Chapter Twelve
Event Three: Excelsior Comic Con, Manhattan Convention Center, New York
Purpose: Professional exposure for Samuel, exposure for the relationship, crowd control assistance from Leah
Leah wasn’t surprised to see the complete change in the Expo Center from the last time she’d been there; heck, time-lapse footage showed baseball stadiums turning into outdoor hockey rinks, and indoor hockey rinks turning into basketball courts. All the convention center needed was a different set of lights, and the different posters supplied by the vendors and it was an entirely different place.
The mood was different too; people who walked the floor were wearing anything from extravagant costumes they must have spent tons of time on to random jerseys with the name of their favorite comic character on the back.
But the mood she was most focused on wasn’t hers or the random passersby. It was Samuel’s.
There was a bit of confidence in him when she saw him at the wedding expo, with his brother and the long line of people. It wasn’t expected, but yet at the same time, he knew how to handle it.
This?
This was different.
He’d been quiet as they walked the floor, quiet as they found a space in the VIP area, quiet as they settled into breakfast and lunch and popped into panels.
“You want this?” she asked.
“I don’t know what to do with myself,” he replied, looking as if he’d forgotten how to behave in public. “I’ve never signed here.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So you asked me here as a confidence booster, not crowd control?”
He didn’t answer immediately, and she wondered what was going on in his head. “Not particularly. It’s… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I can understand,” she said. “Rookies have their first public appearances and they’re not sure what to do. You can prepare for a moment all of your life, and then have it happen and, not be ready.”
He laughed, but it wasn’t bright. “I don’t even know if this is the moment.”
“You’ve been preparing for this since I’ve known you,” she said before she realized what she was saying.
“Uhhh…”
Which was better than she expected him to say as they sat on folding chairs, eating con-floor hotdogs. Except for some reason, she decided she’d continue. Maybe it was because she wanted to see his confidence again. Maybe it was because she found a confident Samuel somehow more attractive…
No.
She was there for moral support, crowd control and to fulfill an obligation to her fake boyfriend. Not judge how attractive he may or may not be.
“You have been talking about comic con,” she continued, shoving words out of her mouth without really thinking about them, “being a part of it, here, since we were kids. You know what’s happening.”
“Signing here, yes,” he said. “I’m excited.”
“Then go with it,” she said. “Go with this. Be the guy you wanted to see when you were a kid, be as excited as you were about being here, waiting to see your favorites as you were back then.”
He nodded, and for once she was taken back to that place, back to that moment in elementary school where she’d seen his excitement up close and personal. The smile, the brightness of his eyes when he talked about letters and comics.
And this.
And as she stood in the corner, just outside the area where he was signing, she heard a voice.
“He’s going places.” Liam? Was that his name? Was that his mentor? “He’s going to get offers and he’s going to blow up. World’s ready for him, and I think he’s ready for the world.”
She turned around to meet the man’s eyes. “He’s good,” she said. “Really good.”
“Glad he’s got good support,” Liam continued. “Family—his brother is great. And I consider myself a friend as well as a mentor. He’s making great contacts, doing his thing.”
Of course the surprise from Carly’s brother-in-law Chris’s excited reaction to seeing Samuel would never get old. Which made sense because Chris’s wife was signing right next to Samuel.
“It’s nice to see him realizing his own power,” she replied, pulling the conversation back to where it needed to be. Because it was nice to see him realize his power, and Leah was comfortable enough saying that, whether he was her fake boyfriend or simply someone she used to know.
“It’s nice to see that he’s got you too,” Liam replied. “Because the road he’s on isn’t going to be an easy one.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. But later that night, when she’d gotten back to the safety of her apartment, she opened her bedroom closet, and pulled out a rather large package. It still sat in the wrapping paper she’d used so many years before, and she wondered if she’d ever give Samuel the graduation present she’d bought for him.
She also wondered whether even thinking about it was dangerous to her own psyche. Or her ability to stay emotionally uninvolved in the messy tangled threads that tied her and Samuel together.
Instead, she put the package down, closed the door and started to get ready for bed.