The Fleece Job (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 31: The second heist Part 4

Jason

Needless to say all the Argonauts agree to do this and are in fact excited to do this. Hugh lectures us all for about thirty minutes about agreeing to do stupid things and how we shouldn't if we don't want to be like him. Anyway, we tune him out after the first five minutes.

I wake up before everyone else. I'm one of the few with a room still to myself after we took on the new crew members. Hugh and Zephyr sleep up on deck to stop us from escaping. Well, Zephyr informed all of us he was fine sleeping out side. Hugh made the other decision.

I walk out onto the deck to look at the water. Maddy said she would come to the ship, but still. I expect to see her on shore first.

It takes me a minute to realize I'm not the only one up. Peter is standing at the stern, staring out over the water. I know it's him before he even turns, he stands totally different from his bother. Much less confidence, and much more relaxed. His shoulders slump a bit, and his hair is a bit longer, it touches the back of his collar.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I ask.

"Nothing," he shrugs.

"If you say that too much, people are gonna start believing it. And they're gonna quit asking," I say, leaning against the rail.

"What do you care?" he sighs.

"Maybe I care about you, peoples can you know," I say, cocking my head.

He shrugs.

"Okay," I shrug too, looking out at the water.

"Do you love her back?"

"No. I met her two days ago," I scoff.

"But do you---I'm not asking because-----okay---I kind of am but------I'm more asking because I don't feel those things so it just, feels weird. To me---so I'm just---asking---like, man to man---is that what----so when you look at her you like, think---you are sexually attracted to her?" he asks, wincing and looking away from me.

"So yes, I am sexually attracted to her. I'm also sexually attracted to you. And your brother. And this girl I sat next to once in physics. And about fifteen male and female celebrities. As in do I feel general arousal or the vague desire to touch them in a sexual manner? Yes, I do, just like I might see a picture of food at any point in time and think 'yeah, that looks good, I would enjoy that'. However, that does not mean I would even want to eat the food under just random circumstances, like my worst enemy offering it to me."

"So even if you like jelly beans if the school bully offered them to you, you wouldn't want to eat them? Even though you want to eat them?" he frowns.

"Correct. Romantic attraction is different than sexual attraction. To actually want to have sex most---I would assume? Hope? ----most people have to have both as I understand. I am not automatically romantically attracted to her just because she's sexually attractive, yeah, she's a pretty girl. We also found her on an island and she's five hundred years old. I do want to help her escape to be nice," I say.

He nods.

"That's all. Would I like her more later once I get to know her? I mean maybe. I don't know," I say, shrugging.

"What you said before—"

"I can still work with that," I say, smiling cheekily.

"But you want to have sex? Someday you would want a partner who wanted to have sex with you? Because I can't say I would ever be comfortable with that."

"If we get home safe, and if my dad doesn't ground me for the rest of my life by locking me in his dungeon (he totally has one), then I would want to spend time with you. And that doesn't have to mean anything sexual. And yes, I wouldn't mind if that never happened because I don't need that---to like you. To want to spend time with you that isn't—the repayment or reward for being with someone. It's a bonus it's a part of it that's it," I say, twisting my hands.

"Okay," he nods again, smiling a little.

"So would you like to go someplace, with me, sometime, we don't necessarily have to steal things?" I ask, smiling a little.

"Yes. I would," he says, smiling too.

"It's a date then."

"Yes. It's a date."