Hey Guys! How's everyone? This is a shorter chapter, but I think you'll like it.

Mdm. Holmes, Dotsey, Aveerup, Auralia9514, and many others, thank you so much for all your support. I love hearing your thoughts.

The next update will be Saturday.

I do not own anything from Rick Riordan's Universe.

Chapter 14

"I'll have the Florence salad, please."

Annabeth smiled as she gave the menu back to the young waiter. Piper and Hazel ordered some pasta, while Reyna and Thalia chose some kind of lasagna. They were in Hell's Kitchen, in a nice Italian restaurant, celebrating Reyna's promotion. Annabeth had her doubts about coming since, Reyna and she weren't exactly the closest of friends. But Thalia had insisted.

"It'll be nice to have a girls' night out" Thalia had said.

"Since when do you want to have one of those?" Annabeth had demanded.

"Since I have nothing to do that particular Thursday night."

So, there they were. When the waiter was gone, Piper narrowed her eyes at her and said, "I thought you hated salads."

"I don't hate them. They are just not my favorites." She said taking a sip of her flavored soda. Piper pursed her lips and Annabeth sighed. "I just wanted to try something different today, Pipes. I'm trying to be healthier."

Piper looked at Thalia and her best friend shrugged. "She even got into boxing classes. Although, I prefer that over making me run with you every morning."

"Yeah, well. I hated running too." Annabeth muttered.

"Boxing?" Reyna asked with a smirk.

"My therapist suggested it."

"Nice."

"Maybe I can teach you, and you can show me how to dance." Annabeth proposed.

Reyna smiled. "Deal."

They kept chatting about their hobbies until the food finally arrived. Annabeth quickly finished her salad and eyed longingly Piper's Carbonara, until her friend caught the hint and shared a small portion with her. They were talking about ordering dessert when her phone rang. A text from Percy.

8:25 p.m. Pick you up in 15 :)

8:25 p.m. Already? We haven't had dessert…

8:26 p.m. You can have candy in the movies.

8:26 p.m. Not the same

8:26 p.m. Besides, are you sure they'll let you have dessert? You're the famous Crème Brulee thief after all.

8:27 p.m. Haha

8:27 p.m. Sorry, Wise Girl. But I'm already on my way. Promise to buy you dessert at another time.

8:28 p.m. On your way…Are you texting while driving?

8:28 p.m. Um…no.

8:28 p.m. Percy!

8:29 p.m. Sorry…going…into tunnel

8:29 p.m. Doesn't work that way, Seaweed Brain.

He didn't answer after that.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Thalia asked, taking her attention away from the phone.

"Like what?" she tried to play dumb, although it never worked with Thalia.

"Who are you talking with?" Piper asked with a smirk. Thalia tried to grab her phone, but Annabeth shoved it into her bag before she got a chance.

"My dad…he sent me one of his jokes."

Piper narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, right…"

"You know, Annabeth… all this thing about eating healthy and exercising…are you doing it because someone is gonna see you naked?" Thalia asked mischievously, and Annabeth choked on her soda. She threw a murderous look at her best friend.

"How can you say that? I'm only doing it because I want to feel better with myself." She hissed, wiping the saliva around her mouth with a napkin.

"Right…well I'm just suggesting it because I remember you doing the same before you did it with Luke for the first time…"

"Thalia!"

Piper and Reyna exploded in laughter, and Hazel seemed even redder than Annabeth. The poor girl was about to faint. Fortunately, the waiter came back, and Thalia ordered a giant tiramisu for them to share as they waited for Reyna and Piper to calm down. Annabeth didn't answer, hoping they would change the subject of their conversation. But she had persistent friends.

"So…How is he in bed?" Piper asked and Hazel seemed close to starting fanning her face.

"Who?" she asked, and mentally slapped her face. Piper raised an eyebrow.

"Triton."

"I don't know. We are in a pretended relationship, remember?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't take away how sexy he is. I thought you'd take advantage of it."

"Well, he's not my type."

Annabeth looked at her watch and cursed. She got her phone out and noticed she had three missed calls from Percy. "I have to go," She said looking for the money in her wallet and giving to Thalia.

"What? Why?" Piper asked just as the Tiramisu arrived. It smelled wonderful and Annabeth almost regretted having to leave. Almost.

"Percy and I have work to do." She stood up and ignored the way Thalia and Piper looked at each other. "Congrats on your promotion Reyna." She said before waving a general goodbye and bolting out of the restaurant.

