From Different Worlds

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Steve

“Hey, are you okay?” the big guy asked with a sudden frown.

So, I guess I wasn’t a very good actor. My face had probably gone a ghastly shade of pale since I was so terrified.

When I glanced back up, I was shocked by what looked like genuine concern on the big guy’s handsome face. And I was equally shocked by how it seemed to start putting me more at ease.

God, his eyes were just so incredibly blue. It was like looking at an impossibly blue, tropical ocean. They were so deep and full of emotion, it seemed almost hypnotic.

My shyness and social anxiety had always made it extremely difficult for me to maintain direct eye contact with anyone for more than just a second or two. But geez, it felt like I couldn’t even look away from his intense gaze. It was like his eyes were holding me riveted in place, like some kind of powerful magnet.

“Uh, I’m f-f-fine,” I finally managed to choke out as I reluctantly tore my eyes away. I grimaced at how I always stuttered and sounded like such an i***t whenever I got this nervous.

I leaned over and pulled my tote bag out from underneath my previous chair so I could snatch out a bottle of spring water.

My hands were still trembling as I cracked it open and took a big swig, hoping it would help me swallow down the big lump of anxiety that was still stuck in my throat.

God, why did they have to seat this big guy right next to me?

“Looks like they wanted to put all of us half-naked guys over here together!” he suddenly snickered with a big, silly grin.

The knot in my throat finally did dislodge itself—along with a fine spray of water that came shooting out of my nose and mouth. Fortunately, no one was seated yet on the other row of chairs directly across from us.

God, did he just read my mind?

I quickly glanced around at all the other costumers who were gathering in the room, but just like always, I was apparently still invisible. No one had even noticed my impromptu impression of the Old Faithful geyser.

“Whoa! You okay?” the big guy asked as he reached over and gently patted me on the back with one of his huge hands.

I felt another strange bolt of electricity go shooting up and down my spine from his warm, gentle touch, and I honestly started to wonder if I was having a stroke.

Of course, the geeky science nerd in me kept trying to blame all these weird sensations on simple static electricity discharges from the carpet. But that should have all been dissipated by the very first touch.

So why does it keep happening?

“I’m f-f-fine,” I finally croaked, realizing what a huge lie that was. I certainly didn’t feel fine. I felt like I was losing my freakin’ mind!

“So, did you make your own costume?” the big guy asked.

When I glanced over at him, I was shocked to find his intense gaze was now openly roaming up and down over my entire body, like he was…undressing me with his eyes!

Oh, my God! I thought to myself. It made me wonder again if he might actually be gay. Unfortunately, my gaydar had never worked very well, and it had gotten me into some really big trouble a couple times by making assumptions about people. I certainly didn’t want to make that mistake with someone who could punch me through the wall and into next week.

I convinced myself he was actually only interested in my costume, so I finally replied, “Umm, y-y-yeah. I made it.”

“Wow, it looks just like the real thing!” he said, still staring up and down over my scantily clad body, which only made me feel even more nervous and self-conscious. “So has Mr. Wood seen it yet?”

I was so rattled, it took me a second to realize he was referring to the actor who’d played Hermes.

“Oh, uh, y-y-yeah,” I muttered as I bent over to retrieve something else from my tote bag.

I pulled out a glossy photo in a clear, protective sleeve. It was the picture I’d had taken with Mr. Wood during a photo op earlier that day. I was dressed in the same shiny, silver costume, and I was standing right beside the elderly actor who was now in his mid-eighties. He had one arm wrapped around my shoulders like we’d always been best friends.

Mr. Wood had been very tall, handsome, and muscular during his guest role on Star Quest, but that had been almost four decades ago. He was still quite tall, so I looked like a midget standing next to him. I barely even came up to his shoulder since I was only 5’3”.

Mr. Wood had long since gone bald and wrinkled, and he was wearing big, dark sunglasses to protect his eyes from the flash photography with all his fans during that morning’s photo ops. But he had a huge, beaming smile on his face, as if he was really gratified that someone had actually gone to all the trouble of dressing up as the character he had played so long ago.

“Wow!” the warrior guy said with a huge smile after I’d handed the photo to him. “That is so awesome!”

“Thanks,” I muttered shyly.

I was actually quite proud of how the picture turned out, but I didn’t want to sound arrogant by bragging about it. All I could think about was how embarrassing my skimpy costume was. And how the silver, glittery wings on either side of my homemade sandals and my small helmet probably made me look like some prancing, little fairy who was about to take flight.

The big guy’s gaze narrowed as he scrutinized the photo more closely.

“Wow, you sure look different without your glasses!” he said.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I muttered. “Like a mole…” I squinted my eyes almost all the way shut.

He laughed. “No, you look great!”

He glanced back down at where the photo had been autographed in the upper corner, in the blank space above my short head. In thick, black, shaky handwriting, it read, “To Steve, You stole my costume! Martin Wood”

“So, you’re Steve?” the big guy asked as he handed the photo back to me.

“Umm, yeah.”

