Cosplayed: A Sweet Lesbian Romance Read online

  “What? What are you talking about?” I asked. “Who was your girlfriend?”

  “Zoey. You were all about her, weren’t you? But you don’t care about me. That’s just like her, hitting on girls at these conventions and trying to keep them all for herself. Well I’m not going to have it,” she said.

  Talk about a confusing moment. They were girlfriends? What the hell? I was so confused, so caught up in the moment, that I let my defenses down for the briefest of moments. The briefest of moments was all she needed though. Before I could react Natalie moved in.

  “If you’re going to be a home wrecker why not be a home wrecker with me rather than Zoey?” she asked.

  And then it happened. She pressed her lips against mine and I felt… Nothing. It was like the times I’d kissed a boy. Maybe it was the crazy, but there was something about this girl that didn’t do it for me.

  I was more pissed off than anything else. Both because she was being so forward and because she was leaning into my costume and on the verge of breaking something. I wanted to smash her face just like she was about to smash the costume I’d spent so much time working on!

  I put a hand on her and she smiled as though she thought I was getting handsy for a reason. Well I’d show her. I did have a good reason, but it had nothing to do with feeling her up. I gave her a good shove and she stumbled back a few steps with a pissed off look.

  “What the fuck was that for?” she shouted.

  “You’re crazy lady!” I said. “What makes you think I want to be a home wrecker with anyone, let alone you?”

  “Oh I know you want to be,” she said, her voice a purr as she moved forward again. The pissed off look was gone to be replaced with a seductive stare. Like I said, she was fucking crazy and I didn’t want anything to do with her.

  The only problem? She was on me again before I could do anything about it. Her lips moved in closer and I found myself wondering if she’d pulled this sort of thing with other girls who were interested in helping out with her charity. If she had then this was one charity I didn’t want anything to do with. What the fuck was her problem?

  “What the fuck is going on here?”

  Damn. Saved by… something? That voice sounded familiar, but it was really loud and really high pitched. Like a shriek. Natalie’s eyes went wide and she turned to the door. I followed her gaze and blinked in surprise.

  Zoey stood right there looking very pissed off. Not that I could blame her considering what was going on. She’d just walked in on her girlfriend trying to make out with a complete stranger. If I was in her shoes I’d be pretty pissed off about the circumstances too!

  “Zoey!” Natalie said, jumping off of me like I was a hot stove or something. I was just relieved to have her off of me. “This isn’t what it looks like. I promise!”

  “Isn’t what it looks like?” Zoey shrieked again.

  I winced. We were in a hotel, after all. There were probably people all around who were trying to enjoy their vacation and now there was an episode of Jerry Springer happening right down the hall. Zoey plowed right on, screaming at the top of her lungs. At least the screaming seemed to be directed mostly at Natalie and not at me. I could be thankful for the little things.

  “What the fuck do you think telling me this isn’t what it looks like? You’re up here trying to make out with some girl you just met! This is exactly what I said you were doing and now I caught you! I caught you and you can’t deny it!”

  Okay then. It looked like they were about to have a lovers’ spat, and the last thing I wanted was to get in the middle of something like that. I really didn’t want to get into a cat fight or anything like that. Especially when I was in my costume. I was going to go berserk if it got ruined because this crazy Natalie girl pulled me, unwillingly, into the middle of her failing love life.

  I did feel a pang of regret for Zoey though. She was pretty. She’d seemed pretty nice. It was a pity she was with the crazy girl, but I guess that sort of thing couldn’t be helped.

  So while they were busy yelling at each other I took the opportunity to stand and slip past them. It was a sign of just how pissed off they were at each other that I could slip around them in my costume with the wings and everything, but they were so busy laying into each other that they didn’t seem to notice as I moved past.

  Good. I was terrified one of them would reach out and try to rip off my wings or something.

  I breathed a sigh of relief when I made it into the hall. I was amazed that people weren’t sticking their heads out to see what the heck was the problem. Their shouts echoed down the hall even after the door closed behind me. Then again I suppose just about everyone in the hotel this weekend was probably at the convention right about now.

  I needed to get back to that convention though. I was still stunned and I started shaking as I made my way to the elevator. I couldn’t believe I let myself get stuck in that situation.

  I was well rid of both of those crazy girls, but I couldn’t help but feel a flash of disappointment that I wasn’t going to have a chance with Zoey now. It was a damn shame, but them’s the breaks.

  I hit a button and the elevator dinged. Their shouts still echoed down the hall until the doors shut and I’d gone down a few levels. Whatever was going on in there, it wasn’t pretty.

  8: Caught

  Zoey:

  I was so fucking furious. I couldn’t believe this.

  I mean I could believe it. I’d suspected something like this was going on for a long time now. Only now that I had the proof right in front of me? I was furious in a way I hadn’t ever imagined I could be. I was so angry that I wanted to scream and I didn’t give a fuck who heard me out there in the hall.

