The Heat – Part 2

The heat

“What grows best in the heat: fantasy; unreason; lust.”
― Salman Rushdie

Part 2

The silence in the room felt as heavy as lead when Alan left, after finally managing to retrieve the legal documents he was looking for. The atmosphere was exhausted and uneasy, full of words that were still unsaid and emotions and fears that were still – and maybe would remain – unspoken.

This was so not like them, Lisa thought.

Al had been right when he had told her and Michael that there had never been any need to meet up after their first agreement, during their separation. So far, she and her husband – or ex-husband, even though they were technically still married and had never really talked about divorce yet – had always managed to put their mutual wellbeing first. But, even more importantly, their kids’ happiness was at the top of any conversation they shared.

However, this time all felt different. Of course, Lisa knew that possibly she and Michael making love in the damn foyer hadn’t been the most brilliant idea in the long run. It had left traces, scars, painful and exciting new wounds, and their relationship and communication had changed once again, afterward and since. All had become more awkward than before. Trickier.

Since then, she had made it a point of avoiding him as best as she could, fearing that what had happened once could happen again. But what was most terrifying was that she would have let him take her any time he wanted, in any way he wanted, no doubt. Because she craved his body and missed his soul. She longed for his physical and emotional presence. And that was never to happen again, since she was finally determined to learn to be by herself. Besides… She and Michael had chosen a route and they were supposed to walk on it, instead of stumbling around like two drunk chickens.

Right now, being alone in a deserted office, in a deserted building, on a hot summer night wasn’t helping her clear her mind either. If anything, Michael had just been extremely perceptive and had sensed that something was off in her plan, and he almost had caught her off guard. She had to pay attention to what she said if she truly wasn’t willing to relent. And she wasn’t! She wanted to go to Ireland, she needed to have her kids with her and she would do just that, whether Michael liked it or not. So, perceptive or not, he would have to suck it up for once.

Lisa threw him a subtle glance. He was slumped in his chair and was playing with his phone. He was also sulking, yet looked magnificent in those casual clothes, with pretty much no makeup on at all. A bit tired and maybe slightly more angular than usual, but looking amazing nonetheless.

She swallowed. Shit…

She had to admit something that even earlier that day she had noticed, when he had dropped the kids at Hidden Hills. He was in great shape, and even more so since they had… well, since that little sexual encounter they had shared. It sure made her wonder. Did she have any merit? Did he look so good because he was glowing and hopeful? And why did she even care? Regardless, she had put one hell of a fight to ignore him up until this point. After all, not seeing him for more than ten seconds every now and then had certainly helped her keep her distance. Too bad that tonight she couldn’t avoid him any longer and, in fact, them sharing the same space for hours was something that hadn’t happened in a very long time.

How diluted in the past and yet still so present to be almost tangible, the times when they were happy together still felt. So long ago. When she was with him in Vegas for his Family Honors show, still hidden from the public and yet very much his lover, holed up in a hotel room with him, saying yes to his lame-ass – and yet so endearing – marriage proposal. And how eerie the ghost of a possible divorce looming over them, a couple of years later, seemed now. What had saved them, back then, had been her unexpected pregnancy. She had found out that she was expecting Michael’s baby when things between the two of them were far from optimal, and splitting up was almost becoming a definite possibility.

Her pregnancy had stopped everything in its tracks, and had made it disappear as if it had never been there to begin with. She and Michael had gotten close again, closer than ever before, and their lives had started to mold and shift on that of their soon-to-be baby. The truth was that first Alexander and then the twins had possibly saved Michael and Lisa from countless knee-jerk reactions and maybe even a couple of temporary separations. They had saved them from the heartbreak that being apart would have entailed. And then… Well, then it had happened anyway.

At one point, not even the love they still felt for each other and not even their kids had been able to stop the avalanche. Realizing that Michael still loved her, realizing that she could feel his love with an intensity that bordered on pain – and it didn’t matter how many mindless one-night-stands he could have in Vegas, nor the couple of guys she had dated in the past year – made her feel sad and defeated all of a sudden.

“Lisa… Why are you so quiet now? Aren’t we supposed to talk?”

His voice – back at being calm and even – reeled her back, but the sadness stayed where it was.

“Mike, look… Yeah… I know Al asked us to see if we can sort this out but honestly… I don’t think this is the right time.” Exactly correct. This was the time to haul ass and lock herself into her house and keep pretending that Michael was always in Vegas, busy with his residency. Even when he was not. This was the time to pretend that being alone in a room with him wasn’t affecting her in all the wrong ways. “Maybe we should just leave, you know. Go home, sleep it off and talk some other time. When we’re calmer, more clear-minded. I’m sure Alan will understand.”

He had turned his head and now was staring at her in a way that made her feel devoid of any shelter. Not good at all.

“You think? But… we don’t have much time left to decide how we’re gonna manage your trip…”

“Well, you’re gonna be working anyway.”

