Home » The Archives » Chapter 12 » Playing with Fire
| Re: Playing with Fire [message #465 is a reply to message #464] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 21:06   |
artisticrainey
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Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
Switzerland |
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Monday, October 15th, Tracy Island beach, a little after 9:00 am...
"Good boy. Here, have a drink." Luke poured some water into his hand and Rommel eagerly licked it up. Suddenly the dog looked up and gave a low "Woof". Luke turned to see Gordon walking towards them.
"Hey!" Gordon waved. "Hope I'm not late."
Luke shook his head. "Not at all. Scott and Elise should be here soon."
They chatted for a few minutes, until the others arrived. "Sorry we're late," Scott said. "We were..." he glanced at Elise. "Discussing a few things."
Elise folded her arms across her chest. "Discussing? Funny, I thought we were arguing."
Luke glanced at Gordon who stifled a laugh. "OK then, why don't we get started." He snapped his fingers and Rommel trotted over to him. "Rom will always obey me first; however, there are a few commands he will respond to with others." As he spoke, Luke pulled an orange vest out of his backpack. He motioned to Rommel and fastened the vest on the dog, who instantly stood at attention, not even flinching when a sea gull flew overhead.
Scott whistled, impressed. "Wow. It's like he's a different dog."
Luke nodded. "He knows that when the vest is on, it's working time, not play time. There's not much that can distract him." He stood and held his hand up flat, then brought it down. Rommel sat. "That's the first thing I want to teach you. He may balk at first, since it's not me, but he'll catch on soon enough. So will you," Luke added with a wink.
He stepped back and watched as Scott worked with Rommel. At first the dog wouldn't respond, but Scott refused to back down, and finally was obeyed. "Good dog," Scott told him. Luke handed Scott a dog biscuit. Scott held it out and the dog gobbled it down.
Gordon was next. Rommel obeyed a little quicker for him and got a treat sooner. When Elise held up her hand, the dog sat instantly.
Scott frowned at the dog. "What are you, a ladies man?"
Luke chuckled. "No, he's used to her. She's been working with me for a couple of days now." Luke snapped his fingers and once again, the dog moved to his side. "Now, here's the command for search." He held his hand up flat again, then quickly pointed. Rommel ran off, sniffing at the ground as he went. Luke watched for a moment, then called him back. "I don't usually do that one unless one of the boys are helping me. Rom gets frustrated if he can't find what he's supposed to be looking for."
Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Tyler and Alex?" Luke nodded. "I didn't realize they were down here so much."
Luke nodded. "They're two of my best helpers," he said with a grin. "They make great victims."
Scott laughed, "I'm sure they do!"
They continued to work until Luke called a halt. "I know it's only been an hour or so, but he gets balky if I push him too much." He took the vest off and Rommel gave himself a good shake. "Good dog." He picked up a stick and threw it. "GO!" The dog bolted after the stick. Luke watched him, smiling, then turned to the others. "Any questions?"
Elise shook her head. "No, I'm all set. I need to get back to the house anyway. I left laundry in." She looked at Scott. "We'll finish our discussion later." She turned on her heel and marched back towards the Cliff House.
Gordon winced. "Man, what did you do now?"
Scott sighed and ran a hand over his head. "I merely mentioned that she should take Mobile Control the next time we have a rescue. She lit into me, asking if I was going actually let her do it this time."
Gordon grinned. "Well, she does have a point there, bro. You did sort of take over last time she manned controls."
"I know, but dammit..." His voice trailed off and he sighed. "I shouldn't have. It was just instinct."
Luke shrugged. "It's hard to let go once you've been in charge. That's just one of the things my old boss and I didn't see eye to eye with."
Scott nodded. "Yeah, well, I'd better let her cool off before I try and talk to her again." He glanced up at the sky. "Though with this heat, I don't think I'll be cooling off anytime soon. Thanks for the lesson, Luke. Same time tomorrow?"
"Yes. It's better if I work him at a consistent time. Good luck with Elise," Luke told him. After Scott had left, he turned to Gordon. "He's toast."
Gordon laughed. "Oh yeah he is!" Rommel trotted back and dropped the stick at his feet. Gordon obliged by throwing it and the dog chased after it. "I'm going to take a quick dip, want to join me?"
Luke nodded and a few minutes later, both men and dog were romping in the waves. Gordon had brought the stick and he and Rommel were playing tug of war. Luke laid back in the water and sighed contentedly. Wouldn't be able to do this in Colorado. A loud splash caught his attention and he looked up as Rommel galloped through the waves, catching Gordon in the chest and knocking him down. "Rommel! No!"
Gordon came up, spluttering and laughing. "No worries, I asked for it." He shook the water out of his ears. He moved to sit in the breaker line, throwing the stick out deep for the dog to fetch. Luke joined him. "It's nice having a dog around here. Haven't been around one since we moved from the farm."
"Quite a culture shock moving from there to here." Luke looked at the wide expanse of the sea. "I know it was for me. Still is!" They both laughed.
A sudden movement caught Luke's eye and he turned. John was jogging along the beach. He gave a brief wave as he passed them, then continued on.
Gordon watched Luke, a grin blossoming on his face. "Like blonds there, do you, Luke?"
Luke started, his face going bright red. "I don't know what you mean," he said getting to his feet and walking out of the water.
Gordon chuckled and followed. "C'mon, I saw you looking at him. Admit it!"
Luke groaned and sat down in the sand, resting his head on his knees. "I take the Fifth." Gordon laughed and sat down next to him. Luke looked up. "OK, you're right, I'm gay. How'd you know? Besides me leering after your brother that is."
"It was the Beach Babe incident a couple of weeks ago. You mentioned PFLAG. I had a bud in WASP whose sister is gay. He went to functions whenever we were landside," Gordon told him. "And watching you watch John... That was another big clue."
Luke groaned again. "Am I that obvious?"
"No, I'm only teasing you."
"Well, that's something." Luke grew quiet a moment. "It's not a problem, is it? Me being gay?"
"Not with me," Gordon replied. "And probably not with the rest of my family either, so relax."
"Thanks, Gordon."
"No worries." He got to his feet. "Though there is one thing... You really like John? Is it because he's blond?"
Luke looked startled a moment, then spying the twinkle in Gordon's eye, grinned. "You know, I'm not really sure. I usually go for redheads."
Gordon burst out laughing and with a wave, started back towards the house.
Posted by lillehafrue on March 8, 2008
  
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