"He's back."

Gale's voice permeated the dense green branches of the Frazier Firs surrounding Katniss. She was busy trimming bottom branches from the trunk of a 6-footer so that it would fit better in the stand on the lot. She lopped off the final branch with a hack saw before straightening up and hoisting the tree onto her shoulder.

"Who?" she said, winding her way towards his voice.

They had already survived the weekend after Thanksgiving, which was their busiest of the year. In fact, they made as much in the first week of sales as they did the rest of the season combined. As a result, Katniss and Gale had spent most of the day prepping trees – untying them, tidying up the branches, tagging them with a price – and hauling them to newly-emptied stands.

Her back was killing her, and her hands were somewhat numb despite the thick work gloves she was wearing. But with Rory helping and Posy minding the cash register after school, they were on their way to a strong profit this year.

She found Gale standing next to a tree he'd just sheathed onto a stand. When she approached, he pulled the tree off of her shoulder and placed it in the next empty spot.

"Who," Gale snorted. "As if you need to ask."

Katniss felt her ears beginning to burn, and the heat flushing her face had nothing to do with her exertion in the cold weather. Even she, oblivious Katniss Everdeen, couldn't deny the fact that the hot, blond guy seemed unusually interested in her. He'd already bought two trees on two consecutive days – the second day detaining her with an extraordinary amount of awkward conversation when she really needed to be working. And now he was back? Again?

She peered around Gale towards the parking lot where, sure enough, he was standing next to his maroon Subaru Outback. His golden waves lifted in the cold wind, reminding her of the first time she'd seen him. She'd been somewhat captivated by that hair, shining and soft. More than soft, she could tell. Very-soft, she'd decided, pleased with her description as she wondered what it would feel like between her fingers.

But as she watched him now, she saw a woman getting out of the passenger side, a lanky girl with cropped brown hair and long, dangly earrings. Katniss rolled her eyes as she watched the woman come around the car and drape her arm around him.

Peeta was his name. It was unusual, and she liked that. He'd introduced himself to her almost right away when she'd first helped him buy a tree. It had been kind of cute: he was buying his own tree for the first time, and she could tell that it felt like a momentous occasion to him, like it symbolized something more than just a Christmas tree. He'd been wandering around the lot for awhile when she came across him and he'd asked for help. What were the different types of trees? How long could he expect it to last? How often should he water it? What about fertilizer? By the end she was openly laughing at him. "It's just a tree," she'd said. "You're going to throw it out in a month."

"Oh no," he'd said. "It's more than that. Especially now. It's a lot more than just a tree."

Katniss wasn't sure what that meant. Looking at him quizzically, she'd turned to the one next to her and said, "This one. This is clearly the one for you." It was arbitrary. She hadn't even really looked at the tree, but she felt like she was somehow testing him.

"Perfect," he'd said, never taking his eyes off her. "That's exactly what I want."

Katniss felt a shiver run up her spine as she remembered the look in his very-blue eyes. (And that's what she'd begun to think of them as – very-blue. There was no other term for them.)

But now, watching his arm come around the girl next to him, the girl wearing tight black skinny jeans and kick-ass combat boots, Katniss began to feel stupid. Her old Carhartts were baggy and stained with sap, and the turtleneck and old sweatshirt she wore kept her warm on these chilly, early December days.

She shrugged. She didn't care, and even though he was back again, he clearly wasn't interested if he had this fierce girl in tow.

"Looks like he's brought his girlfriend," Katniss said to Gale. "Told you."

She'd been right, then. But somehow being right didn't feel right.

She watched a moment longer as Peeta opened the rear door of the Subaru and pulled out two large drink carriers filled with cups of coffee, steam rising out of the spout of each one. The girl, Katniss now realized, was holding a large shopping bag.

When Peeta had come to the tree lot the second time, he told her it was to pick out a tree for his bakery. Katniss had looked at him as he talked, taking in the very-blueness of his eyes and the very-softness of his hair, and had somewhat lost the line of conversation.