“Not for the entire month. You know damn well that I only have two shows per week. I can manage the rest of my time the way I see fit.”

“Yeah, and that usually means practicing nonstop and obsessively controlling that everything is going exactly the way you want it to go…”

Her tone had come out a bit snippy but hey, she was nervous and slightly more rattled than she wanted to admit. Yet, she had to appreciate his calm demeanor.

Michael just closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, finding her. Dark, black pools that threatened to suck her in, if she didn’t pay attention.

“You might be right about that. Especially now that the show is coming to an end. I want the whole thing to go out with a bang. But still… My family always comes first. And you should know that too.”

“Is that what you say to the women you see in Vegas? That your family always comes first?”

Now, now… this had been an unexpected, venomous reply even for her standards – which could be pretty elastic when her rationale was clouded like that. The truth was that she hadn’t planned to say anything of that sort and had never wanted to stoop so low. But maybe his idiotic remark about her wanting to find some Irish guy to fuck had cut her more deeply than she had initially thought.

Once again, Michael stared at her as if he was studying her. He licked his lips and blinked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There are no women. I ain’t seeing anyone.”

“You mean right now?”

Why in the world was she even asking? Why was it her business who he did or didn’t fuck, anyway?

“Not right now and not since…” His eyes closed for a moment and he shook his head, then sighed. “Never mind. You’re right. We should go.”

There she was. She had made a mess. She could be such an idiot sometimes! He had been relatively open – if one put aside his obvious disapproval for her holiday in Ireland – and quite mild, and yet she had ruined it. Michael was clamming up again and obviously was no longer in the mood to discuss anything. If she had the slightest chance to convince him not to make a big deal out of her trip, she had definitely blown it.

Lisa watched him as he stood up and casually retrieved the couple of things he had put on Alan’s desk when he had arrived at his office. His cell phone, his sunglasses. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, it stunned her to realize how much she wanted him back and how her heart couldn’t tolerate the idea of him being with another woman. So why had she brought it up? She should have known better than shoot herself in the foot like that!

She was aware that Michael had fucked some girls since their separation, and had pretended not to care. For a while, it had even worked somehow because she could still be pretty good at bullshitting herself, but right now the boat was sinking and she was out of lifeboats. And maybe what hurt her even more wasn’t the fact that he could screw some other gal… but that he could potentially fall in love with her. Why was the mere thought about making her throw up?

And also… what was he going to say before the shutter came down and locked her out again? He hadn’t been seeing anyone since… since what? Since when?

She too rose from the chair.

“Michael…”

He was already at the door, on his way out. He didn’t even turn around when he spoke again.

“Come on. Let’s go. It’s late… and I’m tired.”

Lisa swallowed. His voice sounded exhausted and bland, slightly cold, but he was right. The best thing they could do was leave and sleep it off for real before they truly made a mess. If she had hoped some miracle would magically happen, this wasn’t obviously the place nor the time.

“OK… Just let me write down a note for Alan. So he doesn’t think we got kidnapped or something…” Sighing, she scribbled down a few words on Al’s notepad. “Alright… All done.”

Michael didn’t reply. He just held the door open for her.

He didn’t like the way he felt. What he liked even less, however, was how dismissive Lisa seemed to be about everything that concerned him – his plans, his priorities, his feelings, his objections. She should have known better than shrug him off like that. And that little dig about the girls… those few girls in Las Vegas he had at times entertained himself with… Well, that hadn’t sat well with him either. He knew that she knew, not because he had told her but because rumors would always find a way to swirl around and find their favorite target. However, he would have preferred not to see the subject being brought up in front of Alan.

Michael had never cheated on Lisa while they were together – ever. And he knew that she had never cheated on him either. Sleeping with a few unknown women after breaking up with her was something that he had done because he wanted to, because he had felt lonely and in need of some comfort, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he felt good about it.

Through the years, and especially since Lisa had gotten pregnant with Alex, Michael had slowly but surely learned what marriage really meant. In retrospect, he now knew that his initial idea of what relationships were supposed to be wasn’t really adherent to reality. And also that his expectations had been utterly surreal at times. His and Lisa’s first baby, and then the twins, and of course giving themselves the time to learn and grow, had helped him. In practical terms, that meant that he still believed in the sanctity of marriage, wasn’t fond of partners cheating on each other, and in a way felt guilty about having had other women in his bed despite being separated. Because he was still technically married to Lisa, yes, but also – and mostly – because he was still in love with her.

It didn’t even matter that she had dated a couple of guys in the past year. Despite seeing red and being jealous as all get out, Michael understood where she came from. Lisa had felt immensely lonely for quite some time, even before their separation, and she had never handled loneliness well at all. She needed companionship. If anything, he should have noticed earlier and reacted accordingly, but had been too wrapped up in his own business to have space for her too.

