mrs. zimmerman

Late again. Potentially the 3rd time this week. Though there’s no way he could place the blame on himself; if his housemate didn’t push his bed up against their shared wall he’d get a decent night’s sleep, and if the barista at the little coffee shop wasn’t so cute and didn’t flirt with him in the middle of his coffee order he’d get out of their faster, and if he didn’t spill his coffee all over the papers of Washington’s hottest political commentator— well actually that’s never really happened before. “Shit. Fuck. I’m so sorry, I just didn’t— holy shit, Zimmerman? like Kate Zimmerman? I love you— I mean like, I love your work.”

     ‘If looks could kill’ her mother would say if she saw the way Katherine’s eyes widen and set on the perpetrator of such stupid behaviour. She’d done her morning jog around the neighbour hood and, since Wyatt had left early, she figured she’d grab a cup of coffee and get ahead of her work before actually going to the studio; she had not, however, counted on this awkward-looking boy spilling his coffee all over her work. With the years, she’d learned to keep her temper in control, with being in the public eye and such, but there was one thing that worked such much better than any counting sheep and slow breathing ever could. I love you was all it took to keep her nostrils from flaring. “Don’t worry, happens to the best of us,” she excused him, forcing herself not to look down at her favorite blouse, now splattered with coffee stains. “That’s awfully nice of you -- what’s your name? Didn’t expect too many young adults to watch the news,” she joked, as if she weren’t a young adult herself.

“I’m very good at challenges,” he says in correction, not missing a beat. “But I’m even better at keeping my head on my neck. Wyatt might not be here, but other people are. People that know you.” The song slows down just a touch, and their movements match the new pace. “What do you expect me to do?” Hans looks down at her, his voice dropping not to high above a whisper. “Run my hand up the lining of your dress? Kiss you in the middle of the dance floor? I can’t do that, Kate.” 

     No, not back to reality, not yet. Katherine matched his rythm as he lead her through the rest of the song, lips pressed together. As if she were a five-year-old about to throw a tantrum. “No,” she looked away from his gaze and over his shoulder at the crowd of people standing in the way of her getting something out of that night. “Of course not, I’m not stupid.” If only it had been a different place, different time, different crowd... And even then, she wouldn’t have acted on her desires. Probably. “A girl can dream, huh?” she sounded bitter ( because she was ).

The laughter comes easy with Kate’s request. I’d more easily forget about you, he thinks, than Joe. But she doesn’t need to know that.

To match Kate’s own cliché and the particular tune of the song, Hans guides her into a twirl. When her body comes back smashing against his, his hand is placed back a little lower, his grip a little tighter. “You tell me.” 

     Her chest crashed against his with a muffled thud, and breathless sigh escaped her lips. She couldn’t lose this. If there was one thing she hated about the way her life had become ten times more public when exposing her relationship with Wyatt, that was the fact that she had to hide so much of what she felt. of what she so desperately wanted to do. Still, her bet had been on him making the first move, and Katherine Berkshire was not one to leave a challenge uncompleted. “You’re terrible at challenges, aren’t you?” her tone was teasing and she knew she’d much rather press further against him than play these games, but... Being a public figure had its drawbacks.

“Never?” Joe repeats, and he can’t read whether she means dancing or dancing. Perhaps it’s the reason why he’s enticed to stay. He likes to work for things, and it certainly feels as though she’s making him do just that. “It’s super easy, if you do it with someone that knows what they’re doing.” 

“Who you’re here with…” Joe smiles, starting off slowly, letting her own words settle between them for a moment. “And where is he, exactly?” After a beat, he straightens himself and puts on a theatrical performance of looking for Kate’s husband, playfully turning around once more against the slow rhythm of the music, hoping to get a laugh out of her if anything to make up for their closeness. In the public eye, and between the two of them. “Can’t seem to find him anywhere,” he teases, looking behind her, as if Wyatt would be hidden under her dress or crouching behind her. But one thing’s for sure: ass? Check.

