Chapter 18: Week 8
Effie was still on her mind when she went into to work the next day. The rough afternoon had been followed by an even rougher night of Effie tossing and turning on their couch. They'd tried to distract her with another vodka on ice and bad reality TV, but eventually her eyes had been too heavy to hold open to stay up with Effie any longer and she'd retired to bed. As exhausted as she was from stressing about money and how to pay her bills, sleep had been shit – it had been the kind of sleep where she'd been unconscious but not deep enough under to actually rest. By the time her alarm went off that morning, she'd felt even more tired than she had before her head had hit the pillow.
The smell of cleaning solution stung her nose as she leaned against the counter in the break area, willing the coffee to drip faster. Her mind floated to thoughts of her mother – not her, specifically, but the pills she used to occasionally mix with her drinking in order to make her mind go numb. Her mother had gotten the precise cocktail down pat – enough pills to numb the pain and the booze to wash it down. Of course it eventually became never enough, but a dark part of Katniss' mind had wished for something stronger than vodka for Effie the night before.
A shudder went down her spine. Those were dangerous thoughts. The last thing Effie needed was an addiction to something darker than Haymitch and wine coolers.
Gale's off key singing pulled her back to the present. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, she turned to look at him as he made his way to the coffee and instantly sighed in exasperation at the sight of the dark bruises peppering his neck.
"Ulgh, do you really need to tell someone not to suck your neck until it bruises? Do you? Do you Gale?"
He snorted like he didn't care, but she caught him eye himself in the stainless steel side of the coffee machine. Instead of looking completely repulsed, he looked rather smug.
Katniss had never had a hickey herself and didn't plan on ever letting anyone suck her neck until one appeared. The grimace on her face held as she greedily took the first few ounces of fresh coffee that had dripped into the pot and poured them into her mug.
"Jo likes it rough," he shrugged it off and jammed his stainless steel water bottle under the water pump with a clank. He turned and flashed her an impish grin that told her he wasn't an ounce sorry.
"Think of them as her little love bites."
Katniss sipped her coffee and tried not to roll her eyes at him again. It only gave him glee to know he was annoying her. Her thoughts were starting to wander back to Effie. Prim had to use the day to try to find a summer job. While dragging Effie around wasn't ideal, it would keep her from being alone and keep Prim from having to hoof it around town filling out applications. She'd sent them off in Effie's teal blue beater when she left for work, Effie looking shaken and tired and Prim cautiously optimistic, her hair in two braids. Katniss hated that she had to send her little sister out looking for work when she could have been enjoying her summer, but sacrifices would have to be made.
"Saw your boy here."
"What?" she looked up. Too fast. Gale fastened his lid on his cup and she almost missed the way one of his eyebrows rose slightly.
"Peeta. He was here yesterday."
Her heart sped up slightly. "Was he looking for me? Or…"
Crap, she thought. Gale was on to her now. He shook his head. "No…" he replied slowly, "He was working out. Weird the way people come here to do that."
"Shut up," she ordered, instantly embarrassed at her slip. For such a goofy oaf, Gale didn't miss much.
He snickered. She glared.
"I hope you were nice to him."
Instead of answering, he leaned against the counter with her and gave her a skeptical look. "Am I missing something here? Why do you care?"
"He's nice. Erm…some guys called him names last week and it sucked. He was pretty embarrassed and…."
"You beat 'em up yet?" Gale smirked down at her, his eyes knowing.
Katniss gave a short growl. "Would've loved to, but Crane frowns on beating on the clientele. I also like it when Prim and I can eat," she replied darkly.
Gale's face lit up and he let out an exaggerated gasp. "Oooh, look at you and your fancy use of judgement all the sudden!"
She shoved off the counter with a grunt, already sick of the day.
It didn't get better from there. She'd been cranky all morning and not leading three yoga classes in a row did much to calm her sour mood. She busied herself after lunch at her tiny work area in the staff office, entering in her hours for the week and logging classes. She was almost done planning her next two weeks of classes when the strong odor of a cologne she'd grown to loathe wafted into her nostrils.
"What do you want?" she asked without looking up.
Cato draped himself over the partition wall behind her computer screen and flashed her a smarmy grin.
