Chapter 2
“I’ve rendered you just about speechless, huh? I’ve got it all planned, dude. The convention is Thursday afternoon through Sunday. I figure we’ll fly there Thursday morning. Registration begins at noon at the hotel. Fly back Sunday night. You have to take only two days off work”
I clicked on the email and saw cast photos and vendor’s merchandise appear in the emailed newsletter. “Who’s going to be there? Like…the entire cast?”
My brother chuckled. “You mean is Derek DeLong going to be there, don’t you?”
I swallowed, my palms instantly getting sweaty. Derek DeLong was thehottest actor, the hottest guy really, I had ever seen. I had a huge crush on the sexy, perky blond who played the android, Five, in the Space Heroesmovies. I had freeze-framed my DVD so many times on DeLong’s bubble butt in his tight uniform pants the disc was probably worn out in that spot.
“Maybe,” I said evasively.
“Don’t worry. He’s going to be there. They all are. Sebastian Lookinland, Dee-Dee Cabot, all of them. The whole cast.” He paused. “So, are you in?”
“Hell, yeah.”
* * * *
“You have got to be kidding me?”
I glanced at my fellow professor, Angela Horne, who had just snatched the printout off my desk from the email my brother had sent me about the convention. “Do you mind? Give that back.”
Angela was a biology professor, a tall, thin brunette. She was what most straight men would think of as hot. She smirked. “A Space Heroesconvention? Really? God, Brooks, I knew you were a geek, but I had no idea how much of one.”
I glared at her and took back the printout. “What do you want anyway?”
“Lunch. I know it’s a little late, but I’m hungry. You’re really into all that, huh? I mean, I know you’ve got the watch, I’ve seen it. But all the rest?”
“So what if I am?”
Angie smiled. “Don’t get all bent, Brooks. I think it’s cute.”
“Sure you do.”
“Do you dress up in a costume when you go?”
I sighed and reached for my mug of coffee. “This is the first one I’ve been to, but I don’t plan on it.”
Angie grinned. “I think I remember you have a bit of a crush on one of them.”
“Shut up.”
She laughed. “You so do! Is it Sebastian Lookinland? Because I gotta say, I don’t blame you there. He is sohot!”
I rolled my eyes. “In an obvious sort of way.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
I waved my hand. “Well, you know, it’s so typical good looks. Who doesn’t think he’s hot? Including, I suspect, him. Totally not my type.”
“Ridiculously hot guys are not your type?” Angie shook her head. “You are one weird gay dude. Just saying.” She reached for the printout again and perused the picture on the first page. “Which one, then?”
“Derek DeLong. Plays the android.” I stabbed my index finger at the picture. “Him. Plus, he’s gay, so that’s a plus in his favor, too.”
“A gay android? Are androids allowed to have sex?”
“Well, he’s not gay in the movies, dummy.”
Angie leaned back in the chair. “I still say Lookinland is way hotter.”
“You can have him. As long as I get Derek, I’ll be happy.” I sighed and pushed some buttons on my keyboard. “Not that I really stand a chance with someone like him.”
“Why not?”
“Come on. You see me, and you see him, and you have to ask? You said yourself, I’m a geek.”
“To your friends, yeah, but not to strangers. I bet some would think you’re a real hottie.”
“You can’t even say that with a straight face, Angie. Look at me. A gay, geeky astronomy professor who wears glasses and is obsessed with Science Fiction movies.”
“I know all that, but look at you. You’ve got muscles. A really hot body. And killer eyes. I bet there are a lot of gay dudes who’d want you.”
I glared at her. “You are seriously not helping.”
Angie shrugged. “Sorry. Hey, why don’t you put all that down and go to lunch?”
“I haven’t graded a single test.”
“Yeah, but I’m starved. Come on.” She stood and pulled me from my desk chair. “You can tell me all about Space Heroesover lunch…and martinis. If you’re gonna talk space movies, I need a lot of those.”2
As it turned out, I had classes scheduled only for the Thursday before the convention and I was able to schedule make-ups for all classes that day pretty easily.
Our flight from San Diego to Seattle was just under three hours and Jack had been anxious to get there early, so we departed just after eight in the morning and arrived by eleven. Jack had chosen to wear his Space HeroesT-shirt that I had gifted to him at Christmas.