Jesse
As everyone parties throughout the night, I see Lassa's smiling and happy for the first time since Annabeth miscarried. She's finally getting to enjoy the victory of the quest.
Percy and Annabeth don't stick around longer than they have to. Soon as they get the chance, they hop on Blackjack and go to their apartment in the city. Can't say I blame them.
A few hours into the night, I finally get a chance to pull Lassa away from her other friends. I notice she's changed since we got here, and is barefoot wearing a green dress that matches her eyes and hangs off her body perfectly.I guess Lacey or Piper helped her do her hair and makeup too, because her hair is down, braided, and curly and her makeup is subtle but brings out all her best features.
"C'mon. Let's go!" I say, pulling her into the shadows between two cabins.
"Where?" She asks, green eyes full of excitement.
"The sandbar. C'mon, let's get out of here!" I say again and lace our fingers together. She smiles and we run to the stables. I get Sunburn out of his stall, and hop on. Skyfall whinnies in protest when Lassa gets on behind me, but Lassa promises her some sugar cubes when we get back and she settles down.
Sunburn trots out of the stable then takes off, making Lassa hold me tighter. She slips her hands under my shirt so they're touching the skin of my abdomen and I feel electricity go through my body. A few minutes later we land and Lassa dries the bar for us, so we get down and she slings my backpack off and I start pulling out blankets, pillows, plates and cups.
"You came prepared." She smiles at me. I spread the blankets and pillows and pull her down with me. She smiles and curls up to my side.
"I had time." I answer. "Look, I know the last week has been hard for all of us. But I'm glad you're having a good time tonight. This quest is a huge victory for everyone, you deserve to celebrate it."
"And that's why you took me all the way out here? To celebrate the quest?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
"No." I say sitting up, her doing the same. She looks at my mouth and smiles at me again. "I think you know why I brought you here."
"It's July 11th, Jesse, you're almost a week overdue." She teases.
"Sorry. We've had a lot going on."
"That's true. So are you going to ask me?"
"Ask you what?" I joke, lining my fingers up with hers and stroking her palm with my thumb.
"Jesse." She complains. "C'mon. I didn't get dressed up for no reason."
"Oh? So you knew I was going to do this tonight?"
"I suspected." She smiles. I lean forward and kiss her forehead.
"Well you probably look more beautiful than I've ever seen you look before." I tell her, meaning it. She blushes and takes another step forward.
"Well, are you going to ask?"
….
Lassa
"Lacey!" I yell over the music, running up to my friend. She brightens when she sees me and gives me a hug.
"Lassa! I can't believe it! You made it back alive!"
"Honestly, there were moments I didn't think I would." I laugh. "Now listen, I need your help."
"What's up?"
"I think Jesse's going to ask me to be his girlfriend tonight!"
"He hasn't yet? I thought your birthday was days ago."
"It was, but there was a lot going on when the quest didn't really get the chance to talk about it."
"Really? You didn't get the chance on a week-long cruise on a luxury sailboat with almost no monster attacks?"
"We had to deal with something that happened at the end of the quest. Please! I need help getting ready before he asks me!"
"Okay, Okay! C'mon, let's go to Cabin 10!" She says and we both take off from the amphitheater to the Aphrodite cabin. We get in and rush over to her bunk, and she starts rifling through her trunk.
"Go shower. Do a full exfoliation, there's a potion a Hecate kid helped Selena come up with before the giant war that removes body hair, and you have an array of scents of bodywash and shampoo to choose from. I'll have everything else ready when you get out. Hurry!" She smiles at me. I run into the bathroom and do as she says: Exfoliation, hair removal all over my body, and finally scrubbing with a mixture of strawberry and vanilla body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. Strawberries are sacred to Hermes, I hope Jesse likes it. I get out and dry off, then put on Lacey's robe and go back into the bunk room.
"Did you use shampoo and conditioner for curly hair? I forgot to specify that."
"Yes. Now what have you got picked out?" I ask.
"First, Makeup. Then hair. Lastly, get dressed. Sit down." She says, and gestures to a chair by the window.
