Chapter Seventeen
Annabeth
We walk through the doors and a wave of noise hits me like a smack in the face. 'Poker Face' by Lady GaGa is screaming from the speakers and I know that if I even attempt to talk to Percy he won't hear a thing. I don't know what direction to look in as I let my gaze fly around the never-ending room; there is so much going on, so much to look at.
In the centre of the gigantic room is a rainbow disco floor, bright lights shining down from the ceiling and dancing around the tiled floor along with the many people. Around the dance floor are tables filled to the brim with all different types of food and non-alcoholic drinks. There's a large fountain oozing melted chocolate that makes my mouth water and another fountain pouring out blue liquid.
To my left is row upon row of game machines. I can see a large crowd hovering over a table and I guess that they must be gambling their money away. I see dance machines where people can compete with eachother and win prizes. There are dancers standing on blocks wearing very skimpy outfits and moving to the beat of the music.
To my right is a bar with a long line of people queuing up to get alcoholic drinks. Waiters walk around with trays filled with cookies in heart and flower shapes, making my stomach rumble though Percy and I stopped for a snack less than an hour ago. Also on that side of the room are small tables where people can relax after dancing and playing games for hours.
I feel a hand on my back push me forward a little and I look behind me to see Percy gesture with his head to the left where I notice a desk where I assume we must get our key for our hotel room. I entwine my fingers with his and let him lead me away.
The lady behind the desk smiles brightly at us when she notices us standing there. "Are you signing in?" she asks, speaking into a microphone so we can hear her over the noise.
Percy nods and hands over our ID cards, which the lady takes and signs her name before handing them back over.
"Will you be sharing a room?" she asks into the microphone, looking from me to Percy.
He looks at me with raised eyebrows and a questioning look in his eyes. If I say yes to sharing a room with him I know for sure that I'll be crossing more than one thing off my list. I look back to the lady and nod my head. "Would you like two beds or one?"
"One," I reply, my cheeks heating up. I refuse to let my eyes meet Percy's as the lady hands over two room keys.
"You're on the top floor, room 391. Enjoy your stay at the Lotus Hotel," the lady finally squeaks and watches as Percy and I walk towards an elevator after I thank her.
Percy and I wait awkwardly for the elevator to open and I hurriedly step inside when it finally arrives. Percy presses the button for the top floor and the elevator starts its slow journey upwards. A depressing old tune flows out of the speakers and Percy groans.
"They could've picked a better song," he says and just like that the awkwardness disappears and I'm chuckling with Percy.
"You secretly love it," I tease, punching his arm playfully. He rolls his eyes and pulls me to him so my chest is pressed firmly against his.
My breath catches in my throat at our closeness while Percy lowers his head so his lips meet mine. My eyes flutter closed as he backs me up against the elevator doors and I wrap my arms around his neck while his rest on my waist.
I don't even hear the 'ding' of the elevator so when the double doors open I stumble backwards into the hallway, Percy stumbling along with me. His hands on my waist keep us from falling and we smile brightly at each other after our lips part.
"Let's get ready so we can party all night long," I say, grabbing Percy by the hand and leading him down the hallway while looking for our room.
An hour later and Percy and I are ready to party. It took us about ten minutes after we found the room to get out of the shock of being able to stay in such a beautiful and large room. It's like a mini apartment here.
There's a king-sized bed in the centre of the gigantic box, with a wall of dark-tinted windows behind it so we can see outside but no one can see in. There's a big built in closet and when I look inside I find two fluffy white robes that make me want to strip off and put one on.
The walls are a light cream colour that makes the place look bright and cheerful. There's a small kitchen area with a refrigerator full with different food and drink to the far left and a living area to the far right. There's a chocolate brown couch facing the biggest TV I've ever laid eyes on and on that same side is a door, which leads to the tiled bathroom that has a round marble Jacuzzi, a toilet, a white sink and a shower.
"You ready to go back down and party the night away?" Percy asks, coming up behind me and sliding his arms around my waist. I turn in his arms and nod excitedly. He kisses my cheek sweetly before stepping back so he can take in my appearance. I blush under his powerful gaze, as he looks me up and down.
I'm wearing the outfit that my parents bought me and thankfully the dress fits perfectly and the shoes feel comfortable enough. I have a little make-up on: just some black mascara and pink gloss. I have weaved my blonde wig into a stylishly messy side braid and have a single loose curl on either side of my face.
"You look…" Percy trails off.
"I look what?" I ask, fearful that I don't look good.
"You look too good to put into words. You're stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, mesmerizing… I can't think of any other words," Percy replies, letting his green orbs meet mine.
"You don't look too bad yourself," I smirk, taking in his appearance. He's wearing a checkered blue and white shirt that makes his eyes pop out, dark jeans that fit him to perfection and white vans on his feet. He's styled his short locks so they spike a little to the side. He looks so handsome. I know that he will get a lot of attention from both males and females tonight.
"Thank you, my lady," Percy grins, offering me his arm. I link my arm with his and grab my clutch bag off the bed.
"Let's go," I say and we exit our room and take the elevator back to the bottom floor.
When the double doors open and reveal to us the crowded room we quickly see that more people have come down to party. Percy and I head straight over to the bar, where we both order two shots to help us loosen up a little. I'm impressed that we didn't have to use our ID's… and a little offended.
Percy and I then go over to the game area and compete on a game where we have to fight each other until one of us is dead, then on a car game where we have to race each other.
I win on both games and decide that I'll never let Seaweed Brain forget it though he insists that he lost both games on purpose just so I could win.
We go over to the food table and eat a couple of snacks before trying the blue drink squirting from the mountain.
"Ready to dance?" Percy asks.
I nod and reluctantly drag him onto the dance floor before swaying to the music. I've never been a good dancer but I'm relieved to find that Percy isn't the best either.
We laugh as we dance, messing up moves and trying to do complicated actions that we fail at doing. We get some looks from the good dancers but we ignore them and continue enjoying our night. I don't care what they think. The only person I care about in this moment is the boy - no, man - dancing with me.