I've done some editing and have changed things a bit. If you're reading this for the second time around and it looks different, don't be alarmed! I just wanted to clean this up a bit.
x.o.o.x
Hot In Here
The last thing I wanted was to see Roxas Saturo before I was supposed to. He was my stupid boss' stupid son and the stupid C.E.O. of this stupid publishing company. Being the boss' son apparently meant that he was my boss as well. I mean technically it's the truth because he's the C.E.O. but that's not the point. He was an arrogant jerk who thought he could boss me around, then get me in trouble with his dad when I didn't comply with his stupid demands.
Well I was C.O.O. Bitch.
We never got along. Ever. On my very first day there, he asked me to bring him coffee. After taking one sip of it, he poured it out. How dare the fucker diss my coffee like that?! His dad likes it!
Not only did the idiot pour it out, but he demanded that I make him a cup every single morning afterward. And he poured it out after one sip. Every. Single. Day.
Back to the point: I put extra effort into avoiding him Wednesday because we got into an argument Tuesday (quietly, so we didn't disrupt the meeting we were in) and I kinda slapped him in front of some very important people. People so high up in the company that the two of us could've been fired on the spot. It was a miracle straight out of heaven that they laughed and praised me for being a "strong, independent woman" instead of chewing me out. But after the meeting, I hauled ass out of that office.
That's not why I was avoiding him, though. Ever since I went into work, people had been telling me that Roxas was on a war path...and looking for me. You better believe I locked myself in my medium sized office all day. I had a sandwich from Subway brought to me by Sora, my assistant and partner in crime. When I ate that, I binged on hot bottled water and granola bars up until my break.
My phone rang for the first time that day, scaring the natural shit out of me. Thankfully, it was just my real boss. "Good morning, Mr. Saturo."
"Oha- Er, good morning, Ms. Carter."
Sometimes he forgot that I couldn't speak Japanese and had to force himself to speak to me in English around me. I felt like an idiot for being the only one on the top three floors who couldn't speak the language. Then again they never told me it was required of me. But God, was it hot when Mr. Saturo spoke Japanese. He was definitely old enough to be my dad, but this man was practically perfect. And I was the lucky Chief of Operations that got to follow him around most days without looking like a maniac.
"Do you mind working a few more hours? I know that's a lot to ask, but Roku got his little chinchin in a bunch this morning and knocked over three of my file cabinets. You can guess what happened to all my files."
Haha...chinchin. Little. Penis jokes.
"Not a problem, Sir."
"Great. When you're done with your work, come straight to my office. I've sent Roxas home for the day, so don't worry about running into him."
Dreams do come true.
"Yes, Sir. I'll be there as soon as I can."
My head was spinning and I quickly learned that this place got unbearably hot after hours. It felt like someone opened a portal to Hell and let the heat waves flow throughout the building. So I was covered in sweat and probably dying of thirst.
Not to mention that my shirt got snagged on a nail sticking out of Mr Saturo's desk and it ripped to pieces, so I was forced to wear this hot ass sweater so no one rolled the cameras back and saw five hours of Half Naked Girl Stacks Papers.
It was also raining outside. Not the comfortable drizzle that we usually got here in Destiny Islands, but that annual rain all day every day for a week, bullet sized rain drops rain that came randomly every summer and ruined someone's vacation plans. I hate hurricanes.
I also dropped my phone in the toilet. Since it was an automatic toilet, it flushed.
And just because the universe wanted me to die early, my heel broke while I was going down the stairs.
Fabulous day you've given me, powers of the universe. Fabulous.
I only had two more drawers left to organize before I could leave. I'd much rather get soaked by rain than to boil in this deathtrap of a building.
"Fuck you Zeus and Poseidon. I know you guys had something to do with this..."
Cue ominous thunder roll and harder rain drops on the window.
"I was kidding!"
When I finished, I happily grabbed my purse and walked down to my office to get my emergency sandals. I know what you're thinking. Sandals in semi-lethal rain after mocking both Zeus and Poseidon? I know. It's not like I had much of a choice at this point.
Boy, was I calling in sick the next day.
I got on the elevator and pressed the button number 7, then I pressed the one to go down to the carport and forced myself to breath deeply. Why go down to the seventh floor first? To make sure the ghost copy machine wasn't running.
