Matt
MATT
Slumping against the door, let out a heavy, weary sigh. Everyone knew fires were a bit like storms. There was a high season and a low one. His mother had always said life was either feast or famine and much to his dismay, they were feasting on fire after fire. She’d also said that when it rained, it poured, but he would have welcomed a little more water and a little less flame.
“You gonna make it?” Cade asked from the driver’s seat.
blearily eyed his fellow firefighter, grunting in response. It had been a long week, and he looked forward to the weekend off. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do but damned if he wasn’t going to enjoy himself a little.
Or maybe just sleep. That sounded good too.
Cade chuckled. “How long you been on for?”
“Thirty-six...no, forty-something hours,” groaned.
“Damn, you need some sleep.”
“You think?”
“I love when you get sleepy.”
“God, please do not start hitting on me,” whined. “I do not need your boyfriend suddenly hating me.”
“You get so cranky,” Cade continued, ignoring him. “It’s like you become a person again.”
“I am not cranky,” shot back.
“Right, you’re your normal, bright, shining, and perky self right now,” Cade said.
“A ray of sunshine,” lied, huffing.
Cade smirked at him knowingly. “And don’t you worry about my boyfriend . Which is still weird to say out loud.”
laughed, rolling his eyes. “You guys have been together over two years now. Don’t you think it’s time to get over that?”
Cade shrugged. “Probably. Still weird to say.”
shook his head but decided against pressing the issue. Cade had been dating Elias, another station member, for long enough that it should have felt normal. Then again, had to admit it had taken time to get used to the idea, even though he’d supported them. The two men had always been his greatest supporters, and they were friendly to him before anyone else in the station, even knowing was gay. That meant the world to , and he’d always adored them for it.
But at the time, they had been straight, both of them. Cade had been quite a playboy for a long time, while Elias seemed comfortable in his rather sexless, if heterosexual, life. wasn’t sure how the hell one panicked moment of fake dating had become a real relationship, but he knew better than to question it.
His mother had also been fond of saying truth was stranger than fiction, and had to admit she had a point. So now his two friends were former straight men in a relationship with one another. Weird? Definitely, but considering Cade had been sharing an apartment and bed with Elias for the past couple of years, he thought the weirdness would have worn off.
“Plus,” Cade added with a wide grin. “Last I checked, I’m the one who should be watching you around him.”
“Oh God,” groaned. “Please do not do this again.”
“You’re the one who wants to do it,” Cade goaded.
thumped his head against the door. “I do not want to sleep with Elias. I don’t want to sleep with either of you.”
“This from the guy who clearly has a type,” Cade said.
Okay, there was some truth to that. Physically, Elias was right up ’s preferred alley. Tall, dark, handsome, and with enough muscle, he could probably chuck around one-handed. And yes, once upon a time, he had no small crush on the man. It had been difficult not to at the time. Elias was a good-looking man who was kind and welcoming to .
glared at Cade. “You had a type too, if I remember. Though that type usually had boobs and lacked a dick.”
Cade grunted. “Touché. Maybe Elias and I should blame you.”
“Me?” asked incredulously. “What did I do?”
“Well, you know, some people say that sort of thing is catching,” Cade said with a smirk.
wished he could kick the man but didn’t want Cade to crash the truck. “No one says that.”
“They sure as hell act like it.”
“Welcome to being into guys, Cade. And you’ve been listening to Keith too much.”
Cade scowled at the mention of another of their fellow firefighters. “He hasn’t been saying anything to you when we aren’t around, has he?”
couldn’t help but smile fondly at that. For all the bullshit Cade put people through sometimes, his heart was always in the right place. He was happy to tease endlessly about something they both knew wasn’t true but would get a rise out of all the same, but the moment he thought someone was stepping over the line, he was ready to fight.
“Keith hasn’t said anything to me,” assured him. “Since I’m not the one gaying the station up anymore, that’s on you and Elias.”
