Cosplayed: A Sweet Lesbian Romance Page 5

  Zoey appeared and it wasn’t lost on me how she put herself between me and Natalie. She looked almost territorial, though I couldn’t tell if she was trying to keep Natalie away from me or me away from Natalie. She kept looking between the two of us as though she suspected something, but if she did she wasn’t saying anything.

  “Okay Natalie. You’ve had your fun. Now we have work to do,” Zoey said.

  “You’re damn right we have work to do!” Natalie said.

  She stepped away and walked over to their booth. I let out a relieved sigh. It was over. She wasn’t going to bother me any more. Zoey gave me one last look that was difficult to read and then she followed Natalie back over to the booth as well. I thought it was over. Zoey seemed to think it was over. I could go eat lunch and forget all about this.

  I turned and moved back down the dealer hall as fast as my legs could take me. Only I heard the sounds of someone coming up behind me. Fast. I also heard the sound of sandals smacking against the ground and then against someone’s feet. Almost exactly like what my own sandals sounded like.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that it wasn’t that girl coming up again. Jake looked over his shoulder and frowned. That was all the confirmation I needed.

  “Looks like she’s not giving up yet,” Jake said.

  “Damn it,” I growled.

  “I could threaten to beat her up or something,” Jake said with a lopsided grin that didn’t look entirely joking.

  “Don’t bother,” I said.

  “I could threaten to break part of her costume? That would be enough to send her running I’m sure,” he said.

  I tapped a finger to my lips. He had a point. That would be enough to get me running. I’d spent so much time building this costume that I didn’t want to think about breaking it. If someone threatened me I’d run from them as fast as I could go with this monkey suit strapped to me.

  Which admittedly wasn’t very fast at all. I couldn’t walk fast enough to get away from whoever was following us, for example.

  Damn it.

  “Hey! Wait up! Hailey!”

  I paused and turned around. There was no avoiding this girl. She came up with a huge beaming smile on her face, though it reminded me more of a shark than a pleasant grin.

  Still, it was nice to be nice. I figured this girl was the least of the weirdos I’d have to put up with before this day was over. So I forced my camera smile on my face and tried to act interested even if it was the last thing I wanted.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Someone wants a little something is what’s up,” Jake muttered under his breath. Thankfully it was low enough that there was no way he could be heard in the busy dealer hall.

  I hoped.

  Natalie reached us and handed a card over. I looked down and saw that it had her contact information on it along with a picture of her in her costume on one side and the Battle Gear Angel Squad logo on the other side. The thing looked like it had been done in cheap image editing software with someone who was way too happy to use lightning bolt effects.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Flip it over,” she said, her voice coming in gasps from the short distance she’d run. There was a surprise. Usually you had to be in pretty good shape to wear one of these costumes. I should know.

  Maybe she was one of those lucky bitches who had a genetic predisposition to looking awesome without setting foot in a gym.

  I flipped the card over. There on the other side was her name and a three digit number. I looked at it in confusion for a few moments. That wasn’t the email or phone number I’d expected, but then again that information was helpfully included on the other side.

  “What is this?” I asked.

  “It’s my room number,” she said.

  My face screwed up in… something. I wasn’t sure how I felt. Disgust? Disbelief? Anger? A part of me was also a little intrigued, this was a hot girl in an awesome costume after all, but for the most part I was annoyed more than anything else. What kind of girl did she think I was that she could hand me her card with her room number as though I’d be willing to hop right up there for a booty call?

  “Are you…”

  Some of that irritation must’ve broken through because she held a hand up to stop me before I could really get good and pissed off. Tell her what I thought of her trying to get me to go up to her room.

  “Just wait and hear me out,” she said. “I know I came on a little strong back there. I’m sorry. I do that when I see something I really want.”

  I paused and mulled that over for a second. It was better than how she’d been acting before, but I still felt a little uneasy. Still, she was apologizing and I figured that was a good first step. Not that I had a chance to do much other than stand there listening to her because she kept right on going.

  “We’re having a little party up in my room later tonight around seven. I’d really like it if you could be there. Maybe see me when I’m not acting so crazy because of everything happening here on the convention floor. I’d really like to see you there,” she said. She finished with a big smile that was dazzling, but I was still on guard.

  I looked down at the card and back up to Natalie. If this was a guy I’d be really creeped out right about now, but it wasn’t a guy, was it? This was a girl who was part of a costuming group who seemed cool enough. My mind went to Zoey again and I felt the beginnings of a blush that I stomped down on. Zoey. She might be at a party they were hosting. I held the card up.

  “So a lot of people from your group are going to be at this thing tonight?” I asked.

  “Sure are!” Natalie said, her grin never faltering.

  I tucked the card into my waistband. I had the room number memorized anyways so it’s not like I needed to hang onto it. I thought about the opportunity to see Zoey again. I thought about how if this girl was so obviously hitting on me like she was right now that probably meant I’d read the situation wrong. She wasn’t dating Zoey.

  Which meant I’d really like a chance to talk to her again.

