25,059 Words- Half Way There... Living On A Prayer

Well, today I hit the halfway point, and somehow managed to write absolutely nothing worthwhile into my novel. I did have some fun doing it however, as I decided to take inspiration from some other Esmondes and incorporate a Cosmo quiz into my plot. Gordon is taking Maggie through some exercises intended to help him understand the situation better. This involves having her respond to a Cosmo quiz entitled "What's Your Passion Personality?" Below is an excerpt of the results:

“I guess ‘c’” The questions continue, and Maggie’s frustration mounts, particularly since she cannot for a moment believe that asking her about her ideal “V-Day date” will help her get rid of the ghost of her boyfriend who is haunting her and her son, slowly robbing them of their vitality, and threatening to plunge them into insanity. There are moments of comic relief, which are of course completely lost on Gordon, who is almost satirically deadpan for the entire exercise. Hearing him ask if she prefers a man’s chest and shoulders, lips, or ‘package’, or referring to a man’s ‘drool-worthy bod’ in such a serious tone of voice only highlights the absurdity of the questions, and as Maggie has done several times before, she finds herself wondering who writes these damn quizzes.
When the questions finally cease, Gordon tensely calculates the result, while everyone waits with baited breath. He seems pleased with the result.
“A-ha. Just as I expected. You are a simmering seductress,” Gordon replies, smirking.
“What does that mean?” asks, Maggie, annoyed.
“It means that for you to feel passionate about anything, from slowly biting into a decadent piece of chocolate to sharing a heady convo with a guy at a party, your senses must be engaged.” Maggie feels confused. What the hell does that mean? Is she passionate or not? Somehow, the explanation has managed to say absolutely nothing about her. Gordon seems to have what he needs, though. For her part, she is just grateful that it’s over.
“Great. Good to know. Now what?”
“Now, you tell me a story about the man who is haunting you.”
“What kind of story?” she asks, feeling a bit knocked off kilter by the change in direction.
“The story written on your heart,” Gordon says, melodramatically. It sounds theatrical, but Maggie understands what he means completely. Gordon has switched from the completely irrelevant and overly intimate quiz to something completely relevant, but equally intimate. She glances over at him with a newfound respect. The quiz must have been a warmup exercise. Just as a genius photographer like the great and oft misunderstood Jim Jimerson has his subjects warm up with some off key and humiliating poses, to loosen them up for the truly humiliating and off key poses that will follow, Gordon has forged intimacy in the flames of a truly horrifying and degrading Cosmo quiz. Well played, Gordon, well played.

Please note, while I was on the Cosmo website, I decided to vote for the hottest Dillon panther. As predicted, Tim Riggins took the lead, but I found myself wondering- who are the 175 people who voted for the pasty-faced guy from the Christian rock band who's name escapes me?