  For once in my life I didn’t care if I was making a scene. I wanted to make a scene. I wanted the whole hotel to know the bullshit Natalie was putting me through. I wanted to drag her out and scream at her in the hotel lobby. I wanted to drag her through the convention center and yell at anyone who might care to listen about what a cheating whore she was.

  Not that I thought anything like that was actually going to happen. No, we were going to have it out here and that would be the end of it. Even if public humiliation was the least she deserved for what she’d put me through.

  I leveled a finger at her and she went cross-eyed looking down at it.

  “I’ve caught you red-handed this time. You can’t try to weasel your way out of it or make me think I’m crazy. You were trying to get with that girl and you know it! You can’t deny it this time around!”

  “Come on Zoey,” Natalie said. “You know it’s not like that. I was just getting her posed for a photograph!”

  She put her hands on her hips and actually had the gall to look like she was pissed off. I couldn’t believe it. I’d caught her and she was still going to try and turn this around on me. Act like it was somehow all my fault. The only thing that kept me from launching myself across the room at her in that moment was the knowledge that it would probably ruin my costume if I did, and I didn’t want that.

  “If anything I should be the one mad at you! How did you get in here? Did you lie to someone at the desk to get up here because you were paranoid? How crazy do you have to be, Zoey?”

  Yup. She was really going to try and pull that. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that punching her wouldn’t be worth potentially breaking my costume. No matter how tempting it was.

  “You don’t get to pull that bullshit now,” I said. “I was standing there long enough to hear everything you said. About how if she was going to be a home wrecker she might as well be a home wrecker with the right person. You weren’t posing her for a costume picture. You were trying to get it on with her!”

  I didn’t know what made me more angry. That she was cheating on me or that she was trying to cheat on me with Hailey. There was something about that girl, even after I’d caught her literally in bed with my girlfriend. That was enough to give me pause, to make me wonder what kind of girl she
was that she’d willingly come up to Natalie’s room like that, but I couldn’t help but blush when I thought about her.

  I was also mad at myself for acting like that when I thought about her. Damn it. I needed to get that girl out of my head and concentrate on the relationship that was crumbling down around me.

  “You saw all of that?” Natalie asked.

  “All of it,” I replied. “You’re not lying to get out of this. You’re not convincing me that I’m somehow to blame for you being a bitch and cheating on me. How long has this been going on, Natalie?”

  Natalie lowered her head and I heard her start to sniffle. I rolled my eyes. Again I was having trouble believing this even as there was a part of me that could very much believe she was pulling this. Getting mad at me didn’t work. Trying to convince me that I was somehow the asshole in this situation didn’t work. Now she was going to turn on the water works and hope that was enough to get me to come crawling back to her.

  “Cut the bullshit, Natalie,” I snapped. “That’s not going to work on me either. I’m not putting up with your bullshit anymore. I’m done.”

  Natalie looked up at me and she was more angry than anything else. It occurred to me at that moment that she wasn’t upset about our relationship being over so much as she was upset that I was the one ending it. That would be a blow to her ego. In her mind she should be the one dumping me even though she’d been the one out there cheating on me.

  In Natalie’s world everything was about Natalie. Everything was about fitting the narrative she’d built. I’m sure after I left the room she’d start coming up with reasons why I was the bitch in this situation for leaving her ass even though she was the one who brought this on herself.

  Luckily I wouldn’t have to be around for that. I didn’t give a fuck anymore. She could say whatever she wanted and I wouldn’t be around to hear it. I turned for the door.

  “What do you mean, Zoey?” she asked.

  I turned back around. I was letting myself get drawn in, but I couldn’t help it. I was so mad that I needed to lash out at her. I didn’t care if lashing out at her would draw me into an argument that would only leave me more upset than I already was.

  “I mean it’s over between the two of us,” I said. I took a step forward and she took a step back. “We’re no longer an item, and it’s a damn good thing we’re staying in separate rooms because otherwise you’d be out on your ass right about now!”

  Natalie’s eyes narrowed. She stuck her chin out and I could feel it coming. That was her angry look. Usually I didn’t like it when she hit me with her angry look, but again, I was over everything. It was like I had a shield of anger that was protecting me from my usual desire to make peace. To make sure that everything was okay between the two of us.

  I was going to have a hell of a time when that anger subsided.

  “Fine. If you’re going to be like that then you’re out of the group! I don’t want people like you hanging around with us and hitting on poor girls who come up to the booth. I saw how you acted with that girl before I swooped in to stop you! I was just getting revenge for how you were acting!”

  I shook my head. And there we were at the rationalization she was going to use to make her the good guy in this scenario. She wasn’t a cheater. She’d swooped in and taken a girl from me before I had the opportunity to cheat on her! Talk about fucked up, but it was exactly the sort of narcissistic crap I’d come to expect from my recent ex-girlfriend.

  Again, I was so glad I didn’t have to deal with that anymore.

  “You can tell yourself whatever you want about why you got dumped Natalie,” I said, surprised at how calm I was. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re the one who’s been bringing girls up to your room and doing who knows what with them. That doesn’t change the fact that you jumped on that girl when you saw me talking to her. I wasn’t the one who did that, you did.”

