by Emma Lea
“Before or after we run out of air?” she asked turning wide, frightened eyes on him.
He started to smile and then caught the look on her face. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” she said, turning back to the control panel and pressing buttons again.
A warm hand came down on her shoulder and she jumped. “It’s alright, it’s just me,” he said, his voice close to her ear now. She closed her eyes and shivered, not with anxiety. She twisted away from him. He was too close and it was too much for her overloaded system.
He didn’t say anything as he pressed the emergency button.
“You okay in there?” a voice came through the speaker.
“We’re fine,” the elf replied and Zoë rolled her eyes. He might be fine but she was freaking the hell out. They were about to plunge to their deaths or die from suffocation but the elf was fine. He was probably immortal. Weren’t elves immortal?
“We’ve called the fire department,” the voice said. “It shouldn’t be too long before we get you out.”
“No problem,” the elf said. He turned to her and she could feel his eyes skate over her, taking her in.
“I’m not a fan of small, enclosed spaces,” she said in her defence.
He nodded slowly. “Fair enough.”
“And I’m not real keen on plummeting to my death or slowing dying from lack of oxygen.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re only one or two floors from the lobby—”
“Yes, but how many levels of underground parking are there?”
She could see him fight a smile. “I’m almost positive that we’re not going to plummet to our deaths,” he said. “And we’re not going to suffocate either.” He pointed to the air vent in the top corner of the elevator car.
Zoë sighed and slumped, sliding down the wall until she sat on the floor. The elf came over and sat beside her.
“I’m Blake, by the way,” he said.
“Zoë,” she replied.
“That’s a nice name,” he said, and she turned her head to look at him.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” she said.
“Yeah? What am I trying to do?”
“You’re trying to distract me from our imminent death.”
He grinned. “Is it working?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
She got to her feet and began to pace, not able to sit still especially with him sitting so close to her.
“If I die in this elevator, my mother will kill me,” Zoë thought as she paced across the small space. “God forbid I die without giving her grand babies!”
“What?”
Zoë turned to stare at Blake as he looked up at her with a puzzled expression. Had she just said all of that out loud?
“Nothing,” she said, turning away from him.
God. This was the last thing she needed. Seriously. Could her life get any worse? First, the fucking Tanner Affair that cost her the job she loved, and now she was about to die in a fiery crash. She could just imagine the elevator car they were in swinging precariously from the last wire securing it to the shaft. It was only a matter of moments before the whole thing plummeted fifty floors to the spikes below.
She took a breath and clutched her throat. She was overreacting. She knew she was, but she hated being stuck like this. She hated not knowing what was going to happen. Zoë liked to have a plan. She liked to know what her next five steps would be. Finding herself at the mercy of outside factors did not sit well with her. She liked to be in control of her own destiny and being stuck in an elevator was the exact opposite of being in control.
She paced back across the small space and tried all the buttons again, knowing that it was a waste of time but needing to do something, anything, even if it was ineffectual.
“Come and sit down,” the elf—Blake—said.
“What?”
“Please come and sit down,” he said, looking up at her with a smile.
“How can you be so calm? How can you sit there like our lives aren’t in danger?”
“Because they’re not. Now come and sit down before you use up all our oxygen.”
“What?!”
He fought the smile on his lips. It was a tiny bit mean to make fun of her fears, but he needed to get her to relax.
“I was joking,” he said. “Now come and sit.” He patted the floor beside him. “Your pacing is not going to bring the fire department any quicker. I have candy.” He lifted a candy cane out of the bag he had sitting beside him and wiggled it at her.
“My mum told me never to take candy from strange men,” she said but came and sat next to him anyway, snatching the candy cane from his fingers.
“Do you always do what your mum says?”
“Obviously not,” she said, waving the candy cane in his face.
She attacked the cellophane wrapping and took a bite, tipping her head back against the wall and closing her eyes with a sigh.
“So tell me about yourself, Zoë,” he said, opening his own candy cane and sticking it in his mouth.
“Is this you asking or Santa?” she asked.
He grinned. “This is purely my own curiosity. Call me old fashioned, but I like to know the people I get stuck in lifts with.”
“So this has happened to you before? Are you like some sort of elevator jinx?”
He chuckled. “Never had the pleasure before,” he said. “And I’m an elf, not a jinx in case the outfit didn’t clue you in.”
“And just how do you go about becoming an elf? Is there an online job application? What is the pay like and do you get extra pay to be assigned down here in Australia instead of somewhere like the North Pole?”
He held up his hands to ward off her barrage of questions. “Whoa there. I asked you first.”
Zoë sighed. “There’s not much to tell, really,” she said. “I’m the middle child—”
“Hey! So am I.”
She turned her head to look at him. “I have two sisters.”
“I have an older brother and a younger sister.”