Yeah, the seventh floor copy machine was haunted. It ran on its own and spat out pictures when nothing was on the scanner. The last person in the building, which was often me, had to check and see if it was unplugged so it didn't freak people out in the morning.
Why the deep breathing? Elevators made me nauseous. One of my biggest fears was and still is being on a high floor and having it fall all the way to the bottom with broken parts and bloody Naminé bits.
When the elevator stopped, I left my purse (I hate them, but their convenient) on the floor and dragged one of the huge fake plants in the way to keep the doors from closing. Sure enough, their copy machine was printing pictures of lightning bolts and what looked like elevator doors. The last thing it printed out before I unplug it was a black and white picture of the C.E.O./the bane of my existence. Everyone was freaking obsessed with the guy. Even that haunted piece of junk.
Shaking my head, I put the plant back and got back into the elevator. Instead of going down to the carport like it was supposed to, it went back up to the fiftieth floor Great, the elevator was haunted too.
I really didn't want to die in that elevator.
I pressed the carport button repeatedly, but it did nothing. Whatever. I wasn't really in the mood to feel Poseidon's wrath just yet. I waited.
The elevator door opened and I gulped. Standing right in front of me was a very tired looking Roxas. Not only did he look tired, but he was completely soaked and his honey blonde hair that was usually spiked was sticking to his face. And he was pissed.
I thought he went home! As if the day couldn't get any fucking worse. Wasn't it enough that I nearly died on the stairs?!
"You," he growled.
"Gee, is that the only vowel you know?" I grinned. That grin was wiped away when he stomped into the elevator and shoved me into the back wall, pretty blue eyes now on fire. "Hey! Fragile merchandise here..." I grumbled.
"What the fuck is your problem, Carter?!"
What was with him and his father with the last name kink? I only did it to him because he did it to me. Was it some kind of-? Oh, he's Japanese. Nevermind.
"Do you live to make my life miserable?! That little stunt you pulled yesterday nearly got me fired for fucking sexual harassment!"
Sexual harassment? Who would want to sexually harass me? I dressed like a boy when I was allowed to and I thought meatball sandwiches and hot dogs were the sexiest things on the planet. People usually wanted to harass pretty women like Larxene. But me? Please. "I don't know what the sexual harassment thing was for...and I don't see how that and the slap relate to one another," I grimaced as the elevator started moving again.
"Think about it. Xion filed four complaints about me last year just because I didn't give her a raise. Even though they were lies, that shit is still on my record. For you, another woman who works with me, to slap me in front of them automatically makes them think I said something to you that I shouldn't have."
He had a point.
I didn't see how that information could've positively affected my life, though. So I didn't care.
"Whatever. You shouldn't have called me a whore."
"You are a whore. You're friends with all of the guys on the top three floors. What does that mean?"
I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest. "So a girl can't have a lot of guy friends?! And why do you even care if I'm sleeping around?! Which I'm not, by the way!"
"I actually don't care. It just bothers me that people like you can come in and sleep around to get whatever position you want—"
Before I could stop it, my fist slammed into his face and he stumbled back a bit. Despite my rage, I was kind of stunned by what I'd done. Yeah he was an ass, but did I really have to assault him? He didn't deserve that.
Okay, I lied. It felt great and I wanted to do it again. Stupid dick.
But I was terrified of the glare he gave me when he recovered from it and wiped the blood on his sleeve as if it were nothing. This guy had to be a self-healing demon boss or something. "Consider this your last day at Saturo Print. Don't you ever step foot in this building again."
"Fine with me. Have a nice fucking life."
He opened his mouth to reply, but his words were cut off when the elevator shook violently and sent us to the ground. A loud buzzer sounded and the gears stopped moving altogether.
Weird. It only did that when the elevator broke down.
Wait a second...
I looked up at the digital numbers above the doors. We were on floor twenty-six. If that car fell all the way down from where we were...
"Please tell me you have a phone..." I breathed.
"Not...really. I left it in my car."
"No, no, no, no!" I crawled over to the button panel and pushed each individual button about six times before I lost my shit and banged on all them with both hands. The cruel reality started to sink in as I pressed my back against the wall and buried my face in my knees. "We're stuck on this elevator," I mumbled, holding back tears. "We're gonna die. We're gonna fucking die..."
"Calm down," Roxas scoffed. "We are not going to die."
"Stop talking," I whispered as I slowly rocked myself back and forth.
"This thing breaks down all the time."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?! Just shut up and let me hyperventilate!"