     Ever since she’d met ( and fallen for ) Wyatt, Katherine had assumed her weakness were older men but, even if Joe also fit into that category, having him tower over her ( he’s at least six inches taller than me ) had her thinking that maybe that’s what was so eye-catching to her. Regardless of the details of her attraction, it was ego-lifting to notice how a man would go out of his way to impress her. “Super easy,” sshe also repeated after him with a hum, before clickng her tongue as if she’d remembered what the real issue was. “See, I just don’t really like to share.” Bold, but... She was already knee-deep into this, she’d deal with Wyatt later. Which... He was right, after all; her husband was still not around.       Kate followed his lead as he spun her around, pretending to look for the other man, and she complied and smiled at his attempt, but her eyes were set on his face, studious. Damn it, Katherine, no. “I’m aware, I’d surely be dancing with him if he was,” she lied, because she couldn’t remember the last time Wyatt and her had danced, but that didn’t matter. Flirtation had never demanded to be based on reality. “Do you have a thing for married women?” she asked, after a brief pause.

Kate doesn’t give him the option to refuse, so he doesn’t. Two steps to the right and they’re on the dance floor, strolling along to some predictable tune.

“Is this a challenge?” he teases, a hand coming to rest at her lower back. “To come onto you in a very public wedding?” He takes her hand, petite in comparison to his, and leads. “To be reckless?” 

Hans doesn’t take his eyes off of Kate, even as they move, still trying to figure her out. “If it’s to scare off Joe, it’s not gonna work. He’s just gonna see two targets instead of one.”

     Even if she liked to pretend otherwise in some occasions, Katherine wasn´t exactly a pushover; she was determined and, once she set her eyes on a goal, you best believe she´d do anything to get her prize. This time, the horizon was blurry, but that didn´t mean she couldn´t enjoy the ride. With one hand placed comfortably in his and the opposite resting on his shoulder, there was less distance between them than before, which made it safer to whisper compromising words and get away with it. Again, Katherine wasn´t stupid, she knew they were in public, but who´d deny her a dance? She could count the names in one hand, if there were any. “Depends,” she hummed at his suspicions ( well founded on reality, she had to admit to herself ). “Is it working?” the cliché phrase left her lips all too easily, because she´d spoken it so many times before. She was unable to stop her eyes from rolling. “Forget about Joe, it´s me in your arms, right?”

Hans plays off of her and shakes his head slowly, “Never.” 

“I’m suggesting you do whatever it takes to get the attention you crave,” Hans starts, careful with his words, “and deserve. If your husband isn’t giving you that,” he shrugs, “what’s the harm of looking elsewhere?” 

     Katherine hummed. He was probably right, and that was dangerous, because she had a history of looking for affection where she wasn’t supposed to. “Dance with me,” she said, instead of looking for Joe. He’d find her, eventually, if he wanted to, and she’d decide later what to do with him. You should do nothing, she reprimanded herself, but her hand was already out in front of Hans and her head tilted with an invitation for something more. “C’mon, it’s rude to leave a lady waiting,” she purred. You can’t keep a commitment for shit.

“I agree,” Hans provides, matter-of-fact. He drops his voice to a lower tone, mindful of the guests whose shoulders brush too closely to their own. “But I’ve never gotten you in private, have I? And ‘making a pass’ on a married woman in public would just be…” He clicks his tongue, searching his mind for the word. “…Reckless.” 

What could Joe offer her? Prime pillow talk, an endless supply of alcohol, a curious mouth, and a long list of traumas. But to Kate, he just shrugs and says, “To make you feel wanted.” 

     She was bordering inappropriate, and had been since the ceremony had started, but she couldn’t stop. There was something, she thought, about being taken that she’d found appealed to men a great deal. “Of course,” she agreed with his analysis. Slender fingers grabbed a glass of champagne from the nearest waiter as they passed her, and she quickly brought it up to her lips. “And I’ve never known you to be reckless,” she taunted, face hidden behind her champagne flaute.      Realistically, she knew ( or thought ) she wouldn’t actually act on any of her advances, but they were either a good way to spend her time or something to make her night with Wyatt a lot more interesting later. Either way, it worked. “Are you suggesting I cheat on my husband, Hans?” the way she spoke his name revealed she didn’t exactly have Joe in mind. The man had been dancing with multiple people and she doubted she was the most interesting one.

