Page 45 of Play the Game
He grins. “Sure do. I read a lot of Marvel fanfic. I love the ones that bring the X-Men and the Avengers together, or when characters like Deadpool or Daredevil join the Avengers. Oh! Or Jessica Jones. A lot of characters ended up in the Avengers in the comic books, but never in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I think that would be so fucking cool.”
His enthusiasm is contagious, and I can’t help but grin. “Mine is a little more…niche than that.”
“Lay it on me, Rhodes.”
“Don’t laugh.”
He lays a hand on his heart. “I would never.”
“I writeGilmore Girlsfanfiction.”
His grin lights up his face. “Stop it! That’s so awesome. Who’s your OTP?”
I laugh a little. “You really do know fanfiction.”
“Did you think I was lying?”
I shake my head and take another bite of my bagel. “No, but you don’t meet a lot of guys who are up on proper fanfiction lingo.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and his eyes lock on mine. “Maybe you’re just meeting the wrong guys.”
I’ll say.
“I don’t have an OTP. I have an OT3.”
His brow furrows as he tries to work this out. “I think you need to explain that to me.”
“Okay, it’s like this. If you knowGilmore Girls, you know everyone is either Team Jess or Team Logan.”
“Wait, wasn’t there another one too?”
I roll my eyes. “I mean, kind of, but no one is Team Dean unless they’re a psychopath.”
He nods. “Got it. We hate Dean. Continue.”
I pop the last bite of bagel in my mouth and take a sip of seltzer. “Okay, so, I’ve watchedGilmore Girlsall the way through, like, hundreds of times, and I can never settle on a team. There are seasons where I’m all about Jess, and seasons where I’m all about Logan, and I’ve never been able to choose a permanent side. So, I started thinking, why choose, literally?”
Cooper cracks up. “You write why chooseGilmore Girlsfanfiction?”
I grin at him. “For a while now. In my world, Rory could never choose either, so instead she chooses both.”
“That’s iconic, Rhodes. Like, truly iconic. Do you post them?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’ve got a decent following. I’ve always been a super early riser, and being in BigLaw means there isn’t much in the way of leisure time, so about six years ago I started coming into the office around five and being Writer Evan for an hour or two before I start the day. I come in my pajamas with my favorite coffee and light my candles, and then right before the office gets going for the day, I put it all away and turn into Lawyer Evan. When I started here two years ago, I kept up thehabit. Sometimes I do it at night too, but it’s mostly a morning thing. A little ritual that’s kept me sane in the BigLaw grind.”
“And the notebook?”
I look down at the pink spiral notebook I carry with me everywhere. “It’s my idea notebook.”
He smiles. “So, every time I’ve seen you scribbling in that notebook during a meeting or something, you weren’t being a diligent, note taking lawyer. You were…”
I shrug. “Writing ideas for stories. For spicy scenes. Little bits of dialogue. Whatever pops into my head, honestly.”
“I’m obsessed with this. Like, completely and totally obsessed with this. Jo, Hannah, and Amelia will be too. Hannah especially.”
I don’t know how to feel about the fact that he brings up his family so easily, like it’s a given that I’ll meet them, be a part of them. Does he want that? Do I? I have no idea. “I mean, I’m not a writer like she is.”
“Writers write, Ev. You write, so you’re a writer. Just like she is.”
