LOGINThat night when Tom’s head hit the pillow, he found his thoughts drifting back to his dream boss. He needed to be careful. He wasn’t about to start spanking it with all the other guys in the bunks around him. He had no idea how to read the way the chief had asked about everything being all right. Was he worried that Tom was going to tell on him? That started to really eat at him. There was no way he wanted Chief Anderson stressing out about him. He needed to figure out a way to speak to him alone, and reassure him that he would not be a problem.He was just drifting off while trying to imagine what exactly he would say to Chief Anderson, when the firehouse alarm went off. He sat straight up as he always had when he heard the bell while sleeping. Even though it had a distinctly different tone to it from the old Austin one, therewas no doubting what to do next. He grabbed his gear, and headed down to the first engine where he had been assigned to Ed’s spot when he had first arrived. Ju
Tom’s first night at the station was much less eventful after nearly walking in on his boss getting blown by some young guy. The other firefighters seemed cool enough, and some of them were even the same he’d met earlier. There were rotating shifts to make sure that they had complete coverage around the clock. Since the budget cuts, they’d had to be creative with the personnel that they were able to afford. Typically, Tom would have come in about four-thirty, but, given the circumstances of his new arrival, he’d been allowed to check in later on his first night. He couldn’t help but think he never would have known about the chief if he’d come in at the normal time.Early the next morning after getting a full night’s sleep, Tom was beginning to feel a little more like his usual self, and set about doing some of the tasks he’d been assigned. He and Juan, the first guy he’d met when he’d arrived the day before, were in charge of cleaning the engines. The dry, dusty desert air, combined w
“Why do I have to leave? Come on, baby, I can still get you off.”“Bradley, I mean it. This is my place of work, and I can’t have this type of thing going on here. I wouldn’t even do my wife in my office!”“Ha. You probably wouldn’t even do your wife at all. That’s why you have me, gorgeous.” With that, Brad grabbed at Eric’s nuts through his khakis, but he darted out of the way.“Enough! I need you to leave now. I’m done with this relationship—you don’t respect me or my position!”Brad’s lower lip trembled, and Eric could see his face beginning to flush. “I’ll tell Matthew! How do you think he’ll like his dad when he hears that, huh? Or maybe I’ll do something else that’ll make you sorry, huh? How about that?”Eric moved in on Brad, who was a full foot shorter than him. Brad was trapped against Eric’s desk, a look of abject terror on his face. He pushed his finger into Brad’s chest, just to make sure he had his attention.“Look, you infant. I’ll allow that you got me when I was vulne
Tom awoke to his cellphone alarm, and noted with dismay that he was still exhausted from the long drive into town.Oh well, I’ll have plenty of time to sleep at the station.He doubted he would get called to a fire his very first shift in town. He felt a little out of sorts, though, and not just from his physical tiredness. Not only was the visual of his boss still lurking in the back of his mind, but the strangeness of being in an unfamiliar place plagued him. He wasn’t usually so impulsive when making life decisions, but it must have been the combination of the loss of Grams, his broken relationship and his dad’s attitude that had sent him fleeing from Austin to a completely unknown city with no personal contacts. No wonder Chief Anderson had quizzed him about that. He might be perceiving him as a flaky person. For some reason, that clutched at his heart on a more personal level, rather than from the standpoint of how it might affect his career. Of course, he would likely be jobless
What the fuck am I doing? I can’t afford to think like this about this man. I’m here for a new start, not to get myself in another mess.“Well, Tom, it looks like we’re very lucky to have you, even on a temporary basis. I see two commendations here and several good remarks from your former chief in his recommendation letter. You also have your national EMT cert, which is great. We’re placing a larger emphasis on our medical services these days, as many of our calls involve med assistance.As a matter of fact, we recently renamed the department Mesa Fire and Medical. Your CPAT is up to date, so obviously you’re in tip-top physical shape.” The chief looked up at Tom and smiled after that comment, which only served to make Tom’s cheeks flush hot again. “Is there a particular reason you left behind a good position for one far from home that isn’t even permanent?”Eric looked up at Tom again, those stunning blue eyes threatening to steal his speech once more. Tom took a breath and focused
The station wasn’t quite as big as Tom was used to. It was also set up a little differently. There was an obvious separation between the administrative area, and the rest of the station where the trucks were kept and the firemen were housed, and it consisted of a two-loveseat-sizedwaiting area, a super tiny office where Chief Anderson’s assistant Keri worked, and then the mysterious closed door that led to the chief’s office, which he had yet to see.When he’d parked out back, he’d immediately spotted the tiny sign above the administrative section that said ‘Office’. To the left of that was the huge cinderblock building that housed the trucks, and lastly, most likely the barracks where he would be staying when on duty. The inside had a fairly typical southwest décor—what little there was—and, in some ways, Tom felt like he’d seamlessly stepped from one chapter of his life into the next. He had a brief flash of wondering what the homo barometer would be like at this station. He’d been
“ I know”, I butted in, “ I was being a complete asshole and was basically thinking through my anus. I was being mean and impassionate and I now so, so yeah, I am so so sorry for that”, I was looking at my feet while speaking, too afraid to look elsewhere and by accident, meet his eyes, “ and I w
“ Excuse me”, I said to the lady at the reception. “ How may I help you?” She asked, putting on a smile. “ I'm looking for the administration office. I submitted an application a few days ago and I'm here to get the reply”, I said, smiling back at her. “ Oh, Mr Madrigal, right?” “ Yes?” I
“ Oh, hi, Angelo right?” He asked, smiling with his perfect white teeth. No one could have such perfect teeth. He must've visited a good dentist. “ Yes, officer. How're you doing?” I was still faking the smile. “ I'm good”, he said in an almost singsong tone, “How about you? How are you doing?”
Angelo's POV I heard sounds of cry and I couldn't help but wonder if people cried in heaven. It couldn't be hell, there was no fucking way that I was going to hell, not after all I had passed through. It had to be heaven or nothing. I slightly opened my eyes and when I saw Mom at the corner, cry







