Page 3 of Beast

“Fine, but we’re not staying long. And don’t you dare leave me alone with some sleazy guy while you make your rounds.”

I studied the costume and ran my hands along the rubbery material. I squeezed my body into the suit, slicked my hair under the wig cap, and slipped my feet into my shiny black pumps. Costumes and makeup used to be part of my daily life. I shuddered from the tightness of the wig cap, the familiar ache in my calves from the heels. I’d always felt trapped, like I couldn’t breathe. Not anymore. These days my wardrobe consisted of tank tops, jean shorts, and flip-flops, and my beauty routine involved hardly any products other than sunscreen, tinted moisturizer and lip balm.

But sometimes, late at night, I would fantasize about dancing a slow foxtrot, held in tight frame by a strong partner, our legs melting together until we moved as if we were one.

I closed my eyes and inhaled a calming breath. After a few seconds floating back down to reality, I opened my eyes and smiled—I could pretend to be someone else at this party and hopefully no one would recognize me. It would be nice to try to find some common interests first before someone judged me from what he’d read in the tabloids. This costume could allow me to break out of my shyness. My father was a huge Avengers fanatic and dragged me along to all the movies. I think he secretly wished he’d had a son, but after my mom died I was all he had left. At least I could relate to Black Widow’s character—she spoke Russian and had been brainwashed into thinking she was a ballerina. I learned some Russian from my old dance partner and had been forced to dance by my mother. But deeper than our superficial connection, Black Widow always emanated a sense of loss and loneliness. And that was something I understood intimately.

Though we both went to University of California at San Diego, this frat was at San Diego State. SDSU was way more of a party school, but for tonight, that was fine by me because I needed a change of scenery. I climbed into Marisol’s beat-up sedan, and we left pretentious La Jolla for the laid-back College Area of San Diego. I took a moment to center myself and appreciate the beauty of my surroundings. Turquoise skies without a hint of smog, accented with the deep green burst of treetops. Though I was less than three hours away from LA, I felt a world away from Hollywood’s famous haunting sign, which lured young people from around the world into the deadly cog of fame.

“So, I was reading Star magazine, and you won’t believe who Pasha is dating!”

Great, I was trapped alone in an interrogation vessel with Marisol. The perfect opportunity for her to force me to talk, since normally I would either hang up on her, not reply to her nosy texts, or just walk away. In her defense, this was the only way I would really answer her questions. “I don’t care. And I told you a thousand times that those stories are all fake. I’m sure he just had his publicist plant some stories so he could stay relevant.” She never believed me, but I spoke the truth. According to the tabloids, I had hooked up with every partner I ever had on Dancing under the Stars. Which was totally not true, but I was sure those rumors no doubt contributed to the way people treated me.

“Even so. Aren’t you the least bit curious about your old partner?”

“Nope.” And I wasn’t. That jerk never gave me the time of day though I used to have the biggest crush on him. He was older, already a ladies man, and I was just an inexperienced teen. He tossed our partnership aside when I needed him the most. Even worse, he hadn’t defended me when the press started making crazy allegations about why I’d left the show. Most days I doubted that he ever really cared about me.

I gazed out the window, trying to erase the past from my mind. The show destroyed my life, devastated my soul, and detonated my family.

“I’d do anything to find out what Dax was doing, even though I barely knew him. But he vanished.” She placed her hand on mine, and squeezed it. “Sorry I brought it up.” Marisol turned up the radio, and some pop catastrophe filled the air.

Her smile faded. Though she completely owned her choice about sleeping with Dax and she loved her daughter, I couldn’t fathom how hard it would be to be pregnant and not even have had a chance to tell the father. Every choice has consequences.

I didn’t blame Marisol for being curious about my former life, a life that the media made out to be so glamorous, when it was actually soul-sucking. She was one of the few people I confided in about the real horrors of my dance with stardom. And I planned to keep it that way.

