Elevator

It had been a shitty night – and one of the worst blind dates Beth had ever been on. She had even bothered to dress nicely for the event – but it was all for nothing.

Her best friend Tara had set her up with a guy named Zach. Beth usually didn't go on blind dates – they were always too awkward and strange, but Tara had begged her to try it for once. Maybe Beth had been complaining a little too much about being single lately – but it was so hard to hang out with Tara and her gorgeous girlfriend and not feel a little bit lonely.

Beth should have known from the start that it was going to go badly. Zach had invited her to dinner in one of the fanciest, and most expensive restaurants in Atlanta. Who does that on a blind date, she had thought to herself grumpily, while trying to find something appropriate to wear. She had settled on a cute red cocktail dress she had bought impulsively online a few months back. She had never worn it, but it hugged her figure nicely without being too short. She paired it with some uncomfortable nude strappy heels and some gold bangles – even she had to admit that she looked great, especially with her hair down in loose waves like it was. It turned out that the only good thing about this night had been her outfit.

The restaurant itself had been beautiful, it was at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city, looking down over the rest of Atlanta, which seemed to sparkle at night. But the food was expensive, so Beth opted for the cheapest soup – she wasn't sure who would be paying the bill. Zach had talked nonstop about himself for hours, never once stopping to ask Beth anything. And he chewed with his mouth open - it was disgusting. By the end of the date, Beth was ready to sprint her way out of the restaurant and over to the elevator to finally be rid of him.

She somehow managed to get out of giving him her number, instead she opted to "find him on Facebook" (Beth didn't have a Facebook). He didn't even walk her to the elevator to get to the ground floor of the building. Instead he said something about needing the restroom and 'it was nice to meeting you, Bethany.' Well, that certainly wasn't her name. Yeesh.

Beth waited for the elevator patiently, looking forward to getting home, snuggling with her cat, and binge watching a few episodes of Game of Thrones to help her forget about this boring date she'd agreed to go on. Her stomach grumbled – that soup hadn't really done much to fill her up. Hopefully the taxi ride home wouldn't be too long.

When the elevator doors finally slid open, Beth was relieved to see no one else inside. She stepped quickly into the space and was about to press the button for the Lobby before a low voice from nearby said "wait up!"

Beth huffed to herself as she pressed the button to keep the doors open. A man clambered quickly into the elevator with her and violently pressed the button to close the doors. Beth caught a whiff of smoke and cologne. She looked at him – wow. If only Zach had looked like this guy. He was clearly someone who worked at the restaurant, on his way home for the night. He had on what looked like a waiter's uniform under a leather jacket. In one hand, he held a motorcycle helmet, and in the other, a bag of what looked like food to go. Beth's stomach rumbled again. The guy looked at her with piercing blue eyes. She blushed and looked down at the floor.

The elevator began to slowly move down – they had a ways to go – the restaurant was on the 34th floor. But somewhere around the 27th floor, it suddenly jolted to a stop. Beth let out a yelp of surprise and the guy next to her had dropped his helmet and pressed his hand to the wall in surprise. They both looked tentatively at each other, unsure about what to do.

"Is it stuck?" Beth practically whispered her question. She hated small spaces, and this was starting to freak her out a little.

The man was still looking at her, wide-eyed. "Dunno, try pressing the lobby button again."

Beth moved a shaky hand to press the button again, keeping a steady hand on one of the elevator walls, just in case it started moving again. She didn't like the idea of being suspended midair in a metallic box with a stranger. Nothing happened. Suddenly, the smell of cigarettes was stronger, and Beth nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized the man in the elevator with her had moved closer to try pressing a different button.

"Oh, sorry," he had said, when she continued to look startled. "Just wanna try to get someone over the speakers…"

She looked over at his hand, which was hovering next to a yellow 'help' button.

"It's okay, my claustrophobia is just acting up, that's all." She smiled at him, as if he was the one who needed reassurance.

He nodded at her. "Try sittin' in the corner over there and takin' a few deep breaths while I figure this out."

It sounded like a good idea, so Beth leaned down, pulled off her heels, and let herself sit back in the other corner of the elevator. She watched as her new companion pressed the button and waited for the line on the other end to ring.

A voice came through what looked like a small speaker next to the elevator buttons.

"Hello?"

"Hey Abraham, it's Dixon, I'm stuck in elevator B with someone from the restaurant – hopin' you could come get us out."

