Cosplayed: A Sweet Lesbian Romance Page 14

  I took a deep breath. Held it for a moment. That was an old exercise my tennis coach taught me back when I was still the sports type. The calming exercise still did wonders for me though even if I hadn’t actually played tennis since graduating high school.

  I looked at myself in the rear view mirror.

  “Okay Zoey. You’ve got this. You can totally do this.”

  I wished I believed me, but I knew I could be one hell of a good liar. Especially when I was lying to myself.

  I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me with one foot. I paused for a moment to take a deep breath and enjoy the hot humid evening. A lot of people didn’t like it when it was this hot, but I absolutely loved it. Made me feel alive. I was also hit with the smell of this place. A mixture of flowers and old building and under all of that the ever so slight presence of a stale bear smell that said this was a place where people came to party.

  It made me feel young again. Not that I was that old, but I certainly felt the divide between me and college every time I got near campus. Amazing how the difference of a year could make me feel that old.

  I made my way up the stairs and paused to double check that the address in the message Hailey sent me was the same as the address I stood in front of. It wouldn’t do to open the door on some stranger I didn’t know at all.

  Of course Haily really was a stranger I didn’t know all that well too.

  I knocked an the door flew open almost immediately. As though whoever was on the other side of that door had been standing there waiting for me to arrive. I felt a flutter rising in me along with an impossible heat as I got my first good look at Hailey.

  “Damn,” I said, and I blushed as soon as the words passed my lips.

  I couldn’t help it though. “Damn” was about right. I’d thrown on a tank top and some shorts and hadn’t given much thought to what I was wearing. I still had makeup on because I’d been too lazy to take it off, but Hailey looked like she’d taken the time between us agreeing to meet and me actually getting over here to dress herself to the nines. She was in a blue halter top that sparkled faintly and looked like it was more suited to a club than to spending a night in at an apartment discussing costuming technique. Down below she had on a miniskirt that made my eyes go wide and revealed more than a little of her legs.

  Damn. I kept saying it, but it was the only way to describe her. I looked back up and she was grinning. Oh yeah, she’d caught me checking her out. Not that I minded. I wanted her to know I’d been checking her out.

  “So are you going to invite me in or do I get to stand here all night?” I asked.

  Hailey blushed and stepped back. Made a gesture to invite me in. As I moved in past her I noticed her looking me up and down as well. With interest. I shivered. It was nice to know she liked what she saw, even if I hadn’t gone to all the trouble she’d obviously gone to.

  “You got over here pretty fast,” Hailey said.

  “Yeah, well it’s not like you live that far from me and…”

  I paused and peered a little closer at her. Her hair was wet. Did she really hop in the shower just for me? I also detected the faintest hint of perfume wafting off of her. It was intoxicating. I wasn’t going to need a beer to get me soused if she kept leaning in close like that.

  I turned away from her. A stab of guilt ran through me as I checked her out. A stab of guilt that made me more angry than anything else because I shouldn’t feel guilty for checking another girl out when I was a single woman. Especially since the girl I’d been dating had no problem whatsoever checking out other girls herself.

  “Nice place you have here,” I said. “It’s… wow.”

  I stopped and took my first real look at her apartment, and wow was the only way I could think to describe it. I was used to being around costuming supplies, I had a whole room dedicated to it in my own apartment, but looking at Hailey’s place it was obvious there wasn’t a single square foot that wasn’t dedicated to costuming.

  There was an honest-to-goodness mannequin up against one wall that had her foam bikini on display. Next to that there was a table with bits of foam and a hair dryer sitting out along with a bunch of cutting tools she probably used to form the foam. And on the wall. Oh boy on the wall. The wings that were so intricate. So impressive.

  I found myself walking across her apartment to those wings. I couldn’t resist. I was a moth drawn to flame. They were so amazing. They were so far beyond anything we’d ever put together in the group. I wanted a pair of wings just like that for myself.

  I reached out and ran a hand along one of the feathers. It felt soft and tickled me just a little. I giggled at that tickle.

  “You like?” Hailey asked.

  I turned to look at her. To take in her entire outfit once more from top to bottom. I licked my lips, and when I spoke I wasn’t just talking about the impressive set of wings she’d put together.

  “Oh yeah, I like a lot,” I said.

  We stood there for the space of an awkward breath, neither one of us quit sure what to do. We were so close to each other. Closer even than we’d been at the dance since our costumes kept us from getting too up close and personal there.

  “I’m really glad you decided to come over here,” Hailey said.

  She reached out and her hand brushed against my arm. A shiver ran through me. Hell, more than a shiver ran through me. A fire burned deep inside me at that touch and goosebumps rose all over my body. She could keep right on stroking my arm all night long as far as I was concerned. If she kept that up for much longer then I was going to go over the edge just from that touch.

  I suppose that was a sign of just how starved for attention I’d become while dating Natalie. I frowned. Stupid fucking Natalie. Why did she have to be such a bitch? Why did I have to waste so much time with her when I could’ve been out having experiences like this?

