“Hey, don’t run away. It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” She blushed under the slick of sweat on her face and neck.
He reached down for their coats, picking them up as he stepped out of the elevator with her, keeping his eye on her in case she decided to run away before her even got her name. When the doors slid shut behind him, he draped his coat across his arm, holding her blazer open for her to put her arms through. She glanced at him quizzically before understanding the gesture and spinning around to put on her jacket. He leaned down to whisper to her, “I’m Steve.”
“Candace,” she mumbled in reply. His arms came around her briefly, feeling unbelievably good, despite the odd circumstances. “Thank you,” she spoke, feeling like an idiot as she turned to face him.
“That’s quite alright, ma’am. Where I come from, a gentleman always helps a lady on with her coat.” She smiled as she stepped to him, quickly kissing him on the lower lip before abruptly turning away to leave.
He didn’t get a chance to react before her retreating form was halfway to the front doors of the building. He thought about going after her, deciding against it. Clearly, she wasn’t ready to talk about what happened between them. Instead, Steve thought he’d work late tomorrow, see if anything interesting happened on the way home. “You never know,” he thought with a smile. He left humming, looking forward to tomorrow. One thing he knew for sure, he was done taking the express elevator. He liked a longer ride.