Whatever you do in life, try to never ever owe someone a favor!
At first, I thought I wouldn't have anything to worry about. It would probably something silly, like taking care of the children or using your boat to go scuba diving, I told myself. Never this.
Let me back up for a second. Tell the beginning of the story.
A few months ago, around September, I went out with one of my friends. I'm sure you know him, Percy Jackson. Famous biologist? Sea lover? Father of three kids? Married with Annabeth Chase? I'm sure you know who he is by now. Anyway, I had invited Percy (and, by extension, Annabeth) to a trip inside my modest ship. Nothing big like a yacht, but it wasn't a fisherman's boat either. More like a sailing boat. I was taking my then-girlfriend, Natasha, who wouldn't stop talking about how much she liked the sea and stuff.
My invitation to Percy and Annabeth was to have company and not a one-sided conversation about the sea. The plan kind of backfired when Natasha saw that Percy was going with us. She wanted to monopolized Percy in every sense of the word (even with Annabeth standing right next to him!), only to confess to him that the sea made her sick and that it was an excuse for meeting him because she knew I was his friend.
Needless to say, I owed Percy for discovering the fraud, even when I didn't ask him. Percy, on the other hand, felt terrible about it and wanted to compensate me for the awful night! That's the kind of guy Percy is. I managed to convinced him that I was the one owing a favor and that, he didn't hesitated to tell me.
Which takes us to a couple of days before today:
"Henry? I need a favor to ask..." I immediately noticed that he was kind of embarrassed or desperate.
"Sure man, you tell me..." I had told him.
I should had listened first and saying 'sure' later!
What Percy put me up to was to be the captain of my own boat for a couple of friends celebrating Valentine's Day. Needless to say, I cursed Percy right afterwards. I was required to use an uniform! Those things itch! The bad part of all this is that I didn't know these friends of Percy (not that he can't have more friends or anything...), so I'd be waiting outside the deck until someone would approach me.
It's going to be a long Sunday...
~oOo~
I arrived early to the pier, around 3pm, trying to prepare everything for my 'favor'. It wasn't what I was expecting, but that didn't mean I was going to disappoint Percy! Several couples walked around the pier, climbing into different boat and sailing onto the sea. One boat left with several couples, as they were organizing a party. They looked young, so I guess that was fit for them.
Suddenly, a group (more like a crew) of several boys and girls, dressed like penguins (not costumes, suits) and carrying several bags approached me.
"Henry Sarkov?" I nodded at the guy that spoke to me "We were hired by Mr. Grace for tonight..." But, of course... I stopped the torrent of curses coming out of my mouth and allowed them to climb in. When they were aboard, I saw that among them was a chef, a DJ, waiters and some stylers. I rolled my eyes at all the commotion, but kept quiet. It wasn't my circus afterall.
"Does anyone know when Mr. and Mrs. Grace are coming?!" I heard one of the waiters to ask the rest.
"Less than thirty minutes!" Was the reply that had everyone working faster. One of them approached me, concentrate it.
"Mr. Sarkov, thank you so much for this..." he shook my hand with his, leaving me perplex "You're very kind to do this for Mr. Jackson's friends..." That comment made my brain.
"You guys know Percy?"
"He hired us. His friend is a pilot and was traveling until this morning..." the guy informed me. Something in my brain made 'click'. Did Percy organized all this for a friend who was working till the last minute? "Not to rush you, but they must be waiting outside... Ah! And do not mention anything of this!" I swallowed hard after seeing the look he gave me before going back to work. I stepped outside and saw a couple that looked more as if they were going to a picnic than a sailing trip.
The man was wearing some khaki pants and a blue polo T-shirt with moccasins. He was blonde with bright blue eyes. His skin was relatively pale, if we take in consideration that he was a pilot and has no time for a sunbath. He was admiring the ship and I could noticed a little scar, almost faint, on his upper lip. His right forearm had a tattoo of an eagle.
The woman next to him was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen before. Her naturally almost-caramel skin was flawless and with no signs of imperfections. Her brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail, though some strands were loose around her face. She had multicolor eyes and was wearing a simple pair of jean, some sneakers and a jacket on top of her clothes. Nothing fancy.
"You must be Mr. Grace..." I greeted him, smirking. He nodded, watching the ship "I'm Henry Sarkov and I'd be your captain tonight..."
"We're going sailing? Jason, that so nice..." the woman, Mrs. Grace, said with a smile. Mr. Grace smiles back, though I'm thinking he must be thinking about what was Percy planning.
"Glad you like it, Pipes..." he replied, his answer sincere. I helped them to get on board.
"I'll be in the rudder at all times, anything you need, you all have to ask them..." I gestured with my hand, presenting the rest of the crew. The Graces looked rather impress by the situation. Smirking, I headed to the rudder and set the ship in motion.
~oOo~
It's around 10pm and I'm sailing the boat into the pier. Apparently, the Graces had an amazing night. I couldn't see much, but I could hear the laughs and the romantic music from downstairs. I smirked at the situation and how uncomfortable must be the crew.
"Oh, Jason! That was so simple, yet so elaborated!" Mrs. Grace complimented her husband, who was blushing. Both were sitting on deck and chatting.
"Well, you do ask me to keep it simple for Valentine's..." he rushed to explain. Mrs. Grace simply kissed his cheek "I just glad that I didn't overdid..."
"It was an amazing night..." she recognized, smiling "Maybe, we should add this to Thomas' date planner..."
"You're planning our sixteen-years-old son's dates?" he raised his eyebrow "I thought we agreed to let it be..."
"I know, I know..." she sighed "But, with your sister's intrusion-" And, here, she gave her husband a pointed look "-I have the feeling that we won't be able to share anything with Sapphire..."
"You wanna know a secret?" She nodded, curious "Before the flight, Sapph confessed to me that she wanted what we have... So, I guess I see several awkward talks in the future..." She squeaked and jumped in his arms, hugging him.
"That's the best present ever!"
"Happy Valentine's, Pipes... Love you"
"Happy Valentine's to you too Jason... And I love you too"
----
2/2
Happy Valentine's to everyone! From the single to the couples, I hope you can have a nice day! (My plan for the day is writing some chapters of my stories, try not to melt with the heat of the weather and making my grandma a present, since tomorrow is her birthday! Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett and Michael Buble to the rescue!) Now, seriously, have a great day!
Someone asked me to do two chapters (can't remember your user name, sorry), so here I am! Now, on to the announcements!
A New Order of Chaos: thank you all for the comments, I really appreciate them! Ah! Someone asked which side was Hemera. Well, Hemera is on the light side, but she's more like Hestia: avoid confrontation is necessary...
What A Beautiful Thing Hope Is: guys! I posted the first chapter last week! Go read it!!
How This Happened?!: thanks to the comments and readers... I know there are not many, but every single one means a lot to me...
OK, to end, I have something to say... Next Sunday no, but THE NEXT I'd be traveling with my family for holidays! It's going to be for 3 weeks, more or less and I have no idea if I'd be able to get wifi or not. So I want you guys to answer this for me (if you're guests in Wattpad, go to my FanFiction profile and leave me a guest comment on this chapter):
A- I post everything before I leave? (02/26)
B- I post when I get wifi?
C- I post when I come back? (Around 03/15)
Thanks and, to quote Jon Bon Jovi, have a nice day!!