Steel Hearts

- 10 -

To say I was nervous would be the understatement of the century; clammy hands and practically needing a fan to dry the sweat off of me was gross, to say the least. Sam practically had to throw me over his shoulder in order and drag me from the car to get me into the elevator when we arrived at the tower.

"I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Ella, you're not 80. You're not gonna have a heart attack," Sam rolls his eyes at me after the elevator doors close behind us, "Nothing bad is going to happen with, Steve. Not on my watch."

"Sure feels like it," I grumble, nervously playing with the clasp on my clutch before rambling, "But what if something bad does happen? What if I do something dumb and totally screw my chances of ever getting a date in the future with anyone? We're friends, teammates, and I don't want to mess anything up. I am so wildly out of my element right now it's not even funny. I punch people and kick ass for a living, I don't flirt. I don't go on dates. How does one look like a baby giraffe wh-"

"Ella, listen to me. Everything will be fine. Don't overthink it and let me work my magic," Sam puts his hands on my arms, "And take a damn breath, you're gonna pass out if you don't."

"Lord, I am not one of your strongest soldiers, please just take me out now," I shut my eyes tight and my face screws up in discomfort and anxiousness, "Sam, I'm terrified."

"Hey, I'll be floating around within hearing distance all night. If anything goes funky, just use a safe word and I'll swoop in to rescue you."

"My hero," I roll my eyes, earning a light whack to my arm as the elevator doors open and the two of us step out, "How about mango?"

The two of us hesitate near the elevator doors, facing each other while we speak in hushed and hurried tones before something catches Sam's eye over my shoulder and he randomly ends our conversation with, "You hate mangoes."

I feel my face screw up in confusion as he turns on his heel and slips away toward the bar without another word. While rolling my eyes and shaking my head I turn to walk the other direction, taking three steps before colliding with another person, "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention I- Hi."

Looking up at the person I had just run into, I see Steve looking down at me trying not to smile, "Hi. You hate mangoes, huh?"

"Wha- oh, um, yeah. I don't know what it is about them, just don't like them."

I fumble over my words, all of the nerves that had somewhat settled coming right back up in the form of word vomit.

"You look nice. Not that you don't always look nice, you're beautiful bu-"

"Steve," I stop his rambling, carefully avoiding myself going on a tangent. I panic internally, not wanting to seem rude for not complimenting him as well. But all I could focus on was the tight blue button-up he was wearing, "Thank you. You clean up nicely yourself."

I caught sight of Sam, snatching up a drink from a server's tray before eyeing me wildly behind a nearby pillar. Steve glances away for a moment and I send a questioning look toward Sam, he frantically points to his drink then jerks his head toward the bar before spinning around another person to avoid being seen by Steve. I narrow my eyes at him and he holds up a finger, taking a sip of the alcohol in his glass.

"I thought you said Sam was coming with you," Steve says, glancing around the nearby people looking for our friend.

"I did. He should be around here somewhere. Must've snuck away," I make sure to not let my eyes settle on the person in question for too long when I catch sight of him taking a wildly obvious sip of his drink, pointing to the glass before giving a thumbs up.