"Do you have enough light?" I ask skeptically.
"I'm willing to bet he's going to take you to the sandbar. It's a full moon tonight. So I'm using the moonlight." She explains and gets to work. I don't tell her anything, just let her work her magic. She knows I like a natural look.
When she finishes my makeup, she moves to my hair. After carefully brushing it, she adds some product and dries it. It's curly and flawless, not a bit of frizz in sight. She braids it back in a waterfall braid, then pulls out some whisps to frame my face.
"Perfect." She says. "Here's your dress. It was supposed to be your birthday gift anyways. My aunt is a designer in Paris, that's how Aphrodite met my dad was at one of her fashion shows. I called her a few weeks ago and she made this for you." She explains, handing me a gift bag. I open it up and pull out a beautiful sea green dress. I slip it on and look in the full length mirror. Lacey squeals and I gasp.
I try not to be superficial and care too much about my looks, but I remember what Piper said one time about being a daughter of Aphrodite. It's about being loving and spreading beauty. I think that's true of more than just Aphrodite's daughters, and It's something I try to do as well. And Lacey has made me truly beautiful tonight.
My last real date with Jesse was New Years, and that only half counted since it really wasnt allowed. Since then, I've hit another growth spurt. Now I'm 5'5, a C cup, and a size 2 waist. Because of my workouts and time outside, I'm tan and toned and even have a bit of an ass. Enough to be attractive, at least.
The dress is perfect. It matches my eyes perfectly and falls in a way that hugs my curves perfectly. The top is a V-neck that has a criss-cross strap backless design, and there's about an inch or two of midriff between that and the flared layered skirt that falls just above my fingertips. Short, but not inappropriately so. It's not something that my dad would like me wearing, but it is something I'm not the least bit self-conscious in.
"I really hope I'm done growing. I'd hate to outgrow this." I tell Lacey with a big smile. She hugs me.
"If you do, I'll just get you another one. Now Go! He's probably looking for you!" She says and shoves me towards the door. I giggle and run out.
She wasn't wrong. It's less than 5 minutes before Jesse finds me, pulls me between two cabins and asks me to go to the sandbar with him. My heart is beating out of my chest the entire time I'm on Sunburn with my arms around him, and I decide to slip my fingers under the hem of his shirt. He tries to stifle it, but I still hear him moan as I do. I love feeling how strong and toned he is under his shirt, so I let my fingers linger there on his abdomen until we land on the sandbar. I jump off first and push the water back so we're on dry sand, and he gets down right after. I sling the backpack he gave me off, and he pulls out a few blankets, quilts, and pillows.
"You came prepared." I smile at him. He spreads the blankets and lays down, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him. I smile and curl into his side, breathing in his scent. I guess he had the same idea as I had, because he smells like Ocean Breeze.
"I had time." He answers. "Look, I know the last week has been hard for all of us. But I'm glad you're having a good time tonight. This quest is a huge victory for everyone, you deserve to celebrate it."
"And that's why you took me all the way out here? To celebrate the quest?" I ask him, raising my eyebrows.
"No." He sits up, and I rest on my knees so I can look him in the eye. Then his mouth. Then his eyes again. "I think you know why I brought you here, Lassa." He says gently.
"It's July 11th, Jesse, you're almost a week overdue." I tell him, half teasing and half serious.
"Sorry. We've had a lot going on." He says. It's true. We have.
"That's true. So are you going to ask me?"
"Ask you what?" He feigns ignorance, lining his fingers up to mine.
"Jesse. C'mon. I didn't get dressed up for no reason." I try for a flirty smile, standing up so he can look at me.
"Oh? So you knew I was going to do this tonight?" He asks, getting up.
"I suspected." I tell him. He leans forward and kisses my forehead.
"Well you probably look more beautiful than I've ever seen you look before." He says, and I can tell he means it by the tone of his voice. Color fills my cheeks and ears and he takes a step closer to me. There's maybe two inches of space between us, and I have to look up to see his face.
"Well, are you going to ask?" I say quietly.