  Well one thing was for sure in that moment. I was done feeling bad or feeling like I was cheating on Natalie. I was going to get out there and live life, and I wasn’t going to let the ghost of a failed relationship keep me from living that life.

  “Is something wrong?” Hailey asked.

  I realized, too late, how that frown must look. She took a step back and I figured it must’ve been one hell of a nasty look. Damn it.

  “I…”

  “I know, I shouldn’t be so forward with you after everything that happened,” Hailey said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you still blamed me for what happened in some small way.”

  “No, I don’t blame you for anything,” I said. “If anything I was the one acting like a colossal idiot. I totally lost my temper and then I thought I lost you when you went storming out of the dance.

  Hailey looked away for a moment. I thought I might’ve ruined things again. I was babbling. I was saying too much too soon. She looked back and smiled. Stuck her hand out. I looked down and arched an eyebrow.

  “Um?”

  “Hi, I’m Hailey,” she said. “What’s your name?”

  Oh. Right. It hit me what she was doing and I reached out to take her hand. I also tried my best to ignore the shivers that ran through me as I took her hand. As she gave it a vigorous shake.

  “Nice to meet you Hailey,” I said. “I’m Zoey. Looks like you’re into costumes?”

  Hailey looked up to the most impressive wings hanging on the wall. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Are you into costumes too?”

  I grinned. “Totally. You have no fucking idea how much I’m into making costumes. It’s something of a lifestyle for me, actually.”

  “Well then I think we’re going to get along just fine Zoey,” she said.

  We kept shaking hands. I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to stay like that forever, or at least for the rest of the night. Hailey looked down and then back up to me and reluctantly I finally pulled away from her. I wanted to keep in contact with her though. Her touch was amazing.

  “I can’t believe that worked,” Hailey said.


  I giggled. “Yeah, but I think it’s the right thing to do. I mean I was so into you and I didn’t want to screw this up and now here I am babbling like an idiot and screwing things up because I’m babbling like an idiot and…”

  I trailed off. There was something about the way Hailey was looking at me that made me shut up. “What? What did I say?”

  “You were so into me?” Hailey asked, a blush coming to her face.

  Damn. Here I was worried I was going to say something that would scare her off and now I’d done it. I really was an idiot. Only she wasn’t running away. No, she stood there staring at me with that goofy smile on her face and I realized that maybe things weren’t as bad as I thought they were. Maybe this was a good thing.

  Now what the hell did I say? It had been way too long since I had to worry about all this first date bullshit, and I was way too out of practice.

  18: Do It Right

  Hailey:

  I let out a little involuntary shiver. I couldn’t help myself. I was excited when I thought Zoey was coming over to check out my costuming collection. Sure I’d been a little nervous considering everything that happened, but I was still stoked to have a hot girl coming over to my place.

  Even if having a hot girl coming over to my place meant I’d been scrambling while she was on her way over trying to get the place to look halfway presentable. Trying to get me to look halfway presentable, for that matter.

  Now she was standing in front of me and admitting that she was into me. I mean sure I had a pretty good idea that she was into me because of how she’d been acting, but it was always nice to hear that confirmation. You could flirt with someone all night long and it was still nice to hear them say it.

  Only now there was another awkward silence stretching out between us. I hated awkward silences. Sometimes it felt like my whole dating life was one big awkward silence punctuated by a few intense makeout sessions because I never knew what to say in situations like this. At first I thought it was because I was still new to the whole being into girls thing and a little reluctant to jump into it, but now I knew it was because I was a nervous ball of social awkwardness.

  Which wasn’t great for dating.

  “So…” I said, letting the words hang in the air.

  I took a step closer. Zoey didn’t take a step back. What the hell. I figured if my dating life really was awkward silences punctuated by intense makeout sessions then I should at least get us to the point where we were doing the intense makeout session.

  “So,” Zoey said. She looked away as I took another step closer. She seemed almost hesitant.

  “So you’re really into me?” I asked.

  I reached up and took her hand. She looked down and blushed, but there was still that hesitation there. I wondered what was going on. Then again she had just gotten out of a relationship. Maybe she was still feeling a little guilty about that even if that Natalie girl had deserved everything she got.

  “I was drawn to you from the first moment I saw you at the booth,” Zoey whispered, still looking away. “And I felt like shit for being drawn to you because I was still in a relationship. I felt like I was doing the same damn thing I’d always accused Natalie of doing at those conventions.”

  Huh. That was one hell of a zap to have on your head. It also went a long way towards explaining why she was acting a little awkward around me. Or maybe it was just that she was as awkward in social situations as I was. Maybe we were two peas in a pod. If we were then it was a miracle we were even together like this, but I wanted to make sure we stayed a thing.

  Sure I didn’t really care for her still talking about the ex, but it was still a new break. I figured I could cut her a little slack.

  “Well you don’t have to worry about any of that now. I’m here. I’m with you. Isn’t that all that matters?”

  Zoey turned to face me and I was surprised at the fire burning in her eyes. I wanted to take a step back. Damn that was an intense look, but I also couldn’t help but smile under that intense gaze. I liked having her look at me like that. It felt good.

