Great minds think alike

(There's a slight change of story here-Rafe and Evelyn actually get to spend some time together before he leaves).

The convertible came to a halt in front of the grocery store leaving a bit of stinking rubber on the hot tar. The sun was now high in the sky making the unusually hot for this time of the year. A dog, who had found a shady spot under a tree, slowly lifted his head to inspect the wild drivers.

While Red jumped out closely followed by Rafe, Danny yelled after them: "Don't forget the booz!"

Rafe playfully span arounded, pointed at his friend, who had sat up on top of the back of the seat and put his pilots sunnies on. "Your job, bro!" he shouted before he enthusiastically disappeared in the little store. He just couldn't wait for the BBQ that afternoon. Evelyn was coming and was not passing past enough for him until he could see her. He had just gotten to know her but was already head over heals. He had even figured out a plan to win her heart.

Danny shook his head at his best friend, grinned and then jumped out of the classical convertible. He immediately regretted it when pain shot up his leg. He had forgotten about his twisted ankle. Slowly he took a deep breath, stood up straight and then walked over to the bottle shop next to the grocery store as if nothing had happened. He was dertemined not to let anything ruin his good mood. After all the this BBQ could be really good.

A big ceiling fan cooled the small shop with wooden panels, that squeaked under Danny's feet. It was nice in here compared to the warm wind outside.

Danny couldn't beleive he was actually wearing long pants on a nice day like this. For a little while he searched rows of bottles of wine, champagne and beer until he found what he had been looking for. He carried as much as he could to the counter.

The old, almost bald guy looked at him over the rim of his glasses raising an eyebrow.

Danny looked back a little insecure what he was gonna say or why he was looking at him like that. He grinned shyly as if to say: "What's wrong?"

Wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead with a knitted cotton hanky, the old guy asked:"Ya old enough to drink, boy?"

At first Danny couldn't beleive the man had actually asked that but then he showed him his ID: "Sure, sir!"

Outside he could hear Rafe yelling: "Danny, what's taking you so long? Are there any girls in there?"

Danny gave the man, who handed him his change, an embarrased look, grabbed the two huge paper bags with beer, wine and also a bottle of Jack Daniels and left the shop.

They all hopped into the car, set the radio on full blast, which played some hot swing tune and shot out of the parking lot, of course not without Rafe whisteling at two girls, who were just walking by.

At the barracks, the BBQ was already fired up and most of the guys of their unit had gathered nearby wearing leisure shorts, shirts and no shoes. After all it was the weekend and they weren't on duty.

While Red helped Danny fill the community fridge with alcohol, Rafe helped Anthony put the steaks, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes on the grill.

A honking horn made them look up. Their jaws almost dropped when five gorgeous girls gracefully climbed out of the car wearing summer dresses, which swayed in the warm breeze.

Rafe immediately spotted Evelyn, who came straight towards him. When she reached him, his excitement peaked and he could only mumble: "Evelyn, hi!" She handed him a bowl of salad and smiled back:"Hi Rafe! Thanks for the invitation." "Any time." He nodded, while some of the other guys gathered around to meet the girls. A couple of them had been playing volleyball behind the barracks and now drew their shirts back on their sweaty backs.

Evelyn's friends Sandra and Betty greeted Rafe and Red as well.

Red gently took the bowl from Betty's hands. She smiled as if he was the knight in shining armour, she had been waiting for. He offered:"I'm gonna bring that over to the table." She nodded and followed him.

