Gun Brooke - Course of Action

Not offended, Carolyn laughed at Annelie's doubtful tone of voice. "I thought so. For heaven's sake, even I can defrost a pizza!"

"Okay, okay. Thank you."

Carolyn walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer, and found a family-size mozzarella pizza. After reading the package carefully, she turned the oven on and walked off to use the bathroom. When she returned, the oven was hot so she put the pizza in, feeling confident it would be ready soon. After she set the timer, Carolyn joined Annelie, who stood on the balcony by the railing.

"Twenty minutes from now we'll have a delicious pizza," she promised, hugging Annelie from behind. "In the meantime, can I interest my best girl in some smooching, perhaps?"

Annelie gave a muted laugh. "Some smooching, eh?" She pivoted in Carolyn's arms. "And where is this smooching going to take place, if I may ask?"

"Of course you may. See that corner over there? The only ones able to see us are seagulls and other high-flying birds."

Annelie glanced at the hard wooden bench. "Looks awfully uncomfortable."

"I'll make it worth your while." Carolyn raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, yeah?" Annelie allowed herself to be dragged toward the bench. "What did you have in mind?"

"Step into my parlor…" Carolyn sat down on the bench, pulling Annelie with her. "Here…just like this…" Looking into her lover's stormy eyes, she hoped the closeness would distract Annelie. She laced her fingers through long strands of hair and closed the distance between them, capturing Annelie's lips with her own. "Open your mouth," Carolyn breathed. "Yes…" Deepening the kiss, she heard Annelie whimper as their tongues met in a tantalizingly slow movement, tasting each other. Carolyn drank her kisses greedily, her passion for the woman in her arms igniting her senses.

Her hands moved down Annelie's back and slid under her sweatshirt, only to find she wasn't wearing a bra. "Oh, God, Annie… this is getting out of control," she murmured. "You feel so wonderful." Letting her lips burn a trail down Annelie's neck, she slid her hands forward, cupping Annelie's full breasts. Carolyn noted with pleasure how hard the nipples were as they prodded her palms. She pushed at the sweatshirt, eager to get it out of the way…

A deafening blare broke the mood. Annelie jerked, looking wide-eyed at Carolyn.

"It's the smoke alarm!"

***

Dark gray smoke billowed from the kitchen. The smoke alarm's high-pitched tone pierced the women's eardrums as they ran inside.

"What the hell…" Annelie squinted through the smoke, detecting the source. "There's something burning in the oven!"

"I put in a pizza, for heaven's sake! It's only been a few minutes. How can it already be burning?"

"I don't know. Open the door to the balcony and see if we can air out the smoke." Annelie put on a mitt and opened the oven door. More smoke poured out, and she coughed as she yanked out a half-done pizza. She tossed the tray on the stove, then used a spatula to confirm her suspicions.

Carolyn hurried back to her. "I don't get it. What's wrong with the pizza?"

Annelie reached out to a panel on the wall and punched in a series of numbers, silencing the smoke alarm. "Nothing's wrong with the pizza." She tried her best to sound serious. "You just didn't remove the cardboard plate underneath it."

Carolyn's jaw fell as she stared at the oven tray with its smoking contents. "What cardboard plate? It said, ‘Bake in oven at 400 F for twenty minutes'—nothing about any cardboard plates."

"It probably was stuck against the bottom of the pizza, and you just didn't notice it. No harm done. The ventilation system will clear the air in half an hour or so."

"Oh, God…I knew I was a bad cook, but this is really ridiculous!" Carolyn groaned, leaning against the cabinet. "What'll we eat now? Not one smoked pizza, I hope?"

"No, this would have a strange flavor. Why don't we send out for something or just have a sandwich?"

"A sandwich sounds great. Nothing to set ablaze."

Annelie laughed at Carolyn's obvious dismay. "True. Why don't we go back to the balcony until the rest of the smoke is gone?"

They walked outside, stood by the railing, and watched the sky become darker as evening approached. "Pretty with all the lights coming on, isn't it? The city noise can be quite a homey feeling," Carolyn said. "Used to, when I came home late after a show, I'd sit out on my much-smaller balcony with a glass of wine. Just relaxing, listening to the city that never sleeps, you know."

"Yes, I know. The difference from the velvety, perfumed nights of Florida is enormous—but I love them both."

"Speaking of sounds, I hope nothing bad's happened. A lot of sirens are screaming out there." Carolyn leaned over the balcony railing. "Oh, look, they're coming down your street."

"Yes, I see the lights. There are two more."

"Wonder what's going on…Oh."

The two women watched as two fire trucks stopped in front of the building and firemen jumped off, looking up.

"Oh, damn, I didn't call the desk downstairs to make sure they knew it was a false alarm," Annelie murmured. "This is embarrassing."

They walked back inside, and Annelie dialed the doorman's desk. "Hello, Fred, this is entirely my fault. I forgot to call. Yes, everything's all right." She paused. "They do? But it wasn't really a fire…just smoke from the oven…Oh, sure. Send them up. I understand." She hung up and turned toward Carolyn. "Since we're on the fifteenth floor, they want to come up and make sure we put it out properly."

Carolyn blushed faintly. "I'll tell them I'm to blame."

"Don't worry. I bet this happens all the time. We might as well open the doors and let our heroes in. Actually, I'm glad they're this conscientious."

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened and two men in firefighter gear stepped out. "I see we're expected," the first one said with a smile. "Heard your smoke alarm went off, ma'am."

"Yes, but it was only because of a missed cardboard plate in the oven. It's fine now," Annelie explained.

"Let's just have a look, eh?"

"Sure. Come in."

The men gave Annelie appreciative looks before they turned to politely greet Carolyn. "Good evening, ma'am…" After a slight hesitation, the older one continued, "Forgive me, ma'am, but aren't you Carolyn Black?"

"Yes, I am. Good evening. Nice of you to stop by."

Annelie was hard-pressed not to laugh when she noticed Carolyn slipping into a regal tone of voice, as if greeting her subjects.

"I'm a great fan," the fireman said, "and so is my wife. Can't wait to see the Maddox movies."

"Thank you. Please tell your wife I said hello. By the way, this was entirely my fault. I was trying to cook, which I can't, so from now on I'll stick to takeout." Carolyn smiled broadly and raised her hands in a dismissive gesture.

Obviously taken by Carolyn's charm, the firemen quickly checked the oven and the ventilation fan above it. "Glad to see everything's okay, ma'am," the younger fireman offered.

"It was my fault for not calling the front desk. Thanks for double-checking."

"Our pleasure," the other man said, with an admiring glance at Carolyn. "Better safe than sorry."

Annelie had barely closed the door behind them before she started to laugh. "Good Lord, Carolyn, you have admirers everywhere. I thought he was going to kneel before you and ask you to autograph his helmet."

Carolyn walked up to her and wrapped her arms around Annelie's

waist. "I would have, if he'd asked me. Right now, I'd like to…write on you…"

"Write on me? How?"

Leaning forward, Carolyn let her tongue trace the indentation at the base of Annelie's neck. A soft purr emanated from Carolyn's throat as she let her mouth travel toward her lover's lips.