Selling Blood Was A Serious Business After All

The vampire said that she needed to take a few pictures. It was quickly apparent to Aiden that these pictures were not like any other pictures he had taken in his life. These pictures were very specific pictures, used to accentuate his selling points for the vampiric clients.

Snap, snap…

Serena lowered her camera and pursed her lips. She shook her head in regret and commented, "Sorry, I can't see anything from this angle."

From the look of it, Nick shared the same opinion. She approached Aiden with a smile and pinched at his shirt collar.

"This shirt collar is too stiff. We can loosen another button, but we still won't see what we want to see."

Aiden's grandmother liked to see her grandson looking prim and proper at all times. She always soaked the collars in starch solution before ironing the clothes. An old trick that worked magic, she used to say.

Aiden pulled his collar together with a hand, and asked warily, "What is it that you want to see?"

"Your beautiful, youthful neck," Serena answered straightforwardly.

"And your whole body in general," Nick added. "Aiden, you have fair skin and a sensual body. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Aiden was not so sure about that.

"But what does this have to do with the blood I am selling?" Aiden asked in irritation. "Unless blood is not the only thing I am selling here?"

His fear was justified. After all, the selling price was five times the regular price.

Nick waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, no. Not at all. If you were open to doing more, the price will skyrocket. It can go up to ten times the original price or so. Of course, there is no fixed price for that kind of arrangement. It depends on too many factors.

Anyway, it is not something I would recommend. While vampires take pleasure from drawing blood and engaging in sexual intercourse simultaneously, the human counterpart suffers from immeasurable pain."

"So why do I have to take these pictures...?"

"Oh, it is like this."

Serena hung her camera around her neck and approached Aiden with slow, sensual steps.

"You are not wrong when you say that you are only selling blood, but you must agree when I say that the product vessel must also appeal to the eyes, yes?"

Serena's manicured fingernail traced Aiden's jawline and went down to his neck. It then smoothly went across his collarbone and ended at his shoulder joint.

Nick cleared her throat.

"It is not wrong if the clients want their wine to come in a beautifully decorated bottle, right?"

"Aiden, understand this. Vampires are NOT rabid vampires. For vampires, drinking warm, human blood is a form of indulgence. It is associated with both physical and psychological pleasure."

"The blood must be delicious, but the vessel must also be beautiful and appetizing. Before you can sell your blood, you must first sell your looks. It does not matter how delicious your blood tastes if no one wants to give it a try."

That was a fair point.

After that, Aiden did not ask any more questions and complied with the two ladies' every request. He posed as many times as he was required to without further complaint and retook as many pictures as necessary.

By the time they were done, the sun was already high up in the sky. Nick and Serena packed up and sent Aiden off with a smile and a promise to get back to him as soon as they found him a suitable buyer. Aiden left after saying thanks and rode his bicycle absent-mindedly back home.

It would be a lie to say that Aiden did not feel the slightest discomfort at the idea of selling his blood. He even felt a little stupid for agreeing to let a vampire suck his blood from his vein directly without researching the method first. Or at least ruminate on the idea overnight or so.

Then again, he was racing with the time.

Aiden could only hope that he would survive the twelve encounters with the vampires. After that, as he promised himself again and again, he would steer clear of getting involved with the superior races and live out the rest of his life as a decent part of human society.

Aiden opened the house door and tossed his satchel on a nearby couch. He did not expect his grandmother to be home at that time, because his grandmother typically spent whole Sundays for church, lunch with friends, and then poker games until 5 PM or so.

This Sunday, his grandmother was home. From the looks of it, she had been waiting for him to come home.