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Chapter 9

I'm really disappointed that nobody heard us banging on the walls. Carlos seems to have anticipated it though and tells me that the elevator shaft is too solid for sound to travel. I guess I can see that. It doesn't help much though; we are still stuck in here. I suppose I must look as disappointed as I feel, because he puts his arm around my shoulders as I look up at him. He says something else, but it barely registers. Despite the platonic hug, the touch of his warm skin and the masculine scent of him is flooding my senses and zinging through my body. I feel like a hum is pulsing through me and it is intoxicating.

When he pulls back, I have to force myself not to whimper in protest. I need to pull myself together! I may be attracted to this man, but this is not the time or place to explore it. Images of us rolling around on the floor of the elevator threaten to overwhelm me again, but my practical side asserts itself and I look at the floor and think about what could be on it. Then I almost cringe as I think about being found naked on the floor by a mechanic or fire rescue. Definitely NOT.

He seems to come to a decision as he rolls his shoulders and stands, pulling me up beside him. I listen to his plans for the door and his warnings about the doors closing suddenly. I have to admit I am apprehensive; I don't want to get my arm trapped between those doors! But we both agree this is our best shot at attracting help, and I steel myself to do it. As I empty my papers out of my briefcase, I feel as if he is looking at my ass. Despite the situation, I find myself hoping he is.

As I straighten up, I notice his shoes lying beside the wall. I pick one up, ready to make as much noise as I can on the outer door. I kneel at the door and ready myself to slip the briefcase in as soon as it is wide enough. As he opens the door, I see that there is about six inches of the door at the bottom visible. As I slip the briefcase into the tracks of the doors and wedge it in, I wonder what floor this is? The lobby? The first floor? It doesn't really matter, but I hope there are people nearby. I reach through and down with my arm to bang the shoe on the door and yell as loudly as I can for help.

I pause, hoping to hear something. Nothing. I try again, banging with the shoe and yelling. I glance up at Carlos, seeing the strain on his face, along with the determination. I renew my banging and yelling even louder, practically screaming.

Pause again… nothing.

I am about to start again when I hear faintly, "Did you hear that? I thought I heard someone yelling…" I start to bang and yell again, and Carlos joins in, shouting too. We yell to call 911. I pound on the door with the shoe.

Then the voice comes again, a little louder, a little closer. But to my surprise it comes from above us, not below. "Is there someone there?"

I stop banging and pull my arm back. I try to help Carlos holding the door now; I can see his arms and shoulders shaking slightly from the strain. I yell upward, "We're trapped in the elevator. It fell from the fourth floor before the brakes caught us. We're in between the floors. Please get help! Call 911 and building maintenance. Please help us!"

The voice replies, "OK, I'll call for help. What is your name? Are you alone?"

Carlos' arms are visibly shaking now, and I scream as loudly as I can, "There's two of us, Carlos, and Stephanie. We can't hold the door open any longer, please call for help!"

At that moment, Carlos is forced to let go. I snatch my hands back as well and the doors slam onto the briefcase. It holds for less than a second before the briefcase is forcibly bent like an accordion and then pops like a cork out of the track back into the elevator car, against my legs. The doors bang shut but I can't help leaning forward to press my ear against them, hoping to hear something. Above me, I can see Carlos doing the same. But we hear nothing more.

Still, we have been heard! Somebody knows we are here! Carlos pulls me to my feet and hugs me tightly. After a few moments I lean back, and we are both grinning widely. He exclaims, "You did it Babe! It worked! They'll call for help. You did it!"

"We did it," I demur. "Team effort." I grin again. I am ecstatic that it worked. Even if they didn't hear all the details, someone knows and will call for help. We are both grinning widely, and then we freeze. We are still in each other's embrace and our faces are inches apart. I find myself holding my breath as his lips slowly lower to mine.

It was probably meant to be a peck, a small kiss of celebration. Just two people who are relieved, happy, enjoying the moment. Probably, it was meant like that.

But it isn't.

It's electrifying.

Instantly hot, instantly intoxicating, instantly overwhelming. I open my mouth and he doesn't hesitate to dive in. The kiss deepens, feeling endless, timeless. I lose all consciousness of where we are, what we are doing, why we are kissing. All I know is this kiss.

