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Hurrying into the elevator carriage she jammed the button for the penthouse as she hurriedly brushed the remnants of the Autumn rain off her dark dress coat. Who the hell wanted a May wedding in Sydney? Winter’s bite had just begun to nip at the air which did not work well for the incredibly short bridesmaid dress her sister had thrust upon her. She was freezing and the overly airconditioned fancy hotel where the reception was taking place wasn;t helping in the slightest.

What was taking so long? At the cost of hiring a room in this place they could at least have faster elevators. As she looked into the mirrored walls of the elevator she only just realised that she wasn’t alone. In the left back corner of the surprisingly spacious lift a tall dark haired man leant over his smartphone, his face obscured by the drenched collar of his trench coat. Although the rational part of her mind attempted to reason with her Jane’s thoughts quickly ran wild as her heartbeat thundered in her chest.

She was stuck in an elevator with a suspicious looking stranger on the way to her sister’s wedding. Her spoilt, bratty younger sister who had most definitely chosen the slutty and hideous bridesmaid dresses to make herself look better. Pushing her now ruined hair off her elaborately made up face she grabbed her phone out of her bag, punching the penthouse button again with a mumbled curse she waited for the elevator to rise...only for a low whining noise to echo throughout the space as they were plunged into a soft yellow lighting. 

Looking up at the roof she cursed a little louder this time as she realised the emergency lighting had come on, of course there was a power outage. Here she was at the fanciest hotel in the city and they didn’t have working elevators...or a stable power supply apparently. In the corner the man chuckled...low and familiar. An old type of familiar...like a distant memory trying to nudge at her mind. After pondering this for a second she quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn’t sparking any recognition in her so it was probably a vague sense of deja vu. 

Whilst she would normally stay quiet Jane was in a bad mood. She was cold and hungry, dressed atrociously with wrecked hair and probably runny mascara on the way to her asshole of a sister’s wedding to a twat of a man...a boy in a suit really. It had been a very long day and her normally limited social battery had long since died, she needed to make an appearance and chit chat for a couple of hours and then...only then could she go home. Home to her comfy bed and her rescue greyhounds. Home to normal food that her basic stomach would actually enjoy like ice cream and cookies...hell vegetable sticks not doused in ridiculous amounts of oils and seasonings would seem like heaven at this point, she hated wedding food.

Her stomach to her embarrassment growled at these thoughts, her cheeks flushing crimson as the man in the corner looked up and met her gaze. That’s when her lungs seemed to freeze. What were the chances? What were the chances that this man was the same one that she had been avoiding for 7 years. The only person in the world that could properly get under her skin...the only person that her heavily introverted self actually had loved at one point. 

Why it never occurred to her that her family would invite him to her sister’s wedding...of course they would. They had lived next to one another for years, their parents were best friends. Just because she hadn’t kept in contact with Alex...just because she had avoided him for years didn’t mean the others would. They were all still close and didn’t know the great Alex and Jane breakup of 2008. The worst part was they hadn;t even been dating, it was a best friend breakup rather than a romantic one and they were always the worst ones...the most potent.

“ What’s been happening Janey? Do you come here often?”

Jane couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face without her permission. She couldn’t help it, his quirky sense of humour and teasing tone had her transported back 7 years when they were both fresh faced 19 year olds on the verge of their ‘roaring 20’s’. Despite everything that had gone down between them he still was the same old Alex...a genuinely nice guy. He couldn’t hold a grudge to save himself and his temper was pretty much non-existent, the complete opposite to Jane. 

Despite being a self diagnosed nerd with her multiple degrees in technology and heavily introverted personality. She had a surprisingly vivacious temper that was impossible to tame and often got her into trouble or burnt people. Jane knew that those on the receiving end of her temper often deserved it...but Alex hadn’t. Her cheeks flushed again at this point, although for an entirely different reason.

She couldn’t keep the surprise off her face as her childhood best friend and crush stepped closer to her, covering the distance between them with a single step. In one quick moment her uncontrollable shivering died off as the surprising warmth of his trench coat covered her shoulders like a warm hug. It’s familiar scent had her fighting the urge to sniff the material, or the man standing next to her.

“ For such a smart woman you are really not dressed for the weather Janey. Don’t they teach you that at the exclusive universities?’

While Alex’s tone was teasing, the faded yet still existent hurt in his voice had Jane cringing.

“ Alex, I…”

“ No, Jane...I should have never tried to get you to stay, it was completely unfair of me. You aren’t your sister. You aren’t the type to settle for the typical family business lifestyle. You aren’t a florist like your Mum and sister. You are Jane Acorn, female technology expert. An innovator and entrepreneur, destined to take the technology world by storm. I wasn’t going to be that one hometown idiot that was going to hold you back...but you are back.

As the electricity spurred back to life with a muted crackle the man next to her leant down and whispered in her ear, the goosebumps that erupted over her skin had nothing to do with the cold.