Zenon's Game Chapter 208

Zenon groaned in bed and raised his hand to his head, almost hitting me in the process, and twisting his head towards me in surprise. "Candy, when did you get here?"

Did we really have to do this in front of Axel?

Axel looked away and quietly whistled.

Then Zenon looked at Axel, "Why are you here?"

"You're late. Everyone's downstairs," he stared at us both like we missed the memo.

I sniffed the air, "Is that cologne?"

"Yes." Axel didn't hesitate to admit it. He smelled himself, "Earthy."

"What's the time?" Zenon sighed, reaching out for his phone on the bedside table.

"Time to go," Bryce said, barging into the room behind Axel, "Oh, hi Candace."

I sunk further into the covers.

"Get out," Zenon told the guys, "We need a minute. Knock next time."

After the guys left, Zenon peered at me, hiding under the covers.

"I thought everyone went to sleep," I complained from under the covers.

"We were taking a nap before going out."

I poked my head out from under the covers, "But it's 10PM. That's sleep time."

"That's going out time," Zenon mirrored my childish voice and wrapped his arms around me. He felt the soft fabric of my PJs and said, "Aw, you even changed."

~10.05 PM~

We haven't slept in two days. We need more than a nap. We need coffee.

I entered the living room and saw everyone dressed up in front of me. Bianca and Oma were wearing stunning, fashionable summer outfits. The boys had all dressed up and Axel's cologne dominated the room.

"Candace," Cynthia came up to me with a look of concern on her face, "What are you wearing?"

I looked down at myself. "A t-shirt and jeans."

"There's a cartoon on your shirt," Cynthia pointed out.

"Yes," I accepted that fact.

"You really should've accepted LUKY's offer to lend you clothes," Cynthia told me, "You can't go out like that."

"I'm tired. I want to be in bed," I told her, "And I have nicer clothes for the other nights."

"MILLAY!" Axel called out to me from the bar area, "Let's get you feeling happy!"

"PS," Cynthia whispered, "Bryce pranked Axel into spraying half a bottle of cologne on him so he reeks."

Bryce and Zenon were by the speakers, discussing logistics for tonight. Bianca took her opportunity to pass by and greet me.

"The boys had a stern word with me because of you," she whispered, her fingernails gripping onto my arm.

I stared into her eyes. Her eye make-up was on point with a nice fade and long lashes. Her cheekbones were accentuated with highlighter and I had to admit she looked good.

"Sounds like they really convinced you to be nice," I said sarcastically, removing her fingers from my arm, one finger at a time.

She pulled her hand away, "Watch out. If Zenon's head is turned, he won't be in your corner anymore."

"Are you OK?" I asked, "Serious question, because you have me confused with someone else. I'm not going to fight over a boy."

"You-"

I interrupted her, "I'm not going to fight over a boy, I don't need a boy in my corner, but I will protect him. What happened to loyalty between girls?"

I don't need to spend more time engaging with that creature.

Our dinner reservation was at 10.30pm and Bryce directed us out of the house like an orchestra conductor.

When he laid eyes on my outfit, he looked at me, "Why don't you try?"

Zenon slapped him on the back of the head as he walked by.

"Hey!" Bryce rubbed his head and stared at the back of Zenon's, "You bring extra cash to get her into the club then!"

Zenon had continued walking and just raised the middle finger back. I heard Bianca's rotten laugh behind me.

And if I felt self-conscious before, it's nothing like how I felt when I got there.

A waiter guided us to our table in the center of the restaurant. It was a long black table with gold plates and gold flowers. We sat at high chairs, in front of lots of silverware.

Everyone at the restaurant was dressed up like it was a world of fashion designers and their new collections. That's not to say that everyone looked good, but they definitely looked ready.

"Axel!" I called out to him under the deafening music. He was sitting on the other side of the table.

He leaned back so he could see me, "Yeah?"

I raised two fingers, "Round two?"

Axel grinned. Tonight was just beginning.

"Bartender!"

"And here's another," the waiter said as he set two more glasses in front of us.

They clinked on the metallic table and I stared at the drink's yellow coloring. A curled lemon peel was artistically placed on the rim, as if someone had forgotten to throw it away after eating.

I flicked it off.

We were in a club, where Bryce had reserved a table under his father's name. The bar's heavy lights flashed neon colors and the noise reached a deafening peak.

I yelled into Axel's ears, pointing at the waiter and our retreating cocktail glasses, "They were empty."

I felt empty.

Axel raised our new glasses and offered one to me, "But these are full."

We clinked glasses and drank our next round. Axel and I had advanced into a new stage of drinks we didn't even recognize.

But I realized that he was already talking to a girl. She was wearing a shimmery black dress and must've shimmered over to our table.

"One down," I said to my glass.

It's down to my cocktail and me. I wonder if Axel liked that girl. I've never met a cocktail I didn't like.

Meanwhile, Cynthia was on the dance floor with Oma. They really hit it off this evening. She had sailed into the group dynamic.