Like, I would have rather streaked across the school in my birthday suit than dealt with the awkwardness that was yesterday.
And now I was here for my date with Atalanta, and Percy was expecting me to tell her the truth. Which was probably a lot harder for me than him. Percy didn't grow up on the surface with constant warnings of 'don't reveal yourself to the humans’ and 'humans would hunt you for your blood and flesh'. Gah!
No, Percy got here and saw how happy we coexisted with the humans in the town, but he didn't realize how difficult it was for our people when we first started settling here in what was now Washington. Granted I wasn't old enough to have experienced it first-hand, but my mother was, and her stories weren't jolly bedtime stories. She had a happy ending though, she found my father and they had been happily mated for the last two hundred some-odd-years.
I didn't necessarily think that Atalanta would be the type to sacrifice me for my flesh or sell me off to someone who would, but it was hard to shake the feeling of dread whenever I thought about telling her the truth.
And then there was my family. I really—
My thoughts were interrupted when a very large man opened the door. My first instinct was to be afraid of the man, as fathers in movies were usually shotgun toting, ‘hurt my daughter and I’ll hurt you,’ kind of people and this man wasn’t all that different. Face turned down in a scowl, his large muscles flexed as he crossed his arms.
"And who might you be?" He drawled with a slight, surprisingly southern, twang.
Atlanta had no such accent.
"My name’s Jason, sir. I'm here to pick up Atalanta. We have a date."
Immediately his big bad wolf persona broke as an excited smile lit up his face.
"Oh, it's so nice to see my baby girl finally bringing some boys home! Come on in. I apologize for the lack of furniture. We move around so much, it's hard to keep the larger pieces. Normally, we try to get a furnished place but something about this old cabin called to me. Maybe it was the price," He chuckled to himself.
He welcomed me through the door and I tried not to let my jaw hang open. Lack of furniture was right. There was absolutely no furniture that I could see. The entry led to a living room space which was devoid of everything but the fireplace and a milk crate in the corner. 'Bare bones' is what my mother would have called it.
"Mr. North—” I started.
He interrupted, waving me off. "Please, call me Titus."
“Titus, I don't mean to sound rude but if you want, I'm sure I could ask around for any spare furniture people are looking to get rid of. The townsfolk here are the type that would be more than happy to help if you need anything."
"Oh, no, that's alright. I wouldn't want to let all the furniture go to waste if we ended up having to move again,” he replied, shaking his head. “Awfully kind of you to offer, though.”
If? If he wasn't sure about them moving, why live like this? I wondered if maybe he didn't want to feel indebted to anyone in the town. I had thought that Atalanta and her family might struggle a little when it came to money, but not this badly. I would have to talk to Dorris about giving her a raise.
I heard hurried footsteps on wood and looked towards the hallway to see Atalanta rushing forward in probably the sexiest outfit I had ever seen her in. Skin tight jeans that clung to every curve with a light purple off the shoulder long sleeve blouse that flattered her figure as opposed to the oversized clothes that she usually wore to school. Her short hair was dripping as if she had just gotten out of the shower, the droplets falling enticingly onto her light espresso skin.
I shifted, a little uncomfortable, pulling down my hoodie as I tried to hide the erection that was starting to form.
"Sorry, I woke up late and didn't realize what time it was until I heard you pull up outside. I'll be done in a minute, okay?"
I nodded, the frog in my throat stealing my ability to speak.
She scurried back down the hall. Her ass swaying back and forth drew my eyes like they were magnets.
Shit, I would not be sporting a hard-on in front of her father!
Ummm, sea plankton. Baseball. Dolphins. Chewbacca.
My muscles relaxed somewhat as I felt the blood slowly seep back into my brain.
I glanced at the father who just stood there with a wide shit-eating grin. He had totally just caught me checking out his daughter.
"So, Jason, tell me a little about yourself,” He said, his arms crossed.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well, um, I've lived here in Argos my whole life. I'm the student body president as well as captain of the swim team."
"A high achiever," He nodded approvingly and made his way into the kitchen. "your parents must be proud. What do they do?"
"They work at the nearby university as marine biologists,” I replied.
He pulled a couple of vegetables out of the fridge. “Any siblings?”
It was in this moment that I had realized that the kind overexcited father was slowly morphing into one of the serious investigators I had seen on TV. Despite appearing focused on whatever he was working on in the kitchen, it felt like he was keeping a sharp eye on me over the counter.
"No…only child, sir."
"I was an only child myself. It can be lonely, which is why I was so determined to have at least two children. Atalanta has an older sister, Cal. Have you met her?” He asked as he pulled out a knife and began to roughly chop the veggies.
I had seen the more spirited of the sisters around a couple of times. She was quite gorgeous too, as they looked very much alike.
"We haven't been formally introduced, but I've seen her around town, and she's come to pick up Atalanta a couple of times after work."
“Oh, are you one of her friends from work? Is that how you met?” He asked.
I shook my head. “No, I work at the library next to the community center, but I met Atalanta at school. We have a couple of classes together."
"That explains why she likes you."
I tilted my head. "Sir?"
He grinned. “You work in a library. If there is one thing you should know about my little girl, it’s that books mean everything to her. If she could, she would probably sleep at the library."
I chuckled. I did notice she liked books, though I had figured she might have been going there to see Percy and study.
A few moments later, I heard soft footsteps make their way up the patio. Turning, I saw the sister entering through the door. She paused when she saw me standing in the living room before a wide smile spread across her face.
"You must be Jason!" She came over to shake my hand. "Atalanta told me all about you. My, your eyes really are as beautiful as she said."
I couldn't help the red that tinted my cheeks, but I gave her a sly grin. "Well now I have a bit of ammunition against her."
"Against me?"
I jolted a bit at Atalanta's sudden appearance next to me. She was a sneaky one. Her hair was now dry, and I think she was wearing makeup. Looking a bit closer it was more obvious by the fact that the fading bruises and scratches on her cheek were well hidden. I felt a little dip in my gut when I remembered hearing about what happened to her. It was my fault those girls confronted her.
Shaking myself back into the present I leaned closer to her and crooned, "Yep. Now I know you think my eyes are beautiful."
"Your smile is beautiful too," she said matter-of-factly.
"Well, damn. If you’re going to be so upfront about it how can I use it against you?"
"That's the point," She replied, all proud of herself with that little smile.