Tuesdays were the days Phoenix rode the elevator to the seventh floor with Mia Fey, the company's newest addition. She didn't pay him much mind at first, but she was polite to him. She stood to the side of the cramped elevator to allow him some space, but she could still feel the warmth radiating from his body and smell the spicy, musky scent of his cologne. Mia kept stealing glances at him and would have been surprised to know Phoenix was doing the same thing. The three minute elevator ride felt like it took much longer than it should have.
They started towards the door at the same time and laughed awkwardly. "Go ahead," he offered, holding the elevator door back with his arm to prevent it from closing. She couldn't help but notice his voice wasn't the deep rumble of other men. It was somewhat higher, sweeter sounding. She liked it; his voice seemed to fit him.
"Thanks." She stepped lightly over the threshold and heard his heavy footsteps follow her onto the floor. Resisting the impulse to look over her shoulder to catch another glimpse of him, Mia made her way back to her small office. When she got there, she mulled over the elevator ride while she worked. She knew who Phoenix was in the office, but had never seen him in person before. He was much less intimidating than she had imagined. Then again, Mia had always thought anyone higher up in the company's hierarchy was a force to be reckoned with.
Their conversations in the cramped hot elevator began with murmured hellos; neither wanted to bother the other. Several moments of awkward pregnant silence followed these shy greetings. Mia wanted to hear more of his sweet voice, but couldn't for the life of her decide how to best strike up conversation; he was technically her superior and she didn't want to seem foolish or annoying. She chewed her bottom lip as she thought of an ice breaker.
Phoenix didn't notice her plight, as he was too busy trying to control his sweating hands. He didn't have much of an opinion of her other than her voice might be melodious and her perfume smelled like lilacs. She was no one to him, but he wanted to get to know her. The elevator ride might be more tolerable if he had someone to talk to. Try as he might, he couldn't get his vocal cords to cooperate with his brain.
After a couple of months, she gathered the courage to speak to him at last. She couldn't bear the thought of spending another slow and cramped elevator ride with the lovely, soft spoken stranger beside her with only muttering boring, generic greetings to each other. She didn't know much, if anything, about him, but she felt compelled to talk to him. Mia had to say something beyond their typical pleasantries, if only to see if Phoenix would be willing to talk to her, too.
When he entered the elevator behind her, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Beautiful weather we're having." This would be the first full sentence she said to him and she immediately cringed at her choice of topic. Mia was loathe to be that boring and unoriginal person who talked about the weather, but he didn't seem to mind. Much to her surprise, Phoenix seemed relieved, though she couldn't imagine why.
"It's getting warmer. Do you think spring's finally coming?" In all honesty, he didn't care what they talked about. He was just grateful she had broken the ice. Since he first rode the elevator with her to the seventh floor, he had wracked his mind for something, anything, to say to her. To tell her she had a pretty smile and smelled like flowers after a spring shower sounded too dorky and creepy even to his ears. He instead focused on trying to say something witty to break the ice. He ran a large hand through his spiked black hair while he waited for her answer.
To his delight, Mia giggled at his question. Her laughter was as riveting and contagious as he imagined it would be, and it made the corners of her wide brown eyes crinkle. Now that she had tested the water and felt how warm and inviting it was, talking didn't seem as difficult. "I sure hope so. I'm sick of riding my scooter through the snow each day." In her delight, she said perhaps more than she would have in normal circumstances. When he raised a questioning brow at her, her cheeks turned a faint reddish pink as she realised what she said. She mumbled, "I live right down the street. Driving a car would be useless."
He hadn't meant to judge her, not by any means would Phoenix judge her. But the thought of her riding a scooter in the thick snowfall—in the dark—concerned him. He was well aware that it was not his place to be concerned with the wellbeing of any and all strange girls who happen to work in the same office as him, but something inside his mind nagged at him. It was a miracle she hadn't gotten sick. Her hasty, embarrassed explanation took some of that worry away from him, but he still fretted. So many things could happen on one's way to and from work, no matter how short the commute was. Inspired by this train of thought, he opened his mouth to speak, but the elevator rang out and opened its doors to the seventh floor.
