Crazy Sweet Love: Contemporary Romance Novella, Clean Interracial Romantic Comedy (Flower Shop Romance Book 3) (22 page)

Chapter 4

Jenny was jolted awake when the bus went over a bump. The sun was up, and it blurred her vision for a minute. She clutched her backpack against her chest, then checked her pockets to make sure no one had tried to rob her while she was asleep. The woman sitting next to her wasn't paying any attention to her. She was watching a movie on her tablet, and Jenny could just barely hear some of the dialogue coming from the woman's ear buds.

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was just a bit past seven, and the sun had only just risen. She'd been on the bus for a few hours, and it was looking like she'd get where she was going with plenty of time to reach the convention.

She scrolled through her contacts list until she found her mother's cell phone number. She figured her mom was still asleep this early in the morning. Unless, of course, she'd woken up in the middle of the night and found Jenny was missing. But if that was the case, then she probably would have called Jenny's phone first thing, demanding to know where she was.

She glanced at the woman next to her, but she figured the lady was too involved in her movie to be bothered if Jenny made a phone call. She certainly couldn't afford to wait until the bus reached Atlanta.

She sighed, closing her eyes, and whispered a soft prayer for strength. She wasn't sure who or what she was praying to anymore, but the gesture still brought her comfort. She thought that maybe that was the only reason anyone prayed. For comfort.

She tapped the screen and the phone started to ring. She sat there with her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable.

“Hello?” Her mother's voice sounded bleary with sleep.

“Mom?”

“Jenny? Why are you calling me? What...?”

Jenny heard her mother getting out of bed and crossing the hall. She could picture Mom standing there in her bedroom door, glaring at Jenny's empty bed.

“Jennifer Marie Campbell, where in the hell are you?”

Jenny swallowed a lump in her throat. “I'm going to Atlanta.”

“Atlanta?” Her mother was practically screaming into the phone now. “Oh no you are not! You get your self back home right now.”

Jenny glanced at the woman next to her. The woman was eyeing her sidelong, and could probably hear Mom shouting through the phone.

“I'm going to the convention. I told you—”

“And I told
you
that you weren't going. What about your brother and sisters? Who's supposed to watch them?”

“Kathy can—”

“Kathy is a
child.
And so are you, apparently. My word, I don't know what goes through your head sometimes. I try to trust you with a little responsibility...”

“A
little
responsibility?” Jenny said, raising her voice and drawing an annoyed look from the woman next to her. Jenny turned towards the window and lowered her voice. “Damn it, Mom, I practically have to raise
your
children. The one time I want to do something for
me
for a change—”

“Jennifer, you turn around right now and come home this instant. I'm not playing games with you.”

“I'm on a bus, Mom. I couldn't turn it around if I tried.”

“Then you catch a bus back! I'm serious. You get home right now, or—”

“Or what?” Jenny glared out the window, wishing her mother could see her face right now. “What are you going to do, Mom? I'm nineteen. I can do what I want.”

“When you get home, you are grounded.”

“Maybe I won't come home, then.”

She hung up the phone before her mother could say another word. The woman sitting next to her shifted uncomfortably in her seat, still eyeing her. Jenny shifted so her back was to the woman. It wasn't any of her business what Jenny and her mother had been talking about, even if she hadn't been able to have the conversation in private.

She stared out the window and watched the world passing her by. Trees whisked past the bus, along with the occasional billboard advertising gas stations, local produce sellers, and tourist attractions. She'd never been this far from home by herself before. It was rare that the family had gone as far as Atlanta on trips, and she certainly hadn't ever gone further than that. Someday, she wanted to travel up north, see New York and Philadelphia. See what it was like in a place where everyone wasn't prejudiced and super religious.

She thought about just running away after the convention. She could find a job in Atlanta. Except that she wouldn't have any place to live. And since she didn't even have her driver's license or any other form of ID, it would be hard for her to find a job, or an apartment. Starting out on her own, without anyone to turn to, would be just about impossible.

