21. Jordan

TWENTY-ONE

Is thereanything as good as a lazy Sunday in spring? I love March. Blaise isn't working today, and we smashed it at our game yesterday, so I spent the night and we had awesome, drowsy sex in the gray light of dawn before snoozing again.

He's up now, and I can hear him puttering in the kitchen—hopefully something breakfast-y, since my usual Sunday breakfast of Pop-Tarts is banned in this apartment. So rude. I'm still in bed, scrolling Insta and pretending to be a man of leisure and not someone who needs to finish a stats assignment sometime in the next few days.

Oooh, this is cool! Blaise has been tagged a bunch of times in posts and reels from the book convention he made those costumes for. I guess it must be this weekend. Wow, they really do look fucking epic, and judging by the comments, I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I click into one of the hashtags for the event to see if anyone else had costumes that good, and the answer is… not many. It actually looks kind of fun, for a convention about books. The scale of it is bigger than I expected, and it's not just a room with tables and people—from what I'm seeing, there are panels and meet-and-greets and mini-events too. This is the kind of thing I want to get into when I'm working—large-scale events with intricate themes.

I stop scrolling suddenly when a post that's mostly text catches my eye.

DUE TO THE WEATHER IN DENVER, A LARGE NUMBER OF TICKET HOLDERS ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND. THESE TICKETS CAN BE RESOLD—COMMENT BELOW IF YOU HAVE A TICKET TO SELL.

There's the usual disclaimer that organizers take no responsibility and it's up to buyers to take every precaution, but I click into the comments.

I've had an idea.

The event's at the Anaheim Convention Center, and according to the Sunday Schedule post I scrolled past not long ago, there's stuff happening right up until something called "The Unholy Supper" tonight. I want to get into event planning. Blaise is breaking into costume design. What better way for us to spend a Sunday afternoon than at a big event with lots of costumes?

I find someone claiming to have two tickets and DM them to see if they're still for sale. I get a reply immediately.

CorynIsMyHoney:

OMG yes! I'll sell them 2 for 1 if you'll get me a signature from Halle Manx pleeeeeeease! Or at least try. Her line will probs be a mile long.

Okay. That's… unexpected.

JMBall4Life:

I'll try? If I can't, I'll pay the difference in ticket price.

CorynIsMyHoney:

I love you!!! TYSM!

We make the transaction, and I get her details, including the name she wants signed on "any paper is fine, even the back of a gum wrapper." Then I get up and go in search of Blaise.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," he grumbles four hours later, but his gaze is already tracking a bunch of people in costumes.

"Oh, please. You'll love it. Okay, let's get the lay of the land, find out where this Halle Manx is, and then we can decide whether to see her now or walk around a bit first."

Blaise drags his eyes back to me. "Did you say Halle Manx?"

"Yeah. That's the author Desi wants me to get a signature from for her."

"She's also the author who wrote the books I designed those costumes for," Blaise says.

"No way! That's so cool. Now we definitely have to meet her."

Luckily, we were given maps at the door, and we find Halle Manx's booth easily enough. Unluckily, the line is, as Desi guessed, a mile long. Maybe two.

"I guess people really love these books." I take in the clusters of mostly women, but also a lot more men than I would have expected, since the books supposedly have a lot of romance in them. There are a lot in cosplay, but most of them seem so excited, clutching books or hauling along roller suitcases or carts. They're talking animatedly to each other, and every once in a while, someone will call out to a passerby and there'll be shrieks and hugs and exclamations of "I haven't seen you since last year!" The whole vibe of community is really strong, and I wonder how the event organizers tap into that to play the whole weekend up.

"That corset is gorgeous," Blaise says, and I follow his gaze toward a woman standing in front of a nearby booth selling bookmarks.

"Let's go ask her where she got it," I suggest. "I want to see the event, and if we join the line now, we'll probably be here all afternoon. We can try again later." I did tell Desi I'd only try.

We talk to purple-corset woman and the couple selling the leather and resin bookmarks, then we crash a couple of the panels. I find myself taking notes on my phone. Not so much about what's being said—though I'll admit to sitting with my mouth open and listening in shocked awe to a five-minute discussion about "the throne scene"—but about the setup, the way the panels are structured and rooms set up, the way people are interacting with the whole thing. Even the flow of traffic gets a mention—this is the afternoon of the second day, and I've heard a few people say it's quieter than yesterday, but it still seems pretty busy to me. Yet there's no "chaos." This is the art I need to learn, and I have a pile of questions to ask Toby, my events mentor and kind-of uncle, later.

