Adam
It’s 7.30pm and we are due to close the restaurant at 9, but a party of 20 has just turned up without a reservation. We’re not busy so we can’t really turn them away. Ab and I push together a few of the tables in the middle of the room so they can all sit together and get them all settled in with menus. At the weekends we usually have bar staff, hosts and servers to spread the work when its busy, but because it’s the middle of the week we’re the only two front of house staff scheduled to be on shift. That’s usually more than we need but tonight was going to be tough. We have a couple of minutes while they look through the menus, so Abi and I discuss how we’re going to manage this,
“I reckon they’ll want drinks first, you start one end and I’ll start the other,” I nod in agreement with Abi as we look on at the already noisy group, “hopefully we can then serve their drinks before taking on their food order.”
“Should we warn the kitchen? I’m sure they won’t suddenly be expected 20 tickets to be sent through tonight.”
“Good thinking Adam, can you pop through at let them know for me,” Abi asks.
“Sure,” I discretely head through into the kitchen and let the chefs know what’s happening. They thank me for the heads up and I head back out to start taking the party’s drinks orders.
We work our way down the table from each end and thankfully the group have steered clear of the cocktail menu and opted for a few bottles of wine for the table. Heading to the bar, Abi and I give each other a knowing look both thinking we’ve got lucky tonight. We grab the bottles they ordered and carry trays of wine glasses a deliver them to each of the ladies. Once all the bottles are open on the table, ready for them to help themselves, we go back to each end and Abi asks them if they are ready to order their food.
We should have known it wouldn’t be as straight forward as it first seemed when they placed their drinks order. Most of the table want starters, a mix of sharer plates and solo dishes. We’re not going to be able to remember who’s ordered what but at least we’ve written their orders down on our order pads so that we don’t have to try and remember it when we get back to the bar. We also take their orders for mains too so that we can put everything through to the kitchen at the same time so they can get started.
It’s a few minutes before we get the nod from the kitchen that the first starters are ready to go out. Working together Abi and I manage to get all of the dishes out to the table without too much of a wait for them to all be served. Normally Abi would be based at the greeting station at the front of the restaurant but we both go and wait by the bar so that we can see when they are ready to move to their next course which is going to be even more complicated.
For the starters, although there were lots of different choices made, they were all just as listed on the menu. But for the mains it felt like everyone wanted some change or another made to the dishes they were ordering so making sure everyone get the right variation was a nightmare. Fortunately, the kitchen is on the ball tonight and everything is done exactly to the requests made by the party. As we bring out a few orders at a time, Abi and I have to make sure we’re extra careful with how we describe what we are carrying to make sure it gets to the right people. With only one or two confusions, I think more to do with the wine they’ve been drinking rather than our lack of clarity, we eventually manage to get everyone what they’ve ordered, and we can finally settle back to the bar at the side once more to keep a discreet eye in case they need us.
More bottles of wine are ordered, and they all seem to be having a good time. They stay until it’s time for us to close and I think to myself that it’s a good thing we weren’t busy as they were making so much noise that I’m sure we’d have complaints from other guests otherwise. We get the restaurant cleared up ready for the next day’s service and I say good night to Abi and head to the bus stop to catch my bus home.
Liam
I work up quite a sweat in the gym over the course of my workout, it’s really helped to clear my head and relax. The gym is the one place where nothing else matters and it’s just me and the machines. I finish my last superset and stretch out before heading back to the locker room to collect my things. Sometimes I’ll shower at the gym before heading home, but it’s getting late, and I figure it’s not too far to walk home so I grab my bag and head out still in my gym kit.
It’s dark but its not too cold as I walk the 15 minutes back home, the heat of my workout still coursing through me to give me a little extra heat. I’m still listening to my music as I go and I’m not really focussing too much on my surroundings until I reach for the door at the front my building and my hand grazes another. I instinctively pull my hand back, slip off my headphones and turn to say sorry but then my breath catches. It’s him.
Under the soft glow of the entrance light, he looks so gorgeous, I just want to reach out and touch him and be touched by him. He’s in that same black shirt again with the top buttons undone just enough to show a glimpse of the skin at his neck, I so badly want to lean in and kiss him there. My thoughts are racing through my head, my heart feels as though its beating faster than when I was working out. It feels like I’m staring at him for minutes, although it can only be seconds, I clear my throat and shyly say “Sorry”, what is wrong with me?
He gives me a shy smile back and pulls the door open and holds it for me to walk through. We both head towards the lift, I can rarely manage the stairs after a hard workout, especially as today was a leg day. I press the button to call the lift, we both stand there waiting, neither one of us saying anything. I can hear Emily’s voice in the back of my head telling me to say something, anything, but I’ve lost the ability to speak, just being this close to him makes my mind go to jelly.