I couldn't believe it. I was stuck on a hot, broken elevator with him of all people. But in that moment I told myself hey, it can't get any worse. And I believed that...until we heard a loud crackle and whir of electricity. The lights flickered with the sound before shutting off, leaving only two dull red emergency lights for us. That's when I broke. After everything that had happened and this as a bonus, I became completely overwhelmed and started to cry in the corner of the elevator.
"Could you not cry so loud? I have a headache."
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE HATED BY THE GODS!"
x.o.o.x
The elevator was quiet. Roxas didn't speak to me and I didn't speak to him. The only thing worse than the silence was the heat. It was unbearably hot in there. I just knew I would eventually suffocate and die, but I didn't want to die first. I wanted to outlive that bastard so I could eat him if I got too hungry. No way was I going to just keel over and let him eat me.
I could hear his fingers drumming against the wooden floor. It was a constant noise smack dab in the middle of driving me insane and keeping me calm; I liked it, but I also wanted it to stop immediately.
The sweater I had on had to be the worst thing of all. You wanna know what's worse than heat? Itchy heat. Fucking wool. I wanted to take it off, but I didn't want to expose my flat chest to the enemy. He already thought I was a whore. Though I did wonder if he could even see me with those dull little lights.
I heard a thud and the floor rumbled. From what I could see, Roxas was face down on the floor, stock still.
Now that that problem was solved, how the hell was I supposed to get out of there?
"Carter?" Roxas called, accent thickening. Damn it, I really thought he was dead. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?"
Oh-ho so you need me now?
"I might," I grinned to myself. "Why?"
"According to my watch...I think...we've been here for over two and a half hours. I haven't eaten all day."
I mean if you counted that one sip of coffee from earlier...
As if his body needed to prove that point, his stomach growled obnoxiously loud. Instead of looking in my purse, I folded my arms again. "Well, you should've eaten earlier."
He groaned/sobbed. I felt powerful. "I was trying not to eat so I didn't get full before seven o'clock. My twin's birthday is today and we were supposed to go to a buffet to celebrate."
"You have a twin?" That shocked me. I never knew he had a brother, or that Mr. Saturo had another son.
"I believe I just said that," he snapped.
"...Is he hot?"
"We're identical twins."
Damn.
"Wait, if it's your twin's birthday, isn't it your birthday too?" I asked.
"Nope. I was born at 11:50 yesterday, and he was born at 12:03 today."
Sighing, I opened my purse and used the small amount of light to find a couple of granola bars. "You eat granola bars?"
"I would eat anything right now. Maybe even a person."
I knew he planned on eating me!
As if he'd read my mind, he added, "Not you, though. You probably taste like positive pregnancy tests and abortions."
This fucking asshole...
"Now you've done it," I spat. "This is the only one I have and I'm hungry too. Since you can't be nice to me, I'll eat it myself."
I've never seen him move towards me so fast in my life. "Please don't do that. Please. I'm starving, Carter. I'll do anything."
"Nah. You wouldn't do anything," I smirked.
"Naminé," he begged. I think that was the first time he ever called me by my first name. "I'll. Do. Anything."
"Hm. Apologi-"
"Gomen'nasai!"
Jesus, he was hungry.
I tried not to laugh as I held the bar close to me. "So you apologized. Big whoop."
"Please! I said anything!"
That's when I decided to mess with him. "Really? You'd kiss me for this granola bar?"
"I will kiss you so fucking good if you let me eat that bar..."
Hunger really changes a person, as you can see. Too bad the granola bar wasn't a Snickers. He needed an attitude change.
"Take it. And don't touch me."
He...he cried as he ate it. I couldn't tell if it was real tears or not, but it sure was amusing to watch him act a fool over a piece of food. I actually felt a little bad for him.
Once he finished, he sprawled out over the small floor. His hand almost touched my foot and I wanted to kick it, but I refrained. I decided I'd be a good girl. For a little while, at least.
"So you're afraid of elevators?" Roxas asked casually.
I nodded. "Terrified. My best friend died in an elevator crash before. I almost got on the elevator with him, but I was mad at him and I went back to my house. An hour later, his mother called and told me what happened. I can't help but think that it could've been me...or that I could've saved him from that."
"Oh..."
I made things awkward. Why must I suck? No, who tells their absolute worst enemy something like that? I'm such an idiot.