Blaise finds a section of booths that sell costumes, and although most of them are just vendors of mass-produced generic stuff, there are two he beelines toward—one run by a woman who makes velvet cloaks and intricate tiaras and headpieces, and another by a lesbian couple who make cosplay components, like chainmail, corsets, and stuff I don't know the names of. After a few minutes chatting, we learn that they also take commissions to make full cosplay outfits, and they show us photos of some of the ones they did for this event. They were interested to hear Blaise had made some too, and when I showed them the pics from Insta, they got super excited.

"We saw those!" Kyra, the shorter one, exclaims. "You made them? They're fabulous! Oh my god, you need to contact the event organizers and get on the list of cosplay designers for next year. Once people know you did those costumes, you'll be flooded with commissions."

"How does he do that?" I demand, because Blaise looks a little shell-shocked. I don't think it occurred to him to connect in a serious way with fandom communities—he just waits for people to find him through word of mouth. Maybe because he's so focused on breaking into film costuming and considers this a step along the way instead of a career.

Kyra tells me who to get in touch with and reminds me twice that planning for next year's event is already well underway, so not to dawdle. Then she goes to help a customer, and I leave Blaise talking to Helen about the difficulties of making chainmail, which I have no interest in.

I find a booth selling books, and even though there are a lot of big gaps where things are sold out, I spot a hardcover with Halle Manx's name on it. That would be way cooler for her to sign than a piece of paper, and I grab it and wait my turn to pay.

"Heh," the seller says as she scans the book. "I didn't think it would last long. We sold out of all Halle's books yesterday. This one somehow got mixed in with the extra copies of regular stock, and I only found it five minutes ago."

"Lucky for me, then." Seriously, maybe I should read one of these books, just to see what all the hype is.

The woman looks at me like I'm crazy. "To get an event-exclusive-edition hardcover with sprayed edges at four o'clock on Sunday? Yeah, hon, you should buy a lottery ticket."

Oh-kaaaay. I look at the book with new eyes as she hands it back to me. It did seem kinda expensive for a book.

Blaise joins me, and we decide to go check out Halle's line again. It's not really any shorter, but we join it anyway. It takes about three seconds before someone sees the book in my hands, squeals, and announces how jealous they are. That turns into me sheepishly admitting it's for someone else and how I haven't read it, which somehow is an invitation for the people around us to begin telling us about the series. Not gonna lie, even though romantic fantasy isn't my thing, it doesn't sound all that bad. Plus, these people… they take the fandom seriously, but they're so nice and so welcoming.

Next thing I know, an hour has passed and it's my turn. I leave Blaise talking costume ideas with the people behind us and step up to the table. Halle Manx is a pretty, middle-aged woman with a really nice smile, though her eyes look a little tired. No wonder, if she's been talking to people all day.

"Hi," she says, taking the book one of her assistants already stuck a Post-it in. "It's great to meet you—" She glances at the Post-it. "—Desi."

"Oh, thanks, but I'm not Desi. She got stuck in the weather in Denver and sold me her tickets, and I said I'd get your signature for her."

She looks up, surprise and then a bigger smile crossing her face. "That's really nice of you…?"

"Jordan."

"Well, Jordan, do you want to video call Desi so I can say hey to her? I don't mind."

That might be weird, but why not? "Let me see if she's around," I hedge, tapping out a quick DM. It's no wonder the line takes so long, if Halle takes the time to talk to everyone, but it's also really nice of her. "I can see why people like you so much," I tell her, stalling while I wait to see if Desi gets the message. "I think I'm going to read one of your books."

Her mouth drops open, but before she can say anything, my phone lights up with a video call, and I hand it over.

"Hi, Desi," Halle says, and screams erupt from the handset. I wince, but Halle just laughs. "Your friend Jordan did you a solid. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet this time, but I've just finished signing your book." She holds up the hardcover, bringing on a wave of new screams. She looks at me questioningly. "Was it a surprise?"

I shrug. "Not really, just a last-minute find."

Halle talks to Desi for another few seconds, then ends the call and hands me back the phone, which already has DMs from Desi popping up. I shove it in my pocket to deal with later.

"Thanks for being so cool," I say. "People really love you. We came today because I saw all the pics and thought it was worth checking out. My boyfriend, Blaise, designed some cosplay costumes for some of your readers." I smile at her again and turn away to let the next people have their turn, but her hand clamps around my wrist. I look down at it and then back at her suddenly weird face.

"Did you say your boyfriend is Blaise?"