I'm actually scared at how excited Theo is for this super risky plan of hers. She explained it to us, and it sounds nuts, which is just my style. She keeps pulling things out of my toolbelt. Breath mints, welding goggles, sharpies, machine oil. She gets to work on me. The welding goggles aren't exactly sunglasses, but they'll do. She rolls up the sleeves of my shirt and uses the machine oil to grease back my hair. She has Hazel draw a tattoo on my biceps that says Hot stuff, with a skull and crossbones.
Theo hands me the sharpie. "Come on, papi chulo, 'Team Leo' me up."
I start writing all over her arms, the way the nymphs had. Theo ties up her shirt, and I write on her stomach too. I'd never noticed she had some abs before. My girlfriend has abs. Wild.
"What in the world are you thinking?" Hazel asks us as I adjust my hair. I'm actually starting to think this plan could work super well.
"We try not to think." Theo tells her.
"It interferes with being nuts." I add. Just concentrate on moving that Celestial Bronze. Echo, are you ready?"
"Ready." She says.
"Wait." Theo looks me up and down carefully. "It's missing something."
"Missing something." Echo agrees.
"Leo, do you still have my lipstick in there?" She nods to the toolbelt.
"When did you put lipstick in here?"
"After Will's costume party." She insists. "You know..."
I don't know.
"That one night!" She insists. "The night that we almost..."
"The night that we almost." I remember.
Oh gods, the night that we almost. Will had thrown a party, and I walked Theo back to the Big House. She looked gorgeous, dressed as a mechanic. I had gone goofy and dressed up as a greek goddess, with a dress made out of bedsheets and flowers in my hair. Theo had invited me inside, up to her room, for the first time ever. We would have gone, but Chiron caught us, and I told him I was just going up to borrow a book from Theo. And we never had the opportunity again. It just hangs there, waiting.
"The night that you almost what?" Hazel asks.
Theo's face reddens.
I feel my own face burning too. "Uh, nothing." I pull her lipstick out. "Here."
She applies it quickly and expertly, and plants a big kiss on my cheek.
"Wow, yeah, finishing touch." Hazel nods, clearly impressed. "Good work Theo."
"Good work, Theo." Echo agrees.
I take a deep breath and strut back towards the pond, hoping I look awesome and not like I have some sort of nervous affliction. "Leo is the coolest!" I shout.
"Leo is the coolest!" Echo shouts back.
"Oh my gods, Leo's so hot!" Theo exclaims loudly, changing the way she speaks to the valley-girl accent the nymphs had been using.
"Leo's so hot!" Echo yells.
"Yeah, baby, check me out!"
"Check me out!
"Make way for the king!"
"The king!"
"Narcissus is weak!"
"Weak!"
The crowd of nymphs scatter in surprise. I shoo them away as if they're bothering me. "No autographs, girls. I know you want some Leo time, but I'm way too cool. You better just hang around that ugly dweeb Narcissus. He's lame!"
