A/N: It's been sooo long since I posted anything... My goal was to begin building this fic without publishing it just yet. Then, I accidentally published it, so here goes! This story has been brewing in my mind for a really long time, and I can't wait to complete it. But, please be patient with me; an update to "The Lover and The Best Friend" is next, and then "Amaranthine." Writing time is super limited, but I will do my best to update quickly. Thanks for reading!
PROLOGUE
He didn't hear his cell phone ringing until he had one foot inside his back door. He dusted his palms against his thighs, unconcerned about yet another soil smudge on his navy sweatpants, as he rushed to the kitchen island where his phone glowed. The face on the screen prompted a quiet laugh and the 'shaking my head' reaction that Finnick Odair earned after years of friendship.
They greeted each other the way they always did, first with banter and then with genuine affection. It was always good to hear from Finnick. But had Peeta Mellark known what Finnick needed to say, he never would never have answered the phone.
Annie had accepted his proposal. There were getting married in eight months, in May, in District 4. They wanted him to be Finnick's best man...
"If it weren't for you, Annie and I never would have met." Peeta could hear an even deeper sincerity in Finnick's voice. "My entire life changed that day. Sooo… You have to say 'yes.' Please, please, please, please say yes."
His response was physical, emotional, and mental. Simultaneously, a knot was rising to his throat and there was a sinking feeling in his stomach. He lowered his eyelids, holding them shut as he attempted to withstand an onslaught of emotions that were never fully contained. And, his mind was racing.
Annie is one of her closest friends; she will be there. NO. Never. I cannot be there.
"I know what you're thinking." Finnick's tone was tentative and soothing. As if he were talking Peeta down from a ledge. "And yes, she's one of Annie's bridesmaids."
Peeta heaved a sigh. "Finn… I want to be there for you and Annie. I really do. But I can't. It's not a good idea for me and her to lay eyes on one another much less be in close proximity for several hours."
"I know, I know. But it's been three years since you two last saw one another. And Annie said Rue eventually got her to at least listen to your side of the story - and that was a big deal. Annie seems to think she's in a much better place now. Plus, she loves Annie and she would never cause a scene at our wedding. She wouldn't do that."
Peeta ran one hand roughly across his face, noticing for the first time that his temple was throbbing."I don't know..."
"Okay," Finnick said decidedly. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you made me bring out the big guns. I'm switching to speakerphone."
Annie's sugary voice was pleading. "Please say yes, Peeta. Please, please, please. We promise that everything will be fine. Please!"
Peeta groaned and chuckled in tandem. "Dammit Finn. You really did bring the secret weapon." He paused. "Annie, I don't want to say 'no' to you... Yes. I'd be honored to be the best man in your wedding."
Their cheering and hooting made Peeta's lips part in a wide smile.
"But," he cautioned, "You two have to promise to keep me busy. Absolutely no downtime where Katniss and I will have to interact."
"No downtime. Got it," Finnick said.
Peeta was jotting down the wedding date and location when Meredith walked through their back door. She glanced disapprovingly at the traces of soil on the kitchen floor before she and Peeta exchanged a quick kiss. She set a canvas bag of groceries on the counter top before shrugging out of her anorak and draping it over a kitchen chair.
"Okay... Alright... Yes, I will tell her... Okay, take care you guys and congratulations again. Bye."
Meredith deftly twisted her hair into a messy chignon as she stepped out of her flats. She started unloading the groceries.
"Who was that?"
For some reason, Peeta needed to clear his throat before he responded. He quickly rinsed his hands in the sink so he could help unload the groceries. Now with his back turned to Meredith, Peeta felt grateful for the chance to dispel any lingering consternation from his face.
"Finnick and Annie. They're getting married in May and they want me to be their best man."
Meredith pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a thoughtful sip. "They're in District 1, right?"
"Right. But they're both from 4. The wedding will be in Mariner's Point, near their hometowns." He handed her a head of broccoli to place in the vegetable crisper.
"It's lovely down there that time of year," she said. "It'll be a nice visit for us."
