Page 35 of Bloody Temptations

Forget I said anything.

What are you up totonight?

I take a moment to rearrange myself for full effect and snap a quick selfie. It takes a couple to get the angles just right. I’m not at all ashamed to say I look good. I stripped my shirt off when we started working out. Would I have preferred to change into something other than my loose basketball shorts? Sure. But I also don’t want to come across as desperate. Or catch any more shit from Nikki.

Just been doing some stretches with Nikolo. We’ve got work later.

I send the photo with the message.

But back to Hearts Gate. It’s a pretty intense kind of place. You really wanna go? Nikki and I were planning a night out there soon.

It’s one of the few places where it’s okay to feed in public nowadays. Since bottled blood became a thing a hundred-ish years ago, things for vamps really changed. Unless a vamp has a private arrangement with a donor, we nearly all consume bottled blood on the regular. Many baby vamps haven’t even used their teeth.

In theory, it has helped us be more accepted into general society or whatever, but really, the bottled blood industry was super sketchy up until about thirty years ago, which didn’t really help. Even now, black market stuff is a problem, where unwilling or coerced beings are bled in really horrible conditions.

So it’s just been a whole other reason for the rest of the being community and humans to turn against us.

Places like Hearts Gate probably don’t help either. It’s everything that those that hate us are scared of. Every election cycle there are all these ridiculous opinion pieces about the wild, debaucherous parties that happen in vamp bars. Bloody Temptations gets dragged into itsometimes too. That’s when Maddy drags out her old twinsets and pearls and goes campaigning.

Personally, I’ve always thought the idiots who wrote those opinion pieces have secret vampire fetishes. Why else would they come up with all these fantasies about vampire orgies where we go around biting and fucking each other and every being in existence?

I mean, yeah, biting is as much a part of sex as it is for feeding, and there is a lot of it going on at a place like Hearts Gate. It’s not like that at Bloody Temptations, though. Biting, at least gratuitously, will usually get you kicked out for public indecency.

Seriously though, it’s kind of insulting that they write the shit they do, but somehow we’re the freaks.

Because of all that, and you know, ethics, the most important rule of Hearts Gate is that everyone is there willingly. The owner is only a new vamp to the area in the past couple of years, but the vampire who used to own the place ruled it with a terrifying iron fist and didn’t tolerate compulsion or feeding by force. Anyone found breaching the rules was dealt with, usually violently.

When the new vamp took over, everyone was worried the standards would slide and it would become unsafe. So far, the fears have been unfounded. Just another example of the “all vampires are unrestrained monsters” bias really.

Nikki wraps up his workout and disappears into the bathroom, leaving me nervously chewing my thumb nail while I wait for a reply.

Yeah. Kinda? Is that… bad?

Of course not. And look, Hearts Gate can be intense, but it’s safe. Just a lot for a first timer.

The seconds tick by while I wait for his reply and I almost give up to go get ready for work.

I don’t suppose I can join you?

Is that okay? Totally fine if not. I don’t want to intrude on your night.

Actually never mind. That’s weird. I shouldn’t invite myself like that. It’s rude. Have a good night at work!

I’m not in any way proud of the dance I do in my seat at the rapid relay of texts. Thank the Gods Nikki isn’t in the room.

Calm down lol. Of course you’re invited to come. Wouldn’t want it any other way *winky face emoji*

Seriously?

Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Do you want to invite your friends too?

No, because they will be embarrassing. But I will anyway.

Haha, fair enough. Why don’t I lock down a time with Nikki and we’ll make a plan?

Sounds good to me.

And thanks. Not just for letting me tag along. For everything. For not gettingfreaked out by the weird baby vamp who came to hang out at the bar. I appreciate it. A lot.

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