Their break-up had been the natural result of becoming progressively distant, of some disagreements that apparently couldn’t be fixed and maybe, just maybe, it also had something to do with some sort of midlife crisis. They had shared over ten years of absolute bliss, during which they had managed to cope with the countless nuances of their lives: his business, her business, their charity projects, the press, their fans, their haters, their family life, the space he needed at times to let his art flow freely, her need to have a positive relationship with Danny and so on.

They had also dodged some bullets – like that time when Lisa, intuitively, had brusquely cut off all communications between Michael and some weird-ass family after finding out about their penchant for celebrity fishing and previous shady allegations that felt very much financially motivated. Their marital life hadn’t always been easy, and on a few occasions it had been a real struggle, but they had always managed to make it work.

Then, a couple of years earlier, the offer of a residency in Vegas had fallen straight into Michael’s lap. Back then, he had already reached the point of sheer exhaustion. After that horrible accident in 1999, his back had never been the same and dancing on the regular was no longer an option. He was also getting older, a concept he still struggled with. His perfectionism allowed him to pull out an album every five, six years and he needed some new business ventures to keep the flames ablaze. In the end, Vegas had sounded like a great idea – especially since he would only have to perform once, twice a week. It was feasible and profitable – and good publicity.

The only problem was that the twins were very young and Alex loved the life he lived in L.A., his school, his baseball team and so on and so forth. In a nutshell, eradicating his family and moving them all to another State was not something Lisa was willing to consider.

Fights had begun, silent treatments had been reciprocally delivered, and the chasm between a once-solid couple had started to grow. And if she and Michael had somehow managed to hiccup through the first year of his residency, having him come back home only one or two days a week, the wedge splitting them up had been his desire to start a second – and final – set of shows.

Another year apart. Another year of flying back and forth from Nevada to California just to spend some casual, fleeting moments together.

Maybe in their younger years they would have been able to smoothly sail through something like that. After all, they had done it during and after Lisa’s first pregnancy, while Michael was busy with his world tour. However, she obviously wanted something different at this stage of her life. Or maybe she needed Michael to make different choices.

It was too late, regardless. At the end of December, his residency would be over and from that point on, he would have to decide what to do next with his business… and his life.

Still very much folded into his own meditations, Michael watched the red button of the elevator turn green. He felt Lisa’s presence by his side and also her discomfort, but at the moment didn’t have the energy to do much about it. He had tried as best as he could to make her see his reasons during the meeting, and she had been nothing but a rubber wall. Rebuffing him constantly, refusing to hear his objections, misreading his words on purpose, being snarky just for the sake of it. She could be a bit of a bitch at times… but was still the gorgeous, irresistible, sexy bitch he adored with all his heart and soul. Too bad she no longer seemed able to see it, or maybe she just didn’t care anymore.

After all, Lisa ignoring the hell out of him for the past month should have been a dead giveaway.

Ding.

“Here we go… Ladies first.”

Michael uttered the words under his breath and motioned for her to enter the elevator. Lisa obliged quietly. If up until five minutes earlier she had been sharp-tongued as usual, now all of a sudden she didn’t seem to have anything to say any longer. Hey, maybe it was easier to yap as long as an outsider like Alan could act as a buffer.

He followed her inside and pushed the button to the ground floor. The elevator doors closed slowly and with a squeaking sound and he shook his head. The whole building needed a renovation – including this old-ass freight elevator that looked cool and vintage, but was as slow as a snail.

Just four floors, and then he and Lisa would part ways once again. Metaphorically and otherwise. He just had to hold on just a little longer and keep pretending that he was as cool as a cucumber… and then maybe, in a day or two, he would no longer feel so disappointed with their obvious inability to communicate.

Then, on their way down between the third and second floor, something happened. The elevator jerked, they heard a “klang”, and everything went black.

Lisa gasped and Michael just stood there for a second, stunned, suddenly bathed in complete, perfect darkness.

“What the fuck is going on?”

She only sounded slightly alarmed. For now, at least. Michael stayed quiet for a second, blinking and waiting for whatever inconvenience was going on to just fix itself. And fix itself it did, apparently, because about ten seconds later the power went back on and the elevator resumed its descent.

He found Lisa’s eyes, not uttering a word.

“What the heck was that?”

She tried to smile, but he could tell that the sudden blackout had taken her completely by surprise. She was slightly rattled and he knew that it was because she was a bit claustrophobic. She had told him in the past that it was one thing to have a quickie in an elevator, but the idea of being stuck in there against her will scared the living daylights out of her.

Michael just shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know… Probably just a little malfunction. But it seems OK now.”

He genuinely hoped it was. All of a sudden, he felt tired for real and needed to drive back home and pretend that this meeting hadn’t happened at all. It all felt way too strained and, quite uncharacteristically, he was slightly uncomfortable in Lisa’s presence at the moment. Maybe it was because things hadn’t gone the way he had planned, or perhaps because his mind was still reeling at the possibility that she could leave the States forever. Whatever the case, he really needed to go home, have a drink, possibly dance his frustrations away for a bit and then try to sleep for a few hours. If that was even feasible, given the circumstances.