"Crane wants to see you," he informed her, his voice dripping with a sarcastic sympathy.
Her fingers froze over the keyboard and she swallowed roughly.
"Before you ask, he didn't say why," Cato sighed. "But I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you."
Shooting him a dark look, she logged off her computer and brushed past him without a second glance. Making her way upstairs, she took a deep breath before knocking on the door. He barked at her to enter.
"Have a seat," he instructed, skipping any formalities. He strode confidently past her and she watched a little nervously as he shut the door. She hated when the door shut – it seemed to give him carte blanche. She crossed her legs and arms and tried to shrink into herself without visibly shuddering as she waited for him to speak.
"Katnisss…" he seemed to hiss, settling across from her in his desk chair. He always seemed to draw out the last letter of her name a split second longer than necessary. Guess he really might be a snake, she thought.
"Yes?"
She tried to keep her tone even. Did she sound annoyed? She was annoyed. He's your boss. You need this job. Manners… she could hear Effie's trilling warning. She'd bitched to her neighbor time after time about her disgusting boss and Effie had been quick to warn her about keeping her tone and facial expressions in check. Apparently Katniss had something known as resting bitch face.
He opened a file on the desk in front of him, ignoring her question for a second longer than was comfortable. Another spark of anger lit in her stomach, but she pressed it down.
"Been looking over files today and I noticed your one on one client…Peter?"
"Peeta."
"Hmm?" he looked up, his icy blue eyes blank.
She swallowed down her rage.
"It's Peeta," her voice cracked.
"Yes….well, I see he's down twenty four pounds so far. That's impressive progress for only eight weeks. And for someone so far gone…"
"He's…worked really hard," she swallowed hard, trying to smile.
You don't know a thing about him.
"I can tell. Well, it really seems like you've taken some of our talks to heart and have really applied yourself here. Of course it could be attributed to his hard work as well, but…let's be honest. Some people just need a lot of work, am I right? He certainly wasn't losing any pounds on his own."
Katniss grit her teeth and tried to remember how badly she needed a paycheck.
"Bottom line is that I like what I'm seeing. If he makes it to fifty, let's do a spotlight on him talk about a raise for you. How about it?"
The mention of a raise should have made her elated. With all of her money trouble lately, even the smallest bit would help her out. Instead, it just made the lead pit in her stomach feel even heavier. Of course she worked for a paycheck, but felt somehow cheap to dangle a reward for her at the same time. Peeta was the one doing all the hard work, not her.
"That's…that would be great," she agreed.
"Keep at it. I like seeing results. More results and less jiggle, that's what I always say," he laughed at his own sick little joke and leaned back in his chair.
When she didn't respond he dismissed her, but she could feel the way his eyes followed her as she left, yet another reason she hated the stretchy, clingy material of her stupid work uniform. She was still feeling slightly ill when she left his office.
"Hey!"
Jerking her head to the side, she realized Peeta was just walking in. The scent of flour and fresh bread wafted towards her and while she enjoyed it, Crane still had her rattled. Trying her best to not look uneasy, she tried to wipe the unsettled look from her face.
"You're early," she noticed, glancing at his gym bag.
"Got away early today. Thought I'd get a head start before we're scheduled."
His eyes were bright, brighter than usual. His large, wide palm gripped his gym bag and he looked energized. The uneasiness of her meeting with Crane melted away quickly, and she caught herself smiling.
"You're awfully excited about working out all of the sudden."
"Yeah, well…just one of those days," he grinned, shifting his bag on his shoulder.
Katniss motioned him into one of the smaller rooms with yoga mats for them to stretch and get ready for their workout. Of course they could have just used the mats in the main gym, but for some reason she felt like having him all to herself for a few more moments. It was nearing the end of the work day, and soon more and more clients would filter in for their post-work workout. Crane had her shaken, and Peeta's calm energy helped her as they wordlessly stretched in the sunny yoga room with calming colors and the scent of lavender from her morning class hanging in the air. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he moved into their usual pre-workout routine of bending and breathing. He looked…pleased with himself.
"Anything you want to focus on today?" she broke the silence, moving to stretch her arms. Peeta mimicked her, his eyes bright.
