The Con Man

The Con Man

© 2024 Mojavejoe420

Wednesday

"Bloody Mary, if you would be so kind." The High Velocity bar/restaurant bartender in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis nodded at me and graciously accepted the hundred-dollar bill I handed him. I liked to be paid attention in bars, and that always did the trick. Usually, a Bloody Mary is ordered as a brunch or morning cocktail to ward off the effects of a hangover. Still, I ordered this one in the evening as I was dressed like a stylish vampire. It was Wednesday night, and

DragonCon

was to begin the next day.

San Diego has the original Comic-Con, of course. But over the years, DragonCon has become the favorite of convention goers nationwide. Originating from San Diego, I had to come to Atlanta to see what all the fuss was about. I booked two adjoining mini-suites a year ago; one for me and one for my eighteen-year-old son, Matt, and his buddy, Nathan. Hence, I was alone at the bar as they cruised the various adjoining hotel lobbies, not being old enough to sit in a bar.

Throngs of people crowded the bar. The total attendance of this convention was upwards of 150,000 people, and the Marquis was at the center of everything. I had been lucky enough to snag a barstool the moment one had been vacated and was enjoying my bloody drink. People were trying to order drinks, but the two bartenders were exceptionally busy. I felt a body trying to squeeze between myself and a Batman on my left. There wasn't room for anyone, but the person kept pressing. I looked in the bar mirror to see who was beginning to wrinkle my outfit when my heart skipped a beat.

A beautiful vampiress, resplendent in a red velvet coat, white blouse, and a black leather under-bust corset, stared back at me. I turned slightly to face her and saw her black ruffle dress, completing her elegant look. I gave her my best Transylvanian accent.

"Good even-ing," I enunciated, trying to sound sophisticated. I smiled what I hoped was a dangerous smile, my custom-made incisor fangs showing.

"Hey," she growled, apparently not entranced by my incredible suaveness. A few Trekkies bumped her as they squeezed past.

I gave up on the dumb accent. "How about I try to make a little room here and you can squeeze in next to me. What are you drinking?"

She looked at me, seemingly weighing her options. I could almost see her thoughts:

squeeze in with this guy who's probably 20 years older or stay out here in the crush?

"You have a Bloody Mary? I'll take one, too."

Decision made; the game is afoot!

I raised my hand a couple of inches, and my barman noticed within a few seconds. After ordering two new drinks, I managed to move my barstool a few inches to the right, and my new friend slipped in.

"Comfy?" I asked. We were both jammed into the bar pretty tightly.

"Well at least I know I've got a drink on the way, thank you for that."

"It's the least I could do for a fellow vampire. My name is James." I held out my left hand awkwardly as my right hand couldn't quite get to her.

"Gemma."

Hey, I've gotten a smile out of her.

"Well, Gemma, you look stunning tonight. Are you doing a specific vampire or just a freestyle one?"

"Thank you. Flattery won't get you anywhere, but it's nice to hear. I'm just doing a generic vampire. How about you? You're looking pretty fancy yourself."

"Also generic. I didn't want to bust out the big guns until the Con actually started. So, have you got an Instagram? You look familiar, I think I've seen you."

She told me, and I looked her up on my smartphone. "Okay, lovely ... nice ... hot ..."

"It's weird having you grade me while I'm standing right here."

"Oh, stop, you're a complete babe and you know it. Or, wait, is the right phrase

'smoke show?

' Or something else?

'Thirst trap

?' I'm old, help me out here."

She shook her head. "It's more fun to watch you struggle."

"Hmph, sadistic mean streak ... duly noted." I continued to cycle through the pictures on her Instagram account, making appreciative noises as I went. I wasn't faking it, either. Her cosplays were top-notch; she spent a lot of time and money on her outfits, and they looked very close to the actual characters in the movies, which we call screen-accurate. Then, I saw a picture that stopped me in my tracks.

"Hold up, I know this picture! Two years ago, right?"

"Yeah, thereabouts. It's my most-liked post. It kinda went viral."

I pursed my lips and blew out a low whistle. This girl, this Gemma, was dressed as the Kate Beckinsale character Anna Valerious from the 2004 movie

Van Helsing.

There are those who will argue that Kate Beckinsale is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. I'm actually one of those people. The resemblance of Gemma to Kate was striking; the tight leather pants hugged her perfect ass just like they did on Kate, the under-bust corset framed her lovely breasts, and the curls of her wig perfectly matched Kate's.

