Getting drunk was like showing the world your weaknesses. Once you reached an intoxicated level everyone could see your breaking point, and could see you lose control. Long story short, I didn't like to drink.
It was a typical birthday party for us popular campers. Charlie and Jordan were leading a game of beer pong, Keegan was winning a shots competition. Drunk girls and devious guys were in a corner playing an interesting combination of truth or dare and spin the bottle. Yup, just another birthday party. The difference was that usually I was more in the mood to join the madness. Instead, I wouldn't call it hiding or anything, but once everyone was busy I went off to where I figured no one would go, the kitchen, because the lighting was too bright to have a secret make-out session. But it was too dark to do anything productive. I thought I would give myself 10 minutes of alone time before going back out there and throwing myself in there.
Ponytail tight, lip gloss on, short shorts too short. I was ready for my first game of Capture the Flag. Ok it wasn't my first game, we played every week and I had been here a while now. But this was my first game I was really going to try. The Aphrodite Cabin usually didn't do much except stand in the corner and fix each other's hair because Capture the Flag was so much work. But as the newly elected head of the Aphrodite Cabin, that was going to change.
A lot of things had changed since I got here. For starters, my friendship with Luke, Aira and Annabeth. Thalia never made it to camp, and was turned into a tree outside of the border. But the 4 of us went separate ways. Aira because herself, finally having a place to fight where it was encouraged. Not that we didn't see each other, but usually she was off testing swords with the boys. She always won. Annabeth was claimed as a daughter of Athena; and now hung out with the bookworms. Luke, who I still had a crush on, had started training and was becoming one of the best sword fighter's in camp. I, well my achievement was I got boys.
I became instant best friends with the current queen bee, Electra. She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera and thought if her parents ruled Olympus, she owned the place. It was funny, because I was so much prettier then her, and I had quickly taken her spot as most popular girl. First I had dated Kaleb, who I broke up with, gaining my rite of passage for apparently breaking his heart. Then since I was the most popular girl, it was tradition to date the most popular guy. So I dated Chris Charlie Duncan...for like a day. And we got into a huge fight and we can't stand each other to this day. Luckily, he lost his popular status after Aira broke his heart, it was pretty funny. I even dated Jordan, for a little, but eventually broke up with him too. And now that I was the most popular girl at camp, I had become the Aphrodite Cabin Captain and had gotten the rights to the private bedroom. Now all I needed to complete my satisfaction was to have the perfect boyfriend. And there was only one guy who would fit that criteria.
"Well look who it is" I heard a smooth voice come up next to me. It was one I faintly recognized, but it wasn't familiar enough. Still, someone had found my "not hiding space" and I wasn't glad about that. I turned my head to face the voice, coming eye to eye with the blue eyes like the sea.
"Anti?" I said to him with a smirk. He was still the same as I remembered him, extremely tall and extremely sexy. And just like I remembered, when he looked at me he always had the same amused look on his face, even know I hadn't even done anything yet.
"Long time no see huh? How long ago, two years?" He asked me, resting on the wall next to me.
"Year and a half," I said with a smirk, looking at him and shaking my head.
"What?" He looked at me looking at him for a second, puzzled, before laughing.
"Remember I gave you my number that afternoon we met, but you never called me." I pouted to him, slightly tilting my head to one side with my hand on my hip. My hair was water falling down.
Anti shrugged, one that I had seen many bad-boy wannabe's try, though on Anti it looked authentic and attractive, like he was the one playing hard to get. Cute.
Impressing Luke was the last thing left on my list, and I knew how. Luke had become gradually better at sword fighting, and so had I. I trained, probably getting some of my natural strength from my Titan father, Atlas. You know, the one who holds the sky all day so he's too busy to spend time with his favorite daughter. That one. But since on our way to camp I was pretty much useless, I wanted to get good at sword fighting to impress him. Like I had said, my 11 year old crush had not gone away and I wasn't going to stop until I had him. So the plan was to actually participate in Capture the Flag. Maybe if he noticed my newfound leadership, he was the Hermes Captain, he may also notice my perfect face and then fall in love and ask me to get married. Ok, not all at once, but you're getting the picture.
I brushed the ends on my shorts with my fingers, touching the armor we had to wear for the game and making sure that my helmet was on right. Once the game had been officially started, I headed for offense in hopes I could find Luke and fight him, or maybe fight someone else and Luke could notice.
I stayed pout-faced at his shrug, at an all-in-good fun, playful attempt to make him feel guilty. Anti sighed and pulled out a cute little box.
