“Oh, whoa.” The twenty-something guy reared back and then smiled. “You had me tripping. I thought it was the mushrooms. Isn’t that from the movie—”
“Yes, it is.”
The elevator arrived on the ground floor, and she rushed out, making her way through the lobby and then the outside sidewalk.
He spotted her right away, and his steps faltered. The crowd behind him all began gasping and pointing.
“I can’t believe this.” James turned the camera so she was the one being filmed. “Here she is, you guys. The love of my life. Or, tonight, we’ll just refer to her as one of the ‘Facehuggers’ from the movie,Alien.”
They reached each other and stared. James lifted his hand to touch her mask, his eyes wide with amazement.
“Did Kris tip you off to my cosplay ‘win you back’ plan?”
“I had no idea.”
“You just happened to have this mask on you?” he asked in disbelief.
“I’ve been working on it since we had that conversation our first night together.”
Her stomach flipped as he stroked one of the sequined alien tentacles that was part of her mask. The costume mimicked an alien latching onto her face.
“As much as I love it and am in total awe of your skills,” he muttered, “could you please take it off now so I can kiss you?”
Her heart slammed into her rib cage, and she nodded, fumbling to unfasten it again.
Once it was off and gripped in her hand, he took another step forward.
“I love you, Tori Brown. Even when you’re driving me crazy. You are my world.”
Oh, god.
She choked on the lump in her throat and snagged his phone. She took an unsteady breath and looked into the camera.
“I thought I hated sappy and grand gestures, but James just proved me wrong. To anyone watching this, know that I’m completely head over heels in love with this man, and I was absolutely terrified to admit it.” She grimaced. “But some things are private. Like this scorching kiss I’m about to plant on him.”
She ended the live stream and handed him back his phone.
The video might’ve ended, but the crowd hadn’t left. They were hollering and chanting“Kiss him, kiss him.”
She leaned in, cupped the back of his brown, curly-haired wig, and kissed him.
The crowd erupted in approval, but she barely heard them as they melted together in a fevered mashing of mouths and tongue.
When he lifted his head, she didn’t know how much time had passed.
“Can we go up to your apartment now?”
“Yeah, come on up, Lieutenant Ripley.”
By the time they entered her apartment, they were half-naked already.
She made quick work stripping him of his boxers beneath the flight suit and shedding her own clothes.
Their lovemaking was fast and hard, and as if they’d been apart for months, not a day.
Afterward, she lay in his arms, waiting for her heart to return to normal. The guilt for everything she’d put him through hit.
“I’m so sorry, James.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I shouldn’t have broken up with you. It was just all so intense. And so I did what I do best. I panicked and pushed you away. I was terrified, because I don’t know how to let myself be loved.”