More Than Comics (15 page)

“Oh, wow,” I said, as we sat at our table behind our name tags. “I did not expect this.”

“Same,” Hector said. “I assumed everyone who wanted the book signed would have gotten it the other day.”

Miguel joined us and set a box of Sharpies on the table, next to a huge stack of our books. “Big crowd, eh? All ready to start?”

I pulled out my own sparkly pens. “Ready.”

We signed books quickly, with Miguel managing the line so it didn’t become overwhelming but also moved at a brisk pace. It wasn’t as stressful this time since we knew what to expect, and I was able to enjoy talking with the fans. Even Hector seemed more relaxed and chatty than normal, and he doodled silly sketches inside the books of people who asked him a good question—usually anything that didn’t involve his band or
The Sound
.

I looked up to see who was next and saw Andy’s smiling face. I glanced at Hector, but he was talking to Miguel and didn’t notice my ex-boyfriend approach.

“Hey, Andy,” I said, trying to keep my voice light.
Please don’t let this be awkward
, I prayed.

“Hey!” He slid a copy of
Misfit Squad
in front of me to sign. “I’m so glad I could catch you at this signing. Look how many people there are!”

“I know, isn’t it nuts?” I signed his book and added a personal thank-you note. “You didn’t have to come though, you already have a copy of this.”

“I had to see you signing books like a real author.” He grinned. “Besides, I wanted a copy signed by both of you.”

I slid the book to Hector. He kept his face neutral, but he gripped his Sharpie so hard I thought it might snap in half.

“Hey man, good to see you again,” Andy said.

“You, too.” He signed Andy’s book with deep, sharp strokes, the pen squeaking as he wrote.

“Again, I’m really sorry I bailed on our dinner last night,” I said. “I’ve just been so busy…”

“That’s okay. Look how popular you are. I knew you would be.”

Hector doodled a little cartoon devil inside Andy’s book, but eyed us both with a surly look on his face as we spoke. The guy next in line cleared his throat.

“I’d love to talk to you for a minute,” Andy said. “Maybe after your signing? We can grab that coffee.”

“Sure, that would be fun.”

“Great. I’ll wait for you.” He moved away and the next guy immediately replaced him with another copy of
Misfit Squad
.

I scribbled my name in more books than I could count. Miguel had to cap the line off, but even then we went well beyond our appointed time limit.

When the area finally cleared out, I shoved my sparkly pens in my bag and smiled at Hector. “That was even more fun than the first signing.”

“Not as scary this time?”

“Nope. I knew what to expect. But now my hand hurts again.”

“Let me help you.” He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips, then started to massage it with slow, sensual strokes, never taking his eyes off mine.

I relaxed into his touch. “Mmm, you’re so good with your hands.”

“Come back to my room and I’ll show you just how good.”

“I approve of this plan.” I wanted those hands all over me. And every other part of his body.

“Hey, Tara,” Andy said, walking up to us. He frowned when he took in how close Hector and I were standing, how he held my hand against his chest. “Er, did I interrupt something?”

I jerked my hand away and took a step back, flexing my wrist. “No, he was just showing me a hand exercise. It got sore after signing so many books.”

“Oh. Good.”

The two guys gave each other long, silent looks. God, this moment was awkward. I stepped forward and hugged Andy, not knowing what else to do. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.” He took his time to pull out of the hug, his hands lingering on my lower back. “Ready to get that coffee now?”

I checked the time and sighed. “I’m so sorry, Andy, but I can’t. Please don’t hate me, but the signing ran long, and now I have to get ready for the Masquerade. But, um, you should come to the Masquerade with us and hang out. Or if you can’t make that, you can come to Hector’s party after!”

I fished through my bag and handed him the flyer Hector had given me for the afterparty. Inviting Andy to either of these things wasn’t very cool of me, since they’d been organized by Hector and his friends, but I had to do
something
after ditching the poor guy over and over. I shot Hector a
please-forgive-me
look, but he was glaring across the room and I couldn’t catch his eye. Shit. Was he mad?

“Okay,” Andy said, examining the flyer. “Just as long as we get to hang out
some
time before Comic-Con is over.”