"Fine birthday girl, I did get you something to make up for it," he said opening the box to find a silver Tiffany necklace, with the signature heart. The part I liked was that it was obviously a locket, and I could put any picture inside that my heart desired.
I smiled, actually impressed that he had picked me out a super cute and nice birthday gift. "Aw thanks Anti" I said hugging him, then pulling away with a sigh and leaning back on the wall like him.
"Why are you over here?" He asked me, it was almost like for a second his blue eyes flashed with concern, but I figured they didn't.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I said, my eyes twinkling with playfulness, daring him to come closer and find how just how I was feeling. Those exact words however, flashed me into another memory.
"Tess? Since when did you play Capture the Flag?" Luke asked me. I had surprisingly spotted the flag and was about to try and make a dash for it. The thought of me even touching the flag brought me glee, I would go down in Capture the Flag and Aphrodite Cabin history. The problem was Luke had spotted me, luckily he wasn't picking for a fight. Yet.
I shrugged, "Since today" I said simply, with a small smirk dancing at my lips.
Luke raised an eyebrow, because as far as he knew I was a lazy Aphrodite girl who didn't as much even want to pick up a sword. "What made you want to play?" He asked, trying to piece together what he was wondering he was missing.
"Well wouldn't you like to know?" I said back with a wink, and Luke actually smirked and laughed back. For the first time the two of us talking, his eyes showed more then just love for a girl he considered his little sister, but was that...attraction?
Anti nodded, "Ok, then if you aren't going to tell me why your all alone on your free will, how else am I going to get you to spill?" He said turning to me with a devilish grin and taking my waist.
"Oh there's ways to make me talk, your just going to have to try...hard" I said back to him with another sexy wink. Then I cutely bit my lip looking to him.
Anti brushed his curls away from his eyes and turned to face me. "What if I don't like trying?" He asked in his low, sexy voice, smirking as he leaned closer.
I put a dainty finger to my lip, like I was thinking about what he had said,"Hmm then maybe you may never know." I said taking a long sexy sigh, then I leaned in a bit more so that we were almost touching.
This was not what I expected to happen. Ok yeah I planned in my head that I was going to try to get the flag, and end up fighting Luke along the way, but I didn't actually think it was going to happen like that. I had a name for moments like this. When all of the sudden the stars aligned and what you had been praying for finally happened. Oh yeah, destiny.
"Well since you are here," he said motioning to the ground behind him, "And this is the blue team base. I'm going to have to take you to jail." He said to me with a smirk.
I figured he had already assumed there was no fight, then I would have to surrender anyways and wait for one of my hot guy cronies to save me. Typical damsel in distress. I was so over that, at least for right now. "Fine, but I'll make a deal with you. Since technically you can't just take anyone to jail against their will, fight me first. Surprisingly enough I brought my sword," I said taking it out with a sparkling look in my eyes. " I keep up you let me go, I can't match you and you can take me of to jail."
Luke's blue eyes danced in amusement. I was offering to fight him, something he was sure to win. And Luke was competitive, he always went down with a fight. "Fine Tess, you fight with me for 5 minutes and if you keep up I'll let you go. Hell I'll let you go to the flag."
My grin was unmask-able. Excitement jumped off of my pink lips and my ice eyes were shinning. This was going to be the moment I show Luke just how sexy a daughter of Aphrodite was when they were kicking your ass.
Anti laughed slowly, then gently placed his lips against mine. "Something's tells me I'll figure it out." He breathed. It had just dawned on me that I was flirting again. Something about Anti, him being here. Him being himself. It made me feel almost back to normal.
I returned the kiss with a smirk, before pulling away. "I don't know I can be stubborn" I said back, before kissing him again. Normally I would've said our kisses tasted exquisite. But the kisses brought me back to Luke.
A smirk rested upon my lips as our swords clashed together. Mine, had crystals on the end and looked like it had never been used, never even opened from the silver bowed box it came in. But I had been practicing and it in fact had been used. And in the 4 minutes Luke and I had been at a standstill, we had talked smack to each other in a pretty flirty conversation. It was amazing. The two of us felt so natural. Then all of the sudden Luke stopped. My eyebrow wrinkled as I caught him looking at me.
"You are so pretty you know that?" He said to me, like he was noticing my radiating beauty for the first time. I think he actually was. I would be disappointed that it had taken his this long to notice me, but since it was Luke I was just glad had been flirting with me as we were fighting. I don't think he had meant to say that to me either, or out loud for that matter, because I think he tried to mask slight embarressment with another smirk.
