Fire in the Firehouse 9

As he strolled down the hall and into the kitchen he cleared his mind of that and he kept telling himself he needed to distract his thoughts before they ended up betraying him. He began focusing on a good, solid breakfast. He opted for a bowl of cold cereal-Wheaties sweetened with some Equal. A container of non fat yogurt, slices of melons and a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for that caffeine boost.

Back in the bedroom Colby had drifted back to sleep. It was a strange predicament the way things were now. A far cry from all the time they'd been spending together when they first met. But the fire captain had made some schedule changes and things were going to remain as such at least for the time being. 

In the meantime, Mitch finished his breakfast, went through his morning ritual, got dressed, admired his great frame in the mirror. How his solid muscles peaked in all the right parts underneath the dark blue tee shirt and how you could almost see his taut, rock-hard buns in his black pants that purposely fit loose for mobility and comfort. The shiny silver buckle gave a slight shine in the darkened room. He looked himself over once more, grabbed his cell phone and gum, leaned in gently kissing his male lover on his velvety lips causing him to stir a bit, yet reciprocating ever so gently.

Colby was quick to drift back to sleep as he was exhausted from a rough week at the station. He was far too tired and having been awakened a bit saying bye to his man, he hadn't yet begun dreaming again.

Mitch got in his truck, as he did he reflected back to when they'd both lost their trucks in the blizzard. Fortunately they were both able to get new ones from their insurance. The dark haired man took in the heat in the air. "Damn, Colby's right. These conditions are not good at all. I can't believe how hot it is. He looked down at his watch, it read 10:47. He guessed it had to be past 80 degrees at this point in the day. God only knew what the final of high of the day would be. It was projected to be 94, but if it were truly past 80 before noon, one could only guess.

As he put the air on in his truck, he took note how the hot, dry air seemed to scrape across his exposed skin. Like it was begging to eat away at his body. "Never thought I'd say this," he muttered, "but I really miss that blizzard right about now." The heat was that harsh and invasive. 

As he drove to work, he took notice of the sidewalks, there were some people scattered about, but the more the day would wear on, the more scarce they'd become. He saw pools outside the different places to stay, kids splashing around, oblivious to the dilemma that plagued the area. "How lucky are they?"

Before long he arrived at work and got out and saw some of his fellow firefighters in the shade washing the rigs. He began making small talk with some of the men and women. They chatted about the heat, the fire danger for the next several days. General stuff they always discussed. One of the girls, Trish walked up to Mitch and asked for a moment of his time.

She was a beautiful young woman. Standing five feet, nine inches tall, wheat golden hair and piercing green eyes. Full chested and very feminine. Curvy and in great shape. No one under estimated her as she'd proven herself on calls numerous times. This day she had something on her mind and Mitch was apparently part of it.

Underneath a high pine tree they stood. "Mitch, I'm going to be blunt. Ever since you first started here I've had eyes for you. I flirt and you blow me off. I go out of my way to show you I'm interested and you ignore my every move. I'm not conceited, but I know I can attract many men. But you've captured my eyes and my heart." Mitch stood listening as the poor girl poured her heart and soul out to him. He knew he'd have to level with her and now. "I see you with no one, you never date, there's never talk about a girlfriend. You're too hot to be single and God knows you can't be gay."

Trish stood waiting for an answer as she bore deeply into his eyes. He could see she was looking more into his soul than just his eyes. In any other circumstance he'd have gone for it with her. The last phrase made the impending revelation that much harder. He stood thinking hard. He knew as a sign of respect he must give her some sort of answer. He was flattered she found so much interest in him.

Meanwhile, back home at their apartment, Colby was lying in bed enjoying the cool air. "God I'd love to crack a window for fresh air. Its so stale in here and all the sprays and candles aren't going to help. When will this heat end? There's no way I'm letting any of that heat in here. I hate summer. Fall's so much more pleasant." As he laid on the cool bed, he began planning his day. He'd not slept as much as he'd have wished for which was often the case when you work such a hectic and demanding schedule. There was always a nap.

