Girl In Pieces by Jordan Bell Page B

won’t want anyone unless it’s Josh, but you’re going to have to get over that .
    This is who you get. This is all you get.
    The waitress appeared and looked first to Thomas. This little show of respect seemed to please him greatly. “Are you ready to order, sir?”
    Sir.
    “Yes. I’ll have the steak, medium rare, with vegetables.” Then he said, “She’ll have the house salad with chicken, dressing on the side.”
    The waitress took my menu out of my hands and was gone before I could say I hate salads and the people who eat them .
    I looked at my empty hands and considered carefully how to react. No one had ever ordered for me before, but it had also been a long time since anyone had offered to pay, either. It seemed rude to argue even if my stomach was very alarmed by this turn of events.
    Calm down, Kat . It wasn’t like he was a serial killer. He just wasn’t interested in some girl he might not like ordering the lobster, obviously.
    Thomas turned his impressive attention on me, finally, and smiled big enough to blind the room.
      “It’s healthier,” he said. “The salad. I hope you don’t mind. I like to take care of my girl in all ways. Healthy foods are just part of it.”
    Oh.
    Well.
    He wasn’t cheap after all.
    I put my hands back in my lap and tried to hide the lump there. He had said my size was fine, that he liked girls with extra . He said they looked healthier .
    But clearly I didn’t look healthy enough.
    “It’s fine,” I murmured, because how could I argue with the fact I could probably stand to choke down a few more salads and a few fewer Mac’n’Cheeses?
    My stomach growled in response.
    He made a soft hmm   noise and nodded. “You seem nervous. Don’t be nervous. Dinner should be the easiest part of the night.”
    This made me smile and he echoed my warmth. Certainly if we couldn’t make it through dinner, ropes and riding crops were going to be a challenge.
    “I’ve never had anyone order for me before. It’s a little weird, that’s all.”
    “There will be a lot of things I decide for you, from time-to-time. We’ll get to know each other well enough that I will be able to choose from things you enjoy when I want you happy.” He winked and my knees clutched together tighter.
    But while my body reacted, my mind spun incoherent warnings. The way he said it made it seem like there might be times when he wouldn’t want me happy, that he’d choose things specifically to make me unhappy . Punishment, I supposed, and humiliation.
    Certainly this wasn’t what I wanted. Not this.
    Right?
    Julie’s mind was as loud mouthed as mine. More so, probably, and she found happiness in submitting to Tyler so I had to be missing something, some important piece that balanced submission with empowerment.
    Maybe I just didn’t understand after all.
    Thomas chose a spoon from his silverware and I watched as he ran his thumb down its shape. The way he studied the polished silver made it seem like he could see more in its reflection than I could. It wasn’t hard to imagine those hands discovering the shape of my arm, leg, hips...
    I bit my lip. My body definitely felt something my mind hadn’t quite figured out yet.
    “So, Katrina, did you grow up in South River?”
    Katrina. My skin bristled. I squashed the doubt back down.
    “No, well, sort of. My dad was from here and after my parents divorced he moved back. I stayed with him sometimes.”
    “And you live here now?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you work here as well?”
    “Yes. At a magazine. And like I said, I’m a freelance graphic designer when I have clients.”
    He nodded. “That sounds exciting. I can’t abide laziness.”
    Can’t abide . I picked up my water and took a sip.
    Thomas watched me, dark eyes searching my face, down my throat and further. I couldn’t read his expression but there were little knots between his eyebrows.
    After many heartbeats worth of panic, he reached across the table and settled his massive,