A man stepped from the elevator. Wearing dark wash jeans, a gray V-neck tee shirt, and black slip-on boots, he looked like a model out of a clothing catalog. He surveyed the debacle, chuckled, and shook his head lightly as if it was no big deal.

While Kaci scrambled to get dressed, Dick laughed and pulled on his jeans. The stranger joined in the laughter, and then began walking toward us. Dick met him halfway to the elevator, and embraced the man in a hug.

They held each other like long lost friends, exchanging niceties as they bro-hugged. After a few pats on the back, Dick turned to face us.

“I’m glad you finally made it,” he said.

The man alternated glances between Kaci and me. “A little late, though, huh?” he asked. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

Wait. What?

“Oh, hell,” Dick said with a wave of his arm. “We’re just getting started.”

With his arm draped over the man’s shoulder, Dick made his announcement. “This is Randy.”

I wondered if the man was hoping to arrive while we were still engaged in a sexual daisy chain, or if he was called when Dick discovered the party, and simply took an inordinate amount of time to get to us.

Regardless, I found it all amusing, and not necessarily in a good way. I coughed out a laugh. “You invited one of your biker buddies to crash the party?”

Dick smiled a crooked smile and shrugged.

Kaci pulled her dress on and rushed to the man’s side. “Hi, I’m Kaci.”

He shook her hand. After looking her over, he glanced at me. “Are you sisters?”

“No,” I snapped. “We’re co-workers.”

He chuckled. “Sore subject, huh?”

I shot each of the men a glare. After fuming for a moment, I decided not to spend the night being a bitch. Randy hadn’t done anything wrong. So far, he seemed to be politer than Dick, and that was a plus.

I brushed the wrinkles from my dress and extended my arm. “I’m Tracey.”

“Kaci and Tracey,” he said. “Has a nice ring to it.”

His hair was cut short, and his face was cleanly shaven. A portion of a tattoo peeked out from each sleeve of his shirt, but the remaining portions of his arms were clean skin. He shook my hand and folded his arms across his chest.

“So, what are we going to do?” he asked.

“Pick up this mess and get a drink, I guess,” Dick said.

Without hesitation, Randy turned toward the overturned glass of wine and picked it up. Then, he grabbed the bottle of beer. He surveyed the area, and upon seeing no other trash, gestured toward the elevator.

“Ready?”

“How’d you find us?” Dick asked.

“Saw your bike outside, so I knew you were still here. Went to each floor until I found you. Figured you were escaping the Christmas sweaters and cheese logs.”

I was relieved that he hadn’t been invited to join in on the three-way. Apparently, he was simply crashing the party with Dick. I smiled to myself at the thought of two grown men crashing company Christmas parties while I got into the elevator.

“You guys do this often?” I asked.

Randy cleared his throat. “Crash Christmas parties?”

“Yeah.”

He looked at Dick and then chuckled. “This is my first.”

“Ditto,” Dick chimed.

Relieved even more that Dick hadn’t spent a lifetime organizing Christmas orgies, I let out an inaudible sigh and glanced at Kaci. She stood on the far side of Randy, gawking at him with an open mouth while he looked over his left shoulder at Dick and me.

Kaci was twenty-four and divorced. After a seven-year relationship with her high school sweetheart, she divorced him at twenty-three. Five of the seven years were spent disguising the bruises he left from the beatings he administered.

The last year had been a learning experience for her, and she’d spent most of it sewing her wild oats with no intention of becoming committed. To an outsider it may have seemed reckless, but I saw it as a healthy alternative to an abusive relationship.

When the elevator doors opened, I was hesitant to get out. Suffering from an odd feeling of guilt for what had happened with Kaci, I felt that we’d be questioned for our absence. A quick survey of the party revealed everyone in the same place, doing the same thing, and drinking what appeared to be the same drinks.

In the spirit of Christmas, time stood still while we were gone.

I looked at Kaci. “Ready to start over?”

“I’m ready for a drink.” She got out of the elevator and cupped her hand to her mouth, as if wanting to tell me a secret.

I obliged her request and leaned toward her.

“That orgasm sobered me up.” She pulled away and looked me over. “Did you uhhm. Did you like it?”

“Loved it,” I whispered.

“Good,” she said. “I did, too.”

It was reassuring that she didn’t see it as a weird or regretful. I smiled.

“He’s mine, by the way,” she whispered. “The new guy.”

“Okay by me.”

“Let’s get a drink and go back upstairs,” Kaci announced go the group.

The men exchanged glances. Santa looked at us and clapped his hands. “Sounds good to me,” he said. “Just let me piss first.”

The thought of going upstairs was frightening. There wasn’t much that could be done to top our previous escapade, and I wanted the night to end on a good note, not a bad one. Nonetheless, I agreed.

“We’ll meet you back here in ten?” I asked.

“Sounds good,” Dick said. “Mind grabbing us a couple of beers?”

“Not at all,” Kaci said with a smile.

As the men walked in one direction, Kaci and I walked in the other. All the while, I wondered what might be in store for us when we got back to the sixteenth floor.