The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.
Shameless
Part One
The girl stood at the bar, pretty but unkempt. Mascara ran down her creamy face and her sweetly scented blonde hair was messily arranged. She was wearing a short, gold lamé dress and matching pumps accentuating her long, spray-tanned legs.
She was a hot mess.
She was perfect.
"What's wrong, honey?" Katniss asked as she joined the girl at the bar. "You look like you could use a drink." She smiled at the bartender. "Shot of vodka for myself and the lady." Once the glasses were placed in front of them, Katniss handed the girl her shot. "Drink."
Blondie had no qualms with throwing the drink back. Girls could be so trusting.
Had this girl ever watched Dateline? Or read some sort of stupid Cosmo article about date rape drugs?
And, Katniss was goddamn stranger.
"My ex-boyfriend…just got engaged to one of my best friends!" The girl suddenly burst out. A fresh set of sobs overtook her. "They were fucking behind my back for a year! Now, they're pretending like they're this perfect little couple and no one is saying anything! They're having their engagement party in the penthouse suite of this hotel right now. "
Katniss grimaced. "Wow, that's fucked up."
"God, I wish there was way to get them back!" The girl mused to herself.
Katniss handed Blondie a which she took.
Fucking gullible.
"There are the usual things," Katniss told her. "A passive-aggressive congratulations speech at the wedding reception…having sex with one of their relatives…or better yet—having loud, raunchy sex, right now, during their engagement party."
She took a sip from her own martini glass and smiled at the girl.
"And, you're so pretty! I bet any one of their groomsmen would love to have a piece of you."
The girl gave her a hopeful smile. "Really?"
Hook, line, and sinker—this was too easy.
"Sorry, I'm so late!" The handsome blond rushed over to Katniss. "Wall Street can't run without me apparently." He gave the toasted blonde a grin. "Hello there."
The girl preened, her eyes wide at the good-looking man in front of her. "Hello."
Katniss looked over at the man and winked before turning to her new 'friend'.
"Let me introduce you to my friend, Peeta Mellark…"
The next morning...
Blondie emerged from Peeta's room, tittering on gold heels, and wearing her friend's long dress shirt.
Katniss was already sitting in their small living room, dressed in her fitted black blazer and matching pencil skirt as she sipped her morning coffee.
She always dressed nicely for the usual 'parting'.
Also, she had a Development meeting in an hour.
"Hello," the girl mumbled, surprised at seeing Katniss in front of her. "Where's Peeta?"
Katniss sighed in mock-sympathy.
"He's already gone," she explained. Katniss stood up and went to the girl. "This is always the hardest part…"
Katniss walked with her towards the front door of the apartment. She linked their arms as she opened the door and they walked out together.
"What do you mean?" the girl replied as she was led down the hallway and towards the elevators.
Katniss turned to her. "What's your name?"
The girl looked blankly at her before responding, "Sherri."
"Well Terri—" The girl didn't correct her. "—Peeta isn't one of those men who can commit to anyone. He wanted me to tell you that he had a wonderful time and he'll never forget you but he just can't devote himself to anything but his work."
"Should I leave him my number?" Blonde Mary asked, her obviously fake eyelashes blinking at Katniss in inquiry.
"I think you should just leave it to fate," Katniss responded simply. The elevator bell rang and the door opened. She gently ushered the girl in. "There's a taxi downstairs waiting for you. Nice meeting you, Carrie!"
"The name is Sherr—"
The elevator door closed before the girl could finish.
Katniss waited until she was sure that what's-her-name was already in the lobby. When the elevator level went to L, she made her way back to the apartment and closed the door to await her friend.
Peeta arrived ten minutes later, bag of bagels in one hand and a smug grin on his face.
"Welcome home, dearest," Katniss greeted him as he plopped himself on the couch next to her.
"Any problems with Tina?" He took a whole wheat bagel from the bag, her favorite, and put schmear on it with one of the disposable knifes from the bag.
"No, there were no issues with Sherri," she informed him. "Other than her making the worse sex noises, last night. When I came home from dinner with Annie, I thought you dumped her and were fucking a horse in your bedroom."
"I pretty much rode her like one," Peeta retorted cheekily as he handed her the bagel. "She kept on saying stupid shit like 'Give it to me, Daddy…'" He shivered in disgust. "Nothing is creepier than that—you don't think I look old enough to be a father, do you?"