"No. Just…whatever you think I should work on. Seems to really be working, right?" his face split into a bright grin, and she found herself smiling right back at him.
"You're right. My boss, um….noticed that you've been doing really well. He tracks all that, so…" she said awkwardly, releasing her arm. Her hands twitched at her sides as she tried to think of something to do with them. Why am I suddenly acting like an idiot? She thought, moving into another stretch.
"Really? What did he say, was he happy with you?"
"Peeta," she said with exasperation, "I'm trying to tell you he's noticed you're down twenty four pounds and you're worried about me?"
"Well….erm….I mean I know you said sometimes he could be an ass-asshole," he stammered, lowering his voice.
Katniss nodded. Peeta anxiously rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, allowing her to sneak a peek at the way his white t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. Even if he did have weight to lose, he was still attractive. The weight he'd lost so far had revealed a slightly sharper jawline and she could spy the start of a defined looking chest. People could say whatever they wanted to about him, but even on day one she'd been surprised at just how strong he really was. But did that even really matter to her? Biting the inside of her cheek, she realized she was attracted to him and would be even if he never lost another pound after that day. The realization made her flush hotly.
He glanced up, noticing the sudden ruddiness of her cheeks. It was the usual resplendent color she had after working out with him. After spending the last eight weeks with Katniss, he realized her facial expressions often gave her away. So why was the look on her face suddenly unreadable?
Her odd mood continued as she moved him through the circuit of machines on the gym floor, the strange expression never really leaving her face as she quietly watched him.
Peeta thought as he sweat through his workout, trying to figure out what had happened in the meeting with Crane that had her behaving so strangely. He'd seen Crane plenty of times. While he hated to make assumptions about people, it wasn't difficult to tell that that man was one that Peeta didn't trust. With his cocky strut, tight pants and eyes that looked right through you…Peeta didn't like him. One bit. It felt silly to hate a person he barely knew, but at the same time it didn't take much for Peeta to imagine a hundred different ways her boss had made her uncomfortable. Had he said something, or touched her inappropriately? Made a comment about her body? He felt himself seethe as he sweat his way through the circuit.
After fifteen grueling minutes on the stair step machine, he turned to her, red faced and heaving, and gave her his best pleading look.
"Did Crane say something inappropriate to you?"
Katniss blinked, her trance-like state seeming to lift.
"What?"
He wiped his face with a towel and sighed, his jaw clenching. Katniss dropped her pen and coughed, looking uncomfortable all over again.
"Did he….harass…you? Or…um….do something he shouldn't have? I know he's your boss, but…"
"No!" she gasped, then bit her lip. "Nothing….out of the ordinary. Or illegal. He didn't harass me, Peeta."
He glanced around the gym, making sure they were out of earshot of anyone that would care to get her in trouble. "Then what happened? Are you okay?'
She met his eyes and gave him a weak smile. "You're…really sweet," she said, her voice cracking. He watched as she listlessly motioned him over to the next machine, motioning for him to start. He ignored her and plead instead.
"What did he say to you?"
Katniss paused a moment, glancing down at her clip board. "He said….that if you continued to lose weight, he'd do a feature on you and….give me a raise."
Without thinking, he gripped her shoulders and gasped. "That's awesome! Katniss, a raise?!"
In the weeks since he'd known her, she'd opened up to him several times about her life and struggle with money. He knew she was working hard to help get her sister through nursing school and that they lived a very frugal lifestyle. It wasn't hard to tell that Katniss did not work at Panem Fitness because of her passion for working out.
He frowned, utterly confused. "Whyyyyy….are you not happier about this? Did I miss something?"
Katniss' shoulders slumped. "Peeta, why should I get a raise for your accomplishments? I hate that my paycheck is tied to your weight loss. Doesn't that sound like a shitty principle to you?"
"No," he answered honestly. "It's you being rewarded for being my coach. A good coach," he replied. "Why would you think differently?"
"It just feels…slimy," she admitted. "It doesn't feel right to get rewarded for your accomplishment."
