Whirlpools

I was trying to focus on my breathing. Percy caged me in between his thighs as if he was trying to shield me from our audience. I had reluctantly taken the offered shots, which had left warmth pooling in my gut and a slight buzz in my ears, and had flat-out refused when Drew had draped herself over the table. Not that she or anyone else for that matter listened to the refusal. Everyone had simply laughed and poured the shot anyway. Percy had been my saviour, and now he was pulling me straight back into hell.

Yes, the idea of licking anything off Percy's body didn't bother me in the slightest. I actually quite liked the thought, which was the problem. Just having Percy lie back on the coffee table in front of me, pulling his jeans down just a bit to expose a slither more of his hips and v-line, already caused a stir below the belt. The tightening of my pants wouldn't have been a problem in the privacy of our apartments, but in the dimly lit bar, it was. I couldn't quite comprehend the horror of popping a chub in front of my entire team and the cheerleaders. I would never live it down.

"Okay," Travis started, dipping his fingers in his glass and swiping a wet strip across Percy's hip so the salt would stick. I held back the growl that threatened to spill out of me at someone else touching Percy. "The rules are simple."

"First you lick," Connor continued, sprinkling salt onto the wet line. "Then you take the shot." He poured the tequila straight into Percy's bellybutton with a smirk, to the very brink of overflowing.

"Now, of course, you are encouraged to try and use your tongue to make our volunteer squirm." Travis grinned down at Percy, who glared back. "Not that Perce will because he knows full well what the penalty for spilling the shot is and he's gonna try and stop his boyfriend from getting shitfaced."

"Finally," Connor hovered a slice of lime above Percy's mouth, and he took it between his teeth. "You take the lime. Understood?" I gave him a nod in response.

"The better the show, the less likely we are to demand an encore," the twins sang in unison. It gave me the creeps whenever they did that. "Bon Appetit," they said while bowing, making me grimace. I felt Percy's eyes on me, but I refused to look up, keeping my eyes instead on the line of salt. Eye contact with his breathtaking orbs would not help the pants tightening situation. The group fell into silence as I bent down, long, nimble fingers threading through my hair.

As my tongue darted out to lick up the salt, I saw Percy's abs tighten and flex, keeping perfectly still. I moved on to his bellybutton, tongue delving in deep to slurp up the tequila. Yet, Percy hadn't moved an inch, but I felt him twitch slightly against my tongue. When I tried to pull back, a firm hand kept me in place. Then the twins' words echoed in my head. The better the show, the less likely I'd have to do this again. I breathed in deep, steeling myself for what I was about to do.

Bless Percy for trying to help and guide me through this, but I couldn't look up at him. They say the most effective strategy for surviving whirlpools, is to never get caught in them in the first place. And that's precisely what Percy Jackson's eyes were, whirlpools. I just had to avoid getting caught in them.

With a shuddering breath, I licked my way up Percy's toned stomach, across his sternum and in between his pecs to reach his throat, where I nipped at his adam's apple. I leaned up to take the lime, but my damn boyfriend wasn't presenting it between his teeth as Drew had done. His mischievous smirk left no doubt in my mind where it was, though. With one hand at the back of his neck, I pulled Percy up and slotted our lips together. A tentative lick across his bottom lip had him opening his mouth and practically shoving the lime into mine with his tongue.

In that instant, my entire being zeroed in on Percy, and everything else faded to nothing. My senses kicked into overdrive. I tasted salt, lime, tequila and something that was undeniably Percy. My nose filled with the smell of Percy's ocean breeze body wash. The heat radiating off him seeped into my body and settled into my bones, making me melt into him. I wanted to get closer, so I pulled him tighter against me, and I felt him smirk into the kiss. There was still something in the way, though. I turned my head to spit out the remnants of the lime wedge before diving in to kiss Percy again.

Suddenly the room erupted into sound, and I was reminded that we weren't alone. There were whistles and shouts of 'get a room'. I pulled away, ears heating up even more at the small popping noise. Sniggers rose up around us, and my jeans were abnormally tight. Would I always have this strong a reaction to Percy? The fucker had the gall to smirk bashfully as he ducked his head.

"Wow, I'm surprised you have enough blood to blush, Grace," Will chortled. "I would have guessed your blood was heading somewhere else." Percy cleared his throat, reaching for his shirt.

"You bastards satisfied?" he asked the twins over his shoulder. Travis and Connor were laughing, barely able to nod. Percy pulled his shirt back on, got off the table, and hauled me along as he made a beeline for the bar. "I need a fucking drink." Frank seemed amused as Percy trudged up next to him, ordering two bottles of water and two vodka shots. He handed me one of the bottles and Hazel's eyes widened as he took both shots in quick succession.