He laughs along with Kate, following her cue. Yes, he thinks. Harmless. Though, perhaps less so with the way she steers the conversation elsewhere, inevitably flaring up his curiosity — a single eyebrow arching upwards in interest. “Do you wish that I had?”

Dance together. “ ‘Course he did.” It’s hard not to roll his eyes at that, but at least he manages to keep it a light bemused motion instead, shaking his head at the thought. “Well, your date seems to disappear a lot.” And although he hates the words that come next, he speaks them nonetheless: “Maybe you should give Joe a chance.” 

     Alright, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Wyatt didn’t like Hans in the first place, or how much time they spent together, and it wouldn’t help that she hinted at anything but a friendship. Still, she wasn’t a liar, was she? “Maybe,” she shrugged and made a pause before adding, “A woman wants to feel wanted even when she’s married.” A bold statement, if she’d ever made one, tat didn’t only respond his question but referenced her previous dance with his friend ( or whatever their relationship was ).      Katherine didn’t say anything. Her husband was a working man, with many responsabilities, and the damn Speaker of the House! Of course he had a lot of work to do and, sometimes, the country wouldn’t just wait because he was at a wedding. That’s what she told herself, because otherwise she’s just been stood up. It sparked her interest, however, what he said next. “A chance to what?” she asked, intrigued. And she might, if she hadn’t been to public. In this way, Wyatt was a lot luckier than her former boyfriend, Dean, had been.

“Not my favorite,” he says to the nickname, “but I guess Daddy’s already taken.” Thankfully, Millie’s already off to her next victim, dragging Joe along by the hand. He watches them from a distance until they disappear back into the crowd. “Pretty bold of him to go after a married woman, actually.” When it comes to Joe, it wasn’t bold as much as it was an old-and-beaten-down M.O., but Kate didn’t know that. 

“Torture?” He echoes then, brows furrowing in confusion. “Why, Kate? Do you feel like I’m torturing you?” 

     Even if she, deep down, had always suspected Hans would be into that, in public Katherine chose to laugh his comment off. “It’s all harmless fun,” she gave him a pointed look, as if warning against saying anything in front of her husband. Not that they’d willingly share a conversation. Luckily. “We’ve danced before, and you’ve never made a pass on me,” it may have souded like a protest ( and maybe it was ), but it was supposed to excuse her behaviour with Joe.       “I meant, a date,” she reprimanded him. “Mine is nowhere to be foud,” she took another look around the room, and she feared she might start to look pathetic in other’s eyes. Poor Katherine, her husband abandoned her before the wedding even started. “Joe said we shold all dance together,” she commented, appearing unbothered, but watching closely for his reaction.

“Your dress…” Joe glances down, a second or two longer than what’s acceptable, and meets Kate’s eyes again, “… is very bold.” 

It takes a certain type of person to wear a white dress to a wedding, regardless of whether there’s a bride or not. And those type of people make up the kind of company that doesn’t absolutely bore him. The more time he spends with Kate, the more she seems to fit this category. The fact that Hans is fond of her too is simply a cherry on the top.

 “White dress, black suit, great dancing,” he drawls quietly, leading Kate through the music. “Who could blame ‘em?” C’mon, Wyatt, where are you? And then, a new thought. It brings his grin to widen, and his eyes betray his intentions. He leans in a little, dropping his voice as if to share the secret and says, “You know who else is a good dancer? Hans.” A smirk. “The three of us should dance together before the night is over.”

     Despite her husband not paying the most attention to her, Katherine wasn’t a stranger to getting interested looks ( and more ) from men. After all, she was an attractive woman who wears her power well, and knew how to use her silver tongue just right. His lingering eyes weren’t news, but certainly a validation she so longed for that she was still desirable. “Thank you,” she took his words as a compliment, because behind that stare could only lay one way of thinking.       The way his eyes glimmer and his grin widens could only mean something mischevious went through his mind ( in that sense, he resembled her husband a little too well ). A soft laugh slipped off her lips at his suggestion. “I don’t think he’s that good,” she confided in him, as if they were two youg children, doing exactly what their parents had warned them against. And, perhaps, they were, in a way. She certainly was. “I’ve never done that before,” she admitted, making a pause before adding, “But I don’t think it’d be very appropriate, considering who I’m here with,” she didn’t even mention his name. The illusion that anything might happen between her and this man was enough to spark her night with Wyatt. Maybe.

