Page 108 of My Cosplay Escape

I scoff. “If I had said, ‘Hi, I’m Sarah. I actually work for you, and by the way, I think I licked your face the other night…’” I pause. “Who were the other people with you that night? Badpun and Fair Play?”

“I was walking through the escape room with my contacts from Halifax Sisters.Undercover Bossmeets thinly-veiled fantasy.”

“You didn’t count it as a kiss later at the Student Union Starbucks.”

“It doesn’t count if you don’t get a chance to kiss back.”

I purr softly and slowly. “If I’d told you the truth in econ, what would you have done?”

“I would have grabbed your hand and run to the nearest empty office, where I’d ask you to give me a legitimate chance at forever before I knelt and kissed every inch of you.”

“Every inch?”

Adam presses a kiss to my bare shoulder. “Every last one.”

I’m surprised I’m still standing. “You would not. You would have blinked and then transferred not just TA assignments, but departments.”

“You underestimate how cute you look in a hoodie. I would have asked you out, switched class assignments, and promptly fallen hard. So really not at all different from reality.”

“Why did you never cosplay as Nightbat again?”

“I met you in real life.”

“And when I kissed you in cosplay?”

“I closed my eyes and pretended you weren’t wearing a mask.”

“Really?”

“You said I was obsessive in my search for a Catstrike cosplayer. I wasn’t. I hire quality, talented people. And while one of my cast members could have played Catstrike, they couldn’t have done it the way you did. You think you were playing a role, escaping into some character, but it was all you shining through.” His hands urge me close. “You wanna get out of here? Maybe go walk the tide pools?”

I smile. “Or head back to your place for Korean tacos and moreMississippi Bake-Off?” I lean in close and enjoy how I fit against Adam’s chest. “Wait. Aren’t you working?” I pull away. “And don’t I need to start my shift?”

“I took us off the schedule tonight. One of the perks of being the boss.”

I wrap my arms around Adam once more. His hands press against my back and waist. Each touch deserving of its own panel—one frozen, essential moment of a story.

“I have to fire you. You’re right. Flirtations are one thing, but shared feelings are a clear conflict of interest. Completely unprofessional.” His words, hand-inked and slanted, fill the space around us, pressing us closer together.

My words join his until there is no blank space left between us. “And we wouldn’t want to repeat history.”

“I would,” Adam says. “If it gets me here with you.” It’s another moment to capture in pencil, ink, and color.

I press my lips to his. “Me too.”

The white margins between the panels expand and grow, until I realize it would take an entire lifetime to imagine what goes on in between them. For once, I’m happy to explore what happens off-panel, especially since I have Adam to do it with me.