“Of course! We will. For sure.” I smiled at him, but caught Miguel waving me over. “Be right back.”

I moved around the table, to where Miguel was stacking the empty boxes that had once held copies of our books. We’d sold out of them again. Go us.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I got a call from that producer Giselle Roberts. Well, her assistant actually. He said she was meeting with you and wanted early copies of the next two
Misfit Squad
books. What was that about?”

“I met with her yesterday. She loves the book and asked me to work for her as a writer on her new TV show.”

“No way! That’s great!” He rubbed his goatee. “I don’t suppose she’d want to buy the film or TV rights to
Misfit Squad
, too?”

“She didn’t mention it, but who knows? Maybe someday.”

He nodded slowly. “We’ve been trying to get in with her for years, but she’s so selective. This could be big for us. Really big. When do you start?”

“Um. I haven’t accepted. I already have a job in the comics division of Ostrich Books. I really want to work for Giselle, but…I don’t know.”

“Ah, yes. I forgot about that. Well, Black Hat supports you no matter what you choose, of course. But…I mean, it’s
Giselle Roberts
.”

His phone rang and he said, “Excuse me a second.” He started speaking in Spanish to whoever was on the other line, and ended it with, “
Te quiero
.” I jerked at the words, remembering what had happened this morning.

He shoved the phone back in his jeans. “Sorry about that. My wife wanted to know what time I was done here. She wants us to go to some Godzilla experience in the Gaslamp.”

“That’s okay.” I chewed on my pinky nail. “This probably sounds like a weird question, but what does
te quiero
mean?”

“It means either ‘I like you’ or ‘I love you’ depending on who you’re saying it to.”

The world seemed to tip around me.
Love
? “It doesn’t mean ‘I want you?’”

“Nope. That’s the literal translation, but it’s not used that way. Why?”

“Oh, just…something I heard.”

That must be why Hector freaked out this morning. He’d thought for a second I’d said that I loved him, and it had scared him before he realized what I’d meant. After what he’d told me last night it made sense—he was scared of getting close to anyone and getting hurt again.

But why had Hector lied about the translation? And which way had he meant it when he’d said it last night? Could he…? No. He must have been saying that he liked me.

My gaze traveled back to the other side of the table where Hector and Andy were chatting, their voices drowned out by the low buzz of the crowd. I couldn’t see Hector’s face but Andy was smiling, so it must not have been too going too terribly. The sight made me happy because it meant Hector was trying—for me.

All day long, I’d had an overwhelming sense that I belonged with Hector and his friends. I didn’t want that feeling to disappear after Comic-Con. I would be crazy not to take the LA job. To be able to wake up next to Hector whenever I wanted—how could I say no to that? Or to Giselle Roberts and the opportunity of a lifetime?

It was terrifying, giving up the job I’d dreamed about for years. But in my gut this felt right.

I made my decision.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HECTOR

T
ara ran off with Miguel, while Andy and I stood together in uneasy silence in the corner of the room. I crossed my arms and tried to look at anything but him.

Shit, the guy was wearing a polo shirt. It had a Batman symbol for the logo, but still—who wore a fucking
polo shirt
to Comic-Con?

And what the hell was he still doing here? She’d already said she couldn’t get coffee with him. Of course, then she’d gone and invited him to the Masquerade and the afterparty. Bad enough I’d had to see them hug in front of me, now I’d be stuck watching them together all fucking night.

“So, uh.” He gestured in Tara’s direction. “Are you and her…you know…”

“No.”

He exhaled in a rush. “Good, because I have something to tell her. And to ask her.” He patted his pocket. “I just hope she says yes.”

I grunted. “What, are you proposing?”

I’d meant it as a bad joke, but he smiled wider. “Yeah, I am. Do you think she’ll say yes?”

“I…” Fuck. I could barely get the words out. He’d knocked all the air out of me without even hitting me. “I don’t know.”

“I think she will…the only reason we broke up is because we were moving to different cities, but I found a job in New York so we can stay together. I can’t wait to tell her.”

I stared at him. “You got a job in New York?”

“I did. I’m going to ask her to marry me so she’ll see that I’m serious about us. That I want to make this work, whatever it takes.”

