Page 71 of Slave

This week was full of mixed emotions for me. It had been filled with so many ups and downs.

Master seemed to be happy with me, even though I had embarrassed him in both the restaurant and the store on Monday. He’d been kind to me Tuesday as we’d talked again about the man at the store and then again after he’d stalked toward me like some kind of animal.

But he’d been right. The look in his eyes had been the exact look that had been in that man’s. Master hadn’t said anything about it after that night, but I had no doubt that he would at some time. It seemed he liked to talk about things, especially the things that scared me.

Wednesday I’d had more time to myself than usual since both the house was cleaned and I didn’t have to work out. It left me a lot of time to think, and my mind wouldn’t stop returning to what Lily had said. No. I was never his slave. And neither are you.

So I decided I’d try to watch him closer than I had before. But by Friday night when he’d come home from work, I was still as confused and unsure as I had ever been.

A part of me just said to ask him. But what if Lily was wrong and I was his slave? I liked the way things were now. What if asking him changed things?

After dinner Friday he told me that we would be going over to his aunt and uncle’s house again on Sunday. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but of course it wasn’t my decision. We would go wherever Master wanted.

Saturday morning I woke up to find Master in the kitchen making eggs. I went to kneel, but he stopped me. “Set the table, please, Brianna.”

I moved to get the plates, silverware, and juice out on the table quickly. He brought the pan over with the eggs and divided them up on our plates. Then he walked back to the stove, bringing with him a plate full of bacon and another with four slices of toast.

Master lay everything down and took a seat. “Sit and eat,” he ordered.

Breakfast was very good. I noticed Master kept things simple when he cooked, but what he made was always tasty.

About halfway through, he spoke up. “It’s a beautiful day today, and we are going out. Make sure to wear shoes you can walk in. When you’re finished, do what you need to do and meet me by the door.”

That was all he said as we finished the rest of the meal in silence. He stayed seated until I was finished before getting up and removing our plates. I did as he’d instructed and went to my room to get ready.

My mind was racing as to what he might have in store for us today. Truthfully, I was both scared and excited. Would we go to a restaurant again, the mall, a store? Or would we go somewhere completely new?

Minneapolis was a big city, so it really could be anything. I just had to remember that he would take care of me. He would protect me. I would be fine.

When I came out of my room, Master was waiting for me. I walked to him with my head down, and he took my hand. We left our jackets at home and headed down in the elevator. This time, however, we didn’t go to the parking garage.

The elevator stopped and opened into a large lobby with marble floors. We walked down a short hallway toward a set of doors. But before we reached them, a man behind a large desk off to the right called out a greeting to Master. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”

“Good morning, Tom.” The man, Tom, smiled at my Master like he knew him well, and Master smiled back before leading me out the doors.

Master had been right. It was a beautiful start to a spring day. The sky was overcast, but it wasn’t raining, and the air felt warm against my skin.

We began walking briskly down the city streets. If I hadn’t been doing my workouts, I would never have been able to keep up with him.

There were people everywhere, but Master didn’t let go of my hand. We walked for over a mile before stopping in front of what looked like a bicycle shop. He pulled us both inside and after a few minutes we had a scooter and two helmets.

I’d never ridden a scooter before, but it turned out to be rather fun. My arms were wrapped around Master’s waist, and I was able to see so much of the city as he drove.

Soon we were driving out of the city. The number of buildings lessened, and the number of trees increased. I lost track of how long he’d been driving and just enjoyed the ride.

Once we left Minneapolis behind us it wasn’t too much farther before Master turned onto a side road that led to a park entrance. He followed a winding road through the trees that created a canopy above us. The road opened up ahead, and Master parked the scooter in one of the marked spots.

The scooter had a compartment under the seat where he placed the helmets before grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. We walked toward the trees, and I felt myself start to panic when I realized where we were going. The sign ahead gave little doubt as to what we were going to do. Hiking.

I was a horrible hiker. Trees literally came up from out of the ground just to trip me whenever I attempted it.

But even as the thought crossed my mind to tell him I couldn’t do this, I pushed it away. It didn’t matter where we were going any more now than it did before. This was what Master wanted, so this was what we would do. All I could attempt to do was not fall on my face.

It only took about fifty feet down the trail for me to trip over a root. Master was still holding my hand and felt me stumble. He made sure I was stable again before moving closer and placing his arm around my waist.

I still tripped a few times after that, even though I kept my eyes on my feet the entire time. But with Master’s arm around me, I never came close to falling.

We walked for what seemed like hours before he guided me off the path. The going was slower now. There were fallen trees and plants everywhere.

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