Chapter 12

Annabeth

Annabeth was a nervous wreck, though she wasn't really sure why. Friday had come around quickly. She had spent the past few days with Percy, basically nonstop except for sleeping. They kissed a lot, made out a couple times. He cooked for her one time, when they had gone back to his apartment to clean up after a lunch spent behind his locked office door. But a date… It just felt all the more serious. It had been almost four years since Annabeth's last first date. To say she was out of practice was an understatement.

Somewhere in her mind, she knew it was all going to be okay. She had never felt this way about someone before, even Luke. Her mind was going crazy. She was dressed in a red body-con dress, with lace detailing at the bottom and in the back. She grabbed her simple black stilettos, and checked the time. Five to eight. Five minutes to steel her nerves, and get it together. She did a once over of herself in the mirror. At least she was confident in her appearance. The only thing Annabeth had gotten out of Percy about their date was the dress code – nice restaurant, he had said with a smirk. Other than that, Annabeth was in the dark. If there was one thing Annabeth hated, it was surprises. Annabeth had to be in control, and surprises were the complete opposite of that.

A knock at the door shattered her thoughts. Annabeth pulled the hem of her skirt down, and strutted out, grabbing her black clutch that held her phone, chapstick, debit card, and pepper spray – just in case Percy turned crazy, which she doubted would happen, but you could never be too sure.

Jason answered the door. "Percy Jackson? Come on in."

'Thanks." She heard Percy's voice drifting through the entryway. "Is Annabeth?"

"She's coming." Jason said, and Annabeth could hear the protectiveness in his voice. Oh, jeez. "By the way, Annabeth's like my little sister. If you hurt her-"

Annabeth cut him off, saving Percy from further embarrassment. "Jason, I'm seven months older than you. I'll be back before midnight." She grabbed Percy's hand, and shut the door behind them. They barely got two steps in before he pulled her in for a kiss. Annabeth was pretty sure she would never get tired of kissing Percy.

"You look absolutely stunning." He said softly, tucking a glossy curl behind her ear.

"You clean up pretty nicely, too." Annabeth said, grinning. Percy was wearing slacks with a dress shirt and jacket. He hadn't bothered with a tie, which Annabeth was grateful for. There was something about guys with that one button undone, slightly disheveled, that drove her absolutely crazy.

He slipped his hand into hers. "Shall we go?"

The accent made Annabeth want to open the door of her apartment and run to her bedroom, but she pushed that thought aside. "Of course." She said instead, and he pressed the down button for the elevator.

-0-

"Oh," Annabeth breathed. "What is this place?" She asked.

Percy grinned. "You like it?"

"Yeah, but where are we?"

"Oblix." He said. "It's my favorite restaurant in the city."

"Hi!" A bubbly waitress spoke up. "Do you have reservations, sir?"

"Yeah, under Percy Jackson." He said.

"Oh, of course! Your set up is right this way." Set up? Annabeth barely had time to dwell on that though, as the waitress led them through throngs of tables, people chatting away, laughing. The views were absolutely spectacular. They were on the 43rd floor of a high rise in downtown London, the city sprawled out beneath them. It was beautiful, and the food smelled so good Annabeth's stomach started to grumble.

When the waitress opened the door for them, Annabeth's jaw literally dropped. They were on a private deck outside, but it wasn't cold or windy. A glass fence protected them from the chill, and heating lamps were placed strategically around for their comfort. A table for two was set up under a canopy, fairy lights strung throughout the scene.

"Percy." Annabeth breathed. She could hear his grin as he wrapped his hands around her waist. The waitress left without another word as Percy pressed a kiss to her neck.

"It's not too much, is it?" He asked. "I just – you don't really seem like you want to be spoiled, but I thought that you deserved to be, and-"

Annabeth kissed him, hard, effectively shutting him up. "Of course not. Nobody's ever done anything like this for me." She shook her head, a smile of disbelief playing on her lips. "I love it."