"It's... you're stunning. You're like her clone. You know, I saw this post, and it inspired me to do Van Helsing himself. Took me two years, but that's what I'm wearing tomorrow."

Gemma's smile disappeared, and she tilted her head, giving me the side-eye at my declaration of tomorrow's cosplay. "Seriously? You're doing Hugh Jackman tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Anything wrong with that?"

"No, not at all. It's just that ... I'm doing an updated version of Anna tomorrow."

My jaw dropped. "You're shitting me! I'm here with my son and his friend and he is doing The Creature and his buddy is doing Igor. This is incredible!"

"Shut up!"

"We are, like, most of the movie cast! Okay... what are you doing Friday, Gemma?"

She squinted her eyes at me. "No, you tell me who you're doing."

"Vision." That's a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe;

Iron Man

and

The Avengers

and all those movies. Immensely powerful, he is involved in the downfall of the big baddie Thanos.

"Get outta town!" she joked.

"I'm already outta town! You get outta town! Why? Who are you doing?"

"Wanda." An immensely powerful witch, Wanda is married to Vision in the Marvel movies.

We both reached for our drinks and took long swigs, then stared at each other for a few moments.

Her lips turned up into a sly smile. "James ..."

"Yes?"

"This is really weird."

"Not weird, Gemma. Serendipity. Kismet. Fate. We should probably go to bed soon before the magic spell breaks."

"Oh, certainly. Let's do that."

I stared at her, trying to gauge her level of commitment. She blinked first.

"You're pulling my leg, little missy."

"Of course I am. I'm not that easy. Plus, you're married."

"Widowed. Three years."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You mentioned having a son so I just assumed--"

"It's fine. So that only leaves the 'easy' thing unsettled."

"No, it's settled. I'm definitely not that easy." She looked down at the floor.

"But ... you're thinking about it."

Her head jerked up, and I gazed into her soft brown eyes. "I ... maybe a little. But, like, you're an old man."

"I'm 42, and I think I'm just hitting my stride. Tell you what, Miss Gemma. Give me your phone, I'll put in my number, and you text me tomorrow if you want to have a photo shoot and some hang time. I think the four of us would draw a

lot

of attention."

Gemma slid her phone back to me. The barman returned when he saw me getting up from my stool. "Give her whatever she wants, put it on my room."

We had a close moment as our bodies pressed together. When I got out of my seast, she got into it. I caught a whiff of her perfume, and it was divine.

"My friend is coming by in a few minutes," Gemma said. "I kinda wanted you to meet her."

I leaned in close so I could whisper in her ear. "I'll meet her tomorrow after you text me." I gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek and walked away.

Thursday

"I can't believe you picked up a girl, Dad." I was helping Matt with his Frankenstein's Creature outfit. In the

Van Helsing

movie, he definitely looks manufactured but different from the standard Frankenstein look. I was applying spirit gum to the headpiece so it would stick to his forehead.

"I think it's cool," Nathan piped in. He was just about finished with his Igor look.

"Yeah, well, I got a few moves left. You guys better not be little assholes."

"Who, us? She probably won't call you anyway." My son was a funny kid but also a prankster. He'd somehow stacked 21 tires on the flag pole for the Senior Prank at his school. His squad had also managed to take down the security cameras so no video could be used against him.

"She said she has a friend, so you guys be cool and maybe they won't hate both of you."

"Yeah, yeah, we got you covered, Dad."

Just then, my phone made a little text noise: "I've got incoming. Matt, just hold this piece right here for a minute, and you'll be fine."

I checked the text. Sure enough, it was from Gemma:

Meet us near the bar entrance, is noon good for you? I have a surprise for you.

I texted her back that noon was fine.

"It's on, boys! Now let's finish up with this makeup shit so we can talk to some ladies."

- - -

The hallways and lobby were full of conventioneers and probably half were doing some kind of cosplay. There were Spidermen, Batmen, sexy Velmas, and Anime characters galore; just about any movie or comic character you can imagine was represented.

