Sin & Salvation

Chapter 33

I look down at the text he sent me with his address and back up at the massive, beautiful building in front of me. It's bigger than I imagined (that's what she said) and much more extravagant than I would have thought. Silas strikes me as a simple guy, but even just standing outside, this is quite the opposite.

It's a humid, rainy summer night and my black maxi dress is sticking to my skin. My thighs are rubbing together, and I'm already regretting not wearing pants. In the midst of mine and Silas' argument when I was packing, I forgot to grab shorts. So it was either jeans and leggings again, or this. And since it felt like a fucking swamp outside, here we are— chub rub and all. I clearly did not account for my massive thighs that could probably start a fire for a small village with the friction between them right now.

I also didn't account for the fact that this dress is skin tight and shows every inch of my stomach. I've been trying to push myself out of my comfort zone with clothes and while this dress does look nice, it also reminds me that I'll never have the taut stomach I always dreamed of. My dumb ass forgot an umbrella so I put my bag over my head, as if it's going to do anything. Getting to the entrance, my feet and sandals are soaked.

Someone please tell me why I made the fashion choices I did today.

As I race inside, I slip and fall on the shiny, marble floors, landing directly on my ass. "Nice," I say out loud as a kind, older gentleman offers me his hand.
"Are you okay, Ms. Elliot?" He asks, helping me stand.
How does he know who I am? I look at him puzzled while picking a wet leaf off my ass cheek.

As if sensing my confusion, he reassures me, "Mr. Bennett told me you'd be arriving soon. He said you were extremely beautiful, hard to miss." He looks away as he says this, walking back to the front desk.
I blush hearing him say that. Silas never fails to amaze me with how he speaks about me. "He's really too much," I say, rolling my eyes and laughing.

"Well, he certainly wasn't lying," he admits, giving me a kind grin. He has gray hair that's styled neatly on his head and soft, brown eyes. He reminds me of my Grandpa who passed when I was 10 and it makes me feel safe. I go to thank him, but he reaches under the desk, coming up to hand me a key card.

"This is for you. Mr. Bennett told me to give it to you when you came in."

I shake my head, knowing exactly what it is and what it means. "That's really not necessary."

"Why not? You are his girlfriend, aren't you?"

I laugh, almost too loudly. "No, no, no, definitely not. Just a friend."

He shrugs and then leans in, signaling me to come closer as he whispers, "Well, between you and me, I'd just take it. He's not here most of the day anyways, and that place is so big that you could spend hours up there without seeing each other once." He dangles the card in front of me enticingly and I snatch it.

"Fine." I stare at the gold card for a few seconds before asking, "Is this like a hotel? Why would I use a key card and not a regular key?"

A friendly smile spreads across his face and he walks out from behind the desk, gesturing for me to follow. We go down a short hallway, coming to two elevators. Does he think I don't know how to use one? Is the blonde hair giving him the wrong idea or was it me wearing sandals with no umbrella in the rain?

Pressing the button for the one on the right, he says, "You have to use this one since it's the only one that reaches his floor." I stare at him confused, not understanding what he means as the door opens and he leads me in. He points to the panel on the wall with buttons and I'm really convinced he thinks I'm a ditz— until I see a strange black square that almost resembles a keypad.