  “I wasn’t mad at Natalie because she was cheating on me. Again. Or trying to, at least.”

  Here we were with more about the ex girlfriend. I wondered if she was ever going to get off of that subject. I could give her a little leeway, but damn. Still, I was curious where she was going with this too. I figured I should see it through to the end.

  “What were you mad about then?” I asked.

  “I was mad because she was hitting on you, and I wanted you all to myself. I didn’t want her to take you away from me.”

  Whoa. Hot damn that was intense. The tingles running through my body turned to a fire that ran from the tips of my toes all the way through to the rest of my body. I felt so warm. I felt so good. I felt like I needed to do something crazy after a revelation like that.

  So I did something crazy. I jumped forward and wrapped my arms and legs around her. Zoey let out a surprised yelp but she also didn’t miss a beat as she wrapped her own arms around me. Her hands went down to give my butt a squeeze as I planted my lips firmly on hers and we fell into an incredible kiss that was setting off fireworks all over.

  I lost track of time. I barely felt it as Zoey stumbled back a few steps, though a part of me worried that she might run into one of my costumes or something. For once I didn’t care though. For once all I could think about was how hot it would be even if we did knock over the mannequin holding my costume.

  I barely felt it when we fell back on something soft. All I could concentrate on was how good Zoey felt under me. How wonderful it felt to explore her body. I concentrated on how good she tasted as her tongue explored my mouth. I focused on the tingling feeling running up and down my body as we swapped spit and I was lost in a world of pleasure that was so fucking hot and made me realize how much I’d missed doing this sort of thing.

  I lost track of time, but eventually I felt a hand on my hair and someone was pulling me back. Zoey looked up at me and she was breathing heavily but I loved that she was breathing heavily because I was the one who did that and it was so fucking hot.

  “This is crazy,” she said. “I mean I just got out of a relationship.”

  “I don’t care about that if you don’t,” I said. I leaned down and nipped at her lip and she gasped just a little. I also pressed my leg in between hers and that got more than a gasp from her. I grinned a Cheshire grin down at her as I knew that she was mine. I had her in my thrall completely and totally and it was a heady feeling knowing that a girl was that into me.

  So I leaned down and kissed her again. Allowed myself to get lost in the forbidden world that was her kiss, though I guess it wasn’t really forbidden since she wasn’t with that girl anymore. It just felt that way, and I was surprised that I was so into that, but it worked so whatever.

  Only I felt her hands against my shoulders again. Zoey pushed up and I wanted to growl in frustration. What the hell was the problem? We were making out. We were having a good time. What was there to stop?

  I looked down at her again, and this time there was just a little irritation in my look. “Is there something wrong or something?”

  “I just keep thinking that this feels so good. I don’t want you to be just another rebound or something,” Zoey said.

  Damn. I sat up and plopped my butt down at the end of the couch. It was a ratty old thing that I’d inherited from a former roommate. There was almost no cushioning, and I tried not to think about how many owners there’d been through the years. The thing didn’t come with bedbugs and that was about all I cared about.

  “So how do we do this if you don’t want me to be just a rebound?” I asked, just a hint of testiness coming to my voice. I’d really been enjoying that whole making out thing we were doing and she kept insisting on putting a halt to the festivities.

  “Well I was thinking maybe we could go out and do something before we get back to the making out? I mean that was fun and all, and you have no idea
how long it’s been, but I keep thinking that…”

  I smiled and reached out to run a hand along her cheek. It felt good touching her even if she was putting the brakes on. Not that I could blame her for putting the brakes on considering the weird head space she must be in.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I understand completely where you’re coming from. You want to take things slow, right?”

  “Well I’m not saying I want to take things too slow,” she said. “The making out really was a hell of a lot of fun. I’m just saying maybe we should do something and get to know each other before we get to that?”

  The girl had a point. And when she had a point she had a point, even if it was a point that was going to leave me sexually frustrated for the rest of the evening. I sighed.

  “What was that for?” Zoey asked.

  “I was just thinking about how right you are and how much it sucks that you’re so right,” I said. I winked at her to make it clear I was joking. Sort of. “Don’t worry though, I agree. We should get to know each other, so let’s get to know each other!”

  “Yeah? What did you have in mind?” Zoey asked.

  “Well I was already thinking of this whole thing as an unofficial date night,” I said. “So how about we just go ahead and make it an official date night? I know just the place we can go, too. I promise you’re going to love it.”

  Zoey looked down at her watch and back up at me. “Really? What were you thinking? Isn’t it kind of late? All the movie theaters will be closed.”

  I rolled my eyes. I might be socially awkward around people more often than not, but even I knew more things to do than go out to the movies. This poor girl really had been held hostage in a bad relationship for far too long if she thought a night at the movies was the most fun you could have on a Friday night. I grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the ratty old couch.

  “Trust me, you’re going to like this place and it’s definitely not too late to hang out there,” I said. “I have a feeling this place is going to be right up your alley considering you’re the kind of person who hangs out at geeky conventions for fun.”