Slowly, I opened my door, attempting to play it casually as I strode out, locking it. I held my phone in my hand as I meandered down the hall, my heart now hammering in my chest as I continued down the corridor. He was already waiting at the elevator bay, and I knew the moment he saw me, his small inhale my clue.
I kept my head down, though, my eyes conscious of my steps as I walked. When I drew closer, I lifted my head and acted surprised to see him.
“Oh, hey, Monroe.”
“Hey, Lo.”
I grinned at the use of my nickname this time, doing a fist pump in my head. I went back to my phone, though, attempting to act disinterested. Cami and Nat swore by this technique, but I felt silly doing it. It was hard to act like I didn’t care when all I wanted to do was throw myself at him.
They were the ones with dating history, though, so I figured I’d try it out. It wasn’t like it could make anything worse. “How’s your day going?” I asked, the elevator pinging with its arrival. He smiled, holding it open for me now and allowing me to take the corner. The motion made me blush, my face heating at the simple gesture.
“Can’t complain. The weather is nice today.”
“Yeah, it is. The city is coming alive.”
Hitting the button, we settled back against the wall. This morning, I didn’t hate the superficial comments, choosing to see them as small wins. He could have ignored me, but instead he tried to include me in his life in the ways he could. It was nice, and for a few short minutes of the day, I got to speak to him and be in his presence, especially in the elevator, where his cologne wrapped around me, leaving its kiss on my skin.
“How’s Jude doing today?”
“Jude’s great. He likes his new school. Thanks for the recommendation.”
“Of course, he’s a good kid and deserves the chance.”
“Have you talked to Wells?”
He shook his head, sadness creeping over his face. “No, I haven’t. I went out to his place, but he either didn’t answer the door or wasn’t there. He’s still not at the gym?”
“No,” I frowned. When I’d been cleared to return to light exercise activities, I’d been excited to get back to the gym. But Mr. Surly was nowhere to be found. When I finally dared to ask the front desk girl, she’d smugly reported he’d taken a leave of absence.
I’d been forced to return to barre classes in the meantime. I’d become friendlier with Katie, but I didn’t have the connection with her as I’d developed with Cami and Nat, or even Stacy, the dressing attendant from the Boutique. We’d all hung out a few times, and she’d gotten along well with both of them. We were all going dancing soon, something I was both nervous and excited about. Katie was still a friendly face for class at least, making it not as scary.
We fell silent after that, and I regretted my question. The elevator stopped and picked up a few people a few floors below, causing Monroe to move closer to me, his arm brushing against mine. I figured this might be my one chance, so I took it, choosing honesty and vulnerability.
“I miss you, Monroe.”
My voice had him turning to me, and I saw the emotion reflected back. He grasped my hand, squeezing it as he spoke.
“I miss you too, Loren. And I’m sorry I’m putting you through this. I never wanted to hurt you, and I know I’ve probably blown my chance and ruined everything, but I didn’t know what else to do at the time. The only thing I could think about was Levi, all my energy and time centered around him. I thought it would be easier to let you go. Both to protect you from Brittni and, well, me.”
“Was it? Easier, I mean?”
“No, Lo. It’s been miserable. In the few moments when I wasn’t thinking about how to get Levi back, I thought of you. The times I got to see you were the bright spots of my day. I missed you, and you were only a few feet across the hall, but I could never make my feet get up and go, too scared I’d messed it up, and I couldn’t bear the thought of that. It was easier to imagine a possible future someday, than to face the reality it was over, that you didn’t care.”
“Oh, you stupid man.” Without thinking any more about it or the fact tears had streamed down my face, I kissed him.
Pulling him to me, I wrapped my arms around his neck, sinking into the feeling of his body pressed against mine. He eagerly met me, our mouths desperate as we tried to heal the pain and distance between us. He lifted my leg up, and I found myself grinding into the hard cock pressed against his slacks.
A throat clearing brought us out of our lust-filled haze, and in a moment of clarity, I remembered we were in the elevator, a now empty elevator. A blush spread across my face, and Monroe and I laughed when we realized we’d been busted. I peeked around his body to find George looking in at us. He winked before speaking again.
“Sorry to interrupt that beautiful moment. But are we getting off or heading back up?”
His smile twinkled at me, and I laughed, dropping my head onto Monroe’s shoulder. “Sorry, George. We’ll be exiting now. Thank you.”
George dipped his head and moved back to give us room to exit as he held the door for us. Monroe adjusted himself before turning and grabbing my hand, pulling me out with him. He bobbed his head at George but kept walking, suddenly in a hurry to get out of the building.
“Whoa, slow down. I stood at my door for twenty minutes waiting for you to leave, and my feet are killing me.”
That caused him to stop, turning back to look at me. “Did you really?”