Page 17 of Now Streaming

“Should we head out? The floor is opening soon, and I’d like to get there before it gets too crowded.”

He stood up, gathering his tray and looking around for where to put their trash. Min knew what he was doing, knew he was changing the subject, but still her jaw dropped in surprise at his question.

“Wait, you want to go together?”

He shrugged. “Why not? We’re both doing the same thing. And it’s more fun with company.”

Hayden was right, but she still couldn’t believe he wanted to hang out with her. On purpose. Without someone forcing him.

“Okay, but I move slow,” she warned him. “I like to look at everything. Closely. And I hate being rushed.”

“Babe, rushing you is the last thing I plan on doing.”

And Min couldn’t help it, she blushed, both at his words and his deep voice and her dirty thoughts that went exactly to the places on her body that he could take his time with. She drew in a deep breath, avoiding his gaze, and firmly turned her mind back to the convention, where it desperately needed to stay.

“Then hurry the fuck up. We got places to be.”

The brisk walk to the trolley did nothing but fill Min with anticipation. The few other pedestrians they ran into heading in the same direction were a mixture of nerdy T-shirts and full-on cosplay. Min was always delighted to see what characters people loved so much they’d dress up, and she could spend hours admiring all the craftsmanship that went into the costume. She jabbed Hayden in his side to get his attention and pointed to a couple dressed like the zombies from Bleeding Sword.

“My god, their makeup looks professional.” She was so enraptured that she almost walked right into the person in front of her, a Winter Soldier that had suddenly decided to stop and take a picture of an advertisement for a new movie. Hayden’s hand shot out, grabbing her upper arm and pulling her to a stop in time before she crashed. He then maneuvered her to the other side of the sidewalk, guiding her to the inside of the sidewalk so he could walk near the street.

Min was in such a good mood she flashed him a grin.

“Such a gentleman,” she teased.

“If you’d watch where you’re going, I wouldn’t need to be.”

Min rolled her eyes at that, refusing to let him wreck her good mood.

“Part of the deal of us hanging out today is that you can’t be grumpy. I wait for Kickoff all year. You’re not allowed to ruin it for me.”

“You’ll ruin it for yourself if you don’t keep your eyes up.” He grabbed her arm again, pulling her toward him to miss the Mario that she almost walked into. She couldn’t help but laugh, which got her a hat tip from Mario.

It was only a short walk before Min and Hayden reached the station. They waited with the crowd for the trolley, loading into a standing-room-only car when it finally came. Min gripped the stability pole in the middle while Hayden stood next to her, his grip above her on the high rail. As more people shoved in, he moved closer to her, blocking her from the crowd and pressing her until the pole as the whole space became cramped with people. Finally, the doors closed and the trolley pulled away from the station.

The movement of the car rocked Min’s body against Hayden’s. She kept her eyes on the pole in front of her and did her best to ignore it. But his heat was everywhere, and this close she could smell the clean scent of his shampoo, trying not to inhale it. She stole a look up at him to see he was scanning the car, probably looking for other people on their phones he could assault. But at least he was ignoring her, for all that his body was almost completely wrapped around her.

Finally, the trolley landed at the station across from the convention center, and she breathed easier when they exited the packed car, her smile growing bigger the closer they got to the center. They both pushed their way through the crowd and stepped into the entry line.

Able to relax for a moment while they slowly made their way through the line, Min turned to Hayden, noticing how still he was, how his eyes were sweeping over as much of the crowd as he could.

“Are you nervous?”

He didn’t answer right away, and Min was starting to wonder if he’d even heard her question when he finally spoke in a soft voice.

“I tend to not be very talkative at the cons. Too easy to be recognized.”

Understanding filled her, and she felt a twist in her chest at the thought of how careful he had to be at all times in places like this. While she felt at home surrounded by people like her, he saw it as a threat. It had to be hard, wanting to just love what you love as loudly as the other fans, only to have to hide it for safety and privacy. It was the same reason she wore a wig, contacts, and a whole wardrobe when she was streaming. She wanted to be able to walk around and be herself, especially at Kickoff.

But with his distinctive voice, he couldn’t have that.

Impulsively she reached out and squeezed his hand. His eyes flew to hers, and she blushed, feeling the sudden need to undercut the tension between them.

“You talk too much, anyway.” She let her hand slip from his, stepping forward with the line, and she heard him chuckle softly behind her.

Min and Hayden slowly made their way through the line, flashing their badges to be scanned and grabbing their souvenir tote bag. Min was practically itching with anticipation, and she headed immediately to the closest entrance for the exhibition hall. Hayden was right behind her, and after once again flashing their badges at the volunteers stationed there, they stepped into the exhibit hall.

Min stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath as her eyes attempted to devour everything at once. It was still early, so the large space wasn’t yet filled to the brim with people forced to rub shoulders or bump into each other as they simply tried to walk down an aisle. She gazed around her, the layout familiar yet promising lots of new items and people and displays to look at and purchase.

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