Author's note: I mentioned over on my Tumblr that one of the characters in this story is asexual and you get to figure out more about that here! I had a conversation with a person who identifies as ace and got a nice education on what that really means. I hope I have done it justice here. If anything seems wrong in any way, please let me know how I can possibly fix it.

I want to thank my bestie writingbutunpublished who reads everything I shove at her and for giving me feedback every time. A truly great friend!

I have at two more parts to this, I think. Maybe only one. We'll see how it all works out. I have truly loved working on this lovely little piece for all of you to enjoy. It's one of the stories that's sort of pulled me out of my normal writing.

I wish you all the happiest 2017! And, as always, happy reading!

Part Three

I pull into the small parking lot of the little café that's practically empty. Noon on a Tuesday must not be a very popular time for coffee.

A woman about my age with auburn hair, heavily pregnant, stands when she sees me walk in. She's the only one there. "Are you Katniss?" She asks before I have a chance to make my way to the counter.

"I am." I say, taken a little aback. "You're Annie?"

She smiles kindly and holds out her hand. "I am. It's nice to meet you." She gets the attention of the young man behind the counter. "This is the woman I was waiting for. Get her whatever she wants."

"You got it, Annie." The barista says.

I order a cup of cappuccino and take a seat beside Annie. How do I start this conversation?

Annie speaks before I figure it out. "Peeta told me you would probably get in touch."

I nod and accept the cup I'm offered from the barista. "He told me your husband…" I gesture vaguely as I try to think of the words I want to say. "Got him into the business."

Annie smiles over her coffee cup. "He did." She takes a sip and then calls for a refill. "Decaf this time."

The young man brings over the coffee pot and pours it into the cup. "Finnick got into the business when he was pretty young." She smiles and brings the cup to her lips. She makes a face and then sits the cup back down, rubbing a hand over her bulbous stomach. "He was lucky to find an older woman who took him in as a permanent companion for a while. When she died, she left him a lot of money. That's how he was able to put together his own…business."

I sip slowly at the hot liquid from my cup as she talks. She's got the same sort of calm voice that Peeta has. I don't mind listening to whatever she has to say. And I can tell what Peeta meant when he said that people like her. "How did you and Finnick meet?"

"We were friends from a very small age." Annie sips her coffee and then leans a little closer to me to speak a little more softly. "Peeta thinks this arrangement can work for everyone, but I assure you that I have seen more relationships fall apart because they don't understand how it works with me and Finnick."

"And how does it work?" I ask, barely above a whisper.

Annie leans back and says with a smile, "I'm asexual. Finnick knows this."

"Asexual?" It's not that I haven't heard the term before, but no one I know has ever been asexual. Not that they've ever told me, anyway.

She gives me a look that reminds me of a kindergarten teacher who has to explain the same thing for the millionth time. "I'm not sexually attracted to Finnick. Or anyone, really."

I stare pointedly at her stomach.

She smiles and rests her hand lovingly against it. "I'm not attracted to him, but I love him. We're companions in all things. And I don't completely dislike sex, but it's something I can take or leave. Finnick knows that."

"So people just see you and Finnick together and assume that you're happy the way you are?" I ask. Does that sound a little insensitive?

Annie takes a moment to drink her coffee. I'm hoping she's forming an answer and not thinking of ways to tell me to fuck off. She puts her cup down. "Finnick and I are happy. It's not always easy, but no relationship ever is."

"So it's totally fine with you that other people are having sex with your husband?"

"It takes a lot of the pressure off of me." She admits. "Like I said, we were friends first. When I was trying to figure out why I didn't have any crushes and all my friends were giggling over this boy and that one, I got frustrated. Then they were all dating and I tried, but all the boys that asked me out wanted more than I was willing to give. I had sex with a couple guys and I was so bored." She smiles again. "And then Finnick asked me out. We dated off and on through high school and he was such a gentleman. We kissed, but he could tell I didn't want more, so he never pressured. But it broke us up, which it was why we were so off and on."

"And at that time was he…" I can't find the words I want. It's something I struggle with a lot in my life.

Annie nods, her mouth turning into a frown. "It was sort of a forced thing. His uncle…" She shakes her head. "It wasn't fun at first. Not until he met the woman who kept him, for lack of a better term. She let him sleep in her spare room. All she asked for was his companionship." Her smile returns. "When he got back in touch with me, he explained everything. And I had realized my sexuality and learned about why I never wanted anyone on many levels. I explained that to him. He told me he'd loved me forever and I said that I'd been comfortable with him."

"So that's how you two decided to get married?" I ask.

Annie gives a nostalgic. "We went back to dating. Mostly it was just spending time together. And then one day we just decided to get married."

I nod. I'm not sure where to go with this information. I'm not asexual, I know that. I'd felt attraction to Peeta from the first moment I saw him. And with many men. I'm just inexperienced.

Annie drinks the last of her coffee and holds the cup out. "One more, please?"

The young man comes over and refills her cup. "And more for you, miss?" He asks.

"No, thank you." I haven't even finished my first cup and she's on her third. "So how does all this fit with Peeta?"

Annie sips her coffee. "Peeta, everyone really, doesn't understand. I still get jealous sometimes. If his work is taking him away from spending time with me. But I know when to approach Finnick and tell him what's bothering me. It has everything to do with communication. Even conventional relationships sometimes lack that." She sits her cup down and grabs my hands in her own. They are warm and soft, just like the welcoming smile she's giving me. "Do you like Peeta?"