"Oh hey Daryl, I'm sorry man but it might be a little while – we had a blackout and everything went down. Coupla other people are stuck in elevators too, and we're working off a backup generator right now. Might have to get you guys out manually if the power doesn't start working again soon. I'm working with Rick in security right now."

Beth felt the blood drain out of her face. What did 'a little while' mean? She couldn't sit in this metal box for much longer without having a panic attack – enclosed spaces were one of her biggest fears.

The guy, Daryl, must have noticed her starting to panic, because he turned back to the speakers:

"You got a ballpark figure for when you think you can get us out? This lady I'm with isn't doing so hot."

"Sorry man, I don't know any more than you. But we're workin' on it, so sit tight, hopefully it won't be more than 30 minutes."

"Thirty minutes?!"

Beth slapped a hand over her mouth – she hadn't expected to sound so panicky.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Daryl walked over to her side of the elevator and crouched down in front of her. "It shouldn't be too long – the guys who run this building have their shit together."

Beth looked at him wide-eyed. It was nice of him to try, but he wasn't helping much. Her stomach grumbled again.

"Here," said the guy named Daryl, pulling out his phone from his back pocket. "I know we got no service in here, but I go hunting and got lots of pictures of the woods, maybe lookin' at some will help calm you down a little."

He pushed his helmet and his bag of food to the other side of the elevator and moved to sit next to her.

"You mind?" He asked.

Beth shook her head.

The space was small, and their shoulders were pressed together, but Beth actually felt a little bit better at the contact. Daryl was warm – she suddenly realized that she hadn't brought any kind of jacket.

He pulled up his photo albums and selected the first of what looked like hundreds of pictures of the Georgian woods. He handed her his phone.

"Feel free to go through 'em if it helps."

Beth turned her head to look at him and gave him a small smile. It actually did help – a lot. He took beautiful photographs, most of them were of different part of the woods, but some were close-ups of certain plants and animals. He had talent.

"You go out into the woods a lot?" Beth asked him.

"When I got time, yeah,' he responded, nodding at her. "Usually just long weekends, 'cuz I work so much, I don't get a lotta time off. Used to hunt game with my brother and my old man, still like to do it by myself sometimes."

Beth realized that talking to him was soothing her nerves. So she pushed on.

"Are you a professional photographer? These pictures are beautiful."

His face turned a little red at that, and he shook his head. "Nah, just like takin' pictures is all."

They were silent for a few minutes as she flicked through his pictures, each one more stunning than the next. He interjected sometimes to give her the name of whatever she was looking at – sometimes it was a bird, sometimes a plant. But a sense of calm had washed over Beth, and she knew it had everything to do with the attractive guy sitting next to her who knew the names of every shrub in the forest.

"Just realized, I dunno your name," he said to her suddenly, after a few minutes of silence.

"It's Beth," she responded, rolling her head side to side to stretch out her neck. Looking down at a phone for so long had started to cause some cramping.

"I don't mean to seem rude or nothin', but what's a girl like you doin' alone in an elevator on a Saturday night?"

Beth actually laughed out loud. She decided she liked Daryl. A lot. He was gutsy.

"I was on a blind date," she explained, making a face. He grinned at her.

"Not that good, huh?"

"No! It was terrible! I got all dressed up for nothin'! He didn't even really remember my name by the end of it!"

"Who doesn't remember a pretty name like Beth?"

Beth blushed furiously. "Exactly," she said with a little grin. "I was just getting' ready to go home, and then of course this had to happen, just to make my night even better." Beth's stomach rumbled again. She could feel herself turning redder in embarrassment.

"Y'know, I was takin' some o' this food home for dinner, but I don't mind sharing it with you if you're hungry and all…" Daryl nodded at his plastic to-go bag.

"Oh, no you really don't have to do that!" But Beth's stomach rumbled again, as if daring her to take up his offer. Daryl was still grinning at her. He reached over and unwrapped his carton of food – some sort of pesto pasta. He handed her a plastic fork, keeping the knife for himself.

"As long as you don't mind sharin', I haven't eaten since lunch."

Beth nodded, giving in. "Thanks."

"No problem," he responded. "It's good stuff, my buddy Tyreese makes it for all of us who work in the kitchens on Saturday nights. He's one of the head chefs."

