I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I was downtown with my sisters and a few of our friends to watch the fireworks. It was so freakin' hot but the fireworks were AWESOME and I had a great time. I hope you hung out with your families and watched fireworks, as well!
I like this chapter, I think it's my favorite of the three so far. The only problem is that there's no Laurel :( She's with Gale and (the evil stepmother) Amelia. But she'll most likely show up in the next chapter, and if not then, definitely the one after.
Enjoy and review :)
We end up seeing some idiotic romantic comedy. It's cheesy and stupid. Peeta agrees. When we leave the theater, it's almost midnight.
"Where to now, miss?" he says, grabbing my hand as we walk back to his car.
"I don't care," I say. Normally, by midnight, I'm drop-dead exhausted, but now, I'm just exhilarated. "You get out more than I do."
"I highly doubt it," he laughs. "I don't get out much."
"I don't get out at all," I say. "I have a daughter, remember?"
"How could that've slipped my mind," he teases, opening the car door for me. He walks around the other side and gets in. We drive in silence for a moment before Peeta pulls up at the bakery. I look at him questioningly. He smiles widely. "Dessert time."
He gets out of the car, opens the door for me, and we head inside. He goes back into the kitchen and I wait hesitantly in the front room. I didn't think I was supposed to be in the kitchen. He pokes his head around the door and says, "Are you coming?" I laugh and go back into the kitchen. When I get there, my mouth instantly waters. Cookies, cakes and bread galore. I don't know how Peeta doesn't weight eight hundred pounds surrounded by all this good food.
"See anything in particular that you'd want to eat?" he says.
"How about everything?" I say.
He laughs. "I'm kind of in the mood for the 10-layer German chocolate cake. I only let myself eat that on special occasions."
"And this is a special occasion?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"This is a very special occasion."
I find myself smiling as he grabs the chocolate cake from the shelf. "I made it fresh this afternoon," he says. He cuts two very large pieces and puts them on plates. He takes both plates and heads upstairs to his apartment. I obediently follow.
He sets the cakes on the table and gets two forks. He hands one to me. "Bon appetite," he says as I take my first bite.
"Oh my God, Peeta," I say. "That is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten."
He blushes. "I wouldn't go that far . . ."
I devour the cake almost as fast as he does. He goes back downstairs and grabs the whole cake. "Seconds?"
I eat half my second piece before I'm stuffed. Peeta eats his entire second piece plus my second half. "You eat a lot," I point out.
"Is that a fat joke?" he teases, picking up the plates and dropping them in the sink.
"Maybe," I reply and he feigns hurt.
"I'm going to get you for that," he says.
"And how are you going to do that?"
He takes his finger, scoops some icing off the cake, and walks over to me. Before I know what he's doing, he smears it on my cheek. I gasp in surprise. "Hey, Katniss, you have a little something on your cheek," he says, laughing.
"Are you serious?" I say, but I'm trying hard not to laugh, too.
"As a heart attack."
"It's on."
I get some icing and smear it on his cheek, as well. He gets more icing and backs me into the wall. His hips pin me there gently. And I find that I really, really want him to kiss me. I don't know where that's coming from, I've never felt this before. But I really want him too.
He takes the icing and smears it from my forehead down to my chin. He gets everything except my eyes. "You look beautiful with icing on your face," he whispers.
"You're not too bad, either," I whisper back. Wait. Did I just compliment him? God, what's happening to me?
He smiles before leaning into my face and kissing me very gently on the mouth. I respond almost immediately. His tongue runs along my bottom lip and I open my mouth, letting him in. Our tongues find each other tentatively at first. We kiss like this for a long time. He pulls away and smiles widely at me. "I'm going to get this icing off you, okay?" he says.
I nod, my head spinning. I think he's going to go get napkins and wipe it off, but instead, he brings his lips to my cheek and slowly begins to lick the icing off me. I'm so surprised that I almost squeal. But it feels good, Peeta's lips on me. I want to feel his lips everywhere, not just on my face. Oh God. Did I really just say that?