"Good." Percy said, his smile returning. He pulled out her chair for her, and she gladly slipped in. "Madame." He said with a grin, and Annabeth laughed. How did she get so lucky?

A waiter came out, introducing himself, bringing out the bottle of wine Percy had apparently pre ordered. She didn't even want to know how much it cost, which she figured was his reason for pre ordering. Annabeth tried not to think about it, because it was basically the best thing she had ever tasted.

"This," She said, taking another drink. "Is delicious."

Percy chuckled, setting his glass down. "I know. It's one of my favorites, but I don't always have a beautiful girl as an excuse to splurge on it." Annabeth blushed.

"It's a pre-fixed menu, by the way." Percy said. "I know you're supposedly vegetarian, but…"

Annabeth waved him off. "That's sort of gone out the window this trip. It's all good."

Percy gave her one of his signature lopsided grins. "Great."

They were brought bread and butter within the next few minutes, and they both dug in. "This is my favorite part of dinner." She said with a laugh, dusting her hands off on the napkin in her lap.

Percy chuckled. "All I had to do was bring you some bread, and we would've been good?"

Annabeth shrugged, smiling. "Yeah, pretty much. I love bread. I wish I loved, like broccoli or something, but life's unfair."

Percy grinned. "Bread is pretty good." He took a sip of his wine, and crossed his legs. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Annabeth said, feeling a little tipsy.

"Who was that guy, in the pictures? Why aren't you guys still together?" He blushed. "I mean, hopefully you aren't still together."

Annabeth laughed. "No, we broke up a few months ago. His name was Luke." She picked up a piece of the smoked salmon and chive cream cheese flat bread they had brought them for the second course. "We dated for about three years, straight out of college. I thought he was the love of my life. For a long time, I thought the necklaces were wrong. Then, I became CEO, and…" She took a bite of the flat bread, trying to do so gracefully but she utterly failed. Luckily, Percy was a mess too, his chin decorated with a swipe of cream cheese. "We grew apart. It started with not having sex every day, then to skipping date night to hang out with friends instead."

Percy nodded, sipping his wine. "How did it end?"

"I came home one day, past ten for the third time that week. He said we needed to talk, and he broke up with me." Annabeth said, her heart clenching as she thought of that horrible night, yet it didn't seem to affect her the same tonight. "I thought it was the worst thing that could have happened to me. I was pretty determined to not be in a relationship ever again, but then…" She blushed, gesturing to Percy.

"Yeah, well we're soulmates, right?" He said, grinning.

"True." Annabeth said with a smile. "What about you?" She asked. "Any girls?" Their main course came, a rib-eye that melted in Annabeth's mouth. It was absolutely delicious.

"One. Her name was Rachel." He said, cutting into his steak. "I was going to propose – ask her to move in with me, I mean. Commit to her. I went to her apartment to surprise her one day, and she was with another guy." He shook his head, not meeting her gaze. She slipped a hand into his across the table, intertwining their fingers. "Anyways, she moved to America about a month ago. Said she needed to get away from here, a break. Who knows?" He shrugged.

Annabeth rubbed his knuckles. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

Percy looked up, meeting her eyes. "It's okay, honestly. I was a wreck the first week or so after she left, but then you came and… I pretty much forgot about her."

Before Annabeth could respond, the waiter came back. "How was everything?" He asked with a smile.

"Great," They chorused, and the waiter nodded, telling them he'd be back with dessert in a few minutes.

"Thank you for tonight." Annabeth said, squeezing his hand gently. "I never thought… this definitely wasn't how I planned this trip to go."

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, me neither. I was pretty positive you were gonna be a stuck-up, scrawny girl."

Annabeth giggled. "Glad I could exceed your expectations." She said, as dessert came, and a glass of port was poured. Annabeth was never really a big port drinker, but gods this was delicious. Everything was perfect, from the incredible food, to the picture perfect setting, to the way Percy's eyes glistened in the soft amber light given off from the fireplaces. Dessert was chocolate truffles, seven different ones, each one better than the one before.

