http://i.imgur.com/wCUI83z.jpg
Chris sighed as he pulled the third suitcase off of the baggage carousel. He had been thrilled that Fiona had wanted him to come with her to GenreCon. It made sense, after all, with all of the work he’d put in to help her with these costumes. Costumes that right now seemed to take up way too much space. He had to be honest though, much of the bulk was the accessories that he’d fashioned for her, even if he’d made them disassemble as much as possible. He fished a hair elastic out of the cargo pocket of his pants and swept back his dirty-blonde hair into a ponytail. It was warmer here than on the plane - though perhaps that was as much about the luggage hauling as the sunny weather. It was good to be able to stretch out his long legs after being on the airplane though.
He mentally counted through the costumes as he piled the suitcases onto the luggage cart. Originally he’d agreed to help her with five costumes for the five days of the con. Then she had an idea for a special one for the big contest on the last day. Then he made an idle comment about an idea for an alien assassin type and that turned into a costume. Now there were eight costumes packed in there, with a very few mundane clothes of hers squeezed in as much to pad out the breakable parts as anything. His own single bag was the smallest, given that Fiona had taken her backpack and purse with her when she headed for the convention center. A smile surfaced on his boyish face just at the memory of her waving at him as she headed for the taxi line. She was so excited, and so… damn cute… just thinking about her bright eyes, her smile, and yes that wonderful body of hers. He just loved to see how she moved, particularly in some of her costumes. His friend Mark gave him a hard time for spending so many hours with her working over patterns and fabrics, but then Mark hadn’t been able to see up close how some of that fabric got stretched over Fiona’s curves. And now he was going to have most of week with her in those costumes. The thought of that was getting him so distracted, and more than a bit tight in his pants, that he almost missed the last piece of luggage - a case that held a collection of con-allowable costume weapons and other hardware. Once the case was squeezed on the cart it was time for him to find a taxi - with luck he’d be able to get checked into their room and start arranging things before she was able to get their badges and get there herself.
* * *
“Shit man, what all do you have in there?” The taxi driver was pleasantly obscene as he helped unload in front of the hotel. The extra tip Chris had thrown in on top of the fare probably didn’t hurt either. The driver’s short, stocky frame seemed to have no problem hefting the suitcases out of the trunk and near-tossing them to Chris, whose lanky build struggled a bit more with some of the heavier ones.
“Costumes mostly. We’re here for the GenreCon this week.” Chris eyed the cobble-stone front walk, hoping it wouldn’t bounce all of the suitcases right off the hotel luggage cart. He was already feeling his back a bit from all the loading and unloading.
“Oh yeah, getting lots of those.” The cabbie looked over the nameplate Chris had attached to each. “Fiona, huh? Well, you and your girlfriend have fun, you hear?”
“Just a friend.” Chris’s eyes dropped for a second. “Fiona’s just a friend, not my girlfriend.”
“Oh, sorry man, didn’t mean anything by it. Enjoy the city!”
Chris nodded and gave a half-hearted wave as the taxi pulled away.
* * *
The elevator doors opened onto the 16th floor with a soft bing, pulling Chris’s eyes away from the hotel paperwork. Something didn’t seem quite right about the room listing, but he couldn’t see what it was. Non-smoking room? check. Wifi password with upgraded bandwidth so he can stream whatever he wants after a long day at the con? Check. Already texted Fiona their room number? Check. Everything seemed in order with what he’d reserved months ago.
He glanced down the hall, pulling along the overloaded cart as he headed for 1624. Everything seemed just fine - he was probably overthinking things. With a swipe the door unlocked and he rolled the cart in, looking forward to do the last round of luggage moving for the day. As the online floor-plan had shown there were two chairs and small table meant for business types. Chris nodded his head in approval - that could be moved to the side easily to make room for their stuff. Then he looked back to the bedroom and his heart thumped: there was only a single queen-sized bed.
Leaving the cart in the doorway, Chris took three quick steps to the phone and dialed the front desk.
“Hi, yes, I just checked into room 1624. I expected this to be two double beds, but I see it’s a queen?” He could feel his face flush.
“Yes sir, that’s the room you reserved, 1624 with a queen. I see here it looks like you changed it from 1614 which was a two-double room.” The business-pleasant voice of the clerk didn’t help him feel better. Now he remembered changing the room after the initial booking - Fiona had asked if they could have a room with a view of the harbor. He must have messed it up then.
“Uh, I don’t suppose you have a room available with two beds?” He knew the answer before the clerk even started speaking.
“Sorry sir, we’re completely booked this whole week with the big convention next door.”
“Umm, thanks. Okay. Yeah.” Chris let the phone slide out of fingers into the cradle. How was he going to explain this to Fiona?