It takes him a few minutes to get it all off my face. When he pulls away, he looks at me shyly. I decide to get the icing off his cheek, as well. "I'm gonna get the icing off you, too," I say. He nods. I bring my lips to his cheek and slowly open my mouth to get the icing. His skin is soft and he smells good. Really good. I feel him sigh contentedly as I get the last bit of icing off his face.
"I wish you'd put more icing on me," he whispers when I pull away.
"Yeah?" I say. "Me, too."
He looks at me questioningly for a minute before kissing my forehead and backing away. "I don't want to go too far," he says.
I nod, understanding. "That's a lie," he says. "I do want to go too far. It's just that . . . it's not the right thing to do."
"I know," I sigh.
"But I do have a question for you," he says. I raise my eyebrows. "I know this has only been our first date, and all, but I think we really hit it off. And I really like you."
"The feeling's mutual," I say quietly. He smiles widely before continuing.
"Katniss, would you like to be my girlfriend?"
I smile. I'd be Peeta's girlfriend. He'd be my boyfriend. I'd never had a boyfriend before. Peeta had had girlfriends before, I knew – he was Peeta Mellark, for God's sake. One of the most desired boys in 12 wanted to be my boyfriend. "Yeah," I say softly.
He smiles widely. "I nearly one in the morning, you know."
"I never stay up this late," I say.
"Can I make you dinner tomorrow?" he says. "You're still Laurel-less, right?"
"Yeah," I say. "And I'd like that."
He smiles. "Alright. I'll take you home."
"I can walk," I say.
"You're my girlfriend," he says. "I can't make you walk."
"Fine," I say, rolling my eyes. He laughs and motions for me to follow him downstairs.
"I can come over and fix your cupboards tomorrow afternoon if you want," Peeta says. "I get up way early for the bakery and I can be done by noon or one and come over at, like, two."
"That'd be great," I say. "I'd like that."
"I can fix them and then take you back to my place for dinner," he says. By this time, we're halfway to my home.
"That sounds great," I say.
"Awesome," he says. "I promise I won't make squirrel."
I laugh. "I have to hunt tomorrow," I say. "If I'm not back by two, there's a spare key in the backyard underneath the skinning table."
"That's an . . . odd place," Peeta says.
"You never would've guessed," I say. "Right?"
"Very, very true," he laughs. He pulls into my driveway and walks me to my door. "I had a really great time tonight, Katniss," he says.
"I did, too," I say. "Even if the movie did suck."
He laughs. "That movie did suck."
"But dinner was good," I say. "And that German chocolate cake was amazing."
"Thank you," he says. He leans in and kisses me softly. He brings his hands to my waist and pulls me to him. I put my hands on his shoulders and kiss him back. He breaks away after a moment and smiles. "Good night, Katniss. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night, Peeta," I say softly as he walks back to his car.
"Damn it!" Peeta shouts for the fifth time since he's been here.
"I thought you said it would be easy," I say, sitting at the kitchen table. He's attempting (very poorly, I might add) to fix my cupboards. He's been at it for almost a half an hour.
"I did, too," he says. "I just figured they were messed up because they were old. These were built poorly. I'm going to have to take them all the way down and put them back up right."
"And how long will that take?" I ask.
"More than an hour," he says.
"Wonderful," I groan, banging my head on the table.
"Don't be a downer," he says, turning around. His face is flushed and his hair is matting to his face from the sweat. He's wearing a tight, white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. I notice how . . . good he looks. That's my boyfriend, I think. I can't help but feel strange. Peeta Mellark, cream of the crop, is my boyfriend. As far as Seam girls go, I'm pretty damn lucky. "I won't be done before dinner, though."
"I'm hungry now," I say, getting up and cutting myself a piece of bread. I offer one to him and he takes it.
"It's two forty five," he says.
"I skipped lunch," I shrug. "I was hunting."
"Get anything good?"
