Chapter 30 - Seven Minutes in Heaven
published: Wednesday, 13 May 2020

Beckendorf eyed the circle, earning wary looks from the rest of his friends. It was a party at Silena's this weekend, and it was time to play some tipsy Truth or Dare.

Connor Stoll was in a hula skirt, and Piper couldn't stop laughing from where Leo was perched daintily on her lap.

Beckendorf was notorious for his knack for giving terrible Dares or Truths to torment his friends.

His gaze landed on Percy, who had, up till now, been quite safe. All he'd had to do was dunk his head in a bucket of ice water.

"Percy," a mischievous grin spread across Beckendorf's face. "Truth or Dare?"

Percy studied his expression hesitantly. "Um, Dare," he said.

Beckendorf leaned back on his elbows with a laugh. "I dare you to do 'seven minutes in heaven' with Annabeth."

An eruption of "ooh"s and whistles from the group followed. Percy caught Annabeth's eye across the circle; it seemed it was just as difficult for her to keep her smirk hidden.

"Well, if it's a dare," Annabeth shrugged, getting to her feet.

"Yeah," Percy feigned a wince. "What a shame."

Annabeth nudged his foot with a glare. Be more discreet, her look ordered. He was going to give them away, and Annabeth did not spend the last two weeks throwing off suspicion only for Percy to blow their cover.

Percy tried his best to ignore Rachel's piercing look of suspicion.

"Right there," Silena gestured to the door, her uncontrollable smile matching everyone else's.

She stepped into the small room after Percy. It was the Beauregard's laundry room, a countertop hanging above the washing machine.

As Percy locked the door with a click, Annabeth set her phone down next to her, the timer on 7 minutes, and nimbly hopped up to sit on the counter.

"Dared to make out with my boyfriend," Annabeth coyly raised an eyebrow at him. "Boy, are they stupid."

Percy drifted forward to stand between her thighs, palms splayed on the counter outside of her hips.

Pulling him in, Annabeth kissed him, and she was reminded of the first time they'd done something like this.

It was one week into their relationship. They'd gone on dates, had movie nights at home, hung out at Walter's, but everything had been very PG so far.

Annabeth wasn't quite sure how to broach the topic. It was an awkward one; Percy was much more experienced in this than she was, and even though she knew that he wasn't the kind of person to break up with a girl over sex, she was afraid she wouldn't live up to his other girlfriends.

So, when he came over to her house on evening, both her parents out and her brothers at another soccer camp, Annabeth was nervous, to say the least.

They hadn't had the talk yet. Percy hadn't even mentioned anything remotely related to it, and Annabeth couldn't think of a way to bring it up.

As they sat on the couch, streaming an episode of Lucifer from Netflix, Annabeth couldn't stop glancing over at him. She loved the show, but Percy was more distracting.

His hair was all messy post-shower from swimming practice, and his eyes were slightly unfocused from fatigue.

When Percy shifted, the hem of his shirt rode up to reveal the skin just above the waistband of his jeans, and Annabeth almost lost it.

Get it together, she chided inwardly, trying not to blush.

This continued for another ten minutes; a private hell just for her. Percy was her boyfriend and one of her best friends. She should be able to talk to him about this.

Before she could lose her courage, Annabeth grabbed the remote and switched the TV off.

Percy jolted in surprise. "Wha—"

Annabeth leaned over and kissed him. They'd gotten better at it over the week. Neither would stiffen in shock anymore, and Percy responded almost immediately this time.

Their lips moved in sync, until Percy drew apart, gasping for breath. "Woah, woah, what brought this on?" he asked in surprise.

Annabeth felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She'd just jumped Percy on her couch. Oh, God.

"I just—We haven't—" Annabeth tried, but all that came out were unintelligible phrases. She groaned frustratedly, shoving her hair behind her back as she slumped against the arm of the couch.

Percy turned to face her, searching her gaze. "Oh!" he suddenly said with realisation. His cheeks reddened, understandably, and he scratched the back of his neck in a way that made Annabeth think, adorable.

"I mean," Percy hesitated. "It's only been two weeks. And well, are you sure?"

Annabeth swallowed. That was the thing. She wasn't sure. "I don't know," she admitted. "I've never..." She trailed off awkwardly. "And you're, well, you."

"Annabeth," Percy interrupted. "We don't have to have sex right now."

"Oh, thank God," Annabeth said in relief.

"Did you really think that was important to me?" Percy said incredulously.

"I don't know," Annabeth said helplessly. "I've never done anything like that before. And it's you, so this is pretty much uncharted territory."

"Well," Percy chuckled. "We aren't gonna do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Seriously, take your time."