  “I’ll think about going,” I said. “No promises. I’ll have to see what’s happening at the convention.”

  If anything Natalie’s grin got even wider. She moved forward to hug me but I held a hand up. I didn’t want to risk ruining my costume getting up close and personal with her. I might be willing to take that risk with Zoey, but not with this girl.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” I said. I turned and walked away as fast as my feet would carry me in my getup. Which wasn’t very fast, but Natalie didn’t make any effort to follow me this time around.

  Good.

  “Someone has a crush on you,” Jake said.

  “Shut up Jake.”

  “Come on. She wants you all alone up in her room! Bow chicka bow wow!”

  “I said shut up Jake. Besides, you heard her. They’re having a party up there.”

  “Uh-huh. Hailey and Natalie, sitting in a hotel bed. F-u-c…”

  “I said shut up Jake!”

  Snapping at him seemed to be enough to finally get through and shut him up. We walked the rest of the way out of the dealer hall in silence, and for a wonder no one tried to stop us to ask for a picture. Maybe the look on my face was enough to send them running.

  The entire time I couldn’t stop thinking of Zoey though. I really wanted to see her again, and I hoped she’d be at this party.

  6: Snoop

  Zoey:

  I took a sip from my soda. I wasn’t supposed to have this stuff. It was terrible if you were trying to watch your figure, and I felt like ever since I decided to put together this costume that’s all I did whenever I decided to eat something.

  I didn’t care. I needed caffeine. I needed carbonation. I needed high fructose corn syrup delivered in a mixture that sent all sorts of fun chemicals running a merry chase through my brain even if other parts of my brain were screaming at me that this soda meant another twenty minutes on the treadmill the next time
I was at the gym.

  That wasn’t until Monday though. Three full days away. Future me could suck it. Mama needed her caffeine. Now.

  “Hitting the stuff a little hard, aren’t you?” Cassie asked.

  I hit her with the old stinkeye. She held her hands up as though I was about to hit her or something. Not that it would come to that. There was a shortlist of one woman I’d like to slap upside the head right about now, and Cassie wasn’t on that list.

  Cassie looked away.

  “That’s what I thought,” I muttered.

  “You don’t have to get mad at me,” she said. “I’m not the one who was hanging all over that girl you couldn’t stop eye fucking earlier.”

  I hit her with the stinkeye again, but it didn’t really do anything for her this time. She rolled her eyes instead.

  “Come on. It was obvious to all of us at the booth that you had the hots for that girl. It’s not like it’s a bad thing. With the way Natalie has been acting around you…”

  “Natalie has been fine with me,” I said.

  The look on Cassie’s face told me exactly how much she believed that. I didn’t know why I even said it. Why did I feel the need to defend stupid Natalie when everyone knew she was probably cheating on me?

  I was just adding to my humiliation.

  “Why don’t you say something to her?” Cassie asked.

  “Like I haven’t said anything?” I asked, pointing my soda at Cassie and nearly causing it to slosh over the edge. I didn’t know why the convention center had some stupid rule about not putting a cap on drinks, but it made carrying them around damn inconvenient.

  “What have you said?” Cassie asked. “Because if I was dating some guy who was disappearing into his hotel room with random hotties all the time…”

  I let out a disgusted noise. I wasn’t sure if I was disgusted with Natalie or with myself though. I kept running over what happened at the booth. Wondering if there was something I could’ve done different.

  I could think of one big thing I could’ve done different right off the bat. I could’ve had Cassie or Lisa handle the meeting with Hailey. I could’ve told her I couldn’t help her the minute I realized I was flirting with her.

  I could have totally not been everything I’d accused Natalie of doing in the big argument we had before we came out to this convention.

  “I’d give a pretty penny to know what you’re thinking about right about now,” Cassie said.

  “Believe me, you don’t want to know,” I said.

  “Really? Because I bet you’re thinking about that pretty young thing at the booth today.”

  I fixed her with a glare that did absolutely nothing to her. She grinned as though that glare was all the proof she needed.

  “I knew it! You have a thing for that girl!”

  “Do not,” I muttered.

  That was the thing though. I couldn’t decide if I was more angry that Natalie was so obviously flirting with that girl right in front of me or that she’d gotten in the way. I’d been surprised with the force of the jealousy that hit me when I saw the two of them together, and it wasn’t jealousy that another girl was flirting with my girlfriend.

  Stupid Natalie. Why did she have to be such a bitch? I suppose that I was even thinking of her like that should’ve been a big red flag that things were already over, but I wasn’t thinking straight.

  “So what if I did think that girl was cute?” I asked. “It’s not like anything is going to happen. I don’t even have a way of getting in touch.”

  “Yeah, but I bet Natalie does,” Cassie pointed out, much to my annoyance. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that she went running after that girl, and even you can’t deny that.”

  I decided to ignore the dig. I also decided to ignore how right Cassie probably was. Natalie had disappeared and been back in a couple of minutes, but she had to be talking to that girl even if the convention crowds had made it impossible to see what she was doing.