I laughed my flirtatious laugh, "Of course I know that Luke, I'm the most popular girl here I think I would know that I was pretty." I said back to him, since he had stopped to admire the view for a second, I was going to catch him by surprise.
In a quick motion, I lunged foreword, tilting my sword so that the tip hit his. And before he had a second to process what I was doing, I had nocked his sword out of his hands and into mine. I got on my toes, leaning into his ear. "Rule number 2: Never let your guard down."
Luke looked at me with a raised brow, then he laughed. "You, must have been paying attention." I was, he taught a sword fighting class and one day me and my friends actually show'd up. I payed little attention,we were busy flirting with the other students, but caught enough to remember the tricks he taught us.
I laughed cutely, "Here trance boy you can have your sword back." I said handing it back to him.
"I'm impressed" He said with a smirk. I impressed him, and I was feeling great. The only thing that as much as I wanted to stay and fight with him, I had a game to win.
"Well I'm glad to hear that, now hold on for a second." I said slipping away to go behind him and get the flag when he caught my waist. He had a sexy smirk on his face.
"Hmm not so fast Tess" He said to me, leaning in brushing my ear.I laughed as he swung me around by my waist back to where I was standing. Then I turned to him and he turned to me and there was a quick moment when I could literally feel the chemistry. Something had changed in my petty crush, I mean I still was crushing on him but now I actually was attracted to him.
Then the only thing I was hoping for at the moment, the thing that had been in my fantasies when I was 11 and then thing I had been daydreaming about recently. Luke leaned in, holding my waist close, and placed his lips to mine. I think my heart skipped a beat, because the kiss had felt something I didn't feel with Kaleb or Jordan, and definitely not with Chris Charlie Duncan. I thought that at that moment, even know it was just a kiss, that I was in love.
Anti's face snapped me out of my memories, which were painful to re-live anyways. "I can tell." He laughed his sexy laugh again, pulling me into his arms, "but I can be pretty persuasive."
I raised a perfect eyebrow "Really? Amuse me" I challenged looking up to him, because he was taller then me, well taller then most people. I made that as a challenge for him to persuade me, convince me, humor me.
"There's nothing funny about this." He said seriously, looking into my eyes with his own wild like the ocean. I was confused for a second, did our demeanor change or did I miss something.
"I'm sorry I never called," He whispered into my soft neck, "you were with somebody.. And I don't do that sort of thing." He said, almost apologetically. I almost wanted to believe him but I couldn't. Maybe it was Luke's death hitting me, but I was having trust issues these days.
I looked to him skeptically. "Really? Well I'm not with anybody now" I told him, turning my face so that I was facing him again. I moved myself closer to him. Saying those words of reality stung, but I used them as a springboard. I needed to declare my freedom from Luke, so that I could focus on Anti now. "Does this mean you would call me back now?" I asked him more quietly. Like I said, reality sucked but I needed to hone in on it if I wanted to be able to fully dive in with other guys.
"Hold on a second Luke," I broke our kiss, though as amazing as it was I had one more thing on my bucket list today. I ran over and got the flag, and second later Luke was running behind me with a devilish grin. I knew if he caught me, he would take me somewhere else, but not jail. I planned on meeting up with him after, but I had a game to win first. I blew a kiss from behind and continued to run to the red team base.
"I would do more than call you." He smirked, "I will do more than call you." His arms encircled my small frame as he tilted his head down to kiss me.
I smirked, and met my pink lips to his, placing my arms on his side. I slightly moved away "Hmhm I bet you will Ant" I said kissing him again
Anti laughed one last time, then bent down to pick up my legs, swooping me up bridal style. "You bet correctly." He smirked at me. I wasn't going to say I was in love with him or anything; but I thought he was going to be the one to pull me out of this pity party. Anti wasn't nessicarily going to replace Luke in my heart, but he might have found a way to slide his way in.
"Good game Tess" Luke said grabbing me from behind.
"I know, and now I have a few ideas on what to do for my victory lap." I said back to him, turning around in his arms and kissing him again. I was pretty sure people could see us, but I had a feeling we looked like a pretty hot couple.
I was done thinking about Luke. I willed my memories to go away. As good as they were now was not the time to reminisce. I smirked, moving my hand up and down his shoulder. He was so ripped, It was almost entrancing. "I always do" I said giving him one more peck and smirking "Where too then?" I asked him with an raised eyebrow. Now that I was free, I could do whatever, whenever, with whoever the f*** I wanted. And right now I wanted Anti. And I always got what I wanted.
"Wherever you want." Anti replied. See? Told you.