After the phone call Katniss sat on the floor for some time, she felt like a trapped animal, the panic was clouding her head, she couldn't think clearly. She wanted desperately to talk to Gale but that would only make matters worse. After continuously failing to come up with some kind of plan, she decided to go to the lake in the woods, swimming should help clear her head, or at least distract her.
It was midday by the time she reached the lake, and with the sun high in the sky it was scorching. She quickly stripped off her clothes and walked in, feeling the water soothe her sweltering body; she also started to feel calmer than she had before. She began to swim, dipping her head into the water, focusing on the movements of her arms and legs in the cool lake, trying to ignore her thoughts. After some time she could feel herself relaxing and she lay back in the water, drifting and looking at the clouds. She heard some light splashing near by and thought of the fish she could easily catch here once she'd finished calming down.
She mulled over the situation in her head, trying to think of a rational plan, but suddenly she was alert again, something wasn't right. She righted herself from lying on her back and paddled quietly, looking suspiciously around the lake. Nothing seemed out of sorts and she wondered if she had imagined it, when suddenly she was seized, dragged down into the lake. A scream escaped her but she was already emerged. Struggling she escaped the grasp and made it to the surface, gasping for air, where she encountered Gale. Laughing at her.
"Gale!" She screamed anger, surprise and relief all fighting for a place in her voice. He bit his lip to contain his laughter and moved towards her.
"I'm sorry Catnip, you just looked so peaceful, I couldn't help myself," He was still chuckling. She was beginning to recover from his little stunt and allowed him to take her into his arms. "I missed you," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
"I missed you too. Oh things are so fucked up! I wanted to -" she began tears forming in her eyes, but Gale silenced her with a kiss.
"It's okay, I'm here now." He said gently, then began to kiss her again, pulling her against his naked body.
Katniss let herself get lost in the moment, kissing him back passionately, her legs wound around his waist, her hands in his hair. Still kissing her, Gale began to wade through the water, when he reached the side he laid her gently on the grass. He began kissing her neck, his hands exploring her smooth body, dripping with water. Her legs were still wrapped around him and she could feel how hard he was, all she wanted was to feel him inside her again, but Gale continued to kiss his way down her body. He lingered on her breasts, gently caressing her nipples with his lips, before working down to her hips. He felt a shiver of pleasure go through her and in response he began to kiss her most sensitive area. She moaned loudly as he began licking and sucking her clit, tasting her. As her moans continued he slowly began to push a finger inside her, feeling how wet she was, he heard the breath catch in her throat and she grabbed his hair, forcing him to keep going. He willingly obliged.
He was so hard it was all he could do to keep going until he could feel her trembling, then he gave her opening one last kiss before sliding his manhood into her. She gasped like she had the first time and he began pumping into her, she dug her nails into his back, so close to orgasm. She was biting her lip, eyes closed, right on the edge. Gale dipped his head and kissed her as he came into her, right as she also began to tremble with the waves of her own orgasm.
They lay panting in each other's arms for a while, Katniss had temporarily forgotten about her problems but as the glow from the sex began to wear off she soon began to worry again. She sat up, suddenly self-conscious, fumbling for her clothes. "Hey calm down, what's wrong?" Gale asked, concerned by the suddenness of her actions. After scrambling into her clothes she chucked Gales at him and began telling him about the party.
She told him about the phone call, the party, President Snow and the million possibilities of what may happen to them that had been running through her head. Gale had clothed himself and just sat, watching her as she babbled on in panic. When she had finally finished he remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "So you think we're going to die because you were invited to a party?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Were you not listening? They know! President Snow is going to be there!" Her fear was still high in her voice and Gale wrapped his arms around her.
"I think if they were watching us they wouldn't invite you to a party to punish you, they'd have came to your house, or mine, and actually done some punishing." He told her reasonably. He rubbed her back to soothe her, "I think because that hasn't happened we can assume we're safe," Katniss smiled at the possibility. "So you go to that party and have a good time and when no one says anything about that devilishly handsome boy in the woods you can see for yourself that we're safe!" They both began to laugh and she nestled against his chest, she knew talking to him would make her feel better.