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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Book Lovers Wanted Chapter 4
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction
Pairings: Eh, everyone is with everyone else.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,547
Summary: Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on. Hah. Andy and the girls chat with Travis while Ethan gets to know the boys.
Author’s Note: I’m kind of surprised I managed to get this done today. Yay me. Probably only one or two more chapters, depending on what happens in the next one.
“Oh my god,” Travis laughed, hand slapping against the side of his chair. “That seriously happened?”
“It did,” Trish said. She pointed a finger at Andrej and grinned. “And then this one jumps on the guy’s back, trying to keep him from beating the crap out of Reyes.”
“Andy had him in a headlock even,” Hilary added.
“Damn,” Travis laughed. “That’s ballsy.”
Andrej shrugged. “I could not let him hurt my partner and I was not big enough to take him on in a fist fight.”
“So you jumped on him like a toddler wanting a piggy back ride.” Travis shook his head. “That’s awesome, honestly. I love it.”
“The asshole tried to sue the department though,” Hilary said, frowning. “He accused Andy of physically assaulting him.”
“Even though he picked a fight with a police officer?”
“I will never understand criminals,” Andrej said. He glanced at his watch and then stood suddenly. “It is almost noon and I promised Zayne and Jay we would meet them at the bar for lunch. We must be going, but thank you so much for your time. It has been – I do not even know what to say.”
“My pleasure,” Travis said, standing and offering his hand out to Andrej. “You guys not only helped me clear up a few things that I’ve been wondering about, but also gave me a ton of ideas for future novels. Is there any way I can compensate you for your time?”
“No,” Andrej said, holding his hands out in front of him. “We are happy to have helped.”
“Let me at least give you this then,” Travis said. He knelt by his chair and dug into a box stashed under the table. Finding what he’d been looking for, Travis sat in his chair and dropped the hardback book onto the table. Flipping open the front cover, he hastily inscribed a few words on the inside. “It’s not much, but I know you’ll appreciate it.”
Andrej blinked at the book, not comprehending.
“Zek, take the damn book,” Trish said. “I don’t care if you’ve already read it or not.”
“No,” Andrej stuttered. “That’s not it at all. I have not read it yet because it is not due out for another four months.”
“It’s what’s called an ARC – advanced reader copy. It’s not the final edition of the book, all my flubs will be fixed by that time, but the story will still be the same. Take it.”
“I cannot.”
“Yes, you can,” Travis laughed. “I have about six more in that box. Please.”
“Thank you,” Andrej said, taking the book and holding it like it was a priceless heirloom. “Could you please hold this for a moment, Hilary?” Handing the book over to her, he dug in his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card. “Please, if you ever have any other questions, let me know. My number and email are both on here.”
Travis took the card and stuck it in his organizer. “You’ve got it. And let me know what you think once you’ve finished that.”
“He’ll be back tomorrow,” Trish teased.
“I cannot read that quickly, Trish,” Andrej said.
“Although you’re sure as hell going to try,” Hilary said, handing the book back to him. “I want to borrow it when you’re done.”
“I can give you one of your own,” Travis offered.
“That’s very kind of you,” she said, “but I borrow all of my books from Andy.”
“She’s not wrong,” Trish laughed. “He’s like our own personal lending library.”
“Enjoy the rest of your stay,” Andrej called back to Travis as the girls dragged him off.
“I plan on it,” he called back.
“So how on earth did you wind up here,” Zayne asked, scraping the last bits of cheese off the plate. The three of them had done the number to the nachos. “I mean, unless you’re an avid bookworm like my Zek is.”
“No,” Ethan said, taking a drink of his beer. “My husband is actually one of the authors here.”
“Really,” James asked. “That’s pretty damn cool. God help you if your husband is Travis Murphy though.”
Ethan’s hand stopped inches from the plate of nachos. “Why do you say that?”
“My boyfriend is a huge fan,” James said. “He’s out there looking for him right now.”
“Along with two psycho female detectives from our department,” Zayne added. “Wait, is he your husband?”
“He is,” Ethan said. “Should I be worried?”
“Nah,” Zayne said, waving a hand in the air. “Zek’s kind of nutty, but he hides it well.”
James looked at his phone and frowned. “I wonder if we should go look for them, cowboy. Andy said they’d meet us here at noon and it’s almost twelve thirty.”
“They probably got sidetracked,” Ethan said, sneaking a glance at his own phone. “There’s a lot going on out there.”