I should have just handed him a knife to stab me with. It would have hurt a lot less. My fists clenched, my first reaction to punch his face in, to tell him to back off from my girl. But she wasn’t mine, and I wasn’t that kind of guy anymore.

Jesus, this guy was going to propose to Tara and I’d been inside her only hours ago. I was the other man, stealing Tara from Andy without even knowing it. Yeah, they’d been broken up at the time, but clearly it wasn’t over. I’d seen the way she’d jerked away from me the second he’d arrived, and the way they hugged each other. She’d even admitted last night that she’d thought about marrying him.

I needed to end this thing with her immediately. I couldn’t be the reason she said no to Andy or had any doubts about taking the New York job. I refused to get in the way of her happiness.

I’d been an idiot to hope for even a second that we could be anything more than friends. We’d had some “fun” moments together, but that was it. And I wanted her to be happy even if she wasn’t with me, even if it killed me to see her with someone else. Hell, I’d done it for years and I’d survived. I could do it again. Maybe if she was engaged I could finally get over her.

Something burned at my eyes, like I was about to cry. But that was crazy. I
never
cried. Not since I was thirteen, anyway. I’d shed my last tears the day my parents were sent away, when I realized I had to toughen up and become a man for my sisters so they could cry as much as they needed. And now I had to suck it up and do what had to be done, for Tara.

“You should ask her tonight.” Better to get the whole thing over with so we could all move on with our lives. She had to make her decision by tomorrow, so Andy didn’t have any time to mess around.

“I will. Thanks, Hector.” He shook my hand again. “You’ve always been a good friend to her.”

“Yeah.” A good friend. And that’s all I would ever be.

“I have to admit, I’ve always been jealous of you, even though she told me over and over that there was nothing going on between you two. But I’m really glad you’re in her life.”

My throat closed up, as though his hands had tightened around it. No, there had never been anything going on between us. Our few days together at Comic-Con were the perfect reminder of why I kept people at arm’s length and barricaded my heart. I’d made the mistake of letting Tara in and all it had done was get me hurt again. No more. I was done with that shit.

“Good luck tonight,” I said.

“Thanks! Tell her I’ll catch up with her later. I’m going to make some plans.”

He vanished into the crowd and I rubbed my face, scrubbing off any lingering emotions. Wondering what the hell I’d just done. Dreading what I was about to do.

I wanted her to be happy even if she wasn’t with me, even if it killed me to see her with someone else. Hell, I’d done it for years and I’d survived. I could do it again. Maybe if she was engaged I could finally get over her.

Tara bounced back to me with a bright smile. “Where’d Andy go?”

“He had to run, but he said he’ll see you tonight.”

Her smile wavered as she studied me. “What’s wrong, Hector?”

I must not have hardened my face as much as I’d hoped. Hell, it was a miracle I’d kept it together this long. “Look, Tara. I’ve been thinking. We had fun over the past few days, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

She took a step back, confusion painted across her beautiful face. “The wrong idea?”

“This thing between us, it can’t go any further. We’re just friends. For Comic-Con we were friends with benefits. That’s it.” I shrugged as if it was nothing, as if forcing those words out wasn’t the hardest thing I’d ever done.

She clutched the amethyst pendant around her neck, the one I’d given her. “So our nights together, everything you said…none of that meant anything?”

“Nope. It was just sex. Nothing more.” I forced myself to maintain eye contact, even as her blue eyes filled with tears.

She blinked them back. “I don’t believe you.”

Jesus, why was she being so difficult? I’d told her before I couldn’t do long distance, that I didn’t want anything serious. If she wouldn’t listen, I’d have to pull a card from Jared’s player days, though I was about to be way more of an asshole than he’d ever been.

“Last night you asked me why I haven’t had a girlfriend in years. You want to know the real reason? It’s ’cause I sleep with girls a few times and then get bored. And it’s time for me to move on.”

A tear trickled down her face. “Hector, stop. I know you’re not like that.”

“Hell, yeah, I am. I never mentioned it ’cause why would I tell you about all the girls I’ve fucked? And trust me, there were a lot of them. With Jared taken, I’m in demand more than ever, and with the tour…well, let’s just say I plan to fuck a
lot
more girls.”