Chapter 10
Effie tried to maintain a sense of professionalism, to separate what was going on in the bedroom from the store.
She tried.
She wasn't sure when exactly Haymitch grew an extra pair of limbs but whenever she was near him, his hands were everywhere. She resisted, of course. She told him to behave but there was something about being touched and something about being able to finally touch him that was magnetic and thrilling and addictive. She had spent months sitting on her hands, just watching, admiring, lusting and telling herself again and again that she didn't need any of these complications that when it finally happened, none of them could put a lid on it.
Discretion was the only option left and even so, Peeta and Johanna were not stupid. They knew something was going on after Johanna had accused them of sleeping together that one time. Peeta would smile indulgently at them when he caught them bickering and flirting and arguing as if he was secretly happy and pleased for them. Johanna would always make a point to wrinkle her nose in disgust when she walked in on just the both of them at the back of the store, or even when Effie was simply just talking to Haymitch.
As for her, Effie enjoyed his company even if he could be brash and rude, and downright infuriating.
She enjoyed being the centre of his attention. She loved the rough kisses; raw and hungry, the way his stubble burn her skin when it rubbed against her cheek or her inner thigh. She loved how he touch her which often led to some heavy groping under the counter or in the truck when they had deliveries to make or supplies to pick up from the train station.
Johanna's cynical and snide, "a supply run shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes, the train station is not that fucking far," had left her flustered with embarrassment and a tinge of guilt for being gone with Haymitch for almost an hour. Peeta had hid a smile as he carried the loads from the truck to the supply room at the back of the store.
Her sister had told her once, a long time ago, that a flame that burnt twice as bright burnt half as long, and truthfully, Effie was afraid that what was going on between Haymitch and her would die fast, that he would be sick of her soon. But she was high on him and she wasn't thinking with her head. She couldn't think straight when his touch sent her blood running, when his mouth left her speechless.
When she was with him, he made her forget the feeling of worthlessness. Each time he took her to bed, he made it a point to show her that she was beautiful. He loved her body and it sent a tingle down her spine to be worshipped by him.
On some nights, when he was too exhausted to drive home, she would let him sleep in her bed. He didn't think it was a good idea but she could be very persuasive when she wanted to be, and on nights like those, her sleeping pills remain in the bottle at the back of her medicine cabinet and his hip flask remained tucked in the pocket of his jacket.
Her favourite would always be the stolen kisses in the store which would sometimes lead to more than just kissing and fondling. It was the thrill of being discovered, the danger of a customer walking in on them that made it exciting.
Seneca would never have approved of this. With him, she had to behave and play the part of a perfect girlfriend for him and the society she was in but with Haymitch, she felt like a different person, someone other than herself. Perhaps, she had always been this way, docile and buried deep until he brought it out of her or perhaps, it was because she was in a town where people had no idea who she was.
"I'm leaving!" Johanna shouted. "No one's minding the store out front."
Effie slapped his hand away from under her skirt.
"I'll be out in a minute," he raised his voice so Johanna could hear him only to drop it the next second to murmur, "or ten."
"You are impossible," Effie laughed when he pulled her on him so that she ended up straddling him on the sofa they were sitting.
He ran his hands up her thighs just as Effie started to rock her hips teasingly against his.
"You can go home too, you know," he said. "Your hours are done."
She had not been leaving the store without him for the past weeks. Closing the store and leaving together with him had become their routine and she didn't mind it that much, not when leaving the store after her shift ended meant going home to an empty house. Why should she? He was here and he was a good distraction from the loneliness.
"Maybe I will do just that," she extricated herself from him and threw a teasing smile over her shoulder at him. "I'll have an early night for once."
Effie didn't get far. He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, his fingers making fast work on the buttons of her blouse before he pushed it off her shoulder. He fumbled with the zipper on her skirt only to have to stop because she was tugging his jacket off, and that was when the envelopes fell out of the pocket.
It distracted them enough and Effie bent down to pick the envelopes.
One was from the military which it didn't surprise her that much. Over the few months, she had picked up on the fact that he had once served and she had attributed the scar on his stomach -something he never talked about - to his time in it. The other was a white windowed envelope with an insignia that Effie recognised – Panem Insurance.
From the window of it, she caught a glimpse of a cheque inside bearing his name on it. Even if all she saw was a partial glimpse, "Haym -" was still unmistakeably him.
The seal was already torn off which mean that he had read the accompanying letter, placed the cheques back in before stuffing them in his pocket.
He cleared his throat. Startled, Effie handed the envelopes back to him. He didn't take it from her.
"I'm sorry," she hurried to say. "I didn't mean to -"
They both knew it was an accident so he shrugged.
The mood in the room had shifted. She reached out to touch his arm but he stepped back and she felt self-conscious standing in front of him clad only in her bra with the zip of her half undone. As if he could sense that she was uncomfortable, Haymitch grabbed his jacket off the floor to put it around her to preserve her modesty.
"It's month end so … Those cheques comes every month," he nodded at the two envelopes in her hand. "You might as well go to the bank tomorrow morning... Cash that out for me. Cheque bearer's not cross for both, they'll give you the money, no problem."
He said that without looking at her. He was already walking towards the door leading to the main shop.
Puzzled at his behaviour, Effie pulled the cheques out of the envelopes and gasped when she saw total amount.
"What – What do you want me to do with this much money?"
She didn't think she was in any position to be handling his personal finances and these cheques certainly seem very personal to her.
He glanced at her briefly over his shoulder.
"You're this store's book-keeper, yeah? Put that money in the store's account, easy," he said as if she should have known that. "In fact, you can do it from now on. No reason for me to be doing it anymore."
"Haymitch - "
He paused by the door with one hand on the knob.
"You asked once where I was gettin' the money to keep the store runnin'. From that," he spat and whatever the story was behind the cheque payments, Effie was absolutely certain it was not good.
It's a short chapter but nonetheless, I hope you like it and that you have questions! Effie's trying to guard her heart and be careful after Seneca and yet, she can't control herself with Haymitch. He's trouble for her! Tell me what you think! :)