“My older sister is married to the perfect guy and has just the most adorable, perfect little baby girl.”
“My older brother is married to an ice queen,” he said, his mood souring. “And they have a boy and a girl who are perfect little clones of their parents.”
“Ouch,” she said, nudging his shoulder. “I’m not picking up much love and good cheer in the elf household.”
“Elves are people too,” he said, forcing a smile to his face. “We all have family drama.”
She sighed dramatically and he was momentarily distracted by the open buttons of her shirt. When had she done that? He really shouldn’t be noticing the soft skin that peeked out from beneath the silky fall of her shirt.
“My family aren’t all that into drama but they do like to poke their noses into everyone else’s business,” she said with a sigh. He dragged his eyes back to her face and there was an affectionate smile there. “I just wish they’d keep their noses out of mine.”
“I kind of wish my family cared a little bit more about what goes on in my life.”
“Trust me,” she said. “You don’t.”
“It can’t be all that bad.”
She snorted. “How about knowing that your mother is lining up dates for you because she intends to have you married off before your next birthday?”
“Um…”
“Exactly. I am old enough to get my own dates, thank you very much. I don’t need my mother asking my high school boyfriend to take me out on a date or approaching one of my father’s colleagues on my behalf.”
“Your father’s colleague? How old—”
She waved her hand at him. “My father has a small medical practise and he just hired on a new, young doctor, according to my mother. Oh, and let’s not forget the time she set me up with her best friend’s nephew.”
“Not a love match?” he asked, intrigued by her and her meddling family.
“Hardly. The guy was like, twelve. Okay, not twelve but he was barely twenty and had callouses on his fingers from his PlayStation controller.”
“Not a gaming fan, then?”
“Not particularly, but to each his own. And fine, I could have got past the age difference and even the PlayStation obsession but he took me to a theme restaurant.”
“O-kay…”
“And he dressed up,” she turned her head to look at him and laughed. “He was an elf too but more of the Middle Earth type elf than Christmas elf.”
“I will have you know that if I ever took you out to dinner, I would dress up in my very best elf suit, not this old thing.”
She laughed again and he couldn’t help the smile that split his face. Now that she wasn’t panicking about dying and had gotten some colour back in her face, he relaxed. He’d been concerned that she was going to have a full on melt down when the lift stopped, but the tension had eased out of her and he didn’t think she’d slip into hysterics any time soon.
“So your high school boyfriend, huh? I take it things didn’t end well between you two.”
Zoë shrugged. “It was amicable enough. We wanted different things. He wanted to stay in town and take over his father’s vet surgery and I wanted more.”
“So you left him broken hearted and followed your dreams to the big city and bright lights?”
She smirked at him. “It wasn’t quite like that.” She sighed and her smile fell. “He’s a great guy, but I want more, you know?”
He nodded. “I get it. You grow up, living your life in this little bubble. Some people are content with what’s in their bubble and others need to find out what’s outside.”
She bumped shoulders with him. “You do get it. Is that why an elf like you is so far away from his home in the North Pole?”
He grinned. “Something like that.”
The elevator shuddered and Zoë grabbed his arm, pressing up against him. She looked up at him and her face was so close that he only needed to lower his head and his lips would brush hers. Time slowed as he dropped his eyes to her mouth. Her lips parted and her tongue swiped her bottom lip before she sunk her teeth into the plump flesh. He felt the moment stretch out between them.
The lights came back on and she jumped away from him, climbing to her feet and smoothing her shirt, noticing her buttons were undone. The elevator started to move and she gripped the railing. Blake got slowly to his feet feeling a little off kilter by the near miss. The doors opened on the lobby and a crowd of people. Zoë went to take a step out and he took her arm.
“Let me buy you a coffee,” he said. “I think we could both use one after that.”
She looked up at him with dark eyes and he was convinced she would say no, but then she nodded.
“Okay,” she said.
4
Zoë stepped out of the air conditioned lobby and into the sweltering heat. Her skin prickled and she pulled her satin blouse away from her already sweating skin. She felt the gentle pressure of Blake’s hand on her lower back as he guided her toward the little cafe across the road.
She stopped before the doors and turned to look at him. “You’re going in there like that?” she asked, just realising that he was still wearing his elf costume. She’d gotten so used to it that she’d forgotten what he was wearing until she noticed the strange looks the two of them were getting.
He looked down at himself. “What? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” He narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest causing his biceps to round temptingly.
She opened her mouth to reply but he rolled his eyes and kept speaking.
“I see how it is. I’m just your dirty little elevator elf. I bet you have an elf in every building in the city.”
“God, you’re an idiot,” she said, shaking her head and laughing. “Get inside and stop pouting.”
They stepped into the cool store and took their place at the end of the line waiting for service.
“So, let me guess. Pumpkin spice latte?” he said, looking at her with a quirked eyebrow.
