Piper McLean was bored. Which was completely absurd because White House parties were supposed to be fun. And usually, they were. Silena cracked jokes, Annabeth folded the fancy cloth napkins into little architectural origami masterpieces, and Piper got to dance as much as she liked because she always looked good and gala nights meant she didn't have to work.
Except tonight, she couldn't do that at all.
Silena and Reyna were nowhere in sight. Thalia had moved over to the President's table and chatting with a sandy-blond Representative who was just starting to get distinguished bits of gray at his temples, far away enough that Piper couldn't hear what was being said. Percy had gotten up and moved entirely, which was too bad, because all Piper really wanted to do was grill him on what exactly his history was with Annabeth, because clearly her friend had been lying when she'd said there wasn't anything there. And Annabeth wasn't at the table at all, because she was off at her super-top-secret meeting, which meant that Piper had to work after all.
She spun a sparkly ring around her index finger. It was cubic zirconia and antique rose gold, a gift from her father years ago. She swallowed down her distaste for the evening as a whole, picked up her martini glass, and went over to the nearest group of senators to cheerily flirt and chat and talk about mind-numbing numbers and appointment possibilities and meetings that would never in a million years get scheduled. All the while, she didn't take a single sip of her drink, even as she wobbled slightly in her heels and took a congressman's elbow for support, laughed at a senator's bad joke, and suggested falsely to a member of the minority counsel's office that perhaps a spot in Annabeth's calendar might open up if he asked nicely.
All the while, she took mental notes, remembering whose names were getting dropped where and with how much comfort and ease, and whether or not it seemed likely that anyone was going to try to filibuster anything.
Annabeth had better be thankful when she came back.
Fortunately, the third group of senators that she ran into also contained Jason Grace and two journalists, which wasn't really any less challenging professionally but was at least a whole lot more fun.
"Come on, Mr. Grace, can't you tell us anything about what the President thinks about the new bill on the House floor?" Drew Tanaka asked, putting her hand on Jason's arm.
"I really can't," Jason said curtly. "Oh, hello, Piper."
"Hi," Drew greeted her, bright smile turning sour. "I'd ask you about… well, something, but I'm sure you'll just tell me you don't have the authority to properly answer."
"Sure, Drew," Piper smiled breezily, gritting her teeth. "Lacey, how are you?"
"I'm well, thanks," the junior reporter next to Drew replied quietly. "I was actually hoping to get an exclusive with Annabeth about the President's plans regarding federal judiciary appointments…"
"Talk to Silena about that one," Piper advised. "We're keeping a pretty tight lid on everything there until after the next set of primaries. But Silena will be allowed to say more than the rest of us."
Lacey made a note and smiled shyly. "Thanks, Piper."
"Piper, you haven't seen Reyna, have you?" Jason asked. "I was hoping to get her take on…"
"The speech?" Piper asked with a raised eyebrow. "No, but I'm sure she'll tell you it was fine."
Her gaze drifted to where his index finger was tapping his watch face. One, two, three, four five. Pause. One, two, three, four, five.
"I believe you," Jason said, "But I just… I was hoping for some continuity of language between this one and the last…"
"Jason, the speech was great, but I'm sure Reyna already has notes for you. I'll track them down later, if you like— I know Percy and Annabeth will want copies, too." Piper gave him a sweet, indulgent smile, the kind that she'd practiced in the mirror back in high school to make seniors feel like giving the freshman a ride to the coffeeshop or the game was actually their idea all along. She'd perfected it over the years. She moved that sparkly, sparkly ring from her right index finger to her right ring finger, and took a sip of her drink, making sure the ring caught the light.
Jason's eyes widened, and the corner of his mouth tugged up into a smile. "That would be great. Thanks, Piper."
Precisely five minutes later, Jason extricated himself from the conversation. Five minutes after that, Piper followed.
They collided in an empty coat room down the hall, his hands stroking her bare arms, her fingers running through his short blond hair.
"That dress," he said, his lips hot against her own. "You look so damn good in that dress."
"Thank God we have a system for events like this," Piper agreed, nodding, her hands already undoing his bow tie. "I thought you tapped for seven instead of five, and it was like, God, no, I will not be able to wait another two extra minutes…"
"I almost thought you weren't going to move the ring," Jason interjected. "I thought you were going to leave me there to die among reporters who only care about flirting and the president's suit choices."
"You care about the president's suit choices," Piper said, her voice low, her teeth gently scraping Jason's throat.
"Miss McLean," Jason said, his voice suddenly hoarse, "you're being particularly quick with this tonight. Something you want?"
"I don't like other women flirting with you," Piper told him, reaching down and unbuckling the front section of his belt.
"I don't like seeing you flirting with senators, but we endure what we must," Jason retorted, sliding his hand all the way up the high slit of her dress. "God, you, in this dress…"
Piper gasped at the heat of his palm against her skin, hitching her knee around his hip. "Jason…"
"Yes?" He asked, one arm coming around the small of her back, bracing her, supporting her. The cool wall of the coatroom was smooth and cold against her back.
"Please," Piper breathed.
"Well, since you asked nicely," Jason said, leaning down to kiss her. The hand that had been flush against her leg shifted, stroked her inner thigh gently, like a whisper or a caress, before he worked two fingers around the side of her barely-there underwear and inside of her. She moaned softly, and he had to move his other hand from her back to cover her mouth.
"Shhh," he whispered. "I've got you."
She kissed him feverishly then, certain that if she let her lips part, she'd make a noise that would surely have them discovered. She muted herself against his lips, until she was shaking, coming undone around his hand.
"God, Jason—" she rasped the words against his ear "I can't— please, I want you."
He let out a throaty chuckle and hoisted her against the wall, holding her there as she panted, breathless. He tugged a shiny foil packet from his pocket and tore it open with his teeth, shoved his trousers down just a few inches, just enough, tugged the edge of her underwear to the side…
He practically sighed as he sank himself into her, pressure and sweet relief all at once.
"What do you think, should I leave first or should you?" Piper asked afterwards, shifting her dress so that the slit fell to the side and not the front, covering any evidence of the mess they'd just made.
"I probably should," Jason said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I just wish…"
"I know, I wish we didn't have to hide, too," Piper said, tucking the foil shreds and used prophylactic into a Ziplock that she'd stuck into her clutch for this precise reason. "But we do, or your career and mine are both on the line. People gossip enough about you and Reyna as it is, and even I know there's nothing there."
"Yeah." Jason reached up and redid the top few buttons of his shirt, tied his bow tie back into a neat knot. "I just…"
"I know." Piper reached for his wrist, gently tilted his watch face to catch the light. "You know, it's probably late enough… neither of us are the object of attention tonight."
"It's probably reckless," Jason objected, but he was already pulling himself to his feet.
"It is," Piper agreed, spritzing a tiny bit of perfume on her dress and handing Jason a hand wipe, which he tucked into his pocket when he was done. "But don't you feel like being a little reckless sometimes?"
So they half-stumbled out of the coatroom together, less than a few seconds apart even if they weren't hand-in-hand.
They made it all the way to the end of the hall. Piper could hear the music again, and she and Jason were about to go their separate ways when they saw the flash of light, so quick Piper almost missed it.
But there was no missing that unmistakeable sound of the camera shutter that accompanied it.