Keith remained the only person at the station who was still unhappy about anything gay. When first joined, and his sexuality had become common knowledge, the man had refused to shower or undress around him. wasn’t unfamiliar with it, and Keith typically didn’t say anything too nasty. Even that had finally stopped when, during the process of understanding what was going on between him and Cade, Elias threatened bodily harm to Keith if he ever said anything remotely nasty. Ever since, Keith glowered, but he said nothing.
Cade rolled his eyes. “We haven’t...shut up.”
snorted. “Sure you haven’t. Go ahead, finish that sentence. Tell me you guys haven’t been the ones gaying things up. Do it.”
“I take it back. I hate it when you get sleepy. Grumpy, rude ass,” Cade muttered.
grinned. “See what happens when you get too full of yourself?”
“I think I like you better when you’re well-rested and getting laid,” Cade shot back.
shook his head. “Oh, sure. Make fun of the man who’s tragically single, and all because his ex-boyfriend couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
Cade shoved a finger across the seat in accusation. “That was over a year ago. You don’t get to use that to make me feel bad.”
laughed. “Sure I can because it still works. Kind of like you giving me shit over the little crush I had on Elias still works on me.”
“Not the same.”
“Uh-huh.”
In truth, bringing up his ex, Trevor, was no more a problem than talking about the weather. They’d dated for several months, while had borne witness to the budding relationship between Cade and Elias. Ironically, while Cade and Elias found strong ground, ’s relationship had been on thin ice the entire time, and he hadn’t known it.
Trevor had been kind, intelligent, good-looking, and very good in the bedroom. The problem soon discovered was that he wasn’t the only one. It turned out several other men had been sharing Trevor’s bed, couch, kitchen floor, and God knew how many other surfaces while he’d been with .
And a day didn’t go by that wasn’t thankful he’d always insisted on condoms with his sex partners, even if they had been dating for months.
“Oh, thank God,” Cade muttered when Station 231 came into view as they turned a corner.
laughed. “And here we were having such a nice conversation.”
“I hate you. I want you to know that. You’re evil. Under all that niceness and smiles, you’re actually the devil.”
“I’ll be sure to let everyone know you finally figured me out.”
They pulled into one of the open garage doors. waited until they came to a complete stop before opening the door and flinging himself out onto the hard concrete of the bay floor. Groaning, he bent forward, trying to touch his toes but knowing his equipment would prevent that. All he wanted was to feel the stretch of his muscles, which felt like they’d become a fist in his back during the ride.
“That sounds like a mighty good stretch,” a deep familiar voice commented.
grinned, standing upright and turning to face Elias. “As someone who just walked in, you don’t get to start giving me shit.”
Elias chuckled, dark eyes glinting in amusement. “I see you’ve been enjoying being stuck with Cade for hours.”
“Only twelve this time. Any longer, and I might start questioning my sanity.”
“True, long exposure can be bad for your mental health.”
Cade rounded the truck, glaring at Elias. “You’re supposed to defend me.”
“Baby,” Elias rumbled, smiling. “I love you to pieces, and I’ll never let anyone say shit about you that isn’t true.”
“And me driving people crazy is the truth?” Cade demanded.
Elias glanced over his shoulder before pulling Cade in for a quick kiss. “Absolutely. And I’m crazy about you.”
“Gross,” Cade muttered, wrinkling his nose and going in for another kiss.
chuckled, starting to pull his gear off to put it away. “Am I allowed to shower without you two coming in for a quickie?”
“We do not fuck at work,” Cade contested hotly.
“Of course not,” Elias said in the most unconvincing tone had ever heard.
“Irons is here, huh?” asked, glancing toward the hallway leading to the back of the station, including their chief’s door.
“No,” Elias said, narrowing his eyes. “He’s not supposed to be in for another couple of hours.”
“Keith?”
“He’s got the day off, picking up his brother from the airport, remember?”