"You know...the elevators in this building are pretty sturdy. Except for the one in the west wing. That thing's dirt old and we'd certainly die if that one broke down."
Tears immediately formed at the corners of my eyes. "Saturo..."
"Yeah?"
"THIS IS THE FUCKING WEST WING!"
x.o.o.x
Another hour had passed, according to Roxas' glow in the dark watch. I had resorted to trying to scratch my will into my body with my fingernails. It was then that I realized how pathetic my life was. All of the stuff I had to give away that was worth anything fit on the top of my foot.
Insert bout of depression and throbbing foot here.
My attention was pulled away from my short will as I noticed the lump on the floor a little ways away from me had sat up. Roxas was doing something. I didn't understand what it was until I heard his clothes rustle.
"Whoa, whoa! What the fuck are you doing?!" I yelled.
He dropped his head in exhaustion. "It's hot in here and I'm not about to suffocate to death." My eyes widened as he shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it across the room before he laid back down, folding his arms behind his head.
If he wasn't such a horrible person, I would have thought he was attractive. Like...even in the dim light you could see how defined his muscles were. He looked like he could pick me up and toss me across the room without much effort, and I already knew he was strong from the way he shoved me earlier. Honestly, I almost wanted to sit on his face. Almost.
Holy shiitake mushrooms, I really am a whore...
I shook my head and raised my sweater up enough to expose my stomach. I hated being cooped up like thst and I hated being restricted. How come guys got to take their shirts off in public with no problem, but all hell broke loose if my flatties went half an hour without a bra in public? Society us so stupid. They make women out to be sex objects, but also police how much cleavage we're allowed to show in real life? Yeah, totally fair that women on TV can wear thongs, but us uglies get called out for visible bra straps.
Whatever, Naminé. Forget the heat. I knew I would be perfectly fine if I didn't think about it.
"Hey, that sweater looks really hot."
Damn it all!
"I'm fine," I grumbled. "My shirt ripped to pieces earlier and this is the only thing I've got. Not taking it off."
Roxas sighed and rolled over to face the opposite wall. "Go on and take it off. I don't want to look at you anyway."
I came out of that dumb sweater so fast that I broke a record in eight different countries. Bless him. Bless him so hard.
For being good, I threw another granola bar at him. "Eat."
He ate it. Well, more like fucking inhaled it. I don't think he even chewed more than twice.
It was quiet for a little while before Roxas looked at me over his shoulder. "You wanna know why I always throw your coffee out?" he suddenly asked.
"Because you hate me?" I spat.
"No. It's because I don't like coffee. Shit tastes like death's piss."
How do you know what that...nevermind.
"What?! Then why do you make me make you coffee every damn morning?!"
He shrugged, mumbling under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Cause...my ex girlfriend...I hate her."
Okay. I might not have been the curliest noodle in the spaghetti bowl, but that definitely made no sense whatsoever. "What does that have to do with me?"
Roxas sighed. "She comes to the building a lot. Not enough to know that we can't stand each other, but enough to get on my nerves. Long story short, I was trying to make her jealous and she thinks you're my girlfriend now. It upsets her because she knew I hated coffee, and seeing me "drink" yours is like a special kind of pain since she could never get me to drink hers."
I laughed. So that's what that was about. It didn't make me hate him any less, but I was happy that I had an explanation for it now. "Why didn't you just tell me that? I could've helped you make her jealous. I'm a master at messing with people's heads. I thought you just hated my coffee and wanted to make me miserable."
"No, no. Just coffee in general. When I first met you, you were just there and...I guess pretty enough to be my fake girlfriend. It was convenient. Her face was priceless when I told her," he chuckled.
Wait...I'm pretty?
Pretty enough to be sexually harassed and used in petty schemes to make people jealous, apparently!
I fanned myself and laid down flat on the floor. It was cooler there. "Why do you hate her so much? If you don't mind."
"She um...she cheated on me. With my twin brother." Ouch... "I already can't stand cheaters, but to do that with my brother? He didn't even know we were together when she did that to me, but it still hurt all the same. I loved her, and I obviously loved him. So I wanted to make her jealous."
So he once had a heart?
Aw, I'm getting feels...
"I'm really sorry for calling you a whore before, and for the way I treat you in general. When I'm actually mad at her, I take it out on you because you look and act a lot like her. You don't deserve that and I honestly feel like shit now because of it."
