Page 14 of My Cosplay Escape
“OMG, yes!”
We stop off at the coat check one more time for Gwen to add to her dragon’s hoard and head off toward B Street.
“How are you walking so fast?” My boots send spikes of pain up my ankles and destroy my spine. For reals. I’ll be an invertebrate by the end of the day. All I want to do is sit down.
“There’s a sweet spot when it comes to heels. I could walk all day in these.” Gwen stops in front of the first open table we find and pushes me into a chair. “You want kimchi?”
“Yes, and I wouldn’t say no to sushi.” I scramble to fish out my debit card.
Gwen snorts. “Hon, please. It’s on me.”
After lunch, and an unfortunate run-in with aUnion-Tribunephotographer, who I desperately hope will not publish my picture in Sunday’s paper, it’s time to meet up with Tony.
“You swear you won’t tell him it’s me?” I ask Gwen.
“Cross my heart.” She lets out an ear-piercing squeal when she sees him.
Gwen launches herself into Tony’s arms. She must know what she’s talking about with the heels, because she’s running, not just walking, when Tony catches her. He’s obviously a little overwhelmed by Gwen’s splendor. And obviously tickled. “Tony—I mean, Nightbat, this is my friend. Catstrike.” Gwen is beaming.
“Hey,” Tony says. Thank every single last goldfish, he doesn’t start rasping in a fake Nightbat voice. “Good to meet you. Thanks for bringing Gwen.”
“Don’t mention it,” I mutter.
“So what have you girls been up to so far?”
“Shopping, sushi, making new friends. Speaking of which…” Gwen strains onto her tiptoes and waves frantically.
I cycle through recognition, embarrassment, and shock as the white-tee guy approaches. I frantically look for somewhere, anywhere to hide. Fudge it, I’m going to dive into the crowd and run.
Gwen instinctively grabs my arm. “Hey,” she says. “We were just talking about you.”
White Tee pauses like there could not be more flattering words before breaking into a friendly smile. “I’m glad you waved me down. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier. I’m Adam. Adam West McKinney.”
Shirley Temples. He looks even better than I remembered.
“You want a picture, honey?” Gwen asks Adam. She’s touched up her makeup and looks incredible. I’m sure Adam would beg for her number if she weren’t hanging on Tony.
“Would you take one of me and Catstrike?” Adam hands his phone over to Gwen, who fumbles for a moment before she gets us in focus.
Adam stands by my side, but unlike half the other guys at this convention, he refrains from draping an arm around my shoulders.
“You going to come back tomorrow?” he asks.
I turn from the unblinking eye of his phone to him. I lean in close. Because he is yummy and because I like that he comes to these in his own skin with nothing to hide. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He thanks Gwen and swipes through the pictures on his phone. “You photograph well.”
I step away from his side. Part of me, the stupid part who forgot how I became married then divorced, wished I could have stayed there a little longer. “Is that surprising?”
“A lot of cosplay looks amazing in person but doesn’t translate in photos.” He slides his phone into his pocket. “Do you do other cosplay?”
This guy has me fighting my cosplay urges hard. “I did. Not anymore. Nice to meet you, Adam.” I roll my shoulders back. “Come on, Hemlock,” I say. “Let’s check out Hall H and plan our cosplay victory.”
“Well, clearly, we should just make out onstage. Right, Tony?”
I blanch. Nightbat Tony stops moving.
Gwen laughs and sidles away from Tony to slip an arm through mine. “Don’t worry. You’re not my type.” She turns and gives Tony a wink. “But seriously, if we work the sexual-tension angle, I think we’d have a shot.” Gwen’s voice drops. “What did the hottie in the tight white T-shirt want?”
