Chapter 22
(Madge POV)
I'm enjoying dinner with Rory and Rebekah and the rest of the Hawthornes so much that I didn't even notice when Gale came into the cafeteria. He just snick up on me, pulling out the chair beside me and looping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek.
"Hi." I say, blushing a little at his display of affection in front of his family. I glance around the table and notice a sly grin from Rory to Gale. No one else seems to notice though. Rebekah smiles at me across the table. She's rather nice and I'm happy she and Rory have found each other.
"Hey. You ready for our date?"
"As soon as you eat your dinner." I say pushing his food tray towards him. He seems awfully excited for our date but he still needs to eat something before we go. He starts shoveling food into his mouth.
"I swear he used to have table manners Madge. I don't know what happened to them." Hazelle tells me as she shoots Gale a look.
I laugh and elbow him under the table. "Slow down. Our date can wait a few minutes. Just eat your food and try to enjoy your time with your family." I whisper as I lean over to him.
"It's no fair. How come you two always get to go on such cool dates? All we ever get to do is walk around." Rory grumbles.
"Cause I'm important." Gale says smugly as he holds up his badge.
"Yeah, well you two had cool dates even before you worked in Defense." Rory argues.
"Our dates are just fine with me." Rebekah tells him.
"Nah, that's just because you don't know any better. Gale's always taking Madge to cool places."
"Maybe we could all double date sometime." I suggest. Rory lights up but Gale kicks me under the table.
"That'd be awesome! Can we really?" Rory asks Gale.
"We'll see." Gale grumbles through a mouthful of food. I shoot him a look. He needs to be nicer. I think he forgets that he too was once Rory's age and trying to impress girls.
"I wanna go too!" Posy chips into the conversation.
"You're too little." Vick tells her.
"Am not! If Madge says I can come, I can! And she likes when I go places with her! Don't you Madge?"
I fight the urge to laugh and nod my head at the little dark haired cutie with her hands on her hips. "Yes, Posy, I do like your company!"
"Aww, don't bring her along!" Rory now grumbles from across the table. Poor Rebekah just looks helpless, not really knowing what to say.
"Perhaps we can find something to do as a family? With everyone? You too Rebekah." I say trying to appease everyone at the table.
"I think that's a brilliant idea." Hazelle contributes, throwing a thankful smile my way.
"Oh it's just genius." Gale tells everyone sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse us, my wife and I have somewhere we need to be right now. Just the two of us." He says standing and pulling my hand for me to join him.
He drags us out of the cafeteria before any further Hawthorne family date talk can continue. Out in the stairwell he pulls me to him, covering my mouth in a deep kiss before pulling back and giving me a look.
"Making plans for Rory to double date with us? And for a family date too?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't like your family?" I ask teasingly because I know he's also teasing.
"Love em. I do, really. But I like having you all to myself when date night rolls around. Can't do this if they're all watching us." He says dipping his head for another kiss as he slips his hands around my waist.
"Can't argue with that." I say smiling. "Now, where are you taking me tonight? You sure do seem awful eager to get wherever it is we're going."
"You'd be eager too if you knew what I did."
"Nothing, huh? That's what you're going to give me?"
"Pretty much. Just hush and follow me." He says leading me.
Once we're standing in front of the doors and he swipes us through, I know instantly where we're at. The water reservoir.
"The water reservoir again? That's what you were so excited about?" I ask curiously. And it isn't that I'm not excited to be here again, it's just that I would've expected someplace totally new to us given all his antsiness about getting here.
"Mmhmm. Don't be unimpressed just yet though. This time, it's gonna be a little different. He says leading me into the building and down all the steps to the same landing that we danced on that first date night.
"Okay, you've got me curious. Now what?" I ask looking at him suspiciously.
"Now we swim." He says pulling off his shirt and grinning at me.
My mouth drops open. Swim? I can't swim! I don't know if I remember how! He reaches over and pulls my mouth closed with his fingertips.
"You can do this you know."
"But I'm not sure I'll remember what to do…" I say softly, not any less nervous about it.
He begins to pull my shirt over my head and I robotically begin to slip out of my pants. Can I really do this? Will I remember what my body needs to do once I'm in the water? Will it all come back to me?
"How deep is this water?" I ask, voice trembling.
"Don't know. Maybe 30 feet?" He guesses as he jumps right into it, disappearing beneath the surface for a moment. When he comes back up, he's smiling huge and looking very happy. He swims over to the edge where I'm standing and holds out his hand to me.
"Come on in."
