Page 38 of Just One: Box Set
Chapter One
A ndré slammed his drink down on the table, his frustration evident as he grumbled, “Seriously, you two—I'm not doing it.” His fingers drummed on the glass, and his scowl deepened.
Across the table, Liam shuffled the cards, leaning back in his chair, giving André a silent but unmistakable what the hell look.
Harvey, always the joker, leaned his elbows on the table and sighed, grinning mischievously. “Why not? You run into burning buildings for a living. How are you scared of a dating app?”
Blowing out a puff of air, André shrugged, his jaw tense. “I’m not scared. I’m just not interested.”
“Not interested?” Liam chimed in, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Come on, man. You’re always going on about how your siblings are all settled now. Don’t act like you don’t want that. I see how you look at Amy and her fiancé. You can't tell me you're happy being the lone wolf.”
His sister Amy had landed the dream job as a physiotherapist to Phillip Cross, a pro athlete whose career had nearly ended due to injury.
Now, Amy was glowing, pregnant with their first child.
To outsiders, they looked like the perfect couple, and the sight of their happiness gnawed at him more than he’d admit.
André waved a hand dismissively. “It is what it is. I’m married to the job. Women can’t handle me being gone overnight, much less running into fires.”
Harvey chuckled, nudging Liam with his elbow. “That’s because you’re dating the wrong women. My wife? She’s fully supportive, man. You just gotta be looking in the right places.”
“Broads are all the same,” Liam added with a smirk. “They just want to ride the firefighter train and say they’ve been with a hero. It’s the uniform, man.”
André shot him a glare. “Broads? Seriously? This isn’t the 1950s, Liam. No wonder you’re just as single as me.”
Harvey leaned forward, mischief in his eyes. “I’ll tell you what—let’s make a little wager. If you win this hand, I’ll lay off your love life. But if you lose, you’re downloading that dating app I told you about.”
André raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Why the hell do you care so much about my love life, Harv?”
Harvey grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Because, brother, you’re too good a man to be wasting away in singlehood. Plus, this app—‘I-Hope’—worked for my wife’s best friend. She met a guy on there, and now they’re getting hitched.”
André rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the grin tugging at his lips. “Fine, let’s do this. But when I win, you two will lay the hell off about where I’m sticking my dick, alright?”
Liam laid down the first three cards of Texas Hold’em, and André’s heart gave an excited thump. He had a killer hand— spades in Ace, King. Unless the next few cards were a disaster, this was a done deal.
“I raise,” André declared with a confident smirk. “Harv, you might want to fold now.”
Liam tossed his cards down. “I’m out. You two are savage tonight.”
“Nah, I’m in,” Harvey said, throwing chips into the pile. “I raise you twenty.”
André rolled his eyes, pushing his chips into the center. “Let’s go, Liam. Show us the next card.”
As the turn card revealed another heart, André noticed the brief flicker of worry in Harvey’s eyes. His hand was solid, and he was sure Harvey knew it.
“You still think you’ve got this?” André teased. “Let’s make it interesting.” He shoved his entire stack of chips into the middle. “I’m all in.”
“Damn, bro!” Liam nearly choked on his water. “You sure that’s smart?”
Harvey shook his head, matching the bet. “You’re insane, André. But fine, let’s see how this plays out.”
Liam flipped the last card, and a royal flush stared back at them from Harvey’s hand. The table went silent before Harvey broke into laughter, clearly enjoying André’s defeat.
“Hand over your phone, man. I’m setting up your profile.”
André groaned, rubbing his face with a hand. “This is bullshit. You rigged the deck.”
“Don’t be a sore loser,” Harvey teased, already typing away on André’s phone. “And done! Here you go—just swipe when you find someone interesting. If they swipe back, you’re matched.”
André snatched his phone back, raising an eyebrow at the absurdity of what Harvey had done. “What the hell? You used a dog emoji as my photo? And my screen name? Seriously, Harv?”
“Gotta keep you mysterious, brother,” Harvey said with a wink. “This way, she’s falling for your charm, not just your uniform.”
André couldn’t resist a sarcastic grin. “Oh, Harvey, I didn’t realize you were so into me. Does Casey know you’re into my ‘hot firefighter body’?”
Harvey threw a crumpled napkin at him. “Grow up, man. You need this, or you’re gonna end up alone forever. Liam’s right. The women you two pull are all the same. You need something real for it to last.”
“Not me,” Liam said as he stood up. “I’m good with badge bunnies. But don’t worry, Dre, I’ve got your back. I won’t let you screw this up.”
André knew Liam meant well, even if his track record with women was laughable at best. The guy had cheated on his last serious girlfriend, and that relationship had crashed and burned spectacularly.
“You’re one to talk,” André shot back with a grin. “At least I’m not screwing around in bathroom stalls.”
Liam snorted, brushing it off. “Different strokes, man.”
Before André could respond, the alarm blared through the station, calling them to action. He shoved his phone into his turnout gear, the ridiculous dating app temporarily forgotten as they geared up and rushed out the door.
But even as the engine roared through the streets, part of André couldn’t shake the thought—maybe, just maybe, Harvey had a point. He didn’t want to be the perpetual playboy. His siblings were finding love, starting families. Hell, his sister was about to make him an uncle.
As the firetruck screeched to a stop at the scene of an accident, André’s mind briefly wandered back to the app. I-Hope—the name seemed ridiculous. But maybe it was just what he needed.