Kurt had removed my blindfold and ripped the tape off my mouth like a Band-Aid. It stung, but he kissed my lips to make them better. Cheryl was standing off behind the camera, her hands in the air, as the room started to fill with smoke.

"I've got this," Kurt said, struggling with the knot holding me to the chair. The fire was spreading, but we could still make a fast break out of the room and out of the house as soon as I was untied.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are, Kurt," I said.

He groaned. "These knots," he said. "They're tough."

"Then just lift me out of here, we can worry about the ropes later."

"I've got them. Just give me a minute."

I looked down. Perhaps I’d underestimated the speed of the fire. It was approaching me rather quickly.

"Kurt..." I said. Then I looked over to Michael who’d gotten up. "Kurt!"

But it was too late. Michael popped Kurt across the face with a quick jab, knocking him away from me. Kurt returned the punch, but Michael dodged. Their stances revealed the difference in the way they were trained, with Kurt adopting an upright standard boxing stance, leaning in, whereas Michael had more of a street fighter look to him, bobbing his head left and right and keeping himself lose.

Michael was fast. Real fast. He was able to get a one-two-three hit against Kurt before Kurt could even react to the first. Kurt leaned in to Michael during this punch and tackled him, pushing him to the ground, then used his weight to hold him in place.

Kurt threw a punch down towards Michael's face, but Michael rolled to the side, sending Kurt's knuckles into the solid wood flooring. It looked painful.

I’d seen the two of them fight before, but this was even more intense. And, just like in the sauna, the ever-increasing heat caused them both to sweat. The fire crept closer to me, across the floor. It was maybe a meter away from my foot. I tried shifting my weight, to move the chair away from it, but I ended up knocking myself over and on to the floor in the process.

I heard Kurt and Michael's manly grunts, but also noticed that Cheryl was no longer in the room. In all the chaos, she must have taken off. I couldn't blame her. If I wasn't tied to the chair, I’d have done the same.

Kurt and Michael rolled in front of me, tumbling on top of each other towards the fire. Michael ended up on top, holding Kurt's face against the floor as a flame inched closer and closer. Kurt pushed him off and onto the ground. Michael popped back up and jumped onto Kurt's back. Kurt fell backwards, putting his entire weight on Michael. Michael loosened his grip and Kurt gave him another sock across the face. He was out cold.

"Forget the knots," I said. "Get us out of here."

Kurt agreed. He picked me up, chair and all, pushed me through the door and out to the front of the house, where he put me down on the soft dirt. He was out of breath.

"We made it," he said.

We had. "What about Michael?"

"Michael?" Kurt asked. "The guy who was just trying to kill us?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Let him burn."

I shook my head. "No, Kurt. That's not how we do things here."

"I'm not running back into that burning house to save a man who was trying to kill us."

"Fine," I said. "Untie me. I'll get him myself."

Kurt looked at me. "You're serious."

"Do it," I said.

"Ugh," he said. "You're a pain in the ass prima donna. I'll get him."

He ran back into the house. And the second he did, I regretted it. I didn't want anybody to die. Not for me, certainly. And now, instead of one person dying for me, I may have inadvertently caused a second to be killed.

I saw the flames through the windows, lighting up the house, smoke coming out of them, it lit up the night scene like a bonfire. I was sweating outside, some thirty meters away, I couldn't imagine how hot it was inside.

Hot enough to kill him, I thought.

No. Kurt's tough. He's been through worse than this before. He was a marine. He could do it.

But the more time went by, the more I questioned myself.

Then I saw him come out the front, dragging Michael behind him, panting. Flames shot out of the house in that instant and Kurt jumped away, carrying Michael with him.

He came over to me.

"The things I do for you," he said.

"Can you please untie me now?" I asked.

He smiled. "I'm not sure I want to."

He kissed me, and in that kiss, I realized that imagined fantasy I’d had of the two of us could now become a reality.

Assuming, of course, it was something he wanted, too.

"Kurt?" I asked. "Could you see yourself being with one person forever?"

He looked at me quizzically. "Sure."

"Could that one person be me?"

He paused, still out of breath. "Beau," he said, "I don't want to be without you even if it kills me. And, the way things have gone, it probably will."

We kissed again. I took it as a "Yes".

I saw Michael rise up again, behind Kurt. "Kurt, look out!"

He turned around right as Michael approached him, arms stretched out, as if going in to strangle Kurt. Kurt put up a defensive stance, but he was too slow.

Michael gave him a big hug, then a kiss on the mouth.

"You saved my life," he said. "How can I ever repay you?"

Kurt pat him on the back a few times. "Maybe stop trying to kill us?"

Michael nodded. "That's fair."

Then he looked over at me. "By the way, Beau, does the offer still stand?"

"What offer," I asked.

"Can you get me in Xander Dutch's next movie?"

I sighed. "I'll see what I can do."