Chapter 4
Finnick's POV
I stand in shock for a few seconds then hold my laughter back. Damn, Kitty has some game. Obviously, I'm the hot one here, though. I can't let her show me up, now can I?
"I thought you didn't want to swim."
"Well I was wrong. This is soooo fun. The only thing that could make it better would be if you came in."
Someone's being sarcastic. "I don't know," I say casually strolling over, "don't want to impress you with my intense skill. Oh yeah," I dip my foot in the pond, "and the water is far too sassy for my liking."
"Just come in!" she shouts.
"Okay, okay," I wink, "you don't have to beg."
I toss her the swimsuit I brought for her. She catches it and raises her eyebrows.
"Might take the sass level down to a manageable level."
She rolls her eyes and puts it on. I dive in. She watches me swim for a few minutes. Her gaze is intense. I give in and finally break the silence.
"What? I know I'm gorgeous but you usually don't stare so much."
"Oh, it's nothing," she says trailing off, "I'm just not as impressed as I thought I'd be."
"Is that a challenge, Ms. Everdeen?"
Before she can answer, I plunge down. I can hold my breath for a really long time so I stay under for a minute. She starts to scan her surroundings. Two minutes. She starts looking a little more frantically. Three minutes. Here goes nothing. I yank her under by her ankle. Panic spreads throughout her body like wildfire. Her limbs thrash wildly and she seems terrified. I decide I should get her to the surface. Fast.
I pull her up and she coughs and gasps for air.
"You okay?" I ask.
She calms down, turns to me, and smiles. "Finnick Odair, you may just be the worst person on this planet." She proceeds to slap me straight across the face.
That's going to leave a mark. I regain my composure. "But I bake the best cookies ever, right?"
She scoffs. "I'm leaving."
"Wait, wait, wait!" I scream. "Katniss, I'm sorry! Please don't leave."
"Why should I stay?"
"Because you're pretty and I'm hot and together we can rendezvous in mutual beauty." I bat my eyes and smile my biggest, cheesiest smile.
"Fine, but no more drowning or nudity can take place."
"Taking away all the fun?" I tease. "Fine." I dramatically flip my hair and swim away.
Katniss's POV
Hair flip. Classy.
I watch him swim away. The boy isn't deprived of muscle, that's for sure. You'd think that after several months in the hospital it would fade, but no. He's got some nice hair, too. Those eyes, man they're bright and happy.
"Are you checking me out, Katniss?"
Crap. "What? No."
"Someone's being defensive," he smiles.
I really shouldn't have given him this satisfaction. I roll my eyes and turn my attention to We swim around a while longer.
"I'm literally a prune. Can we go?" I see him paddling on his back a few feet away.
"Okay, you going to make food for me?"
"What happened to Finnick, pastry chef extraordinaire?"
"He left because of the nudity limitation. And plus, dinner isn't dessert."
"Fair enough." We swim to the edge of the pond and walk out. I grab my clothes and decide to wait until we get to the house to put them back on.
I turn back to Finnick. "Hey, Fin-"
He's staring at me. "Finnick." It takes him a few moments longer to realize I'm looking at him."
"Oh," he says rubbing the back of his neck, "yeah?"
"You starting to remember anything yet?"
He stops and thinks. "Not really. I vaguely remember being in the Capitol. Watching a building burn or something."
"Okay," I breathe, "I'll let you ask some questions when we get back."
He furrows his eyebrows and walks over. "We don't have to."
"No, you have to start working on this."
"Well," he says, stepping so we're face to face, "you look really distressed. I don't want you to be."
He hugs me. I slowly wrap my arms around him. "Thanks."
We get home and I make dinner. We eat and head to sleep. I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to call Peeta. I gently drift off to sleep.
