Forever Kiss Read Free Page B

draping it over her body again.
    Beth made her way back down the hallway and noticed that the floor wasn't glistening with light anymore. The sun had dropped enough her feet were safe. She relaxed for a moment and then realized what that meant. The sun was nearly set. Penny would wake up and come after her. She clenched her teeth and shuffled faster down the hall.
    She'd wanted to check her hair before leaving. She towel dried it after the shower but she could feel how damp it was. She didn't have a brush either, forcing her to use her fingers and leave it limp and stringy. It was a bad hair day to end all bad hair days. With the sun nearly set she didn't have time worry about it.
    Beth made her way around the kitchen and into the entryway. She tried on several pairs of shoes until she found a pair that were the least painful to wear. They were open topped heels that had been designed with punishing women for not having pointy feet in mind. She winced as her toes were crushed together by the sides but stood up in them and teetered for a moment. The heels were modest for Penny's collection at a little less than three inches tall.
    Beth spread her feet a little to help adjust and sucked on her dry lip. Her legs were going to get tired pretty quick, but she didn't have a choice. Running around barefoot would draw too much attention. And, with her luck, she'd step on something sharp and cut herself.
    She let go of her lip and gathered her blanket again. She had no idea where she was, the brief glimpse of sunlight had done nothing but blind her and send her crawling away. She pulled it tight around her and unlocked the door before squeezing her eyes shut. She opened it slowly and waited, expecting blistering pain to strike her at any moment.
    Nothing happened. Beth blinked her eyes open and stared out into a hallway that led to the left and the right. To her right she saw an alcove on the opposite wall. To her left the hallway turned around a corner and disappeared away from her direction. She grunted. She was in a building. An apartment. Two or three bedroom and based on the cathedral ceilings and massive windows, probably an expensive one. Maybe even the penthouse.
    She stepped out into the hallway and hesitated. She couldn't very well walk through a building huddled in a blanket. She turned and dropped it inside, then looked at the three coats hanging on pegs and grabbed a long leather one. She slipped it over her shoulders and glanced down. It fell to her mid calf and left the shoes that doubled as mousetraps for her toes exposed.
    She pulled the door shut behind her and took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart. After several seconds she gave up, her heart was a lost cause. She walked down the hallway, her fingers brushing the wall to help keep her focused as she approached the alcove. Her hunch proved right, a single elevator waited with brushed steel doors closed.
    Beth pushed the only button available and started when the doors slid open.  She stuck her head in and looked at the room. It was in good shape and clean, more than what she was used to. No passed out college kids or carpet stains. She stepped in and turned around. The penthouse light was lit up. The panel held two other buttons, the lobby and a garage.
    "Where am I?" Beth breathed. She pressed the lobby button and stepped back so she was leaning against the wall while the doors slid shut. It started down a moment later, making her reach out and press her hands against the wall. The ride was smooth but she could sense how quick the elevator moved. Her guess proved right when the elevator slowed to a stop and made her knees tremble. She straightened before the doors slid open and revealed a professional another hallway that ran to her left and right.
    Beth followed it to the right and soon emptied into a professional lobby with two more elevators behind an artificial garden. At the far end several glass doors emptied onto the busy street. She gasped and