Author's note: Hey, all! Are you ready for a meeting? Let's do this!
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Chapter Eleven
Peeta changed his shirt for the fourth time and then threw his head back and yelled, "Damnit!"
Annie burst into the room. "How can I help?"
He glared. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"I've been standing outside this door for the last half hour waiting for you to step out looking cute and all ready for your date." She looked at the pile of shirts on the floor. "Blue." She scooped a blue shirt off the floor and held it out. "It matches your eyes."
"This isn't a date." Peeta took it and exchanged the purple striped button down for the solid blue.
"Leave it unbuttoned." She said as he reached to fasten it over his tee-shirt.
He sat down on his bed and pulled on a pair of socks. "So what are you and Finnick doing today?"
"Just hanging out." She leaned against the doorframe.
Finnick called, "Fucking on all the surfaces."
Annie stuck her head out the door. "I'm exhausted from puking my guts out all morning thanks to your child. Nothing more than you making me soup and letting me lay on your lap."
Finnick scoffed as he came up behind her. "Fine." He wrapped his arms around Annie's waist. He asked Peeta, "So you ready for your date?"
Peeta said, "It's not a date. I'm just meeting someone for lunch."
"That's the exact definition of a date." Finnick said. "Sharing a meal with someone alone at a restaurant."
Peeta waved him off. "We're friends."
"But she's hot." Finnick said.
Annie sent an elbow to his side. "Stop it."
"Don't you think she's hot?" Finnick asked his girlfriend as he rubbed the spot.
"Yeah, but you can still be friends with someone you find attractive." Annie pointed out. "And if Peeta and Katniss just want to be friends, that's up to them."
Peeta stood up and kissed his sister's cheek. "Thanks, Annie." His phone started ringing with the tone he'd assigned to Katniss. He answered as he slipped around the others. "Hi, Katniss. Are you at the diner?"
"I'm actually lost. And I can't figure out where I am to fix it. I parked in front of a church. I'm so turned around." Her voice sounded a little panicked.
"Hey, no problem. What sort of church? What denomination?" He grabbed his coat and keys and waved at Annie and Finnick as he left. She explained a few of the sights she saw and the name of the street. Peeta drove to the center of town and talked Katniss in the right direction. They pulled into the diner parking lot at the same time.
Peeta looked over the beat-up white pickup that she drove with a smile. It had a logo on the side that said, "Everdeen Landscaping" along with a phone number he knew well. It somehow fit her perfectly.
"Give me a second." She requested as she took the phone away. He watched her type a text and then she hopped out and met him outside his door.
He stepped out and stood awkwardly. "Hi." He finally said.
"Hi." She answered, holding out her hand for him to shake.
He chuckled as he shook it, still feeling awkward. She was just as pretty in person. And standing right in front of her, he could see she had grey eyes. He'd never seen a person with grey eyes. It was so enchanting.
"Should we go inside?" Katniss asked, dropping her hand.
"Yes, that would be good." Peeta motioned for her to go ahead of him. He'd spent many days in this diner as a teenager. He'd grown up a town over, where the bakery and his brothers and stepmother all still lived.
Delly smiled kindly at them as they stepped in. "Hi, Peeta!"
"Hey, Delly." He greeted. "How are you today?"
"My feet are killing me and my son is giving me a hard time." She nodded toward a back booth where a young boy sat with a coloring book.
The boy looked up and waved enthusiastically. "Hi, Mr. Mellark!" He scrambled out of the booth and ran over. "Is this your girlfriend?"
Peeta chuckled. "This is my friend Katniss. Katniss, this is Jeff, one of my students. His mom Delly, an old friend."
"It's nice to meet you." Katniss said.
"Likewise." Delly said, that same smile on her face.
Jeff's eyes went wide. "You're that girl the videos I watch!" He tugged on Delly's sleeve. "Mom, it's that Katniss!"
"That's great." Delly said kindly. "Okay, honey, you need to go back to your coloring book. I have work to do and Mr. Mellark and his friend are here for lunch."
Jeff gave Katniss one last impressed look and wandered back to his booth.
"Sorry about that." Delly said as she motioned the pair to a table on the opposite side of the room. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Iced tea, please." Peeta said.
"I'll just have some water." Katniss replied.
Delly bounced away, pausing a moment to speak to her son before getting their drinks.
"So what's good here?" Katniss asked as she picked up the menu.
"Everything. Sae's been using the same recipes for about fifty years." He picked up his menu. "I'm pretty partial to the chicken fried steak myself. But the eggs are always cooked to perfection. And you can't go wrong with the soup of the day."
"Excuse me?" Jeff's unsure voice said from beside their table.
Katniss grinned and looked up. "Hi. Jeff, right?"
The boy nodded. "My mom said not to bother you, but I…"
She leaned closer. "What do you want to ask?"
"How long did it take you to learn how to shoot like you do?" He asked softly.
She said, "I started learning when I was about your age. And I practice several times a week. I'm still learning new things all the time."
"Do you think I could learn?" He asked.
Delly walked over with their drinks and scolded her son.
Katniss said, "If it's something your mom wants for you, I think it's worth a shot. But it is up to your mom."
He threw his arms around Katniss. "Thank you." He hurried back to his booth and watched them from across the room.
"I'm sorry about that." Delly said. "If his dad didn't have to be away for the week, he'd be home. Probably watching your videos. They're on a loop." She chuckled. "So what can I get you?"
