Chapter 8

Zenon Albert mentioned that I owed him a favor, but the way things were going, it felt more like he was doing me one. Seriously, here I was at The Surfside Shack with two of the hottest guys around. We were indulging in milkshakes and eye candy.

Everyone was drooling over them, looking at them as if they were the main course on the menu. Axel grabbed a towel to dry off, then put on a shirt, only for a girl to sneak up behind him trying to snatch his towel.

These boys had fans. I hadn't really noticed before since I'm not very social. Most of what I knew about Zenon Albert's life came from watching through my bedroom window—seeing cars pick him up for parties and girls lining up at his door.

But this time, I was actually out with him.

We settled into a booth in the corner of the restaurant, trying to avoid all the attention. Yet people kept crowding around our booth to chat with Zenon and Axel. Everyone seemed to know them or at least know of them. The boys didn’t seem thrilled about all the attention, but I was having the time of my life.

"Can I have the chocolate coconut milkshake with toasted marshmallow whipped cream and extra cherries, please?" I asked the waiter with a smile.

I glanced back at the menu, wondering if anything else caught my eye. When you're at the beach, you've got to seize the day. That's how I see it.

"Ooh, the watermelon wave looks fun. Can I get one of those too?"

Zenon snatched the menu from my hands, "Alright, that's enough. We'll have two Coronas."

"You didn't need the menu for that," I grumbled, disappointed by his boring choice.

"Take it easy on her, Albert," Axel defended me. "She's doing you a favor."

I found myself liking him more and more with each passing moment.

"It's actually the other way around," Zenon replied, sliding his ID back into his pocket.

"But we don't need to go into the details!" I quickly added.

Partly because I wanted to appear like a nice girl in front of Axel, who seemed genuinely kind. And mostly because revealing the truth would mean admitting I was a bad driver, which is absolutely NOT true. I couldn't forget the raccoon story. Never, ever forget the raccoon story.

"Just know that I once saved a raccoon's life," I said.

"Why does that story keep coming up?" Zenon exclaimed.

"Because," I explained calmly and professionally, "it's always relevant. More importantly, why do you get so worked up about it?"

"You have an unhealthy obsession with raccoons."

"Do you hate animals?"

"Guys," Axel tried to mediate, but his attempt failed.

"Do you even have a life?"

"Do you have a soul?"

"Guys!" Axel slammed his hand on the table to stop our glaring contest, "We have a job to do here, so let's try to focus. Zenon, tell her the story. She needs to know what's going on before she gets involved."

Just then, the waiter interrupted us by placing two Coronas and a giant milkshake on the table. The whipped cream formed a towering peak, adorned with four red cherries poking out of the white fluff. It was heaven in a soda glass.

I inserted a green straw into the shake and savored the creamy goodness.

As I mentioned, I don't go out much—mostly because I don't have anyone to go out with. I don't have many friends aside from Julie, but she's vegetarian, vegan, and allergic to dairy and my favorite foods, so this wouldn't be a place we'd visit together.

"Candace," Zenon said my name, sounding exasperated. "Can you stop slurping so loudly?"

I looked up, straw still in my mouth, innocently enjoying my chocolate-coconut-with-cherries-on-top milkshake. "You're the Grinch."

Zenon rolled his eyes. "Wow, what a devastating insult."

"The Grinch ruined Christmas."

"He almost did—"

"GUYS! Come on! What did I just say?! You keep drifting off into your own worlds. You both sound crazy." Axel was clearly more mature and probably right.

"She's—"

"He's—"

Zenon interrupted me, "Obviously, you're not here because we enjoy your company. I'm in trouble. Last season, I was betting on my own basketball games. I figured since I was winning so much, I might as well make some money from it."

"That's illegal, you know. It's insider trading," I pointed out.

"We're not on Wall Street. This is high school basketball," Zenon defended himself.

I was taken aback. I hadn't expected him to do something like that. It was simply wrong, plain and simple.

"I was against it from the start," Axel chimed in, making his position clear.

"Axel never does the right thing, but he always preaches it," Zenon remarked.

"That's why we're friends," Axel responded with a smile.

Despite how much of a jerk Zenon could be, their friendship seemed genuine. Their loyalty went far beyond high school popularity; it had nothing to do with it. They trusted each other, which was admirable.

"And as usual, Zenon's master plans cause us more trouble than they're worth," Axel added.

Zenon smirked, "Like your taste in women."

Ouch.

Axel was left to defend his choices in women while I enjoyed my creamy milkshake. The atmosphere between us was surprisingly relaxed, and I liked it. I continued to sip away. Zenon shot me a glare.

I stopped slurping immediately. Grinch.