Free Behind The Mask by Terry Towers Page B

the school nerds a second look – period.
    “Kinda creepy if you ask me.” Gwen stepped closer to Trina, her stare joining the other two women’s.
    “He’s Batman , he’s supposed to be dark, mysterious and brooding,” Beth defended.
    “Do you think I should go over and talk to him?” Trina asked. She continued to hold his gaze. What could possibly happen in a crowded convention anyhow? Hell, she was across the room, but could feel something between them, an undeniable electric connection.
    “Hell no, are you insane?” Gwen grabbed her arm and steered her into the vendors’ room, where hundreds of vendors selling various items from comic books to apparel to figurines had booths set up. If it was comic book, fantasy or sci-fi related it could be found among the vendors.
    Trina took one more look back over her shoulder to see Batman had disappeared.
    She tried to shake the thought of the mysterious Batman, but couldn’t. Even two photo ops with two of her favourite television stars couldn’t distract her, and her prints showed in her expression and eyes that she simply wasn’t into it. She wished Beth hadn’t pointed him out; if she hadn’t he wouldn’t be plaguing her thoughts and she’d be able to enjoy the atmosphere.
    “I gotta run to the bathroom,” Trina announced when the trio exited a panel hosted by several master cosplayers.
    “We’ll meet you at the food court, okay?” She barely heard Beth’s voice as she left the group and headed for the deserted area of the convention center on the first floor. She hated using busy washrooms; she preferred walking an additional five minutes for bathroom privacy.
    As the crowd lessened to the point where she was alone, she began to entertain the idea that perhaps Batman was a psycho and following her. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched no matter how hard she tried. She rounded a corner and saw the entrance to the ladies’ room less than ten feet away.
    She quickened her pace, but in three-inch heels the quickest she could move was little more than a brisk walk.
    The feeling she was being watched intensified to the point where she stopped and turned, eyeing the empty hallway. After a minute of standing there and not seeing a soul she laughed at herself. She was being silly and she knew it, letting her friends rattle her.
    Who would want to stalk me anyhow?
    Chuckling softly at herself she spun back around to continue on to the bathroom and collided into a hard wall. But it wasn’t a wall, it was the thick black rubber of a chest piece. With a soft gasp she took a few quick steps backwards and stumbled over her own feet in her haste. She yelped as she felt herself falling backwards.
    With lightning speed, arms of steel reached out, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to her feet and against a hard chest. Her heart stopped, and then as she lifted her face and her eyes locked to the dark ones of the Batman who’d been watching her, it began beating again so rapidly it felt as though her heart was going to burst through her ribcage.
    Placing her hands against his chest, she attempted to pull out of his arms, but it was a weak effort at best and his embrace was unyielding. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
    “L-let me g-go.” She struggled again, but gave up. She wasn’t going anywhere until he decided to allow her.
    A partial grin touched his lips. “Why?”
    “Why?” she mimicked his question. She found herself being backed up until she was flush against a wall, his body pressing against hers. She was trapped. “Let go!” She struggled, her fists beating against his chest.
    “What if I don’t want to?” he said. Grabbing her wrists in his hands he pinned them to the wall, above her head. As he pinned her hands, his leg slipped between hers, his thigh brushing against the apex between her legs. His eyes lowered from hers, making their way down her neck to focus on her breasts, which were dangerously