"C'mon, Finnick, we're gonna be late."
"What's the big deal, Melia? He asked. He followed her along the rocks, watching her body sway as she did her best to keep her balance on the slick slabs. The waves lapped at their feet.
"You'll see." She looked at him over her shoulder, flashing her best smile. The gentle breeze blew her dark brown hair from its loose braid and it fell in wisps around her face.
"This better be worth my time," he grumbled. He didn't have a lot to do since winning the 65th Hunger Games nearly two years before, but everything seemed like a waste if he wasn't fishing.
"Am I worth your time?" She turned around, hands resting on the waistband of her cutoffs.
"Of course." He took a step towards her.
"Then hurry up." She spun and continued walking before he had the chance to reach her. Within minutes they arrived at the cove. A small bonfire was wavering, but no one was around.
"Who the hell leaves a fire unattended?" He asked, scooping up some sand to put it out. Just before he could throw it on, people jumped out of the water and from behind the rocks.
"SURPRISE!" they screamed in unison. The sand went flying through the air as Finnick frantically searched for a weapon before he realized what was going on.
"Happy birthday, bud," Kai Nichols said, slapping his friend on the back and handing him a beer. Finnick took a small sip.
"I thought everyone had forgotten," he admitted as others walked by to wish him happy birthday.
"Nah, Mel wouldn't let anyone forget. She's been planning this for weeks." Kai downed half of his drink at once.
"She has?"
"Yep. I think someone is getting lucky tonight." He nudged Finnick in the ribs and walked away to chat up one of the girls. Finnick glanced around the group as he drank some more. A pair of soft hands covered his eyes.
"Guess who."
He smiled. Her warm breath formed goose bumps across his neck. "Hmm…Kai?" he teased.
She smacked the side of his head and forced him to turn. "Pretty sure he doesn't have these." She pointed at her breasts which were hardly contained by her bikini top.
"He definitely does not."
She grinned. "So, were you surprised?"
"You saw the sand fly," he answered, reluctantly tearing his eyes from her chest. She giggled.
"That I did." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling their bodies together. "I have a very special birthday present for you when this is—."
"Hey, Mel, I think I'm going to go home," a quiet voice interrupted.
She pulled away from him. "The party just started, Annie. Stay a little longer."
The small dark haired girl fiddled with hands. "I don't know anyone," she squeaked.
"Nonsense. Finnick, this is my cousin, Annie." She grabbed their hands and clasped them together. "There, now you know the birthday boy."
"Nice to meet you, Annie." Finnick smiled at her, causing a pale blush to spread across her cheeks.
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks. Mel, why didn't you tell me you had such a beautiful cousin?" Finnick winked at Annie. Her blush deepened.
"Maybe because I didn't want her to steal you away from me." She pulled him in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "My uncle keeps her locked up in the net shop anyhow. I had to beg him to let her out tonight."
"It's not that bad," Annie mumbled. She scratched her arm nervously.
"Well, I might just have to stop by," Finnick said. Melia smacked his arm.
"Did I tell you she's only fourteen? My uncle would turn you inside out. Not to mention what I would do to you."
Finnick wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "You're enough Cresta for me, babe."
"I…I think I'll try and meet some people," Annie said, turning around. Her knee length skirt wrapped around her legs as she walked. Finnick watched as she made her way to a small group of younger teens.
"I was serious about leaving her alone, Finn."
He turned his attention back to the girl at her side. "Why would I go after a kid when I've got you?" He kissed her neck.
"Mmm, I can't wait until this party is over."
"Me neither."
"Good morning."
Finnick slowly opened his eyes to find Melia standing over him with a smile on her face. She was completely naked and he couldn't help but grin as he remembered what happened that night.
"Morning, gorgeous," he said, hooking his arm around her bare waist and pulling her on top of him. Their lips locked, but only briefly because she pulled away.
"I have to get going, babe."
"Why?" he whined, trying to pull her back again, but she stepped away, reaching for her bikini that had been tossed aside.
"I promised my uncle I'd help in the shop if he let Annie go to the party last night." She glanced at the clock beside the bed. It was half past ten. "I'm already two hours late."
He groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. "Why did you do that?"
She kissed his lips quickly. "Because she never gets to do anything. Her dad has had her under lock and key since her mom died last year."
"Well, she didn't even look like she was having fun."
Melia shrugged. "She's just shy. I really have to go though. I'll see you later." She kissed him one more time and Finnick watched her walk out of his room. After a few moments he heard the front door close and knew she was gone. He laid in bed and stared at the ceiling for a several minutes before forcing himself to get up. He rummaged through his dresser for a clean pair of swim trunks, but couldn't find any so he settled on a pair he'd worn the day before yesterday. He really need to get his laundry done, but he knew if he left it long enough Mags would do it for him. He didn't particularly like leaving his work for others to do, but he struggled to make himself do it.