Peeta had to laugh. "But, I'd be gaining something too, wouldn't I? I mean, you're doing your job, and doing it well, I might add," he released her shoulders, suddenly remembering he was touching her. He felt his cheeks grow a bit hotter. "So why would it be bad thing for us both to get rewarded? I get to lose weight, get healthy, and…get some semblance of a life."
She looked hopeful at that, but still not convinced. Peeta turned to the machine and gripped the handles of the contraption, using his back and shoulders to pull. Satisfied Katniss hadn't been groped by her slimy boss, he focused instead on changing the subject.
"So, I have a confession."
"Oh yeah?"
"The reason I was so happy when I came in here today. I'm pretty motivated because someone I hadn't seen in a while noticed I'd lost some weight," he admitted sheepishly.
A strange look crossed her features before she gave him a crooked smile.
"Oh? Well that's…good. An old friend, or….?"
"Yeah, an old college buddy. Friends since third grade, now I get to play groomsman for him," he admitted with a grin. "We got fitted for tuxes and I was down a few sizes."
Katniss smiled, her mood suddenly lifting. "That's….great. He noticed?"
"Yeah. Felt pretty good," he chuckled, yanking his arms back. Katniss watched as the muscles in his back worked, swallowing thickly. The idea of Peeta in a tux was…nice. The appealing image stuck with her as he worked, prattling on about his friend Thresh and how close they'd been as kids. She nodded here and there, only half listening as Peeta began to sweat through his white shirt. If he was in a wedding, wouldn't he be looking for a date? He'd never mentioned a girlfriend, nor did he ever seem in a hurry to rush home from the gym to anyone… the hopeful feeling settled into her gut, making her uneasy for a few minutes as he spoke. Did she want to go to the wedding with him? She realized…she did. Hot embarrassment washed over her at the thought of her client asking her out. Not only was it not encouraged for them to date gym clients, it would certainly put their working relationship in jeopardy if it went poorly.
"It sounds like you two are close. I'm sure it will be fun," she managed to say as they finished the circuit.
"Yeah, well…it's being held at the boathouse, the one downtown?"
"I know it," she said, leading him to the treadmill for his cooldown. The old building next to a small lake had been diligently restored recently and now served as a venue for weddings and swanky parties, but when her sister was little it was a favorite spot to spend an afternoon. "Prim used to like to go there on Sunday's to feed the ducks."
Peeta laughed. "Sounds like Prim. Feel like I know her, you talk about her so much."
"You can meet her sometime. She's my complete opposite, but I'd do anything for her. She's blonde, she's optimistic, and looks at the world through rose colored glasses, that's for sure."
Peeta glanced at her as he walked, offering her a tiny smile.
"Well, maybe that's because you've helped her be that way. Or maybe…she knows she needs to be the brightness for your uh…darker days," he chuckled.
She smiled knowingly, pretending to swat him with her clip board. "I know I'm a bit of a Debbie Downer sometimes, but I have to be the big sister. It wouldn't do for both of us to be dreamers, would it?"
"No," he laughed, dodging her blow, "But maybe she knows how to cheer you up when you're needing it. Is that so bad?"
Katniss met his eyes and held them, feeling her pulse increase. His gaze was playful and sincere and…there was that stomach flop again. Butterflies.
"No," she grinned, looking away. "She must know what I need, even if I can't see it."
"It's nice that you're so close with her. Sounds like you need each other a lot."
"We do," she agreed. Biting her lip, she wished she was a better conversationalist and could casually bring up the wedding again, but fluttering pulse and suddenly tangled tongue got the better of her. Peeta finished his cooldown and had gathered his things before she could think of a clever way to do it.
"See ya, Katniss!" he called out, offering her a friendly wave as he left. She stood in the lobby and watched him leave a pang of something making her uneasy. Things had shifted for her, she realized. She'd wanted him to ask her. She wanted to see him outside of work.
The sound of crunching ice broke her from her thoughts. Turning, she spied Gale across the lobby standing at the smoothie bar with a cup of ice, chomping away with a knowing look. His lanky form was draped across the counter and he cracked and chewed the ice in the way he knew she hated. The smug grin he was giving him told her she'd been caught mooning over Peeta.
Katniss huffed, shooting him a glare.