So Rafe grabbed Evelyn's and Sandra's bowls:"Let's put it all over here." A few guys had already gathered at the table where Danny had just put a bucket with ice and a few bottles of beer. He then grabbed one, opened it, took a sip and walked back towards the entrance, where he passed Rafe and the girls. He gave them a quick smile and said: "Hello." The girls replied their hellos. Danny wasn't sure what to say and decided to leave before the situation got awkward. They watched him limp into the building. Evelyn followed Rafe to the 'cold buffet' asking: "What happened to Danny?" Rafe was surprised she had noticed his limp, which almost made him jealous, but he told himself that it must have to do with her profession. So he answered: "Just a game of football." "Should I have a look at it?" "No, I don't think he would like that after what happened to my nose." he replied with a smirk. A slight nodge on the arm was Evelyn's reply, before she reached into a bowl of chips and nibbled on one. Inside the small kitchen Sandra found Danny grabbing a few bottles from the fridge. "Can I help you somehow?" Danny jumped up hitting his head on the open cupboard. Bright stars started to spread in front of his eyes. He grinned at Sandra slightly embarrassed. 'Smart move, Walker' he told himself, holding his head: "Hey, I didn't hear you coming." Sandra raised her eyebrows:"I can tell!" Then she crossed the room with and almost amused smile palying on her bright red lips: "Are you ok?" Danny quickly let his hand sink:" Sure." When she stood right in front of him, she couldn't help but smile sheepishly:"Sorry bout that." "No worries." He quickly replied :"I've got a hard head!" She smiled and said playfully:"Good, so we can do that some more?" Danny now couldn't avoid a smile and replied in the same way:" I'd prefer the other side next time, though." "Alright." She had broken the ice. 'Strange.' Danny thought to himself.'That's interesting." He held up the bottle, he had grabbed from the fridge:"I bought this for you girls." Sandra interestedly looked at the bottle of champange:"Smart move, flyboy. You obviously know you're not gonna get us girls drunk with beer." Swiftly she grabbed the bottle from him, softly brushing past him, before turning on her heel:"C'mon, let's go find a glass, so I can have some of this beautiful bubble water."

Outside Red and Betty had found a spot on top of the hill, which was overlooking the area. They were deeply involved in a conversation.

Anthony pointed up at them:"Look at Red! I can't beleive it. How does he get a gorgeous girl, like her?" A red haired girl of about 25 years winked at him:"Wanna go up there,too?" Anthony turned to see who was talking to him. He raised his eyebrows totally taken back by her appearance and the fact she had noticed him. So he quickly admitted:"I sure do!"

Grillmaster Rafe McCawley by now had showed Evelyn always to have a bottle of beer handy when pursuing the unbeleivable difficult act of grilling a steak just right. He showed her that a bit of beer on top of it, not only made it sizzle deliciously but also added some flavour. Evelyn shared his beer and Rafe couldn't help but watch her soft lips touch the neck of the bottle. He pushed back a few thoughts, he would rather safe for later and put his arm around her waist.

Danny sat down on the grass next to the grill where Sandra joined him with a glass of champagne. Already after a few sips she could feel a slight hottness and tickling on the back of her neck, while her body seemed to get lighter. She really wasn't used to alcohol and she hadn't had lunch that day because she had been so busy at the hospital. She carefully placed the glass on an even spot on the ground and let her head fall back to look into the bright blue sky. Danny watched her in amusement. He sure could see the effect of the champange on her blushed cheeks and broad smile. "Steaks are ready!" Rafe announced. "Great, we're starving." Soon they all enjoyed their hearty dinner, exchanging news and gossip. Rafe enthusiastically told them about the football game and how they had kicked some a...s. Evelyn looked at Betty and both girls rolled their eyes in amusement about his absolutely exagerated 'passing on the facts' as he liked to call it.

Already during the meal they all had beer a wine instead of water or sodas, so afterwards the giggling crowd slumped down on the nearby grass in the late afternoon sun.

Evelyn placed her head on Rafe's chest, who ran his fingers through her hair. An incredible content feeling enhanced by the effects of 3 beers overwhelmed him. He carefully placed a soft kiss on top of her head. Evelyn looked up at him, the afternoon sun reflecting in her happy eyes. She moved a little closer until her lips were so obviously pointed towards Rafe's that it was unmisunderstandable that she wanted to be kissed. Rafe placed his lips on hers and gave her a long but still gentle kiss.

From the side of the hill Danny, who had sat down with Red, Betty and Anthony watched his best friend entangled in his girl friend's arms. On one hand he was happy to see Rafe in such a happy and childish mood, on the other hand he slightly regretted that he wasn't in his shoes. He told himself that a girlfiend wasn't the best thing to have when you're just training to be the best fighter pilot ever. But then again it didn't seem to hold Rafe back, on the contrary, it even fired up his engines.

A shadow in front of the sun on his tanned face tore him out of his thoughts. "Sorry, could you help me with something?" Sandra half mumbeled. Betty smirked at her half-drunken state. The young pilot's head was already feeling very light as well, which made it easier to overcome his usual shyness:"How? Anything you want." he cockily added-oh he sounded just like Rafe. Sandra raised an eyebrow:"Really anything?" Danny stood up quickly, swaying slightly:"Anything!" She grabbed his hand:"Allright then. I actually just want another drink. Mind getting it with me from the kitchen." While Danny and Sandra made their way towards the house, Betty giggled:"A drink, right!"

