Chapter 1 – A Baker and a Fisher
"It smells like stale beer and cigarettes down here." Peeta really didn't want to be down here. He knew it would be trashed. But Gale had insisted he saw it. He would rather be upstairs with everyone else. Only a couple of people had showed up to the party. But Peeta liked it better this way. "And dog shit."
"Yay, the guys really let the place go to hell this summer." Gale looked around at the crap, literally, covering the floor. Peeta's roommate looked as if his heart had been shattered by the condition of the basement. "I'm surprised the university or the city didn't close it down."
"I'm going up stairs." Peeta couldn't take it anymore. The rotting smell was getting to him. "I don't know why I expected a frat house basement to smell any better."
"I'm just glad I don't have to live here yet." Gale slammed the door close cutting off the smell. "But we are going down there to clean tomorrow if you want to help."
"Do I want to? No. Will I? Yes. I'll stop buy after work tomorrow." The idea of work made Peeta excited. He loved working at the bakery in town. It made him feel like he was still at home sometimes.
"Thank you so much." Gale sighed. "I really appreciate it. Now you get to see my brothers without their shirts on."
"Nothing can be sexy with that smell surrounding them. Sorry." Peeta took a whiff of his shirt just to make sure the smell hadn't latched onto him.
"I'd tell you if you smelled like shit." Gale went to the fridge and grabbed Peeta and him a couple of beers. "That's what roommates are for."
"Oh Gale. You know just how to make a guy blush. If only you were gay too." Peeta took the bottle and twisted the cap off.
"Well, Peeta. Now that you mentioned it…" Gale looked Peeta dead in the eye. "I love doughnuts, could you bring some tomorrow."
"I hate you sometimes." Peeta shook his head and walked into the living room.
"No you don't," Gale said trailing behind Peeta. "We're best friends and you know it."
"What's going on?" Katniss sat in a love seat waiting for Gale to join her.
"Your boyfriend is in love with me. Nothing new," Peeta jokingly said. He took seat next to Delly and Madge on the floor. Thresh sat across from them in a large recliner chair. Fox was sitting on his lap. Rue and Prim had magical appeared since Peeta and Gale where gone. They sat at one edge of the couch looking bored. Peeta remember last year, when he was a freshman and how nervous he was.
"I guess I'll have to get into my experimental college phase with girls." Katniss smiled at Peeta. Peeta loved Katniss like a sister. They met during a college orientation meeting when they were both in high school. Katniss fell asleep during the meeting on Peeta's arm. After it was over, Peeta tried to wake her but he couldn't. So he sat there reading, while she slept. Several hours later she woke up. She felt so bad Katniss bought him lunch. They've been friends ever since.
"I think I'll take you up on that idea." Fox looked slyly over at Katniss. Thresh wrapped his arms around her.
"And what will I do?" He voices deep and sensual. Fox lightly kissed him.
"Who said we would leave you out?" Fox's response was followed shortly by Katniss' laughing. Prim and Rue rolled their eyes at each other.
"Prim and I are going over to the student center. They're having a freshman orientation hide and go seek game." Rue slipped on her jacket.
"Alright. Let me know when you return to your dorm. Your mother would kill me if anything happened your first night here." Thresh reached a giant hand up and took Rue's tiny hand in it. "Please. Call. Let me know."
"I will. Don't worry." Rue had grown up living next to Thresh. He was always sort of her guardian.
"Prim. Come here." Katniss sat up next to Gale. Prim walked over to Katniss. "I want you to do the same."
"I will Katniss. I promise." Prim bent down and hugged her sister.
"Have fun little duck," Katniss said kissing her on her forehead.
The two left and the group talked for a while. Soon Madge and Delly left to go see a band play. Fox and Thresh went up to his room shortly after. Peeta, not wanting to be the third wheel to Gale and Katniss, decided he would head back over to the dorms. Gale told him he wouldn't be back that night.
Peeta was close to his dorm when he started to walk down towards the lake it sat on. The full moon's shimmering reflection brightened a nice little area by a tree. Peeta sat down underneath it. The dying summer air was still hot and moist. Peeta enjoyed it. The sounds of crickets and frogs filled the night. Peeta looked at his watch. 11:37 pm flashed. The young baker sat for several minutes.
