The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love) Read Free Page B

make it to a con and get to dress up as one of her favorite characters as well.
    Cosplaying to her was a step beyond LARPing and far more fun.  Cosplay was a great way for costume designers to get together and show off their craft.  The conferences allowed other comic book, fantasy, and science fiction lovers to get together and play games.  To her, there was a big difference between cosplaying and LARPing. LARPing is live action role-playing, where the characters actually create scenarios and reenact scenes.  That was just a bit too geeky for Jayne’s taste. However, getting a chance to don a costume and become the character, changed the way she felt about herself. She loved how the costumes made her feel. In costume, she was powerful and pretty.
    Commanding.  Admired. Loved.
    None of the things she exhibited in real life.  In real life, she was a petite weird black woman, with crazy hair, a gap in her teeth and dreams that men did not understand.  Even her mother didn’t understand her.  She felt at times that her friends were humoring her when they listened to her stories.  Eventually, she had stopped sharing her ideas. None of what she said was coming to fruition, so it was all just a pipe dream.  Or so it had been.  This weekend, she was going to change her fate.  Winning this costume contest was going to change her storyline.  This was going to move her dream forward.
    Something made her come to a stop. Besides the several people wanting to take photos with her, she felt eyes boring into her back.  Slowly she turned around and spotted the Gambit dude still watching her.  Camera flashes were going off as she posed with a few children, two men, and the last one she took, she posed in a fighting stance.  The shock she felt when she realized she was posing with Gambit was almost too much.  The charge between the two of them was palpable.
    A small crowd began to gather as Gambit slid into another pose. Not to be outdone, she altered her stance to a second pose matching him.  The crowd began to chant as Gambit pulled playing cards from his pockets and sent them flying into crowd. In a flash, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her close, segueing into a third pose that caused the crowd to go mad. He held her close with his hands in the small of her back.  She could feel the power of his thighs pressing against her own while the male part of him pressed to her delicate part as he hoisted her thigh to ensure she felt his enthusiasm. The kids were all smiling. The flashes from the cameras had nearly blinded her, but she got a grip on herself.  Without making a scene, Jayne pulled away, bowed to the audience, and kowtowed to Gambit, making eye contact with him while mouthing the words, “asshole.”
    She rounded the corner with Toshi on her heels, but the throng of people closed in on him wanting more pictures. He would not be able to get to her in time and he felt antsy , charged up, excited and ready for…….whatever. He wasn’t sure. Toshi knew that whatever it was, it included that woman.
    Jayne rounded the corner, out of breath and full of conflicted emotions.  When Gambit took her hand, the sparks that flew up her arm were electric. The man was a pig to even pull her in close like that, so she could feel the pure maleness of his body. It was offensive!  Yet, she had never experienced such an intense feeling with anyone.

Chapter 4
    The light from the ceiling was cascading down on the dais, illuminating the strong facial features of the instructor.  Jayne watched with some amusement as she eyed his strong jawline, high cheek bones, and Asian eyes.  His irises were dark, giving him an aura of mystery, intrigue, and a hint of something she could not mash her finger into.  Something felt familiar about him, but his skill set with shadowing was amazing.  Each stroke of his wrist sparked her imagination as he tinted the panels of each comic book cell, demonstrating how to darken areas of the body