Whew...I feel exhausted as I sit myself onto a bench. ComicCon was a blast but walking the floor all day has taken it's toll. If they could, my feet would have sighed in relief as I took my weight off them.
Taking a drink from a water bottle, I see the babe in the corner of my eye. She had caught my eye earlier in the day and was on her way out of the convention centre with her group of friends.
Let me take you back to when I first saw her.
She was with her friends then as well, chatting and laughing. For reasons I'll explain later, I'll call her Neko.
I don't know why Neko set my Spidey senses tingling. After all, like most guys there, I had been ogling the cosplayers - you know the ones - posing provocatively in skin tight leotards barely restraining large mammaries. Goddesses that had the power to make palms sweaty by merely kicking their hips out at just the right angle. A feast for the eyes. Oh, the memories...
Despite all the hot babes in skimpy cosplay, Neko stood out. She was wearing a white crop top, denim shorts with suspenders, white thigh-high socks (or are they called stockings?) and really cute sneakers. Relative to the buxom lycra clad vixens posing for photos, Neko was flat-chested. But her bust was not what caught my attention.
It was her demeanour - how she moved through the crowd - the easy way she talked and laughed with her friends. Through the cacophony of the crowd, I could hear her laughter - a sweet sound that cut through the noise and caused me to look around in a search for it's source. Thinking about it, her laughter was what first drew her to my attention.
Even through the throngs, I located her almost immediately. To say she was cute would be an understatement. She had whiskers painted on her face and the end of her nose was painted black as well. Wearing a cat-ear head band, she looked like, well, a cat person - hence the nickname I gave her.
Like super-people and video game characters, catwomen was a common theme to cosplay. There were, once again, the busty catbabes in PVC catsuits. The other "subspecies" were those who were bodypainted with leopard spots or tiger striped.
Yes, those women were gorgeous but paled in comparison to Neko. Neko was wearing a black choker and bright red lip stick. The latter accentuated her beautiful smile. The combination of her attire and demeanour gave her an aura of playful innocence.
It was amazing how much I detail of her noticed in that briefest of moments.
With a wry grin, I ruefully shook my head as the thought of having her as a girlfriend flashed through my mind. What would a super cute girl like her see in an average joe like me? Sigh...
Then I looked up. And she looked in my direction. For the briefest instant, we had eye contact. A jolt ran through my body. My finger tips were tingling and my breath caught. And then she was gone - melting back into crowd as a group of rowdy geeks came between us.
I know it was in my head but I swear we made a connection in that fleeting moment. My palms were sweaty and my breath was returning in short shallow gasps. Wow. What the heck had just happened?!? These things only happen in corny rom-coms after all, right?
Despite that, the stupid romantic in me swore that I would find her again. Then my phone rang, and I went to meet some friends who had just arrived.
After having lunch with my friends, we went our separate ways - they wanted to go to a table-top game and I wanted to listen to a talk.
Back to the present.
There was Neko, heading out the door with her friends. Then she glances my way. Jolt of connection again, I swear! This time, I know it's real because she says something to her friends, waves goodbye to them and starts walking in my direction.
What?!? Surely I am having a waking dream.
Everything else melts into the background as tunnel vision sets in. My eyes are fixed. My mouth dries. My heart skips several beats. My vision goes black.
Huh?!? Was I waking up from a hormone soaked hallucination?
Shaking my head to clear my mind, my senses return and I look up in her direction.
Oh, it was a big dude dressed in some black cosplay that had come between us. What was he doing?!?
He was talking to her, gesturing. She shook her head and tried to side-step him but he blocked her!
Feeling angry, I surge to my feet. The rational part of my brain is yelling "Walk away! His arms are twice the size of your legs!"
Sweat breaking out on my brow, I ignore the warning and walk towards Neko. She was looking flustered but gorilla guy was unrelenting. Oh, I am gonna sock it to him!! Don't bother her you cave man!!
Then my rational brain seized control.
"Hey babe, there you are", I call as I walk up to her. "Sorry I took so long, there was just one more stall I had to look at."
Looking up at the dude, I stuck out my hand, "Hi, I'm Alfred. Nice to meet you".
He shakes my hand looking confused.
I turn to Neko, "I'm done here, babe. You ready to go?"
Putting my arm around her slim shoulders (how am I noticing these micro details?!?), I wave at the guy and say "Bye."
We walk out of the convention centre.
Approaching a corner, I look back. Mr Muscles is looking non-plussed. Then he is out of my life.
A small sigh of relief escapes me, the tension running out of my body. I don't know how I hadn't been clobbered but I am relieved.
Taking a breath, something else clobbers me. Neko's smell.
Mixed in with the floral scents of her perfume, there is a musky aroma. I put it down to the fright caused by her exit. Whatever it is, she smelled good.
Feeling a shiver in her shoulders, I realised I still had my arms protectively around the shoulders of a stranger.
Quickly removing my arm, I guide her to a bench saying, "Let's rest for a moment."
"Are you ok?" I ask.
Neko leans back to rest on her hands, takes a deep breath, releases it then looks at me and nods.
Relieved, I smile at her, "I am Alfred. And this time, I do mean it when I say it's nice to meet you."
"I'm Katherine. Thanks for helping. That dude had been following me around all day", she says.
"What a creep! I guess he was waiting till you were alone to pounce. Gross!"
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I do like attention from guys but only from those I feel like there is some connection."
She looked me straight in the eyes as she said that and then shyly looks away.
My heart leaped into my throat. Adrenaline abating but still in my veins, I said, "Hey, you want to go get a drink? You know, to recover?"
She smiles and says "That sounds great!"
Grabbing my hand, she gets up and we head off.
[To be continued...]
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