"I can't wait until the party!" I said as Annabeth and Thalia helped me prepare some finger foods for Nico's twenty first birthday party later that evening. Now, I know what you're going to say, technically, Nico is like... 101 but that's not the point. The point is that we had an excuse to throw a party. I don't normally drink since my mother was an alcoholic but tonight, it was different.
"I know! It's going to be so much fun!" Thalia said excitedly.
Annabeth grinned, "Percy is going to look so awkward in a tuxedo."
I threw my head back, laughing. "I'm sure you'll love that," I said mockingly to Annabeth.
"And I'm sure that you will deeply enjoy seeing Luke in his," she remarked.
I almost blushed but I caught myself. "No, we've decided that it's best that we stay friends," I informed Annabeth.
Silence filled the Big House kitchen. It stayed that way until the cook timer went off. Annabeth jumped up and scurried to the oven, pulling out a tray of puff pastry chicken pot pies. "I think that does it, we're done!" Thalia announced.
We cleaned the kitchen before bidding our goodbyes. "Don't forget ladies, black dresses!" I reminded the pair before hurrying back to the Apollo cabin to prepare for the night.
I paced along the beach where the party was being held, greeting people as they arrived. "Hey, Jacinda!" Percy shouted from the other end of the party tent that we had put up.
"What is it Percy?" I huffed impatiently, marching in his direction.
"Can you help me with this?" He asked, holding up his neck tie. Rolling my eyes, I took it from his hand and wrapped it around his neck. I stepped back and admired my work after I finished the half-Windsor knot. "Oh, uh, Jace," Percy said distractedly, pointing over my shoulder.
I glanced behind me and saw Luke standing across the tent, staring me down. I did the same without turning all of the way around. He looked strong and masculine in his tight-fitted button down shirt and open jacket, yet prim and proper in his bow tie and slacks. I slowly turned my gaze back to Percy. "I'll.. see you later," I said absentmindedly before spinning on the heels of my white cowboy boots and briskly pushing through the crowd, on my way to Luke.
"Hey," I said airily when I was finally a foot away from him.
"You look amazing," he said in the same airy tone, looking down at my pink and black lace dress.
I averted my eyes and whispered, "thanks," as I tucked my curly brown hair behind my ear.
"So... Nico is finally twenty one! He's the last one," Luke said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I guess he is... unless you count Percy's mental age. In that case, we have another eighteen years!" I kidded with him. He gave a whole-hearted and sincere laugh.
"I'll see you later," He said before pushing through the crowd. I stood for a moment, wondering why he had to go so suddenly, until somebody jumped on my back.
I screamed and turned in circles, trying to determine who it was. "Thalia, get off of her!" I heard Annabeth yell. The person slid off of me and I turned to face them.
"What was that for?" I said, alarmed.
"He's coming!" Thalia yelled before grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the tiki bar that the Hephaestus kids made for us.
"Places!" several people shouted as the cocktail waiters made there way forward. Nico ducked into the tent and everyone cheered.
Nico looked awestruck as he took in the scene. One of the waiters handed him a beer. He smiled and excepted it before taking a quick sip, causing everyone to cheer louder. The party had officially begun.
I stood with a martini in my hand by the bar, talking with Luke, Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico about nonsense. I caught Luke eying me from across the group.
We were all pretty drunk, including me. I hadn't had that much to drink but I really didn't drink often so I got drunk very easy. The hours slipped by, the bass shaking the tent. The six of us danced the night away to the music of Nico's choice. About half way through my third drink, everything got fuzzy.
Percy looked at me and said, "Are you feeling alright? You look sick."
"Are you doubting the fact that I can hold down my liquor?" I asked, gulping down the rest of my third.
"No, not at all. You just don't look too good."
But, sadly, Percy was right. After a couple more, I found myself sprinting from the tent and onto the beach dock, vomiting up my guts. After that, the whole night was a blur. I remembered walking back to the party and the next thing I knew, I was sitting next to Luke at the bar, totally hammered.
As I watched Luke take shoots, I thought about how sexy he looked in that tux. When he turned towards me, I smiled cheekily and whispered, "Hey hot stuff."
He leaned in, planting his lips on mine. Under normal circumstances, this never would have happened but, he looked SOO sexy!
Minutes later, I was straddling his legs, in his lap with his tongue in my mouth. One of my hands clenched the collar of his shirt, the other ran along his stomach, exploring his muscles. His hands grasped the back of my head, making sure I wouldn't slip away.
When Luke pulled away, he grinned, "Let's get out of here." Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me away from the party and into the woods. I kicked off my shoes as we ran.
We stumbled through the darkness together and carefully climbed onto a pile of rocks near Zeus's Fist. We continued our make-out session until I had slipped off Luke's jacket and bow-tie and his hands crept up my dress. I giggled, unbuttoning his shirt. I raised my arms and my dress was peeled off. Luke continued to kiss me all over as I fiddled with his belt buckle. "I love you," he whispered as he kissed my neck, using his hands to slide off his pants and boxers. He was the first one naked. I flopped on top of him as he worked my lace panties down my legs with his toes. Now we were both naked and moaning for more.
We carried on with our little games for long minutes that seemed like hours. My eyelids grew heavy as I sunk my head into the crook of Luke's neck. We both drifted off to sleep in each other's embrace.