The cake competition was the highlight of the Autumn festival and Georgina was desperate to win. The prize was a weeklong trip for two to Bermuda, and she spent weeks experimenting with different ingredients to perfect her recipe.

On the morning of the event Georgina woke up with a knot in the pit of her stomach. Her anxiety grew throughout the day and when it came time to prepare the cake, she was so jittery she cut her finger while slicing cherries into the batter. She gasped in horror as rivulets of blood blended into the mix. With no time to prepare a new batter, she popped the cake into the oven and brought it to the competition as if nothing had happened.

Upon arriving at the festival, Georgina registered for the competition and placed her cake on the table with the other entries. She spent the afternoon walking around in a trance, berating herself for the accident and wondering if consuming blood was poisonous.

When twilight darkened the skies, Georgina joined the crowd as they gathered round the table to watch the town's pastry chef judge the competition. He was young and handsome, and Georgina held her breath as she gaped at him walking around the table, taking a forkful of each cake, and rolling it around in his mouth. He wore a stoic expression on his face as he tasted each treat, keeping the crowd in suspense.

When he got to Georgina's cake, he stopped dead in his tracks, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. He popped a forkful of the confection into his mouth and moaned, "Mmm," before shoving in a large second helping.

Drool pooled around his fangs as he awarded Georgina first place. Afterwards, he whispered in her ear, "Can I be your plus one for the trip?"

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