"Last one." Percy said, wiggling his eyebrows and cutting it in half.

"Oh, thank gods." She laughed, holding her stomach jokingly. "I'm so full I'm going to die."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Please, I could eat a whole other steak."

"Oh goodness, what am I getting myself into?" She said with a smile. Percy grinned, and picked up a half of the truffle, and held it out to her. She took it from him, popping it into her mouth at the same time as him. She hummed in the back of her throat, eyes closed. "So good.

When she opened her eyes, Percy was blushing. Annabeth laughed, "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Nothing, just… you."

"Me."

"You." He agreed and it was Annabeth's turn to blush. "You're incredible and beautiful and you have no idea how lucky I'm feeling right now that I had the honor to go out with you." Annabeth thought her heart might explode.

She was blushing harder than she thought was possible. "Well, you might just have a second chance." Annabeth said, trying to recover.

Percy gave her one of his endearing lopsided grins as the busboy cleared their plates. Folding their napkins, they got up, wandering over to the edge. Annabeth's hair whipped in the wind, the fence no longer breaking the breeze. Percy's hands wrapped around her waist and they swayed lightly, just enjoying the feeling of their bodies touching. She turned around and gave him a kiss. Then another. And another. Until she was facing him, running her hands through his hair, kissing him hard.

She pulled away, breathless. "Let's get out of here."

He kissed her again, long and slow. "Mmm, yeah, you've gotta get home. It's a little past eleven."

Annabeth shoved him playfully, resting her head on his chest, staring out at the glittering lights of London. "That's not what I meant."

"I know." He said, stroking her hair and planting a kiss to her messy curls. "Not tonight."

"Tomorrow?" Annabeth asked, laughing.

Percy shook his head, chuckling. "Doing this right, remember? You're not making it any easier. Gods, the things I want to do to you…" He trailed off as Annabeth nipped at his jaw.

"Then do them." She whispered in his ear, making me shiver.

"Soon." He promised, pecking her on the lips. "But not tonight." He said firmly, taking her hand and leading her to the door.

"You know," She said as they got in the elevator. "I've never had to beg for sex before."

"Yeah, well I've never turned it down." Percy grinned. "A first for both of us."

"I like creating firsts with you." Annabeth mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. Yeah, she was definitely pretty tipsy right now. Percy just smiled against her head, and kissed her blonde curls again.

-0-

They had reached her apartment door, but Annabeth couldn't bring herself to knock. "Goodnight." She whispered, faces so close, their noses were touching.

"Goodnight." He whispered back, a smile playing on his lips. He leaned in, planting his lips on hers. She could swear butterflies were exploding in her stomach right then. It started slow, but Annabeth and Percy were never very good at taking things slow. He slowly started to move them backwards, and Annabeth let out a whimper as her back slammed against her apartment wall. He sucked a trail down her neck, finding her sensitive spot. She fisted his hair, gasping.

"Okay." She breathed, settling her hands on his shoulders. "Okay, I'm going inside."

Percy groaned, but released his grip on her hips. "Yeah." He agreed, pecking her on the lips one more time.

"Goodnight, Percy." She said with a grin, turning the handle to her apartment.

"Wait, Annabeth?" He called out, his hand rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous.

"Yeah?" She asked, a smirk dancing across her face.

"Will you, uh – will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, not meeting her eyes.

Annabeth almost busted out laughing. This reminded her of high school, but it was so Percy at the same time that she had never heard something more endearing. "Of course, Percy. I'll see you on Monday. Call me, okay?"
Percy grinned. "Okay, goodnight." Annabeth shut the door, pressing her back to the other side, breathing hard with the most ridiculous grin on her face right now. She was sure she looked so lovesick it was disgusting, but she didn't care.

"Annabeth!" Piper squealed, jumping over the couch, and hugging her. "How did it go?" She asked, guiding her over to the couch where everybody sat. It was clear they had waited up for her, and Annabeth loved them for that.

