Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. I thought I imagined that.”
“Nope. It almost happened.” It could have happened. Probably. “Listen, be cool to Peter, but go for Spiderman. He’s really the one you want.”
She sighed, the flush in her cheeks pink. “He really is kind of the ultimate, isn’t he?”
I grabbed two bottles of rum and handed them over, feeling instantly better. “Sure is.”
A PROPER MATCH
Tyler
THE GIRLS HAD ONLY BEEN gone for a few minutes, but Martin had been looking in the direction they’d walked since they walked away, waiting for Bayleigh to appear again. The music seemed to have gotten louder as the bar filled up and people spread out through the bookstore, only coming back to the bar to order drinks. Some of the costumes had been fantastic — I’d seen Harley Quinn walking around with a giant mallet on her shoulders, a chick Joker with long, green hair, a guy dressed in a Loki costume who actually looked like Loki, and a guy in the coolest Rorschach costume I’d ever seen with an LED screen on it to make his mask look like it was a constantly moving ink blot. There were people dressed up as manga characters, the Japanese comics Cam liked, and a few characters from The Walking Dead, then of course the ones who didn’t wear costumes and were given loaner masks and capes in primary colors.
Everyone seemed to be having fun. Cam was right — what was new. People love costume parties.
The girls finally reappeared, little Cam with her Rogue wig and leather jacket — though she didn’t ditch her glasses for the cause — somehow sweet and sexy, fully clothed in a room full of spandex. Bayleigh’s smile was tighter than it had been before, and she passed by, asking if we wanted drinks before moving down the bar to help Greg. I didn’t miss the fact that she spent a long time talking to him and away from us.
I tried to tell Cam telepathically that she was being an ass, and she held out her hands in question, like it wasn’t her fault she’d meddled.
Just as she was about to take her seat so I could give her my unsolicited opinion on the matter, a girl behind us said, “Cam?”
Cam grinned. “Sarah? Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you came!” She walked past me, and I turned to see her hug a girl in a Wonder Woman costume.
The girl let Cam go and leaned back to look at her. “You busted out Rogue, huh?”
“And I see Diana Prince is alive and well.” Cam laughed. “Damn, it’s been too long.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been by, but we’ve been super busy at Shady’s since you’ve been gone. Things just aren’t the same without you.”
Her smile faded into something that looked a little bit like guilt. “I know. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
“No, I know.” She smiled back with a sad sort of comfort, but her eyes went wide. “Oh! Cam, I’d like you to meet my friend Adrienne.”
She stepped out of the way to reveal a Catwoman the likes of which I hadn’t seen since the pinup girls from the old, campy show in the 60s. Adrienne was tall, probably five-ten before the six-inch patent leather spikes she wore to match the rest of her leather catsuit, with deep brown skin and red lips, eyes big and sparkling from behind her Catwoman mask.
Cam smiled up at her. “Hey, nice to meet you.”
Adrienne smiled back. “You too. You used to work at Shady’s with Sarah?”
“Yup — she took my old job.” Cam cocked her head. “Wait, are you the Adrienne that went to ComicCon with Sarah last year?”
Sarah lit up. “Yes! I wish we’d gone on the same day so you guys could have met then.”
“Ugh, me too, trust me.” Cam turned to me, smiling brightly. “Guys, this is my roommate, Tyler.”
I stood, smiling as I extended a hand. “Nice to meet you two.”
“You too,” they said at the same time a little dreamily, and my smile stretched up on one side.
“Need a drink?” Cam asked.
Sarah grinned. “Aww, come on Cam. Guess.”
She laughed. “Okay, last time.” Her eyes squinted in concentration. “Whiskey sours.”
Adrienne’s mouth opened in surprise, and Sarah elbowed her. “See? I told you.”
We all moved to sit, and in the shuffle, Cam ended up at the far end with Martin, a fact she didn’t look thrilled about, but she smiled and made conversation all the same.
Adrienne sat next to me and Sarah on the other side of her. Sarah leaned on the bar, her gold cuffs resting on the surface.
“So, Tyler, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a sports agent.” I noticed Adrienne sit a little straighter next to me. “And you run Shady’s now that Cam’s gone?”
“Yeah, living the dream,” Sarah said with a dry laugh. “At least I get all the comics I can read and discounted passes to ComicCon.”
“How about you, Adrienne?”
She waved a hand. “I don’t want to talk about work. Work is stressful and wouldn’t approve of my walking around New York dressed like Catwoman.”
Sarah chuckled. “She’s kind of a big deal — she works for Nike.”
My eyes narrowed in thought. It couldn’t have been the same Adrienne. This girl was nothing like the ball crusher I’d talked to on the phone earlier that day, but I said her name anyway. “Adrienne Christie?”
Sarah gaped. “How’d you know that?”