A Cosplayer's Luc

All characters in this story participating in any romantic or sexual conduct are at least eighteen years old. All characters, story events, and the convention portrayed in this tale are my fictional creations. Any resemblance to any real persons or events is unintended and coincidental.

While most of this story's erotic/romantic content falls under the umbrella of "erotic couplings", there are also some elements of lesbian sex, anal sex, group sex, and voyeur/exhibitionism.

And now... on with the show!

*

"What do you mean, my reservation was canceled?" Picture it in your mind. A young woman in her early twenties, towing two huge suitcases full of costume materials, frazzled, fatigued and fucking pissed. That's me, and I'm trying really hard not to take it out on the very friendly (and handsome) hotel clerk.

"I'm sorry, miss, but our records clearly show that this reservation number was canceled two days ago, and a full refund, minus cancellation fees, was given to the reservation holder's credit card." He tapped a few buttons on his keyboard, and looked back up at me. "That room then got sold again, pretty much immediately. I'm sorry, but with the 'Anime Horde' convention going on, every hotel in the area is completely sold out."

I leaned forward, my elbows on the hotel counter-top, my fingers massaging my aching scalp. "I... I just flew in from New York. This reservation was supposed to be waiting for me. There isn't anything you can do? Hell, I'll take a broom closet, seriously."

I glanced up, and caught him looked down at my chest. He at least had the good graces to blush and look away. "I'm really sorry, I wish there was something I could do."

I stood there staring at him for a long moment, halfway wondering if shaking my tits at him might produce some results, since he'd been looking... no. Probably not.

"Not your fault, I totally understand." Cursing under my breath, I dragged my baggage over to a nearby bench, plopped down, and pulled out my phone. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what happened, but I had to at least give her a chance to make good. I dialed her number, and started counting to ten in Japanese under my breath, to try and calm my nerves.

She picked up when I got to eight. "Hey, Karen! Did you make it to the con okay?"

Deep breath. "Mindy, did you cancel the hotel reservation?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, I couldn't make it to the con, so what's the point?"

DEEP breath. "Mindy, I *paid* you for the cost of that room! I needed that room since I WAS STILL GOING!"

"But I needed that *and* the refund money so that I could afford Hamilton tickets with Bradley!"

Oh my fucking god. She didn't.

"And besides, you can just get another room, right?"

It took every ounce of willpower I had to not pick up one of my suitcases and hurl it through one of the plate glass windows in the hotel lobby. "No, Mindy, I can't. Every hotel here is sold out. They've been sold out for months. Because of you, I am trapped here with no place to sleep until my return flight on Monday. I'm a fucking VAGRANT now, you vacuum-headed cunt!" I was probably shouting at that point, but you know what? Fuck it. I think the situation called for it.

"Why are you, like, being so hostile, Karen?"

This was the last straw, the last of DOZENS of last chances I'd given her over the last few months. Call her stupid, call her selfish, call her being an utter fucking bimbo, I didn't care anymore what rude words people back home called Mindy behind her back, because I finally realized that they were all fucking true. I also knew that I no longer wanted anything to do with this idiot.

Thankfully, the lease on the apartment was only in my name, so when -- IF -- I got home from this shitshow, I was going to put her out on the street with extreme prejudice. She could go bang her precious Bradley in his mom's Fifth Avenue apartment, rather than the two of them screaming fuck-noises at each other in the thin-walled room next to mine in the middle of the goddamn night. EVERY goddamn night. Mindy and I were DONE.

"Because you fucking deserve every last drop of my fucking hostility, Mindy. Because if I get assaulted or murdered by some sex-predator this weekend, it is on YOUR HEAD." I hung up, and let my phone drop onto the bench next to me before I gave into the urge to throw it.

I was going to murder that girl... but first, I had to survive this weekend. I didn't know anyone at this con, not a goddamn soul, so there was no one I could crash with. Hell, if hotel security found me hanging around the halls in the middle of the night without a room key, they'd probably have me arrested. I was truly, utterly, fucked.

Well, not in the way that I'd like. I couldn't help but laugh. I hadn't known the touch of a man, much less a good man, for well over a year. Too goddamn busy with classes, work, reshaping my entire body from the ground up with hardcore exercise and careful diet, and making all these amazing costumes.