Rafe and Evelyn were far to busy looking at each other, touching and softly caressing each others arms and hands to notice anything around them.

Sandra more or less dived towards the frigde and got out the bottle of Jack Daniels:"Hey , what's this?" The slightly older guy behind her, shook his head: "Nono, you're too young for this!" She turned towards him, making a face: "You said I could have anything I wanted." Quickly he snatched the bottle from her:"That was a mistake." "Maybe, but you said it, please let me try some, please!" She looked at him with pleading eyes. Danny just got to know a side of her which he never thought could be hidden behind that strict girl attitute she usually showed. He showed her a shotglass:"One, ok?" She nodded eagerly and immediately downed it as soon as she held it in her hand. A hot burning sensation in her throat made her caugh and Danny laugh: "See, told ya!" She swallowed hard, tried to wipe the remains of Jack from her lips and nodded:"You`re right." Danny stood in the doorframe and watched her face go red. She looked up at him, slightly embarrased. He had his shirt hanging over his pants, the legs rolled up and no shoes on. His appearance was completely different to the uniformed serious pilot who she had gotten to know three weeks ago. She didn't find him very interesting then. Now the situation was slightly different. "You're not wearing any shoes!" she noticed stating the obvious. Danny looked at his feet and then up at her:"I don't like wearing shoes." She got up and walked over to him: "Why's that?" "I grew up in the country and we hardly ever wore shoes." "Is that so?" She almost whispered getting even closer. If she got any closer Danny would have to back up ...or maybe not. Danny looked into her eyes wondering what this was all about. She took one more small step forward leaving only a few centimeters in between them:" I saw you hurt your foot, should I have a look at it?" "No, it's fine." She playfully ran her finger along his arm:"C'mon, I know what I'm doing." Danny wanted to object remembering that last time a nurse had put her hands on his best friend he came out with a broken nose. But then again he just didn't feel like objecting to anything Sandra said. So he swallowed his doubts and nodded:" Let's go to my bunk." He hoped nobody would see them there. At the end of the hallway, Danny entered the room where they slept and sat down on the lower bunk, which was actually Rafe's. Sandra didn't hestitate to sit down as well. Then she inspected Danny's green and blue coloured swollen ankle as professionally as possible after a few too many drinks. While she carefully twisted his foot, Danny held back a cry and decided that this wasn't a good idea at all. Why was he going along with this? Sandra turned to face him to tell him her diagnosis. She looked him sternly in the dark eyes. Danny looked back awaiting her words. Instead of saying anything she simply broke out in hysterical laughter. Danny's disbeleiving look quickly changed into laughter as well:"What?" She shook her head:"I have no idea!" then she fell into his arms. When she realised that they were now both laying on the bed, she on top of a guy, she barely knew, she lifted her head:"Ooops. Sorry, that's very unprofessional." She was testing the water. Did he like her? Did he swift uncomfortably under her? No. No sign of not be comfy. On the contrary: that look on his face was a bit insecure but expecting. At least that was what she read into it. Danny expected her to jump off the bed within the next second but instead she asked:"Do you know what's even more unprofessional?" The next thing the young man realised was her soft, wet lips, pressed firmly against his. Then she drew back. At first Danny stared at her. He couldn't beleive what had just happened. Sandra looked back at him not knowing whether he would jump up and push her off or... Danny took all his heart and lifted up his head, reached his hand out to pull her head closer again and then softly kissed her. At first rather 5th grade like but then getting more used to it. His kiss soon transformed into that of a 24 year old lady's man, which he wasn't but he could kiss like one. He softly touched her tounge with his ,sucked on her lower lip and then pulled back a grin appearing on his face. Before he could see her expression he heard a moan. Her head dissapeared in the pillow, her lips sucked on his neck. The only thing his clouded mind could think was 'Whoa!' when Sandra's hand slipped under his shirt and ran over his chest. Danny turned to his side and embraced her, softly stroking her dark curly hair. They kissed again. A long and passionate kiss. Breathlessly they looked into each others eyes and smiled. A exciting sensation ran down Danny's spine when Sandra let her hand wander from his chest towards his belly button and then slowly towards his pants. He could hardly suppress a moan and Sandra giggled. Danny decided it was a good idea to shut her up by rolling on top of her and kissing her once more.

Just then somebody bumped against the bed and the surprised faces of Evelyn and Rafe, who had planned to draw back there as well, came up above them. "Oh oh! Great minds think alike." Rafe smirked.