A Hero in Yellow

Hello all...First of all I want to start out by saying SORRY! I totally spaced on the whole

Condom thing! Sorry! YES we use them, YES we always have and YES we always will!

They shall be making an appearance in this next little story eventually. This is how my two best friends came to

Be a couple...So sit back and enjoy!

Blessings

Taylor.

*

There was so much smoke that it was impossible to see anything! The office where I had spent almost five years was a total mystery to me now. My eyes were streaming tears and my throat felt as though it was on fire. Every breath caused me to cough violently and the voices of my colleagues were getting further away.

"Anthony over here!" I had no idea who that was but I stretched out one trembling hand to feel my way through this nightmare.

The sprinkler system had kicked in but there were still flames everywhere and being an office there was plenty for the fire to feed on.

"Anthony"! There's that voice again. Stumbling against over-turned chairs and wastebaskets I found the exit door to the stairs. Just ahead I could see the faint outlines of my co-workers and I struggled against the panic of being left behind. I felt someone push me and I was knocked aside as a human form screamed by in blind panic.

I reached out to stop my fall but grabbed at nothing and my head came into contact with the stair railing. My knees buckled and I sat stunned with my head ringing. I assumed the wet stuff now covering my left eye was blood and swiped at it with my sleeve. I started to feel sick and things were moving on their own.

Then a strong hand clamped on my arm and I was hoisted to my feet. I felt like one of those guys you see in the movies...You know they're crawling through the sand and up ahead there's a small lake of water and glorious green palm trees. They get closer only to discover it was a mirage.

I knew the person standing in front of me was a fireman but I couldn't get my brain to quite believe it because just maybe he would disappear too. I must have looked like I was going to fall over because he bent slightly and I was thrown over his shoulder.

Now I need to say here that yes even though I am gay I do like to take on the role of "the guy" so being carried like I was a girl did nothing for my ego. And I also need to say that I not small by any means so this guy must have been really strong because he carried me like I weighed nothing. I realize I should not have been concerned with these stupid thoughts because my building was on fire but in my defense I had taken a pretty bad knock to the head!

I closed my eyes and just about choked the poor guy in a death grip and I am sure it was only minutes but my God I just know time stopped. We seemed to be in that stairwell for hours! Finally the door to the outside world swung open and the blinding sunlight hit my face.

Almost by instinct I sucked in the fresh air in one huge gulp and then promptly threw up everywhere! Lucky for my rescuer his jacket washes off easily. He sat me down on the sidewalk and pulled off his mask. Holy crap what amazing eyes! He waved over a paramedic who began to clean me up and tend to the gash on my head.

I opened my mouth to say something...Not sure what it was going to be probably something lame like "thank you" but my throat was so raw I made a pathetic croaking sound. He patted my shoulder and smiled in a way that I am sure he does a lot because I can't be the only stupid person he's rescued.

"You take care now ok". His voice was almost lost in the noise and surrounding chaos. His name on the front of his jacket read HUGHES, which I assumed, was his last name.

I committed that to memory as he joined his crew and went back into the building to do "his thing". The paramedic suggested that I needed to go get checked out at the hospital because it looked like I was going to need stitches. Crap! I hate hospitals..I hate everything about hospitals. So grudgingly I permitted him to escort me to a waiting ambulance and was whisked off to some God-forsaken corner of the city where people awaited me with sharp things and that horrible backless gown!

While I waited for my turn at being tortured I was given some oxygen I guess to combat the smoke that I had inhaled and was told to put on that stupid gown! I kept myself occupied by checking out some of the cute doctors and reading a very old Time magazine. I heard some kind of commotion going on just outside my room and went to investigate.

There was my fireman..Well you know what I mean..being led by the arm, his jacket smoldering and his face covered in black. Coughing just as I had done and being scolded by someone I could only guess was his boss.

"Dammit Shawn. You know better than that!" His boss continued to berate him even as he received treatment for both his cough and what looked like a nasty burn to his neck.

So Shawn is it..Well now as least I knew his whole name.

Shawn had the good sense to hang his head and apologize which seemed to appease his boss because some shoulder slapping took place and it was smiles all round.

Shawn's eyes scanned the room and landed on mine. I made the "ok" sign and smiled. He smiled in return and gave me the thumbs up. I felt a small tingle in the pit of my stomach which if you knew me you would know that that never happens. I am not a relationship kind of guy. I don't like being vulnerable and I don't like giving my heart away it's just too risky. So the fact that I was feeling something now scared the shit out of me and not only that there was a big chance that Shawn wasn't even into guys!

The whole idea was stupid but one little part of my brain kept saying "yeah but what if?"

Turning to go back to my "suite" I totally forgot that my ass was hanging out of my gown and blushed furiously while reaching back with my hand to close the gap. A quiet whistle made me stop and turn to see who the smart ass was.

Shawn had a huge grin plastered across his face which may have meant that he liked what he saw or he was just being cute. The wink he gave me along with the smile however told me something different. If I had been coordinated enough to do a cartwheel I probably would have done one right then and there! But remembering at the last minute that I don't "do" relationships I turned casually and waited for nurse Godzilla to return.

The whole evening took forever but I was finally given parole and tried to leave as quickly as I could but one of the nurses stopped me and handed me a small piece of paper. "It's probably my bill already" I thought snidely as I opened the note. There in front of me were five little words that stopped me cold.

"This is my number...Shawn."

Even if there was a gun to my head there was no way I could have stopped smiling. For a guy who had lost his job because his building had burned down and almost lost his life along with that building, things were looking pretty sweet.

I wanted to call Shawn right away but I also wanted to sleep for the next three days and have a very long, very hot shower. I didn't want to seem desperate or too eager and besides I had the next couple of days to make an idiot out of myself so it could wait. I flagged down a taxi and sat back to enjoy the ride watching the world go by the window.

Every time I closed my eyes Shawn's face appeared with those amazing eyes and I allowed myself to think about the possibility of us getting together somehow. Yep this just might get interesting!

*

Ok that's it for now. Sorry if you were expecting hot sex scenes right away but that's not how it happened and I promised I wouldn't embellish too much!

Part two will be coming soon so until then...

Taylor.