I had planned to knock people's eyes right out of their head this weekend. I had planned to strut my stuff in some of the best freaking cosplay Anime Horde had ever seen, and look absolutely Smoking-Hot-As-FUCK while doing it. But now? Now I was just straight-up fucked over. I'd be constantly looking over my shoulder all night for security guards and creepers, instead of reveling in the feel of hot guys watching my every spandex-clad move down the convention hallways.

I laid my head back against the wall, and closed my eyes. I felt tears trickling down my cheeks... goddamnit, I was not going to cry in public. I had one last tiny shred of dignity left, and I wouldn't give that up without a bloody knife fight.

"Um, excuse me? Are you okay?"

I opened my eyes, and a cherub was addressing me. An absolutely adorable round-faced and round-bodied woman, wearing a toga, cardboard wings on her back, and a laurel wreath on top her short blonde hair. She looked like at any given moment, she would bake a tray of piping hot chewy cookies *and* make the best mugs of hot chocolate ever with little to no prompting. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she looked at me with a worried shimmer in her huge eyes.

I felt my cheek twitch. Do I give an honest answer, or do I do the "polite" thing and pretend everything's fine? Fuck it, I've got nothing to lose, let's go with honesty. "No, I'm not okay. I'm sorry if I'm making a scene."

"It's just..." The cherub wrung her hands nervously. "We couldn't help but overhear. Did your friend really cancel your hotel room on you?"

I sat up, rubbing the tears out of my eyes. "Yeah. Even though I'd paid her for it. If I make it home safe, I'm kicking her ass so hard that they'll feel it across the Pacific."

We were joined by another woman now, a tall and slender-but-chesty ravenhair who was wearing green and blue overalls, a green hat with an "L" on it, and a thick fake mustache. She put her arm around the cherub's shoulder, and gave me a worried look. "Jesus Christ. You're up a creek, aren't ya."

Cherub turned and gave her significant other a sparkle-eyed pleading look. "Kyra, we HAVE to do..."

The cross-dressing plumber cut her off with a kiss on her cheek. "Way ahead of you." She turned to me, adjusting her mustache. "I'm Kyra Rodgers, and this is my wife, Darlene Rodgers." She held out her hand. "We've got three in a room big enough for four. Last spot's yours if you want it. We're here through Monday."

I swallowed. "You... you don't even know my name. Are you serious?"

Kyra nodded once, firmly, while Darlene's head bobbled eagerly like a turbo-charged basketball. "Doesn't matter what your name is. Girls gotta stick together, gotta keep each other safe, right?" Kyra pushed her hand forward again. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do this. You need help, we can give it. It's that simple."

Fighting back a new and very different wave of tears, I reached out and took Kyra's hand, who gently pulled me to my feet. "Karen Courtney. I think you just saved my life." This was unreal. How lucky could a woman get, to meet kind and generous people like this?

Kyra grinned, and patted my shoulder. "Pleased to meet you, Karen. We actually live not too far from here, but we got a hotel room so that we could stick around for the late night parties and such. You'll be with Darlene, me, and my cousin Michael. He's over getting us checked in, he'll be back here in a second."

"Sure thing, no problem." My brain was giving me a swift kick, trying to remind me of something important, but I was coming up blank and thus ignored it. "Love your cosplays, by the way!"

Kyra tucked one thumb in the shoulder strap of her overalls, and with the other hand preened her big fake 'stache. "It's-a me!"

Darlene blushed, fidgeting with her wreath-crown. "Are you cosplaying at all, Karen?"

I glanced down at my old 'Labyrinth' t-shirt and yoga pants. "Well, not right now, obviously, buuuuuut..." I gestured to my suitcases. "I've got four different costumes prepped in these."

The couple leaned in simultaneously with a wide-eyed murmur of "Oooooo!" Darlene's hands flexed like a second-grader who'd been promised a new toy. "Oh my god, can we see them when we get up to the room?"

"Of course! It's the least I can do." I worked damn hard on those, and on myself, this last year. Damn right I want to show 'em off every chance I get. "So... how much does my one-quarter share of the room charge come to?"

Kyra waved her hands in front of her. "You don't owe us a penny. Just make sure if you see another woman in trouble down the line, that you pay it forward to them. Seriously."

Pretty hard to argue with that. "Still, I feel like I'm going to be in your way, taking up space in the room. Is there anything I can do to make things easier?"

Darlene suddenly perked up with an expression that read "Eureka!" in giant neon letters over her head, and grabbed Kyra by the shoulder. "Honey! She can keep Michael company!"

