Zenon's Game Chapter 258

Trying to keep a positive spirit, I walked over to the washing machine and pulled out my clothes. We were running low on laundry detergent, so that was one more item to budget for. I didn't want to waste electricity by using the dryer, so I started to hang the wet clothes across the living room.

While I was hanging a b-ra over the living room door, I heard footsteps outside. I grabbed a mug for self-defense.

The door opened and I almost flung the mug at him.

"Woah," Zenon said, raising his hands in the air, "It's just me."

He closed the door behind him, and I saw that he was only wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts. How he wasn't freezing in this weather I will never know. He took his sneakers off and left on his white socks.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked him.

His knuckles were pink, and his cheeks had color from working out. I could see the outline of his muscles as his white shirt stuck slightly to his skin. He shook his head.

"No, but I might use your shower," he said, "Especially if you'd like to join."

Good luck trying to get hot water.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. I was all wrapped up in a puffy jacket and tired – the opposite to all his energy.

"Why is it so dark in here?" he asked, looking around for the first time.

I was saving electricity.

So I answered, kissing his lips, "To set the mood."

He kissed me back until he got distracted again. This time, he noticed the wet b-ra on the doorway.

He pointed, "that's setting the mood too?"

I thought about it for a second.

"No. That's just weird," I replied, yanking it off.

"Zenon, you should really go to dinner," I told him.

We were lying on the couch, legs intertwined. We'd gotten so comfortable in this position. He took up most of the space and I lay half next to him and half on top of him. He had one hand raised behind his head and the other was stroking my back absentmindedly.

"I'm feeling good right here," he mumbled.

I felt his phone buzz in his pocket and knew his parents were chasing him.

How will this relationship play out?

I didn't want to say it out loud, but we had such different prospects in life. We may be neighbors now, but our lives would soon be very different. I didn't know if I was going to pay the bills next month, while Zenon was riding an incredible wave that could lead him to the NBA.

"Why do you want to be in the NBA?" I asked him, draping my arm over his firm stomach.

It felt like one of Axel's surfboards.

He looked down at my hand and then at me, hitting me with his beautiful gaze.

"I want to play with the best," he answered and paused, "Why are you looking sad Candy?"

"I just wondered if there was something more to it. Like a higher purpose. Being the best sound cool, but does it make you sleep better at night?"

Zenon exhaled and said, "Yeah, it does."

"There's a lot of injustice in the world," I said, adding a side comment, "Rest in peace Winnifred and all the other murdered cats. But there are inequalities, discrimination, bullying, harassment... not everyone is born in a palace like Bryce."

Zenon raised his hand and slowly traced the outline of my face, landing on my bottom lip. I stopped biting it.

He murmured, "I'm trying to see the connection between Winnifred, Bryce, injustice and basketball."

I really need to express my thoughts better.

"I just think that... if you have the chance to reach the top of any game, don't you want to do something to change the system?" I asked, "Maybe as a player on an NBA team, you can make the owners accountable for their actions or their policies?"

He took a moment to hear me out, before he said truthfully, "I've never thought of that."

I believe in him so much. He has the confidence: the kind of guy who acts like he can change the world.

So, change it.

I opened my eyes to a warm pair of arms wrapped around me. The warmth of his body kept the cold air at bay.

My neck cramped from lying in an awkward position. Zenon was lying alongside me on the couch. My leg was draped over his, though my foot rested in the gap between his. My bare toes touched the tip of his white socks. He was sleeping beside me and his chest slowly rose and fell as he breathed.

It was pitch dark outside and we'd accidentally fallen asleep here last night, together.

I fell asleep.

I actually slept.

Something about Zenon made me so comfortable, it washed away my worries. I just dozed off in his arms and, at some point, he did too. His arm still held me from falling.

I got up slowly and quietly, trying not to knee him in the process. It felt amazing to have slept – I was still tired, but feeling better than I had all week. I accidentally kneed my left leg with my right leg and almost fell on Zenon.

He stirred at the commotion, moving his arm and slowly opening his blue eyes.

"Come back to bed," he groaned, half asleep.

"We're not in bed," I reminded him with a smile.

He frowned in that confused, cute way of his and checked the time on his watch. He groaned again. It was 3 or 4 ish AM.

Not such a morning person now, are ya?

"I'm starving," he stretched.

Watching him stretch took up the whole couch. I wondered how I managed to fit in there with him.

He never made it to dinner, did he?