Busy

Michael followed the man as he lead them into the restaurant proper with Emi crawling close behind him. Her eyes were squarely pinned to his feet and the pair of cat ears on her head seemed a little wilted from embarrassment. This had been her idea, but it seemed that crawling inside a public restaurant naked was still intensely humiliating to the pet girl.

Looking around she wasn't out of place though. The restaurant was set up mostly like any other, with rows of tables spaced across a large room and what appeared to be doors to the kitchen at the back. A well-stocked bar ran along one side, staffed by a bartender and a few waiters. What was different from normal was that all the tables were set for one.

Quite a few were occupied, each with a man sitting in his chair and enjoying his food while a pet girl kneeled on a plush pillow next to him and ate from a bowl on the ground. Like Emi the majority of the pets were naked, though, especially among the older ones, there were some who wore underwear.

This in itself wasn't that out of order for a restaurant. Most places offered accommodations for pet girls if asked, so a pet eating at their master's feet wasn't that uncommon a sight. However, as they made for an empty table, Michael spotted at least one table that had the pet underneath the table and 'earning' her food, as Emi liked to call it.

He blushed as he pictured Emi doing the same in public before quickly banishing the thought. That was one bridge too far, even for him.

Soon they were seated at their table. Well, he was seated. Emi simply crawled onto the large plush pillow next to his chair and remained there. The concierge left with a polite smile and Michael turned to look down to his girlfriend.

"You alright? Should we leave?", he asked, concerned. Emi remained kneeling on her pillow, her body strangely curled into herself, as if she was trying to hide from the room itself. Then again, with her being naked, that was likely exactly what she was doing.

It took her a moment to react to him and when she did, she seemed almost stunned. A tiny, wavering smile graced her lips as she slowly shook her head.

"I need a minute, but I want to stay.", she declared. For a moment, he hesitated over whether or not to overrule her and end this before it went too far. But then he dropped the idea and let out a sigh. If there was one thing Emi was, it was being stubborn. Knowing her own limits was a close second. He'd have to trust her assessment of herself.

"Come here.", he said instead, drawing her closer and making her lay her head on his thigh. He then started caressing the back of her head, immediately provoking a drawn-out purr of contentment from her.

Emi eased into his touch and her tense figure almost melted onto his leg. After a few moments, she slightly turned her head to look up to him with gentle adoration in her eyes.

"Thanks.", she muttered. "That helped a lot, Master."

They remained like that until a waiter came with a menu that was immediately handed to Michael. Emi was pretty much ignored other than getting a bowl of water placed in front of her pillow.

It felt... a little odd. Rather, he felt uncomfortable with it. Sure, it all made sense in context, he was the master and Emi was a pet. It was pretty obvious who should make the order, but that wasn't it. Pets, and that included every single one in the restaurant, were almost exclusively female. And in this restaurant, every female was a pet that was solely and purely that. The property of their master.

He couldn't help but feel misogynistic in this setting. Which he was aware was hypocritical of him. After all, he was the proud 'owner' of one of them.

After he'd read through the menu he tried to offer it to Emi, but she refused with a simple shake of her head.

"I'm eating whatever my Master decides.", she declared with a knowing smile. After her initial shock, she had acclimated to it all remarkably fast. No longer was she wilted into herself; instead kneeling proudly next to him, showing off her naked body as his property.

He ordered for them both and then took the chance to take a look around the restaurant. A few moments later, he nudged Emi, who had once again placed her head on his lap, and pointed her to an elderly couple in their late fifties. Like every other couple, the husband was sitting at the table and eating from the plate, occasionally looking down to his wife who was contentedly eating from a bowl on the ground.

Like all elderly pets, she was wearing underwear that covered more than usual. A loophole that seemed to be encouraged by the restaurant.

"Could you imagine being like that?", he asked Emi. She looked over and mulled it over. Then she shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess.", the cat girl bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Maybe?"

She seemed to have more to say, so he didn't interrupt until she continued.

"I probably could.", she stated half-confident, half-unsure. "But I likely won't.", she added after a moment.

He smiled at that.

"Would you think less of me if I said that I'm glad you won't?", he asked with a wry smile. She looked up to him with a hint of surprise before considering it.

"Nope.", she decided after a moment. "'cause we both think the same about it."

"How do you figure that?"

"I've gotten to know the way you think.", she replied with a cocky smile. "And I know that while you enjoy all of this, you aren't the type to make it all there is.

Neither am I. I've realized this today. Before, I've always wondered. Should I become just a pet? Really go down the rabbit hole and commit to being only a little more than a smart animal, owned by my master.", she looked up to him with a faint blush.

"It was quite the hot fantasy at the time.", she confessed. Michael had to admit that he'd gotten a little heated as well.

"But yeah... I don't think I could. There is too much more I want to do.", Emi continued before falling silent again. Michael started patting her head again.

"Like I said.", he began. "I'm very glad you think that way."

Discreetly nodding to the elderly couple a few tables over, he continued. "They are from a different time. 30-40 years ago, this restaurant... It was the norm. She lived her life as a pet and that was fine then, I guess. But I..."

"You feel like a misogynistic piece of shit being here.", Emi ended his sentence with an amused shake of her head. He chuckled at her looking right through his mental struggles.

"I get it.", she lifted her head off him and scooted back before seamlessly switching into the 'present' posture. Her entire, lithe body presented itself to him, from the gentle mounds of her breasts to the faintly flushed outlines of her pussy. All of it crowned by the red leather collar and adorned with a tiny silver bell.

"All of this is yours.", she stated. "I am yours. You own all of me.", she lifted her gaze from the ground, and her demure expression turned proud and strong. "-because I gave it to you."

Dropping out of the posture, she returned to her former place on her thigh.

"That's the difference. Every single pet in this room is here because she wants to be. No one is treated any differently than they want to.", she glanced up to him out of the corner of her eye, a cheeky grin blossoming on her lips.

"So let's all enjoy it."