Matt stood a couple of inches taller than my six feet, but we'd added three more inches to his monster boots so his lumbering six-foot-five Creature was drawing a lot of attention. Plus, he had the flashing brain parts and a heart just like in the movie. We were stopped almost continuously by people wanting to take photos. At these conventions, there are basically three types of photographers; casual fans, hobby photographers, and actual professional photogs. As a cosplayer, one loves the attention of everyone but secretly hopes to be able to catch the eye of a hobby photographer or, better yet, a pro. The hobbyists and the pros typically have thousands and even tens of thousands of followers on the different social media platforms. No matter what people say, it's all about the numbers. A good photog can get you semi-famous.

While our group of

Van Helsing

misfits caused a bit of a stir, we found a large group of photographers surrounding someone at the location where we were supposed to meet Gemma. I couldn't see who was at the center, so I asked my son, who was standing five inches taller than me.

"Yeah, Dad. It's some hot chick in a red dress."

Wait a minute,

I thought

. In the movie, the character Anna wears a red ball gown when she attends a masquerade party with her abductor, Dracula. It has to be her!

"Okay,

Creature

," I said to my son. "That's gotta be her. Make a hole, big man."

Matt let out a monstrous roar, then bellowed, "

Make way for Gabriel Van Helsing!

"

His voice and terrifying (but screen-accurate, of course) appearance had the desired effect; the crowd grudgingly parted to let us through. I followed Matt, and Nathan followed me. There was plenty of appreciative talk amongst everyone as they realized who we were portraying. But we were just as pleased to see that Gemma's friend was dressed as one of Dracula's vampire brides from the movie.

Gemma stared me down as I approached. "Late as usual, Van Helsing?" She was copying Anna's snarky attitude in the movie. I just smiled and gave her a big hug.

Cameras flashed and clicked in a frenzy as our two little groups became one amidst all the introductions. Gemma's friend, whom she introduced as Amanda, was dressed as

Marishka

, a vampire Van Helsing kills in the movie with his crossbow. Dressed in billowing sheer "genie" pants and a gold and white bikini-type top, she looked delicious and very much like the movie character. She even had a fake crossbow bolt sticking out of her chest, which my character would have fired.

Gemma, however, was another matter altogether. She sizzled where she stood, her red satin gown flowing down her lithe body to where it pooled on the floor with one of her legs sexily bared. Long white gloves went past her elbow, and she wore her hair up in an intricate and elegant "do," complete with a sparkling tiara, just like in the movie. Her makeup, though plentiful, was beautiful without being gaudy.

"You look amazing, Gemma. Perfect." I found myself holding her hand... and she wasn't pulling it back.

"You don't look too bad yourself, James. You

are

Van Helsing, sure enough. This crossbow is amazing. Where did you buy that?" She ran her delicate gloved fingers over the fake weapon.

"We made it with a 3-D printer. My son made all the stuff for his creature costume."

"Color me impressed," she said with a sly little smile.

I think it's about time to make my intentions clear.

"Gemma, listen. I've got--"

A shout interrupted me. "Hey, Van Helsing!" It was from one of the hobbyist photogs. "Can I get you and Anna in the movie poster pose?"

We smiled at each other and posed for 40-50 photographers over the next hour. We looked fantastic, I must say, and we all five had a blast playing around for the people. Gemma and I tended to always end up next to each other, and between shots, she would fix my wig, or I would adjust the straps on her outfit ... just little things, but they felt so intimate and cozy.

I noticed this one photographer was

not

taking pictures, but I could tell he had a very expensive rig, and it occurred to me that he might be a pro. He came up to us during a lull in the shooting.

"Can I talk to you guys for a minute? I'm Troy Hildebrand, a photographer."

Gemma's face lit up. "You're not

a

photographer; you're

the

photographer! James, do you know who this is?" Clueless, I shook my head slightly. "He's probably the best photographer here. What am I saying,

probably

? You're

definitely

the best photographer here! Sorry, I'm gushing ..."

Troy laughed as he shook our hands and learned our names. "You two, you're really special. The chemistry between you is electric. You must be great friends or ... you're a couple?"

"We met yesterday," I explained. "Totally accidental that we are both doing Van Helsing."

"Honestly," Troy said, "it's one of my favorite movies. But I was always so disappointed that you and 'Anna' never got together! Your characters were falling in love, but then we have the tragic ending where she dies--"

"You mean where he kills me!" interjected Gemma, shooting me a playful glare.

"Hey! I was a werewolf, I couldn't help it! I wanted them to get together also."

Troy gave us a conspiratorial grin. "Well, maybe we could change that. Here's what I was thinking ..."

