Hazardous Emergencies: Episode 10

Hazardous Emergencies
Episode 10

It was late at night, so the male members of the Flame Brigade were having a guy’s night out. Before you start speculating, understand that because they’re firefighters, none of them are actually allowed to leave the station, especially when they’re all on call. As a result, they are forced to remain in the basement of the station. They were playing poker, or some strange card game that required gambling, but not an insane amount of skill.
Wrench was the dealer for the night, meaning he sat at the head of their “gambling” table, which was just a circular picnic table brought inside from outside the building. Wrench was also the fairest of them all, meaning that he never cheated…or at least got caught, anyway. Going clockwise from him sat Firefight, Hydrant, Hazard, and Rope. Each of them held two playing cards while Wrench called the bids and whatever the dealer did.
“Alright.” Wrench shouted. “Texas Hold-em style! First card in play is a king of clubs.”
“We can all see the cards.” Growled Hydrant. “You don’t have to announce it to everyone.”
“Hey!” Wrench pointed at him. “When you’re the dealer, you can declare any rules you want.”
The others laughed. Firefight chuckled to himself. “Man, I’m just so glad that Gauge is back. The station wasn’t the same without her.”
“She was only gone three days.” Rope commented.
“And there weren’t even any fires during her absence.” Hazard added. “We got lucky.”
Firefight shrugged. “Still, I missed having her around.”
“I’ll bet you did.” Wrench grinned. He flipped the second card over. “Two of hearts.”
“What are you yapping about now, Wrench?” growled Hydrant.
“Gauge likes Firefight.” He told them.
“No way!” Hazard smiled. “That’s sick, dude!”
“No, she doesn’t like me.” Firefight shook his head. “She was just concerned for me as a friend. Nothing else.”
“We just had a conversation like this a few days ago!” Wrench shouted. “She just told me she liked you.”
“How could you have forgotten something like that?” asked Rope. “I mean, if Wrench already told you upfront, then-”
“It’s Firefight.” Hazard smirked. “Remember. He’s as close-minded as it gets. Nothing penetrates his iron conscious.”
“Why don’t you both shut up?” Firefight growled.
“Well,” Hydrant glanced at his cards before turning to Firefight. “Are you two a thing yet?”
Firefight shook his head. “We haven’t really talked about it face-to-face yet.”
“Why not?”
“I forgot she liked me.”
Wrench shook his head. “Then you both are doomed…five of hearts.”
“What are you going to say to her?” asked Rope.
“Wait, before that,” Hydrant glanced at Firefight suspiciously. “Do you even like her back?”
Firefight shrugged. “I guess so. I never thought of us as something more than friends, you know? I’d always figured that she was going to be with someone cooler and better looking than me.”
“So did I.” Hazard joked. “I think we all did.”
“I’m not ugly.” Firefight glared at him. “I like to think of myself as a pretty acceptable guy, you know?”
“You should take her out to dinner, just the two of you.” Rope replied. “You can go to that fancy Italian place she’s always jabbering about.”
“Then you two could take a walk under the night sky, or near that river.” Wrench spoke. “I took a girl there once. We shared a kiss too. It was great.”
“And then afterwards, you can take her back to your room.” Hydrant grinned. “That’s where the real love-making begins. I’ve got an entire book you can borrow if you wanna know any tips or positions or just basic knowledge in general.”
“Basic knowledge about what?” asked Firefight.
Hydrant punched him in the shoulder. “Alright, now you’re just doing that on purpose.”
“He means sex.” Rope sighed.
Firefight gazed at all of them, startled. “You really think the two of us are going to connect that easily?”
“Sure looks that way.” Hydrant shrugged. “You were friends for quite a while, since children, right?”
“And you guys always hang out together.” Rope added.
“Plus, she already likes you.” Wrench commented. “Winning her heart over won’t be too difficult…four of diamonds.”
“I don’t know.” Firefight shrugged. “I guess we could be a good couple.”
“Actually, at the end of the day, Firefight, it all boils down to one question,” Hazard replied. “Do you see a future with her?”
Firefight closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment. “I think I can make it work with her. I protected her once a while back when we went out to dinner. We met some guy who turned out to be former sexual partner of hers, and then I punched him in the face for treating him poorly.”
“Damn!” Hydrant snickered. “Bust some moves on her, why don’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Gauge probably thinks you like her too because of that.” Wrench smirked. “She probably thinks you acted out of jealousy. Final card: king of spades.”
Firefight set down his hand. “Full house.” He revealed the king of hearts and a four of clubs.”
Hydrant showed his hand. “Straight.” He showed a three of clubs and a six of diamonds.
Hazard tossed his cards onto the table. “I’ve got nothing.” He showed a nine of diamonds and a three of spades.
Rope showed his hand. “Two pairs.” He showed an eight of clubs and an eight of diamonds.
Wrench revealed his hand. “Full house also.” He showed the two of spades and the two of clubs.
“I guess I win then.” Firefight took the stack of dollar bills on the table, which only added up to about eighteen dollars.
“So, you should ask her out finally.” Wrench commented. “I’ll bet she’s just waiting for you to make move on her.”
“What should I tell her?”
“Just tell her how you feel.” Rope suggested.
“Don’t do that.” Hydrant shook his head. “You’ll probably end up saying something incredibly stupid.”
“Tell me what to say then!” Firefight shouted. “I need help with these types of things.”
“Acknowledge how you feel about her.” Hazard suggested. “And then tell her how you know how she feels about you.”
“That would be your best bet.” Wrench added.
Firefight nodded. “Should I mention anything about dinner or the walk or sex?”
“Yes, yes, and no.” Hydrant grumbled.
Firefight got up. “Alright then, guys. I will tell her tomorrow. Hopefully she isn’t busy tomorrow.”
“Well, we are firefighters…” Wrench commented. “Don’t let your guard down.”
“I’ll try not to…” Firefight muttered. “No one better be in trouble tomorrow…or else I’ll be upset.”
“Yeah, of course you will.”