Sin & Salvation

Chapter 22

The ballroom has been converted into a huge dining room, filled with long tables of plates filled to the brim with food. Despite all the appetizers I ate after returning inside with Silas, I'm still hungry. I found Payton and Jason and introduced him to Silas— although Silas didn't seem too impressed with Payton's already drunk counterpart.

Brett came to find all of us shortly after we came in and he hasn't done anything notable since. He seems a little bit distracted, but other than that, he's been good, thankfully. Every seat has a name card on it, each one adorned with gorgeous, handwritten calligraphy. Payton, Jason, and Emma are seated to the right of Brett, with Emma next to him, and me to his left.

I peek over at the card next to mine to see who's sitting there. I'm trying to read the name when Silas pulls the chair back, smirking at me as he realizes we're together. We both sit and I can't help but smile back. After our conversation, we sat for a few minutes, just appreciating each other's presence before deciding we were tired of getting bit by mosquitoes and heading in.

But being sandwiched between these two men is making my stomach hurt. Or maybe it was those mini quiches. Either way, as nice as mine and Silas' conversation was, I'm still wildly attracted to him and having to sit next to one another with our arms grazing the entire time is going to be my personal version of hell.

Waiters go around asking what we'd like to drink and I decide against another glass of wine, instead asking for just water. This night has gone better than expected, so I don't feel like I need the alcohol to hold my hand anymore. Silas also requests a glass of water and I'm reminded of when he told us at dinner last week that he doesn't drink anymore.

There's so many questions I still want to ask him— why he doesn't drink, what all his tattoos mean, how he's able to read me so well, and why he's so hell-bent on trying to uncover the truth behind my relationship with Brett.

For now, I begin eating the food on my plate, starting with the mashed potatoes which feel like silk the minute they hit my tongue. The room is filled with the sounds of silverware and glassware clinking and the many conversations happening at once. I peek over at Brett who is talking over poor Emma's head to Jason. She doesn't seem to be hungry because she is just picking at her food and pushing it around her plate.

She catches me looking and I mouth to her, "Are you okay?" She silently nods her head, a small grin suddenly appearing, and makes a point to pick up a piece of asparagus with her fork and eat it.

"Is she okay?" I quickly turn my head when I hear Silas whispering to me, not realizing he was watching that interaction.

I attempt to keep my voice down. "I don't know— she nodded her head when I asked, but something feels off, right?" He nods and I glance over at her again, seeing she has resumed pushing and prodding at her food. I casually turn back to my plate and pick up one of the veggies to make it seem like I'm eating. Out the side of my mouth, I mutter, "What's she like at work?"

Silas takes a bite of his tender filet mignon and the juice runs down his chin, giving me the sudden urge to grab his face and lick it off. He quickly grabs his napkin to wipe it up, but he catches me watching it drip slowly down his chin and smirks. Like the gentleman he is, he waits to finish chewing before answering.

"Honestly, I haven't really gotten to interact with her much aside from when I'm coming and going from the office," he says, picking up a piece of broccoli on his fork. "I will say though, she always looks like she's seen a ghost when I try to make simple conversation with her." He laughs to himself and then pops the tiny green tree into his mouth.

Payton told me that Emma was scared to be around him because of what happened with her friend, Gia. The food in front of me starts becoming less and less appetizing when I think about it. However, something about that story still doesn't seem right to me and considering how open he was to answering my questions before, I decide to say fuck it and ask him now.