     “Uncle Hans?” was her greeting to her friend, as she lost the fight against the smile attempting to curve her lips up. She had caught him watching her dance with what she could only assume was his friend, and her conversation with her dance companion had sparked her curiosity. “You were staring,” she sounded almost accusing, but there’s nothing different from how she usually speaks to Hans. “You’re here alone? No poor girl you’re about to torture?” she trusted he’d know she was teasing him -- she never really saw this bad side of him everyone spoke about. And his speech at the private wedding had been enough to melt anyone’s heart.

He thought it would be fun to go with something other than his usual dull, inconspicuous outfits. It had made fun for some couple coordinating, as his date, Anne, was in a similar hue. Given the vibe, it seemed like a cool thing to do. He’s nursing a drink, looking out for Silas, in case he needed to save him from another awkward conversation. He turned to Katherine, who he knew was the wife of the Speaker of the House, even if they hadn’t really been personally acquainted that much. “Oh, thank you, my girlfriend and I coordinated,” he said graciously, looking over her outfit. White was certainly… a choice. “Such a wonderful wedding, isn’t it?”

     Katherine knew as much as she needed about the man: he was dating Ms. Anne Kane, and he was the Director of the CIA. If the first fact wasn’t enough to have her sucking up to him, the latter one certainly sealed the deal. “I saw, I thought it was very romantic, I told Wyatt--” she turned around as if to look for her husband, but -- again -- he was nowhere to be found. “Well, I told him I’d force him into a colored suit next time, but, between you and me, I’m not sure he’d pull it off,” a joke, obviously, since her husband is about the most handsome man she’d ever set eyes on, but a harmless comment could go a long way. “Wonderful, yes” she repeated after him with a proud smile. As if she were the mother of one of the grooms. “They make the most adorable couple, don’t they?”

Even if the night doesn’t result with the wedding ring tossed to the side, husbands despise Joe. If he’s lucky, maybe a simple dance will be enough, Wyatt Zimmerman will want a word and the day wouldn’t have gone to waste.

Joe lets out a warm, easy laugh at Kate’s comment. She gets it from 200 dollars, Joe thinks to himself, but instead replies with a smooth, “Hopefully by the end of the night, you’ll have found out.” 

It’s started. She started it. The risky dance along the lines of what’s appropriate and not. He’d be able to enjoy it if it was not for Hans’ psychotic blue eyes and the mouthed words. Joe presses his lips into a smile, if only to stifle the laugh that threatened to explode, and subtly winks towards Hans.

“Ah yes, Hans Starke. I believe you know him well?” He asks, turning Kate around and if she was lucky, she’d be able to see Hans looking over at them as well. “Quite a number of eyes on us, Mrs. Zimmerman.” A pause. “Can’t seem to see Wyatt anywhere, though.”

     Kate did a slow turn, hand holding his gently, and she is -- in fact -- able to see Hans observing them. She didn’t catch the words he mouthed to her dance companion, or the way Joe winked right back at him. In their eyes, she might be as clueless as they get. Right then, all Katherine was focused on was her husband not suddenly showing up. Wyatt wasn’t the most jealous ( she, on the other hand, was furiously ) but maybe seeing his wife in the arms of another man, in the middle of the dance floor, wouldn’t have sat well with him. However, he’s nowhere to be found, and Joe pointed that out, much to Katherine’s dismay. “I know him alright,” she agreed, head turning back once more to look at Hans, now standing behind her. She’d wanted to make a statement with her attire ( wearing white to a wedding... ) and, on her accout, she was succeeding greatly. At the mention of her husband, she hummed quietly. She was still deciding what her endgame was with this, although ( for now ) nothing but a harmless dance came to mind. Or, at least, nothing she’d consider. For now. “You are a good dancer,” she tried to explain everyone’s eyes on the pair, though she was certain they both knew the real reason was what the ring on her finger screamed. “Or maybe my choice of dress has something to do with it,” she murmured, voice lower as if she was telling him a secret. Was she talking about the color or the equally interesting choice of cleavage?