  Her mouth worked and she actually seemed on the verge of tears. Real tears this time around, and not the crocodile tears that came out whenever she thought she was in trouble. Or maybe she was still trying to make me feel bad. It wasn’t going to work if that’s what she was going for.

  “You also don’t get to kick me out of the group,” I continued. “I’m the one who has access to the website. The finances. All the social media stuff. All you do is fuck off at these conventions and find girls to cheat on me with. Do you know what that makes me?”

  “What?” she asked, tears actually streaming down her cheeks now. I think she knew where this was going.

  Good.

  “That makes me the person in charge of the fucking group. Not you,” I hissed.

  That got her attention. The anger was back, but she was still crying. I hated that I was so happy about her crying. I shouldn’t take pleasure from someone else’s misery, but considering the amount of misery she’d put me through lately I couldn’t help it.

  “You can’t do that to me! The girls won’t…”

  I made a chopping motion that cut her off mid sentence. “I already talked to the girls at the booth and you’re out of luck. They’re just as sick of your shit as I am. No one likes doing all the work while you swish around acting like you run everything. As far as we’re concerned you’re the one out of the group. Immediately.”

  I could see the gears turning in her head. I could see the exact moment it dawned on her that not only was she about to lose her girlfriend, but she was also going to lose the group she’d been a part of for so long. It was also pretty damn obvious from the horrified expression on her face which of those two meant more to her.

  It would’ve hurt, but at this point I couldn’t be surprised by anything from her. If she’d been cheating on me for this long and pulling this same routine with other girls then it’s not like I could be that upset that she was more terrified of losing the group than she was of losing me.

  “Come on Zoey,” she said, a hint of pleading coming to her voice. “We could work things out. All those other girls meant nothing to me!”

  I cocked an eyebrow as the fury started up again. Any inkling of sympathy I might have felt for her disappeared as she all but admitted that she’d been with other girls.

  “Other girls? So you’re admitting that you’ve been cheating with other girls? That this wasn’t a one time thing?”

  Her mouth opened and she let out a couple of short coughs that almost sounded like she was trying to get something out. Almost. The problem was I’d already heard enough. She’d admitted to fucking around on me, and that Hailey wasn’t the first girl it had happened with. That was confirmation enough for me. We were done.

  “That’s it,” I said. “I’m done. I’m hurt that you took something away from me that I thought I loved, so I’m going to take something away from you that you loved. You don’t get to come to our events.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  Yeah, the panic was really setting in now. I almost would’ve felt sorry for her except for the part where she’d treated me like shit, gaslit me forever, and acted like a stupid costuming group was more important to her than our relationship.

  If it was more important to her then I’d use that to twist the fucking knife.

  “I can do that,” I said. “I’m the one who has all the access to everything. I’m the one who did all the real work while you were out hitting on other girls. And I’m not dealing with it anymore. I’m done, and we’re done.”

  I probably could have really turned the screws on her and insisted that she get the hell out of the room since it technically belonged to the group and not to her, but I figured I’d throw her at least one bone. Besides, getting her out of the room would be more trouble than it was worth.

  I slammed the door shut behind me and stalked down the hallway. I was still furious. I wanted to lash out at something, but Natalie was back there in the room and it’s not like I was going back there for round two.

  And yet. I still wasn’t entirely mad at Natalie. I’d had m
y suspicions for long enough. Getting mad at her for cheating on me was like getting mad at a shark for eating a delicious fish. It was who she was, and I’d known that for a long time and put up with it.

  No, I was still more furious that any opportunity I might’ve had with that Hailey girl had gone up in smoke because of Natalie. Because I’d been lying to myself that there was still a chance with Natalie and because of the subsequent blowup that caused her to run away.

  It was a damn shame, but I suppose it was just one more thing I could be mad at Natalie about. It was already a pretty damn long list. Still, it was a pity I was probably never going to see that girl again, because I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be able to get her out of my head any time soon.

  9: Apologize?

  Hailey:

  “So then she just threw herself at you?” Jake asked.

  He leaned forward and seemed to be hanging on my every word. Almost as though he was less a concerned friend and more like he was interested in every salacious detail of the mildly involuntary girl on girl action I was subjected to.

  “Pull your tongue up before it brushes the table,” I said. I also threw a fry at him for good measure. He ducked just in time and it landed harmlessly on the plastic booth behind him.

  “Hey! Can’t blame a guy for enjoying a good story,” he said.

  “I know exactly what you’re enjoying about the story you perv,” I said. “And I don’t appreciate you drooling over my trauma.”

  Jake fixed me with an “are you fucking kidding me?” look. I managed to maintain my serious look for the space of a breath before my face cracked in a smile. A moment later I was in a fit of giggles.

  “Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so traumatizing,” I said. “It was still creepy though. I’ve never had a girl come on that strong before. It was sort of ego stroking, but it was weird.”

  “What I wouldn’t give to have a hot girl in one of those costumes come onto me,” Jake sighed. He looked at me with what I took as a significant glance.