MAI LOOKED AT HER PHONE for what seemed like the 100th time. The guy beside her had pushed the emergency button 30 minutes ago and yet no one had come to help. She was definitively going to be late. She hoped her date would wait for her. She wasn't sure it would be true but it wouldn't hurt her to hope, right? 

The only good thing about being stuck in the elevator was that she had time to think, normally her days were always charged with no time to breathe. She was starting to have doubts about her date. If her date and her had chemistry everything would be awkward because she would be dating her boss's son and if it didn't work it would be weird as well. In the back of her head, she knew that mixing work and personal matters was a recipe for disaster, but she was longing to find a partner.

The guy stuck in the elevator was sitting down with one leg bent close to his torso. His arm was resting on his bent knee and his head rested on the wall of the elevator. His eyes were closed and he almost looked serene waiting in this small place, which was the opposite of her as the small hamster in her head was running very fast. 

She took a deep breath to ease down her worries. She knew worrying like that wouldn't repair the elevator faster, but it was easier said than done. She sighed and slid down slowly as her tight dress didn't make it easy to do so. As she sat down, she saw the guy stir beside her. Mai turned her head towards the guy who was currently pinching the bridge of his nose. She had only seen him from afar and he seemed good looking, but it was entirely different up close. She felt herself growing closer to him. 

Suddenly the guy opened his eye and turned his head so he was facing Mai. He slowly approached her until she could feel his warm breath on her skin. She felt captivated by his eye, then on instinct, she looked to his lips who seemed very kissable. 

"Is there something on my lips?" The guy smirked as Mai looked up back to meet his eyes. Her eyes opened wide as she realized the situation she was currently in. She felt her face heat up and moved as far as she could from the guy, which wasn't a lot since they were in a small elevator. 

The guy nonchalantly continued to observe Mai "So is there something on my face?" He asked with a cocky attitude. By his response, she deduced that he knew he was pretty and this scenario probably had already happened before.

"Uhm," Mai said trying to think of the perfect response to hide the fact that she was looking at him, "You have something on your forehead."

The guy frowned, "where?"

"Uhm, it's on your forehead," Mai didn't what took a hold of her but she scooted closer to the guy. The guy didn't do anything as Mai got closer to him and she gingerly touched the scar on his forehead.

Mai slowly went back to her sitting position and the guy cleared his throat. "My best friend did this when I was younger, I didn't know a soccer ball would hurt this much," the guy half-smiled.

Mai chuckled finding the situation pretty unconventional. She put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her laugh. The guy in front of her scrunched his eyebrows as she tried to suppress her laugh. But it was a failure as she couldn't erase the image of her head of a small boy receiving a soccer ball on his head. 

A smile appeared on the guy's face as Mai couldn't contain her laughter. "What have I said that is so funny?"

Mai started her sentence but was cut by her giggles, "It's just... just that I was thinking of how you got that scar..."

"So you are the type of person who laughs when a kid is hurt?" the guy asked as the girl in front of her was laughing non-stop.

Mai took a big breath as she tried to calm herself down, "No, well ... I mean the scene must have been funny." The guy's eyes closed as he tried to recall the scene and a small giggle escaped his lips. Mai was trying to make as little sound as possible while the guy was thinking.

The guy opened his eyes and started laughing too and soon both were crying of laughter.

--

As they both stopped laughing, Mai felt relieved. Of what she didn't know but she knew she hadn't laughed like that in a while. 

She probably shouldn't have felt safe with this stranger but she did. Sometimes talking to a stranger and telling them of your worries helped so maybe that was the case with this handsome stranger. 

She took a big breath, "So my name is Mai, what is yours?" She didn't know if the stranger would tell her his name but she had to try if they were to wait in this elevator for a while longer. Putting a name to a face is better.

The guy's face went from a surprised expression to being deep in thoughts. He must not want to say his name. Mai quickly added, "It's alright if you don't want to say your name..." but the guy stopped her in mid-sentence.

"My name is Peter. It's not that I don't want to say my name, it's just that your name. I think I've heard it before but I don't know where."

Mai let out a breath as Peter chuckled. The atmosphere went still as no one talked. 

"Uhm.."

"So..." They both talked at the same time and both mentioned the other one to start speaking.

Peter fidgeted as he asked," So are you here on vacation, or do you live here?"

Mai smiled, "I live in this city but I am here on a date," Peter's smile faded and Mai quickly added, "I don't think it's going to work though. It was my boss who arranged this date, so I wasn't that excited about it, to be honest, I felt a little forced to go. What about you?"

 "Unfortunately I work here but I'm also a musician in my free time," Peter said looking at Mai.

Peter was staring at Mai's face and she asked, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Peter cleared his throat, "Well you have two moles on your cheek," As soon as his words left his mouth, Mai's finger lingered on her moles which she didn't like. Her eyes fell to the ground. He chuckled and Mai's eye left the ground to meet his. "If you draw a mouth between these two moles, it makes a smiley face." 

She didn't know how he did it but she found herself smiling. "It's cute," He added and Mai felt heat rising in her face. 

She tried to change the conversation by asking Peter if she had produced any covers or songs that she would know.

He answered, "Maybe, but I'm not that famous right now, but one day I ..." Peter did not have time to finish his sentence and the two felt the elevator start to move toward the ground floor.

They got up and got out of the elevator. In front of them stood the director of the hotel who expressed who sorry he is for the inconvenience and offered them a free stay and a free dinner on the house. They thanked the director and turned around to get as far as him as possible.

"Maybe would you like to eat dinner with me, seeing as your date as probably left" Peter proposed.

Mai made a sour face, "Thanks for reopening my wound, but hey it's not every day you get to have a free meal in a four-star hotel. But just so we're clear, we are taking the stairs."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the guy said following Mai as she walked toward the stairs.