Evening. Guests had already begun to arrive. All the guests—that is, the hostesses' invited girlfriends—were dressed in loose, casual home clothes. Just like the hostesses themselves. Only two boys stood out with their outfits. The Rabbit and the Ram were dressed in fishnets and skimpy thongs. The Rabbit was mixing drinks in the kitchen, while the Ram carried them around the living room, swaying his ass like a professional slut. The girls watched him with excitement—both sexual and culinary. Some of them discussed his flavor qualities. Others focused on the large bulge in his thong. The first group was restrained by the collar around his neck; the second had no brakes at all. As for the Rabbit at the bar, he could also boast interest—but only culinary. His athletic physique drew plenty of praise regarding the quality of his meat.
Music and conversations filled the living room. Everyone gathered around the dance pole. Callisa sat in an armchair as if she were a queen. And she had reason for it. It was her outfit Evan had chosen. She was at the top of the household hierarchy. Seeing the jealous and disappointed faces of the other three gave her a sense of satisfaction—though she wished to see that expression on one other face. At the moment, she was talking with her tigress friend.
"So, Callisa, how's life at Tenebrae? Too bad they didn't accept you into Flamand Academy."
Callisa swirled her drink and sighed.
"Yes, but on the other hand, I ended up better off."
Her friend leaned closer.
"That's actually what I wanted to ask you about. That human… is he real?"
"As real as it gets. And everything I said before is true as well."
"How did you convince him to dance?"
Callisa sighed heavily. She briefly told her about the bet. The tigress grimaced when she heard about synth-meat.
"Disgusting. You know, I've heard humans can turn even bad meat into a work of art, but that filth…"
She didn't finish, just grimaced again.
"Yeah… nothing can save that."
"Let's drop it. Did you try him?"
Callisa didn't answer. She just stared dreamily into her glass. She still remembered that wonderful taste from their first date, when she had almost eaten Evan.
"I see you did. Listen—you need to finish it. Then you'll finally beat your sister."
The fox thought for a moment. As a cook, she should do it. Besides, she thought about it herself—almost every day. About how delicious Evan was, and what a wonderful dish she could make from him. On the other hand… though, if he agreed…
She didn't finish her thought when the music changed and the lights dimmed.
"The show's starting."
Evan stepped out from behind the curtain. Callisa smiled. That outfit fit him even better than she'd imagined. She licked her lips. She felt arousal—both culinary and erotic.
With a springy step, Evan approached the pole. He wrapped one hand around it and slowly began to circle it, extending his legs slightly forward. He looked at the entire audience one by one. Then he turned toward them, gripping the pole with both hands. Without breaking eye contact, he rolled his back.
The girls whispered among themselves about his body. Aiko's friends talked about it as a true feast for the eyes. It was a live realization of an otherwise unattainable fantasy.
Evan took another step around the pole, almost automatically losing one of his cuffs along the way. He was rewarded with a satisfied murmur. He gripped the pole more firmly and, with a half-turn, lost the second cuff. Leaning against the pole, he unclipped the collar in one smooth motion and tossed it away, giving the audience a deep look.
One of the girls grabbed the collar and held it like a precious trophy.
Evan slowly slid down, pausing briefly in a squat. Then he leaned back, holding the pole with one hand while supporting himself with the other behind him.
He turned and looked at the audience, rolling his eyes.
He extended one leg forward and rested it against the pole. Lying on his back, he began removing the stocking from his leg. Then he turned his back to them, dropped to all fours, and started shaking his ass.
Several girls licked their lips at that—especially Frida. Her outfit hadn't won, but she felt she'd received a pretty good consolation prize. Watching with satisfaction, she sipped her drink.
He took a few steps forward, shaking his head slightly, then began removing the second stocking.
He performed a few more movements on the floor. The audience, however, was already waiting impatiently for the main course.
Evan blushed like butter in a frying pan. Even so, he continued.
He lay on his back. Grasped the thong with both hands and pulled it off in a single motion. Then he squatted against the pole, facing the audience with his legs spread. He was red as a lobster pulled from boiling water. The girls looked at him with obvious hunger—or arousal—or both at once.
Slowly, he stood up, finishing the dance. Then he stood straight, extended his arm to the side, and ended the show.
Evan sat in an armchair with a glass containing ice, whiskey, and cola. He felt exhausted—not physically, but mentally. That dance had cost him a lot. He thought that even lying on a platter in the middle of the room, he wouldn't have felt so exposed. …Wait. Why did he think that?
The dance had been really hard. Many times he felt he was losing rhythm and about to fall. Somehow, he made it through. Before Shawn jumped on the pole, he'd told Evan that with enough training, they could work together.
Evan sighed heavily at the thought. He still hadn't fully come to terms with who Shawn was after hours—and he couldn't imagine himself in front of a camera.
Besides, his whole life since moving into the dorm felt like an erotic movie.
Callisa sat down next to him, placing her hand on his bare thigh. His stripper outfit had already been stolen piece by piece, and the girls wouldn't let him get dressed properly, so he was sitting there with his bare ass out. The tigress sat down in front of them.
"Evan, meet Celestine. She goes to Flamand Academy."
"Is that something like Tenebrae?"
The tigress nodded.
"Yes, but Flamand is a culinary school, while Tenebrae is general education."
Evan felt surprised. Tenebrae was just a general school? That suddenly reminded him of something. He'd heard students complain about the small number of cooking classes.
Wait… he suddenly realized something…
"Flamand is a culinary school, so why—"
He looked at Callisa. She turned away.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Evan felt like he'd stepped into a minefield. He frantically thought about changing the subject. Celestine helped him out.
"Let's drop it. Let's talk about you. Have you decided?"
Evan looked at her, confused. He didn't quite understand what she meant. Not that, right?
"Evan isn't in a hurry to end up on a plate."
"Eh… pity."
So that was it. Evan sighed heavily and thanked Callisa.
"Callisa told me about your burger. Interesting idea."
"Thank you."
The tigress took a sip of her drink.
"A little advice from me. Think about who you really want to be—a cook or a dish."
Evan looked at her in surprise. The tigress smiled slightly.
"Well… at least try to decide before someone does it for you."
She took another sip.
"I'll say this right away—becoming a professional chef is something completely different from cooking at home or in class. The selection is brutal."
At that, Callisa muttered something under her breath.
"And if you do end up as a dish, at least try to choose your diners. If you can."
She downed her drink in one go, and Evan didn't know what to think anymore.