Flat-Out Love, стр. 37
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Matthew Watkins “One’s life should never be so boring that one resorts to making up quotes and falsely attributing them to famous people.” - Winston Churchill
Finn is God SAY TAKE FACEBOOK “HOW TASTE YR BRANEZ” QUIZ. SEND BRANEZ 2 ME I TASTE. PS I ARE NOT A ZOMBIES.
Julie Seagle If you can’t stop thinking about someone’s update, that’s called “status cling.”
Julie had the car for the evening for her date with Seth. Miraculously, she managed to find a parking spot, but it took four tries for her to cram the car into the small space between a huge pickup truck and a beat-up van. It was freezing out tonight, and she sat in the car for a moment before opening the door. She just needed another few minutes.
This was supposed to be a big night with Seth. She knew that. She should be flying up to his place. Maybe she was nervous?
She grabbed her phone and checked her mail. There was a message from Dana: Have a hot night with Seth! And close the deal already! LOL! Julie laughed.
And one message from Finn.
Julie-
Did Celeste’s package get there? I’m holding a lovely handwritten note that I forgot to put in the envelope. I’m a dummy. Tell her I’m sorry, but that I hope she likes her gift.
Hope you’re having a good night.
-Finn
Finn-
I’ll tell her. She loved the gift. Very sweet of you. Not the same as having you here, but it’ll tide her over for a bit. Gotta run. I’ll see if you’re on chat later. Although I’m a tired wreck today from being up so late last night. You’re evil.
-Julie
She could have just said that she was going to her boyfriend’s house. There was no reason not to. But she still hadn’t mentioned Seth, and it seemed silly to make a dramatic announcement about it.
Julie got out of the car and walked to the front door of Seth’s building, her phone still in her hand. She stood for a moment before ringing the buzzer. Had it sounded stupid to ask Finn if he would be online later? Totally pathetic? It’s not like she was chasing after him or anything, but what if it looked that way? I mean, she was heading up to another guy’s apartment for a big-deal evening, so she wasn’t going to be online later anyway. Why had she even said that?
From now on, maybe she should wait sixty seconds before she sent messages to Finn.
Seth buzzed her in, and she paused in the lobby. Julie had always taken the stairs, of course, and never the elevator, but tonight she was feeling brave. Daring. She could do this. No dramatic fainting or having a panic attack. No more being controlled by this stupid phobia. She would ride the elevator like a completely normal human being. She pressed the elevator button—immediately opening the doors—stepped inside, and hit the button for his floor. She leaned back against the metal wall and closed her eyes, ignoring the handrail that dug into her back. There. There was nothing to be afraid of. Her vision hadn’t blurred, the cabin wasn’t spinning, and she wasn’t going to fall. In fact, the elevator issue felt like the least of her concerns right now.
It didn’t really matter what Finn thought of her anyway, right? Who cared if he knew she wanted to find him online tonight? Which she wasn’t going to do anyway because she would be busy. Finn was just some boy that she would probably never meet anyway. Some boy that she emailed and chatted with. Maybe he’d be around tonight, maybe he wouldn’t. It didn’t matter because she wouldn’t be free. She had important things to take care of. With Seth. Her boyfriend.
Suddenly the elevator slammed to a hard stop, causing Julie to stumble forward. She caught the rail with her hand and froze. The doors didn’t open. She knew she hadn’t been in the elevator long enough to have reached Seth’s floor. Perhaps something would kick into gear in a minute, and the elevator would magically finish its trip up? Julie swore and hit every button on the panel but one. The last thing she felt like doing was pressing that nasty red button that would sound the alarm. This is what she got for being a daredevil. She called Seth.
“Where are you? Didn’t I just buzz you in?” he asked.
“Yes, I am in the building,” she agreed. “In the elevator.”
“Well, hurry up and get in here. I’ve got dinner ready, a little wine poured, candles lit. The whole bit.”
“That sounds really nice.”
“I’ll be honest. I’m trying to seduce you, Ms. Seagle.”
Julie looked down at the dirty floor, focusing her attention on one particular smudge. “That might be tricky.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m stuck in your elevator. And it seems to be getting smaller by the minute in here.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Beads of sweat were starting to accumulate on her hairline, and her stomach was noticeably unhappy. The evil metal box with its fluorescent lighting was decidedly uncomfortable, and the thought that she was suspended in the air—by what was probably an ancient cable—was not exactly soothing. It was like being dangled over a cliff or frozen at the top of a Ferris wheel. How did the Ferris wheel even get its name? Had there been a Mr. Ferris who had sadistically designed such a disgusting, terrifying ride? Matt would probably know. If she ever got out of here, she could ask him. If she didn’t faint and smack her head on the wall and give herself brain damage, she could ask him.
“Julie? Julie?” Seth pounded on the top of the elevator doors.
“Don’t hit the doors, for God’s sake! You’ll probably plummet me to the basement!” Julie barely wanted to move in this death trap, and there was her boyfriend trying to snap what was probably the last frayed metal thread holding her up.
“You’re stuck between the third and fourth floor. This happens once in a while. I just called the building supervisor, who is calling the fire department.”
“Great. That sounds fun.” Julie carefully slumped to the floor and tucked her knees into her chest.
“You OK in there?”
“No. I’m not OK. I’m freaking out! I don’t want to be in here. Really. Not at all. I’m going to die any minute, I can just tell.”
“Um, do you want to do some deep-breathing exercises? Why don’t you visualize floating things? Feathers and clouds and bubbles. That might help.”
“No, I don’t want to do any frickin’ deep-breathing exercises! I want the goddamn fire department to get me out.”
“Julie, listen to me. I’ll count to five and you inhale through your nose along with me. Then exhale for five counts through your mouth. Ready? One, two—”
Shut. Up. Seth was no help whatsoever. Fine, he had called the fire department, but otherwise he was not helping her to relax one bit. Her phone sounded, and she realized that it was still in her hand, her fingers now white from gripping it so tightly.
Julie-
I should be around later, yes. Where you off to tonight?
-Finn
Oh, thank God. Finn! She checked Facebook’s chat from her phone, and he was signed on.
Julie Seagle
Am flipping stuck in an elevator. Alone. Miserable. Help is on the way supposedly, but I am not enjoying this experience. Starting to seriously panic. Sweating, shakes, visions of brutal death.