Us. Meredith gave him Us. She would be by his side, and that would make all the difference in the world. He looked at her, on her knees in front of the crisper, trying to fit a whole eggplant inside, and he felt overwhelming gratitude for his life now. When she managed to shove the crisper door closed, he extended a hand to help her stand. While she added the two boxes of pasta to the cabinet, he approached from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a trail of kisses down the curve of her neck.
"So will you be my date, pretty girl?"
He anticipated the blush surfacing on her cheeks. "Kiss me like that, and I'll agree to anything." She turned in his arms, their faces centimeters apart.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Anything?"
"Yep. Anything."
Peeta hoisted her, causing her to laugh and protest that the groceries needed to be put away first. Still, she wrapped her legs around his waist and their lips united in longing. He stumbled to the bed, and they tugging away each other's clothes, his body descending on hers.
He knew how to reach her, and before long, she was writhing beneath him, reaching her climax. He finished, stealing one last kiss, and rolled to his back, pulling her to his side.
"We use to spend our summers in District 4 when I was a kid," Meredith whispered as they lay in each other's arms. "It'll be nice to visit again."
"Umm hmm." Peeta stroked her hair.
"And," she said, her voice rising as if it were an added bonus, "I'll finally get to meet all your friends."
Her hopeful smile brought the throbbing back to Peeta' temple. He replied in the affirmative, but secretly, he had a different response.
Not everyone, baby. You and I both need to steer clear of Katniss Hawthorne.
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
Her hair was the color of walnut with traces of sandalwood. More than once, Katniss watched her start at the side part at the front of her hair and guide her bangs away from her eye and behind her ear.
It must have been a nervous habit. Like Katniss's anxious habit of chewing on her bottom lip – which she was doing as she watched the girl named Meredith micromanage her hair. But despite the nerves popping beneath her skin, Katniss wished she could stand in that vestibule at the back of the banquet room, and spy on Meredith a little longer. The woman was an enigma and had become something of a standard by which Katniss needed to measure herself. It was an unhealthy fascination, akin to picking the darkened top off of a scab that hadn't fully healed and reopening a raw, painful, old wound.
"There you are." Rue sounded relieved as she rounded the far corner of the entryway, her heels clicking on the marble floors. The entryway led to a set of bathrooms, a seating area, and a long corridor that connected the banquet room to the main entrance of the hotel. "I've been looking all over for you. They're ready for us now. The photographer says we have to capture the waning sunlight."
Rue tugged on Katniss's arm before turning on the balls of her feet and leading the way to the courtyard. But Katniss's arms were tightly folded across her chest, and she was standing with her ankles crossed; she was as physically unstable as she was emotionally unstable. She lost her balance, plowing sideways into a towering ficus tree against the wall. Rue rushed back to her.
"If I didn't know what line of work we were in, I'd think you were drunk, Katniss." Rue helped her stand. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Katniss grumbled, running her hand down her lace covered bodice and hips. "Stupid tree. And I hate this stupid dress. Pink is not my color –"
"The color is Tickled," Rue said matter-of-factly. "Pink was a shade lighter."
"What-the-hell ever. Neither color looks good on me. And I hate all this lace. I look like I fell in a vintage vat of Pepto-Bismol."
Rue chuckled, her laughter growing so quickly that she had to press her hand to her mouth to suppress the sound.
"Rue this is not funny," Katniss said, her annoyance interrupted by her own laughter. "I'm in fresh hell right now. I love Annie, and you and everyone else look great in this color, but I would gladly donate my bridesmaid dress to a local bonfire."
Rue wrapped a sympathetic arm around her friend's shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry, Katniss. This can't be easy for you. And I'm not talking about the dress." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Seeing him and all."
Katniss's chest slowly rose and quickly deflated. "It's even harder seeing her." Katniss glanced over her shoulder to look again through the french doors; Meredith was now rifling through her purse, that uncooperative swath of hair again covering one eye.
Rue followed Katniss's gaze. "The girl in the orange dress?" Katniss nodded. "Is that his girlfriend?"
"No." Katniss was still shaking her head as the words fell from her lips. "That's his wife. Meredith Mellark."
