PLAYING WITH FIRE

Chapter 2: The Apartment

Maya parks the car in front of her apartment building and turns off the engine. She looks over at Carina, a twinkle of anticipation in her eyes. "We're here. Ready for the inquisition?"

Carina laughs, her own excitement mixing with nervousness. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

She unbuckles her seatbelt and takes a deep breath. "Lead the way, bambina."

Maya grins at the use of the Italian nickname again, it makes her heart flutter. "You're going to be fine. You're charming, you're hot, you have a beautiful accent. Andy will love you."

She climbs out of the car and walks around to Carina's side, opening the door for her. She reaches out a hand.

"Come on. Let's go face the music."

Carina takes Maya's hand and gets out of the car, straightening her clothes slightly. "Lead the way, then. I'm ready to charm your best friend's socks off."

Maya laughs, pulling Carina towards the entrance of the building. "You sound awfully confident, Dr. DeLuca."

Carina smirks, her hand still holding Maya's. "Confident, or just experienced? I have a talent for making people like me."

Maya rolls her eyes but smiles, knowing Carina's probably right. "You're cocky, you know that, right?"

Carina grins, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's not cocky if you can actually back it up, bella."

Maya shakes her head, unable to hide her grin. "God, you're going to be a handful. I can already tell."

Carina laughs, fully aware of the effect she has. "But a handful you won't be able to resist, I guarantee it."

Maya can't argue with that. She doesn't want to, anyway.

She leads Carina up the stairs to the third floor, the door to her apartment coming into view. "Here we are. Home sweet home."

She unlocks the door and pushes it open, calling out as she enters. "Andy! I'm home!"

They hear a muffled "about time" from inside, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. A few seconds later, Andy appears in the living room, a curious look on her face.

Andy's a pretty Latina woman with a tomboyish style. Her eyes immediately zero in on Carina, taking in her Italian beauty and then moving to their interlocked hands.

Andy looks at Maya with an arched brow, a mixture of surprise and curiosity in her eyes. "You're back earlier than I expected. And... you have a guest."

Maya rolls her eyes slightly, knowing exactly what's coming. "Yes, I do. Can we not do the whole third degree until later, please?"

Andy grins, clearly not going to make this easy. She looks at Carina, her gaze roaming from head to toe.

Andy says, "Okay but like I have to know..."

Maya can already tell where this is going. Andy is never subtle.

Andy continues, her tone playful, "So, who's the hottie you brought home with you, huh?"

Carina laughs at Andy's directness, seeming amused rather than offended. Maya grins as well, shaking her head at her best friend's lack of tact.

Maya replies, "Andy, this is Carina. Carina, this is my best friend and roommate, Andy."

Andy steps closer, her eyes still on Carina. "Carina, huh? That's a nice name. So... tell me what's going on here."

She puts a hand on her hip, clearly intending to interrogate them both.

Maya sighs, resigned to the fact that they're not getting past this.