Zenon's Game Chapter 204

"So is this the group?" Cynthia's dad said, eyeing the boys suspiciously, "You'll behave in front of my girl, won't you?"

"Yes sir," Axel said, straightening up.

Cynthia's mom handed her daughter a laminated binder, "Here are all the contact details you'll need to reach us, and emergency numbers to use in Dubai in case you get separated or anything else happens. Now we agreed daily phone calls and check-ins. Where is Roland? I thought he'd be here."

"We're meeting him by the gates," Zenon said, "Bryce said his dad arrived from Mexico City this morning so he's transferring onto our flight from inside the terminal."

Their other kids started running circles around them. Zenon looked amused by it and stopped two of them from butting heads.

"I'm nervous about this," Cynthia's dad mumbled to his wife, "We haven't met the parents yet."

Cynthia's mom nodded and picked up one of her kids, "Well we're going to have to trust them now. Our little girl is old enough."

"I'll be fine, mom. Promise," Cynthia said, looking embarrassed by her parents in front of Axel.

Cynthia had a family bursting with love. I watched her hug her worried parents and siblings. Zenon came over and rested a hand over my shoulder. He could see how I felt about this. Neither one of our parents saw us out this morning.

Axel pointed at a lady, pushing a baggage cart, "Bryce's here."

"I thought Bryce was a boy," Cynthia's dad muttered, finding even more 'surprises' about this trip.

"He is," Axel nodded, "Those are his bags."

Five matching suitcases were piled high onto a cart. The initials "RC3" were marked on all of them. Of course Bryce travelled with personalized luggage.

Zenon, Axel, Cynthia and I stood in line at security. Bryce was somewhere behind, checking in his 1000 bags and we weren't in contact with Oma and Bianca yet.

I stood beside Zenon as he put on his belt. He caught me looking at him and winked.

"Where's your head at?" I teased him, standing out of the way of other travelers as they picked up their baggage from the security belt.

"Somewhere quiet, near a bed," he whispered, "alone with you."

I blushed a bit and nudged him, but he laughed, clipping his belt buckle.

And then, her annoying voice pierced through the air. "Zenon!"

"Oh look, drama's here," Cynthia announced, cheerfully waving back at Bianca, whose face turned into a glare.

Why did she have to call only Zenon's name when we're all standing here?

Bianca and Oma walked towards us, carrying a bag each of duty-free shopping. Oma looked fashionable yet comfortable in a black crop top and high waisted, wide-leg pants. Bianca, on the other hand, wasn't looking so comfortable.

"What's wrong with her?" Cynthia asked Oma, "She's looking extra prickly today."

"Please be nice," Oma tried to make peace, "She's a bit annoyed because her hair extensions set off the security machine, so she had to get frisked."

Cynthia laughed.

"Let's go to the gate," Axel said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, "Bryce's dad is waiting for us there."

"Bryce's dad is actually coming?" I asked Zenon, "So you weren't lying to Cynthia's parents?"

"Lying?" Zenon asked back, feigning shock, "What kind of person do you take me for?"

I rolled my eyes at him and felt Cynthia give me a nudge in the stomach.

"I wonder what the real Roland Chadwick the Second is like," she muttered, "The creator of Bryce."

What an unlikely crew. Something told me that Dubai was going to be a whole lot of Drama.

We had a layover in New York City and, naturally, my mind drifted into thoughts of bagels and NY cheesecake.

Turns out, the boys were on the same wavelength.

The moment we stepped off the plane, they called out for food. There was a restaurant and bar at the terminal, so we decided to pass the time eating, chatting and checking our phones.

"Can we get extra onion rings? These are delicious," Axel munched.

The onion rings were good. I stared out at the view of the airplanes through the glass windows of the terminal. I wish I could've seen real New York from here: the hectic chaos, yellow cabs and skyscrapers. Instead, I saw snow on the ground and on the nose of a parked airplane. New York makes a great frost impression.

I looked over at my boyfriend talking to Axel. I watched him smile before he flicked an onion ring at Axel. He ducked when Axel flicked one back and Oma tried to stop them.

Zenon was wearing a gray sweater and his watch was half hidden by the sleeve. I rested my hand over his sleeve, though my fingers couldn't fully wrap around his wrist.

He glanced down at my hand on his and then to me. I whispered, "Can we speak for a minute?"

While everyone was preoccupied with either their food or their socials, I thought this may be a good moment to bring it up.

Zenon looked at his uneaten plate of food and asked, "Now?"

I nodded.

Zenon stood up, grabbed some fries to-go. He waited for me to get up and when I did, Bryce wolf whistled.

"We'll be back in a minute," Zenon told him.

But Bryce's mind was already deep in the gutter.

"One minute? Come on man, you have more stamina than that," Bryce teased.

Zenon couldn't help but laugh, "Don't talk about my stamina, Bryce. It's weird."

We stood outside a newsagent, next to those squidgy neck support cushions. Other travelers passed by, wheeling their carry-on luggage with them. We had plenty of time before our flight departed, so we weren't in any rush.

"My mom told me something this morning," I said. "Our families have a history I didn't know about."

"OK," he waited. After I didn't say anything, Zenon added, "We've been neighbors."

I am so bad at this.