Page 16
Story: Pretty Fly for a Vampire Guy
Chapter
Fourteen
OWEN
T rying to study in my room in the middle of the day is a lost cause.
Fortunately, in my classes, I am essentially ahead of the curve and getting all A’s.
Otherwise I’d be concerned by my lack of concentration.
Attempting to memorize the different types of blood cells only reminds me of bloodsuckers, which of course reminds me of a certain sexy water polo dude.
He’s away on some vampire day trip, which is good, otherwise I might scrape up some sad excuse to see him.
The past two weeks, we’ve been hooking up at least twice in the middle of the week.
Usually we’re studying, and then, bam!—the craving strikes both of us, and clothes are flying off.
I’ve never had a friend-with-benefits before.
I’ve also never had oral sex and cuddled with anyone as hot as Clay.
Or any monster really. All these nevers…
I sigh and slowly shut my book so as to not wake up Bat Nathanson.
I glance at the towel-covered terrarium taking up most of my desk.
My familiar has been so good, quietly mulling about when my roommate, Michael, and I sleep, and of course, snoozing during the day.
I’ve grown so fond of the little fella, and a selfish part of me hopes he never leaves the metaphorical nest.
I wonder what my parents would think if they found out I have a familiar. They might accuse the infamous Creepin U of turning me into a witch, or some other ridiculous notion.
My phone buzzes and I quickly push the silence button. Seeing the name, I power-walk out of the room so I don’t wake up the bat. I swipe and whisper, “Hello?”
“Owen? Owen, can you hear us?”
“Yes, Mom, hi. I was just studying in my dorm.”
“It’s the middle of the day. Don’t you have classes?”
I walk to a hallway near the dorm elevator and gaze out the massive floor-to-ceiling window. “Sometimes. But not today at this hour.”
“Ah.”
“What’s up?”
“We wanted to hear from you, right, Dad?”
I hear my dad bristle away from the phone. “Hi, Dad. You guys need anything?”
“Can’t a mother call her son?”
I wince at the guilt. “You sure can.”
“Here I thought you were, as the kids say, ghosting us.”
I try not to roll my eyes. “That’s…not what that means.”
“Anyway, how are you, beta? Are you eating enough human food?”
This time my eyes do move. “All food in the dining hall is human food.” Mostly true, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“We just wanted to check up on you. You rarely answer our texts. And in the news I read all about monster kids involuntarily shifting. It’s very scary.”
I grit my teeth and gaze at an incubus walking around campus, shifting his form. “It’s not scary, Mom.”
“Don’t some of those monster types drink blood? ”
I huff. “Yeah, but we’re made of blood.”
“That’s all the more reason to be afraid! Owen, your classmates might eat you.”
My patience is wearing thin. “They won’t. And if you visited me, you’d know that.”
“Your frightening school is three hours away.”
The thought of them popping up renders me the slightest bit anxious. “On second thought, that’s way too far, Mom. Basically four hours with traffic. Anyway, how’s Auntie?”
Once again, I’ve successfully managed to divert the conversation.
Mom talks all about her cousins, and I mostly just hum affirmations.
We don’t discuss how scary monsters are or how disappointed they are that I’m not at a human university.
I just need to endure for a few more years and become the professional I want to be, and then my parents will have no choice but to accept my life.
“Aw, he just yawned at me!” Shonda coos as Bat Nathanson lies down on her palm.
“Yup, he just woke up.” I grin at my friend as she delicately observes the mammal in her hands.
It’s late in the evening here at Mummy Mocha, the café inside the library building.
Between the gold-and-yellow faux Egyptian motifs and the constant whir of coffee machines, it’s a relaxing, popular spot for us students.
Of course, having an actual student mummy as the manager makes it less “offensive caricature of ancient Egypt” and more “fun, themed hangout spot.” The mummy shifter in question, Seth, is ringing up customers several feet away, while Shonda and I sit in a corner booth .
“Nocturnal, obviously.” Shonda snickers and holds him up. “I keep thinking they’re just like human vampires.”
“Nope, they’re very different.” I sip on my tea and watch as my pet hops up and down on Shonda’s palm.
“However their diet consists of blood, hence the namesake. In fact, vampire bats predate the Halloween Wave. Therefore, technically, they were named after a creature that became real after the fact. A true chicken-and-egg scenario. Ha!”
I chuckle at my own joke but Shonda gives me that incredulous look she saves only for me. She and I have gotten along well since we met at human transfer orientation back in August, so she should be used to my admittedly tangential monster-themed ramblings.
She continues to let Bat Nathanson hop from one hand to another. We both grin at the little guy, entertained by his dance in the air. “Well, in any case, I can’t believe you have your own familiar.”
“I know. I never had pets growing up, but the tiny bat kind of loves us.”
“Us?”
“I mean, me.” I clear my throat. My friends have no idea that I’ve grown increasingly close to a campus jock. To be fair, I’ve never had the urge to talk about anyone’s love life, let alone my own.
I mean, sex life. Just, some oral sex between lab partners, no love on the radar at all.
Shonda fixes a curious gaze on me, so I pick up the bat. “Hey, check this out. Bat Nathanson, can you say hello to Shonda?”
My pet nods and then squeaks.
“Aww,” she coos, leaning into him. Crisis averted.
“I’d be happy to babysit this guy,” she says .
I shake my head and smile. “He’s pretty attached, I don’t think he’ll want to be watched by anyone else, to be honest.”
Shonda sits back. “That’s for the best. I don’t think my suitemates will want a bat squeaking around at night.”
