would be, I really do want to sleep." He didn't want to admit it out loud, but despite the unintentional arousal she'd stirred in him with the massage, he was exhausted from the long day's work. He could no more have made love to his girlfriend than win a wrestling match with a grizzly bear, even if she'd stripped naked and drenched herself in chocolate sauce.

Esposito reached up to adjust the pillow under his head and was down for the count before Meredeth could turn off the lamp.