Last night I brushed off a creepy guy. Then we were locked in an elevator together.

I live in Miami. This all happened last night. My best friend just moved away, so I’m a bit lonely and have been socializing hard. This included going to a party last night in Miami Beach. <br><br>The party venue was a relatively new restaurant, and they clearly weren’t used to hosting parties. The host gave a demonstration of how to use a photo booth (one of those kinds where you shoot a video against a green screen). I brushed past a guy with a beard to get to the bar. He stood inches behind me, which I hate, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it so I just said “excuse me” and went to stand in the corner, drink in hand. Then he followed me and stood next to me, again super close. I tried to be polite and gave him “hello eyes” and said hi. He asked me if I was here for the party or a employee… like… come on dude. I was in a red sequined dress and my hair was all done up and I was drinking a cocktail. I politely excused myself and went to the photo booth. I brushed past him again. That made three times he was inches away from me, when I made it a point to actively move away from him. So I made my way over to a table of (thankfully) men, and asked if I could sit there, pretending to be an old friend. They were very nice and when the creepy guy tried to come over and talk to me again, they asked me if I was expecting company or if I wanted to be left alone. I said the latter, and they were all very protective. <br><br>I stayed there for a while, and then it was time to leave. I said goodbye to my table friends… and found that I had no phone and no keys. This is an issue because these are the ONLY two things I ever carry when I go out. I searched everywhere, and finally found my phone. Still no keys. I finally texted my brother (who was at home) and asked if I had left them there. He said yes. So I was locked out of my house with no car or car keys. <br><br>I tried calling an Uber, but Uber was down. I tried calling a taxi, but they said they’d be there in 30 minutes and their estimated fare was $80 (like fuck off). I decided to walk… it was 10:30pm and I was on Miami Beach. I made it a few blocks before a guy tried to talk to me. I ignored him and kept walking but he followed me for a few blocks. I finally lost him by turning into an office building. It was a tall building that was maybe one quarter occupied. There was a bunch of construction happening so they were clearly adding more elevators. I thought I would take an elevator ALL THE WAY to the top, and then come back down, and walk the rest of the way home. I did this twice, and was about to do it a third time, when creepy elevator guy stepped in. He pressed “44” and I pressed “48” and for a second I thought it was over when we’d get off on different floors. But then “44” went dark and he pressed “48”. I knew that was my floor, and realized he had tricked me…<br><br>I tried not to panic. I told myself that my only exit was the stairs, so I would get off and run as fast as I could off the elevator before the doors shut. So he got off the elevator and I guess he stood behind me again, because I couldn’t see him but the door didn’t shut. So I turned to say “what?” and he kissed me.<br><br>I pushed him away and started running for the stairs. I made a beeline for them and started opening the door but he caught up and grabbed me and dragged me back into the elevator. <br><br>While he dragged me back I realized that my only chance for survival was to just… not panic. I stopped trying to fight him and, as he pressed me against the elevator walls, I pushed back and, with my arms still against his chest, I tried to look into his eyes. I asked him why he was doing this and he told me that he wasn’t gonna hurt me. I told him I didn’t want to be kissed, and that I didn’t like him. I tried to sound somewhat neutral and not scary. He told me I was acting defensive and that he didn’t understand why I would act that way when he was being so nice. I told him I didn’t know him… like what the fuck bro. I said I just wanted to go home, and that I wasn’t trying to be mean. I asked him what his name was. He told me it was George. I thanked him and said I really had to go home. I saw the floor number above the doors and I asked him “George, aren’t the doors supposed to open now?” He said “oh… yeah!” and then opened his arms and released me. I ran to the stairs and left my high heels under the elevator. I don’t really give a shit about them and they were slowing me up. I ran all the way down, grabbed my shoes, and ran to the lobby. I didn’t stop running until I was blocks away. I finally got home and it’s now just after sunrise. So yeah George, let’s not meet…<br><br>Edit: Wow guys, this blew up. Thank you for all the awards. I see there’s a lot of comments about my city… yes, Miami is a very strange place.<br><br>Also, when I said it was all of the floors, I meant it was the only floor available for the entire building. There were a few other floors, I could see them, they just weren’t available. <br><br>And for those of you who are saying that I’m stupid for not acting defensive, trust me, I know. But I have been sexually assaulted multiple times, and I already fight a massive fear of men… like literally almost all men give me severe anxiety… so my instinct was to fight. But my brain took over and told me that I have been assaulted enough times to know that the best way to get out of it is to be polite and try to trick them…<br><br>And for everyone asking how I got back in my house, I left a key under the mat. I know that’s a bad idea, but my only other option would be to not lock my door and I feel like that’s worse. <br><br>And finally, I didn’t want to drink and drive. Plus I only drink $15 cocktails and I was drinking all night, plus tip, plus a $50 Uber, I didn’t feel like it was worth it to drink and drive.