Mmm… so comfortable.
WAIT.
This is not my bed.
These are not my sheets.
This is not my pillow.
I lazily open my eyes, turning my head to get a better view, and what greets me is an unfamiliar sight. This isn't my room.
It's a nice, modern, and fairly large bedroom. It has sea-green walls. There's a large TV set at the opposite wall from the bed. It has a huge flat-screen on top. There is a night stand on my side of the bed. It has a fancy lamp on top. There's an enormous dresser to the right of the room, with a mirror set over it. To the left of the room is a small furniture set. A white loveseat with a glass table in front of it. There is a huge window to the right of the dresser, with blue curtains hanging over it. There is a door to the left of the TV set and another one to the right.
What the hell, why is there an arm wrapped around my waist?
And like a light bulb going off in my head, it all suddenly comes back to me: Katie and Travis's engagement party-the drinking, the dancing, the partying, and Percy…Shit.
I turn my head to the source of the arm wrapped around my waist, and my suspicions are correct. It is Percy.
His hair is in a frenzy. His eyes are shut tight. He's still deeply sleeping. He looks peaceful when he sleeps…and really cute.
Panic bubbles in my chest. The thought of my growing attraction towards this man makes me want to leave-and now. I am getting way too attached to this man. I'm just going to get out of bed slowly, pick up my clothes, and get out of here as fast as I can. Maybe he won't even remember what happened last night at all.
I gather the brown comforter over my upper body, considering that I'm not wearing any clothes, and slowly start to detach Percy's arm from around my stomach.
Bad idea. My action scares Percy out of his slumber. He jumps up, the sheets pooling around his waist.
His eyes lock with mine. And then, all hell breaks loose. We both spring out of the bed at the same time. Him grabbing the sheet, and me, the comforter. We stand, staring at each other, the bed in between us.
And for a fleeting moment, the smallest of smiles slips onto Percy's face, as he stares at me with the comforter wrapped around my figure. It's so small, that I can almost guarantee myself that it wasn't even there in the first place. And then the panic scars his handsome face. My expression mirrors his. "We…oh my god." His voice is hoarse and scratchy from just waking up. It's sexy.
I shake my head to rid of that contemplation. I clear my throat of any grogginess before speaking. "I…we were so drunk." I let out a groan of annoyance. "This can't be happening." I start to pace the room, the comforter dragging behind my footsteps.
Percy sits down on his side of the bed. He puts his head in his hands, speaking profanities to himself.
I screwed up. Why does this keep happening to me? I'm turning into an irresponsible party girl. It's appalling.
The sensible, and very much welcome at this point, part of my brain clicks into action. My ingenious mind is already coming up with a rational solution to this big, ugly, mess.
"Okay." I start speaking with a confident tone to my voice. Percy turns on the bed, meeting my eyes. The sheets sink around his waist a miniscule amount, distracting my train of thought for a moment.
I hurriedly regroup. "This is what we're going to do. I'm going to get dressed and then walk out the door. And we are going to pretend like none of this ever happened. Which means, no talking about it at the office. And this can never happen again. Capiche?"
I can see disappointment in his eyes, and that confuses me to no end. "Alright, I guess we have no other choice. I am your boss, after all." He inhales sharply. "God, if anyone finds out about this at work, they'll have my ass for sexual harassment."
"Exactly. And I need this job more than anything right now." I picture Matthew in a hospital bed, all alone, with no treatment to save him. This sobering thought gives me new resolution to not let this become a problem. "Stick to my plan, and maybe in a few months we'll forget about this whole incident."
Percy snorts. "I doubt it." He says mysteriously. My eyebrows furrow. I'm so bemused by this man.
"Let's just be thankful that I didn't suggest we take my private jet to Vegas." My mouth slips into a smile, despite my tension.
"Of course, you have a private jet." He grins-an amazing, full-toothed and heart-stopping grin. I have to remind myself to breathe. It's infectious, and I can't stop the grin that spreads on my face as well.
And for a moment we just stare at each other, grinning. I snap out of it first. "If you'll excuse me, I need to scrounge up my clothes from all of this." I point towards the ground, where, unnoticed by me previously, our thrown-about clothing is distraught, from the night before.
"Excuse me, I'll just be in the kitchen." He gets up and enters the door on the left of the TV set. He reappears with a robe on his body.
Once he's safely out of the room, I can breathe straight again. I clothe myself in the attire that I wore to the engagement party last night, slipping on my heels and going into the bathroom to check my appearance.
It's modern, and uncharacteristically clean for something that Percy owns. The mirror over the double-sink is huge, along with the tub, and the shower. I peek a glance at myself through the mirror. Wow, my curls are in a frenzy. I try and tame them with my hand the best I can.
Semi-pleased with my appearance, I step out the door. I follow Percy's earlier pathway and find myself in his kitchen.
It's innovative. All the appliances are state-of-the-art. He's currently at the island, sitting on one of the stools out of five. He's drinking a cup of coffee, and I notice he has a cup filled and ready to go for me. The gesture makes me smile.