It wasn't hard finding Percy' Prius. Annabeth had already memorized its license plate and it was the only one with hooves marks on its hood. Percy had told her he had taken the car to a Derby competition once and that's the best explanation she got.

She opened the co-pilot door and hopped inside. The air conditioner hit her face immediately, along with the smell of the sea breeze. There was an open Pringles BBQ package on the cup holder and a diet coke on Percy's hand. His cellphone was charging next to the Pringles.

"Jeez, Percy. You're gonna turn into an ice cube." She said, leaning towards him and planting a tender kiss on his cheek.

"It's hot outside, Annabeth!" he complained, grinning and placing the now empty soda can on the other cup holder. "I was going to implode if I didn't turn it on." She tried incrementing the temperature, but Percy grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "My air conditioner, my rules."

"That's unfair! You know I'm never going to buy a car."

He started driving and let go of her hand. "We live in an unfair world, Wise Girl. What took you so long? For a moment I thought I had lost you to the power of desserts"

Annabeth relaxed into her seat and admired the city's lights. "You almost did. You owe me a very delicious Tiramisu."

"Isn't my sweetness enough?" he asked, and Annabeth laughed.

"That's the cheesiest thing you've said so far."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I also surprise myself sometimes."

"And I didn't take that long! I was just five minutes late."

"That, in Annabeth Chase's standards, is awfully late."

She smiled and sighed, "I was just caught up in a conversation with the girls."

"Oh, okay." He tapped his fingers on the wheel and Annabeth knew he wanted to ask something else but was holding it back.

"What?" she asked.

He cleared his throat. "Have you told them about…well, us?" He nervously tilted his head towards the window, making his neck more visible. Annabeth had to resist the urge of kissing it right there and then.

"Um, no. I know what questions they're gonna ask and I want to tell Triton first."

Percy frowned just as a traffic light turned red, and he stepped on the brake a little too strongly. He took a deep breath before calmly asking, "You haven't told him?"

Annabeth felt a pit on her stomach. "I, eh, no. It's only been one week, Percy. We haven't had the time to meet yet."

"What about a text? Hey Triton, I think we shouldn't date anymore. Thank you for nothing." He said, failing miserably at remaining calm.

"It's not something you say on a text. Besides, he dated me to prevent more scandals from the media. What do you think people are going to say when I break up with him, and just days later I'm dating his stepbrother?"

"Why do you care about that? He earned that reputation himself, Annabeth. And, for what you've told me, your plan to use him clearly didn't work."

"Because it also affects my reputation." She said, almost losing her temper. She decided to close her eyes and muttered, "I don't wanna fight, Percy." When she opened them again, he had relaxed his grip on the wheel and his eyes had softened.

"I'm sorry. It's just…you promised me you were going to leave him."

He looked so vulnerable. Annabeth took off her seatbelt, earning a worried glance from him. But before he could say anything, she gently kissed his jaw several times, making him take a sharp breath.

"I... only…want…you," she said between kisses. Suddenly, Percy made a sharp turn and the force sent Annabeth back into her seat. She heard another driver cursing at them, and she laughed as she regained her posture. Percy was out of breath and blushing.

He grimaced. "Please don't do that again. I don't have enough willpower."

She couldn't stop grinning. "I can't promise that. You'll have to get better at driving." He grew redder and Annabeth laughed again. "So, how was work?"

"Uh…good." He said, relieved to change the topic of conversation. "Poseidon made a big deal with a company to start cleaning the oceans. It's a very expensive project, but multiple governments have agreed on helping both socially and financially…"

He kept rambling about petroleum leaks and reef destruction, and how his father had amazing plans to solve them. Annabeth just loved the way his eyes sparkled when he talked about the sea and knew she didn't want him to stop anytime soon. Sadly, they arrived at the old movie theatre near her house.

"Do you still have your hoodie?" she asked, taking her seatbelt off and leaning into the backseat. She searched for Percy's bag.

"It's in the trunk," he said and then frowned. "It's like a thousand degrees outside. Why do you want to wear it?"

"I'm cold thanks to your air conditioner. Besides, it's always chilly inside a movie theater." She lied. Annabeth didn't want to tell him it was because she didn't want people taking pictures of them, without talking to Triton first. They would just fight again. She tried putting her puppy eyes, "Can you go get it for me?"

Percy raised an eyebrow but still opened his door, stepped outside, and headed towards the trunk. She opened her door as he got back and quickly put it on. She ignored Percy's curious look as she covered her head with the hood. Percy wasn't stupid. He knew what she was doing, but Annabeth suspected he didn't want to fight either.

