6. Josie

6

JOSIE

I woke to someone softly shaking me. Groaning, I kept my eyes closed as I shook my head. "No, not yet" I swatted the offending hand away. "I'm still tired." Yawning loudly, I only briefly registered the chuckle before whoever it was shook my shoulder again.

Why was someone waking me up so early on a Saturday? Weekends are meant for sleeping in.

"Josie," said a soft, male voice. At the sound of my name, I groaned again, accepting sleep was not mine to have. I fought back the sleep as I slowly opened my eyes.

A male voice! Wait, what?

My eyes flew open, wide awake now as I stared at his chest, and everything rushed back.

I'm stuck in an elevator. With Wyatt Boone. And I just fell asleep on him. Oh god, I hope I didn't drool all over him.

My cheeks burned as I jerked upright and scrambled away from him as I discreetly wiped at my mouth, hoping to God I hadn't drooled on him.

I can't believe I fell asleep on him. Could I be more embarrassing?

"Good morning," Wyatt greeted as he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. There was a sleepy look to his expression, and with his freshly tousled hair, he looked unbelievably good. Like he'd just stepped out of a photo shoot, not waking up on the floor of a stranded elevator.

Patting my hair, I could feel that it was a matted nest, and I groaned inwardly. I knew I looked rough first thing in the morning at the best of times. "Morning," I replied softly. "Sorry for falling asleep on you last night."

"Don't be," he waved me off. "I promise you didn't do anything embarrassing." It was like he read my mind. As I shuffled back up against the wall, I could feel an awkwardness building between us. Almost like it was the morning after a random hook-up.

"Were you able to sleep?" I asked, my fingers playing with the sleeves of the jersey I still wore. "I did. How about you?" I could feel the intensity of his gaze, but I couldn't bring myself to meet it as I nodded.

Come on Josie say something!

As I opened my mouth, a gruff voice filtered through the elevator's speaker. I jumped, instinctively reaching for Wyatt's hand and gripping it tightly.

"Is anyone in there?" the voice asked. Wyatt and I shared a wide-eyed look before Wyatt shot forward on his knees and pressed the intercom button.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Someone's in there," the person said as though speaking to someone else.

"Hello?" Wyatt tried again.

"Is it just you in there?" the voice replied.

"No, there are two of us." Wyatt looked at me as he spoke, squeezing my hand.

"Okay, hold tight. We are going to bring the elevator down in just a minute. There may be some resistance, but nothing to be alarmed about," the voice instructed.

"Sounds good," Wyatt replied. "Told you someone was coming." He turned to me with a smile. Shaking my head I grinned back. "Yes, you did."

We continued staring at one another, his eyes glued to mine, and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was. Only a matter of hours ago, the last thing I wanted was spending the night stuck in an elevator with a stranger. But now…well, if it had to be anyone, I was thrilled Wyatt was that stranger. What I originally thought was the start of the worst weekend ever had turned out better than I could have dreamed. Even if I never saw Wyatt again, I knew I'd always remember this. He got to his feet, my hand still in his as he pulled me up.

Suddenly, the elevator shifted, and fell against him. Yet, before I could apologize, Wyatt's arms were around me, keeping me steady as my heart raced. A mechanical, grinding sound echoed through the elevator, quickly followed by a series of jolts, and I felt the sudden fear that we would plummet all the way down the shaft. As though sensing my fear, Wyatt held me tighter against him as the voice spoke through the intercom again.

"Sorry about that. Will be just another minute."

The voice startled us out of our embrace, and we broke apart. Wyatt cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away and I looked at my feet to hide my red face.

Silently, we gathered our things. While putting my purse on my shoulder I saw Wyatt put his baseball cap back on, as though marking the end of our time together. I realized that as soon as we stepped out of the elevator, our rescuer would recognize him.

They'd probably want a picture taken with him and ask a ton of questions about the game. I knew that losing the game hurt Wyatt more than he'd let on and having to face anyone else was the last thing he wanted—or needed.

"When we reach the bottom, you slip away to the stairs. I'll handle everything else," I instructed as the elevator began a steady descent.

"What? Josie no I…"

"Wyatt, it's okay. Seriously," I said, placing my hand on his arm, silencing his protests. "The moment those doors open, you'll be recognized, and I know the last thing you want is to have to talk to anyone right now. Especially since you look like you just spent the night sleeping in an elevator." I teased, scrunching my nose at his appearance. As he rolled his eyes, I knew my comment had the desired effect.

"If you're sure?"

"Really I don't mind." And I truly didn't.

As the floor numbers moved closer to the lobby, I squeezed his arm one last time.

"When the doors open, I'll distract them with what happened, and you can slip past and head over to the stairs on the right," I instructed.

Wyatt looked down at me, his expression unreadable. "Thank you, Josie."

"Anytime," I smiled. "And don't forget the pepper paste," I added as he smiled back and the elevator doors opened.

The bright lights of the foyer startled me, but I didn't waste any time nudging Wyatt out of the elevator as several people gathered around. I was taken aback by the crowd and was glad Wyatt and I had had the foresight to come up with a plan. It seemed like news of the tenants stuck in the elevator had spread throughout the building. All at once, the questions came as they talked over each other, eager to know what happened.

"How long were you in there?"

"Are you injured?"

"What happened?"

I was only vaguely aware of them as I cast a discreet glance towards the staircase, catching a glimpse of Wyatt's broad shoulders as he disappeared. Staring at the empty stairs, I hoped it wouldn't be the last time I saw Wyatt Boone.