Page 107 of My Cosplay Escape
I pout. “You sure this dress is a good idea?”
“Bare legs, and a lot of them, after all the catsuits?” Gwen laughs. “Yes, I’m sure.”
I brush a speck of glitter off my black skirt. “He didn’t ask me if I was still going with him. He asked me if I was working.”
“Honey, the man was shell-shocked.”
“You mean terrified. You mean run-now-if-you-hope-to-live panicked.”
“Look. He’s still your boss. You told him after work. He had a lot to unpack. He was preoccupied with the fear that you thought he was a douche for dating two girls at once.” Gwen rolls another section of my hair. “And you shouldn’t have worn a new suit. He’s probably still trying to do mental gymnastics with that one.”
“I had to wear a new suit. I’m never going near my old one after Tony mistook me for you in it.” I shudder. Gwen laughs. “Why would a new suit matter? It’s still me.”
“Oh, I know. And, believe me, he knows. He can’t sleep at night, he knows so bad.”
“Or make vanilla frosting.”
“No, he may just be crap in the kitchen.”
I laugh as Gwen twists a few of my curls back and swipes pink lip gloss on my lips. The very same lip gloss Brent and Jen give their team to wear to work. Turns out it’s the most amazing lip gloss ever—gluten-free, vegan, fair trade, with SPF 30. “Adam has your every angle memorized. Which is why you are in a flirty cocktail dress that shows a lot of leg and shoulder. Show me your mask.”
I hold up the glittery black cat-eye mask.
Gwen adds a slim gold headband with cat ears to my soft, shoulder-length blond curls.
“Classy,” I deadpan.
Gwen tries hard not to laugh. “I mean, you are working tonight.”
* * *
The Student Union is outfitted with red and black streamers and many disco balls. Nothing but the finest for homecoming.
“I thought you were joking about the little black dress,” Adam says when I show up for my shift. His gaze falls to my bare legs, and he looks for a moment like he’s in pain.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi.” Adam takes my hand, and my heart beats faster.
“I forgot my mask.”
“Okay.” He’s in a pair of dark jeans with a blue plaid shirt and skinny tie. “Dance with me?”
Butterflies take flight inside me. He pulls me close, and I smile into his shoulder. My fingers lace with his, and I rest my other hand on his strong shoulder. “I’m sorry I was too chicken to tell you the truth sooner.”
“The timing had to be yours. But I always hoped you’d tell me. When you were ready.”
“Hoped?”
Adam speaks quietly into my ear. “Who doesn’t hope that the smart, witty, gorgeous girl in the hoodie is also the clever, confident, sexy badass in the catsuit?”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, like I said, there were clues. Your cosplay schedule shifting with your new class schedule. The times I heard you swearing under your breath at work. The same cracked phone. Our chemistry. And you may have run by my escape room every morning after Comic-Con for two weeks. I caught you on my Nest.”
I blush.
“That was a fun discovery.” Adam smirks before he pulls me closer. “Why didn’t you tell me that first day of Econ 101?”
