Page 101 of My Cosplay Escape
“Crazy lady is now my best customer.”
“Well, I have a lot of explaining to do.” Doughnuts definitely help apologies go down smoother. Not that I owe everyone at Superhero Escapes an apology. Just Adam. Still, introducing myself to my coworkers is a good first step. And doughnuts can’t hurt.
After I introduce myself to everyone at the escape room, doughnuts and all, Mike wanders forward. “But you’re not…” He looks desperately confused. I think he is trying to put together that I am not the woman he smooched, but that he most definitely did smooch someone in a Catstrike suit. “How many Catstrikes does Adam have?”
“Doughnut?” I ask.
“Who says no to a doughnut?” Mike grabs a chocolate twist.
Stacey pulls me aside. “So does Adam know?”
“Not yet. I’m working up to it. Is he going to be here tonight?” I ask hopefully.
Stacey shakes her head.
“Is he okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s thrown himself into the Dr. Leto Room in La Jolla. If you wanted to head over there, I could cover for you—”
“No more covering for me. I’ll find a way to tell him soon.”
* * *
I send Daniel’s boxes of junk back to Michigan by way of his father’s law office. I snap photos of the pages of our guest book beforehand, just in case I need the evidence later. The closet door in my mom’s office shuts all the way now. It’s almost as satisfying as imagining the phone call Daddy Ray will make when he unpacks the box of camping equipment.
As I walk out of the campus post office, I bump into Adam. Literally. I was digging in my bag for my phone, and Adam must have been on his. He dropped it when we collided. Maybe my smile should be shy, but I can’t help but grin. I haven’t seen Adam in days. He looks so… real. Reach-out-and-hold real. And I’m on the verge of doing just that when I remember what I have to say, what I swore I would say the next time I saw him.
His phone landed by my feet. I grab it and try to hand it back. “Hey,” I say.
He swallows. “Hey.” He’s not moving.
Oh goldfish, he’s terrified. I reach for his hand and, as gently as I can, place his phone in it, wrapping his fingers around the screen.
“Look, I’m really sorry about the other day. I shouldn’t have teased you.” I pause as a group of freshmen pass by us. “I’m having a nice life. It’s just… I wish you could be in it.”
He stares at me, still holding his phone awkwardly.
I’m worse than a dog with a bone. “How’s it going with…”
“It’s not,” he says.
“That’s a shame.” I catch his eye for a minute before he looks away.
Adam is clearly struggling. “She thought that you and I were…”
“Not dating?” I smile. “Hand me your phone. I’ll text her now and clear that right up.” I make a grab for his phone, but Adam pulls it out of my reach, and suddenly I’m standing inches away. Another step is all it would take to close the distance between us.
“Somehow I think that would do more harm than good,” Adam says quietly.
“This is none of my business—”
“I have a feeling that’s not going to stop you.” There are notes of exasperation but also amusement in his voice.
A breeze finds us, and my white skirt dances, and I have to pull strands of hair out of my face. “Why her? Is it just the mystery? Is it the mask? Are you going to meet her in real life and realize she has a nasty, hairy mole the size of a quarter on her neck, and that’s going to be the end of it?”
A dry sort of smile tugs at Adam’s lips. He folds his arms across his chest and stares at me. “She doesn’t have a mole.”
“What if she has a disfiguring scar, or worse? What if she has the ugliest tattoo ever? Creepy, chubby dolphins with fluffy eyebrows diving into her nether regions.”