Married women are his favourite and this is why: the way Kate’s eyes dot around the room. It doesn’t go by unnoticed by Joe.

It’s the most telling when they look for their partners. Their eyes either find who they’re looking for and accept the dance, or they don’t… and accept the dance. Katherine Zimmerman falls into the latter category, which tells Joe more about her marriage than any conversation probably could. 

The kid exclaims with joy, thanking Kate and kissing Joe on the cheek – unnecessary, clearly looking for a tip – before Joe puts her back down. “Alright, trouble, go back to Uncle Hans.” Little brat.

Returning his attention to Kate, he takes her hand and leads her to the dance floor. “Again, I’m sorry. She can be a bit full on.” He offers a smile before placing a hand on her hip and bringing their hands up to the side. “Is she staring? She usually does. Makes sure we dance the entire song.”

     By all means, Katherine Zimmerman was happy. She was married to a handsome, powerful man and had the life she’d dreamed since she was a child, but -- did she? She desperately wanted a baby, and Wyatt was rarely around, and with her working nights, it was getting almost insuferable. But, that’s not what she used as an excuse to accept to dance with this man. She was a public figure, and rejecting someone would make her appear in tomorrow’s tabloids. Or whatever helped her sleep at night. Once a cheater... Kate smiled down at the girl as she rushed away, only to jerk her head up. She didn’t say anything until they were on the dance floor. His hand was dangerously low, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe it’s just that she hadn’t been paid too much attention lately. “She’s adorable,” she excused the child as if she were her own, as her hand slips easily into Joe’s. Neck turned slightly to look over her shoulder at the girl who was, in fact, watching them closely. “Doesn’t give up easily, does she?” Kate chuckled amusedly. “I wonder who she gets that from?” a tease, if anything. Katherine Berkshire knew how to get her flirt on. “So... Uncle Hans?” she tried, eyeing the other. 

“Honey, what’d I say about talking to strangers?”

Joe may be two hundred dollars short, but it’s a wedding, he’s bored, and everyone’s a little horny. 

The little girl, clearly meant for the big screen, shined amongst the most fitting audience – a room full of egotists. Walking up to Joe’s target, she compliments them, then asks if they could dance with her ‘lonely father’.

“Sorry about that,” Joe chuckles, swiftly picking her up; the most impeccable timing. “You know how kids ca–” And then, for the full two hundred, she chips in with a, “Please dance with him? Pleaaaase?”

     The child was adorable, and she made Katherine long for one of her own. She’d been trying to convince Wyatt that they were ready and that she wasn’t getting any younger, but so far, she’d had no luck. As soon as this lonely father stepped in, she looked from the kid’s face up to his, with a welcoming smile. Almost at the same time he started to apologize, she waved a hand in the air, dismissing his explanation. “No need, she’s--” she was, too, interrupted by the kid’s pleading to please one dance, and... Who was she to deny such a creature? A slightly uncomfortable chuckle escaped her lips as she looked around, scanning the room. Her husband didn’t seem to be anywhere near, and one dance wouldn’t be the end of the world... Right? Katherine’s gaze fell on his face for a brief moment before looking down at the girl once more. “Well, since you asked so nicely...” she shot the man a look and then nodded her head. “I can dance,” she agreed finally, her hand almost immediately sticking out to his to take ( and lead her to the dance floor ). She’d explain later.

     That was a... Statement. A bold one, if you asked Katherine, to make at a wedding, but -- after all -- so was wearing white. Wyatt had warned her against it, but what did he know? She looked good in white, and the fabric had a pattern anyway ( that’s what she’d told him as an excuse ). “Mr. Ward,” she greeted the man she hoped to have on her side someday, hands resting patiently over the skirt of her dress as if to show off her better wedding ring. “That color suits you,” she complimented the other with that sweet, charming smile she wore so well.