Then, the very moment the elevator left the second floor and started going down toward the first, that jerking thing happened again. Once, twice, three times, to the point that Michael almost lost his balance. At the same time, everything went dark again and in the slight commotion that followed before the elevator finally stopped mid-way, he managed to feel Lisa sway by his side and grabbed her by the arm, preventing her from falling.

The darkness became very still and very silent suddenly.

“Mike…”

“Wait… Wait a second…”

She stayed quiet and he finally listened. He had always had an excellent hearing and now focused on whatever noise emerged around him, trying as best as he could to guess what the hell was going on. The most terrifying perspective was to hear some metallic sounds signaling a possible mechanical issue… which would have been the worst-case scenario, given that the thing they were trapped in was a metal box surrounded by metal wires, pistons and only God knew what else. The last thing he wanted was to experience a repeat performance of his bridge accident. His body reacted on autopilot, shivers ran down his spine at the dreadful mental association and he found himself listening intently once again.

But no, nothing of that sort. No suspicious clanging. Just a little squeaking sound, possibly because the cabin was suspended mid-air and caught between one floor and the next.

He felt Lisa’s hand on his shoulder, then her grasp slid down his arm and reached his hand. Out of sheer instinct, he entwined his fingers with her and that simple gesture produced something that he was not expecting in the least. A sudden, soothing sense of comfort. If only two minutes earlier he had wanted to be away from her for a while, now he was glad to have her close. And even more, he was relieved that she wasn’t facing this thing alone. Whatever this was.

“Possibly nothing…”

“What?” Lisa’s voice emerged from the darkness.

He hadn’t realized that his thoughts had left the tight confines of his mind.

“This thing… I’m sure it’s nothing. A slight…”

“Malfunction… yeah, you already said that. But the light isn’t coming back, Michael.”

Well, apparently his little Lisa was some sort of magician because the moment she uttered the word “light”, once again the power went back on. Kind of.

A squared string of orangeish dim light flickered and then illuminated them from the top of the cabin, signaling that there was, in fact, something wrong with the elevator and that was why it was now in emergency mode. And the fact that Michael, once again, heard no sound at all surrounding them made him realize that maybe the whole issue was more extensive than they had initially thought.

He also remembered that the building was deserted.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…” Lisa let go of his hand and walked over to the elevator doors. She glanced up. “I can’t see shit from here.”

“Of course you can’t. The only light we got is in here.”

“You think this is a blackout?”

Michael shrugged once again. He was no electrician.

“Who knows… Maybe. Blackouts can happen, especially during the summer. And especially in L.A.”

She scrunched her eyebrows and glanced up again.

“Speaking of which… I don’t know if you noticed, but the A/C is gone as well.”

He hadn’t, but now, obviously, he did. Lisa was right. It was already getting hot in there, and despite the cabin being pretty big, it was still a metal box. An oven, if not adequately ventilated. He just chewed on his lips.

“Yeah… Well. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll fix it in a minute.”

This time she turned and faced him.

“They? Who’s gonna fix it, Mike? There’s no one in here. The whole damn building is empty, that’s why we decided to meet here, remember? Because it was safer for us!”

Once again, she did have a point. A couple of years earlier, Alan had rented the entire thing as a subsidiary office for his law firm, and Michael knew that the third floor was currently still unfurnished and uninhabited. As far as the second and the first floors went, he and Lisa had noticed that the whole staff had already left when they had arrived earlier that evening. And Lisa was also right when she said that the building was perfect for their little meeting because of the privacy it ensured. If nobody was there except for them and Alan, it meant that nobody would end up yapping to the paps about Mister Jackson and Miss Presley’s current marital issues. Or separation issues, or whatever.

“Well, alright, but there’s still Alan, right?” The moment Michael said the words, they totally made sense in his mind. “He hasn’t left. He said he was gon’ come back in a few minutes, and when he does… he’ll find us.”

Lisa sighed and glanced over at her watch.

“He’s been gone for over ten minutes already. Fucking hell…” She raked her fingers through her long hair and rolled her eyes. They were sparkling, as if she was about to lose it.

Michael cleared his throat and glanced up and around. No cameras. If that would have been great news on any other occasion, now it was a bit disappointing.

“OK, listen… You know what… We ain’t even gonna wait for him. Let’s just push the emergency button and someone will come to our rescue.”

This time she looked slightly more relieved. Why hadn’t he thought about such a simple solution right away? Oh, yeah. Because, despite his chill attitude, deep down he was as shaken by what was happening as Lisa was. He only was too proud to admit it. In the most hidden corner of his mind, the grimiest possibilities began to materialize. What if nobody came? What if those darn metal wires broke and the cabin fell into the void? What if he and Lisa ended up boiled alive in this iron tank? Yeah, well… Maybe that was a tad bit over the top.