“He’s actually very quiet. But that may be because we keep him comfortable.” I cough. “And by we, I mean, the, um, student population in general.”
Shonda quirks an eyebrow, then remarks, “I’m surprised they let pets other than, like, service animals on campus.”
“I was surprised, too. I thought untrained creatures had to stay outdoors,” I reply.
“Hey, that is not true.” We turn to look up and see Seth with an easy smile on his face. He’s wearing a blue shirt with a white apron tied around his trim waist. With his ochre skin and easy smile, I understand why all the boys lust after him.
He sits next to me and adds, “We let Blake on campus, and he’s the most untrained creature of all.”
“Hey!” His friend Blake approaches us and slaps Seth on the head, and we all laugh. “Rude mummy asshole.”
“You’re the one who leaves beer bottles all over the suite!” Seth smirks at Blake, and I recall that they’re best friends with Kovi. The fair-skinned dude with wild brown curls pulls up a chair and turns to us. “What’s up, guys?”
“Check out Owen’s familiar!” Shonda says.
They all fawn over Bat Nathanson, and I swear he preens. Is this thing an animal from a Disney cartoon?
“So cute,” Seth says.
“I heard a human had a familiar on campus,” Blake says, sipping his coffee.
“And I heard all sorts of…other rumors,” Seth adds. He looks at me with that piercing brown stare. As the coffee guru, I figured he was the campus gossip, but does he know just how much Clay and I have done ?
I clear my throat. “Yes, well, thank you for not kicking us out of your, um, establishment.” I hold on to the bat while Shonda talks about her latest class.
After two minutes, she informs us she has an extracurricular meeting to attend.
After she leaves, Blake recalls he has to study and departs, leaving me with just Seth.
I gently place Bat Nathanson back in the carrier and shut the tiny door. When I look up, Seth is grinning and studying me.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m just proud of you, man.”
I huff. I don’t know Seth well, but he seems to treat everyone like they’re his best friend.
“For having a familiar?”
“No. For bagging a vampire.”
My eyebrows rise and I look away, heat flooding my face. “Um…wha…?”
“Dude, he talks to the water polo team, and they talk to me. I’m not here to blow up your gossip.” I turn to see his smug face. He continues, “I’m just congratulating you. Clay’s not an easy one to lock down.”
I clear my throat and stare at my pet like my life depends on it. “Yes, well…we’ve come to a platonic lab partner agreement. No locking down, just some…fun,” I murmur.
He scoffs. “Dude, an academic like you knows that familiars don’t just bond to two random ‘platonic lab partners.’” He uses air quotes, and I wish he was back in his mummy’s tomb.
“I can’t speak for Bat Nathanson. Or anyone.” I push up my glasses and sip my tea. “I don’t catch feelings for jocks.”
“Mhm,” Seth responds. He sounds as unconvinced as I do. He sips from his cup and his scrutiny makes me want to curl up in a ball. He can obviously tell that I’m crushing on Clay way harder than I ever thought possible .
“Is that why you’re here? Waiting to hand off your little pet to his co-parent?”
“Exactly,” I reply, swiveling my cup of tea. “We’re lab partners and co-parents.”
“And no feelings.”
“Nope, none.” I smile, managing to lie to even myself.
“All right, well, you should probably let him know that, because here he comes.” Seth dashes away, and my smile falls.
When I turn around, the sight is like slow motion—Clay is walking toward me, hair perfectly coiffed as always. Not seeing him for a few days has made me miss his handsome face, and my heart won’t stop racing.
“I am so sorry, Owen.”
“What, why?” I ask, standing up.
“I kept you waiting. Our commute was slammed with traffic, and it took us forever to get back to campus.”
“Right, you and your flying vampire friends.” I swallow down a pang of jealousy while he stares into the carrier at Bat Nathanson.
“How’s the baby?”
“He’s good. Missed you.”
“Aw, I’m glad he’s all right. Did you have a good time with Papa?”
The bat mewls, and the exchange squeezes my heart. Clay is so charming, thoughtful, sweet, and domestic.
But I’ve made it clear time and time again that I don’t date jocks. I’ve sabotaged any possibility of us becoming serious. It seems lab partners and co-parents are all we’ll ever be, and I’m the one to blame.
My shoulders nearly sag at the thought. Before I can say more, Clay stands up straight and holds the carrier. He smiles at me, and I want to melt. “Hey, so are you free next weekend?”
“Hm? ”
He rolls his shoulders and looks away. “I read that there’s this new exhibit in the museum all about flying animals. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, since I’ve never been.”
My eyebrows scrunch. “Like…take Bat Nathanson there for a field trip?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, we could. Or just…the two of us. You and me. Going to a museum.” He shyly smiles at the carrier. “We could get dinner afterwards, or something…if you want.”
I don’t even have time to overthink this before I yelp, “Yes!”
Clay gazes at me and nods. “Perfect. See you in class then.” He holds up the carrier. “Say goodnight to Papa!”
“Squeak!” our pet responds.
I snicker. “Bye,” I whisper. The pair strolls away and my heart continues to race.
Clay Cannon. Asked me out . I might melt in happiness.
A moment later, I look up and notice Mummy Mocha is deserted. They’ve closed up, but Seth stands nearby, cleaning a cup. He bounces his eyebrows at me, and I know he heard that whole exchange.
“I…uh…we…” I stammer, and Seth continues to look smug. “Just…shut up,” I mutter. I power walk away while the mummy laughs at my expense.
But how can I care? I have a date with the hottest, sweetest vampire dude on campus. Now I just need to not mess this up.