Peeta had only closed his eyes for a moment when he heard a twig snap behind him. He thought it must be a campus police office. They probably thought Peeta was drunk. He got up and turned to the approaching footsteps only to be met by a fully naked man.
"Whoa!" The tall athletic tan man jumped back. "Wow." The man stared at Peeta for a moment. "I mean I'm sorry." He quickly tried to cover up but Peeta had seen all 9 inches of the nude man. He even had a hard time covering it up. Peeta eventually averted his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought you were the police." Peeta felt his face blushing. The knowledge of that made him blush even more.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here." The deep southern drawl of his voice made Peeta look back at him. His sea green eyes were looking directly at Peeta as if nothing was wrong. "Are you alright? Ya look a little rattled there."
"No. I'm alright. Just a little shocked is all." Peeta was amazed at how handsome this man was. And a little confused at how he was looking at him. Before Peeta could say anymore, the man dropped his hands and dove into the water. Peeta was more confused than ever. He turned around to look at the lake. However, the man was now where to be found. Peeta waited for a few seconds and then started to walk back to his dorm. Finally the surface of the water broke and the man came up. He spat water out of his mouth.
"Sorry, I couldn't wait any longer." The green eyed man looked at Peeta. His smile was wide and bright. "Well are ya gonna join me or sit there like a dog waiting for its owner?"
"There's leech in there." Peeta began to head to his dorm.
"I peel it off myself if ya get one." He began to swim over towards the shoreline. "The water's nice and cool. Take off your clothes and jump in. We can go fishing with our bare hands."
"Do you always ask random strangers you just met to swim and fish with you?" The young sophomore walked over to the lake's edge. Peeta took off his shoes and socks. He placed his feet in the water. "In the nude?"
"Always. But only the ones I think are cute get ask to go fishing." The green eyed man came right up to the edge of the water. "What's your name?"
"Peeta." Peeta was second guessing telling this strange man his name. He let his legs swing in front of the tan man.
"Peeta." The naked man thought about this for a second. "I like the sound of it."
"I'm glad. And what are you fishing for…" Peeta paused to see if he would say his name.
"Young blonds. I hear they like to sleep under trees in the moonlight. The only way to catch them is to skinny dip with them." The green eyed man swam around the lake a little more.
"Well the myths are wrong. You see, young blonds know better to go swimming in these waters at night." Peeta watched at the tan body went under and swam towards him. The green eyes came up to meet him.
"Why? What's in these waters at night?" The man smiled at him. Peeta guess he must have been in his mid-twenties.
"Handsome men with tan skin that go fishing for more than just fish." Peeta felt a hand brush his leg.
"Witty and cute." The green eye man stood up between Peeta's legs. His waist at the water line. Peeta could make out the hard package underneath the surface. "I knew there was something about you when I first saw you."
"You think I'm cute?" Peeta was starting to get nervous. He wanted to find a way out before he did something stupid. The man must have sensed it because he lowered back into the water.
"Yes. I do." He floated in the water peering up at Peeta. Peeta could feel his face starting to flush again.
"What if I'm not interested?" Peeta tried to look down at the water to conceal his red face. His ashy blond hair was too short to help.
"If you weren't interested, you wouldn't have stayed here." Peeta looked down into his green eyes. "So are you coming in or not?"
"It's late." Peeta picked up his sock and shoes.
"It will be early soon." The green eyed man smiled slyly.
"I have work in a few hours." Peeta lifted his feet out of the water.
"Where do ya work?" He started to lift himself out of the water but stopped when he remembered he was naked.
"Why?" Peeta used his socks to dry his legs.
"How else am I gonna find ya?" He rested his elbows on the spot where Peeta had just been sitting.
"Who says I want to be found?" Peeta slid his bare feet into his shoes.
"Everyone wants to be found by somebody." The tan man just sat there leaned there looking up at Peeta. He was enjoying this banter between them.
"The bakery." Peeta blurted this out before he knew what he was doing.
"Ah. A baker and a fisher." He began to swim over to his clothes over by a bush. "Let me get your…" When he turned around, Peeta was gone.