She sighed and closed her eyes, starting to drift off again. She slept the rest of the trip to Atlanta, her sleep disturbed by nightmares of her mother showing up from out of nowhere to drag her back home.

Chapter 5

Jenny arrived in Atlanta with plenty of time to spare. It took her over an hour to walk to the hotel where the convention was being held. When she got there, she was stunned by the huge crowd of people already gathered out front. There were hundreds of people, from teenagers to middle-aged adults, a good number of them dressed in costumes. The most common costumes were from the biggest DC and Marvel properties, with dozens of people dressed as X-Men or Avengers or members of the Justice League. Though she also spotted some characters from some less-known comics. There was one guy dressed up as Atomic Robo from the indie comic by Brian Clevinger. And there was a whole group dressed in some amazing stick-figure-styled costumes, portraying the characters from the
Order of the Stick
webcomic. Jenny thought for sure they'd win the costume contest. After all, it wasn't easy to make realistic-looking costumes based on stick figures, but they'd done a phenomenal job.

She waited until the doors opened and people were let inside, then headed for the bathroom to change into her costume. The skin-tight black and red leather showed the curves of her body more than anything she'd ever worn, and the top was so low cut she worried she might fall out of it. She pinned her brown hair up against her head and put on the bright red wig, then added the Crimson Star's iconic red-tinted sunglasses.

When she stepped out of the bathroom stall and saw herself in the mirror, she didn't recognize herself. She was completely transformed. No more shy, sheltered, homeschooled girl in a pure, chaste ankle-length skirt. She looked sexual. She looked badass.

She twirled her nightsticks in her hands. She looked like she was ready to kick some butt.

She pulled her backpack back on, wishing she had someplace to put it. It really ruined the vibe of her costume. Though once she found Jeremy, she could ask him to stash it in his room. He'd booked a room for the entire weekend, since he'd driven way too far to head back home without staying the night.

She wandered the main room for a few minutes, taking in all of the people and their costumes. A few people pointed at her and waved. One even snapped a picture, which was both flattering and awkward. She wasn't used to this kind of attention.

It wasn't until she had done a full loop of the ground floor that she realized she had no idea how to find Jeremy. She didn't have his phone number, since they'd only ever chatted online. And while she could search for him by his costume, it wouldn't be easy. She'd already spotted four other Crimson Stars (though none with a costume made of real leather like hers), and six Wizard Wilhelms. She wished she'd thought of some better plan than telling him they'd meet in the lobby. But she hadn't been prepared for the number of people here.

She stood in the lobby, scanning the room. Her sunglasses bathed everything in a red tint. She saw several people meeting up with friends, then heading into the main rooms in small groups. After a minute she saw one man, one of the Wizard Wilhelms, standing off to the side, scanning the room, just like she was.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering. She'd never actually exchanged pictures with Jeremy. She had no idea what he looked like. The guy she was looking at was tall and heavyset, with a generous belly visible under his wizard robes. He held a hand-carved wizard's staff, topped with a red gem that actually glowed, just like the Omega Gem from the comics. Like Jenny, his costume was one of the nicest ones at the convention. She wondered if that made them mega-nerds for putting so much effort into their costumes.

The wizard looked her way and she caught his eye. Taking a chance, she gave him a small wave. He headed across the room, adjusting his long black wig.

“Jen?” he asked, looking at her hesitantly.

“Yeah.” She smiled, looking down at her feet. “Jeremy?”

“I'm glad you made it.” He grinned, looking her up and down. His eyes lingered for just a moment on her rather unavoidable cleavage. “Wow. You...you look great.”

“So do you.”

He shrugged. One thing she knew about Jeremy, after all the time they'd spent chatting online, was that he didn't care much for his appearance. But she didn't care that he was overweight. He was sweet, and he had a cute face.

“You ready to check everything out?” he asked, gesturing with his staff to the main rooms.