He stopped in the kitchen to grab some live bait out of the small tank he kept them in. He fished them out with a net and put them in a small bucket of water. He grabbed his fishing pole and headed to the ocean.
Victors' Village was on the cliff overlooking the town and the water. Instead of being arranged in a circle like the houses in the poorer districts, Four's Village was spread out along the cliff. The older houses were built right next to each other, but they had since been built at least fifty feet apart, some even farther. They all had large windows and two to three stories with porches at each level. Each contained three to five bedrooms and at least two bathrooms. Some even had more than one kitchen. They were beautiful, but too big for most of the victors since many didn't have families.
Finnick made his way down the path leading from the cliff to the ocean. It took ten minutes to get down to where the path split. One direction led to town, the other to the main beach, and the third to the cove. He headed towards the beach to fish at the old pier like always. The herons and waders worked along the shoreline trying to catch their prey.
No one came to the old pier anymore. It had been around for years and was in need of repair, but the Capitol allowed for two newer piers to be built so the original was forgotten. Ships could be seen leaving the port in the distance, heading out to try and catch the big fish and shrimp. Finnick's dad was on one of those ships. He had left four days earlier and wouldn't be back for two more weeks. If he came back at all. Fishing was more dangerous than most realized and it wasn't overly unusual for the ships to come back missing a crew member or two or with several serious injuries.
Finnick walked the length of the pier and sat down at the end. He baited his hook and tossed it into the water. He never caught for keeps anymore. There was no point in that. He bought from the others, those that needed his money far more than he did. That's why he rarely used the trident anymore. There was no releasing a speared fish. Speared kids couldn't be released either.
The fish weren't biting today. He sat for hours, the sun warming his tanned skin, unmoving. Every now and again he would reel the pole in and throw it back out, sometimes putting on new bait. He repeated this until he had gone through all of his bait. Brief nibbles were all he would get.
The sun was well in the western sky when he pulled his pole out, dumped out the extra water in his bucket, and made to leave. He walked to the cove, following the curve of the beach instead of the path. Few made their way down here since it was a few miles from town. His feet sunk in the wet sand leaving prints that disappeared with the tide. He walked slowly, dragging out the trip to nearly an hour.
A young dark haired girl was sitting in the sand, away from the shoreline, staring into the ocean. It was the first time he had seen someone at the cove in weeks. He decided to keep walking farther down, but before he could sneak by her she looked at him.
"Hi, Finnick." Her voice was barely audible, carried to him only by the slight breeze.
"Hey," he replied. He stared into her dark green eyes. "It's Anna, right?"
She shook her head. "Annie."
"Oh yeah, sorry."
Annie shrugged her shoulders and turned back towards the ocean. Finnick wasn't sure what to do. Should he sit by her or continue on? She hadn't invited him to sit with her, but leaving seemed rude. He waited for several moments before closing the few feet between them and sitting next to her.
"What are you looking at?"
She was silent, like she had forgotten he was even there and was just on the beach by herself. He watched her, waiting for any sign of life, but she just stared, unblinking, into the distance.
"Annie?" He nudged her gently with his elbow.
"My mother would bring me out here when I was a child," she began softly. Finnick had to lean in closer to hear her as the wind began to pick up. "This is where she taught me to swim and surf. We would spend most of our days here. My father always thought it was a waste. 'Playing doesn't pay the bills' he'd say."
Finnick nodded. His father had the same mentality, but it was the same with most fishermen. They had no time to play, but the net makers and other non-fishermen had plenty of time to play. Annie's father just sounded mean.
"Swim with me, Annie." He was on his feet, hand extended for her to take.
She stared, wide eyed at him. "I…I can't."
"Of course you can. Come on." He grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. He started to pull her towards the water.
"No, Finnick, I…" She dug her feet into the sand and tried to resist him. He stopped and looked back at her.
"What is it?" They were nearly at the water's edge.
"I haven't been swimming since my mother…it's been exactly…I'm just not…" She couldn't finish, just stared passed Finnick. He dropped her hand, finally understanding.
"Your mom was Summer Bells, wasn't she?"
She nodded, tears swelling in her eyes. Summer was one of the best surfers of her generation and had been a good friend of Finnick's mom. She often gave the Capitol tourists surfing and swimming lessons, but last year she drowned. The entire district was shocked. How could someone like her just drown in calm waters?
Finnick enveloped Annie in a tight hug as the tears spilled from her eyes.