“I’m Adam,” he said with a big smile as he thrust a hand out toward me.

I think I actually flinched back in my chair as I stared down at the enormous hand he was offering. Of course, there had been plenty of times when I’d shaken hands with big, strong guys who’d squeezed so hard, it felt like all the bones in my hand were breaking, and they’d just laughed at me.

After a quick, nervous glance back up at his kind, sincere face, I reluctantly reached out to shake his hand.

As soon as our palms touched, another jolt of that weird, electrical energy when shooting straight up my arm, and I swear, when it reached my chest, I think my heart actually skipped a beat or two. So I guess I was having a stroke and a heart attack at the same time!

“Uh, n-n-nice to meet you,” I finally muttered as we slowly shook hands and his intense gaze completely captured my eyes again.

To my surprise, his grip on my hand was quite warm and firm, but definitely not overpowering or painful. After several seconds, I realized our handshake had probably gone on longer than necessary, so I cleared my throat and reluctantly pulled my hand back. But I still couldn’t stop staring into those deep, blue, gorgeous eyes.

“So how long did it take to make your costume?” he asked with another curious glance down over my scantily clad body.

“Oh, umm, about two months,” I answered, nervously glancing away again.

He chuckled. “So are you wearing anything underneath it?”

My gaze whipped back around, and I was really glad I hadn’t been taking another drink of water. The whole room would’ve gotten sprayed this time!

“What?” Adam asked with a thin smile when he saw my stunned expression. “Isn’t that the first thing you think about when you see a guy in a kilt?”

I had to admit to myself, it actually was. But, geez, did straight guys think about stuff like that too?

Once again, my brain felt like an android starting to short-circuit. I mean, good grief, was this big guy actually flirting with me? I’d never had much experience with anything like that since I’d only ever had just one boyfriend in my entire life. And that had been such an utter, miserable fail—

I was jolted back to reality by Adam’s huge fingers snapping directly in front of my face.

“Ahem, Earth to Steve!”

“Huh?” I asked stupidly. I’m sure I must’ve looked like a complete space cadet.

“Looked like you were off in outer space somewhere!” he chuckled.

“Oh, umm, sorry,” I replied, realizing I desperately needed to change the subject. “So, uh, how long did it take to make your costume?” I asked, taking the opportunity to glance down over his barely covered, muscular body. “I know leather can be really hard to work with,” I added, trying to emphasize I was looking at just the fabric, not all the incredibly toned muscle it was barely covering.

“Oh, uh,” Adam muttered with a frown. “I didn’t make it. I’m all thumbs.” He raised both of his hands in front of himself, as if to supply proof.

“So you bought it?” I asked, unable to keep the horrified gasp out of my voice.

“Well, uh, sorta,” he answered sheepishly. “It was custom made for me by a lady who makes leather stuff for riding horses.”

“Oh…So are you, umm…Conan the Barbarian?”

I’d never watched very many sword and sorcery films all the way through, so the most famous one was the only thing that came to mind as I glanced at his big, long sword in the corner behind him.

“Close,” Adam replied. “I’m Dar.”

“Dar…?” I repeated. It did sound somewhat familiar, but I still couldn’t place it.

“Here’s a hint,” he said as he shifted in his chair and pulled his big, leather bag up onto his lap. When he started unfastening the latch, he leaned a bit closer and whispered, “Please don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Umm, okay,” I whispered back, wondering if he was about to show me some kind of illegal contraband.

When he opened the flap on the bag, two small, gray, furry faces with black “masks” around their eyes suddenly appeared, twitching their tiny noses as their beady, black eyes peered all around the room.

“Oh!” I yelped as all the pieces finally fell into place. “The Beastmaster!”

“Yep!” he replied happily. “It was always my favorite movie when I was growing up.”

“And they’re…?” I said, gesturing at the two cute, little ferrets. “Sorry, I haven’t seen that movie for so long, I can’t remember their names.”

“Kodo and Podo,” Adam supplied.

“Right! Wow, you look just like him!” I seized another opportunity to closely scrutinize his costume again. He was actually even more handsome and muscular than the actor who had played Dar.

“Thanks!” he replied as he peeked in at the little ferrets before carefully closing the pouch. “I wanted to keep these little guys a surprise until I get out on stage.”

“Oh, wow, I can’t wait to see it!” As soon as the words had fallen from my lips, I started picturing the two of us presenting our costumes on stage. And I felt all the blood draining from my face.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked when he looked back up.

“Oh, uh, nothing. I mean…I just r-r-realized…” Geez, I was starting to stutter like an i***t again. “I’m n-n-number thirty-two, and you’re…thirty-one!”

“Yeah, so?”

“God, I can’t go out on st-st-stage right after y-y-you!”

“What? Why not?”

“Everyone will laugh!”

“No, they wo—”

“God, I g-g-gotta get outta here!”

Realizing I should have I relied on my initial instincts, I reached down and grabbed the handle of my tote bag so I could make a mad dash for the open doorway.