Gemotions

The notice taped to the elevator door fluttered as Eleanor ascended. Condo conversion. She barely registered the words. Her gaze snagged instead on the way the afternoon sun backlit Leo, his silhouette a perfect halo, as he reached for the button for the tenth floor. The air inside the lift suddenly felt charged, electric.

Her heart hammered a frantic tattoo against her ribs. She couldn't stop the ridiculous, goofy smile that spread across her face. "Going up?" she managed, her voice a breathy whisper she barely recognized. He turned, a flash of white teeth, and the sun seemed to intensify.

"Yeah," he said, and the simple word was enough to make her stomach somersault. The news about the building became a distant, unimportant murmur. All that mattered was the five floors they still had to go, the seconds that stretched into an eternity. Buying? Selling? She couldn’t think about any of it; she was busy cataloging the way his hair caught the light.