And right now, she’s probably sleeping with Ryan.
His gut twisted at the idea of her being with him this weekend. The nausea he’d felt at the stadium came rushing back.
Beneath his mask, his jaw clenched, and his blood pounded a little harder.
Damn. Even with a gorgeous Nadia cosplayer on his arm, he couldn’t stop thinking about Tori.
He cleared his throat and focused on the woman beside him instead. “Hey, were you by any chance at Comic Con in Seattle last year?”
She glanced up at him. “Yeah. I was, actually. Why? Were you there? I don’t remember seeing anyone else dressed up fromAsh Masters.”
“I was there, but I wasn’t dressed up like this then.” He shook his head. “I have a confession. I saw you and was so inspired by your costume, I decided to be Aidan at my next Comic Con.”
“Aww, that’s awesome. Well, you nailed it.”
They arrived at the panel and found two seats together.
The panel was fun and informative. They were often laughing together and nudging each other to whisper comments now and then.
When it was over, his disappointment returned, and he mentally braced for her to take off and meet her friends.
Instead, she invited him along with her group to watch a light saber demonstration. And by the time lunch came along, he’d fully assimilated into their group. They’d basically adopted him.
After a lunch where they rolled up their masks far enough to shovel in a quick burrito, they were back at it.
They spent the next several hours having their pictures taken with celebrity guests, hanging out in the arcade room and playing games, and browsing the merchandise.
Over lunch, he’d asked them all if they should even bother with real names, and they’d all laughed it off and agreed to just use the people they were cosplaying as. It was way easier.
Besides the fact, they likely would never see each other again after today.
“How about the gaming panel for that new mercenary game? Any interest?”
At Nadia’s question, her friends grimaced and shook their head.
“We’re heading over to the workshop on comic sketching. Meet up after?”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m in for the gaming one.” James lingered beside her as the others took off.
“You sure? Don’t feel pressured.”
“Absolutely.”
They found seats in the back of the room, since it was already almost full.
By now, they were more than used to hanging out together. They settled in for the next hour.
At one point, when one of the speakers said something funny, she laughed and placed a hand on his arm and said something.
Whatever it was, he couldn’t quite process it. Her words became all garbled the minute her soft fingers brushed his arm.
And they lingered, seeming to brush against his bicep.
His chest swelled as the air locked in his lungs, and his cock—already on high alert—stirred beneath his pants.
He’d felt this simmering attraction between them all day, but this was only the second time they’d been without her friends.