Page 57 of Taken By Sin
She bursts out laughing, and for the first time since I started working here, I feel like I might actually belong.
Now, I’m walking out to meet Sin. Since I knew he was taking me on a date after my shift, I brought a change of clothes.
I’m not exactly sure where he’s taking us, but to be safe, Bria helped me choose an elegant yet casual option: a cream romper with an ivory handbag. Over it is a beautiful petticoat she let me borrow, as the fall chill is beginning to take over New York.
I, of course, am wearing my magnolia necklace and a golden bangle on my wrist.
The aromatic scent of coffee lingers outside of the cafe as Istand on the sidewalk looking for Sin. When I don't see him, I call. “Hi! Your text said you were here, where are you?”
“I’m right beside you, Magnolia.”
Hearing his deep accent never fails to make butterflies dance in my stomach. I look to my right, seeing nothing aside from the open door of Alice in Brewland. To my left is a black car.
I pull on the back handle, but it’s locked. “Shit, Sin, I just tried to get in someone’s car. Where are you?” I say in a hushed, hurried tone.
“Open the passenger door,” he quips.
I inhale before tugging on the handle, opening it to find a grinning Sin in the driver’s seat. I slip into the cool tan leather seat, noticing the stack of dealership paperwork resting on the center console. “You didn’t!” I gawk, my hand covering my mouth.
“I did.” He grins. “And it’s a write-off, so don’t freak out, okay?”
“I told you not—” His finger lays on my lips, silencing it.
“I just said not to freak out.” He gives me a pointed look.
This luxurious four-door, black Mercedes… is mine?
“This is insane,” I chuff, looking around the gorgeous interior, admiring the minimalistic features and wide screen that displays everything. “Sin, you know that I don’t even know how to drive, right?” I laugh. “Like, I don’t have a learner’s permit or anything.”
“That’s why I’m going to teach you. You don't have to have your learner's permit if you're over eighteen; you can jump straight into getting your license.” He pulls onto the road,cutting the ongoing traffic off, making me question whether he’s the best instructor for me.
I snort, embarrassing myself. “I wouldn’t pass the test.”
“That’s what practice is for.” He shrugs nonchalantly.
I gesture to the busy city streets. “I’ll kill everyone.”
“We’re going somewhere a little more… uninhabited.”
Once we're out of the traffic-laden city, zipping down winding country roads, I get a sense of home. My entire life was spent in the countryside of New York. Everyone may think that it's all tall buildings and bustling streets, but the majority of the state is like this. Serene.
The tires hum against the road as we wind through the curves. September wind makes the maples and oaks coated in varying shades of burnt umber and yellow. The air is crisp, and I crack my window to let it in, the faint scent of leaves and woodsmoke curling around me.
Sin is looking devilishly handsome as always in the driver’s seat, one hand resting on the wheel, the other relaxed on his thigh, his fingers drumming absently.
“Look at that,” I say, pointing out a farmhouse perched on a hill, its porch wrapped in pumpkins and cornstalks. “It’s like a postcard.”
He glances over, his lips curling into a smile. “Want me to buy it for you?”
I laugh as if he’s joking, but I’m also sitting in a car that he bought just for me. “No, I love the city. Maybe when I’m older I’d like to have one by the water, though.”
“We could make that happen.”
I nod, my heart thudding a little faster than I’d like. Did Sin just assume we would still be around each other when we grow older? The thought seems too ridiculous to fathom. I try not to frown, wondering what this even is between us.
Everything feels bright and sharp in his presence: the sunlight through the leaves, the way he looks at me out of the corner of his eye when he thinks I’m not noticing.
The road dips, and a small creek appears alongside us, glittering in the sunlight. “Let’s pull over,” he says suddenly, slowing the car.