Sweeter Than Candy (The Davenports 1)

I raise my hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You wanted to.”

I keep my mouth shut as we prepare to settle down for our meal before we move on to making dessert. The salad had been better than I anticipated. I’

d never been a blue cheese fan, but it worked with the other ingredients.

“Let’s see if it tastes as good as it looks.”

Talking is minimal as we devour our meal. I’m impressed. We did a good job, and I think I could actually recreate this in my own kitchen.

A little while later, stuffed to the gills, we exit the cooking studio.

“I feel like I owe you a movie to go along with dinner,” Asher says.

I laugh. “I wish my plans were that pleasant. I’m headed to the store to grocery shop. Isn’t adulting grand?”

He walks me over to the carts. “I guess I’ll see you around then?”

“Yeah. Thanks for being my partner today. I actually had a good time.”

“Maybe next time we can plan it?”

I’m still questioning his intentions as we say our good-byes and he leaves the store. Was he being nice and making conversation, or actually hitting on me? Does it matter? No. I try to believe my words as I push the grocery cart toward produce. It doesn’t. He’s not my type.

The words ring hollow.

ASHER

“You ready for this, brother?” I ask as Micah laughs.

“I am, but not as much as you. It’s funny to me that someone so well read and uptight is such a huge horror fan.”

“I think I got it from Dad. He raised us on the classics, man. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Halloween. How could I not keep the tradition alive?” I pull out of the parking lot of his condo.

“Kane would love this if he was here.”

“I know. He’s pissed we’re catching David Labrava’s photo op.” I grin. The actor who played Happy on Sons of Anarchy was one of his favorites from the show. HorrorLand was a yearly convention for all things dark and gruesome. This year they have an amazing actor appearance list and some good panels.

“He’d be proud.”

“You think so?” A lump grows in my chest.

“I know so, for a lot more than your love of horror movies.”

“Thanks, brother,” I say softly. Our parents are still a tender subject. When you suffer that kind of loss, the wound never fully heals. We let the music fill the car and provide a soundtrack for our trip. Neither of us feels the uncanny need to fill silences like Rebecca or Kane. Whipping into a spot in the parking lot, I kill the engine. I adjust my maroon-colored suspenders over the gray button up and straighten my matching bowtie before I climb out of the car. I grew my hair out to mimic the iconic fringe heavy haircut the 11th Doctor, played by British actor Matt Smith, is known for. Doctor Who was a family tradition growing up, so we were thrilled when the series received a modern reboot that caught on in America.

Micah is dressed casually in jeans and a Stranger Things T-shirt. We opted to bypass the crowds and splurged on VIP passes. Work hard, play hard, is a familiar motto among the Davenports. We learned early on that burnout is very real, ugly, and hard to fully recover from. We enter the Sharonville Convention Center, and suddenly, I’m surrounded by pop culture. I drink in the sight of people impersonating their favorite characters. I love Cosplay. All that matters is your admiration for a show, character, or movie. It puts everyone on equal footing.

Who you are in “real life” is irrelevant. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy it so much. The responsibilities involved with running our company are vast and overwhelming on an easy day. Downtime is the breath of fresh air that keeps me from suffocating. When I was younger, the company took over my life completely. Determined to prove myself, I worked my fingers to the bone. No wasn’t in my vocabulary. Isolated from family and friends, I became a zombie. The hours, lack of sleep, and constant travel sucked my soul out. Landing in the hospital with exhaustion forced me to slow down and introduced me to my biggest life lesson to date.

I steer away from the memories. Today is about fun.

“What’s first on our docket?” Micah asks once we’ve checked in and received our VIP lanyards.

“Q&A panel for movie effects.”

We travel down the spiral staircase to the hallway that houses different rooms. The signs posted outside each door list the time and title of the class. This year, they’ve managed to get contestants from Face Off on the SyFy channel. The binge-worthy make-up contest, which pits artists against each other in unique challenges, has kept me company on many evenings working on the road. Art in all its forms fascinates me. It’s such a personal expression of emotions and concepts.