“Ah, well, this is as good a time as any to inform you that your lies won’t work when I’ve caught you both doing the dirty in the shower room.”
Cade gaped at him. “You’re lying!”
snorted. “Right, because I wasn’t witness to your sword-swallowing skills. A large sword, I might add.”
Cade jabbed a finger at him. “Anyone who shared a shower with Elias in the past few years would know he’s hung like a horse. That’s not proof of shit.”
“Hung like a…” Elias trailed off, frowning at Cade. “You’ve never complained.”
“And I won’t,” Cade insisted. “Not the point.”
sighed. “You have a birthmark on your ass.”
Cade frowned. “Again, we’ve shared a shower. Thank you for looking at my ass.”
“You like it when he takes over,” added.
Cade’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
Elias raised a brow. “Just how long were you witness to this?”
grinned, kicking his boots off. “All of three seconds before I ran out of the locker room as quickly as possible. I had no idea Cade was a big bottom bitch until he admitted to it just now.”
“Oh,” Elias said with a chuckle. “You are an evil creature.”
“You ass,” Cade barked, trying to pull away from Elias. “You tricked me.”
“And you’d think someone from the wheeling and dealing, political, rich people background like you would have caught the trap before it snapped closed,” pointed out.
Cade whirled on Elias. “You have to back me up. He’s evil in disguise. That cute, innocent face is a lie.”
“The only people who think I’m innocent are the ones who haven’t dated me,” pointed out. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to leave you with that horrifying thought and go shower.”
“I really don’t want to know,” Cade muttered.
“I kind of do,” Elias said.
“Elias!”
“What?”
“You’re lucky I love you.”
“Probably.”
smiled as he stepped into the hallway that led deeper into the station. He knew full well Elias was trying to get a rise out of Cade and was succeeding spectacularly. Elias would no sooner pay attention to the details of ’s sex life and preferences than he would a random rock discarded on the side of the street. Formerly straight or not, the only man who mattered to Elias was his boyfriend, and Cade knew it.
Pushing into the locker room, he yanked open his locker and grimaced at the sight in the mirror on the back of the door. His face was smeared with black soot, making the few patches of clean skin look even paler than usual. Flecks of white-gray ash had settled in his mop of black hair, reminding him for what felt like the umpteenth time that he needed to get a haircut. Even his eyes weren’t untouched from the long shift. The bright green color he was privately proud of was ruined by the fact that the whites were streaked with red, and the bags underneath were big enough to make him wonder if they would ever go away.
“Morning, ,” came another familiar voice.
looked up at the sound, smiling at one of their fellow firefighters. “Heya, Davis. Didn’t know you were working this morning.”
Davis shrugged, water dripping from his hair as he approached his locker. “Wasn’t going to, but Chief called me in since Keith wasn’t working today.”
“Ah, right. Elias reminded me earlier that he was picking up his brother today.”
“They’re close. Really close. Even Keith admits his brother is a big deal to him.”
“Jealous, Davis?”
The comment would once have made Davis guarded and defensive. Even the slightest hint of Davis being into men, and coming from of all people, would have made the man angry. Yet, unlike Keith, Davis had seemingly changed his opinion about all things related to gay men. Instead of a glower or a snarl, he received a snort.
“They’re all they had growing up. I wouldn’t call it jealousy,” Davis said.
“I’m sure he still appreciates having you as his best friend,” said, grabbing his shower bag.
Davis chuckled. “I wasn’t always nice to you, and Keith barely tolerates you. Why are you so nice to us?”
closed his locker door. “Keith is an asshole to me, and you were too. But you aren’t terrible people.”
“Just terrible to you.”
“You could be, but you aren’t. At the end of the day, it’s easier for me to wish you both better than to wish you ill. And everyone needs someone to help them through life. If that’s what you do for him, I’m happy for you.”
Davis stared at him before finally shaking his head. “You’re something else, .”
laughed, finally making his way to the showers. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”