As he took a swig from the drink situated in his hand, Haymitch Abernathy's cool gray eyes studied the woman sitting primly across from him. Effie Trinket was expertly shaping her nails with her bright pink, bejeweled file, so engrossed in the task that she seemingly did not even notice Haymitch's steely gaze upon her.
The District 12 escort's nails were fairly long, painted sea foam green and accented with silver glitter and glimmering gemstones, all of which were worked into intricate designs. Haymitch couldn't help but roll his eyes at the frivolity of it all. For several minutes he silently watched the young woman fuss over chipped polish and subpar gemstone sparkle, ignoring the tightening in his chest as her eyes finally raised and met his.
"Honestly, have you no manners? Don't you know it's rude to stare?"
"Why Effie, I thought you knew I was raised in a barn; no need for your precious manners there. 'Sides you didn't seem to mind my manners last night."
The pink nail file froze mid-swipe on a sea foam green nail.
He was baiting her. The subtle almost imperceptible twitch of Effie's eye told Haymitch that she knew what he was playing at and that she was not amused. Flashes of the prior night danced behind her eyes—rough stubble scratching her neck, backs arching, long, red nail marks leaving a trail down a muscled back—and with some effort she suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape her.
Refusing to let Haymitch see that he'd gotten a reaction out of her (although judging by the smirk that was gracing his features he already knew), Effie made sure that his eyes were trained on her as she reached for her diamond encrusted clutch. She placed her nail file in one of the pockets and rummaged through the small bag briefly, removing a small drawstring bag that Haymitch couldn't completely see before snapping the clutch closed.
Gracefully, Effie stood from the loveseat and sauntered over to Haymitch, who eyed her curiously. Stopping in front of him she gently grasped his hand, leaning in until she was inappropriately close to him; neither of them minded.
"Oh Mr. Abernathy, many years ago your quip may have made me irate, but now it just makes me want you more," Effie whispered, her breath tickling his ear.
She was up and at the door before Haymitch could even process her words.
"And dear, please do me a favor and take care of those scratch marks on your back. Wouldn't want them to get infected now would we!"
With a small smile Effie glided out the door, leaving Haymitch to stare after her wondering what the hell had just happened. Unclutching his fist, he realized that the sneaky woman had forced the little drawstring bag into his hand while he was…distracted. Untying the bag he removed a folded up piece of parchment, recognizing Effie's beautiful script immediately: A Keepsake. Until next time- Eff.
Emptying the bag into his palm Haymitch let out a gruff laugh when he saw what she had given him. Placing the glitter and gemstone covered sea foam green nail into his breast pocket, he downed the rest of his drink before heading towards the door.
'Next time' was waiting for him.