He was right – the pasta was delicious. She and Daryl practically shoveled it down in a matter of minutes. She couldn't help but laugh as she watched him stab pieces of pasta with his plastic knife to stick in his mouth. Her claustrophobia was almost all but forgotten.

"Man, this is takin' forever," Daryl said finally, after he'd impaled the last piece of pasta on his knife and stuck it in his mouth.

"Yeah, it is," Beth agreed. "I've never been stuck in an elevator before, though, so I dunno what the protocol is."

"Just gotta think of things to pass the time is all."

"We could play a game," Beth said mischievously. She wanted to know more about Daryl – he was so handsome, and definitely one of the sweetest guys she'd met in a long time. Maybe she could use this time stuck together in an elevator to her advantage. Daryl grinned back at her.

"Ever played that 'I Never' game?"

She nodded. "You go first!"

"Alright, but what are the stakes?"

She looked at him. "Hmm… if I win, you have to drive me home. 'Cuz I've never ridden on a motorcycle before."

"Aw that's cheatin,' you saw my helmet," Daryl responded in a low voice. "Hell, I'll take you home if you win or not. Don't wanna leave you stranded in the cold in the middle of Atlanta on a Saturday night."

She grinned at him. "And if you win?"

Daryl thought for a second. "If I win, I get to take you out to coffee tomorrow."

He said it so matter-of-factly, Beth didn't even have time to hesitate. "Deal."

They shook hands, each grinning at the other. It was a win-win situation, no matter what.

Daryl was about to open his mouth to start the game when suddenly there was a whirring sound, and the elevator jolted to a start. Beth had grabbed his hand in a panic, startled by the sudden movement. He squeezed her hand back. "Saved by the bell," he said with a reassuring smile. "I was 'bout to kick your ass at this game."

Beth grinned to herself, keeping her hand in Daryl's for a moment longer. It was just so nice and warm.

When they reached the lobby, Daryl stood up first, extending his arm to help Beth to her feet. She still had her heels off, and didn't quite know what to do with them – she certainly didn't want to have to put them back on.

She looked at them in her hand for a second before Daryl tapped her on the shoulder.

"My ride's only across the street, but you probably don't wanna be barefoot. Here, hop on."

He crouched down, as if expecting her to jump on his back.

Beth giggled. People in the lobby were staring at them – they were an unlikely pair.

"Daryl, what are you doing?"

"Not gonna make you put those shoes on just to walk across the street," he responded. "You can piggyback it over to my bike."

Beth couldn't exactly argue with his logic, but she also couldn't stop herself from blushing when she jumped up on his back. He let out a huff.

"You're heavier than you look," he said with a grin.

"Careful there," she teased, "I can probably still get in a good kick from right here."

They teased each other all the way to Daryl's bike. Then Beth found herself getting nervous. She'd never been on a motorcycle before – wasn't it supposed to be dangerous?

"Here, you wear the helmet, I've only got one," Daryl said, placing the huge thing over her head and grinning at her. "Makes you look like an alien."

She laughed. He swung himself onto his bike and started the engine. "Hop on."

Beth sat down behind him cautiously, unsure of what to do.

"Might wanna hold on," she heard Daryl say in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his torso, glad he couldn't see the blush working its way up her neck. She could feel how muscular he was, even through his shirt. How had this happened? An hour ago, she had been resigned to having a terrible night, yet now she was here, sitting behind an awesome guy on a motorcycle, ready to ride off into the night. What had she done for karma to bless her like this?

It only took about 10 minutes to reach her apartment. She directed him the whole way, shouting over the wind.

When they arrived, Daryl helped her pull the giant helmet off her head. He even reached out and pushed a few strands of stray hair out of her eyes. She couldn't stop grinning at him. She felt somehow like she'd known him a long time. She'd have to remember to thank Tara – if she hadn't been forced on that stupid blind date, none of this would have ever happened.

Daryl walked her silently up to her front door. He actually seemed a little nervous – it was cute.

"So…pick me up tomorrow at ten?"

Daryl raised his eyebrows questioningly, confused for a minute.

"For coffee… who needs blind dates when you can do the real thing?"

He looked dumbfounded – as if he hadn't expected that she would actually want to go out to coffee with him.

Beth laughed at his pleased expression, and before he had a chance to respond, she stood quickly on her toes and placed a light kiss right on his mouth.

"See you tomorrow, Daryl. Thanks for everything!"

And she left him there, standing on the front step, scratching his head and looking like he'd just won the lottery.