Marisol parked her car a block away from fraternity row and we walked toward the house, the chaos from the party spilling out on the street. The usual suspects milled around the lawn—a full range of Supermen, Batmen, Thors, Captain Americas, and Iron Men. I also counted a dozen Catwomen, a few Wonder Women, a Batgirl, a couple of branches of Poison Ivy, a Supergirl, an Elektra, and even a Harley Quinn. But as far as I could tell, I was the only Black Widow. This place looked like a Comic-Con after-party.

We made our way into the house, and despite Marisol’s vow not to leave my side, before I could even blink she had stalked off toward a Joker sporting a winning grin. Joker apparently knew Catwoman, evident by their overly friendly embrace.

I watched them flirt for a few moments until Marisol motioned me over to join the group, attempting to lure me with a skinny Aquaman as bait, but I refused. When I shook my head, Marisol mouthed, “Be right back,” and Joker placed his arms around her and they went to the basement.

Great. We hadn’t even been here for the full length of a song and I was already on my own. I grabbed a red Solo cup, poured myself a rum and coke, and prayed to be anywhere but here.

Batman groped at Poison Ivy on the sofa; Superman and Wonder Woman exchanged heated words in the kitchen. Spider-Man played a friendly game of beer pong with Green Goblin. Ha! Apparently no one did research on their characters’ enemies and allies. This sucked—my hopes of meeting someone interesting were dashed as I took in the usual “let’s get wasted” party scene. The cacophony rang through my ears, and the scent of weed, sweat, and beer wafted through the house. I stepped out to the brown and patchy back lawn, no doubt a casualty of California’s drought, and inhaled the eucalyptus-scented air. A DJ spun tracks while a bunch of coeds splashed around in the pool, Wolverine grilled burgers, and there was a Marvel versus DC superhero volleyball game going on. Still not my idea of a good time.

I retreated to a corner of the yard overlooking the majestic canyon, away from the chaos, and nursed my drink.

After people watching for a bit, a green flash caught my eye. No, not San Diego’s famous sky streak. Opening the sliding doors from the frat house was a man wearing a mask—his skin was tinted green, and he wore ripped purple shorts.

The Hulk.

At first glance, I was convinced he had one of those muscle costumes on, padded fabric to make him appear to be strapping. But no, oh no. This man was massive—arms twice the size of any other man’s at this party, broad shoulders, rock-solid abs. But unlike the Hulk, this imposter’s entire body was covered with tattoos, which were hard to decipher since they were obscured with body paint. I tried to avert my gaze but I couldn’t—I was drawn to him, like a magnetic force. He oozed confidence, the way he stood there assessing the environment, like he owned this house, when he was clearly out of place. Who was this man? No way he was a frat brother.

Was he looking at me? Don’t be silly, Isa. He was probably just scanning the full scene to see who would be the lucky girl to go home with him tonight.

I volunteer as tribute! I snickered to myself. Too bad this wasn’t a Hunger Games party.

A few girls stopped to check him out, not that I blamed them. He looked at the ground, and his hand reached into a rose bush where he plucked a single red bud. Wow, that was fast; he was probably already hitting on one of the girls inside. I felt like I was on one of those stupid Bachelor shows—hundreds of desperate women, one hot guy, and nothing to base any romantic connection on besides a fleeting first impression.

I finally drew the strength to turn away and wipe the drool from my face. One long gulp of my drink and I would be fine. But seconds later, a looming shadow appeared at my feet, and the intoxicating smell of cedar, vanilla, and cinnamon made me realize I wasn’t alone.

“Welcome aboard, Russian,” a deep voice said in a sexy drawl.

I looked up and the Hulk hovered above me—the bloom in one hand and a beer in the other.

Ay dios mío, he was breathtaking. Well, a mask covered his face, but his body was incredible. Incredible Hulk indeed. He could be the Hulk’s stunt double—no special effects needed.

I steadied my nerves and downed my drink. “That’s not Hulk’s line. Iron Man said that.”