Katniss looked over to examine her friend.
Peeta had a classically handsome face, nicely chiseled and square-jawed with an aristocratic nose. His slightly waved blond hair was neatly brushed back and his eyes were bright blue surrounded by dark lashes that any girl would kill for. He had that cocky smile that annoyed her yet made other women swoon.
"You're fine," she finally responded. Her hand reached over to graze his chin. "But, you could use a shave."
"Want to shave me?" he asked with a smirk.
Katniss shook her head and reached for his coffee cup.
She chuckled. "No, thanks." After taking a sip, she turned the cup to look at the name and number scribble on it. "But maybe Kendra would like to take a razor to your nuts."
"No, thanks," Peeta retorted. "A lot of teeth on that one, now she actually looked like a horse."
Her phone beeped and Katniss took a look at the message. "Johanna is coming into the city...with a man." Peeta raised a brow. "The same one that she was seeing last year…I'll be damn."
"What time is dinner?" he asked as he opened her Vogue on their coffee table. Peeta's eyes briefly looked at the picture of Emma Watson. "Too young for my blood…"
"Six," she said as she responded to the message. Katniss closed the magazine on his fingers. "She's too smart for you, too." She looked at her watch. "You have work in an hour. You better go and wash the scent of glitter powder and regret from your loins."
Peeta stood up, removing his shirt, and exposing his perfectly-formed abs to her admiring eyes.
"I'll see you at six," Peeta told her as he pulled his pants off and headed to their bathroom. He turned to her and winked. "Have a good day at work, sweetheart."
She snorted as she stood up to leave. "I'll be sure to think of that perfectly sculpted rear today."
Peeta leaned against the archway leading to bathroom and their bedrooms.
"Or, you can be late and tell me about my perfectly sculpted rear," he suggested.
Her eyes went to his lower half where his long, thick cock, between his firm thighs, beckoned.
She was almost tempted to take him up on the offer.
But, they were never that kind of duo.
"So, you've all known each other since you were kids?" Haymitch, Johanna's date, asked Peeta.
"Yup, pretty much," Peeta told the man with a smile. "Since the day that Katniss flashed me her frilly panties in first grade and Johanna, her mean cousin, pants me while I was distracted."
Haymitch put an arm around Johanna. "You and Katniss have a mean streak, don't you?" He grinned at the woman affectionately.
Johanna harrumphed. "Please. You want to see fucked up?" She looked over at Katniss and Peeta. "Look at these two."
"What?" Katniss responded. She took a sip of her martini and crossed her tanned legs. Peeta admired them, nicely displayed in her fitted navy dress, and his hand went to the top of her thigh to give it a squeeze. He ignored the twitch of his cock in his dress pants feeling her smooth skin under his palm. "We're perfectly normal."
"Normal?" Johanna responded. "You two have the most dysfunctional relationship that I've ever seen."
"We learned from you!" Peeta responded with a smirk. "Your moves have made us who we are." He nodded over at Haymitch. "And, obviously they worked."
"Well, I'm changing all that," Johanna retorted before looking to Haymitch and taking his hand. "Kids, we're getting married."
"Oh my God—" Katniss almost sprayed out her drink but recovered quickly, swallowing it down. "—are you pregnant?"
"No!" Johanna protested and met her fiancé's eyes. "But we'd like to try as soon as we're married."
"I'm old," Haymitch added. "Might have slow swimmers so it's best we get you up-the-duff as soon as we can."
"I need another drink." Peeta signaled the waiter and held out his cup of rum and coke.
"It's not the end of the world," Johanna said consolingly. "And, you still have each other."
"That is true." Katniss looked over at Peeta, her bottom lip pursed out enticingly. "Will you still help me have awesome sex with strangers and then get them out of our apartment?"
Peeta took her hand and kissed the top of it. "I do." He put her index finger in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and tasting the sweetness of her skin. "Will you promise to do the same?"
She stared at him, her grey eyes molten with sudden arousal. "I will."
"I have a question," Haymitch suddenly said to the pair. "Have you two ever slept with each other?"
"Yup," they chorused.
"Biggest cock I've ever seen," Katniss told the man.
"Katniss has great nipples—they're like candy—I could suck on them all day," Peeta said.
"Okay…" Haymitch looked between the shameless pair. "So, why aren't you just having sex with each other?"
"Simple," Katniss told him. "Nothing that great can last forever."
