Forgotten memories

Lipstick is Sexy

Annabeth was supposed to take the first watch... but honestly, it only took, what, five minutes before she was slumped against the wall, softly snoring. Typical.

I rummaged through my stuff and pulled out two little stainless-steel camping mugs—Sally Jackson had given them to me before we left her apartment. She'd even tossed in a couple of those convenient hot chocolate packets that fit perfectly in my pocket. Gotta love her for that.

I filled the cups with water, dumped in the powder, and gave them a good stir before setting them near the fire—close enough to warm up, but not so close that they'd boil over. After about two hours—yeah, two whole hours—they were... well, warm-ish. Not ideal. Definitely not "hot" hot chocolate, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Christine was still awake, sitting there like a statue, just staring into the fire. I walked over and held out one of the mugs. She hesitated for a second, then finally took it, wrapping her hands around the metal like it was some kind of lifeline.

I could tell she was upset about something. Angry, maybe? But, like, what else is new? There are about a thousand things to be mad about down here.

Then she finally spoke—quietly, like she didn't want to wake the others.

"How close are you to Rachel?"

I blinked, totally thrown off by the question. I took a sip of my not-so-hot hot chocolate and said, "Uh... like, not at all. I met her once. At some paint-and-greet thing."

Christine's eyes flicked toward me, then back at the fire. "So why does she..." She trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.

"Flirt with me?" I guessed.

Her face definitely got redder in the firelight. She quickly took a sip of her (also not-so-hot) hot chocolate, like that would cover it up.

"Selena told me once it's because of my mom," I said with a shrug.

That got me a raised eyebrow.

"Technically," I continued, "I'm a quarter love goddess. She told me I was... handsome once. I didn't really get it, so she explained it to me."

I set my mug down, trying to look casual.

"Every Aphrodite kid is attractive in some way. I'd guess you probably thought my dad was handsome at some point, right? You two were... kinda close."

Christine's blush deepened, and she muttered, "Maybe once..."

I couldn't help grinning. "So even though I'm not an Aphrodite kid, I still have that blood. Which means, yeah, I probably inherited a little of my dad's... attractiveness. He actually told me once—when I was, like, ten, I think—that he had the ability to..." I paused, searching for the right word. "Charm people. Just with his looks. So when a mortal or, uh..." I cleared my throat. "A camper, flirts with me, I just figure it's that quarter love goddess blood doing its thing."

I finished with a long sip of my lukewarm drink.

Christine gave me this deadpan look, like, Seriously?

"You're speaking nonsense," she said flatly.

I grinned and put on my most innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She just looked at me with a 'seriusly' kinda face. "Youre speaking nonsense"

I just grinned and inicently said "I have no idea what youre talking about."

She actually chuckled—a real laugh—and even smiled, which honestly made the whole conversation worth it. For a second, I just sat there, kind of stunned, then I decided to go for it.