The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

Ep. 3. 19 (R) - Just a Little Taste

When he finally looks up and she can see his entire face, she gasps.

He's exquisite!

In fact, he looks like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ.

He's wearing a crisp white, long-sleeved, linen shirt rolled up to his elbows, the color the white so bright it sets off his mahogany skin and amplifies his warm, cognac eyes. Paired with vintage jeans that hug his well-toned, underwear-model body, he looks absolutely, positively...

...delicious.

GQ-model guy takes a step forward, smiles, and extends his hand. "Hi, I'm Marcus. It's very nice to meet you."

Fiona clasps his hand and shakes it vigorously. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm..." She pauses, her mind going blank as she desperately tries to remember her own name.

"I'm..." she murmurs, stalling for time, then finally, "I'm... Fiona! Yes, Fiona!" She flashes him a goofy yet radiant smile. "Fiona. That's who I am." She says one last time before her voice trails off into silence.

Thoroughly charmed, Marcus's smile widens, displaying his remarkably straight, perfectly proportioned, and sublimely dazzling white teeth.

He gestures to the ruby red chaise lounge and says, "Please, take a seat. You kind of... um... well, you kind of look like you're about to pass out."

"Funny, I just might," Fiona says, laughing nervously.

They sit down next to each other on the velvet chaise and a long beat of silence passes between them.

Fiona fidgets with her lavender sweater and smooths out her white denim jeans while Marcus looks around the elegantly decorated, Victorian era room, gawking as if he'd just arrived.

"Soooo...," He says after clearing his throat a few times. "Is this your first time live feeding?"

"Yep!" Fiona chirps, saying this with a bit too much enthusiasm.

She modulates her breathing, forcing herself to relax.

"Uh, yes it is," she responds more evenly, and then she says, "We usually get our blood from exclusive blood banks run by some of the oldest Vampyr clans in our kingdom."

"Oh, I see," Marcus muses, genuinely interested. "I'd always wondered how it was done."

"Yep. That's how we handle it." Fiona stares down at her Keds, tapping her toes together nervously.

She can't seem to bring herself to look at the guy, he's so outrageously beautiful.

"Okay, well..." Marcus says, "just let me know what I can do to help make you feel more comfortable."

After getting no response from Fiona, he leans closer to her, and in a calm, soothing voice, says, "I should probably ask you. Do you prefer the right side or the left?"

Startled, Fiona looks up. "Right or left side of what?!"

"My neck," Marcus chuckles. "Isn't that where you typically feed from?"

Fiona blinks, staring blankly at his neck. "Um... yeah, sure," she says. "But... Look..." she clears her throat. "Do you mind if we just talk for a minute first?"

"Sure!" Marcus replies as he leans back and rests his arm on the back of the chaise lounge.

Another awkward moment passes before Fiona says, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead. Shoot."

"Um... Well..." Fiona tilts her head and asks, "What kind of Shapeshifter are you?"