"I….I don't know…" I choke out, still searching for the courage to take this plunge. Literally.
He pauses, staring at me for a minute or two and then says very softly, almost dreamlike, "Do you trust me?"
And those words, that one question, seem to make it all make sense. I do trust him. He won't let anything happen to me. I reach out and take his hand, letting myself fall into the chilly water. In my head I answer him with these words "With my life." And I do.
Once I'm in the water, his arm loops around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck. It's the weirdest feeling being in water where I can't touch the bottom. It's weightless. He watches me for a moment, eyes seemingly lost in a thought before he speaks again.
"You okay?" He asks, still not letting go.
I nod. I am okay I think. I find myself kicking my legs to stay afloat and it feels natural but I don't know how I knew to do this. Maybe he's right. Maybe it is one of those things that just comes right back to you.
"Want a quick refresher lesson?" He offers.
"Okay." I squeak out. He pulls my arms from around his neck and a bit of panic takes over me and I tighten my grip on him.
"Hey, hey, calm down. I won't let go, I promise." He says sensing my fear.
"Sorry." I apologize but don't let my grip go.
He pulls me to him again. His lips dance across my forehead as he whispers again. "Do you trust me?"
This time I answer out loud as I swallow down all my fears and loosen my grip. "With my life." I say it so quietly that I doubt he really even heard me over the sound of the rushing water. And suddenly, his lips crash onto mine, kissing me so passionately and pulling me to him, tightly against his chest.
(Gale POV)
"With my life." Her voice nearly whispers but in my ears it rings loudly. Those are the exact words she spoke the first night at the lake when I was teaching her to swim. I'd asked if she trusted me and those were the words she'd said both that night as well as just now. It stirs such a memory within me that I have to kiss her with all that I have. Every ounce of what I feel for her coming through in one kiss. When I pull back, she's breathless and clinging to me, her face flushed and eyes wide.
"Wow. If this is swimming, I think I like it." She finally says.
"It's not swimming but I like it too."
"What was the reason for that?" She asks me still breathless while I continue to stare at her, unable to look anywhere else.
"I couldn't help it. It was what you said, those words, with my life."
She tilts her head a little to the side and looks at me funny. "Yeah?" She asks still not understanding. I'd be lying if her not making the connection to the memory didn't leave me feeling a little deflated. I'd give anything for her to be able to just once remember how we fell in love the first time around.
"You said the exact same thing to me once before. The very first time I took you swimming at the lake. You were hesitant to get in the water, I asked if you trusted me and you said those words just like you did tonight."
She's quiet for a minute, chewing on her bottom lip, looking off to the side. "I don't remember that." She finally says with a sigh.
I feel bad now that I pointed out yet another thing she can't remember and she seems bummed about it. I swim backward a bit pulling her with me as she unloops her arms from my neck and just holds my arms.
"Didn't mean to make you sad. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't you that made me sad. I just hate that I can't remember all the special moments you and I had together in 12."
"Still sorry I brought it up." I tell her again as I continue to pull us around the water.
"It's okay, really. Just drop it?" She says giving me a hopeful look. I nod and decide to lighten the mood by splashing her a little.
"Hey!" She cries out as she splashes me back. I don't think she's noticed yet but we aren't touching anymore. I let go of her when I splashed her and she's treading water just fine on her own. I splash back once more wanting to keep this going, to see if she can keep swimming.
A wave of water hits the back of my head as I try to swim away from her. Her laughter ringing out, echoing in the air. When I turn back to face her, I don't see her anywhere. Panic floods through me and I instantly go under to see if I can see her. I see her and swim, kicking hard to get back to where she is. I shouldn't have swam so far off from her. Not yet. By the time I get to her though, she's resurfaced and I bob up next to her, grabbing hold of her waist.
"I thought you were sinking. Scared the hell outta me for a second there."
"I was swimming. Guess I remember how to do that after all." She says with a grin as she dives under the water again. I smile and dive down after her. She's just as fast now as she was when she left for the games. I love how this skill came back to her.
"I love this!" She says as we come up for air again. "How come we didn't swim the first time you brought me here? This is awesome!"
"I wasn't sure if you would want too. Thought it might be too revealing." I explain as I gesture to our lack of clothing. She blushes.
"Oh. You're probably right. I was so nervous just being on a date with you that I can't imagine how I would've handled having you see me naked."
"You were nervous?" I ask. I of course know that she was a little but I'd love to hear about it, from her point of view. And I love the bashful look she gets on her face when she talks about this.