"Thank you." I say, sitting down next to him on one of the stools. I take a tentative sip. It's delicious-of course.
"It's the least I could do." He swivels in the chair, facing me, his knees brush my thigh. I feel a weird, yet exhilarating spark as our skin makes contact. I think Percy feels it too, because he averts his eyes away from mine, staring transfixed at the shiny exterior of the refrigerator.
He clears his throat. "Listen, this is going to be kind of awkward to talk about, but I need to set things straight." He pauses, and I think he's trying to consider his words carefully. "I didn't force you into anything last night…right?"
His question makes my mouth fly open in surprise. I can see that he is gauging my reaction tentatively. "No, god no. I mean we were equally under the influence. It's as much my fault as it is yours."
His face noticeably relaxes. My guilty conscious rises…did I make him believe that he took advantage of me?
"Don't get me wrong, last night was…let's just say that if you weren't my assistant, I'd be having a field day right now."
I try and brush off his comment. I can't, though. He can't just say stuff like that, and not expect it to affect me. But why does it make me so excited when he says stuff like that? And why does he say things like that in the first place? It just confuses me!
"Let's just try and make this as uncomfortable as possible. Come Monday, we go back to being assistant and boss, okay?" I try for finality in my voice, so that he knows that I'm done with this whole thing.
Thank the lord that it's Saturday. I have two days of space to wrap my head around being just Percy's assistant again.
"Yeah, that'll work." I think I hear an undertone of sarcasm in his voice. I have to tear my eyes away. He smiles at me. I start to get up from my stool, draining the last sip of my coffee, as I do so.
"Then I will see you on Monday." I start to make my way towards the door. He walks with me.
"Is that all you have?" He asks, eyeing my dress warily.
My body heats under his intense stare. "Yes, I didn't exactly dress for the weather last night."
"Hold on." He gets off the kitchen stool and walks through his bedroom door. He returns with a jacket.
"No-" I start to protest, but he cuts me off.
"Take it, it's fine." I roll my eyes at him "Seriously, I have a million. Just take it." He holds up the jacket,
I begrudgingly slip my arms into the sleeves. It's huge on me, but yet it's warm and comforting, fitting perfectly on my body. His hands linger on my shoulders for just a moment too long. I make no effort to get them off, though.
I start to make my way towards the door. "Thank you, for the coffee. Good-bye, Mr. Jackson."
"Good-bye, Miss Chase. Until Monday." He smiles, his eyes crinkling around the edges, when we use our formal, office names. I mimic his actions, and turn on my heel, knowing full well that he was watching my ass as I walked out of his apartment.
I text Thalia and Katie as I sit on the bus, asking them to meet me at Starbucks. My overwhelming thoughts make me crave for another cup of coffee. With Percy and everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours, I need to talk it out with my two best friends. They agree to meet me.
The bus stops outside of Starbucks. I make my way into the café, smelling coffee and freshly baked…mmm, something good.
I spot Katie and Thalia seated at a table talking animatedly, coffee's already in hand, and a third one set out for me. I join them, hugging each one in turn. I grab my coffee, muttering a thanks as I do so.
"Katie, guess where Annie was last night?" Leave it up to Thalia to break the ice.
"Hmm…let me guess…" She looks quizzical for a second, "would it be Percy's apartment?"
My cheeks flush. "Yes, I was at Percy's apartment. Can we all be mature about this, please?"
Thalia gasps. "Oh my god, I think you like him!" I roll my eyes petulantly.
"Annabeth, when was the last time you had a one-night stand?" Katie asks.
"Never." Thalia interjects.
"Look, I am utterly ashamed of myself, and of what happened that night. I don't know what it means. My stress meter has been through the roof, and I just needed an outlet. And Percy was there-all handsome and dashing-and I guess I just let myself crack." I take a look at them, they seem to be hanging on my every word.
There is a long silence, which Thalia fills with something very unwelcome. "Was the sex good?"
"Thalia!" I yell at her. She has the audacity to look affronted. She raises an eyebrow at me, and I know that she wants an answer.
My voice is small and bashful when I answer her. "Yes, it was good. Very good, in fact." I blush, once again. Damn my cheeks.
"Judging by how much you're blushing, I think you feel more about him then you're letting on." Thalia accuses.
"I agree with Thalia. I think there was more between you two than just a one-night stand." Katie adds.
I think about that for a minute. I've seen a whole new side to Percy than I ever thought existed. It's surprising, and for some reason, I want to find out more. I want to get to know him better. So…maybe I have a small amount of feelings for him.
"So, do you have feelings for him?" Thalia's as pushy as ever.
I huff, annoyed at the authenticity of what I am about to say. "Yeah, I do."
A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated in forever. I have been insanely busy lately. I had midterms all last week and I had a five-page history paper that was due on Monday. Plus, my internet has been off since last Thursday. Sucks, I know. I had absolutely no time to write. So, I hope this chapter put your anxious minds at ease. Please review, and give me ideas! :)