Anne's POV

I am not an Aphrodite child. I have never had a major crush on a boy, let alone kissed one or anything. But this was interesting. I was now sitting close to a guy, wrapped inside a jacket with him. And I was really starting to enjoy Leo's company. I had heard he was the kid who'd survived really tough neighborhoods, pulled hilarious pranks, and fell in love with every girl he saw. But now, I knew him as the guy who wasn't ashamed to break down in tears, the guy who let me wear his jacket even though he was cold without it.

I felt his arm go around my waist. The burn on my arm stung as it rubbed against his T-shirt sleeve, but I ignored it. I leaned my head gently onto his shoulder, once again smelling his scent: smoke and machine grease. Funny, I never thought of those things as smelling good. But on Leo Valdez, it worked.

"What time do you think it is?" I murmured, remembering that I couldn't be out all night long.

"Who cares?" Leo replied with a grin. I laughed.

"Five minutes?" he said. "Please?"

I laughed when he stuck out his bottom lip like a little kid, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine!" I said, laughing. I realized that now that he'd gotten all his tears and stress out, he was behaving more like what I assumed was his usual self.

Leo pulled back a little and made eye contact with me. His eyes were so dark. "Hey, look, I'm sorry if I went all emo on you back there."

"No, it's cool. I understand. You're totally overworked, and you just reached your breaking point."

He smiled and pulled me close in a hug. "And that's what I like about you. You understand stuff."

"We only met like fifteen minutes ago," I protested. It wasn't that I didn't like Leo. I definitely did. Just…wasn't this a little fast?

He looked apologetic now. "Sorry, did I kind of glom onto you? Cause I understand—"

I cut him off. "Look, Valdez, you have got to stop apologizing. It's my turn."

He cocked his head to the side like, What?

I hesitated for about two seconds, wondering if I was going to regret what I was about to do. Well, why not? I figured it was about time. You only live once, right?

"I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner," I said, leaning in toward him and closing my eyes. I only had one second to worry—was I doing this right? Was it too soon?—before I felt his lips on mine.

My heart melted. I couldn't believe it. I was sitting in the woods in the middle of the night wrapped in a stained and battered army jacket kissing Leo Valdez, a guy I had heard so much about, a guy who had defeated killer monsters and busted the goddess Hera out of a deadly prison.

It's weird how life can sneak up on you like that.

I wrapped my arms around Leo's neck and my wrists brushed the dark curls that just curled at the back of his shirt collar.

He smiled at me. "Be honest, how do I rate on a scale of one to five?"

I laughed. "I wouldn't know. That was my first."

He suddenly looked relieved, like he wouldn't be compared to a level-5 kisser. "That was my first too."

Deciding to be brave, I asked, "Ready for your second?"

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied, closing his beautiful dark eyes and pulling me against him. When at last we pulled away, Leo's strong but gentle grip on me didn't loosen. He leaned back against the log and gently pulled me down with him. I laid my head against his chest and he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"Well, that was unexpected," he said. "But don't get me wrong—I'm not complaining! That was nice."

"I feel the same way," I laughed. "How did this happen? From almost accidentally killing each other to introductions to an emo moment to…this."

He laughed loudly. "I like this better than killing each other."

"I do too. I don't think my bow and arrow would stand much of a chance against your hammer and fireball. And speaking of that, how do you do that?"

"Are you kidding? You had your arrow pointed right at my face! And…" he let go of me for a moment and uncurled his palm. Sparks sprang to life, dancing across the fortune-teller's lines of his hand like miniature suns. "I've always been able to do that."

"That's pretty sweet."

He smiled sadly. "Yeah…sometimes it comes in handy."

I wondered what there was to be sad about, but I didn't want to ask him. I'd only just realized what Leo was like. On the surface, he seemed to not have a care in the world, but if you broke through that, he was way more emotional. I could tell he'd had a bad past. Unlike me. My past was full of riding Diamond through my mom's farm, jumping over everything in sight and exploring new trails through the huge property. I had no idea what Leo's story was, but I didn't want to pry. He'd shed enough tears for one night.

"I really hate to ruin this Kodak moment, but we should probably get back to our cabins," he said, sounding sad.

"Race you there!"

Before he could react, I was up with my bow and quiver in my hands and sprinting through the woods like a cheetah. I laughed when I heard his heavier footsteps behind me and him yelling, "I am so going to get you for that, Soleil!"

"You can try!" I called back, laughing as I ran harder. Again, I felt like Atalanta, but I remembered that if I were she, since I liked Leo, I would have to let him win. And that so wasn't going to happen!