She made gagging noises. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than pumpkin in a coffee.”
“I don’t think they actually put pumpkin in it…”
She widened her eyes as if shocked by the news and then grinned. He rolled his eyes.
“Ha ha, very funny. So not a pumpkin spice latte then.”
She shook her head. “No thanks. It’s too hot for a latte. I’ll just have a cold press.”
“Good choice,” he said.
Zoë fidgeted as the line moved slowly. “Look,” she said, “I’m really sorry for flipping out in the elevator.”
Now it was his turn to widen his eyes in surprise. “You mean that’s not how you normally act when faced with being trapped in an elevator alone with a Christmas elf?”
She whacked his arm. “Stop it. I’m trying to apologise.”
He grinned at her and then let his face fall into a sympathetic expression. “It’s okay. Fayophobia is a real thing. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I think the phobia you’re looking for is claustrophobia.”
“Really? I thought fear of elves was fayophobia.”
She whacked him again. “I am not afraid of Christmas elves.”
“Then stop hitting me,” he replied, grabbing her wrist before she could whack him again.
She stilled as the contact from his hand zipped up her arm. She cleared her throat and pulled her arm free. “I’ll stop if you stop being an idiot.”
They stepped up to the counter and the cashier’s eyes went wide when she got a look at him in all his elven glory. “Um, what will you have?”
Blake smiled at her and the girl blushed furiously. Zoë rolled her eyes but couldn’t help her own smile.
“Two cold press coffees,” he said and reached for his wallet but then stopped, looking down at his outfit. The tips of his ears went bright red and Zoë couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her mouth.
“Here,” she said, handing over her credit card. “I’ve got this one.”
“Can I have a name for the order,” the cashier asked, trying hard not to stare at Blake.
“Buddy,” Zoë said. When the girl looked at her in confusion she smiled. “You know, like in the movie Elf?” The cashier still looked confused but took the name for the order.
“God, how embarrassing,” he said as they moved over to the side to wait for their drinks. He dipped his hand into the small bag he carried and pulled out a handful of candy canes. “I don’t think this is considered legal tender here in the city.”
“I don’t think that’s considered legal tender anywhere outside of Christmasville.”
“Let’s sit,” he said, pulling her over to a recently vacated table.
Zoë sat and let her shoulders slump. She stretched her neck from side to side and closed her eyes. “God it feels good to be free.”
“It was really bad for you, huh?”
She opened her eyes to see Blake staring at her intently. “My cousin Braden thought it would be a riot to lock me in a cupboard one time when I was about five. We were playing hide and seek and I thought for sure I was going to win the game. He saw where I was hiding and locked the door then promptly forgot about me. I was a mess by the time my parents found me.”
Blake winced. “Harsh,” he said.
Zoë took a deep breath. “One of many traumas I suffered at the hands of my rather large and boisterous family.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “I bet you got him back.”
She grinned. “I put a snake in his bed.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “It was just a baby python, not venomous. I think it got more of a scare than he did but it was worth it to see the look of horror on his face.”
Blake laughed and she felt an echoing warmth bubble inside her.
“Buddy!”
Blake went to stand, but Zoë put a hand o
n his arm. “I’ll get it.”
She swiped the two cold coffees from the pick-up bar and came back, setting his down in front of him. “Thanks for being my elevator buddy,” she said and then rolled her eyes at her own pun.
He chuckled. “My pleasure. You sure you don’t want to stay a bit longer?”
She shook her head. “No. I really should get going.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? I was kind of worried about you. I thought for a moment you were going to pass out.”
Zoë felt her cheeks redden. “Sorry about that. It was probably the last thing you needed to see.”
“It was the babbling I was more concerned about,” he said with a grin.
“Oh god, don’t remind me.” She covered her face with her free hand. “My mother really would have killed me though.”
“For not giving her grand babies?”
Zoë slumped into the chair and hid her face. “God. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Hey,” Blake said, resting a hand on her back. “It’s okay. I understand the pressure families can put on people.”
She peeked at him through her hair. “Does your family try and butt into your love life and set you up with men you have no interest in?”
He chuckled. “No, but they do have unrealistic expectations of me.”
“They don’t think much of your career choice?” she asked, aiming a look at his elf costume.
“Not so much, no.”
“So are you dreading Christmas as much as I am?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but not for the same reason. I have this awful feeling that I’ll be alone for Christmas.”
Zoë sat up. “Really?”
He shrugged. “Why should this year be any different, right?”
“As much as my family drive me insane I couldn’t imagine not being with them and their craziness over the holidays. It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas.”
He smiled sadly at her. “I can’t remember the last time I was with my family at Christmas.”
“You could come home with me,” she said and then covered her mouth, her eyes going wide. “Wow, forget I said that. That was really presumptuous of me.”
“It’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” he said with a wink.