“You don’t understand,” James said. “Andy’s never late. Ever.”
“Cool your jets, narco,” Zayne said. He pointed towards the side entrance of the bar. “I see Rollins’ red head.”
“Oh thank god,” James sighed. He looked at Ethan and grimaced. “He really never is late. Last time he didn’t show up when he was supposed to he’d been kidnapped by this crazy ass running drugs out of his bar.”
“Yeah,” Ethan said, “I guess I can see why you might be worried when he doesn’t show up on time.”
“Andy,” James shouted. Hilary waved at them and the three headed towards where they sat.
Sliding into a chair beside James, Andrej frowned at the table. “I know we are late but you could not wait to have lunch?”
“This wasn’t lunch, Zek,” Zayne said, motioning towards the decimated plate of nachos. “This was just a snack.”
“Of course it was, Reyes,” Hilary teased. “You know he has to have elevensies before he has his lunch.”
“Very true,” Andrej said, eyes landing on Ethan. “Hello. You were not with Jay and Zayne earlier, were you?”
“No,” he said. “I met them here. I’m Ethan, by the way.”
“Andrej,” he said, shaking Ethan’s hand. He introduced Trish and Hilary to Ethan and looked at his boyfriends.
“He was eavesdropping on our conversation,” James said.
“Living vicariously through our escapades,” Zayne clarified.
“I couldn’t help it,” Ethan said, shrugging. “I live in White Pine and –”
“You live in White Pine,” Andrej said, eyes flaring wide.
“I do,” Ethan said, slowly. “How on earth do you – oh, wait. He’s the one you were talking about, isn’t he?”
Zayne nodded, a huge grin on his face.
Andrej’s eyes narrowed. “What were you saying about me?”
“Just that you’re a huge fan of my husband’s,” Ethan said. His gaze ghosted across the book Andrej had set on the table. “I see you managed to find him, too.” He hooked his thumb at the book.
“Yes,” he said, fingers moving across the cover of his prize. “We did. He was very accommodating.”
“More like he talked your ear off digging for information,” Ethan said. “But at least he gave you something for your trouble. You’re going to love that one, by the way. It’s his best yet and I’m not just saying that. I was a fan long before I ever met him.”
Andrej smiled. “He told us and I think your story is very sweet.”
“This is getting crazier by the minute,” Hilary said.
“It is pretty funny,” Zayne agreed.
“Would you like to stay and have lunch with us,” Andrej asked. “You are already here and…”
“No,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “I probably ought to go see if Travis needs anything. That he hasn’t flipped out and come running to find me yet is impressive in itself. Crowds are not his friends.”
“I can relate,” Zayne grumbled.
Ethan nudged him with an arm playfully. “How about we get together for dinner before Travis and I head back to Utah? I can give you my number…”
“Travis already has Andy’s information,” Trish snorted. “He was fanboying so hard that he couldn’t resist giving your husband an all access pass to his cop’s brain.”
Frowning, Andrej tapped a finger on the tabletop. “He asks very good questions,” he said. “I wanted him to have a way to get answers to them when he needed them.”
“And help out your favorite author,” James goaded. “But no one here is blaming you for that. I think we’d all do the same given the chance.”
“So, Murph has your information?” Andrej nodded and Ethan stood. “Cool. I’ll have him text or call and we’ll set up something. Sound good?”
“Perfect.” James stood and shook Ethan’s hand. “Thanks for keeping us company. As much as I like this jerk, we don’t always get along when we’re unsupervised.”
“And that’s an understatement,” Trish joked.
“No, thank you both for keeping me from wandering around this place alone,” Ethan said. He smiled at Andrej and the girls. “They’re full of interesting stories.”
“I can imagine,” Andrej said. “I know most of Zayne’s because I was with him for a lot of them, but I am constantly hearing new ones from Jay.”
“Save a few for dinner,” Ethan suggested. “I’m guessing it’ll be tomorrow night, if that’s okay?”
“That’s great,” James said. “See you then.”
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction
Pairings: Eh, everyone is with everyone else.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,547
Summary: Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on. Hah. Andy and the girls chat with Travis while Ethan gets to know the boys.
Author’s Note: I’m kind of surprised I managed to get this done today. Yay me. Probably only one or two more chapters, depending on what happens in the next one.
“Oh my god,” Travis laughed, hand slapping against the side of his chair. “That seriously happened?”