I smiled. Roxas' apology was a genuine one and it warned my heart. "Thank you. But please keep in mind that I'm not your ex. I'm a different person with different goals, different morals, and a different heart. And I'm...sorry for slapping you. And punching you. And spitting in your afternoon tea sometimes."
"I deserved all of that. You had every right to—you spit in my tea?!"
"...Granola bar?" I offered.
x.o.o.x
At two in the morning, I was wide awake. Reason one was because it was too hot to go to sleep. Reason two...Roxas came out of his pants.
If we died, I would've been okay if that was the last thing I ever saw. He wore briefs! Sweet, merciful God!
"Naminé?"
"I wasn't trying to stare at it, it just happened!" I blurted.
Smooth, Naminé. Smooth.
"O-kay..." Roxas spoke slowly. "I was just going to ask how old you were."
Fuck me.
"Oh," I laughed, hoping he didn't ask what I meant by that. "I'm thirty-five. You?"
"I'm nine."
You don't say?
I rolled my eyes. "Be serious."
"I am. I'm a leap year baby. Legally, I'm thirty-six, but if you count by the birthdays I've celebrated, I'm nine."
Oh wow. I've never met a leap year baby before. That's kind of cool. Not for him, I mean. He only gets to celebrate his birthday once every four years while his twin gets to do it every year. Actually, that's not cool at all. I really felt bad for him.
"How are things with Sora?"
Things? What things?
"You want to be a bit more specific?" I asked
Roxas rolled over to face me. I curled up into a ball and covered my chest. He wasn't the only one to lose his pants due to the heat. "I mean what's it like to date him? Is he sweet? Does he give you flowers and tell you he loves you every day?"
"...Are you gay?"
"No. I'm just curious about him."
In other words, yeah, he was gay. It was nothing to be ashamed of, really. "Oh...well we're not dating or anything. I don't think he's into guys like that though—"
"Not that type of curious!" he yelled. "Baka...I just wanted to know what you saw in him. But you two aren't dating so nevermind I guess."
That's...weird. "What does baka mean again?"
"Don't worry about it."
I raised my hair off the back of my neck and huffed. Thank God we weren't crashing. If we could make it to six a.m., we'd be okay. Someone would realize that elevators weren't working and would come get us. Eventually. Hopefully.
We're gonna die.
"Do you even have a boyfriend?" Roxas asked randomly.
"Um...no. I don't. Haven't had one since junior year in high school. Pathetic, right?"
"Kinda," he laughed. "Why not though? Are you gay?"
I shrugged, trying to remember why I swore off dating. "No, I'm not gay. Boys are just trash. They play around and they cheat and they play too many mind games. I swore I'd never date another boy unless he had his life together."
He hummed. "Boys are trash. In my own opinion, that's the problem. Stop dating boys and get with a man."
Holy shit. I think that's the smartest, most insightful thing he ever said to me.
"Wow...thanks. I never looked at it like that. But why are you so curious about my dating life?" I asked.
"Just wanna get to know you a little. Talking to other people helps keep me sane when I'm stuck in small spaces."
I knew exactly what he meant. Our conversation gave me something to concentrate on so I didn't go back to freaking out. Freaking out required energy that I didn't have at the time. Did that make us claustrophobic?
"What catches your attention when it comes to girls?" I asked to fill the silence.
"I don't wanna tell. It's embarrassing," he mumbled.
I laughed. "Aw, come on! What makes Roku's little chinchin happy?"
"Who taught you that word?" he growled.
"Your dad said yours was in a bunch yesterday. And I learned from an anime I watched once. It was really disturbing."
"Boku no pico?"
"Mm-hm."
"Knew it." He grumbled and rolled onto his back. "Don't call it that. That's for little boys. Like how boys here in America say weenie. Penisu is the correct way to say it."
Oh...so the other way would be kind of offensive to grown men. Oops.
Then I remembered my question. "Hey, don't change the subject! What do you find attractive in women? It's not like you have an extreme foot fetish, right?"
"No. Gross! Since you're asking, what do you find attractive? Answer me and I'll answer you," Roxas bargained.
I shrugged. "I think guys with nice smiles are really attractive. Speaking of which, I've never seen you smile."
He raised an eyebrow. I think. "Really? I smile all the time."
"I've never seen it."
"Huh..." He scratched his cheek and faced me again. "If I tell you what I find attractive, you can't laugh at me. Or tell anyone. Ever."