"Completely. I had no idea how to act on a date and much less a date with you of all people." She says, swimming over to the landing and propping herself up with her arms on the edge of it, legs floating freely behind her.
I swim over and do the same. "Would it make you feel better if you knew I was just as nervous as you were?"
"What'd you have to be nervous about. You remembered what it was like to date me. For me, it was all new."
"But that's part of what made it so scary. I mean, what if you didn't like me this time around? What if you were bored senseless with being around me? What if I tried to kiss you and you got all freaked out about it? I had no idea where you stood and how I should act. Trust me, it was nerve wracking." I admit.
"You thought I didn't want you to kiss me?"
I shrug. "Wasn't sure. All I knew was that it was exactly what I wanted to do. What I was dying to do. But it's one of those things you can't really take back once it's happened. If I made a move too soon, I'd scare you off. It would've crushed me if that'd happened."
"Is it the same?"
"Is what the same?" I ask having no clue what she's asking me.
"Kissing me now. Is it the same as before?"
"I'd say it's better if anything. You see, back then I was thrilled to kiss you. Loved kissing you any chance I got. But now, well, now it's so much more to me. Now I know what it feels like to not be able to kiss you anytime I want. I know what it feels like for you not to want me close to you like that."
"It was so strange waking up and seeing you next to my bed that first day. I couldn't figure out why you were there. And why you would be holding my hand. I thought you were playing some sort of joke on me. A cruel joke." She says thinking back over our time in 13.
"It nearly killed me when you snatched your hand away from me and I realized you didn't remember me at all. Madge, I don't know if I'll ever be able to really explain to you how thankful I am that you managed to fall in love with me all over again. For awhile, for me, there was no greater fear in my life."
"Guess true love really conquers all, huh?" She says sliding closer to me, resting her cheek on my arm.
"Guess so." I lean my face down and kiss her temple. God I love this girl so much. "Ready to get out of here? This water's cold and I don't want you to catch a cold or anything."
She nods and hoists herself back up onto the landing. Once I do the same, I realize I should've brought towels for us. This isn't like being outside in the summertime by the lake. There's no night air to dry off in. And we're soaked.
"Here, use this to dry off some. I didn't think to bring us towels. Sorry." I apologize as I hand her my shirt. She hesitates but takes it after I give her a look that tells her not to argue me on it. I shake off what water I can and then just tug my pants back on. I can dry off back home. When she hands back my shirt, it's dripping wet. I wring it out and slip it on. I'm tempted to go shirtless but I'm not sure if there's a rule about that in 13 or not.
Once we're both dressed we head back up the stairs and out of the water reservoir room. The hallways are nearly empty because it's late but I still turn corners cautiously. I may have clearance to get us into to places like that but technically, Madge needs a temporary pass to come with me and I doubt that swimming's allowed. I know Haymitch said they can see where I swipe my badge at but I don't care. I wanted this date with Madge tonight. Wanted to give her a taste of what our dates were like back in 12. And I don't regret it.
We manage to get back to our room without anyone noticing that we're all wet but Madge's teeth are chattering and I'm still chilly myself. I take her hand and lead us into the bathroom, turning on the shower, letting it heat up as much as it can. When the steam is rising up around us, I peel off Madge's clothes and pull her into the shower, letting the water fall over her.
She closes her eyes as it warms her up and I run my hands over her arms, up and down them until her teeth stop chattering and I no longer feel goosebumps on her arms. Suddenly, her hands tug at my own shirt and I pull it off. I'd been so concerned about her that I hadn't stopped to remove my own clothing. There's a glint in her eyes as we stand there under the shower and then I feel her hands working to unbutton my pants and pushing them off. Watching her, feeling her hands on my body, it drives me crazy. I step closer to her, backing her up against the shower wall and kiss her earlobe, then alongside her jaw. She tilts her head to the side and I move mouth down along her neck and collar bone. The subtle gasp that escapes her sends a thrill right through me and I reach down, picking her up, kissing her mouth as I move us to the bedroom.
I lean backward on the bed, pulling her down with me. She hovers over me and works her way down my neck and over my chest, moving her mouth over my skin. "Madge…" I say, all breathless and needy. My hands tangle in her wet hair and I desperately want more of her, more of this moment.
"I love you." She whispers between kisses as and we lose ourselves in one another.
A/N: As I said, this chapter was pure fluff for a reader that requested it. Hope you enjoyed it! For those of you that prefer a little more plot, don't worry, the next few chapters will be more purposeful to the storyline.