He took her lost expression to mean she was interested in what he had to say. And perhaps she was because as he launched into a description of the bakery he'd just opened and the help he'd just received from the small business association – the same one that helped her and Gale establish Everthorne Tree Farm – she found herself thinking that they might have something in common. And he had to be about the same age.

"That's not his girlfriend," Gale said, taking a few steps towards the parking lot.

"How do you know?" Katniss asked, following him.

"Because she's looking at me." Gale's long legs outstripped hers as he suddenly started walking towards the parking lot with purpose.

Katniss could only follow along, somewhat bewildered at what was taking place in front of her.

Gale slowed down to a saunter as he neared the Subaru, coming to a stop in front of the girl, who had put the shopping bag down beside her and was now reaching out and threading her fingers through Gale's belt loops. She pulled his hips flush with hers as he reached for her face.

"Hello there," Katniss heard him say gruffly as his lips descended in a crushing kiss that hid the girl from view.

Katniss stopped, dumbfounded, as she watched the woman's hands sweep up Gale's back and down again, coming to rest on his ass, her fingertips disappearing into his back pockets.

"Uh, okay. So, I guess you know Gale."

In her surprise, Katniss had almost forgotten that Peeta was also standing there. She turned to him, confused and wondering if he understood more than she did.

Gale ended the kiss with a slight smack. Staring down at the girl, he said, "Katniss, this is Jo. Jo, Katniss."

Katniss vaguely remembered him mentioning something last weekend, but she had long ago stopped trying to keep track of Gale's conquests. She received no further explanation, though, because Jo was pulling Gale down to her again.

Katniss looked over at Peeta again, who shrugged at her.

"Do you mind grabbing that bag?" he asked motioning with his head towards the shopping bag on the ground and walking towards the large tent they used to hold the cash register and the smaller wreaths and garlands they sold. Katniss skirted around the couple, who were acting like hormone-driven teenagers, really, before picking up the bag and following Peeta.

Peeta set the drink caddies on the table and turned to her. "It's so cold out today, I figured you could use something warm to keep you going," he said. "I've got a little of everything. Uh, latte, mocha, regular." He sized her up a moment. "I bet you take yours black, don't you?"

She smirked at him. "Nope. I don't drink the stuff," she said with a shrug as she pulled off her gloves.

"What?" he asked. "How does anyone go through a day without coffee?"

"I drink tea sometimes."

"Sometimes?" He was clearly exasperated. "I didn't think there was anyone in the world NOT addicted to caffeine." He turned back to the table and lifted a cup before peering at it and putting it back down. He did this a few times before finding the right one and turning back to her. "You can't reject this one," he said, taking a step towards her. "If you don't like this, I'll have to question your humanity."

She raised her eyes at him but did not take the proffered cup.

He tilted his head as his smile quirked to one side. "Hot chocolate?"

She pursed her lips, trying to act as if she were immune to the delicacy he offered.

"Aha," he said with a knowing grin. "I've found your poison."

He pushed the cup at her so she had no choice but to take it, and really, she didn't hesitate. The cup warmed her chapped hands, and she could smell the molten chocolate wafting up towards her. She brought the cup to her lips, cautiously taking a sip. The cold temperature outside had cooled it slightly, and she drank a hearty gulp. It was thick, as if made from cream, not just milk, and it certainly was not the cheap packet-and-water mix she had at home. She closed her eyes as she felt it coat her tongue. Mmmm. Swallowing, the warmth chased into her stomach, radiating outward until she opened her eyes.

He was staring at her, his mouth slightly open and a look on his face that she couldn't interpret though it looked like awe or surprise or desire. The word arose in her mind as she felt her entire body flush in a wave of heat. Acute, excruciating embarrassment washed over her.