I pressed my lips together to stop the laughter that was already threatening to slip out. This was gonna be hysterical. "I won't laugh. Just tell me."
Roxas took in a deep breath. "It's a combination of things. First and foremost, I like girls who aren't girly. There's something about a girl that can put away four hot dogs that are overflowing with chilli and still be hungry afterwards, or a girl that can kick my ass in Call of Duty that just instantly ropes me in. I'm a sucker for tomboys."
That's understandable. What's embarrassing about that?
"On the other hand, I wouldn't care if she dressed up or put on glam makeup either. Long hair definitely does it for me. I also like girls who aren't too bright. Not hopelessly stupid; cute and smart, but a little clueless."
I smiled at this. "That's not embarrassing at all."
"I wasn't finished."
Oh, I'm getting a list? That's cool.
"I also like the innocent looking girls who aren't afraid to drop an f-bomb. But the one thing that I can honestly say attracts me to a girl like iron to a magnet is um..."
Are you guys ready for this? I sure as hell wasn't.
"Being...slapped. It's a major turn on for me," Roxas mumbled.
Oh...
Mah gawd.
I couldn't help but laugh. "I-I'm sorry! I don't mean to laugh, but that's so fucking weird!"
"You're doing it," he said with an edge in his voice.
"What am I doing...?"
Again, he took in a deep breath. "Nothing. Nevermind."
"...I really don't get it."
x.o.o.x
Out of pure boredom, I started to try and claw my way out of the elevator floor at five a.m. Roxas just watched me like I was some kind of loon. "Um...whatcha doing there, buddy?" he called in one of those voices that made me feel even more crazy.
"Trying to see if I could claw us out through the bottom. Duh."
Roxas snickered. "There are so many things wrong with this plan."
"Yeah? Name one."
"Baka. We're in an elevator. You'd have to claw through hard wax, which would take days. Under the wax is wood, which would give you splinters. Under that is metal. Claw through that, genius. And even if you did miraculously get us out like that, we're still on the twenty-sixth floor. We would fall and die."
...Well!
"Fine. You have a better idea?"
He shrugged and stood up. "I do, actually." I sat back and watched as he slipped his fingers through the gap in the doors and slowly forced them open.
Why didn't he think of that hours ago?!
Shit, that's kinda hot, actually. I'm definitely gonna need new panties after this. And ovaries. And brain cells. Lord.
Roxas stood back and looked up. There was a small space open, but neither of us were small enough to crawl through. He muttered something in Japanese as he leaned against the back wall. "At least there's a breeze coming in here now."
Right after he said that, I felt the chill of cold air. I was happy for it. The two of us started to put our clothes back on.
Shame. I liked the view.
"I'm surprised we haven't suffocated yet," I chuckled.
"We wouldn't have. There's a vent in the service hatch. The air cam back on at three, so we were at least breathing semi-fresh air."
There's a vent in the service hatch? Cool.
...
SERVICE HATCH?!
"We could crawl through that!" I quickly stood and used the railing to hoist myself up and find the vent. I did find it, but it wasn't budging. "We can't crawl through that..." I sighed, disappointed that my plan had flopped.
"Like hell we can't." He walked over to where I was and reached up to find it, then jumped and pushed it open effortlessly.
Damn my shortness.
Damn my lack of upper body strength.
"Here." He clasped his hands in front of me. "Since you're terrified of elevators, you go first."
"Aw, why so generous all of a sudden?" I teased.
"I have my reasons. Just come on."
Thankful, I stepped into his hands and crawled out of the hatch. The doors to the twenty-sixth floor were halfway open. I could easily slide through, but I didn't know if Roxas could. I hesitated.
"Go! I'm right behind you!"
Though I didn't tell him this, I didn't want to leave him. But damn if I stayed in that death trap. "Fine. Just hurry up, okay?!"
"Relax! This thing isn't falling any time soon!"
The elevator laughed at us. And by laughed, I mean it shook violently like it had when it stopped. The elevator fell about two feet, meaning I was going to have to jump and pull myself up with my upper body strength. OR LACK THEREOF.
"...So this thing might fall soon."
"AND YOU'RE CALM ABOUT THAT?! GET OUT OF THERE!"
"Look, stop fucking worry about me and go! I said I'm right behind you!"
Nodding, I made my way onto floor twenty-six. Believe me when I tell you I struggled so damn hard to get up there, but I made it. I was safe, but Roxas sure was taking his sweet ass time.