“Can I drop my stuff off in your room first?” She pulled her backpack off, holding it by the straps.

“Yeah. Sure. Of course.”

They headed to the elevator, squeezing in with a handful of Star Wars droids and one guy dressed as a zombie in a Star Trek uniform. They got off on the sixth floor, and Jeremy used his keycard to open the door to his room. It was a small room with a medium-sized bed, though it looked cozy. Jenny looked around, laughing when she saw a coffee pot in the bathroom.

“Why do they put the coffee pot in there?” she asked.

“I don't know. But I'm sure not drinking out of it.”

Jenny set her backpack on the ground, next to Jeremy's suitcase. The suitcase was sitting open, and she blushed when she saw his underwear sitting on top.

He flipped the top down to hide his unmentionables, then they headed back downstairs. They wandered the vendor rooms for a bit, browsing through the things for sale. There were comics and graphic novels, action figures, movies on DVD and BluRay, and all sorts of homemade clothing, toys, statuettes, jewelry, and accessories.

While they were looking at a case of jewelry, Jeremy asked, “So, how did your mom handle the whole 'sneaking out to come to Atlanta' thing?”

“She totally flipped.” Jenny ran her fingers over some of the rings, pausing to try on a Green Lantern ring that turned out to be way too big for her tiny little fingers. “She's gonna kill me when I get home, but I don't even care.”

“Well, I'm glad you're here.”

Jenny glanced at him. She tried to figure out if he was flirting with her. She had no idea how to flirt. It wasn't the sort of thing she'd learned in her years stuck in a small house, helping take care of her younger siblings.

“I'm glad you're here, too,” she said. “I can't imagine the drive. You must really be dedicated to come this far for a convention.”

He looked at her, and there was something in his eyes in that moment. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she had the feeling it had nothing to do with the convention.

They moved down the jewelry counter, stopping when Jenny spotted something that made her jaw drop. “Holy crap,” she said. “It's the Alpha Gem.”

“A handmade replica,” the woman behind the table said. “Made with a real ruby.”

Jenny lifted the pendant in her hands, marveling at it. In the comics, the Crimson Star wore the Alpha Gem, the twin to Wilhelm's Omega Gem. It gave her super powers, enhancing her naturally athletic physique and giving her lightning-fast reflexes and superhuman endurance. It was also the only thing missing from Jenny's costume.

She flipped the pendant over, running her fingers over the golden spirals that framed the gem. Then she saw the price tag.

“Damn,” she whispered.

Jeremy looked over her shoulder. “Wow.”

“I know it's a bit pricey,” the saleswoman said. “But that's the cost for real gold and such a fine gem. Now, if cost is an issue, I have some very nice pieces that are gold plated, with red crystals instead of the ruby.”

Jenny set the pendant back down and looked over the cheaper ones. They didn't have near the quality, and looked like little more than mass-produced junk. Though for $9.95, they weren't bad.

“We'll take this one,” Jeremy said, picking up the genuine one.

“Jeremy, no...” Jenny bit her lip. Even if she'd had a job, the pendant was far more expensive than she could ever afford. She didn't own any real jewelry. The most expensive stuff she had was plastic costume jewelry from WalMart.

“It'll look great on you,” Jeremy said.

“I agree,” the saleswoman said. “The perfect addition to your costume.”

“Jeremy.” Jenny put a hand on his arm.

“It's a gift,” he said, smiling bashfully at her as he pulled out his credit card.

She couldn't argue with him. He paid for the pendant, then helped her put it on. The brilliant red gem nestled alluringly between her breasts, sparkling in the florescent lights.

“Besides,” Jeremy said as they left the table, “we'll be a shoe-in for the costume contest now.”

Jenny slipped her arm through his as they walked, wondering if he'd really bought it just because it suited her costume. She might not know the first thing about flirting, but she did know that men didn't buy a girl such an expensive piece of jewelry without a much deeper reason.