Disclaimer: I am not Uncle Rick and I do not own the rights to these characters. I just ship them immensely.

A/N: Early update, as another apology for being so late last week xD Sorry not sorry for the feels. As always, let me know what you think, or any predictions you've got. I love to read the reviews! :)

"I can't." Thalia nearly winced as the words escaped her lips in a disheartened whisper. Luke's crestfallen expression didn't make it any easier, either. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, and it's not that I haven't had fun while you've been here. I just...I have a lot of things to sort out back home and I have a very demanding job. I don't think it would be fair to either of us to give false hope." Things to sort out? Like what? You're only pushing him away because you're scared to draw him too close. Thalia forced herself to hold his gaze, hoping that her eyes would betray her words, or at least lessen the blow.

Luke drew in a long breath before exhaling slowly, and nodding. "I understand. It was worth a shot," he said, attempting a smile from the corner of his mouth, and only partially succeeding. "I don't suppose any argument I might make would change your mind?"

Thalia shook her head somberly. "No."

"Well in that case, let's make this night worth its while, and see if we can't suspend time a little longer." There was the smile. Even with such a response as the one Thalia gave him, the man sure knew how to lighten the mood. Thalia mirrored his smile.

"What's for dinner?"

"You'll see."

As if by magic, a young man in an expensive looking suit appeared from the back of the yacht with a tray of food. Wordlessly, he presented their meals and poured their drinks (although Thalia was slightly disappointed to see a red wine on the table instead of champagne or another white wine) before receding from where he had come. Thalia observed her food with an inquisitive expression. "Lamb? So formal," she teased Luke.

"Can't help it. I really like the stuff. And I thought you deserved to be spoiled on your last day here in Los Angeles," Luke said with a nonchalant shrug.

Thalia smiled. Their meal passed quickly and with light conversation and a few refills on their drinks, but there was a slight tension in the air that was annoying Thalia. Perfect last date, hmm? You just had to go and kill the mood. When their plates had been cleared, Luke had reached across the table and clasped Thalia's hand. She let it stay, her gaze shifting slowly from their intertwined fingers to his face. The pang of guilt in her chest still hadn't gone away, and she couldn't hold her gaze for long.

"Might I interest you in a dance?"

Luke's voice cut Thalia out of her self pitying, and she couldn't help but smile with admiration as she nodded and let him draw her out of her seat. She raised an eyebrow accusingly when the melody of a song's intro began to play as they stepped away from their table toward the roomier center of the boat. Luke only gave another noncommittal shrug as he slid one of his palms around her waist, still clasping her hand with the other. Thalia stepped close to him and rested her palm gently on his shoulder. Thalia was sure that if she held his gaze for too long that she might melt and never make it back to New York. The candlelight reflecting in his eyes transformed them into glowing sapphires, revealing every emotion that he held toward Thalia, and his grip was polite and gentle. Somebody pinch me. Or slap me awake.

As they danced, Thalia's mind wandered. She couldn't recognize the song lyrics anymore, they had faded away. She could only hear the war within her heart, the side of her demanding to take back her words and the other side, the practical side, telling her that she did the right thing. She was only partially aware when the distance between her and Luke closed and her head was leaning on his shoulder as they stopped their steps and gave in to slow sways instead. Thalia breathed in his scent, mingled with the cologne that he'd put on for the evening. She tried to commit the scent to memory, knowing already that she would miss it. That she would be thinking of him every day for weeks, making herself miserable.

Neither of them paid attention to how long they danced, and neither of them cared. At least three hours had passed since Luke had picked her up from the hotel, but neither of them wanted to admit that their evening was approaching its end.

"Thalia?"

Thalia started, not recognizing the source of the word for the shortest moment. There was something else in Luke's tone that piqued her curiosity, causing her to look up.

"I'm going to miss you."

Thalia bit her lip and responded with silence, not trusting her voice with anything more. Her gaze flickered away in a brief hesitation. Surrendering to her emotions for the first time that evening, her hand that had been previously resting on Luke's shoulder had glided across the skin at the base of his neck and she applied a gentle downward pressure as her fingers pushed gently through his pale blonde hair. She lifted her body up onto the balls of her feet and her lips brushed against his, waiting for his response. When it came, a chill passed through Thalia's body like a small shock. She kissed him again, more decidedly this time, just to feel the pleasure of his lips on hers. It was everything she'd secretly hoped for, and more.

It was the first, and probably the last.

[To be continued!]

Please rate and review! This is my first published fic, so I'd love some feedback! Critiques are welcome, rudeness is not.

A/N 2: What song do you think they were dancing to? I like to think it was Phil Collins' One More Night, but then I'm a softie for Phil Collins, and well, most 80s pop. I'm almost certain I was born a generation too late.