crash & burn - e. buckley

005

The 118 had been sent out to an apartment complex that was on fire. It had been caught quickly which meant that it hadn't spread further than a floor, and luckily it was the top floor. Most people had time to get out of the building but a few were still inside, so Buck, Jamie and Hen were sent up to get the rest out.

There had luckily been no casualties, and minimal injuries. One man they rescued had a broken leg and a few had some burns but they were all treatable. Jamie viewed this call as a win.

She watched the crowd of onlookers. Some of them lived in the building, and some of them lived nearby and had come to observe the spectacle. One face in the crowd was vaguely familiar though, and she racked her brain to try to remember where she knew him from.

"Hey, Collin, right?" she said to the blonde man as she approached him after a few seconds. "Jamie, you hit on me in a bar a few weeks ago," she re-introduced herself.

"I remember you, how could I forget the prettiest girl I've ever seen?" Collin replied with a smirk. Jamie rolled her eyes but could feel a small smile tugging at her lips. "So, you're a firefighter?" he asked.

"I am."

From the truck, Buck was watching his best friend smile at something a guy had said. It was uncharacteristic of her seeing as she usually hated new people. What surprised him more however was seeing the guy pass Jamie his phone and her typing something in. He furrowed his brows and gave her a questioning look as she returned to the truck.

"Who was that?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"Uhm, I don't really know," she shrugged in response. "I met him in a bar a few weeks ago, didn't give him my number, decided to give it to him now."

"So you just gave your number to some random guy? What if he's a stalker or something?"

She crossed her arms and stared at him incredulously. "I have at least three knives on me at all times, I think I'll be fine. Besides, you hook up with random girls all the time, you're really in no position to judge me."

"I'm not judging I'm worried-" he started defending himself, "-wait, three knives at all times?" He stared at her bug-eyed.

"Yep, at least," she smirked.

"Even when you're sleeping?"

"Especially when I'm sleeping." She laughed at his slack-jawed expression and went to sit in the back of the fire engine.

"So hot," Buck mumbled to himself as she walked away.

————

"How do I look?" Jamie asked her roommates the next night. She was wearing an off-shoulder long sleeved black mini dress, and her hair was down and slightly curled.

"You look amazing," Jordie told her with a look of approval.

"You're smoking," Angel agreed.

She let out a shaky breath, she hadn't been on a date in months and she was honestly nervous. Her life recently had just been work and she was trying to remind herself to live while she was still young, she was only 23 after all, she had plenty of years ahead to only focus on work.

She put on her strappy black heals and checked herself in the mirror once again. She did look amazing. A knock sounded on the door and she took a deep breath before opening it.

"Hi," Collin greeted her with a soft smile. "Um, these are for you." He handed her a bouquet of red roses. "I know red roses are a bit cliché but I didn't know what you liked," he laughed nervously.

"They're beautiful, thank you," she assured him.

"You look incredible, by the way," he told her.

Angel and Jordie shuffled into the hallway, pretending like they hadn't been eavesdropping.