It was the perfect night in Paris, France. Annabeth strolled with Percy through the city's lit up streets, holding his hand. Annabeth felt perfectly content. It was her and Percy's one-month anniversary since they'd been together; they'd already visited the Louvre Museum in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. Annabeth had marveled at the tower's construction. It was beautiful and huge, made by Gustave Eiffel, a son of Athena (Annabeth wasn't surprised). She'd gawked at it until Percy claimed she looked like a fish; he'd taken her arm and pulled her into the tower, where they'd gone to the top. There was a small gift shop there, where Percy had bought him and Annabeth a box of chocolate. They didn't have any money, but three hours earlier Annabeth and Percy had helped out Hermes, by recovering his staff for him. So the god had agreed to repay them, by teleporting them off to Paris, France, with his magical god-of-travelers powers; he'd also given them a black Olympus Express credit card, which had proved very useful in the past three hours. Annabeth—a bit guiltily—hoped the credit card didn't run out of money—or drachmas, or whatever it was that went into the credit card machines every time she or Percy swiped it. They'd spent a lot of money already: in addition to a fancy French restaurant they'd eaten at when they'd first come here, Percy had bought Annabeth many sweet gifts, and they'd visited a few museums that charged fee entry.

Annabeth glanced over at Percy to her side, and smiled. He was so handsome in the street lamps' light. His black hair was long and mussed; his sea-green eyes sparkled with mischievousness. Sending them to Paris hadn't been Hermes's only payback; he'd also made sure Annabeth and Percy arrived spiffed up, since their old clothes had been so horribly filthy. Percy wore a nice black suit, even a matching tie. It looked good on him. Since the night was nice out, he'd taken off his coat and hung it over his arm.

Annabeth felt a little more self-conscious about her own apparel. Hermes had given her a dark-green, sleeveless dress to wear, with a string of gray pearls at her throat.

Annabeth felt terribly grateful to have Percy as her boyfriend. She hoped he felt the same way about her.

They found a nice park off the street and walked through it. Percy glanced at a pocket watch in the coat pocket of his suit. "It's ten," he announced to Annabeth. "We've got two more hours here."

Annabeth sighed dreamily. "I wish it would never end," she murmured.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, nodding. "These French truffle chocolates are awfully good." He held up the box.

"No, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed, punching his arm lightly. "I mean, it's such a nice night out, and it's just us here. Away from Camp Half-Blood, with no one around. Alone."

Percy didn't say anything in reply, so Annabeth sighed again and said, "Let's go eat those chocolates." She gestured to a park bench nearby.

They went over to it and sat down; Annabeth found the stone park bench cold, but with Percy near her she soon warmed up. A lake with clear-blue water was in front of them; Annabeth found it a pity there were no ducks, even in the dark.

Percy opened the box of chocolate, and as Annabeth leaned over to snatch a caramel truffle one, her arm brushed his.

They just sat quietly for a while. It was nice. Eventually Annabeth settled back against Percy. They took in the peaceful view, and each other's presence. Percy put his arms around her.

"So . . ." He cleared his throat; Annabeth could tell he was nervous. "I was just wondering . . . and thinking . . . What's your schedule this winter?"

Annabeth was surprised. Percy was not the planner-type.

"Um, I'm not sure, Seaweed Brain. Why do you want to know my schedule? That's not very Percy-like."

"I was just . . . thinking about us . . . and, um—well, maybe our two-month anniversary . . ." Percy still sounded nervous, and it seemed to Annabeth as though he hadn't said all he'd wanted to. Like he was holding something back. But it was still sweet.

"Were you? Aw, Percy," Annabeth said. She sat up and turned to face him. Annabeth gave him her sweetest smile—at least, she hoped it looked sweet. She was still curious about what he had to say.

Annabeth gave him a quick kiss, then sighed and leaned back against Percy's warm chest. They sat on the park bench in the cool night. A soft breeze whispered around them. The Eiffel Tower stood lit up in the distance.

Percy was silent a moment. "I was talking to my mom the other day," he finally said, "and she told me she had reserved a house on the beach for her and me. But then something came up and she was going to cancel it."

He cleared his throat again, continuing. "Anyway, I told her not to cancel it—I saw pictures of the house on the computer. It's nice. I didn't say anything to my mom; I wanted to ask you first. So, here goes." He took a deep breath. "I was wondering . . . Would you want to spend a week at the beach with me, at the beach house?"

Annabeth gasped and sat up again. "Just us?" she squeaked. Percy and she never had advantages like that.

"I'm sure my mom would insist Paul come with us," Percy admitted.

Annabeth considered it a moment. It would still be very nice—she, Percy, and Paul on the beach for a week. It would actually be great.

In answer to his question, Annabeth leaned forward and kissed him.

"I guess that's a yes," Percy mumbled.

Annabeth put her hands on the side of his head, and pressed her face closer to his. Percy didn't pull away—he couldn't even if he wanted to, Annabeth decided. His back was to a park bench.

Annabeth knew that Hermes would teleport Percy and her back to New York in two hours, but she wished the night would last forever.

Percy put his hand on the back of her head and smoothed her blond hair.

Suddenly Annabeth heard a sound like a splash! She let go of Percy and whirled around. Something had popped up out of the lake in front of them.