Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 132933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
I hate that he gets me.
I hate that he’s not an option anymore.
Most of all, I hate that I have to find a date when I’d rather just ask him.
8
LUNA HALE
“Can we make this quick? The panel starts in fifteen minutes,” Xander glances at the time on his phone. His ears are pointed and hair a little longer with extensions. The leather strap across his chest is securing a quiver of arrows against his back, and a light gray tunic with fancy silver embroidery pairs with his brown shoulder armor, slacks, and tall boots. He’s decked out head-to-toe in his usual Elven costume for LARPing.
We’re all in Cosplay—my two brothers, younger sister, and me. Among the hustle and bustle of true euphoric geekdom, we’ve congregated beside a life-sized cutout of Thor, erected near the conference center’s lobby bathroom. Okay, it might be important to mention that he’s an almost-naked Thor—and his very distracting pecks are eyelevel with me.
Bodyguards linger close to our Hale Huddle, and Farrow and Ripley would be a part of it too, but Farrow is changing Rip’s diaper in the bathroom.
“We have to have a game plan,” Kinney says while studying the convention map for Philly Comic-Con. “We can’t just wing it.”
“We can totally wing it,” I say with a side-shimmy, and I accidently bump into Thor. Sorry, Naked Thor.
Well, my wing bumps into him. I’m dressed as the mutant Pixie in a black and gold X-Men bodysuit with a bright pink wig, but these holographic wings are a nuisance. I’m about to touch his nipple to keep the cardboard upright, but I retract my hands as cameras click, click, click near us.
I can’t tell if they’re event photographers, fans, or secret stealthy paparazzi pretending to be geeks. Not while everyone is wearing Comic-Con badges.
In a micro-second, I visualize tomorrow’s headlines: Luna Hale fondled Thor’s nipple at Philly Comic-Con! Is she a sex addict too? My mom gets blasted for eating phallic foods in public all the time, so it’s not a big stretch to think one innocent action could be twisted.
I’m about to let Naked Thor fall.
I’m really, really sorry, Naked Thor.
Before the cardboard plummets to the ground, Moffy quickly reaches out and steadies Thor for me. A star-and-stripes Cap shield on my brother’s back.
Captain America just saved Thor. And me. Thanks, Moffy.
I’m unable to share my thoughts while Kinney is staking a withering glare into me. “We’re not winging it. That’s a worse idea than starting with the vendor hall. It’s madness over there.”
That was my first idea.
Xander bobs his head in agreement with our littler sister. “I’m with Kinney. Easton said last year he saw three dudes our dad’s age throw punches over a Teclis: High Loremaster of Hoeth collectible. Love Warhammer, and Teclis is the shit, but no, I’m not being trampled over fans of us and fans of other fandoms.”
“You call everything the shit lately,” Kinney tells him with attitude, “so this Tetris figurine is just as good as your Pop-Tart this morning.”
He gapes. “Teclis, and he’s better than a Pop-Tart.” His amber eyes soften with tender hurt. “And I said I agreed with you about the vendor halls, Kin.”
“Yeah, I heard that.” She sounds a lot less harsh. “It’s definitely us and maybe Moffy versus Luna.”
Kinney and I butt heads often, and I like to think that we just don’t speak the same language. I’m the one talking in some intergalactic dialogue and she’s speaking English.
Moffy gives me a sympathetic look. “I don’t know; fighting through the vendor hall crowds could be fun.”
Xander’s face scrunches. “In what universe?”
Eyes back on the map, Kinney says, “He’s just trying to make Luna feel better.”
He is. But Kinney had to say it out loud.
I shrug. “It’s fine. It was a dumb idea.” Before anyone else can jump in to console my feelings—because I see that look on Xander’s face—I say quickly, “So what should we do first?”
We all agreed to stick together this year, since it’s one of the few years in a long time we’ve all been able to attend. But having my siblings around plus their bodyguards is going to make my triple date search a lot tougher.
Especially with Donnelly in attendance. I’m just really glad he has no idea that he was my first choice for the triple date. Rejection avoided. I should cheer inside, but I hardly feel like rocketing to the moon.
Glancing around Naked Thor’s shoulder, Donnelly stands on-guard about ten feet away, his watchful eye on a cluster of teenagers that gawk at Xander. I like that he’s so attentive about the hazards and disasters my little brother could face.
I skim him up-down out of my peripheral. He wears black slacks like most of the bodyguards on-duty, and a little Agents of Shield emblem is pinned to the breast pocket of his black button-down.