An hour later, Keith finally found an impossibly tight parking space near the convention center (Elly had to squeeze her way out of her door—it was highly embarrassing). They walked slowly toward the long brick building that stretched out in both directions, a massive sculpted dragon guarding the entrance. The line for the ticket booth stretched around the block, but luckily Keith had purchased early online (“They weren’t cheap,” he had grumbled, and when Elly offered to pay him back, he looked even more offended), so they skipped the line and walked straight under the dragon’s nether-regions into another world.
The first thing Elly thought was that she had never seen so many colors. Bright, exploding colors everywhere—on the people, on the walls, in the booths, on multiple screens that blared and jumped from every surface. Pulsating music was being pumped through the walls, amplified by the sound of hundreds of video-game screens. Elly was almost knocked over by a giant Alice in Wonderland, her short skirt hiked up over her behind. “‘Scuse me, lady! Keep it moving!”
Keith grabbed Elly’s elbow and hauled her out of the crowds of people swarming in the entrance. His eyes were wide and frightened. “You just got yelled at by a male Alice in Wonderland!”
“I know! It was kind of wonderful!” They both laughed. Dennis had gone to the first booth by the door and looked over at them with annoyance. “I want to go wander around, can I meet you guys later?”
A thin twinge of betrayal shot through Elly. “We came here for you—you aren’t even going to stay with us?”
Dennis bit his lip nervously and started wringing his hands. “Um, I guess I can, I just want to go over to the World of MageCraft booth because they are giving away free totes and first-edition comic books.” He looked desperately uncomfortable at the idea.
“Go,” said Keith, surprising Elly. “We’ll be fine, we’ll have fun.”
What just happened? Elly turned to glance at Keith, who said, “Why don’t we meet back here at two?”
Dennis gave an ecstatic nod and fled into the crowd, his blond hair flipping as he jogged awkwardly.
“Thanks for that,” deadpanned Elly. Keith taking the lead with Dennis was definitely starting to get old.
Keith looked down at her. “You can’t blame me for wanting you all to myself, can you? You’ve been so busy with the BlissBride stuff and the new store that I barely see you. My Elly.” He raised her hand to his soft lips. “I think we should ditch these nerds and find a quiet corner where I can tell you all about my secret geekiness, and all the fantasies that go along with it.”
Elly was still annoyed that he had overstepped his bounds as a boyfriend. Or was that really what she was annoyed about? “That’s fine, I just wanted to spend some time with Dennis, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Keith frowned. “I just thought it would be fun, just the two of us.”
It would be fun. Everything with Keith was fun. Elly longed to press herself against him, right in the convention center, wrap herself in his robust build and fall away, letting her fragile heart break in his hands. But then she remembered the way his face contorted when he lied to her, and her heart sank a little. Elly gave a fake smile in his direction and started walking in between the booths. “That’s fine. Whatever.” You sound like a petulant teenager, she told herself. Stop it.
The Green Lantern walked by, arguing with a girl dressed from head to toe in pink bunny fur. Elly looked quickly at some cute T-shirts featuring anime animals with big, scared eyes, and then past numerous booths selling girly costumes. Yeah, I can’t wear that. Never happening. Nothing would look worse. Princess Leia in a bikini walked by. Nope, she thought, I was wrong.
“Elly, what is the matter with you?” Keith looked genuinely confused. How could he not know? “I’m sorry I stepped in with Dennis. I’ll go find him if you want.” He looked around. “I will search Middle Earth and beyond if you so command.”
Elly pinched her cheek with her teeth, forcing away a smile, fighting between her desire to know the truth and her desire to still have her calm sea. Dennis had already caused enough waves. “It’s not that. It’s fine. I’m sure he is having a ball somewhere. I’m glad that he got to come—I’ve never seen him so happy, except when he’s glued to that computer.”