BEYOND THE SHORE......

Chapter -3

By time I reached my apartment building I was beyond tired, annoyed, and hungry. Because the damn photo shoot went so long I ended up getting caught in the tail end of the traffic coming out of the hockey arena. I forgot there was a game tonight so I went right into the traffic leaving.

The traffic alone took me almost 45 minutes to get out of which just further made my mood worsen. It was now nearing 8 o'clock at night and I was finally getting home when I really should have been home three hours ago.

With a sigh I grabbed my things and locked my car behind me, entering the front doors. I could already feel my comfy couch calling my name, along with the leftovers in the fridge, maybe the half pint of ice cream I didn't finish the other day. Just the thought alone made my stomach grumble.

Feeling my phone buzz I took it out as soon as the elevator doors opened. The score to the hockey game tonight flashed across my screen making my wince. Damn another loss. Hitting the number 4 for my floor I leaned back against the wall shaking my head at my phone.

The sound of someone calling out made my head snap up. Just as I opened my mouth a hand slid in-between the elevator doors, stopping it from closing. The doors reopened as a body walked in.

A baseball cap covered most of their face but it was clearly a guy. A tall guy. My eyes fell onto the large gym like bag hanging on his shoulder. For a brief second I caught a symbol on it but he moved making it disappear.

My gaze moved upwards noting the long legs incase in a pair of track pants. Next to the jacket covering the guys upper body, the fabric practically glued to his arms. Very muscular arms I may add.

Before he could catch me ogling him like a total idiot I ducked my head, looking back at my phone. From under my lashes I saw the guy move off to the other side of the elevator, keeping his head ducked down.

The silence in the elevator was a bit stifling but I was too awkward to be the one to make conversation first. Not with anyone let alone a guy.

As the elevator went up I shifted on my feet. I dared another glance at the guy curiosity getting the better of me. But just as I did I suddenly felt the elevator shift. I stumbled to the side, gripping the railing. With a loud groan the elevator came to an abrupt halt.

"What the fuck?"

The words left my mouth before I could stop them. My head snapped towards the strangers the same time he did, our eyes clashing. The corner of his mouth twitched while my face flushed bright red. That hadn't meant to come out.

"Are we stuck?" I asked, looking over at the buttons on the guys side. He reached over and pressed the number five button but nothing happened.

My grip tightened on the railing as he started pushing random buttons, even when he pushed the emergency button nothing happened. When he muttered something close to 'shit' under his breath I knew it was not a good sign.

"Oh god we are stuck." Panic squeezed at my chest. The idea of being trapped in a giant metal box freaking me out more and more by the second.

"Its okay the company has most likely been notified when we stopped. They'll send someone to come get us soon." The stranger spoke for the first time since he stepped inside. I nodded but I had a sinking feeling no one knew we were in here.

It wasn't because I was claustrophobic that I was freaking out, no it was the thought of being stuck in here for god knows how long. Maybe someone is already on their way but would it take an hour? Three? Ten? Would be be stuck in for days? That thought alone scared the shit out of me.

Opening up my phone I went to see if I had reception to maybe call 9-1-1 but only saw Zero bars. Groaning I laid my head back against the wall, clenching my useless phone in my hand. Feeling the guys gaze on me I mumbled, "No service."

My pissy mood was coming back ten fold as it sunk in that I was literally stuck in an elevator. All I had wanted to do was come home and relax. Of course it was just my luck that today went from shit to shittier.

With my feet aching I slid down the wall and sat on the ground. Placing my purse and camera bag beside me I stretched out my legs. Might as well get comfortable if I'm gonna be stuck in here for who knows how long.

From the corner of my eye I noticed the stranger put his gym bag down and follow my lead by sitting on the floor. His legs were extremely long as he put them out in front of him, the tips almost grazing the other side of the elevator. We sat a few feet away from each other but his presence seemed to take up the entire room.

His baseball cap was still lowered so I couldn't see his face clearly but it didn't take a genius to know he was attractive. Once again finding myself staring at him I looked around the elevator. I don't know what I was looking for, seeing that it was just a big metal box with a few buttons. On the plus side though we still had light above us so it wouldn't be pitch black.

Silence seemed to stretch between us as neither of us talked. The silence was almost deafening. The only sound was our breathing or the slight shuffle of our feet. I was usually fine making conversation with random people, hell I could talk a monkey's ear off if I had the chance. But talking to an attractive guy....yeah that was an issue.

Whenever I was around someone my age and who was attractive my throat seemed to close up and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. It was like I became a mute. Beside me the guy let out a long sigh and ran a hand down his face. I noticed his shoulders were hunched down a bit like he wasn't in a good mood.

"Hard day?" I found myself asking before I could stop myself.

"You could say that." He grunted. I snorted knowing what he meant.

"I'm Josie by the way." I introduced myself. He finally looked over in my direction. His eyes met mine again and I tried to ignore the sudden shiver down my spine.

"Garcia." The corner of his lip tilted up slightly.

"Nice to meet you." I sent him a small smile back. Inwardly I marveled at how well his name actually suited him. Not to mention the name was weirdly attractive.

Damn he's fine. My inner voice said before I quickly shut it up. I'm going to be stuck in this elevator with him for god knows how long, the last thing I or even he needs is me drooling over him.

I watched as he brought his giant gym back over to him. As he flipped it around I finally caught the logo on the side. As soon as I did I felt my eyes widen before snapping up to him.Holy shit. Richard Garcia. The lead Forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team was sitting right next to me.

Everyone in Toronto knew who Garcia was. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know who he is. At 25 he is one of the best hockey players in the league. He started playing for the Maples Leafs when he was only 20, one of the youngest to play in any league. He's lead the team to the Stanley Cup multiple times and they've won it twice any league. He's lead the team to the Stanley Cup multiple times and they've won it twice.

He was basically a celebrity around here. Which now made sense why he had his cap down low so you couldn't see his face and the giant gym bag. As well as the tension in his shoulders, no doubt because they lost yet again tonight.

I had no clue I shared an apartment building with him. But then again I only just moved in a year ago and stayed to myself most of the time. Judging from the number he was a floor above me too.

Inwardly I was slightly fangirling. It's not everyday you meet a famous athlete, especially the 'hometown' hero. But despite my inner fangirl I knew better than to go full out fan mode. There's a reason he's keeping his distance and keeping his hat low. I doubt he wanted a fans attention right now. Plus I wasn't one to go up to someone and bombard them...even if we are stuck in an elevator together. And knowing me what will come out of my mouth will just further embarrass myself.

So I pushed aside the fact that Garcia was stuck in an elevator with me. Not needing anymore reasons to act like a total dork.