She couldn't get out of there fast enough; she was terrified she would say too much and embarrass herself further. Mia muttered her usual goodbye to him and walked to her cubicle in brisk strides, grateful for the pile of papers in her inbox. They'd keep her mind from wandering back to that conversation. She still couldn't believe she had admitted that she rode a motorised scooter to and from work, and in front of her lovely stranger, no less. If she was honest with herself, she knew the real reason she didn't have a car was because the thought of driving terrified her. She was aware it was an irrational fear, but she felt too small when she got behind the wheel. It was easier to maneuver her scooter through the streets because it felt closer to her size. There wasn't too much space for her to account for, which comforted her. Oh, now she was distracted with all this thinking about driving and scooters. With a faint smile, she went back to her paperwork, her previous conversation in the elevator all but forgotten.
Phoenix spent his morning in a daze. His mind worked tirelessly as he thought of several scenarios where he offered to accompany her home, but nothing he came up with seemed proper. He was sure she would think of him as some creep, but he hated the thought of her going home by herself, even if it was only a couple of blocks away. It wasn't until later that week that a stroke of inspiration hit him while he was mulling over his two o'clock coffee. He couldn't believe that it was so obvious, so simple. He hummed to himself for the rest of the afternoon, excited to put his new plan into motion. He only hoped it would be well received by her.
Office hours drew to a close that Friday and Mia was excited to go home. Her powder blue scooter was waiting for her in the far corner of the parking garage, looking out of place next to all of her colleague's cars. She strapped on her helmet and was about to pull out of her spot when a horn echoed through the parking garage, startling her. Turning towards the source of the noise, she was surprised to find Phoenix coming towards her on a yellow scooter.
"Would you mind riding with company? My usual commute buddy's out of the country." He had been just about to offer her his company the other day, but she had run out of the elevator so quickly he didn't have the chance.
She couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she accepted his offer. She pulled out of her space and he followed her out of the parking lot. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt a little safer knowing he was there. Mia had taken enough self defence classes that she wasn't especially worried about anything happening to her, but it felt good to know there was an extra set of eyes watching out for her. The evening spring breeze whipped at her cheeks and stung them, but she didn't mind. Nothing could ruin her good mood now.
The five minutes it took for her to arrive at her apartment complex felt like seconds. She didn't want the trip to end, but she pulled into her usual space beside her neighbor's car and gave him a cheerful wave goodbye nonetheless. Her dark brown hair was sticking up all over from her helmet, but she didn't care. Helmet hair was wholly inevitable. Phoenix's shy grin returned to his pale face and he waved back at her before driving away on his yellow scooter.
His drive home went by faster than it usually did; Phoenix was patting himself on the back for a job well done. He hoped this encounter would pave the way for more interactions with his elevator buddy. His family had teased him for driving a scooter when the weather was nice, but he felt it was more fun than driving a car. He loved the feeling of the wind rushing by him, the scent of fresh air filling his nostrils, and now his new scooter buddy. He had been terrified Mia would have been creeped out by his sudden appearance, but she seemed to enjoy his presence. At least, she had let him follow behind her. He hummed a cheerful tune to himself as he entered his home. The memory would stay with him for the weekend, or at least until he had to finish his work he had brought home.
The smile never left Mia's face that evening as she went about her nightly routine. She wanted to tell the world about the drive with her lovely stranger. She ended up cooing the story to her cat at bedtime, who stared up at her with intense disinterest. This was typical; cats never cared about anything human had to say. That weekend was lazy for her as she watched television and did some cleaning she hadn't gotten around to during the week. Occasionally, her thoughts would turn to that Friday night ride home, and she would smile at the memory.
Driving their scooters home together began as only a weekly event on Fridays, then it started occurring twice a week, three times a week, until it became part of both of Mia and Phoenix's nighttime routines. He stopped staying after hours as often, and she stopped trying to be the first to peel out of the parking garage. Their elevator rides on Tuesdays became more animated as they started to talk more to each other, both gradually growing more confident in the direction their conversations turned from talking about the weather to complaining about work. He noticed she talked with her hands; she realised he listened to—and remembered—every word she spoke in that small elevator.
Mia headed out to her scooter one quiet spring morning and found Phoenix driving up to her apartment in his bright yellow scooter. The early morning sun bounced off his helmet as he offered her a cup of coffee and a smile. She accepted with a quiet thanks and took a sip of the coffee. It was sweet, but only just sweet enough to keep the bitter edge from it. She thanked him again and got on her own scooter to go to work. Suddenly the cool spring air didn't seem as cold as it did before. The ride seemed even faster than it usually did, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed every second of the journey to work that morning more than she usually did.
He rode with her every morning and every evening from then on, expecting nothing in return but the cheerful smile that made her dark eyes crinkle and the energetic wave she gave him in the evenings before he rode home.