Chapter 1

Women are capable of pretending an orgas*m, whereas men might pretend an entire relationship.

Just ask my ex. He grew tired of waiting and shifted his focus to someone who was a sure thing - Kelly I-smile-at-everything Mathers. It's fine. It feels as serious as undergoing open heart surgery, but that's old news now.

The real buzz around here is about Zenon Albert. Yes, I changed the subject on purpose.

But truly, Zenon Albert is the talk of the town. A star athlete and a dreamy figure. His chiseled abs make you wish he had no shirts to wear.

He's incredibly attractive.

As attractive as perfect weather for ice cream. The kind where you'd savor every last bit.

Too much? That's what I thought until I saw him in person. And I get to see him often since he lives on my street. Sometimes life can surprise you like that.

Just now, I glanced out of my bedroom window at Zenon. He was heading up the driveway, carrying his gym bag over his shoulder, looking every bit as seductive as the sexiest man alive -

"Candace!"

I jumped, startled by my best friend entering the room and catching me in the act.

"What are you-" Julia came over and saw exactly what had caught my attention, "Keep dreaming, girl. That guy seems like he's from a different world."

"I know," I sighed, turning on my laptop to log into Netflix.

We were about to re-watch season 3 of TVD. The #Delena storyline sets such unrealistic relationship standards, and I'm totally here for it.

"Why do you even need a Netflix account when you have him right across the street?" she asked, taking my spot by the window, "Can you see his room from here?"

"No," I lowered the blinds before things got any more invasive, "Probably better that way."

"Alright," Julia sighed and reluctantly switched topics, "So, are you going to teach at that summer camp again?"

"Yeah, it pays, which means I can cut down on hours at the store once school starts," I explained.

My family’s finances are stretched thin. It doesn’t help that my sister has an uncontrollable shopping habit and my mom is constantly dating. As for my dad? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

"Maybe this year you'll hang out with someone closer to your age," Julia teased.

Last summer, I mainly befriended the younger kids at camp. People my own age usually overlook me. But honestly, nothing could have prepared me for what was about to unfold. In just a few weeks, my entire existence would be flipped upside down, inside out, and shaken all around.

I was nobody special, and don’t get me wrong, I still am. But knowing Zenon Albert, I realized being a nobody isn’t quite so bad after all.

Camp Beaver Hill

A sleepaway camp for boys and girls aged 8-13. I never attended this camp growing up, so I didn't have any nostalgic feelings, but the job paid well. I parked my car behind the administration cabin and walked inside.

"Hi Khloe," I greeted the counselor at the 'welcome desk'.

She was a rising senior at my high school, and we had both been counselors here last year. We even co-taught a volleyball session where I shared my protein bars with her (quite a sacrifice on my part).

"Do I know you?" she asked.

I guess that wasn’t enough to leave an impression.

"I'm Candace Turner. I'm a camp counselor here too," I explained.

"You're checking in. Got it," she pulled out a set of folders and started searching through them, "Oh. Oh my gosh. Wait, you're Candace?"

She remembered me? "Yes!" I said happily, "I gave you my protein b-"

"You're related to him? Oh my gosh, I didn't realize. Oh my gosh," she kept repeating herself, "It's wild to think he’s here this summer."

"Who?"

She stood up and came over to give me a hug, "Nice to meet you. I'm Khloe."

"I know who you-"

"This is a map of the camp. By the way, I love your shirt. Let me show you around."

"I already know the-"

"And you should definitely meet my friends. You'll be looking after the Apple campers and staying with him in the-"

"I'm sharing a room with a boy?" I asked, surprised.

We weren’t supposed to share rooms with the opposite gender. The cabins were segregated by gender.

"Yeah, I know it's unusual, but we had too many female counselors and since you two are related-"

"Who am I related to?" I asked, puzzled.

Seriously. Please answer one question without creating another. Who is this guy?

And then the doors opened, letting in a warm breeze. We turned our heads and there he was, Zenon Albert, standing confidently in the doorway.

"I’m here to check in," he said, his voice deep and commanding. I had never heard him speak before; people often talked about him and admired him from afar. But hearing him up close was something else entirely... impressive.

“You’re beautiful,” Khloe whispered, completely mesmerized.

“What?” I looked over at her, wondering if she was alright.

He was checking in while we were busy checking him out.

“Welcome to Camp Beaver Hill,” Khloe tried to compose herself, “It’s an honor to meet you, Zenon Albert. I still can’t believe you’re a counselor this summer. We love you. I mean, the kids love you. Actually, they will love you—”

Ignoring her, he walked over to the front desk. With that attitude, the kids might not love him as much.

He saw his folder on the desk, sitting open on top of the pile. Khloe must have been snooping through his background information earlier. He gave her an annoyed look.

“Where’s my room?”

“It’s in the Apple cabin,” Khloe replied.

But wait, I’m in the...

Khloe pointed at me, “With her.”

Pause. Rewind. Who could have predicted this?

For the first time since he arrived, Zenon Albert’s piercing blue eyes focused on me. “And who are you?”

At that moment, I wasn’t quite sure. Partly because Zenon’s gaze had that effect on people, but mostly because my life was usually quite uneventful. And nothing about this situation felt ordinary.

I couldn’t answer him because only one thought was running through my mind...

Oh, for the love of all things surreal!

Hey, I didn’t claim to be normal.