The elevator arrived. He stepped aside and held the door open for her. As the doors started closing, she leaned against the back wall, rummaging through her purse with one foot crossed over the other. He stood perfectly centered, feet shoulder-width apart. They both pretended not to notice as the elevator started making its way down.

One floor down, two, three and then—lights flickered, the elevator jerked. Stopped.

Meenal gasped, grabbing the railing. “What the…”

Neville acted. Pressed the emergency button. Calm. Efficient. Checked his watch.

“This happens,” he said, turning to her, reassuringly. “It’s inconvenient, not dangerous.”

She rolled her eyes. Like she was scared or anything. If anything, he should be scared—of her. She chuckled silently.

The intercom crackled. A distant voice in some call center apologized and promised to send help as soon as possible, but the crew was at another site, and it could take a couple of hours.

He sighed, staring at the intercom. “Two fucking hours?”

She groaned, throwing up her arms. “Might as well be tomorrow.”

***

As minutes ticked by, Meenal slid down the elevator wall, landing on the floor, kicked off one heel, then the other. She stretched her legs out with a sigh and continued rummaging through her purse, spilling an assortment of things on the elevator floor. What the hell was she searching?

“Gum?” She asked abruptly.

“No thank you,” he said smiling politely, glancing in her direction.

“Right,” she said shoving the packet in her purse, “no point getting dehydrated while waiting.”

She watched him stand perfectly still, his back to her. Not bad looking, for a statue.

And then he checked his watch. Again.

“Chill. We’re stuck, not late for a midnight board meeting, are you?”

He hesitated, then loosened his tie. She started asking questions. He found himself answering. Work, hobbies, adrenaline. His one hobby—sky diving.

“That split second before the jump,” he said. “That’s what I plan for.”

Plan for? Still, her expression softened. “Yeah. The moment before. When you don’t know what happens next.”

Silence settled again. Different this time. She played with a strand of hair without realizing it. He noticed. Stopped adjusting his watchband mid-motion. They both caught themselves.

“You do that when you’re thinking too hard,” she said.

“You do that when you’re not thinking at all.”

She smiled. “Exactly.”

She glanced around the tight space. “You know what’s weird?” she said. “Small spaces don’t freak me out. Actually, kind of… the opposite.”

“Opposite how?”

She smiled. “You know, with the right person, they can be… interesting.”

“I get it,” he said. “Enclosed spaces. The intensity.”

If only you knew. She thought. “The urgency.” She said.

The air shifted. He didn’t turn away. Slowly, deliberately, she slid up the back wall of the elevator, her eyes never leaving his till she was standing.

“We could be stuck here for a long time.” She said eyes reading him.

“I know.” He said, for once, not checking his watch, his eyes answering her.

“I like to act,” she said taking a step towards him.

“For once,” he said, “so do I.”

Continue the story in Stuck Between Floors.

All images are AI generated and do not depict any real person.