Leo ran into the ocean and ducked under the water, hoping to stop his firepowers from exploding around him. The tips of his fingers sparked with heat, and he clenched them to stop them from lighting.
Curse you Aphrodite! Leo thought.
But you love the feeling, don't you Leo? Aphrodite responded in his head.
Leo sensed someone in the water next to him, and turned and saw Percy. There was a tingling of bubbles and an air bubble formed around Percy and Leo.
"What was that all about?" Percy asked. "Burning, running in here, cursing Aphrodite?"
Leo looked for a way around the question.
"Well…There's this girl I like, a lot, and I was taking care of her today, and being around her made me start to burn up."
Percy raised his eyebrows. "And who is this mystery girl?"
Leo mumbled something unintelligible.
"What was that?" Percy asked, smirking.
"You're enjoying this!" Leo exclaimed indignantly.
"Yes. Yes, I am," Percy said.
"Fine. Reyna," Leo said.
Percy raised his eyebrows.
"Reyna? Seems like an unlikely couple. But I've seen stranger," Percy said. "So what are you going to do about it?"
Leo thought over Percy's question as he fell asleep that night. On one hand, what would be the worst that could happen if he just asked her out? Then again, she might not like him back. But what if she did like him and he never asked her, and she ended up with someone else?
Ugh! This love stuff is so confusing! Leo thought. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need some professional help, and I know just who to ask!
oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo
Just as Leo was settling into sleep, Reyna was looking at a translator website. She typed in querida and looked at the result.
"Oh!"
For those of you who don't know, querida means darling in Spanish, and Leo is Spanish!