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Looks like I’ll be able to prove Dom wrong after all. Right now, Idowant to indulge in something that isn’t work.
CHAPTER FIVE
Emery
THISMORNINGHASBEEN...rough, to say the least. I’d planned to spend the day posing as a regular worker bee to get some feedback on the game prototype without skewing the information by letting people know it wasmygame. Then I was going to come “as myself” tomorrow, albeit still in costume.
But after a series of people telling me how disappointed they were in my last game, and how the prototype is making them wary of supporting my company further...my confidence is more than a little dented. Perhaps it’s why I’m indulging a little with a hot guy wearing a Batsuit.
I can tell he’s attracted to me by the way his eyes glide over my body and the sexy little smirk beneath his mask. And right now, my ego needs soothing. If that means flirting up my lunch break with some sexy anonymous man, then so be it.
I deserve some fun.
“I’ll be honest, this convention is turning out to be much better than I thought it would be,” he says.
I hold out a hand and Batman helps me step out from behind the booth’s table. The exit is narrow and there are cables running back and forth. “So, Sub-Zero dragged you here, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s my brother. Not that you could tell with the masks we’re all wearing,” Batman says. “The other guy is his boyfriend. They’re super into the gaming scene, and they’ve been trying to get me to come along for ages.”
“Not your thing?” I ask. We fall into step as we make our way across the room.
“I don’t know enough about it to tell whether it’s my thing or not,” he replies. “I used to play board games as a kid. My mum really loved Monopoly and she used to whip everyone. I haven’t played much as an adult.”
“Got tired of your mum whipping you?” I tease.
Batman’s eyes flick over me, something untold in his dark depths. “Something like that.”
“Well, I hate to lose so I totally understand that feeling. I’ve got four older brothers and theyneverlet me win at anything,” I say. “I got really good at playing games and betting on my skills. I saved for my one-way flight to Melbourne entirely with winnings from video game competitions with them.”
Batman chuckles and the sound runs through me like an electrical current. For a second, I get a flash of something familiar, likedéjà vu. A thought forms in the back of my mind, but when I try to reach for it, there’s nothing but emptiness.
“So you’re competitive, eternally patient with your customers and you look great in black,” Batman says. “It’s a winning combination.”
“Is it?”
I squeeze into the space in front of him as we try to get through a narrow gap in the crowd. His big body is behind me, hand at my hip so he doesn’t lose me. I feel warmth at my back and I get a whiff of something earthy and masculine, a touch of cologne. Maybe he sprayed it on yesterday and only a trace remains.
“Yeah, it really fucking is.” His words are soft, for my ears only, and his breath skates over my skin.
I almost shiver at the low gravelly tone. God, has it beenthatlong since I had sex that all a guy has to do is utter one sentence into my ear and I’m wetter than a spring morning? It’s sad, really. But there’s something about this guy that’s pushing all the right buttons.
Or maybe you’re looking for a distraction? Maybe you want to feel good?
So what if I do? Find me a person on this planet that doesn’t want a hot somebody to sweep in and brighten their day and I’ll show you a liar.
“I feel like it’s unfair that I don’t know your name when you know mine,” he says as we make it out of the board game hall and into the corridor that runs the length of the exhibition centre. Bright natural light floods in through the big windows facing the Yarra River. It’s delightfully sunny outside, and around us, people mill about in costumes.
“Batman? Or would you prefer I call you Bruce?” I tease.
“Batman, of course. I’m wearing the suit, aren’t I?”
“Verywell.” I’m so bummed after this morning that I feel like escaping a bit. Being someone else. Someone who’s kicking ass and taking names. That’s the beauty of cosplay, isn’t it? The chance to escape your own skin. “I’m but a nameless assassin, but you can call me Em.”
“Very mysterious, Em.”
“Don’t you like a little mystery?”
“Absolutely.”