"Yes." I say it without hesitation.

"Could you seriously date him if he continues as an escort?"

This takes more thought, but I eventually shake my head.

"Then tell him." She squeezes my hands. "But don't tell him he needs to quit before you can start dating. Peeta likes what he does, but he doesn't take well to others telling him how to live his life. His mother did it when he was growing up and he really resents it."

"So what should I do?" I ask, pulling my hands from hers.

"My suggestion," she sits back and picks up her coffee once more, "and it's totally just my thought, is that you start dating. Or at least hanging out, you don't have to date. Be up front about not going very far with his profession as it is. That's your right." She is very insistent. "Open up the communication right from the start. You can put boundaries on your conversations. Let him know the things you feel comfortable with and the things you don't. But make sure to meet him halfway, compromise on as much as you can." She smiles over her cup. "I also suggest you find ways to encourage his baking. He's good, but he feels like he'll never match up to his father. That's why he dreams of owning a bakery, but hasn't made many steps toward doing it. Being an escort is safe for him. He knows he's good at it in his own right."

I nod. I've been doing a lot of that in this visit and I'm starting to feel like a bobble head. "You really have given me a lot to think about." I finish my coffee and reach for my wallet.

Annie waves her hand. "That's not necessary. I own this place." She winks.

I laugh. "You do?"

She nods. "The biggest thing my husband and I have in common is a drive to serve."

I leave a few minutes later, texting Peeta as I walk to my car. Just got done talking with Annie. I get off work at five. Can I call you?

Peeta's response comes just a minute later. Sure. Did you like Annie?

I smile to myself as I think about the woman I just encountered. She seems like a very strong person.

She definitely is. He replies.

I am put to work as soon as I step back into the door to relieve Rue for her lunch cleaning up a kennel after a sick dog. Gale comes over as I'm heading in. He's just brought her to another area for observation by one of the volunteers, but we're pretty sure it's because of a nervous stomach. She'd just been dropped off that morning and this was the third time her space had to be cleaned.

"You think she'll be okay?" I ask as I wring out the mop.

Gale shrugged. "I think so. I may take her home overnight. See if it helps her."

"Can you fit her in?" I chuckle. Gale had a kinder heart than me and had brought home several of the animals over the years we've worked in the shelter. He claimed it was for fostering, but none of them had been rehomed recently as far as I knew.

He laughs. "Rory took on that pit I took in last month. And mom and dad were always asking about Frisky-cat, so I just dropped him off there this morning. Paperwork's all in order."

"And what about the other seventy-five?" I pull the mop bucket out of the stall and head for the showers at the other end of the building.

Gale follows me. "I only have three. Neighborhood people have started asking about them when the kids were playing with the dogs all the time." He pauses and I know he's trying to think of something to say. "Plus my girlfriend said I needed to tone it down somehow."

I straighten up from rinsing out the bucket. "When did you get a girlfriend?"

"When she asked me out." He leans his shoulder against the pillar. "Madge Undersee."

"The mayor's daughter?" I finish with the mop bucket and we move on to start letting the dogs loose in the fenced in yard for their afternoon play time.

Gale nods and then starts laughing as a chusky bounds out of her enclosure and licks his face in excitement. "Well, good afternoon, Bella."

I let the rest out as Gale gives the big dog some extra love. She'd been in for a while and was so sweet, but most people weren't looking for a dog her size.

All the other dogs run to the open door and take to their favorite spots to relieve themselves. A few of the more timid dogs then go and hide until they get re-accustomed to the large space. Others bring us their toys to play with. This job may be hard sometimes, but these dogs are a joy to be around.

"I'm guessing Madge Undersee remembered you from the winter fundraiser?" I ask as I'm wrestling with the chusky Bella over a rope.

"She did." Gale grins. "We've gone on quite a few dates."

"And you never bothered to tell me?" I pull the rope out of the dog's mouth and toss it across the yard.

He shrugs. "I'd just broken up with Prim. I wasn't sure if it was something you'd wanted to hear about."

"I don't mind." I throw a ball for one of the other pups and lean back against the wall. "Prim's my sister, you're my friend. It wasn't weird when you were dating. It shouldn't be weird when you're no longer a couple."

Gale throws three balls at the same time and smiles when half the dogs run after them. "I like Madge a lot."

I look over and grin. "Good. I'm glad."

"Is Prim seeing anyone?" He tries to act casual, but I can see it's still difficult. Gale had fallen so hard for my sister and Prim had really cared for him. Until they decided it wasn't working, that is.

"She's gone on a few dates." I admit. But that's not my business to say, so I move on to something slightly shocking to him to get off the uncomfortable subject. "I went on a date."

Gale loses his grip on Bella's rope and he and the dog stagger a bit. "With who?"

I shrug. "A guy Johanna set me up with." It's not entirely a lie.

"Johanna Mason?" He levels a hard look at me. He'd never really cared for Johanna.

"Yeah." I open my mouth to explain more when Rue comes out the door.

She smiles. "There's someone here for a cat. Who wants to help me with paperwork?"

"I'll do it." I volunteer. I am so not in the mood to explain to Gale just how exactly I had met Peeta.