“Come on… here we go…” Very casually, he pushed the emergency button.

And nothing happened. Nothing at all, not a damn thing.

Lisa started to bite her nails.

“Try again… No, wait, let me do it myself…”

He moved to the side and let her do her thing, hoping that she would be just as magical as she had been a few minutes earlier, when she had made the light come back just by mentioning it. It hadn’t lasted long but hey, it was still better than nothing.

Lisa pushed and pushed the button, and absolutely nothing changed.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“You already said that.”

“Michael, stop it, please. I’m gonna have a panic attack in about two minutes.”

“Just calm down, Lise. There’s no reason to get so upset. Blackouts happen all the time.”

“Well, it happened to us and now we’re stuck in here! How can you be so fucking relaxed?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just good at compartmentalization…”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“Yeah, I bet you are. You’ve always been a little weird, Mike.”

“I know. And that’s not gonna change. I’m gonna be this way forever.”

Shaking his head, he extracted his cell phone instead, ready to call 911. Without much hope, actually… and he was right. There was no signal. Swallowing, he pushed the phone back into his light jacket without even uttering a word. What did he expect, after all? Given where they were, it was obvious that they would end up being completely isolated – in all the ways that counted, seemed like.

Glancing over at Lisa again he found himself staring at her. He couldn’t help but notice that she no longer looked like the strong-headed, independent woman he had faced during the meeting. She had become almost a little girl. She was back at being the vulnerable, high-maintenance woman he remembered very, very well… Because he had fallen in love with her over and over again through the years. As complex and at times challenging as she was, Lisa was anything but unlovable.

“What are you smiling at?”

He almost jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t been smiling at all! Or had he?

“I’m not smiling.”

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she looked as if all air had been taken out of her sails.

“OK… Look… I’m sorry I snapped at you… I just don’t like this. Closed spaces make me cranky. And I’m gonna get even crankier and moodier in a minute, my ears’ gonna keep popping, I’ll feel like fainting and then I’ll have a panic attack.”

“Stop saying that! You won’t do anything because nothing is gonna happen. They’re gonna get this thing going before we can even realize what’s going on.”

“They, who? Nobody answered the fucking emergency button, Michael!”

Michael just kept staring at her and she did the same, as if she was scanning his face looking for answers that he didn’t have. Seconds passed, then she gave him a deadpanned look.

“Don’t make me come up with thought bubbles to put over those silent looks of yours. Just say what you’re thinking. Spit it out. Do you think it’s as bad as it seems?”

Well, the situation certainly wasn’t optimal, that was for sure. His hearing was all he had and his ears didn’t detect any noise signaling that anyone was coming to their rescue. Like firefighters getting ready to physically pull them out of that elevator, for example. As a matter of fact, he was starting to wonder where the hell Alan had gone. At this point, he had been missing for quite some time and was already supposed to be back. He was also the only one who knew that Michael and Lisa were there because, quite uncharacteristically, neither one of them had brought security detail over for the meeting. It was supposed to be a confidential thing and now, ironically, it had become super-private. Even a little too much.

“I think…” Michael took in a deep breath and then let it go slowly. How could he speak his mind without freaking Lisa out even more? “I think it’s possible that nobody knows we’re here. Not even Alan… After all, you left a note on his desk saying that we were leaving, right? We’re supposed to be gone. We even turned off the lights on our way out… So there’s no way he can imagine we’re trapped in this thing.”

“Oh, damn. I had forgotten about that fucking note. What do we do now?”

She was biting her nails again and he had to fight against the instinct to grab her hand and pull it away from her mouth. That nasty habit had always irritated him to no end.

“Nothing. If it’s a blackout, and I think that’s exactly what it is, it will pass at one point. So we’ll just stay here and stop brawling like two idiots… And wait until it’s over. It’s already hot enough as it is in here, even without us fighting.”

“You don’t want me to start shouting? Maybe someone will hear.”

“Who? There’s nobody here, you said it yourself! What’s you shrieking like a banshee gonna change?” He threw his hands in the air, trying very hard to keep his composure.

Lisa grimaced. She looked very much on the verge of tears.

“God damn it. What were we thinking, Mike? When things are going good, that’s God’s fucking way of saying to cover your ass. ‘Cause it’s about to get bit. Hard. And now look at us. Fucking shit.”

Even putting her usual super-potty mouth aside, he had no idea of what the heck she was talking about. He just watched her as she moved to the opposite side of the cabin, rested her back against the metal wall, then slowly slid down to the floor. She hid her face into her hands for a moment, looking small and tired and scared.

Once again, he had to fight against his instinct, only this time it had nothing to do with her biting her nails. Instead, he just wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go of her again.

She was tired. And a bit petrified at the hopelessness of all this.

