Page 74 of Hate You Up Close

I don’t have to look down to know that my dick is tenting my slacks. I slide my suit jacket off, drape it over my arm, and hold it in front of my groin to cover my obvious erection.

“Problem solved.” I clear my throat and straighten my shoulders.

Both of our gazes snap to the elevator doors when we hear a deep voice.

“You guys okay in there?” the voice shouts from the other side.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” I bellow while clasping a button on my shirt that came undone during our makeout session.

Did Roxanne do that? If she did, I’m pissed as hell that I missed her attempting to strip me.

“Good, that’s good,” they shout. “There was a troubleshooting issue, but we’re working on getting you out. Should be any minute now. Just hang tight.”

“Thanks,” I yell back.

A beat of silence passes before Roxanne cuts it like a knife.

“Elliot,” she whispers hesitantly. “What…What just happened?”

I can’t look at her after what we just did. Making eye contact feels like too much right now.

“What do you mean?” I mutter, acting oblivious to her question. “We got stuck in an elevator.”

I can practically hear her rolling her eyes at me.

“You know exactly what I mean,” she says sharply. “You just kissed me like you were suffocating and I was your only source of oxygen.”

My gaze snaps to hers.

“Suffocating?” I mock at her comparison, my brows shooting up. “Don’t flatter yourself. I was trying to get your mind off of our current situation, and it worked. End of story.”

She scoffs and shakes her head in disbelief.

“That was more than just a distraction or a silly little kiss, Elliot,” she raises her voice. “You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.”

My nostrils flare as I inhale a deep breath. I brace my hands on my hips and I tilt my head up, deflecting my gaze by staring at the ceiling.

“It was nothing, Roxanne,” I retort.

“Then look me in the eyes and tell me it was nothing,” she insists.

It feels like an eternity passes as I continue to stare blankly at the ceiling tiles.

“You can’t,” she scoffs. “Because you’re a fucking coward.”

My eyes lower back to hers to find her burning a hole through me with a furious gaze.

“What do you want from me, Roxanne?” I say through gritted teeth. “Do you want to walk out of this elevator holding hands? Do you want me to take you back to my office and fuck you over my desk? Or would you rather Imake love to yousince you think this is a romantic movie or some shit.”

She narrows her eyes to slits, taking a step back like I physically wounded her.

“You’re unbelievable,” she hisses while shaking her head. “You really are as cold as everyone says you are. I guess I’m just the dumbass who had an ounce of hope for you.”

Her eyes flinch as if her comment hurt her as much as it did me. I’m not gonna lie, it fucking stung. But I fully deserve it.

Before I have a chance to think of a smartass response, the elevator dings and the doors finally open.

I don’t look back as I stride out of the lift, leaving Roxanne and the crew who helped us in the dust.