Page 75 of Slave

We made our way back into Minneapolis and went straight for the bike shop to return the scooter. Once that was done, we walked two blocks to my favorite pizza place.

Tony looked up at the sound of the bell over the door and smiled when he saw me. “Ah, Stephan. How are you this evening?” he said, coming out from behind the counter.

“I’m good, Tony. How about you?”

“Ah, I can’t complain,” he said. Then he noticed Brianna. “And who is the lovely lady?”

I smiled and pulled Brianna closer so that she was standing directly beside me. “Tony, this is Brianna. Brianna, this is the owner of the best pizza shop in town.”

As expected, Tony blushed a bright red, and I chuckled. What I hadn’t expected was for him to turn his total attention to Brianna. “You have to watch out for this one. He’s quite the ladies’ man, you know,” he said winking.

Brianna just flushed and lowered her eyes while holding tighter to my hand. I squeezed it back. “Do you think you can spare a table for us, Tony?” I said, looking around at the near-empty restaurant.

“Of course,” he said and turned to direct us over to a table in the corner.

We took a seat, and this time I placed Brianna opposite me. I wanted to see how she’d do since there was only one other couple besides us here. It was a little early for dinner, although most of Tony’s business came from deliveries.

Tony disappeared for about thirty seconds and returned with menus. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Just water, Tony.”

“And for the lady?”

“She’ll take water as well,” I answered for her.

Brianna hadn’t moved since sitting down. I knew she was nervous, but I was hoping she’d be able to work through her fear.

Tony left us to get our waters. I glanced over my menu to look at Brianna. “Do you want pizza or something else?” Instead of answering me, I saw her swallow hard. I was not going to ask her again, so instead of commenting I raised my eyebrows and gave her a pointed stare.

It worked.

“Pizza’s fine,” she said cautiously.

“Very well,” I said putting my menu down.

Tony returned to the table and placed the glasses in front of us. “Just a large pizza with everything except onions, peppers, and anchovies tonight,” I said, smiling.

“Coming right up.” He winked at Brianna again.

I took a slow sip of my water before setting the glass back down. “You can calm down, Brianna. Tony is a big flirt, but he won’t hurt you.”

“Yes, Master,” she whispered.

“Brianna,” I said lowering my voice. “You will refrain from addressing me like that when we are in public.” Her eyes widened, but she nodded in understanding.

No other words were exchanged until the pizza arrived. After thanking Tony, I let Brianna know she could help herself.

I watched her take a few bites of her pizza before bringing up the subject I wanted to try and discuss with her. “Tomorrow we will be going to my aunt and uncle’s again. Do you have any questions for me?”

She shook her head. “No, M . . .” She caught herself. “No.”

After taking another bite, I pressed forward. “I will stay close to you tomorrow, but I may leave you alone once or twice.”

I saw her stop eating. At first I was concerned that she would begin to have another panic attack, but she just gripped her napkin tighter for a minute and then released it.

Once I was sure she was again in control of herself, I continued on. “Nothing has changed from the last time we were there. You’re safe within the house, and you are to speak freely with the exception of how you address me,” I said, meeting her eyes with that last part.

She just nodded instead of answering verbally.

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