The most outlandish outcome Lisa would have imagined, when she had taken a cab over to this lame-ass building, was that she would have to spend the night stuck in an elevator during a blackout. And so, given the sudden exhaustion that she was feeling and how the temperature was rising inside the cabin, the most reasonable thing in her mind was to just sit down and try to take long, deep, calming breaths.

However, despite her snippy attitude, a part of her was just so relieved to have Michael there with her. The idea of being in that situation alone made her feel like throwing up while his presence, as fucked up as their relationship currently was, made everything slightly more tolerable.

She glanced over at her watch again and noticed that it was well past eleven. She would probably kick-start Michael’s forty-eighth birthday in there if someone didn’t come to their rescue soon.

She closed her eyes for a couple of minutes, but then opened them slowly when she heard him move. She saw him replicate her actions, sliding down onto the floor at the opposite side of the cabin. He stretched out his legs and took off the light blazer he was wearing, then rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and undid a couple of buttons. He was starting to sweat and sudden concern assaulted her. Was he okay?

“Are you alright, Michael?” She tilted her head to a side. “You look overheated.”

He smirked in that sarcastic way she knew even too well and rested his head back against the metal wall.

“You think? …Yeah, I’m good. As long as I don’t move too much, I guess.” They stared at each other for a moment. “Lise… what did you mean earlier?”

“When?”

“Earlier… when you said that God was telling us to cover our asses, or something…”

Lisa sighed.

“Nothing. Just that we managed to be pretty civil to one another for an entire year, and things were good… all things considered, I mean. And then we started making a big deal out of a fucking trip to Ireland. Being unreasonable brought us here and now we’re stuck into this tin can.” She shook her head. “It’s just so stupid, man…”

“It ain’t stupid. You blindsided me. I didn’t know anything about you house hunting abroad. And even now, I don’t think you’re telling me the whole truth.” Michael glared at her in an accusatory way. “Maybe if you had done just that from the get-go, now we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

God, he could be unrelenting. And passive-aggressive in a way that made her feel like strangling him. And maybe in different circumstances she would have just chewed his head off. But the truth was that right now she no longer was in the mood for fighting.

“What is it, that you wanna know, huh? Nobody’s keeping secrets from you, Mike. I’m not plotting behind your back or anything… And if you’re thinking I’m gonna try to take the kids away from you, you better think again… ‘cause that’s the farthest thing from my mind.”

“Oh, I know you aren’t. I know that you…” He blinked and frowned, as if he needed to find the right words. “ah…appreciate my parenting skills.”

What a polite, formal way to tell the truth. But he was right. He was an amazing father and she was glad that their first pregnancy had happened by accident relatively early in their marriage. It had allowed her to get rid of all her doubts about his ability to be a dad. She had told him countless times in the past, made him aware that her initial judgment had been skewed, dictated by fear and by other people’s prejudices and influence. He knew where she stood on this. Then what the heck was his problem?

“That’s right. I do appreciate your parenting skills, as you call them. Then what is it?”

“Did you meet someone? Another man?”

Lisa just stood there, stunned.

She had not been expecting that question and felt slightly cornered. Michael would usually dance around the point until she would simply give in just to get it over with, while this time he had been as clear as a bell.

“Does it matter?”

Say yes. Tell me that it does matter.

He seemed to ponder over her words, then shrugged.

“No, it doesn’t actually.”

God! Irritation arose and she had to fight hard to keep herself from barking at him once again. Instead, she took a moment to just appreciate his obvious poker face.

“You know what I think, Michael?”

“Go ahead… speak your mind.”

“I think that, despite you obviously no longer wanting all of me, you can’t stand the idea of lil’ ole me being with someone else.”

Michael scoffed.

“That’s bullshit. You got plenty of boyfriends in the past year and never heard a peep from me.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, plenty of boyfriends? I got two! Two, Michael! And the first one lasted what, one month? So don’t make it look like I’m some kind of slut who couldn’t wait to get rid of her husband just to get busy with someone else!”

He showed her the palms of his hands in a dismissive gesture.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything. Those are your words.”

Color drained from her face and she set her jaw.

“Fuck you. You think I don’t know about the women you screw in Vegas? You think mine was just an educated guess, earlier?”

Of course she knew.

“Well, you certainly made sure that Alan too was aware, didn’t you, Lisa?”

“The fact that you don’t bring ‘em home doesn’t mean that they don’t exist in my world. I always manage to be in the loop, whether I like it or not… And whether you try to hide it or not.”

His expression turned defiant.

“I don’t hide from nobody. And certainly not from you.”

Lisa scoffed.

“Yeah, that must be the reason why you could barely face me, after we separated.”

“Maybe you should start considering the idea that I didn’t see you because I didn’t want to see you. How about that?”

“Is that why you barely showed up? And why you would always need a buffer whenever you had to take the kids?”

“I never had to take the kids. I wanted to take the kids. It’s a completely different thing.”

