Zenon's Game Chapter 326

~Three hours later~

It was pitch dark and the trees blocked most of the sunlight. The taillights on Zenon's jeep wrangler shed light on the rural road ahead. According to the GPS, we were close by.

"I can't believe we're coming here," I said, feeling a world away from all the chaos we left behind.

We hadn't seen another car in twenty minutes. It felt like total isolation.

"I needed fresh air," Zenon said, one hand on the steering heel and the other resting against the window, "And I don't trust our friends right now."

He'd been driving for three hours straight at this point. I was exhausted. I'd taken a nap when we were on the highway.

"Is that why you hung up on Bryce?" I asked.

He nodded and turned the wheel left as we rolled out of the forest and into the clearing that was close to his house. The lake was in sight.

My excitement took over and I changed subject, keeping the mood upbeat, "I wonder what you packed for me."

"You left so much sh*t in my room, Candy," he reminded me, "I packed it since I thought you were still at the bar. I wanted to pick you up and drive straight to the lake house before it got too late. I don't like coming here in the middle of the night."

"Yeah," I said, staring out at the night sky.

Hearing Zenon talk about packing for me made me grateful that I went back to pack my own bag, including toiletries. If Zenon thinks all I need are clothes for a weeklong trip, he still has a lot to learn.

He slowed the car down and asked, "By the way, are we going to talk about why you were in a tree outside my house, or do we let that one slide?"

"I say we let that one slide."

"Ok." Zenon looked over at me and smiled.

I guess some things never change.

The cabin was a beautiful wooden building with a sloped, dark blue roof. It was surrounded by a forest. The last time I came here was in fall, when the leaves were turning a golden brown. Now the branches were bare and there was a thin white layer of snow.

"I'll get the bags," Zenon told me, not wanting me to be out in the cold rain.

It was like the bad weather had followed us. At least, it was a lighter rain than when it first started pouring on Dupont Avenue.

"Be careful," Zenon said, keys in one hand as he pushed the door open with his other, "Try not to slip."

Should I be offended or touched that he knows me so well?

The ground was a bit slippery from the mud that the rain had created. I hurried towards the empty house and waited under the shade for Zenon to come with the house keys and open the door.

He walked towards me from the car, with the flashlights blinking behind him as he locked it remotely. His gym bag was slung over one shoulder and my backpack was on his other.

The rain made his hair glisten as he swept it out of his eyes. I tried not to romanticize the moment.

It's difficult. He's cute.

I followed Zenon quietly into the house. I was a bit nervous about the two of us spending a week hiding away in his lake house. We hadn't spent much time alone together lately and it made me more shy than usual.

The house was cold, dark and empty as we walked in. Zenon switched on the lights, and I saw clearer: the wooden dining table next to the windows and the cozy fireplace with blankets on the beige sofa. It reminded me of the last time we were here, when Jake played Aerosmith on his guitar, and Annika, Zenon and I sang along until the early hours of the morning.

"Make yourself at home," Zenon said, opening the kitchen's cabinets to see what was inside.

I stared at him now, feeling worlds away from the last time we came here. Last time, the house had been full of people. Zenon and I had just begun dating and I was getting to know his parents for the first time.

Now, we had escaped here without anyone knowing. I felt like a bandit. And it didn't seem like anyone had come to the jake house in a few months. It was ours to ruin.

Did I really just think that?

I walked over to the curtains behind the dining table. They hung from the ceiling all the way to the floor, and I yanked them open as the view hit me: a breathtaking landscape of the lake lit by moonlight.

"Wow," I muttered, stepping back to admire it until I walked into a chair.

I turned around and saw the wooden dining table with empty vases where flowers used to be. There were some large candles on the table and a candle lighter at the end. I decided to light them. We might as well make the house warmer.

"What's on your mind tonight, Candy?!" Zenon smirked suggestively, watching me light candles as he walked over with a bag of chips in his hand.

"I'm setting the mood," I replied, walking towards the living room where I started to light the candles above the fireplace, "And it's freezing."

"I'll get the fire going," he said.

Zenon put his jacket on and went back out in the rain to get more firewood from the shed. While he tended to the fire, I rummaged in his bag and pulled out a hoodie. It was really cold in here.

The time was almost 1AM and tiredness was starting to catch up with me. But I really enjoyed this time with Zenon, especially now that the living room was warm, with candles flickering and the crackling sound of the fireplace. Zenon grabbed some drinks from the cupboard and an ice bucket.

"I turned the heating on, but it'll take a while to warm the house," he said, "Let's go by the fireplace until it gets warm upstairs."