Kyra snapped her fingers, her eyes going wide. "Holy hell, that's perfect! Darling, I could kiss you."

The curvaceous cherub poured herself into her wife's arms, her voice dropping a very sultry octave. "Yes, you definitely could." The two suddenly forgot I was there, taking a very long time to enjoy each other's company. I took a step back and looked away, not wanting to intrude on their moment.

Someone else, on the other hand, had no such compunctions. On the other side of the kissing couple, a rolled up magazine came down on top of Kyra's head, and then gave a noticeably more gentle smack to Darlene. "Knock it off, honeymooners. You're making a scene."

The two women turned to the voice, Kyra pouting and Darlene pleading. "Awww, MICHAEL!"

"Don't you 'Awww, Michael' me, Darlene. I am immune to your charms." He was laughing as he said it, at least.

I still couldn't see who they were talking to, until Kyra reached out, grabbed him by the wrist, and stepped to one side as she pulled him forward.

HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD. My legs suddenly went weak on me, and I literally had to grab the handle of one suitcase to keep from stumbling to my knees. Oh god, the thought of dropping to my knees in front of him, my hands reaching up... oh dear lord almighty.

Imagine if David Bowie had a younger brother, but with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Flawless skin, a strong chin and mouth, cheekbones you could cut diamonds with, and a gorgeous gaze that had me frozen like the proverbial deer in headlights. That's what stood before me, in all his panty-melting glory. Clutching my Labyrinth t-shirt, my mind's eye edited the scene to imagine him cosplaying as Jareth the Goblin King, and that set off a goddamn flash flood you-know-where. If I'd passed him walking down the street, I'd have literally done a double take. Men this hot should not exist, but... here he was.

"...So we're going to put her up for the weekend." Kyra was saying. How long had I zoned out? Oh god, please let me not have been openly drooling. "We figure she can pay us back by having her keep you company!"

They thought I was doing THEM a favor? I would give my best sewing machine and every video game I owned for one hot date with this creature.

"Kyra," the walking sex god intoned, "we shouldn't impose on her time like that. She's probably got stuff she wants to do."

Darlene giggled. "She was telling us about all the cosplay she's got in those giant suitcases -- maybe you could hold her bag when she poses for hall photos, hmm?"

I am hashtag-blessed. When Darlene mentioned my cosplay, I swear his eyes widened, and then flickered up and down my hard-earned curves. He was checking me out. He wanted to see me in hot sexy costumes! HE WAS CHECKING ME OUT!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I cleared my throat, gently, silently thanked whatever divine force might be listening for helping my good luck to continue, and held out my hand. "Hi, I'm Karen Courtney!" Oh god, I was squeaking. Lower the pitch, girl. Ixnay on the esperate-day! "I've never been to Anime Horde before, so if you could show me around, that would really mean a lot."

His hand was so warm. I imagined myself floating through the halls of the con on this man's arm, bluebirds flying behind me to hold up the ends of my veil -- calm down, calm down! Keep it cool, Karen. Cool. Mellow. Chill. Chiiiiiill.

"Michael Trent. And I'd be glad to. The lovebirds here have all kinds of meetups planned with some out-of-town friends, so I was just going to wander around at random, but I'd be glad to show you around. This'll be nice."

I will rock your world, Bowie-Junior. 'Nice' is going to be the understatement of the century. But then I opened my mouth, and some demented valley girl fell out. "Totally!" GAH! NO! HE'S GOING TO THINK YOU'RE A BIMBO NOW! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?

"Sorry to hear that people screwed up your room -- but hey, it gave us a chance to meet, so lemonade from lemons, silver lining and all that." Huh. Ten minutes ago, I was ready to gruesomely eviscerate Mindy with a rusty butter knife, but now... wow. Yeah. She actually ended up doing me one hell of a favor -- not that she meant to. The world works in mysterious ways, indeed.

He stepped forward and took hold of one of my bags. "Here, let me get this for you." Okay, let me explain something here. My suitcases are *heavy*. I do not pack light. I mean, I can handle my own bags well enough, but when Michael picked one of them up like it was nothing, my inner cavewoman started banging the mating drum call like a machine-gun fusillade. Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes seeing a man do feats of strength like that triggers a very primal feeling, a sort of "this man will kill a bear and provide meat for the clan!" vibe. And I like that feeling. A LOT.

So, uh, yeah. I guess you could say he was kinda cute.