He thought to himself that he'd get up in a few, check his email, get a bowl of cereal to eat while online and just enjoy the cooler air. He felt bad for Mitch having to endure the heat, but then grinned and thought that it was only fair. He, himself had to endure the last few days, so why not his lover?

Back at the station, Mitch knew he had to answer Trish and to let her down easy. "Trish, just as you were blunt with me, I need to do the same with you. I do have someone in my life. The thing is you don't see it because its not a woman. You were right after all. I am gay." He stood gazing at the poor creature, knowing he'd just sent her whole world crashing. He had to say more. "No, I'm not just making this up because I'm not interested. Colby is my lover and fiancee. While trapped in the firehouse back in January, things sorta happened and grew from there. Ha, grew is a gross understatement." As he bore down on the sweet young lady, he saw tears form. He felt awful for having to break her heart. He could tell she'd fallen for him bad. He was foolish not have seen it. But he was feeling her pain. Uh oh. This was new. He was literally feeling her pain.

Just as Mitch was delving into his thoughts of what could be causing this new feeling, an all too familiar sound screamed out across the surrounding landscape. It was a wailing scream, not the most pleasant sound to crack the still air. It reeked with urgency. The firemen and women respectively were being called back to work. His self discovery would have to wait.

This call was sending them to a brush fire not too far from them and based on the adverse conditions, it was highly imperative that they got moving as fast as they could so as to not have it spread further. With conditions working so strongly against them, they had to go now.

They all quickly made their way to the station to get suited up and ready. They heard what the call was more in detail. It seemed some kids had been messing with fireworks in the area and they got careless, coupled with dry brush and low and behold the call.

Back home, Colby had his fire radio tuned in and heard the call go out. He thought nothing of it, standard call. He climbed out of bed at this point, had brushed his teeth, gotten his cereal, and was just signing on to get his email. 

He could listen to the entire story unfold via the fire radio. He'd get little sound bites of the truck calling back to the dispatcher, sirens wailing in the background. His mind turned to his lover. He always felt a bit of apprehension and tension when a call came through. He knew Mitch felt the same for him when at home. The few days a month that they did work together was a bit easier on them both emotionally. Sure, it did nothing to erase the dangers, but it was always easier to accept the situation when being there firsthand.

Colby saw he'd gotten another letter from Drake and instantly found himself lost in the story. Only the random chatter between the rigs and the dispatcher broke his concentration. 

Dear Colby,

How ya been stud? Same old shit here. Just living, working and trying to enjoy life when I can. Can't wait to get the fuck outta Dodge as they say, and get my hot lil ass up your way. Been counting the days since I told you I was coming.

Have you told Mom and Dad yet about everything? If so, did they freak out? Mom was always a little over dramatic as I recall. God love her, but if anyone could take the wind out of someone's sails it was her! Like the time when we were about 13 and we were sneaking random looks at Dad's porn mags and she caught us. I thought spilt pea soup shooting outta her face was only a step away. LOL

As I seem to recall you were quite fascinated that day with how adult male cocks looked. Hmmm, I missed a telling sign. HA! But hey, all fairness, I was looking, too. But I think its natural to be curious. 

Anyhow, looking forward to getting myself up that way and soon. I should be there like I said, in time for the 4th. Maybe we can all hang out at a casino, get plowed and just act like college kids on break. Need to get back in touch with those days. There're times I feel my soul's fucking dying with this 9 to 5 bullshit.

Well, that about wraps it up bro. I so can't wait to see you again. Its been far too long and I miss ya. We were so close as kids and adulthood has kinda put a damper on that. But I think we should both work hard to keep things tight after this.

Peace,

Drake.

As Colby finished the letter and sat back to write a response, his thoughts were broken. He listened to the voices on the radio. It was one of the firemen conversing with the dispatcher. He was telling her things seemed to be under control. "We seem to have it just about under control. No need to call for more engines at this point. We'll mop up here for a while and head..." KA-BOOM!!!

Colby's heart dropped at the deafening sound. "What the fuckin hell was that shit?" He didn't even notice he'd shot up from his chair. Was it fear, was it instinct? He couldn't fathom. He began reaching for his work clothes. With a sound like that, he was definitely going out to investigate, he had to see this firsthand. He listened to the radio hoping to hear something.