Zenon's Game Chapter 148

His fingers played with my hair and my hand rested on his hard chest, feeling it rise and fall with every breath.

He was warm to touch and I felt comfortable in this silence. I nestled my head under his shoulder, feeling his fingers tickle my skin as he played absentmindedly with my hair.

The truth is, I was tipsy. Bordering on drunk from all that red wine.

Music lifted into the air as Jake began to strum a few chords. Annika cheered him on, a great hype girl, and eager to hear more of his music.

I'd forgotten how good he was.

"Oooh," I exclaimed, sitting up to pay more attention.

Zenon grumbled.

I had accidentally pushed down against his stomach when sitting up. He wasn't hurt, but I think he'd also felt comfortable lying in that position and didn't want us to move.

"I recognize this song," I whispered, listening to Jake get further into it.

"It's really famous," Annika said, not minding at all that she was sitting next to our very romantic position.

Jake had mastered his technique. The music flowed out of the guitar and he made playing it look easy. I watched his fingers move expertly across the instrument. It was kind of hypnotizing.

Jake began to sing. He strummed the chords in an accompanying tune and his voice was husky but strong:

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing

Watch you smile while you are sleeping

While you're far away dreaming

Zenon glanced down at the wine glasses on the coffee table. Mine and his were empty and he hadn't drunk his.

Oops.

"Oh no," he muttered, knowing exactly what was going to come next.

"DON'T WANT TO CLOSE MY EYES!" I screamed out, shocking everyone, "I DON'T WANT TO FALL ASLEEP, 'COS I MISS YOU BABE!"

I had jumped up and was standing precariously on the couch, pointing at Zenon and almost falling on top of him.

"She drank all our wine," Zenon explained to Annika, who was staring at my outburst.

I think she thought I was timid when we first met. Ha.

"THE SWEETEST DREAM WILL NEVER DOOOO-"

Zenon pulled me off the couch and swung me carefully to the ground. My feet stepped on the plush carpet and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I DON'T WANT," I sang, losing steam the moment Zenon touched me, "to miss a," I hiccuped, "thing."

He calmed me.

Zenon laughed at me, "Have I complemented your singing before?"

"I'm not sure I'd call it a complement-"

"Well I'm not sure I'd call this singing."

I wriggled out of his arms, but he spun me around instead and dipped me low. We stayed like that for a moment longer. I felt like I was going to fall, but his grip was tight around me.

Jake stood up with his guitar, getting further into the heat of the song. He was definitely playing up to the music now.

"No need to be shy around us. You can let it out, Annika," I told her, "I can see you want to sing."

I offered her my fake air microphone, holding my hand out in front of her. My other hand was still holding onto Zenon for fear of tumbling over.

She grinned and grabbed the empty air as if it was a microphone, raising her other hand into the air and belting, "AND STAY HERE IN THIS MOMENT!"

"FOREVER!"

We were screaming – I mean singing - now. Even Jake was finding it hard to stay in tune.

"For all the rest of time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The kind of thing you don't want to hear sober.

It was late in the evening, that it was technically morning. And we left the others eating a late-night snack in the kitchen.

It was Zenon's suggestion to go outside. He thought a breath of fresh air would be good for me.

We stepped out of the cabin through the backdoor. There was a wooden patio that overlooked the beautiful lake. The reflection of the forest glistened on its surface.

I wondered how long before the sunrise.

He was sitting next to me on the wooden patio and his knee pressed against mine. My skin had goosebumps, and it wasn't only because of the cold.

I've never felt this way about someone before. And it's scary how quickly I fell.

Zenon leaned forward and I saw him run a hand through his messy hair before he turned to look at me, "You cold, Candy?"

I nodded and without hesitation he shrugged off his zip up hoodie. He put it gently around my shoulders and his hands lingered over my arms.

I felt the warmth of the fabric on my skin and nuzzled my nose into it. I breathed in his scent and felt the jacket loose and large over me. And then I looked up at him.

"Aren't you cold too?" I asked him, now that he was in a thin shirt.

He shook his head and didn't say anything. He was looking at me in a way I hadn't really seen before. A deep gaze of emotion I couldn't read.

"Do you remember this?" he whispered, the crackling of the fireplace still faintly behind us.

I knew exactly what he meant. This felt a lot like summer camp. The night we went on our camping trip. Except, there had been a campfire behind us with a lot more people chatting. The night sky overlooked nature and the tall trees that made up the forest.

I remembered how Zenon had come to me, when I was listening to music all alone with a plate of sandwiches. It was our first real, meaningful conversation. The first time we had ever looked beyond outer appearances.

"You know what you told me that night?" he asked me, still speaking in a low voice.