The lift doors open, and we both wordlessly step inside, he presses the button for the 8th and then the 9th, he remembered my floor. Please don’t be blushing, please don’t be blushing, I mentally chant to myself. The doors close and the lift starts to rise, I try to think of something to say, anything at all before this ride is over but my mind isn’t co-operating. There’s a sudden jolt and the light in the lift dims, a red out of service light on the panel has illuminated and that’s when I start to realise, we’re stuck.
Adam
It’s a short walk from the bus stop back to my building and I’ll be so glad to just strip off and fall asleep. I ache all over from all the extra work, I’m not often having to serve as well as take orders and do the meet and greet side of things at the restaurant and it really is exhausting. I’m looking down at my phone as I approach the entrance and as I go to reach for the handle another hand lands on top of mine. I look up to see who it is, it’s not often I see anyone else around the building this late, and it’s him. He’s wearing even less than when I saw him earlier, he’s clearly been to the gym. He’s wearing another vest, this time looser and clearly drenched in sweat but showing off his amazing biceps, and dark shorts showing off his long legs with a naturally light covering hair.
Damn what I wouldn’t give to just lick him right now. I thought I was exhausted, I was exhausted, but seeing him all hot and sweaty like this has clearly woken me up. Or at least woken something up inside me. All too quickly he’s removed his hand and he seems shy all of a sudden as he’s apologising to me. I miss the contact of his hand, it’s been so long since I’ve had any contact with another man and it would have to be this man. The man I’ve been fantasising about for weeks, ok months. I pull the door open and hold it for him, I try to will my mouth to say something, anything but all I can think about is how sexy he looks right now.
He presses the button to call the lift and we both stand in silence while we wait for it to arrive. After what feels like ages, although its probably only a few seconds, the lift doors open, and we both step inside. I press the button for my floor and then I instinctively press the button for his like I did earlier. I don’t look at him standing behind me, did he notice I remembered his floor? Of course he noticed, otherwise he’d be leaning in to press it himself, what is wrong with me?
The doors close and we start to rise in silence, I don’t know what to say but before long theres a jolt and it gets dark, a red light appears on the panel at the side of the lift, and I start to panic.
“Oh god, we’re stuck, no, no this can’t be happening,” my words come out fast and my breathes are coming out short and sharp, I’m struggling to breathe. I hit the alarm button and another light appears that just says ‘Operator aware’. “Operator aware! Really!” I move back against the wall, my legs start to feel like they can’t hold me up any more and I feel myself sliding down the wall and onto the floor. I can’t breathe, I’m panicking, and I can’t breathe. “Why’s it so dark, we’re going to die, we’re going to die” I manage to gasp out between breathes. The lift feels dark and small, and I’m terrified.
I feel two arms wrap around me and warm breath on my ear, he’s saying something, but I can’t make it out. I need more air, I need to get out, I can’t breathe.
Liam
I’m sure it won’t be long before we are moving again, but before I have a chance to say that out loud, I see this cute man start to panic. His breathing is erratic and each word he says seems to be a struggle, coming out in gaps between him trying to inhale. I recognise it as a panic attack, I try to calm him. I don’t want to startle him, so I move alongside him and say gently, “It’ll be ok, try to take deep breaths,” but he doesn’t seem to register my words. He backs up against the wall and I see his legs give way underneath him and he’s slipping down to the floor.
I need to get his attention, to calm him and soothe him. I drop my bag to the floor and get down alongside him. “Can I hold you, so you can try and breath with me,” I say gently again so as not to startle him further but it’s clear he can’t hear me over the panic attack that seems to be building inside him. I have no other choice but to go with it, I move in closer and wrap my arms around him. I place one hand on his chest and try to move it up and down in time with my breathing. I get close to his hear in the hopes I can break through the noise to him, “come on, breathe with me, slowly, just try and breathe with me,” and I feel his breathing start to slow. He’s getting more under control now, and I just keep going. I keep reassuring him, “it’s going to be ok, you just need to breathe, that’s it.”
I think he’s through the worst of it, his breathing seems more normal now. I start to remove my arms, but he reaches up to hold them in place and I just keep on holding him. If this is what he needs, I will keep on holding him for as long as he needs me. We are both quiet for a few minutes. He seems a lot calmer now and I start to enjoy the sensations of just holding him. For the first time since I started holding him, I allow myself to take him in properly. He feels smaller than me, but not too skinny. He smells like a combination of some fragrance I can’t put my finger on and tomatoes. I probably shouldn’t be smelling a random stranger after he’s just had a panic attack but everything about him is just intoxicating.