“It did,” Trish said. She pointed a finger at Andrej and grinned. “And then this one jumps on the guy’s back, trying to keep him from beating the crap out of Reyes.”
“Andy had him in a headlock even,” Hilary added.
“Damn,” Travis laughed. “That’s ballsy.”
Andrej shrugged. “I could not let him hurt my partner and I was not big enough to take him on in a fist fight.”
“So you jumped on him like a toddler wanting a piggy back ride.” Travis shook his head. “That’s awesome, honestly. I love it.”
“The asshole tried to sue the department though,” Hilary said, frowning. “He accused Andy of physically assaulting him.”
“Even though he picked a fight with a police officer?”
“I will never understand criminals,” Andrej said. He glanced at his watch and then stood suddenly. “It is almost noon and I promised Zayne and Jay we would meet them at the bar for lunch. We must be going, but thank you so much for your time. It has been – I do not even know what to say.”
“My pleasure,” Travis said, standing and offering his hand out to Andrej. “You guys not only helped me clear up a few things that I’ve been wondering about, but also gave me a ton of ideas for future novels. Is there any way I can compensate you for your time?”
“No,” Andrej said, holding his hands out in front of him. “We are happy to have helped.”
“Let me at least give you this then,” Travis said. He knelt by his chair and dug into a box stashed under the table. Finding what he’d been looking for, Travis sat in his chair and dropped the hardback book onto the table. Flipping open the front cover, he hastily inscribed a few words on the inside. “It’s not much, but I know you’ll appreciate it.”
Andrej blinked at the book, not comprehending.
“Zek, take the damn book,” Trish said. “I don’t care if you’ve already read it or not.”
“No,” Andrej stuttered. “That’s not it at all. I have not read it yet because it is not due out for another four months.”
“It’s what’s called an ARC – advanced reader copy. It’s not the final edition of the book, all my flubs will be fixed by that time, but the story will still be the same. Take it.”
“I cannot.”
“Yes, you can,” Travis laughed. “I have about six more in that box. Please.”
“Thank you,” Andrej said, taking the book and holding it like it was a priceless heirloom. “Could you please hold this for a moment, Hilary?” Handing the book over to her, he dug in his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card. “Please, if you ever have any other questions, let me know. My number and email are both on here.”
Travis took the card and stuck it in his organizer. “You’ve got it. And let me know what you think once you’ve finished that.”
“He’ll be back tomorrow,” Trish teased.
“I cannot read that quickly, Trish,” Andrej said.
“Although you’re sure as hell going to try,” Hilary said, handing the book back to him. “I want to borrow it when you’re done.”
“I can give you one of your own,” Travis offered.
“That’s very kind of you,” she said, “but I borrow all of my books from Andy.”
“She’s not wrong,” Trish laughed. “He’s like our own personal lending library.”
“Enjoy the rest of your stay,” Andrej called back to Travis as the girls dragged him off.
“I plan on it,” he called back.
“So how on earth did you wind up here,” Zayne asked, scraping the last bits of cheese off the plate. The three of them had done the number to the nachos. “I mean, unless you’re an avid bookworm like my Zek is.”
“No,” Ethan said, taking a drink of his beer. “My husband is actually one of the authors here.”
“Really,” James asked. “That’s pretty damn cool. God help you if your husband is Travis Murphy though.”
Ethan’s hand stopped inches from the plate of nachos. “Why do you say that?”
“My boyfriend is a huge fan,” James said. “He’s out there looking for him right now.”
“Along with two psycho female detectives from our department,” Zayne added. “Wait, is he your husband?”
“He is,” Ethan said. “Should I be worried?”
“Nah,” Zayne said, waving a hand in the air. “Zek’s kind of nutty, but he hides it well.”
James looked at his phone and frowned. “I wonder if we should go look for them, cowboy. Andy said they’d meet us here at noon and it’s almost twelve thirty.”
“They probably got sidetracked,” Ethan said, sneaking a glance at his own phone. “There’s a lot going on out there.”
“You don’t understand,” James said. “Andy’s never late. Ever.”
“Cool your jets, narco,” Zayne said. He pointed towards the side entrance of the bar. “I see Rollins’ red head.”
“Oh thank god,” James sighed. He looked at Ethan and grimaced. “He really never is late. Last time he didn’t show up when he was supposed to he’d been kidnapped by this crazy ass running drugs out of his bar.”
