For the second time that week, you actually had a nice dinner. Of course, it wasn’t as rare as it used to be. Back when you lived with your mother, you’d often been left eating whatever frozen meals were in the freezer, or getting drive-through hamburgers if you were lucky. Not that your mother didn’t care for you or Rudy, but even after 24 years she sometimes forgot you couldn’t just ‘find’ a meal. Moving out on your own had been a big improvement in that regard.
But now, sat at the head of the table beside Mira, clearly someone had taken the time to put some real thought into the meal, there was smoked salmon and brisket, sweet potatoes, multiple casseroles and various sauces. You didn’t even know any of your family members knew how to cook, that your mother and Aunt Sofie had done all of this almost brought a tear to your eye. Though James probably did most of the work.
Mira seemed to be enjoying herself too; though the man-food was obviously for you and the handful of other men present. Nonetheless, she smiled and chatted energetically in between bites.
“Yeah, I haven’t even played air hockey in the past few years,” Mira said, giggling as she recounted her dinner’s unfortunate bet to her older sister. “Bet he regrets trying to take advantage of me now~”.
You steel yourself, but flinch regardless as Mira punctuates her taunt with a poke at her belly and the man’s sobs briefly give way to a scream.
“Something the matter, Maxie?” Carrie asks, grinning at you while Mira glances at you apologetically. “It seems like you ought to be more used to this kind of thing by now.”
“I was just startled, that’s all…” you pause, always awkward in conversation with Carrie. Well, at least she’s already eaten to you think, eyeing her now still and round belly as it lay resting over her legs. “How is your… lunch…?”
“Mid-afternoon snack…” Carrie waggles her hand in mime of a so-so response. “He’s mostly a goopy slurry at this point, like a gas station slushy with hard chunks of bone and gooey bits of undigested meat floating around in it.”
“Ew.” Mira interjects, sticking her tongue out with a scrunched-up face.
“That’s great Carrie… very detailed…”
“So, wait,” Alexa asks from beside Rudy, “that guy was the owner of the gas station?”
“I dunno. He was in charge of it or something, I guess. He was mad we took the dumpster.”
“Just gulping some stranger before you even learn his name? Classy Carrie”
“What? Like Mira or Alexa, know the names of their meals?”
“Malcolm.”
“Drew, Mickey, and… tasty?” Alexa laughs, tracing her fingers over the outline of one of her victims as he strained outward against her flesh. Even after a few hours, her meals were alive and intact enough to plead and struggle. Unlike Mira’s, who was little more than a writhing lump of meat at this point, screaming wordlessly between sobs.
“Well, fine, if it’s so important, how about you go ahead and ask him Max?” Carrie mocks, hefting her stomach with both hands as whatever is left of the man inside sloshes audibly about.
“Doesn’t seem like he’s up for answering.”
“Maybe he’s just tired? He’s probably going to be pooped after spending a whole afternoon being digested” Mira joked, waggling her eyebrows at each of you in turn.
Cringing, you return to your salmon. Alexa and Rudy look away and strike up a conversation with Bernard and Aunt Hannah. Even Carrie rolls her eyes and spears a bit of brisket with her fork, chewing as she looked away and watched Leah and Taryn start to eat their stockboys.
“Oh, come on! That was good!”
You looked down, ate your dinner.
“It was!” Mira continued to protest.
You stare down at the table in silence. Wow, they can really pack them away quick. Both of your alpha pred cousins already leaned back in their chairs, satisfied expressions across their faces as their dinner settled into their stomachs. Shit…just two more men, nothing but shit. You really were lucky to have made it this far you knew. Even with Carrie’s taunting, she’d never actually made a move to eat you. Compared to the fates of the countless men your cousins had devoured, your life was peachy. I hope Taryn at least finished digesting the guys from laser tag before she at this one… It had only been a few hours. Fuck, that poor guy…
