LITMIR.BIZ

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still standing after having been thrown into him. Although she could not see his face and could only make out the outline of his form, her other senses kicked in, drawing her into his presence. She felt the warmth of his body next to hers and the scent of him, a mixture of maleness and a heady aftershave toyed with her sense of smell. She suddenly felt wobbly again and reached out for him. Her hand found his strong forearm, and she clenched it.

      “Maybe we should sit down,” Monte said, interpreting her move as a sign that she was unsteady on her feet, perhaps near fainting.

      He quickly removed his suit jacket and laid it on the floor beside him. He felt for Torie’s elbow and then slowly guided her to the floor and onto his jacket. He slid down the wall beside her, loosening the knot in his tie. Monte stretched his long legs out in front of him and let out the deep sigh that he’d been holding in.

      “This really sucks, doesn’t it?” Torie asked.

      “Well, I guess you could say that it’s not my idea of how to spend a Friday night.” Monte chuckled.

      He thought for a moment about his boys and his mother, who were at home in bed for sure. Cheryl, the nanny who looked after them while he worked, would probably call the office soon, to see how much longer he would be delayed. She’d have given his mother her sleeping pill and made sure the guardrails on her bed were in place. He’d had the bars installed a few months ago when his mother had either rolled off the bed or fallen while trying to get up. She’d broken her wrist when she’d hit the floor and now he made sure that she was secure in bed every night. Cheryl would begin to get worried soon and would then call both his cell and car phones. Monte felt around in the dark until he found his briefcase. He reached into the side pocket and retrieved his PDA.

      “Humph, just like I thought. No signal,” he said.

      All the device was able to provide was a sliver of light from the small screen when he depressed the power button.

      “And then there was light,” Monte joked.

      He lay the device onto his lap and let his head roll back against the elevator wall.

      “So what would you be doing tonight if you weren’t trapped in this elevator?” Monte asked.

      “Me? Uh, I’d probably be home, curled up on the sofa by now,” Torie answered.

      “Yeah, right. On a Friday night in New York City? Come on, for real. What would you be doing?”

      “I’m serious,” Torie cried. “I’d be watching 20/20 or whatever’s on right now. Ooh, and tonight was the season finale of NCIS, too. Shoot.”

      “Listen to you, sounding like a regular couch potato.” Monte laughed.

      “And what’s wrong with that? I happen to have a very nice couch, I’ll have you know,” Torie said over Monte’s raucous laughter. “What’s so funny?”

      “Nothing, nothing. I’m sorry,” Monte said, putting his laughter in check. “It’s just that I can’t really picture you with curlers in your hair, flannel pajamas and a big bowl of popcorn,” Monte said, chuckling.

      “You know, if you’re going to make fun of me, you could at least introduce yourself first.”

      “Monte…Monte Lewis. I’d shake your hand, but I’m not sure where it is,” Monte said.

      “It’s nice to meet you, Monte Lewis. I’m Torie…Turner.”

      “I know who you are,” Monte responded. “Oh?”

      “We, uh, actually shared an elevator a couple of weeks ago. You were coming up to the office to see Monica Schwartz. You’re an actress, right?”

      “Yes, that’s right. Don’t tell me you’ve seen my work?” Torie asked.

      Monte realized at that moment that he could lie and say, yes, he had. He could tell her that she was a terrific actress and possibly score big points with her, but that wasn’t his style. He believed that when you start off telling one lie all you’re doing is setting yourself up for a dozen more lies to follow.

      “No, I can’t say that I have. What have you done?”

      In the darkness, Torie’s smile broadened. She hated when she met people who, immediately upon learning that she was an actress, pretended to recognize her. Someday she was certain that she would be a face that people knew immediately, but that day was not here yet. Torie Turner’s was not an ego that needed to be stroked with false praise. She found Monte’s honesty refreshing.

      “Well, let’s see. There was that mouthwash commercial last winter. Then there was the Reynolds Wrap foil spot around the holidays. And my personal favorite, the genital herpes medicine gig.” Torie laughed. “Pretty impressive résumé, huh?”

      “I guess I don’t watch much TV,” Monte said apologetically.

      “I’m just teasing; that’s not all I’ve done. There have also been a couple of small theater productions in Atlanta and in Philadelphia. But all that is about to change.”

      “Change is good,” Monte said.

      Several minutes of silence ensued before either spoke again. Monte was reminded of his first date with Shawna and how comfortable he’d felt with her, as though they’d already known each other for a lifetime. That same sense of familiarity had come over him now, and he secretly thanked whatever higher power had orchestrated this dilemma for him.

      “Is it getting warm in here to you?” Torie asked suddenly.

      She didn’t wait for an answer before unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse and removing the lightweight leather jacket she wore. She knew that her nerves were shot, which probably attributed to the warm flush that had invaded her flesh.

      “Yeah, definitely warm,” Monte said, removing his tie altogether.

      “So, Monte, what fun and exciting evening are you missing out on?” she wanted to know.

      Monte talked animatedly about his sons and their weekend plans. Without offering much detail, he told Torie that since becoming a single parent, he dedicated his weekends to activities with his boys and found their outings to be the perfect break from work and the other demands of life. Surprised and intrigued by this revelation, she asked how he managed to care for two boys on his own and he told her that his boys had a middle-aged woman named Cheryl, who was the best nanny, cook and housekeeper in the world, caring for them. She wanted to ask about the boys’ mother, but she didn’t want to be obvious.

      Hours passed as they opened up about their respective childhoods, sharing stories of playground mishaps and adolescent insecurities. Torie laughed raucously at Monte’s jokes, vulnerable to his understated yet undeniable sense of humor. Their conversation had its serious moments when Monte shared his concerns over his mother, who was ailing, and Torie talked about the hole created in her life by her father’s absence. However, those moments were cathartic for both of them, as they felt unexplainably comfortable sharing such intimacies in the secluded space of their private bubble. After being caught up in a cozy tête-à-tête, it was finally Monte’s growling stomach that reminded them both that they hadn’t eaten since midday. Monte reached into his right pants pocket.

      “All I’ve got is a half pack of Doublemint gum. How about you?”

      Torie sifted through her Dooney and Bourke giraffe print.

      “I’ve got a few orange-flavored Tic Tacs mints and I think…yes, here it is. A half a roll of Mentos candies,” she exclaimed excitedly.

      Despite his efforts to keep Torie calm, Monte had begun to grow uneasy himself. There had been no contact from security and it seemed as if no one knew that they were trapped in the elevator. He began to consider the possibility of them running out of air, but quickly chided himself for being silly. That was probably the last thing that could happen to them.

      “We’re going to starve to death,” Monte said half-jokingly.

      “No,

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