Chapter 4- Under Canoe Lake: Percy
After breakfast, Percy went to Canoe Lake, he figured since he was the head counselor of Cabin Three and since he was the only camper, he got to make up his own schedule. He was going to the bottom of the lake for a little while to clean up some of the scraps from the last naval practice attacks they had.
He swam across the bottom of the lake, essentially sweeping the debris into one big pile so he could carry it all up in fewer trips. He was just getting ready to take the first load up when someone did a cannon ball not fifteen feet from where he was drifting. Percy looked over and saw blond curls floating all around a gorgeous, grinning, girl's head.
In a second he was by her side, summoning all the air around him to form a bubble. Once she could breathe again, Annabeth wound her arms around Percy's neck and kissed him passionately.
"Aren't you supposed to be at archery?" He asked as they pulled back for some air.
"Maybe," she said with a twinkle in her eye that could really drive a guy wild.
"Hmmm… another hour and a half until I instruct sword play, what can we do until then?" Then, the son of the sea god pulled the daughter of the wisdom goddess into his lap and picked right back up where they'd been just a minute before.
Annabeth turned in his lap so she was facing Percy, wrapping her legs around his waist, pressing their bodies together so there was nothing but a thin layer of wet clothing between them. He wanted her so badly, but knew that now was not the right time or place.
"Annabeth," he gasped, gently tilting his head back so he could speak. She continued tracing kisses across his jaw line and down his neck. Putting his hands on her shoulders he pulled back, separating their bodies by a fraction of an inch—he knew she was strong, there was no way he was getting her legs off him unless she wanted to move them.
"If I lose focus right now, the bubble will pop, all of Canoe Lake will come crashing down into this one little spot, and either the pressure, or shock or something would just… Just… Okay?" She pouted, but Percy knew that she was incredibly smart, so logically it would sink in and she wouldn't be too mad at him.
Apparently logic wasn't with Annabeth today, because she put one hand on Percy's neck and pulled his face back down to hers, their lips meeting for only a few seconds. He almost pulled away, fearful that she was going to try to break his concentration again, but thought better of it, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
"Okay," she whispered softly against his lips. Her breath smelled like a raspberry smoothie, Percy laid back against the wall of air, and just breathed in the sweet smell of his beautiful, perfect, girlfriend. Annabeth, still on top of him, turned so she was sitting sideways across his lap, loosened her arms around his neck just a little bit, put her head on his chest. Percy wrapped his arms once more around the prettiest girl at camp (including the nature spirits and daughters of Aphrodite), and they just cuddled for a few minutes.
Lying there, absent mindedly looking up at the top of the water was absolutely beautiful, the way the sun shone through the water, the beams playing and shooting down into the depths reminded Percy of the tank in his cabin. Especially when the light hit the bubble, it refracted off the top, casting shimmering blue and green shadows onto the couple. Amazing, Percy thought, But not nearly as amazing as Annabeth.
In that moment it was like all of Aphrodite's magic was in that pocket of air with them, he could feel his love for the Wise Girl pouring out of him, encircling them in swirls of mist, keeping them together, pulling them closer. It was better than any dream he'd ever had.
Bending his head down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head, he whispered softly, but with conviction, "I love you, Annabeth Chase," for the first time.
He had no idea whether or not she heard his confession because a moment later her breathing became slower and heavier; he looked down to see that his girlfriend had fallen asleep on his lap in an air bubble at the bottom of Canoe Lake. He didn't care what activities were next; he was not going to wake her up when she looked this peaceful.