Page 14 of Unmasking Secrets
“Chocolate,” I argue.
She shakes her head. “We haven’t even been here before. Their milkshakes could be awful.”
I laugh. Considering they have a few signs on their walls saying their milkshakes are award-winning, I doubt it.
She lets out a shaky sigh. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but I’m glad you’re here.” Tabitha plays with the napkin under her water. Her eyes flicker up to meet mine. “When they suggested a bodyguard, I knew it was needed, even though I didn’t want to believe it at the time.” She swallows. “I’m glad it was you.”
“Me too.” I smirk.
“I missed you,” she whispers.
“Same.” So fucking much.
“Here we go.” The server approaches the table with our milkshakes. “Burgers will be out in just a few more minutes.” He turns and leaves.
“Moment of truth.” We stare at each other as I reach for my chocolate shake.
My eyes stay on hers. The same blue eyes that used to haunt my dreams. Only now, they smile mischievously as she reaches for her shake and places the straw between her plush lips. She moans across the table before declaring how delicious it is. It’sthe moan that does me in. She licks her lips, and I do my best to discreetly adjust myself under the table when her eyes move to her drink.
“Want to try?” She pushes her drink across the table. “I think you’ll agree with me that the strawberry is better.”
I laugh and slide mine across the table. I hesitate to wrap my lips around the same part of the tiny straw hers were. That alone makes her shake a thousand times better—not that I’ll admit it to her.
“It’s alright.” I smirk before passing it back to her.
“Mmhmm.” She sips my chocolate shake and then passes it back to me. “You just don’t want to admit mine is better.”
She’s right; I don’t want to admit it. If I admitted the truth, I’d have to tell her that strawberry is my favorite too. Then she’d ask why I always chose a different flavor. And I couldn’t admit the truth.
Growing up, if I chose something other than strawberry, she’d convince me to try hers to prove it was better. It was the closest I could come to kissing my best friend. I realize that makes me sound insane. Clearly, I like to torture myself.
Her phone buzzes on the table, and her eyes glance down. “The airline.” She picks it up. “Hello?”
I can’t hear what they’re saying, but judging from the smile on her face and the way her shoulders relax, they’ve found her suitcase.
“Thank you. Yes, that’s perfect.” Tabitha hangs up and sits her phone back down. “They found my suitcase, and someone is ontheir way to drop it off at the hotel. We just need to retrieve it from the concierge when we get back.”
“That’s great!” I’m relieved we don’t need to go shopping. “Is there anything else we’re supposed to do today?”
Tabitha shakes her head. “No. Most of the others will probably be arriving early in the morning if they’re not already here. I just like to hide out in the hotel room before the chaos begins. Tomorrow will be a busy day, plus the premiere. There’s a meet and greet lunch. That’s when I’ll be in costume with the others. You met Max when you first arrived at my place. He and his boyfriend will be there. I’m not sure who else will, though.”
“How did you get into all this cosplay stuff? I remember you reading comics when we were younger, but I never even knew this was a thing outside of Halloween.”
Tabitha pauses as the waiter drops off our burgers and fries, then refills the waters. “I was scrolling through social media and saw an advertisement for Halloween costumes. One thing led to another, and I started finding better sources for costumes and the materials to make them myself. I think I was glued to my phone there for a while. There are unlimited ideas out there. It was sort of one thing after another as all the pieces sort of fell together.”
“So, you make some of your costumes?”
She nods. “Probably close to half of them. It all depends on whether it’s something I’m wanting to do for me or something for a company. Like some brands I work with send me the materials I need to create something from scratch. Those are some of my favorites because they always send more than what is needed for one costume.” She smiles. “This weekend, becauseof the premiere, someone from the costume department made replicates for us. So we’ll be doing pictures and videos in those.”
“Do you get to take the costumes home?”
Tabitha’s eyes grow. “Most of the time, especially if they’re made to our exact measurements. I always find a way to make more content with those ones too. Plus, when I collab with others, we get to plan out even more content because of the variety of characters we can portray.”
“You really love this.” It’s not even a question; I can see how her eyes light up when she’s talking about it.
“I do. I never thought this was something I could make a living at. I’ve always loved being creative, and this just merges my interests. Plus, getting to travel makes it more exciting.”
It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile this big since we’ve been together. I feel bad that I never thought to ask her about all of it before. Especially since it’s something she clearly loves and enjoys.