My fear vanished when I looked down and saw him pull himself out. "We're fine now. See?" He reached up and grabbed the floor right as the elevator shook again. When his feet could no longer touch the top of it, I panicked.
"Oh look, I'm dying," he grinned.
He had a gorgeous smile.
The idiot.
"Stop playing around and get up here!"
"Okay, okay. Help me open the doors a little more."
I always have to use my fucking arms for something!
I pressed all of my weight against one door while he did the best he could with one hand to the other. We eventually made the opening big enough for him to fit. Roxas pulled himself up and collapsed onto the floor. That's when we heard something snap. I quickly got up to see the shaft fall, screeching and shooting sparks all the way to the bottom where it crashed.
Roxas let out a low whistle. "...And the crowd goes wild!"
I couldn't help but to smile as he mimicked a cheering crowd. He's such a doofus.
His cheering stopped as I wrapped my arms around him and cried. We could've died and he's cracking jokes. Not that I mind. At least we're not at each other's throats anymore.
"Hey, hey, we're okay." His voice was as sweet as candy as he wrapped his arms around me. "You're okay now..."
I couldn't help it. I hated crying, but I was just so relieved. That was way too close.
"Hush. We're safe," he whispered as he smoothed my hair. "Please don't cry."
x.o.o.x
When I stepped out of Roxas' shower (his office had a bathroom with a shower! I wanted one of those!) I saw him slip into a dark purple dress shirt. I was wearing a skirt from my office and one of his pullovers. "Did you shower already?"
"Yeah, I used the one in my dad's office." He quickly buttoned the shirt and leaned against his desk. "Are you okay?"
"I'm...not entirely sure. I will be, though. See you around, I guess."
He followed me out of the door and turned me around before I could make it to the stairs. "Wait, whoa. Where are you going?"
I shrugged. "Home. You did kinda fire me last night."
"You need a job? Cause we could use a Chief of Operations. And I can get you a better office. It's right down the hall from mine," he grinned. Flawlessly. Damn this guy had a nice smile.
The offer did sound interesting. What would life be like working that close to him after the little elevator incident? Would things go back to how they used to be, or would they change?
"Alright then," I smiled back. "But can I start tomorrow? I really need a day off after all this."
Roxas nodded. "Go home and get some rest. I'll see you Friday."
The way he stared at me in that moment made me feel...gorgeous. It was like he saw something cool for the very first time and didn't want to look away. I couldn't take my eyes off him and I didn't want to take mine off of him. His eyes—those beautiful things—had me in a trance. I felt more alive just standing there with him than I ever had in my whole life.
There aren't even words to describe how I felt when he tilted my head up and pressed his soft lips to mine. I wanted to stay right there with him. What an absolute mindfuck. He went from calling me a whore and treating me like dirt to being one of the sweetest guys on the planet within a span of hours. I liked this change, and I liked the new way he made me feel, even if it confused the hell out of me.
Roxas had the biggest smile on his face when he pulled away. I felt myself blush as I looked everywhere but at him. Stupid idiot. "Friday," I mumbled.
"I'll walk you to your car. If that's okay," he quickly added.
Fifty flights of stairs? My legs are gonna look fabulous when I get to my car.
x.o.o.x
I gotta say, it felt great to get a new office. Apparently being Roxas' favorite, as the rest of the office called me, meant being spoiled. One wall of my office wasn't just a wall, but a giant window with a very nice view of the city. It had a bathroom with a shower (score!) and it was closer to his and Mr. Saturo's offices.
Plus, it was huge! I felt special.
"Knock, knock," Sora whispered as he eased into the room with a coffee in his hand. "So this is your new office? Pretty sweet."
"Isn't it?" I smiled.
"It's to be expected, though. Roxas always spoils his girlfriends like nobody's business."
Girlfriend?! Whoa now.
Ever since the top three floors found out about us getting stuck in that elevator and that kiss in the hallway a week prior, they started assuming stuff. Roxas took the brunt of the teasing, but I was still subjected to it.
Speaking of Roxas, I had been avoiding him for a week.
"We are not dating," I told Sora. "I'm pretty sure Roxas doesn't even like me like that."
Sora stared at me, then sipped his coffee with a face that clearly read if you say so.
"I'm serious."
Okay.
"Sora, it's really not like that."