  Even if she denied it up and down when she got back to the booth. It was right around that time I decided I needed to storm off and get some caffeine, and Cassie had come right along with.

  “I’m not asking Natalie for another girl’s phone number or anything,” I said. “That really would be the end of things.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” Cassie asked.

  I took another sip of my drink rather than answer the question. It was something I’d been turning over in my head for awhile now. Well before I met that Hailey girl and found myself thinking about life after the end of my relationship with Natalie.

  I suppose it was a sign of how close things were to being over between us that I’d be so interested in Hailey in the first place. Not that anything would ever come of it.

  Besides, there was still a part of me that felt like I should give Natalie another chance. There were also parts of my brain screaming at me that I was being a fucking idiot and I needed to cut my losses and run. That I was being a pushover because I wanted to avoid confrontation.

  “I don’t know Cassie,” I said. “I can’t help but wonder if maybe I’m just jumping at shadows. What if I’m just being a little crazy and irrational about the idea of Natalie out there with other girls?”

  “I don’t think you’re being irrational at all,” Cassie said. “But if that’s what you need to think to keep things going in your life then you do you. I’ve already told you how I feel.”

  “I know. You’ve told me plenty of times, actually,” I deadpanned.

  “I’m just saying. You’re already the one doing all the administrative work for the group. Might as well be the one in charge instead of letting Natalie prance around and use your work as an excuse to hit on girls at cons.”

  “You’re not helping,” I said.

  “That’s not what you’re going to say when you and Natalie break up. You’ll come crawling to me crying and telling me how I was right all this time and you never should have doubted me.”

  “You’re awfully confident,” I replied.

  “Yup.”

  I sighed. She might be right, but for right now I was going to do what I always did even if I hated the idea of doing what I always did. I was going to go back to the booth and play nice. Act like there was nothing wrong. Act like I was happy to be there with Natalie.

  I was going to pretend we were a happy loving couple. I was going to be the peacemaker.

  Though I did wonder why it seemed like I was always the one who was playing the part of the peacemaker. Why was I always the one who was bending over backwards to make sure everything was all right?

  “Um, excuse me but I was wondering if I could get a pic…”

  “Do you mind?” I snapped.

  I looked up and found myself face to face with a very surprised looking guy with thick glasses and an even thicker waistline. The surprise lasted for just a moment before he sneered at us.

  “What’s your problem? You wear an outfit like that you should expect some attention baby,” he said.

  “First off I’m not your baby, tubby,” I said. “And second off can’t you see that I’m sitting here trying to have a conversation with my friend and enjoy some time off? Go bother someone else who’s wandering the convention hall.”

  “Fuck you too, bitch,” the guy said. He turned and stormed off at what was probably a brisk pace for him.

  “Damn,” Cassie said. “That was a side of you I’ve never seen before.”

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “No need to apologize. I’ve wanted to yell at someone like that for years now. We are sort of trying to have a moment here.”

  “Yeah, but I still shouldn’t have snapped at the guy like that,” I said, my natural desire to people please taking over. “I should find him and apologize.”

  “Good luck with that,” Cassie said. She looked at the river of people moving around us. “You’re never going to find him in this crowd. Even a guy that big can get lost pretty easily.”

  I
blushed and looked down. I shouldn’t have snapped at that guy even if he did deserve it. My annoyance with Natalie was starting to show through and I didn’t like it.

  “So are you about ready to head back to the booth?” Cassie asked.

  “I guess I don’t have much choice,” I said. “Might as well get back there and face the music.”

  I was all about trying to be the best girlfriend I could be until the crowd parted as we headed for the booth and I got a good look. Lisa and Sierra were at one end of the booth talking to a couple of guys who were busy staring at the girls’ tits, but it looked like they were also getting their wallets out to sign up for the charity raffle we were running so that was good.

  My eyes were only on Natalie though. She stood next to Thea, a pretty redhead, but for a surprise she wasn’t trying to flirt with her or anything while I wasn’t around. It was nice to know that she was at least decent enough not to try that with other girls in the charity.

  What Natalie was doing was bad enough though. She had her phone out and her nose was buried in it as she tapped away. I frowned. Why would she be tapping away at her phone?

  Even more suspicious was the way she quickly put the phone away when she saw me approaching. I thought about just asking her outright who she was just texting, but didn’t. That would go against the whole nice girlfriend thing I was going for. I was going to be all sunshine and rainbows for the rest of the day if it killed me, so I smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek that she didn’t seem all that interested in but I told myself I was worrying over nothing.

  I kept the sunshine and rainbows up for the rest of the day. I tried to be a doting girlfriend, but I also tried to give her space when she was talking with other girls about the charity. I didn’t want to seem like I was being paranoid or trying to crowd her out or anything.

  Everything was cool. There was absolutely nothing wrong. If I told myself that enough I almost believed it.

  Almost, but not quite.

  Natalie kept looking at her phone. As though she had somewhere to be. She sure as hell hadn’t told me about any appointment, but I had a pretty good idea of where she’d be going. So much so that I wasn’t even surprised when she looked up at me and smiled.