I realise I’m still all sweaty from the gym and I curse myself for not showering there.
“What was that?” he says turned slightly to look at me, shit I thought that was just inside my head.
“Erm,” I try to think of something smooth to say but there’s no point I might as well just tell him, “I was just thinking that I must be getting you all sweaty, I’ve just come straight from the gym,” I blush again and think he’s going to want to pull away from me but a small smile breaks out on his face for the first time since he started to panic.
“I don’t mind, I actually kind of like it,” now he’s blushing from his own revelation, and he looks so cute still wrapped in my arms.
Adam
I can’t believe I just say I like that he’s all sweaty. Really! The hottest guy in the world is wrapped around me and I say that! Abi is going to be laughing at me for weeks when I tell her about this. I wish the bottom of the lift would just open up and swallow me hole before I die of embarrassment or say something worse. But he doesn’t seem to mind my awkwardness and he’s smiling at me.
“I’m Liam, by the way,” he says with his arms still wrapped around me. I should probably let him release me, but it just feels so nice and safe with him wrapped around me like this.
“Adam.”
“How long have you lived here?” oh, he’s making small talk, I guess he’s trying to distract me.
“About 5 years, have you and your wife lived here long?”
He looks confused at my question, “My wife?”
“Sorry, I just assumed you were married, is it just you and your daughter then?”
After a few seconds he seems to remember that I saw him earlier that day with the little girl, “No, my daughter doesn’t live with me, she lives with her mums, but they weren’t around earlier, so I had to pick her up from school because she wasn’t well.”
Did he just say mums? I was wondering why anyone would leave this sexy man for someone else but then I suppose if you are really into women then he probably isn’t your type. “Oh, so you’re divorced then?”
Another confused look spreads across his face at that, I suppose these days not everyone gets married just because they have a kid.
Liam
Why does he think I might be divorced? Before I have a chance to answer him theres another jolt and Adam grips my hand a little tighter. I pull him closer to me, so he feels safe, and really, I’m enjoying feeling him pressed against me. He sinks into me further and his head is now nestled under my chin. The lift still isn’t showing any signs of moving though so I go back to answering his question.
“No, I’ve never been married, that’s not to say I don’t want to get married someday, I just, haven’t found the right guy yet,” wow, that was a lot more than I was expecting to say. Part of me is glad I can’t see his face wit the ankle he’s now in as I’d hate to think what that overshare has made him think.
He’s quiet for a moment, perhaps he’s thinking about how best to pull away from me. Shit, maybe he’s straight, and now he knows I’m gay he wants to get as far away from me as he can in this tiny space. I should really release my arms but I really, really don’t want to. Not if this is going to be the last chance I get of being close to this man that I’ve fantasised about for so long.
“The right…guy?” he seems to be considering what I just said, I’m at a loss for words but that’s ok because he follows up with another question, “You mean, you’re not…straight?”
Please don’t run away, please don’t run away, “No, I’m…gay,” why does it feel like I’m a teenager coming out all over again.
He starts to move, I’ve blown it, he wants to get away, I loosen my arms, brace myself for him to reject me and break my heart. But he’s not trying to get away, he’s turning to look at me and there’s a smile on his face.
Adam
He’s gay, he’s not straight, am I hearing him right or is it just my mind playing tricks on me. I can’t hide the joy on my face at the thought that this sexy man is actually slightly more attainable than I thought he was this morning. I know, I’m getting ahead of myself, not every gay guy is going to want me just because they are gay, but I can dream…right?
We sit and chat while we are still waiting to be freed from this lift, I learn about how he came to have a daughter and tell him about my dreams of becoming a writer someday. We joke perhaps being stuck like this might give me some inspiration for a story. He holds me the whole time, it feels so nice just to be in those big strong arms. We’re talking for about 2 hours before the lift jolts again, causing him to grip me tightly once more, this time it starts moving and the doors open on the 1st floor.
Liam’s arms lower from my body and I feel the loss of his warmth, comfort and touch. He stands up and holds out his hand to help me to my feet. Once I’m up he bends to pick up his bag, I may stare at his bum while he bends but I don’t think he catches me looking. We leave the lift and climb the stairs together, neither of us knowing what to say as we ascend. We get to my floor, and I don’t want him to go, but after just spending 2 hours in his arms I don’t want to appear desperate so I simply say “Thanks for helping me tonight,” with a shy smile and head through to door for my landing.