Annabeth tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. There was something nagging in her mind.

She took a deep breath. "I don't think I'm ready for any of the serious stuff yet," Annabeth reasoned. "But, um, I definitely...want to..."

Percy stared at her blankly.

She blushed furiously. "Well, I-I look at you and I just want to kiss you. For hours. Like, I could literally do it all day."

Percy's mouth fell open as his eyebrows shot skyward.

"That sounded so bad," Annabeth said embarrassedly, burying her face in her hands. "Sorry," she said, her voice muffled.

When she lifted her head warily, Percy was just grinning madly at her. He really did look like an idiot in love.

"We can take it slow," Percy suggested.

Annabeth looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

"Annabeth," Percy told her firmly. "If you asked me to jump in front of a moving truck, I would probably do it. So, yes, I'm sure."

Annabeth felt her feelings for him grow just a tiny bit more. Everyday, she told herself it was impossible to like him even more, and she proved herself wrong every time.

"You are so great," Annabeth informed him. "And," she added. "We, um, we don't have to take it that slow."

Percy disguised a laugh as a cough, but pulled her in for a kiss. Annabeth deepened it, moving onto her knees so that she was straddling him, pressing him into the couch as they made out.

Her arms explored his shoulders — she could've sworn they ran on for miles — and his hands gripped her waist.

Annabeth smiled against Percy's lips. A week wasn't much, but 'practice makes perfect'. And it brought them here, at Beckendorf's party, making out without the knowledge of their friends in the next room. 

Add that to the list of things Annabeth loved about Percy; how much he respected her.

+++++

"This was the best idea you've ever had," Annabeth sighed blissfully as she stretched out on the sand, the sun giving her a youthful, golden glow.

She could almost hear Piper's smirk. "I know, right?"

Actually, Percy was the one who had first brought it up. Over the summer, he and his mother had driven up to Montauk and rented a cabin for two weekends.

Piper then suggested that they do the same over the term break, before it got too cold to do so.

The blazing sun streaked the sky pink and orange as it set, reflecting on the lapping waves of the ocean.

"So, you're telling me, that that doesn't affect you at all?"

Annabeth opened her eyes and raised herself onto her elbows, following Piper's gaze. It was Percy, standing in the water, laughing at something Jason had said. Hazel stood beside them, splashing around with Frank.

"You're single and you have eyes," Piper demanded. "How have you not yet hit that?" She squinted her eyes. "Are you sure that you're not a lesbian?"

Annabeth's eyes glazed over for a moment as she remembered her and Percy making out in his bedroom a few days earlier. He was getting pretty good at taking her shirt off smoothly. "Definitely not a lesbian."

Later that night, they sat round the fireplace. It was broken, but set the mood anyway.

Annabeth was sitting next to Percy on the couch, and it took all of her self-restraint not to lean into him. They were sharing a blanket though, their legs secretly tangled up underneath it.

Keeping their relationship a secret really was starting to bother her, since Annabeth was pretty much bursting to tell her friends. She wanted to be able to be with Percy, even when they weren't alone.

God, I love you.

Annabeth almost let out a frightened yelp when the thought echoed in her head.

When the hell had that happened?

Percy had told her he loved her before they even got together. It was in the cellar of Mortelli's warehouse, which hadn't exactly been the most romantic scenery.

They hadn't talked about it since, though Percy had reminded her that she shouldn't feel obligated to say it back.

But somehow, over the last month, Annabeth really had fallen in love with him. She wasn't quite sure when exactly it had occurred. But over time, it just...happened.

Annabeth glanced at him. The dim lights of the cabin illuminated his features, his eyes glinting under it. Should she tell him now?

The idea instantly flopped when she recoiled just thinking about it.

Annabeth had never said "I love you" to anyone except for her family before. Maybe once or twice to Piper, Jason, and Leo, but never to a boyfriend, and not in that way. She'd never been in love before.

Percy, despite everything he'd been through with relationships and Gabe, loved way more easily. It was evident, when he told her after their second kiss, that he had already fallen for her.

Annabeth wasn't like that. She didn't know why. It wasn't like she closed herself off on purpose. She just happened to be more reserved than Percy.

Piper, Leo and Jason had definitely helped with that. That was why she had always been friends with them. They made her a better person.

But Percy was different. He brought out a side of her that Annabeth didn't even know existed. When she was around him, she loved more easily too.

So, she could exactly just spring something so significant on him. No, she needed to do the three words justice.

I love you.

Annabeth's heart did a little dance in her chance, and she was glad it was dark enough that no one would notice the faint flush in her cheeks.