They made their order and Delly walked away, pausing at tables along the way.
"Do you like your work?" Katniss asked.
He smiled and nodded. "I do. What about you?"
"I love my work." She grinned, taking a sip of her water. "I liked the video. Did I tell you?" She laughed awkwardly. "Of course I told you."
He gave her a kind smile. "Well, thank you. I can't wait to see what you have next."
"It's going to be a toughie. We're going to aim through rings of decreasing size." She laughed. "Gale's idea."
"It's a good idea. I bet you do better."
"I bet I do, too." She laughed. Stirring her straw around in her glass, she said, "So you're answering some questions? For your channel, I mean."
"Yeah." He said, sipping his tea. "But I can answer your questions without filming them."
She laughed. "Well, I mostly wonder what you get asked a lot. For Gale and me it's always 'Are you a couple?' So for you, what is it? What's the big one?"
Peeta picked up a crayon from the cup in the center of the table. Sae had put them there years ago for kids, but he always found himself using them when he came in. He drew on the largest blank spot of the placemat. "People are always so obsessed with relationships. Wanting to see if you're in love or attached. They usually ask if I've got a girlfriend. A couple ask if I have a boyfriend."
Katniss laughed. "Well, do you?"
"Annie teases me that Finnick and I are boyfriends." Peeta chuckled, looking up from his drawing. "But no significant other for me right now, even though Finnick and Annie constantly worry."
Delly returned with their food and took their glasses for refills.
"And you?" Peeta asked once they were alone again. "You said one time 'My last boyfriend.' Is there a current one?" He put the crayon back and folded up the paper, stuffing it in his pocket before picking up his fork.
Katniss cut into her chicken fried steak and shook her head. "Kind of just living life single."
He watched her thoughtfully as she chewed his steak. "Have there been a lot?" He shook his head quickly. "Never mind. That's not my business, sorry."
She swallowed quickly. "No, it's fine. About half a dozen. You?"
"Two." He blushed a little. "I'm not a Casanova or anything."
She smiled. "You don't have to be."
He shrugged. "Just everyone around me…" He shook his head again. "This is getting more serious than I intended."
"I agree." She nodded. "So tell me something fun. Tell me about your favorite painter."
Peeta grinned and leaned forward. "I really like Van Gogh. And I know a lot of people like Van Gogh, but I don't care." He laughed to himself. "I recreated Starry Night so many times when I was a kid, my stepmom finally gave me a book of other artists and begged me to try something new."
Katniss laughed. "I know Starry Night."
He nodded. "It's one of his most famous. I was obsessed with getting it exactly right. I never could match the brush strokes very well."
She smiled and let him drone on for several more minutes.
He trailed off awkwardly after a while, feeling himself blush. "I'm totally dominating the conversation. I'm sorry."
"No, I don't mind." She pushed her plate to the side, only half her food gone. "You're passionate. I like it."
He looked at her plate. "You done?"
She nodded. "That was quite a bit."
His face fell. Was she ready to leave him already?
"Don't let me rush you." She assured him.
"Well, how about you talk for a while? Does your sister know archery, too? Or was it just a thing with you and your dad?" He put a forkful of eggs in his mouth and watched her curiously.
It took Katniss a moment to answer and he immediately regretted bringing up her dad. But when she spoke, she had a wistful look in her eye. "She was just starting to get the hang of it when he died. He'd been working with her for a while. She lost interest after..." She swallowed. "I kept going because it was my connection to him. And she stopped because it was a painful reminder. She was only eight. No eight-year-old should lose a parent."
"You were twelve?"
She nodded.
"No twelve-year-old should lose a parent either." He said softly.
She smiled gratefully. "No one should have to lose a parent before fifty. It would be great if they could live forever."
"Yeah." Peeta said. He took one more bite and sat forward with his drink. "But at least there are good memories."
She smiled and leaned closer. "Lots of good memories."
Delly came over. "Save room for dessert?"
Katniss shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."
Peeta looked up. "Me too, Delly. Thank you." He reached in his wallet and handed over his credit card. "You can put it on there."
"Will do." Delly took his card and started to walk away.
He stopped her. "Did Sae make any apple pies today?"
"I think there are a couple slices left." Delly said.
"Will you box them up?" Peeta asked kindly.
"Sure thing." Delly bounced away.
Peeta explained, "Annie loves Sae's apple pie. She says it's better than mine."
Katniss laughed. "She's such a kind sister."
"Well, she likes everything else I make, so I'll forgive her this time." He grinned. "Are you going to run off?"
"I don't have to." She stirred the last of her water with her straw. "Want to show me around?"
He felt his heart pounding out of his chest. "I'd love to."
They walked outside and stood in front of both their cars. The parking lot was packed and more cars circled looking for spaces.
"If you want, you can follow me to my house and drop off one of the vehicles and take the other." Peeta suggested.
Katniss nodded. She looked down a moment and then asked, "Do you think I could meet Annie and Finnick?"
"You may open up a can of worms there." He chuckled. "They haven't stopped asking about you since we started e-mailing."
She shrugged. "I don't mind. You speak so highly of Annie." She looked like she wanted to say more, but she stopped herself.
Peeta nodded. "Follow me." He got in his car and watched Katniss climb up into her truck before he backed out into traffic and headed home.