- - -

Troy had set up his hotel suite like a studio, complete with lights, backdrops, and even fans to give extra movement to hair and costumes. He shot the two of us individually against a black backdrop, me first. When he shot Gemma, I could just stare at her all I wanted as she was focusing on Troy.

"You were born to wear that dress, hon."

I can't believe I called her hon.

She glanced at me with such a warm smile that it caught me off guard. I heard the lens click, and I was sure that was going to be a great picture.

Like Kate Beckinsale, Gemma wasn't super busty, but her dress showed enough cleavage to make my mouth water. The way her legs slipped out between the panels of the dress began to get my blood flowing as I watched her, mesmerized.

"James, are you with us?" asked Troy.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. What are we doing?"

"I said, are you ready to join Gemma? We're going to start with some poses to look like you're dancing."

"I'm on it. Hat on or off?" I loved my witch-hunter Fedora; it made the character.

"On for now, then we'll lose it in a bit."

I slid my hand around Gemma's back and pulled her close to me, but we weren't quite touching. We locked eyes, and we both laughed a little.

Troy kept up a running commentary as he shot. "Good, good ... love the smiles ... keep it going ... beautiful ... okay now, serious, please ... that's it ... enjoy her, Van Helsing, she's the woman of your dreams ..."

She

is

the woman of my dreams.

"Okay, toss the hat ... Gemma, lift your leg so James can hold it ... good ... yes ... very sexy ..."

My hand was touching her bare skin! Granted, it was the back of her knee, but I liked how things were going. I pulled her in close as she wrapped that leg around me. I slid my hand down the underside of her thigh ... and Gemma opened her mouth just a bit as a sigh escaped her lips. With her breasts pressed into me, my blood began to actively fill my cock.

"Yes ... I can see the passion ... James, move your hand down further ..."

I slid my hand down her thigh and gripped her flesh, so silky smooth and tight. I was getting uncomfortable as my cock was not pointed in the right direction.

"Scuse me a second," I whispered. I quickly shoved my hand down my pants to get him pointed straight up.

"Is that your cell phone?" she asked with a grin.

I pulled her closer so she could fully feel it. "My phone is on the desk, hon." She slowly ground against my rigid cock.

"Excellent, you two ... these are incredible ... okay, Gemma, put your leg back down."

Damn!

"James, stay close, but put your hand to her cheek ... yes ... like that ..."

With the lightest touch I could muster, I caressed her flawless cheek. I used two fingers, then three, always changing it up. I knew that when posing, you need to keep changing up something. With each click, I moved my hand slightly, brought my face closer, or changed my expression.

"So sexy, you guys ... these are amazing ... keep doing what you're doing, James, I love it."

I love it, too.

Gemma's eyes seemed to be pleading with me. Her lips hadn't closed from before, and her breaths quickened as my cock still pressed against her. I moved my head even closer, mere millimeters separating our lips.

"Perfect, you two ... so sexy ... Gemma, push his hair back over his ear ... yes ..."

My hair is pretty short, but my wig's shoulder-length hair tickled her face. She dutifully moved it over my ear, then kept her hand on the back of my neck. She waited a few moments, and then I felt her increase the pressure. In this day and age, one can't be too careful about overstepping boundaries. But this, this was what I would call a

sign

.

I closed the gap between our lips. My cock throbbed with excitement as we melted together. The hotel room, the lights, and even Troy faded as our sweet and gentle kiss sent me into paradise. Our tongues soon found each other as our kiss became more passionate. I found my hands cupping her perfect little ass as her arms wrapped around my neck. It just seemed natural to lift her, and her legs surrounded my hips as I did so.

As I held her up with my right hand, I used my left to pull her head back, giving me full access to her neck. She gasped loudly as I gave that spot back under her ear a sloppy, wet kiss. She eagerly ground her pussy against my raging cock, and I just wanted to possess this woman more than anything I've ever wanted in my life.

I kissed and licked up and down her jawline, then down her throat, and was about to rip her dress apart when she spoke my name.

"James."

The surroundings returned, and I realized we were just about to have sex in front of Troy, the photographer. "Oh ... yeah ... sorry." I gently let Gemma down back into her feet. "Got a little carried away there."

Gemma's face was in full blush as she looked around, trying not to face Troy.

"You guys, that was the hottest thing I've ever photographed, no shit. You two have such chemistry ... you need to go somewhere, or I could leave the room and come back later--"