literal leigh 05.7 - mission impawsible Read Free Page B

fireplace.
    I suppose I was still lost in the incredible feeling when I tried to articulate an alarm. It sure didn’t come out very well. “Gabe, Gabe. It’s… it’s so… so hot. It’s getting hotter...  ”
    “Um, hmm,” he mumbled. Not allowing himself to be distracted by what he thought was just another one of the nonsensical accolades I normally heaped on him during one of his truly expert oral performances.
    Then I really felt the heat. “Ah! I’m… ” I sat straight up by grabbing the first thing I could get my hands on, Gabe’s head. I physically pulled myself upright. Poor Gabe had no idea what I was doing. When I looked behind me, my mouth froze open in a silent scream. The end of our blanket had fallen into the fireplace. Gabe saw it, too, and leapt to his feet. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what was happening.
     Looking back now, I probably should have just pushed the rest of it into the fireplace. Instead, I snatched up the blanket and instinctively ran out of the room, out the front door, and right off the porch. It had to be quite a sight to see, a naked woman running through a house, dragging a burning blanket like a fiery comet’s tail. Plus, the naked woman was being chased by a naked man spraying a fire extinguisher. One would think it couldn’t have gotten any weirder, yet it did.
    When I jumped off the porch, I landed in a rolling heap. The blazing fabric floated down over me. Just in the nick of time, Gabe knocked it aside with a sweeping karate kick and finished it off with the fire extinguisher. It was such an amazing sight, applause broke out from beyond the smoke. It scared the hell out of me, and it definitely caught Gabe’s attention.
    “Who’s out there?” he roared, in all his naked glory.
    A shadowy figure emerged from the woods. It was none other than Esmeralda.
     

Chapter Four
     
    E smeralda’s applause tapered away slowly. “You never cease to amaze me, Kelly. I’ve seen some interesting ways to greet a visitor. But I must say, I’ve never been greeted before by a naked couple that came screaming out of their house, performing a Chinese circus act. On fire no less.”
    I was shocked. “What are you doing here?”
    “I’ve been staying up at the old millhouse with Morgan. We were enjoying a very decadent, and slightly romantic, getaway. Remember her? She’s the delicious little waitress from Dutch’s Diner. Anyway, I knew you must have arrived when I saw black smoke billowing from this direction. I said to myself, ‘there’s only a handful of witches I know that would burn down a house’. And only you would be the one to burn down Gabe’s cozy cabin. He must have really pissed you off.”
    “It’s not what you think.”
     “Good. Now, would you please invite me inside? Or would you like to continue acting like you’ve both just escaped from the local nuthouse?”
    “Come on in.” Gabe turned around and we followed. His bare backside leading the way.
    Esmeralda walked directly behind Gabe, and she looked at his ass thoughtfully, like she was a USDA meat inspector grading beef. “Hmm. Bear ass naked. I like. Gertie was right, he does have a really nice ass.”
    “Oh, really? I didn’t realize my boyfriend’s ass was a regular topic of conversation among my friends.”
    “Guys with nice asses are always a good topic for conversation.” Her pinching hand inched its way to Gabe’s left cheek. “He wouldn’t mind if I gave it a squeeze.”
    “But I would,” I chided her, so she pinched my bare butt cheek instead.
    Once we got back inside, I was happy to see the house didn’t look bad at all, considering the dangerous way I dragged the burning blanket through it. Gabe and I quickly dressed. I figured it was the best time to spill the beans about my surprise visit.
    “Gabe, I didn’t get a chance to tell you why I came. I’m hiding out because I may have accidentally cast a spell… I have no idea what it was. It could