Down the hall, he heard the soft bing of the elevator.
Chris sighed as he pulled the third suitcase off of the baggage carousel. He had been thrilled that Fiona had wanted him to come with her to GenreCon. It made sense, after all, with all of the work he’d put in to help her with these costumes. Costumes that right now seemed to take up way too much space. He had to be honest though, much of the bulk was the accessories that he’d fashioned for her, even if he’d made them disassemble as much as possible. He fished a hair elastic out of the cargo pocket of his pants and swept back his dirty-blonde hair into a ponytail. It was warmer here than on the plane - though perhaps that was as much about the luggage hauling as the sunny weather. It was good to be able to stretch out his long legs after being on the airplane though.
He mentally counted through the costumes as he piled the suitcases onto the luggage cart. Originally he’d agreed to help her with five costumes for the five days of the con. Then she had an idea for a special one for the big contest on the last day. Then he made an idle comment about an idea for an alien assassin type and that turned into a costume. Now there were eight costumes packed in there, with a very few mundane clothes of hers squeezed in as much to pad out the breakable parts as anything. His own single bag was the smallest, given that Fiona had taken her backpack and purse with her when she headed for the convention center. A smile surfaced on his boyish face just at the memory of her waving at him as she headed for the taxi line. She was so excited, and so… damn cute… just thinking about her bright eyes, her smile, and yes that wonderful body of hers. He just loved to see how she moved, particularly in some of her costumes. His friend Mark gave him a hard time for spending so many hours with her working over patterns and fabrics, but then Mark hadn’t been able to see up close how some of that fabric got stretched over Fiona’s curves. And now he was going to have most of week with her in those costumes. The thought of that was getting him so distracted, and more than a bit tight in his pants, that he almost missed the last piece of luggage - a case that held a collection of con-allowable costume weapons and other hardware. Once the case was squeezed on the cart it was time for him to find a taxi - with luck he’d be able to get checked into their room and start arranging things before she was able to get their badges and get there herself.
* * *
“Shit man, what all do you have in there?” The taxi driver was pleasantly obscene as he helped unload in front of the hotel. The extra tip Chris had thrown in on top of the fare probably didn’t hurt either. The driver’s short, stocky frame seemed to have no problem hefting the suitcases out of the trunk and near-tossing them to Chris, whose lanky build struggled a bit more with some of the heavier ones.
“Costumes mostly. We’re here for the GenreCon this week.” Chris eyed the cobble-stone front walk, hoping it wouldn’t bounce all of the suitcases right off the hotel luggage cart. He was already feeling his back a bit from all the loading and unloading.
“Oh yeah, getting lots of those.” The cabbie looked over the nameplate Chris had attached to each. “Fiona, huh? Well, you and your girlfriend have fun, you hear?”
“Just a friend.” Chris’s eyes dropped for a second. “Fiona’s just a friend, not my girlfriend.”
“Oh, sorry man, didn’t mean anything by it. Enjoy the city!”
Chris nodded and gave a half-hearted wave as the taxi pulled away.
* * *
The elevator doors opened onto the 16th floor with a soft bing, pulling Chris’s eyes away from the hotel paperwork. Something didn’t seem quite right about the room listing, but he couldn’t see what it was. Non-smoking room? check. Wifi password with upgraded bandwidth so he can stream whatever he wants after a long day at the con? Check. Already texted Fiona their room number? Check. Everything seemed in order with what he’d reserved months ago.
He glanced down the hall, pulling along the overloaded cart as he headed for 1624. Everything seemed just fine - he was probably overthinking things. With a swipe the door unlocked and he rolled the cart in, looking forward to do the last round of luggage moving for the day. As the online floor-plan had shown there were two chairs and small table meant for business types. Chris nodded his head in approval - that could be moved to the side easily to make room for their stuff. Then he looked back to the bedroom and his heart thumped: there was only a single queen-sized bed.
Leaving the cart in the doorway, Chris took three quick steps to the phone and dialed the front desk.
“Hi, yes, I just checked into room 1624. I expected this to be two double beds, but I see it’s a queen?” He could feel his face flush.
“Yes sir, that’s the room you reserved, 1624 with a queen. I see here it looks like you changed it from 1614 which was a two-double room.” The business-pleasant voice of the clerk didn’t help him feel better. Now he remembered changing the room after the initial booking - Fiona had asked if they could have a room with a view of the harbor. He must have messed it up then.
“Uh, I don’t suppose you have a room available with two beds?” He knew the answer before the clerk even started speaking.
“Sorry sir, we’re completely booked this whole week with the big convention next door.”
“Umm, thanks. Okay. Yeah.” Chris let the phone slide out of fingers into the cradle. How was he going to explain this to Fiona?
Down the hall, he heard the soft bing of the elevator.
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