"Would you like to change your clothes before we leave? Put on one of your new outfits."
I looked down to see him holding the bag out to me. "Oh! Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." What the hell are you thanking him for? Kidnapping you? Dressing you up like his doll?
Taking the bag, I disappeared back into the dressing room and threw on my new underthings, a pair of drawstring black shorts, and a printed turquoise top. I'd have to stick with the white sneakers until I could get some different shoes.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and by the time dinnertime came around, I had enough clothes to be comfortable and even a few nicer things to wear out to his blood parties, along with four new pairs of shoes.
"Are you hungry?" Luca asked me. "There's a great Italian place right down the block with some of the best pizza. We can sit outside if you like."
Actually, I was starving. And pizza was my food of choice at any time of day. "That sounds great."
The restaurant he took me to was a quaint little place with sidewalk seating, the tables shaded with umbrellas. Benches ran along the edge of the patio, and this is where Luca sat me, tucking me back into a corner and sliding in next to me. We ordered drinks and decided on a margarita pizza. I watched people walk past as we waited for our server to return with our sodas, jealous of their normal lives and wondering where they were going. Briefly...very briefly...I thought about calling out and asking for help. However, I thought I knew Luca well enough by now to know he wouldn't just let me go, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me.
Taking a sip of my soda, I glanced at him out of the side of my eye as I racked my brain for something to talk about. It was hard to think with him sitting so close to me, his dark spice scent in my nose and his thigh nearly touching mine. "So, where did you grow up?"
He angled his body toward mine, one arm on the back of the bench and the other resting on the table, caging me in. Instead of answering me, his eyes narrowed. "What's this you’re doing, Veda?"
Well, fuck.