Chapter 3 - Beast Within

She felt naked; not only in her revealing choice of clothes, but that he seemed to be running circles around her. He had her in the palm of his pudgy hands and he knew it. She struggled and tried to pull away and protest.

“I have your purse next to me, you stupid girl. You try to leave now and I will give the waiter your debit card. You don’t want those overages on your empty bank account do you?”

She felt mortified. She didn’t have any idea how to get out of this without causing a massive disruption. She was already so embarrassed with this mountain of lard that she didn’t think she could take any more attention on her. She sank into the seat across from him, dejected and defeated.
The seat was slightly damp and warm where he had been sitting. She picked at her food, her throat feeling swollen making her feel unable to swallow. Her partner felt no such hesitation. He abandoned his former manners, now that he had let his mask slip, and began wolfing down food at a ferocious speed. He sometimes had the decency to use a fork, but most of the time he grabbed handfuls of food and forced it down his gullet. It was sickening. Morbidly hedonistic.

Ava watched a whole chicken worth of fried chicken disappear, a family sized bowl of mashed potatoes, nearly a loaf of cornbread, cup after cup of mac and cheese, and nearly a rack of ribs. She had never even seen competitive eaters eat so much. His appetite seemed positively unrelenting. The only thing that seemed to show signs of giving up were the buttons on his shirt, where she could occasionally hear a thread or two pop. Everything had gone silent enough around her that she could only hear his masticating, the bench creaking, and squeak of the buttons against tightened threads. Even the restaurant staff seemed to be unable to avoid being distracted by him now.

He let out a big sigh and leaned back as little as he could on the bench without falling off. He reached down and struggled with his belt. He was not able to fully reach around his girth and was turning red with effort to find the buckle. After far too much awkward time passing, a snap which must have been the buckle, was heard. All of a sudden, Ava felt something warm and soft brush against her bare knees. She was mortified when she realized it was his belly beneath his shirt. She felt it reverberate as he let out a massive belch. Once again the table tipped forward, and her barely touched plate nearly slid into her lap. She caught it, clumsily, and clung to it.

“Ahh!” He sighed. “Now I have room again! I would unbutton my pants too, but I can’t remember the last time I could button them!” He laughed at himself heartily, making the now 6 empty plates on his side of the table clink with his mirth. There it was again! All the people catching glances at them! She swore she even saw a phone out, as if someone planned to film them.

She carefully placed her own plate back on the table when he had stopped laughing. She was not going to take this anymore. She wouldn’t abandon her dignity. She felt around with her foot and found the strap of her purse, hooking it with her heel. With remarkable reflexes, he grabbed the purse, stopping it from falling before she could pull it towards herself. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle from the strap.

He looked at her levelly and stated loudly enough for the whole restaurant to hear. “Ah perfect sweetie!” His eyes glittered. “You know it’s time for my dessert don’t you! Two of the fullest plates you can get for me!” She sat in silence feeling rage, at her wits end.