“Yeah,” Ethan said, “I guess I can see why you might be worried when he doesn’t show up on time.”
“Andy,” James shouted. Hilary waved at them and the three headed towards where they sat.
Sliding into a chair beside James, Andrej frowned at the table. “I know we are late but you could not wait to have lunch?”
“This wasn’t lunch, Zek,” Zayne said, motioning towards the decimated plate of nachos. “This was just a snack.”
“Of course it was, Reyes,” Hilary teased. “You know he has to have elevensies before he has his lunch.”
“Very true,” Andrej said, eyes landing on Ethan. “Hello. You were not with Jay and Zayne earlier, were you?”
“No,” he said. “I met them here. I’m Ethan, by the way.”
“Andrej,” he said, shaking Ethan’s hand. He introduced Trish and Hilary to Ethan and looked at his boyfriends.
“He was eavesdropping on our conversation,” James said.
“Living vicariously through our escapades,” Zayne clarified.
“I couldn’t help it,” Ethan said, shrugging. “I live in White Pine and –”
“You live in White Pine,” Andrej said, eyes flaring wide.
“I do,” Ethan said, slowly. “How on earth do you – oh, wait. He’s the one you were talking about, isn’t he?”
Zayne nodded, a huge grin on his face.
Andrej’s eyes narrowed. “What were you saying about me?”
“Just that you’re a huge fan of my husband’s,” Ethan said. His gaze ghosted across the book Andrej had set on the table. “I see you managed to find him, too.” He hooked his thumb at the book.
“Yes,” he said, fingers moving across the cover of his prize. “We did. He was very accommodating.”
“More like he talked your ear off digging for information,” Ethan said. “But at least he gave you something for your trouble. You’re going to love that one, by the way. It’s his best yet and I’m not just saying that. I was a fan long before I ever met him.”
Andrej smiled. “He told us and I think your story is very sweet.”
“This is getting crazier by the minute,” Hilary said.
“It is pretty funny,” Zayne agreed.
“Would you like to stay and have lunch with us,” Andrej asked. “You are already here and…”
“No,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “I probably ought to go see if Travis needs anything. That he hasn’t flipped out and come running to find me yet is impressive in itself. Crowds are not his friends.”
“I can relate,” Zayne grumbled.
Ethan nudged him with an arm playfully. “How about we get together for dinner before Travis and I head back to Utah? I can give you my number…”
“Travis already has Andy’s information,” Trish snorted. “He was fanboying so hard that he couldn’t resist giving your husband an all access pass to his cop’s brain.”
Frowning, Andrej tapped a finger on the tabletop. “He asks very good questions,” he said. “I wanted him to have a way to get answers to them when he needed them.”
“And help out your favorite author,” James goaded. “But no one here is blaming you for that. I think we’d all do the same given the chance.”
“So, Murph has your information?” Andrej nodded and Ethan stood. “Cool. I’ll have him text or call and we’ll set up something. Sound good?”
“Perfect.” James stood and shook Ethan’s hand. “Thanks for keeping us company. As much as I like this jerk, we don’t always get along when we’re unsupervised.”
“And that’s an understatement,” Trish joked.
“No, thank you both for keeping me from wandering around this place alone,” Ethan said. He smiled at Andrej and the girls. “They’re full of interesting stories.”
“I can imagine,” Andrej said. “I know most of Zayne’s because I was with him for a lot of them, but I am constantly hearing new ones from Jay.”
“Save a few for dinner,” Ethan suggested. “I’m guessing it’ll be tomorrow night, if that’s okay?”
“That’s great,” James said. “See you then.”
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no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-29 06:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-30 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-06 06:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-08 08:30 pm (UTC)Although the library has dumped four holds on me in three days. *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2018-05-19 02:05 am (UTC)I need to pick up my book from the library. I just got one and I've got another one I need to get.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-21 06:35 pm (UTC)Nice! I love getting those little emails saying WE'VE GOT BOOKS FOR YOU!
no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:38 am (UTC)Heee same. I get text messages too.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 12:50 pm (UTC)Another good chapter.
Can't wait for the next one.;)
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 03:30 pm (UTC)Thanks, I'm happy you're enjoying this mess.
Not likely to be today, but I hope to get another up by the weekend. Once I actually start working on something, it usually goes quickly. But GETTING to that point sucks sometimes. :) WISH ME LUCK (not to mention Travis, Andy, and the girls because those other three are terrors...).
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 07:29 pm (UTC)