Six Feet Under the Stars

"Think I can break the door down?"

Sitting cross-legged across from each other, Alex and I were brainstorming possible escape plans. The closet was getting stuffy; apparently the air conditioner also went off with the lights. The air was uncomfortably warm and prickled my skin.

"Uh..."

Wiping a hand across his forehead, Alex laughed, "You really don't have a lot of faith in me, do you? It's a little disappointing to tell you the truth."

"I just don't think it's a great idea. The last thing we need is for you to bust your shoulder and then you'd be complaining all night."

Alex sighed, "Well, do you have any other plans?"

"Wait it out?" I suggested feeling skeptical about the idea myself. "They should be here at least in the morning. Someone must be wondering where we are. The place probably hires cleaning people too, so maybe they'll let us out."

Shifting against the clothes, the metal hangers scratched the horizontal pole with an audible sound. Alex pushed a pair of bell-bottoms out of his face. "Do you have a bobby pin? Maybe we can pick the lock like in those old movies."

"I don't have any." Smirking in the dark, I tried not to laugh at Alex's plan. It seemed a little silly though I had to admire his determination.

"Damn, back to square one."

I blew out a sigh. "Any other ideas?"

"I'm not sure." He admitted, scooting forward to play with the shoelace on my Chuck Taylor's. As his arm brushed against my leg, I shivered despite the humid atmosphere. Picking up on my reaction, he started moving closer. It was like de-ja-vu.

Laughing softly, I held my hands out. "Not that."

"Why not?" His amused smile could be seen through the shadows.

"This is like playing 7 Minutes in Heaven."

"And what's wrong with that? I've always held a fondness for it."

"We're not teenagers, for one. And second, it's not right with me being with Dorian. Whatever happened before the lights went out was just... I dunno. Just forget about it, okay? It'll make things easier for both of us."

Leaning back some, I could tell he was searching for my eyes. "Just because you're with someone doesn't mean you should be."

"It doesn't change the fact that I am."

"I know you want to at least try it out with me. You're curious about kissing me. I wouldn't want to keep you in suspense."

"How thoughtful." I joked, closing my eyes for a moment. "But curiosity killed the cat."

"Satisfaction brought it back." He countered quickly.

I really wished Alex would stop making sense. It was a lot harder to deny him when I didn't agree with my own logic. But imagining Dorian's face and what he would think if he saw what was happening was like getting cold water splashed in my face.

Standing up, the distance between Alex and I grew a little, though the feelings seemed to stay the same. "Let's just worry about getting out. I feel like a mouse in a trap. This is so frustrating."

"I know." He put a comforting hand on my arm. "If we just think, I'm sure something will pop into our heads. There has to be a way out."

"Want to try and knock the door down?"

"I thought you didn't want me to do that."

"Well, that was twenty minutes and ten degrees cooler ago." I replied, hands on my hips. Studying the path through the clutter, I bit my bottom lip. "Okay. How should we approach this?"

"With a running start."

"Thanks, didn't think of that." I said sarcastically. Crouching down, I began feeling a little silly setting up our bodies for the run. The stance was very professional, like in the Olympics. "On the count of three..."

"Now!" Alex interjected, getting impatient.

The two of us charged through the clothes towards the door. Our bodies smashed against the wood door at almost the same time. There was a terrible bang but the wood held. Again, we lined up and repeated the process.

"It's not working. And I think the ceiling's falling apart. Something hit me in the head on that last run. Hopefully this doesn't all cave in on us." Alex sounded frustrated.

Looking for the debris, I spotted a glow of gold on the carpet. Picking the curious piece of metal up, I almost laughed. "It's a key."

"God dropped it from the Heavens for us!" Alex said happily, squeezing my arm. "Shit, I'm going to go buy myself a cross now."

I rolled my eyes playfully, "It was probably a spare hidden up on the door ledge. Let's just hope this works."

Pushing the key into its slot, it fit in perfectly. Holding my breath, I turned the key and heard a promising click. A surge of relief passed through me as the handle turned and swung open.

"We're out!" I exclaimed.

Alex hugged me close in excitement. "That was so fucking scary."

"Now all we have to do is find the exit." I turned my head side to side. The hallway was pitch black and nothing could be seen in either direction after the first few feet.

"It's right over here." Alex told me confidently, dragging me along the hall with him.

"Careful, there could be something on the ground."

I heard him laugh from ahead and didn't slow his pace. "Right here."

Pushing against a metal bar, a huge exit door swung outwards. No alarm sounded. The night air blew in my face, and I felt immediately better. Being able to move freely out in the open seemed like such a great treat. The closet, while cozy, had been stifling.

Holding his arms out, Alex turned around in the circle. "See, we made it out all right."

"It was a little questionable for a while."

The city around us was buzzing with late-night people. Walking in groups, they were on their way to different places, different experiences. It was alive. There was so much to learn, so much to see. Feeling rather free, I grinned. Cities always got me excited with their promises of late nights and hangover mornings.

I turned to Alex. "So tell me; what now?"

Alex laughed tiredly. "After that, I need a drink."