Chapter 4

Days turned into weeks. Katniss stayed with Peeta at the bakery. Slowly but surely, she was nursed back to health. And slowly but surely, she became a regular at the eatery.

Katniss started by taking orders for Peeta and his employees. She found waitressing to be fun, and she got better at it overtime. Better to take somebody's order than take their virginity…. she thought. Though it did take a bit before she would accept money from Peeta as a salary. She still had some semblance of dignity, but it also took her time to get used to coins as a form of payment. For years, she had equated payment with sex – rarely had her clients ever given her money, and when they had, it had been afterwards as a sort of tip. Besides, any of these trinkets had immediately gone right back to Cray.

As weeks turned into a month, then two, Katniss found herself getting farther and farther away from her troubles. And closer and closer to Peeta. One Sunday, when the shop was closed, Peeta even got her down into the kitchen, declaring she was ready to graduate from waitressing to baking.

"We'll start with dough," Peeta began. "Now, kneading dough may seem like the easiest task in the bakery. Here's the truth: it's not. There's a very specific technique you have to use, a very precise motion of the hands."

He guided Katniss over to the counter, where a mound of dough was waiting. Katniss carefully immersed her hands into the dough. It felt gooey, but she would get used to it. She tried not to think about how the texture reminded her of giving someone a hand job. She felt Peeta behind her.

"May I?" She nodded, and his hands covered hers. Immediately, Katniss felt a tingle shoot up her arm at his touch.

"I'm going to walk you through it." Peeta's voice tickled her ear, and she felt blood shoot down right to her core….. no, focus.

Peeta slowly guided her hands through the dough, teaching her the proper method. Katniss found herself getting lulled by the way his hands moved over her own, and imagined how those same hands might go all over her body. She resisted the urge to lean back into his muscular frame….

"Katniss?"

She opened her eyes. Peeta was staring at her with an amused smile. "Were you sleeping? I just asked if you wanted to try the flattening trick I showed you."

Katniss swallowed and nodded. She raised the dough up and threw it down as hard as she could. White powder exploded everywhere and, with a shriek, she dodged to avoid it. Peeta wasn't so lucky. Katniss looked back and began to laugh. The baker's face was covered so white with powder, he looked like a ghost. Peeta blinked before grinning.

"I suppose you think this is funny? Take this!" He flung powder at her, covering Katniss's one arm. Katniss squealed with laughter and tried to get away. "Or this! Or this!" Peeta chased her around the kitchen before finally grabbing her around the waist from behind and spinning her around. Both suddenly slipped and crashed against the counter.

Katniss suddenly felt very hot. She was braced between the counter and Peeta, her hands on his chest, his on her waist. They stared into each other's eyes.

"Katniss…." Peeta gulped. "I…."

Katniss lifted a finger to gently brush the powder off his lips. With that finger at his chin, she closed the gap between them and kissed Peeta softly. Her eyes closed instantly. He tasted like flour…..

Peeta stiffened at first, then relaxed into the kiss. His hands dug into her hips possessively. Katniss let out a moan into his mouth.

Instinct took over. Katniss's hand wandered down to Peeta's crotch and she touched him there, feeling him up. All at once, Peeta jerked out of the kiss.

"No!"

Katniss was breathless, her lips puffy and kissed. She could not help but feel hurt at his rejection. "Why? Isn't that what you want? All men want that."

"I'm not all men, Katniss." Peeta's voice softened. "You don't have to do that, even if you feel you owe me."

"I do owe you! You've been so kind to me!" Katniss protested. "I know what boys want. It's the only way I know how to pay someone back."

"You don't have to pay me back like that, Katniss! I don't want that." Peeta took her hands insistently. "Never feel like you have to sell yourself to please me. I don't want that."

For some reason, Katniss took this the wrong way. She threw his hands away. "Like hell you don't," she snarled. Then, she turned heel and marched back up to her room, Peeta staring heartbroken after her.