"Eventually the fire will fade," Peeta added. "And, we will have nothing but resentful words and a messed-up friendship in front of us."
"Seems like you're both afraid of committing," Haymitch relayed simply.
"Psycho-analyze us all you want," Katniss told him. "It all comes down to two people who just enjoy sex and hate everything after it." Her eyes widened as she looked at someone behind the couple in front of her. "Peeta—dark-hair in the black suit at the bar."
Peeta looked up quickly at the man before looking to his friend. "Obnoxious suitor?"
"Sure." Her eyes went to the man at the bar. "He looks like the savior type." Standing up, she smoothed down her dress. "Five minutes."
Katniss walked over to the bar, standing next to the guy but not facing him.
"Oh God, we're about to see magic," Johanna told her fiancé.
The waiter placed Peeta's new glass in front of him as he loosened his tie and mussed his hair.
"How do I look?" he asked the couple.
"Like you're going to get your ass whooped," Johanna retorted.
"Enjoy your evening, you two," Peeta said. "We'll call you tomorrow for dinner at our place."
"See you then," Johanna said.
Peeta splashed a little of the rum on his own charcoal suit. He grinned at the couple. "Also—congratulations."
Walking away, Johanna and Haymitch observed as Peeta swayed towards his friend at the bar.
"HEY—WHAT'S UP GIRL?" Peeta yelled loudly, catching the attention of everyone including Katniss' dark-haired mystery man. His hand went to her bottom. "DAMN—YOU'RE HOT!"
"Let me guess," Haymitch said as he watched the scene in front of him. "'Obnoxious suitor'?"
Johanna nodded. "They've gotten really good at this bit."
She watched as Katniss gave Peeta a mock-offended frown and moved away from him, putting her closer to her intended target. The handsome man glared at Peeta before noticing the pretty woman next to him.
Suddenly, the man was standing in front of Katniss as he glared at Peeta defensively. Katniss turned to the couple at the table and stuck her tongue out.
"Holy crap," Haymitch said as Johanna laughed at the spectacle at the bar. "What am I marrying into?"
Peeta adjusted his tie in front of his mirror before stepping out into the hallway. It was still early morning and Katniss would have already left for work at this point.
Thus, it would be his turn to let her paramour down easily.
Peeta had to say—he was surprised by the loudness of Katniss' moans when he entered the apartment last night. His friend was usually all about the fake cries of encouragement during her romps.
When Peeta walked out into the front room, he was surprised to find Katniss in the kitchen and the dark-haired man standing at the counter sipping from his mug.
"Morning, Peeta," Katniss said. She walked over to him and handed him a mug. "We got caught." Turning to the man, she smiled prettily. "Gale saw right through us."
He pushed down the rise of irritation at the admiring glance that Katniss gave the man.
Peeta held out his hand to the man in front of him. "Sorry about that. Had to help a friend out."
The man gave him a pleasant smile. "No problem, it worked out." He beamed at Katniss, who blushed. "Gale Hawthorne."
"Peeta Mellark," he responded as they shook hands. "I'm going to head out to work." Without thinking, Peeta kissed Katniss' cheek. "See you tonight? Johanna and Haymitch want to come for dinner."
Katniss nodded. "Sure. I'm having a drink with Gale later but I'll be home after."
Peeta bristled at her words. "No problem." He nodded at Gale. "Nice meeting you."
"You too, Peeta," Gale responded. "Hope to see you, again."
Making his way to the front door, Peeta felt his steps grow heavier listening to the two laughing quietly together. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping out into the empty corridor.
This guy would be gone by tomorrow.
Peeta was sure of it.
However, he couldn't help but remember Katniss' moans from last night. She almost sounded like she had…when they had been together.
Peeta didn't like the way that Gale smiled at Katniss or the way she smiled at him.
They almost looked like they liked each other.
Standing in front of the elevator, Peeta waited, though his eyes flitted over to where their apartment door stood.
What were they doing? Was Katniss feeding the guy breakfast? Were they going to do it again?
But, there were rules: it was only supposed to happen once. Gale was supposed to be gone by now and he was supposed to be enjoying breakfast with Katniss.
The elevator door opened and Peeta stepped in, still trying to contemplate what the hell he was feeling.
It suddenly came to him in a flash.
"Oh, fuck."
The elevator door closed as Peeta realized that he had broken the most important rule.
He liked Katniss.
Continue on...