She put the cup down quickly. "Thanks," she said, backing away. "I, uh, I need to get back to work." With that she whirled around and tried not to run as she exited the tent and started towards the back where they kept the stacks of trees. What had just happened? Oh god, she was pretty sure she had just made some sort of orgasmic noise as she was drinking that hot chocolate.

Grabbing a tree off the stack, she pulled her retractable knife out of her pocket and began slashing at the netting that encased it.

She was dying. She would have to tell Gale that she'd work the stacks from now on. No way could she show her face out front again, not with the regularity with which he kept showing up.

And why the hell did he keep showing up? Katniss sliced at the last of the netting and pulled it all off the tree before reaching for the saw. She grasped a sturdy branch with her left hand so she could hold the tree still – and then realized she had left her gloves on the table in the tent.

Dammit.

She dropped the tree and stood up, feeling the fight drain from her until she was left again with just plain old embarrassment. She shook her head and looked up at the sky, trying to decide her next move.

Because she was practically writhing in anxiety, she didn't hear him approaching until he was right behind her. She turned warily and then grimaced to see him holding out her gloves.

"I thought you might need these," he said with a shrug.

Ugh. She was humiliated. Why had he followed her here? Why did he have to prolong this horrible moment?

"Thanks," she said, though she knew her tone conveyed everything but thanks. She reached for the gloves and then shoved them under her arm. She looked at the trees, the tent, the ground, anywhere to avoid his eyes, those very-blue eyes that, come to think of it, were probably not nearly as blue as she made them out to be. She was being ridiculous, she was sure.

"I brought some pastries, muffins and things, if you're hungry," he said.

"Oh! No, I'm not hungry," she said hastily. "And I'm not too crazy about sweets anyway. But thanks."

There. That was polite but definitive. He could have nothing to say to that. He could just take those very-soft waves of his and go back to his bakery.

"Really?" he replied, barely concealing the amusement in his voice. Her head jerked up to stare at him. "No, okay, that's fine. I'm just surprised because you seemed to really enjoy that hot chocolate."

Was he laughing at her? She looked at him with such smoldering anger that his expression changed instantly.

"Aw, I'm only kidding. Don't be mad. I have some non-sweet stuff, too. I have some cheese buns that are really good, if I say so myself."

"No thanks," she said, putting the gloves on and turning back to her work. She had reached for the tree when she felt his hand on her arm, clutching it gently through the layers of clothing and turning her back around.

"Listen," he said, eyeing her so earnestly that she couldn't help but meet his gaze. "I like you. I mean, I thought it had to be obvious. I've been here three days in a row now." He looked sheepish as he smiled at her, a crooked kind of smile that was so endearing she got a little lost looking at his lips. "And I think you might like me, too." At these words, her eyes rose back to his, and she could feel her face flush again.

"I mean, I know I don't know you yet, but it feels like there's something here, between us. So I want to get to know you."

Katniss could feel her pulse throbbing all over her body. She kept trying to remember to close her mouth as he spoke, but she kept finding it open.

"So, what do you think? I mean, do you think you'd want to go out with me sometime?"

She was right. They were very-blue, more very-blue than she had previously thought. She nodded, still looking at him, and he smiled at her again.

"Great," he chuckled. "But if we go out, I'm going to insist that you actually talk to me. Just so you know."

Katniss was stuck looking at his lips again. His hand was still clutching her arm, and she was suddenly aware of how close they were. And she seemed to be getting closer, leaning into him, as he practically fell on her lips.

With her gloved hands, she reached up to clutch his shoulders as she felt his arms slide easily around her waist. Behind his back, she pulled off her gloves roughly, one at a time, dropping them to the ground before weaving her fingers into the fine silk of his hair. She was right. It was very-soft, the waves sifting through her fingers.

His lips pulled on hers in slow, short kisses until he sucked her lower lip into his mouth, releasing it with a gentle bite. She gasped, and they looked at each other a moment, both amazed at this surprising turn of events.

"Or," he said hastily, "You know, we don't have to talk. That's fine, too."