God, I'm not ready for this, I thought as I waited for the elevator to come down. I had given Olivia every excuse in the book not to go to this engagement party, and she shot them all down. She was right anyway. After all, it was our engagement. The only thing I was happy about was that her father wasn't going to be there, unless he decided to pay us a visit from the grave. It seemed like an eternity, but the elevator finally made its way down to the lobby. Leave it to Olivia to live in the largest apartment complex in the world. The elevator's interior was huge, capable of fitting at least twenty people. I walked inside and pressed the P button, which led to the penthouse. As the doors were about to close, I could hear footsteps. "Wait! Hold the elevator!" somebody yelled. I held the doors open, and a woman scurried inside, out of breath. She was an older woman, about in her mid-forties and very attractive, with dark brown hair and green eyes. "Thank you," she said, gasping, "I didn't think I was going to make it." "No problem." "So, are you going to that big party in the penthouse? The whole building has been buzzing about it." "Unfortunately." The woman frowned, puzzled by the remark. "You don't sound too happy." "Parties aren't exactly my thing. Especially when I'm one of the two guests of honor." I shook my head as I looked at the ceiling. "I wanted a simple engagement dinner, but her mother wanted to share the news with a few thousand of her friends." "So what's wrong with that?" "Nothing would be wrong with it if I had met her mother already. I just don't like people I don't know planning my life. I'm sorry, I don't even know you and here I am dumping my problems on you." "It's okay," she replied, "I'm Delilah." I shook her hand and smiled. "I'm Dante." "I don't know, Dante...I think you're going about this the wrong way. You have to realize that it's a very special occasion for a mother when her daughter gets married. I mean, everybody knows if you get in good with her mother, it's smooth sailing the rest of the way." "I could care less what her mother thinks," I replied. "She's not the one I'm marrying." "You're not being...Whoa!" At that moment, the elevator came to an abrupt halt. My back hit the wall and Delilah stumbled into my arms. "Are you okay?" I asked as I stood her upright. "Yeah...I think." she replied. "What happened?" I went to the control panel and started slamming all the buttons, but nothing was working. We weren't going anywhere. "We're stuck," I finally said, "This is just great. You'd think in a multi-million dollar complex that the damn elevators would at least function properly." Near panic, I looked at my watch. "I'm so late. Olivia's gonna kill me. Why does this crap always happen to me?" "Well, it could be worse," Delilah said, "You could be here by yourself. What fun would that be?" "That's true." "You know, you look kind of young to be getting married. How old are you?" she asked, walking behind me. "Twenty-one." "Don't you think you're kind of young to be making a lifetime commitment like that? You still have your whole life ahead of you." I stood silently as her words echoed in my head. This wasn't the first time I had heard this speech. Many of my friends felt my decision to marry so young was due to insecurity, mainly due to previous failures with other women. I stared at my reflection inside the elevator's interior, and the only thing I could see was fear. Fear in a cheap black suit. "I love her." I said weakly. "The sex must be great." Delilah replied. "Not that it's any of your business, but I haven't had sex with her." Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I walked to the control panel again and pressed the alarm, but all I heard was a deafening silence. "Move, damn it!" I could feel her breasts pressing up against my back as she whispered in my ear. "Doesn't it bother you to know that she's going to be the only woman you're ever going to have for the rest of your life? I can imagine how long she's made you wait. A strong handsome guy like yourself could have anything he wants. All you have to do is take it." She was right. I was going to give up everything for Olivia, and for what? To be nagged by the same woman every day for the rest of my life? No way. If I'm leaving bachelorhood, I'm going out with a bang. Delilah walked in front of me and smiled. "Take it, Dante." I threw her to the floor, hiked up her skirt and I took her. I took her alright. I took her for all of four minutes. I couldn't help it, I was in a hurry. And I tell you, it was the best four minutes of my life. It felt nice to finally be touched by somebody other than myself. As I pulled up my pants, the elevator finally started to move again. As we ascended, I was surprised that I felt no guilt about what had just transpired. Why should I? I was never going to see this woman again anyway. I looked at the control panel to see what floor she was getting off at, but only the penthouse remained lit. "What floor is your apartment?" I asked. "Oh, I don't live here." The elevator doors opened up as we reached the penthouse, and I could see Olivia standing there, looking relieved to see me. "Dante!" she exclaimed, "It's about time you showed up! I was worried!" She looked at Delilah, "Oh, and I see you've met my mother!" My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Your...your mother?" "Yeah, she's been dying to meet you ever since I showed her your picture," she replied, "So, what do you think, Mom? Isn't he great?" Delilah looked at me and smiled. "Very impressive." "I knew you'd like him. Well, don't just stand there, Dante. Come in." "Welcome to the family, Dante." Delilah said, grinning as she walked into the apartment. But I didn't move. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of emptiness that came over me as I watched the two women walk away, laughing. I could only stand there and wonder what they were talking about. No, I didn't move. I let the elevator doors close on what could have been.