Midnight Muse

The breaths I’m releasing through my nose to keep calm are harsh and shaky. In a way, I deserved this. Knox thought I was insulting him and he reacted like the hurt man he is. I can’t fault him for that.

Except that I can and I am.

Annoyance bubbles underneath my skin. Dipping down, I snatch the papers from the hall floor, not caring if they get crumpled in my haste. The doors of the elevator are beginning to wheel shut but I slip through them before they can close completely, trapping me inside with Knox.

If he thought he was going to avoid the consequences of what just happened in the hall, he has another thing coming.

The tiny, metal box that’s grinding down the elevator shaft is filled to the brim with tension. I can feel the stiffness wafting off of Knox’s body, even though he’s leaning against the wall like he doesn’t have a care in the world, his head buried in his phone.

My anger emits in waves and I feel like I’m drowning in it. What I said came out the wrong way. I had in no way meant it like I didn’t want his hands touching my things, but the way he’d gone preternaturally still—that flash in his eyes makes my stomach clench—haunts me. I want to cry because his hands aren’t ugly in the least. If anything, they’re the most beautiful pieces of artwork I’ve ever seen: imperfect, yet so, so perfect.

Of course he retaliated the way that he did. I would’ve misconstrued the comment as well, but there’s an itch in my side that’s telling me he didn’t have to react like that, dropping my work back to the ground. Yet another misunderstanding between the both of us.

When I try to speak, there’s a screeching that sounds more horrible than usual. The elevator jerks to a sudden stop.

I stumble with the motion and Knox steadies me before removing his hands just as quickly. His touch is searing, and his brows are pinched as the lights in the tiny space flicker before giving out entirely.

“What the fuck?” I question, voice pitched higher because of the nerves that overtake me. We’re stuck. The elevator has stopped working and I’m stuck in it with Knox. “Oh, my God! We’re trapped!”

Knox grunts, punching the buttons on the door. An emergency light flickers on, casting the metal box in a dim, fluorescent glow. Nothing Knox is trying works and I’m officially beginning to freak out.

I watch as he tries to pry the doors open by sheer force, but even with the bulging of his impressive, tattooed biceps, he’s no match for the metal jaws of death.

Tossing a look over his shoulder to me, he says, “What are you standing around for, Princess? Call the fire department, or something.”

“Right,” I respond weakly, scrambling for my phone. Drawing my gaze away from Knox’s muscular form, I dial emergency services. The operator is nice about it, sending someone our way while telling us to remain calm and wait for assistance. Obviously, she doesn’t know Knox and I well enough to know that “calm” isn’t in either of our vocabularies.

When I tell Knox that all we can do is wait, his eyes narrow suspiciously like I’ve planned this all along. He looks like he wants to ask more, but he nods instead, sinking down and making himself comfortable against the wall. He looks up at me expectantly, so I sigh, dropping my bag from my shoulder and collapsing to the floor across from him.

His legs are so long that they nearly stretch across the entire length of the elevator, and I can’t help but follow the path back up to his eyes, bright in the dimly lit space. I avert my gaze as quickly as possible.

I don’t know how long it will take for the fire department to arrive, so I shoot off a quick text to Rory about the predicament I’m in, letting her know that I won’t be able to make it to class and to give my coffee to Reid instead. I add a sad emoji because I really, really needed that caffeine.

Across from me, Knox’s phone buzzes. He reads it and his eyes flicker up to me in a sharp glare.

“Slate seems to think that this is hilarious,” he says, and I don’t know why the deep timber of his voice feels like fingers brushing across my skin. “Why did you tell him?”

“I texted Rory,” I huff, defensively. Crossing my arms over my chest, I level him with a glare of my own. “I don’t control who she tells.”

Knox rolls his eyes, shutting off his screen.

It’s silent for a long time. There are no sounds coming from the outside of the elevator and I wonder if anyone has even noticed that it’s stuck. The stupid thing takes so long to arrive at any floor that I think most patrons choose to take the stairs by now, or give up when the elevator never reaches their floor.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt when I can’t take the quiet any longer. Knox raises a straight, dark eyebrow and I flush. Sheepishly, I continue, “I didn’t mean what I said in the hall like that. I just—I didn’t want you seeing my sketches.”

It’s the most I can give him without spilling the truth of exactly what the subject of my drawings are.

Knox’s jaw works and it looks like he’s contemplating something important with the way that he’s assessing me. Maybe he’s trying to read me to see if I’m telling the truth, if my apology is sincere or not. The intensity of his eyes makes me want to pull my hat down over my head and hide from his sight.

“It’s okay,” he says finally, and then quieter, “I’m sorry for the day we met.”

Surely my eyes are bugging out of my head with how wide I’m staring at him in shock. I’m pretty sure my jaw has fallen through the floor and is waiting for me in the lobby. I never ever thought I’d see the day where Knox apologized for that, and right here, trapped in this elevator, I’m completely bamboozled.

“Don’t look so surprised.” He rolls his eyes at the way my mouth is gaping dramatically. “It’s a long overdue apology.”

Damn fucking right it is.

“Are you going to forgive me or not, Princess?” Knox asks when I’m still at a loss for words.