She pointed her finger at him.

“Stop twisting my words. You know exactly what I mean. I could barely hear you come in.”

“Well, I didn’t want to cause a ruckus. Plus, I am a quiet guy.”

“Yeah, you’re good at quiet. Guess you kinda gotta be, if you wanna keep that saintly image of yours intact. You and your women fuck quiet, too?”

Michael rolled his eyes.

“And she’s off… right out of the gate.”

She absolutely detested when he dismissed her like that. As if she was some crazy loon.

She reacted on sheer instinct, getting up as fast as she could – and getting ready to give him the roasting he so richly deserved. Who the hell did he think he was, judging her? He had no idea what it felt like, to see him slipping away from her day after day, until a damn residency in Nevada had become more of a priority than she was.

Of course, she didn’t even have the time to utter a word, because the moment she stood on her feet, her head began to spin and she had to steady herself against the cabin wall, fearing she would pass out. It was just the heat, nothing major. It would pass.

Lisa didn’t even see Michael move. She didn’t even hear him. Yet within maybe two seconds he was holding her, murmuring words that she couldn’t really make out because the whistle in her ears was far, far louder. But recognizing the tone right away. Soothing, reassuring. Concerned.

It took her a little while to finally reemerge from the fog in her mind and comprehend what he was saying in that calming, comforting voice of his.

“Sit back down, Lise… Nice and slow… That’s it, there you go.”

He gently accompanied her onto the floor once again, then the warm palm of his hand rested on her forehead for a moment as his dark eyes scanned her face.

“Gosh, woman. You shouldn’t get heated up if the room temperature is already so high…” He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. “You think you’re gonna faint on me? Please, try not to.”

“No… No, I’m good. I think my blood pressure dropped.”

“Of course it did. You jumped on your feet so fast I thought your ass was on fire…” He gently pushed her hair back to take a good look at her face. “I wish I had some water to give you.”

“I do… I do have some water…” She motioned for her purse. “But I feel better now, don’t worry.”

Michael reached out and took her purse from the floor, finding the water bottle right away. It wasn’t really cold, but it was still better than nothing. He uncapped it and handed it over to Lisa.

“Here. Just don’t drink too fast or you’re gonna vomit.”

“I’m not gonna vomit.”

“Drink… and be quiet for a minute!”

She glanced over at him, but didn’t say a word. She just preferred to use the energy she had left to rehydrate herself. And it worked. The very moment the water began running down her throat, her whole body sang a hooray. Another couple of long sips, and then she handed the bottle back to Michael.

“Here. You need it too.”

Quite uncharacteristically, given his innate inability to obey any type of order, he complied. Lisa stared into space and took a series of deep breaths.

“I’m not a whore. And I don’t like you implying that I am.”

Michael was still kneeling by her side. She knew that he was listening. He sipped his water quietly, watching her with an unreadable look on his face. Then he put the bottle down.

“I don’t think you’re a whore. I never did. I’m sorry for what I said. It was dumb.”

She searched for any trace of deceit or derision in his voice, body language, everything. She didn’t find any.

“Fine…”

He sighed, then glanced at the roof of the cabin and stood up, his hands on his waist. Lisa watched him intently.

“Hey… what are you looking at?”

“It’s getting real’ hot in here, and that’s what concerns me the most… but see that little metal plate? Maybe if we can remove it, we can get more air from the elevator shaft.”

“Michael, we aren’t in a movie… This isn’t Mission Impossible.”

“Right. In a movie, the firefighters would already be here.” He looked down at her. “Tell me when you feel better, so you can help me out.”

There were times when Michael taking the lead would immediately make Lisa feel better. It didn’t happen all the time, but on this specific occasion it did. Even though she still felt kind of weak, realizing that he might have found a way to make their stay in the tin can a little more comfortable managed to give her all the energy she needed to help him.

This man had the ability to make her mood shift at the speed of light. One moment she wanted to slap him, and a minute later he would do or say something so sweet and endearing, or be so vulnerable and open, that it was impossible for her to stay mad at him. It had always been that way since she had fallen in love with him, so many years earlier.

And so, despite his obvious slip-up about her possible relationships with other men, she believed him when he said that he had never meant to offend her. So she stood up again, trying to figure out how they could manage to get more air flowing into the cabin.

“You don’t think that slab is fastened to the roof?”

Michael kept his eyes fixed on the squared piece of metal that had caught his attention.

“I can’t know for sure, but maybe just pushing it open would do the trick. There’s no way we can find out unless we try.”

She knew what his words implied. He was quite tall, but not tall enough to reach the roof of the cabin, not even by stretching his arms. And that was why he needed her.

“OK… I get what you mean. I’m ready if you are.”

“You sure…”

Lisa opened her arms, her eyebrows rising.

“…Yeah!”

He stepped closer.

