Chp 10
I walked down the path in Central Park. I had been thinking about Annabeth a lot since I saw her two weeks before. I saw a couple walking towards me with a stroller. They were on the same path. But the guy looked familiar.
When I got closer I recognized him more. "Jason Grace, well I never." I said, as they came two meters away. He smiled at me and we had a friendly hug. "Funny I see you here. I thought your business was up in Miami?" He said. I chuckled and said, "We're moving here."
He chuckled and said, "I want you to meet my wife, Piper, and our daughter Kayla." He said, putting his arm around her waist. She smiled and shook my hand. "So you're the famous Piper McLean- sorry, Grace that we heard about till our eardrums burst." I said, smiling at her. She laughed and said, "And you must be the famous Percy." She smirked at Jason, who raised his hands in surrender.
"Not every day you have a down to earth millionaire friend!" He protested, jokingly. I laughed and looked at their little girl. I tickled her tummy and she laughed. "Congrats." I said, smiling at them.
"So you ever see that girl you liked again?" He asked me. I chuckled. "I actually saw her the other day, but she said she had problems with her first relationship and stuff, and then had to go to a dinner with friends." I said.
"What was her name?" Piper asked, smiling at me. "Annabeth Chase." I said, imagining her as I said her name. "No way! She's my best friend! We were actually there when she had her first boyfriend. And we were the ones she went to dinner with." She said, chuckling.
"Are you serious?" I asked, unbelievingly. "Yeah. Maybe we could set some dinner up for you guys. Secretly of course." She said, smiling wide. Jason raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed. "What? I've been trying to get her abou friend forever and she really likes him!" She protested. I felt all tingly when she said that.
"Fine, but this was all your idea." He said, sighing. She smiled at me and said, "I will arrange a dinner at a restaurant and tell you the date she is free." I furrowed my eyebrows. "But she will decline if she knows it's me asking." She thought for a bit then said, "I'll say we're going out for a girls night or whatever."
I said goodbye and they went on their way. I felt so excited. I was actually going to have dinner with her.
~Line Break~
Annabeth's POV
I stepped out the cab and went into the restaurant. "Reservations for Mrs Grace." I said to the man. He smiled and nodded. He showed me to a table on the right of the fancy restaurant. I wondered why she had picked such a fancy restaurant, but I guess we hadn't gone out since Kayla was born.
I thanked the man and he went off. "Pipes, I'm surprised at the restaurant you picked." I said, smiling as I sat down at the table. As she brought down the menu that she had been reading, which happened to cover her face, I realized it wasn't her at all.
"You look beautiful as always Ms. Chase." Percy said, smiling at me. I had worn a pair of platform heels and a blue dress that went to just above my knees. I had my hair in a fancy bun as well. "Not bad yourself, although I was expecting to see someone else." I said, keeping the eye contact.
I sat down, and looked at him from across the small table. "Percy, remember what I said about keeping this a business relationship?" I asked, as I looked at him. "Apparently it went through one ear and out the other." He said, his facial expression staying the same. I cracked a smile and shook my head at him.
"Well this isn't a date." I said, laying my napkin on my lap. "Why not?" He asked. "Because we aren't dating." I answered. He smirked and said, "I'm working on that." I looked up from my menu and saw him smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and said, "Do you become cocky in public or something?" I asked, reading through the menu.
He shrugged and poured red wine into my glass. "No, I'm just telling the truth." He said, and put the bottle back in the ice bucket. We both ordered our food and sat to wait for it. We were silent, just staring at each other from across the table. "You know I'm not giving up." He said.
"On what?" I took a sip of the wine and waited for his answer. "On you." He said. I sighed and looked around the restaurant. There were a couple famous people here, and people who basically ran the economy and stuff. "So what, you come here and see all your fathers allies?"
He shrugged. "I know them and stuff, but I also feel their eyes on me. They'll report anything to my father if they see me around. He has his employees and stuff." I let out a breath and shook my head. "And they'll go and report to your father that you were seen having dinner with a girl that doesn't have a big daddy that owns some big company or share."
He groaned. "Annabeth, I don't care who sees me with you. I want everyone to know how much I want you." He said. "I can see the headline. Businessmens handsome son seen with unknown girl." I said, talking in the tone of some reporter.
He chuckled and said, "You don't get it. I'm not like that. Yeah, I got money and stuff but I don't want to date some Brazilian model or whatever. I want to date you." The food arrived and we ate in silence. He payed for the bill and we made our way through the restaurant to the front.
"You need a ride home?" He asked. "I'll take a cab." I said, and sent him a smile. "No, I'll take you home." He said. He insisted, and wasn't taking no for an answer, so I agreed.
When he dropped me off, he was going to get out but I put my hand on his as he reached for his seat belt buckle. "Don't walk me in, that will end up having good night kisses and me aren't dating." I said. He sighed and searched my eyes for anything that would make me let him come in. I kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you for dinner. I will see you soon." I then got out his car and felt his eyes on my back till I was inside.