Then, May 9th, 2011

I swear, I haven't seen him since I was seventeen. He'd lived next door my entire life. We were best friends until we went off to college. He's here though, sitting on his parents front porch, his feet propped up on the railing. I just got back from Chicago, where I graduated college.

"Well if it isn't Katniss Joy." He takes a sip of his drink. He's a year older than me, being twenty one.

"Well if it isn't Peeta Ryan." I shut the door to my white 2008 Jeep Cherokee. I'm not staying with my parents; I'm staying in a hotel because my parents, brother, and sister, are a bit…pushy.

He takes another swig of his beer. "How have you been?"

I shrug. "I just got back from college graduation."

His eyebrows rise. "Well, congratulations."

"Thanks." I say.

"Got a boyfriend?" he asks.

I scowl. "No. You know how I feel about that."

"Ah, yeah, I do, but still…you know you have interest in me."

I laugh. "And what has you so convinced of that?"

"We kissed." He grins.

"When I was sixteen nd you were seventeen."

"Yes, but it happened."

I cross my arms.

"How old are you now?" he asks.

"Twenty." I say. He looks at the date.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Damn." He says. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks. Well…I should…" I wave at my parents' house. He nods.

"Don't think you've gotten rid of me yet."

"Oh trust me Mellark, I know I haven't."

I go into my parents' house and let them shower me in hugs and kisses. I hug my brother, who is sixteen, and my sister, who is seventeen, hello.

We have birthday cake after dinner and then I announce I'm going to go to the hotel. Mom frets over me and tells me how we have the spare room, but I turn her down and say goodbye, let them know I'll be back tomorrow, and then I walk out of the house.

Peeta's still sitting on his porch.

I walk out the door and head for my car, hoping he won't notice me, but of course, he does.

"Let's have a sleepover." He says. I look at him and laugh.

"What?" I ask.

"Come on." He says. "We were best friends since we were what, six?"

"Yeah…" I trail off.

"So?" he demands. "We were best friends. Let's catch up."

"Peeta that was like…three years ago."

"And?" he asks. "Please? I have movies and popcorn. I know you love popcorn." He pauses. "And I have cheese buns." He smirks.

Fuck, I love watching moves and eating popcorn and cheese buns with him. We used to have tons of sleepovers and when I was sixteen and he was seventeen, he slept over my house and we were watching a movie and he rolled over and kissed me.

I used to have a huge crush on him and I use to want him to be my boyfriend. I used to plan my future with him. I always envisioned having a baby boy with him. I have always wanted to have sex with him. There's some charm about him that makes me crazy. My Mother and Father would be so happy if I was with him. They adore him, and his family. My mother has already secretly betrothed me to him.

"Please?" he stands up.

I shift back and forth. "You have five minutes to get whatever the fuck you need and to get in the car. I'm setting a timer." I get in the driver's side and start the car. I see him grin, and then he runs off, inside his parents' house.

When he has one second left, he gets in the car.

I don't bother with the speed limit, I just speed to my hotel, check in, and take the room key. He follows me.

"What moves are we watching?" I ask in the elevator.

"We are watching the Titanic." He says. I groan.

"We always watch that."

"I know." He smirks. "I didn't want to break our…tradition."

I scowl at him as the elevator doors open, and then I march down the hall with my luggage and go in my hotel room. He follows me and shuts the door behind himself.

I take a quick shower and dress in a t-shirt with no bra and a pair of sweatpants. He's lying on my bed in his boxer briefs when I come out.

"Where the fuck are your pants?" I demand, shocked by the head starting in my abdomen and spreading all the way through my body.

"I don't sleep with pants on." He says.

"Yeah, and you don't wear boxers either."

"Do you want me to change?" he asks.

"No."

He laughs and I scowl again.

"Stop complaining."

I slowly crawl into the only bed.

The boxer briefs he's wearing are white and they show his dick perfectly and it's…distracting.

He starts he movie, and I lay down.

Somewhere halfway through, I realize how close we've moved to each other. My head is actually on his arm as a pillow. He's not sleeping. As a matter of fact, he's running his fingers through my hair.

Suddenly, he grabs the remote, shuts the TV off, and rolls over so he's hovering above me.

I stare at him, shocked.

"You are so distracting." He whispers.

"I'm not doing anything."

"The way you breathe is sexy." He murmurs.

Slowly, he leans down and kisses me.

Something in my mind is screaming for me to make him stop, but the other part of my mind is begging him to go further. Hell, I'm twenty and I'm still a virgin. The needy side of me wins and I start kissing back.

"If you want me to stop, make me stop." He whispers against my lip. He pulls away to look in my eyes.

"Do you want to stop?" I whisper.

He smirks, lips his lips, and then shakes his head. "No."

"Then keep going."

He's quiet for a moment. "Do I have boundaries?"

I shake my head.

He kisses me again, and slowly coaxes me so I'm sitting up. His fingers grab ahold of the hem of my t-shirt. He searches my eyes.

I put my hand on his chest. "Are you a virgin?" I ask.

"Are you a virgin?"

We're both quiet. "Let's answer at the same time." He finally says.

"Okay…" I hesitate.

"One, two, three…"

"Yes!" we both say at the same time, and then both of our faces register shock.

"Seriously?" I ask, and he nods.

"Yeah…I've…I mean, I've gotten blown and…"

"Okay, okay." I wave him off. "I don't need the dirty details." He laughs and starts kissing me again, and then he pulls off my t-shirt.

The part of my mind that is telling to stop goes silent, and I know there's no way I'm going to.

….a….

I wake up, expecting him to be there, but he's not.

There's a note though.

Katniss,

Look…I know you're probably going to fucking hate me forever but I can't give you what you want. I know you want a relationship. I know you do. I'm sorry. I'm not the right guy. I don't think I can have a steady relationship. Hell, I've never even had a girlfriend. I'm sorry. By the way, I'm changing my number and nobody's going to tell you what it is so even if you wanted to find me, I wouldn't be there.

Sorry!

Peeta

I'm pissed all the sudden. I rip the note into shreds and get up. I storm into the bathroom and shower and put on jean shorts, a tank top, and a jean jacket and wedges, blow dry my hair and leave it down. I pack all my stuff and check out of the hotel, and I put on my white sunglasses, and speed to my parents' house.

He's on the porch, talking to his brothers.

I don't even fucking look at him. I slam the door as hard as I can and storm into the house.

"I'm going home!" I shout. Prim, my sister, the seventeen year old, and Reed, who is sixteen and then my mother and father come racing downstairs.

"Why? You're not supposed to leave for another week."

"Yeah, well something happened with our friendly neighbor last night and now I'm leaving."

"With who, Peeta?" Prim asks.

"Yes." I snap.

"What happened?" Dad asks.

"We fucked and he left. He's a one night stand asshole. Now I'm going home because I know Madge is lonely and I don't want to fucking deal with any of this shit."

"Katniss." Prim follows me outside.

"What?" I demand, and I hear Peeta and Rye and Graham (his brothers) drift into silence.

"Just…" she looks at Peeta. "Never mind. Can you call me when you're less…pissed?" she looks at Peeta with a death glare.

"Whatever." I turn around.

I get in my car and start it up. I roll down the windows and as I'm backing out, I hear Rye say, "You shouldn't even feel bad. She's hot. Girls like that never can hold a good relationship."