“Alright… I’m gonna pick you up and raise you as high as I can. Just tell me if you need more leverage… or something…”

Without even waiting for an answer, he then put his arms around her legs, right above her knees, and lifted her from the ground. Immediately, Lisa had to hold onto his shoulders – the contact with his solid muscles reminding her how strong and fit Michael was, despite his slender frame. But hey, with time she had learned that dancers – and especially a dancer like him – were nothing but a bunch of nerves and muscles, and so he picking her up as if she weighed nothing was far from surprising.

Despite his concerns, he was able to lift her high enough for her to touch the metal plate right away. Glancing against the yellowish light suddenly a little too close to her face, Lisa pushed and pulled at the sheet and realized that it did, in fact, move a little.

“Mike… I think you’re right… This thing doesn’t feel like it’s screwed into the roof… But more like slotted in…”

When he replied, his voice came out muffled.

“Amazing. Then push… Come on, Lise…”

She felt his hot breath against her crotch and, instinctively, she glanced down. He was trying to look up at her, but his face was pretty much buried in her groin. Shivers ran down her spine when she realized the effect that having his mouth so close to one of the areas of her body that missed him the most had on her.

“What the fuck? Michael…! Keep your face away from my pussy!”

“Fucking hell… Push the damn thing!”

Rolling her eyes, she decided that it was best if she focused on the task at hand.

The first push against the metal plate didn’t result in anything major, really. Neither did the second.

“God damn it…”

“Push harder…”

“Yeah…” Lisa panted under her breath. “That’s usually my line…”

And she hoped he hadn’t heard her.

This time, she hit the slab with both hands, palms flat. Once, twice, three times, until it finally popped open, landing on the outside of the roof with a metallic sound. A sudden gust of cool air reached her from above, almost forcing her to close her eyes against the unexpected breeze.

“Look at this! I made it! I fucking made it!”

Michael’s grip on her legs loosened slightly and she found herself sliding down his body – adhering to it while he gently put her back down to the floor. Of course, the memory of that same body sliding over hers in a completely different manner flashed into her brain like a sudden falling star, but she was way too happy to have finally been able to accomplish something noteworthy to think about something else.

Yet, she found herself circling Michael’s neck with both arms. And she also found him smiling back at her, his eyes dark and soulful.

“You did! And I knew you would!”

She didn’t know why, but those words – those stupid, maybe predictable, trivial words made her eyes well up. It didn’t even matter if he was being honest or not. Her gaze still fixed in his, for just a fleeting moment she felt as if she was able to notice everything. Every single detail she hadn’t caught for months. His curly hair moving in the air coming from the cabin roof, his beautiful and familiar face… And his eyes again, turning from genuinely excited to concerned, because he could see that she was upset and he couldn’t understand why.

Michael’s smile subsided and he reached up, touching her cheek with the back of his fingers. Drying her tears in a delicate manner, as if she was made of glass.

“Come on, don’t get emotional now. I really mean it. I knew you were gon’ make it. You’re fierce, girl… You always have been…”

Then he pulled her close to him, holding her in his arms for a moment. His lips on the top of her head, just resting there, then moving to her forehead. Kissing her feverish skin gently.

Lisa had kept her eyes closed, just reveling in the comforting feeling of being snuggled up to him after so long, her face against his solid chest as she inhaled the unique scent of him. Clean and manly. How she had missed this. How she had missed him.

Yet, when she felt his lips against her forehead, she tilted her head up automatically and once again found herself face to face with him. Only, this time he was way, way closer. Too close for comfort. And ultimately, too close for her to step away.

He seemed to detect the change in her mood – or her sudden vulnerability. Or both. And the weirdest thing happened. Something in him changed as well. His eyes were, once again, the mirror to his soul. Their gaze getting progressively more tender… and then hotter.

She parted her lips and found his, and they kissed. Gently, with no hurry at all, while some much-needed fresh air finally filled the elevator. His lips tasted like heaven and his little sighs as he angled his head a little better, just to reach more of her, almost made her weak at the knees.

She broke the kiss, looking for the last handhold to prevent what was happening from happening. Hoping she wouldn’t find any.

“Mike…”

“Mh…”

He was staring at her lips and his breath seemed slightly labored.

“You think we should really be doing this?”

“Do what…”

Even his voice was affected. It sounded husky.

“Kissing…”

Finally, he found her eyes and seemed to ponder over her words.

“We’re just celebrating this unexpected success and…”

She grabbed his face with both hands and pulled his head down to her, kissing him again, with much more passion this time. When she spoke again, it was right against his mouth and her breathing too had become labored.

“Yeah… I think you’re right… Besides… A man and a woman can comfort each other, right?”

“Right… nothing wrong with it at all…”

This time, when he reciprocated her kiss, when his tongue found hers, she didn’t stop him anymore. She just decided to enjoy the feeling of being like this with him again. Even if it would only last for a moment, and even if it would change nothing.