"Maybe." He smirks.
"C'mon, stop playing games. Please. You know my answer, just ask."
"I will." He says, reaching up with both hands and tangling his fingers in my hair. "I just want to make this moment last."
"You're awful, teasing me like this." I tell him, but lean into his touch all the same.
"Fine." He chuckles. "Lassa, when people ask me what you are to me, what do you want me to tell them?"
"That I'm yours." I breathe.
"Really? I can tell them that?" He smiles, inching his face closer to mine.
"Only if you kiss me." I reply, and that's all it takes for him to close the distance between us completely and crash his mouth into mine. It takes a minute for us to both figure it out; where we put our mouths and our hands, but once we do it's perfect. His hands work their way down from my hair and to my shoulders and my back, then finally my waist. He pulls me so close there isn't any space between us. I trace my hands under his shirt and up his back, making him groan and pull me closer still. Then he sits and pulls me down with him, him on his ass and me on my knees. Eventually, I end up straddling his lap.
I don't know how long we stay there before one of us pulls back for air. I don't even know which one of us does first. I laugh and he rakes his fingers back through my hair, taking it out of its braid.
"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for that?" He breathes.
"About as long as I was." I smile at him. He gets a look on his face I'm not quite sure how to interpret, and he pulls me close to him and kisses me in a way that makes my head spin. It doesn't last as long as last time, but I'm still gasping for air like a fish out of water when he pulls back.
"Jesse…what was that for?"
"I love you, Thalassa." He breathes, his forehead pressed against mine with his eyes closed. My voice sticks in my throat. He pulls back a couple inches so he can look me in the eye. "I mean it. I've been waiting months to say it. I love you."
"Jesse…" I trail off. He smiles gently.
'Say it when you're ready, not just because I said it to you. But be ready to hear it a lot." He says, kissing my forehead, nose, and mouth gently.
'I don't need to wait. I love you too. Gods of Olympus, I love you." I tell him. He sighs and lays down, pulling me closer to him.
"What do you mean when you say that?" He asks.
"I mean I Love you." I laugh.
"Lassa, when I asked Percy for permission to ask you out last year, he told me I didn't need to be dating at all unless I was ready to think about it with marriage as an end goal. When I say that I love you, I mean it and I mean all of you. I mean I'll protect you in every way I can, up to and including giving my life. I'll be there for you no matter what. And when we're both ready, I'll marry you."
"You really want to marry me?" I ask, my body filled with so many different emotions I can hardly lay still. Taking a deep breath, I calm myself with his scent.
"One day."
"Well I'm excited for one day." I tell him. "When I say I love you, I mean I'm right here with you no matter what. Come Hell or high water, you're not on your own."
"That's true of any of your friends." He teases.
"True. But none of my other friends get to kiss me." I say, and he draws my face to his again. "I just want to stay out here with you forever, Jesse."
"I don't know about forever." He chuckles. "But there's no curfew, so we can at least stay out here tonight."
"I'll take it. Are you going to sail The Wavecrest back with me tomorrow?"
"Of course I will. But It can't just be the two of us. Your dad would probably send me to an early grave. Anyone you want to invite with us?" He asks. I laugh.
"It will have to be another couple. Otherwise someone would just be third wheeling on the two of us making out for a couple days."
"Oh so you plan on making out with me again?" He teases, making me blush.
"If you want to."
"Oh I definitely want to." He winks. "How about Lacey? I think she just started dating someone in the Athena cabin. Jonathan Smith."
"Yeah, you're right. They got together right before our quest started. I'll ask her in the morning."
"Okay. How late do you want to stay out here?" He asks me.
"No curfew tonight. Late as we can stay awake." I smile. He grins and lays down on the blankets.
"Sounds good to me. Want to show me some constellations? I forgot from last time." I chuckle and lay down next to him, curling into his side.
"Sure you forgot. Okay, my favorite is the one Percy showed me, first visible in December of 2006. Zoe Nightshade, Artemis' lieutenant, died and Artemis put her in the stars."
End of Part IV