Page 79 of My Cosplay Escape
Adam runs a hand through his hair.
“Not yours?” I ask.
“I didn’t know there was a pocket drawer in that table,” he says.
“So the cards are just random?”
“Not random, but definitely someone’s idea of a joke.”
I wonder how many people have sat on this couch. I wonder how many people have sat on this couch with Adam. “Allison?” Her name passes my lips without my permission, and I can’t stuff it back in.
“What?” Adam says. He sounds shocked. “No, no. My sisters. Or my mom. Someone is teasing me. Tarot cards are a long-standing joke in my family. My mom’s way of dishing out relationship advice. I’m warning you now; be careful.”
But now I can’t get Allison out of my brain. The thought of her and Adam on this couch makes me want to break things. “What do they think of all of this?”
“My mom doesn’t understand why I needed to do it.”
“Ah. You come from that part of Del Mar. The trust fund part?”
“Ha. No. My parents do. But they are the last people on earth who are going to invest in an escape room. I got some of their friends to nibble. Professors too.”
“Of course you did. Your parents must be proud of you.”
“They’re wondering when I’m going to stop playing around and apply to law school.”
“Are you?”
“I don’t think I have the attention span to do it. Flipping businesses is more my speed. Did I tell you I found someone interested in partnering with me for the Dr. Leto-themed room? It’s a couple, actually. They own a coffee shop in La Jolla, have always been fans of the show, and have space above their place right now being underutilized by storage and a cluttered office.”
He sprawls out on the couch. I see where I’d fit right next to him, and I want to, but instead, I flip open my phone and hail a Lyft. I have five minutes. Nothing can happen in five minutes. I can relax now.
“Was it so bad?” Adam asks as I slide in closer. He puts an arm around my shoulders. I do not resist. “Me coming over for a barbecue? Meeting your family?”
“Having my mom basically throw me at you. Hearing about how I stayed married to save face. Put it this way.” I lace my fingers into his, and it is so fantastic I nearly giggle. I realize I’ve been incubating caterpillars in my stomach ever since meeting Adam, because now the butterflies have hatched. “Would you like me to meet your parents?” I’m teasing him. At least it sounds that way on the surface.
He hesitates. “I would.”
“Liar.”
“Next to my dad, your mom would look like an indifferent ice cube. My dad would offer you a dowry to marry me.”
“Is that so?” I lean into his shoulder. He smells like hickory chips and barbecue smoke. All those savory, sizzling smells stuck to his skin and even more to his hair. I want to press my nose in deep and inhale until I’m dizzy.
“It gets worse. My mom would tell you that our first son must be named Vincent, after her dad, and her first granddaughter Lily, because it’s a great name. Then she’d want to do tarot cards with you, where she’d do her best to convince you that every card means a future with me.” Adam blushes. “It’s her favorite party trick. She’ll be happy to know you’ve recovered one of her decks.”
“Brothers?” I ask.
“Three sisters. All lawyers. They’d offer to write prenups.”
“Why are they so desperate to see you married?”
“Because I’m the baby of the family. Because I was so… so stupid when things didn’t work out before.” He hesitates. “With Allison. It wasn’t so much about her. I mean, in the moment, I thought it was… But it was more about my first serious relationship ending at a rough moment and not knowing how to cope. I failed a few classes, slept too much, ate too little. Drank a lot.” I feel Adam raise a shoulder under me. “Live and learn.”
I cringe. Sure. Some people get to live and learn and move on with their lives. Other people, people like me, get to live and mourn. My phone pings. “My Lyft approaches.”
“Don’t take a Lyft. I’ll take you home.”
“So you can get invited to another barbecue?” I rise and shove the empty Mason jars back into my bag. They clank against each other and my keys.
