After returning to Denver and driving around in the rented car for an extra half hour to find Silena's idea of a perfect restaurant, the couple finally sat down at their table at a place called The One and Only. Even though Beckendorf didn't have an official license, he'd snuck out of camp for some Saturday drives multiple times with the Stoll brothers, so he had enough experience to safely drive Silena around, along with a useful ability to talk police officers out of giving him tickets.
Beckendorf chuckled softly as he read the restaurant's name to himself. Such an Aphrodite name, he thought.
The waitress soon came to their table to ask for their orders. "I'll have a Sprite and a large Caesar salad, please," Silena said.
"And I'll have a Coke and the four-ounce filet mignon, please," Beckendorf ordered.
As soon as the waitress left, Silena asked, "Wanna play Would You Rather?"
"Sure," Beckendorf replied. He took her hand and held it across the table. Beckendorf thought she looked absolutely stunning. Her blonde hair took on an almost caramel color in the dim lighting of the restaurant. Her eyes started changing color again, and when she had turned to look at the waitress, Beckendorf thought (for only the fiftieth time) about how perfect her profile was.
Silena smiled at him and asked, "Would you rather see Connor and Miranda or Travis and Katie get together?"
"Definitely Travis and Katie," Beckendorf replied. "I mean, that would be both interesting and hilarious."
Silena laughed before saying, "Your turn."
"Okay." Beckendorf thought for a moment. Then he asked, "Would you rather have the ability to control water like Percy or be super smart like Annabeth?"
"Super smart because then I would have realized how much you loved me in the first place, and then I wouldn't have been so nervous about you loving me back all the time," Silena replied without blushing even slightly.
Beckendorf smiled, Silena's hand still in his, and said, "I've loved you ever since the day you walked down Half-Blood Hill for the first time with your two hundred pounds of luggage. It was right after you fought the Minotaur."
At this, Silena blushed slightly. As a daughter of Aphrodite, it was just physically impossible for her to pack only half of her wardrobe. How was she supposed to know what clothes she would need every day? She had to be prepared, right?
After a few more rounds of this, the waitress brought out their food, and the couple ate in comfortable silence. Silena didn't notice, but Beckendorf looked as if he was enjoying watching her more than enjoying actually eating. Soon after, they ordered dessert (a piece of warm blueberry pie that they both shared), and then Beckendorf paid with the money Chiron had provided for their trip.
The two demigods were slowly making their way to their car when Silena noticed something. "Charlie," she said while pointing to an abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of town, "does that name sound familiar to you?"
Beckendorf looked to where she was pointing. He saw an old wooden roller coaster with only half of its tracks intact. He then read the sign above it. "Waterland? Yeah, that kind of does sound familiar, but I don't know why. Wanna go check it out?"
"Why not?" Silena replied, and they started walking in the direction of the park, passing their car on the way.