"Oh my gods." She breathed. "It was so so so so so so good." She said grabbing Piper and Hazels hands and bouncing on the couch. She felt sixteen again, but in a good way. "He brought me to this beautiful restaurant with views of the city, and we sat out on the balcony just the two of us…" Annabeth launched into a half hour description of her date, Piper and Hazel listening intently. The boys were half-listening, half playing some new video game they had found. She still marveled at boys' ability to pretend they weren't getting any older.

"You're in looovveeee." Piper teased, and Hazel and Annabeth giggled.

"Mhmm, sure, Pipes." Annabeth said, shaking her head.

"Have you had sex, yet?" Piper asked.

Hazel blushed. For somebody who was in a committed, intimate relationship, she really hated talking about things like this. "Piper!" She squeaked.

"What?" Piper put her hands up in defense. "It's just a question. He looks like he'd be a god in bed."

Annabeth shoved her friend playfully. "No, we haven't. He says he wants to get it right with me, whatever that means. Honestly, I'm just horny. I haven't had sex in like two months, and he's killing me."

"That's so cute!" Hazel said, referring to the get it right part.

Piper just laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day Annabeth Chase would beg for sex."

Annabeth glared at her. "I do not beg, I just suggest it… and get shut down. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened this weekend, though." She said, yawning. She stepped up from the couch, heading to her room, but she turned her head back around, giving her friends a playful smirk. "I mean, who can resist me?" Piper and Hazel laughed, but Jason threw a pillow at her.

"Me!" He yelled after her, which just made them burst out laughing again.

-0-

It was Sunday when they saw each other again. Percy had called her the night before, and they had stayed up talking for a couple hours, ending the phone call with that ridiculous grin she always got whenever she just heard his name. It was supposed to be almost sixty today and not raining, which was so out of the ordinary for London, Percy said they had to celebrate with a walk and picnic by the water. Annabeth, of course, had agreed.

They met at the London Eye, Percy coming from a last minute meeting at the office.

"Hi." He said, pulling her in for a kiss.

Annabeth hummed. "Hi." She broke away, and grabbed his hand, swinging it back and forth. London was a beautiful city, but Annabeth still found herself missing New York. She thought about all of her favorite places, every restaurant and park she wanted to show Percy. They walked the boardwalk for close to an hour, joking and laughing together. They stopped in an ice cream shop, and Percy got three scoops.

"Percy." Annabeth chided. "That's not healthy." She said, as she dug into her one scoop of cookie dough.

Percy just rolled his eyes. "Have you seen me?" Annabeth hit him on the shoulder, but she blushed. Yeah, she had seen him and thought about him. The idea made her want to kiss him senseless, but then a little girl walked by and Annabeth decided against that.

Less than ten minutes later, Percy announced he was hungry. "Let's stop here." He said, walking up the path to the grassy area. He had brought sandwiches from some place she hadn't ever heard of, and his picnic blanket was red checkers.

Annabeth laughed. "You are the last person I expected to have this blanket."

Percy blushed, giving her a sheepish grin. "I borrowed it from my mom."

Annabeth sat down on the blanket, grabbing her sandwich. "You told your mom about me?"

"Uh, duh." He said, making Annabeth laugh again, her head thrown back. He took the opportunity to kiss her, pulling her onto his lap.

"Percy, we're in public." She said, trying to unravel their legs, but he held her down.

"Don't care." He said, nibbling on her bottom lip.

"I thought you were-" Annabeth gasped as he slipped a hand under shirt, so subtly you wouldn't be able to tell if you weren't looking closely. "Hungry." She finished breathily, her lips finding his again.

"Never specified which kind." He said, voice husky, and Annabeth let out a little whimper, earning a glare from a mom nearby.

"Percy." She gasped in between kisses. "Can we please get out of here today?"

Percy grinned. "Gladly." He said, packing up their uneaten food. They practically ran to his apartment that was only a few blocks away from where they had ended up.