"Rough night?" she asked. I pulled up a barstool to sit with them.

"Yeah, kiddo," Percy answered, making himself comfortable in between my legs, leaning back against my chest. "Where's Neeks?"

"Bathroom," she stuck a thumb over her shoulder. I was momentarily struck by the familiarity between Percy and Hazel before I remembered that Percy's father was old friends with Nico and Hazel's father, Hades. They even had the occasional playdate when they were younger.

A part of me wished that my own father hadn't cut ties with his two college friends. The two friends who were supposedly like brothers to him. Then again, would Percy and I have gotten together if I had known him while he was still working for Gabe?

"You staying in his apartment tonight?" he asked casually, and Hazel nodded.

"Yeah, I'm on the couch. Nico forbade me to sleep at Frank's." She shyly glanced at Frank before quickly adding with a blush peppering her cheeks. "Not that I was planning to sleep at Frank's."

"That sucks. If you want an actual bed, you could sleep in mine," Percy shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm gonna spend the night at Jason's anyway because he's going to be taking shots the entire night." As if on queue, Dakota idled up and handed me a glass.

His words were already slurring as he said something about how he felt the wind of me brushing past him in the game and knew it was a touchdown. He raised his glass, and so did I, and we let the liquid fall down our throats. Whereas the tequila was sharp yet endurable, this shit hit me like a ton of bricks.

"The fuck was that?" I croaked, and Dakota laughed his ass off. My head was swimming from one damn shot.

"A Kick in the balls," Dakota wheezed between laughs, clapping me on the back. I would have toppled off the stool if Percy's weight wasn't keeping me steady. He then promptly trotted over to his girl, Gwen, leaving me to deal with the after-effects of the concoction.

"See what I mean?" Percy snickered, making me drink more water. "He's gonna need someone to take care of him, so my room's empty and there are fresh sheets on my bed. I'll even make sure Leo is on his best behaviour and that he makes you breakfast." Percy indeed was he best wingman ever and Will could and should thank all the gods for this gorgeous man. Who else would ever give up their own bed to ensure they're bro would have the apartment to himself to fuck?

"You trying to kidnap my sister, Superstar?" Nico asked as he sidled up to wrap an arm around the girl.

"Nah, just trying to make sure she gets a good night's sleep. The couches in the dorms are pretty fucking shitty," Percy deadpanned, and the atmosphere got chilly as onyx met sea green in a battle of wills.

"It would be nice to sleep in an actual bed, Neeks," Hazel pouted up at her brother, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he huffed, and Percy smirked. Another teammate popped up with a shot, and I took it with a smile, not wanting to offend them after the breakthrough we had in Florida. This one left me reeling, just like the damn Kick in the balls had. Our evening was spent flitting through the room. Percy was in his element, quickly falling into conversations. I was aware that he always kept at least one hand on me, supporting me, guiding me, making sure I didn't make an utter fool of myself as I was handed shot after shot.

I was being sucked into a whirlpool, into a vortex. The weight of everything pulling me down a drain and I didn't have the strength to fight it. I slipped down into the darkness, the last thing I remember being sea-green orbs shining.

I woke up, head still swimming, with bile rising in my throat when I moved slightly. I launched myself out of bed, stubbing my toe on my dresser before I threw myself over the toilet. I didn't even have time to curse before my stomach emptied its contents. My entire body was aching, and I felt way too cold, my teeth chattering as I shivered. A warm blanket fell over my shoulder, and I heard the tap running. A moment later, a warm washrag swept over my face, wiping away the cold sweat. Percy sat down next to me, rubbing soothing circles on my back. He looked exhausted, but he didn't complain, just gave me a lazy smile before I heaved again.

"What time is it?" I croaked.

"About five o'clock in the morning," Percy droned. "We got in at about three, and you promptly passed out."

"Sorry," I moaned.

"Don't apologise." Percy got up and grabbed my toothbrush. "You have to get this shit out. Besides, you should be good for a couple of hours after this." He wiped my face again before helping me to my feet. "Done?"

"I think so." The uneasiness had settled some. It was the foul taste in my mouth that made me more nauseous. Percy held out my toothbrush, and I took it gratefully, the fresh mint flavour pushing back my urge to vomit. Percy helped me back to the bed, making me face toward the edge where a bucket stood waiting. He snuggled into my back as he pulled the blankets to our ears. The cosy warmth seeping into my bones lulled me back to sleep as Percy pressed a kiss behind my ear.

"Love you, babe."