"Few squirrels, a couple birds, and a wild turkey," I say.
"A turkey?" he asks, eyes wide. "Wow."
"I catch a turkey once a month, at least," I say. "I normally sell them. I can get a good amount of money for them."
"Did you sell the turkey already?"
"No," I say. "Why?"
"I'll trade you for it," he says.
"What?" I say. "Why do you want a turkey?"
"So I can eat it," he says. "Duh. I can make some turkey dish for dinner tonight."
"What's in it for me?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. He laughs.
"A kiss," he says, leaning in to kiss me. It's a short, soft one. I can't say I'm not disappointed. I like the long, passionate kisses, the ones he gave me last night and when he first saw me earlier today.
"That doesn't seem very fair," I say. "A whole turkey for a wimpy kiss like that."
"A wimpy kiss?" he asks, feigning hurt. "Don't tempt me, woman."
"I'll tempt you all I want," I tease, patting his chest once and turning away from him.
"You're in for it now," he says. I hear three heavy footfalls and then his arms are around my waist, lifting me up in the air.
"Peeta!" I cry, laughing. "Put me down!"
"No way!" he says. He turns me so I'm facing him. He's lifting me at least a foot in the air. I bend down and kiss him, wrapping my legs around his waist. He pulls me tighter and slowly backs me into the wall. This way, He can hold me up with his pelvis. The kiss is more passionate than any other we've shared – it's the first time I've kissed him. His hands explore my body, not touching any of my sensitive areas. For that I'm thankful and annoyed.
My hands are tangled in his hair and our bodies are pressed extremely close together. He smells like vanilla and cinnamon and his lips taste like icing. My mind is spinning – if I wasn't so tightly pressed against a wall, I would've fallen over by now. Every time our tongues collide, I feel as if I'm flying. When he pulls away, he kisses down my cheek and my neck. When he reaches the fleshy spot between my collarbone and my neck, I let out an involuntary moan. Peeta's head jerks up in surprise. "You okay?" he asks breathlessly.
I nod. "I think I found your sweet spot," he whispers, returning to it. I moan again. I don't care how pathetic or weak I sound. It feels damn good and I'm going to let him know. He stays at the spot for at least a minute. It's the sweetest, most pleasurable yet tantalizing minute of my life. It isn't until he gently bites down on the spot that I make a high-pitched, very girly noise. Peeta kisses back up to my lips. "That was the sexiest noise I've ever heard in my life," he murmurs, or lips partially connected.
"Hmm," is all I respond before kissing him again. I'm blinded by the feeling of his lips on me. I can't help but feel his erection pressed against me – his pelvis is holding me up. I'm not thinking straight. The only thing I want is to feel this good even more. "Peeta, do you have protection?"
He looks at me in surprise. "I might in my toolbox. Are you sure?"
I nod. He looks at me wearily. "Are you absolutely positive? I completely understand if you want to wait–"
"I don't want to wait," I say. "Do you?"
"No, but that's because I love–" he pauses, his cheeks flaming red. "I don't . . . I mean . . ."
"Were you about to say I love you?" I ask in disbelief.
He looks at me with a torn expression on his face. "I have for years," he says softly. "I mean, I always had this crush on you, even when we were five years old. But when I saw that you were pregnant, with someone else's baby, I got really . . . pissed off. I thought that if I'd just asked you out, maybe that wouldn't have happened. And even if it did, it would've been with me. That's when I realized that my little crush wasn't a crush anymore."
"You've loved me for three years?" I say.
He nods. "I'm sorry if that seems really, really creepy. I just . . . you're beautiful, Katniss. And you deserve better than what you've been given."
"It is kind of creepy," I say. He looks crestfallen. "In a really, really sweet way."
He smiles. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," I say. I bring my lips to his again.
"Do you still want to use that protection?" Peeta asks.
"Definitely," I say softly. He smiles and kisses me again. Just as he's about to carry me off to my bedroom, we're slightly interrupted.
"Katniss?" Prim says, her eyes wide.