As we all walked to the elevator, I deliberately slowed down juuuuust enough so that I could check Michael out from the back. Good shoulders, and nice looking hands. A little on the slim side, but not a beanpole. But moving lower... Mmm. Yes, that is a very nice butt in some very snug jeans, yes LORD. That's some Nightwing-caliber butt, and no mistake.

"So, glad we happened to bump into you?" Darlene was right there next to me, while Kyra and Michael were walking further ahead. She wore a smile that meant she was reading me like a book.

I gave her a nervous rictus grin. She just grinned right back, pointedly glanced in the direction of her wife's stupidly-hawt cousin, and then looked back at me. BUSTED. "Is Michael really that good-looking?"

My throat tightened. Oh god, I must look like some sort of lovestruck space cadet. Which of course I *was*, but that's not the point. "Am I that obvious?"

"To me? Oh yes. To him? I doubt it. But seriously - is he really that handsome?"

I looked back to where Kyra and Michael were standing; he'd paused on account of dropping something, and was bent over to pick it up, giving me the platonic ideal of all 'I wanna grab that' ass shots. My mouth went dry, and I wrenched my gaze away to look back at my new friend. "Darlene, are you bi, or a straight-up lesbian? Er, pun unintended."

She shot me a raised eyebrow. "Heh. No, I'm not bisexual. Why?"

Making sure that neither Kyra nor Michael were looking in our direction, I pointed right at the hottest hunk of man-flesh in all of creation. "To you, he's the cute and friendly little cousin-in-law, and you're not into boys to begin with. But to me, speaking for straight women everywhere?" I lowered my voice and clutched at my chest. "You have NO idea." A horrifying thought hit me. "Please tell me he's not already taken."

"Not even a little. He's dated here and there, but honestly, I think he has this idea that girls don't like him." I stared in existential horror, and she continued. "Now me? I'm starting to think that all the women around him are just too damn intimidated, maybe they all think he's out of their league." Kyra noticed that we'd fallen far behind, and was waving at us to catch up, so Darlene's next statement was a quiet whisper. "Just imagine how he'd react to a smoldering-hot cosplay goddess like you, if only you worked up the nerve to get his attention, hmm?"

As we piled into the elevator, I could only stare at Darlene. Was she saying what I think she was saying?

"What took you two so long?" Kyra pulled off her half-dangling mustache and put it in her chest pocket.

Michael set down my bag, and hit the 7th floor button -- oooh, lucky number seven, a very nice omen! "Was everything okay?"

"Better than okay," Darlene said with a satisfied grin. "We were just having some girl talk -- and I think Karen and I are going to be super awesome best friends." Behind Michael and Kyra's back, Darlene mouthed the words, "I've got your back, go for it" to me, pointing with her eyes at Michael. Lord have mercy, this was going to be one hell of a convention.

***

"...And this is my Ninja bodysuit."

Kyra was running her fingers over the fabric of my costume, almost in a trance. "I love how this feels... but dear god, when you put this little thing on, it probably looks like body paint rather than clothes!"

"You're not wrong," I said with a laugh, watching Michael out of the corner of my eye. He'd busied himself unpacking his and his cousin's suitcases, but he was still glancing our way fairly often.

Darlene lifted an elaborate gauntlet out of my suitcase. "Oh, I should know this one, where have I seen this before?"

I grinned, and reached into the bag myself to retrieve a pair of suspenders . "Just imagine I'm wearing that battle-glove with a white tanktop instead of my t-shirt, and it'll come to you. But truth be told..." I clipped one end of the suspenders to my waistband behind my back, and then pulled the other end up over my head and down the front of my happily-voluptuous chest. It's *these* that really makes the look work."

Kyra's mouth fell open, staring openly at how the two simple little strips of leather and cloth framed my big girls. "Damn. God bless suspenders."

"...Amen." I looked up, and Michael was openly looking right at me. I don't think he even realized he'd said that out loud. Took everything I had not to pump my fist and hiss out a happy "YESSSS!"

Kyra held out a hand. "Can... can I try those on for a second?" I unclipped and tossed over the miracle accessory, and Kyra pulled down the top of her overall so that she was just wearing the blue t-shirt from the waist up. She pulled the suspenders over herself like I had, and presented herself to Darlene. She was only a little smaller up top than me. "Darling, do you think I should...?"

"I AM BUYING YOU SUSPENDERS JUST LIKE THAT WHEN WE GET HOME." Darlene looked ready to launch herself across one of the queen sized beds to get to her wife.