Chapter 3: Stuck
Meenal groaned and 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 started rummaging through her purse, spilling an assortment of things on the elevator floor.
Time stretched. He stood perfectly still, glancing at his watch every few seconds.
“Gum?” She asked pulling a packet out of her purse. He glanced in her direction. “No thank you,” he said smiling politely.
“You’re probably right,” she said shoving the packet in her purse, “no point getting dehydrated while waiting.”
“Relax. We’re stuck, not at a board meeting.” She said after a while. He hesitated, then loosened his tie. She shook her head.
Conversation drifted—work, hobbies, adrenaline. He told her about climbing. About the moment before the jump.
“That split second,” he said. “That’s what I plan for.”
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.”
He studied her. “Opposite how?”
She laughed nervously. “Never mind.”
“No,” he said quietly. “I get it. Enclosed spaces. The intensity.”
“And knowing someone could walk in any second.”
“Or,” he said, “open the doors.”
The air shifted.
“This is insane,” she murmured.
“Completely.”
“We have nothing in common.”
“Except two things that matter right now.”
She smiled despite herself. “I don’t plan.”
“For once,” he said, “neither do I.”
---
The silence felt different this time. Not awkward. Not forced. Just charged.
Meenal became aware of how close the walls were. Vikrant didn’t move, but his attention sharpened. She could feel it. Like a shift in pressure.
He had pressed the call button and the call center voice had assured him that technicians were at work. They were trying a remote reboot first and would be at the site if that didn’t work. “I am sorry, but this could take a while sir.” She had said.
“This is ridiculous,” Meenal said, but there was no real conviction in it.
“It is,” he agreed.
Neither of them stepped away.
She let out a slow breath and leaned back against the wall. The cool metal touched the back of her shoulders, but the space in front of her felt hot.
Vikrant loosened his tie a little more, then slipped it off entirely. He folded it once, automatically, then stopped mid-motion like he’d just realized what he was doing.
She watched him. “Do you always do that? Even when you’re stuck in a metal box?”
“Habits,” he said.
She stretched and rummaged some more in her purse before giving up. Her heel nudged his shoe as she shifted on the floor. Not enough to be obvious. Enough to be noticed.
He didn’t step back. Her hand lifted halfway to the strand of hair hanging over her face, then hesitated in the air between them.
“We could be stuck here for a long time.” She said looking up at him.
“I know.” He said, glancing at his watch.
She reached up and started outlining the “V” of his belt. “I hate getting bored. Any ideas?”
“Not yet.” He said, his voice barely a whisper. He could have stepped back. He didn’t.
They looked ridiculous, she thought—she sitting on the elevator floor with stuff from her purse sprawled around her and he standing like a statue in the center of the elevator, towering above her like a superhero about to swoop in and save her. Her free hand started twirling a stray strand of hair.
He noticed. Didn’t move, except his hand went almost automatically to his watch.
“You’re thinking again,” she murmured.
“And you’re not,” he replied.
She smiled. “Exactly.”
“Good, about time.” She said, her eyes following his hands as he unzipped his pants and let them land on the elevator floor. Then her eyes went wide.
The air seemed to get sucked out as her eyes darted between his eyes and his erection. Whether moments passed or minutes was impossible to tell as the space between them closed.
The next thing he remembers is his closed eyes and head thrown back. A soft moan of pleasure escaped his lips before he opened his eyes, watching the top of her head moving back and forth.
“You are reckless you know.” He said, smiling down at her, “Ummm hmmm” she replied, continuing to suck him hungrily, her hands gripping his thighs, nails digging into the fabric of his trousers.
“We’re not thinking clearly.” He said glancing at his watch.
“Clearly?” She said looking up at him, “you mean you are thinking?”
“Not anymore,” he said pushing her to the elevator wall, his mouth crashing into hers, a collision of pent-up frustration and raw want. It was all lips and tongue, a desperate kiss that tasted of spontaneity instead of planning. Her back hit the cold wall, a sharp contrast to the heat of his body pressing into hers. Her nails dug into his back as she responded to the kiss, tasting his tongue on hers, moaning in his mouth.
"Ridiculous!" she said, her voice a husky whisper.
"Completely," he growled.
Her hands reached between his legs and wrapped around him. He reached around her and unzipped her dress. The sound of the zipper was loud in the small space, a sharp contrast to their ragged breathing. She arched her back, pushing her breasts against him as the fabric parted, revealing the black lace underneath.
Her hands started moving, stroking him with a rhythm that made his breath hitch.
“You’re going to make me lose control,” he said, his voice rough.
She grinned, looking into his eyes. “Control is overrated.”
He gripped her dress and pulled it down, letting it pool around her ankles. His hands slid up her sides, thumbs brushing against the lace of her bra. His mouth found hers again, this time slower, deeper. Reaching around her, he unhooked her bra.
The lace fell away, and she shivered as the cool air hit her bare skin. His hands were warm, tracing the curve of her waist before cupping her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her nipples.
She gasped, her head tilting back against the wall. The elevator hummed around them, the fluorescent light flickering slightly, casting shifting shadows across their skin.
"Crazy huh?" he murmured, his lips trailing down her neck.
"Absolutely," she breathed, her fingers tangling in his hair. "But I like crazy."
He chuckled, low and rough. "Good."
She groaned in pleasure as his lips wrapped around a nipple and then the other. She surrendered her body to the sensations as he went lower down her body.
“Oh FUCK!” she groaned, when he lifted a leg over his shoulder and buried his mouth between her legs.
“Tell me to stop,” he said.
“Why would I do that?” she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
After a while, she pushed him away and spun around, pressing her front against the cool metal. His body was a furnace at her back, his erection a hard line against her.
She moved her feet apart, as he guided himself to her entrance and thrust into her in one smooth, deep stroke.
She cried out, the sound swallowed by the small space. The stretch, the sudden fullness, was overwhelming. He waited for her to adjust to him and started moving only when she looked at him over her shoulders. He started slowly at first but picked up the tempo with each thrust, his hips slapping against her ass.
This wasn't romantic. It was urgent. It was heat with a deadline. His hand snaked around her hip, his fingers rubbing her in tight circles, matching the relentless pace of his thrusts. The dual sensation was electric. Her hands flattened against the wall, bracing herself as he drove into her again and again, pushing her closer to the edge.
"Oh God, don’t stop," she groaned as her body started shaking. The coil in her belly snapped, and she shattered, her body convulsing around him as a wave of pleasure so intense it was almost painful crashed over her. Her inner walls clenched down on him, and with a guttural groan, he followed her over the edge. He buried himself deep inside her with one final, powerful thrust, his body shuddering as he found his own release.
They stayed like that for a long moment, their bodies pressed together, their breathing the only sound in the humming elevator.