A week later, I was sitting on my living room couch when I heard a quiet knock on my front door. It must be Peeta again, I thought to myself.
"Come in!" I yelled.
The doorknob turned slowly and the door was pushed open. On the other side of it was Gale. I froze with my mouth hanging open.
"Hi, I heard about your foot," He started. "How is it feeling?"
"Umm…it's almost all better." I replied. "I can't run or anything, but I can walk a little bit now."
"That's good to hear." He said, still standing with his hand on the doorknob.
"You can come in if you want." I exclaimed, annoyed that he was being so short with me.
He hesitated, but finally walked into the living room and shut the door behind him. He just stood in front of me, not saying a word. He looked nervous and a little distracted. His mouth was turned downwards on the sides and his eyebrows were raised.
"Did you want to talk?" I asked, forcing him to say something. "Or are you just going to stand there?"
"Sorry, I just…I don't really know what to say." He admitted, walking over to the couch and sitting beside me. "So, how's the wedding preparation going?"
"I haven't really been doing anything to prepare for it," I admitted, "there's not a set date yet. But I do have my photo shoot soon."
"That's cool." He murmured, giving me a small close-lipped smile. "I bet you'll look amazing in your dress."
"Thank you." I countered, looking down and studying my hands. "I've been wanting to talk to you. I wanted to tell you that if nothing else is possible for us, I really do want to stay friends."
"Listen, Katniss, I couldn't agree more." He said loudly. "But honestly, I just cannot stop thinking about you. You know…in a romantic way"
I nodded silently. Why was he doing this? I couldn't keep playing these games with him. It was too difficult to keep wanting him and having him taken away from me.
"Well, do you feel the same way?" He asked, his voice sounding truly distressed. "If not, then that's fine too. I don't want you to have to choose between Peeta and me. I know it's not fair to you because you have to marry him. I just can't let you marry him without tell you that I don't want you to do it, even though I know you have to."
"Oh, Gale!" I cried, unable to hold back my words. "Yes, of course I feel the same way. I love you, and I wish things weren't the way they are. But honestly, I have to marry him. I do want to be with you tonight, but this has to be the last time."
He grinned at me, clearly dismissing everything I had said except for the fact that I love him. He got up off the couch, catching me off guard. At first I thought that he was leaving, but then he got down on one knee in front of me and weaved his fingers through mine. He gazed up into my eyes, making my heart pound incessantly. He then picked me up and laid me down onto the couch. He climbed on top of me and pressed his forehead to mine, clutching my face in both of his large hands. I reached my face up to his and kissed him furiously. He responded to my frantic kiss and moved his hands to my waist. He gripped my hip with one hand and stroked my side with the other. I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him even closer to me. I wanted him so much, I couldn't even comprehend how much pleasure I was getting from his touch. I roughly pulled off his shirt and threw it on the floor. He pulled away from my lips and looked down at me, unsure of how he should reciprocate.
"Please Gale, I need you." I exclaimed, impatiently awaiting his kiss again.
"I'm not having sex with you, Katniss." He stated, his expression becoming serious. "Well, not right now at least."
"Fine, whatever!" I yelled, crossing my arms across my chest.
"I guess we can do something else, if you insist." He chuckled, uncrossing my arms and holding down my hands on either side of me.
"Yes," I cried, "I insist!"
He smiled, pressing his lips to the bottom of my neck. He moved down to my collarbone, gently sucking the skin on my chest while still holding my hands captive. He finally let go of my hands and began unbuttoning my flannel shirt. He finished undoing the last button, leaving the open shirt on me instead of taking it off. He moved down to my breasts propping himself up on his elbow next to me. He kissed down my sternum and then moved his mouth to my breast. He trailed kisses all around my breast before lightly sucking on my nipple. I gasped, feeling a twinge of pain as he grazed my nipple with his teeth.
"Sorry, I'll be more gentle," He said as he moved his mouth off of my breast. "I just got a little carried away; you're making me lose my sense of control."