"Shut up Gale."
"Didn't say anything, Katniss."
She turned and stormed out of the lobby, annoyed with Gale for the second time that day and confused at her feelings for Peeta.
"You didn't have to," she muttered to herself.
The summer air was starting to cool as the sun dipped below the horizon at the boathouse. The long, early summer day had been perfect for an outdoor wedding beside a lake. Twinkle lights glistened against the twilight sky, reflecting form the water as the band played another oldies hit. He guessed things would get rowdier as the night went on, but for now they were just finishing up cake and refreshing cocktails.
Peeta leaned back in his chair, swirling the brown liquid in his glass, trying his best to keep a happy face. The elation of wearing a tux a few sizes smaller for the day had vanished when he realized with dread that he was the heaviest groomsman out of six. Playing the fat kid again, his inner demon seemed to chide him.
His eyes moved to the bar, where several of the other groomsmen were chatting up some of the female guests. Pretty girls with stylish hair and slinky dresses. The image of Glimmer popped into his head, making him grimace. Even months later, the sting of that one still felt fresh, especially in a weak moment.
Should I go up to the bar? What would I say?
Everyone had been friendly enough through ceremony and pictures and all that, but the mood seemed to change once they were relieved of their groomsman duties. Everyone had flocked to the bar and seemed to somehow pair off in a way that was lost on Peeta. Their laughter bounced off the water as someone loudly cracked open a bottle of champagne. While one of Thresh's groomsmen was married and currently dancing with his wife, the other four were well on their way to…well, Peeta didn't really know. He'd never gotten the memo in college or hell, even high school on how to talk to a girl like that. Of course he had basic social skills and manners – that wasn't the issue. The part he'd somehow missed was how to walk up to a girl and charm her to the point where she was so enamored of him that she'd go home with him. Not even that, he decided – a phone number, willingly given would have been nice. How did certain men just get that, he wondered? How did it come so naturally to some men, and to others like him…?
He'd long ago accepted that he was utterly clueless and destined to be a fat loser, but his new confidence had him questioning that. But what if losing weight wasn't enough? Would he ever be happy to just…be?
He took another long drink. Just once it would be nice to have someone as completely besotted with him as he was with them. He didn't need Glimmer to come home with him. He just wanted…
Flashing grey eyes appeared in his memory, but he quickly pushed them away. That wasn't even a possibility.
Another sip of the bourbon. Crap, this burns. He wanted a cold draft beer that the bar was currently serving, but knew he'd feel instantly bloated and just want another. He usually didn't mind hard liquor, but straight? It wasn't his thing. He'd simply wanted something strong enough to give him a buzz after just one and wouldn't completely throw his diet. Dinner had been easy enough to navigate, but avoiding his mashed potatoes and wedding cake was no easy feat, especially since he knew how good it would taste having made most of it himself.
Don't give in, he chanted internally.
He'd wanted to ask Katniss to be his date, but the idea of that just seemed…so farfetched. His eyes flicked up to the growing party on the opposite side of the room, where his fellow groomsmen were still laughing and talking with what he could only guess were the eligible women in attendance. Swallowing thickly, he tried to imagine her here. She wouldn't be up at the bar, laughing loudly and wearing some short dress she had to keep pulling down. No, he imagined her in something classy and elegant, something jewel toned that went with her tan skin and beguiling eyes. He downed the rest of his drink at the thought, trying to picture her there with him. Her hair, normally pulled into a messy bun or a braid, would be down. Long and wavy, soft and appealing. Staring out towards the water, he spied a piece of the dock that jutted out into the water. It was empty of guests now, but looked utterly inviting with twinkle lights lining it and the water sparkling beneath it. He'd meet her out there with two glasses of champagne. Peeta grinned to himself. Once those were gone? Dancing. Taking her in his arms, he'd effortlessly pull her into a slow, swaying embrace that wasn't in time with anything playing. No, this would be more about touching her and enjoying the way her eyes looked with the lights reflecting in them…a million little stars.
The DJ announcing that they would soon be serving coffee yanked him out of his musing, making him jump back to reality.
Peeta looked at the empty chair beside him.
thanks for reading :)
