Zenon's Game Chapter 154

Zenon's voice carried over the sound of the water, as he spread shower gel over his body. "You looked like you were on your way to kidnap someone."

"Because of my flashlight and rope?"

He said, "At least you didn't bring an iron."

I smiled, remembering how I had packed a lot of random items for our camping trip. He'd unpacked most of them.

"I'm not even going to ask why you thought a flashlight would be useful in the middle of the day."

I smiled. Fair point.

I missed having his common sense in these situations. My mind has a tendency to go over board and over-dramatize everything. And our reactions combined probably lead to a more stable equilibrium.

I found it incredible that he simply won't get worked up unless there's an immediate threat to us.

I wish he'd shown more sympathy to Annika.

I took off my jumper and unbuttoned my pants. I'd already taken a shower this morning, but I wanted to join him.

The water continued to pour down over him and I kept an eye on his shadow through the glass. One article of clothing after another dropped to the floor.

I opened the shower door and inhaled the heat from the steamy shower. He turned towards me, running his hands through his hair. Water droplets landed on his eyelashes, framing his blue eyes as he watched me step inside.

He was surprised to see me. "You're also dirty?"

I smiled again, "Where's the soap? We can start by cleaning your mouth."

~Bianca's POV~

"Do you know what it feels like to have the guy you love, turn your back on you?" I asked her.

I dragged my suitcase back into my house, throwing it down on the living room floor.

I can't believe I spent the last forty minutes of my life packing the cutest outfits for a weekend that didn't even happen. It's humiliating.

"No, I haven't," Jamie said, "And I don't know why you called me. You have a lot of girl friends-"

"I called you because you know Zenon," I snapped back, "Whether you like it or not, you and I have been through this before."

"You mean the time we almost released that photo of Candace to the whole school? That was not my finest moment," Jamie replied, standing uncomfortably in my living room.

She dressed like a boy, with baggy shirt and jeans. I know her dad's the basketball coach, but why didn't she make an effort?

"Can you at least call Oma?" she asked me, "She was with us-"

"No," I insisted, walking up to Jamie so her dim little head would get it, "Oma is too righteous for this and all my friends think I'm staying at Zenon's cabin this weekend."

"Bianca, we aren't really friends," Jamie said, "You never talk to me at school."

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was almost 3PM. My parents would be home in two hours and the fighting would begin. They've decided to get a divorce and it was getting ugly.

She sighed. "I used to feel that way about him too. Like a normal day would become amazing if he told me he liked my outfit-"

I snorted at that. Zenon would never say that to her.

Jamie ignored me, "And some days he'd forget I exist. Those weren't good days."

"You don't know him like I do," I told her, a little patronizing but she deserved it.

She was a naïve girl who idolized Zenon. He came over to her house every week for dinner with her and her dad. She thought they had a bond. How cute.

"Zenon and I are a match," I informed her, "He and I... we're popular. We've dated other people and we've dated each other. I mean, look at us. We're the perfect image."

Why has he changed his mind?

We're cut from the same cloth, him and I. We're both shamelessly superficial, overly confident, sometimes aggressive and always good looking.

He doesn't need to pretend like he's a better man when he's around me.

I wasn't lying when I told Candace that he will grow tired of her. That's what he does. He finds a new plaything, plays... and then chucks it.

"I'm sorry Bianca," Jamie said to me, "It hurts and it sucks. Zenon doesn't belong to one girl and he never will. That's the problem with a boy like him. He's too handsome for his own good."

Unattractive people always say that jocks peak in high school. Zenon throws that stereotype off. He's popular, life is easy for him and he's got a chance at getting into the NBA.

I've been with him through it all. I can see myself sitting front row at one of his NBA games in the future. Now that he's gotten accepted to his dream school, that dream is a step closer.

"That's OK, Jamie. Seeing you reminds me that things could always be worse." I didn't mean that as an insult. It was just the truth.

Jamie was the type of girl who would secretly pine for Zenon and stay trapped in the friend zone with 0 chance of getting him.

Zenon is experimenting right now. His thing with Candace is an experiment.

He dated a model this summer. Now he decided to dip into the opposite end of the spectrum. He went for the shock factor. And I'm sure she's doing whatever he wants. She wears hair ties around her wrist.

But he'll come back to what he knows best.

I know why I called Jamie. I felt a bit lonely and embarrassed and I couldn't tell anyone else because it would hurt my image.

No one should believe Bianca Rodriguez can be lonely. My DMs are permanently lit, and I have half the school on my phone. Well, the half that counts.