I met Casey during a mock interview to get hired for the Denver Fire Department. I kept running into him, over and over again, at various events during the hiring process. I ran into him twice on my ambulance ride along alone. He reached out one day and offered me help studying for the final probationary test. At first I thought he was just this super nice guy, and then the shit talking began. He'd tease and joke around with me every time I saw him. I knew we would easily become friends. One day I roved into Station 19 (where he was assigned at the time) and was enjoying my morning coffee when I got a notification on my phone, from Hinge, with my "Most Compatible Match" ... Casey Kmak. I had a good laugh, showed it to everyone at the table, laughed some more, and thought I really just can't get away from this guy. Almost immediately Casey walked into the station with a shaved head and an absolutely horrible mustache. After that shift we began talking every day, and once the mustache was gone, hanging out on every day off we had together. Somehow after two years of friendship I realized I will always want this guy around. Stanley finds him pretty okay too..

The story of how we met. Well… you see. It was by pure dumb luck that the two of us got to meet. I unfortunately got hurt just a few weeks off probation and was sitting upstairs at headquarters when a chief walked by and asked if I was able to sit on the hiring board of this new CAP program. I happily said yes to get out of reading more boring patient reports in the office. While sitting on the panel, in walks this nervous scared girl named Erin. After an entire week of long repetitive interviews, I thought I would heal and forget all about it. I kept going to events and seeing this new member to our Denver CAP program and we would become friends. After the academy I ran into her on her paramedic ride along and gave her sage advice about what was to come. No matter what we did we kept running into each other and became close friends. We would even laugh and make fun of each other as we found the other on different dating apps. I would hear stories of little Erin at parties talking about how lucky my buddy was to work with me and how amazing she thought I was. We began hanging out more as friends. We still would assure that we were just friends and that nothing was there between us. But… like any good start to a relationship, Mr. Jack Daniels and a little bit of Xbox helped it along. Thank goodness we both had a soft spot for the good ol American classic beverage, and we began our story. Three years later, here we are. Me finding someone that could put up with my shenanigans and her way out punting her coverage with such a stud.