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Ryan Benefield cango screw himself.
Tori took one last look in the mirror, nodded in approval, and left her room.
And his cousin James too.
With Ryan doing such a blatant dangling of the carrot for sexual favors, she had a few options. One, go to Grace in HR and tell her everything. Two, ignore Ryan’s gross advances. Three, put in her notice, walk away from all the drama, and find a new job.
She’d called in sick for work Friday after the game on Thursday. She needed time to think about her options. She needed to de-stress.
And so she’d accepted an offer she’d received a few months ago. One of her friends in the cosplay community had invited her to come out to Idaho, go in on a hotel room, and attend the Gem State Comic Con together.
Initially, it hadn’t been in the cards, but now that she had a few days at her leisure? She’d been determined to swing it.
One of her other friends, a former foster sister, worked at the airlines. She’d been able to give her a pass for a non-rev ticket to fly out late Friday.
Hopefully, getting home wouldn’t be a challenge, but so far, the flights looked pretty open coming back Sunday.
She was more than aware of the stares she attracted as she walked through the lobby. She ignored them and kept her gaze straight ahead.
“Excuse me, ma’am, can I take your picture?”
“Sure.” She paused in her stride and smiled at the young teen boy. Not that anyone could see her smile behind the fabric-and-mesh mask, but still.
“Your Nadia costume is beyond amazing.” The hero worship was bright in his eyes as he stood politely beside her and a woman—his mom, maybe?—took their picture.
“Thank you. Are you guys going to the convention?”
“Yeah.” He nodded quickly, causing his glasses to slide down. He pushed them back up. “We’re heading there now.”
“Well, have fun and I’ll probably see you out there.”
She continued on her way, searching the lobby for Lucy. A moment later, she spotted her friend hanging out with a group near the front desk.
“Tori.” Lucy waved to beckon her over. “You look awesome, girl. You ready to head out?”
“You look pretty amazing yourself.”
Lucy had always been big on cosplayingStar Warscharacters. Her Rey costume today was spot-on, and she managed to look bad-ass and hot at the same time.
“Let me introduce you to a few of my friends who are also local.”
Tori said hello with enthusiasm, even though she’d never remember any of these peoples’ names. Especially when they were all cosplaying as someone else.
The short blonde with a sword was She-Ra, then there was Chewbacca and Hans, and finally there was Tifa fromFinal Fantasy.
They made their way to the convention center, chatting and laughing the whole time. The excitement and fun in the air were tangible.
God, she loved comics and cosplay. She’d been hooked on it since one of her foster dads had introduced her to comics and taken her to the Seattle Comic Con when she was twelve.
When she cosplayed, she could become anyone. She wasn’t Victoria, the foster kid, being shuffled from home to home. She could be Princess Peach or Wonder Woman. Or in her college years? Lara Croft, since the costume had been on the sexier side.
It was an escape from reality, and a chance to embrace her creative side, once she’d started designing and sewing her own costumes.
The people at these events? They were her type of people. They got her. And just like her, they let their nerd flag fly bright and strong. They were fun, and they all loved comics and cosplay with a passion.
“I’m so glad you came.” Lucy caught and squeezed her hand. “And that you wore the Nadia costume again. I was so bummed I couldn’t get to ECCC this year.”
“Oh, with all the time it took me to make this?” Tori gestured from her head to her toes. “I’ll wear it to church.”