I laughed and pulled his mouth up to mine, exploring inside it with my tongue. He wrapped his arms around my waist, his body tightly pressed to mine. He was so warm, a sheen of sweat was beginning to appear on my skin. He shifted his weight and pressed his pelvis against mine. I placed my mouth on his neck and nipped him softly. Then I began sucking on his soft skin, tasting the salt on him. I moved my hand down to his stomach and stroked the trail of hair from his belly button down to the top of his pants. He grew hard at my touch. I reached down to the outside of his pants and laid my hand on his crotch, slowly rubbing it up and down.
"My god, Katniss" he said, exasperated.
"Touch me again, Gale." I whispered, taking his hand in mine and pressing it between my legs.
I was only wearing the flannel shirt and underwear, nothing else. He teased me, caressed my thigh and squeezing it. He pushed himself off of me, pushing my legs apart and lying back on top of me between them. He grinded his hips into me, his bulge rubbing on my center. I moaned quietly. Then, I pushed him off of me.
"Take off your pants" I commanded.
He smiled and obliged, expertly unbuttoning his pants, pulling them off, and throwing them onto the floor. He kneeled on the couch, only in his boxers. I sat up and kneeled also, rubbing his muscular thighs with my small hands. I finally slipped my hand into his dark boxers, grabbing a hold of his penis. I slid my hand up and down his stiff member, squeezing it ever so softly. He moaned and pulled my face to his, kissing me roughly. I shoved him back onto the couch and pulled his underwear off. He looked up at me with a surprised look on his face, his eyes burning and his lips parted. I put my lips onto the head of his penis, pushing my head down and taking him far back into my mouth. I repeated this, occasionally using my tongue and licking up the sides of his member. He moaned loudly, weaving his hands into my hair. Finally he could not hold back anymore and exploded in my mouth. I sat back up, wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
He pulled me on top of him, pressing his lips to mine once again. He slid his hand into my underwear, rubbing his middle finger on my clitoris. He then continued where he left off when we were on the table, sliding his finger into me. He pumped it in and out of me as I lay on top of him, my hands on his shoulders supporting my weight. He suddenly stopped and pulled his finger out of me. I protested and he rolled over so that he was on top of me, kneeling down between my knees. He stripped of my underwear, one leg at a time. After what felt like an eternity, he pressed his mouth to my vagina, licking me up and down. He gently sucked on my clitoris and traced around it with the tip of his tongue. He slipped his finger back inside my vagina but kept his mouth on me too. I breathed loudly, placing my feet up on his shoulders. I began to moan and he reached up with his other hand, caressing my breasts, one at a time. I felt heat growing in the pit of my stomach and began to orgasm, calling Gale's name out.
"Ohhhhh, Gale!" I cried out.
I finished and he crawled up to lie on top of me. He kissed me, allowing me to taste myself on his lips. He moved over so that he was next to me, his head propped up by his hand. He placed his arm around my waist and we lay together, amazed at how we made each other feel. After a few minutes, I remembered that we were in my living room and my mother could come in at any moment. I hopped off the couch.
"We should get dressed." I said, holding my hand out to Gale so that he could get off the couch.
He grasped my hand, pulling himself up to his feet. We quickly got dressed. Afterwards, I looked over at him. He was standing in front of me, a wide smile on his mouth, his eyes glowing.
"I love you." He said again, taking my hand in his and pulling me into an embrace. I wrapped my arms around him and looked up at him. He brought his lips to mine one last time and then we let go of each other.
"I have to go home, but I'll come back tomorrow." He said with a smile.
Suddenly my mind went back to reality. I was getting married, and not to Gale. I looked up at him with a serious look on my face and his smile faded.
"Gale, what I said earlier about this only being a one time thing…well, I wasn't joking," I explained, "I was being honest. And I hate it but I can't ever do this again."
"Okay." He retorted, a look of rage growing on his sweet face.
He turned away from me and threw open the door, leaving me once again. However, this time I knew it was for the best, no matter how much it was making my heart ache. I walked up the stairs to my room and attempted to fall asleep.