Zenon's Game Chapter 164

Zenon walked towards me and draped his arm over my shoulder. He gently squeezed me with his thumb and index finger, and, with his other hand, he waved at the onlooking mathletes.

"Are you enjoying this?" I asked, as we watched the mathletes retreat back into school.

Zenon turned towards me and that cold aggression he had used on Kaden was now gone. He was like a different person; warm and charismatic. Even his eyes looked lighter as he stared down at me with his playful smile.

"I am, Candace," he answered honestly. "That one's been on my bucket list."

It took ten more minutes before the boys finally convinced me to return to my car. There was still a giant question mark over who the blackmailer was, but signs were pointing to Julia.

"She could've lied to him about losing the jersey," Zenon said, "She knows that the first thing we'd do is come after the thief."

"You think Julia faked a party to convince him to buy a jersey from the team?" Axel asked Zenon.

If Julia and I had been friends, if that party existed... I would've come wearing one of Zenon's jerseys. I don't know why I thought that. Maybe because I'm proud of my boyfriend.

"Sounds like the worst idea for a party. Who would've gone to that?" Bryce sighed.

Unlike Bryce, we don't all have petting zoos in our back garden and party planners on speed dial.

"It sounds like a lot of effort," I said, still not convinced about the Julia story, "It would've been easier for her to sneak into the boy's locker room and take a dirty jersey instead. Or to not use a jersey at all. I would've been freaked out enough with dead cat's blood on my door."

"You think it was opportunistic?" Zenon asked me, curious why I wasn't buying the Julia story. It felt like such a natural end to him.

"Speaking of all this dead cat saga," Axel changed subject, "How did your date with that girl go? The one you brought to Roger's funeral?"

"Oh yeah. Not good," Bryce replied, "She's allergic to shellfish and I'm not ready for that kind of sacrifice."

I stared at them, surprised by how quickly they dipped in and out of subjects.

Zenon noticed my reaction and got us going, "Candace and I are heading out now, but let's catch up tomorrow."

We took my car home and mutually decided that I would drive. Zenon knew he was in the doghouse and the way he looked at me, made it so hard to stay angry at him.

His blue puppy dog eyes made me melt like warm butter. Ugh, I was hungry.

"You can get expelled for this," I told him, as I turned onto the main road.

Zenon could easily get suspended or expelled for punching Kaden like that.

"That's why I took him off school property," he answered.

OK. I hadn't thought of that.

"Don't you feel bad about punching a guy who didn't deserve it?" I asked.

"He did deserve it," Zenon disagreed. "He deserved it long before we found the jersey on your door."

I often forget how Zenon carries my burdens with him. I had told him about my heartbreak back when we were co-counselors at summer camp. He remembered almost everything I've ever told him.

"Besides, now I know what your ex looks like," Zenon smirked, "And I'm not worried."

He leaned back in his seat and I couldn't help but smile. Zenon knew just what to say to get me going.

And I knew that he never doubted himself. Zenon was a confident guy with more girls chasing him than a swarm of fruit flies after an overripe grape. That's a weird example.

We drove in silence until we reached a red traffic light. I slowed the car down and waited.

Zenon was not going to let me finish this car ride in anger. He looked over at me and smiled at my scowl. I noticed his smile and that made me scowl even more, which made his smile widen.

"Stop it!"

"Why? What's making you so grumpy?" he laughed.

"You punched a guy!" I exclaimed, turning to face him. "You can't go around hitting people! We live in a civilized world and you're wrong for resorting to violence like that!"

"I barely touched him."

"You almost knocked him out!"

"But that isn't my fault," Zenon said, putting the blame entirely on Kaden's lack of 'stamina'.

"Candace," Zenon tried to appease me, "I don't know a single guy who wouldn't do what I just did. He messed around with you and all these other girls. He can't go around doing that... And I also thought he murdered a cat."

The traffic light had turned green and I concentrated on the road. Zenon waited for me to continue.

"I think you're a smart and athletic guy," I started off, "So I don't think you need to lower yourself to becoming brutish. This whole macho, over-protective, over-defensive vibe isn't what I thought we were about."

He laughed. He laughed.

"You are the most protective girlfriend I've ever had. Think of Bianca and Jamie-" He noticed my expression and decided that this was not an argument he wanted to take on right now. "Let me give you a more positive example. You rode a motorbike into a street fight to protect me."

I glanced over at his handsome face and didn't have much to respond with. I swear at the beginning of this argument I had a point. But he had a way with words and he was trying very hard to appease me.

My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten anything in a long time.

"Want to stop off for food first?" I asked.

He suggested a restaurant nearby and we made a detour there.