Could It Be You? |✓

(9) Escape

A few seconds of inaction later, Emma comes to a decision. She starts to nudge her way out from the carriage, attracting a few irked glances from the exhausted-looking commuters. She heaves a sigh of relief when she makes it out just in time, before the doors shut, and rushes up to the main street. 

She taps furiously on her phone as she hurriedly turns around the roads. 

"Ethan, I promise I'll go over asap. Please hang in there, whatever happened. I love you!"

Emma feels a pang of guilt hit her as she chooses her date over him, but hopes that would suffice as she sends the message over. 

She takes a deep breath when she reaches the place of meeting. Before she heads in, she makes some quick adjustments. She digs into her purse for her foundation and clicks open the dainty silver case. Looking at herself in the small mirror, she patches up the little imperfections she could see. She then whips out a lipstick and applies it on her lips. When she is done, however, she wavers yet again. She doesn't want to look too into it, does she? She shouldn't over do it. Hastily, she runs a hand across her lips to remove some of the colour on her lips, to make it less obnoxious. Her goal is to look as natural as possible. She pats her hair and straightens her outfit, then enters the store.

She finds Matt leaning against a pillar, flipping through a brochure nonchalantly. He glances at her, and Emma takes a moment to calm her nerves. She's so used to seeing him in office wear, she doesn't realise that he looks this good in dress-downs. 

"This is so high school," he says, "Escape room. You sure you want to do this?"

Emma walks over and shrugs. She has always wanted to do this Escape room thing, and she used to go here with Ethan. What's the harm in working the brains a little harder, and escaping from the realities into another for just an hour? It's been months since they released the new themed room, but she hasn't been back for awhile. She almost always fails to break out in time, but she's convinced this will change. 

"Show me you've got brains, boss." 

Matt lifts a brow at her, looking almost insulted that she would doubt his intelligence. Slowly, his lips curl upward into a smirk. "Challenge accepted."

He props himself up and walks towards the service counter, and Emma follows after. 

* * * 

Emma is fumbling badly with the puzzle with 5 minutes left on the clock. She stares helplessly at the number block, trying every possible permutation she could think of on the spot. She just needs to solve this one to get to the final passageway. She scrutinises the spirals imprinted on the top, sure that they would provide some sort of clue.

"Fibonacci number," Matt says suddenly.

Emma looks up at him, even though she cannot see much of him other than his folded arms under the dim lights. 

"Pardon?"

"Fibonacci number. That's the catch," he repeats, then points at the preset blocks.

He gently reaches over and takes the blocks from her hands, putting them into place. With them secured in place, the last door clicks and slides open, revealing a narrow tunnel behind walls. Emma stares at him with new found admiration.

She follows him to the door, and he climbs in. But Emma stops in her tracks at the sight of pitch blackness inside.

"Why aren't you moving?" She hears him call.

"Umm."

Emma isn't sure if she's supposed to say that she has a bad case of scotophobia, and so, she isn't going to step into the dark just like this. With 3 minutes left, she is ready to give up.

Matt climbs out, and Emma isn't sure if she's imagining things when she sees a smirk grow on his face.

"So you brought me here for this? "

Emma wonders what he refers to, until she feels a grip on her hand, as she gets dragged into the tunnel. And due to the proximity, she catches the scent on him again, sending her into a state of frenzy.

When they reach the other side, Matt lets go of her only to retrieve the last piece of clue. Emma, however, freezes at one side, willing herself to take it easy, she is not about to let herself go wild. It is all just a game, all just a game.

Matt whirls back to face her and strides towards her.

"You're quite the schemer, huh," he whispers as he pauses briefly.

Emma's eyes widen as he closes in, her fortress crumbling inch by inch. And when Matt's face is close enough for her to feel his breathing, he tilts his head slightly and begins keying the pin into the lock behind her, digit by digit, according to the clue.

When he is done, the lights flick on, and the main door opens, but what takes the spotlight is the triumphant look on his face. 

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