Unknown times later, minutes or hours, he pulls back gently. He leans his forehead against mine as we pant breathlessly. I should be embarrassed, I should be shocked that he kissed me, that I kissed him, so passionately. But I can't be embarrassed. I would not have forgone that kiss for anything. That was the best kiss of my life.

He speaks softly, "I'm sorry Babe, Steph. I didn't mean to…"

He stops speaking as I put my fingers over his mouth. "Don't apologise. I'm not offended." I fight a blush as I admit, "That was one amazing kiss."

His smile reappears as he agrees, "That it was Babe. Best kiss ever." I grin, agreeing with him. We slowly disentangle our arms as we step back from one another. "I wouldn't mind doing it again." It's a statement, but it's also a question.

So, I pluck up my courage to say, "Me either."

Carlos smiles, softly this time. "So that's a plan." I chuckle.

I look around, wondering what we do now. "But what's the plan for right now, soldier?" I ask.

It's his turn to chuckle as he replies, "I think we are just waiting again Babe." He glances about. "We can probably sit down again, but let's sit beside the door, just in case we can hear something." I agree, and we resume our seats on the floor. I can't help noticing that we're sitting closer now, our shoulders and arms almost touching. I can feel the warmth of his skin and smell his alluring cologne.

Carlos pulls his shoes over and puts them back on, lacing them up.

I sigh, relief and satisfaction somehow mingling in that sigh. I pull out my water bottle again, and this time take a larger sip. I hand the bottle to Carlos and dig back in my handbag for my remaining Tastykakes. I offer one to Carlos again, but he shakes his head disbelievingly.

"Seriously, how can you eat that crap, Babe?" He asks. "Do you know what kind of hydrogenated fat and chemicals are in that? Not to mention the sugar."

"Don't mess with my Tastykakes, Carlos." I warn him. "Cake and sugar are the base of my food pyramid."

He eyes me, incredulous. "How on earth can you look like you do, while eating like that?"

"Hungarian metabolism," I admit. "My mom says it will last until my mid-thirties, then I'll have to be more careful." I scoff down the cake, not worried yet about the impending risk to my hips.

"But what about diabetes? What about vitamins?" Carlos seems genuinely puzzled. "Don't you worry about nutrition?"

I look at him, "Let me guess, you're a health nut. Pumping iron in the gym, and downing disgusting protein shakes?" I note derisively. He raises one eyebrow at my tone. I wish I could do that; it always looks so much more impressive to raise just one eyebrow. Raising both just doesn't have the same élan.

"I work out most days for a couple of hours. I don't drink protein shakes, but I'll admit I enjoy healthy eating. I like the way my body feels, the energy I have, and the mental clarity, from knowing I am fueling my body well. Plus, the Army just got me into the habit."

Ok, I can see that. I'm sure the Army doesn't supply a lot of junk food to their recruits. I squirm a little at his description of how he feels with healthy eating. I know the junk food is not great for me, even though I'm not really fat. Sometimes I get zits, and I often feel tired after the sugar high wears off. Ok, I should eat better, but still, here and now…

I shrug, "Well, this is all I have now. And I'm hungry. It could still take a while before they rescue us, and I'm gonna eat what I have available." I smirk at him mischievously, "You could eat the Cheerios. They've got vitamins and minerals added, you know."

He gives me his lip-tipped smile with a shake of his head. I guess we just have different opinions on food. That's ok. So long as he doesn't nag me too much or force me to eat wheatgrass, I can deal.

I finish my cake and wish I had something to wipe my hands. I dig in my bag again and come up with a travel pack of tissues. Excellent. I lean forward to pick up my mangled briefcase, thinking I would use it as a trash holder.

"Alas poor briefcase, I hardly knew ya!" I quip. "At least you didn't die in vain." Carlos chuckles beside me. "Your sacrifice will be honoured," I finish.

Carlos reaches his arm around me again, hugging me gently to him. "You're very witty," he praises me. "I like it… I like you."

He likes me. Somehow that's just as good as being attracted to me.

Wow. Just wow.

I am in no way an engineer or expert on elevators. Anything I think I know, I get from Google... I am also not American, so I tend to write what I know from my Aussie perspective. If I make errors, please allow me a bit of creative license! :)
A first kiss! Hope you enjoyed.