It was several days later when the text message came through.
Need a taste tester. Are you free this afternoon? It's Peeta.
As if she wouldn't know it was him. As if she hadn't saved his number carefully in her contacts, and then wondered if she would ever have an excuse to use it. Her finger hovered hesitantly over the message. She was both dying to see him and terrified of what it meant that she was dying to see him.
Finally she typed back: Sure, but only if cheese buns are involved.
Peeta: Not exactly; but I promise it will be good. :-)
Katniss: Ok...where?
Peeta: Meet me at the coffee shop at 3?
Katniss: See you there.
At 2:55 on the dot, Katniss opened the door to the Tribute Street Coffee Shop, fully expecting to have beaten Peeta there. Instead, she found him behind the bar, although not in his work t-shirt, making up a custom drink. He lifted his hand to wave to her, his smile stretching ear to ear and she waved back, then claimed her usual seat to wait for him.
He set a cup in front of her and then pulled out the chair opposite of her and sat down, a paper bag clutched in his right hand. She raised her eyebrows at him and he answered her wordless question. "Chai tea," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He had made her a chai tea latte because they were in the shop and even though he wasn't working right now he knew that she liked the way he made her drink. And apparently he was just that thoughtful.
She felt her cheeks coloring at the gesture and she whispered a quiet "thank you," before reaching for the cup to take a sip.
"So how are you?" he asked her, and then before she could answer he added, "You look really nice today."
Another blush and another quiet "thank you." Then she remembered why they were here in the first place. "So what's in the bag?"she asked before raising her tea to her lips once more.
"Ah," he said, his blue eyes sparking with mischief as he began to unroll the top of the bag and reach inside. "This is a new recipe I'm trying, but I wanted someone to taste test it for me. You are my guinea pig." He laid out a napkin in front of her and produced what appeared to be a scone, which he laid on top of the napkin.
"A scone?" she questioned, reaching to pick up the sweet and nibble on the edge.
"Well not just any scone," he scoffed. "These are what I call chai tea scones. You gave me the idea, actually."
"Me?" she asked incredulously. She happened to know for a fact that they had never discussed scones before.
He seemed to be turning a bright shade of pink as he rushed to explain, "Well not directly, but I know how much you like the chai flavoring, and all the scones we offer here are very sweet in nature, but I thought it might be nice to have something with a little more bite to it, you know but still very desirable...just sort of...different." He trailed off, suddenly seeming very unsure of himself.
She softened at his lack of confidence. Could he actually be nervous? She took a bigger bite of the scone and washed it down with her tea. It was actually quite good. She offered him a smile and said, "It's good. I like it."
He seemed unconvinced. "You don't have to finish it Katniss," he told her, shaking his head and laughing lightly at her attempt to appease him. But she was determined and she continued to break off pieces of the scone and swallow them with sips of tea. While she ate, he reached below the table and produced another white paper bag which he opened to reveal a half dozen cheese buns.
"Cheese buns!" she squealed, dropping the scone and practically grabbing one of the buns from his hand. His laughter rang out loud and clear.
"Okay, well I think we have a clear winner," he remarked, still laughing.
"I'm sorry," she confessed, still stuffing her face with the cheese bun, "the scones are great, but these cheese buns are the best thing that ever happened to a baked good." She was so earnest that he couldn't help but laugh loudly again. Without warning he reached out and brushed a crumb off her cheek, then returned his hand to her face to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She was like a deer in headlights, swallowing the large bite of cheese bun with an audible gulp.
"S-sorry," he pulled his hands back in a hurry. He looked everywhere but at her for a minute. Finally he chanced a glance at her face again and finding that her usual scowl was not in place he ventured, "Do you want to take a walk?"
Her shoulders lifted in a half shrug. "Sure, why not."