House of Hades (book 4 of Heroes of Olympus)

Chapter 5 - Hazel

Hazel

Hazel fanned her face hurriedly with her hand, blowing air up into her face as she tried to stop blushing.

‘You’re in the modern day now, Hazel. Teens kiss all the time,’ she reminded herself, trying not to look over at Piper and Jason. The cute display of affection was all new to her and she still had trouble getting used to it.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped timidly, swatting at the attacker.

“Woah!” she heard Leo shout, “My head is rather useful to keep!”

“Oh.” She muttered, rubbing her cheeks to get rid of the newly risen redness. Sammy, sorry – Leo, raised one of his eyebrows and grinned, hooking his thumbs through the loops on his jeans.

“Someone’s jumpy”.

“Well…” she glanced quickly over at Jason and Piper. Leo followed the line of vision and laughed.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“I sure hope so”.

Leo unhooked his thumbs and rubbed his hands together, “Mhmm, so have you seen Buford?”

She squeezed her eyebrows together, “No, I don’t think so”.

“Of course you haven’t because he’s in the engine room… come and have a look-“

“- So why ask me then,” she rudely interrupted.

“Because… oh just come and have a look… or you could stay here with these two,” he said, gesturing at the public display of affection and backing towards the engine room.

Hazel gulped, “Coming.”

“Thought so,” he chuckled. She swooned slightly at the impish grin he gave her and then promptly scolded herself in an old fashioned way. ‘Frank,’ she thought. Sometimes she really hated Venus.

The engine room felt like sitting in a sauna that had set itself on fire and in her usual hurrying way, she gathered her hair up into a knot to make herself cooler.

“Gods,” she said, gasping.

“What?” Leo puzzled, “There something wrong?”

She nodded, “It’s so hot!”

“Oh, sorry… I must be too sexy”.

She swatted his arm just before he had time to back up, “That’s gross. Just remember that I almost dated your ancient relative”.

Leo pulled a face, “So Frank is dating someone who could be his great-grandmother?”

She groaned in frustration and tried to hit him again but he caught both her wrists with just one his large hands and put the other against his lips in the attempt at telling her to shut up. He nodded his head in the direction of a huge tank.

When she looked over with her hands still tied up, Buford was… well, gods knew what he was doing.

“What is he doing?” she hissed at Leo.

“Remember when I told you he’d fallen in love with the engine?”

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.”

Remembering he was still clutching her wrists, she snatched them back and tried to ignore the slightly hurt expression on his face. Instead, she watched as Buford snuggled up closer to the huge tank, making a rose spring out of one of his many draws.