Page 42 of My Cosplay Escape
“So do I wear the hoodie?
“You did grow up under a rock. Yeah. You wear the hoodie. And then you let him watch you take it off after the run.”
* * *
“I have to do more HIIT. You’re fast, Hoodie.” Adam collapses on the intramural field.
“I can’t believe you came with me,” I say, smiling. Sweat runs all over me. I peel off my hoodie and toss it on the grass.
Adam whimpers. “Clearly, you don’t work just the Kids Club at your gym. Which Fit Gym 24 is it? I’ll come, and you can train me.”
“Nice.” I sit next to him and stretch out my legs. “But I’m not a trainer.”
“Perfect, then I don’t have to pay you.” He throws an arm over his head but winces with the movement.
“You gotta stretch it out, Adam. You’re going to hurt all over if you don’t.”
“Too late.” He groans. “So come on. Which one is it? It’s gotta be somewhere local.”
“How would it look if my TA turned up at my gym?” I’m enjoying this.
“It’d probably look like a coincidence. La Jolla? Fashion Valley? Hillcrest?”
I lie down to stretch out my back. “Pacific Beach.”
“No way. My escape room is in PB. Have you been?”
“Which one is it?”
He tries to catch his breath. “Superhero Escapes.”
“Like Cicada-bro?” This is fun.
He gets that pained expression whenever anyone brings up Amaze Comics. “Nightbat, Fem Fantastic, Magnificent Man. You should come.”
I move into a downward dog to hide my smug smile. “I usually work nights.”
“Then I should come visit you. Do you work weekends?”
I can’t help but smile. He’s cute when he’s panting. “Yeah.” Oh swear words. So many swear words. I answered without thinking. I can’t have Adam come visit me at the gym when I’m working at his escape room. He’s smart enough to start putting it together.
I reach for my hoodie. “Weekends are too unpredictable. Either we’re mobbed, or we’re empty. Either way, you’d get me in trouble.”
“How could I get you into trouble?” We walk back to the lab, where Adam punches in the code to unlock the door.
“You’d monopolize my time, and it would be painfully obvious to my manager. Come on a Tuesday. It’s always steady on Tuesday. I’ll get you on track so you don’t look like such a sissy the next time you say a girl can’t run.”
“That’s not what I said.” Adam’s eyes lock with mine. “And I’m not a sissy.”
“Says the man who couldn’t keep up with me when we were running the bleachers.”
He flashes me a smile that I return before mouthing, “Sissy,” one more time. I slip my hoodie on, grab my book bag and water bottle, and leave.
I usually really look forward to my Friday and Saturday cosplay nights, but now I’m more excited for my evening shift at the gym on Tuesday.
But Adam doesn’t come Tuesday. He doesn’t come in at all. I know. I check the guest logs.
And I am humiliated. What was I doing? Flirting? Dating? I’ve gotten so used to not counting my time in cosplay against my rules that I carried some of that impunity over into real life. I am sickened that I’d jettison my no-speed-bump plan so easily.
