The Odairs had a beautiful home just outside of Panem. Katniss was late arriving because she'd stopped on the way to buy flowers. The way Annie fawned over them made Katniss certain she'd made the right choice.
Finnick Odair was holding court in a tastefully appointed sunroom at the back of the house, the setting sun illuminating his signature bronze hair and the bone structure that had apparently turned a generation of Australian teenagers to mush. He caught sight of the two women approaching and winked suggestively. Katniss couldn't argue that Finnick wasn't one of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet. But she could honestly say he'd never been attractive to her. Maybe he was too pretty, or maybe it was really that he'd just be too easy to lose.
"Kitty-Kat," Finnick called, and swept her off her feet in an uncomfortably long hug. "You are radiant as always." He set her back on her feet, and she eased back out of arm's reach.
A deep, familiar chuckle caught her attention. She turned in disbelief. Her brawny blonde beefcake baker-slash-firefighter neighbour was comfortably ensconced on the Odairs' ivory leather sectional. "I think you know my mate, Peet," Finnick said, and Peeta winked.
"Well this explains a lot," Katniss said dryly. She turned to Annie. "You told him what I like?" It felt kind of crappy, she'd thought he must enjoy the same things as she did. Instead, Annie and Finn had handed him the keys to manipulation city.
"I told him you have a terrible Starbucks chai addiction," Annie admitted, confusion wrinkling her brow. "Didn't he mention that he and Finny are on the same fire brigade?"
Katniss shook her head, scowling at Peeta who was chuckling.
"Peet!" Annie practically screeched. "You didn't even tell her you know us?"
"What would be the fun in that?," Peeta drawled, walking over. "Hello, Katniss," he said softly, bringing her hand to his lips. Her pique cooled somewhat as other body parts heated up. He was smooth, that was for sure.
"This one's a jokester, you shouldn't believe anything he says," Annie laughed, elbowing Peeta. Something flickered in his eyes, a little bit of pain, maybe, a flash of vulnerability. But it was gone so quickly that Katniss wasn't certain it'd been real. Then he was all charming smiles again.
"Wily old rascal," Finnick laughed, clapping Peeta on the shoulder. "Figured you'd move in before we had a chance to warn her off? Good on ya, mate."
The others laughed, and Peeta joined them, clowning around, like it was all a big joke. It didn't feel like a joke to Katniss.
It didn't feel funny at all.
Finnick introduced Katniss to the other two people in the group, another firefighter and her husband, and Annie lamented that the smog and oppressive heat meant they'd have to eat inside. "What's the point of having this big garden if we can't even use it," she sighed. 35 degrees in mid-November. Katniss wasn't sure she'd ever get used to that. Back home, people were already wearing parkas. There'd probably be snow on her condo balcony this week.
"I promise there'll be garden parties," Finnick said. "The heat wave can't last forever."
The others were all clearly long time friends, with lots of inside jokes, and Peeta was the teller of most of those jokes, the one who kept conversation flowing. He had an easy way about him, a humour that was ironic and encouraging, but never directly at anyone's expense.
But it was uncomfortable, a little. With the others coupled up, Katniss had the distinct feeling that she was being set up with Peeta, and while she was definitely attracted to him, she hated the feeling of having been manipulated, first by him, and now by the Odairs. Her irritation definitely showed in the clipped answers and frowns she shot her old friend every time Annie looked her way, all through the meal.
She was going to give Annie a piece of her mind as soon as she had a chance. But when she asked Annie to accompany her to the kitchen for more wine, Peeta came instead.
"I'm sorry," he said as soon as they were away from the others, and Katniss shrugged, giving him her back. She was irritated that even with the manipulation, she was still so attracted to him. "I didn't mean to make you feel badly, keeping this from you," he continued. "I only wanted a chance for you to know me before…" he trailed off.
Katniss turned to face him, expecting to see the brash half smirk he'd been shooting her all evening. Instead, he was looking at the tiled floor, his shoulders hunched, his confidence gone. "Why would it have mattered, telling me that you know Annie?"
He gave her an appraising look. "I'm more than my history," he said, and she knew instantly what he meant. The things Gale had said, about his reputation for bouncing from one woman to the next, never settling down. The half-hearted warning Finnick had issued.
Katniss fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't care that you enjoy casual sex," she said. "We're alike in that way." Peeta watched her, his expression unreadable. "But I do care about honesty."
"You want honesty," he said softly, advancing on her, backing her into the counter. "The truth is I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that morning you came to my bakery." He leaned in, bracing his hands on the cabinets behind her, almost surrounding her. He continued, his voice low, intimate. For her only. "I didn't know who you were then. I didn't know until after you'd stitched me up. And by then, I was already a goner."
Her breath shuddered out. There was nothing fake about his words or delivery. Nothing fake about the way he was looking at her either, with a hunger that she could feel deep in her stomach. His scent surrounded her, soap and sunshine and just a little bit like fresh baked bread. It was evocative. He was evocative. He must have seen her wavering, because he smiled, not the smile he'd been wearing out with the others, but the one she saw when she closed her eyes. "Go out with me," he murmured.
"I don't really date," she said, but it felt like a thin excuse. She wanted him, and she knew he knew it.
"I'll teach you how." He was teasing her, but she couldn't get angry, couldn't really even think. His words ghosted across her lips, his nose just barely brushing her own.
"I'm only here a few months."
"Then let's not waste them," he said. His eyes were fixed on her mouth, his biceps twitching beside her head. He wanted to kiss her, she could see it in every taut line of his body, feel it in his ragged breaths. But he was waiting. Waiting for her to make the choice.
"Peet," Finnick yelled from the other room. Katniss jumped, and Peeta stepped back from her, just enough to be out of her personal space. Just enough to feel like a lost opportunity. "The pagers are goin' off, mate," Finnick said as he burst into the kitchen.
Peeta swore softly and reached into the pocket of his shorts, extracting an old-fashioned pager, the likes of which Katniss hadn't seen since residency. Her hospital back in Seam had switched to a secure smartphone app years ago. When she mentioned that, Peeta smirked, but distractedly. "Not much mobile service in the bush," he said. "Pagers are more reliable here." She supposed that was true.
There was a flurry of activity as Peeta, Finnick and Maysi, the other firefighter in the group, grabbed their things and piled into Peeta's SUV. Maysi's husband offered to stay and help clean up, but Annie sent him away too. Katniss stayed, loading the dishwasher and wiping down the table.
"I'm sorry, Kat," Annie said once they were alone. "I hadn't meant to blindside you. Peet's just such a fun guy, I figured you two would get along like a house on fire."
"Dammit, Annie, you know I'm not here for that," Katniss whined. "And if I need to blow off a little steam, I'd rather pick someone you don't know, so there's no complications."
"I didn't mean a fling," Annie said, "though is it really such a bad idea? He's hot, he's a nice guy, and neither of you is looking for anything serious." She paused thoughtfully. "You know I'd never set you up with someone who would hurt you. Peet's a really great guy, treats his dates like gold. He's just not looking to settle down. But neither are you. And don't you deserve to have a little fun, after everything?"
"Annie," Katniss started, but Annie shook her head.
"No, Kat, you're not the one who died. And she'd be pissed off if she knew how little living you're doing."
Katniss was tempted, so very tempted, to tell Annie she was wrong, to tell her about the day with Peeta, about the woods and the hamburgers, the sunshine and flirting. But somehow, that felt sacred. Like something she wanted to hold close and not let go.
"We'll see," she said instead.