Whatever~
I rolled my eyes and turned back to my computer. "I hate you."
Sora laughed. "He kissed you."
"We both survived the same near death experience. He was obviously really emotional and didn't know how to properly process his emotions."
"Don't give me that crap. You're just his type. Roxas likes angry but ditzy tomboys who swear like sailors and abuse him. I may be exaggerating a bit with that last part, but I'm right damn it!"
Whatever. Sora was just trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. It wasn't even a molehill, it was dust. House dust that was barely even visible.
"You still don't believe me? Fine." He snatched my mouse away and went to Facebook. Who still uses that?
Okay, I do. Twitter's complicated. Sue me.
He quickly signed into his account and typed Kairi Tanaka into the search box, then went all the way back to 2014. The redhead that popped up was fucking hot! If I were a lesbian...
"Browse," Sora said proudly.
Hesitantly, I started to scrolled down. There were several pictures of her and Roxas together. I guess you could say she was tomboyish because of all the posts about beating him in video games and pictures of her in basketball shorts.
She did have a pretty foul mouth.
She wasn't the brightest.
It seemed like she wrestled around with him a lot.
But whatever! Sora was still wrong!
"Okay, but that doesn't mean Roxas likes me."
"Baka," he muttered under his breath.
What the fuck did that mean?!
My phone rang, interrupting whatever Sora was going to say next. It was Roxas. "Good afternoon, Saturo."
"Afternoon. See me in my office." Before I could ask if I was in trouble, he hung up. I sighed. Whatever it was that I did, I was fully prepared to take responsibility and blame it on another coworker. I don't need to be fired for real.
"I'll be back. I'm in trouble."
"Oh, I bet. Use protection!"
Maybe it would've been better to stay in that elevator shaft when it plummeted to the first floor...
Still, I went. His office was still years away, since the building had unnecessarily long hallways.
I knocked on the door before I peeked in. "Am I really in trouble?"
"Just come inside."
Yup.
Biting my lip, I stepped in and closed the door. I would've never been this nervous around him before the elevator broke down. Things have changed and I can't exactly say what. Except that we don't argue anymore and he's making a noticeable effort to be nicer to me.
Maybe I liked that?
Maybe I liked him?
Seeing that I wasn't going to go to him, he stood and walked over to me. "It's been a week now and you've been avoiding me like you owe me money. Why?"
I panicked. If I'd have known we were gonna be talking about that then I would rather have been in trouble. "I've just been really busy, is all."
Roxas frowned, brow creasing. "Do you really hate me that much?"
"I—! No, I don't hate you! We...kinda saved each other's lives, you know."
"Then why can't you look at me?"
Maybe because you're too damn attractive and I'm confused now. Tone it down a bit you fucking Adonis.
"Do you not like me?"
It took everything in me to force myself to look up at him. He looked so sincere. "I honestly don't know how to feel about you. When you kissed me I just...I don't know."
He sighed and reached for my hands. I let him take them. "Carter, I really like you. I have for a while now."
What...?
I honestly did not see this coming.
"Yet you pushed me. And fired me. And called me a whore. And—"
"I get it. To be fair, you did punch me in the face."
"True..."
He chuckled. "Look, I was upset about my ex and the sexual harassment thing and I wanted to make you angry. I apologize if anything I said hurt you—or if I actually hurt you."
...Damn him and his stupid pretty eyes and his stupid gorgeous smile and his sudden niceness.
"It's cool," I shrugged, even though I was freaking out on the inside. No way was that actually happening. Our little feud had been going on for months now. Maybe a year. Now he liked me?
He smiled and stepped closer to me, making my heart nearly stop. "Would you give this bumbling idiot a chance and let him take you out to dinner?"
I'm pretty sure my face was as red as the bra I was wearing. Why did he have to smile like that? Why did he have to look at me like he actually meant it?
Stop dating boys and get with a man.
I nodded, not really knowing why. It was worth a try, right? According to Sora, I was his type of girl. Plus, his smile was like my kryptonite. "O-Okay. So this will be like a date, right?"
Roxas laughed as he leaned in to kiss me, but not before whispering baka again. I don't know what it means, but it sounds adorable.
x.o.o.x
I am BEYOND excited to be bringing this back. I know a lot of you missed it, and I missed it too. I want to thank a really good friend for believing in me, for telling me I had what it takes, and for pumping me up when I felt like shit. Love you, dude.