"Ok. Let's go."

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreake

They didn't watch the movie. Annabeth had really tried, and they managed to watch the first part of it, successfully. However, Percy had chosen their seats in the penultimate line, and being a Thursday night, the theater was almost empty. Annabeth was so focused on the movie that she almost dropped her popcorn when she felt his warm breath on her ear. Then he placed a strategic kiss behind her earlobe and started descending through her jaw until he reached her neck.

She had to close her eyes and bite her lip so the other four people in the room wouldn't notice their PDA. The last thing she wanted, was to be kicked out of a theater. Annabeth had also wanted to scold Percy because they could never finish a movie on their own, but his lips found hers and she surrendered completely to his touch.

When the movie was over and the lights turned back on, Annabeth had to rush to the restrooms to fix herself a little bit. Her hair was all over the place and a deep blush covered her face. She splashed some water all over her face and tried pulling up her blond curls into a ponytail.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Percy asked with a smirk, as they walked back to the car. Annabeth punched his arm, making him chuckle.

They drove in comfortable silence, both smiling like idiots. For the first time in a long time, Annabeth wasn't relieved when her apartment building came into view as Percy made the last turn.

"You know you don't have to bring me home every time." She said, as he parked and turned off the headlights.

"I like taking you home." He replied, pushing one her curls behind her left ear.

"I know…just in case one day you feel tired or short of time. I can get here by myself just fine."

"I'll keep that in mind." He leaned forward and they shared a gentle kiss. "Although there's a third option."

"I'm not buying a car."

"That's the fourth option."

She pursed her lips. "Then, what's the third?"

"You can spend the night at my place."

Annabeth's heart skipped several beats and her cheeks turned a deep breath. She would be lying if she said her thoughts hadn't wandered around the idea of spending a romantic night with Percy. The night at his boat in San Francisco had been nice but they only kissed a lot. The idea of going for something more intimate made her feel a funny tingling sensation throughout her body.

She must have shown doubt in her face because Percy blushed too and started babbling nervously. "I-I didn't mean it that way…we'll do it whenever you want…I know it's too fast…"

She laughed and hushed him with a kiss. "I'll think about it." She rubbed his cheek and said, "Thank you for today…and for understanding the situation with Triton."

He took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not sure I understand it…but I trust you."

Annabeth hugged closer his hoodie and smiled. "That's even better. Goodnight, Percy." She tried opening the door, but in a swift move, he unbuckled his seatbelt, pounced on her, and closed her door.

"What are you doing?" she asked, giggling.

"I think I deserve a goodnight kiss." He said, his face close to hers. Jokingly, she turned her face and gave her a small peck on his cheek. She laughed at his disappointed look. "You'll have to do better than that." He demanded.

"Okay, how about this." She grabbed his face and gave him a slow deep kiss. Her plan was to only give him that and walk away, but Percy grabbed her waist firmly and kissed her again with more urgency. Annabeth ran her hands wildly through his hair as his hands explored the skin around her waist. She considered his offer of going to his place...

A knock on her window made them jump apart, causing Percy to bump his head against the roof and curse in a way she had never heard before. They were out of breath and their faces were flushed, so Annabeth had to take a deep breath before rolling down her window. Her embarrassment face turned into a furious one when she recognized the face that was smirking mischievously at them.

"It's way past her curfew, Jackson."

"Aren't you supposed to be playing on a gothic club, Thalia?" Percy replied even more irritated than Annabeth, and still rubbing his head.

"As if you were cooler than them, Kelp Head." Thalia replied, still pretty amused.

"At least I don't have to play covers of Britney Spears to pay my rent, Pinecone Face."

Thalia's smirk finally disappeared.

"Okay, that's enough," Annabeth said, opening the door and pushing Thalia aside. "I'll see you later, Percy." She exited his car and sent an irritated look to her best friend, before poking her head through the open window. "Text me when you get home."

He relaxed a bit and nodded.

"Bye, Jackson!" Thalia said as he gave her one last annoyed look and drove away into the night.

Annabeth looked at her best friend. "You're insufferable."

Thalia shrugged. "Consider it my revenge for not telling me you two were dating, sooner."

"It has only been one week. I was trying to look for the perfect moment to tell you." She explained, calmly, as they made their way back into the apartment.

"So, something happened in Frisco?"

"Yep, and don't call it Frisco. You know I hate it."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"No…well, yes. But not in the way you're thinking."

"Huh…What are you gonna do with Triton?"

"Talk to him…I guess."

…

"You're so dead, Annabeth."