FICTION
Lip Service, Who Pays Who?
Sometimes what you want is not really what you need
“What the fu..?!”
His arrogant manner and patronizing smile fueled Layna’s fury.
She could hardly remember the times when she was in love with this man. Despite his handsome looks, he repulsed her. The only reason she was in this nineteenth century lift with him was to sign the divorce papers.
Despite her fury, she had admired her surroundings. Being in this lift transported her back to a different lifetime. The dark brown mahogany wainscoting and the heavy brass paneled lift doors formed a beautiful combination.
Irritation and fury had dissolved her fascination.
“What’s gotten into you, Barry? Get this thing moving again.”
The smile stayed, but his eyes changed.
She wavered.
For a moment, she saw the eyes of the man she once was in love with. Seeing him here, in his suit, looking as handsome as ever, unsettled her.
Why had he stopped the lift? She glanced at the buttons. Would she be able to flip the switch?
“Barry, please?”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Her voice matched her irritated expression.
“Just one more,” he said.
“What?” she snapped.
“Kiss.”
Two things happened: her eyes widened with shock and she noticed the switch marked ‘service’ behind his shoulder.
“A kiss?”
His smile disappeared and his eyes softened.
Layna noticed.
Was he really as arrogant as she thought, or was it a front he held up to protect himself from hurt? Where did things go wrong between them?
She knew the answer: their careers. Ever since they both pursued different careers, they had drifted apart. No more sex. No more fun. Only work, no passion.
She shrugged.
It was over.
Once the papers were signed, they could stop hurting each other.
“No way, Barry,” she said, and when she saw the hurt in his eyes, she averted her gaze.
Her eye caught the old-fashioned dial above the door. It showed they were hovering between the third and the fourth floor. The attorney’s office was on the top floor, the fifth.
They needed to get going.
She lunged towards him, her arm stretched out and her red-nailed index finger stretched out and ready to push the ‘service’ button.
Barry caught her wrist in mid-air, pushed her arm down, and turned her around. His other arm curled around her body. Her back rested against his chest.
“One kiss, Layna, one kiss and I will let you go,” he whispered in her ear.
His heart beat against her back; his breathing was shallow and quick. His lithe body supported her weight.
Her heart matched the rhythm of his. Her knees were weak, her crotch damp.
The leaden blanket that had covered her being for so long disappeared from her shoulders.
Layna turned around and pressed her body to his. She lifted her face to Barry and as she kissed him, she pushed the service button and thought: we can do this.
The lift shocked and shivered and moved again.
On the fifth floor, the doors opened, but they didn’t get out.
Layna looked at Barry and said: “Let’s go home.”
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