Nina Cox Must Date (Girl Power Series)

Chapter 2 - Fan Con

I wake up before my alarm goes off. I'm so excited about my first exhibition at the Fan Con. I look at Taylor. There is a pillow over his face, but his chest moves rhytmically, so he is still breathing. My phone's light is blinking. I unlock it and find tons of messages from my sister.

"This is getting ridiculous," I say while scrolling my phone.

"What is ridiculous?" Taylor says from his hotel bed, his voice muffled by the pillow. I didn't realize that I shouted.

"I have many messages from my sister proposing to set me up with different men,"

"You should have a serious talk with your family. It's getting out of hand," Taylor says, pulling himself to sit on the bed. His dirty blond hair looks crazy, and there is a dry line of drool on his cheek.

"I don't know how they will take it. All they want is for me to settle down with a nice guy and have a family," I say.

"Your siblings are nuts. Doesn't your sister have a busy job?" Taylor says as he pulls his wheelchair towards the bedside and hops on it.

"She does, but now that she got engaged I guess that she wants the same for me. I know that she means well, but I'm not in a rush,"

I love my family, and I'm fond of my siblings. I'm the youngest. My brother Elijah is 34 years old and works as a dog trainer. He is married, and his wife is pregnant with their third kid.

My sister Lisa is 30 years old and leads the marketing department of the fashion company where I used to work. She traveled a lot for the campaign photo shoots and met her future husband during one of these projects. Even with their busy lives and sometimes being in different parts of the world, my siblings have made it their mission that Nina Cox must date.

"At least it wasn't Elijah. The last time he fixed me with one of his friends it was a disaster,"

My brother's buddy wasn't a bad guy but spent the whole evening talking about dogs.

Taylor and I arrive at the venue and find the parking spot that Evan arranged for us. Maybe I owe him a coffee after all. The parking space is right next to the exhibitor's entrance, making it comfortable to deal with Taylor's wheelchair.

The place is already packed with people finishing their booths. The hall will open in two hours. We bring the last two boxes with the most valuable merchandise as I didn't trust to leave it.

I'm not really a toy collector, although I own plenty. I pride myself in selling vintage toys and by now I have a big network of collectors and suppliers that help me to find interesting items to sell.

"That is the last of the Barbies," Taylor says looking at the glass displays from different angles. "Why am I always answering stuff about dolls, ponies, and bears? I don't even have a sister," he says with a grimace.

"Cause you are a cute boy and the ladies like to ask you stuff. Maybe you will find your doll today," I say, making him snort.

"Maybe you are the one that will find a new action figure," he says, looking behind me.

I turn around and see Evan. He gives me a small wave and motions with his hand to have a drink.

"I owe him a coffee for getting us the parking spot. Do you mind?" I say to Taylor.

"Go ahead and bring me one," he says with a warm smile.

I walk towards Evan and must admit that he is hot. At first glance, he looks Asian, but the longer I look at him, the more I doubt.

"Good morning," he says. "Are you ready for the madness later?"

"I'm looking forward to it. I have been to this event before, but this is the first time that I'm here as a vendor,"

"Toys always do well in these conventions. I took a look at your display last night before I left. You have some serious eye candy in there. I was on the brink of leaving you my wallet and bring part of your inventory," he says, making me laugh.

"What caught your eye?"

"Transformers. They were my favorite thing as a child,"

"Yeah, I have some good pieces on display. I have a whole lot more of them at the shop,"

"Maybe I should make a little trip to Galaxy Barn,"

"You know the name of my shop!"

"It is damn catchy," he says, then orders two coffees at one of the fancy vendors.

We head to some picnic tables. The place is deserted but not for long.

"What got you into selling toys?" Evan asks.

"My brother still has some of his Star Wars action figures from when he was younger. One day, my nephew found them and messed the Darth Vader badly. Elijah didn't cry, but it was painful for him to see his prized memory destroyed. I started a search to replace it and after several days sending emails and on the phone with people, I found the toy. I surprised him for his birthday and discovered that there was a need in the market,"

"You are a wise woman," he says with a warm smile.

"My family still thinks that I'm an idiot for doing what I do. What about you? How did you end up working here?"

"I studied hospitality and enjoyed planning event and conventions. It was my wish to bring the big Fan Con. Five years ago I organized the first one. It was small, about a fourth of what it is now. It is a lot of work, but then you see the faces of the people and how much they enjoy themselves and is all worth it. On other topics, why is your friend in a wheelchair?"

"A terrible car accident when he was eighteen,"

Our conversation is interrupted by his walkie talkie.

"I have to go. Duty calls. I will see you around Nina. Hopefully more often than just these two days,"

I'm left shocked, and my mouth is probably hanging open. When I recover, I get a coffee for Taylor. I find him looking at his phone.

"It is madness out there," he says, exchanging his phone for the coffee.

I see all the messages and pictures tagged with the Fan Con name. The crowd of people outside that are waiting to enter is impressive.

"Did you have a good chat with Evan?" Taylor asks.

"Yeah, it was all right," I say, giving him the phone back.

"Are you okay? You look a bit off,"

"I am," I lie. Did I find me an action figure?