If You Can't Stand the Heat

Chapter 1: Now We’re Cookin’ “Hey, babe,” said Kayla, “Did you see this notice on the board?” Her partner of six years, Reese, poked her head around the corner of the Pride Center game room. “A chili cook-off—to raise money for the new big screen television we wanted to get for movie nights. We should do it, ya think?” She looked at Reese, who was now by her side at the bulletin board. “It’d be a hoot. And it’s two weeks away—time to try a few recipes.” Reese, a head taller than her girlfriend, placed a firm hand on Kayla’s shoulder. Reese liked to be in charge. “Maybe…Depends who else is entering.” Kayla knew this meant “are men allowed?” Reese had only come out when they met, six years ago at the age of twenty-two, and she still had kind of a “man-phobia” thing going on. To Kayla, this was ridiculous. In fact, Kayla’s best friend was a gay man, Andres, whom she met in college. Reese had never really warmed up to him, even though he was at their apartment at least once a week. Kayla solved this issue by pointing out the large words at the bottom of the flyer: All Women And Woman-Identified Members Welcome To Compete. Reese moved her hand from Kayla’s shoulder to take Kayla’s hand. As they left the center, she grabbed one of the flyers on the lobby table. Kayla grinned silently, knowing this meant they would enter the cook-off. * * * * After stopping for a quick sandwich and a beer, the two women climbed the three flights of stairs to their apartment. Kayla remembered when they had moved in; how exciting it had been to be a real couple. Their dogs, Kayla’s Alvin and Reese’s Moto, were far from excited and hid from each other for days, before settling it with some general growling and butt-sniffing. Now they were like brothers. Snapping on the light, Reese headed straight for the kitchen to get another beer. “Want anything?” she called to Kayla, who went to the bedroom to change clothes. She hated both shoes and bras. Alvin and Moto followed Reese into the kitchen. By the time Kayla joined the rest of the family, Reese and the boys were all flopped down on the sofa with the television on. Kayla sat, too, folding her legs under her at one end of the sofa. Alvin came over to lick her face appreciatively. “Sit, buddy, be a good boy.” Alvin obediently curled his wiener-dog length into a circle between the two women. Kayla looked at Reese to see how receptive she might be to talking about chili recipes. Strangely, chili had been a sore topic in the past, as Kayla had made Texas-style chili for Reese’s sister and brother-in-law, and they had laughed at it—and hated it. Reese took this kind of thing personally, and was just as embarrassed as if she had made the chili herself. She looked relaxed now though, and Kayla decided to chance it. “Hey,” she said, putting a hand on Reese’s leg. “Thanks for agreeing to the chili thing. Do you have any thoughts about recipe?” No way was Kayla bringing up the Texas recipe—any Texas recipe—when it came to chili. Reese covered Kayla’s slender hand with her own. “Not really. I was kinda thinking of using my grandma’s recipe—the one with the red beans and corn in it. You remember?” Kayla did indeed remember—she hated corn in soup—it reminded her of pooping corn as a little girl after a cook-out. Yuck! Well, they had two weeks to settle on a recipe, so why not make Reese happy at the moment? “Sure, babe. We can try that one first. Maybe Saturday afternoon? Make a list for me and I’ll get the stuff on the way home Friday.” “Good—thanks. Grandma Griner’s chili! Hope I can do it justice.” Kayla said nothing, thinking how much better Lady Bird Johnson’s chili would be for the cook-off. Forcing herself to keep this opinion unsaid, Kayla climbed up on Reese’s lap to kiss her. This displaced Moto, who gave his “other mommy” the stink-eye. Soon both dogs were relegated to their individual doggie beds as their people got naked on the couch.